Hex In Modern Paganism

The word Hex is one that has permeated much of common literature and culture often being seen as a word that detonates an evil spell or some sort of curse upon the recipient. Curse and hex are two words that are frequently misused or confused together within the context of Paganism. However, after researching the word hex, I have found that a hex spell isn't necessarily a spell designed with evil intent. What a hex essentially is revolves around manipulation of somebody else's will. This manipulation is not necessarily good or bad but could be either depending on the spell and the intention behind it. The word itself originates from the Pennsylvania Dutch who brought with them the German word hex which meant “to practice sorcery”. Clearly the word hex itself has narrowed itself down to a more specified meaning in modern Paganism. To me, the hex really underscores the importance of acceptance of personal responsibility within witchcraft. If one is to willingly affect another person's freewill, they are directly responsible for any actions that may result. One of the sites I was reading in regarding hexing talked about how even with a positive intention, there may still be negative results. The example this site gave was trying to …show more content…
While a curse certainly is something more mal-intended, a hex gets lumped under the same umbrella. Whether one considers interfering with another's free will or not to be unethical does not change the fact that a hex is neutral spell. Rather, it is up to the practitioner to decide whether a hex is something they want to incorporate into their arsenal of worship and spells. In non religious works, such as fantasy books or games, hexes and curses are often considered to be the same thing. I know that I frequently saw them to be similar prior to any research. The word hex outside of Pagan circles does not contain the same meaning as it does with a Pagan