White and Black Magic(k)

[deviadah]

When defining magic it’s common to erroneously use the terms white or black, or good and evil, as a way of understanding the purpose of the magician or witch. In Christian tradition it is Simon Magus that embodies all the traits of the black, or evil, magician and he first appears in the Acts of the Apostles:“But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.”
Manly P. Hall defines, in The Secret Teachings of All Ages, ceremonial magic as “the ancient art of invoking and controlling spirits by a scientific application of certain formulæ… [and] while the elaborate ceremonial magic of antiquity was not necessarily evil, there arose from its perversion several false schools of sorcery, or black magic.” He goes on to explain that the most dangerous form of black magic is:

“...the scientific perversion of occult powers for the gratification of personal desire. Its less complex universal form is human selfishness, for selfishness is the fundamental cause of all worldly evil. A man will barter his eternal soul for temporal power, and down through the ages a mysterious process has been evolved which actually enables him to make this exchange. In its various branches the black art includes nearly all forms of ceremonial magic, necromancy, witchcraft, sorcery, and vampirism.”

Anton Szandor LaVey points out in The Satanic Witch that “in order to pursue the craft without harassment and prosecution, the spokesmen for witchcraft attempted to legitimize and justify what they were doing by proclaiming the existence of white witchcraft… simply a belief in the religion of the old wise ones, or wicca. The use of herbs, charms and healing spells was only employed for beneficial purposes. It was believed that the kind of witches that were dangerous to have around were black witches. These were supposedly evil in their pursuits and worshipped Satan.”

This is a valid point and one only has to draw a similarity with the term peace troops. When something that is considered evil, or bad, is in need of public acceptance, such as army or soldier, a change of name can make all the difference.

Keep in mind that millions of people were tortured and burned by church and public officials on the assumption that they were witches and this behaviour did not seize until the end of the 18th century. It was also a very profitable business since both land and property befell accuser and church officials. Although it was mostly women that suffered charges of witchcraft men, children and even animals were also tortured and murdered.

But magic can be used for ill and although the terms black and white magic may have a lot to do with fear of retribution from the church and the Inquisition, it does also represent two distinct forms of magic. The medieval alchemist Albertus Magnus defined white magic as an art in concord with nature and black magic as an evil art that dealt with demonic forces employing incantations and spells.

In The Elixir and the Stone Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh writes that “the psychological and moral orientation with which one embarks on the process of shaping or transmuting reality will determine whether the magic one employs is, according to medieval and Renaissance definitions, white or black, clean or unclean, sacred or profane. At risk of oversimplification, it could almost be said that humanity, in effect, can be divided into three general categories –sacred magicians, profane magicians and victims. The magician, whether sacred or profane, assumes an active role in relation to the world he inhabits, and transforms it accordingly. The victim, in contrast, remains passive, a powerless slave to circumstance… these roles are not immutably fixed, nor are they very necessarily consistent… however most human beings, throughout most of their lives, are, in fact, victims.”

Instead of creating reality, the victim accepts the reality that it is given. Few question their lives, even fewer question the environment they are alive in!

What is the stance for ya'll here on AF on white vs. black. Personally I see magic as an Art and therefore it is neither, although it can be used for good and evil, but so can matches.

[Talkingfox]

I'm in the neither school of thought. How about green? Or purple? Or yellow?

It's all about intent isn't it? I've found that very few things can be so neatly diametrically divided anyways...

[deviadah]

Well as for the colours black and white, neither represent good nor bad. They both contain positive and negative aspects. Black = death = re-birth (well that is what life's all about).

[Dragon]

I don't think it's universal...ie in the eastern, the aspecting of "black" and "white" is reversed. I am with TF - All of vibration is just varying degrees of the same wave, whatever moral or philosophical attributes one assigns them are arbitrary, or more accurately, produced from personal experiences.

Not making them any less valid for the individual, only not a universal principal.

~D~

[deviadah]

Well my initial post is not really what I believe, it is more so what society, and the collective, has formed out of fear and need to label. I brought this up because it is interesting and valid. I am sure many magicians when they tell normal people what they do these people instantly think white or black. It is natural for human beings to act this way.

