Have you ever felt dogged by bad luck? Confounded by challenge after challenge? Suspected there was a dark cloud following you around or hovering over your head? You may have thought it was just an unhappy string of circumstances, but at many times throughout history it was exactly those types of circumstances that would have led people to suspect that they may have been cursed: not just an unfortunate happenstance, but the result of something far more sinister.

What Is a Curse and How Do They Happen?
By definition, a curse is something that is done, something that is said, or perhaps even something that is thought that has the express purpose, intentionally and directionally, of bringing harm to another. The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines a curse as, "a prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one." Another term for curse is "malediction," which has a direct connection to the Latin verb maledicere, which means, "to speak evil of or to curse." Yet another variation on this theme is the word "hex." Whereas a malediction implies that something is said that has ill intent towards another, the word "hex" implies that there is an intent to harm that is carried out in an action against another. One may speak ill of you and that can be a malediction, but a hex is something that is intentionally directed towards you...and that most definitely drops us into the land of curses.

Historically, there are many, many ways that a curse may be brought about. Archaeology has revealed some fascinating examples of curses, many of which go back thousands of years. Perhaps the earliest recorded form of curse (because, of course, we have no way of knowing what may have been uttered or gesticulated with negative intent from one pre-recorded history person to another) comes to us from the Romans through "curse tablets." The first set of curse tablets was found in Sicily, said the be dated around the 5th century BCE¹. These tablets were generally made of very thin sheets of lead upon which was engraved the curse or desired revenge upon another person. Many of these tablets were found in Roman graves, often accompanied by an appeal to an Underworld deity for assistance with accomplishing the hoped-for malintent.

Though there is evidence of written curses that appear later in history², the practice of curse tablets has not really filtered down into modernity (unless we include ill-thought-out texts sent in a haze of blind emotion). What has found its way through the annals of history all the way up to modern times is the belief in the Evil Eye. Arguably the curse with the most longevity, amulets to provide protection against the Evil Eye have been dated to about 3,000 BCE. Even today, that instantly recognizable blue eye (known as the Nazar in Turkey and the Mati in Greece) is one of the most common protective symbols against the Evil Eye, found everywhere from tourist shops to high-end jewellers. Not just confined to the Mediterranean, the Evil Eye is known in Latin America and the Caribbean as the Mal de Ojo. In that part of the world, what is considered one of the best protections is to place a mirror by the front door. If anyone enters the house harboring malintent, they will catch their reflection in the mirror and the intended curse will bounce right back to them, leaving the house and the inhabitants safe from harm.

The Caribbean is also strongly associated with another well-known form of curse, the Voodoo doll. In actual fact, this particular curse is more a product of pop culture than spiritual culture. Though there is a long tradition of using dolls in West African and Caribbean religious practices, these dolls are used to promote healing and spiritual connection. However, the early 20th century brought depictions in popular books and films presenting a particularly negative representation of Afro-Caribbean religious practices. From references in books to depictions in films, this is from where the image of Voodoo dolls with pins stuck in them causing the intended victim to experience pain in exactly the same spot comes. It is an image that has had remarkable staying power, never mind that those who actually practice Vodou or Voodoo insist that these "harming" dolls are irrelevant to their religion. This goes beyond cultural appropriation. This is cultural defamation.

That said, the use of dolls to curse does have historical precedence in history, and to learn more about that we must turn once more back to the Romans. These Roman curse dolls were actually also sometimes used in conjunction with the aforementioned curse tablets. Also made of lead or sometimes bronze, they were crafted to a very specific criteria, part of which included skewering the metal doll with nails. Perhaps this is where this "Voodoo doll" idea comes from. However, whereas the curse tablets tended to have a very precise function or intent (which would be detailed in writing upon the tablet), the curse dolls were of a more general purpose and, once crafted, they would be placed near the target's home or in a body of water to wreak their havoc³.

