#baneful magic

[goodnightngoth]

life is short. hex the bitch

[astra-ravana]

War Water

War Water (also called Iron Water) is a powerful tool in witchcraft used for protection, hexing, banishing, and warding off enemies. It originates from Hoodoo, Appalachian folk magic, and other mystical traditions.

Uses of War Water:

• Protection – Sprinkle around your home to create a spiritual barrier.

• Banishing – Throw it where unwanted people have walked to remove their influence.

• Cursing – Toss onto an enemy’s property to bring discord and bad luck.

• Warding Off Negativity – Add to floor washes or sprinkle near entrances.

• In Spellwork - Use in rituals for breaking curses, creating wards, or calling upon warrior spirits.

Needed:

• Rusty nails (or iron shavings or railroad spikes)

• Water (preferably storm or river water for extra potency)

• Salt (black salt for cursing, sea salt for protection)

• Cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (for aggression and strength)

• Vinegar – Used to sour relationships in cursing spells.

• Mugwort or Rue – For added spiritual power.

Instructions:

Place the rusty nails or iron in a jar. If your nails aren’t rusty, leave them in water for a few weeks to oxidize. Fill the jar with water. Use stormwater for aggressive energy, river water for powerful flow, or tap water if necessary. Add salt and herbs and let it sit for at least a week. The longer it sits, the stronger it becomes. Some witches let it develop for months. Shake or stir when using, the rust, herbs, and salt should be well mixed before application.

[apiswitchcraft]

essentials of baneful magic

just to preface that i am a BEGINNER in baneful magic. i've become quite knowledgeable on benevolent magic after several years of practicing it, so while i do have foundational knowledge of the materials and techniques, the execution is often very different. this post is as much for me as it is for you (whoever you may be). it is not meant to be a comprehensive introduction, nor a complete guide, but if you have any questions i will absolutely do my best to answer them :)

special thanks to @trash-bin-witch for all their help assisting my introduction to baneful magic, as they're a lot more experienced with all this than me.

INTRODUCTION

my thought process for baneful magic revolves a lot around chaos magic. chaos magic, to put it simply, is that what you believe to be will be. if you can believe in it, then it exists (or will exist). this is a very simplified way of thinking about it, but that's how i sum it up.

this is different from benevolent magic, which revolves a lot around action which merely guided by spell work. it involves manifestation too, but only to a certain extent. with benevolent magic there is little to no way to get things done without putting work in yourself. with baneful magic, it's more like creating the spell and letting it do the work. this is, i believe, because baneful magic almost always has an inciting incident. think of it as if your ex cheats on you. them cheating, your emotions, your "belief" is the action needed to get the spell to work. this is why curses, hexes, jinxes, etc. will work on relatively good people. if the witch believes the person to be bad, or believes they wronged them, then the spell has power.

again, that's how i think about it, not necessarily how it concretely is or must be.

baneful spells can be created yourself just as much as benevolent spells can, and this post is intended to give you the foundational materials to do that.

WARDING

warding yourself, your space, and those vulnerable around you is, in my opinion, the most important first step to take before embarking on baneful magic.

to make a simple ward there are two things i would include: protective herbs or crystals and your taglocks. a taglock would include hair/fur, blood, nail clippings, anything that is biologically from you or your subject (even a photo would work). for example: if i wanted to create a protective spell jar for my cat i might include some whiskers (DO NOT REMOVE THEM YOURSELF, THEY DROP NATURALLY), some fur, some tiger's eye and/or cat's eye quartz, a picture or drawing of them, and some herbs from the list below.

WARDING/PROTECTIVE HERBS:

Angelica

Anise

Basil

Bay Leaves

Black Cohosh

Black Pepper

Boneset

Cedar

Cinnamon

Frankincense and Myrrh

Garlic

Ginseng

Mandrake Root

Mistletoe

Rosemary

Valerian

Vervain

Witch Hazel

Wormwood

CURSES, HEXES, JINXES

before we start, lets define some things:

1) CURSES: long term effects, sometimes lifelong or multigenerational. often invoked with rituals

2) HEXES: have long term effects, but often not lifelong. more generic effects like "bad luck" or "desolation"

3) JINXES: invokes a specific bad event to happen

now, i don't do much work with jinxes, and i've never had a reason to do a full on curse, so my work primarily takes the shape of hexes right now. if you'd like to do any of these types of spells, down below are some herbs you can use.

also practice extreme caution when handling these, and acquire nontoxic variants or parts as available! some herbs are DEADLY toxic just through touch and should be respected!!

