Is Witchcraft a Placebo?
What is the “placebo effect” - a beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment
One of the hardest aspects of witchcraft is proving it actually works. When it comes to spell jars, sigils, and other energy type work the only proof we have of its abilities to actually do anything is our own experiences.
Think of it this way:
You create a spell jar to banish negative energy from your home. You’ve been having this feeling in your gut that something just isn’t right. When you come home you feel some sort of bad mojo around you.
So you put together a spell jar. You collect all your ingredients and you perform your spell. Everything went just as planned and you have your jar all finished. You decide to place it on your altar or maybe you choose to bury it in your yard, or place it somewhere hidden like a closet or dresser..
You start to feel a lightness surrounding you (like that heavy bad feeling is gone or at the very least, slowing dissipating). ~ it’s working ~ the spell is actually working…. or is it?
You’ve been told that this will banish the negative energy from your home and you believe it. So did a jar full of herbs, objects and whatever else you used actually banish the negative energy? Or did it work because you believed it would?
We’ve argued to a point of exhaustion about intent in witchcraft. “All you need is intent, everything else is just extra shit.” You ever wonder why witches tell you this? It’s because they have some awareness that all you need to do is believe it works and it’ll work.
I’m not one of these witches lol. I’m into science and hard facts. Which is probably why my craft mostly centers around herbalism (and the medicinal properties of herbs) but I do still use crystals, candles and I’m a tarot reader but that doesn’t mean I’m not self-aware. I understand that my craft will be questioned and what kind of witch would I be if I didn’t also question my own craft and how it works.
Of course I’m not saying magick isn’t real or that witchcraft is just made up bologna. I am a witch afterall lol. What I am saying is that witchcraft and the placebo effect are very similar.
There have been medical studies where they’ve found that more than 30% of those given a placebo reported the same results as those given the actual drug. This begs the question; are the active ingredients (or properties) in the drugs actually doing anything? or is the power of suggestion strong enough to mimic the results of the drug in question?
Thoughts?
Honestly, as a neuroscientist I’m aware of how the craft is perceived and how it actually works. The placebo effect is definitely real, but personally I look at it as a way of meditation/self care/self therapy? So, although crystal vibrations may not actually be a thing or those herbs in a jar might not do anything, the act itself is therapeutic and that alone can give you intended results, if that makes sense? So if I was creating a jar for anxiety - anxiety itself doesn’t have a real reason, it’s a disorder of feeling, and by making a jar or doing a ritual for it may put me at ease, it’s just as effective as CBT - it’s a form of therapy, just different. I think witches back in the day were far ahead of their time because they were essentially the og doctors and psychologists of their time tbh. That’s what I love about it.
But ofc that’s just what I think lmao.
