How to Know if You're a Victim of Witchcraft: Signs & Solutions

Co-authored by Janice Tieperman Reviewed by Stina Garbis

Last Updated: July 23, 2024 Fact Checked

Some people believe that curses, hexes, and other types of black magic are real, serious threats that can negatively affect their spiritual and physical well-being. Although there’s no hard, conclusive evidence that witchcraft exists, it can still be really scary to think about—especially if you suspect that someone has sent some bad mojo in your direction. To help ease your worries, we’ve outlined some commonly-reported signs of black magic, as well as some alternative explanations for these symptoms. We’ve even outlined a few ways to cleanse and protect yourself, so you can have some peace of mind.

Things You Should Know

Physical signs may include headaches, body aches, or lethargy. However, there are many medical reasons for these symptoms.
Mental or emotional signs could be changes in devotion, bad luck, and nightmares. That said, witchcraft is not the only cause of these symptoms.
If you suspect you are the victim of witchcraft, try praying to a higher power for help or cleansing yourself using salt and white candles.

Section 1 of 3:

Signs of Black Magic

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1
Headaches Many victims of black magic have reported getting random, unexplainable headaches throughout the day. They attribute these headaches to a spell that someone has placed on them.
- Alternative cause: Headaches are a super common symptom that are connected to a lot of different illnesses and conditions. Tons of factors can lead to a headache, including stress, adjustments to your sleep schedule or diet, changes in the weather, excessive noise, and bad posture.^{[1]
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  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  
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NightmaresSome people believe that black magic causes people to be plagued with really terrifying dreams. Within these dreams, you might notice imagery of black-colored dogs, snakes, scorpions, and other creatures coming after you.^{[2]
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- Alternative cause: Frequent nightmares often occur when you’re experiencing a lot of stress or anxiety. They’re also associated with traumatic events, a poor sleep schedule, specific medications, as well as other medical conditions. Some people also experience scary dreams after watching a spooky movie or reading a creepy book right before going to sleep.^{[3]
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- Chances are, the strange and random symbols in your dreams are connected to some other aspect of your life—not black magic! Practice interpreting your dreams to get a better idea of what these symbols represent.^{[4]
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Body aches Some spiritually-inclined individuals associate random body aches with the workings of black magic.^{[5]
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Research source} According to them, medical professionals won’t find anything wrong with you and give you a clean bill of health, even if you’re experiencing pain.^{[6]
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- Alternative cause: Body aches are really common, and can be associated with just about every medical issue or ailment in the book. For instance, abdominal pain could be a sign of indigestion, diarrhea, food poisoning, menstrual cramps, or a UTI.^{[7]
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  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  
  Go to source} Meanwhile, random back pains could be caused by arthritis, ruptured discs, ligament or muscle strain, or osteoporosis.^{[8]
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  Research source} Statistically speaking, there’s probably a medical cause for whatever symptoms you’re experiencing.
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LethargyAccording to some, black magic can leave you feeling sleepy and ready to hit the hay at any given time. It might also make you feel dizzy.^{[9]
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- Alternative cause: Fatigue is a side effect for just about every illness or condition out there—anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, IBD, sleep apnea, and stress are just a few possibilities from a long list of offenders. Sleepiness is also connected with different lifestyle factors, like jet lag, poor eating habits, certain medications, and not enough exercise.^{[10]
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Changes in devotionIn some cultures, victims of black magic may harbor negative feelings toward their spouse/partner. They may also display a sense of obedience or devotion to a specific person in their life (who may or may not be their partner).^{[11]
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- Alternative cause: Relationships can sour for many different, non-magic related reasons. Communication issues can create a huge rift between a once loving couple, as well as trust issues, priority differences, and compatibility problems.^{[12]
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  Research source} Infidelity is also pretty common in committed relationships—about 2 in every 5 married individuals will step out on their spouse.^{[13]
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- Cheating is an unfortunate reality in today’s world, but it’s almost always a sign of an unmet need or issue in an existing relationship. Supernatural forces don’t have anything to do with it.^{[14]
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Poor mental healthCertain people believe that symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations can be connected to black magic. According to them, you may separate yourself from your friends and loved ones and feel increasingly isolated.^{[15]
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- Alternative cause: Mental illness is most likely the culprit. In the United States alone, 1 in every 5 people is diagnosed with a mental illness of some type—anxiety and depression are just a couple of possibilities from an extremely long list.^{[16]
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  National Institute of Mental Health
  Informational website from U.S. government focused on the understanding and treatment of mental illness.
  
