Everything Under the Moon

I would like to start by saying I'm new here and relatively inexperienced in Magick, though I've had a lifelong interest and curiosity as I feel my spiritual beliefs are closest to Paganism/Wicca. My reason for coming here, aside from having an interest in becoming more experienced and learning what I can, is that I've recently begun connecting past events in my life that have led me to believe I may be potentially cursed. I could go into full detail with every incident and am totally willing to if asked, but I would like to keep this initial post short and to the point.

The best way to describe it is that every year at this time of year for at least the past 15 years, which is about as far back as I can remember specified incidents and when they occurred, I've had some sort of bad luck or negative circumstances happen seemingly out of my control that completely turns my life upside down and creates a domino effect for further negative incidents throughout the rest of the year and years to come. Literally without fail, every year sometime between mid-March to mid-May, and I can't explain it. I'm aware Mercury is in retrograde around the same time of year & have considered that a potential cause, but I feel it's more than that as the events often have a such a long lasting negative impact. I feel like I can never progress or get ahead in my life, as many of these occurrences leave me having to piece my life back together from square one. I feel like I'm physically being held down in this spot and anytime I feel like I'm making progress or positive improvements in my life, I feel as if something always happens to yank me back to where I started.

I just want to find a way to stop these constant, consistent negative occurrences so maybe someday I can feel like I'm living a full life. Because with the way things are, the way they've always been, constantly having to start over, I feel like my life is running on empty. Any advice on what I could do to better my situation, and possibly put an end to this negative shadow that's been cast over my life for so long, would be greatly appreciated. I know breaking a curse or hex is considered advanced Magick, far beyond my current abilities. But I'm willing to do what I can if it'll help me improve my current circumstances.

I'm going to come back to this later on today when I've got my health up to 'functional' levels, lol, but for now I'm going to say it sounds more like what I'd call a 'bad luck spiral' than a curse. Either way it's definitely fixable, my family did this last year when we finally recognized what was happening and have made huge progress since then. I'm not sure I really believe in 'advanced' magic exactly, I think you can do whatever you can wrap your mind around, and although some techniques do require some practice to perfect, they all rely on focused intent. Give me a few hours to get my brain fuzzies under control and I will post a technique for you, I just need to generalize it so it will apply to whatever is going on for you, ok? I couldn't read this without at least letting you know it *can* be done!

Thank you, any help is greatly appreciated. It is possible it's just a lifelong string of bad luck, rather than a curse. Again I'm new to all this and unsure of exactly what's going on in my life. It's just as far back as I can remember I've had these negative occurrences every year around the same time of year that seem to create this butterfly effect of future negative events. Like one leads into another, which leads into another and so on. It all feels very interconnected, though I can't remember far back enough to know exactly when it all started or what possibly caused it. Things will pick up for a short period of time, only to come crashing back down. It all just feels so out of my control. At times I feel like my life is just a house of cards and someone keeps nudging the table. I've tried wearing protective crystals recently in hopes of blocking the negative energy that seems to follow me, but it's as if they backfire and have the opposite effect which is initially what led me to consider the possibility of a curse. Again any help or advice is greatly appreciated, and any information you would like to know please feel free to ask.

@ CCL - I think you hit the nail on the head and im looking forward to reading your comments. Just in a similar vein, I've had cyclical bad health every Sep-Nov since mid-teens. My birthday is in late Aug & as a newborn infant i had spent 6-7 weeks in an incubator, so I chalked it up to imprinted biological cycles & began to take health precautions for the season and it really cut back the difficulties.

@ JLYN - true curses are pretty rare. Meddling, spiteful hexes are usually one-off events stemming from envy (like the evil eye). Sometimes we do indeed get into downward spirals that might be associated with repeated emotional responses to events, and sometimes with no rational link to any known cause that we can see. These are the one's we unknowingly bring on ourselves, surprisingly. We suck up negativity or brief hard feelings and grimness like lint is drawn to static electricity. They build up and collide like bumper cars. We wont even be aware of it until we start projecting it. One way to clear this unintentional hostility out of our personal space is a vinegar or salt-water sponge bath (followed by a shower) to cleanse the accumulated grit from our aura (the vital energy field of the body). Then after cleansing, shield the aura with visualized light radiating from the abdomen & surrounding the body. Standing in a stiff breeze and letting the wind sweep our aura is an easy quick way. Never miss a chance to use a good breeze . So briefly, cleanse & shield.

