I used to believe baneful magick in any form was out-of-bounds. I felt it was unethical to purposely cause another harm and was concerned about the baneful energy rebounding back to me. I focused mainly on protective magicks—warding, shielding, etc. And, certainly, wards and shields are the first lines of physical and spiritual defense for most witches.
Even a well-warded home sometimes needs to be defended.
However, our world isn’t black-and-white. It’s a riot of color and texture, light and shadow—and not all of those colors and shadows have good intentions. Sometimes, wards and shields aren’t enough. Sometimes, enforcing boundaries means engaging in self-defense to preserve your peace.
What Is a Hex?
Hexes are spells with if this, then that results. The results are always unpleasant for the person being hexed since they’re a consequence of a specific behavior.
For example, if someone is spreading harmful rumors about their coworkers, I might create a hex that causes them to lightly burn their tongue every time they gossip. The idea is for the person to 1) experience consequences for their actions, and 2) subconsciously begin associating discomfort with their bad behavior so they’ll eventually stop.
For a deeper dive into baneful practices, check out Hexes Curses and Dark Magick—Oh My!
Practicing Safe Hex
Like any magick, hexes can certainly be used to cause others significant harm and violate their free will.
However, if I think I’m about to cross a line, I consult my magickal code of ethics, which helps with a couple of things:
It forces me to calm down. Unless there’s immediate danger, I try to give myself time to calm down before I take action against someone, be it physical or magickal.
I’m reminded of my values. Once calm, I’ll be able to decide whether baneful magick is needed, or if another kind of magick (or even a simple conversation!) would work better.
This is also where I might apply the three-fold law. Though I don’t see it as a hard and fast rule, I find it useful as a kind of litmus test. Before I decide to do baneful workings, I’ll often ask myself, Would I want this energy back if it were to rebound to me? If the answer is yes, I proceed. If not, I reevaluate.
These practices help me understand my motivations for hexing, because it’s really our motivations and intentions that have the potential to rebound back to us.
For instance, I’m okay with my protective-defensive energy coming back around to me, because my motivation was to create and enforce a boundary between me and those who were causing me harm. However, if my motivation is purely to cause suffering, it’s probably better to cool off before I move forward.
This brings us to the next question—
To Hex or Not to Hex?
We witches love to jump right to spellwork to solve our problems—and there’s nothing wrong with that! If we have tools at our disposal, we should use them!
When it comes to baneful magicks, however, a touch of caution doesn’t go amiss. For instance, if a coworker likes to show affection by teasing you about your appearance, but that makes you uncomfortable, a simple conversation and some boundaries may do the trick.
But, if that behavior continues or, worse, becomes malicious? It may be time to get out the vinegar.
This is also true in cases of abuse, both workplace and domestic. Sometimes, having a conversation or setting boundaries with someone isn’t possible, either because it isn’t safe to contact them or because they might use their authority to redouble their abusive actions.
Under these circumstances, I view all baneful magick as protection and self-defense. These workings not only repel the abuser, they often give us room to breathe and plan to completely sever ties with them. At that point, any negative consequences an abuser endures are a result of their own actions because if they hadn’t been harming another, no harm would have come to them.
Ultimately, the choice for whether to hex or perform other baneful magicks is entirely in your hands. Some witches repudiate all connection with these practices, while others always have rusty nails and barbed wire on hand just in case.
Whatever you decide, remember that your practice is an ever-evolving organism unique to you and your needs.
Stay safe, my friends, and blessed be.