Understanding Baneful Magic and its Ethics
***The following is an excerpt from my most recent book Embodying Lilith: A Guide to Self Empowerment. In this chapter I share spells, rituals, and tips on how to fight injustice. Check out this book here and if you would like some help with your justice workings you can book a spell with me here.***
Lilith doesn’t shy away from baneful work. She’s not here to be nice—she’s here to be just. That said, not every situation calls for a curse, and not every practitioner is ready for the weight of that work. To further understand, let’s explore what baneful magic actually is.
What is Baneful Magic?
Baneful magic is any form of spellwork or ritual intended to cause harm, misfortune, or distress to another person, entity, or object. The word "baneful" is derived from "bane," meaning to cause destruction or serious harm. There are several types of workings that fall under the baneful category including curses, hexes, jinxes, bindings, and reversals.
Curse:
This is a magical working intended to cause long-term or permanent harm. This can usually end up being something that lingers through ancestral lines and at times can be really challenging to remove.
Hex:
This is a spell meant to cause a period of misfortune, often serving as a warning or lesson. This can make a person feel like they are getting a lot of “bad karma” because essentially they are, but I’ll explain more in a bit.
Jinx:
This is the most minor of them all. This type of spell can cause annoyance or bad luck, which is generally less sever than a hex.
Binding:
Not all bindings are baneful, for example you could bind yourself to success or confidence. However, a binding can also be used to restrict or inhibit someone’s actions in order to prevent them from causing further harm. A freezer spell is a great example of this, which I’ll be sharing later in this chapter.
Reversal:
This is a bit of a defensive spell, such as the baneful ward I shared with you in chapter 5. This type of spell turns a negative energetic attack back on the sender; also commonly known on social media as a return to sender.
Not Black Magic
It’s called baneful magic not black magic. If you aren’t familiar yet, it’s important for me to address this and hopefully you may also help spread the word. Black and White magic are outdated terms, rooted in colonialist and racist history. It’s time to change this narrative.
Ethics
How can we justify intentionally harming others? Well, remember how I started this chapter? If someone is throwing punches at you, are you going to simply take it and let yourself get beaten to a pulp? Lilith wouldn’t, and neither should you.
If you’re still hesitant, I can understand. That’s good, it means you have moral values and you care. But if you’re hesitant because you think something is gonna come back to you then let’s explore that thought a bit.
Wicca
Most popular books and content shared on witchcraft are Wicca based. Wicca is a religion that implements witchcraft but it is not the only way to practice witchcraft. You do not have to be Wiccan to be a witch and you don’t even have to practice witchcraft to be Wiccan. But becuase Wiccan is so popular, a lot of beginner witches hear about the Wiccan Rede and believe it to be the rules of witchcraft—particularly the part that says, “An ye harm none, do what ye will.” This phrase means, “if you do no harm, then you can do as you wish.” You may have also heard of the Threefold Law—also derived from Wicca—which states that whatever you put out into the world, good or bad, will return to you threefold.
However, the word rede literally means advice or counsel, meaning it’s not a rule that must be followed in order to be a witch. Also, while were on the topic of Wicca, I want to point out that this is a religion that was founded in the mid 1950’s by a man with questionable morals. Not only did he create a religion that essentially appropriates practices from multiple cultures, but this religion is essentially a leash on witches. It made it so that witchcraft can be easily digestible and accepted by modern society. I’m not trying to discourage you from being Wiccan, but I do think understanding the history of religions in general is important.
Karma
Now, if your hesitance comes from a fear of bad karma, I can promise you that even if karma worked in such a manner, it is highly unlikely that anything nasty would come back to you simply because you were defending yourself. You should also know that karma also comes from religious beliefs; specifically Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Furthermore, in these religions the idea of karma is deeply connected to the idea of reincarnation; suggesting that past actions influence the quality of future lives.
While I do believe in karma to some extent, I also believe that when you’re doing baneful magic because someone harmed you or others first, that harm that they inflicted was you or others already suffering the karma.
Reflect Before Proceeding
Now that I’ve spent a good amount of text trying to convince you that baneful magic isn’t inherently wrong, there are a few things you should ask yourself before doing this kind of magic:
Am I acting from vengeance or from justice?
Have I exhausted mundane options (boundaries, conversations, protection)?
Is this action proportionate to the harm?
What are the potential consequences—for me, and for them?
It’s important to remember that magic is energetic and energy is neither good or bad; it’s neutral. What makes something good or bad is your intent and that is based on your moral beliefs. Sending out harm for petty reasons or unresolved projection isn’t necessarily a good enough reason and may even cause “backlash”. The backlash I’m referring to isn’t necessarily how Wiccans perceive it. It’s more so repercussions such as remorse followed by an unsettling ease that will then cause your own energy to be off balance which will then show up as what looks like “bad luck” in your life.
Lilith urges discernment. She’s not reckless; she’s righteous. When she strikes, it’s with intention and clarity. She doesn’t curse out of spite—she curses when protection fails and justice demands balance.
Baneful magic can be a powerful tool when someone is doing real harm and other efforts have failed. But it should be used with caution, respect, and a clear sense of ethics. Lilith’s justice is fierce, but it’s not without purpose. It’s not about punishment—it’s about restoration.
