There's no light without darkness

Jinxes, hexes, curses, blood magic, binding, and all the parts of magic you're told to fear I'm @hearth-and-veil

[hearth-and-veil]

Heart and Veil - Cult of Eternal Hera - Shadow and Flamethrowers Shutdown

Hey y'all 🪷 I don't think this is going to come as a terrible surprise, given how little I have been on tumblr and how little I have been posting about witchcraft and Hellenic Polytheism. I'm going to lay this out nice and clear.

The past 18 or so months of my life have been a lot, if I'm being honest. The roots are strong, but the branches were sickly. As they have regrown, they have grown differently. I am still me, perhaps more myself than I have ever been, but the me that I am with all the external influence stripped off looks very different.

I finally understand the meaning of "The Way that can be named is not the Way."

I no longer consider myself a Hellenic Polytheist. I still worship the Greek Gods in a certain capacity, but my philosophical bent has changed directions. I will always love our Gods, and I will be grateful to (some of) the HelPol community for their place in helping me find a life I could be happy to live.

I also made the decision this past weekend to remove my veil. For six years, I have worn it with pride and devotion. I no longer feel like I need it, at least not all the time. I have finally learned to be my own veil. I'm going to find a local cancer charity and donate most of my scarves.

I have come to see in recent months that social media isn't really conducive to my happiness; at least not the way I have been using it. I'm deleting most of my social media (though I'm only deactivating IG) and will be away from it all long term. I do intend to come back to tumblr in the future, but it will be in a completely different capacity.

Some will look at this and think, "ahh, see, it's just a phase," and so fucking what? If something I devoted a fifth of my entire life to is a phase, then call me Luna. It's a woman's prerogative. But I am the Magnolia Grandiflora - strong roots, a steady trunk, swaying branches, continually replacing leaves, and long-blooming flowers. I am more than content with that.

I am permanently logging out of all of these tumblr accounts on September 30, 2024. If there was ever a question you wanted to ask, I recommend you get it in before then because once I delete my passwords I am fuck't. I don't even know which email address I used to sign up for hellsite.

Remember: I am proud of you. That little kind thing you did today that nobody noticed? The win you're too humble to brag about? The accomplishment no one else cared about? I am so fucking proud of you. So endlessly proud. You have within you the incredible capacity to be a phenomenal human being. All virtues are just something you practice, not something you are - so go out there and practice the virtues you admire most. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't, because Auntie said that you can.

Thank you all for sharing this space with me for the past few years ❤️

In the wise words of Lester Holt: Take care of yourselves and each other.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Baneful Magic Requires Trigger Discipline

Apply the Four Universal Laws of Gun Safety to your magical practice and you'll be golden.

Always assume all guns are loaded. For some reason I will never fully understand, a lot of people do baneful magic under the assumption it isn't actually going to work. When you're doing baneful magic, you need to assume that it will work, and that it will work devastatingly, to its fullest capacity.

Don't point your gun at someone you aren't prepared to kill. Don't do any magic if you aren't prepared for it to do exactly what you asked it to do. If you cast a spell with the potential to kill someone, you have to be prepared for it to do that. If you cast a spell that could destroy someone's family, you need to be prepared for it to destroy the family in any way the magic sees fit. If you aren't ready for that, don't fucking do it. When I made a poppet of some fucker who attacked my goddaughter, and started breaking its bones, I was fully prepared to actually break his bones. When he ended up in the ER for an injury on the same limb I had just broken, I accepted that as the consequences of my actions. If you don't know how to set and enforce parameters on a spell, don't use a spell that can do things you aren't ready for.

Keep your finger off the trigger until your target is lined up and you have made the decision to shoot. Don't just be flinging shit out into the universe. Don't send out a spell until you have fully laid out what it will do, what you won't allow it to do, the consequences, the sacrifice, and everything else. Don't cast that spell until you are fully confident in your informed decision.

