Cursed by Love: Italian Folk Magic, Love Spells, and the Cure for Malato D’Amore
High Priestess Chelsea’s Love Sickness Cure for Malato d’Amore
Love, in the ancient world, was never just about emotion, it was about survival and in most cases jealousy. In both the Greek and Roman traditions—the cultural bedrock of Southern Italian folk beliefs—love was power, and power could wound. Binding spells, enchantments, and curses were used not just to attract a lover, but to dominate, obsess, and even destroy.
These practices survived the centuries, taking root in Italian folk magic where love curses became recognized as a type of spiritual affliction. Whether born from magic or emotion, this affliction could cause deep imbalance—emotional, physical, and spiritual. As someone who is the epitomy of the “mess around and find out” I have witnessed first hand with not only myself but also my clients just how potent love curses and love sickness actually is.
Love magic can be helpful but when in the wrong hands… can be dangerous.
Love Curses as Spiritual Afflictions
High Priestess Chelsea’s Oracle Deck showing Spiritual Affliction at Hand
In Italian folk belief, love curses can manifest as obsession, overwhelming emotional dependency, discord between lovers, or dangerous, unrelenting passion. Often, they are used to dominate another person or break up an existing relationship—to possess, not simply to love.
Such curses can be cast in subtle and secretive ways:
Through a fixed gaze and whispered incantation
By repeating specific words or phrases under a full moon during certain times of the year
With a drop of menstrual blood in a target's food or drink combined with secret words
Under the full moon with private, sacred prayers and knots
These rituals are powerful and often involve personal items or bodily fluids, imbuing the act with a binding force that is deeply personal and potent. Because of the secrecy of our love magic and workings, the average spiritualist would not be able to detect Italian love curses if they aren’t trained in the belief around Italian curses and afflictions.
Where I stand on love curses - I never ever will recommend them or find them necessary. Love curses and bindings will never bring you true love, they will bring you an obsessive partner under the guise of a form of forced love that can become dangerous and hard to break.
Love magic does have a place in this world and can be used for good and destructive purposes. It’s just not anything I would recommend to any client or follower of mine. I will never cosign doing them (and trust me people have asked me to!)
I stand on the end of finding true love and allowing yourself to authentically find someone who loves you for you - no magic necessary. That’s when you know it’s real.
With that being said, as someone who works to heal love curses and sickness - it is my job to know how to performs love curses. A woman who heals is also a woman who knows how to curse.
Unintentional Love Curses in Italian Folk Belief
But not every love curse is consciously cast. In Italian folk belief, sometimes a curse forms through the intensity of a bond between two people. Certain moments create spiritual ties that can turn toxic:
Sexual intercourse, especially during menstruation
Unrequited love and obsession
A broken promise made in the sacred space of a relationship
Words, in this tradition, hold tremendous power. Words whispered during our most intimate moments, can and do bind us together. I will always recommend to any client of mine to work on cleansing themselves and their spaces after leaving a relationship to spiritually cut ties with their ex lovers.
Malato d’Amore handmade spiritual bath and cure from my shop Luca Divina
Malato D’Amore: The Sickness of the Heart
When a love illness takes hold (different scale than a love curse) — usually formed naturally —the afflicted may suffer from what we call Malato D’Amore, or "sick with love."
Symptoms include:
Loss of appetite or interest in food
Insomnia or disturbed sleep
Loss of sense of self
Emotional exhaustion and crying spells
Mental fixation and obsessive thoughts of a person
A heavy, unshakable sadness
This condition is more than heartbreak. It is a soul-deep sickness, one that Italian folk healers have recognized and treated for generations. This love sickness is one that most of us have felt and usually will experience. This comes from a deep rooted relationship, a sudden breakup that we never initiated or unrequited love.
I remember my twenties and the love sickness that consumed me during a toxic relationship. I kept going back to the same person over and over again. It felt like tunnel vision—my mind was foggy, my thoughts unclear, and I couldn’t see a path forward. I told myself I was “in love,” but what I was really feeling was a deep spiritual affliction.
They say hindsight is 20/20. When the fog lifts, many of us feel shame, embarrassment, even self-judgment. But my advice? Be gentle with yourself. Love is a powerful force—and no one knows that better than we Italians.
Healing Love Curses and Love Sickness
Curing a curse or affliction is never one-size-fits-all. As a generational Italian American folk practitioner, my work in curing spiritual afflictions comes from ancestral teachings, personal experience, and professional practice. I have lived through love curses gone wrong. I have felt the heaviness of love sickness and I have helped many others find their way back to clarity and peace.
Curing a curse is not as easy as the internet may make it out to be.
Traditional diagnosis involves:
Divination with water and wine
Consulting the ancestors that walk with us
The study of supernatural events - such as signs, sudden increase in insects within your space and more
Cures may include:
Handcrafted spiritual baths to cleanse the body and soul
Candle workings to cut cords and dissolve bindings
Sacred prayers passed down through generations
Most curses need a combination of all three. It’s not always an overnight fix and requires deep dedication to diagnose and remove a spiritual affliction.
Offerings from My Folk Practice
If you feel afflicted by a love curse or suspect you may be suffering from Malato D’Amore, I offer consultations to help diagnose your condition and guide you through traditional healing methods.
🕯️ Book a consultation with me here: [Insert link to booking]
🛁 I also offer a Malato D’Amore Spiritual Bath, handmade with folk ingredients. It includes full instructions and is crafted to cure lovesickness cleanse, and restore balance to the heart and spirit.
High Priestess Chelsea
Folk Healer & Founder, Luca Divina
