What have your experiences with baneful magick been like?

[nova.loxx]

Aside from the Threefold Rule, which I know is mostly a Wiccan belief and not something everyone follows (I don't personally practice Wicca), I've been wondering if people have actually experienced any kind of "bad karma" or spiritual backlash from practicing baneful magick.

I obviously understand that every action has consequences in some way, but whenever I see this topic discussed online, it always seems to be one extreme or the other. It's either really dramatic stories about terrible things happening afterward, or people completely condemning baneful magick without much actual discussion.

I'm not really looking for anyone to tell me what I should believe. I'm just genuinely curious about other people's experiences. Have any of you ever felt like something came back to you after doing baneful work? Or have your experiences been more neutral, where it didn't seem like there was some automatic cosmic punishment attached to it?

I'd love to hear different perspectives. I'm still pretty new to all of this, and I'm just trying to get a better understanding of how practitioners actually view it beyond all the horror stories and warnings you see online.

 

[Keldan]

I’ve stated elsewhere on the forum that I have hexed many people. Those who treated me badly, those who tarnished my reputation, and those who themselves hexed and cursed me. None of those hexes or curses have successfully reached me.

I haven’t experienced backlash from any of these workings. I’d say my experiences have been good. But I have been practicing for a very long time. So there’s that.

People condemning this type of work are those who don’t truly understand these types of magick. They speak from theory and fear. Or those who attempt such magick, get backfired, and suffer blowback. So having been burned by their own errors, they then generalize their experience and try to warn against all work of this kind, rather than acknowledging their lack of understanding and protection.

 

[Digiquo]

If karma (at least within the span of your current life) were truly real, no evil man would ever get much further than a handful of evil deeds before being stopped in his tracks.
From personal experience, I was well on my way to acquiring the knowledge to enact a particular nasty piece against someone who'd wronged me, but I eventually decided my time and effort would be better spent on more fruitful pursuits than revenge. I never experienced anything that might constitute cosmic backlash.
That isn't to say that if you were to attempt to curse, hex or otherwise harm somebody through magic that it won't have unintended consequences though. When you focus your intents on something, usually it's best you leave out any details and focus only on the absolute result you desire. This is generally good practice, but if you want to harm someone you should certainly take some precautions that reverberating consequences don't ripple back towards you.

 

[Darkat]

Also be careful when cursing other occultists, as they might have warding in place that will rebound the curse back on you. Be very specific in what you ask for in the curse, so whatever entity you are working with understands what you really want to happen.

 

[Mannimarco]

I've been wondering if people have actually experienced any kind of "bad karma" or spiritual backlash from practicing baneful magick.

Not at all.

Have any of you ever felt like something came back to you after doing baneful work?

No.
But, I'm not an idiot. I always do extensive divination on the target and likely results before throwing anything at all.

Or have your experiences been more neutral, where it didn't seem like there was some automatic cosmic punishment attached to it?

Yes, completely. And no one has experienced any bad karma from the universe for mistreating me, either.

However, the types of magick I prefer do not bring in a lot of external energy sources, and mostly rely on the practitioners own power. My attempts with such curses in the past have been pretty weak and unsatisfying. Which motivated me to find, create, and implement many empowering magickal practices. Which eventually led to huge amounts of negative attention and attacks from other practitioners and groups of entities.

So maybe, in the end, the karma crybullies are right, and I'm getting my "karmic blowback" now.

 

[Akhkharu]

There will be consequences if you launch and then regret it. Otherwise, destroy without mercy and be convinced of the justice of your cause. The Universe is brutally chaotic.

 

[beardedeldridge]

Like most things, if you utilize certain things, you invite its influence into or near your sphere/etc…. You see this in mundane situations, which explains the western version of karma or whatever.

That being said, if you work on yourself or take precautions, you won’t have any issues. Most of this stuff you hear about is 1) someone regurgitating something they heard 2) inexperienced people who don’t know what they’re doing 3) or just people blaming their lives on magic.

