Curses & Hexes: The Dark Art Of Binding & Banishing

A Brief Introduction

There is perhaps no subject more feared, misunderstood, and misrepresented in the realm of occult study than that of curses, hexes, bindings, and banishments. For generations, these practices have been painted with the brush of the evilly twisted propaganda, myth, and misuse.

⫸ BUT: May You Allow This Be Your Moment Of Clarity:

The Dark Arts are not inherently evil. They are not chaos for the sake of chaos. They are tools - powerful ones - meant to defend, correct, and reclaim balance. In this lesson, we step beyond superstition and into sacred power.

We examine the true nature of cursing and hexing, not as petty emotional acts, but as ancient arts of spiritual law enforcement. This is not the realm of immature retaliation or playground witchcraft. This is not where you “Hex Your Ex” because you’re angry or bored. This is the domain of energetic justice. 

You are being trusted with sacred knowledge - the power to interrupt harm, neutralize manipulation, and restore order where chaos has been intentionally unleashed. But with that power comes a profound responsibility. The ability to curse is not a license to dominate - it is a call to discern. This step is not about becoming feared - it is about becoming sovereign.

You will learn to bind, not out of spite, but out of necessity. You will learn to banish, not to harm, but to protect your space, your spirit, your sacred path. And should you ever wield the curse, you will do so with the understanding that you are not playing with fire - you are becoming the fire.

Now, shall we proceed...?

Ethical Foundation & Precaution

◈ Before You Wield The Flame, You Must Know Its Nature:

There is a reason the Dark Arts are not taught lightly. They are not toys, and they are not for trend. These practices carry consequences, both sacred and energetic. The spells in this realm are not conjured from whim - they are forged in intention, and their impact is felt in places far beyond the physical.

⨉ Before Proceeding: 

The Practitioner Must Understand This Simple Truth:

Power without accountability is corruption.

◈ Intent Is Law:

Every working begins - and ends - with intent. If your intention is unclear, unrefined, or driven by raw emotion, then your spell will be just as unstable. The Dark Arts do not bend to ego or outbursts. They are aligned with focused will and disciplined emotion.

Ask Yourself:

• "Why am I truly doing this?"

• "What outcome am I aiming to achieve?"

• "Is this a desire for justice - or a hunger for revenge?"

• "Have I attempted every reasonable path in the mundane world?"

• "Am I in control of my emotions, or are they in control of me?"

⁕ Editor's Note: A curse is a sword. It must never be swung in haste. You do not cast because you are angry - you cast because all other paths have failed, and you now seek balance through power. To curse in rage is to invite chaos into your own house. Let your will be still, your purpose be pure, and your execution be exact.

◈ Law Of Return A.K.A. THE Ripple Effect:

In occult practice, what you send out echoes back. Not necessarily in the simplified “Threefold Law”, which is often quoted within modern witchcraft traditions (i.e., Wicca) - but through the deeper energetic ecosystem in which we all reside. Magick is never separate from its caster. It flows through you first, shaped by your aura, your state, your essence. When you curse or bind, your spirit is the channel.

▸ Ask Yourself:

• "Can I handle the weight of what I send?"

• "Am I prepared to carry the energy that must pass through me to reach its target?"

⁕ Editor's Note: If you're not grounded, or if your intent is murky, the consequences may touch you before they ever reach your intended mark. What you send must be held, even briefly. What is cast must be carried. Are you strong enough to bear it? If not - wait. Cleanse. Re-evaluate.

◈ When To Bind Or Banish:

There is wisdom in choosing the right tool. Not all malice requires a hammer. Sometimes a lock will do.

• Binding is used when a person, spirit, or energy is actively causing harm. This is not an act of destruction - it is an act of restriction. Binding prevents further movement or influence, allowing the practitioner time to reestablish peace.

⩫ Example Intent: “You shall no longer reach me. You shall no longer speak against me. You are contained.”

• Banishing is the act of casting out. It is used to remove an energy, presence, or force that does not belong in your space - whether it be a toxic spirit, a lingering hex, or a parasitic attachment.

   

⩫ Example Intent: “You are not welcome. You are not permitted. I cast you from my circle and my space.”

