25) Can/will you cast me a love spell/curse my enemies?
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This article is from the Paganism FAQ, by susanhk@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Susan Harwood Kaczmarczik) with numerous contributions by others.
25) Can/will you cast me a love spell/curse my enemies?
Can we? Probably. (Whether it might yield the desired result is
something else.) Will we? Not on your life, bucko.
Pagans and Witches usually believe in some form of what's called
the Witches' Rede: "As long as you harm no one, do what you will."
That isn't nearly as easy as it might sound. That means whatever
action you undertake, it can't harm anyone, including yourself.
Witches and pagans also believe in some form of the Law of Return:
"Whatever you do magically [or otherwise] will come back to you," some
say three times, some nine, some just say it will come back to you.
And it does. As Ursula K. LeGuin said, "You can't light a candle
without somewhere casting a shadow."
Most of us believe that it is wrong to use magical power to coerce
someone into doing something against his or her free will. Curses and
love spells are the most prevalent examples of manipulative magic.
Some Witches and pagans do believe that using one's powers in defense
(say, to assure a rapist's getting caught) is all right; others do
not. Those who do choose to work that kind of magic do so knowing
that it will come back to them, and are making an informed choice when
they decide to do so.
This makes it sound as if we spend our lives deciding whether to
curse or hex someone, when that's not true. Most of the time, our
spells and magical workings are for such things as healing the planet,
getting a job (or otherwise bringing prosperity into our lives),
healing (both ourselves and others), and spiritual empowerment.
Spells are really quite similar to prayer -- they just have more
Hollywood hoopla attached to them.
Besides, anything you do for yourself will work much better than a
spell or working done by someone else.
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