To quote Judika Illes’ definition in The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, binding magic is generally performed for the purpose of “binding someone’s power, usually to prevent them from causing harm.” (Remember? Like that chanted line in The Craft: “I bind you, Nancy, from doing harm: harm against other people and harm against yourself.”)
Merriam-Webster’s primary definition of bully is: a blustering, browbeating person; especially : one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable.
While we good witches generally do not prefer to bind other people’s power and therefore do not seek out situations that call for binding spells, there are times when it is obviously appropriate to perform one: e.g., bully situations. Situations where someone is “habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable.”
If you are concerned about the threefold law (that which you send out energetically comes back to you multiplied), realize that if you are indeed binding a bully, you are sending out pure positivity in the form of justice and protection on behalf of all those who are being threatened and unfairly treated. Just make sure justice and protection are your intentions, and you will be safe from undesirable karmic backlash.
An excellent time to perform a binding spell is when the waning moon is in the fourth quarter, which begins the evening before Inauguration Day and continues until the new moon on the 27th.
No matter who the bully is, remember that they are only a human, and humans can be magically bound.
Here are 3 different ways to bind a bully. If it’s your intention to do so, read through them and choose the one that feels right to you. Please be sure to cast a circle before doing any of these, and to open it when you are through.
- Write the person’s name on a slip of paper and place it on a table. Light a black candle. In a clockwise direction, surround the name with a circle of sea salt. With a short length of black embroidery thread, tie a knot tightly around the slip of paper, allowing it to crumple. As you tie the knot, say, “I bind you [name of bully]. You are powerless to harm other people or the planet. Your insults are powerless. Your hostility is powerless. You shall cause no harm from this day forth.” Repeat 7 more times, with 7 more lengths of black thread. Extinguish the candle. Leave the paper and string in the ring of salt overnight. In the morning, flush the salt down the toilet and throw the bound name on a fire.
- Place the Justice card from the Tarot on your altar. Light a white pillar candle as you say, “[Name of bully], on behalf of all those you would harm, insult, or overpower, I call on the archetypal energy of Justice. With this ancient, swift, and thorough power, I now bind all your power to harm.” Safely use the light of the candle to burn the bully’s full name and/or image on a piece of paper, perhaps in a cauldron or pot. As it burns, say, “Just as this paper is now reduced to ashes, your power to harm is now fully revoked and reduced to nothing.” When the ashes are cool, mix them with sea salt and flush them down the toilet. Extinguish the candle after you’ve opened the circle.
- Obtain a picture of the bully, or just write the bully’s name on a piece of paper. Place it in a small mason jar. Pour water over it as you say, “[Name of bully], if your power to harm is like fire, I now extinguish that power completely. It burns no more.” Seal the jar with the lid. Wrap and tie it tightly with black ribbon as you say, “[Name of bully], if your power to harm is like wings, I now bind and immobilize that power completely. It flies no more.” Rotate the jar in a counterclockwise direction three times as you say, “[Name of bully], your power is now unwound. It has no momentum. It has no force. It now returns to the native nothingness from which it came.” Now place the jar in your freezer.
(Extra special thanks to my good friend Weston Donaldson for this idea!)
You might also like my online workshop, Holistic Energy Magic.
Do you suppose a mother would willfully offer up the happiness and marriages of her children in exchange for a successful marriage of her own? I find it troubling that 3/5 children’s (5 year, 7 year, 20 year) marriages ended or are ending in a span of 6 months just as the mother celebrated and made a huge to-do on her 10th wedding anniversary. (Her 4th and longest lasting marriage. )She dabbles so I was thinking this might be something. I’m afraid to try and bind her.
Hi Beatriz – In this case, I’m not getting the feeling that this situation is magic-related, and it would probably be wise not to bind at this time. Thank you for reading and connecting. 🙂
My little sister has been getting bullied by her ‘friend’ for several years now. It’s usually just verbal, but she has also given my sister black eyes and just recently injured her wrist. I’m worried that my sister will receive further injury from this ‘friend’ as well as damage to her confidence and self-worth. My sister and the bully are only in middle school, would this spell still be a good idea?
