What is a generational curse?
A generational curse is a repeating pattern of tragedy in a family line. These patterns can be related to illness, addictive behaviors, and/or external events. Some people believe these curses originate in the Bible, such as the one found in Exodus 20:5–6: “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” Some Christians may take this passage to literally mean that God is able to curse four generations at a time, resulting in sinful reverberations for the family. Christians believe that certain sins, like idolatry and violence, can be responsible for cursing a family’s future generations. Secular beliefs focus more on the concept of generational trauma as an explanation for these recurring misfortunes among past and present family members. A key difference between generational curses and generational trauma is that the former tends to create a feeling of helplessness since it has been pre-ordained by God. Generational trauma however, can be broken and harmony can be restored to a family line. EXPERT TIP Mari Cartagenova Mari Cartagenova Psychic Medium & Animal Communicator Mari Cartagenova is a Psychic Medium & Animal Communicator based in Westford, Massachusetts. Mari has been seeing and speaking to Spirits since she was a child, and she loves to share her psychic gifts and abilities to help others. She specializes in mediumship, intuitive psychic guidance, past life or soul reading, and animal communication. Mari is the 2019 Award-Winning Best American Psychic and a Certified Advanced Spirit Worker. Mari Cartagenova Mari Cartagenova Psychic Medium & Animal Communicator Certainly, some people might feel like they're cursed. But usually, it's because of trauma. And so if there's a history of abuse, neglect or anything like that, this sort of goes through the generations, many times if it's not healed, then it does continue through the generation.
Curses in the Bible
Passage from Genesis 3:16: “And to Adam he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” Interpretation: This passage directly points to Adam’s disobedience after he ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden at the behest of Eve. God cursed the “ground” and Adam as a result by making rigorous physical labor a requirement for growing and harvesting food, therefore inflicting eternal, necessary pain on him and all men who followed. This is often referred to as the first generational curse and the original sin. An earlier passage curses Eve with the pain of "childbearing” and can be extended to symbolize the difficulties of womanhood in general. Both Adam and Eve were cursed with pain and hardship while having to perform the required labors of life. As their Biblical descendants, modern humans still toil away painfully to do these tasks, confirming to some that this generational curse is real and endures.
Passage from Genesis 9:18-29: “When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him. So he said, 'Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers.'” Interpretation: This is a highly controversial passage from the Bible as it hints at a deviant sexual act perpetrated by Ham. Modern interpretations believe this excerpt was meant to dissuade the spread of gossip and protecting those we love and trust even when they’re demonstrating weakness. The curse Noah inflicts upon Canaan is meant to affect him and his descendants, clearly denoting a generational curse.
Passage from Exodus 20:5–6: “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Interpretation: This is one of the main passages in the Bible that explicitly curses future generations. God presents himself as “jealous” in his demand that no other idols be worshipped before him. The consequence? A generational curse on your family. However, the final two lines reveal that this only happens to those who “hate” God and do not repent, leaving room for forgiveness for those who do atone for their ancestors’ sins.
Passage from Leviticus 26:39: “Those who remain will waste away in the lands of their enemies due to their sins and the sins of their ancestors.” Interpretation: This passage alludes to God’s warnings to his people. He required that they lived authentically according to his teachings. He promoted obedience as the path to prosperity, both external and internal. If they did not heed his warning, they would be “cursed” for generations. This doesn’t necessarily refer to a real curse inflicted on them by God, but more of a curse of consequence. Qualities like lack of discipline and laziness would lead to poor agricultural achievements, social unrest, and bloodshed. These would ultimately be the curses that would affect a generation.
Are generational curses real?
There is Biblical evidence against generational curses. Although some passages in the Bible suggest the existence of generational curses, others completely debunk that possibility. Ezekiel 18:20:“The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child.” This clearly states that future generations will not be blamed for the sins of their ancestors, presenting proof of God’s sense of justice. However, these sinful traits could be inherited, therefore passing on a kind of generational curse. Deuteronomy 21:23: “You must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” This passage highlights a sin against God: leaving bodies hanging on poles. People were instructed to immediately bury bodies instead of leaving them visibly hanging, as this would desecreate the holy land. This excerpt states that being crucified, or otherwise killed on a pole, constitutes a curse on the person, but not the generations that follow. Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’” This passage represents Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for humanity by dying on the cross. Through his crucifixion, wherein he was “hung on a pole,” he absorbed the curse that would befall sinners, taking it all upon himself. This excerpt illuminates Jesus’ righteousness but negates the idea of generational curses as Jesus has taken on the curse on our behalf. God is sometimes viewed as a mosaic, which may explain the conflicting passages. The God depicted in the Old Testament can be perceived as mercurial, violent, and “jealous,” while the God of the New Testament provides a more peaceful, more loving presence. Although this is a controversial opinion, some people view God as a mosaic, with the Bible revealing bits and pieces of his whole character. This may explain the conflicting ideas about generational curses, as certain passages popularize them and others reject them.
How to Break Generational Curses
Generational curses could refer to generational trauma. If there are certain misfortunes that continue repeating in your life, or the lives of your family members, it’s possible that there are unresolved ancestral issues. Expert psychic and medium, Mari Cartagenova, discussed how to go about breaking a generational curse, stating, “The way to break that cycle is to recognize what trauma or abuse you're dealing with, and everybody knows it on some level. Maybe not consciously, but if there are things that keep going wrong– like you can't keep a stable relationship, or you keep losing your job, or there are some addictions—there's something wrong.” Cartagenova suggests therapy, in order to trace your recurring issues back to the root of why these things keep happening over and over again. She also recommends speaking openly with your family about it. Try probing them a bit, asking questions along the lines of, “I know that we have this issue in our family, did you have that with your mom or with dad?” Ultimately, the best way to break a generational curse is by identifying the ancestral conflict and seeking therapy.
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