Everything Under the Moon

(Please feel free to move this if it is not in the right spot.)

So, I've been doing a little sleuthing into my witchy ancestry. I was talking to my coven sister one night, and from the issues I was describing, she said "sounds like some kind of curse" So naturally, I decide to look into curses placed on my family (as that was the issue)
Chatting with my mother, she had mentioned about stregheria. My grandmothers on my mother's side were in fact stregherian, and when everyone moved from Italy, most of my mother's side converted to catholicism, abandoning their pagan roots.
I couldn't tell you who exactly it was, but, when my italian side moved from Italy to Philadelphia, the last remaining practicing witch was a Streganonna, handling anything an Italian-American witch needed, including getting rid of curses. My mother told my late nan (great grandmother) she felt she had "La Malocchio" or the Evil eye curse. My nan knew how to get rid of the curse, yet when my mother begged, she held firmly and said no, not giving my mother any reason as to why she wouldn't do a thing about it. My Nan identified as Catholic, yet there were some pagan beliefs still firmly in practice. However, all of it died with her. Unfortunately for me, I was about 8 at the time, with no idea of paganism or the sort to ask her.

Thinking on this, I had fallen asleep one night, only to have the triple goddess come to me in the forms of my grandmothers who are no longer here, in my dream.
The maiden was my grandmother. She appeared as her youthful self i've only seen in pictures.
The mother was my nan, the one that refused to remove the Malocchio. She was very much pregnant, and still youthful.
The crone was actually a grandmother I had never met before, my great great grandmother, Rosie. She was exactly how she looked in old photos before she passed.

It was the mother who spoke to me, my nan. She told me exactly how to remove the Malocchio from my mother once and for all, which I have written in my BOS. When I awoke, I called my coven sister to tell her.
She had news for me though. She said she had talked to someone who said they were familiar with evil eyes and that they were passed down through generations, which would mean I have it as well.
She went on to say that removing it would also remove any clairvoyance I had.

I have not attempted to remove the curse from my mother. I'm not really sure what I'm dealing with, or what information I should trust. My mother wants it badly removed, asking for it's removal since she was my age.
What do any of you think? Any one have some info on it? Google doesn't seem to yield anything either.

One of the methods I have seen work in the past for removing a curse would be to truly find amusement in it... Laugh at it, it seems to discharge the energy to the extent the curse is "broken". However, for a curse that lasts for generations over a bloodline... It seems you might need to seek further help. I would try a witch's bottle. I have no experience with them myself... But I'm sure somebody here can help you out. You could also try asking for help from a select deity(ies), spirit, spirit animals, guides, or guardian "angels". To be honest though, unless you have a strong connection with something listed here I would take matters into your own hands.

See that's the thing, I know so little on it, and to be honest, I'm not even sure if there even IS a curse.
Waiting to see on other's advice as well before I move forward with anything. Thank you for your input!

How did your coven sister arrive in that conclusion that your family is cursed? Is she a psychic? Have you ever consulted a psychic regarding this?

Yes, hereditary curses exist. It 's possible to curse an entire family line, but it would take a HUGE amount of energy, work and dedication. Maintaining it might also be a logistical issue so I'm wondering who do you think placed this spell on your family?

I'm not really that familiar with La Malocchio curse nor in Stregheria, perhaps one of our member and moderator here Vesca could help you more with this as she's practicing Italian witchcraft. But as we all know, any curse is possible to break as long as the witch or practitioner is as strong or stronger than the sorcerer. If you bring in some outside help from the Deities or other celestial beings then it can be easier. An Italian folkore also suggests that wearing a "cornuto" or horn around the neck could ward it off. But I think this is more of protection than a total curse removal as curse-breaking is tricky because you don't necessarily maintain defenses to a high enough standard all the time. A strong curse will get through normal everyday shields and wards, especially if the sorcerer is good enough.

