How to Put a Curse on Someone: Real Ritual Methods

How to Curse Someone — Step by Step

If you want to know how to curse someone, you're tapping into one of humanity's oldest practices. Every culture on Earth — from ancient Sumeria to modern Hong Kong — has developed methods to put a curse on someone who caused harm. For centuries, people seeking justice have learned how to curse people who wronged them — and the tradition is alive today. The good news: you don't need to travel to a temple or wait for a specific lunar phase. This guide gives you the complete framework. For the broader landscape of dark traditions, see our complete guide to black magic.

Key Takeaways:

• Every curse ritual across 4,500 years follows the same four steps: identify your enemy, channel intent, perform the symbolic act, and seal the curse — the specific tools change, the structure does not
• Six enemy archetypes from the Chinese Da Siu Yan tradition give your curse precision and focus — a backstabber requires a different ritual than a toxic boss
• Experience the complete curse ritual yourself — free, 60 seconds, based on a real 300-year-old Chinese tradition. What if it works?

Based on cross-cultural analysis of curse traditions spanning 4,500 years, virtually every curse ritual follows four steps. Here's how to curse a person using the universal curse framework:

Step 1: Identify Your Enemy

Every curse begins with a target. Traditional methods for identifying your enemy include:

• Naming: Speaking the target's true name aloud — this is considered the most direct method in virtually every tradition
• Effigy: Creating a physical representation — a paper figure, doll, or photograph
• Personal item: Using something connected to the target (handwriting, clothing, hair)
• Picture: Learning how to curse someone with a picture is one of the most common methods — place their photo on the effigy or visual representation. This creates a direct visual link between the symbol and the target

In the Chinese Da Siu Yan tradition, you first classify your enemy into one of six categories of petty persons: the backstabber (是非小人), the toxic boss (職場小人), the ex (感情小人), the energy vampire (財運小人), the bully (官非小人), or a custom target. This classification shapes the entire ritual — the words spoken, the type of curse, and the expected outcome.

For those wondering how to curse someone who hurt you specifically, the classification step is crucial. A backstabber requires different ritual focus than a toxic boss. The words of power change, the intensity of the symbolic act changes, and the expected outcome changes. This precision is what separates effective curse rituals from unfocused anger.

Step 2: Channel Your Intent

Focus is essential. Traditional practitioners across all cultures emphasize four principles:

• Clearly visualizing the target — see their face, hear their voice, recall what they did
• Feeling the anger or injustice genuinely — suppressed emotion weakens the curse
• Directing that energy into the ritual objects — the effigy, the flame, the paper
• Speaking your intent aloud — silence weakens the curse in almost every tradition

This step is what separates a ritual from mere anger. The structure channels raw emotion into focused intent. Whether you want to know how to curse a person with words, with objects, or with action — intent is the engine that drives every method.

Traditional practitioners spend anywhere from a few minutes to several hours in this preparatory phase. The Chinese tradition recommends clearing your mind of all other concerns before beginning. European traditions suggest holding the ritual object and focusing until it "feels warm" — a psychosomatic signal that intent has been successfully channeled.

Step 3: Perform the Symbolic Act

This is the core of every curse ritual — the moment thought becomes action:

• In Da Siu Yan, you strike a paper figure with a shoe — each strike lands with a spark, degrading the figure with every hit. The full traditional ceremony involves eight steps including deity invocation, fire purification, and divination confirmation
• In European traditions, you burn or bind a poppet — the cloth doll represents the target
• In Voodoo, you pin a doll or make an offering to Baron Samedi — the loa of death and resurrection
• In ancient Egypt, you smash a clay inscribed tablet bearing the enemy's name — state-sponsored magical warfare
• In hoodoo, you burn candles while speaking the target's name — specific candle colors for specific outcomes

The physical act serves as a release — a way to externalize internal anger into something tangible and complete. People who want to know how to curse someone without them knowing often focus on this step performed in private, away from the target's awareness.

