Due to my book Death and Destruction, it is pretty well known that I'm counted amongst the magicians who will perform harmful magic and death spells. However, I rarely perform this kind of work in practice. Partially it's because I'm not often asked to perform curses (the only kind of spells I think I get fewer requests for are curse removal spells.) Additionally, there is the fact that of the few requests I do get for death spells, I wind up turning down about 1/3rd of them.
Why should this be? It's well known that I don't believe in karma. What other reason could there be for refusing such work?
There are actually lots of spells I turn down, and when I turn down a spell, whether it's a love spell or a plague of death ritual, the most common reason is because I don't think it's going to work, or at least not work in the way the client desires.
Many times, when I turn down a death spell, the primary flaw I see is that the person is clearly expecting fairly immediate results. I had one inquiry where a person insisted they needed a spell to kill a man because they were being threatened by him and it was "the only way" to be safe from the danger. Except, a spell might take weeks or even years to actually cause the man's death -- realistically there is even the possibility it could fail altogether. If you want the spell to provide protection against an immediate threat, a death spell is a very poor choice. (In fact, I advise never using a spell at all if you are facing an immediate problem that cannot wait, because spells so rarely bring instant results.)
Another problem I come across often with death spell requests is that the person is imagining that some other problem will be solved by the death. Again, even if you came to me with a request for a blessing spell or a money spell or a love spell and it was clear that you were having me cast the spell in hopes of gaining an unrelated or indirect intention, I'd turn you down just as well. On several occasions I've had requests for death spells in order to put somebody's love rival out of the way -- but I turn these down almost always. Why? Because, magically speaking it's not anymore complicated to just do the spell that actually would focus on the real intention (being, to win the desired love object.) Plus, there are many cases in the world of people who do abandon everything they have in the name of love, including things like money, child custody, status and citizenship. I bring this up because it is evidence that a person who insists that they "can't" be with you over fear of losing such things, really is a person who is choosing not to be with you and, consequently, might not stay with you even if they're unburdened of their existing partner/spouse. Then what was the point of that death spell you did, and all the sadness you brought the victim's friends and family, if the person you did it for still won't have you? This sort of underlying potential is why you can't count on a death spell to indirectly solve a problem.
In my view, the only time it's appropriate to do a death spell on someone is if the death of that person is the sole goal. Not the imagined consequences of the death, but merely the death itself.
I think in some cases, the person requesting the spell isn't viewing the magic as sufficiently "real" in the first place -- the long distance,the passing off of the task to another person, makes it seem like a fantasy game. Try imagining your situation this way: if you could be guaranteed never to be punished, would you be willing to murder this person yourself? Picture that you argued your case successfully to the leaders of every nation in the world, they're all agreed that you are justified in killing this person. You are presented with your victim, who is tied up and gagged and unable to fight you. You're given a blade which you may use to slit his throat or cut off his head or whatever you wish to do to him. Would you still be interested in committing this murder? If yes, good -- you are a great candidate for using a magical death spell. If not, reconsider whether this is really gong to be a good solution to your problem.
Satanic Voodoo Evil Black Magic
Satanism is often considered to be an identical or a related practice to Voodoo, which itself is often considered to be a synonym for evil magic. The popular thinking is that "Satanic witches" will perform "voodoo ceremonies" -- involving sacrifices of animals or humans -- as part of Satanic worship, and may use the rituals to cast spells meant to work wicked intentions like death or persecution of the Satanist's perceived enemies; or sometimes the spells are intended to cause very morbid ways of growing rich or gaining love, like causing wealthy relatives to die so one gains their inheritance or to turn someone into an enslaved "zombie lover" with no free will or significant mental capacity.
Voodoo and Satanism are actually two separate religions -- and not very compatible ones, at that. Most of the major Satanic churches are actually atheist, whereas traditional African Voodoo is a monotheistic religion but wherein many lesser spirits are bestowed with power to help (somewhat akin to the concept of the Christian angel.) Haitian style Voodoo is that, with even more Catholic influences -- and New Orleans style Voodoo even more Catholic still.
While some Voodoo ceremonies might involve animal sacrifices, these are not inherently indicative of "evil" being done. Don't forget that even the Bible makes mention of animal sacrifices to God in early stories (Abel's favored offering of lambs being a good example.) It is a well-known way to worship deities in many parts of the world.
Beyond just the stories of sacrifices, accusations of human cannibalism by Voodoo practitioners go back to at least the 19th century. It's sometimes speculated that early transports from Africa may have attempted such rites, but even the Journal of American Folklore acknowledged its researchers could find no actual recorded case of arrests or charges for voodoo-related cannibalism in the US. It is notable that European witches were often accused of similar deeds, but no evidence beyond the witches' coached and coerced "confessions" given under torture seem to ever suggest that it really occurred. Even early Christians were accused of cannibalism by the Romans due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of "the body of Christ."
As for "Evil spells" -- while Voodoo practitioners might cast spells, it is not the primary point of the religion to do so. Christians can cast spells as well, and Christian Witchcraft has a long history of existence. Both Voodoo and Christian magical practitioners might cast harmful magic spells, either against their religion, or through loopholes or certain interpretations that view harmful work as positive in some circumstances -- for example, as being in line with the "wrath of God" so as to punish bad deeds in others.
Ultimately, these things should be remembered:
- Voodoo is not Satanism
- Evil magic is not necessarily Voodoo
- Voodoo practitioners do not necessarily use magic