Always be sure of your target, and know what is around and behind it. Make sure you're going after the right person. Make sure you're aware of all of the various ways that this spell can impact the people around that person. Make sure you can accept those consequences. Make sure you can deal with any magical repercussions for your spell.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Doing Magic is Like Owning a Dog

Lightworkers are people who have only ever owned small dogs. They never really disciplined or trained those dogs, because they didn’t have to. What harm can a small dog really do? That’s an irresponsible attitude and it’s unfair to the dog, but it’s extremely common. Most “love and light” magical practitioners act the same way. They have very little discipline or control, and think their intentions outweigh their impacts.

Baneful practitioners are like guard dog owners. A Doberman, Malinois, Mastiff, Pit Bull, or German Sheppard doesn’t just come perfectly well behaved. If one of these breeds attacks somebody, they can do some extreme damage. Because of how they were bred, they have predispositions towards ‘dangerous’ personality traits that have to be mitigated. They require training, discipline, and stimulation. In order to properly provide that, the dog owner also has to be trained and disciplined. Baneful magic is the same.

Most magical practitioners are lightworkers, even if they don’t call themselves that. It’s usually out of fear, misguided morals, or a desire to feel superior. Most magical practitioners try baneful magic for the first time when they're popping off out of anger, fear, or pain with no regards to the consequences of their actions. They operate within the principles they’re familiar with, and they fuck it up, then blame the magic.

Think of it like this: Someone who has had badly behaved Chihuahuas their entire life decides to get a working-line Malinois on a whim. They consider themselves an experienced dog owner, so why not. The bring home the Malinois and treat it the same way they treated their Chihuahua. Now their neighbor’s kid has half its fucking face bitten off and the owner is blaming the dog for something that could have been entirely prevented had they been a responsible dog owner. Instead of taking accountability, they conclude that there is something wrong with the entire breed, and support “mean” dog breeds being banned and put down.

Just like you can’t say “a dog is a dog” or “an engineer is an engineer,” neither can you say “magic is magic.” A Great Pyrenees can’t be treated like a Greyhound; a software engineer can’t do nuclear engineering; baneful magic cannot be performed as impulsively as “light” magic. If you act on impulse and it blows back up in your face or hurts someone, you are the one at fault – not the magic.

[rainbow-jello-wizard-man]

Baneful Spellwork positive post

There are so many valid, reasonable, understandable things that would warrant a practitioner casting a baneful spell against someone else.

Your biggest ally in a baneful working: GIVE YOUR SUBJECT AN "OUT"

a change in behavior, a sincere apology, returned items. Whatever your reason is for your working, give them a way to break it themselves.

Pavlov that fucker into righting their own wrongs. "If you're honest, genuine, & kind, things will start to go your way again. If you continue in your malice, your life will fall apart."

In my personal practice, I don't follow any bastardized karmic retribution, or a rule of three. I believe that the Universe is a perfect balance of positive & negative forces, and it isn't fond of anything throwing that balance too far off kilter.

Without a "breaker" built in, your spell will eventually start to backfire. And it will backfire in the direction it came from.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

In general, I agree. Baneful magic isn't necessarily about punishing people, so letting them go if they change is a good thing to do.

But. Some things are unforgivable. Some things are unredeemable. Some things can never be fixed. The people who do those things? You don't need to give them a way out. The magic won't backfire on you, if you do it right. Magic backfiring is more of a Rule of Three thing than an actual magical phenomenon.

To emphasize though, you need to do those spells correctly. Improperly cast spells can have unintended consequencs. If you don't check what kind of protections the person has around them, that can cause you problems. If they also practice magic, or if they go get someone to help them, then you are the one who needs an "out."

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Spell to magnify negative traits

Does everybody around you agree that this clown is a joke, but one person just can't see it? Let's open some eyes.

Fair warning to be selective with the traits you choose. This spell will not cause the subject to do something, but it could put the person you want to see things in a proximal situation that could be dangerous.

Materials:

A sheet of paper

A pen

A candle + lighter

A magnifying glass/stone

Method:

On the sheet of paper, write down the negative traits, but leave some space between them.

Set the candle on the top side of the paper, then light it. Circle it counter clockwise, stopping at each side to say "May *name's* true self come to light. Once you have done all four sides leave the candle up top.

Take the magnifying glass and use it to magnify each trait individually. With each one, say "May (name of person you want to see) see that *name* is __trait__."

