My birthday! I won't tell you hold old I am, but I feel I'm getting younger. Yes, bits of me are pretty creaky now, but so what! All is well in Tylluan's world so far. The sun is trying to shine and the sky has enough blue to make a pair of breeches.
I started this thread (is that the right word? probably not!) about hexing because once people know you're a witch it's usually one of the first questions they ask. There's a lot of rubbish talked about hexing, so having come from a family that practised it on a wide scale, I thought it might be a good idea to try and explain a few things first.
Of course the word ‘hexing’ is open to a wide interpretation. I tend to use the term to cover spells designed to harm others, but I know some people might broaden the interpretation to include the ability to impose your will on someone else, whether they like it or not. It isn’t a particularly difficult skill to learn, and the possibilities for mayhem if it is abused are extensive.
However, it’s quite possible to think of situations where ‘changing someone’s mind’ is positively the best thing to do. For example, your brother finds out his girlfriend has cheated on him and intends to go round to her house and confront her. You know he has a vile temper. Would ‘changing his mind’ so that he stays in and watches Match of the Day be such a bad thing in the circumstances?
Now there are witches out there (and I think they should know better) who will jump in and say it’s the wrong thing to do because it interferes with his free will. But isn’t that what we do all the time? Even without magic, surely most of us would talk to our brother, try to persuade him not to go and speak to his girlfriend, at least not until he had calmed down and was in a more reasonable frame of mind. And how many of us would be likely to go further and first ask his permission to have this conversation? I think if something’s acceptable in the everyday world, then you can also make a case to justify it in the magical world. The techniques of hexing do not necessarily harm – it is the intention that makes the hex.
However, there are a couple of things I don’t much like about hexing. Firstly it seems to attract people who want to hex when they are stoned or drunk. Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea to embark on any magical work when you are under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Yes, they’ve been used since time immemorial, but they’re difficult to control properly and have a nasty habit of reducing your ability to focus properly.
Having been on the receiving end of some unfocused hexes over the years, I can vouch it's something I'd rather avoid in future!
I know there are people who will disagree with this, claiming that drugs can be useful aids to visualisation. As I’ve never tried drugs I can’t vouch for them, however I’ve seen how alcohol can quickly become a bad master. Unfortunately hexing is addictive in itself, and if you use drugs or alcohol to fuel your spell, it’s common sense that your addictions will only get worse.
The same goes for rites requiring sexual or sacrificial climaxes. They can become so addictive, that rather than being a means to an end, they become the end in itself. Once this happens, your magic will deteriorate accordingly. I don’t like sacrifice in any shape or form; if you must spill blood it should be your own, go and nick your finger with a knife or stick a pin in it. It’s your spell; take responsibility for it.
Well, sermon over for today. I'm off to celebrate! My birthday celebrations tend to go on over a period of several days (and occasionally weeks) - a birthday is much too good to confine to 24 hours!
Seeking the Green by Tylluan Penry, published soon by Capall Bann. For more info - watch this space!
