Wards and barriers

     "You shall not pass!!!"  

     

     That’s what Gandalf said, then he drove the bottom end of his staff into the narrow rock bridge in the cave, and prevented some kind of ancient, fire demon from following and killing the members of the fellowship of the ring, in the Lord of the Rings movie.

     He literarily prevented that demon from proceeding, he blocked his path. He cast what we would describe as a ward, in magick. He broke off the rock bridge and plummeted alongside the demon in the precipice too, but that’s beside the point lol.

     So can one magicakally prevent one from entering a specific place, most notably and most often this place being one’s home? The answer is absolutely. All sort of traditions and magickal paths have their ways of doing this and we shall discuss a few in today’s post.

A Witch's knot charm/symbol/ward

     A very informative and trustworthy site on Wiccan and Celtic magick defines ward as a shield anchored to a physical place.  [1] Furthermore, it’s stated that unlike the shield, the ward is powered by the Earth, and its energy rises from it, as it were, and I find all that to be pretty illustrative of a typical ward. A different article, though describes it as a “psychokinetic shield” that deflects energy. [2] I have two issues with that; if it was psychokinetic it would deflect more than just energy, it’d deflect matter as well, and a ward does not just deflect energy anyway. It can turn away people, or animals, or spirits too.

     A protective magick circle, as used in Ceremonial magick is yet another example of a magickal ward. So it’s indeed a form of shield “anchored” to earth, or even emanating from the Earth, and a magickal boundary set to keep something out. Behind the yellow line, sort of say.

     Clearly, the best time for setting up magickal wards are days and hours of Saturn, a planet ruling boundaries (setting or breaking and transcending the same)  and mystery, or wondrous works, among other. Materia magicka correspondent to the planet is thus also used commonly for setting up the magickal wards.

      It’s also important to notice the selective nature of the wards; they are set up with an intention to keep something specific out, not just pretty much anything, which means, if you cast a protection spell to keep people with specific type of intentions or aims outside of your home, such will be repelled, but it won’t stop other people from coming around. This is quite useful, and is sometimes even cunningly used to test someone’s true intentions and to tell apart friendly people from the “snakes in the grass”. Now let’s proceed with few examples, meant to keep evil people, spirits and similar out of someone’s home.

     Traditional Balkan witchery spell for keeping evil people away

    

     Get a new, unused knife, preferably one with the black handle. During the waning phase of the Moon, bring some water to the boil and add some red chili peppers, and salt in it. Dip the knife in it three times, saying something along these lines:

“As the Moon wanes, and as this blade cuts,

So will you N.N. stay away, and be cut away

From this home, and this place

And will not enter this dwelling. Amen”

     Place it on a napkin or a paper towel and allow it to air dry. When it does, find a way to hide it somewhere around your front door doorstep ( or if it’s a specific room, in front of these room’s doors ), pointing outwards and normal ( under 90’ angle ) to the door’s plane. You can for example place it under the rug or doormat etc. Next to it, or somewhere on the doorframe also place a sprig of Basil, wrapped around the base with a red yarn or thread. Most people like to hang this little sprig just above the doors.

     The person who you don’t wish to enter your home, should not be able to, after you’ve done this.

Herbal wards

     Many herbs, when placed in jars, vials, or hung about the place are effective wards against bad people and evil spirits.

     Dill for example, when hung above the doors, with the clear intention to do so, is said to keep both bad people and evil spirits away from your premises.

     Similarly, St. John’s wort, picked on Midsummer, is widely believed to bar the entrance to a home, or a room, to even powerful evil spirits and demons.

     Fennel, a “cousin” to the Dill, was once placed in keyholes to keep the Ghosts out, and nowadays an infusion or a floorwash is used to keep the intruders out. [3]

     Hawthorn branches in front of doors and windows of the home, were used in Balkans to prevent a vampire from entering given home. [4]

     Major Celandine keeps the law away from your property, and when used properly will make police evade your place in a wide circle. Elderberry flowers and boughs can also do the same.

     A friend of mine told me that If I want to stop someone from coming around, or entering my home all I need to do is place a personal concern of theirs, or a name paper lacking the previous, in a small vial along with Black seeds, Red Onion peels and Rose thorns, and fix this to my front doors. She said: “Even if they come around, they won’t go pass the doors, in fact they’ll soon leave, probably complaining about some feeling of unease”. I tried this one, and it worked wonders when I did.

Hoodoo’s Red Brick

     One of the most powerful wards against  bad people, or people who wish you ill is the Hoodoo trick with the red brick dust,  popularly referred to as the “reddening” . It’s tad more elaborate then what you’ll commonly be advised; which is to just sprinkle the dust in front of your doors, but when done properly it works wonders.

     The place that one intends to protect should be thoroughly cleansed spiritually beforehand, and in Hoodoo this is usually done with a floorwash containing powerful cleansing and protective ingredients. This part of the ritual is according the tradition done a little before sunrise, and without uttering a single word.

     A good, traditional floorwash that can be used here is made by combining:  Household Ammonia, Saltpeter, and Epsom salts in a wash, but the most traditional wash used is actually one’s own first morning urine, dissolved in some water. [5] This makes sense being that the Household Ammonia is often used as the replacement for the urine in Hoodoo formulas and tricks.

     Some Hoodoo authorities suggest this should be done on specific days; namely: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. [6]

     Having done that, one proceeds to lay a line in front of their doors, with the red brick dust powder. You can conceal the line later with, let’s say a doormat, but this is not necessary and  more often than not, not done.