Hi Caroline! I’m so sorry to hear this. Yes, I think option #3 would be appropriate in this instance.
Thank you!
How long should I keep it in the freezer?
Good question! I’d say around 3-6 months, or until you feel 100% sure the situation is permanently remedied.
When doing a spell like this but this cause Bad Karma on the person doing it?
Not if you do it with neutrality. In other words, it’s best to do it with the intention to protect yourself and your freedom to feel comfortable in the world, rather than to negatively affect or punish someone else.
Hello read..my son is having trouble with one of his coaches in football, he says this man takes him out of games or practices when he makes good plays. An then tells him he’s doing good enough..my son is very confuse this is a new coach and even the players notice the coach picking on him. He’s scared to go to the head coach cause he don’t want to get kicked off the team.an he don’t want me to go to the school..would this be a good spell..if not, which spell is good for this situation.
Hi Sai! Oh how frustrating. I’m so sorry to hear this. Have you tried consulting with the other parents? Maybe more than just one of you have this complaint and you can go to the school together? Or speaking directly to the coach to find out what’s going on might also be a good place to start. Since your son wants to continue to have a relationship with this person, you might not want to bind him quite yet. You could certainly light a candle for harmony and the best possible outcome, however.
Hi,
My daughter is in kindergarten and having trouble with a couple of her friends who often exclude her, run away from her, ignore her or are just plain mean to her. I have spoken to the teacher, the teacher has spoken to the students and parents but it keeps happening. I think she may feel slightly threatened by my daughter. I have tried to persuade her to find another group of friends but she wants to stay friends with them. Seeing as she still wants to remain friends would this work? Or are they to little anyway? (6 years old). At my wits end as to what I can do. My daughter is very sweet and wants to be friends with everyone. It just breaks my heart.
Hi there! I’m sorry to hear this – I can see how this would break your heart. Rather than a binding, I recommend sending your daughter to school with a kunzite pendant. First, hold it in sunlight and set the intention for it to protect her energy and emotions.
My former mother-in-law is a very controlling person who bullies almost everyone to get her way.
Recently my ex-wife and I have began improving our relationship – largely for the kids, although it seems we are on the path to becoming friends.
My former M-I-L is obviously very much against this. She has been outwardly rude to me several times in front of my children and given them instructions regarding how to interact with me as if they were from my ex-wife. I feel she is attempting to sabotage any efforts I put into improving the terms I’m on with my ex.
Would you advise a binding spell in this case or some other course of action?
I just want her to stop interfering with my relationship with my ex and my children and not say negative things about me to or infromt of my kids.
Thank you.
Hi Mike! This sounds very frustrating – I’m so sorry to hear it. I suggest the second ritual in this post: the one involving the Justice card from the tarot.
Please don’t apologize for my situation. I see myself as a survivor but I’m growing weary and drained. I’ve been married to a severe psychological abuser for 18 years. When he’s good he’s very good and when he’s bad he can be a horror movie. What spell do u suggest. This abuse must stop because it’s killing the light and energy inside me.
Hi Kelly! I don’t recommend a spell in this instance. I recommend leaving the relationship. Here’s a directory of organizations you can contact for temporary shelter, guidance, and/or support: https://www.womenshelters.org
Hi, Does this spellbinding work if I use it to someone who has a power. She has been using her power to destroy our family by making us fight each other (like she would hide our belongings to my sister’s room to make us blame one another) and she has been using her power to get our money. Moneys on our bags, pouches and even in our atm are magically gone. She has been bothering our family for 4 years already (I think). We already seek help from someone to remove her powers and she became quiet for a while and now she is at it again.
Hi Cat! Yes, a binding spell would be appropriate for this situation.
