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Hex Twisting: Countermagick Spells for the Irritated Witch
Break Spells, Hexes, Curses, and Any Harmful Magick Thrown at You Even if you're the most mild-mannered practitioner who sticks to personal development magick, you can still end up getting energetically attacked. Hex Twisting is the key to countering any curse or hex cast your way. Providing a variety of techniques to defend yourself, this indispensable guide helps you drive hurtful magick out of your home, trap malevolent spirits, and more. Diana Rajchel has spent years handling psychic attacks, ancestral injuries, and work-for-hire hauntings. She carefully studied how each one worked, and now she passes that knowledge to you through this book's powerful collection of exercises, tips, and tools. Discover how to diagnose, recover from, and prevent jinxes, hexes, crosses, and curses. Explore countermeasure recipes, reversal spells, and cleansing rituals. Whatever is after you, this book can help you stop it.
288 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2021
87 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Diana Rajchel
39 books75 followersDiana Rajchel is the author of Urban Magick, a Guide for the City Witch, Hex Twisting: Counter Magick Spells for the Irritated Witch, and a few other books some magical folk might know.
She specializes in writing about witchcraft from a practical perspective and innovates on spells and folk practices, sometimes including explosives in her formulas.
She has 25 years of experience as a spirit worker, and her views on the paranormal often annoy ghost-hunters. ("The orbs are over there. No, THERE! ..that's not haunted, it's just a 7-11." etc.)
Diana is an avid reader, gardener, herbalist, and ghost-scolder. She also enjoys writing poetry designed to disturb most people at an open-mic event and spending time with her life partner and kids. A dog named Nora also believes that Diana is her very own pet DragonCat.
She specializes in writing about witchcraft from a practical perspective and innovates on spells and folk practices, sometimes including explosives in her formulas.
She has 25 years of experience as a spirit worker, and her views on the paranormal often annoy ghost-hunters. ("The orbs are over there. No, THERE! ..that's not haunted, it's just a 7-11." etc.)
Diana is an avid reader, gardener, herbalist, and ghost-scolder. She also enjoys writing poetry designed to disturb most people at an open-mic event and spending time with her life partner and kids. A dog named Nora also believes that Diana is her very own pet DragonCat.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 20, 2022
"Even the non-sensitive can sometimes recognize a home under cursing/psychic attack. Rooms feel like a violent argument has lingered, even if no one in the house quarreled that day."
I have to start this review by making clear how I'm approaching its subject - I do not believe in the paranormal, I do not believe in magic/magick. I do not believe one person can curse another person, so I basically do not believe in actual magical witches (I offer up that definition because I do believe in people who call themselves witches that provide healing of a sort, be it physical or mental, just not magical or mystical).
That said, I did not read this book to make fun of it, its author or the people who read it. I'm also not here to not take it seriously, or to disprove or prove something.
"To get the person out of your life for good, throw it in running water. To stop actions for the short term, place the doll in a freezer. For a more watchful process, give the poppet a little bed or coffin and check in on it after the person represented calms down."
When I was a child, around my 11th or 12th, I would borrow every book I could find in the adult paranormal section from my local library (my mother keeping a nervous eye). The idea of the paranormal has always fascinated me, and as a child I sort of wanted to believe parts of what I read were true. It is part of a child's mind to hope the fantastical is real. In a way, I have always tried to keep that part of my mind alive (through trying to become a writer myself), so I do believe in the immense power of the imagination, of the human will for things to exist. It's a bit corny, but I believe in the power of stories and storytelling. Again, I'm not saying what is described in books like these are imagined - I'm hopefully smart enough to know that I know almost nothing, and I find it much more appealing to entertain the idea that it's all real, and it's all effective.
So I read the book in a kind of Schrodinger's witch state, and actually, the book lends itself very well for that. Mainly because it is really well written. It's frequently funny, with a nice, dry wit. When the rubber hits the road, and we get down to the nitty gritty of the actual spells and their ingredients, I found myself fascinated by the spells' pecularities, although a lot of options are offered to replace items you don't have to hand - very helpful, but maybe it also lessens the inherent power of the spell in question ("And if you don’t like the idea of peeing in a bottle, you always have the option to use liquid ammonia or apple cider vinegar.")
"You may sometimes feel the sensation of invisible teeth sinking into you."
An important part of writing is worldbuilding, and this book has it in spades. A whole new world (to me, at least) of curses and wards, of hexes and jinxes opened to me. A world of spirits that can be summoned and sent to attack another person. It's fascinating and frightening at the same time.