Icelandic “Hurðstoðva” ward, to prevent a specific person from entering your home

    

     The following spell makes use of a specific “galdrastafir” , an Icelandic written charm/sigil, which is etched into Rowan wood, or wand, and then one is to walk thrice around their home with it clockwise, and three more times in the opposite direction, wraps the wand with some thistle leaves, and then places it above the doors. This is said to prevent the person from entering your home. I know very little of trolldom, but during the walking part I’d use some words of power which mention the name of person in question to focus the spell/ward, and attune it to their energy. Or place it alongside their name paper, photo, or some bodily concern.

      The original instructions are as follow:

     “Hurðstoðva - Doorstopper. A galdrastafir to hinder someone from entering your house. If there's a person you do not want to enter your home, edge this stafir into a rowan-wand. Do this as the sun is on her highest, and proceed to walk sunward around your house tree times, followed by tree times withershins, while holding the wand in which you are laying the spell. To prime the spell, bind the wand in thistle leaves, and place it above your door.” [7]

     Some wards to keep the evil spirits outside

     Some evil spirits more than others, are bent on gaining entrance to your home and wreaking havoc in it. The wards used to keep them out may vary slightly depending on a specific spirit, but are often in form of charms, herbs or written inscriptions. Following are some examples of such:

·         St John’s wort, particularly that plucked on the Midsummer, in noon, placed in a jar and then hung by the door or windows will ward off evil spirits. I usually read the Psalm 90th over such charm.

·         Two Hawthorn branches, placed and tied one over another so that they form a Cross, and secured with a piece of natural, red yarn which was soaked in Holy water from the church, shall prevent all sort of malignant spirits gaining entrance to a dwelling, if it’s hung by the door lintel, or secured above the doors. It can similarly be placed above one’s bed, besides it or carried on person ( a small charm ) to protect from all sort of disembodied spirits and even the malevolent fairies.

·         Alder is said to ward the “unseen” threats, including evil spirits. A piece of wood can be carried in a charm bag for example

·         A witches knot charm, carved into doors, windows, or written on paper, preferably in Dragon’s blood magickal ink, will keep the evil spirits, hags and curses at bay ( see the image at the beginning of the post )

·         Charms carved from the Jasper stones are hung by the door to repel ghosts and evil spirits, particularly the evil trickster sprits. In China, these charms often take  the form of a dragon

·         Bloodstone is carried as a pendant, or in a charm bag to keep away evil spirits and demons and prevent them from affecting on

·         Salt is a powerful ward for all sort of ills, including the evil spirits, and salt circle is a brilliant example of such. Read Psalms 29^th, 40^th and 90^th over some salt and then sprinkle it around your home, or object or person you wish to protect in a clockwise circle. Similarly, praying the 18^th Psalm over salt makes it a good ward against the robbers and thieves.

NOTE: This article was written and composed by myself, hence If you wish to use any parts of elsewhere online, add the credits; Shadow of the Shadows magick place, Shadow-333@hotmail.com or a direct link to this post

CREDITS AND REFRENCES:

[1]   https://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/defense.htm

[2] http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=cabc&c=whs&id=12587

[3] http://www.alchemy-works.com/herb_fennel.html

[4] Jasna Jojic Pavlovski “Magija Biljaka”

[5] Acc. to; http://herb-magic.com/red-brick-dust.html

[6] Acc. to; same as under [5]

[7] Retrieved from:  http://seidr.hekse.dk/#post6   and used here for explanatory and  educational purposes without ill will

IMAGE CREDITS: The Witch’s knot picture  is from http://www.examiner.com/article/the-witch-s-knot and digitally edited by myself,  used here for illustrative and explanatory purpose without any ill

The “Hurðstoðva”  galdristafir image was drawn and edited by myself 

Evil eye that look unto thee, will very soon extinguished be

Ayn Ha'ra (Hebrew )
mal ojo, mal de ojo  (Spanish )

buri Nazar (Hindu)
mati (Greece )
isabat al-'ayn(Islam )

mal occhio (Italy )
ʿayn al-ḥasūd  ( Arabic )

Urok ( Serbian, Croatian )

Nazar ( Turkish )

mau-olhado  Portuguese 

 

Various names for evil eye in different languages

 

 

 

Merriam Webster dictionary describes the “evil eye” in a following way:

“an eye or glance held capable of inflicting harm; also :  a person believed to have such an eye or glance” [1]

Indeed, the only thing that I might’ve add in there, is “capable of inflicting harm through spiritual means” 

Encyclopedia Britannica explains it further :

“evil eye, glance believed to have the ability to cause injury or death to those on whom it falls; pregnant women, children, and animals are thought to be particularly susceptible. Belief in the evil eye is ancient and ubiquitous; it occurred in ancient Greece and  Rome, Jewish, Islamic,  Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and in indigenous, peasant, and other folk societies, and it has persisted throughout the world into modern times. Those most often accused of casting the evil eye include strangers, malformed individuals, childless women, and old women.  “ [2]

Other than the injury and the death, the evil eye can cause misfortune, sickness, poverty,  or  it can even cause Your technical devices to malfunction.   

As a person born and raised in Mediterranean country where the  influence of Roman, Celtic, Illyrian, and Turkish   cultures is strongly present, even today,  the evil eye , or also “glance of malice”, is a concept that comes naturally to me.   People here,  are raised with the notion,  having it around  since  their most early childhood,  and therefore, it’s in a way a cultural heritage and, I’ll dare to say, even part of instinctive thoughts and behaviour.   You will see people carrying charms against it everywhere,  from barely literal people to renowned Drs. Of Science. It’s generally so in the whole Mediterranean.

