Pagan Portals – By Spellbook & Candle – Cursing, Hexing, Bottling & Binding

Curses have given the world some of its greatest legends and folklore, and the more grisly and gory, the better we like them. But cursing, or ill-wishing, is not a practice confined to magical practitioners - black, white or grey - it is a form of expression intended to do harm in reparation for some real or imagined insult and can be 'thrown' by anyone of any race, culture or creed without any prior experience of ritual magic or witchcraft. According to the dictionary, however, a curse is defined as: To invoke or wish evil upon; to afflict; to damn; to excommunicate; evil invoked on another person. If this is the clear definition, then under what circumstances can we challenge this established way of thinking and ask ourselves can cursing ever be justified? And if we hesitate for just a moment, then we must ask the next question: Is cursing evil? Like all aspects of life, however, it is advisable to put things in their proper perspective before passing judgement.

Suzanne Ruthven is the editor of the popular quarterly creative writing magazine, The New Writer (which she produces in partnership with literary agent, Merric Davidson). As well as providing a much-needed platform for new fiction and poetry on an international level, TNW contains features and interviews by experienced writers, with current news and views from the publishing world. She started her professional writing career in 1987 by founding the small press writers' magazine, Quartos, which ran for nine years until its merger with Acclaim in 1996. In addition to acting as a judge for several national writing competitions, she has also tutored at writers' workshops including The Annual Writers' Conference (Winchester College), The Summer School (University of Wales), Horncastle College (Lincolnshire) and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The original idea for the From the Editor's Desk workshops was taken from her creative writing book of the same name, with both proving to be highly popular with writers' groups. As a result of a successful series of workshops for The Welsh Academy, she was invited to become a full member of the Academi in recognition of her contribution to literature in Wales. commissioning editor for Compass Books, a writers' resource imprint for O-Books. She is author over 20 books on spiritual, country and self-help matters (including two novels and Creative Pathways: Freeing the Writer's Inner Voice) and has contributed articles to a variety of publications as diverse as The Lady, The Countryman, Prediction and the Funeral Director's Journal become a full member of the Academi in recognition of her contribution to literature in Wales. In 2011 she became editor of Prediction and the Funeral Director s Journal;; extending her literary interests still further in 1994 by founding ignotus press to market and promote new authors in the mind, body and spirit genre. For over 10 years the press was recognised as one of the leading publishers in the metaphysical genre, and remained so until her retirement and move to Ireland in 2007. Ruthven has also 'ghost written' numerous books for other writers in the metaphysical, country and folklore genre, including an autobiography for one of Britain's leading field sportsmen, which was nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 2006. She is currently researching and working on two further reference books, and hopes to complete a third novel later this year. In 2011 she became commissioning editor for Compass Books, a writers' resource imprint for O-Books.