The duration of this step varies by tradition. Da Siu Yan typically involves 30 seconds to several minutes of striking. European candle-burning rituals may last hours. The key is sustained focus — the act must remain intentional throughout, not mechanical.

Step 4: Seal the Curse

The final step closes the ritual and prevents the curse from backfiring:

• Burning the effigy or ritual objects — the most common sealing method across traditions
• Speaking a closing prayer or affirmation — formalizes the ritual's end
• Leaving the ritual space physically — creates a clean break between ritual and normal life
• Burying the remains in some traditions — returns the curse energy to the earth

Without proper sealing, traditional practitioners believe the curse may dissipate without effect or, worse, reflect back onto the caster. This concept of "curse backlash" appears in Chinese (karmic return), European (threefold law), and West African (spiritual debt) traditions.

What Happens After a Curse?

Different traditions offer different views on what follows a completed curse:

Immediate effects: Many practitioners report an instant sense of relief or lightness after completing a curse ritual. This aligns with the psychological catharsis model — the ritual provides closure and a sense of having taken action.

Gradual manifestation: Most traditions hold that curses take time to manifest. Learning how to put a curse on someone is only the beginning — Da Siu Yan practitioners sometimes return for repeated sessions to reinforce the curse. The repetition itself may strengthen the psychological benefit.

Karmic balance: Chinese tradition emphasizes that curse energy must go somewhere. If the target is truly guilty, the curse finds its mark. If unjustified, the energy returns to the caster — paralleled in the Western concept that "what goes around comes around."

Ready to try it? You can perform a complete Da Siu Yan curse ritual right now — free, 60 seconds, no account needed. Begin the curse ritual →

How to Put a Curse on Someone — Preparation, Timing, and Mindset

How to put a curse on someone? Before any ritual begins, three prerequisites must be in place: the right materials (effigy, candle, or symbol of the target), the right timing (waning moon, midnight, or a culturally significant date), and — most critically — the right mindset: focused anger channeled into ritual intent, never unfocused rage. Preparation is what separates an effective curse from an emotional outburst.

Knowing the four-step ritual structure is one thing. Knowing how to put a curse on someone correctly is another. Preparation determines outcome — and most people who fail at curse work don't fail because the ritual was wrong. They fail because they skipped the preparation. Here is what you need before you begin.

1. Gather Your Materials

Every curse tradition uses specific objects as focus points for intent. The materials are not decoration — they are the physical channel through which your will moves. What you need depends on the tradition:

For Da Siu Yan (Chinese tradition):

• A paper effigy — representing the target. Write their name or enemy type on it
• A worn shoe — the instrument of striking. An old shoe carries the energy of the ground, of being walked on, of degradation
• Incense and candles — to establish sacred space and invoke the deities
• A fireproof container — for burning the effigy at the sealing stage
• Optional but traditional: a 百解符 talisman, raw pork (for the White Tiger offering), rice or five-color beans, gold and silver paper money

For European candle magic:

• A black candle — the color of banishing, absorption, and dark intent in Western tradition
• A photograph or handwriting sample of the target — creates the sympathetic link
• Sea salt — for the protective circle around your work space
• A nail or pin — for inscribing the candle with the target's name

For poppet/doll magic:

• Cloth, wax, or clay — to form the effigy
• A personal item from the target — hair, clothing fiber, or handwriting (strongest sympathetic link)
• Red thread — for binding the poppet
• Pins or needles — for directing intent to specific areas (if you wish harm to their speech, pin the mouth; if you wish them to stop acting, pin the hands)

2. Choose Your Timing

Timing matters across traditions — not because the clock controls magic, but because ritual timing aligns your intent with natural or cosmic forces. When learning how to put a curse on someone, consider:

• Waning moon — the period between the full moon and the new moon, when the moon's light is diminishing. This is the traditional time for banishing, binding, and curse work across European, Middle Eastern, and some Asian traditions. What diminishes in the sky mirrors what you wish to diminish in the target.
• Midnight to 3 AM — the "witching hour" in European tradition, when the veil between worlds is believed to be thinnest. Also practical: you will not be interrupted.
• Saturday — in hoodoo and some European traditions, Saturday is ruled by Saturn, the planet of endings, karma, and judgment. Curses cast on Saturday are believed to carry the weight of cosmic justice.
• Jingzhe (驚蟄) — the Chinese solar term around March 5-6. This is when Da Siu Yan is traditionally most potent, as the "awakening of insects" symbolizes the stirring of negative forces.