I can't tell you whether this is a book works as an actual guide to breaking spells and warding off curses. I have no idea. I can only grade it on whether it is written well, whether it's inviting to an agnostic like myself, and whether it works as a piece of storytelling.
Yes. Yes, to all those questions.
(Thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd for providing me with a review copy through NetGalley)
I have to start this review by making clear how I'm approaching its subject - I do not believe in the paranormal, I do not believe in magic/magick. I do not believe one person can curse another person, so I basically do not believe in actual magical witches (I offer up that definition because I do believe in people who call themselves witches that provide healing of a sort, be it physical or mental, just not magical or mystical).
That said, I did not read this book to make fun of it, its author or the people who read it. I'm also not here to not take it seriously, or to disprove or prove something.
"To get the person out of your life for good, throw it in running water. To stop actions for the short term, place the doll in a freezer. For a more watchful process, give the poppet a little bed or coffin and check in on it after the person represented calms down."
When I was a child, around my 11th or 12th, I would borrow every book I could find in the adult paranormal section from my local library (my mother keeping a nervous eye). The idea of the paranormal has always fascinated me, and as a child I sort of wanted to believe parts of what I read were true. It is part of a child's mind to hope the fantastical is real. In a way, I have always tried to keep that part of my mind alive (through trying to become a writer myself), so I do believe in the immense power of the imagination, of the human will for things to exist. It's a bit corny, but I believe in the power of stories and storytelling. Again, I'm not saying what is described in books like these are imagined - I'm hopefully smart enough to know that I know almost nothing, and I find it much more appealing to entertain the idea that it's all real, and it's all effective.
So I read the book in a kind of Schrodinger's witch state, and actually, the book lends itself very well for that. Mainly because it is really well written. It's frequently funny, with a nice, dry wit. When the rubber hits the road, and we get down to the nitty gritty of the actual spells and their ingredients, I found myself fascinated by the spells' pecularities, although a lot of options are offered to replace items you don't have to hand - very helpful, but maybe it also lessens the inherent power of the spell in question ("And if you don’t like the idea of peeing in a bottle, you always have the option to use liquid ammonia or apple cider vinegar.")
"You may sometimes feel the sensation of invisible teeth sinking into you."
An important part of writing is worldbuilding, and this book has it in spades. A whole new world (to me, at least) of curses and wards, of hexes and jinxes opened to me. A world of spirits that can be summoned and sent to attack another person. It's fascinating and frightening at the same time.
I can't tell you whether this is a book works as an actual guide to breaking spells and warding off curses. I have no idea. I can only grade it on whether it is written well, whether it's inviting to an agnostic like myself, and whether it works as a piece of storytelling.
Yes. Yes, to all those questions.
(Thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd for providing me with a review copy through NetGalley)
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November 30, 2021I wrote it. Therefore, I can't really have an opinion on it beyond "wow, that was a lot!"
August 8, 2022
This is a wonderful resource. Would recommend.
With the caveat that sometimes the author speaks in absolutes and I disagree. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. And while this depends on spirit and circumstance, I think it can also depend on the practitioner and their relationship with the tools they are using. This is something not addressed by the author.
With the caveat that sometimes the author speaks in absolutes and I disagree. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. And while this depends on spirit and circumstance, I think it can also depend on the practitioner and their relationship with the tools they are using. This is something not addressed by the author.
September 2, 2024
This feels like a beginner guide to hexing and dealing with hexing, but for those who already are practitioners
October 14, 2021
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Hex Twisting is a great book if you want to a complete guide to dealing with various forms of magical attack. The book covers a lot of interesting angles not covered in many other books. It was a great read with very practical workings. I would have liked to know beforehand that the book mainly draws from a Hoodoo framework. There isn't anything wrong with that, but the title and description didn't make it 100% clear. The author made a point throughout to indicate cultural practices with sensitivity throughout so it was just strange that the Hoodoo didn't get much of a mention in the books description. Good book overall.
Hex Twisting is a great book if you want to a complete guide to dealing with various forms of magical attack. The book covers a lot of interesting angles not covered in many other books. It was a great read with very practical workings. I would have liked to know beforehand that the book mainly draws from a Hoodoo framework. There isn't anything wrong with that, but the title and description didn't make it 100% clear. The author made a point throughout to indicate cultural practices with sensitivity throughout so it was just strange that the Hoodoo didn't get much of a mention in the books description. Good book overall.
