Breaking the Curse: How to Turn Financial Setbacks into Successes

"Broke the curse" Curses have been a part of folklore and mythologies for centuries, captivating the imagination of people across different cultures. These curses are often believed to bring misfortune or suffering upon those who have fallen victim to them. However, there are also tales of individuals who have managed to break these curses and overcome the obstacles they presented. In many stories, the breaking of a curse is not an easy feat. It often requires determination, bravery, and sometimes even sacrifice. Whether it is a curse placed upon a person, a family, or even an entire village, those who intend to break the curse must embark on a journey that tests their courage and resourcefulness.

How do you modernize these ancient practices?
Magicians always have their elements around them. There's always Earth, air, water, fire. There's always the four directions, up, down. Can I go out and carve my protection symbol into a piece of granite? No. But I can go get a "Hello My Name Is" sticker like all the other graffiti artists and slap my sigil up on the electrical box outside of my house and it's exactly the same thing. There are a lot of sticker sigils on Capitol Hill because there [are] lots of people actively attempting to control the reality paradigm in the neighborhood to combat all the gentrification happening here. A lot of witches and magicians have been getting together and saying "We're just going to try and make this building invisible for the next several months so nothing happens to it." It's sort of like magical community activism.

But I can go get a Hello My Name Is sticker like all the other graffiti artists and slap my sigil up on the electrical box outside of my house and it s exactly the same thing. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

Whether it is a curse placed upon a person, a family, or even an entire village, those who intend to break the curse must embark on a journey that tests their courage and resourcefulness. One example of a famous curse-breaker is found in the tale of Sleeping Beauty. In this classic fairytale, the princess is placed under a curse by an evil fairy, causing her to fall into a deep sleep that can only be broken by a true love's kiss.

The Islamic State’s War on Magic

Earlier this month, a street performer known as "Sorcerer" was beheaded by militants. Why are these extremists so angry at sleight-of-hand artists?

Sword-brandishing Islamic State fighters tearing down the border between Iraq and Syria. Still from VICE News documentary 'The Islamic State'

This article originally appeared on VICE Canada.

The Islamic State is no stranger to attacking civilians. Recently, though, they've been targeting not only gay people and journalists but also subversive magicians. Earlier this month, reports emerged of a street performer who was beheaded in a public square in the city of Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the Islamic State.

The illusionist, who went by the moniker "Sorcerer," was known for entertaining locals with innocuous magic tricks like making coins and cell phones disappear. According to UK tabloid the Daily Mirror, he was charged with "creating illusions and falsehood" deemed offensive to Islam and was sentenced to death by beheading. An activist who recently fled Raqqa and was familiar with Sorcerer told the Mirror that the magician was a popular performer who simply entertained locals: "He was just called 'Sorcerer' by people, and children loved him. He was doing nothing anti-Islamic but he paid for it with his life."

The Islamic State has been cracking down on all forms of magic. The video below was released in July by the organization's media arm and shows a man from Aleppo moments before he is beheaded for sorcery. Another propaganda video shows militants scouring a so-called "sorcerer's nest" for books about magic and declaring that the appropriate penalty is to be struck by a sword.

Clearly, the Islamic State does not take the threat of supernatural forces lightly. To understand why seemingly harmless street magicians are being lumped in with supposed satanic, spell-casting sorcerers, VICE spoke to Adam Silverstein, professor of Abrahamic religions at Tel Aviv's Bar-Ilan University and author of Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction. He is also a magician and member of the Magic Circle, a UK-based organization dedicated to "promoting and advancing the art of magic."

According to Silverstein, the root of this problem is largely semantic. "The Arabic word for 'magic' is sihr—pronounced with a guttural H—and in the Qur'an it means 'magic' in the sense of 'black magic,' but in modern Arabic the same word is used for 'entertaining magic,'" Silverstein explained. "That can lead to unfortunate confusions that can, very occasionally, have serious consequences for magicians in the Muslim world.