Evil eye is definitely one of those beliefs that spin the globe.  We can find it in Africa, where the antidote for it ,  is believed to be saliva of the person who inflicted  it  in the first place,  though anthropologists argue  whether the  belief in evil eye in Africa is indigenous or imported. [3]

First written records are  found in some Assyrian and Babylonian ancient “poems”, circa 3000 years B.C.  [4]

Even the poet Virgil  says  ( in Eclogues, iii. 103  ) : “Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinant agnos” , which would ,  loosely  ,  translate to  : “I don’t know who glanced me with malice/ who laid evil eye on me”  [5]

Evil eyes are mentioned in Bible,  in the King James’ version,  where the “evil eye” apparently replaces “covetousness” , though in the end , the concepts come really close, more so when we consider how the evil eye works;

“He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.” [6] Proverbs 28:22 KJV   

Similar case  is  with the Quran,  where  it’s stated how envious people have “evil” , and it’s generally  understood among the Muslim people, that it’s the “evil eye” what Quarn speaks about in several places.

Many people throughout  human history were  believed to posses the power of causing  harm with the power of the glance of malice. A typical and well known example would  be the Spanish king Alfonso XIII  ( 1886. -  1931. ), whom even Benito Mussolini refused to meet, fearing his, at the time extremely notorious evil eyes. Incidentally or not, during the very visit of   King Alfonso to the Italy, when Mussolini refused to meet him   ( 1923. ), there had been all sort of terrible accidents, happening to people and soldiers who  were there to greet the king.  Two sailors were washed overboard,  there was an explosion on the submarine  , an antique canon  fired in his honor exploded, killing all of it’s crew,  and even the navy officer who shook the King’s hand collapsed and died. Finally, some damn broke during his visit  killing  50 people during his visit [7]  Italian housewives  and old women, were said to have “thrown the corns” at him, as he was passing by, meaning point “mano cornuto”  at him,   or making an apotropaic hand   gesture, known also among the Hindu people and in Wicca, and used to repel evil, and block it’s power to harm.

The  “New York Times” , issue from October 22^nd , 1922., published an article about a child that was “sick” , and was believed, by its parents, to be under the influence of an evil eye.  As a curative measure, white chicken was to be  sacrificed, it’s liver was to be stuck with a lot of pins, and cooked with a part of affected kid’s clothing, until there was heard some auspicious sound like bells ringing, or song melody. That would, according to person who advised the parents, signify that the evil eye effect was undone. [8]

Pope Pius   ( 1846-1878  ) IX  and Pope Leo  ( 1878-1903  ) XIII , were also believed to have possessed the dreaded glance of malice. The earlier in particular. It seemed that  nearly anything he would have blessed would  in some way become cursed. [9]

The severity attributed to the evil eye by the ancient Romans,  was finely illustrated in the plethora of measures they undertook to protect themselves from it. They even had specific deities, such as Cunina, believed to be the protectress  of the cradle from malevolent magick and evil eye, and was thus petitioned to safeguard the child from  the evil eye. Newborns were wrapped in red fabric, and even wore red clothes   for awhile , so they could be protected  from the evil eye, and  the kids, until they’d reach puberty, wore clothes with purple rims for the same purpose.

Priapus, the deity of phallus, also Roman, is probably yet another source to the, surviving, Italian folk custom  of using phallic symbols to ward off evil  eyes. As If they needed more excuses ( lol ) Italian men will even nowadays grab their genitals , to repel and null the effects of the evil eye.

In Africa ( particularly Northern ), when a women is having troubles with labor, it’s often believed  ( this state/condition ) to be caused  by the evil eye. Therefore, the father invites all the village people to come visit the lady in labor, spit on their hands and pass them over pregnant women’s belly. If the person who inflicted evil eye upon the women was among them, as soon as they’d touch her belly, she would instantaneously lose pains and ills, and the labor would onwards go swiftly and relatively painlessly.   So we see, that countering the evil eye is so important there that the villagers take it seriously, and all reply  to the invitation, taking in  count that it could be any of them that casted the evil eye, be it accidentally. In fact, refusing such invitation, in Northern Africa is seen as extremely rude, selfish or even hostile, and people will hardly ever do it.

In Balkans, folk believe that the Evil eye is some kind of a power that came from extremely arid regions ( ! ) hence, they believe that one of it’s principal methods of attack is draining the victim of things, spiritually luck, energy, and  physically, water or body fluids. Hence, the Balkan cunning folk, chant over bowl  of “new” water, in which they drop, one by one,  the shining hot coals, as they chant the secret incantations that speak of three eyes, one of which is evil eye, another being watery  eye and the third one being fiery, and invoke the powers of Sun, Moon, Stars and even G’d itself and  The Virgin Mary  to counter it, and send it off to “never-land”.   This serves both as diagnostic measure, and as cure. When dropping the coals the “cunning folk” pronounces names or specific characters ( for example: men , women, child, animal, old, young …etc ) of the suspected caster of the evil eye. When some of the coals sinks down to the bottom of the bowl ( in some version floats, or make a loud noise, blackens the water in the bowl etc. )  the wrongdoer is found, and then the aforementioned chanting begins. Finally, the afflicted either takes three small sips of the water, or the water is used to draw three Crosses on  his  forehead and some  is given to him to sprinkle the house, in order to undo the hazardous effects of the evil eye. Occasionally, in some regions, the leftover water is poured on a dog [10]

It seems that the evil eye has even taken place in popular culture of today.  Have You ever seen an episode of the  “Naruto Shippuden”  anime ? Yes? What  is it that  You think had inspired the author to create those havoc-wreaking  doijutsus such as Sharingan and Rinnengan . Evil eye indeed ! *blinks*

Protection and countering of the evil eye, or glance of malice

It’s only to be expected, that such ever present threat was to be dealt with seriously, and hence, in magickal community was treated with  caution and  countermeasures.