November 6, 2021
While I personally am not interested in throwing hexes at others, that doesn't mean someone doesn't wish me ill. This book has a variety of protection and cleansing ideas when you believe yourself to be in just one of these situations. They range from something as simple as sweeping to more complex things such as blessing articles of clothing, bath salts, and even the best ways to ward. If you're an experienced practitioner much of this may already be familiar to you, but beginners or those who haven't looked into these types of practices may find this book particularly useful.
Thank you to Netgalley, Llewellyn, and the author for providing me an ARC of this book. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to Netgalley, Llewellyn, and the author for providing me an ARC of this book. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 20, 2021
I am an anthropologist and speculative fiction writer and found this book to be a wonderful resource for both of those interests. I highly recommend it for other authors wanting to breathe current practices and beliefs into magical realism fiction and mundane fantasy.
I am probably not the main audience for this book, but as someone who read extensive academic work on shamanism and its symbolism across the world, I was very intrigued to read about a western understanding, where the need came from, and the general point of view.
This is completely infused in modern times, very clearly written in a casual, anecdotal voice that makes it very easy to understand. The chapters are clear and you can quickly flick to the part that interests you, or find it again. I would have liked a little more explaining the principals behind each theory and about the author journey, like the anthropologist I am, but it remains a very interesting insight.
I am probably not the main audience for this book, but as someone who read extensive academic work on shamanism and its symbolism across the world, I was very intrigued to read about a western understanding, where the need came from, and the general point of view.
This is completely infused in modern times, very clearly written in a casual, anecdotal voice that makes it very easy to understand. The chapters are clear and you can quickly flick to the part that interests you, or find it again. I would have liked a little more explaining the principals behind each theory and about the author journey, like the anthropologist I am, but it remains a very interesting insight.
September 19, 2022
Author calls cultural appropriation 'permission con artistry'.
She matter of fact does note that smudging is closed practice but then goes on to promote the usage of white sage anyways.
Anti-cultural appropriation is being used to police, monitor and misinform others. We all have the same root ancestors, and thus, shouldn't be gatekeeping what magick we practice. Oppressing the oppressors doesn't solve it, and speaking out against cultural appropriation is just woke toxicity.
And to top it all off, the amount of closed practices being casually used and the bare minimum of acknowledgement has me like... big yikes
Disappointing read.
She matter of fact does note that smudging is closed practice but then goes on to promote the usage of white sage anyways.
Anti-cultural appropriation is being used to police, monitor and misinform others. We all have the same root ancestors, and thus, shouldn't be gatekeeping what magick we practice. Oppressing the oppressors doesn't solve it, and speaking out against cultural appropriation is just woke toxicity.
And to top it all off, the amount of closed practices being casually used and the bare minimum of acknowledgement has me like... big yikes
Disappointing read.
January 6, 2022
Excellent book!! I'm honestly so glad I read it and learned new ways to protect myself, my house and the people I love. It was actually better than I expected it would be.
The author explains everything in a way that anyone can understand - so yes, you can read it even if you're new at this. You don't need any special powers, you just need to believe in yourself and follow her instructions. Some people may think you're a little crazy, but who cares? You'll be doing a good thing. We all must protect our energies now more than ever.
While I was reading Hex Twisting, I mentioned some parts of it in conversations with my mother and sister. They were both very interested in it too. So, even if you don't consider youself a witch, I think you'll find some important information for yourself on these pages too. I totally recommend it.
* Thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide for providing a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
The author explains everything in a way that anyone can understand - so yes, you can read it even if you're new at this. You don't need any special powers, you just need to believe in yourself and follow her instructions. Some people may think you're a little crazy, but who cares? You'll be doing a good thing. We all must protect our energies now more than ever.
While I was reading Hex Twisting, I mentioned some parts of it in conversations with my mother and sister. They were both very interested in it too. So, even if you don't consider youself a witch, I think you'll find some important information for yourself on these pages too. I totally recommend it.
* Thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide for providing a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
November 24, 2021
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
As a witch, I've never personally looked into hexing (never was my cup of witchcraft). But when I saw this book, I was interested in learning more. This book is a must read if you even think you may have been cursed. How do you identify it’s a curse and not just random bad luck? How do you protect yourself? This book helps you with this and guides you in how to counter them. Be prepared by reading this book and being ready, because you never know when it could happen to you.