Do this as many times as you feel necessary. Then take the candle and go clockwise, stopping at each side to say "Let all be uncovered and understood." When you reach the top again, blow out the candle.

I think best results would come from doing this during the full moon, when She illuminates the darkness.

[the-cobalt-athenaeum-deactivate]

Harmless Jinxes

may your birdfeeder attract rodents

may you choose the grocery cart with a janky wheel

may your toilet bowl be extra echo-y

may the airlines scuff up your luggage

may you settle into bed all comfy and cozy, only to realize that you have to pee

may your credit card get briefly stuck in the chip reader when you have a long line behind you

may your coworkers point out how tired you look

may you get lipstick on your teeth

may you receive a backhanded compliment that replays in your head for the rest of the day

may your hot date have awful taste in movies/music

may all the produce in your fridge spoil before you get the chance to cook it

may your smoke detector go off while you're cooking

May your pillow never have a “cold” side when sleeping.

May you feel like a rock is stuck in your shoe when walking.

May you always drop your keys before unlocking any doors

May your shower only give you lukewarm water

May your razors always be slightly too dull when you want to shave.

may you receive spam calls often

May your winged eyeliner never be even

may your gravy be lumpy

may all your doorknobs be sticky

may you put down your hot tea/coffee and forget about it until it's too cold to properly enjoy.

may your antibacterial gel leave a sticky residue on your hands

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

I'm going to be that person, but don't do the birdfeeder one! There are diseases that can be spread from rodents to birds (including avian influenza if I understand correctly) and honestly eggs are expensive enough.

I love the gravy one though, and I am absolutely using that. Adding:

May your bacon burn

May your sauce not stick to your pasta

May your reheated food be burnt on the outside and cold on the inside

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

My bestie and her boyfriend are definitely going to break up, but I don't have the patience for how long this is drawing out. So let's speed up the process!

Boyfriend Be Gone 1

You will need:

A poppet of the boyfriend

A poppet of the friend

Breaks-All incense OR pine incense/needles OR similar

Red thread

Very Sharp Scissors

Process

First start by imbuing the poppets to make them represent the correct people. If you have something of theirs, use it. If not, be very clear and specific as you imbue.

Tie the arms of the poppet together with red thread, leaving a good length of thread. It should be a few feet long.

Light your Breaks All and hold the poppets and thread over it, letting it bathe them in smoke. Recite your incantation*.

Grab your scissors. This part is tricky. Hold onto your friend's poppet in one hand and your scissors in the other. Then you have to throw the boyfriend poppet away from the friend popper AND cut the thread WHILE it's in the air. You may want to practice a few times before imbibing the poppets. This is why sharp scissors are important.

Personally, I don't want anything bad to happen to the boyfriend (he isn't a bad person; he just isn't for my friend), so I'm tossing his poppet onto a pillow. If the boyfriend is a bad person, feel free to toss his poppet down the stairs or something.

Afterwards, keep the poppets separated. Again, he isn't a bad guy so I'm just putting it in another room. If he were a bad guy, I'd toss it in the freezer or backyard or something.

Keep the poppets separated until the breakup has occurred. Then, deactivate the poppets. Do not leave them active after their use is complete.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Be very, very careful releasing your spells into nature. Once you give something to the Earth, or to a river, or a tree, you don't control it anymore. Nature will decide what happens. You might not be able to bear the responsibility.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Your feelings are always valid is love & light toxic positivity bs.

No, your feelings are not always valid.

Your feelings are your feelings, and you should acknowledge them.

But you also need to check in on those feelings and understand why they're there.

Sometimes your feelings will be irrational or inappropriate because you're human. That doesn't make you or them bad.

Do yourself the justice of looking at your feelings to determine if they're livable, healthy, or helpful.

If they don't pass muster, don't panic and get down on yourself. Work with yourself. See what to keep, what to change, and what to release.

The goal isn't to turn yourself into a zombie, but to make your feelings and reactions livable, healthy, and helpful.

Your feelings should not constitute a problem for people. And remember, people need to acknowledge your feelings - not necessarily abide by them.

