Nobody wants to end up in a situation where they need to learn how to break a curse, but the truth is, curse-breaking is a vitally important part of any witchcraft education. You don’t even have to be a witch to need a curse-breaking! Unsuspecting people wind up running afoul of curses every single day, whether they’ve upset a touchy neighbor who happens to practice, ended up on the wrong end of the evil eye, or simply stumbled into a malicious spell unwittingly.
Magic is everywhere and we can’t assume that all of that magic is friendly! One of the most common curses out there is War Water, also known as Water of Mars. This curse can cause serious issues in your life, your health, and your career. It’s no joke! If you suspect that someone has used war water against you, you need to act to break the curse and FAST. Today we’re going to be talking about this very old and well-known form of cursing and how you can go about breaking this curse if you find yourself on the receiving end of it.
What Is War Water?
War water is a type of spell that is used for both cursing and offensive protection in magic. You’re most likely to find this spell in the south of the US, but in recent decades the use of the spell has found its way into almost any region where you find witchcraft thanks to the rapid spread of information. Many modern-day witches are aware of war water as a cursing agent, but it can actually be used in a wide variety of magical applications. It can be sprinkled around your home or property to create a magical barrier against spirits and magic sent against you, it can be used to nullify curses and hexes, it can be used to render an adversary powerless to prevent them from harming you, and it makes an excellent addition to witch bottles, talismans, and other forms of spell work.
As with many forms of folk magic, war water does not have a single agreed-upon recipe. Rather, recipes tend to vary widely depending on the region, the individual practitioner, and the intent behind the war water. The one thing almost all war water has in common is rusting iron. War water universally contains something like a railroad spike, iron nails, or iron pins that will rust when left in water. It may also contain ingredients such as spanish moss, vinegar, salt, and pepper. These are generally left in a jar with water and allowed to ferment and rust together for a month or more until you have a dark brown, almost black concoction.
How Do You Know If You’ve Been Cursed With War Water?
Okay, so now that we know a bit more about what war water actually is, how can you tell if someone has used war water against you? This is a tricky question to answer simply because there are so many different ways that a curse can be applied. Here are some of the best ways to be able to tell for certain if someone has used war water to curse you.
1. You find the war water jar
This is one of the only definite ways to know for sure! It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. If you find a jar with rusted nails, either whole or broken anywhere around your property or home, your vehicle, or your place of work, that’s a sure sign that someone has used war water against you.
2. You’ve pissed off a known root doctor, hoodoo practitioner, or southern witch
While there are plenty of other ways that a witch or hoodoo practitioner could curse you, there’s a pretty good chance that they will reach for the war water first. If you know you’ve upset someone who falls into these categories and you start having symptoms of having been cursed, it might be best to just cover your bases and cast a counterspell for the war water curse just in case.
3. You get a warning about a war water curse
This is more common than you think. It’s not unusual for neighbors, mutual friends, or guilty family members to warn the target when a mutual acquaintance has decided to curse them. You can also get these kinds of warnings from spirits, ancestors, or any guides you work with. If someone, corporeal or non-corporeal, tells you that you’ve been cursed with war water, you definitely need to cast a curse-breaking spell.
4. You’re showing signs of having been cursed
This is probably the least accurate way to tell if someone has used war water against you or not. There are a million different types of curses out there, and many of them will have some level of overlap when it comes to their effects. War water is thought to bring general negativity and strife to a person or an area. It essentially causes an internal war within the target’s life. If you’re finding that you’re dealing with a lot of arguments, legal issues cropping up, vandalism, complaints about things to do with you or your property, hot tempers within your family, or things breaking and falling apart without warning, you may be dealing with war water. Other symptoms that you might notice include headaches, insomnia or nightmares, sleep paralysis, and repeated minor injuries that draw blood.
The good news is, if you suspect that you’ve been attacked with war water, you don’t have to be 100% certain to cast a counterspell. Oftentimes It’s a good idea to cast a counterspell just in case to ensure that you’re covering all of your bases and not missing any potential issues. If it doesn’t work, you can always change tactics and try something else.
If you’re finding yourself overwhelmed and confused by the complexity of magical protection and dealing with the more dangerous aspects of the craft, my Defensive Magic class will give you a straightforward, easy-to-follow path to understanding and creating your own defensive magic strategy so that you can stop worrying about curses, hexes, malicious spirits, and spell rebound.
A War Water Curse Breaking Spell
War water is nasty stuff, but you can get rid of its effects. This curse will counteract war water as well as any other malicious spell cast against you and your household. This is particularly useful against any spell that was set against your property or house, as it focuses on these spaces as the nexus of the curse. There’s also a modification at the end of this spell if you wish to use it to remove spells that were cast against you personally.
You Will Need:
- Hyssop
- Rue
- Agrimony
- Water
- A large soup pot
- Rags and a mop
Make a hex breaking wash by boiling a small handful each of hyssop, rue, and agrimony together. Make a lot of it, use your largest pot, and let it boil for nine minutes. While it’s boiling, recite this incantation over it.
“Over and out and in restrain,
No longer will I bear your disdain.
I blot out your curse,
The ill wish is in vain.
If you hex me again,
It will rebound in pain.”
This incantation sets the intention to remove the curse but also serves as a warning and bounces any future curses or hexes back at the sender. Take it off the heat, let the wash cool, and strain out the herbs. Use this wash to clean all the hard floors in the house, to wipe the baseboards, windowsills, and doorframes. If you know where the war water landed on the property, dump the remaining wash on the area. If not, pour it on the front and back porch, and pour a little in the corners of your property.
Being cursed can seem like the worst possible scenario, but it doesn’t have to be a life-ruining event. Taking precautions and breaking the curse as soon as possible can limit the amount of damage a curse can do. Don’t forget that dealing with a curse doesn’t stop when you’ve broken the spell, though! It’s always a good idea to try to smooth things over with the spell caster (although that may not be possible depending on the situation) and always follow up a curse-breaking with a strong ward to repel any future attempts to curse you. If this is a repeat problem, you can also try binding the spellcaster from further attempts to harm you. Don’t let your fear of curses and malicious magic stop you from learning good Defensive Magic skills and creating a safe, harmonious, and strong environment for you and your magic to thrive in.
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Updated on June 18, 2024 by Avery Hart
Do you have to know WHO may have cursed/hexed you in order to do a spell like this?
No, in most cases you don’t have to know who cursed you to break a curse effectively. Knowing can help you to tailor the spell a bit but it’s by no means necessary.
are there any simpler more easy to find ingredients to make war water? can you use war water to banish or exile?