Indeed, even up until today, both ancient and some “newer “ methods have been preserved, and amulets and charms commonly used.  Turkish air companies, for example,  often paint a great blue  eye, somewhere on the tail of their airplanes, to safeguard it from the  devastating  power of the glance of malice. You know, If for nothing else, just to be on the safe side J

The “cimaruta” is  still one of the  best selling charms ( amulets ) in Italy , and not only  because of it’s broad apotropaic spectrum of  influence, but because it’s considered to be an  “eye-proof” safeguard from the evil eye, If You’ll excuse the pun J

So, without further adieu, let’s proceed on the practical advices   in regards to fighting the evil eye.

Botanical agents against evil eye

Herbs that counter and remove effects of the evil eye include: Basil, Cayenne peppers ( in Balkan ), Rue ( particularly in Italy ),  Lemons ( fruits, often halved and placed around for protection ), Periwinkle ( dispels the evil eye ), Aspand ( Ancient Zooratostrian and Muslim rites )  , Garlic (  particularly in Greece )  ,  Black peppercorns ( for removal of the evil eye ) , Barley ( extremely powerful against Evil eyes, and demons that cause illness, in Hindu beliefs ),  and others.

Minerals , animal curios , and Household items against the evil eye

Knifes and needles ( for protection, and removal,  folk magick ) , sugar and salt, broom straws ( for removing the evil eye,  Balkan folk magick, also Hindu  ), Cotton balls ( for removal  via sympathetic magick methods ) , Olive oil ( for diagnosing and removing the evil eye ) , ashes ( in varying rituals, shown to the child and thrown on  crossroads  ),  mirrors ( for deflecting the evil eye , negating the power of it, and returning it to the source, also for removing one 's own   evil eye, in Russian folk magick ),  Alum ( when burnt it creates bubbles, that are believed to destroy the evil eye ) ,  one's own or children’s saliva, Cat eye’s shell ( Turbo sp. shells ), Tiger’s eye or Cat’s eye minerals, also Turquoise mineral ( for protection ), Blue glass pearls ( protection ) ,  Red thread or ribbon ( for protection, particularly of the children ), hand or Cross drawing, tattoo ,or charm ( for protection ) , small, unripe lemons filled with pins ,  and others.

Symbols and charms against the evil eye

Hand of Miriam ( The Hamsa ) , Hand of Fatma, Manopoderosa, Tiger’s paw ( tattoo , often seen on Hindu 

Mano ponderosa,  XIX  century  work , can be
found in Brooklyn museum  ( see image
credits for more details )

children’s face cheeks ), fishes ( fishes are immune to the evil eye, possibly they are the only animals or even objects on Earth which are immune to it, they may appear on Hamsa amulet ) , Eyes , for example the Udjat or Vedjat also know as Eye of Horus( Eye drawings, designs, and charms can  repel the evil eye , various designs ), Cross ( all sort of Cross designs  are believed   to block and annul the harmful effect of the evil eye ) , Moon, particularly new Moon shape, Turquoise pendants and bracelets, copper anklets  with garlic or beet root ( Hindu, often seen on kids ), Blue or Green glass spheres ( also called “witch balls” ) , Yarn spun    from the black sheep’s wool,   Charm bag ( mojo bag ) filled with Pumpkin seeds.

Diagnosing and removing the evil eye

Although there are certain symptoms  that appear in people affected  with the evil eye,  diagnostic methods still do exist, although they may vary in different cultures.

I’ve mentioned the method with the coals, which are extinguished in water, that’s done  in Balkan peninsula folk magick, not only  to determine the presence of evil eye, but also reveal information about the caster, and finally, even  remove the effects of the evil eye.

Likewise, the methods of removal vary. The Evil eye is most often destroyed by fire, smudging or  with water.  Oftentimes, puppets are made to take  the evil eye from the afflicted and then tossed into fire. A good part of Atharva veda is concerned with remedies to the evil eye. Children, while susceptible to it,  are  also believed  to  have natural powers to  destroy the evil eye, hence showing a piece of clothes of the afflicted to a child is sometimes all that needs to be done. The power of children against the evil eye is extremely present among the Hindu people.

Let’s go through few examples.

Italian folk magick, evil eye test

It’s rather simple. It’s a form of hydromancy  really.

Italian women, particularly the old ones, are famed for diagnosing and removing the  evil eye which they do with by dripping Olive oil into a vessel with water as they recite secret prayers or sometimes incantations, passed onto them by their mothers , grandmothers , aunts and so on.  The eye symbol is said to be  formed  by the  oil in the water, If indeed the cause is the evil eye. Then , these cunning women would continue to drip more olive oil, drop by drop, reciting prayers, until the eye shape in the bowl falls apart.

