Hexes, Curses and Evil Eyes

I am always surprised to receive emails from people that are so scared of magic and witchcraft.

Unfortunately for many people, the idea of magic denotes something negative, something scary, and something that could hurt them.

But this is not the case, nor does it have to be the case.

Of course, this does not mean that people can not take measures to protect themselves from the bad things in the world.

With measures like the evil eye, jinxes, and curses, you can make sure your life is safe and happy, without hurting anyone else.

In matters related to Egyptian spirit questing, the Authentic Spell Casting can often run into the stumbling block of words. The Authentic Spell Caster uses a vocabulary laced with the arcane names of talismans, tools like the amulet of the heart, the amulet of the scarab, the amulet of the tet, the amulet of the pillow, with all their rich Egyptian meaning. These items are not really that difficult to find or obscure in this day of global, electronic connection—they are right there in a cyberspace as common as Ebay. But this does not cast out confusion entirely. Terms like hex and curse, like the evil eye can have frivolous meanings attached to them.

The Definition of Curses and Hexes

Sometimes, taking a simple look at the words can help the practitioner and the Spell Caster work with the public at large. For example, A computer version of The Oxford University Press Dictionary offers up two definitions for the use of hex as a noun and one as a verb:

“hex chiefly N. Amer. >verb cast a spell on >noun1 a magic spell. 2 a witch.

It includes three definitions of for spell and the middle one is our subject matter.

spell2 >noun 1 a form of words used as a magical charm or incantation. 2 a state of enchantment or influence induced by a spell.
-ORIGIN Old English, ‘narration’.

This means that in modern thought, when we hex someone, we cast a spell—become a part of the world of witches because a hex is the same as the noun witch. Then, if one takes a look at the word:

witch >noun 1 a woman thought to have evil magic powers. 2 a follower or practitioner of modern witchcraft. 3 informal an ugly or unpleasant old woman. >verb archaic 1 practice witchcraft. 2 cast an evil spell on.
-DERIVATIVES witchy >adjective.
-ORIGIN Old English.

A woman who is “thought” to have magic powers and they are evil—no possibility of good is included in the concept.

Then, looking at curses, we are further illuminated. There is, of course the epithet, the curse word, but that’s not our cup of tea. We are working through the difference between a hex and a curse in modern thought.

curse >noun 1 an appeal to a supernatural power to inflict harm on someone or something. 2 a cause of harm or misery.

We get the idea that we can “cast a . . . state of enchantment or influence induced by a spell.” when we hex someone.

AND

We “. . . appeal to a supernatural power to inflict harm on someone or something.” if we pronounce a curse.

All of the OED’s wording has a vague, somewhat clandestine edge to it, but it sounds as if the writers were not clear just exactly what is “Evil” and how “Evil” that evil happens to be—there is an odd, sense of humor to it, as if Peter Sellers or Steve Martin in the Pink Panther were on the case, investigating just how much evil this witchy stuff brings to the board.

The definition actually catches the attitude of the public-at-large, when relating to these words: nervous, edgy, shy, looking down or away, wiggling, avoiding any specific pronouncement. The OED sets the mood that is widely assumed—EVIL. We think of Stephen King or one of the multitude of horror movies. The idea of a hex being beneficial or a curse being worthwhile is just not something one hears.

But if we look closer, check out evil itself, things get heavy fast:

evil >adjective 1 deeply immoral and malevolent. 2 embodying or associated with the devil. 3 extremely unpleasant: an evil smell. >noun 1 extreme wickedness and depravity, especially when regarded as a supernatural force. 2 something harmful or undesirable.
-PHRASES the evil eye a gaze superstitiously believed to cause material harm. the Evil One archaic the Devil. speak evil of slander.
-DERIVATIVES evilly >adverb evilness >noun.
-ORIGIN Old English

This hurls a very heavy mind-set over all of the idea—you cast a spell on me with your wicked, evil eye and something deeply immoral will pump up the malevolence—there may even be evil smells. With all of the fuzzy-speak, it appears that evil odors will arise from the verbal flatulence. We will have to summon a wonderful detective with a ridiculous French accent to get to the bottom of all this.

What does it all mean?

That humans latch on to fear, and build vast, murky, fuzzy-logic mental panoramas, which the less-than-honest have capitalized on since pre-history: herding the masses by the nose with the use of fear, frightening the ordinary, working person into submission, exterminating folk that are “different” than the mainstream.

Cursory examination of things Egyptian can enforce the common view in our own psyches and cause us to allow fear to have a strong grip on our imaginations. Texts can make the general, fearful approach appear valid, and make the early Egyptian mythology appear scandalous. Thoughts like Horus’s eye working on Râ, his flame, his curse cutting up the enemy. Pronouncing the oaths in a series and thus, placing the power of all the gods with the hex.

These powerful verbal phrasings, accompanied by papyrus art and the burning of the creations, shows the intense relationship to the gods. But what is lost in translation. How much do we miss? How much “evil” has been heaped onto ancient text, even the heavy curses in the commonly accepted Bible—the powerful destruction in Revelations.

The use of the hex, the curse, has been skirted over because they frighten people so thoroughly. The book of Revelations is horrible—will the sinners receive such a heavy hand after Jesus brought such an amazing message or forgiveness—a true herald that peace is our one chance, our opportunity to mingle with love.

Curses in Ancient Times

Many ancient texts are laced with overwhelming violence. Even a philosophy as ripe with peace and loving kindness—the complete absence of revenge and warring with others—offers up tales like Milarepa committing 26 murders before picking up the saffron robes, the terrifying Herukas, the demons that represent our run-away egos in the iconography. These symbols could—and most probably are—misinterpreted. And the question is, do the interpretations of the Egyptian records actually convey the truths bestowed upon the student in those teachings? Have Revelations, the Egyptian tales, all of the great allegories been interpreted too literally—if Tibetan records were not so thorough, would we think that a reprisal was coming for our evil ways, a grim payback in which the reapers would be drinking our blood out of our skullcaps?

When we hear of the khesau grass fires, the remains mixed with excrement, the burning during the sixth hour of the night, on the fifteenth day of the month, and spitting on Âpep, to work with the tempests stirring up the eastern storms so the sun can be allowed to break through. Will we ever really know what is lost down through the generations. Do we actually know the metaphoric material underneath the hex?

Do we have to follow the trend that the OED—one of the very best dictionaries—promotes, unwittingly. Is there a possibility that we can hunt for the overall messages of the practitioners? Is their some possibility that the battle of ego is what is referred to in the struggle with Âpep? Is the storm, the endless whirling chatter in our minds? Is the hex a cryptic message, keeping the truth well hidden as must be done—a mantra, a story that we can tell ourselves and quiet our greedy minds? Is preventing the coming storm a veiled formula for making the sun of our beings shine forth after our minds are quiet.

Was the evil eye actually similar to the penetrating eye of the Zen Master just before we are whacked hard on the shoulder to help us keep from falling asleep during the sitting practice. Do all curses, all hexes actually arise from the mantra format—tools to help us get quiet and stumble into the state of enlightened mind? Did the originals get corrupted by fear of the great powers of enlightened mind and turn our brilliant wisdom into fear-laced misunderstanding. We can refuse fear-based works and make sure that all of our efforts go into the proper, expansive design of our hexes, our curses, our oaths. We can work with others to drop fear, to slow discursive mind, unkind behavior and cast spells wisely, pushing open the gates of wisdom—it is always up to us.