As a witch, I've never personally looked into hexing (never was my cup of witchcraft). But when I saw this book, I was interested in learning more. This book is a must read if you even think you may have been cursed. How do you identify it’s a curse and not just random bad luck? How do you protect yourself? This book helps you with this and guides you in how to counter them. Be prepared by reading this book and being ready, because you never know when it could happen to you.
August 24, 2021
While most of us work and live in the light, it doesn’t mean that others aren’t working and l living under the cloud of dark magic. This book is a must read if you even think you may have been cursed. How do you identify it’s a curse and not just random bad luck? How do you protect yourself? This book helps you with this and guides you in how to counter them. Be prepared by reading this book and being ready, because you never know when it could happen to you.
January 13, 2022
This guide will help you to rid your home of negative energy. It will help you learn to counter act or ward off dangerous or harmful spells directed toward you or your family. I had a really bad negative energy problem. It affected my life in everyway. Thanks to the author of this awesome guide I was able to remove it from my home. I definitely recommend this book.
April 18, 2022
Excellent Book on protection magic
This is a must have for any magical practitioner. It offers no nonsense advice - including stating that often you might not be cursed, sometimes that thudding from the other room and the scratches on your arm are from your cats.
Spells and rituals I haven’t seen before - I cannot rec this book enough. If you don’t have a copy, get one.
This is a must have for any magical practitioner. It offers no nonsense advice - including stating that often you might not be cursed, sometimes that thudding from the other room and the scratches on your arm are from your cats.
Spells and rituals I haven’t seen before - I cannot rec this book enough. If you don’t have a copy, get one.
June 19, 2022
A great read full of practical tips and tricks to handle all manner of curses and unpleasant encounters with spirits. The tone is friendly and the author is clearly experienced in a wide array of such things. An approachable book for a beginner, but with lots of tricks experienced people can add to their toolkits.
January 18, 2024
This is a comprehensive spell compendium for counteracting hexes and curses that someone may be directing toward you. The author also shares methods for diagnosing whether you are experiencing a curse as well as how to purify and cleanse yourself. It’s both practical self care and defense and the author does a thorough job of providing resources for anyone who may need them.
February 5, 2022
Wow, I just finished reading this book. It was very interesting and got me thinking. This book covers how to protect yourself with a daily practice and how to diagnose serval scenario that you might need to preform defence magic.
February 19, 2022
There was a lot of good information in this book that I will be utilizing. Some things are UPG, which is fine I just don't necessarily agree with it. I took a star off because there were several lines that were repeated and grammar mistakes. This either needs an editor or a better editor.
March 4, 2024
highly recommended, one of the best protection books ever written
recommended, one of the best protection books ever written, if you are under magical attack, or just looking for general protection, this book has it all and with a bang
recommended, one of the best protection books ever written, if you are under magical attack, or just looking for general protection, this book has it all and with a bang
November 14, 2024
This is an amazing grab when starting into more dark magic; it also talked about using it towards people who have harm: toxic/ abuse. Bring light to that not all magic is bad but all with in reason and not be just harm with out reason. All spells in book have reason. Great starter
September 30, 2021
Good book, things to consider when it comes to hexing, protecting yourself and ways to help if thinking a hex or whatever did come to you. Good to look at.
February 1, 2022
This so far has been the best book I have read on the subject.
August 6, 2022
Me gusta mucho el mundo de la magia los hechizos, pero debo aprender a protegerme de los mismos, por que es hermoso, pero meterse en este, puede ser peligroso
January 24, 2023
very cool with some great info tho needs more digging and research about what you are actually doing and CA
April 10, 2023
A go to book fr, has saved me so many times. Good spells, good information, one of my top 5 favorite witchy books 💋✨
November 22, 2024
🥹💜
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2023
Hex Twisting è un libro scritto da Diana Rajchel che ho letto per voi in anteprima 🥧 disponibile al pubblico dal 8 novembre 2021
Pieno di spunti pratici, cerca di insegnare ax babywitch come proteggersi dalle maledizione imparando la teoria dietro di esse. Idea veramente super carina, se non fosse che è condita da un sincretismo abbastanza nauseabondo a mio parere.
Nonostante questo, non è da buttare, anzi ha tanto da donarci in termini di riflessione sul tema.
Pieno di spunti pratici, cerca di insegnare ax babywitch come proteggersi dalle maledizione imparando la teoria dietro di esse. Idea veramente super carina, se non fosse che è condita da un sincretismo abbastanza nauseabondo a mio parere.
Nonostante questo, non è da buttare, anzi ha tanto da donarci in termini di riflessione sul tema.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews