I donât know who needs to hear this but
Do NOT cast spells for positive effects that involve:
Burning a picture of yourself*
Burning a piece of paper that anywhere contains your name*
Burning a piece of hair or other taglock*
*Unless you really know what youâre doing
I donât know how sigil culture got people to think that burning anything = sending it off for spirits, but NO. Across pretty much every magical practice, burning involving a person = destruction. Burning as a means of generically sending things off is mainly used for offerings.
On a similar vein, do not cast spells for positive effects that involve taking a human figure and ripping up, burning, submerging in soil or water, or doing anything else to that figure that would maim or kill a real human. (unless you really know what youâre doing)
Remember the Law of Similarity. Destruction of an image = destruction of the thing itself.
Edit: Iâve seen a lot of comments of âfire isnât just destructive!â and âburning can have other effects!â and yes, I completely agree. Hell, I can hardly do magic without a lit candle in the room. Iâm talking specifically about harming images or pieces of yourself/your clients who you want to produce positive effects for.
I also made the caveat that if you know what youâre doing then there isnât an issue. imo, âreal magicâ is any magic that works. If you have a technique that works for you and doesnât cause unwanted side effects, great! My intention behind this post was to speak to those who are trying spells from online, modern spellbooks, their friends, etc. My goal is to encourage a critical eye, especially when techniques that have historically been used one way are being applied in another very different one.Â
Regardless, Iâm glad this post is generating a lot of good conversation.





