Hi! My husband’s ex is extremely abusive. Psychologically and emotionally. I think she may be borderline. Anyway, there’s a huge battle about to ensue in court. First over a false child support arrears case and then over parental rights. She has done anything and everything to make our lives impossible. She’s also Wiccan and I don’t have much experience with all of this but I notice that every time the kids come over… there’s a very dark energy where everyone immediately is in a bad mood. Once they leave, even my relationship is no longer tense.
I’m just tired of her having power over our days, holidays, moods, so on and so forth.
I feel like we all need to be heavily protected from her… including her own children.
And I’m just hoping that all of these court things go well and Justice is served.
Hi Christina! A binding spell (like one of the ones in this post) would be appropriate for this situation. If you feel like trying one of them, I suggest choosing the one that feels best to you.
I need help my daughter, was taken from my ex husband’s home due to sever abuse, now 6 months later, she will be returning to his uncle’s home, which my ex will have access to her, I need to do a protection spell and fast, which do u prefer it needs to be done soon, I’m afraid that he will kill her next time
Nicki, I suggest calling this support hotline ASAP and seeing what kind of physical-world support you can arrange or enlist for your daughter: https://www.childhelp.org/hotline/
Hi, my in laws seem to interfer with my husbands and I marriage. Causing separation but we recently began working on it and when they found out they began with negative saying we shouldn’t be together. He is really close to his family it’s hard keep them a distance in our marriage. What can I do?
Hi there! It would be wonderful if your husband would agree to go to therapy with you to discuss these issues together. It’s often a good idea to start with talking and working things out in the physical world before you do the magical work.
Very informative. What would one do if the name of the bully (s) are not known. It was a mob of children cornering my daughter at a local skating rink she often visits, which made her cry and feel very scared. She tried to nicely stand up to them but she is a HSP and empathic. Feelings are still being mastered.
Hey, thanks for reading. You might try this Empath Protection Charm for her: https://tesswhitehurst.com/powerful-protection-charm-for-empaths/
Hello Tess,
My 11 year old started secondary school in September and has just told me that a Year 9 boy, the brother of a boy that she ‘went out’ with for a few months at Primary School, has been following her around school and bullying her. He shouts at her that she is fat and a lesbian and gets a group of his friends to do the same every time they see her, which is several times a day and every night after school. I only found out about this yesterday so i’m debating which step to take first between speaking to the boys mum or going straight to the Headteacher of the school. I would like a spell so that the negativity and bullying is deflected away from my daughter and she feels safe again but i wish no harm on the boy.
Which spell would be the best to use in conjunction with whichever official line i take with school or parent?
Thanks
Hi there! For now, I suggest that you create this charm for her: https://tesswhitehurst.com/powerful-protection-charm-for-empaths/ . If she needs more support later, you might consider number one from this post.
Thank you so much for replying. I’ll create the charm for my daughter as the first step. It’s Monday tomorrow so hopefully she’ll speak to her teacher about the bullying too.
Thanks again,
Hi Tess,
I love watching your videos and tips because they’re so upbeat and NOT fear mongering :D.
I’m a little worried. I’m someone with major anxiety and I just did a very primitive release ritual – meditating to ground, then saging all around me with cleansing music, writing painful memories and relationships, behaviors and feelings down and burning the paper. I used the words “i release you. and (I bind you — intending to bind a presumed gossiper from gossiping”) I quickly followed up with – in love and for the highest good, cleared the energy of the space as well as myself, disposed of the ashes, and went out into nature. Considering this was January 28th, during a totally hectic time with the Full Moon / Eclipse, will I be okay? And is there anything I can do to sort of reign it in and put out to the universe that I just meant to protect myself and did this in good faith?
Thank you so much!
I should note this stuff is from years ago and I’m worried my reactive fear spiral could’ve like.. summoned it – either way I did it with love. I just might’ve said some none too savvy things.