  Go to source} If you’re suffering from anxiety, depression, or any other mental symptom, meet with a psychiatric professional right away.
- If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts or ideations of any kind, get help right away.
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Bad luckSome spiritually-inclined people believe that black magic can interfere with a person’s luck and accomplishments in their day-to-day life. You might just feel extra unlucky, or that you’ll never succeed no matter how hard you try.
- Alternative cause: You may have gotten stuck in a “luck trap”—this is a type of mindset where you create specific, unconscious parameters for what is and isn’t lucky. This narrowed focus makes you feel like you’re going through a spell of bad luck when you actually aren’t seeing the big picture.^{[17]
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Different eating habitsSome people believe that black magic can make a person’s eating habits change randomly. In some cases, you might feel hungry all of the time, or like your stomach’s digesting your food instantly.^{[18]
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- Alternative cause: Appetite changes happen for a ton of different reasons, including stress, mental illness, menstruation, certain medications, and the quality of your diet.^{[19]
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  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  
  Go to source} Chances are, some aspect of your lifestyle is influencing how hungry or full you are—not witchcraft.
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Weird items in your yardFinding strange items in your yard can potentially be a sign that you're affected by black magic. These things might be items like an odd jar, powder, bones, or burned remnants. There might also be evidence of someone digging in your yard.
- Alternate cause: Certain types of holes and disturbances in your yard can be chalked up to animal activity, as well as bad weather.

Section 2 of 3:

Ways to Protect Yourself

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1
Pray to a higher power and ask for help. If you practice a specific religion or believe in a higher power, take comfort in the fact that your God is stronger and far more powerful than any type of black magic cast upon you. Simply pray and call upon this higher power for help, and trust that God will help you battle against any evil forces in your life.
- If you’re a Christian, pray and have faith that Jesus will protect you from any witchcraft. You might pray, “In the name of Jesus, I cast out any evil spells, energies, or intentions that were sent to me.”^{[20]
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  Research source} Feel free to recite the Lord’s Prayer, too.^{[21]
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- If you’re a devout Muslim, trust in Allah and have faith that He will cleanse and protect you from any black magic cast in your direction.^{[22]
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  Research source} You could also recite a protective Dua, like “Allaahummak-fineehim bimaa shi’ta,” or “O Allah, protect me against them in whatever way you see fit.”^{[23]
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- You can also ask Archangel Michael for help.^{[24]
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Cleanse yourself with salt and ignite white candles. Soak in a warm salt bath to clear away any bad energies or intentions that have attached to you. Some spiritually-inclined people also advise lighting white candles and affirming out loud that the pure, white light is clearing away any bad energy.^{[25]
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- You can also burn sage around your home to help cleanse you from any witchcraft.
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Choose not to believe in witchcraft. According to some spiritual experts, witchcraft is only as powerful as you allow it to be. If you’re worried that someone could be sending some black magic in your direction, repeat some soothing, confident affirmations to yourself:
- “Witchcraft isn’t real. Therefore, it can’t hurt me.”
- “Witchcraft only affects me if I allow it to.”
- “Witchcraft doesn’t exist, so I have nothing to worry about.”

Section 3 of 3:

How do I know if someone is a witch?

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Look for signs or ask the person directly. There are many tells if people use magic, like certain talismans hung on the walls, certain bracelets or charms worn or put in their car/place of business, or the possession of an altar (but keep in mind that many different cultures use altars, including Buddhists and Catholics). Someone practicing witchcraft may also burn a lot of red candles, as well as use needles in their candles. Still, it's always best to get direct confirmation about a person's spiritual beliefs instead of making assumptions.
- Practitioners of Wicca have a Wiccan rede that is "an' ye harm none, do what ye will." Wiccans follow this strict moral creed against doing harm to others; so, if you suspect that someone is cursing you, they likely aren't Wiccan. However, other persuasions of witchcraft may have looser codes.

Cleanse Your Spiritual Energy with this Expert Series

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How to Know if You're a Victim of Witchcraft: Signs & Solutions

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Remove Black Magic Spells

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Tips

Some spiritual enthusiasts associate curdled dairy products and/or a burnt smell with witchcraft. While black magic may be the culprit, there’s a better chance that your dairy just went bad, or that there’s something funky going on with your vents or appliances.

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