• Cursing is a last resort. It is the strike that comes when justice has failed, and harm must be returned to sender - not out of vengeance, but as an act of sacred consequence.

⩫ Example Intent: “You have harmed the innocent. You will now answer to the laws beyond your reach. Let your actions return to you in full awareness.”

⁕ Editor's Note: Only after honest reflection should the choice be made. And once chosen - commit fully. 

◈ Warnings & Grounding:

Never Attempt Binding, Banishing, Or Cursing Rituals When:

• You are emotionally unstable

• You are experiencing trauma or grief

• You are physically unwell or energetically depleted

• You are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or psychic manipulation

These conditions weaken your aura and leave you vulnerable to backlash or misdirection.

⁕ Editor's Note: Before You Begin, Always Ground. Always Protect. Always Prepare.

◈ Grounding Techniques Recap:

• Breathwork: Inhale for 3, hold for 3, exhale for 3 - repeat 9 cycles. Focus on your core energy.

• Black Salt Ritual: Create a ring of black salt around your altar or workspace. It absorbs and neutralizes chaotic energy.

• Iron Touchstones: Hold or wear iron - jewelry, blades, or tools. Iron stabilizes the energy field and repels outside interference.

This is not about fear. This is about respect. The Dark Arts do not demand perfection. But they do demand presence, precision, and power governed by conscience. Now, if your spirit is calm and your will is pure - we continue.

Energetic Preparation

◈ The Ritual Before The Ritual:

The spell begins before the words are spoken. The power does not begin with the flame - it begins with the space. Energetic preparation is not just routine. It is protection, amplification, and respect. When you step into the Dark Arts, you are stepping into a sacred arena.

⩫ You Are Declaring: “I am sovereign here.”

To do so without preparation is to walk into battle unarmored, and no true practitioner would dare take such a risk. This section will guide you through how to set your space and how to shield yourself as the vessel through which power will flow.

◈ Setting The Space:

Before any spell work, your surroundings must be cleared of energy that does not belong to you.

1.) Smoke Cleansing (The Breath of Fire):
Burn an herb or resin that aligns with your intention.

• For banishing: Mugwort, Wormwood, Dragon’s Blood

• For general clearing: Sage (⁕ ETHICALLY SOURCED ⁕), Frankincense, Myrrh

• For cursing or hex work: Sulfur Resin, Dried Rue, Crushed Cloves

Move clockwise through your space, allowing the smoke to reach every corner, doorway, and window.

⩫ As You Move, State With Confidence & Most Of All, Strong & Scared Intention:

“This is my space. All that is not mine, leave now. This space is sacred. This space is mine.”

2.) Salt Barrier (The Earth’s Shield):
Lay down a line of black salt, sea salt, or consecrated graveyard dust around the perimeter of your ritual space - or at minimum, your working altar. This creates an energetic firewall. If you feel under attack, reinforce the barrier with ash or crushed black tourmaline.

3.) Sacred Sound (The Frequency Breaker):
Use chimes, bells, a singing bowl, or even rhythmic clapping to disrupt stagnant energy. Sound reorders the subtle planes and drives out unwanted currents. Move in a circular path while doing this, focusing the sound on stagnant corners or shadowed spaces.

◈ Creating The Circle Or Ward (The Sphere Of Sovereignty):

Your circle is NOT "just a border". It is your declaration of dominion. You may choose to cast your circle physically (chalk, stones, candles), or energetically (visualization & verbal command). Either is effective - what matters is intention and clarity.

⩫ Simple Verbal Casting Chant:

“By the breath I draw, by the will I wield, this circle is sealed. No spirit may pass. No force may intrude. This space answers only to me.”

Move in a clockwise direction (Deosil), visualizing a wall of fire, shadow, or mirrors - whatever aligns with your soul - rising around you, forming a dome overhead and a layer beneath. Once the circle is cast, you are now in the "Spaces Between Spaces", or "The In-Between" for short (Meaning of "In The Between":  The space in between the Earthly realm (where you are now) & The Veil (the spiritual/soul realm) aka Home.) You are inside the ritual space. The rest of the world is out there.

