A Witch's World of Magick by Melanie Marquis Page B

identifying and thus gaining the attention of the original magick. Likewise, if it’s your own spell you’re breaking and you know for a fact you cast it with a candle, place the same candle on your altar to summon back the original spell. You might use words, symbols, and actions from the original spell also. Simply imitate what you know or suspect of the original spellcasting, then use new words, intentions, and the action of the decoy magick to reverse, twist, or undo the unwanted charm. This act of similarity forges a connection to the original casting that reverts the spell back to an earlier, more malleable stage of the magickal process where it can be more easily deflected and deterred. Elements of confusion or enticement can also be incorporated. Once the original magick has been located or summoned back through imitative words, ingredients, items, symbols, or actions, use confusion or enticement as a decoy to steer the energy in a new direction. Keep in mind that a decoy doesn’t need to be an object, nor does it need to be solely one thing—it might be a dance, a song, a bit of theatrics, or any other form of tempting or disorienting distraction.

Decoy Magick for Cursebreaking
    If you’re using decoy magick to free a person from a curse, within and around the curse victim is where you will find the offending energy. Directly call out the baneful vibration; implore the ill-wrought magickal energy to take notice and pay attention. Once the energy to be thwarted has been summoned to the forefront, use decoy magick to distract and tempt it. When working with strong or very negative energies, using an actual object for the decoy is beneficial as doing so provides a more solid, stable structure with which to attract and hold the original magick. Use enticement or confusion to do the trick. Wave the decoy object around, light candles around it, ring bells—anything you can think of to draw attention towards the decoy. Think of the curse or other unwanted magickal energy that you are hoping to deflect, and envision these energies exiting the victim and going straight into the decoy object, bypassing all else without notice.
    Be aware of the energies present. When you sense the unwanted energy has entered the decoy object or has otherwise turned away from its original target, remove the newly freed curse victim or spell target from the area. If the energy has entered a physical decoy object, stamp the object on the ground, bury it, or break it to prevent the energy from escaping back to its original host. Beat drums, ring bells, or clap loudly to further drive away any lingering offending energies.

Eight
Cursebreaking and Countercharms:
Magick to Undo
    T hough the infamy of cursing has given us sorcerer types a bad rep, much of the magick humanity has cast throughout the ages has been defensive and healing in nature, meant to counteract and ward off both present and potential dangers, curses, threats, and injuries. Not nearly as much attention has been given to the methods used to undo a curse as to the methods used to cast a curse, which is a shame considering most modern witches agree, it’s much better to heal than to harm. Decoy magick, we have seen, is one technique that can be used for cursebreaking, but it’s by no means the only technique. In this chapter, we’ll take a look at a sampling of other methods magicians around the world have employed to break curses, neutralize spells, and otherwise defend themselves against both magickal and mundane attacks.
    Cursebreaking and Countercharms
Around the World

Destroying the Curse Object
    If you’re not into cutting off locks of people’s hair or squirreling away toenail clippings, no worries—there are lots of other ways to counteract a curse. One method that has been widely used for cursebreaking is to destroy, or at least remove, the curse object, those material components used to cast and contain the original curse. This method only works if there is