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Author Topic: Banishing spells and catharsis  (Read 3989 times)

Sorcha

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Banishing spells and catharsis
« on: April 22, 2017, 06:15:44 pm »
So I did a banishing spell on somebody recently that has caused a lot of hurt in my life and the life of a close friend over the past few years. Nothing harmful (although I'd honestly not be above hexing them if they continued to dish out hurt, I'd rather that be a last resort sort of thing personally), just a "get away and don't come back".

I don't know if it worked, but I discovered another thing about magic: it's wonderfully cathartic. I've quite literally hated this person for years, and I was able to get that out of my system and lay it at least partly to rest.

Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?


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Redfaery

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2017, 06:32:14 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383
Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?

Yes, and honestly that's the entire reason I've finally started to do simple spells. Doing magic gives me a feeling that I've *done something*, and that's very cathartic to me, since I feel like I've got so much energy pent up inside all the time. It helps to let a bit out every now and then.

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2017, 06:47:04 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383
Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?


Back when I was a wee neophyte who hated everyone and everything except the skin I was in (and I'm not sure about that last), I was pointed towards the practice of writing letters to whomever and whatever upset me and destroying them, as a means of getting the hurt out of my system. It was a psychological exercise to deal with teen angst, not magic, but I soon built it up to quite grand ceremony: picking the right kind of paper and envelope, special pens, writing at my altar by candlelight, treating myself to a special treat and drink at the end. If the weather permitted, I burned the letters in the garden chiminea; otherwise, I took them to the town park, ripped them to pieces and dropped them into the river. It felt incredibly liberating.

I still write such letters, when I feel the need to, although I no longer make a big deal of the process, and I can put them away until I can burn them safely, as I've grown a lot more conscious of what I dump into the water.
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Sorcha

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2017, 06:55:54 pm »
Quote from: Chatelaine;205390
Back when I was a wee neophyte who hated everyone and everything except the skin I was in (and I'm not sure about that last), I was pointed towards the practice of writing letters to whomever and whatever upset me and destroying them, as a means of getting the hurt out of my system. It was a psychological exercise to deal with teen angst, not magic, but I soon built it up to quite grand ceremony: picking the right kind of paper and envelope, special pens, writing at my altar by candlelight, treating myself to a special treat and drink at the end. If the weather permitted, I burned the letters in the garden chiminea; otherwise, I took them to the town park, ripped them to pieces and dropped them into the river. It felt incredibly liberating.

I still write such letters, when I feel the need to, although I no longer make a big deal of the process, and I can put them away until I can burn them safely, as I've grown a lot more conscious of what I dump into the water.

 
Yeah. I considered throwing the remains in the ocean, but I didn't want to dump that kind of negativity in there. Plus, tides tend to wash stuff back up, and I wanted it GONE. And there's the environmental factor.

So I flushed the remains down the toilet. That felt appropriate.  


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Cinder

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2017, 11:21:34 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383
So I did a banishing spell on somebody recently that has caused a lot of hurt in my life and the life of a close friend over the past few years. Nothing harmful (although I'd honestly not be above hexing them if they continued to dish out hurt, I'd rather that be a last resort sort of thing personally), just a "get away and don't come back".

I don't know if it worked, but I discovered another thing about magic: it's wonderfully cathartic. I've quite literally hated this person for years, and I was able to get that out of my system and lay it at least partly to rest.

Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?


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Yes. I've used it to help me let go of anger and it's been very helpful for that. One spell in particular felt like it took a weight off of my shoulders.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2017, 11:23:19 pm by Cinder »

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2017, 10:16:58 am »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383


Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?



 
A few years ago I had my locker broken into at work during a weekend I was off. I didn't have much of value in there because I wasn't there, but they did take about 3/4 of a Warehouse-sized box of snack bars that I rely on to get through the day. The worst part in all this was that I knew it had to be one of my co-workers, because the lockers were kept in our breakroom which was behind a coded door only employees had access to. I was so hurt and devastated that someone I knew and had trusted would do that, and seriously concerned about what would happen when I was there and my purse and valuables were in that locker.

So I went home that day and put out a binding. I put all the anger and hurt I had into it. When it was done, I felt light as a feather, and was ready to go back again with a smile.

I did find out who the culprit was, by the way, when about 2 weeks later he got fired for unrelated reasons. Once he was gone then people felt safe to share their stories about him, and it turns out he was just a terrible person overall so I'm feeling pretty good about hopefully binding him from wreaking further havok (Management was pretty mum about why he got fired but I heard it was from a customer complaint about sexual harassment and threatening behavior).

