One of the most commonly asked questions people have when seeking magic to either do for themselves or ask to be done on their behalf is a banishment or a binding.
These things might be linked together because they both involve managing how another’s energy interacts with your own, but they are quite different.
Think of the words themselves. To Banish is to remove from your presence, typically with the idea of it lasting a long time, if not indefinitely. It is a breaking of any connection between yourself and another, saying you want them to stay away from you.
A Binding is the opposite of this. To be bound to someone means that you are tying your energy, your path, to this other. The motive for this might be a positive one: such as a handfasting where people choose to bind themselves to one another for the length of their relationship, or a negative one, where the witch will “tie up” a person’s power or energy to keep them from being able to influence others.
In both cases, a binding means that a bond is formed between the witch and the other person. In order for a binding to remain in effect, energy is siphoned off from the witch (either intentionally, consciously) through maintaining the binding in full effect. Or, if it’s a once-and-done binding, it will siphon off energy in the background to keep the spell in place.
To perform a Banishing, the witch must have the will and intention to be completely done with this person or situation. Cut all mundane connections, block all communication, and do not seek any further means of contact with the subject of the Banishment.
To perform a Binding (if it’s done with the second intention of controlling another’s actions) then the witch must make the choice to remain connected to and responsible for maintaining the spell.
Each circumstance must be weighed and measured for which will be the better option.
Of course, as with anything in Witchcraft, the witch’s personal ethics are what will guide their choices. Some witches do not agree with doing a Binding, because it is a deliberate path to controlling another’s actions. If that’s a hard line you don’t want to cross then a Banishment is probably a better option for your situation. Likewise, if you don’t want to maintain the binding over time, then don’t put it into action.
If you choose to perform a Binding, do it with the full understanding and acceptance of the responsibility involved.
If you choose to Banish, follow through with it on the mundane level. It does no good and is a waste of energy, if not a complete flub of your power to banish something or someone and still want to keep a connection. Look for something else that will be a better fit for what you’re seeking, because if you aren’t prepared for the “goodbye”, then Banishment isn’t the right choice.
I’d like to tell of a Banishment spell effect I had happen about a year ago.
I was chilling on Discord, playing games and chatting, having a great time when someone unexpectedly showed up at one of the Discord member’s home.
This unwelcome visitor is someone I have, myself, blocked on all my contacts/platforms, and not spoken to for many months.
I had performed a Banishing rite at that time (months prior to this) to cease all contact.
As soon as this person sat down and my friend’s camera caught his presence, my Discord server crashed. Not my internet connection, as I was still online on other websites, but Discord went totally black. I had to text a phone message through to the other people to let them know my situation.
I tried restarting Discord.
Nothing.
I tried restarting my computer.
Nothing.
I was not notified when he left as I was still trying to get back on Discord.
I turned my computer completely off, waited a couple of minutes, turned it back on and let it boot up completely.
I was able to log back in to Discord and I learned the interloper had just left, just minutes ago.
To me, this was the result of an effective Banishment spell.
Your mileage may vary.
The Keeper's Path 