When I'm dealing with evil eye spellwork, I use needles to counteract it. I insert the tip of the small needle into the eye of the larger needle. Then I will drop the needles on saucer of olive oil in blue-coloured water (peace water) and sprinkled some sea salt into the water to purify my intentions.

I would also suggest to maintain a happy, positive and good relationship with your family. Positive things correspond to our physical body, emotions and mind. When you work to do positive things and avoid some other things that irk other people (neighborhood, relatives, friends. etc) such as arrogance, dishonesty, rudeness, etc. which by the way, the likely causes of the evil eye curse, you attach each section of the body, emotion and mind to its spiritual counterpart above and bring down the corresponding spiritual influx to vitalize yourself and your family. Does that make sense?

Always remember that your family members are guarantors for each other and the things you do as individuals influence all other family members. Family souls form a spiritual whole in which each part (or soul) interacts with every other. Your positive good work has an influence on every other family members and makes up for what another may not be able to do. And therefore, each and everyone of you is "covered" by those who did positivity. Our own individual fulfillment is brought about by the collective fulfillment of balance and harmony of all the members together.

Thank you so much for you reply.
My coven sister chats up local metaphysical stores some times, asking about certain materials for spell work. Must have sparked interest in someone and this woman said she worked a lot with dispelling evil eyes.
She said they were hereditary.

As for who gave my family it, I have a strange feeling it was my Nan. It was after my mother got married to my father. My Italian side was very xenophobic. My father is Irish.
She could have been the one to put it on my mother.

I'd think it's more likely that your family has some sort of entity attached to it. That'd take less energy, more "friends in high places"... Consult a psychic like Seraphin said.

Would seem more likely, since all the witches in my family are no longer here on earth.

Me and my coven sister seem to have to work really hard to drive away negativity before we cast the circle for any of our workings. Usually we end up draining ourselves a lot, and not really being able to function properly.

Currently, we've been collecting a large quantity of clear Quartz. And I always keep moonstone on me at all times.
The other day however, me and her were taking a mundane break, and decided to go out for a drive. Ended up getting into a car accident, and nearly hitting an oak tree by a few inches.
The earth was soft enough that it actually sunk the car in, stopping it in its tracks. No one was injured, thank the goddess. But things like that are starting to make me and her wonder if it's a lot more powerful than we think it is, which is why I haven't wanted to attempt anything until I have all the facts. Thank you all for your input.

Go to somebody who really knows their stuff... That doesn't mean go to some shady psychic running a store on main street whose going to charge you $300 just to come see her. Get into contact with somebody, somebody's got to know somebody. If it happens to be an entity banishment can range from relatively simple to extremely difficult. If you can't find a psychic you could always try contacting a spirit and asking them if there's anything following you around, but don't take their words to heart... Depending on who or what you talk to they tend to lie alot. Of course I'm referring to if you use a spirit board to talk to them, it's like a big internet chatroom except not on the internet.

We probably wouldn't do anything with a spirit board. I may be comfortable doing it, but I know my sister won't be.
We've had some pretty good luck with pendulums and tarot though.

We both have a feeling Samhain is going to be trouble. We're in the midst of prepping for it. It kinda feels like a storm is brewing.
Until we can figure out what is exactly going on, any recommendations of herbs, Incense, and crystals to ward off and protect? We have plans to honor the dead on Samhain and I intend to contact and honor my nan. But before I do so, I want to make sure we are well guarded.

Whole ginger roots generally ward off any "evil", malevolent things. Not just entities, energies as well. You could try hanging some whole ginger roots around the house... If that's not too weird for you. Best thing is though you can get it from your local supermarket.

Since you mentioned you're using some stones, you could place a few citrine crystals around the space you cleared. In both tradition and my own personal experience, citrine simply attracts positive abundance. As such it never needs to be cleared, so there's no maintenance involved after you put them in place.

For future reference, lavender also attracts positive energy to a space as well as strengthens the positive energy that's already there.