Sefiru

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2017, 07:41:18 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383

Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?


I don't know if I'd call it 'cathartic' per se, but I have done magic that stopped me from dwelling on negative experiences too much.

I also tried something similar to the letter-writing thing Chatelaine mentioned, though that was less about purging negative emotions than about compiling all the things that disturbed me about this one person and then going, "wow, this is like 12 pages, I guess I'm not imagining things."
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Abigail

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2017, 01:29:00 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383
Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?

Absolutely, although I tend to avoid binding spells I have performed one for a very disrupting and malicious person that I once knew. This was someone that was messing with not just mine but other peoples lives in a very unhealthy way and after performing the spell there was a massive amount of weight that just fell of my shoulder.

Similarly I also used to do the letter writing and burning Chatelaine mentioned, and that too worked wonders for me. Also in my personal development, as I tended to take any mistake I made and magnify it until it became big enough to keep hitting myself over the head with it, for a long time I would reflect on mistakes, write them down and burn them, so I could release them before making them into something to "punish" myself with.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2017, 01:29:48 pm by Abigail »

Something

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2017, 02:55:11 pm »
Quote from: Sorcha;205383
So I did a banishing spell on somebody recently that has caused a lot of hurt in my life and the life of a close friend over the past few years. Nothing harmful (although I'd honestly not be above hexing them if they continued to dish out hurt, I'd rather that be a last resort sort of thing personally), just a "get away and don't come back".

I don't know if it worked, but I discovered another thing about magic: it's wonderfully cathartic. I've quite literally hated this person for years, and I was able to get that out of my system and lay it at least partly to rest.

Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?


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You can use a reflection spell that basically sends the negative energy back to the sender before it gets to you, I have used magic before to harm people but only truly evil people who deserve it,and although I wish I wasn't put in that position I have learned to accept that part of me, but the strength of my energy is scary because my connection with my partner is so strong, just make sure that you are completely certain of the culprit and their actions before acting on it, I am sad to admit that I have made that mistake before although it wasn't all my fault as it turns out, if it wasn't for the angel from my nightmare it could have been a lot worse than skin burns which have now been healed thankfully,I still haven't forgiven myself for that. I personally don't use my dark side unless someone is in danger, I am just at home with healing and helping good people as I am punishing bad people, remember there is no such thing as justice, justice would be stopping something bad before it happens but as I can't turn back time I will settle for punishment.. I am sorry to hear that someone is causing you problems and I hope that it isn't anything serious, brightest blessings to you..

Sorcha

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2017, 06:31:25 pm »

 
You can use a reflection spell that basically sends the negative energy back to the sender before it gets to you, I have used magic before to harm people but only truly evil people who deserve it,and although I wish I wasn't put in that position I have learned to accept that part of me, but the strength of my energy is scary because my connection with my partner is so strong, just make sure that you are completely certain of the culprit and their actions before acting on it, I am sad to admit that I have made that mistake before although it wasn't all my fault as it turns out, if it wasn't for the angel from my nightmare it could have been a lot worse than skin burns which have now been healed thankfully,I still haven't forgiven myself for that. I personally don't use my dark side unless someone is in danger, I am just at home with healing and helping good people as I am punishing bad people, remember there is no such thing as justice, justice would be stopping something bad before it happens but as I can't turn back time I will settle for punishment.. I am sorry to hear that someone is causing you problems and I hope that it isn't anything serious, brightest blessings to you..

The person in question physically and emotionally abused my best friend to the point that they nearly ended up committing themselves to a psych ward because their mental health was so fragile. I get the caution, but the spell was 100% warranted.


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Faemon

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #10 on: June 18, 2017, 09:35:21 pm »
I discovered another thing about magic: it's wonderfully cathartic. 

Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?

Disregarding the metaphysics of the matter, yes, I'd come to consider that the vast majority of the time, it's the enacting of a ritual spell at least leads the ritualist to believe and feel as though the ritual had done something—and if that diffuses otherwise overwhelming emotions, then that is the least effect that is yet consistent, direct, and usually positive. And therefore very worthwhile and valuable.

Lately, though, it's been what I call "astral travel" bringing new stuff that probably means a cue to like, "okay you're over it now"—but only after mundane action, so I'm like, "Why didn't this happen in the otherworld before I messed up the thishereworld a bit more?" Because I was really very regularly trying for a contained, private ritual catharsis for like fifteen months.

