{"id":421,"date":"2017-03-05T18:30:48","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T02:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=421"},"modified":"2017-03-11T11:11:02","modified_gmt":"2017-03-11T19:11:02","slug":"the-crux-of-cursing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/03\/the-crux-of-cursing.html","title":{"rendered":"The Crux of Cursing: Cutting Fiction, Fraud, & Fantasy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The subject of cursing<\/a> clearly brings up a lot of emotional response, but I often wonder how much critical thinking is involved in that reaction.\u00a0 So let\u2019s look at that, shall we?<\/p>\n

The following scene is from one of my favorite guilty pleasures, the movie Moonstruck.<\/em>\u00a0 You can scoot ahead to about 1:11 to get to the scene I want to talk about it, and please do watch it all the way until the end of the clip:
\n<\/iframe><\/p>\nI love this movie, and especially this scene so much because it reminds me of my Sicilian and Italian family (even though\u00a0my family was based in Philly and the movie takes place in New York\u2026) \u00a0Religion, love, anger, words, strength, and actions mixed up in a fantastic bowl with a side of garlic and a glass of wine. \u00a0It also gets to\u00a0one\u00a0of the key elements of cursing (and the emotional response): belief.<\/p>\nBut let\u2019s back up a step. \u00a0Honestly, when most of people think of cursing, they source from fairytales and myths \u2013 like an angry fairy from\u00a0Sleeping Beauty<\/em> or the Greek gods being petty and doling out punishments, like those bestowed up Cassandra of Troy, Medusa, Psyche, or pretty much anyone hero or heroine you can think of from those stories. \u00a0Or scams where someone is made to believe their bad luck is the result of a curse \u00a0\u2013 that can be cured of course, if you hand over a large sum of money. So basically, mostly \u201cinnocent\u201d people are attacked for no good reason, or for cruel and\u00a0petty reasons.<\/p>\nThen there\u2019s also the folks who like to drop supposed hexes and curses like they\u2019re going out of style, as a means of control, making threats, and generally trying to make themselves look bad-ass and powerful somehow. \u00a0They\u2019re often trying to propagate a fantasy of themselves to others. \u00a0Someone transgressed them (in their opinion),<\/em> and they\u2019re going to publicly make a stink of it.<\/p>\nIn the case of fairytales, myths, and legends \u2013 the supposed curse is a plot vehicle to drive the story along, and\/or a way of trying to assign reason to a world that rarely makes sense. \u00a0Bad things happen to good people, and it makes us feel better to assign a reason for it. \u00a0 In the case of scammers and the hextastic, they\u2019re both preying upon human nature. \u00a0They see an opportunity to make money or to push their agenda, and they are usually also skilled manipulators*. They know how to plant a seed and make it grow in someone\u2019s mind. \u00a0They don\u2019t have to believe in the \u201ccurse\u201d \u2013 only their target does. \u00a0If the target doesn\u2019t believe, they hold no power.<\/p>\n(*FYI \u2013 Frankly, we\u2019re ALL manipulators from our earliest hours, we all seek to influence and control our environment, from a baby\u2019s cry to cologne. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t HAVE to be a bad thing.)<\/em><\/p>\nWhich brings us back to the moment in Moonstruck<\/em> \u2013 the old woman sought to strike fear into the heart of her sister for a treachery from long ago, though she didn\u2019t believe in the curse or very likely wanted her sister dead either. \u00a0Loretta (Cher) also says she doesn\u2019t believe in curses, but we\u2019re shown a moment where doubt creeps in, and it becomes a sub-theme in the movie. It\u2019s that mind over matter thing (hello metaphysics)<\/em> where if you believe you\u2019re going to have bad luck or think you\u2019re cursed, you pretty much are doing it to yourself without any additional help.<\/p>\nNow, when I look at hexing, cursing, and other baneful work, I\u2019m not coming from a place of fiction, fairytales, fraud, or egomania. \u00a0I\u2019m looking at the various sides of the same coin \u2013 the same force of energy that\u2019s used to heal, to grow, and to bless. \u00a0We can prune plants so that they can have new growth. \u00a0We can set up fences to protect\u00a0people, pets, and places. \u00a0We march, write, and make phone calls to aid the rights of others who are in danger. We can spread ideas that cause folks to think more deeply, more openly, and create balance and equality. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t have to be public, raw, or extravagant. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t have<\/em> to involve blood, piss, and scary images to make change happen (though some folks would argue that\u2019s more fun. \u00a0To each their own!)\u00a0<\/em> \n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-423\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2017\/03\/curseoftheweek-truth.jpg\" alt=\"curseoftheweek-truth\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"> \nI do find quite a bit of pleasure in creating the \u201cCurse of the Week\u201d memes for #WeAreAradia. \u00a0They\u2019re not designed to be some sort of group spell, nor do they hit a specific person, or require much skill or ANY specific path. \u00a0They\u2019re simply an expression that engages a sense of balance in our minds and the world around us. They\u2019re not from a place of retaliation or vengeance, but rather the sentiment to steer change and balance for common good. They also have a sense of wry humor embedded in\u00a0them \u2013 because some of the best magick and ritual I\u2019ve seen has had a firm embrace of\u00a0humor. \u00a0The gods appreciate it, and I like to point that while we can all make waves, we\u2019re still in the wake of the ocean itself from a divine standpoint.<\/p>\nSo if\u00a0you find yourself getting hung up on the word, then it\u2019s probably a strong sign that the person who\u00a0may need to do some work is the one you see in the mirror. \u00a0If working for justice and change (especially without malice) makes \u201cus\u201d look bad, then sign me up \u2013 at least my photo is better than the media using fictional witches to represent \u201cus.\u201d \u00a0Seriously, if we\u2019re calling ourselves witches (to reclaim it or whatever you like to use to explain your use), are we going to get bent out of shape over another word that can yield power? Think about it. \u00a0In the end, you\u2019re not arguing ethics or morals, but rather semantics and supposed appearances. \u00a0I\u2019d rather spend the time getting stuff done and helping people.<\/p>\nI ask you:<\/strong><\/em> Are you following the actual intention behind the words and actions, or are you reacting with your own baggage? Because we need more of the former and less of the latter if we\u2019re going to get work done.<\/p>\n#WeAreAradia<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_263\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-263\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2016\/12\/witchgut.jpg\" alt=\"collage by the author\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-263\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-263\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">collage by the author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The subject of cursing clearly brings up a lot of emotional response, but I often wonder how much critical thinking is involved in that reaction. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,12],"tags":[182,195,179,194,196,161,7,4],"class_list":["post-421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metaphysics","category-modernpractice","tag-binding","tag-curse","tag-cursing","tag-hexing","tag-moonstruck","tag-wearearadia","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The Crux of Cursing: Cutting Fiction, Fraud, & Fantasy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The subject of cursing clearly brings up a lot of emotional response, but I often wonder how much critical thinking is involved in that reaction.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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