To me Magic is Art, and Ceremonial Magic and rituals and such a bit silly. Too much Harry Potter... no offence to anyone doing this - it is just how I feel. All magic can be performed in the mind, no staff necessary (there's one in the spine anyway).

If I am completly wrong with the above statement please correct me, perhaps I have not realised something!

[MythMath]

quoted from: The Elixir and the Stone

At risk of oversimplification, it could almost be said that humanity, in effect, can be divided
into three general categories – sacred magicians, profane magicians and victims.

- > 0 < +
_________________________________

Nice, I wonder what those ratios are... :p

[Anibis]

LoL... MM you are a strange cat... :)... I always say when people ask me what kind of magician I am, that I am a clear magician... and when they ask me more, I talk about Tao... But people do tend to consider me a black magician, it seems... I'm dark looking, tend to be a bit sinister, have a cruel streak for people who try to take advantage of me... I spose... then again, I spend most of my time considering the ethics of my impact on others, and how to make sure I am being fair to them... So in that respect, I'm a white magician... but clarity.... that's really what lets it all happen.... any color at all can enter into it...
-Anibis

[Sheosyrath]

I'm a... brown magician. :D

[Naomi]

LoL... MM you are a strange cat... :)... I always say when people ask me what kind of magician I am, that I am a clear magician... and when they ask me more, I talk about Tao... But people do tend to consider me a black magician, it seems... I'm dark looking, tend to be a bit sinister, have a cruel streak for people who try to take advantage of me... I spose... then again, I spend most of my time considering the ethics of my impact on others, and how to make sure I am being fair to them... So in that respect, I'm a white magician... but clarity.... that's really what lets it all happen.... any color at all can enter into it...
-Anibis

Well that's weird I sort of pegged you as a white light type....in my brain at least.

[deviadah]

I always say when people ask me what kind of magician I am, that I am a clear magician...
I like that!

I know a lot of people who are into the Death Metal scene and also Heavy Metal, and they look scary, dark, sinister but when you talk to them they are very nice and polite people.

Then when you meet a clean cut, Ralph Lauren wearing, normal person he can be quite a twat!

Also most serial killers look pretty normal. Few ever dressed sinister, or dark if you will, Zodiac an exception perhaps.

[Naomi]

Deviadah I lava you for saying that! Everyone is usually so scared of me. I am trying to look more casual lately. I even almost bought some rainbow colored earrings yesterday. I'm turning into some sort of gothic rainbow abomination. I blame the hip hop, Taco Bell and Quetzelcoatl mainly. I think....I think I used to be a red and black and white witch. If I had to pick a label. Lol

Still, I like the idea of being a rainbow mage. Hey there's a new idea for my next self reinvention. The only trouble is I would get mixed up with the greenpeace crowd - I havn't done the save the whales thing since I was 14 lmao.

Ralph Lauren, lol I have Ralph Lauren sheets and you know I can be a twat sometimes in bed. :::claw:::

Yeah serial killers...they all did look weirdly normal...lack of imagination and creativity I think, propels people to kill for no reason. I'm from Washington originally and they have tons of serial killers in their history books...even a massacre of Chinese people by the KKK downtown. Most Seattleites dress really boring and drab, seriously, unless you are in the University district or something - I havn't been back in about five years though, god I miss it.

The fashions here are all about bling and gangsta style, which can be cute too, and is very unexpected for an occultist. No one expects occultists to be eclectic enough to enjoy *rap music* and be shallow enough to enjoy fashion immensely.

I don't really care what other people wear though, I just like dressing myself which makes me quite narcissistic, though it's not too bad, I can at least see the beauty in other people too - white or black mages.

I know a great guy in here who used to own one of the local goth clubs and he was a really I mean *really* white knight mage - great guy, and he dressed in white and didn't come off as sinister at all, he was a Hermeticist with Christian leanings, but the co-owner was this tall shaven Satanist who dressed in the Neo style and came off with this delicious arrogance that just clings to black magicians you know? It was such a funny juxtaposition of light and dark.


