“It is not a question of whether I believe in voodoo. I am a scholar and, as such, I have studied the concept of voodoo. Voodoo is not superstition. It is a philosophy, a conception of God.”

– Francois Duvalie

Spells and Curses: Religious, Astrological, and Cultural Summary

Spells and curses are concepts found throughout human history in religion, folklore, mythology, and magical traditions. A spell generally refers to words, symbols, prayers, rituals, or actions believed to influence people, events, or supernatural forces. A curse is more specifically intended or believed to bring misfortune, illness, punishment, loss, or other negative consequences upon a person, family, place, or object.

Belief in spells and curses has appeared in societies across the world, although their meaning varies greatly. Some traditions distinguish between protective, healing, and harmful magic, while many religions reject attempts to manipulate supernatural forces altogether. From a scientific standpoint, there is no established evidence that supernatural spells or curses can directly alter external events, although belief in being cursed can produce genuine psychological and physical stress responses.

Historical Background

Written evidence of magical practices dates back thousands of years.

Ancient civilizations recorded rituals intended to influence love, fertility, protection, health, enemies, weather, and political outcomes. Spells could involve spoken formulas, written inscriptions, symbolic objects, amulets, offerings, or ceremonies.

Ancient Mesopotamian texts contain rituals intended both to protect people from harmful supernatural forces and to remove perceived magical attacks.

Ancient Egyptians used written magical formulas, protective amulets, and ritual objects. Egyptian religion did not always sharply separate religion from magic; the concept of heka represented a supernatural power believed to be part of the cosmic order.

In the Greek and Roman worlds, people sometimes used written curse tablets, usually thin pieces of lead inscribed with requests directed toward supernatural powers. Archaeologists have discovered such tablets concerning lawsuits, romantic rivals, athletic competitions, theft, and personal disputes.

Religious Perspectives

Religions differ considerably in their treatment of magic, spells, and curses.

Christianity

Christian scripture contains numerous prohibitions against sorcery, divination, and attempts to manipulate supernatural powers.

Historically, Christian teachings generally maintained that spiritual authority belongs to God and discouraged practices intended to control supernatural forces.

Biblical passages also contain blessings and curses, although these usually concern divine judgment or covenantal consequences rather than magical spells performed independently by humans.

During medieval and early modern European history, fears concerning witchcraft and harmful magic contributed to accusations, trials, and executions. Modern Christian denominations vary in how literally they interpret claims of supernatural curses, but most reject deliberate occult attempts to harm others.

Judaism

The Hebrew Bible contains prohibitions against sorcery, divination, necromancy, and certain magical practices.

At the same time, Jewish history contains traditions involving protective prayers, sacred names, amulets, and mystical writings. These practices varied considerably between communities and historical periods.

In Jewish religious thought, blessings and curses may carry theological significance, but magical manipulation of supernatural forces has generally been regarded with suspicion or prohibition.

Islam

Islam traditionally prohibits sihr, usually translated as sorcery or magic.

The Qur’an acknowledges beliefs surrounding harmful magic while emphasizing God’s ultimate authority and protection. Islamic traditions commonly encourage prayer, recitation of Qur’anic passages, and reliance upon God rather than participation in sorcery.

Practices involving fortune-telling or deliberate magical harm are generally condemned within mainstream Islamic teaching.

Hindu Traditions

Hindu religious traditions contain a wide variety of ritual practices involving prayers, mantras, sacred diagrams, offerings, and ceremonies.

Some historical Hindu and Tantric texts discuss rituals intended for protection, attraction, prosperity, healing, or overcoming enemies. These practices cannot be generalized as representing Hinduism as a whole.

The concepts of karma and dharma are generally more central to Hindu philosophy than curses. Harmful actions are traditionally understood as producing consequences for the person performing them as well as for others.

Buddhism

Core Buddhist teachings emphasize ethical conduct, compassion, meditation, and liberation from suffering rather than magical control of others.

Nevertheless, various Buddhist cultures developed protective chants, amulets, rituals, and ceremonies intended to guard against perceived spiritual dangers.

Practices differ considerably among Tibetan, Theravada, Mahayana, and regional folk-Buddhist traditions.

Astrological Connections

Astrology and spellcasting are not the same practice, although historically they have sometimes overlapped.

Astrology is traditionally concerned with interpreting the positions and movements of celestial bodies and their supposed relationship to human affairs. Certain historical magical traditions incorporated astrology when deciding when rituals should occur.

Practitioners sometimes considered:

The phases of the Moon.
Planetary positions.
Zodiac signs.
Eclipses.
Conjunctions.
Particular days or hours associated with planets.

This practice was sometimes called astrological magic or electional astrology, in which a supposedly favorable celestial time was selected for an activity.

Historically, individual planets acquired symbolic associations. For example:

The Sun was associated with authority, vitality, and success.
The Moon with emotion, change, fertility, and intuition.
Venus with attraction and relationships.
Mars with conflict, aggression, and courage.
Jupiter with expansion, prosperity, and authority.
Saturn with restriction, hardship, time, and boundaries.

Some magical traditions used these symbolic associations when constructing rituals or talismans. These associations belong to astrological and occult belief systems and are not scientifically demonstrated planetary influences.

The Moon and Magical Traditions

The Moon has been especially prominent in magical folklore because its visible phases create an obvious natural cycle.

Different traditions associated:

The waxing Moon with increase or growth.
The full Moon with completion or heightened power.
The waning Moon with reduction or removal.
The new Moon with beginnings or hidden activity.

These associations are cultural and symbolic rather than scientifically established supernatural effects.

The Moon’s actual gravitational influence affects Earth’s tides, but there is no established scientific evidence that lunar phases provide supernatural power to spells or curses.

Cultural Perspectives

Belief in curses appears in cultures throughout the world.

Historically, communities have attributed unexplained illness, accidents, infertility, financial problems, crop failure, or sudden misfortune to supernatural interference.

These beliefs frequently reflected attempts to explain events for which people lacked medical or scientific explanations.

Curses have also served social functions. Fear of supernatural punishment could discourage:

Theft.
Betrayal.
Grave robbery.
Breaking promises.
Violating sacred places.
Disrespecting community traditions.

In this sense, belief in curses sometimes functioned as a form of social control.

Ancient Egyptian Curses

Popular culture often associates ancient Egypt with the “curse of the pharaohs.”

The idea became especially famous following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and subsequent deaths of several people connected with the excavation.

Although ancient Egyptians did sometimes place protective warnings or ritual texts around sacred locations, historians have found no evidence supporting the popular idea that Tutankhamun’s tomb contained a supernatural curse responsible for later deaths.

Nevertheless, the supposed mummy’s curse became enormously influential in books, newspapers, movies, and horror fiction.

Greek and Roman Curse Tablets

Among the clearest archaeological examples of historical curses are defixiones, commonly called curse tablets.

Individuals wrote requests on thin pieces of lead and deposited them in:

Graves.
Wells.
Temples.
Springs.
Underground locations.

Some sought revenge against thieves or enemies, while others concerned romance, court cases, or sporting competitions.

Thousands of such tablets demonstrate that belief in supernatural intervention was part of everyday life for some people in the ancient Mediterranean world.

European Witchcraft Traditions

European folklore developed extensive beliefs about witches casting spells or curses.

People sometimes blamed supposed witchcraft for:

Livestock deaths.
Crop failures.
Disease.
Infertility.
Sudden death.
Unusual behavior.

Between roughly the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, European witch trials resulted in the prosecution and execution of thousands of people, most of whom were women.

Modern historians generally understand these persecutions through combinations of religious conflict, social tension, superstition, political pressures, and fear rather than evidence of supernatural activity.

African and African-Diaspora Traditions

African spiritual traditions are extremely diverse and should not be treated as one unified system.

Some cultures maintain traditions involving ancestors, divination, protective objects, spiritual healing, or beliefs concerning harmful supernatural forces.

African-diaspora religions developed through complex combinations of African traditions, Christianity, Indigenous beliefs, and historical experiences.

Haitian Vodou, for example, is a structured religion involving spirits, ancestors, prayer, ceremony, music, healing, and community. Popular films have frequently misrepresented Vodou as primarily concerned with curses, dolls, and malicious magic.

The famous image of the “voodoo doll” used to injure someone is largely a popular-cultural stereotype rather than an accurate representation of mainstream Haitian Vodou practice.

Protective Magic

Not all spells have historically been intended to cause harm.

Many traditions contain forms of protective magic intended to prevent curses or misfortune.

Common protective objects have included:

Amulets.
Talismans.
Religious medals.
Written prayers.
Sacred symbols.
Protective jewelry.
Charms.

Examples include the evil-eye amulet found throughout Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures and various protective symbols used in European, African, Asian, and Indigenous traditions.

The Evil Eye

One of the world’s oldest and most widespread supernatural beliefs is the evil eye.

According to this belief, an envious or malicious gaze can cause illness, bad luck, or misfortune.

Variations of the tradition appear throughout:

The Mediterranean.
The Middle East.
North Africa.
South Asia.
Central Asia.
Latin America.

Protective eye-shaped amulets are still commonly worn today, sometimes for religious reasons and sometimes simply as cultural jewelry.

Psychological Effects of Believing in a Curse

Although supernatural curses have not been scientifically demonstrated, believing that one has been cursed can produce genuine effects.

Fear may activate the body’s stress response, resulting in:

Rapid heartbeat.
Increased blood pressure.
Insomnia.
Anxiety.
Sweating.
Digestive problems.
Headaches.
Difficulty concentrating.

A related phenomenon is the nocebo effect, in which negative expectations contribute to the perception or development of unpleasant symptoms.

This helps explain why a person who strongly believes they have been cursed may genuinely feel physically or emotionally unwell without demonstrating that a supernatural force caused those symptoms.

Spells and Curses in Popular Culture

Spells and curses remain major themes in:

Horror films.
Fantasy novels.
Fairy tales.
Folklore.
Video games.
Television.
Music.
Art.

Stories frequently use curses to create moral consequences. A character may be cursed because of greed, betrayal, arrogance, or violation of a sacred rule.

Breaking the curse then becomes a symbolic process involving sacrifice, forgiveness, courage, love, or personal transformation.

Symbolic Meaning

Culturally and psychologically, a curse often represents persistent misfortune, fear, guilt, resentment, or the feeling that an invisible force is working against someone.

A spell may symbolize influence, attraction, control, transformation, or the desire to alter circumstances that appear beyond one’s ordinary control.

Being placed under a spell can symbolize:

Manipulation.
Loss of control.
Obsession.
Powerful attraction.
Fear of another person’s influence.

Breaking a spell or curse frequently symbolizes liberation, recovery of personal power, resolution of conflict, or overcoming fear.

These symbolic interpretations are cultural and psychological concepts rather than evidence of supernatural effects.

Conclusion

Spells and curses occupy a fascinating intersection between religion, astrology, folklore, psychology, and culture. Ancient Egyptians used protective magical texts, Greeks and Romans deposited curse tablets, medieval Europeans feared witchcraft, and numerous societies developed charms intended to protect against supernatural harm.

Religious traditions have responded differently, with many condemning harmful magic while also maintaining prayers and rituals intended to provide spiritual protection. Astrology occasionally became intertwined with magical traditions through beliefs about planetary timing and lunar phases.

Despite their enormous historical and cultural influence, supernatural spells and curses have not been scientifically demonstrated to possess the ability to control external events. Their enduring significance instead reveals how human societies have attempted to understand uncertainty, misfortune, fear, power, and the mysterious forces they believed surrounded everyday life.

Sigmund Freud on the Representation of Curses and Spells Within Dreams

Sigmund Freud did not assign one fixed meaning to curses, spells, witchcraft, or magical rituals within dreams. His method required the dreamer to examine personal memories, emotions, fears, wishes, relationships, and associations connected with each image.

Curses and spells are especially relevant to Freud’s psychology because he wrote extensively about magic, superstition, hostile wishes, guilt, taboo, compulsive rituals, and what he called the “omnipotence of thoughts.”

Within Freud’s framework, a dream involving curses or spells may potentially concern:

A hostile wish toward another person.
Fear that one’s thoughts or words could cause harm.
Guilt over anger or resentment.
Fear of punishment or retaliation.
Desire to control something beyond one’s actual control.
A wish to influence another person.
Anxiety about someone having power over the dreamer.
Superstitious thinking.
Protective rituals meant to prevent disaster.
Repressed wishes returning in disguised form.

These are possible applications of Freud’s ideas rather than fixed definitions.

Curses and the Omnipotence of Thoughts

One of Freud’s most useful concepts for understanding magical dreams is the omnipotence of thoughts.

Freud used this expression to describe the belief that thoughts, wishes, words, or symbolic acts can directly influence events in the outside world.

In Totem and Taboo, Freud discussed forms of magical thinking in which a person behaves as though thinking something is almost equivalent to causing it.

For example, a person might become frightened after thinking:

“I hope something bad happens to him.”

If the other person later experiences misfortune, the thinker may feel irrationally responsible.

A dream involving a curse can dramatize this belief very clearly.

Example

A dreamer becomes angry with an enemy and places a curse upon them.

Immediately afterward, the enemy suffers a terrible misfortune.

A Freudian interpretation might examine whether the dream is expressing a hostile wish that waking consciousness would normally consider unacceptable.

The magical structure allows the wish to become reality instantly:

anger → curse → consequence

The dream does not mean the dreamer intends to harm the person in waking life.

It may simply reveal the existence of anger or resentment.

Casting a Spell on Someone

Dreaming that one possesses magical power can represent a wish for control.

Magic removes the ordinary limitations of reality.

Through a spell, the dreamer can make someone:

Love them.
Obey them.
Leave them alone.
Return to them.
Forget something.
Become powerless.
Disappear.

Example

A person dreams of casting a spell that forces an unavailable romantic interest to fall deeply in love.

The dream may represent straightforward wish fulfillment.

Instead of facing uncertainty, rejection, or another person’s independent desires, the dream gives the dreamer absolute control over the outcome.

The deeper wish might be:

“I want to know that this person will choose me.”

The Spell as Wish Fulfillment

Wish fulfillment is central to Freud’s theory of dreams.

Magical imagery is especially useful for wishes because magic makes impossible things possible.

A dreamer can instantly:

Become wealthy.
Reverse a mistake.
Recover someone who has died.
Escape danger.
Punish an enemy.
Become beautiful.
Eliminate illness.
Make someone return.

Example

A financially distressed person speaks a magical phrase and suddenly money fills the room.

The spell may simply accomplish a wish:

“I want my financial problems to disappear.”

The important issue may be the desired result rather than the supernatural imagery itself.

Being Cursed by Someone Else

Dreaming that another person places a curse upon the dreamer can carry a different psychological meaning.

Within Freud’s discussion of superstition and guilt, a person may sometimes fear punishment from outside because of hostile thoughts or wishes experienced internally.

Being cursed may therefore relate to:

Guilt.
Fear of retaliation.
Fear of punishment.
Anxiety about another person.
Feeling judged.
Believing that one has done something wrong.

Example

A dreamer secretly resents a relative but never admits the anger.

That night, the relative appears as a sorcerer and curses the dreamer.

The dream may transform guilt into punishment.

The psychological pattern becomes:

“I am angry with you, therefore I fear you will punish me.”

A Curse Returning to the Dreamer

Sometimes the dreamer casts a curse only to have it return against them.

This image is particularly compatible with Freud’s ideas about aggression and guilt.

Example

A dreamer curses an enemy.

The magical force circles around and strikes the dreamer instead.

The sequence may represent:

hostile wish → guilt → punishment

The dreamer wishes harm upon another person but simultaneously feels that having such a wish deserves punishment.

Fear That Words Can Cause Harm

Curses are especially interesting because they usually operate through words.

The speaker says something and the words supposedly change reality.

This closely resembles Freud’s concept of omnipotent thinking.

Example

The dreamer angrily says:

“I wish you were gone forever.”

The other person instantly vanishes.

The dreamer then becomes terrified and regretful.

The central conflict may be between:

Hostility.
Guilt.
Fear of losing the person.

The curse gives the hostile wish immediate power.

Protective Spells

Dreams involving protective spells can also be understood through Freud’s writings about compulsive rituals.

Freud observed that some compulsive actions function psychologically like magical rituals intended to prevent a feared catastrophe.

Example

The dreamer believes that unless a certain phrase is repeated exactly seven times, a loved one will die.

The dream may express:

Anxiety.
Exaggerated responsibility.
Fear of losing someone.
Desire to control uncontrollable events.

The ritual gives the dreamer an illusion of control.

Instead of accepting uncertainty, the dream says:

“If I perform this correctly, I can guarantee safety.”

Repeating an Incantation

Repeated magical phrases may be particularly significant when the dreamer believes disaster will occur if the ritual is performed incorrectly.

Example

A dreamer must repeat a spell perfectly or the house will burn.

The dream may reflect a waking belief such as:

“If I make one mistake, everything will collapse.”

The magical ritual exaggerates the dreamer’s sense of responsibility.

A Spell That Does Not Work

A failed spell can reveal the opposite problem: helplessness.

Example

The dreamer repeatedly attempts to stop an approaching threat with magic, but nothing happens.

The psychological conflict may be:

“I desperately want control, but I know I do not have it.”

A failed spell may therefore appear during periods involving:

Illness.
Financial uncertainty.
Relationship problems.
Legal difficulties.
Family crises.
Situations beyond the dreamer’s control.

Breaking a Curse

Dreams about breaking curses can represent a wish to escape from something experienced as unavoidable or binding.

The “curse” might personally represent:

Guilt.
Fear.
Family expectations.
Repeated failure.
An unhealthy relationship.
A negative belief.
A recurring problem.

Example

A dreamer spends years searching for a way to break a curse that causes everything to go wrong.

The dreamer frequently says while awake:

“Nothing ever works out for me.”

The curse may personify that belief.

Breaking it may represent the wish:

“I want to stop expecting failure.”

A Family Curse

A dream involving a family curse does not necessarily indicate belief in a supernatural inheritance.

A Freudian investigation would ask what the family curse represents psychologically.

It might involve:

Family guilt.
Strict rules.
Generational conflict.
Fear of disappointing parents.
Difficulty separating from family.
Expectations imposed upon the dreamer.

Example

Every member of a family is told that anyone who leaves home will be cursed.

The dream may represent conflict between:

independence and guilt about independence.

The curse becomes the emotional punishment for breaking the family rule.

A Parent Casting a Curse

When a parent casts the spell, authority and childhood fear may become particularly important.

Example

A father curses the dreamer for refusing to obey him.

The dream might concern:

Fear of parental punishment.
Guilt over rebellion.
Difficulty becoming independent.
Childhood memories of discipline.
Conflict with authority.

The magical power exaggerates the psychological authority the parent still holds in the dreamer’s mind.

Cursing a Parent

The reverse image may reveal hostility that the dreamer finds difficult to acknowledge.

Example

A dreamer casts a spell that makes an intimidating parent completely powerless.

The dream may fulfill the wish:

“I want this person to stop having power over me.”

If the dreamer then becomes frightened or guilty, the dream may reveal emotional ambivalence.

The person may simultaneously feel:

Anger.
Love.
Fear.
Loyalty.
Guilt.

Love Spells

Love spells are particularly compatible with Freud’s theory of wish fulfillment because they eliminate uncertainty.

Example

A dreamer casts a spell causing a desired person to become completely devoted.

The dream may express:

Desire for love.
Fear of rejection.
Desire for reassurance.
Wish to control another person’s affection.

The magical aspect raises an important question:

Why must love be guaranteed rather than freely given?

That question may reveal anxiety surrounding intimacy or rejection.

Someone Casting a Love Spell on the Dreamer

The reverse dream can depict feeling overwhelmed by attraction.

Example

The dreamer believes another person has magically forced them to fall in love.

The dream may externalize a desire the person feels unable to control.

Instead of saying:

“I strongly desire this person,”

the dream says:

“This person has bewitched me.”

The magical explanation removes responsibility from the dreamer.

Enchantment and Loss of Control

Dreams of being enchanted, possessed, hypnotized, or magically controlled may represent internal impulses experienced as though they were imposed from outside.

Example

A dreamer behaves aggressively and insists:

“The spell made me do it.”

The enchantment may allow the dreamer to express aggression without consciously accepting ownership of it.

The dream relocates responsibility.

The Witch or Sorcerer

A witch, wizard, magician, sorcerer, or occult practitioner has no single fixed Freudian meaning.

The dreamer would need to ask:

“Who does this person remind me of?”

The figure might resemble:

A parent.
Romantic partner.
Employer.
Religious authority.
Teacher.
Doctor.
Grandparent.
Childhood character.

Example

A frightening witch speaks with the exact voice of the dreamer’s grandmother.

The grandmother association may be more important than the witch imagery.

The dream has transformed a familiar person into someone possessing exaggerated power.

The Frightening Magician

A magical figure may represent someone the dreamer experiences as emotionally powerful.

Example

A supervisor appears as a sorcerer capable of freezing employees with a gesture.

The image may dramatize the feeling:

“I freeze around this person.”

A metaphorical emotional experience becomes literal dream imagery.

Becoming a Magician

Becoming the person with magical power may satisfy a wish for mastery.

Example

Someone who feels ignored and powerless dreams of becoming a sorcerer capable of commanding everyone in the room.

The dream may fulfill wishes involving:

Authority.
Recognition.
Revenge.
Control.
Confidence.

Magic compensates for waking helplessness.

Magical Objects

A wand, amulet, enchanted ring, spellbook, potion, or talisman should be examined according to what it allows the dreamer to accomplish.

Example

A magic wand allows the dreamer to erase every mistake.

The underlying wish may be:

“I wish I could undo what happened.”

Example

An amulet makes the dreamer completely immune from harm.

The underlying concern may be anxiety and the wish for perfect protection.

A Curse Written in a Book

Written curses combine fear with the authority of words.

Example

The dreamer opens an ancient book and finds their own name beside a prediction of disaster.

Associations might involve:

Judgment.
Fate.
School records.
Legal papers.
Religious teachings.
Family expectations.

The dream turns an internal fear into something that appears objectively written and unavoidable.

Dreaming That Someone Has Hexed You

A dream of being hexed may arise when the dreamer feels that another person has unusual power over their life.

Freud’s framework would not begin by assuming that a supernatural attack has occurred.

Instead, the important questions would be:

Who placed the curse?
Why that person?
What does the curse supposedly cause?
What happened between the dreamer and that person?
Does the dreamer feel guilty toward them?
Does the dreamer resent them?
What waking problem resembles the supposed curse?

The Curse as Projection

Projection provides another possible interpretation.

A dreamer may attribute hostility to someone else when their own hostile feelings are uncomfortable to acknowledge.

Example

The dreamer becomes convinced that a rival has cursed them.

During free association, however, the dreamer repeatedly expresses intense anger toward that rival.

The emotional direction may have been reversed.

Instead of:

“I want something bad to happen to you,”

the dream presents:

“You want something bad to happen to me.”

The Curse as Punishment

A curse may also function as punishment within the dream.

Example

The dreamer steals something and immediately hears a voice announcing that they are cursed forever.

The dream creates two sides of the conflict:

forbidden action → punishment

The curse may express guilt.

Fear That a Curse Will Come True

Fear of magical predictions may connect strongly with Freud’s discussion of superstition.

Example

A mysterious figure tells the dreamer:

“You will lose everything within three days.”

A Freudian investigation would ask:

What loss is already feared?
Why three days?
Who delivers the prediction?
Does that person represent authority?
Is the dreamer expecting punishment?

The curse may simply give a voice and deadline to an anxiety already present.

Spells and the Uncanny

Magical dreams can also feel deeply uncanny.

Freud used the term “uncanny” for experiences that are simultaneously familiar and frightening, especially when older forms of magical or superstitious thinking seem unexpectedly real.

A dream in which thoughts directly control reality can be unsettling because the boundary between:

thinking and making something happen

seems to disappear.

The dreamer says something—

and reality instantly obeys.

Recurring Curse Dreams

Recurring curse dreams should be examined as a sequence rather than as isolated events.

For example:

Dream 1: The dreamer is cursed.

Dream 2: The dreamer hides from the curse.

Dream 3: The dreamer learns who cast it.

Dream 4: The dreamer confronts that person.

Dream 5: The curse disappears.

A Freudian analysis would ask what changed during the same period in waking life.

Perhaps:

Guilt decreased.
A confrontation occurred.
Fear of an authority figure weakened.
A relationship changed.
The dreamer became more independent.

Destroying the Spell

Destroying a spellbook, wand, potion, or magical object may represent an attempt to remove psychological power.

Example

A dreamer breaks the wand belonging to a frightening sorcerer.

If the sorcerer represents an intimidating person, the dream may express the wish:

“I want this person to stop controlling me.”

Another example

The dreamer destroys their own spellbook.

The dream may represent a wish to stop relying on fantasies of control and confront reality more directly.

Words and Magical Dream Imagery

Curses and spells are particularly suitable for Freud’s theory of dream-work because dreams frequently transform abstract ideas into concrete scenes.

A dream may therefore dramatize ordinary expressions such as:

“I’m under her spell.”
“He has power over me.”
“I’m cursed.”
“Bad luck follows me.”
“I wish he would disappear.”

Example: “Under her spell”

A dreamer is literally chained to another person by magical energy.

The image may simply dramatize the phrase:

“I am under her spell.”

Questions for a Freudian Interpretation

A Freudian examination of curses and spells would ask:

Who performs the magic?
Who receives the curse?
What exactly does the spell accomplish?
What do I wish would happen to the person being cursed?
Do I feel guilty about anger toward them?
Am I afraid they will retaliate?
Does the magical figure resemble someone I know?
Who currently feels unusually powerful over me?
Does the spell give me control I lack in waking life?
What happens if the spell fails?
Is there a ritual that must be performed perfectly?
What disaster is the ritual supposed to prevent?
Am I blaming someone else for an impulse that may actually be mine?
Does the dream resemble a phrase such as “under a spell” or “I’m cursed”?
What recent situation produced similar fear, anger, guilt, or helplessness?
What wish becomes possible only because magic exists in the dream?

Conclusion

Within Sigmund Freud’s framework, curses and spells within dreams do not possess one universal interpretation.

Their meaning must be discovered through the dreamer’s own:

Wishes.
Fears.
Guilt.
Hostility.
Relationships.
Personal associations.
Recent experiences.

Freud’s concept of the omnipotence of thoughts is especially useful for understanding magical dreams. It describes a psychological condition in which thoughts, wishes, words, or symbolic acts are treated as though they possess direct power over reality.

A dream of casting a curse may therefore express a hostile wish.

A dream of being cursed may involve guilt, punishment, fear, or the feeling that another person possesses too much power.

A protective spell may dramatize the desire to prevent catastrophe through ritual control.

A love spell may fulfill the wish to eliminate rejection or uncertainty.

A failed spell may reveal helplessness.

And breaking a curse may represent the wish to escape from guilt, fear, family expectations, or a recurring psychological pattern.

The central Freudian question is therefore not:

“Does this dream mean that someone has actually cursed me?”

It is:

“What wish, fear, guilt, hostility, or desire for control has my dream transformed into the language of magic, and why does my mind need a curse or spell to express it?”

Bibliography

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. 1899/1900.

Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. 1913. Especially the section dealing with animism, magic, and the omnipotence of thoughts.

Freud, Sigmund. The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. 1901.

Freud, Sigmund. “The Uncanny.” 1919.

Carl Jung on the Representation of Curses and Spells Within Dreams

Carl Jung did not establish a fixed rule stating that a curse, spell, witch, sorcerer, or magical ritual always has one specific meaning within dreams. His approach required the dreamer to examine the personal context of the dream, emotional reaction, associations, present circumstances, and the larger symbolic pattern in which the magical image appears.

Magic nevertheless occupies an important place in Jung’s psychology. Jung studied mythology, religion, alchemy, ritual, folklore, and what he called participation mystique—a state in which the psychological boundary between a person and an external object or event is not clearly distinguished. He also examined projection, in which unconscious qualities are experienced as though they belonged entirely to another person or external force.

Within this framework, dreams of curses and spells may potentially concern:

Unconscious psychological influence.
Fear of another person’s power.
Projection.
A powerful emotional complex.
Repressed anger or hostility.
Transformation.
The shadow.
Attempts to protect oneself psychologically.
Archetypal images of evil, power, healing, or transformation.
Feeling trapped by an unconscious pattern.
The need to withdraw projections from another person.
The confrontation between conscious will and deeper unconscious forces.

These possibilities are applications of Jung’s method rather than a universal symbolic dictionary.

The Curse as an Autonomous Psychological Power

One of Jung’s most useful ideas for understanding curse dreams is the complex.

Jung regarded complexes as emotionally charged groups of ideas and memories that can behave with a degree of autonomy. A powerful complex can influence thoughts, emotions, reactions, and behavior even when the conscious ego does not fully understand what is happening.

A dream may therefore represent such a force as a curse.

The dreamer may say:

“Something has been put on me.”

Psychologically, the dream may be expressing:

“Something inside me is controlling my reactions even though I do not consciously want it to.”

Example

A dreamer is cursed so that every romantic relationship ends in the same way.

A Jungian investigation might ask whether there is a recurring unconscious pattern involving:

Fear of abandonment.
Distrust.
Jealousy.
Emotional withdrawal.
Repeated attraction to similar partners.

The “curse” gives dramatic form to the feeling that the same pattern keeps operating independently of conscious intention.

Feeling “Cursed” by a Repeating Pattern

Recurring misfortune in dreams may sometimes portray a psychological pattern that has not yet been recognized.

Example

A dreamer discovers that generations of the family are cursed to repeat the same mistake.

A Jungian interpretation would not require the assumption that an actual supernatural curse exists.

The dream might instead point toward a family complex—a pattern of attitudes, expectations, fears, relationships, or emotional reactions that continues to influence the dreamer.

The important question becomes:

“What pattern feels older than me, yet continues to operate through my life?”

The curse symbolizes the experience of being bound by something that consciousness did not consciously choose.

Being Cursed by Another Person

When another person curses the dreamer, Jungian interpretation would examine both the actual relationship and the possibility of projection.

The dreamer may experience the other person as possessing extraordinary psychological power.

Example

A former partner points at the dreamer and declares that the dreamer will never be happy again.

The dream may express the continuing emotional influence of the relationship.

The curse may symbolize:

Shame.
Rejection.
Fear.
Anger.
Unresolved attachment.
Internalized criticism.

The former partner may no longer be physically present, yet the psychological relationship continues.

The dream dramatizes that influence as magical power.

Projection and the Curse

Projection is particularly relevant to curse dreams.

Jung described projection as a process through which unconscious contents are experienced as characteristics of external people or situations.

A dreamer may therefore believe:

“That person has power over me.”

But the dream may eventually reveal that part of this power comes from an unconscious projection.

Example

A dreamer believes a frightening woman has cursed them.

Later in the dream, the woman removes her mask and has the dreamer’s own face.

The image would strongly suggest that the threatening power is not entirely external.

The dream may be asking the person to recognize a rejected aspect of themselves.

The Curse and the Shadow

The shadow contains qualities the conscious personality does not readily recognize or accept as belonging to itself.

These might include:

Anger.
Jealousy.
Aggression.
Greed.
Desire for revenge.
Selfishness.
Sexuality.
Ambition.
Fear.
Vulnerability.

A curse may represent shadow material when the dreamer experiences these rejected qualities as though they were attacking from outside.

Example

A dreamer continually fears an invisible curse.

Eventually the dream reveals that the curse begins whenever the dreamer refuses to express anger.

A Jungian reading might suggest that suppressed hostility has taken on an autonomous and threatening form.

The solution may not be to “destroy” the anger.

The psychological task may be to recognize it and learn how to express it responsibly.

Casting a Curse

Dreaming that the dreamer casts the curse changes the psychological position.

The dreamer now possesses magical power.

This may represent:

Anger.
Revenge.
Desire for control.
Frustration.
A wish to change someone.
A fantasy of overcoming helplessness.

Example

A dreamer who feels powerless at work curses an abusive supervisor and watches the supervisor shrink.

The dream may compensate for waking helplessness.

The curse gives the dreamer power that conscious life currently lacks.

The deeper question becomes:

“What power do I feel unable to exercise openly?”

The dream may indicate a need for greater assertiveness rather than literal retaliation.

The Spell as an Attempt to Control Reality

Magic often eliminates uncertainty.

A spell allows the dreamer to declare:

“This must happen.”

From a Jungian perspective, such imagery may indicate an excessive attempt by the ego to control something larger or more complex than itself.

Example

A dreamer performs an elaborate ritual to force a particular future outcome.

The ritual fails repeatedly.

The dream may question the conscious attitude:

“I must control exactly what happens.”

The unconscious may be confronting the ego with uncertainty and limits.

This becomes especially significant when the dreamer is experiencing:

Relationship uncertainty.
Career change.
Grief.
Major life transitions.
Situations where outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Love Spells

A love spell can represent a wish to control emotional connection.

Example

A dreamer casts a spell that forces another person to fall in love.

A Jungian examination might ask whether the dreamer is relating to the actual person or primarily to a projection placed upon them.

The beloved person may have become the carrier of:

Ideal beauty.
Salvation.
Completeness.
Emotional fulfillment.
Everything the dreamer believes is missing internally.

The magical spell attempts to guarantee possession of that projection.

The psychological task may instead involve discovering what inner quality has been projected onto the beloved person.

Being Under Someone’s Spell

This familiar expression fits Jung’s theory of projection exceptionally well.

Example

A dreamer cannot stop following a mysterious stranger because the stranger has enchanted them.

The dream may portray an overwhelming fascination.

The stranger might carry projected qualities the dreamer has not developed consciously.

The person may appear:

Mysterious.
Perfect.
Powerful.
Beautiful.
Wise.
Dangerous.

The fascination becomes magical because the projection has a numinous emotional force.

The Jungian question becomes:

“What quality does this person possess in the dream that I have not yet recognized in myself?”

The Numinous Quality of Magical Dreams

Jung used the concept of the numinous for experiences possessing extraordinary emotional force—experiences that feel larger, stranger, and more powerful than ordinary ego-consciousness.

Archetypal dreams frequently possess this quality.

A magical dream may therefore feel:

Sacred.
Terrifying.
Fated.
Mysterious.
Overwhelming.
Unforgettable.

Such intensity does not automatically mean the dream predicts an external supernatural event.

Within Jung’s framework, it may indicate that the dream has activated a deep archetypal level of the psyche.

The Witch

A witch in a dream does not possess one fixed Jungian meaning.

The figure might represent:

Shadow qualities.
Destructive maternal power.
Wisdom.
Intuition.
Fear of feminine authority.
Repressed knowledge.
A specific person.
An archetypal figure.

The witch’s behavior determines the interpretation.

A Hostile Witch

Example

A witch continually humiliates the dreamer and declares them worthless.

The figure may embody an internalized destructive voice.

Perhaps the dreamer carries a severe inner critic derived from earlier relationships or experiences.

The witch becomes the visible form of that psychological complex.

A Helpful Witch

A witch who provides medicine, knowledge, or guidance requires a completely different interpretation.

Example

An old woman gives the dreamer an herbal potion and tells them where to find a hidden doorway.

The figure may carry qualities of:

Wisdom.
Intuition.
Knowledge neglected by consciousness.

A frightening appearance does not necessarily make the figure psychologically destructive.

The Sorcerer or Magician

A magician may represent psychological power, transformation, knowledge, manipulation, or an archetypal figure possessing abilities beyond ordinary consciousness.

Example

A magician can transform worthless material into something precious.

This image has an obvious relationship to Jung’s interest in alchemy.

Jung devoted Psychology and Alchemy to parallels between alchemical transformation and psychological transformation. He examined a large series of dreams and argued that alchemical imagery could symbolize processes through which unconscious material becomes integrated into a more complete personality.

The magician may therefore represent the possibility of transformation rather than merely supernatural power.

Spells and Alchemical Transformation

Jung’s extensive study of alchemy is especially relevant to dreams containing mysterious formulas, magical substances, transformations, circles, vessels, fires, and secret rituals.

He treated alchemical symbolism psychologically as imagery capable of expressing transformation within the unconscious.

Example

A dreamer performs a mysterious ritual in which a black substance gradually becomes gold.

A Jungian interpretation might explore whether some rejected or painful psychological material is undergoing transformation.

The dream may be saying:

Something considered worthless contains the possibility of development.

The magical process represents psychological change.

The Magic Circle

Jung specifically discussed the mandala as a ritual or “magic circle” and interpreted mandala imagery in dreams as connected with psychic centering and the formation of a new center of personality.

Therefore a spell involving a circle can be especially interesting.

Example

A terrified dreamer draws a glowing circle around themselves, and threatening figures cannot cross it.

A cautious Jungian interpretation could view the circle as:

Protection.
Psychological containment.
Establishing boundaries.
Creating order amid chaos.

If the circle is symmetrical, centered, and emotionally powerful, it might also acquire mandala-like significance.

The dream may be attempting to create psychological order.

Protective Spells

A protective spell may represent an attempt to establish boundaries against overwhelming unconscious material.

Example

A dreamer is surrounded by threatening creatures but protects themselves by drawing a circle.

The dream may concern the need to contain emotions or conflicts that feel overwhelming.

The circle does not necessarily signify fear alone.

It may represent an emerging capacity to create a stable center.

A Spell That Fails

When magical protection fails, the dream may indicate that existing psychological defenses are inadequate.

Example

A dreamer repeats a protection spell, but the threatening figure walks through it.

The dream may be saying:

“Your usual method of avoiding this issue no longer works.”

The threatening content now requires direct confrontation.

This could apply to:

Grief.
Anger.
Relationship conflict.
Fear.
Shadow material.

Breaking a Curse

Breaking a curse can represent liberation from an unconscious complex or projection.

Example

A dreamer learns that the curse can only be broken by confronting the person they fear.

The dream may suggest that avoidance maintains the psychological power.

Once the dreamer confronts the figure, the curse disappears.

The pattern is significant:

avoidance → continued enchantment

confrontation → release

Destroying a Magical Object

Sometimes the power of the curse is located in:

A ring.
Book.
Necklace.
Doll.
Stone.
Amulet.
Mirror.

Example

The dreamer discovers that a frightening necklace controls them.

When they remove it, they become free.

A Jungian interpretation would ask what the necklace represents personally.

It might correspond with:

A relationship.
Promise.
Family obligation.
Identity.
Belief.
Memory.

The magical object gives concrete form to the psychological attachment.

The Enchanted Object

An object with magical power may also carry a projection of psychic value.

Example

The dreamer believes a ring possesses all their strength.

If the ring is lost, the dreamer becomes powerless.

The dream may indicate that psychological strength has been projected onto an external object, person, job, status, or relationship.

The individuation task would involve recognizing:

“The value I attributed entirely to that object also belongs to my own psyche.”

The Curse as a Complex

A particularly useful way to interpret recurring curse dreams is to ask whether the curse behaves like an autonomous complex.

Characteristics might include:

It activates automatically.
It produces the same emotional reaction repeatedly.
Conscious reasoning cannot stop it.
It seems to possess its own personality.
It interferes with relationships.
It repeats across years.

Example

Every time the dreamer enters a relationship, a mysterious voice says:

“They will leave you.”

The voice may embody an abandonment complex.

The dream presents the complex as a curse because that is how it feels:

automatic, powerful, and difficult to escape.

The Family Curse

A family curse is particularly suitable for representing inherited psychological attitudes.

The dream might concern:

Repeated family roles.
Expectations.
Fear.
Shame.
Relationship patterns.
Unspoken conflicts.
Emotional loyalties.

Example

A family is cursed so that no child may ever leave the ancestral home.

The dreamer is preparing to move away.

The curse may dramatize the conflict between:

individual development and family loyalty.

The dream does not necessarily condemn either side.

It exposes the psychological cost of separation.

Curses and Individuation

Jung’s concept of individuation involves becoming more psychologically whole by developing a conscious relationship with previously unconscious aspects of personality.

A curse dream may therefore change over time.

For example:

Dream 1: The dreamer runs from the witch.

Dream 2: The dreamer discovers the witch’s house.

Dream 3: The dreamer enters the house.

Dream 4: The witch removes her mask.

Dream 5: The dreamer learns the spell.

The threatening figure has gradually changed from persecutor to source of knowledge.

This kind of development would be psychologically significant.

The dreamer has established a relationship with previously frightening unconscious material.

The Spell as Transformation

Not all magical spells represent control.

Some spells transform the dreamer.

Example

The dreamer is turned into an animal.

The important question becomes:

Why this animal?

If transformed into a wolf, bird, horse, snake, or other creature, the qualities of that animal must be examined.

The spell may remove the conscious social identity and reveal another psychological quality.

Example

A timid dreamer is transformed into a lion.

The magical transformation may compensate for excessive passivity.

The unconscious creates an image of strength that consciousness has not developed.

Transformation Into Stone

A curse that turns someone to stone can create a powerful image.

Example

Whenever the dreamer expresses emotion, a sorcerer turns them to stone.

The dream may represent emotional paralysis.

The person may feel:

Frozen.
Unable to respond.
Unable to speak.
Emotionally numb.

The magical curse gives visible form to that psychological condition.

Transformation Into an Animal

Example

A person is cursed to become a wolf whenever angry.

The dream may portray fear of aggressive impulses.

The person experiences anger as though it transforms them into something nonhuman.

A Jungian approach might encourage a conscious relationship with the anger rather than simple repression.

The Curse of Invisibility

Example

A dreamer is cursed so that nobody can see them.

The dream may relate to:

Feeling ignored.
Lack of recognition.
Social isolation.
Difficulty asserting oneself.

The magical form exaggerates the emotional reality:

“I feel invisible.”

The Curse of Silence

Example

Whenever the dreamer attempts to speak, a spell removes their voice.

The dream may ask:

“Where in waking life do I feel unable to speak?”

Possible contexts include:

Family relationships.
Workplace authority.
Romantic conflict.
Fear of criticism.

The curse dramatizes the inhibition.

The Curse of Repetition

A dream may involve repeating the same event endlessly.

Example

The dreamer is cursed to walk through the same doorway and return to the same room.

This can strongly represent an unconscious repetitive pattern.

The dreamer may feel:

“No matter what I do, I end up in the same place.”

The Jungian task becomes recognizing what has not yet been consciously understood.

Removing the Curse Through Knowledge

Many mythic stories involve breaking enchantment through discovering a secret name, hidden truth, forgotten memory, or prohibited knowledge.

This pattern is psychologically meaningful.

Example

The dreamer cannot break the spell through force.

The curse ends only after the dreamer remembers something forgotten from childhood.

The dream may indicate that conscious recognition, rather than suppression, is necessary.

The solution is knowledge.

The Spellbook

A magical book can represent knowledge available to consciousness but not yet understood.

Example

The dreamer possesses a spellbook written in a language they cannot read.

The image may suggest that unconscious material is present but has not yet become consciously intelligible.

Later dreams might show:

Learning the alphabet.
Finding a translator.
Reading one sentence.
Eventually understanding the entire book.

Such a sequence would represent increasing psychological awareness.

The Mirror and Magical Spells

Mirrors often emphasize self-perception.

Example

A witch curses a mirror so that the dreamer sees a monster instead of their own face.

The image may concern a distorted self-image.

The important question is whether the frightening image actually belongs to the dreamer or represents a projected fear.

If the mirror later becomes clear, psychological perception may be changing.

The Spell and Participation Mystique

Jung used the term participation mystique for a psychological state in which a person does not clearly distinguish between self and object and experiences an almost magical connection between them.

This is relevant to dreams in which:

Thoughts instantly affect another person.
The dreamer feels physically connected to someone far away.
An object seems to contain a person’s soul.
A curse transfers from one person to another.
Someone’s emotions magically become the dreamer’s emotions.

Such imagery may portray poorly differentiated psychological boundaries.

The Numinous Spell

Some magical dreams feel neither clearly good nor clearly evil.

The dreamer may experience awe.

Example

A mysterious figure speaks one word and the entire landscape transforms.

Such imagery may indicate that the dream touches an archetypal level of experience.

Jung would generally take such emotionally powerful imagery seriously because its numinous quality suggests that the unconscious content carries unusual psychological energy.

Recurring Spell Dreams

Recurring magical dreams should be examined as a series.

For example:

Dream 1: A sorcerer controls the dreamer.

Dream 2: The dreamer discovers the sorcerer’s name.

Dream 3: The dreamer learns to resist.

Dream 4: The dreamer discovers the sorcerer is wounded.

Dream 5: The sorcerer becomes an adviser.

The change suggests development in the dreamer’s relationship with whatever psychological content the magician represents.

The image itself has not simply disappeared.

Its function has transformed.

Questions for a Jungian Interpretation of Curses and Spells

A careful Jungian interpretation would ask:

Who casts the spell?
Who is cursed?
What does the curse force the dreamer to do?
What psychological condition does the curse resemble?
Does the magical figure resemble someone known?
Does the dreamer feel helpless, fascinated, frightened, or empowered?
Is a projection involved?
Does the curse reveal a recurring life pattern?
Does the magical figure possess shadow qualities?
Does the dream contain a circle, mandala, vessel, fire, transformation, or alchemical imagery?
Is the dreamer attempting to control something that cannot be completely controlled?
Does the spell transform the dreamer?
What is the transformation into?
How can the curse be broken?
Does the solution require force, knowledge, acceptance, or confrontation?
Is there a family pattern represented as inherited enchantment?
Does a particular person seem to possess exaggerated psychological power?
What quality has been projected onto that person?
Does the dream feel unusually numinous or archetypal?
How does the magical imagery change across recurring dreams?

Conclusion

Within Carl Jung’s analytical psychology, curses and spells within dreams should not be interpreted as having one universal meaning. They can instead represent the dreamer’s relationship with powerful unconscious forces.

A curse may portray an autonomous complex—a pattern that feels as though it operates independently of conscious will.

Being cursed by another person may represent that person’s continuing psychological influence or a projection that gives them greater power than they actually possess.

Casting a curse may reveal anger, resentment, frustrated power, or an unconscious desire to change a situation through force.

A love spell may reveal projection and fascination.

A protective spell or magic circle may represent the need for boundaries, psychological containment, or centering. Jung explicitly discussed mandalas as ritual or magical circles and connected their appearance in dreams with the process of psychic organization.

Magical transformation is especially important because Jung devoted extensive attention to alchemy as a symbolic language of psychological transformation. In Psychology and Alchemy, he analyzed a long series of dreams containing alchemical imagery and related them to unconscious processes associated with individuation and psychological development.

A curse that transforms the dreamer into an animal, stone, invisible person, or voiceless figure may therefore give concrete form to a psychological condition. Breaking the spell may symbolize increasing consciousness, confronting a complex, withdrawing a projection, or discovering a previously hidden part of oneself.

The central Jungian question is therefore not:

“Has this dream revealed that an actual supernatural curse has been placed upon me?”

It is:

“What unconscious force, projection, complex, shadow quality, or transformation has taken the form of this curse or spell—and what relationship must I develop with it so that it no longer controls me unconsciously?”

Bibliography

Jung, C. G. Psychological Types. Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 6. Contains Jung’s discussion and definition of participation mystique.

Jung, C. G. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Collected Works, Vol. 9, Part I. Jung’s major treatment of archetypal images and the collective unconscious.

Jung, C. G. Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Collected Works, Vol. 9, Part II. Contains Jung’s important discussion of the shadow, projection, and development of the personality.

Jung, C. G. Psychology and Alchemy. Collected Works, Vol. 12. Jung examines alchemical symbolism, dream series, transformation, mandalas, and individuation.

Jung, C. G. Symbols of Transformation. Collected Works, Vol. 5. Contains Jung’s extensive treatment of mythological and symbolic transformation.

Jung, C. G. The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. Collected Works, Vol. 8. Contains important material on complexes, psychic energy, projection, and autonomous unconscious processes.

Ibn Sirin on the Representation of Curses and Spells Within Dreams

Within the traditional Islamic dream literature attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, dreams involving curses, spells, sorcery, witchcraft, magical knots, incantations, and enchantment are generally connected with deception, temptation, falsehood, harmful schemes, division, misleading influences, and spiritual or moral danger.

An important historical qualification is necessary. Ibn Sirin was genuinely famous in the early Islamic tradition for dream interpretation, but the large dream manuals later circulated under his name—especially Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām—were compiled after his lifetime and cannot simply be treated as books written personally by him. The interpretations below are therefore most accurately described as traditional interpretations attributed to Ibn Sirin.

Within that attributed tradition, sorcery can signify:

Deception.
False appearances.
Temptation.
Arrogance.
Trickery and scheming.
Division between people.
False accusations or misleading words.
Harmful influence.
Religious heedlessness.
An enemy working through deception.
A person becoming fascinated by something false.
Attempts to control another person improperly.

The exact action in the dream remains important. Seeing magic, practicing it, being bewitched, finding magical objects, blowing upon knots, breaking a spell, or encountering a sorcerer should not automatically receive identical interpretations.

Sorcery as Deception

One of the strongest meanings attributed to sorcery is deception.

Traditional entries describe magical arts as involving tricks, artificiality, temptation, and false appearances. Sorcery can therefore symbolize a situation where something looks different from what it truly is. Islamic Dream Guide

Example

A dreamer watches someone perform a magnificent spell that makes worthless stones appear to be gold.

Within this framework, the dream may warn about:

A deceptive opportunity.
False promises.
Someone exaggerating what they can provide.
An attractive appearance concealing a poor reality.

The important theme is not necessarily supernatural magic.

It is making falsehood appear convincing.

Being Bewitched

A dream in which the dreamer believes they are under a spell can represent being misled, influenced, deceived, or drawn into a harmful situation.

Traditional material specifically connects being bewitched with falsehood capable of creating division, especially between spouses. Islamic Dream Guide

Example

A married person dreams that a sorcerer causes them to suddenly hate their spouse.

The traditional interpretation would pay particular attention to:

False information.
Gossip.
Slander.
Outside interference.
Arguments based upon deception.
Someone attempting to create division.

The dream does not prove that actual sorcery has occurred.

Symbolically, it may warn that falsehood is influencing a relationship.

Spells and Separation Between Husband and Wife

The association between sorcery and marital division is particularly strong in this tradition.

Traditional entries state that practicing sorcery or being affected by it can signify separation between husband and wife through falsehood. Islamic Dream Guide

This might involve:

Gossip.
Lies.
Suspicion.
Manipulation.
A third party interfering.
False allegations.
Miscommunication.

Example

A dreamer sees someone whispering spells over the wedding rings of a married couple until the rings separate.

The symbolic meaning could concern a deceptive influence trying to divide the couple.

The “spell” makes visible the destructive power of misleading words.

Casting a Spell on Another Person

Dreaming that the dreamer performs the sorcery can be more cautionary.

It may suggest participation in:

Deception.
Manipulation.
Gossip.
Harmful scheming.
Attempting to influence another person unfairly.
Creating conflict.

Example

The dreamer casts a spell to cause two friends to turn against one another.

Within the attributed tradition, this would strongly fit the themes of falsehood and division.

The dream could encourage the dreamer to examine whether they have become involved in:

Spreading rumors.
Taking sides unfairly.
Manipulating a dispute.
Speaking in ways that increase hostility.

A Love Spell

Love magic would be interpreted cautiously.

If the spell is being used to force another person’s affection, the symbolism may concern manipulation, temptation, or obtaining something through deceptive means.

Example

A dreamer casts a spell so that another person cannot resist them.

The dream may represent an improper desire to control another person’s decisions or emotions.

The issue is not simply romance.

It is the use of false or manipulative influence.

Someone Casting a Love Spell on the Dreamer

The reverse dream may indicate being tempted or fascinated by something whose true nature has not been recognized.

Example

A stranger performs a spell and the dreamer immediately becomes obsessed with them.

The traditional interpretation might warn that attraction, promises, flattery, or temptation are interfering with sound judgment.

The dreamer should ask:

“What currently attracts me so strongly that I may not be seeing it clearly?”

The Sorcerer

A sorcerer or magician generally carries an unfavorable meaning when associated with harmful magical practice.

The figure may represent:

A deceiver.
A manipulator.
A person spreading falsehood.
Someone creating division.
An enemy who works through schemes rather than direct confrontation.

Example

A sorcerer appears friendly but secretly places spells throughout the dreamer’s house.

The figure may represent someone whose outward friendliness conceals harmful intentions.

The house can make the warning especially personal, suggesting interference with:

Family.
Marriage.
Property.
Private affairs.

The Sorcerer as a Deceptive Enemy

A magical enemy is often dangerous because the attack is not straightforward.

The danger comes from:

Trickery.
Concealment.
Persuasion.
False information.
Manipulation.

Example

A sorcerer never physically attacks the dreamer but continuously causes other people to distrust them.

The dream may concern an enemy who damages the dreamer indirectly through words or influence.

Learning Sorcery

Traditional dream entries attributed to Ibn Sirin state that learning sorcery, black magic, or similar arts may signify religious innovation and heedlessness. Islamic Dream Guide

Within the moral framework of the tradition, this is not favorable learning.

Example

The dreamer eagerly studies a book of destructive spells.

The dream may warn against becoming fascinated with:

Harmful knowledge.
Manipulative methods.
False teachings.
Practices that lead the person away from sound judgment or religious principles.

A Spellbook

A book containing spells may therefore represent misleading or harmful knowledge when the dream clearly presents its contents as sorcery.

Example

The dreamer finds a beautiful book whose promises seem impressive but whose spells cause conflict wherever they are used.

The message may concern knowledge that appears attractive but produces harmful consequences.

The beauty of the book does not make its contents beneficial.

Magical Knots

One particularly specific traditional image involves blowing or spitting upon knots while uttering an imprecation.

Dream-dictionary material attributed to Ibn Sirin identifies this act directly with witchcraft or sorcery. Islamic Dream Guide

The image reflects a practice explicitly associated with magical harm in Islamic religious language.

Example

The dreamer sees someone tying knots while whispering over each one.

Within this tradition, the dream is strongly associated with sorcery imagery.

Symbolically, the knots may also emphasize something being:

Bound.
Restricted.
Complicated.
Deliberately obstructed.

The interpretation should still remain within the overall themes of deception and harmful influence.

Finding Knotted Threads

A dreamer may discover cords or threads tied into strange knots.

A cautious traditional interpretation would consider whether the dream contains other indicators of sorcery, such as:

Incantations.
Spitting or blowing.
Hidden objects.
A known sorcerer.
Explicit statements within the dream that the knots are magical.

Without those details, an ordinary knot should not automatically be declared evidence of sorcery.

Ropes and Staffs

The attributed tradition also makes use of Qur’anic imagery involving the ropes and staffs of the magicians in the story of Moses.

Consequently, ropes and staffs appearing together in an unmistakably magical setting may acquire associations with trickery and sorcery.

Example

A group throws ropes onto the ground and they appear to become living creatures.

The principal theme would be illusion and deception—something appearing to be what it is not.

The Spell as Illusion

This is one of the most important themes in the traditional interpretation of magic.

Magic may make something appear true when it is false.

Example

A dreamer sees an impressive palace created by magic.

When the spell disappears, the palace is revealed as ruins.

The dream may warn about:

False prosperity.
Empty promises.
Misleading appearances.
A relationship or opportunity that is less secure than it seems.

The disappearing illusion reveals the truth.

Finding Hidden Magic

A dream about discovering a hidden magical object may be cautiously interpreted as discovering the source of deception or conflict.

Example

A dreamer discovers an object hidden beneath the floor that everyone in the dream says has been causing arguments.

The symbolic emphasis may be upon uncovering a previously concealed source of discord.

This does not establish that a real magical object exists in waking life.

The dream may simply picture the discovery of hidden:

Gossip.
Resentment.
Manipulation.
Dishonesty.
Interference.

Magic Hidden in the House

When magical objects appear inside the home, the dream may concern domestic affairs.

Possible areas include:

Marriage.
Family relationships.
Household conflict.
Private secrets.
Financial disagreements.

Example

The dreamer finds a spell hidden beneath the marital bed.

Within the traditional symbolism, the strongest concern could be division or falsehood affecting the marriage.

Breaking or Undoing a Spell

The surviving attributed material is stronger on what sorcery represents than on a universal formula for every dream of “breaking” it.

Nevertheless, a cautious application of the symbolism allows the removal of sorcery to represent escaping deception, exposing a scheme, ending harmful influence, or overcoming division.

Example

The dreamer finds the hidden knots, unties them, and the family immediately stops arguing.

The dream could indicate that the source of conflict is being discovered and removed.

The interpretation should focus on truth overcoming deception rather than assuming literal witchcraft.

Destroying Magical Objects

Burning, breaking, or discarding an object explicitly identified as magical may similarly suggest rejection of whatever false or harmful influence it represents.

Example

The dreamer throws a book of spells into a fire and feels relieved.

The dream may symbolize turning away from:

Deception.
False teaching.
Harmful temptation.
A manipulative person.

Reciting the Qur’an Against Magic

Religious protection appears within the attributed dream tradition.

A particularly specific example states that a person who dreams of reciting Surah Taha will not be harmed by the magic of a sorcerer. This is preserved in Muntakhab al-Kalām. Usul

Within the traditional framework, such a dream can therefore carry an explicitly protective meaning.

Example

The dreamer is threatened by a sorcerer but begins reciting Surah Taha, after which the sorcerer becomes powerless.

The dream would be favorable within this interpretive tradition.

The emphasis is upon:

Religious protection.
Truth overcoming falsehood.
Confidence replacing fear.

Jinn and Sorcery

Some traditional entries state that sorcery performed by jinn carries stronger effects within the dream symbolism than ordinary sorcery. Islamic Dream Guide

This belongs to the religious worldview reflected in the traditional dreambook.

A dream involving jinn, however, should not automatically be treated as proof of supernatural activity in waking life.

Example

A dreamer believes a jinn is performing magic against them.

Within the dreambook framework, the image intensifies the warning associated with deception, temptation, or harmful influence.

But the interpretation remains symbolic unless there is independent reason to conclude otherwise.

Satan and Sorcery

Traditional dream entries also connect Satan with:

Deception.
Falsehood.
Jealousy.
Sorcery.
Division between spouses.
Temptation.

The common thread is misleading people away from what is true or beneficial.

Example

A dreamer sees Satan encouraging someone to perform spells that create arguments between family members.

The dream intensifies the symbolism of corruption and division.

Curses as Spoken Imprecations

A distinction should be made between sorcery and simply cursing another person with words.

Traditional material attributed to Ibn Sirin contains separate interpretations for verbal cursing or imprecation.

Cursing may signify:

Banishment.
Expulsion.
Dismissal.
Exile.
Pushing someone away.
Distancing oneself from another person.

A traditional entry also states that cursing another person can mean losing to that person in waking life. Islamic Dream Guide

Example

The dreamer angrily curses a rival.

Rather than indicating magical power over the rival, the traditional entry may reverse the apparent victory and warn that the dreamer could actually lose the dispute.

Cursing a Spouse

Traditional entries give a particularly serious interpretation to cursing one’s wife, associating it with:

Perjury.
Sin.
Doubts concerning the legality or stability of the marriage.
Doubts concerning the legitimacy of earnings. Islamic Dream Guide

These interpretations reflect the moral and legal concerns of the historical tradition.

Example

A husband repeatedly curses his wife during a dream.

The interpretation would focus less upon magical harm and more upon:

Wrongful speech.
Broken trust.
Moral wrongdoing.
Serious marital concerns.

Being Cursed by Another Person

If another person curses the dreamer verbally, the interpretation should consider the relationship between them.

Possible themes include:

Hostility.
Exclusion.
Separation.
Being pushed away.
Conflict.

Example

An employer curses the dreamer and orders them to leave.

The combination strongly reinforces themes of dismissal, exclusion, or separation.

A Curse Causing Misfortune

When spoken words in the dream magically cause misfortune, the dream combines verbal cursing with sorcery.

Example

A hostile person curses the dreamer’s business, after which everything begins failing.

A cautious interpretation might concern:

Fear of an enemy.
Harmful rumors.
Jealousy.
Someone attempting to damage the dreamer’s livelihood through dishonest means.

The dream should not be treated as proof that the waking business is literally cursed.

Being Unable to Break a Spell

A dream in which the dreamer knows something is deceptive or harmful but cannot escape it may indicate continued entanglement in that problem.

Example

The dreamer discovers that a relationship is enchanted but cannot remove the spell.

The dream may warn that:

Falsehood is still believed.
Manipulation is continuing.
The dreamer has not yet recognized how to separate from the harmful influence.

Escaping From a Sorcerer

Successfully escaping can cautiously represent avoiding the deception or harmful scheme represented by the sorcerer.

Example

A sorcerer attempts to trap the dreamer, but the dreamer recognizes the trick and leaves.

The important action is recognition.

The dreamer is no longer fooled.

Defeating a Sorcerer

If a sorcerer represents a deceptive enemy, defeating the sorcerer can represent overcoming deception.

Example

The dreamer exposes the sorcerer’s tricks before a crowd.

The dream may indicate:

Falsehood being uncovered.
Reputation being restored.
A manipulator losing influence.
Truth defeating misleading claims.

This is a contextual application rather than a fixed entry stating that every defeated magician guarantees victory.

A Failed Spell

If the dreamer attempts sorcery but it does not work, the failure can cautiously indicate that a harmful scheme will fail.

Some later Islamic dream compilations explicitly preserve the idea that unsuccessful sorcery corresponds with an unsuccessful attempt to trouble another person.

Example

The dreamer tries to curse an enemy, but nothing happens.

The dream may suggest that an attempted manipulation or harmful plan will fail.

It may also serve as a moral warning against pursuing the plan at all.

Many Sorcerers

A gathering of magical practitioners can intensify themes of:

Scheming.
Group deception.
Multiple enemies.
Social temptation.
Coordinated manipulation.

Example

A dreamer enters a room where several people are secretly planning spells against others.

The image may warn about becoming involved with a group whose behavior is based upon deceit or corruption.

The dreamer’s own behavior matters.

Do they join them?

Do they flee?

Do they expose them?

A Sorcerer Pretending to Help

A particularly revealing magical dream would involve someone offering help while secretly causing harm.

Example

A magician claims to cure the dreamer but secretly makes the condition worse.

This fits the traditional association between magic and deception extremely well.

The dream might warn:

Not everyone claiming to help is trustworthy.

Spells and Arrogance

Traditional entries also associate sorcery with pride or arrogance.

Magic can create the illusion that the magician possesses extraordinary power over others.

Example

The dreamer becomes a famous sorcerer and demands that everyone obey.

The dream may warn against:

Vanity.
Abusing influence.
Believing oneself superior.
Manipulating others for personal advantage.

Spells and Temptation

Magic can also represent fitna—temptation, confusion, or circumstances in which truth and falsehood become difficult to distinguish.

Example

A magical market offers everything the dreamer desires, but every purchase ultimately causes harm.

The dream could warn about attractive temptations whose consequences are hidden.

The dreamer is being asked to look beyond immediate appearances.

Questions for Interpreting Curses and Spells

A careful interpretation within the traditional Ibn Sirin framework would ask:

Was the dream magic or merely verbal cursing?
Who performed the spell?
Who was targeted?
Did the spell create deception?
Did it separate people?
Was marriage involved?
Did someone appear friendly while secretly causing harm?
Were there knots, ropes, incantations, or hidden objects?
Was someone blowing or spitting upon knots?
Did jinn appear?
Was the dreamer learning sorcery?
Did the dreamer willingly participate?
Was the magic successfully broken?
Was Qur’anic recitation involved?
Did the dreamer expose the sorcerer?
Did the curse banish or remove someone?
Was gossip or false accusation present?
What waking situation currently involves deception, temptation, manipulation, or division?

These details produce a much more responsible interpretation than simply saying:

“Dreaming of magic means someone has cursed you.”

Conclusion

Within the traditional dream literature attributed to Ibn Sirin, curses and spells are predominantly warning images.

Sorcery is associated with:

deception, falsehood, arrogance, temptation, scheming, religious heedlessness, and division between people.

Practicing sorcery or being bewitched can specifically indicate separation between husband and wife through falsehood. Learning magical arts can indicate heedlessness or following an improper path. Magical knots and incantations are associated directly with sorcery, while jinn involvement intensifies the traditional warning.

The sorcerer commonly represents someone who manipulates through deception rather than someone who confronts the dreamer openly.

A dream of discovering magic may indicate uncovering hidden deception.

A dream of breaking a spell may cautiously indicate escaping manipulation or restoring truth.

A dream of casting a spell may warn that the dreamer is becoming involved in harmful influence, gossip, or manipulation.

A love spell can symbolize trying to control affection through improper means.

And being cursed does not necessarily mean that a real supernatural curse exists. Within dream interpretation, the image may represent hostility, deception, fear, exclusion, or a destructive influence affecting the dreamer’s affairs.

The attributed tradition also provides a notable protective image: dreaming of reciting Surah Taha is interpreted as protection from the magic of a sorcerer.

The central question is therefore:

“Is this dream showing actual magic as a symbol, or is the language of curses and spells revealing deception, false influence, temptation, division, or a harmful scheme that needs to be recognized and rejected?”

Bibliography

Ibn Sirin, Muhammad, attributed. Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām [Selected Discourses on the Interpretation of Dreams].

Al-Khargushi, Abu Sa’d al-Wa’iz. Al-Bishāra wa-l-Nidhāra fī Taʿbīr al-Ruʾyā. An important medieval Arabic dreambook that textual scholarship identifies as a major source behind material later transmitted in the Muntakhab tradition.

Mavroudi, Maria. A Byzantine Book on Dream Interpretation: The Oneirocriticon of Achmet and Its Arabic Sources. Brill, 2002.

Villuendas, Blanca. Studies and overviews of Islamic oneiromancy and the later manuscript tradition associated with Ibn Sirin.

Artemidorus of Daldis on the Representation of Curses and Spells Within Dreams

Artemidorus of Daldis does not provide a surviving fixed dream-dictionary entry stating that a curse or magical spell always predicts one particular event. His Oneirocritica, composed in the Roman imperial period, is instead built around the principle that a dream image must be interpreted according to what happens in the dream, the identity and circumstances of the dreamer, whether the dream is direct or allegorical, and the real-world function of the objects and actions involved.

Magic nevertheless appears in an important way in Artemidorus’s discussion of dreams. Most significantly, he discusses and criticizes attempts to produce or manipulate dreams through magical practices. He warns people seeking divine guidance in dreams against burning incense, uttering secret formulas, or trying to force the gods to provide a predetermined answer. Modern scholarship identifies these practices with forms of ancient dream magic known from the magical papyri.

This distinction is essential for understanding how curses and spells should be approached within an Artemidoran framework.

A dream containing a curse or spell could potentially concern:

An attempt to force an outcome.
A threatening prediction.
Hostility from another person.
A command or warning.
Ritual action.
A binding or restriction.
Fear of punishment.
A powerful authority.
A deceptive attempt to manipulate signs.
A divine or supernatural figure appearing in a symbolic dream.
A direct pronouncement that must be distinguished from allegorical symbolism.

But none of these should be automatically assigned to every magical dream.

Artemidorus and Magical Dream Practices

Artemidorus’s clearest discussion of magic occurs when he explains how people should—or should not—ask the gods to send them dreams.

Ancient people sometimes attempted to obtain answers through dreams by performing rituals before sleeping. These could involve:

Incense.
Secret formulas.
Prayers.
Specific instructions concerning what should appear in the dream.
Requests that one symbol mean “yes” and another symbol mean “no.”

Artemidorus strongly objects to attempts to control the gods in this way. He regards it as improper to behave as though divine beings can be compelled to provide exactly the dream image the petitioner demands.

This attitude is particularly useful when interpreting dreams about magical spells.

For Artemidorus, the important problem is often not simply that magic appears, but that someone is attempting to impose human control upon forces that should not be treated as obedient instruments.

A Spell as an Attempt to Force an Outcome

A spell commonly attempts to make something happen.

Within an Artemidoran application, that function would matter.

Example

A dreamer performs a ritual so that a particular person must marry them.

The dream contains an attempt to force a desired result.

An Artemidoran interpretation would examine:

Who performs the ritual?
Who is being controlled?
Is the spell successful?
Does the person willingly approach afterward?
Does the spell produce an unexpected result?

The action and outcome would determine the interpretation.

A successful spell and a failed spell cannot automatically mean the same thing.

Trying to Force the Gods

Artemidorus specifically criticizes dream-seekers who attempt to dictate the form of a divine answer.

For example, someone might essentially say:

“If the answer is yes, show me one thing; if the answer is no, show me another.”

Artemidorus objects because dream symbols can possess different meanings according to the individual dreamer. A person cannot safely determine beforehand that one symbol must always be favorable and another unfavorable.

Dream example

A dreamer performs a magical spell and demands:

“If I will succeed, show me gold. If I will fail, show me darkness.”

The dream then contains gold.

An Artemidoran approach would not necessarily accept the dreamer’s predetermined code.

Gold could have a different significance according to:

The dreamer’s occupation.
Their financial circumstances.
What happens to the gold.
Whether the gold belongs to them.
Whether it is genuine.
Whether it causes benefit or trouble.

The interpreter, not the magical ritual, must determine the dream image’s meaning.

Secret Incantations

Artemidorus specifically warns against the use of secret formulas when requesting dreams from the gods. Modern scholars connect his description with magical dream-induction rituals preserved in ancient magical texts.

Therefore, dreaming about speaking mysterious incantations can be approached through the function of those words.

Ask:

What are the words intended to accomplish?
Who taught them to the dreamer?
Are they spoken willingly?
Do they work?
Does the dreamer understand them?
Are they directed toward another person?
Are they directed toward a god?

Example

A dreamer speaks mysterious words intending to make an enemy disappear.

The important elements are:

speaker + intended victim + desired outcome + result.

The incantation is the method through which the dreamer attempts to produce the outcome.

A Spell That Fails

Failure is often highly significant in Artemidorus’s practical method.

Example

The dreamer performs an elaborate ritual, but nothing happens.

A cautious Artemidoran application might interpret the dream through failure of the undertaking represented by the ritual.

If the dreamer is currently attempting to:

Win a lawsuit.
Obtain a position.
Convince someone.
Secure a relationship.
Complete a business deal.

the unsuccessful spell might correspond with difficulty achieving that intention.

The meaning would depend upon what the magical action resembles in the dreamer’s waking circumstances.

A Spell That Works

The reverse may indicate that an undertaking reaches its intended result, but the consequences still matter.

Example

A dreamer casts a spell to obtain wealth.

Gold immediately appears—but then destroys the dreamer’s house.

The first result seems favorable.

The final result is not.

Artemidorus repeatedly treats the ending and practical consequence of the dream action as important. An apparent benefit cannot be interpreted in isolation from what follows.

The dream might therefore signify:

obtaining something desired that ultimately causes difficulty.

Curses and Direct Dreams

Artemidorus distinguishes between dreams that are direct and dreams that are allegorical.

A direct dream corresponds closely with what later occurs.

An allegorical dream communicates through another image that requires interpretation.

This distinction is especially important for curses.

Suppose someone in the dream says:

“You will lose your property.”

The interpreter must first determine whether the dream is functioning as a direct pronouncement or whether the statement belongs within a symbolic dream requiring interpretation.

Artemidorus would not automatically assume:

spoken curse = symbolic curse.

The form of the dream matters.

A God Pronouncing a Curse

Divine figures can appear in Artemidorus’s dreams both symbolically and as authoritative speakers.

He accepts that some dreams may involve gods giving advice or messages, although he remains cautious about claims concerning how dreams originate. Scholars note that his work leaves room for petitionary and oracular dreams while also resisting magical attempts to compel divine communication.

Example

A god appears and declares:

“Because you have offended me, your journey will fail.”

This is substantially different from seeing an anonymous person performing magic.

The interpreter would need to consider:

Which god appeared?
What is that god associated with?
What is the dreamer’s occupation?
Is the threatened punishment connected with the god’s sphere?
Was the dreamer respectful or disrespectful?

Artemidorus interprets gods partly according to their traditional functions.

The Identity of the God Matters

Artemidorus does not treat every god interchangeably.

He associates different gods with different human activities and professions.

For example, dreaming of a deity connected with one’s occupation can be favorable, while a deity whose qualities conflict with the dreamer’s situation may carry a different implication.

Thus a curse pronounced by a god associated with:

The sea.
War.
Agriculture.
Healing.
Travel.
Marriage.

would need to be interpreted in relation to that divine function.

The identity of the supernatural figure is therefore more important than merely saying:

“A god cursed me.”

Hecate and Dark Supernatural Imagery

Artemidorus includes Hecate among the divine beings appearing within his classification of gods. Depending on the context, she is associated with earthly or chthonic categories. He also includes underworld powers such as Persephone, Pluto, the Erinyes, Fear, Terror, and related daimones.

This does not mean:

Hecate dream = witchcraft or curse.

It means that dreams containing ancient supernatural or chthonic figures could be interpreted through the recognized nature and sphere of those figures.

Example

A dreamer sees Hecate standing at a place associated with danger or transition.

The interpretation should begin with Hecate herself, her divine role, the location, and the dreamer’s circumstances—not with a modern assumption that the dreamer has been magically cursed.

The Erinyes and Punishment

The Erinyes, or Furies, belong to Artemidorus’s category of underworld powers.

In Greek religious imagination they were strongly associated with punishment, especially offenses involving blood guilt and family wrongdoing.

Therefore, if a dream involving what the dreamer calls a “curse” includes pursuing Erinyes or threatening underworld figures, themes of:

Punishment.
Fear.
Accusation.
Consequences.

may become relevant.

But the interpretation must remain tied to the actual dream.

Being Cursed by Another Person

Artemidorus provides no universal rule stating:

“If another person curses you, X will happen.”

A careful application of his method would begin with who the person is.

Example: Enemy curses the dreamer

An enemy raises a hand and announces that the dreamer will fail.

The image may correspond with:

An existing dispute.
Opposition.
A lawsuit.
Rivalry.
Fear of another person’s hostility.

The curse functions as the expression of the enemy’s opposition.

Example: Friend curses the dreamer

This is much more unusual.

The unexpected contradiction between friendship and hostility would require explanation.

Perhaps the supposed friend is unreliable.

Perhaps the dream predicts a quarrel.

Perhaps another detail changes the meaning entirely.

A Parent Pronouncing a Curse

Family identity could make the curse relate to household affairs.

Example

A father curses the dreamer and declares that they will receive nothing from the family.

If the waking circumstances involve inheritance, property, or conflict with relatives, the dream may concern those practical matters.

An Artemidoran interpreter would give considerable weight to the dreamer’s actual circumstances.

Cursing Another Person

If the dreamer casts the curse, the focus changes.

Example

The dreamer curses a business rival.

Possible areas for examination include:

Competition.
Litigation.
Financial rivalry.
Desire for another person’s failure.

The dream’s prediction would depend upon whether the curse succeeds and what eventually happens to both parties.

A Curse Rebounding

Example

The dreamer curses an enemy.

The magical force immediately returns and strikes the dreamer.

This reversal would be highly significant.

Within Artemidorus’s analogical style of interpretation, an action that returns upon its originator can cautiously suggest that an undertaking intended against another person ultimately harms the person who began it.

The dream would therefore be unfavorable for schemes directed against opponents.

This is an application of his interpretive method, not a preserved formula from the Oneirocritica.

A Binding Spell

Ancient magic often involved attempts to bind, restrain, or prevent another person from acting.

If binding appears within the dream itself, its ordinary physical function offers a useful Artemidoran clue.

Something bound cannot move freely.

Example

A person ties magical cords around the dreamer’s legs.

The effect of the spell is restriction.

A practical interpretation could therefore concern:

Delay.
Imprisonment.
Inability to travel.
Interference with work.
An obstacle.

The interpretation depends upon what part of the dreamer is bound.

Hands Bound by a Spell

Hands are connected with work and action.

Example

A magician casts a spell causing the dreamer’s hands to become tied.

The image may indicate obstruction of:

Work.
Trade.
Craft.
Ability to complete an undertaking.

This follows Artemidorus’s tendency to interpret body parts and objects through their practical functions.

Feet Bound by a Spell

Feet allow movement.

Example

A curse prevents the dreamer from walking.

The dream might concern:

Prevented travel.
Delayed progress.
Inability to escape.
Difficulty reaching a destination.

Again, it is the effect of the magic rather than the mere fact that magic appears that provides the interpretive clue.

A Spell Causing Blindness

If a spell removes sight, the condition created by the spell becomes central.

Artemidorus devotes considerable attention to eyes, vision, sunlight, and blindness.

Example

A magician curses the dreamer with blindness.

A cautious interpretation should examine matters involving:

Literal eyesight.
Ability to see or discover something.
Concealment.
Loss of guidance.

If the dreamer actually has concerns about eye health, the literal bodily context becomes especially important.

A Spell Causing Silence

Example

The dreamer is cursed so that they cannot speak.

Speech has obvious practical functions involving:

Testimony.
Persuasion.
Business.
Public speaking.
Legal defense.

For someone awaiting court proceedings, such a dream could have a different significance from the same dream experienced by someone with no legal or public responsibilities.

Artemidorus repeatedly insists that occupation and circumstances alter dream meaning.

A Spell Causing Transformation

A curse may turn the dreamer into:

An animal.
Stone.
Another person.
A child.
An old person.

Artemidorus frequently interprets transformations according to the real-world qualities of the thing into which the dreamer changes.

Example

A person is cursed and transformed into a slave.

The result—loss of freedom and status—would matter more than the magical method.

Example

A person becomes a powerful animal.

The animal itself must then be interpreted according to its characteristics.

The spell merely produces the transformation.

The Magical Object

A curse may be contained in:

A ring.
Tablet.
Cord.
Book.
Cup.
Statue.
Piece of clothing.

Artemidorus’s method would require interpreting both the object and what happens to it.

Example

A magical ring prevents the dreamer from removing it.

The ring’s ordinary associations with bonds, relationships, commitments, or possession may be more important than its magical quality.

Example

A written tablet contains the dreamer’s name and a threat.

Writing, naming, and the specific threat each provide separate elements for interpretation.

Destroying a Curse

Artemidorus does not provide a universal surviving rule stating that “breaking a curse” means one specific thing.

Nevertheless, the logic of his method permits a cautious reading.

Example

The dreamer discovers the source of a spell and destroys it.

If the spell has previously prevented movement, and destroying it restores movement, the sequence may signify:

obstacle → removal of obstacle → resumed progress.

The favorable meaning comes from the restored function.

Burning a Magical Object

Fire can destroy, purify, consume, or transform.

Example

The dreamer burns an object responsible for a curse and immediately becomes free.

The ending is favorable because the harmful restriction disappears.

But if burning the object causes the house to burn as well, the meaning changes.

The consequence governs the interpretation.

Escaping a Sorcerer

Artemidorus himself was familiar with practitioners whom respectable society might dismiss as sorcerers or charlatans; in the preface to his work he even notes that public diviners were often insulted with labels such as beggars, sorcerers, and buffoons. He nevertheless studied their reported dreams and outcomes because he valued practical experience.

That makes it especially important not to equate every magical practitioner in a dream with one fixed kind of person.

Example

The dreamer escapes someone attempting to perform harmful magic.

The practical action is:

escaping an opponent.

For a dreamer facing an actual adversary, the dream could potentially be favorable.

Defeating a Magician

Example

The magician casts several spells, but the dreamer defeats them.

If the magician represents an enemy or obstacle, defeating the figure may correspond with overcoming the difficulty.

However, the identity of the magician remains important.

A magician representing an employer, relative, political opponent, or rival would create different waking-life applications.

Receiving a Helpful Spell

Not every magical action in a dream must be harmful.

Example

A mysterious figure performs a ritual that heals the dreamer.

Artemidorus accepts that dreams can contain instructions connected with healing and discusses dreams associated with healing sanctuaries such as those of Asclepius and Sarapis. He nevertheless criticizes supposedly divine medical prescriptions that appear artificially elaborate or fabricated.

Thus a healing spell would have to be distinguished from harmful magic.

The outcome—restoration of health—is favorable.

Healing Dreams

Artemidorus accepted the possibility that people could receive useful therapeutic guidance through dreams associated with gods.

At the same time, he believed authentic divine instructions should be comparatively simple and sensible rather than needlessly complicated.

This provides an important Artemidoran principle for magical-looking dreams:

Complexity alone does not establish divine authority.

A grand, elaborate ritual should not automatically be considered more important than a simple dream.

Magical Books and False Authority

Artemidorus was suspicious of books claiming to preserve large collections of divine medical instructions. He accused some writers of inventing material rather than reporting genuine dreams.

Therefore, a dream involving an impressive magical book could be approached cautiously.

Example

A dreamer receives a mysterious book claiming to reveal the future.

Every prediction inside contradicts another.

An Artemidoran interpretation might emphasize unreliability.

The impressive appearance of the book does not guarantee truth.

The Sorcerer as a False Adviser

A magical practitioner giving instructions may potentially correspond with someone offering questionable advice.

Example

A sorcerer tells the dreamer to abandon a successful business.

The dreamer follows the instructions and becomes poor.

The sequence makes the adviser unfavorable.

The interpretation is based upon consequences rather than simply the person’s magical identity.

Predetermined Magical Signs

Artemidorus strongly objects to people assigning dream meanings before the dream occurs.

Someone might declare:

“If I should do this, let me dream of one symbol. If not, let me dream of another.”

He argues that this is unreliable because the same symbol can produce different meanings for different dreamers.

This is perhaps his most important contribution to interpreting spell dreams.

A magical ritual cannot override context.

Why Context Matters

Suppose two people both dream of receiving a golden object after performing a spell.

For a wealthy person, giving away wealth may sometimes be more favorable than receiving it because giving can imply abundance.

For a poor person, receiving something useful might be favorable.

For someone dealing with counterfeit money, gold could raise another issue entirely.

Artemidorus therefore resists the formula:

symbol = permanent meaning.

The dreamer matters.

The Dreamer’s Occupation

Occupation is central to Artemidorus’s interpretations.

A magical dream experienced by:

A sailor.
Merchant.
Soldier.
Athlete.
Farmer.
Political official.
Slave.
Sick person.

could mean different things.

Example

A sailor dreams that a spell prevents the ship from moving.

The natural waking correspondence concerns travel or navigation.

Example

An athlete dreams that a rival magically binds their legs.

The correspondence concerns competition.

Example

A merchant dreams that someone magically locks the doors of the shop.

The correspondence concerns business.

Same magical theme.

Different predictions.

Social Status

Artemidorus also repeatedly changes interpretations according to whether the dreamer is:

Rich or poor.
Free or enslaved.
Powerful or dependent.
Healthy or sick.

This means that a curse involving loss of authority can be especially significant for someone who actually possesses authority, while the same imagery may have little relevance for someone in completely different circumstances.

A Curse Taking Away Wealth

Example

A spell causes all the dreamer’s money to vanish.

For a wealthy merchant, this might directly concern financial loss.

For a debtor, however, “losing” something could have a different symbolic structure depending upon what is lost.

Artemidorus’s method always requires examining whether the apparently negative event might actually benefit the particular dreamer.

A Curse Causing Imprisonment

Example

A spell creates chains around the dreamer.

For a free person, this would naturally appear unfavorable.

For someone already imprisoned, however, the interpretation cannot simply predict imprisonment again.

The interpreter must determine what change the dream actually foretells.

A Curse Removing Chains

The opposite dream may be favorable to someone experiencing restriction.

Example

A magical figure touches the dreamer’s chains and they disappear.

For a prisoner, enslaved person, or someone awaiting release from an obligation, the image could naturally indicate freedom or relief.

The same magic that threatens one dreamer may help another.

Good and Bad Magic Cannot Be Determined by Appearance Alone

This is an especially Artemidoran principle.

A frightening event can sometimes predict something favorable for a particular person.

A beautiful image can sometimes predict difficulty.

Therefore:

dark magic ≠ automatically bad

and

beautiful magic ≠ automatically good.

What matters is:

What does it do to this particular dreamer?

Recurring Curse Dreams

Artemidorus includes collections of actual dream reports and their reported outcomes, reflecting his emphasis on experience and comparison. Modern scholarship describes his method as strongly empirical for an ancient dream manual.

A recurring magical dream should therefore be examined through its changing details.

For example:

Dream 1: The dreamer is cursed and cannot move.

Dream 2: The dreamer discovers the magician.

Dream 3: The dreamer confronts the magician.

Dream 4: The spell breaks.

The sequence may show a developing outcome rather than four unrelated symbols.

Practical Questions for an Artemidoran Interpretation

A careful Artemidoran examination of curses and spells would ask:

Who casts the spell?
Who receives it?
What exactly does the spell accomplish?
Is the dreamer attempting to force a god to answer?
Are secret formulas being spoken?
Is incense being burned?
Is the dreamer asking for a predetermined dream sign?
Does the magic succeed or fail?
Is the curse spoken by a god, enemy, relative, or stranger?
Is the statement direct or symbolic?
What happens immediately afterward?
Does the spell bind the dreamer?
Which body part is affected?
Does it prevent work, movement, speech, or sight?
Does it cause transformation?
What does the dreamer become?
Is a magical object involved?
What ordinary function does that object possess?
Is the dreamer healed or harmed?
Is the spell eventually broken?
What does breaking it restore?
What is the dreamer’s occupation?
Is the dreamer rich or poor?
Free or dependent?
Healthy or sick?
Is the dream connected with an actual dispute, journey, marriage, illness, lawsuit, competition, or business undertaking?

These questions are much closer to Artemidorus’s actual method than simply declaring:

“A spell means deception,”

or:

“A curse means someone is spiritually attacking you.”

Conclusion

Within Artemidorus of Daldis’s Oneirocritica, curses and spells do not possess one fixed universal dream meaning.

The strongest directly documented connection between Artemidorus and magic concerns magical attempts to obtain or control dreams. He warns against burning incense, reciting secret formulas, and trying to compel the gods to provide dream answers in a predetermined form. He considers such attempts both irreverent and interpretively unreliable.

This tells us something important about how Artemidorus would approach magical imagery:

the dreamer should not assume that magic itself determines the meaning.

Instead, the interpreter must consider:

who acts, what the spell does, who is affected, whether the action succeeds, what follows, and what circumstances surround the dreamer.

A curse that binds the feet may concern prevented movement.

A curse that removes the voice may concern speech or testimony.

A spell that destroys wealth may concern financial affairs.

A spell that heals has an entirely different significance from one that causes illness.

A curse spoken by an enemy differs from one pronounced by a god.

A spell that fails differs from one that succeeds.

And a magical act whose apparent success eventually harms the dreamer must be interpreted through its final consequence.

Artemidorus’s distinction between direct and allegorical dreams also matters greatly. A spoken warning or curse might belong to a direct or oracular type of dream, whereas a complicated magical scene may need to be decoded through analogy.

Most importantly, Artemidorus rejects the idea that people can determine dream meanings beforehand through magical formulas. The same symbol may mean different things depending upon the dreamer’s status, occupation, health, plans, and circumstances.

The central Artemidoran question is therefore not:

“Does dreaming of a curse mean that someone has actually cursed me?”

It is:

“What does this magical action actually do within the dream, whom does it affect, and what comparable person, obstacle, punishment, restriction, warning, or undertaking exists within the dreamer’s real circumstances?”

Bibliography

Artemidorus of Daldis. Oneirocritica (The Interpretation of Dreams). Five books.

Artemidorus. The Interpretation of Dreams: Oneirocritica. Translated and commented upon by Robert J. White. Noyes Press, 1975.

Artemidorus. The Interpretation of Dreams. Translated by Martin Hammond; introduction and notes by Peter Thonemann. Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford University Press, 2020.

Thonemann, Peter. An Ancient Dream Manual: Artemidorus’ The Interpretation of Dreams. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Bilbija, Jovan, and Jaap-Jan Flinterman. “Gods in Dreams: Religious Conceptions in Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica.” Lampas, Vol. 40, 2007, pp. 31–52.

Bilbija, Jovan, and Jaap-Jan Flinterman. “The Mantic Market: Oneiromancy and Other Forms of Divination in Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica.” Lampas, Vol. 39, 2006, pp. 246–266.

Boter, Gerard J., and Jaap-Jan Flinterman. “Are Petitionary Dreams Non-Predictive? Observations on Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica 1.6 and 4.2.” Mnemosyne, Vol. 60, 2007, pp. 589–607.

Scott, Calloway B. “The Body, Experience, and the History of Dream-Science in Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica.” Apeiron, Vol. 56, No. 1, 2023, pp. 131–161.

Ann Faraday on the Representation of Curses and Spells Within Dreams

Ann Faraday did not establish a fixed dream-dictionary interpretation stating that a curse, spell, witch, sorcerer, magical ritual, or enchantment always represents one particular thing. Her practical approach required the dreamer to begin with the actual circumstances of waking life, especially events and concerns from the previous day or two and then examine the dream literally before turning to metaphor, personal associations, emotions, wordplay, and broader psychological meaning.

Applied to dreams about curses and spells, this means that Faraday’s first question would not be:

“What does a curse universally symbolize?”

Instead, the dreamer should ask:

“What does being cursed, enchanted, controlled, protected, or magically changed remind me of in my life right now?”

A curse might represent feeling trapped by a problem. A spell might portray another person’s influence. Casting magic might express a wish to change something quickly. Breaking a curse might correspond with finally escaping a recurring difficulty. But none of these meanings should be imposed unless they fit the dreamer’s circumstances.

Within Faraday’s method, dreams involving curses and spells might potentially concern:

Feeling controlled by another person.
Believing that a problem keeps repeating.
Trying to control an uncertain situation.
Anger or resentment.
Fear of another person’s influence.
Feeling trapped by a relationship or obligation.
Wanting an immediate solution.
Trying to protect oneself from danger.
Negative expectations about the future.
A practical warning concerning something the dreamer has subconsciously noticed.
A metaphor or familiar expression involving magic.
A recent movie, conversation, book, religious discussion, or experience involving spells or curses.

The dream itself determines which possibility deserves attention.

Begin With the Previous Day or Two

Faraday placed considerable emphasis on recent waking-life events. She observed that many dreams reflect matters that have occupied the dreamer’s mind during the preceding day or two.

Therefore, before treating a curse dream symbolically, the dreamer should ask:

Did I recently watch a movie involving magic?
Did I read about curses?
Did someone use the word “cursed”?
Did I discuss witchcraft or spirituality?
Did I hear someone say they were “under someone’s spell”?
Have I recently felt that someone is manipulating me?
Have I been experiencing repeated bad luck?
Have I recently wished I could instantly change a situation?

Example

A person spends the evening watching a supernatural horror film about a cursed house and later dreams that their own house is cursed.

The immediate source may simply be the movie.

Faraday’s method would begin there rather than automatically treating the dream as evidence of an actual supernatural event.

If, however, the dream contains details strongly connected with the dreamer’s real family circumstances, further interpretation may be appropriate.

Consider the Dream Literally First

One of Faraday’s most characteristic practical rules was to consider dreams literally before interpreting them metaphorically. She advised checking first for ordinary warnings, reminders, unnoticed facts, and practical information before moving to symbolic interpretation.

This is especially important for frightening dreams involving magic.

Suppose the dreamer believes someone has put a spell on their house.

Before developing an elaborate interpretation, the practical questions might be:

Is there an actual conflict involving this person?
Has the dreamer recently received threats?
Has something unusual happened around the home?
Has someone been behaving manipulatively?
Is anxiety about the person already present while awake?

The dream may be exaggerating a real interpersonal concern into supernatural imagery.

Being Cursed by Someone

A dream in which another person curses the dreamer may portray the feeling that this individual has negative power or influence over them.

Example

A former partner says:

“You will never be happy without me.”

In the dream, those words become a magical curse that follows the dreamer everywhere.

A Faraday-style interpretation might ask:

“Have I continued to live as though those words are true?”

The “curse” may be the emotional effect of the statement rather than supernatural magic.

The dreamer may still carry:

Fear.
Shame.
Self-doubt.
Anger.
The person’s criticism.

Breaking the curse might therefore mean rejecting that negative belief.

Being Cursed by a Parent

A parent may appear as the person possessing magical authority.

Example

The dreamer’s mother says:

“If you leave this family, nothing will ever go right for you.”

Immediately afterward, the dreamer becomes cursed.

The waking issue may involve guilt about independence.

The dream could be dramatizing a belief such as:

“If I choose my own life, something bad will happen.”

The curse gives visible form to the emotional force of the family expectation.

Being Cursed by an Employer

Example

A supervisor curses the dreamer so that every future job application fails.

The dream may reflect fear that the current employer can damage the dreamer’s future.

The useful questions would be:

Am I worried about references?
Am I afraid of retaliation?
Do I believe this person controls my career?
Has something recently happened that created this anxiety?

The magical power exaggerates a real concern about authority.

Casting a Curse on Someone

When the dreamer performs the curse, the dream may express a powerful wish.

Example

A dreamer is angry with someone and says a spell that causes the person to disappear.

Faraday would likely encourage the dreamer to acknowledge the emotional truth of the scene:

“Part of me wishes this person would simply go away.”

That does not mean the dreamer intends literal harm.

The spell allows an emotion to be represented dramatically.

Possible waking meanings might include:

Wanting distance.
Wanting a conflict to end.
Wanting someone removed from a situation.
Feeling powerless to confront the person directly.

A Curse That Harms the Wrong Person

The outcome becomes especially important.

Example

The dreamer attempts to curse an enemy, but the spell accidentally harms a friend.

The dream might be asking:

“Could my anger toward one person be affecting innocent people around me?”

Perhaps a workplace feud is damaging other relationships.

Perhaps anger toward an ex-partner is affecting children or friends.

The mistaken target may be the most important part of the dream.

A Curse Returning to the Dreamer

Example

The dreamer casts a curse, but it circles back and affects them instead.

A practical interpretation might involve the consequences of hostility.

The dream could correspond with a waking situation in which:

Revenge is creating more stress.
An argument is damaging the dreamer’s reputation.
Anger toward another person is consuming the dreamer emotionally.

The image may be saying:

“What I am directing outward is also hurting me.”

Love Spells

A love spell may reveal a wish to remove uncertainty from relationships.

Example

The dreamer casts a spell that guarantees another person’s love.

The practical question becomes:

“Why do I need this person’s affection to be guaranteed?”

Possible waking concerns include:

Fear of rejection.
Insecurity.
Desire for reassurance.
Uncertainty about someone’s feelings.
Difficulty accepting another person’s freedom of choice.

The magical element creates certainty where waking life does not provide it.

Someone Casting a Love Spell on the Dreamer

The reverse image may portray the feeling of being powerfully influenced by attraction.

Example

The dreamer cannot stop thinking about someone because that person has supposedly placed them under a spell.

The dream might simply turn the everyday expression:

“I am under their spell”

into a literal scene.

Faraday gave substantial attention to dreams that transform puns, slang, idioms, and figurative expressions into concrete pictures. Later scholarly analysis of examples from The Dream Game specifically identified this verbal-to-visual process as an important feature of dream puns.

“Under Someone’s Spell”

This phrase provides one of the clearest Faraday-style interpretations.

Example

A dreamer is magically chained to a charismatic person and must follow them everywhere.

The dreamer has recently said:

“I don’t know why, but I’m completely under his spell.”

The dream may simply make that expression visible.

The useful question becomes:

“What influence does this person actually have over me?”

“Breaking the Spell”

A dream of breaking an enchantment can likewise portray recognizing reality more clearly.

Example

The dreamer is fascinated by a beautiful palace until a spell breaks and the palace becomes an ordinary building.

The waking parallel might involve discovering that something previously idealized was not what it seemed.

Possible situations include:

A relationship.
Job.
Business opportunity.
Social group.
Public figure.

The dream could picture the moment when the dreamer stops being enchanted by an idea.

Feeling That Life Is “Cursed”

People sometimes say:

“This family is cursed.”
“My relationships are cursed.”
“Everything I touch goes wrong.”
“I must have bad luck.”

A dream may turn such language into literal imagery.

Example

Every business the dreamer opens carries the same magical curse.

Rather than treating this as evidence of supernatural interference, a Faraday-style investigation would ask:

“What actually repeats whenever I start these businesses?”

Possibilities might include:

Poor planning.
Financial problems.
Similar partnerships.
Unrealistic expectations.
Fear of failure.

The “curse” may be the dreamer’s image for a repeating pattern.

The Family Curse

A family curse can similarly represent something experienced as being passed from generation to generation.

Example

Every generation of a dream family repeats the same unhappy marriage until someone breaks a spell.

The dream might concern a family pattern the dreamer believes they are repeating.

The useful waking question becomes:

“What family pattern am I afraid of repeating?”

It could involve:

Relationships.
Money.
Communication.
Career choices.
Parenting.
Conflict.

The curse represents repetition.

Breaking it represents change.

Breaking a Curse

Breaking a curse is usually defined by what becomes possible afterward.

Example

The dreamer breaks a curse and immediately regains the ability to speak.

The important issue may be speech, not magic.

Ask:

“Where have I recently regained my voice?”

or:

“Where do I need to speak up?”

Example

Breaking a curse allows the dreamer to leave a house.

The dream may concern escaping a restrictive situation.

Example

Breaking a curse causes family members to stop arguing.

The waking issue may involve identifying the actual cause of family conflict.

Protective Spells

A protective spell may express the dreamer’s wish to create safety.

Example

The dreamer draws a magical circle around the house so that nobody dangerous can enter.

The waking question might be:

“Where do I need stronger boundaries?”

The “spell” could correspond with practical actions such as:

Saying no.
Limiting contact.
Protecting privacy.
Refusing involvement in a conflict.

The important idea is protection.

A Protection Spell That Fails

Example

The dreamer performs a protective ritual, but the threatening person walks straight through it.

The dream may be saying that the dreamer’s current method of protection is ineffective.

Perhaps avoiding the problem is not enough.

Perhaps boundaries need to become clearer.

Perhaps a situation requires direct action.

The failed spell may therefore contain useful practical information.

Repeating a Spell Perfectly

Some dreams involve complicated rules:

“If I say this sentence incorrectly, something terrible will happen.”

Example

The dreamer must repeat an incantation exactly ten times to keep the family safe.

A Faraday-style interpretation might ask whether the dreamer currently feels excessively responsible for preventing disaster.

The waking feeling may be:

“Everything depends on me doing everything perfectly.”

The magical ritual makes that pressure visible.

The Failed Spell

A spell that simply refuses to work may portray frustration or helplessness.

Example

The dreamer desperately tries to make money appear through magic, but nothing happens.

The dream may confront the desire for an immediate solution to a practical problem.

The waking message might be:

“There is no shortcut here.”

The situation may require ordinary action rather than a magical solution.

Magic as a Shortcut

Magic is especially suitable for representing the wish to bypass difficult processes.

A spell can provide:

Instant wealth.
Immediate success.
Guaranteed love.
Instant revenge.
Immediate healing.
Immediate escape.

Example

A person wants professional success but dreams of finding a spell that instantly makes them famous.

The dream might expose the wish:

“I want the result without having to go through the difficult process.”

That recognition may be practically useful.

Becoming a Witch, Wizard, or Magician

If the dreamer becomes the person possessing magical power, the question should be:

“What does this power allow me to do?”

Example

A normally timid dreamer becomes a magician capable of making everyone listen.

The dream may express a need for:

Confidence.
Authority.
Recognition.
Assertiveness.

The important feature may not be magic itself.

It is the change from powerlessness to power.

A Frightening Witch or Sorcerer

A threatening magical figure should first be examined through personal association.

Ask:

“Who does this person remind me of?”

The answer might be:

A parent.
Employer.
Former partner.
Teacher.
Religious figure.
Character from a movie.

Example

A witch has the voice of the dreamer’s supervisor.

That resemblance may provide the strongest clue.

The magical figure may represent how intimidating or influential the supervisor feels.

A Helpful Witch or Magician

A magical figure does not need to be threatening.

Example

An old woman gives the dreamer a potion that restores their ability to walk.

The dreamer personally associates the woman with a beloved grandmother.

The figure might represent encouragement, remembered advice, or a personal source of strength.

The dreamer’s emotional response determines whether the magical person functions as helper or threat.

Magical Potions

A potion is something taken in order to create change.

Therefore the practical question is:

“What change am I trying to produce?”

Example

A dreamer drinks a potion that makes them fearless.

Perhaps the waking wish is:

“I want enough courage to do something difficult.”

Example

A potion makes the dreamer forget someone.

The dream might express:

“I wish I could stop thinking about this person.”

Poison Disguised as a Magic Potion

Example

Someone gives the dreamer a beautiful magical drink, but the dreamer realizes it is harmful.

The dream could be a practical warning about something attractive that has hidden disadvantages.

Possible waking parallels include:

A relationship.
Offer.
Contract.
Investment.
Promise.

The dreamer’s subconscious may already have noticed warning signs.

Faraday regarded this kind of subconscious detection as more practically important than assuming extraordinary paranormal explanations for warnings.

The Spellbook

A magical book may represent instructions, knowledge, rules, or a promised solution.

Example

The dreamer finds a spellbook that supposedly explains how to solve every problem.

Yet every solution creates another problem.

The waking question might be:

“Am I depending on advice that promises easy answers?”

Example

The book contains blank pages.

Perhaps the dreamer is searching for guidance but has not yet found it.

Magical Words

Words are particularly important because Faraday paid attention to literalized language.

A magical word might correspond with the real power of something someone has said.

Example

A parent says one word, and the dreamer becomes small.

The waking association may be:

“Whenever this person criticizes me, I feel small.”

The dream has transformed an emotional reaction into a magical event.

Being Turned Into Stone

A curse may transform the dreamer into something that perfectly expresses a waking feeling.

Example

The dreamer becomes stone during an argument.

The dreamer later realizes:

“That’s exactly what I do. I shut down.”

The magical transformation depicts emotional immobility.

Losing One’s Voice Through a Spell

Example

A curse prevents the dreamer from speaking whenever the boss enters the room.

The dream may be almost literal emotionally:

“I lose my voice around this person.”

The practical message might involve developing a way to speak more confidently.

Becoming Invisible

Example

A magical spell causes everyone to stop seeing the dreamer.

The waking feeling may be:

“Nobody notices me.”

Possible contexts could include:

Family.
Workplace.
Relationship.
Social situation.

The supernatural event simply makes the emotional experience visible.

Being Frozen by a Spell

Example

A magician points toward the dreamer and the dreamer becomes unable to move.

Ask:

“What situation makes me freeze?”

The answer might involve:

Fear.
Conflict.
Authority.
Public speaking.
Confrontation.

The spell dramatizes a familiar reaction.

Transforming Into an Animal

Example

A curse transforms the dreamer into a wolf.

Rather than interpreting “curse” and “wolf” separately through a universal dictionary, Faraday’s method would ask:

What does a wolf mean to this dreamer?
How did it feel to become one?
What became possible afterward?

If becoming the wolf produced freedom and strength, the transformation may be very different from a dream in which the dreamer became terrified of hurting others.

Magical Knots or Chains

Something tied or chained naturally represents restriction when the dreamer experiences it that way.

Example

A spell produces chains around the dreamer every time they attempt to leave home.

The waking parallel may concern:

Family obligation.
Financial dependence.
Fear.
Relationship control.

The useful question is:

“What keeps me from leaving or moving forward?”

A Cursed House

A house may be literal or metaphorical.

First ask whether there is an actual concern about the home.

If not, consider what the particular house means personally.

Example

The dreamer’s childhood home is cursed, and every person who enters begins arguing.

The dream might concern difficult memories or family conflicts associated with that home.

The “curse” represents the feeling that the same conflict always returns there.

A Cursed Object

The object itself deserves close attention.

Example: Cursed wedding ring

The ring may direct interpretation toward:

Marriage.
Commitment.
Relationship.

Example: Cursed money

The issue may involve:

Debt.
Financial guilt.
A questionable transaction.

Example: Cursed telephone

The dream may concern:

Communication.
Messages.
A particular caller.

The curse modifies the object, but the object helps identify the waking-life area involved.

Removing a Cursed Object

Example

The dreamer finally throws away a cursed necklace and immediately feels free.

The necklace might represent something experienced as an obligation or attachment.

Ask:

“What am I carrying that I no longer want to carry?”

The Feeling Tone of the Dream

Faraday emphasized the emotional tone of a dream as a clue to the waking situation it addresses.

Therefore, ask whether the magical dream produced:

Fear.
Relief.
Power.
Excitement.
Shame.
Anger.
Fascination.
Helplessness.
Freedom.

A spell dream accompanied by joy should not automatically be interpreted as threatening.

A beautiful magical scene accompanied by dread should not automatically be interpreted positively.

Recurring Curse Dreams

Faraday strongly encouraged keeping a dream diary, which allows recurring patterns to be compared with changes in waking life. The Dream Game includes dream recording and evaluation as central parts of its practical method.

Suppose a sequence develops:

Dream 1: Someone curses the dreamer.

Dream 2: The dreamer searches for the source.

Dream 3: The dreamer discovers the magical object.

Dream 4: The dreamer breaks it.

Dream 5: The threatening figure disappears.

The important question is:

“What changed in waking life during the same period?”

Perhaps the dreamer:

Ended a relationship.
Confronted someone.
Rejected a negative belief.
Became more independent.
Solved a recurring problem.

The changing dream sequence may reflect that development.

Curses and Practical Warnings

Faraday allowed that dreams can sometimes provide useful warnings, but she placed strong practical emphasis on information that the mind may have already noticed subconsciously.

For instance, a person may consciously overlook small signs that a business partner is unreliable.

A dream then depicts the partner secretly placing a curse upon everything the dreamer owns.

Rather than concluding:

“My business partner literally practices magic,”

the useful interpretation might be:

“Something about this person’s behavior makes me distrust them. What have I noticed?”

The dream may be exaggerating subtle waking evidence to force conscious attention toward it.

Curses Should Not Automatically Be Treated as Prophecy

A frightening dream that says:

“You are cursed and something terrible will happen”

should not automatically be treated as a prediction.

Faraday’s method encourages examination of:

Recent fears.
Negative expectations.
Personal associations.
Practical concerns.
The possibility of a literal warning supported by actual information.

The dream may reveal fear rather than foretell the future.

Example

A person awaiting an important decision dreams that a witch declares:

“You will fail.”

The dream may simply express anxiety about failure.

The dreamer’s emotional state provides a straightforward explanation.

Wordplay and Magical Dreams

Faraday’s attention to puns and idioms makes curses and spells particularly interesting.

Dreams might literalize expressions such as:

“Under a spell”

The dreamer literally becomes enchanted by someone.

Possible waking meaning: intense fascination or attraction.

“Break the spell”

An illusion suddenly disappears.

Possible waking meaning: seeing a situation more realistically.

“Charm someone”

The dreamer uses a magical charm.

Possible waking meaning: attempting to impress or persuade someone.

“Cursed with bad luck”

The dreamer carries a visible curse wherever they go.

Possible waking meaning: expectation that things will go wrong.

“Magic touch”

Everything the dreamer touches becomes successful.

Possible waking meaning: confidence in someone’s ability.

“Work your magic”

Someone performs literal magic to solve a problem.

Possible waking meaning: relying on a particular person’s skill.

“Magic words”

The dreamer must say one exact phrase before a door opens.

Possible waking meaning: communication is the key to solving a problem.

Because Faraday explicitly treated dream puns and literalized figures of speech as important interpretive possibilities, checking familiar language should be a major part of interpreting dreams involving spells.

Practical Faraday-Style Questions for Curse and Spell Dreams

A dreamer could ask:

What happened during the previous day or two?
Did I recently read, watch, or discuss anything involving magic?
Who performs the spell?
Who receives it?
What exactly does the magic accomplish?
What waking situation produces the same feeling?
Does the magical person remind me of someone?
Does the curse create a restriction?
What does it prevent me from doing?
Does the spell give me something I desperately want?
Am I trying to control an outcome I cannot guarantee?
Is the dream portraying a repeated life pattern as a “curse”?
Does the dream contain a familiar expression such as “under their spell”?
Is the magical object connected with marriage, work, family, money, or another specific area?
Does the spell work or fail?
What happens when the curse is broken?
Does breaking it restore speech, movement, confidence, or freedom?
Is the dream exaggerating a real concern I have subconsciously noticed?
What practical action becomes obvious once I identify the waking-life parallel?

Conclusion

Within Ann Faraday’s approach, dreams involving curses and spells have no single predetermined interpretation.

Faraday’s method begins with the dreamer’s recent life, literal circumstances, personal associations, emotions, and practical concerns. Only when a literal explanation is insufficient should the dream be explored metaphorically. Her work also gives particular attention to puns, idioms, and the tendency of dreams to convert abstract thoughts into concrete visual scenes.

A dream of being cursed may therefore represent feeling trapped by another person’s words, influence, or a repeating problem.

Casting a curse may express anger or the wish for an obstacle to disappear.

A love spell may portray the desire to guarantee another person’s affection.

Being under a spell may literally picture intense fascination.

A protective spell may concern boundaries or the desire for security.

A failed spell may reveal that the dreamer cannot control a particular situation.

A family curse may represent a pattern the dreamer believes has been repeated across generations.

And breaking a curse may correspond with rejecting a belief, escaping a relationship, confronting a problem, or ending a repeated pattern.

Perhaps most importantly, Faraday’s practical method would not treat a dream of being cursed as proof that an actual supernatural curse has been placed upon the dreamer. The first task is to identify what waking-life person, problem, belief, fear, or recurring circumstance feels like a curse.

The central Faraday-style question is therefore:

“What in my waking life currently feels as though it has power over me, what does this spell accomplish that I wish could happen, and what practical truth is my dream turning into the language of magic?”

Bibliography

Faraday, Ann. Dream Power. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972.

Faraday, Ann. The Dream Game. London: Maurice Temple Smith, 1975; New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

Faraday, Ann. Dr. Ann Faraday’s Dream Power. Berkley, 1997.

Kilroe, Patricia A. “The Dream Pun: What Is a Play on Words Without Words?” Dreaming, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2000, pp. 193–209.

Related Themes:

“Sharing is Caring”

Dreaming of SPELLS/CURSES

Spells and Curses: Religious, Astrological, and Cultural Summary

Historical Background

Religious Perspectives

Christianity

Judaism

Islam

Hindu Traditions

Buddhism

Astrological Connections

The Moon and Magical Traditions

Cultural Perspectives

Ancient Egyptian Curses

Greek and Roman Curse Tablets

European Witchcraft Traditions

African and African-Diaspora Traditions

Read More →+

Protective Magic

The Evil Eye

Psychological Effects of Believing in a Curse

Spells and Curses in Popular Culture

Symbolic Meaning

Conclusion

Sigmund Freud on the Representation of Curses and Spells Within Dreams

Curses and the Omnipotence of Thoughts

Example

Casting a Spell on Someone

Example

The Spell as Wish Fulfillment

Example

Being Cursed by Someone Else

Example

A Curse Returning to the Dreamer

Example

Fear That Words Can Cause Harm

Example

Protective Spells

Example

Read More →+

Repeating an Incantation

Example

A Spell That Does Not Work

Example

Breaking a Curse

Example

A Family Curse

Example

A Parent Casting a Curse

Example

Cursing a Parent

Example

Love Spells

Example

Someone Casting a Love Spell on the Dreamer

Example

Enchantment and Loss of Control

Example

The Witch or Sorcerer

Example

The Frightening Magician

Example

Becoming a Magician

Example

Magical Objects

Example

Example

A Curse Written in a Book

Example

Dreaming That Someone Has Hexed You

The Curse as Projection

Example

The Curse as Punishment

Example

Fear That a Curse Will Come True

Example

Spells and the Uncanny

Recurring Curse Dreams

Destroying the Spell

Example

Another example