Muslim custom of testing for the presence of the evil eye

This custom/ritual has been recorded in the Sindh Pakistane Province and is done by Muslims, predominantly. It’s wise to note, though,  that the similar ritual  is also done by the Hindu people [12]

The person afflicted ties a rope, or a yarn around a stone. The stone is then  tossed into the fire. If the rope/yarn does not burn, the person is under the effect of the evil eye.  

Hindu ritual for detecting evil eye

For this ritual one needs to  pour water on some plate,  and sprinkle  it with some Crossroads dirt. 

Inside some pot, practitioner  places Broom straws, Salt and Cayenne pepper and waves with the pot ( or circles around ) in front of the afflicted person’s head.

Finally the pot is swiftly placed opening down on the aforementioned plate, and if it sticks ( so that  one can lift the plate with the pot  ) , it’s interpreted as a definitive omen of presence of the evil eye. [11]

Spanish / Latin American method of diagnosing evil eye with an egg

A new, fresh egg is taken and rolled over the face of the afflicted. Then it’s broken ( on a plate or in a bowl, obviously! )  and placed bellow their bed. After a day, the egg is inspected. Extremely foul odours,  extremely dried up egg, or eye shapes formed by the eggs are signs that someone is afflicted with the evil eye.

Often times, the practitioner will  then pray over another, new , fresh egg, and then break it and spread some ( usually by making a sign of Cross, Brujeria and Santeria practitioners will do this often ) over the forehead of the afflicted and the rest will be placed bellow their bed, once again, and inspected after a day.

Removing the evil eye with the saliva

Spitting in front of a child, immediately after it has been praised, oftentimes by the very person who had complimented it, is considered to be a safe, fail-proof way, to negate the power of the evil eye.

Old women in Europe are believed to be able to remove the evil eye that causes suffering to the dying  person, by spiting on their hand and passing with it over them. Similar belief exists in northern Africa.

Simple heart-felt prayer, also immediately after someone receives compliment, or the look which is suspicious is an alternative to the above, although I don’t see  the reason  to not combine the two myself J

 

Burning the Evil eye

Make a poppet shaped like a human from a cotton wool  ( must be natural cotton wool !)  then waving around the afflicted person three times, chant three times

“From N.N. into this poppet evil eye shall transfer

And into the flames, forever it will disappear” 

Then burn the poppet. It is done.

Similarly, there is a custom among Hindu people to make a three small human shaped puppets from the cotton wool by  the afflicted person, hung them upside down on a wall, and burn them in order to remove the evil eye, according to Henry Gamache .

 

Removing the Evil eye with liquids

Evil eye seems to have "drying"  effect on people and  sometimes even objects.   People take this as common knowledge, where I am from , ones that believe in it, at least. Hence it makes sense why water and liquids ( like the saliva ) are used as cures.

It’s common among Christians to give three sips of Holy water to the afflicted , and to sprinkle them ( or wash their face thrice ) with it, to remove the overlooking.

Combine water and some Barley, and give to the afflicted to drink and pour some over their head. Atharva veda  speaks of use of water and Barely for remedy:

“VI, 91. Barley and water as universal remedies.

1. This barley they did plough vigorously, with yokes of eight and yokes of six. With it I drive off to a far distance the ailment from thy body.

2. Downward blows the wind, downward burns the sun, downward the cow is milked: downward shall thy ailment pass!

3. The waters verily are healing, the waters chase away disease, the waters cure all (disease): may they prepare a remedy for thee!” [12]

Pour a whole bottle of bear ( natural, not those with all sort of synthetic flavors added )  into a bathtub with water, and pray over the water for the healing of the afflicted. Have them take a bath, and immerse completely at least three times. 

Such beer bath is considered to be cure per excellence for the evil eye by some authors [13]

I myself like to suggest bath made with infusion of the Basil and Rue, to which salt and lemon slices have been added. Of course, praying over such bath is needed, and pouring it over body , or immersing it three times , too.

Another Hindu “tip” calls for boiling Rice and Lemon slices in water ( presumably until it boils ), then shaking the mixture around the afflicted children’s body, or circling with pot around it, and then pouring the mixture on some crossroads. [14]

Burning incense and spices , other non-specific rituals

Burning alum and wafting the  smoke towards the afflicted,  is a  fast ,  and safe measure undertaken to render the glance of malice null and void. Frankincense is used in similar manner.

Muslims from the Sindh, also suggest a ritual , where one places terracotta or clay container on the shadow of the afflicted and burns seven black peppercorns in it to accomplish the like with the previous. Muslims in the Sindh also place four  lemons  of the shadow of the afflicted, cut in them in halves, and then throw the halves in four quarters. Caution is needed here through. For the two halves of the same lemon must never (!) be thrown in  the same direction ( quarter , N, S, E, W ) . [15]

 

Hope You find this useful, interesting and helpful

Many Blessings,  LUV Shadow :)

 

 

NOTES:  This article was  written / composed by myself,  therefore, If You wish to  use any part of it elsewhere feel free, but do add credits  :  Shadow of the Shadows magick place, Shadow-333@hotmail.com or a direct link to this post.

