When it comes to baneful workings, jinxing, hexing, cursing, crossing, laying roots, or even putting the whammy are all often used interchangeably as if they’re all the same thing.
They’re not.
Megan and I have discussed the difference between hexes and curses before both in our very first podcast Hexes, Curses, and Dark Magick, Oh MY!, and in her article Are You Hex-Positive? However, jinxes are lesser-known and often get left out of the conversation.
So, what is a jinx, exactly?
Jinx is named for iynx, a woodpecker ancient Greeks consulted for divinatory purposes. The iynx foretold your future, both good and ill. A pattern appeared, one of misfortune. The positive fortunes never seemed to manifest, and the negative ones always did.
When it comes to divinatory systems, the iynx flew into obscurity. Who wants to participate in a bad luck, bad omen divination system?
Most likely, the iynx and its services were a lot less to blame for the misfortune-telling than human nature. We have the ability to create reality through concentration and perspective. If you’re looking for an ill omen, an ill omen will find you.
Focus on the potential negative future unintentionally led to manifesting it. Diviners expended disproportionate amounts of energy on thinking about bad future events—the desire to avoid them, how best to avoid them, what if they can’t be avoided, etc. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
That’s where our jinx comes from—bad luck. Defined simply, a jinx is bad luck, spoken out loud, and often placed on ourselves.
Jinxes can also occur in conversations with others when you and another person accidentally and unintentionally speak at the same time.
Think of the game “jinx.” We’ve made this into something to share smiles and laughter about, but think about it. There is power in words. Jinxing the person slower to shout jinx! is a way to take away their power, their voice, and force them into silence. This can be seen as minimizing personal power, even if for a short time, giving the jinxer speaker an advantage.
Of course, you can cast a jinx on someone else, not just yourself—both intentionally or unintentionally. One way to jinx someone else is to simply say “Jinx,” “I jinx you,” “I jinx you with bad luck.” Pointing your finger at the person gives the jinx some extra oomph.
To quote Mercutio, “A plague o’ both your houses!”
Another way to cast a jinx is to speak of the worst possible scenario.
For example, an unintentional jinx of this nature could sound like sage advice: “Don’t lock your keys in your car.” The way the mind processes negatives is how the jinx functions. The brain drops the negative in “Don’t lock your keys in your car,” and hears “Lock your keys in your car,” on repeat until it happens—you lock your keys in the car.
Understanding this process—knowing a person naturally removes the negative and using it against someone—is intentional jinxing.
If subtlety or mental games aren’t for you, a simple suggestion, “Lock your keys in your car,” works just as well. Some may think they misheard, others might not even notice, but the jinx is there.
As you can see, it’s pretty easy to jinx yourself or someone else. Fortunately, removing them is also pretty simple. Here are a few ways to deal with a jinx:
Laughter
Jinxes tend to use the jinxed as the battery or fuel to power the working and create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you can laugh a jinx off and avoid feeding it any energy via worry, anxiety, stress, etc., then a jinx has nothing to run on and fizzles out.
Pay the set price
During a game of jinx, the jinxer usually demands a price from the jinxed—a can of soda or other small token. If the price is within reason, pay it to shed the jinx.
Get yourself a canned or bottled beverage
This has nothing to do with any price, and everything to do with the glass or aluminum material. Glass and aluminum were the original containers of soft drinks and have properties to support, boost, and strengthen mental abilities and clarity, helping to keep your mind free from negative thought patterns.
You can also use any glass and aluminum as mirrors for divination and reflections. The glass and aluminum allow you to divine alternative potential futures to the self-fulling one.
Glass and aluminum are also associated with wealth and prosperity. Another way to work with them is to counter the bad luck of a jinx by attracting abundance. Place in little mojo bags, or loose in purses, pockets, or wallets.
Crystal grid for breaking a jinx and attracting luck
Green and yellow stones such as green jade, aventurine, tigers eye, and citrine have many positive, lucky associations. In this case, the yellow brings in the positive energy of the Sun and the green vibrates with prosperity and abundance. Yellow stones can burn the jinx away with solar energy, while the green stones fill the void from the broken jinx with good fortune.
Have a cup of tea
Brew yourself a nice big cup of earl grey tea. A key ingredient in earl grey is bergamot, a bitter Italian orange. As a citrus, bergamot has associations with the sun, solar energies, and drawing good fortune into your life.
Pineapple
My favorite of favorites, pineapples are also associated with solar magicks. Drinking the juice, eating the fruit, or adding pineapple essential oil to a simmer pot can attract good luck. You can also use the sharp leaves of the fruit to cut away any lingering bad luck from a jinx.
Jupiter
Jupiter represents luck, growth, optimism, and expansive energy in astrology. I, personally, also associate Jupiter with luck on an astronomical scale. Not being bombarded by the flotsam and jetsam of space on a regular basis is pretty lucky in my book. Jupiter (with some help from Saturn) helps deflect a number of asteroids, meteors, comets, and space debris from the Earth and the other inner planets.
To expand your luck and success, work with the planetary energies of Jupiter, the Great Benefic, on nights when Jupiter is visible in the night sky, or do a spell to lift the misfortunes from your field of influence.
Alternatively, you can work with your natal Jupiter placement by using the themes of the house it resides in (if you know your rising sign), the sign it’s in, or the elemental energy of the sign it’s in. For example, fire sign Jupiters could craft a spell to burn the jinx away through physical exercises or candle magick, while water signs could do a working flushing misfortune down the toilet.
Further reading:
Jinx vs Hex vs Curse: What are they exactly? | Psychics, Empaths, & Witches Amino Appalachia Through My Eyes: Jinx And You Owe Me A Coke | Blind Pig and The Acorn Jinx (Game) | Wikipedia
Unleash your inner Witch — Aluminum Folk name: Aluminium (British) Energy Metals Metaphysical Meanings | Soul Connections | St. Charles Natural Glass | Metaphysical Healing Properties
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