Witchvox Article

Author: Diana Rajchel
Posted: February 10th. 2002
Times Viewed: 3,507

In the Pagan/Wiccan world, it's as dirty as death to talk about, but it happens: people do hex. Whether we like it or not, narcissism is a part of the human condition. We all have a need to feel important. In fact, in order to heal, we must treat ourselves and those we heal with importance. If a Witch is so inclined to curse, we must also treat the person we wish to hex with importance. The key skill comes not in the channeling of negative or positive energy, and a skilled healer always manages both. It comes in recognizing that there is a neutral key balanced at the center of the range of hex or heal: a recognition of an individual's connection to the rest of the universe. It is not so much that a healer must demonstrate an ability to hex along with healing gifts, but that a healer must recognize the capacity in him/herself. Like all forms of magick, healing is actually a double-edged blade.

An accidental hex, while highly unpleasant, suggests an ability to heal others and to heal the self: a person who fires off a hex that takes effect demonstrates the capacity to treat another person as important. I have, to my knowledge, cast one accidental hex in my life. My ex-boyfriend sent me a particularly nasty letter at what he knew was a low point in my life. I responded with one line, "I hope you die alone!" A great deal of energy, hate, sorrow revolved around my focus on him, who was the most important person in my life at the time. The ex remained part of my life for nearly three years after that fight, even as I went on to new romances. He, despite being very attractive, however, began to have all of his relationships fall off, often with no apparent reason. After much reflection, I realized that his failures had a cosmic connection to my bitter words. As an act of healing, and to release us both from the steady but negative path of each other, I performed a ritual invoking Ma'at, confessed my sin, and released him and myself. Within a month he moved out from my life and last I heard, he was in his version of a significant relationship.

What happened with my ex I suspect happens to others who partake of the healing arts. In fact, it happens with most people: sooner or later, you're going to encounter someone you dislike. If you're normal, you may put some serious thought into how much you dislike this person. Perhaps you'll even crow when his shoelaces get caught in the escalator. The feelings are nasty, immature, and very human. Absolutely necessary to overcome, but human nonetheless. If a person can focus that much negative attention on an individual, the same person can focus positive attention on a person. The attention-giver has potential as a healer.*

As for the deliberate hex, I'm sure most readers can already see the finger waving "no, no, naughty, bad!" in contrapoint to the pounding fist of "if it's justified, in self-defense, etc." to the occasional Path of, "well, yeah, we're going to hex the annoying!" I recognize the ethical range. To me, the question of hexing to heal applies to skill, rather than morality. When I do my ethics check, I personally set the hexes at the door. However, when I perform healing magick, I need to recognize my capacity. In my experience as a healer, I do believe that a true healer does have the capacity for harm as well as for health -- sometimes the only test of magickal effectiveness comes when the healer makes a mistake.

When my spouse was seriously ill with a neurological headache, I tried the standard beginner's trick of healing his pain: I visualized green energy coming from my hands into his head. Green for health? Right? Wrong. I managed to double his already intense pain, and finally realized my mistake when I recognized that his headaches were caused by abnormal bone growth. Purple light worked for headaches, and soon I was able to relieve his pain. In my attempt to heal, I harmed. I inadvertently hexed and increased his pain. While I regret his suffering, the mistake confirmed that my magick was working , although I certainly hope that any further proof of my healing abilities comes without torturing my lover.

All healers recognize and value their connections to others. This lesson was brought home to me in my own quest for wellness. I recently discovered Rosen therapy, where treating another human being with importance forms the crux of the technique. In Rosen, the practitioner gently lays hands on a patient, and allows the client to respond emotionally to the touch. No manipulation of muscles takes place. The client talks, cries, screams, whatever it takes to release emotional memories from the muscles -- the therapist acts as a guide, supporting the client's emotional response and encouraging further release. I discovered how powerful this method is when I volunteered for a demonstration at a Women and Spirituality conference. Being in a happy-go-lucky mood, I had no problem whipping off my shirt and bra in front of an audience before hopping on the massage table. Forty-five minutes and a muddle puddle of me later, I discovered two things: one, I was a lot more stressed out than I thought, and two, I had never in my life felt like I mattered so much. Rosen seems to me like the ultimate example of hex and heal converge: to heal the pain still stored in my muscles, I had to live through the memories and release them. Just as when I do an energy healing, the people I work on sometimes feel a twinge before the pain goes, I have to feel the twinge of my past life before it leaves my body when I am on the therapist's table.

Magick, all magick, even that for more external methods, manifests as a skill. While most magick relates the individual to the greater universe, healing has an additional complexity of relating the healer to the universe through another person. This requires elevating another person to the level of importance one must have for oneself to succeed in magickal operations. This importance can appear as a negative -- focusing intensely on a person disliked, or as a positive - directing love and concern towards a loved one. Healing and hexing come from the same force and require the same focus; they do spring from the same skill. The judgments come from which way the practitioner chooses to ride the pendulum.

*this applies to normal attention/forget-about-it behaviors, as opposed to obsessive restraining order inducing behaviors.

Diana Rajchel Olsen

ABOUT...

Diana Rajchel

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Author's Profile: To learn more about Diana Rajchel - Click HERE

Bio: Diana Rajchel Olsen runs Medea's Chariot.com at http://www.medeaschariot.com .

She writes for the Pagan community in general, and has published in SageWoman, Widdershins and Llewellyn Magical Almanac. She is presently working on a Spell-a-Day almanac for Ivy Press out of the UK.

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