Salt is a well know purifier & life enhancer. It removes clinging psychic energies that we encounter & sticky-fingers of other people's emotions. Vinegar has natural salt and is good to skin & hair.

In my personal experience, coming across someone who has been truly cursed by an outside individual is rare, but certainly not impossible. As SpiritTalker mentioned, I think more often these sorts of things become self-fulfilling prophecies. You have one bad spring, followed by another bad spring purely out of coincidence (it is a quarter of the year, which is a fair chunk of time for something to go wrong on its own), and then by the time the third spring rolls around you're expecting it. So it happens. A lot of 'curses' come from ourselves that way, our subconscious can be great at messing us up, lol. I don't say that to diminish what you're going through, as a block from within can be just as difficult to deal with as a block from without, and they can cause real issues for you!

If you know someone who is good at divination (or, we have a reading request section here), they might be able to dig deeper into the underlying issues and sources of these issues. I would recommend having an outside source do it, even if you usually read for yourself, for a fresh perspective.

There are also several simple 'home-remedy' ways to tell if you've been cursed. One I can think of is to take a bowl of water and some olive oil. Put your finger in the oil and ask it to reveal if anyone has been working against you. Use your finder to drop three drops into the water, if the oil floats you are not cursed. If the oil blends into the water, that's said to be a sign you are cursed. Another way is to rub an egg on your body, in a spiral, from head to toe. Sleep with it under your bed. Break the egg in the morning. Normal looking egg? Things are fine. Rotten looking egg? Bad sign - but the egg took the curse off!

Again though, I think the likelihood that you have been cursed by someone else is low. But those things might put your mind at ease, which is sometimes all it takes to remove a block! Learning to purify, ground, and center are all very helpful skills to help with these sorts of things, as well. Personally, I also usually recommend an uncrossing bath. The bath often consists of hyssop and rue - the hyssop clears away blocks created by yourself, where the rue is to clear away blocks put on you by others (either intentionally, or unintentionally). Other herbs can be added or used instead, such as mint, nettle, lemon leaf, mullein, rosemary, pine needle, bay leaf, frankincense... Lots of people have their own combinations. Usually the bath is taken before dawn. (In particularly difficult cases, it's done before dawn for 13 days.) Steep the herbs into a bowl of water, and add most to the bath. Reserve some to sprinkle around your home, to cleanse it as well. You might also make a yearly spring cleaning ritual. (A lot of spring holidays have this focus, anyway.) Make it a yearly habit to remove anything that might be holding you back, and to remove stagnation from your life.

I can relate, I really can! The past couple years have been extremely challenging and I feel like giving up sometimes.

If all you do is focus on the negatives (not saying you do) then your life is going to seem just that- negative. It's all about perspective. Ofcourse I don't know what has been going on in your life to make you think that you are cursed, but if you are expecting things to go wrong at the same time every year then you are going to manifest what you send out into the universe (the law of attraction). Thoughts are very powerful.

Maybe you could try writing a list of a few things daily that you are grateful for? And even start your day with a positive affirmation.

You could even do a simple Good Luck spell. There are plenty online.

I think everyone has provided good advice. Sometimes it really seems like everything and everyone, is just out to get us. I've had long stretches of rotten everything. Sometimes you just have to tell the universe that enough is enough, and you're done. It works.

Snow

There is definitely a lot of good information here & I appreciate all of the responses. It is possible a lot of it is internalized as I've always struggled with issues such as anxiety and self-worth, although I've had trouble deciphering whether those types of issues are the cause of my problems or the result of my problems. Probably a mixture of both. Sometimes it feels the problems are familial or inherited, as much of my family seems to have terrible luck and be blocked from prospering as well. I don't consider myself a Christian as I was never raised in the church, though my parents were raised Christian and I do try to follow the basic moral construct of all religions. But I've had Christian folks bring up the possibility of the "bastard curse" due to my lineage, which allegedly affects the bloodline of a bastard child for ten generations. My father is the product of adultery on his mother's part, given up for adoption to his maternal uncle and shunned by the rest of his family due to being a "bastard". My maternal grandfather was allegedly the product of prostitution and never knew his father. Apparently, according to Christian folks, the combination of these sins has resulted in a bastard curse on my family. I don't know how much I truly believe in all that and it's honestly the kind of thing that turns me away from Christianity, as it just seems cruel for children to be cursed by the sins of their parents or ancestors. In addition, much of the world has some bastardry somewhere in their bloodline whether they're aware of it or not so you'd think if the "bastard curse" were real, basically everybody in the world would be affected by it in some way. Still, you tell a Christian you don't believe in or are unsure of such a thing, and they tell you that's just a symptom of the bastard curse turning you away from the faith. As for whether my family has some sort of blood curse or simply a series of misfortunes brought on by our own internalized self-doubts, I do not know. I only bring up the idea of the "bastard curse" to get an outside perspective on such thing, not necessarily because I believe in it. As I said before I believe in the basic moral construct of all religions and I personally identify closest with the nature-based beliefs of Wicca. However I don't know anybody in my personal life who shares such beliefs so I tend to keep them to myself, which is why I've come here. I do agree with the consensus here that it's likely internal negativity attracting external negativity. Even though I do my best to remain positive in a conscious sense, there is still so much negativity in my subconscious due to the things I've been through and I think the same goes for those in my family who experience the same misfortune. After much reflection, I think I just need to find some way to cleanse my subconscious. Again, I greatly appreciate all of the advice here and I will definitely have to try some of these cleansing methods to see if they help. Thank you all so much for your responses.

