How Witchcraft Works
A fun thought experiment.
As a child growing up in Africa, I was always keenly aware of the existence of witchcraft and magic. Still, it was so demonized that I didn’t care to investigate it until I started deconditioning the religious programming I grew up with. Since then, I’ve realized that behind the smoke and mirrors, witchcraft is relatively simple.
I’ll start with how I think curses in the context of witchcraft work; witchcraft being the dark arts, or the art of using the creative power of the universe to serve what we’ll henceforth refer to as “the separate self.”1
First of all, I think we can all agree that anyone who practices withcraft unironically must be doing so out of fear and/or powerlessness.2 Because no one who’s actually enjoying their life would even conceive of practicing the “dark arts” or externalizing their power to cause harm to another.
And so, that’s the first thing to note: that fear is the only reason a person would choose to pursue a “dark path”.
The perpetrator (acting out of scarcity) might fear that the success of another will eclipse their own and send negative intentions toward them out of jealousy. Whatever the motivation, witchcraft is often driven by a desire to serve oneself at the deliberate expense of another.
How it actually works
How witchcraft works is that the person who is doing the witchcraft stirs shit up in your life either directly or indirectly (mentally and/or physically), with the assumption that you’ll react negatively. Assuming that the things we experience and create originate in the mind, it then follows that dark arts practitioners only ever succeed by using your own mind against you. This is probably why well-meaning spiritual teachers often emphasize the value of cultivating clarity through meditation and mindfulness, because it is in that stillness that you rise above the clouds of fear and what it can attract to you. And it is in that stillness that fear vanishes. Literally.
So it would seem that the best “deterrent” against witchcraft is being in a state of awareness or clarity. Of course, most of us have too much going on mentally to ever maintain this state for more than 5 minutes outside of meditation. But, this whole thought experiment made me realize that far too often, we bring to bear that which we fear by holding on to the state of fear itself.
Now, I want to emphasize the word “remain” here, because fear is part of the human experience; a completely natural human emotion, and it would be ridiculous to try and avoid it altogether. However, just like any other emotion, it’s merely a messenger, and if you’re aware enough, you should be able to receive its message, take right action, and keep it moving.
It would appear that the “problem” comes when one holds on to fear, causing it to turn into worry and apprehension, which naturally diminishes your ability to try new things, take on opportunities, etc. And how do you hold on to fear? By telling a compelling story about why it’s there and why it should stay. Simple.
Okay, let’s wrap this up in a neat little bow, shall we?
How witchcraft works is that someone attempts to fuck up your ish for whatever reason by sending negative vibes your way. They can do this by merely thinking bad thoughts about you, repeatedly cursing you with their words, or they can put their back into it by doing a ritual. However, because all of these things can only be done from the “low vibe” of fear, they can only reach you if/when you also are in that state. Rise above it, and their attacks cannot reach their target.
Essentially, no-one can curse you without your permission. Yes, a practitioner of the dark arts may use all manner of devices and practice all kinds of rituals to try and derail an aspect of your life by sending you “negative vibes”, but those vibes can only reach you if you’re vibrating on the same level as them.
And while fear is a normal part of life, staying in a positive state most of the time keeps anything outside of that at bay. All you see are the things, people, places, etc., that vibrate on that same level.
So the best way to protect oneself from witchcraft is to raise your vibration - AKA regulate those emotions! You can do this through earnest self-reflection, meditation, breathwork; there’s a plethora of tools and methods out there to help you clear the junk upstairs and flow through life with a clearer head and an open heart. It’s the only “protection” I know of that truly works.
Jokes aside, the older I get, the more I realize the truth of this statement,
Do with that what you will.
Or taking the “service to self” path mentioned in the Ra material. A fascinating rabbit hole to explore if you have the time.
Please see the Hawkin’s scale of consciousness.