" Chapter 2, verse 102 [of the Qur'an] specifically states that it is 'the Satans' who teach magic," he said. "Seeing as how sihr is associated with 'the Satans,' it would not surprise me at all if some in the Muslim world associate sihr—even of the entertainment sort—with threatening forces."

Mamdouh Marzouki agrees. He's a well-known magician from Saudi Arabia who goes by the stage name "Mumdo," and he says his craft is frequently misunderstood.

"Black magic is a sin in the Qur'an," Marzouki said. "It is considered evil and the work of the Devil, and therefore it is forbidden. But to this day there is a great confusion between black magic and what I do.

"What I do, with all due respect to magicians, it's not real magic," he added. "It's just trickery and misdirection, but a lot of people in this part of the world believe that what I do is real, and I do my best to tell them that it's not by educating them. Sometimes I go even further and break the Magician's Code and reveal some tricks just to prove that what I do is illusion."

During his studies, Silverstein performed magic for small groups in Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank, and Arab villages in Israel. He said "the reception was generally positive, but audience members would often react with fear rather than enjoyment," a fear that Silverstein chalks up to crowds "interpreting what they see through their own cultural perspective, which was often colored by belief in demons and the like.

"I recall one performance in which a group of slightly older men observed a standard trick and responded by abruptly leaving while muttering under their breath about the powers of the jinn."

Anecdotal evidence aside, belief in supernatural forces is widespread in the Muslim world, according to a Pew Research report that surveyed more than 38,000 Muslims in 39 countries. In the Middle East specifically, well over half of the population is reported to believe in jinn, and sorcery is almost universally considered "not permissible" within Islam.

Mumdo performing magic on stage. Photo courtesy of Mumdo

Mumdo's stage act is heavily influenced by glitzy American-style magic shows; he makes female stagehands disappear and helicopters appear out of thin air.

"Siegfried and Roy, David Copperfield, Jeff McBride all are magicians that have influenced me, and I still look up to them," Marzouki said. Yet he says that he still gets criticized and accused of "witchcraft" because many Muslims do not make the distinction between black magic and the extravagant but benign trickery that he performs for a living.

It's not just the Islamic State that seems unable or unwilling to make the distinction between evil sorcery and entertainment. Saudi Arabia, a country without a criminal code where judges interpret holy texts to deliver rulings, also beheads alleged sorcerers in public. The country's religious police force has set up an anti-witchcraft squad that gets dispatched to investigate cases of black magic and sorcery. Even the Harry Potter books are forbidden in the kingdom, according to the Jerusalem Post.

In 2008, popular Lebanese psychic hotline show host Ali Hussain Sibat was arrested following an "undercover sting operation." He was charged with "manipulating spirits, predicting the future, concocting potions, and conjuring spells," the New York Times reported.

Sibat was sentenced to death by beheading for being a sorcerer, though the Saudi Supreme Court eventually reversed the sentence after an international outcry.

Not surprisingly, Mumdo, a Saudi native, has also had problems with the authorities. "My performance permit was once rejected, and I had to cancel a few shows before because of the confusion between what I do—illusion—and real magic," the illusionist said, adding that it is not uncommon for him to turn down performances if he feels that he will "get bullied by the religious police." Nor is this uncommon for other magicians in the Middle East. "Some of my fellow magicians have also canceled and stopped their shows because of religious concerns."

Still, magic may be a complex and controversial issue in the Muslim world, but why the death penalty?

Capital punishment for magic, or sihr, is actually firmly planted in Islamic history and law. Ahmed Fekry Ibrahim is a professor of Islamic law at McGill University's Institute of Islamic Studies. When asked about the Raqqa magician who was beheaded, he told VICE that "ISIS must have been at least partly influenced in its decision to implement this punishment by normative, pre-modern [before the 19th century] juristic discourse.

"The majoritarian position among pre-modern Muslim jurists is that Muslims who exercise magic should be put to death," Ibrahim added. According to him, this reasoning is the basis of the beheading in the propaganda video above, and it is "the dominant position in normative discourse in the four Sunni schools of law."