I love the diversity anyways. I suppose I can contribute to the cause by calling myself a rainbow magician to those who pry and seem conservative. I really dig Ngian Shadowist though, as a title. Very cool and definately cunning sounding.

You seem quite colorful yourself Deviadah, with your bold signature and everything - what color magus would you consider yourself?

[Kuroyagi]

To tell you the honest opinion on the dress up stuff, I look quite normal or even better/more stylish than average- I simply enjoy traditional well made fabrics and bespoke tailoring: Also there are some reasons for this- for once because "looking good" is a magical trick in order to be treated well (in restaurants and the public) and also I often dress normally because I dont need any affectation- it is simply beneath me to disguise or dress up specially on an everyday basis, I dont feel the need to stand out (though Im a complete outsider/eccentric if compared to how others of my generation lead their lives). I think this is also a character thing- I myself like to utterly surprise and even terrify people- or at least want to decide whether I want to do so or not- and this I couldnt do if they already saw at a first glance that Im a vamp teeth wearing goth,. My take is to blend in with my sourroundings often or to stand out in a positive way- more winning through charme OR hitting from the shadows more ninja style ;)...not to discredit others who look "not normal" but as I said- its a character thing and we all have reasons for what we do...so at a goth party Id be a goth then...!

on the black white magic thing itself: I cant find anything useful in that...its not decide-able without context, only in context of the situation can it be decided- whether its "good" or "bad" magick and only on a personal level since those categories have to be realized by personal ethics and have to be guided by aesthetics (by what one actually sees and senses)...aesthetics in this sense is too taboo nowadays btw. It should be brought into the whole discussion about eugenics etc too...or prenatal meddling...I mean if something is a cluster of cells that are about to become a human embryo then its impossible to relate to it as human, and if someone is about to kill me I'll defend myself and might kill him...if one would be "objective" and say: killing (by magic) is bad or black, it would be quite nonsensical IMO).

[deviadah]

You seem quite colorful yourself Deviadah, with your bold signature and everything - what color magus would you consider yourself?Oh I am all purple!

But I dress label-less, brand-less, striped, plain, love gray. Very spartan! Cheap, simple. Clothes matters not for me. A person can't tell what I am by looking at me. I dress like that to prove the point that what I am is within, not without.

Sometimes when I speak to a Punk, you know with the nails, spiky hair etc, I tell them they are not punk at all. I am punk, they are just fashion victims. Although when I say that they get quite defensive (which proves me right).

I love purple though. And pink. Pink is the most modern color and symbolise Rebellion!

As for rainbow, as you mentioned, it's also a symbol of the Gay movement. So you could then be a Greenpeace/Lesbian/Goth! :p

Anyway perhaps it's bad form but I will now link to a thread outside this forum that discuss dresscodes and Satanism... I think it is somewhat interesting.

Click HERE (http://occultforums.com/showthread.php?t=14896)

[Ritual_Kiss]

Most of what I read about Ceremonial magick has it devided into High and Low. High magick being magickal practice intended to unify the practitioner with the universe, while the other is for material gain. I think the two are intertwined. The idea of black and white magick seems like another way of saying good and evil, and I think it's more of a spectrum.

[Naomi]

Most of what I read about Ceremonial magick has it devided into High and Low. High magick being magickal practice intended to unify the practitioner with the universe, while the other is for material gain. I think the two are intertwined. The idea of black and white magick seems like another way of saying good and evil, and I think it's more of a spectrum.

I agree with this simple assessment.

[baenheh]

I feel that society largely is narrow minded about magick and earth and science based religions.

All mainstream does is to continue to mislabel, misunderstand and disinform others especially when its to do with magick or science.

If its not creating money with trendy spell books and trinkets or claiming scientific theories as fact, then it is injecting venom into groups with concepts such as 'dark' or 'light' as a means to control out of fear or even envy at the new.

