A curse is an expressed wish, often framed as a ritual or formal statement, that misfortune will fall on a person, place or object. Curses appear in almost every culture, from ancient Mesopotamian boundary stones and Greek and Roman curse tablets to church excommunications and modern folklore, and they have always been accompanied by practices meant to protect against them.
Curses at a glance
| Definition | An expressed wish that harm or misfortune befall a person, place or object |
|---|---|
| Ancient evidence | Curse tablets (Greek katadesmoi, Latin defixiones) |
| Notable finds | About 130 tablets at Bath (Aquae Sulis), England, mostly about theft |
| Religious forms | Biblical curses, anathema and excommunication |
| Common protections | Amulets, prayers, blessings, apotropaic symbols |
| Scientific view | No evidence of supernatural effect; belief can affect behavior and health |
Curses in the ancient world
Some of the oldest written curses protect property and agreements. Mesopotamian boundary stones (kudurru) and treaties ended with curses calling on the gods to punish anyone who moved the stone or broke the oath, and Egyptian tombs sometimes carried warnings against those who would disturb them. Egyptian "execration texts" named enemies of the state on pottery or figurines that were then broken.
In the Greek and Roman world, individuals used curse tablets: thin sheets of lead inscribed with a request to gods or spirits, then rolled, folded or pierced with nails and placed in graves, wells or sanctuaries. The Greek term katadesmos and the Latin defixio both evoke binding or fixing. Tablets targeted rivals in love, law courts, business and chariot racing. At Bath in England, archaeologists recovered about 130 tablets addressed to the goddess Sulis Minerva, almost all asking for the return of stolen goods and the punishment of the thief. More than 80 similar tablets come from a temple of Mercury at Uley.
Religious curses and formal anathema
Religious texts contain curses as sanctions. Deuteronomy 27-28 lists blessings for keeping the covenant and curses for breaking it. In Christianity, anathema and excommunication formally separated offenders from the community; the medieval ceremony associated with bell, book and candle dramatized this sentence.
A famous example is the lengthy curse pronounced in 1525 by Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow, against the Border reivers who raided the Anglo-Scottish frontier. Such curses were acts of church law and public pressure rather than private magic, and they show how cursing could serve as a tool of social control.
The Hebrew Bible also forbids some curses, such as cursing the deaf (Leviticus 19:14) or a ruler of the people (Exodus 22:28), and Jewish, Christian and Islamic teachers have generally warned believers against cursing others in anger.
Folklore, witchcraft and the law
In European folklore, curses were linked to the evil eye, the anger of the poor or the dying, and the supposed power of witches. During the witch trials of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, accusations of maleficium (harmful magic) often began with a quarrel followed by an illness or death that neighbors blamed on a curse. Courts sometimes cited evidence such as the alleged Devil's mark. England's witchcraft statutes made harmful magic a crime until 1736, when a new act punished only the pretense of witchcraft.
Modern popular culture has its own curse stories: the "curse of Tutankhamun" after the death of Lord Carnarvon in 1923, legendary cursed jewels, and sports curses said to haunt particular teams. Historians have found that these stories usually grew from press reports and coincidence rather than ancient inscriptions.
Traditional protection against curses
Wherever curses were feared, people developed protective, or apotropaic, practices. Common examples include:
- Amulets and symbols - the blue eye bead (nazar) of the eastern Mediterranean, the hamsa hand, horseshoes over doors and inscribed charms. See our guide to protection symbols.
- Prayer and blessing - recitation of psalms, Qur'anic verses or blessings, and the help of clergy.
- Cleansing rites - washing, smoke, salt or holy water used to remove impurity.
- Counter-magic - folk remedies such as English witch bottles buried under hearths.
- Guardian beings - reliance on saints, ancestors or a guardian spirit.
These practices speak more to a need for reassurance and community support than to any measurable force.
The scientific and skeptical view
There is no evidence from controlled studies that curses cause harm through supernatural means. However, belief in a curse can have real effects. In 1942 the physiologist Walter Cannon described cases of so-called "voodoo death," suggesting that extreme fear and social isolation could damage health. Researchers today discuss related phenomena under the heading of the nocebo effect, in which negative expectations worsen symptoms.
For this reason, anthropologists study curses mainly as social and psychological phenomena: ways of expressing anger, seeking justice when other means fail, and explaining misfortune. Anyone who feels distressed by a belief that they are cursed is usually best helped by trusted people, community or religious leaders, and, when needed, medical or mental health professionals. For a gentler approach, see our page on psychic protection.
Related entries
On The Mystica today: Protection symbols · Psychic protection
Frequently asked questions
What are curse tablets?
Curse tablets were small sheets, usually of lead, on which ancient Greeks and Romans wrote requests to gods or spirits to bind or punish someone. They were folded, pierced with nails and placed in graves, wells or temples. Large collections come from Athens, Bath and Uley in England, and many other sites.
Can a curse really harm someone?
No controlled study has shown that curses work through supernatural means. Belief in a curse can still affect a person through fear, stress and changed behavior, sometimes called the nocebo effect. Anthropologists therefore treat curses as powerful social and psychological phenomena rather than physical forces.
How did people traditionally protect themselves from curses?
Common protections included amulets such as the nazar eye bead or hamsa, horseshoes, written charms, prayers and blessings, cleansing with water or salt, and help from clergy or healers. In England, witch bottles were buried in houses. These customs offered reassurance and community support against feared misfortune.
Sources and further reading
- Curse · Wikipedia
- Curse tablet · Wikipedia
- John G. Gager (ed.), Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World (1992) · Book
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: September 30, 2026.