Curse

A **curse** is a form of magic invoked for long-term malevolent purposes.

## Overview

Curses are a type of magic spell cast for inflicting harm onto specific individuals. A curse manifests in a way that causes its victim suffering that can be physical, psychological, or both. There are even curses that can outright kill the victim. In some cases, they even impose a burden to hold back the suffering.

Once cast, a curse can usually be broken only by the caster, but this is not always the case. Depending on the nature of the curse and skill of its caster, it can be broken by the purification or destruction of whatever carries a curse. Breaking a curse cast by another takes considerable power and skill in magic and has the possibility of being very dangerous for those involved.[*citation needed*] Members of the Healing Coven specialize in curse-breaking by medicinal magic. However, depending on the curse in question, not all can be cured or removed by witches. Prior to its destruction, the Healing Hat of the Healing Coven was said to be capable of removing any type of curse. Emperor Belos claimed to be the only person powerful enough to remove an otherwise incurable curse, but this is likely to be a lie he told to Lilith to persuade her to turn in her sister to him.

In "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", it is revealed that the owl beast was once a living creature who was transformed by a Collector into the scroll with which Lilith curses Eda. It is unknown if all curses originate from once-living beings in this manner, as both the Healing and Beast-Keeping covens stated that this particular curse is extremely unique in nature.

Curses may also be transferred to another individual via a Pain Sharing Spell, thereby subduing and lessening its effects by dividing it evenly between the two parties.

## Known Curses

* **Owl Beast curse**: This curse transforms the victim into a vicious owl-like creature that attacks and devours anything in sight. In addition, it prevents them from performing magic in their cursed state and causes them to lose the ability to perform magic over time. When consulted by the other covens, it's revealed that this curse is unlike anything they have encountered, with the only thing to serve as remedy being a special elixir which the victim must drink daily. The curse comes into effect when the victim becomes very stressed, and also has the side effect of making its victims have easily detachable limbs. Edalyn Clawthorne received this curse at a young age from her sister, Lilith. Eventually, Lilith shared the curse with Eda as of "Young Blood, Old Souls". If the victim is able to make peace and work together with the curse, it will give them the ability to transform into an avian humanoid form, like a harpy in appearance.
* **Death hex letter curse**: In "Really Small Problems", an assassination attempt was made against Eda in the form of a hexed letter, but the letter was identified by Eda as such immediately and thrown into the garbage bin, which apparently activated the hex, as the letter and the garbage can itself condensed into a dark purple sphere and before disappearing into thin air.

## Trivia

* Some curses can be counteracted through the means of a remedy or elixir. However, they do not permanently remove the curse but inhibit it for a relative period of time, making them a temporary solution at best. Much like antibiotics, if taken over long periods of time, the elixir can lose potency, as what happened to Eda.
	+ As shown in "Agony of a Witch", it is possible to delay a curse using pure magic, but this, in turn, will slowly deplete a witch's magic bile sac to the point the witch risks succumbing to the curse once they drain their magic supply. As seen later in "Young Blood, Old Souls", if they were to somehow recover from the curse then their ability to use magic would be heavily crippled.
	+ In "Eda's Requiem", as Eda plays her cittern, the curse begins to shrivel up and corrode items around her.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zach Marcus (writer) and Amelia Lorenz (director) (July 3, 2021). "Keeping up A-fear-ances". *The Owl House*. Season 2. Episode 4. Disney Channel.
2. ↑ Dana Terrace, Rachel Vine (writers) and Stephen Sandoval (director) (August 29, 2020). "Young Blood, Old Souls". *The Owl House*. Season 1. Episode 19. Disney Channel.