Go to somebody who really knows their stuff... That doesn't mean go to some shady psychic running a store on main street whose going to charge you $300 just to come see her. Get into contact with somebody, somebody's got to know somebody.

I agree.

If you can't find a psychic you could always try contacting a spirit and asking them if there's anything following you around, but don't take their words to heart... Depending on who or what you talk to they tend to lie alot. Of course I'm referring to if you use a spirit board to talk to them, it's like a big internet chatroom except not on the internet.

I am glad Cernunnos mentioned this. There are astral nasties and different sorts of spirits that lie. The same kinds of entities that come through at a seance when dabblers mess about with divintarory and mediumship tools (not just Ouija or spirit board) without putting up protections.

Until we can figure out what is exactly going on, any recommendations of herbs, Incense, and crystals to ward off and protect?

As for protective herbs, add some Couch Grass (aka Witche's Grass or Dog Grass), to whatever herb/s you're using in smudging, cleansing or banishing. Medicinally, Couch Grass supports kidney function, so energetically not only does it help clear one's space specifically of 'toxic' energy and/or entities, it's one that will 'have your back', so to speak, in terms of protection. I also add Couch Grass to any amulet-type doohickeys I put together for protecting people, places or things.

Turkey Mullein would be helpful too. Medicinally, Turkey Mullein has fallen out of use; I suspect one reason might be that it has to be handled very carefully, both literally and as a medicine -- reasons similar to the way Foxglove isn't used much by herbalists any more because it's so easy to give the wrong amount with disastrous results. Turkey Mullein has antimicrobial properties (warding off pathogens such as fungi, viruses, bacteria) and helps with certain lung issues, so this is one I would use most often when the negative energy I'm clearing out is 'up front' and I know where it's coming from. This is one I won't burn; it has some fine stickers that I suspect might be a bit much for the lungs if one were to inhale the smoke, but it's nice in a steam smudge.

If part of my intent in warding or protection is, in addition to clearing/cleansing, to improve the energy of a person or area, I might add Hawthorn leaf (botanical name crataegus oxyacantha), which when purchased usually comes with some flowers in it as well. Its medicinal properties are for supporting and protecting the heart, which translate nicely as supporting love, balancing interpersonal interactions, and maintaining a loving atmosphere on an energetic basis.

Rose petals can be used for similar purposes.

For calming purposes, for instance in a household where there's strife,chaos, discord, relational conflict, misunderstanding between the residents, I use Rosemary in my smudges. I'm not sure why; I do this because intuitively it feels right. Medicinally, Rosemary is somewhat of a stimulant, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that it would help in this way. Even so, a bit of Rosemary in any smudge combination or even in a sleep pillow sachet seems to have a calming effect. Go figure, huh?

Okay. I just reviewed some info regarding Rosemary's medicinal properties. In a round-about way it does make sense; Rosemary can be used to relieve headaches, as an antispasmodic, and even to relieve asthma. I haven't worked with Rosemary on a medicinal basis; it's one that I use frequently, but only for its energetic properties -- which is why I hadn't really looked into why I use it for smudging. I won't use herbs medicinally without understanding them thoroughly, but for energy work I sometimes just trust my intuition.

Chamomile, of course, is another really good one for calming the energy of a person or place.

We have plans to honor the dead on Samhain and I intend to contact and honor my nan.

This is what we're weaving in the Bubbling Cauldron, a spell and/or ritual to honor the dead:

http://everythingunderthemoon.net/forum ... 30006.html

Thank you so so much! You've been so helpful.
Witches bottles will be interesting to try. We have plans with those as well. We began to make one not too long ago. Our pendulum was dragging us further and further out in the woods where we were collecting naturally growing herbs, bits and bobs. We came across a large glass bottle, looks very old, all intact. We took it home and cleaned it. Now we just need a cork for it.
Would it be safe to throw a crystal in a witches bottle?

Whatever you feel comfortable with I'd say.

I think you could do that.

I feel like this conversation isn't yet done, is there any updates you can give us, Lainara?