Curse

A wish of harm put into words. Explained in this app, never taught.

A curse is a wish of harm against a person, a family or a place, spoken or written down with the intent that it come true. Curses are known from every age and culture: scratched into lead in ancient Greece, pronounced by priests, muttered at a door that stayed shut. The lesson Curses in History tells who cursed and why.

Whether a curse can do anything is a question of belief. What can be shown is the effect of fear. Someone who is convinced they have been cursed expects misfortune, sleeps badly, reads every accident as a sign and can really fall ill from it. That is why being told "you are cursed" is harmful, and why people who offer to lift a curse for money are swindlers.

In modern witchcraft opinions differ. Many witches reject cursing altogether; others hold it justified in self-defence. This app takes a clear line: it explains curses as history and belief and teaches none, because a working against another person crosses the line of consent on which everything else here rests.

If you are afraid that someone has cursed you: nobody has power over your life through words alone. Talk about the fear with someone you trust.

Related: hex, protection and warding, ethics and safety.