This is not a coincidence, Sancho, and I am glad that you pointed it out. Far too often, people go through their lives running their mouths without realizing they’re ruining their lives.
Pay attention to the things people say. Pay attention to the things you say. Most of it will be to establish significance, correctness, or pride. People like to talk about their accomplishments. They also want to feel smart, so correcting people feels good to them. When people want to be admired or accepted, they talk about these things.
It is what happens when you give monkeys brains. They pound their chest, but they do it with their mind, and the mind does it through spells. Spells are put together into words and cast out. This is why you will hear humans consistently sound stupider than any other creature. Nobody yells at the birds and accuses them of lying.
There are only a few situations where you should open your mouth to warn or inform. These are not curses or spells, but truth. Like a bird singing. They sing to warn or to inform about food. They don’t gossip, lie, or rant on for hours.
The nature of casting spells and their effects has been studied by academics and mystics alike. In fact, 100 years ago, all the witches of the North, East, West, and South got together. They formed a group of enchanters called the NEWS. They are the most sinister of enchanter organizations. They earned the trust of everyone by reporting the facts of what happened year after year, until they gained sufficient credibility. Then, over the last few decades, there was a significant divide within the NEWS organization. Once their power grew, they had different opinions about how it should be used, so they divided and went to war with each other. Chants power their soldiers—repeated chants and curses upon their enemy.
The problem is. No one likes a spell caster. They do not trust them and perceive them as dangerous. People like the quiet person who sits in the corner and smiles. He is not trying to compete and feels safe to be around. They don’t care if you only make honest sounds like the animals. Grunts, growls, and purrs are all welcome. You must be careful with casting spells, though.
Everyone is taught to cast these spells in school. They cast spells in allegiance; they cast them in promises and cast them for practice. Society marvels at those who can put together spells in powerful ways.
There is white and black power in spells. They can be good, or bad, or can give off the opposite effect that you intended. Spells don’t work the same on all people. Some take offense, and others identify. You cannot predict this with any accuracy.
It has been said and repeated throughout history that you, Sancho, are your own worst enemy, and the same goes for everyone else. More specifically, it is our mouths. Your intentions may be straight, but our words seldom are.
Our fellow humans force us to cast spells and, at times, respond to them. The best we can do is minimize how often we open our mouths, listen closely to what we do say, and read the room to make sure our intentions are communicated effectively.
Always keep in mind the dogs and all the creatures who speak, but do not cast spells.
DQuixote 