If you cannot wait for an ideal date, the waning moon is the most accessible timing mechanism. If the moon is waxing, perform the ritual at midnight anyway — focused intent in non-ideal timing outperforms half-hearted intent at the "right" time.

3. Prepare Your Mindset

This is the step most people skip — and the reason most people fail. How to put a curse on someone is not just about materials and steps. It's about entering the right psychological state.

• Be specific about what was done to you. Before the ritual, write down exactly what the target did, when they did it, and how it affected you. This is not journaling — it's clarifying your grievance so your intent is precise. Generalized anger creates generalized (weak) curses.
• Feel the emotion — but don't drown in it. You need to access your anger to power the ritual, but uncontrolled rage scatters intent. The ideal state is cold fury — hot enough to drive the symbolic act, cold enough to maintain focus throughout.
• Clear your space mentally. For at least 10 minutes before beginning, sit in silence. No phone. No distractions. Visualize the ritual steps you are about to perform. The clearer the mental rehearsal, the smoother the execution.
• Accept the possibility of backfire. Every tradition warns that unjustified curses can return to the caster. If you have doubts about whether the target deserves this, resolve them before you begin. A curse cast with guilt weakens itself.

4. Prepare Your Physical Space

• Privacy — you will not be interrupted. Lock the door. Turn off your phone. This is non-negotiable.
• Cleanse the space — burn sage, palo santo, or sandalwood incense. Wipe down surfaces. The space should feel different from ordinary life — this reinforces the psychological separation between ritual and routine.
• Arrange your materials — everything within reach. Fumbling for a missing item mid-ritual breaks focus.
• Salt the perimeter — a circle of salt around your work area, or at minimum a line across the threshold of the room. Salt absorbs and contains. It keeps the curse energy inside the work area until you are ready to release it.

5. Common Mistakes When Learning How to Put a Curse on Someone

Mistake	Why It Weakens the Curse	How to Avoid
Skipping the preparation	Unfocused intent produces weak results	Spend at least 15 minutes in silent preparation before beginning
Performing the ritual while drunk or high	Altered states scatter intent rather than focus it	Perform sober; use breathwork or chanting to shift consciousness instead
Feeling guilt during the ritual	Guilt is the opposite of conviction — it undoes the curse as you cast it	Resolve your justification before you begin; if you cannot, do not cast
Rushing through the steps	Ritual derives power from attention, not speed	Allocate at least 30-45 minutes for the full ritual; do not check the clock
Telling others about the curse	In many traditions, speaking about a curse dissipates its energy	Keep the ritual secret for at least one full lunar cycle (28 days)
Cursing without protection	Leaves you vulnerable to return energy or backlash	Always include a protective element — salt circle, amulet worn during the ritual, or a closing purification

From Preparation to Action

Once your materials are gathered, your timing is set, your space is prepared, and your mindset is locked — you are ready to perform the ritual itself. The four steps of the curse ritual are detailed in the sections above: identify your enemy, channel your intent, perform the symbolic act, and seal the curse. The preparation work you've done here is what determines whether those four steps produce an effective curse or an empty gesture.

If you want a guided experience where the preparation is handled for you — the ritual space, the effigy, the symbolic act, and the sealing — try the online Da Siu Yan ceremony. Free, 60 seconds, based on 300 years of tradition. All you need to bring is the intent.

Cast a curse now →

How to Curse Someone Without Them Knowing

How to curse someone without them knowing? Most traditions hold that secrecy strengthens a curse — if the target doesn't know they've been cursed, they cannot mount a psychological or spiritual defense. Perform the ritual alone, tell no one, and avoid any contact with the target for at least one lunar cycle after sealing.