As a powerful conductor and, as we now know from fascinating research, its receptivity to being charged with intent, water has always figured strongly in spiritual practices and religious traditions in many cultures around the world, perhaps none so prolifically as in the British Isles with such a rich history of sacred and holy wells. Ireland is particularly famed for its holy wells, especially those dedicated to St. Brigid and St. Patrick, but wells to various saints can be found across England, Scotland, and Wales, as well. Some of these are blessing wells. Some of these are wishing wells. But some of these wells—not many, but certainly a few—were known as cursing wells. Wales boasts two, interestingly both dedicated to St. Elian, the patron saint of healing sick children. St. Elian's wells were originally known as healing wells, but somehow by the 18th century, they had gained a reputation as cursing wells. In an almost identical protocol to what we saw with Roman curse tablets, the way to attain a St. Elian well curse was to write the name of the one to be cursed on paper or carve it on slate and place it in the well. Sometimes this would be accompanied by a wax "doll" stuck with a pin. And always, there was a fee to be paid to the custodian of the well. How interesting that, though separated by hundreds of years and thousands of miles, these practices persisted in an almost unchanged form.

How Is Trauma Like a Curse?
Truth be told, I never really thought much about curses except through the lens of passing curiosity. And my knowledge was pretty much limited to that particular category of curse: the prohibitive curse. As a child I was both fascinated and horrified by the story of the "Curse of the Pharoah" connected with King Tut's tomb. Similar to the possible prohibition on disturbance found on the Björketorp Runestone, legend said that anyone who disturbed the resting place of King Tutankhamun would suffer a terrible fate. The fact that Lord Carnarvon, who financed the expedition, died a year after the tomb was discovered, was the spark needed to let the speculative stories fly. Many deaths were attributed to the curse, although a little level-headed digging reveals that many of these deaths occurred years, if not decades, after the opening of the tomb and could very much be attributed to natural causes.

I have worked for years in the field of psychotherapy, specifically through an approach informed by Transpersonal Psychology, which acknowledges the significance of the transcendent in the healing process of reclaiming self-esteem and self-determination. That approach led me to explore the interconnection of nature and Nature: how to use the cycle of the Seasons as a springboard to supporting the emotional and mental healing process. I wrote two books about it. In the past number of years, I have become more acutely focused on the energies that guide in that liminal space between the Inner Dark of self-disconnection, depression, and anxiety and the Inner Light of self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and empowerment. I wrote a book about that, as well.

All of these different angles of inquiry are about how to recognize when we are in the Dark of Shadow and what to do to move us back into our Light of Essence. Approaching this process from a trauma-informed perspective acknowledges that we have all had experiences that shear us from our sense of self, our sense of value and worthiness, our ability to self-advocate and establish healthy boundaries. Trauma is not just defined as the huge experiences of devastation or abuse. A trauma response (PTSD) can also develop as a reaction to ongoing situations such as hostility, rejection, and bullying. When trauma is defined as the event or situation that creates the impetus to replace a sense of being "who you really, truly are" with the inner imperative to be "who you must become in order to survive," what that ends up looking like in our life presents as a very wide spectrum of experiences! To a large degree my work as a psychotherapist has been to listen for those key moments of shift from authenticity to adaptation in my clients' stories. Listen for the place in the past when the crack occurred and the separation from Essence began. In Transformational Psythotherapy, this is referred to as Original Pain.

Some time ago I was in session with a client who was telling a story about a family gathering when they were a teen. This wasn't a tale about personal trauma per se. Not about parental divorce, or peer bullying, or abuse, or natural disaster. All those things (and more) that tend to flag that trauma may have been experienced, but this was a general reflection of family dynamics. In the course of the reflection my client mentioned that their grandmother stated to them, in front of a number of gathered family members, words to the effect that they would never be married or have a long-term relationship. What was shared with me was that this was stated to highlight that they were considered by the family to be contrary and difficult. (Which, in truth, is almost part of the Teen Job Description!) But what I heard was far more disastrous and dire. As my client relayed the story, I "saw" the grandmother's words energetically entering my client, settling in as surely as if they had been a curse etched onto a lead tablet. I reflected that to my client, using the language of "curse." It was a moment of revelation and recognition of just how this one sentence—not considered a trauma by any strict definition—had resulted in shaping so many aspects of their life for decades.

Getting back to the definition of a curse being a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something, think about some of the things that may have been said to you as a child or teenager...or perhaps even continuing to be said to you in adulthood.

You are too much (or too loud or too flaky or too sensitive)
You are stupid (or ugly or lazy or useless)
You will never amount to anything
No one will ever love you
You will never be acknowledged for your work or effort
You don't know how to manage money
You don't deserve (fill in the blank)

All of these—and so many more—fulfill exactly the same function as a curse. Every single one is a negative utterance, a "malediction" that has the power to energetically ("supernaturally") attach to us, changing how we see ourselves, how we experience ourselves, and how we carry ourselves in the world. Especially if we are young, or if we are in a time of vulnerability brought on by loss, illness, grief, or any type of transition. And these "curses" have the power to settle over us like a darkness, interrupting our connection to the truth of who we are and compelling us to engage with our lives programmed with the projected negative belief.