Also I attempted to make a request for a reading as suggested by @Siona but it was denied for some reason. From what the email said, it's because I'm new to the forum. So there goes that idea. Thank you for the suggestion anyway.

We have had people join the forum in the past, just to request a reading. Just keep participating, and you'll be able to request a reading in the future.

As far as a "bastard's curse," I think that's a snooty idea promoted by snooty people. A way to keep certain people "in their place." If you don't buy into it, it can't hurt you.

Snow

Thank you for the clarification. I figured it was something to do with people joining just to use others for free readings rather than contributing to the community. And I agree with what you've said about the "bastard curse" as well. I feel like it's a bit of manipulation or a way to shame or scare people. I don't put much thought into it though I worry about my dad, as he's often been ashamed of his conception due to the way he was treated as a child. The only family that treated him well was his uncle/adopted dad and adopted mom. He didn't find out the truth until he was an adult and it really messed with him, he rarely talks about it and won't go into detail about his family. I think that's where a lot of the negativity that seems to follow him comes from, the feeling of being unwanted or like he shouldn't exist because he was born from adultery. I wish to relieve him of those negative feelings as much, if not more, than I wish to relieve myself of my own negativity.

J- first off i would like to apologize for not getting back to you yesterday- my health does not always cooperate with my plans. As far as being cursed because of the 'sins of our forefathers' from what I've learned from a rabbi friend, the 'generational curse' idea stems from the (practical and real) concept that the things we do affect more than just ourselves....that the effects of bad behavior can 'trickle down' for many generations. This is really a thing, in so much as we are talking about the effects of our starting point in life. Someone born in abject poverty is going to struggle much harder with certain things than someone who is born into wealth, and so on. That is all that 'generational curse' was ever meant to refer to. However, over time, with a combination of misunderstanding of original intent and outright intentional warping of that intent by those who wanted to gain power this concept has come to be used as a method of spiritual abuse. You are not responsible for, or cursed, or punished for the so called sins of your ancestors, no.

As far as correcting a 'bad luck spiral' (which can be caused by a number of things, including curses, which are not always intentional and can be self inflicted) I don't believe it is necessary to know the exact cause of your issue, only that it exists. With something this big/important I do take a more...ritualized(?) approach, and include lots of correlational elements.

I like to go through my correlations lists and write down which herbs, stones, colors, runes, totem animals, days, and moon cycles are associated with my intent. Then I go through that list and weed out things I don't have or can't get, and things that don't feel like a great fit with the other elements. I usually wind up with a short list, from just a few of the categories, that all feel like they fit together. They don't have to mean the exact same thing, just be compatible. You are sort of using these to write a sentence of sorts. When we did this we used elements for transformation, new beginnings, good luck, action, progress.

You will also need some elements to represent yourself. You could use a paper with your name on it, a sigil made from your name or initials, a photo of yourself, etc, just something as sort of an ID card. Then we added a few things that were placed on top of that paper, something personal and connected/descriptive of you. I used my birthstone.

The next element to this is a chant, or some activity to help you raise energy and avoid distractions. I like to use Google translate to get the Latin version of a short phrase that describes my intent, sounds good, is easy to remember and pronounce. I play with the English until I find a phrase that works for me. Alternatively you could use drumming, dancing, whatever works for you.