Secrecy is both practical and metaphysical in curse work. Practically, if the target discovers they've been cursed, they may take real-world action against you. Metaphysically, most traditions hold that a target's awareness creates resistance — a kind of spiritual immune response that weakens the curse.

The rules of secrecy:

• Tell no one. Not your closest friend. Not your partner. No one. In hoodoo, some practitioners believe that speaking of a spell uncasts it.
• Avoid the target. Do not contact them after the ritual. Do not check their social media. Every time you interact with them, you re-establish the psychological connection the curse was designed to sever.
• Let it go. After sealing, deliberately turn your attention elsewhere. Obsessing over whether the curse "worked" is counterproductive — it keeps your energy entangled with the target. The seal is the end. Walk away.

For the same reason, this article itself serves as the curse's blueprint — reading about how to put a curse on someone is the first step. Performing it is the second. After that, the matter is in the hands of forces beyond conscious control.

What Is a Curse?

A curse is a spoken or ritualistic invocation of harm, misfortune, or supernatural punishment directed at a target through symbolic action — spoken words, an effigy, or an inscribed object. The earliest known curses are Sumerian clay tablets from roughly 2500 BCE, calling upon gods to afflict enemies with disease and ruin.

Curses appear in the earliest written records — Sumerian clay tablets from 2500 BCE contain inscriptions calling upon gods to afflict enemies with disease and ruin.

Every curse tradition shares common structural elements:

Element	Purpose	Examples
Target identification	Focuses the curse on a specific person	Name, effigy, photograph, personal item
Symbolic act	Channels intent into physical action	Burning, striking, binding, burying
Words of power	Invokes supernatural authority	Prayers, incantations, spoken names
Sealing	Completes and "locks" the curse	Closing prayer, physical seal, gesture

These four elements appear in curse rituals from ancient Mesopotamia to modern folk practices. The specific forms change — a Sumerian priest used clay tablets while a Hong Kong grandmother uses a paper figure — but the structure remains remarkably consistent across 4,500 years.

Types of Curses

Not all curses serve the same purpose. Understanding the different types helps you choose the right approach when learning how to curse someone:

• Binding curses — Prevent the target from acting (silencing gossip, stopping rivals). The symbolic act involves tying or binding an object.
• Destructive curses — Call for explicit harm: illness, misfortune, financial ruin. Egyptian execration rituals, revenge spells, and many forms of voodoo cursing fall into this category.
• Reflective curses (mirror spells) — Send negative energy back to its source. If someone cursed you first, a mirror spell reflects it back.
• Banishing curses — Drive a person's influence away. The Chinese Da Siu Yan tradition has elements of both banishing and destructive cursing.
• Love curses — Force attraction or prevent leaving. Technically a form of cursing since they violate free will. Among the most common types found in archaeological records.

For a deeper exploration of curse types, see our guide to hex spells and curses — the difference between hexes, curses, and jinxes explained.

Curse Traditions Around the World

Chinese: Da Siu Yan (打小人)

The Chinese tradition of Da Siu Yan — "beating the petty person" — is one of the world's most accessible curse rituals. Dating back at least 300 years, the full ceremony follows eight traditional steps (八部曲) from deity invocation to divination confirmation. The most visible step involves striking a paper effigy with a shoe to symbolically beat away those who cause harm.

Da Siu Yan is particularly associated with the Jingzhe solar term (around March 5-6), when insects awaken and evil spirits become active. The most famous location is under Goose Neck Bridge in Hong Kong, where practitioners set up stalls. The history of villain hitting spans centuries of Chinese folk practice.

The ritual has six standard enemy types: the backstabber (是非小人), the toxic boss (職場小人), the romantic enemy (感情小人), the financial enemy (財運小人), the legal enemy (官非小人), and the custom target.

Mediterranean: The Evil Eye

The evil eye (malocchio, mati, ayin hara) is the most widespread curse belief in the world. Found across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia, it holds that a malevolent gaze can cause harm, illness, or misfortune. Protection against the evil eye — rather than casting it — is the primary ritual practice.