But he emphasizes that "the frequent persecution of magicians is indeed a recent phenomenon. When you read 16th- through 19th-century Ottoman court records, for instance, you realize there was no inquisition of magicians, no witch hunts, as was the case in Christian Europe, despite the jurists' harsh punishments."

Both Silverstein and Marzouki say that the general attitude toward "entertainment magic" is definitely warming, and both cite hugely popular TV talent show Arabs Got Talent as crucial to the growing acceptance of entertainment magicians.

"The public is much more aware of what I do, and it's a little safer now," said Marzouki.

Still, he says he is hardly surprised by the execution of the street magician in Raqqa: "I expect anything from the Islamic State. These are radicals who kill innocent women and children, so I am not surprised. I feel sorry for the street magician, and my heart goes out to his family. This is tragic and shouldn't have happened. Street performers are entertainers, and this guy was trying to bring smiles and joy to the people in a very difficult time."

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The lamb's heart he gave me. Read on if you want to know what I'm talking about

Despite the odds stacked against him, the prince perseveres, fighting off thorns and defeating the wicked sorceress, ultimately breaking the curse and awakening Sleeping Beauty. This story exemplifies the power of love and determination in breaking curses. In real-life folklore and legends, there are stories of curses being broken through various means. For instance, some curses are believed to be broken through performing specific rituals or finding and returning stolen objects. In other cases, individuals seek the help of wise elders or spiritual leaders who possess the knowledge and abilities to break curses. Breaking a curse is not always a solitary endeavor. It often requires the support and assistance of others, such as friends, family, or even strangers who are willing to lend a helping hand. These individuals provide guidance, encouragement, and sometimes even perform rituals or acts of bravery alongside the cursed person. Ultimately, the breaking of a curse symbolizes the triumph of hope over despair, and the indomitable human spirit's ability to overcome even the most difficult challenges. It serves as a reminder that curses, no matter how powerful and enduring, can be broken with the right amount of determination, perseverance, and sometimes a little bit of magic. In conclusion, the theme of breaking curses has captivated audiences for generations. Whether in fantastical tales or real-life folklore, the stories of those who have broken curses inspire us to confront and overcome the challenges and obstacles that we may face in our own lives. They remind us that with determination, support from others, and a belief in our own abilities, we too can break the curses that may hold us back and find a path to a brighter future..

Reviews for "Breaking the Curse: Transforming Your Relationship with Money"

1. John Smith - 1/5 stars

I was really disappointed with "Broke the Curse". As a fan of mystery novels, I was excited to read it, but the plot was weak and predictable. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it hard to connect with them. The pacing was off, with slow and uninteresting moments dragging on, while important plot points were rushed through. Overall, I found the book to be very underwhelming and would not recommend it to anyone looking for a gripping mystery.

2. Sarah Johnson - 2/5 stars

I had high hopes for "Broke the Curse" based on the positive reviews, but unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. The writing style was mediocre and lacked polish, with awkward sentence construction and repetitive phrases. The story itself had potential, but the execution fell flat. The twists and turns were predictable, and the ending was unsatisfying and seemed rushed. I found myself struggling to stay engaged and ultimately felt let down by this book.

3. Emily Thompson - 2.5/5 stars

"Broke the Curse" was an average read for me. While it had an interesting concept, the execution was lacking. The pacing was slow, and the plot seemed to meander without a clear direction. The characters were forgettable, and their interactions felt forced. Additionally, the dialogue was stilted and unrealistic, making it difficult to immerse myself in the story. Overall, I found "Broke the Curse" to be a forgettable read that didn't leave a lasting impression.

4. Mike Davis - 2/5 stars

I found "Broke the Curse" to be a disappointment. The writing was lackluster and lacked the descriptive language necessary to bring the story to life. The characters were poorly developed and lacked depth, making it hard to empathize with their struggles. The plot was predictable, and the twists felt forced and unimaginative. Overall, I didn't find "Broke the Curse" to be a compelling read, and I would not recommend it to others.

Breaking the Curse: How to Break Free from the Cycle of Debt