BANEFUL HERBS:

Aconite: toxic, enhances spells, transformation, banishing

Asphodel: invoking spirits (which can assist in spells)

Belladonna: toxic, madness, invoking spirits

Black Mustard: confusion, failure, bad luck

Blackthorn: revenge, binding

Blue Cohosh: breaking up relationships

Boneset: exorcism, boundaries

Celandine: binding, madness

Dragon's Blood: power, banishment

Jasmine: love related issues

Larkspur: banishment

Mandrake Root: toxic, exorcism

Mugwort: dreams and nightmares, insomnia, madness

Mullein: invoking spirits

Nettle: irritation, retribution

Oleander: toxic, bad luck, revealing true self

Poke Root: cord cutting

Pomegranate: binding, love and fertility

Rue: retribution, reversing spells

Thistle: retribution, reversing spells

Wormwood: bad luck, sorrow, bitterness

Yarrow: invoking spirits

OTHER USEFUL MATERIALS:

the general framework for good hex ingredients include things that are visually disgusting or is smelly, sharp, painful, or toxic things, and objects that symbolically represent the harm you want to inflict. to be specific you can use:

salt: consecration, i use it as the base for my jars

rosemary: cleansing, protection

pine needles: spiky, also good for protection

thorns of plants trees or flowers

spicy things (peppers, seasoning, etc.)

sharp things (needles, broken glass, etc.)

food (especially rotten)

railroad ties/other iron objects: exorcisms and banishment

other metals like aluminum cans: can be used for sigils

hand mirrors: for "reflecting" energy

jars, bottles, boxes

cards: using face cards to represent people

small candles

trash: cause it's gross

money

ash/charcoal: protection, enhancing or sealing spells

bones: can be broken to invoke injury, or as a makeshift taglock

expired makeup: to make them feel ugly

vinegar/bleach

receipts/mail ads: monetary issues

dead bugs: cause they're gross

dirt (graveyard, four corners of your property, etc.): invoking spirits or setting a target area

thread: to ensnare or paralyse

note that you can also freeze or burn things for their symbolic effects

RECOMMENDED READING:

"Of Blood and Bone: Working with Shadow Magick & the Dark Moon" by Kate Freuler (just ignore her divine feminine shit)

for information on sigils i recommend "Sigil Craft" by Lia Taylor

"The Spell Book of a Wicked Witch" by Thalia Thorne

[rain--goblin]

Periodic reminder for anyone who needs it

Hex your abusers.

You will NOT be punished for seeking justice, protection, and healing

[breelandwalker]

The Flower In The Hedge - A Baneful Protection Spell

Then the maiden and her dear Roland took again their natural shapes, and traveled on the whole night through until daybreak. Then the maiden changed herself into a beautiful flower, standing in the middle of a hedge of thorns, and her dear Roland into a fiddle-player. It was not long before the witch came striding up, and she said to the musician, "Dear musician, will you be so kind as to reach that pretty flower for me?” "Oh yes," said he, "I will strike up a tune to it." Then as she crept quickly up to the hedge to break off the flower, for she knew well who it was, he began to play, and whether she liked it or not, she was obliged to dance, for there was magic in the tune. The faster he played, the higher she had to jump, and the thorns tore her clothes, and scratched and wounded her, and he did not cease playing until she was spent, and lay dead.

-Sweetheart Roland, Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

Intent: To protect yourself or a loved one from someone who means to do you harm.

Ideal Timing: Waning Moon

Materials:

Jar with Screw-top Lid

Pins, Needles, & Tacks

Palmful of Salt*

Poppet

To begin with, yes, this is a spell of protection. And yes, it is also a baneful spell. Two things can be true, and they are not incongruous. This particular model is a target-triggered spell, meaning that the effect of the spell will not activate unless the target of the spell completes a designated action. Thus, the activation of the spell is the consequence of their own actions.

Take your poppet and stuff the material focus, if there is one, into the chest cavity. If a focus is not available, you can use a name slip or name the poppet thus:

Poppet, I name you [Name]. Your limbs are their limbs, your flesh is their flesh. As you suffer, so shall they suffer, according to my will.

