PBP Wk 3: B is for Breaking Out the Bitchcraft

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Harsher magick is definitely a hot button topic I've seen squabbled over in the Pagan community.  There are some who swear that "White Magick" is the only way to go and that it is never appropriate to do any "Black Magick".  They tout the laws of Karma and the Wiccan Rede as absolutes with no room for differing circumstances.   And then you have those who flat-out don't believe in Karma and see nothing wrong with throwing out hexes or curses if it suits them.

When I first began my Pagan journey, I used to be just as devoutly against any so-called "black magick" as the others I'd mentioned.  And please just know that I absolutely mean no disrespect to anyone regardless of the views they hold on the topic. Paganism is something that is so personal that it differs for each individual in regards to the path they walk and the views they hold.

The views I have come to hold is that 1: I most definitely do believe in Karma.  I have seen Karma at work and I have seen people, including myself, "reap what they sow", basically.  2: I don't believe in "White Magick" versus "Black Magick".  I believe magick to be like a gun -- its "good" or "evil" depends on the heart of the person wielding it.  I do, however, believe in the difference between "gentle" magick versus harsher magick.  Some magick, regardless of the heart and intent of the person wielding it, is still going to be harsher, stronger, and more tricky than the simpler, more gentle spells such as those we do for healing or to dispel negativity.  It's like looking at a knife set.  Knives can be as dull as a butter knife or as sharp as a martial arts blade.  And sometimes it is perfectly appropriate to break out the harsher magick, or, as I like to refer to it,  "Breaking Out the Bitchcraft".

Spells for justice can be like that.  Especially depending on the severity of the wrong done.  I've seen this one spell that, quite frankly, raises the hair on my neck and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had that reaction.  It calls upon Hecate, Kali, Persephone, and a few others and beseeches them for justice.  I'm talking "Big Guns" kind of spell.   As in, I would probably use this spell if I'd been raped, someone I loved had been murdered -- that kind of thing.   Like, whoever had written that spell had been pushed a good 100 miles beyond their "Enough Point" and they were fed the fuck up and needed some results last week.  Now, I would not personally use that spell for anything less than a dire emergency of a situation.  I don't believe in using a bazooka on a mosquito.  Not to mention that I already have a particularly healthy respect for Hecate where I would not lightly call upon her for aid (in fact, I've only ever called upon her for justice once) and Kali?  Well, Kali just flat-out scares the shit out of me and if the day ever comes where I feel the need to call upon her, then you know that it's pretty much the end of the world for me.

I also fully believe that curses and hexes can be quite appropriate for magickal self defense.  I have a book by Dorothy Morrison called "Utterly Wicked: Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions".  I love that she had the cojones to write this book because guess what?  Not everyone can just go through life only ever trying to solve things with the more "fluffy" magick (and no, that is not meant as an insult; I'm not calling anyone a fluffy bunny).  However, I do believe that magick like this takes someone who is responsible and mature enough to take responsibility of the spell backfires and is mature enough to know when it is appropriate to do these kinds of spells and when it's not.   It should be someone who will know to not use them if a simpler solution can be found (again: mosquito Vs. bazooka is not necessary).

Part of me wishes I had known of these things when I was still with my ex-husband and yet the other part of me knows that I was not yet mature or learned enough to know the appropriate use of such measures.  And, of course, that is still the ultimate responsibility of using magick: Personal Responsibility.  If you don't have that capability, then you have no business doing magick.

Even further, however, I personally believe that learning to deal with the harsher magick is a must if one is to keep the balance within themself.  The world has both the nighttime and the daytime, the light and the dark.  It is a balance that should be kept.  But that's just me.  It's not for me to tell other people how they should do things in their personal practices.  My views are simply that:  my views.