What Is a Psychopomp and How Can It Help?
So, how can the psychopomps help? The term itself comes the the Greek, and translates as the "guides of souls." In mythology we know them as those beings who appear in the time of transition from life to death. So many of their names we know: Anubis. Charon. Hekate. Hermes. The Grim Reaper. Gwyn ap Nudd. The Valkyries. Jesus. And so many more. Increasingly I have come to believe that, if psychopomps can lead us from life to death, then they can just as easily guide us from Dark to Light, from Shadow to Essence, from negative self-perception back to inner truth. From that perspective, psychopomps can be seen as the beings who can help you to move from "who you needed to become in order to survive" back into "who you really, truly are." In my research into the mythology of psychopomps, I have determined that they fall quite naturally into seven different categorical functions which all work together beautifully to "break a curse."

Just as not every challenging event that happened to us is a trauma, not every unkind or hurtful statement uttered to us is a curse. It is important to first assess if what was said to us follows the following criteria:

1. It is a negative statement about your character, personality, or potential that is said by another with the intent to hurt, disempower, or control.
2. It is received in a time of vulnerability, whether due to age, power dynamics, or circumstances.
3. The hearing of it caused a significant emotional reaction or energetic charge, whether that was expressed externally or kept hidden deep within.
4. It is a statement that continues to have an impact, whether as a message heard within one's psyche or as a self-belief that one carries.

If, after assessment, you determine that the "malediction" did indeed act towards you in the capacity of a "curse," if is time to enlist the psychopomps. Each one of the seven categories takes us step by step back to an experience of lightness and freedom.

1. Name the curse. The Harbingers (like the Banshee) are the psychopomps who call out with warning. They invite us to name it like it is. What was said to you that had such a significant impact?

2. Listen to the story of how it held you hostage. The Gatherers (like the Valkyries) are the vibrant explorers who bring persistence and discernment to inquiry. What are the ways in which this impacted you over the years?

3. Draw the curse out of you. The Threshold Keepers (like Hekate) stand at the doorway, reminding you that the path forward always requires a choice. What can assist you in dropping or releasing the negative belief?

4. Listen for the call of soul in the created empty space. The Rescuers (like Orpheus) are the psychopomps who know that something precious resides in the Underworld and risk the journey to retrieve it. What of your Essence became trapped in the Dark?

5. Replace the curse with the revealed blessing. The Visitors (like Aeneas) are similar to the Rescuers in that they risk the journey to the Unknown, but they have appreciation to listen for the wisdom resides there. What is your irrefutable Truth?

6. Allow the blesing to take hold. The Passage Guides (like Hermes) lead the way to a new way of being. What are the ways this can open vast new possibilities and experiences in your life?

7. Take some time to cherish this new energy within. The Comforters (like Rhiannon) know that sometimes the most powerful healing comes from stillness. What does this shifted experience of your Self feel like?

Working with psychopomps to "break a curse" is not going to guarantee that you won't still have challenges. Life is not without mess and there are always going to be stormy days. But working with psychopomps can change the relationship you have with yourself. They can support dispelling anything you have carried within for so long that is not "of you." They can help you release that which has been detrimental to your emotional and mental health. They can guide you to recognize and to align with what is important to you, what has meaning for you, what brings vitalty for you. As we know from the alchemical axiom "As Above, so Below, as Within, so Without." Changing how you are in yourself changes how you respond to life with all its joys and challenges, triumphs and troubles. And that changes everything!

¹"Curse Tablet." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Mar. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_tablet.
²The Björketorp Runestone, located in Blekinge, Sweden, is a tall, carved stone monument dating from about 500 – 700 CE. It is thought to possibly be a grave marker and the runic inscription carved upon it seems to warn that if anyone disturbs the stone, they will be "plagued by maleficence and doomed to insidious death." It is, in essence, a preventative curse.
³Patil, Pratik. "11 of the Most Infamous Ancient Curses in History." Oldest.Org, 20 Mar. 2025, www.oldest.org/ancient/most-infamous-ancient-curses-in-history/.