If the target is an unknown person, the poppet can be named Danger or Threat, but this spell generally works best with a proper name. You can also specify the actions which will trigger the activation of the spell, as well as the consequences that will arise when it does, or the harm to be undone by the spell.

In the jar, combine half of the pins with the salt.* Put the poppet inside on top of the pins, then pour the rest of the pins on top to form a loose cage. Whisper into the jar:

On your feet, it's time to dance; With the music, jump and prance.

Cap the jar and seal the lid tightly. Select a song with a good dancing beat and shake the jar to the beat for as long as you can. If you can make it through the whole song, do so; if not, shake for as long as you can. The idea is that as the poppet "dances," it is pierced by the pins in the jar.

Set the jar aside somewhere that it won't be disturbed. Whenever the target gives you trouble, take the jar out, turn on the music, and shake the poppet full of pins. If at any point you feel the target has learned their lesson, retrieve the poppet from the jar, take out any pins stuck into it, and remove the focus or dunk the poppet in saltwater overnight to neutralize the spell.

*Yes, I know that salt is generally used to protect, or to neutralize a spell. In this case, it's there to make the pinpricks hurt more. Feel free to substitute your favorite noxious herb or stinging spice if you don't wish to use salt in your jar.

-Adapted from The Sisters Grimmoire: Spells and Charms for Your Happily Ever After, (2nd ed) © 2017 Bree NicGarran

Want more fairy tale spells? Check out the masterpost here.

If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar, subscribe to my monthly show Hex Positive, or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊

[crazycatsiren]

There are days when you just gotta write your enemy's name on a slip of paper in black ink, put it into a jar, chuck the whole thing into a garbage bin at a gas station when the clock strikes midnight, and let Hecate deal with them.

[space-queen]

mirror hex 🪞

a hex to have a target feel the trauma that they have inflicted upon another

items:

compact mirror - go grab a cheap one from the dollar store [the kind that's just two mirrors, or a compact with a side that's blank; don't waste makeup for a hex lol]

taglock

tealight candle

black thread or string

small box

optional: anointing oil

optional: pen and paper

instructions:

if you have it, anoint only one side of the inside of the compact [the blank side if that's what you have]

write the target's name on paper; use a photo; draw a picture of them; etc.

set ⇡⇡⇡ inside the compact [the side that has the oil, if you used any] facing the mirror and close it

set the candle on top of the closed compact; light the candle

write your petition, focusing on your intent, and carefully burn it using flames from the candle [just an idea, this is what i do: use the candle to set the thing on fire, and then set it inside a mini cauldron or other fire-safe bowl]

snuff out the candle and dispose of it in the trash when cooled

wrap the mirror in the thread/string - tie it off

set the closed compact in the box; store in a dark place to allow the spell to manifest

as always, be safe and don't burn your house down!

© 2025 space-queen

[sillybruja]

✦ 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 ✦

🧂 1. Salt is your best friend

Sprinkle sea salt or black salt along windowsills, thresholds, or in corners of rooms. Salt absorbs and repels negative energy. You can also place bowls of salt in corners for ongoing protection (just replace regularly).

🌿 2. Protective herbs in corners or jars

Use rosemary, bay leaf, clove, cinnamon, or sage. Place dried herbs in small jars, sachets, or dishes in each corner of the room to absorb and ward off negativity.

🪞 3. Visualize mirrored or glowing barriers

Close your eyes and see a glowing, mirrored dome around your space that reflects all negativity away. Say:

“No harm may enter. Only light and truth remain.”

🧿 4. Charge and place protective items

Use crystals like black tourmaline, obsidian, or amethyst at entry points. Enchant them with your intention by saying:

“I charge this stone to guard this space.”

🕯 5. Seal doors & windows

Mix olive oil with rosemary or clove essential oil. Trace sigils, crosses, or protective runes on doors and windows. You can whisper affirmations or blessings as you seal each point.

🧼 6. Cleanse before you ward

Always cleanse your space with smoke (rosemary, incense), sound (bells, claps), or sprays (saltwater, moon water) before warding. Think of it like sweeping before locking the door.

🕰 7. Refresh your wards monthly

Energy shifts. Full moons, new months, or after heavy emotional events are great times to reset and reinforce your wards.