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

Last Updated: November 11, 2022 References

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

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
  Go to source}
2
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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  Trustworthy Source
  Mayo Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source}
- 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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3
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]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  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]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  Mayo Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source} Statistically speaking, there’s probably a medical cause for whatever symptoms you’re experiencing.
4
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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  Trustworthy Source
  Mayo Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
  Go to source}
5
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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6
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]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  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.
7
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]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  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.

Section 2 of 3:

Ways to Protect Yourself

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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2
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.
3
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?

There’s no way to know if someone is a witch unless you ask directly. Wicca, like any other religion or spiritual belief system, isn’t something that you can identify just by looking at someone. You have to ask or let them volunteer their spiritual beliefs on their own. It’s always better to get direct confirmation instead of making assumptions!
- Someone who practices Wicca may have a lot of crystals, candles, herbs, and/or an altar lying around their home.^{[26]
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  Research source} They might also celebrate unique holidays, like the spring equinox (Ostara), fall equinox (Mabon), the winter solstice (Yule), and summer solstice (Litha).^{[27]
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  Research source} Still, the only true way to know someone’s belief system is to ask them.