West African and Caribbean: Voodoo and Hoodoo

Voodoo includes complex systems of blessing and cursing. The "voodoo doll" is a simplified representation of a sophisticated magical system involving spirits (loa), offerings, and ceremony. In hoodoo (African-American folk magic), curse work uses roots, herbs, candles, and personal concerns to direct negative energy at a target.

European: Witchcraft and Hexes

European folk magic includes extensive cursing practices — hex signs in Pennsylvania Dutch country, poppet traditions of England, and binding spells across Northern Europe.

Middle Eastern: Jinn and Curses

Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabic traditions feature jinn as agents of cursing. While orthodox Islam prohibits curse magic, folk practices across the Middle East include elaborate rituals involving jinn invocation, written amulets, and burned incense. The concept of "sihr" (magic/sorcery) appears in the Quran and remains influential in popular culture.

Indigenous Americas

Native American traditions include various curse and counter-curse practices. Navajo skinwalkers (yee naaldlooshii) represent perhaps the most well-known example — practitioners who use dark magic to cause harm. In Mesoamerican traditions, the Aztecs and Maya both practiced elaborate curse rituals involving blood sacrifice and deity invocation.

Cursing in the Modern World

Cursing hasn't disappeared with modernization — it has adapted. The fundamental human needs that drive curse rituals (processing anger, seeking justice, restoring control) are as relevant today as they were 4,000 years ago.

Why People Still Curse

1. Justice gap: When formal systems fail to address wrongs, people turn to ritual
2. Emotional regulation: Structured anger release is psychologically healthier than suppression
3. Cultural identity: For diaspora communities, maintaining curse traditions preserves cultural connection
4. Community: Shared ritual practices create social bonds
5. Agency: Performing a ritual restores a sense of personal power

Cursing Goes Digital

The internet has spawned new forms of curse practice. Online platforms like BeatPetty provide interactive curse ceremonies. Social media cursing involves posting curse wishes publicly. Virtual spell-casting communities share techniques and support. The digital format removes geographical barriers — someone in New York can now perform a Da Siu Yan ritual that was previously only accessible at Goose Neck Bridge in Hong Kong.

A Brief History of Cursing

The archaeological record reveals that cursing is as old as written language:

• 2500 BCE — Sumerian execration texts: Clay tablets inscribed with enemies' names, smashed and buried
• 1500 BCE — Egyptian execration figurines: Pottery vessels ritually broken in state-sponsored magical warfare
• 500 BCE — Greek curse tablets (katadesmoi): Lead sheets with curse formulas deposited in wells and tombs. Over 1,600 found
• 200 CE — Roman defixiones: Professional curse-writers operated openly in marketplaces
• 700 CE — Celtic and Norse rune curses: Specific rune combinations believed to blight crops and cause illness
• 1600s — European witch trials criminalize curse practices. Court records preserve detailed descriptions
• 1700s — Da Siu Yan emerges in Guangdong province during the early Qing Dynasty, later spreading to Hong Kong
• 2024 — BeatPetty launches the first interactive digital Da Siu Yan ritual

What's remarkable is how little the fundamental structure has changed in 4,500 years: name the target, perform the act, seal the curse.

What You Need to Curse Someone

Tool	Symbolic Meaning	Used In
Paper effigy	The target's body/spirit	Da Siu Yan
Shoe	Grounding, humiliation, force	Da Siu Yan
Candles	Fire, transformation	European, hoodoo
Needles/pins	Directing pain, fixing intent	Voodoo, European
Clay/stone	Permanence, earth element	Egyptian, Sumerian
Herbs/roots	Natural power, specific properties	Hoodoo, European
Incense	Carrying prayers to spirits	Chinese, Hindu
Mirror	Reflection, truth-revealing	Greek, European
String/thread	Binding, connection	Multiple traditions

The choice of materials is rarely arbitrary. In hoodoo, specific herbs serve specific purposes — graveyard dirt for banishing, red pepper for heating up a situation. In Da Siu Yan, the paper figure must be drawn in a specific way with the target's name or type written upon it.