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CoyoteFeathers

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2017, 11:14:53 pm »


Back when I was a wee neophyte who hated everyone and everything except the skin I was in (and I'm not sure about that last), I was pointed towards the practice of writing letters to whomever and whatever upset me and destroying them, as a means of getting the hurt out of my system. It was a psychological exercise to deal with teen angst, not magic, but I soon built it up to quite grand ceremony: picking the right kind of paper and envelope, special pens, writing at my altar by candlelight, treating myself to a special treat and drink at the end. If the weather permitted, I burned the letters in the garden chiminea; otherwise, I took them to the town park, ripped them to pieces and dropped them into the river. It felt incredibly liberating.

I still write such letters, when I feel the need to, although I no longer make a big deal of the process, and I can put them away until I can burn them safely, as I've grown a lot more conscious of what I dump into the water.

I used to use this method, but more in the form of private blog/online journal posts on Myspace or Gaia Online as a teenager, or even Dreamwidth later on. When I was younger, typing up raging posts and saying everything I wanted to say would only make me dwell on it and feel angrier. I'd read my posts over and over and just go, "YEAH! YEAH THAT'S RIGHT! SCREW YOU!" instead of letting it go. But there were several times I decided that I wanted to stop being so angry as a person and purged my blogs of the worst, most irrational and furious things I'd written. Every time I did I ended up feeling much better- I feel like it even changed me a bit. I progressively felt much calmer, more-levelheaded, and more easygoing as a person. I rarely get worked up enough to even make those kinds of posts anymore.

So... kind of a different kind of banishing spell there? Banishing my own anger, rather than the other person.

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #12 on: June 21, 2017, 01:30:10 am »
So I did a banishing spell on somebody recently that has caused a lot of hurt in my life and the life of a close friend over the past few years. Nothing harmful (although I'd honestly not be above hexing them if they continued to dish out hurt, I'd rather that be a last resort sort of thing personally), just a "get away and don't come back".

I don't know if it worked, but I discovered another thing about magic: it's wonderfully cathartic. I've quite literally hated this person for years, and I was able to get that out of my system and lay it at least partly to rest.

Has anybody else experienced magic as a cathartic act?

Oh, definitely.

Honestly, I'm not sure if much can compare to the feeling you get after a magical act that's the equivalent of a giant middle finger to someone/something. It's just so very satisfying. And then like you said, you get to leave the poison behind and move on. That's pretty powerful stuff.

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2017, 11:04:53 am »
Disregarding the metaphysics of the matter, yes, I'd come to consider that the vast majority of the time, it's the enacting of a ritual spell at least leads the ritualist to believe and feel as though the ritual had done something—and if that diffuses otherwise overwhelming emotions, then that is the least effect that is yet consistent, direct, and usually positive. And therefore very worthwhile and valuable.

Lately, though, it's been what I call "astral travel" bringing new stuff that probably means a cue to like, "okay you're over it now"—but only after mundane action, so I'm like, "Why didn't this happen in the otherworld before I messed up the thishereworld a bit more?" Because I was really very regularly trying for a contained, private ritual catharsis for like fifteen months.

Recently, I followed through with a ritual centered on burying a fragment of my shadow self and deadname that has been the cause of alot of my mental health issues in the past year. Now I don't for a second believe that this is a replacement for actual psychiatric treatment, but burying the ashes from spell I did over a year ago to eradicate my old gender identity was so liberating - It took a weight of my shoulders by allowing me to openly embrace and express that I am nonbinary and I am valid, and I don't give a darn tootin' what your mother thinks. XD

It's strange, but I realize witchcraft and ritual is a large part not only cartharitic, but how I navigate my emotional labyrinthine a lot of the time.  It's definitely not a replacement for therapy, but with out it, I more than likely would not have come to terms with the gods and myself.

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Re: Banishing spells and catharsis
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2017, 02:01:50 pm »


Back when I was a wee neophyte who hated everyone and everything except the skin I was in (and I'm not sure about that last), I was pointed towards the practice of writing letters to whomever and whatever upset me and destroying them, as a means of getting the hurt out of my system. It was a psychological exercise to deal with teen angst, not magic, but I soon built it up to quite grand ceremony: picking the right kind of paper and envelope, special pens, writing at my altar by candlelight, treating myself to a special treat and drink at the end. If the weather permitted, I burned the letters in the garden chiminea; otherwise, I took them to the town park, ripped them to pieces and dropped them into the river. It felt incredibly liberating.

I still write such letters, when I feel the need to, although I no longer make a big deal of the process, and I can put them away until I can burn them safely, as I've grown a lot more conscious of what I dump into the water.

Oh this is one of my favorites!  It's a very liberating practice.  I think in general the liberating feeling that you get after you perform a spell is part of the magic itself.  I mean, the extra energy can't hurt, I suppose.
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