Hexing and Healing: One And The Same?

Witchcraft is more than "love and light".

"A witch that can't hex, can't heal," can be seen as a response to the "harm none" approach. Related to this is the "Three Fold Law," which implies that any magickal action will come back at the practitioner three times over. Both of these are extensions of the western interpretation of karma. Karma is a complex construct that has nothing to do with cursing and hexing, but about the general operating principles of the universe.” From “The Truth of A Witch That Can’t Hex Can’t Heal.”

Baneful or beneficial? Magick is both and neither. Witchcraft can be whatever you want it to be. Energy is neutral. Hexing refers to spells that curse. Healing is usually for protection and abundance.

I wrote an article back in 2019 exploring what for me is a key tenet of my magickal practice: that all energy is neutral. It’s how I work with it that determines its characteristics. Multiple things have transpired in recent weeks that have brought me back to the principle that “a witch that can’t hex, can’t heal.”

If They’re Selling “White Light Only,” They May Be Hiding Some Dirty Laundry

“I recently had one of those WTF moments when I read about "keeping karma clean." The whole debate about practicing a restricted range of witchcraft in order to avoid attracting trouble back to us is a fascinating topic for sure. There's heaps of confusion, ignorance and downright hubris that can all be at play whenever someone claims that they don't practice "baneful" witchcraft. I try not to concern myself too much with the inner workings of others, but it is very important to me to understand my own motivations. For me, hexing, cursing, binding, banishing, and other sorts of witchery have no color.” From “The Truth of A Witch That Can’t Hex Can’t Heal.”

I’ll be honest and say that the first of these things was Deepak Chopra’s presence in The Epstein Files. Talk about “dirty karma.” There was a time, over twenty years ago, that I found his work inspirational. He grew more cringe, and I disconnected from anything he did. But, still. There was a time when I found his early books helpful. I’ve been criticized for being too into New Age ideas. I won’t deny that I have been influenced in some ways by books in the New Age realm. After I read this article, my suspicions about Chopra were confirmed.

I hadn’t thought about anything to do with the New Age movement in years. I’d completely forgotten that I had written the article on hexing and healing, and a few others, about the problems with “white lighting only.” I’m defining this as the idea that the only acceptable sort of energy work, whether it’s in the modern witchcraft wheelhouse or broadly in the energy healing world, is that it denies the power of the shadow. One thing I know for certain: the more the shadow is avoided, the more control it exerts. Chopra and his hyper focus on topics I consider to be in the “white light only,” category hid his predatory ways.

Nothing wrong with angels and white light. Angels are complicated beings that can bring harm as well as benefit. They aren’t simply benevolent Christmas tree toppers. White light, in the form of protection and illumination, can be incredibly healing. It’s the denial of the benefits of darkness that result in both becoming harmful. “Love and light,” as the sole method can be incredibly damaging.

My first book, True Magic: Unleashing Your Inner Witch, talks a lot about consciousness. The course that the content of that book draws from, known first as The Real Work and subsequently as The Sacred Seven, was first developed about twenty years ago. Concerned that I had referenced Chopra, I searched the manuscript. I hadn’t, probably because I felt that there was something wrong about him.

There are many popular figures in the witch world that I stay all the way away from because of my personal experience with them. This isn’t limited to the New Age movement, and it’s close cousin personal development. But Chopra, and the others like him that I personally know about, are a special kind of evil. They peddle positivity, focusing on the good, and generally making people feel like shit. Here’s why: whether it’s a book, course, website, video or podcast, these toxic influencers make us feel like failures when their “white light” methods fail us. They position themselves as gurus, having the only right way to practice, whether it’s meditation or spellcasting.

In my personal experience, this can go with so much problematic behavior behind the scenes, including how they treat others. Chopra’s sexual predation of girls is an extreme example of this.

Popularity isn’t a metric of whether or not a person is a decent human. In my experience, the more “white light only,” someone is, the more dirty laundry they have.

Here We Go Again: Toxic Gatekeeping

“A simple explanation for this saying is that witchcraft has no color. Not white. Not black. Not grey. Or maybe a million shades of grey. What is baneful and what is a blessing? Is it baneful to remove a toxic person from your life? For them, it can be considered as such since your witchery may interfere with their free will. They may want to stay in your life. We can package this as "protection" magick, when it's actually baneful. The appeal of protection witchery is that it appears to be "white" witchcraft. After all, you're only saving yourself, right?” From “The Truth of A Witch That Can’t Hex Can’t Heal.”