Oh just saw this comment too, but same answer! That video should help.
Hi Roni! It sounds like you’re feeling a little ungrounded after the magical work you did, which is totally normal and not something to worry about. That being said, here’s a video I made about what I do when I have fear floating around and I’m concerned it’s going to negatively affect what I’m attracting into my life experience: https://tesswhitehurst.com/how-to-transform-fear-into-flow/ PS – thanks for the kind words, and for checking out the blog!
Will binding work on a daughter-in-law that controls when you see your grandchild and won’t let your son freely talk to you? I love this lady dearly but she is so jealous when my grandchild and I have fun laughing. Then she will twists things and say “it would be nice if you just spent time with your grandchild/son.” I feel manipulated and bullied.
Bobbie, I suggest a shielding ritual instead of a binding. That way she can do whatever she’s going to do and you don’t have to feel manipulated or bullied. Here’s a really simple one: https://tesswhitehurst.com/the-mirrored-sphere-an-easy-effective-protection-visualization-you-can-use-in-a-pinch/
My daughter has a ex-bestfriend who is spreading rumors about her. What would you suggest?
Bindings are very appropriate for such instances! I suggest binding #3 in this post.
Thanks very much for the suggestion, I will try this.
I believe my mother in law and sister in law have done things to me to cause me to have multiple miscarriages (they have told people I shouldn’t have more children) they are known to cast spells/curses on others (European background). Will this help stop them from doing things to my husband and I? Everytime they come into our home we end up in terrible arguments. My husband thinks I’m imagining it.
Hi there! I’m not getting the feeling that they did a curse exactly, but that you’re feeling negative energy sent your way and it’s affecting you. I suggest that you do the third option in this post: https://tesswhitehurst.com/5-karma-friendly-alternatives-to-curses-and-hexes/
I am involved in an educational group where the leader of the group has taken a strong disliking to me for opposing her. She was endorsing unfairness and deceit, I spoke up against it. Since that time she has constantly shamed me in the group and spread lies about me. I don’t need to harm her, but I want to stop her from harming me. I am drawn to the method with the Justice card. Could you kindly let me know what you recommend. Thank you 🙏🏼
Hi there! Yes, that sounds like the one to do. Also (or maybe instead), you might consider leaving the group or starting a new one.
My mother is a practicing witch. She has definitely put a very harmful spell on me and my life is crashing before my eyes. Shes powerful. I need to bind her. Help?
Erin, is there one of these bindings that feel like it might be right for your situation?
Also my co worker is trying ti make me look really bad at my job. I think she wants me gone. She deliberately doesnt tell me things i need to know and talks badly about me to higher ups. It needs to stop.
Hi Erin! Maybe check out this post: https://tesswhitehurst.com/5-karma-friendly-alternatives-to-curses-and-hexes/
My son has just entered the baseball team. Everyone in the team is obviously good enough but my son is willing to take all his chances and is willing to learn a lot in order to be good. Once there was a practice and all the good players were gathered in one group to play and there were 3 coaches. The not so good ones (including my son) are left and they were practiced by only 1 coach— the coach who does not agree with the other 3 coaches.. Is this fair? Actually, at first my son was in the game but the coach kicked him off to the not so good group. Next, my son borrowed a uniform because he is just new to the team and the new uniform has not yet arrived. We, my husband and I would like to make sure if they ordered the uniform already because nobody is updating us.. Nobody tells us what to do unless we ask. My husband asked the person-in-charge for the uniforms. She said she will confirm. After awhile, she said she cannot make the confirmation to the shop where the uniform is made because it is ‘closed’. Accidentally, when I went to wotk that same day, i passed at that shop only to find out it is ‘open’. Is it a lie or an alibi? The shop is within our community, how could she lie to us? I think there is something fishy going on. I can feel the unequal treatment to us since my son is half Japanese and half Filipino. I used the binding spell to stop the maltreatment because they should be fair enough because all the kids enjoy baseball and they all want to learn. We, my husband and I do not want to argue or confront because my son enjoys the company of his team players. If we raise the issue, then my son will probably quit and join another team.
