5 Simple Banishing Spells For The New Witch To Cast

This is a foundational skill for a reason, magic can be uncertain territory and learning to protect and defend yourself is paramount. Nobody likes finding themselves in a scary situation that they don’t know how to get themselves out of and in the realm of magic, that goes double. Ending up on the wrong side of another witch or a spirit is a big fear for many new witches but, thankfully, it doesn’t have to be. Learning defensive magic and prioritizing your security goes a long way toward giving you the confidence that you need to handle any situation that arises head on.

These kinds of magical spells are best performed when you are calm. Excess negative energy from anger or other strong emotions could cause a more hex-like effect than you would like. The result could be unintentional harm to your target as opposed to simply removing them from your life.

Below are five different basic banishing spells as well as what each spell is good for and what its weaknesses may be. If you have any questions about banishing, don’t miss the Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of the page!

Burn It Away Banishing

You Will Need:

• A slip of paper
• A pen
• A fireproof bowl
• A heat resistant work surface
• Matches or a lighter

This spell is very simple to execute. Begin by writing down what you’re banishing, be it a person’s name or a spirit or something more intangible like procrastination, negative energies, or negative self-talk. Focus on what you’ve written for a moment, call it to mind as clearly as you can. 

Light the slip of paper on fire and drop it into the bowl. As it burns imagine your target leaving your life and then focus all of your attention on what your life will be like after the banishing takes effect. 

When the paper is finished burning, you should dispose of the ashes away from your house, you can scatter them on the ground or into the wind or even just dump them into the trash bin outside of your house but get them away from you as soon as possible.

This form of banishing is excellent if you’re short on time or energy, it’s simple, quick, and to the point. Of course, proper care should be taken not to light yourself or anything else on fire. Don’t perform this spell on flammable surfaces, outside on windy days or in any environment that you can’t control.  Also make sure that any pets you may have are out of the room, you wouldn’t want any curious whiskers getting singed during your spell.

4 Thieves Vinegar

This banishing concoction gets its name from a folktale that tells of four thieves who, during the height of the Black Plague, would steal into peoples homes and rob them in the night. Instead of catching the plague they grew healthy and rich. When they were finally apprehended they struck a bargain to trade their secret recipe in exchange for their freedom.

I can’t speak for the effectiveness of this vinegar against the plague but it’s long held a place in witch’s circles as a protective and warding brew.

You will need:

• Rosemary
• Sage
• Lavender
• Thyme
• Mint
• Garlic
• Apple cider vinegar
• A jar or other airtight container

To make 4 Thieves vinegar fill a mason jar or other airtight container loosely with your herbs (fresh herbs are best). Cover the herbs with apple cider vinegar and screw the lid on tightly. Vinegar can erode metal lids over time so it’s suggested that you use a plastic lid instead. Label and date your jar. Store the vinegar in a cool dry place (your pantry is ideal) and gently shake it once a day for 4-6 weeks. Strain the herbs out of the vinegar and your brew is ready to use!

When your 4 Thieves vinegar is finished you can use it in a variety of ways. Traditionally, sprinkling it over your doorstep is thought to ward away your enemies. I find the taste of the vinegar quite agreeable so if you’re inclined to kitchen witchcraft you can include it in recipes (it makes a lovely salad dressing) to ward yourself against evil and even break spells placed on you.

Candle Banishing

You Will Need:

• One black candle
• A candleholder
• Matches
• Black or white pepper
• Salt
• A carving tool
• Anointing oil (this can be any kind of oil you prefer)

Begin by slowly sprinkling salt in a counterclockwise circle around you and your work area, visualize the salt creating a barrier, protecting you during your ritual. Call the target of your banishing spell to mind and carve your intention into the candle. For example, you might carve “Mark will never speak to me again” or “My anxiety is gone”. You may also wish to carve a banishing sigil into your candle. 

When you’ve finished, anoint your candle with the oil and sprinkle the pepper over it. Set the candle into your candle holder and light it, speaking your intention aloud. If it feels good you can turn your intention into a mantra to chant while the candle burns.

