Curses! Foiled again.

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 160782

Potioncat:
> >>>>>>Hexes:
> Has a connotation of dark magic, as do jinxes, but of a minor sort. I 
> see 'hex' as slightly worse. I usually use 'jinx' for spells whose 
> effects are irritating but amusing.
> 
> Curses:
> Reserved for the worst kinds of dark magic.<<<<<<<<<
> 
> "Connotation of dark magic? Connotation???"  Is there is such a thing 
> as being a little dark? So, now we get to start the discussion, "What 
> is Dark Magic?" all over again.

Ceridwen:
This sounds fun.

I've always seen jinxes and hexes as being on the dark side of neutral, 
though not by much.  That comes from the everyday use of the words.  
Someone can be a jinx, and someone can suffer from a jinx, which is 
more like doing things to cause others to be clumsey most of the time 
or being clumsey.  Plain bad luck.  

Hexes are usually placed on people by dour-faced old crones, and 
slightly worse things happen, like the cow's milk sours or the shelf in 
the kitchen comes off the wall and brings a lot of the plaster with it.

But then, there are the "hex signs" the Amish place on the fronts of 
their barns, and they aren't all to ward off evil circumstances, but 
they are each meant to bring some specific thing, even a welcome.  I 
think the term "hex signs" may be a misnomer here, and not bestowed by 
the Amish themselves, though I think they use the term now, at least 
when talking to non-Amish.

Dark magic.  I think it covers a wide range of magics.  And I do think 
a piece of magic can be a little dark, unlike someone being a little 
pregnant. ;)  After all, someone can be in a little trouble, or a lot 
of trouble.

They seem bad, on one level or another, from plain bad luck, to the 
worst sort of luck, outside of the HP series.  Within the series, I do 
think some spells are named purely for the aesthetic effect, like 
the 'Stunning Spells', which JKR said are really charms, but were given 
that name for the alliteration.  But others give an idea of the type of 
magic being used.

Ceridwen.