Hi Tess, I’m so happy I found this site. I need advice, is the third option a good idea for me? I’ve been in the most horrible custody battle with my ex husband and his father for the past 3 years. They’ve had my daughter for 6 months and won’t allow me to see or talk to her.. they treat her like a possession. They are a powerfully connected family in the county we live in, and are doing this to for their own ego. I just want peace for my daughters sake. I do not want to cause them harm, eventhough I fear for my safety and my daughters. I just want peace. I hope you can help.
Maya, yes. The third option is a good idea for you. Sending lots of love and every best wish!
Hi Tess, I am currently going through issues with a “friend” that felt it would be best to tell my family what we spoke about. I am now being ignored by family and she is still friends with them…I feel she has taken my place in the family, as her family do not include her. (So she told me). I do not get extra work now, a family member was my boss), so financially she has affected me too. One of the family members has even blocked me from contacting him. What would be appropriate for my situation, a spell or a ritual etc? Thanks in advance.
Lee, a binding sounds appropriate. I’d choose one from this post that feels right to you.
Thank you Tess, I will try one of them.
Hi,
I met my fiance 3 yrs ago. His ex has given us nothing but trouble. She had total control over him. But since we have been together he has put a stop to that. Of course that made her more upset. She uses their daughter as a “weapon”. Now the daughter is not as close to us like she used to. Lately. We noticed things missing from our house. We did catch her putting things in her backpack. Now , I have been messing up at work and I have been there 4yrs with no problem. My fiance same thing and he’s been there 14 yrs. I myself will pick fights with my fiance….and he does nothing but love me. And I know in my heart he loves me. I even tell myself “why are you being ugly?” Even my children will tell me mom don’t be mean to him. I feel she has alot to do with all this.
Thank you
There are 2 women at work who don’t like me. I’ve always been nice to them but I have felt an ongoing threat by their negative energy. Today my car was vandalized in the parking lot at work. I am usually the last one to go in the building at work but this morning I went in before them. I went out to my car in the afternoon on my break to make a phone call and saw someone had smeared an adhesive along the front fender and driver’s door. It permanently damaged the finish on my new car. When I went to the time clock to time out for the day they saw me come through the warehouse door and they began to huddle and laugh quietly between each other while glancing over their shoulders at me and whispering. I pretended nothing was amiss and timed out. When I went out to my car to leave as I turned around to get in my car door one of them was glaring at me and smirking as she walked to her car. They have been playing this silly game of one being nice to me and the other being nasty to me. The one who has been mean to me recently accused me of trapping her in her car one morning because I was on the passenger side of my car with the door open for a few seconds to get something out of my car. It was a dark early morning and I didn’t know she was still in her car. The next day she sneaked up behind me and accused me. It startled me but I apologized to her and have not used my passenger door since. I also started parking a couple of spaces away from her car in an effort to put some distance between us. I have always taken the high road and been nice to both of them. Sadly, it has obviously not worked well.
Would a protection or binding spell be appropriate and effective for something like this? Also, I don’t know their names. We work in different departments and I am new to this building. I have worked for the company for 5 years but at a different location. Our department was moved to this building a few months ago.
Thank you in advance
Tricia, it feels like a protection spell is in order. Try #2 from this post: https://tesswhitehurst.com/5-karma-friendly-alternatives-to-curses-and-hexes/
Thank you Tess!
Hi!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Just wondering how long the mason jar should be in the freezer..and what to do with it when i take it out,
Thank you,
Rachel
Hi Rachel! I’d keep it in there for as long as you feel it’s necessary to keep the magical energy in place. Once you feel you’ve sufficiently moved through the challenge and it’s old news, you can simply dispose of it in any way you normally would. (Thaw, rinse, recycle, etc.)