Curse

:For other uses, see {{PAGENAME}} (disambiguation).

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A curse is a prayer asking that a god or similar spirit bring misfortune to someone; an imprecation or execration, the opposite of a blessing or charm.

Related Topics:
Prayer - God - Spirit - Blessing - Charm

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A curse can be said to be the effective implementation of the god's wrath against the victim of the curse. Other sorts of curses are imposed by magic or witchcraft, such as the evil eye or the use of voodoo dolls.

Related Topics:
Magic - Witchcraft - Evil eye - Voodoo - Doll

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Cursing rests on the belief in the possibility of some power bringing down calamity upon persons or things; and that this curse can be made effective by the mere power of the spoken word, without any regard to its moral justification.

Related Topics:
Belief - Moral

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In a broader sense, 'curse' is a loose synonym for blasphemy or profanity (i.e. a 'curse word'). The curse is also another term for the original sin of Adam and Eve.

Related Topics:
Synonym - Blasphemy - Profanity - Original sin - Adam and Eve

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Belief in curses is a part of the vague sort of animism, similar to belief in luck, that is a part of folk religion and popular superstition. The deliberate levying of these sorts of curses is a part of the practice of magic, or perhaps lies on the boundaries between magic and religion. Some people claiming to be clairvoyants or practitioners of divination attempt to get money from the gullible by telling them they are under curses that only their apotropaic powers can remove. This is an ancient type of confidence trick familiar to the Egyptians, and a species of fraud, unlawful under the laws of many jurisdictions.

Related Topics:
Animism - Luck - Folk religion - Superstition - Magic - Magic and religion - Clairvoyant - Divination - Apotropaic - Confidence trick - Egyptians - Fraud

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