◈ Personal Ward:

As sacred as your space is, it is you who will direct the energy, speak the commands, and hold the current. You must be shielded - not out of fear, but out of wisdom.

1.) Prepare A Sigil Or Protective Charm:
This can be something you've created, or something passed down to you. It should carry your intention - not anyone else's.

⪧ Options:

• Draw a sigil for protection on parchment and carry it on your person.

• Wear a charm necklace of obsidian, hematite, or iron.

• Anoint your forehead and chest with protection oil (e.g., Rosemary, Bay Leaves, Mugwort).

2.) The Cloak Spell:
⩫ Before Beginning The Working, Speak This Aloud, Clearly & With full Presence:

“None shall enter. None shall see. Only my will flows through me.”

As you say this, visualize a cloak of shadow or shield of flame enveloping you, wrapping around your aura. See it shimmering with movement - alive, alert, and ready to repel anything that seeks to interfere. Let this shield extend through your spine and root into the ground, anchoring you fully. When the space is set, and you are cloaked and grounded, you are no longer a person standing in a room. You are now a conduit of force. You are the blade. The gate. The law.

And now… you are ready to proceed to the crafting of your working.

Tools Of The Craft

◈ Let the Mundane Become Magick:

Every practitioner walks their path uniquely. Some work with heirlooms passed down through bloodlines. Others craft their own from bone and bark, glass and ink. Regardless of origin, a tool is only as powerful as the energy you pour into it. This section will offer you a flexible list of items commonly used in curses, bindings, and banishments. Use what resonates. Leave what doesn’t. What matters is that you make it sacred.

1.) Representation Of The Target:

Every working must have a focus - a symbolic vessel through which the energy of your spell is directed. Without a proper representation, energy may scatter or weaken.

Common Representations Include:

• Paper Sigils: Create a symbol containing the target’s full name (if known), their intent, and your purpose. Fold it, burn it, bind it - use it to seal your will.

• Poppets (Dolls): Crafted from cloth, wax, or clay. These are powerful when personalized - include hair, nail clippings, handwriting, or a photo if ethically and spiritually permissible.

• Stones or Bones: A physical anchor that symbolizes the target. Natural elements absorb and hold energy well.

⁕ Editor's Note: If you are unable to physically access anything from the target, speak their full name and a verbal declaration into the item three times to imprint their energetic signature.

2.) Binding Materials:

These are the cords of limitation - the chains of correction. Used to restrict, to contain, and to halt the forward motion of harm.

Choose Your Material Based On The Energy You Want To Invoke:

• String/Thread: Simple yet potent. Black for banishment, red for energetic tension, white for silencing.

• Chains: Heavy bindings. Ideal when the threat is potent or persistent.

• Wax: Used for sealing a poppet or sigil. Wax "freezes" movement and encases intent.

• Ribbon: Symbolic bindings that are often used when a spell involves both restriction and a mirrored return.

⁕ Editor's Note:

Knot with intention.

Each Knot Should Be A Statement:

• “With this, I bind your words.”
• “With this, I bind your reach.”
• “With this, I bind your harm.”

3.) Banishing Agents:

Banishing is not just removal - it is spiritual eviction. These substances carry the vibration of rejection, cleansing, and authority.

Choose One Or More Of The Following Based On Your Purpose:

• Ashes: Represent the remnants of what has been destroyed. Scatter them to signal that something has been reduced to nothing.

• Sulfur: Pungent and powerful, sulfur is used to cut energetic cords and repel spirits. (⨉ WARNING! Please Use With Caution: Ventilation Is Required Whenever Using Sulfur Or Any Other Chemicals)

• Banishment Oil: Often includes ingredients like rue, black pepper, bay leaf, and wormwood. Anoint candles, tools, or doorways.

• Storm Water: Water gathered during thunder or lightning storms. Infused with raw energy and ideal for washing away lingering spiritual debris.

⁕ Editor's Note: When working with banishing agents, always direct them away from your body and home - cast them outside, down the drain, or into flame with a spoken dismissal.

