Spell craft: Elementary Cursing

They say if you can't curse, you can't heal. It's an old statement mentioned in pagan and occult communities for as far back as I can get in my research. There's a lot of variations on it. The one I encounter most frequently is "If you can't hex, you can't heal." Hexing is different from cursing, though there is a tendency to refer to curses as hexes. I'm not entirely sure where that got started, but when I get to the bottom of it I will report my findings as per usual. Cursing is actually an effective tool in health magic, which is why I have no problems at all with the use of it.

I'll repeat myself, a curse can be a very effective tool for healing and health magic. A curse is used to diminish something, turn it away, or otherwise act contrary to the target's nature to cause it to self destruct. In the case of medical issues, a curse upon cancer that it wither and cease to exist is actually a really good thing when the patient is undergoing chemotherapy. Like all magic, however, there is an element of unpredictability so that the manifestation of said curse is not going to be exactly as you envision unless a great deal of effort is put behind the curse.

Blessings are as different from curses as night is from day. They function in opposite manner, manifest in different general ways, and require different sources of effort to be put behind them. Curses are infamous for the use of blood magic in their rituals. (Blood magic can be used for blessings. Any instances of blood magic must be taken with great care for practical and magical safety. I advise all but the most experienced from engaging in blood magic. There is a lot of power there and it's hard to aim a fire hose when you're used to handling a garden hose.) Generally, curses are more emotive than blessings, and based in very powerful emotions at that. They are the metaphysical equivalent of playing with fire, which is why most are advised against it.

A box of matches, however, are not going to burn your house down if you handle them responsibly. The use of curses is ancient. There can be examples found from every culture, even our more secular focused culture here in the USA. If a person from the South tells you 'bless your heart' they thing you're a fool and are quite likely ill-wishing you. It's a mild curse likely to make your luck go a little funny if they have enough loathing behind it and you may find yourself in a few awkward situations at random a day or two after it's been dropped on you.

Many people confuse vulgarity with cursing. This is because in ancient times the taboos against things like mentioning the blood of Christ were so powerful that they were viewed as potentially impacting the person making said statement and the people around them, ie: a localized curse. Vulgarity however was used in more recognizable curses as a source of emotive power. The more taboo behind the statement, the more emotive power it had. This is still fairly true today, as seen in statements that are considered mortal insults.

Cursing also included the practice of calling to the divine to curse the target. Thus the word 'damn' became a curse and vulgarity. The demanding of divine judgment against the target is something that is an ancient practice but also still happening today. Take a moment to casually peruse the actions of groups like Westborough Baptist and other Dominionist sects, you will find them praying that their god judges the targets of their prayers as vile and deserving of divine wrath. Similar examples can be found in the ritual exhortation of Masonic lodges against the Jewish people that is part of their regular prayer and magical practices. 

Scratch the surface of any religious community, you'll find a curse somewhere. Some curses disparage the target and demand horrible things happen to them. Other curses simply demand the target be diminished. Curses, at their best, function to bring greater health to the community and the people they touch. A simple curse can be as easy as ill wishing, known as the 'evil eye'. When used wisely, the 'evil eye' can prompt change within the community for its greater welfare or drive away danger. There is a risk in using the 'evil eye' however that it will bounce back to you and you will have cursed yourself. 

This, however, is one of the risks in curses and all other 'left hand' magical undertakings. The more you throw out into a magical working, the more potential blow back there will be as well. Throwing a rock in the pond causes ripples outwards but it will also cause a splash up in the trajectory the rock was cast from. The same happens with magical work. Remembering your basic magical protection skills and practices, this will mitigate that splash back at you like a raincoat prevents you from getting soaked. Advanced magical protection skills plus a minor curse is like adding an umbrella to the raincoat.