If someone’s boss pisses them off so they decide to use magic to destroy their business…but…that business pays their salary…they need to plan ahead or the rule of three will get them ‍‍

-Eld

 

[AbammonTheGreat]

I think the most negative thing ive experienced from baneful magic is attracting the attention of not so good spirits. But nothing majorly karmic, no. I personally dont really utilize baneful magic in its extremity though. Theres always a clause of "if it be the Will of God, may I please him by exacting his judgement and severity, and may it be balanced with mercy" and thats kind of the escape hatch to make sure that what im performing is truly in line with divine wrath and not coming from a place where itd backfire. It's also kind of weird witnessing a baneful spell work, knowing i have that clause, and kind of getting confirmation that "yeah you were supposed to do something in this situation"

 

[Angelkesfarl]

The most powerful spells are the simplest ones—that’s the secret… That’s how things work… Timing is very important, and you should also perform them outside your home. Don’t be naive, my friend—we’re about to summon the most evil entities, full of malice, cunning, and harm. This is no game; these are the inhabitants of graveyards, abandoned houses, and dark places—the dwellers of sewers and filthy places. Can you imagine how they’ll react to you, the one who’s actually all those entities to you, only to send them on to others... I know someone whose eyes are so evil from the intensity of his hatred that he is a destroyer.

 

[Spiritual doctor]

Just try to remove the consequence and do not get panic because from my experience panic can increase the consequence and try what you were sure this is my experience

 

[LunaBat]

I once spontaneously cursed someone who has caused great harm to my community. I didn't take any real precautions, even--I just spent about twenty minutes execrating every single facet of their body, using my rage and certainty as my tools. Also an unsharpened pencil as a 'wand', mostly as a visual aid.

It worked.

In general, I think the reason some people get bounce back is that they either like the idea of cursing but lose their nerve when it occurs to them that they're going to cause someone harm, or because they doubt themselves and don't have the Will to follow through on the curse--so a curse is generated, but ends up hitting them because they can't 'aim' it properly.

I spent my first few years in magick primarily building my Will, and part of that was getting comfortable with the idea that I am capable of striking others, and that my choice to do that is (in certain circumstances) valid. I also take accountability, which is where I think some magi stumble when it comes to getting hit by their own workings--the idea of accepting that magick is a force and that you may end up causing actual harm, that once it's released it's out of your hands, and that third parties could end up getting hit are all pretty heavy, and some people may sub/consciously reject them.

The lack of self-doubt is as protective as a ward (although, of course, I also ward, cleanse, and pay attention to the overall 'feel' of things before, during, and after a working.)

 

[Dyn Hysbys]

If you work with materia magica,
WASH YOUR HANDS.
Sometimes it's that simple.

In my early days, I hexed a housemate. It worked well and quickly. But I and my other housemates got some mild blowback because I literally still had powders, oils etc on my hands. I was spreading that shit around like it was norovirus.
So, spiritual hygiene and literal hygiene are sometimes entwined in an animist approach.

 

[Feywer]

Aside from the Threefold Rule, which I know is mostly a Wiccan belief and not something everyone follows (I don't personally practice Wicca), I've been wondering if people have actually experienced any kind of "bad karma" or spiritual backlash from practicing baneful magick.

I obviously understand that every action has consequences in some way, but whenever I see this topic discussed online, it always seems to be one extreme or the other. It's either really dramatic stories about terrible things happening afterward, or people completely condemning baneful magick without much actual discussion.

I'm not really looking for anyone to tell me what I should believe. I'm just genuinely curious about other people's experiences. Have any of you ever felt like something came back to you after doing baneful work? Or have your experiences been more neutral, where it didn't seem like there was some automatic cosmic punishment attached to it?

I'd love to hear different perspectives. I'm still pretty new to all of this, and I'm just trying to get a better understanding of how practitioners actually view it beyond all the horror stories and warnings you see online.

I've only done a negative spellwork / black magic one time, on a previous partner who had cheated on me and caused me much grief. While I was still with him, I made a poppet in his image, cutting out his favourite jacket pocket and using that for the clothes; saving his beard and hair trimmings and sewing that on; drawing the face in his likeness; putting his fingernail clippings in the doll as a link. I wrapped up the poppet in black fabric and bound it in rope, dangling it upside down over a candle while focusing my intense emotional energy toward it.

What I learned from doing spell work of that sort - is that it's extremely difficult to remove yourself from the working. I was very much attached to him energetically and didn't realize that I was effectively binding myself up in the spell as well. Which caused ME as much difficulty as it did him. It was a real learning experience and something I wouldn't really do too much nowadays. It taught me a lot.