I like to use incense when I work because it's repeated use when casting and meditating helps me pop into a proper mindset easier. It's like putting the vest on a search and rescue dog, it cues that it is time to go to work. Use whatever method helps you 'get there' best. If you can, choose something that corrolates to your intent- every added correlation strengthens your spell, just be aware that *too* many moving parts will be distracting instead of helpful.

I also recommend burning sage during this ritual or lighting a salt lamp. Something that can be done passively as a cleanser.

Decide where you are going to work. You will want to be comfortable. This will take a while, and you will want to stay in circle for a while to recover, too.

OK, now you have your supplies and chant ready....

Gather everything you'll need to cast a circle, cast the spell, and recover. I recommend *tons* of food and drinks with this one, it's *big*. You are going to want some quick acting sugary stuff (candy, fruit) as well as some stabilizing proteins and fats. Also, a jug of water, some coffee/tea/cocoa. I smoke so I had my cigs/lighter/ashtray ready. Whatever helps you recharge. Set your recovery stuff up on a side table, out of your way but within reach. Double check your list.

Cast your circle. Arrange your alter/work surface so that your 'ID' and items representing you are in easy reach, you will keep one hand on this once you start. Items representing your intent can be arranged near or around your ID. Light any incense/candles/etc... light your sage or salt lamp. Place one (or both) hand on your ID, close your eyes and take a few deep cleansing breaths. Relax and feel yourself open and connect with the universe/power. When you feel ready begin your chant softly at first, building intensity as you raise power. While you are doing this, visualize your bad luck spiral, like a whirlpool that's been pulling you in. As you continue to chant and raise power, start shrinking the tail of the whirlpool, making it smaller and flatter. You are bringing your luck back to baseline. Then continue that work raising that center point upwards, so that the whirlpool of bad luck becomes a tornado of good luck, sucking you upwards. When you have reached the peak of energy raising, release it to become reality. When we did this my whole family was working together. We did it in rounds, working our luck upwards a while and taking breaks in between. After the final working round we felt like doing a round of chanting while sending out appreciation vibes to the universe/powers. The whole process took us about 2 hours. Another 30 to 45 to rcover enough to drop our circle and start moving around. Lol, we were in pretty rough shape and strongly believe that deaths would have resulted if we had not done this. Keep in mind that reversing the flow from one direction to the other is a monumental task and takes time. The results will start slowly with little things and build momentum day by day. It's been just over a year for us and we still aren't all the way where we want to be, but we are definitely picking up tons of steam in the right direction. We were so far underwater we couldn't even tell which direction to swim, now we are treading water.....soon we will be flying!

Yes!

@CCL Thank you so much for your response and for sharing this with me. As I've said I'm very inexperienced, I've never really performed any spells or rituals for myself, so at first glance this seemed very advanced for me. But the way you explain it doesn't seem too complicated that I couldn't attempt it. From my understanding, so I know I'm getting it right; I cast my circle, like my protective boundary, and arrange my alter with all the things representing my intent, which my intent is essentially to ward off negative energy/bad luck and replace it with positive energy/good luck. Have an ID or photo of myself and something representing myself, I would likely use my birthstone as well as it's amethyst which is generally considered highly protective, which I feel is also compatible with my intent. Light the sage/salt lamp, incense and candles, probably try to pick scents and candle colors that are also compatible with my intent. Then essentially meditating and chanting my intent with hands on my ID, gradually building power. Visualize my bad luck spiral as a whirlpool that's been sucking me down, flatten it out and spiral it upwards into a tornado of good luck lifting me up, and release at peak energy. And be sure to have things on hand to recharge my energy. I smoke as well and this sounds like the type of thing you'd need a cigarette after lol, as well as lots of snacks. Sorry if I seem silly for repeating everything, I just want to ensure I understand everything correctly. This doesn't seem like the type of thing I would want to mess up. But again thank you so much for sharing this with me, this is amazing and I'm very moved just by reading it. Let me know if there's anything I've missed or have misunderstood. I'm going to try starting on a correlation list and when I get everything gathered, I will definitely have to try this and I will most certainly check back to let you know how it goes. Many blessings to you!

You've got it! It was actually the first 'real' spell I've ever done too, and we did it as a family, so none of us had done anything like this before! It was a really beautiful experience and made us much more comfortable with this sort of thing. Before this I'd only done really simple candle spells. It was maybe the second time I'd cast a circle. I expected to feel like I had to be really serious and all that, but we just relaxed and enjoyed the process!