Jimmy Page & Kenneth Anger- How Curses Work
Anger later stated that he'd been unable to reach Page for months and that the rock star’s dedication to the project had obviously waned. Additional griping from the filmmaker included that JP was behaving contradictory to the teachings of their mutual hero Aleister Crowley and that his demeanor was akin to a ‘lunar landscape’.
He said that communicating with Page was like trying to speak through thick plate glass. Anger went on to say that JP was dried up as a musician and didn’t have anything left creatively, etc. You know; the usual stuff you say to someone when you're pissed at them. He also alluded to Page's heroin addiction by referencing his 'affair with the white lady' and saying his behavior was very Jekyll and Hyde.
Either way, Page had the upper hand as he didn't need this pet project with a tempestuous character like Anger. It is important to note that Page did indeed produce over twenty minutes of music for the soundtrack but Anger said it wasn’t enough and that what was presented was unusable. The filmmaker was so upset that he threw a curse and let everyone know about it. Curiously enough, this is when the majority (but not all) of Led Zeppelin’s bad luck started.
In my opinion, curses are not very effective unless propelled by an appropriate level of toxic, malevolent emotion. Of course the technical aspect, the ceremony, has to be there but without vicious yet focused rage the results will be lackluster. There are many cultural systems that have their own specific approach to harming a person or group of people. There are certain ritualistic steps one must take which equate to a formula or recipe.
But just as a successful chef injects love or positive energy into their meals (however immeasurable some might think this is) a Black Magician must inject hate into their curses for them to be truly effective. After their fallout, when asked if he felt vindictive towards Jimmy Page, Anger responded 'you bet I do; I'm not a Christian turn the other cheek kind.' He also reportedly said with a smile, 'In fact, I'm all ready to throw a Kenneth Anger curse.'
