To bind or to banish? That is the question. For some this issue is not easily answered, where others feel that any debate is senseless. Although most magickal people will not argue the usefulness of banishing negativity, illness, or disease, there is continued discussion and differing opinions when it comes to binding and banishing people. Just so you won’t feel lonely in this modern world of ours, such discussions were just as avid in Greco-Roman times among philosophers as they are today among the magickally minded. A millennium or two has not changed this emotionally charged topic.
Under our discussion on the Wiccan Rede (see Part 1), we chatted about how social models, environment, dogma, and other interesting topics ebb and flow over, around, and in magickal practices, whether we are looking at magick in antiquity or magick here and now. What one does in magick and religion has a lot to do with one’s process of self-identification, maturity, and level of spirituality. You can read lots of books, have discussions at the local Pagan hangout, and type your little fingers raw online expressing your opinion on such things; however, in the end, what you do is the loudest shout of all. The wise student carefully considers all options and possible consequences before making a magickal move. This contemplation also includes using a divination tool to check the outcome of your magickal work.
In this book we cover the “magickal norms” for most beginning Crafters, meaning what is written here represents the broadest range of magickal practitioners and what they normally do. There will be those that will not agree with everything I’ve written; however, what is in this book represents the general consensus for training new seekers. Therefore with no more posturing, let’s get into binding and banishing—two incredibly powerful practices in the world of magick—and the safest way to use them.
If we agree to use banishing and binding energies, keep the following in mind so it won’t be a recipe for disaster:
• Work to create balance.
• Work through Spirit to remove personal judgment.
• Remember that all magick first changes our own perception before any other changes occur.
• Work through science, not through superstition.
If, however, we remove any of the above reminders from our workings, then we are asking for trouble and we’ll probably get it.
To banish is to send something away, whether that something be illness, negative energy, or nasty people. When we create sacred space, cleanse any item for ritual or magickal use, or release negativity from our minds and bodies, we are practicing the process of banishment. We are ridding ourselves or the object of negative vibrations. Throughout this book you will find many “acts of banishment” written into the text of spells and rituals.
To bind (the most volatile of the magickal workings) renders an energy or person ineffective for a varied length of time. The problem with both, in regard to people, is the ethical questions the subject presents; however, if you keep those four rules in mind that I listed above, you shouldn’t have a problem. Of the two, binding is the trickiest, for two reasons: First, if you don’t handle the root of the problem, binding someone or something is worthless; and second, binding a person holds that individual or energy to you (which isn’t such a hot idea). In the case of negative situations (for example, your best friend’s boyfriend is treating her like trash), if Witches bind at all, it is usually an emergency measure followed by a complete banishing. Although little used in the modern Craft, the word for a binding of this kind is defixiones, which means to “bind down” (see also section on Talismans, Amulets, and Defixiones in part 4). Another word for binding used by historical scholars when speaking of magickal binding applications is execretion.
Bindings can also be used in healing by binding positive, recuperative energy to the person or more specifically to an open wound. Other bindings in the Craft include one’s binding oath of service upon dedication or initiation, and various forms of knot or cord magick in which magick is bound for a specific length of time. This timing is stated within the body of the spell.
In recent studies of ancient world magick, scholars have finally begun looking at the importance of magick in society and the weight it carried among the people. They have realized that magickal practices were not separate from society, nor were they unusual—in fact, they were a common practice. Defixiones were used to bind and banish negativity, whether we are talking about situations of love, honor, business, sports competitions, marriage, and so on. Bindings, especially in the Greco-Roman world, grew into a cottage industry (mass production on a small scale that usually begins in the home). Although it is well known that magick and religion walked hand in hand through the ancient world, the manufacture of the defixiones gives us a historical trail that can be traced to Hoodoo, Pow Wow, root doctors, and the functional spells of Witchcraft—meaning evidence of magick removed from the political grasp of the “state” religion and practiced by the common man or woman in the privacy of their own home. Granted, those individuals who made the defixiones in Greco-Roman times considered themselves “professionals” or “experts” of the trade, but this opinion is no different than that of the Pow Wow doctor (or the others listed) in modern times. It is not that they haven’t had training, but that they are not ruled by a structured religion tied to the politics of the country. Binding and banishing spells, tablets, and figurines were used in North Africa, Egypt, Persia (Iraq), in the Jewish religion, and later in the Christian religion,22 where they were finally rewritten and sometimes attached to saints, holy relics, and other church practices, including exorcism. In a way, if we follow the trail of defixiones through time, we follow the birth and transmutation of spellwork as it touched each and every popular religion. It is in the study of binding and banishing spells that we discover our ancestor’s relationships between gods, planetary powers, angels, magickal writing, and the dead—all employed in defixiones, the oldest discovery of which dates to approximately 500 b.c.
As with all things in this world, from fire to antibiotics, the banishings and bindings could be used in a positive or negative way. If you misuse the procedure, then you are going to pay for it. If you work through Spirit and remain nonjudgmental, then you will succeed. In modern Craft, students are taught that it is unwise to banish or bind any energy without serious thought to the consequences. For example, just because you don’t like the color of Tiffany’s hair does not give you a solid reason to use binding or banishment. If, however, Tiffany was ill, then banishing the sickness is more than appropriate. If Tiffany has attacked you, again, binding and banishing is acceptable, though the procedure should be done in a magick circle and performed as a two-step process by binding her actions to her first, then banishing her. Regardless, you should always use your common sense, followed by your divination tool, to check what is the right thing to do—and you should never, ever act on gossip or hearsay.
Calling for Restraint Spell
There are situations in life, legal ones, where a restraining order has been set into motion because the person named has proven that he or she means to do harm to someone. In the legal system, restraining orders are normally used for abusers and stalkers. In the magickal world, Witches are known to use restraining orders too, to either protect themselves or an individual until they can legally make a move, and to strengthen the legal paperwork. The following spell is to be used in such an instance and the pipe concept comes from Greco-Roman times. Please note that this spell only works if there is a legitimate problem.
Supplies: One 7-inch length of pipe; a cap for both ends (a hardware store can help you, and if you haven’t got the courage to ask for the supplies, you can use a paper towel tube, cut to the correct length, and seal the openings with tinfoil, a rubber band, and candle wax); paper; a black candle; a white candle; one nail; coffee grounds; one fresh egg; a picture of the perpetrator, if you have it—if not, the person’s full name, and a taglock if you can get it.
Instructions: During a fourth quarter moon, gather all your supplies. Follow Silver’s Spellcasting ritual under the Spells section of this book (see page 331). Place all items on the altar. Cleanse, consecrate, and empower to bind the negativity present in this situation associated with that person and then state your intent to banish that negative energy. Light the black candle, asking Sprit to banish all negativity from your life. Light the white candle, asking Spirit to bring harmony and happiness into your life. Seal one end of the pipe. Put the threatening individual’s name, picture, or taglock (or all three if you have them) into the tube. Say: “You have begun your descent.”
Pour the coffee grounds on top. Say:
The darkness you have created is bound to you.
I do not own your darkness. You own your
darkness. You may no longer share this
darkness with myself or others.
Place the egg on top, saying:
As this egg rots, so shall your negative energy
be destroyed, and your evil shall be banished.
The process begins now!
Stick the nail into the egg, saying: “This spell is sealed!” Cap the pipe. Carefully seal with wax from the black candle.
Bury off your property, preferably close to a crossroads. Many Witches believe that a crossroads provides a vortex through which energy can travel from this world to the world of Spirit. The crossroads have long been sacred to the Grecian goddess of witchcraft and magick, Hecate.