Black magic or dark magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. With respect to the left-hand path and right-hand path dichotomy, black magic is the malicious, left-hand counterpart of benevolent white magic. In modern times, some find that the definition of "black magic" has been convoluted by people who define magic or ritualistic practices that they disapprove of as "black magic".
17th century priest, Étienne Guibourg, is said to have performed a series of Black Mass rituals with alleged witch Catherine Monvoisin for Madame de Montespan.
In Islam, Surah AL-Falaq is recited to protect against sorcery.
History
The influence of popular culture has allowed other practices to be drawn in under the broad banner of "black magic" including the concept of Satanism. While the invocation of demons or spirits is an accepted part of black magic, this practice is distinct from the worship or deification of such spiritual beings.
Those lines, though, continue to be blurred by the inclusion of spirit rituals from otherwise "white magicians" in compilations of work related to Satanism. John Dee's 16th century rituals, for example, were included in Anton LaVey's The Satanic Bible (1969) and so some of his practises, otherwise considered white magic, have since been associated with black magic. Dee's rituals themselves were designed to contact spirits in general and angels in particular, which he claimed to have been able to do with the assistance of colleague Edward Kelley. LaVey's Bible, however, is a "complete contradiction" of Dee's intentions but offers the same rituals as a means of contact with evil spirits and demons. Interestingly, LaVey's Church of Satan (with LaVey's Bible at its centre), "officially denies the efficacy of occult ritual" but "affirms the subjective, psychological value of ritual practice", drawing a clear distinction between.
White magic is supposedly utilized only for good or unselfish purposes, and black magic, we are told, is used only for selfish or "evil" reasons. Satanism draws no such dividing line. Magic is magic, be it used to help or hinder. The Satanist, being the magician, should have the ability to decide what is just, and then apply the powers of magic to attain his goals.
Satanism is not a white light religion; it is a religion of the flesh, the mundane, the carnal - all of which are ruled by Satan, the personification of the Left Hand Path.
Black magic and religion
The links and interaction between black magic and religion are many and varied. Beyond black magic's links to organised Satanism or its historical persecution by Christianity and its inquisitions, there are links between religious and black magic rituals. The Black Mass, for example, is a sacrilegious parody of the Catholic Mass. Likewise, a saining, though primarily a practice of white magic, is a Wiccan ritual analogous to a christening or baptism for an infant.
17th century priest, Étienne Guibourg, is said to have performed a series of Black Mass rituals with alleged witch Catherine Monvoisin for Madame de Montespan.
In Islam, Surah AL-Falaq is recited to protect against sorcery.
Practices and rituals
During his period of scholarship, A. E. Waite provided a comprehensive account of black magic practices, rituals and traditions in The Book of Black Magic and Ceremonial Magic. Other practitioners have expanded on these ideas and offered their own comprehensive lists of rituals and concepts. Black magic practices and rituals include:
- True name spells - the theory that knowing a person's true name allows control over that person, making this wrong for the same reason. This can also be used as a connection to the other person, or to free them from another's compulsion, so it is in the grey area.
- Immortality rituals - from a Taoist perspective, life is finite, and wishing to live beyond one's natural span is not with the flow of nature. Beyond this, there is a major issue with immortality. Because of the need to test the results, the subjects must be killed. Even a spell to extend life may not be entirely good, especially if it draws life energy from another to sustain the spell.[16]
- Necromancy - for purposes of usage, this is defined not as general black magic, but as any magic having to do with death itself, either through divination of entrails, or the act of raising the dead body, as opposed to resurrection or CPR.[17]
- Curses and hexes - a curse can be as simple as wishing something bad would happen to another, through a complex ritual.[18]
In popular culture and fiction
Concepts related to black magic or described, even inaccurately, as "black magic" are a regular feature of books, films and other popular culture. Examples include:- Black Magic (Little Mix song) - Lead single by British girl-group Little Mix released in May 2015, for their third studio album "Get Weird".
- The Devil Rides Out - a 1934 novel by Dennis Wheatley - made into a famous film by Hammer Studios in 1968
- Rosemary's Baby - a 1968 horror novel in which black magic is a central theme.
- The Craft - a 1996 film featuring four friends who become involved in white witchcraft but turn to black magic rituals for personal gain.
- The Harry Potter series - black magic, including various spells and curses, is referred to as "the dark arts" against which students are taught to defend themselves.
- Final Fantasy - a video game in which white and black magic are simply used to distinguish between healing/defensive spells (such as a "cure") and offensive/elemental spells (such as "fire") and do not carry an inherent good or evil connotation.
- Charmed - a television series in which black magic is also known as "the black arts", "dark arts", "dark magic" or even "evil magic", and is used by demons and other evil beings.
