Curses within different cultures

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chris218
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Curses within different cultures

Post by chris218 »

So i guess this i a subject allot of you guys here on the forum would probably stay away from and even warn me against .
so i would like to start telling all you guys here that i have no intention of cursing other people this is mainly for the purpose of collecting knowledge .
i all ready have allot of books within my collection that could easily assist if i where interested in that.
BUT I am on a path or a spiritual journey if you like, where i BOTH practice and study different aspects of the occult .

Lately my study's have been focused allot on the the Norwegian and Scandinavian Folklore, Black magic, and curses...
But i am generally interested in the whole subject regarding curses but it is not so easy to find concrete text`S about this ...

So it would be great if you guys could share you`r knowledge on this subject, illuminate me and give me some pointers on some web sites , e-book or books that i can check out .
be it Japanese or Nordic, it dos not matter i just generally want to find more about this.

-Chris [happy2]
"By looking within the abyss of the self we can find the keys to Chaos !"

Asurendra
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Re: Curses within different cultures

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I am not at home to look in my library but one book that comes to mind is 'Arcana Mundi: magic in the greek and roman world.' You can get it in a free pdf online. Also, I cannot remember the title or find another I have, it was written by a folklorist who went thru rural northern Italy around 1910 and talked to all the old school witches about fairies and magic. They were really big into curses. He actually found the classical paganism was alive with the gods as powerful fairies.
I will post this later. I pick these because they are good, fun stuff but not really that practical for us.

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chris218
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Re: Curses within different cultures

Post by chris218 »

Asurendra wrote:I am not at home to look in my library but one book that comes to mind is 'Arcana Mundi: magic in the greek and roman world.' You can get it in a free pdf online. Also, I cannot remember the title or find another I have, it was written by a folklorist who went thru rural northern Italy around 1910 and talked to all the old school witches about fairies and magic. They were really big into curses. He actually found the classical paganism was alive with the gods as powerful fairies.
I will post this later. I pick these because they are good, fun stuff but not really that practical for us.
Alright thanks !
I`l star with checking out arcana mundi, and wait for your replay on the other subject !

- chris
"By looking within the abyss of the self we can find the keys to Chaos !"

Asurendra
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Re: Curses within different cultures

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Nepthys
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Re: Curses within different cultures

Post by Nepthys »

I know this is a little bit old, but I've always been averse to the whole "can't do no harm, nope!" attitude in magic. If you are knowledgable enough to lob a big ole hurt ball at someone, then you should be knowledgeable enough to either a) counter negativity that will come your way or b) be grown up enough to deal with the consequences as they come.

Do some research into Hoodoo. There really is no "good/evil" paradigm in the tradition, which is probably an influence from Voudun's view of the problem of evil (ie, mostly caused by negative emotions and energy, but there is no prohibition against firing evil back at someone who has done evil to you).

Check out Cat Yronwood's Hoodoo in Theory and Practice. I would link you to a specific section within this fantastic online compendium, but, much like modern Hoodoos, the information is all mixed up within each section. That's not to say it isn't organized, quite the opposite. But because of the nature of Hoodoo's operational paradigm, we tend not to categorize in the same way. We instead will categorize according to the METHOD of "laying the trick", ie, via powder, sachet, candle burning, etc. And all the info about healing, cursing, etc. is wrapped up in each section. Again, because we don't really have the problem of evil in our operational paradigm. It's all good mojo. [happy2]

Also, while I am not as well versed with her work, Denise Alvarado (from what I AM familiar with) is a great source as an author. Then there's Conjureman Ali's blog: http://ravenconjure.blogspot.com/ and Conjure Doctor http://conjuredoctor.com/. All great resources. Again, a lot of information about cursing is wrapped up in other more banal entries for all of them, but if you're willing to delve a little bit you'll learn a LOT just researching the one topic.

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Re: Curses within different cultures

Post by Asurendra »

There are some traditions, and people on the Forum, who would say one should always 'turn the other cheek.' But, looking consistently at their Oracles one finds hypocrisy on this matter, like Rev. 6:10, for example. No cries of 'forgive them, oh father, there! My observation is that Wiccans tend to be the same as they want the Universe to do their dirty work for them so they can remain 'positive.' But, so far as I am concerned, the opposite is equally suspect. If a person does not have a conscience then they should be avoid as they will, invariable, be toxic.

I think there are certainly cases where one must defend oneself or others. Lord Shiva killed Andhak-asura and Lord Krishna killed the monster Kaliya, as the stories go. Speaking for myself, beyond this is a line I would not cross, like entering into the discussion of 'good' and 'evil!'

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Re: Curses within different cultures

Post by Ramscha »

Ah, an interesting thread, just found it now. Regarding the northern tradition I would definitly recommend "The Leaves of Yggdrasil" by Freya Aswynn. It is more focused on the use and meaning of runes. The meaning you can read everywhere else but they will differ for sure. However, she really marks which runes are especially meant for destructive powers, how they can used in combination with each other and she also gives some situation examples. A very simple base for curse working, but really effective [twisted]

In one of my german books "germanische Magie" (engl: germanic magic) by Gardenstone I also found a very interesting ritual.
It is about the use of a hosehead on a stick. Horses where sacred animals to some of the germanic tribes. Therefore the head of a horse cut off from the rest of the body and pointed on a stick is for itself already a horrible sign. Into the stick curses where carved and the whole thing was then positioned at the border to hostile territory of the enemy tribe to send the curses over to them.

According to my book this head-on-a-stick-figure could also be used as a protection sign at your homedoor. You could stick it on your land and carve in runes for protection and warnings for intruders.Of course nowadays it might be difficult and messy to get your hands on a real horsehead. Therefore, wood, papier maché or whatever else you want to use.

I didn´t try it yet but I am thinking about one made out of papier maché. If I will make one, I will post a foto [grin]

Ramscha
bye bye

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Re: Curses within different cultures

Post by Asurendra »

It is not uncommon in rural America to see horse and steer skulls over barn doors. I wonder if this is a cultural fossil of the practice Ramscha mentioned.

I want one outside my house!

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Re: Curses within different cultures

Post by Nepthys »

Regardless of magical intent, if I saw a horse-head-on-a-stick I would be very sad, indeed! At the very least I'm assuming it's an effectively powerful technique.

A lot of regional cultural stuff you see in America are holdovers from immigrant populations depending on where they settled, so it wouldn't surprise me if German settlers started putting up the skulls as an adaptation. I've seen them in my neck of the woods up the street from some Hexmeister designs on other barns. Always love going out to those areas. I wonder if the Hex patterns are to ward off whatever is coming off the horse/deer heads???

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