 

[Dyn Hysbys]

I've only done a negative spellwork / black magic one time, on a previous partner who had cheated on me and caused me much grief. While I was still with him, I made a poppet in his image, cutting out his favourite jacket pocket and using that for the clothes; saving his beard and hair trimmings and sewing that on; drawing the face in his likeness; putting his fingernail clippings in the doll as a link. I wrapped up the poppet in black fabric and bound it in rope, dangling it upside down over a candle while focusing my intense emotional energy toward it.

What I learned from doing spell work of that sort - is that it's extremely difficult to remove yourself from the working. I was very much attached to him energetically and didn't realize that I was effectively binding myself up in the spell as well. Which caused ME as much difficulty as it did him. It was a real learning experience and something I wouldn't really do too much nowadays. It taught me a lot.

This resonates a lot with me, and thanks for sharing it too. There's a lot to consider when hexing, cursing, even binding. One of the main things is how it can effect us; if we bind someone from harming, we may also find ourselves bound in unexpected ways etc.
Maybe there are times it's best to 'hex 'n' forget' rather than get caught up in continually working a hex.
Bury that bitch in the boneyard and walk away whistling, instead of working a sweat over a candle for hours.

 

[LunaBat]

This resonates a lot with me, and thanks for sharing it too. There's a lot to consider when hexing, cursing, even binding. One of the main things is how it can effect us; if we bind someone from harming, we may also find ourselves bound in unexpected ways etc.
Maybe there are times it's best to 'hex 'n' forget' rather than get caught up in continually working a hex.
Bury that bitch in the boneyard and walk away whistling, instead of working a sweat over a candle for hours.

I think this is a good point. Can hexing someone intensely turn into lust for results? Maybe the key to a proper hex has something to do with being able to detach enough to put it down and let the magick work.

 

[Dyn Hysbys]

I think this is a good point. Can hexing someone intensely turn into lust for results? Maybe the key to a proper hex has something to do with being able to detach enough to put it down and let the magick work.

Well, hate is exhausting for the hater. I see this in both operative magic and psychotherapy. Maybe there's something to be said for indifference instead? Using hate as the push, the spark, then moving to indifference.
Love (actually obsession in the context of compelling spell work) and hate consume the obsessed/the hater. They won't affect the target.

 

[Digiquo]

Well, hate is exhausting for the hater. I see this in both operative magic and psychotherapy. Maybe there's something to be said for indifference instead? Using hate as the push, the spark, then moving to indifference.
Love (actually obsession in the context of compelling spell work) and hate consume the obsessed/the hater. They won't affect the target.

This was my primary motivation for abandoning my first attempts to work baneful magic against an ex who'd cheated on me, I was still too caught up in the emotions of hatred and anger and it was consuming me, and the nature of the magic would've bound us together with it irreversibly. That wasn't the kind of existence I wanted to live. After a great deal of time and work on myself, I now have an attitude more resembling indifference, and now I've cooked up a working where the punishment fits the crime. It is important to remember that most crimes are not eternally damaging, and should you attempt to retaliate it shouldn't be an eternal punishment either.

 

[LunaBat]

Well, hate is exhausting for the hater. I see this in both operative magic and psychotherapy. Maybe there's something to be said for indifference instead? Using hate as the push, the spark, then moving to indifference.
Love (actually obsession in the context of compelling spell work) and hate consume the obsessed/the hater. They won't affect the target.

Feelings are like fire--good servants but poor masters. Being able to feel and process our feelings, detach from them, and then use that energy to accomplish the working seems like the defining element in success, at least IME.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 11:16 PM

This was my primary motivation for abandoning my first attempts to work baneful magic against an ex who'd cheated on me, I was still too caught up in the emotions of hatred and anger and it was consuming me, and the nature of the magic would've bound us together with it irreversibly. That wasn't the kind of existence I wanted to live. After a great deal of time and work on myself, I now have an attitude more resembling indifference, and now I've cooked up a working where the punishment fits the crime. It is important to remember that most crimes are not eternally damaging, and should you attempt to retaliate it shouldn't be an eternal punishment either.

That's a really good point, too. I think a lot of curses fizzle because the caster is basically throwing a tantrum, and their initial impulse doesn't match the actual offense, and so they sort of run out of steam at a certain point.