4.) Fire-Safe Cauldron Or Burn Dish:

When a spell must be sealed, ended, or consumed, fire is the great transmuter. It purifies. It finalizes. It devours what no longer serves.

Your Cauldron Or Burn Dish Should Be:

• Heatproof (cast iron, clay, tempered metal)

• Cleansed and consecrated

• Dedicated to ritual use only

Use For:

• Burning sigils or curse statements

• Sealing bindings with wax

• Boiling herbs for banishing brews

As it burns, so it is done.

(⨉ WARNING! Please Use With Caution:  Always Keep Water Or Sand Nearby. Do Not Perform Fire Spells Near Flammable Materials Or Unattended.)

⁕ Editor's Note: The tool is not what makes the spell. You do. But in your hands, these items become more than objects. They become instruments of sovereign will.

Framework For Rituals

◈ Structure Is Strength & Clarity Is Control:

Power without form is chaos. A spell is not just words it is an orchestration of intention, focus, energy, and sacred timing. This section will provide you with clear, grounded outlines for three primary workings within the Dark Arts: Binding, Banishing, and a Light-form Curse designed for beginners who are ready to wield justice without invoking overwhelming energetic blowback. Each outline is a template, not a cage. Customize where you feel called - so long as the foundation remains firm.

◈ Binding Ritual Outline:

To Restrict, To Contain, To Neutralize

Purpose:
To halt the actions or influence of an individual or energy that is actively causing harm.

Ritual Steps:

1.) State The Purpose Clearly:

Speak Aloud With Presence:

“I perform this binding not in hatred, but in protection. You have harmed or threatened, and your reach now ends.”

2.) Prepare Your Representation:

• Use a poppet, sigil, or object linked to the target.

• Place it at the center of your circle or altar.

   

   

3.) Wrap The Representation With Intention:

Use black thread, red string, or wax-dipped twine.

With Each Loop Or Knot, State Your Restriction:

“You are bound from speaking.”
“You are bound from reaching me.”
“You are bound from causing harm.”

4.) Seal The Working:

Choose One:

• Freeze It (for temporary restriction or unknown outcomes).

• Bury It (for long-term severing).

• Lock It away (for controlled stasis).

As You Seal It, Speak:

“As this is done, your power is halted. You move no more in my life. So, it is.”

◈ Banishing Ritual Outline:

To Expel, To Remove, To Reclaim Space

Purpose:
To forcibly remove a presence, influence, spirit, or energy from your personal or sacred space.

Ritual Steps:

1.) Name The Force To Be Removed:

Speak directly:

“You who [haunt, cling, poison], I name you now. You are seen. You are known. You are no longer welcome.”

2.) Employ Banishing Elements:

Burn banishing herbs (e.g., Bay Leaf, Wormwood, Sulfur).

Scatter ashes, salt, or storm water in the space.

3.) Use Physical Symbolism:

Write the name or representation on paper. Burn it in your fire-safe dish, or shatter a symbolic object tied to the presence (e.g., a black candle, mirror shard).

Final Declaration:

“You no longer dwell here. By my voice and my will, you are cast out. You shall not return.”

Follow with clapping or bellringing to finalize the energetic severance.

◈ Curse Example: Light Format - “The Whispering Curse”:

To Deliver Awareness, Guilt, and Unease to the Harm-Doer

Purpose:
To awaken the target to the weight of their actions and let them feel what they’ve inflicted.

Best Used When:

• The target has acted unjustly, but direct confrontation is unsafe or impossible.

• You seek justice without direct retaliation.

Components:

• A slip of parchment or black paper

• Black thread

• A single black candle or flame source

• Fire-safe dish

Ritual Steps:

1.) Write Your Intention:

Keep It Brief But Precise:

“Let your words echo back to you. Let the weight of your actions follow your every step.”

2.) Wrap With Thread:

Bind the paper with black thread, tying three knots.

Whisper Your Intention With Each Knot:

“Remember.”
“Feel.”
“Awaken.”

3.) Seal The Curse With Fire:

• Light the black candle.

• Burn the wrapped intention in your dish.

As It Burns, Speak:

“You will know what you’ve done. You will carry what you’ve cast. May the whisper follow you in silence.”