The Psychology Behind Curse Rituals

Anthropologists and psychologists have studied why people curse across cultures:

Catharsis Theory: Curse rituals provide a structured outlet for anger. The physical act — striking, burning, destroying — releases tension in a way that mere thought cannot. This may explain why how to curse people remains a searched topic worldwide — the ritual itself provides relief.

Perceived Control: When someone wrongs you, you feel powerless. Curse rituals restore agency — the belief that you can do something. Research shows perceived control is one of the strongest predictors of mental health after adverse events.

Social Bonding: The Hong Kong Da Siu Yan practice brings people together around common grievances, creating shared experiences and alliance.

Placebo and Nocebo Effects: If a target believes they've been cursed, they may experience real symptoms (anxiety, insomnia). This nocebo effect is well-documented in medical literature.

The Neuroscience of Ritual

Brain imaging studies show that ritualistic behavior activates the prefrontal cortex — the region associated with impulse control and emotional regulation. The repetitive, structured nature of rituals triggers "flow state" — deep focused engagement associated with improved mood and reduced stress.

How to Protect Yourself from Curses

If you're learning how to curse someone, you should also understand curse protection. Most traditions include defensive practices:

Salt and iron: Universal protective elements across European, Middle Eastern, and East Asian traditions. Sprinkle salt at doorways or wear iron jewelry.

Reflective surfaces: Mirrors and polished metal reflect curses back. The "evil eye" amulet originated from this principle.

Prayer and chanting: Catholic "Prayer to St. Michael," Islamic "Ayat al-Kursi," and Buddhist "Om Mani Padme Hum" all serve protective functions.

Cleansing rituals: Smoke cleansing (sage, palo santo, sandalwood) and water rituals remove perceived curse energy. If someone has already placed a curse on you, follow the complete how to remove a curse guide — cord-cutting, mirror reversal, and the universal four-step removal method.

Signs You May Be Cursed (According to Tradition)

Traditional practitioners identify several indicators — though these are also common symptoms of stress and anxiety:

• A sudden string of unexplained misfortunes
• Persistent bad luck in a specific area (finances, relationships, health)
• Vivid, recurring nightmares
• A feeling of heaviness or oppression

Always consult a medical professional before attributing symptoms to supernatural causes. For a complete guide on curse removal, see how to get rid of bad luck.

Ethical Considerations

• Curses are for justice, not malice. The Da Siu Yan tradition specifically targets petty persons — those who have wronged you. Cursing innocent people is believed to invite karmic backlash.
• Self-protection is a right. Most traditions view defensive cursing as morally acceptable.
• Ritual is not violence. Curse rituals involve symbolic objects, not real people.

The key distinction across cultures is intent. Cursing someone who has genuinely wronged you is seen differently from cursing out of jealousy or spite.

Quick Reference: Curse Methods Comparison

Tradition	Origin	Method	Materials	Best For
Da Siu Yan	China	Strike paper effigy with shoe	Paper figure, shoe, incense	Petty enemies, workplace conflicts
Evil Eye	Mediterranean	Malevolent gaze	None required	Unintentional harm, envy
Voodoo	West Africa/Caribbean	Pin doll, offer to spirits	Doll, pins, candles, rum	Complex situations, spiritual warfare
Poppet	Europe	Bind, burn, or bury effigy	Cloth doll, herbs, thread	Specific targets, protection
Execration	Ancient Egypt	Smash inscribed clay	Clay tablets, ink	Grave threats
Digital	BeatPetty	Interactive online ceremony	Phone or computer screen	Quick catharsis, accessible anywhere

Further Reading

• What is Black Magic — The complete guide to black magic traditions worldwide
• Hex Spells and Curses — How to hex someone: the difference between hexes, curses, and jinxes
• How to Get Rid of Bad Luck — Protective rituals and luck cleansing
• What is Da Siu Yan — The original Chinese curse tradition explained
• Voodoo Magic and Curses — Understanding voodoo curse practices
• History of Villain Hitting — From Goose Neck Bridge to your screen