The Musings of a Confused Man

I decided I really needed to post a blog entry tonight. I've been way too quiet. I also decided to check out The Witches Weekly, and discovered some interesting question. I'm not answering all of them, but I figured I'd put out a few thoughts on some of them.

Is it possible to curse someone?

Absolutely. In fact, I feel quite strongly about this. The belief that magic can be used for harmful purposes is something I consider essential to witchcraft. As the saying goes, "if you cannot harm, you cannot heal." A belief that magic will only be beneficial is antithetical to the the dual pillars of self-empowerment and personal responsibility that support most of magical philosophy and witchcraft in particular.

How often do you think it happens?

I'm sure I can't even begin to quantify this in any meaningful way. I think it happens more often than the "white light brigade" would have the world believe. But at the same time, I think that working effective magic is hard work, more hard work than most people (including myself some days) have the discipline to follow through with. Truth be told, people expect it to be easy: a matter of saying a pithy phrase, using the right color candle, and/or the right herbs. As such, I also think it's less common (at least in our society, we won't talk about other societies where magical practices might get more disciplined attentn) than the average "scary evil witch" would like everyone to think, too.

What would make you believe that someone was working magic against you, and how would you handle the situation?

In order for me to suspect such a thing, I'd have to experience a concerted string of misfortunes that either have no "rational" explanation or are just too amazing to be considered coincidental. Even then, I'd have to do some thinking, some divination, and possibly even ask for the insight and advice of a trusted other party. Personally, I just have a hard time imagining there are people out there that'd hate me enough to go through the effort required to do that sort of thing.

As for how I'd handle the situation if I found out someone was working magic against me, it really depends on the situation and the numerous factors involved.