4.) Close With Final Words:

“So it is, and so it ends.”

Cleanse your space immediately afterward and ground your energy. The curse is done. It will now move through the current you’ve shaped.

⁕ Editor's Note: These rituals should not be repeated for the same target without significant time, reflection, and cause. The Dark Arts are not for emotional venting. They are for sacred confrontation, energetic justice, and spiritual reclamation.

Aftercare & Reflection

◈ The Power Casted Must Be Power Contained:

When the ritual ends, the energy does not simply disappear. It moves, it lingers, it echoes. And so, the wise practitioner does not walk away as if nothing happened.

• They cleanse.
• They witness.
• They listen.

Aftercare is more than a spiritual rinse - it is a ritual of integration. It is how you reclaim your center, release residual energy, and remain in alignment with the deeper laws that govern the work you've just performed.

1.) Cleanse The Self:

Just as your space was prepared beforehand, you now must purify what remains within you.

Recommended Post-Ritual Cleansing:

• Salt Bath (or Shower Substitute):

  • Add Sea Salt, Black Salt, Rosemary, or Bay Leaves to your bath.

  • If bathing is not possible, rub salt water over your skin (especially hands, neck, and feet), then rinse.

• Speak As You Wash:

  “All that is not mine returns to void. All that I summoned now flows away. I am whole. I am clear. I am sealed.”

• Iron Blade Pass-Over:

  • Take a small iron tool or ritual blade (athame) and pass it slowly over your body without touching skin.

  • Visualize it slicing away lingering cords or energies.

  • Begin from the crown of your head and move downward with breathwork.

• Grounding Meditation:

  • Sit comfortably.

  • Visualize roots descending from your spine and feet into the earth.

  • With each breath, release any heaviness into the ground and call your energy back into yourself.

2.) Journal Feelings, Visions & Dreams:

Ritual opens the subtle senses. Often, the body and subconscious will receive symbols, emotions, or insights that don’t make sense in the moment. Do not dismiss them.

Keep a post-ritual journal, even if you only write a few lines:

• How did you feel immediately after?

• Were there any sounds, sensations, or shifts in temperature?

• Did you receive visions, names, or dreams within 48 hours?

⁕ Editor's Note: These fragments are part of your message. Over time, they will align.

3.) Monitor Energetic Shifts Over the Next Moon Cycle:

The spell does not end with flame or silence. It continues to unfold.

Watch The Following Carefully Over The Next 28 Days:

• Shifts in the target’s behavior or visibility (if known)

• Changes in your own energy, sleep, dreams, or synchronicities

• Reversals, obstacles, or breakthroughs in your environment

A properly cast working will always send signs. If something feels off, do not immediately recast. Reflect first. Cleanse again if needed. Trust the process - but stay alert. Your spell is a force now alive in the world, and it deserves your attention until it completes its cycle. This final step is not about fear. It’s about honor. Honor for the spell, the self, and the sacred art you’ve just wielded. You are not just a practitioner - you are a vessel, a voice, a storm tempered by soul. So, sit in stillness. Let the fire settle. And when you rise, do so renewed, not rattled.

Conclusion

To curse, to bind, to banish - these are not acts of cruelty. They are not tantrums, nor are they to be used as shortcuts to power or petty revenge. They are rites of spiritual accountability. What you’ve learned here is not about becoming feared. It is about becoming aware.

You now hold the knowledge to speak the unspeakable, to act when others tremble, and to correct what the world too often ignores. But with that knowledge comes the burden of discernment. If you wield this power blindly, it will turn on you; If you wield it with clarity, it will protect, defend, and balance.

⁕ Editor's Note:

The true practitioner of the Dark Arts does not cast impulsively. They watch. They measure. They listen to their power before they unleash it.  And when the time does come to act, they do so not as an aggressor, but as a guardian of energetic law. Those who wield darkness must know its weight. And they must carry it with integrity.

🗝 As You Conclude This Chapter Of Your Journey, Seal Your Spirit With These Words:

“I wield with wisdom. I bind with truth. I banish with balance & I return to the stillness of my power.”