Allow the candle to burn itself out, this should be done on a fireproof surface and again, away from pets. Depending on your choice of candle, it may take several hours to completely burn. Do not leave your candle unattended! If you don’t wish to burn the entire candle you can carve a line halfway or a third of the way down the candle and confine your spell carving to the top portion. This can be tricky if you use a taper candle, be gentle so as not to snap it. When the candle burns to this line you may blow it out and reserve the rest of the candle for another banishing spell.

Cleansing & Banishing Bath

You Will Need:

• A bathtub
• Epsom salts
• Chamomile (tea bags work nicely)
• Lavender
• Unsweetened coconut milk (optional, it has protective properties and softens the skin but milk baths are not for everyone)

This spell is one of my favorite methods of banishing. Unlike some of the others, it’s very relaxing and feels freeing as opposed to the more forceful natures of the other spells.

If you like you can light candles and turn the lights down, music is a nice addition but whatever makes a bath enjoyable for you is perfect. Run your bath and add your Epsom salts, herbs, and if you like, a cup of coconut milk. Swirl the water counterclockwise three times and chant the following spell. Fill in the blank with whatever you’re banishing.

“Troubles be gone, washed clean away, leave me free of ______ this day.”

 Now all you have to do is relax, enjoy your bath allow the charmed water to do its work.

Reflective Banishing

You Will Need:

• A small mirror (craft mirrors with unfinished backs are best)
• Something to write with (sharpies or oil pencils work well)

This is a very simple sort of banishing designed to reflect negativity and unwanted energy back at the target so this is for use only on troublesome spirits and unwanted people in your life. You certainly don’t want your anxiety or procrastination reflecting back on yourself!

The first step is to take the mirror, and on the backside write the target’s name and underneath it write:

“You’ve sent me strife and caused me pain, I now reflect it back again.”

You can also add a banishing sigil if you like. Keep the mirror with you until the offending being has been removed from your life.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a banishing spell has actually worked and the negative energy/entity is gone?

In some cases, it will be quite easy to tell if your banishing spell has worked. For example, if a nasty spirit has shown up and started bothering you, your banishment spell should result in you feeling the absence of that spirit or entity. You should notice no more strange haunting occurrences, any feelings of heaviness or uneasiness should dissipate very quickly.

In other cases, you may not be able to tell if the banishing spell has worked. It’s not always an easy thing to simply feel, successful banishings can feel like nothing at all depending on what you’re banishing and how energetically sensitive you are. My recommendation is to use divination when you’re uncertain about the results of a spell. This is why I always recommend that people use two forms of divination, one form that’s a little bit more nuanced like tarot, and one that you can get an easy yes-no answer out of, like a pendulum.

If you’re uncertain if your banishing spell has worked, you can turn to something like a pendulum and get a clear, quick yes-no answer about whether or not the spell has actually done what it’s supposed to do and if you should repeat the spell or try a more powerful spell. Pendulums are very easy to learn to use and I highly recommend adding one to your practice.

Can a banishing spell backfire or have unintended consequences?

It is very unlikely that something like a banishing spell will backfire or have catastrophic consequences. The worst thing that is likely to happen when you’re casting a banishing spell is that the banishing spell simply does not work and doesn’t get rid of whatever it is that you need it to get rid of.

In some instances, if the banishing spell is not effective, it could cause whatever entity or energy that you were trying to banish to become more aggressive. But in that case, you should simply get much more firm about your banishing. Again, this is why we use divination. You want to know as soon as possible whether or not your banishing spell has worked. That way, you can cast another one immediately if necessary.

The only instances in which I could think that the banishing spell itself could have negative consequences would be if you’re trying to banish something that you really should not banish from your life. For example, trying to banish your emotions, trying to banish a bad habit that is currently the coping mechanism for a big emotional problem, or trying to banish someone rather pivotal in your life, like trying to banish your boss, which could result in you simply losing your job.