It's shadow work. It's not meant to be pleasant. It's meant to help you grow.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

The Curse is Cast

At a little after 8 PM today, 11/20, astrological Samhain, I appealed to my maternal grandmother to aid me in a curse against my cousin’s abusive husband. Among other things, I called for her to aid me in binding his mouth with rusty nails, having a peach pit rot his stomach, to protect all innocent people from the impacts, and to protect me if she feels my cause is just.

Right after, I was reorganizing my altar and pulled out her ring. I knew it was there -that’s where I keep it- but it isn’t something I think about. I never knew her. But the ring came into my hand, and now it’s on my finger. 

Now we wait.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

If/Then Hexes

Most typically when I cast a curse, it’s too late for that person. Their behavior is already too far beyond what I am willing to forgive. Hexes though? Mostly I use those as a training tool. I usually cast them in such a way that if the person stops doing the thing that’s pissing me off, they’ll be fine. 

You can set different delineations into your spells so that they activate/deactivate based on a specific criterion. 

Example 1: [Target] is lying about my friend. Each time they tell the lie (if), {hex} will happen to them (then). 

Example 2: [Target] is lying about my friend. Until they tell the truth (if), {hex} will happen to them (then).

You can see there are differences. In the first example, the spell will be written so that the hex will occur for each specific incidence of lying, but not at any other time. In example two, the hex is ongoing until the overall behavior is rectified. Or in more specific terms:

Example 1.b: [Target] is lying about my friend. Each time they tell the lie, let them damage or lose something important to them.

Example 2.b: [Target] is lying about my friend. Until they tell the truth, let them become clumsy and accident prone.

You can also work in different types of contingencies. One of my favorites is to require the target to gain the forgiveness of the person they hurt. That means that they cannot undo the hex through their own behavior, but only by the good grace of another person. That takes away their power and agency in the situation. Typically I do always add in the loophole that I can stop the hex at any time if I feel they have learned their lesson, but not always.

Why do I add that loophole? Because as strange as it may sound, sometimes an apology does more harm than good. A true understanding of one’s own behavior, and the situation, may lead the target to rightfully understand that they have to change their behavior, but that apologizing puts too much of a burden on the person they hurt. That level of self-realization, if coupled with genuine change, is enough to make me undo a hex. 

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Curse Update #1

Y’all know I was working on a curse for my cousin’s abusive husband. I stopped for a while because something didn’t quite feel right. Idk what my instincts were telling me, but I just kept getting wait wait wait wait wait while I was working on it. When it comes to magic, ALWAYS listen to your intuition. 

I think the timing wasn’t right. The wait wait wait has gotten fainter, and I think I have realized that my grandmother wants to help me with it. The sign to wait is getting fainter because it’s almost Samhain. As a Hellenist, Samhain is not part of my religious tradition, but I find it undeniable that for about three days at the end of the year, the separation between the physical realm of the living and the incorporeal realm of the dead all but disappears. I recognize that as Samhain, simply because that’s how I learned it and my beliefs most closely align with Samhain. 

When doing magic based on a particular time of year, it is important to determine when that time of the year actually occurs. Samhain is not Halloween. It doesn’t occur on a fixed date based on the Gregorian calendar. Samhain is the halfway point between the autumn equinox (September 23, 2022) and the winter solstice (December 21, 2022). Counting both the equinox and the solstice, that’s 90 days, so the midpoint is 45 days, making the date of Samhain November 07, 2022. Unless, of course, you follow the idea that the date of Samhain follows the movement of the Pleiades constellation, making the date November 20, 2022. 

I have no idea which one is correct, honestly. I’ve never paid much attention to the exact date, now that I’m thinking of it, I just knew that it was happening. Also, since I have veiled for the past several years, it hasn’t impacted me very much. So what to do? Wait and pay attention. Samhain is three days, not one, so I have the ability to wait until I feel it start to happen. Once I feel it, then I can begin.

I have also simplified my curse tremendously. The new curse came to me in a dream, and it’s better than the one I cam up with. I think my grandmother showed it to me. I’ll go over that more in another update. We’re calling it The Pit Curse. 

[hearth-and-veil]

I got a DM asking my views on "intention is everything" and they said it was cool to share my answer here as well.

I fall in the middle. No, intentions aren't everything. If that were all witchcraft took, wouldn't everyone live their ideal life?

But the opposite of that, to many people, is a ton of tools and shit that I find frankly unnecessary. I hope I can adequately explain why that isn't the opposite of "intention is everything."

If you perform a sweetening spell while your intention is poison, what's going to happen? The same thing that will happen if you bake a cake while wanting to make pie. You're going to get a cake that isn't quite right, but you don't know why. It's still a cake but it isn't as good as it would have been if your heart was in it.

Similarly, if your whole heart, if your full intention, is making a delicious cake, but you use salt instead of sugar, you're going to get a cake, yes. But not a good one.

Many more 'traditional' witches -green, kitchen, hearth, etc.- do magic all the time without necessarily an intent behind it. I'm sure other witches do too, but I know what my wheelhouse is lol. I can let my mind go completely blank while cooking and end up with the greatest meal I've ever made, and it ends up having the properties I need. (Unfortunately then I can't replicate it.)

I don't have to have specific intentions while making my bed in order to get exactly the magical effect I need. On the other hand, if I'm in a foul mood, even if I do the exact same thing, well let's just say there won't be and snuggles that night. I'll have to rip everything off and do it again unless I want us to have bad, restless sleep. This time, I will have to do it with specific intent, to counter what I did carelessly.

Especially in the kitchen, I believe many things have their own intentions. Most people call those associations. For example, basil is protective and abundant. If I use basil in my cooking, I use its protective and abundant intentions regardless of my own intentions. Who wins? Who knows!

Things can also carry other people's intentions. When my husband's grandmother passed, I inherited her dutch oven. I had never used one before, but the first time I pulled it out, I just let her guide me and I created a meal that my husband now asks for several times a month. I think the ingredients I chose were guided by what she wants for us. But no matter the intention, if I had used completely different ingredients, it would've been nasty. And even though I've made a similar dish before, just tossed together, that was nothing either of us cared to repeat.

So all of this rambling to say: intention alone isn't enough, but it is often necessary. But just because you need more than intention doesn't mean you need 9000 "witchy" things and an hour long ritual for every spell.

The newer you are to witchcraft, the more you need specific intentions and specific implements. They're meant to train you. It's like when you first start using a new computer program and you go through the tutorial, and build up your skills with practice. As you become more advanced, you're still doing the things you did as a novice, but you don't even necessarily notice them anymore because it's just part of the more advanced work you do.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

From the cursing perspective:

I never do so called left hand magic without full intention and whatever physical items I think I need. If regular magic is cooking, cursing is pastry. You need every single ingredient planned and ready and measure by weight, you consult the recipe 10 times before, during, and after, if your mind wanders for a minute you end up with a mess that won't set, and if anyone interrupts you you're legally allowed to chase them around with a knife (as soon as the pastry is finished and set).

Ngl I'm more afraid of pastry than of cursing though. If somebody eats my curse, that's their fault.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Add Chaos to Someone's Life

This is a great spell that can be done intermittently and allowed to lie dormant depending on your needs. This spell upsets stability and adds chaos to the target's life. Be warned: you don't get to choose the chaos. That said, this spell isn't usually considered enough to cause permanent or long lasting damage, unless you do something to supercharge it.

You will need:

A jar with a tight sealing lid

Bad water

A few whole cloves

Something belonging to the target

Put the bad water into the jar and recite something along the lines of "Unpredictable as the sea; even calm waters can have hidden secrets. Lend me the power to break through the surface. Lend me the chaos of the depths."

Add the cloves. Here's the tricky part. Now you have to put the lid on, and swirl the jar around to make a hurricane. Swirl, not shake! Get the hurricane going, take the lid off, and drop the target's item into the middle of the hurricane. Put the lid back on and let the water go still. Put the jar up out of the way, out of sunlight.

Any time you want to add chaos into that person's life, grab the jar and swirl it until the hurricane forms, then let it go still and put it back. You only need to do this once a day at most. Don't be doing it more than that.

Don't drop the jar. If you drop the jar and it breaks, all that chaos is going to come to the spot where you broke the jar. You'll have a much bigger mess than just some bad water and glass to clean up.

To End the Spell

Once the person has learned their lesson, open the jar and take their item out. Rinse it under clean running water. Let it dry in the sun. Any chaos you've already caused at that point won't he undone. They could still see the results for months. You just won't cause anymore.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

I got a good reminder today of how varied different traditions can be. I advised someone to use "bad water" in a hex (I'll post it) and someone replied asking what bad water was. Before I saw it, someone else explained a process for making bad water, because it's something specific in their practice. In my practice, it's just non-potable water.

So remember this lesson well, and don't argue if somebody does things a little different than you. Words can have multiple meanings.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

It is very difficult to be nice and not ask "are you fucking incapable of googling things" any time someone asks me a stupid, very easily googleable question.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Over the next few days you're going to get a rare look into my creative process as I develop a curse. This will be the most severe curse I have ever cast as I work on extinguishing a man who is abusing his wife and three kids. The curse itself is something I will NOT be posting here for safety reasons, because this kind of curse should not be attempted by anyone less experienced.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

Let’s begin with the basics here. I have a simple worksheet when developing spells and the first thing on it is

WHAT DO I WANT TO HAPPEN?

followed immediately by

WHAT DO I NOT WANT TO HAPPEN?

And these are both critically important questions.

Knowing what you don’t want is the most important part of a spell. That’s where you decide what’s “too far” for you. What are you not willing to give up? What are you not willing to do? You need to specify that before you accidentally off your cool boss because you were angling for a promotion, or shift a problem from one person to another.

WHAT DO I WANT TO HAPPEN? I want [target] to no longer be able to abuse his wife and children, or anyone else. I want his abuse to end, permanently. I want him to never contact his wife or children again. I want them to be free of him.

WHAT DO I NOT WANT TO HAPPEN? I don’t want the abuse to just stop temporarily. I don’t want the abuse to shift onto someone else. I don’t want any innocent parties to be hurt. I don’t want any accidents to be caused by what happens to [target]. I don’t want his wife and children to have to run and hide and live their lives in fear.

The next question is

WHAT WILL I SACRIFICE?

Once Upon A Time had it right: all magic comes at a price. One of the main reasons that spells, especially curses, fail is because the caster is unwilling to sacrifice enough. It isn’t enough for powerful magic to just say “I want this” and expect it to happen. The more powerful of a spell, the greater the sacrifice. The greatest sacrifices are things you can’t get back. The number one thing you can’t get back is time. Your sacrifice must be relevant to the spell. Magic is all about natural rules and causality.

Next we ask ourselves

WHAT WILL I GAIN?

This is is the space for you to clarify what you want. Boil your desires down to their essence. What will the success of this spell bring you?

And then we ask the question everyone thinks they already know the answer to

IS IT WORTH IT?

Obviously, you think it’s worth it. You wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t think it was worth it. But are you offering enough, if the answer comes to you so easily? If you’re trying to cast a powerful spell by sacrificing ice cream for a week, obviously that may feel worth it. But worth it to you doesn’t mean worth it to magic. Magic follows the natural laws. Your sacrifice must have the same gravity as your desire.

If you can’t follow through with something, your spell won’t work. It might even rebound. You broke a promise to the highest power there is, and you will pay the price. Remember that when deciding if the sacrifice is worth the gain.

[shadow-and-flamethrowers]

I've been busy.

I have decided on all of the above. I know what I do and do not want, what I will sacrifice, what I will gain, and that the sacrifice is worth it.

For a lot of magic, I no longer need aids or focuses. I still use them for curses because so much can go awry. For the mechanism of this curse, I have decided on a curse jar. They're very effective.

Some of the ingredients:

Rust dust - to lock the jaw

Cough syrup - just because that shit's nasty

Isopropyl alcohol -to blind the eyes

Battery acid - to burn the skin

Nails - to stay the hand

Pokeweed - to stop the heart

Bird shit - to inflame the mind

Blood - to free my line

And I'm not telling you the rest

I might actually make blood ink to write my incantation rather than dripping it directly into the jar. For blood ink, you make the cut, let the blood form a thin layer on a nonstick surface, allow it to dry, then scrape and powder it. Mix the blood powder with ink powder and go from there.