A bewitching curse is a term often used to describe a spell or enchantment that is believed to have magical or supernatural powers. It is typically associated with witchcraft and the practice of dark magic. The concept of a bewitching curse has been a part of folklore and mythology for centuries. It is often depicted as a form of punishment or revenge, where an individual, usually a witch or sorcerer, invokes supernatural forces to inflict harm or misfortune on another person. A bewitching curse can take many different forms, depending on the intention of the person casting it. Some curses are believed to bring about physical harm, such as illness or injury, while others are said to cause psychological or emotional distress.
A Wiccan altar, with protection symbol | Courtesy of Wikimedia commons
After moving to New Forest, England in 1938, Gardner joined the Fellowship of Crotona , which was led by Old Dorothy a very prim and seemingly conservative lady who was born in India. Wicca has developed and changed immensely since Gardner created it, with traditions being added or taken away as people continue to research and learn more about the history of witchcraft.
Some curses are believed to bring about physical harm, such as illness or injury, while others are said to cause psychological or emotional distress. There are also curses that are thought to affect an individual's luck or success in life, bringing about financial ruin or personal tragedy. The process of casting a bewitching curse is often shrouded in mystery and rituals.
Gerald Gardener: The Founder of Wicca
Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca, retired in 1936 with his wife to England and settled in the London area. He joined a nudist club and lived a relatively calm and uneventful life. Being retired allowed him to get away from the bitter cold of England, which aggravated his asthma. After an immensely spiritual trip to the warm, Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Gardner felt positive that he had lived there in a past life, claiming that he had seen the island in his dreams. This led to a fascination with all things occult and mystical. In 1938, he moved from the London area to New Forest, a quaint place in southern England. When he realized that New Forest had deep roots in witchcraft, Gardner began researching its history and the groups who practiced there. He spent the rest of his life learning about witchcraft and the occult, and he subsequently developed his own belief system. This belief system was dubbed Wicca or “cult of the wise people” by Gardner in 1954. 1 His belief system of Wicca has since spread across the globe and despite the circumstances surrounding its origins, Wicca has evolved into a “legitimate religious movement in its own right” according to authors Russel and Magliocco. 2 So, how, exactly, did Gerald Gardner create Wicca?
Gardner was born June 13, 1884, in Great Crosby, Lancashire, England to busy and relatively inattentive parents. He was raised almost solely by his nursemaid and felt little connection to his parents. When Gardner was sixteen, his nursemaid got married and moved to Sri Lanka. Gardner went with her. At sixteen, when he got to Sri Lanka, he began working on a rubber plantation as a planter. He worked there for nineteen years before moving to Borneo. Once in Borneo, he worked as a rubber tree plantation inspector, a customs official, and an inspector of opium for the next thirteen years. Gardner had an interest in history and other cultures his entire life, but after moving away from London, he began to study the culture, histories, and practices of the people around him in his spare time. His research ability, and focused knowledge of many of the spiritual and religious beliefs of that area, would come in handy once he retired and started to learn about witchcraft. Eventually, this knowledge would become a part of Wicca as a whole, because Gardner would use it in his own practice. 3
A Wiccan altar, with protection symbol | Courtesy of Wikimedia commons
After moving to New Forest, England in 1938, Gardner joined the Fellowship of Crotona, which was led by “Old Dorothy” a “very prim and seemingly conservative lady” who was born in India. 4 The members of the Fellowship of Crotona claimed to be hereditary witches, whose knowledge had been passed down for hundreds of years. Modern research shows that these claims were false and that the group had existed for only twenty years prior to Gardner joining them. Gardner stayed with the Fellowship of Crotona for a little while, learning their beliefs and practices, helping them put on plays about the occult at their theater, and meeting many people. One of the people he met at the Fellowship of Crotona swore that they recognized him from the island of Cyprus and that they must have known each other in their past lives. Feeling that he had learned everything he could from the Fellowship of Crotona Gardner decided it was time to look for inspiration elsewhere. 5
After moving on from the Fellowship of Crotona, Gardner continued to study witchcraft. He published the novel High Magics Aid in 1949. This novel was a work of fiction, a fantasy story with action and fighting. However, Gardner used all of his knowledge about actual witchcraft for the magic in his story. This allowed people to have insight into witchcraft at a time when witchcraft was illegal. Had Gardner attempted to publish a nonfiction book about his study of witchcraft, he would have put himself in danger; so High Magics Aid came into being. 6
Gardner met Aleister Crowley sometime after he left the Fellowship of Crotona, just before Crowley’s death in December of 1947. Aleister Crowley was an infamous name in both Europe and the United States due to his heavy involvement in the occult. He was known as “the wickedest man in the world.” 7 Crowley introduced Gardner to the Ordo Templi Orientis, which practiced Tantrism, an East Asian form of magic. According to the World Religions Reference Library, “Tantrism is a spiritual movement, which involves mantras (verbal formulas), symbolic body postures and hand motions, and sexual rituals”; when Gardner learned about this spiritual movement from Crowley he decided to open his own chapter. 8 Gardner opened his chapter of the Ordo Templi Orientis at his London home, which resided on the grounds of a nudist club he belonged to. His chapter was almost all men, and often the number of women in the group was so low that the group had to hire prostitutes in order to carry out the Great Rite, which was a ritual where the high priestess had to have sexual intercourse with all the male members of the chapter. 9 It’s unclear what happened to Gardner’s chapter of the Ordo Templi Orientis, but eventually, he moved on.