You want to make sure that you are never banishing something that is actually capable of massively disrupting your life if it were to suddenly vanish in the wrong way. In the instance of trying to banish your boss, you would be much better off casting a domination spell to control a troublesome boss and make your work life more tolerable than simply banishing the boss and risking losing your job.

But in general, if you’re not banishing something that you actually need in your life to function, you don’t have much to worry about other than just making sure that your banishing spell has worked effectively.

How long does a typical banishing spell take to work?

A successful banishing spell should work immediately if you are banishing negative energy or an unwanted spirit. Your banishing spell should not take a significant amount of time to take effect.

If you’re banishing something that is rooted in the physical world, it might take a little bit longer to see results. For example, if you’re banishing a person from your life, it might take a week or sometimes even a few weeks to see real movement on removing them from your life. This is not always the case. Sometimes banishing something physically rooted in the material plane can happen very quickly, but in general, if it’s here in physical reality, it will be a little bit slower. If you’re banishing something like a negative energy or a spirit or a magical attack, then that should be pretty much instantaneous.

Can I perform banishing spells to help others, or should they only be done for myself?

You can absolutely perform a banishing spell to help another person, especially if that other person clearly has asked for assistance in ridding themselves of this problem and you can see that the banishing spell itself is not going to create additional problems in their lives. I would not recommend banishing anything from a person’s life that you do not know with complete certainty that they want to be rid of. For example, do not banish your best friend’s boyfriend because you don’t like him. Unless you are clearly trying to mitigate harm by banishing an abuser, you do not want to override someone else’s wishes for their life.

As a best practice, it’s generally a good idea to ensure that you have permission from the other party before casting any spells on them and their lives. This is not always possible, but especially for beginners, it’s a much better idea to err on the side of caution than to start throwing spells around willy-nilly at the people that you love and end up straining your relationships or messing up people’s lives.

Do I need to cleanse my space before and after doing a banishing spell?

Cleansing your space before a banishing spell isn’t particularly necessary, since the banishing is going to give your space a heavy-duty cleansing anyway, and the point of your spellcasting in this case is to get rid of unwanted energies. So you do not need to take the time to cleanse before sitting down to do your banishing spell, but it might be a good idea to increase your frequency of cleansing after your banishing spell. I would particularly recommend doing personal cleansing over space cleansing, since the real goal here is to ensure that there is nothing stuck to you and your energy.

What do I do with the remains of the spell when I’m finished?

I would recommend throwing away any remains from your spell in a trash bin outside your home as soon as possible after finishing your spell successfully. If your spell has not been successful, you don’t have to rush out and throw things in the bin. Make sure you get the spell done successfully first. But then when you’re done, get it out of your house, get it away from your space, and throw it outside in the trash, preferably off your property if possible.

Please do not bury a banishing spell on your property. Do not throw it in running water, that’s just littering. And do not keep it in your house. This is not a spell that you will need to reverse at any point, so it’s best to just get it out of your energy field quickly.

Is there a preferred time to cast a banishing spell?

The best time to cast a banishing spell is when you need it. Please do not worry that you are not timing your banishing spell perfectly with the moon phase or the right day of the week or the right hour of the day. If you need the banishing spell, cast it.

If you are banishing something that is likely to be a bit stickier, let’s say your next-door neighbor is making your life absolute hell and you really need to get rid of them. This is not likely to be something that is going to work quickly. Remember, physical banishings are slower than non-physical banishings.

In this case, you can wait and try to time your banishing spell for the greatest effect. For something like this, I would suggest performing your banishing spell on a new moon or a waning moon, or if you prefer working with planetary energies, you can try to align your spell with the energy of Saturn, which would be on a Saturday or during an hour of Saturn.

But again, in the vast majority of cases, if you need a banishing spell, you probably need it pretty quick, and I would much rather you cast the banishing spell without worrying about doing it at the exact perfect time and just keep yourself safe and protected. That is what banishing spells are for, after all!

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Updated on December 3, 2024 by Avery Hart