CREDITS AND NOTES:

[1] as found on: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evil%20eye

[2] as found on: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/197336/evil-eye

[3]  Acc. to  Sir James G. Fraser  ; “Golden Bough”

[4] Acc. to Cassandra Eason  ; as stated in her “ Encyclopedia of Magick and Ancient wisdom”

[5] http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43682/43682-h/43682-h.htm

[6] Retrieved from :  http://biblehub.com/proverbs/28-22.htm

[7] See http://www.paranormala.com/if-looks-could-kill-evil-eye/

[8] As  stated in “Protection against evil” by Henri Gamache

[9] According to “ Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca”( pg.114^th )  by Rosemary Ellen Guilley,  Third edition, Facts of Life publishing

[10] As  described in “Tajanstvene pojave u nasem narodu” ( lit./  verbatim ; “Mysterious occurrences among our people”  , referring to the, now former,  Yugoslavian people)   by Radovan Kazimirovic

[11] As under [8]

[12] Retrieved from : http://www.astrojyoti.com/av1-7.htm

[13]  Draja Micharic praises beer bath in his famous “Spiritual cleansing” book

[14]  According to source listed under [8]

[15]  As under [8]

IMAGE CREDITS:

The first image, depicting an eye, is courtesy of "The Graphic's fairy" and can be found here  : http://thegraphicsfairy.com/antique-images-human-eyes/ , digitally edited for use here, by myself

 

The other image is a scribble by my minority

The third image is from http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/766/Mano_Poderosa_The_All-Powerful_Hand_or_Las_Cinco_Personas_The_Five_Persons used here for illustrative and explanatory purposes without any ill will

 

Cutting the ties that bind ( Binding removal magick )

A  serious issue in protection and reversal , or apotropaic magick is binding. And also, one so heavily neglected. And If You’ve read this blog before You know I have a thing for researching those, neglected, watered down, vogue concepts, methods and techniques of magick.  I’ve been looking into it for a while now, but what prompted me to share some of the insight about it, that I gained now, is the fact that  a person asked me for help to ease their condition, or remove it, as much as I am able and willing of course. And one of the important aspects of their condition, is the   very fact that  they are bound, to the point where it caused actual physical consequences like blood clots, various cardiovascular problems, and general decrease in health, energy and ability to take care of themselves. As commonly noticed in such cases,  the person feels as if actual, sharp strands binding and restricting them.

If You look it up online, and even in popular occult books, little can be found about unbinding. In fact, You can find plethora of information on binding, love binding, restricting and others, but next to nothing about removing such condition. And this is of essence, as the binding  is, in a way, a form of very severe blocked condition  , which simply causes person to be unable to manipulate their basic ki, and even magickal energies, if they are practitioner , properly. This  further causes all sort of problems to arise , from depression, and inertness, to actual physical  manifestations, a various other problems,  and some we have already discussed here.

With that being said, although I could not encounter many examples of unbinding methods and techniques, the more in depth research of binding itself, showed something of  a base, a  start point ,   that with some intuitive and creative processes, can be used to construct or come up with, potentially life-saving  techniques for removal and cutting the energy ties.  

So  few things that seem to be associated with magickal binding are:

·         The purpose is, in the end line, to control, by meanings of restraining, subduing or tying to oneself or other, person or object

·         Ties are made of astral, ethereal , mental/psychic or elemental energy . This is important as each type of those energies can be  disrupted, interfered, dissolved ( or rather fazed into state that can no longer serve the function of binding  )

·         Ties are a double edged sword !!!  Binding connects two people or people and objects, drawing them closer to each other, hence they are both prone to negative sides of binding depending on strength of binder and the bound

·         Binding creates an energy  link, or rapport ( as referred to by Dion  Fortune in her book “Psychic Self-Defense” )  which can be used cunningly to send "things" to the attacker.

·         Binding and energy binds can be cut, dispelled, removed, dissolved,  severed, and they seem to get stronger If the person afflicted fears them, and succumbs to them. The more they fear the binds are stronger. Their strength also depends on the strength of binder. Technically, If binder would get  severely ill, energy deprived, or die, the ties would disappear simultaneously.

So understanding the basic "anatomy of the binding",  allows one   to  get ideas how to remove them.  Bindings come in various forms, but  few are most common.

1.       Love  ( spell/ritual )  binding – is a typical drawing binding, which serves to energetically tie someone to You, and to affect their “four polar magnet” ( Franz Bardon ) so they’ll perceive similar sensations You do . To me this is a  rather pathetic act, or a  silly cry for an attention, and it can be easily removed by any method of removingand undoing love spells  In fact, thanks to the fact that love spells and love bindings somehow “merged”  into same cetagory, we today still have  enough knowledge about material magicka , which can be used to severe energetic ties.  Such as, for example Lemon verbena and Lemon balm’s power to severe ties with lovers, past loves, even bad friends. The Love uncrossing oil formula of mine ( I posted on here in one of my earlier articles ) can be used to severe  such ties, and pretty much any  binding.  Hoodoo brand “Cut and Clear” as well as “Bon Voyage” and even “Cast off evil oil”, all due to their ingredients are amazing for any kind of unbinding spells not just love ones either.

2.       Restraining/blocking binding – is another common type of binding, which is not much unlike the love binding in methods and way it works, it’s merely done for other reasons. It’s done to “seal” someone’s power, make them less powerful  and thus less threatening,  “tie their chakras”, or more frequently their meridians , blood vessels, or even  the conductin g parts of the urinary tract. One of examples of the last one would be Hoodoo urine stoppage   ritual.  These  are very dangerous and they render person unable to properly defend themselves  or lessen severely their abilities to do so. I will be dealing with removal of such for the most part in this article.

3.       Rapport – is a simple link created between a  practitioner and it’s victim during casting a curse or some stronger, repeated magickal work, or continuous magickal work. It also occurs between people and attached entities ( as referred to in crystal therapy for example ) , or between human and energy parasite    and it can be severed through a ritual which is a combination  of visualization and ceremonial magick, or by using some other methods.