In 1951, laws against witchcraft were eliminated in England, allowing Gardner to practice witchcraft openly and publish his books on witchcraft as non-fiction. He moved to the Isle of Man and bought the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft from an acquaintance. He established this as the base of his first coven, which would practice Gardner’s form of witchcraft for the first time. This practice would spread across the globe, and eventually become modern Wicca. In 1953, Gardner invited Doreen Valiente, who eventually became the high priestess, into his coven. Together they worked on Gardner’s Book of Shadows, collecting and writing down all of Gardner’s teachings. 10 A “Book of Shadows” is a journal or notebook that contains all the information someone practicing witchcraft has learned in order to ensure nothing is forgotten or lost. These books can be passed down in a coven, ensuring that the teachings of the coven stay in the coven. 11
Gerald Gardners Book of Shadows which he worked on with Doreen Valiente. Provided by Wikimedia commons.
In 1954, Gardner published Witchcraft Today, a nonfiction book about Gardner’s thoughts on modern witchcraft. Gardner believed that the end of witchcraft was coming, stating: “I think we must say good-bye to the witch. The cult is doomed, I am afraid, partly because of modern conditions, housing shortage, the smallness of families, and chiefly by education. The modern child is not interested. He knows witches are all bunk.” 12 However, the publication of this book actually brought a resurgence of witchcraft in England. He became known as “Britain’s chief witch” after the publication of his book. 13
A collection of Wiccan symbols. Provided by Wikimedia Commons.
Gerald Gardner passed away of a heart attack on a return trip from Lebanon on February 12, 1964. His papers were released to the public after his death, and they revealed that Gardner essentially made up his personal practice. It was an amalgamation of what he learned from the many covens and spiritual groups he joined, as well as what he learned while living in the Middle East and on archeological trips. Gardner has been given the credit for bringing witchcraft to the United States, even though he never actually went there. He initiated Raymond Buckley into his practice in 1963. While Buckley was born in London, he went to the United States and spread Gardner’s teachings across the country. This developed into the Wiccan movement and it had more than fifty thousand practitioners by the early twenty-first century. 14
Witchcraft is still practiced around the world in many different forms, including Wicca. Wicca has developed and changed immensely since Gardner created it, with traditions being added or taken away as people continue to research and learn more about the history of witchcraft. People still practice to this day, and it seems the numbers are only growing. Despite the fact that Gardner’s personal practice was mostly uncredited cultural appropriation, his work brought about a resurgence of interest in old witchcraft and allowed for the practice to be somewhat normalized. 15
- Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. Witchcraft.” ↵
- Encyclopedia of Religion, 2005, s.v. “Witchcraft: Concepts of Witchcraft,” by Jeffrey Burton Russell and Sabina Magliocco. ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald.” ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- Encyclopedia of Religion, 2005, s.v. Crowley, Aleister. ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald.” ↵
- Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. “Book of Shadows.” ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- World Religions Reference Library, 2007, s.v. “Gardner, Gerald Brousseau.” ↵
- Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. Witchcraft.” ↵
After moving to New Forest, England in 1938, Gardner joined the Fellowship of Crotona, which was led by “Old Dorothy” a “very prim and seemingly conservative lady” who was born in India. 4 The members of the Fellowship of Crotona claimed to be hereditary witches, whose knowledge had been passed down for hundreds of years. Modern research shows that these claims were false and that the group had existed for only twenty years prior to Gardner joining them. Gardner stayed with the Fellowship of Crotona for a little while, learning their beliefs and practices, helping them put on plays about the occult at their theater, and meeting many people. One of the people he met at the Fellowship of Crotona swore that they recognized him from the island of Cyprus and that they must have known each other in their past lives. Feeling that he had learned everything he could from the Fellowship of Crotona Gardner decided it was time to look for inspiration elsewhere. 5
It is believed that the person casting the curse must possess some form of magical or supernatural powers, either through innate abilities or through the use of certain tools or substances. Incantations, potions, and the use of symbols or talismans are commonly associated with the casting of curses. The effects of a bewitching curse are said to be long-lasting and difficult to reverse. It is believed that once a curse has been cast, it will continue to affect the individual it was intended for until some form of counter-spell or intervention takes place. In some cases, it is even believed that curses can be passed down through generations, affecting entire families or communities. Despite its association with folklore and superstition, belief in bewitching curses remains strong in many cultures around the world. People who believe they have been cursed often seek the help of spiritual healers or practitioners of magic to have the curse lifted or reversed. In conclusion, a bewitching curse is a magical or supernatural spell that is believed to have the power to inflict harm or misfortune on another person. It is often associated with witchcraft and the practice of dark magic. Although the existence of such curses is debated, belief in them remains strong in many cultures, with people seeking spiritual assistance to have the curse removed or reversed..
Reviews for "Hexes and Curses: The Dark Side of Magic"
1. Emily - 2 stars
I was really disappointed with "A Bewitching Curse". The storyline felt predictable and the characters lacked depth. The dialogue was also quite cheesy and unrealistic. I couldn't connect with the protagonist and her love interest, as their relationship felt forced and lacked chemistry. Overall, the book failed to engage me and I found it to be a mediocre read.
2. Jake - 2 stars
I had high hopes for "A Bewitching Curse", but it fell short of my expectations. The writing style was unimpressive and the pacing was slow, making it difficult to stay engaged. The plot was predictable and seemed to follow the same formula as countless other paranormal romance novels. The character development was lacking, and I struggled to feel any emotional connection to the story. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and unique supernatural read.
3. Sarah - 1 star
I regret picking up "A Bewitching Curse". The plot was incredibly weak and lacked originality. The author seemed to rely heavily on clichés and tropes, making the story feel stale and uninteresting. The main characters were one-dimensional and lacked complexity, making it difficult to care about what happened to them. Additionally, the dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making the reading experience frustrating. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a compelling and well-written supernatural novel.