A simple, everyday spell

From time to time the subject of 'spells' comes up and gets discussed on the social media sites I am part of.

There is a meme going round facebook that says " WORDS cast spells, that's why it is called SPELLING. WORDS are energy, USE wisely"
It is also widely known that it has been recorded that the bards of old were able to write satires so powerful that they could bring kings to ruin, or could make their subject come out in boils.
This, to me, is a use of spells. And there are many different kinds of spells .

In books, I have often read the following, that a prayer is a kind of spell. A good wish, or something as simple as baking a cake, and as you are mixing the cake mix, imagining the end product being the best cake ever and sharing it with people who are going to eat it and enjoy it. Putting your words/thought/wishes into an action.

I also believe that the best form of spell is one that you just 'know' how to do, the simpler the better. And that the best form of defense can often be simply to return what comes your way back to its sender, so that the intent of it is either good or bad depending on the originator. And it is ALWAYS good practice to seek a mundane approach to the problem first.

A spell does not have to be something done in the dead of night with bats wings  and a cauldron  It can be a much more every-day affair.

So here is an example of something that you may or may not consider to be a spell, depending on the level of magic you see in the everyday world.

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At work, we have a noticeboard  that is used to inform us of just about anything. Any work related events that are going on, theatre trips, charity sports events etc are put up there for people to add their name to the list to say that they are going, and then the organiser knows what he or she is doing and can book the proper number of tickets etc if relevant.
Now, for a long time, and I suspect ever since there was a charity football match being organised, playing in tutus, my name gets added to every list that is put up asking for people to sign up. In the past I have crossed my name out, only to find it added again the next day, and the next.... so now I dont bother, and I just ignore it.

This time, there was an advert calling for a darts team to play in a charity darts match, and as usual, my name was added, and I ignored it.

Until today.

When I started work, one of the guys came over laughing, asking if my name had been put on the list as a piss-take on my sexuality.

"What?"

So he asked me again, and I told him gay people can play darts, so I didnt get what he was on about.

So he had to explain it to me, that "playing darts" also means anal sex.

"What?"

The explanation, he tole me, along with gestures, is that a dart is a penis, and you have to try and aim it into the bullseye.

"What?"

...and so it went on, with me thinking this gets more pathetic every time he explains it.

Now this whole thing is just childish, and adding my name constantly to lists of event-goers does me no harm, but it must at some point piss off the people organising the event, who probably think I am wasting their time.

So, if I look at this magically, for want of another word, the power of their intent depends on me being quiet and embarrased or shown up, and them being able to snigger about me and anal sex behind my back. In reality all they have done is say that I want to play on a darts team.

So.. the best way to avoid this back-biting is to step out of that target zone they are relying on me staying in, and to send their energy back to them.

I do not accept this as a homophobic incident. If I do, then I am taking on 'gay shame'. Simply calling me gay is not an insult or a title of shame that I have to run away from.

So, I choose a different path to send their energy back. Quite calmly, I write out a notice, and I pin it on the noticeboard, in front of the clocking-in machine, at eye level, so that everyone can see it. And I make sure it stays there, at least until I have left the building.

Within 10 minutes I am approached by someone in authority, asking if I knew who was adding my name, and if he ever finds out, they will face disciplinary charges as far as they can go. People stop their work and approach me to cheer me on and say well done.

Words can be powerful things. Whoever has been adding my name to lists has been faced with this ..

Now, I have accused nobody of anything other than writing my name. Whatever the original intent of that was, will be known by the perpetrators and their reaction will be in accordance. If it was 'just a laugh' then my response can be taken as 'just a laugh'. if it was more serious, then they know they've been rumbled.
Lots of people have seen this, and gossip will spread it further for me,  so in future if my name is added to anything else, it will be assumed to be some kind of homophobic gesture. In theory I need do nothing more.

And I have completely removed myself from any spotlight of "gay shame" and thus removing an assumption that it can be exploited.