Curses vs. Hexes: What’s the Difference?
If you were to look up the definition of both of the words on a search engine (hello, Google!) they are defined as follows:
Curse: (aside from meaning vulgar words) is “casting the evil eye or an evil spell upon someone.”
Hex: to curse someone.
Oh, dear sweet Google, you have tried your best but in this instance, every witch will tell you that you are wrong.
The general consensus is that ultimately, curses are worse than hexes; the target tends to suffer more at the hands of a curse than they do at the hands of a hex.
Curses:
Usually more serious than hexes.
Can live on through generations if that is what the caster intended.
Tend to be long-term in nature.
Usually, curses are borne of anger; of hatred and even a need for justice.
They can usually be reversed or undone; reversals can be done by the caster, and undoings may be done by the caster, target or a third party.
Hexes:
Often cast as a “one-off” piece of magick.
Their effects are apparent very quickly, but they are not long-term - seen sometimes as an instantaneous form of malevolent magick.
Hexes are borne of revenge and/or annoyance, and they usually cause irritation and subsequent annoyance to the target - hexes are a way for the caster make their target feel what they have been made to feel for a short time.
Due to their nature, hexes are usually over and done with quickly and do not require a reversal or undoing.
Both of these forms of magick, are forms of malevolent magick that is used for many reasons.
Some people curse their abusers, or people who have hurt them and some people hex their ex-partners, or someone who has brushed them up the wrong way. Like all magick, what you do is circumstantial and no one can tell you whether you should or should not perform magick of this kind (I am pro-curse and hex, but not everyone is).
Common Cursing & Hexing Components:
Taglocks:
Bodily fluids (blood, spit, semen, menstrual blood, tears, urine, etc.)
Fingernails.
Hair.
Photographs.
Personal possessions.
Poppets.
Usernames/nicknames/names.
Herbs/Plants:
Cayenne Pepper
Chilli
Lemon
Black Pepper
Thistle
Thorns
Poppies
Mold
Other items:
Nails (rusted for potency)
Razor blades
String/yarn/chord
Cemetery Dirt
War Water
Needles
Bones
Vinegar
Mirror (broken or whole)
Broken glass
Dead Wasps
You’ll notice that I’ve bunched the common ingredients for curses and hexes in one list - that is because these two are simply lesser and greater forms of the same kind of magick, so you must bear in mind what your intent is when you choose your spell/ritual ingredients.
Do you want to frustrate, annoy and irritate your target? Do you want to bring them bad luck? Do you want to bring them untold misery? Consider this carefully.
*The word “hex” is used in modern witchcraft to describe a mild form of baneful magic[k], but if you want to know more about the word’s history, click here for a fantastic post by @athenathewitch .