Darkness can mean the seed germinating in the dark earth with all of its potential ready to develop, transmute and grow. Dark is also the divine mother of chaos before becoming - which is a necessary part of life's process.

Light is the sun which reveals form and creates heat and movement.

Trying to separate dark and light and other 'TERMS' and putting them into little boxes with no argument, little understanding, and much ignorance suits the many in the mainstream -who like things controlled, predictable and cozy.

dark and light are complimentary, but have been twisted into rascism, political and religious dogmas that are meant to separate, ensnaring the ignorant into false beliefs.

Internal alchemy and magick practices that use intents on harming another by manipulative, coersive and projective means could be called 'selfish'

Other forms of magick that dont project on another being or have any intentions to harm or manipulate could be called 'unselfish'

But all individuals who practice any form of magick are 'self responsible'

Black is now a superstitious feared system of belief and so is White a 'fluff bunny' more comfy belief.

Both of these beliefs are built upon many people who 'assume and agree upon some things, even if just to fit in somewhere'
But all individuals have different life experiences of good or bad, so much catagorizing is contradictory in a sense.

There is no black or white in magick there is only intention - study - practical method- then observed outcome.

[deviadah]

Yeah, I agree...

When did the Magician become the Illusionist? Where was the transition?

A magician is also an illusionist in that s/he works with the illusion of reality... :cool:

The illusionist, the one on stage, is never labelled white/black because what s/he does is just tricks on the eyes. But a real Magician (white, black or as Anibis put it clear) creates tricks - not for other peoples eyes - but for his own.

Still, I wonder when the shift took place... seems like as soon as it wasn't heretic to be a Magician the whole field got thrown on stage like some freak show, watered down and hey presto we have a dude with a rabbit in a hat!

I'm not against the art of illusion at all... just curious about how it shifted!

I know this thread is about the difference between white and black magic (and I don't see one personally in the sense that the masses do), but I think this point is also valid to bring up here instead of starting a whole new thread about it...

:cool:

[Znanna]

quoted from: The Elixir and the Stone

At risk of oversimplification, it could almost be said that humanity, in effect, can be divided
into three general categories – sacred magicians, profane magicians and victims.

- > 0 < +
_________________________________

Nice, I wonder what those ratios are... :p


Hehe.

I agree with this view.

To me the meme of "good" = white and "bad" = black probably was reinforced with the Wizard of Oz and the good witch and evil witch.

ZN

[deviadah]

To me the meme of "good" = white and "bad" = black probably was reinforced with the Wizard of Oz and the good witch and evil witch.

"I'm meltin'..."

So Znanna, you might want to pop in to a thread called Memes & Anti-Memes... (http://forums.abrahadabra.com/showthread.php?p=28371#post28371)

On another topic, for those interested, there is a thread called Magic(k) in the 13 colonies... (http://forums.abrahadabra.com/showthread.php?t=1133)

:cool:

[Frater Yechidah]

I think it's also important to remember here that polarities developed over millenia and are intrinsically integrated into our psyche. Some people get offended, for example, when it is stated that, in terms of polarity, female goes with night, moon, dark, introverted, etc., while male goes with day, sun, light, extroverted. Now, I'm male, but I'm not that extroverted, and I work better at night, and don't care much for the sun (but then I am Irish :P [the sun doesn't exist here]), so obviously this isn't true as a description of the individual. But that's mistaking sex for gender. I'm sexually male, but gender is another thing entirely. I think the idea of black and white and low and high magick falls under this spectrum of mythological polarity, and is there to serve as a tool, not a be-all-and-end-all of "the way it is".

Why does black have to mean evil, btw? And why does white have to mean good? Old tradition teaches us that, but I see these colours in much the same way as I see "positive" and "negative". The former does not mean "good" and the latter does not mean "bad". To posit is to create (and thus is seen as masculine in terms of gender), while to negate is to remove (seen as feminine). They are both essential symbiotic elements of existence, and one cannot exist without the other, nor is one better or worse than the other.

That said, I prefer theurgy over thaumaturgy, but then I am a Gnostic world-hater (said tongue in cheek) :P

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.