4.       Physical binding – this is the most fair binding at all. It’s most close to mundane binding as You use strings to tie something, and not in a fashion of sympathetic magick. When You tie a doll up, that represents someone , You will still be using  a lot of Your own energy to bind  them, for example. Physical binding I have in  mind here, is the magick of knotting,  tying down problems, much like done with knotweed, wind knots, or  simply when tying up a hex bag or creating witches ladder. Since it ties energy in general, and uses a physical medium, empowered by ritual/spell to do it, it’s a safe and harmless way of attractive/drawing magick, of focusing, grounding and in a way housing energy.

Now, having understood these, we can proceed to methods of unbinding.

Removing, cutting and dispersing binds and ties

Spells, rituals, materia magicka , as well as simple energy/visualization work can be used  to do this
( cut the ties ) .  And we shall  go through few examples bellow, most of which I had to come up and formulate (by/on) myself.

Meditation and visualization  method

Through techniques of own energy manipulation, any attached energy forms from other people or entities can be severed, or destroyed. This however requires both an enormous amount of energy

and very precise control over it, which is a luxury that bound person can hardly ever afford.  But If Your visualization and energy controlling skills are strong enough, and You can think of additional source of energy,  You can attempt this.

1.       Relax Yourself,  and enter meditative state

2.       Center, focus and ground Your energy, middle pillar ritual or alike style, draw energy both from above and below, in a form of  pillar empowering every single  one of Yours 7 main chakras, and connecting them.

3.       Now make sure You have an additional energy source to draw from. Other human beings or spirit guides may help You in this, with their own energy.  A good crystal grid for energy, endurance and empowerment will work too. In any case, draw from the source until You can clearly visualize and feel great amount of energy entering the energy pillar You made in previous step, one connecting and empowering Your chakras.  See it expand and radiate gold or pure white light/energy. Feel this energy being ferocious and threatening as If able to melt anything on it’s way, or better yet , being like laser, able to cut through anything.

4.       Now, in planes parallel with   Your 7 main chakras, expand the pillar in form of circular, planar, energy field ( disc- like ) and see it stretching the binds tied to You, which You can imagine as strands of dark, glowing matter, for example.  See them being lifted a bit from Your body ,  and stretching by the point where they are threatened to break or snap, at any point. Then visualize the energy fields ( discs ) becoming even stronger, more radiant, and starting to spin with an enormous speed. You can also visualize them being serrated on the edges. Once again feel their enormous power, and see them cutting the ties, in places where the chakras are.

5.       Expand them for about a feet more  and have them  visualized rotating for a little more. See the strands falling off and withering or disappearing away, turning into dust and being blown away by wind.   You should feel a great relief.

6.       Protect oneself. And You’re done.

As You see, this is a rough outline of method/way such techniques  can be done, and as You can imagine it requires focus and mental skills of a nearly-sage at least, and energy which would, roughly ,  have to be more intense  than what the binder at given time possess. I  simply included this technique for those people who simply  "won’t have anything to do with any kind of ritual or spell-work", or using magickal tools and materials, and who have trained themselves in energy manipulation instead.  Bound people, as mentioned before ,  are mostly physically, mentally and energetically too exhausted to pull something like this off.

Crystal therapy

Blockages and energy attachments are something pretty much any crystal therapist can relatively easil y deal with. You can try few methods suggested here Yourself, and for them You do not need any  ( special )  additional energy source , as crystals radiate their own, and can by need, be charged even further more.  Here are few tips:

·         Certain crystals, like Laser Quartz, Kunzite, Larimar, Diamond can cut the energy ties as simply as You would do with a sharp scalpel. Running over the body of the afflicted from head to toes, many times, as If trying to “scan” the person complete.   Usually an healing or energizing grid is formed around the person, and followed with chakra balanicing when done. Mind that Diamond, while the strongest of all listed here, is also the most dangerous, more so because most are faceted and thus emanate sharp energy that does not discriminate. On occasions, it has been said ,  to had literarily cut internal organs of clients. Which is why only the people who know how to use it safely,  should use it. This is something that someone should do for You, and they should know that when they are using Laser Quartz, or Quartz Wand they should draw energy from their surrounding ( nature ) through the Crown chakra and then focus it into hand and finally through the quartz, according to Judy Hall [1]

·         Various crystal girds can be used to dissolve energy imprints and attachments to aura, as well as  energy links and bindings. For example combine Chlorite, Amethyst and Smokey Quartz, and set them to form  a pentacle pattern around Your body as You lay down. One Smokey Quartz should go above the head, the two  amethysts should be next to Your extended arms, and the  Chlorites may rest at Your feet, each.  So it’s a typical “men in pentagram” grid pattern. Make sure the crystals are finely charged, and then lay down for as long as You see fit ( not less than 20 minutes though ) and at some point You will feel relief and more freedom, the sensation of loosening those invisible binds that were on You, or complete disappearance of them.

·         Selenite Wands and Smokey quartz Wands and points,  are amazing tool for removing mental imprints other people have placed on Your  aura and subtl e bodie, bindings included. They need to be passed all over the person, or arranged in gird around them. Even tumbled crystals will do, even though Selenite is hardly ever found tumbled. 

 

Rituals, spells and ritual baths

Now these may seem most complicated, but are probably the swiftest and safest cure. Unbinding and bind breaking rituals employ bind breaking agents , such as botanicals , minerals, candles, Divine names, tools  such as Athame etc. 

