Defence Against the Dark Arts Part II: Terry Pratchett’s books

I have found that Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books brighten the atmosphere: they are ideal for driving away black moods and dispersing the dark clouds of depression. 

I particularly like the books that feature his three main witch characters, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick. The three witches in Macbeth were the inspiration for these ladies. He said that three is a natural number for witches. It is just a coincidence that when I was at school, someone likened me and my two sisters to the three witches in Macbeth!

Not only do these books entertain, amuse and raise one’s spirits, they also contain material that seems to me to be relevant to some topics on this blog. I have already made a connection between the effects that Terry Pratchett’s illusion-creating elves have on humans and the effects that some glamorous energy vampires have on their victims.

Some of what Pratchett says about magic and how it attracts undesirable entities could apply to unconscious or psychological black magic and how it attracts – or is even caused by - forces that sabotage the lives of the practitioners. 

Kathleen Raine and Gavin Maxwell: curse or coincidence?

The poet Kathleen Raine was involved in an unsatisfactory and tempestuous relationship with Gavin Maxwell, the naturalist who later became famous for his books about otters. She cursed him after he pushed her to the limits of endurance; he suffered a series of misfortunes then he died.

I would like to believe that the misfortunes would have happened anyway, but after learning about the effect that some creative people had on those close to them I think that her ill-wishing actually worked. Poets are closer to the subconscious – or unconscious – and she was pushed right to the edge at the time. 

One difference between this example and others I have written about from personal experience is that both of the people involved were aware that a curse had been launched, and one at least believed that it had been effective.

Exrtacts from articles I found online give details of the 'curse' and the two people involved.

From an obituary for Kathleen Raine:

“Their relationship burnt itself out, however. Banished from the house during a raging storm in 1956, a weeping Kathleen Raine cursed Maxwell under a rowan tree: 

‘Let Gavin suffer in this place as I am suffering now.’

Within the next few years his pet otter was killed by a workman, his house was destroyed by fire, and he himself was diagnosed with terminal cancer.”

Defence Against the Dark Arts Part I: Vernon Howard’s booklets

Reading the right words in the right way at the right time can have an effect that is almost magical. Something changes permanently for the better on the inside, and this causes a change for the better on the outside. The illumination caused by reading and understanding the words changes our vibrational rate; lumps in our subconscious minds disappear; we move on to a better psychological area; we become different people and thus we attract different types of people and experiences.

This process is not under our conscious control. What works for other people does not always work for us, and vice versa.

I heard very good reports of A Course in Miracles so I got a copy, but I found that I could not get through it. It did not speak my language nor resonate with my thoughts and experiences. I wanted to get something positive from this book but my subconscious mind refused to co-operate. Not only did it not like the book, it disliked it very much! Other people may have transformed their lives thanks to this book, but it did nothing at all for me.

It was very different when I picked up a little booklet in a New Age bookshop. It was 50 Ways To See Thru People by Vernon Howard. Something about it attracted me, so I bought it and three companion booklets. I got a lot out of reading these little publications, which came into my life at just the right time.  They provide a good introduction to the subject of spiritual development.

Accidents or more sacrificed sons?

Since creating my first post on this subject, I have become aware of many more examples of untimely deaths of sons, toxic legacies and parents who outlive their children.

Alexander Mosley, the elder son of Formula One chief Max Mosley, was found dead in 2009. A drugs overdose - accidental or deliberate - was discovered to be the cause. Alexander Mosley was said to be a maths genius and a fragile person. He inherited the poisonous legacy of British Fascism and had a notorious father and grandfather.

L. Ron Hubbard’s oldest son Quentin died at the age of 22 after being found in a coma in his car. His death is believed to be suicide. He inherited the poisonous legacy of Scientology and had a notorious father.

Robert Maxwell, the notorious media tycoon, died mysteriously. One of his sons died tragically:

 “…his eldest son, Michael, was severely injured in 1961 (at the age of 15), after being driven home from a post-Christmas party when his driver fell asleep at the wheel. Michael never regained consciousness and died seven years later." 
- From Wiki.

J. M. Barrie had no children of his own, but befriended and informally adopted the five Llewelyn Davies boys. He outlived two of them: the oldest son was killed in action at the age of 22, the other drowned in what may have been a suicide pact when he was 21. Of the remaining three, one committed suicide when he was 63. 

Mark Twain outlived three of his four children. His only son died of diphtheria when still a baby.

Witches and fairy godmothers in real life

In traditional stories, fairy godmothers grant wishes and make dreams come true; witches do the opposite. Fairy godmothers bless people; witches curse them.  Fairy godmothers are helpful and look after people’s interests; witches do whatever harm they can and sabotage people’s lives. Fairy godmothers are nurturing and encourage healthy growth; witches blight and poison everything and everyone around them.

I believe that these stories are founded on fact.

My articles about energy vampires, psychic crime, psychological black magic and curses describe people who might well be called modern day witches.

On the other hand, I myself have been called a fairy godmother a few times!

She wished to meet a certain actor

I remember when one of my colleagues was talking about some actor she had seen on TV: she said that she really liked this man and wished she could meet him. I said I wished that she could too. I had no idea who he was and still don’t know. When she returned to work after the weekend, she was very excited. She told us that she had been walking on Hampstead Heath with a few friends and they stopped for a drink in a pub. It was very crowded; someone came up and asked if he could sit with them. It was the actor! She said he was very pleasant and she wasn’t at all disappointed or disillusioned with him. So her wish was granted.

Unseen influences: curses and cursing

I can’t remember when I first made a connection between some disturbing incidents that I had experienced in my life and the idea that some people are able to cause misfortune to others by ill-wishing or cursing them.  It was certainly some years after I first read Colin Wilson’s books Mysteries and The Occult, in which there are many examples of curses and cursing.

I would much rather believe in accidents, mere coincidences and chance than the idea that some people do have and use this power, but personal experience has made me believe that the proposition is correct. 

The incidents I have witnessed all involve perpetrators who were unaware of their powers and the effect that they had on the people around them. 

Unconsciously cursing someone is not the same as deliberately using spoken ritual to bring harm to a chosen victim. It often happens automatically; it usually comes from a very deep level in immediate response to what the perpetrator perceives to be an annoyance, a threat, an attack, an injury, a refusal to obey orders or a disappointing and unacceptable rejection. 

It is unwise to raise this subject with most people: they have no experience of incidents such as these and cannot understand or accept the issues involved. Putting information online in the hope that the right people will be drawn to it and find it useful is a better option.

Energy vampires in books: Terry Pratchett and J.K. Rowling

There are many articles about energy vampires (meaning the human kind, not electrical appliances on standby) to be found online. Some have nothing new or original to add to existing knowledge in either the material itself or the presentation and interpretation: they just repeat the basics. 

Some articles are written by people who are trying to sell something: they consist of snippets surrounded by advertisements. 

Many such articles are superficial, positioned at the level of pop psychology; others are all generalisations with nothing coming from personal experiences. Many books on the subject are not much better.

Some of this information may be suitable for people who want an introduction to the subject, or to learn how to deal with a difficult colleague at the office or a negative, self-pitying mother who won’t get off the phone, but some of us want something deeper and more substantial, something that takes metaphysical factors and the very worst examples into account.

In this connection, I have found two examples of fictional energy vampires that resonate very strongly with me. They come from the works of Terry Pratchett and J. K. Rowling.