My reaction when someone tries to gatekeep. Witchcraft is blessing and bane. Including hexing and healing. For me, it’s the crossroads of magick with personal development. You do you, I’ll do me. Canstock photo and so are the others in this article. Rights purchased.

I saw a post on Instagram the other day that claimed real witches didn’t do candle magick. While that’s a relatively benign example, it speaks to how some people continually try to make us feel like we are doing our practice wrong. This works in both the “white witchcraft,” world and by those who purport to do baneful magick. They make it black and white. The candle criticism is rooted in inaccurate views about the history of witchcraft, and in a denial of how much the definition of witchcraft has radically changed in the past fifty years. They’re referring to a glorious past of baneful witchcraft based on trumped up historical accounts by white men who were out to persecute people (mostly women and minorities) they didn’t like. Sound familiar?

This is toxic gatekeeping, designed to empower the person creating the content and make the person interacting with it feel bad. Anxiety inducing, usually with the hidden motivation of driving us to spend money on their products. Again, this sounds too familiar.

The “no candles,” post came after a comment on one of my own posts saying something like, “Hekate is evil and mean. You need to keep away from, and especially keep her away from children.” I’ve been doing this work for a long time, so my WTF moments are a thing of the past, but still these comments can have an impact on those new to Hekate and The Craft. One of Hekate’s primary roles in ancient religious rites was as Kourotrophos, Guardian of Children. She was also viewed as Eileithyia, the Divine Midwife.

Not One Thing. Many. Just Like Energy.

“Hekate's ancient witches cast spells that knew no color. Some writers interpreted their actions as cursing while I personally see them as great problem solvers. Viewing hexing as evil is yet another way to limit power, especially the feminine.” From “The Truth of A Witch That Can’t Hex Can’t Heal.”

This circles back to “a witch that can’t heal, can’t hex.” Hekate, and many other goddesses, are complex figures with a multitude of characteristics. The ancients understand that the same goddess who protected children could also harm them. She could heal and hex, in other words. It was about how a person interacted with her, and also up to fate, how that goddess acted towards a person. Not one thing. Many. Just like witchcraft.

Like Medea, I’ve been drawn to hexing after being severely wronged. Why should I let someone get away with harming me or my loved ones? Why should they be permitted to continue with their nasty ways?

Shadow work, which I referred to as “death walking,” many years ago, has it’s place in witchcraft, and in all healing. What is in the shadows is often rich with potential. Avoiding the shadows within us, and whatever energies we work with, from Hekate to anything else, puts us at risk for being entrapped by them.

Much in the same way Jason had Medea enchanted first, long before she worked any spells.

“She has been hailed as a feminist icon and a victim of the patriarchy. Is her story one of empowerment or victimhood? I think the answer is "both," showing how complex a character Medea is. The powerful evil sovereign/victim witch queen theme is found in countless stories across time and cultures.” From Medea: The Power of The Poison Queen.

We can be mesmerized by popular authors and teachers. Influenced by anxiety-inducing content. Confused by claims that there is only one right way. There isn’t. Magick adapts, evolves, and transforms itself. Look at how the word “witch,” has gone from describing someone, usually a woman, who is evil to being a beautiful reclaiming of personal empowerment. I call upon Medea, to help me understand these multiplicities within myself and my practice. I’m proud to be a witch who is a multitude, both blessing and bane. Hexing and healing, simultaneously banishing the harm while manifesting the good. All in a complex web.

Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve been teaching courses on the convergence of modern witchcraft with personal development strategies for a couple of decades now. I’ve written a bunch of books, too.

I’m teaching a workshop on Medea, including a talk and a demonstration for crafting her flying ointment, as part of the Botanica Obscura Conference on March 7, 2026.

Making a batch of Medea’s Flying Ointment. Find the recipe in Entering Hekate’s Garden: The Magick, Medicine and Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft. Flying ointments can be used to help transcend being the surface world, into the realms where hexing and healing are truly one and the same.