MIPC: To Alleviate a Curse Cast Upon You

 

Suzanne and the Voodoo Doll 

 The Spell 

Suzanne’s unseen maid, Consuela, puts a curse on her after an intense argument stating that she will be dead by midnight. Meanwhile, the ladies of the design firm come together to help Mary Jo with her daughter’s slumber party  which allows time for bonding as Suzanne tries to make the most of her remaining time. 

As midnight approaches we find that, unbeknownst to Suzanne, her sister Julie has conducted some research of her own and was informed by her friend Clarence Otto at the Museum of Folk History that “the best way to alleviate a curse, is to put our own curse on the cursor…” and that she has used a small cloth doll to place her own curse on Consuela. Afterwards, Suzanne refuses to let Julia sleep on the couch to which Julie replies “removing the little pin from the little doll leaves you very little protection” after which Suzanne relinquishes the couch to Julia 

Designing Women

Season 1, Episode 10  "The Slumber Party"

Air Date: 12/18/1986

The Analysis 

Curses are a malevolent type of spell the effects of which can range from bad luck to death. Curses can be placed on people (Longinus), places (King Tut's tomb), and things (The Hope Diamond). the motivation for curses can include Envy (Snow White), Revenge (Tecumseh), Punishment (Angel, Buff the Vampire Slayer), to Teach a Lesson (Brother Bear), or to protect an object from theft (religious idols and other holy objects) or places (Shakespeare's tomb).  

The belief in curses can be found in virtually every culture and civilization and they are mentioned in the sacred texts of many religions. Most religions forbid the practice of cursing, while others, citing the use of curses in their holy books, utilize them to protect their selves from their enemies and other forms of evil. 

Some curses include their own cure, for example, in the fairytale of The Frog Prince, the frog had to obtain a willing kiss from a princess in order to become human again. In other cases, curses remain through the ages despite attempts to remove them. Most methods of removing a curse will fall into the category of a cleansing, a reversing or a combination of each. 

Cleansings involve remove the curse from the individual or object and keeping it from returning. In these cases, the negative energy of the curse is often transmuted into positive energy. Methods of cleansings include but are not limited to the following: 

• ritual bathing
• visualization 
• smudging with incense 
• anointing with oil 
• energy work
• transference 
• ritual banishment 
• petition to a higher power 
• counter spells
• use of amulets or talismans 

Reversing involves sending the curse back to its point of origin where it will play out as it has been directed when it was cast. Methods of reversing curses back to their sender include:

• petition to a higher power 
• counter spells
• use of amulets and talismans 
• use of herbs, oils, and sachets 

Finally, there are those rare methods that fall into neither category such as in the example given at the beginning of this article. In that example, a person who has been cursed has been instruction to put their own curse on the person who has cursed them. This method seems to be neither a cleansing nor a reversing because the method does not remove the curse placed upon them. Instead we have the magical equivalent of blackmail, except that you do not have the psychological advantage of informing your enemy that you have cursed them.  

However, it could be argued that the method of cursing your cursor is both a cleansing and a reversing as you curse constitutes a spell in and of itself and may nor may not call upon a Higher Power for divine retribution. The act of placing a curse on your tormentor can be very cathartic and may represent a healing for the individual. Some may argue that sending a curse back to its point of origin is a curse in and of itself. 

In my research, I found at least one instance of employing a curse against someone who cursed you, although I am sure there are more examples. Denise Alvarado in her book Voodoo Dolls in Magick and Ritual state that "[one} way to reverse a curse is to create a voodoo doll of the person that cursed you." She then instructs the reader to ritually burn the doll with the intention that as the doll burns away the curse placed upon you by the person will be transformed into "something positive". 

-Carolina Dean