Bosnian love charms

Magic with the lock

A lot of blocking power is ascribed to the lack of certain physical functions but also the ability to influence destiny. That's why it is a valued prop in Bosnian magic, especially love magic. For an unknown reason, the earth is an element that is always connected to the lock, whether earth from an unknown grave or earth has taken from someone's footstep. Witches believe that an unmarked grave, where an unknown carcass lies, has immense power and therefore we can conclude that it is a cult place of many practitioners of Bosnian magic. A handful of dirt from such a grave is often used in love spells, namely, it is sufficient to throw the dirt and have the person you like to walk over it and she will feel love towards you. Also when it comes to appeasing passions, especially jealousy, an unmarked grave can accumulate all the unwanted emotions if one buries the panties of a possessive person.

When one wants a couple to have bad luck in a marriage then on the day of their marriage one stands on one side of the road which the couple will use, and a key needs to be placed on one side and a lock on the other. As soon as the couple passes one takes the key and locks the lock uttering:

When this lock is unlocked with this key,

then the two of them shall receive a child!

The folk song called “Nine locks” mentions that even after nine years of marriage the young spouse of Adem bey is still a virgin. He doesn't make love to her since the girl Fata cast a spell on him with nine locks and made him impotent with his wife. Such a situation is burdensome to his mother and losing all her patience she harshly criticized her son to leave his wife and marry Fata. Adem bey initially tried to bribe Fata with elaborate jewels to goad her into annulling the spell, to which she quietly replied:

I will never remove the spell!

I locked nine locks,

Allowed you to walk through every one of them

and I threw them into ice-cold water!

Realizing that he is left without a choice Adem bey married Fata and wedded his wife to another man.

The most powerful lock is considered to be the one that locks the house whose inhabitants have died. Besides love spells, they can be used equally successfully to influence judges, lawyers, and all other superiors who bring about solutions and decisions. In love magic, a lock is used to eliminate competition. According to Nurija Omerbegović from Banja Luka in her youth, she was a victim of a spell created with a lock. Namely, Nurija had a boyfriend which she wanted to marry but another girl liked him. To prevent Nurija and her boyfriend to get married, the girl secretly stole a handkerchief from Nurija brought to a witch together with a lock. The witch stuffed into the lock and locked it uttering:

As this lock is closed,

so too her mouth shall be closed!

When this lock and this handkerchief emerge from the river Vrbas, let her tongue than be freed as well!.

Then she took the lock to the place where the river is at its deepest and threw the lock. When the boy arrived at Nurija's place that night she was quiet the whole time because an unexplainable force didn't allow her to utter any words, after some time he turned around and went home. They never saw each other again.

Spell with the burial of the lock

On the eve before the first Friday after a new moon, the girl takes the lock and the key locks it and buries it in an unknown grave (without markings). Tomorrow, before the sun comes up, she goes to the grave and unearths the lock, unlocks it and stands on one side of the road or entrance to the house, and places the key on the opposite side. When the desired boy passes along that road or through that door, the girl quickly takes the lock and key and locks it again. That or another night the lock with the key is taken and buried in another unknown grave, close to the deceased's head and she utters:

When this deceased speaks then will my NN have another girl!

Dear Allah hears my prayer, so it can be fulfilled.

Then she uses her both wrists to strike the grave uttering:

O black earth, by God the mother,

this formula won't stick to me nor you,

but to my dear NN and his 77 nerves, 88 wrists, 99 bones,

his brain and wit and his heart and heart veins,

on which his heart depends,

wherever he goes he should think about me!

Ya gelsun, ya gebersun, ya betersun, ya divani deli olsun!

Finally, the girl takes some dirt from that grave and when she gets an opportunity pours some on the boy's shoulder. The spellbound boy will have to marry the girl in the end or otherwise lose his mind because of love.