Herbs most commonly used are Lemon, Camphor, White Clover,  Lemon verbena, Lemon Balm , Rue etc. The minerals and metals used in this type of operation include , Salt, particularly blessed sea salt, broken silver chains, any of the crystals mentioned previously and so on.

Best time to perform this type of operations are Saturday, Sunday or Monday, just before the dawn, or in corresponding planetary hours of the planets mentioned. Of course, it implies they can be done whenever the need arises, pretty much as  any other kind of spells or ritual work. Also a very good time to perform such spiritual work, and certainly an adjunct to the power, would be the last week or last night of the waning  part of the Moon’s  cycle.  

Candle spell to burn the ties

Get a white figural candle, of correspondent “gender” of the afflicted person. Set it  a saucer, which is placed  on a paper with Divine Name : “Mem Tzadic Resh” inscribed.   Dress it with very lightly (!)  with  “Cut and Clear oil”, “Cast off evil oil” , “Stop Evil oil” , “Bon Voyage oil” or “Uncrossing oil”. 

Now entwine in very carefully from  with a black cord, going very carefully from top down in a descending spiral, making sure that the begging of the cord is quite near the wick, but does not touch it.

As You entwine the candle, say :

“I am not tying N.N. , he/she/it was tied by the wicked person. This cord is the bind used, it’s the bindings that  torment N.N. It’s the essence of them, and one with them.  And whatever shall occur with this cord, shall occur with the bindings which restrain N.N. In the name of Father , Son and the Hol y Spirit. Amen”

Once again, extremely lightly ( I’d use painting brush for this )  dress the candle with the oil, paying special attention to the areas with the cord. In fact You could dress the cord only.

Now light the candle and say :

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” [2]

The read:

Psalm 18^th, Psalm 91^st 

Let the candle burn all the way down. As it burns it will burn the cord wrapped around it as well, and this shall abolish the  bindings  done on the afflicte d person  .

Dipped doll baby unbinding/bind breaking spell

This one is simplicity itself. You’ll need

·         Waxen doll or  poppet representin g the bound person. A wax figural/image candle will do brilliantly. Cave the name of the person in question on the candle, and If You have     ,  attach also photography of their face on the doll’s head.

·         Jar wide enough to fit the doll in it, and tall enough so that the doll’s head sticks out of the jar, Glass can be used as well

·         Lemon juice, about half a jar’s volume worth

·         Vinegar, about half of the jar’s volume worth

·         Blessed salt, in a three pinches

·         Black cord

A good addition to vinegar here can be red Cayenne pepper whole, or flakes as in Hoodoo they are known to "chase people away" and "break people up"

Consecrate or baptize the waxen image. Attach photo of the face of the person on the image’s head, If You have it, and inscribe their name on the candle before You do.

Now  heat the waxen image tad bit, You don’t want it to melt, just to become bit soft on the surface, then wrap some black cord around it in descending spiral, as You speak :

“I am not tying N.N. , he/she/it was tied by the wicked person. This cord is the bind used, it’s the bindings that  torment N.N. It’s the essence of them , and one with them.  And whatever shall occur with this cord, shall occur with the bindings which restrain N.N. In the name of Father , Son and the Hol y Spirit. Amen”

Now fill the jar half with Lemon  juice and half with Vinegar. Add Salt and mix quite well. Now dip the doll in, so that the head protrudes whole, freely outside the jar and say 3 times:

“Lemon and Vinegar melt  away the evil bindings done on N.N. Remove them, abolish and render null and void. And so shall be, in the Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Place the doll in some cold place, where the liquid will not evaporate too soon.  Wax is a parafine, and will not react with the acids, but they will eventually burn or eat out the ties. When they do, the spell is done and the person is free. You can repeat any words of power over the jar daily until it happens.

 

Cleansing Hoodoo spell to remove negativity, crossing and energy ties and hooks

Gently scratching the affected person’s body   downwards with a chicken’s foot , say this prayer , which can be found in J.G. Hohman’s “Pow wows” :

“  You horsemen and footmen, whom I here conjured at this time, you may pass on in the
name of Jesus Christ, through the word of God and the will of Christ; ride ye on now and
pass . ” [4]

This should be done three times per day, seven days. If You can not get the chicken’s foot,  which You really should try, use Black hen’s feather fan / feather duster / feather whisk  instead, combined with spraying ( using a spray bottle ) mixture of Holy water , Blessed salt and some Lemon juice.

 Hope You've enjoyed reading this little work of mine, and I do sincerely hope it helped You in some way. I must note here that I've originally included more information, but decided it would be too lengthy and perhaps overly detailed for blog platform. This means I will be at certain point, combining it with some other stuff I wrote about and post on Scribd in full form. At that point I will add the link here.

Many Blessings, Shadow :) 

 

NOTES: This article was written and composed by myself, so If You'd wish to use any part of it elsewhere online , feel free but  add credits: Shadow of Shadow's  magick place, Shadow-333@hotmail.com , or a direct link to this post

CREDITS AND REFRENCES:

[1] Judy Hall, Encyclopedia of Crystals

[2] Retrieved from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%206:6-7&version=NIV

[3] Retrieved from : http://spellcasters-source.blogspot.com/2013/06/bath-spell-to-remove-any-hex-jinx-or.html

[4] “Pow wow’s or the long lost friend” by John George, Hohman  , page 60^th

IMAGE CREDITS: Images used are drawn, and taken by myself