Having Power Stricken From You

“No one can take your power from you, or dampen it, unless you let them.”

“No one can curse you, unless you allow it.”

Let’s dive in. Darlings, these statements are meant to be empowering, meant to remind you of your inner strength and resolve. Meant to bolster you…and, at their core, they’re victim blaming and erroneous.

I truly hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but your power and abilities can be dampened or stricken from you, if another magical practitioner is skilled enough and you’re caught off guard. You can be jinxed, hexed, or cursed by someone, even if you aren’t in some perceived state of fear or paranoia that’s “permitting” it. There is a reason why myriad cultures have safeguards to protect people against these very things–particularly more vulnerable people, like young children or the infirmed. There is a reason why in Mediterranean cultures a small evil eye is pinned to a baby’s clothing. Why so many–regardless of religion or spiritual belief–wear protective charms (crosses or crucifixes, the Star of David, hamsa, nazar, various yantras, pentacles, cimaruta, horns, crescent moons, gorgons, et cetera, ad nauseum) it’s because of the awareness that evil (eyes) can pass over us and impact us. It’s a universal concept, rooted in experience, not fear-mongering.

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The neopagan concept that no one can negatively impact you without your consent is a form of spiritual bypassing, which ultimately leads to victim blaming. The logic is if it occurs, it’s YOUR fault, instead of placing the blame on the actual culprit–the person who caused the harm (intentionally or not). These comments are the equivalent of stating that harm is somehow consensual.

Can harm have a greater impact if you’re in a state of fear or paranoia? Absolutely. But they aren’t the cause of the harm, nor are they a magical magnet for it. To insinuate so is not only fallacious but cruel. Please don’t misinterpret my words to imply that witches, mages, and sorcerers/esses are at the whim and mercy of others, and are incapable of maintaining or protecting their personal magical integrity. Victimhood is not the domain of the Witch–it simply means that yes, Witches can also be victims.

“By taking magical protective measures, you ensure the very thing you fear becoming manifest.”

This is categorically false. By wearing a seatbelt you do not ensure that a car accident will occur. By locking your front door you do not ensure a break-in. By checking the expiration date you do not ensure food poisoning. It’s farcical to assume–and yet, I come across this concept all too often. Now you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. It’s another expression of victim blaming, and I’m both annoyed and exhausted by them.

If you practice the craft, it would behoove you to utilize apotropaic magic–whether through the use of symbols, sigils, servitors, or spell work. It is the magical equivalent of locking your front door, installing an alarm system, wearing a seat belt, or covering your drink at a bar. In a perfect world no one would have to take such measures because predators wouldn’t exist. However, we live in a world of predation and taking safety measures is a good and logical idea. We can’t control what others choose to do, we can control how we respond and how we prepare. The measures you take will be commensurate to the perceived level of risk you’re regularly exposed to. If you live in a relatively safe neighborhood, you probably don’t need a moat and barbed wire and vicious guard dogs. A simple lock on your door will suffice; however, if a rash of break-ins sweeps your neighborhood, it’s logical that you would up the ante, even if only temporarily.

Let’s discuss the underlying cause of such commentary: a fear of lack of control. Many people come to the craft because they feel like they lack the upper-hand. Outcasts, the proverbial black sheep and perpetual scapegoats, the underdogs…those who are longing for the Island of Misfit Toys to offer them sanctuary. Obviously this isn’t all occult and magical practitioners, but it’s a lot of them. When you don’t feel as though you belong anywhere, and feel as though you’ve been unjustly dealt the short stick time after time, seeking out magic to strike balance and regain a sense of autonomy is understandable–now the upper-hand belongs to you. You have MAGIC. You have POWER. Power that no one can take from you–this sets you apart from the rest; it makes you unique and special and different and…better…than all the others who previously made you feel small and unacceptable. The notion that someone (or something) could over-rule this new-found power doesn’t fit the narrative, does it? That notion creates new vulnerabilities in an arena where you’re meant to feel invincible. So the inevitable conclusion is that it cannot be infringed upon, and if it is: it’s your fault. (Which is also a hangover of patriarchal, often religious, trappings meant to create limitation and forced submission–but that’s another subject, which will be addressed in the upcoming class: Paganism & the Patriarchy: De-centering the Male Voice.)

Herein lies the rub: those shouting loudest that power can’t be stricken without consent are the ones most afraid of that very thing occurring, and therefore suffer the most cognitive dissonance around its occurrence. If you truly want to both embody and safeguard your Power, you’ll become intimately acquainted with all of the ways it can be disrupted or revoked, instead of feigning invincibility. Witches do their due diligence.