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Black magicFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor other uses, see Black magic (disambiguation).

"Dark magic" redirects here. For other uses, see Dark magic (disambiguation).

John Dee and Edward Kelley using a magic circle ritual to invoke a spirit in a church grave yard.

Black magic has traditionally referred to the use of  supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfishpurposes.[! With respect to the left"hand path and right"hand path dichotomy, #lack magic is themalicious, left"hand counterpart of #enevolent white magic. $n modern times, some find that thedefinition of %#lack magic% has #een convoluted #y people who define magic or ritualistic practicesthat they disapprove of as %#lack magic%. [&!

Contents

  [hide! 

• 'istory

• & (atanism and devil"worship

• ) *oodoo

•

+ lack magic and religion

• - ractices and rituals

• / $n popular culture and fiction

• 0 (ee also

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• 1 2eferences

History [edit!

3ike its counterpart white magic, the origins of #lack magic can #e traced to the primitive, ritualisticworship of spirits as outlined in 2o#ert 4. lace5s &667 #ook, Magic and Alchemy .[)! 8nlike white

magic, in which lace sees parallels with primitive shamanistic efforts to achieve closeness withspiritual #eings, the rituals that developed into modern %#lack magic% were designed to invoke thosesame spirits to produce #eneficial outcomes for the practitioner. lace also provides a #road moderndefinition of #oth #lack and white magic, preferring instead to refer to them as %high magic% 9white:and %low magic% 9#lack: #ased primarily on intentions of the practitioner employing them. 'eacknowledges, though, that this #roader definition 9of %high% and %low%: suffers from pre;udices asgood"intentioned folk magic may #e considered %low% while ceremonial magic involving e<pensive ore<clusive components may #e considered #y some as %high magic%, regardless of intent. [)![+!

See also: enaissance magic 

During the 2enaissance, many magical practices and rituals were considered evil or irreligious and#y e<tension, %#lack magic% in the #road sense. Witchcraft and non"mainstream esoteric study wereprohi#ited and targeted #y the $n=uisition.[-! >s a result, natural magic developed as a way forthinkers and intellectuals, like 4arsilio Ficino, a##ot Johannes ?rithemius and 'einrich @ornelius

 >grippa, to advance esoteric and ritualistic study 9though still often in secret: without significantpersecution.[-!

While %natural magic% #ecame popular among the educated and upper classes of the /th and 0thcentury, ritualistic magic and folk magic remained su#;ect to persecution. &6th centuryauthor 4ontague (ummers generally re;ects the definitions of %white% and %#lack% magic as%contradictory%, though he highlights the e<tent to which magic in general, regardless of intent, wasconsidered %dark% or %#lack% and cites William erkins posthumous /61 instructions in that regardA [/!

 >ll witches %convicted #y the 4agistrate% should #e e<ecuted. 'e allows no e<ception and under thiscondemnation fall %all Diviners, @harmers, Jugglers, all WiBards, commonly called wise men or wisewomen%. >ll those purported %good Witches which do not hurt #ut good, which do not spoil and destroy,#ut save and deliver% should come under the e<treme sentence.

$n particular, though, the term was most commonly reserved for those accused ofinvoking demons and other evil spirits, those he<ing or cursing their neigh#ours, those using magicto destroy crops and those capa#le of leaving their earthly #odies and travelling great distances inspirit 9to which the Malleus Male!icarum, %devotes one long and important chapter%:. (ummers alsohighlights the etymological development of the term nigromancer , in common use from &66 toappro<imately -66, 93atinA iger , #lackCreekA 4anteia, divination:, #roadly %one skilled in the #lackarts%.[/!

$n a modern conte<t, the line #etween %white magic% and %#lack magic% is somewhat clearer andmost modern definitions focus on intent rather than practice. [)! ?here is also an e<tent to which manymodern Wicca and witchcraft practitioners have sought to distance themselves from those intent onpractising #lack magic. ?hose who seek to do harm or evil are less likely to #e accepted into

mainstream Wiccan circles or covens in an era where #enevolent magic is increasingly associatedwith new"age gnosticism and self"help spiritualism. [0!

Satanism and devil-worship[edit!

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$llustration #y 4artin van 4ale, of a #itches$ Sabbath, in the 7 edition of  %a Sorciere, #y Jules 4ichelet.

Main article: Satanism

?he influence of popular culture has allowed other practices to #e drawn in under the #road #annerof %#lack magic% including the concept of (atanism. While the invocation of demons or spirits is anaccepted part of #lack magic, this practice is distinct from the worship or deification of such spiritual#eings.[0!

?hose lines, though, continue to #e #lurred #y the inclusion of spirit rituals from otherwise %whitemagicians% in compilations of work related to (atanism. John Dee5s /th century rituals, for e<ample,were included in >nton 3a*ey5s &he Satanic Bible 97/7: and so some of his practises, otherwiseconsidered white magic, have since #een associated with #lack magic. Dee5s rituals themselves

were designed to contact spirits in general and angels in particular, which he claimed to have #eena#le to do with the assistance of colleague Edward Kelley. 3a*ey5s Bible, however, is a %completecontradiction% of Dee5s intentions #ut offers the same rituals as a means of contact with evil spiritsand demons.[1! $nterestingly, 3a*ey5s @hurch of (atan 9with 3a*ey5s Bible at its centre:, %officiallydenies the efficacy of occult ritual% #ut %affirms the su#;ective, psychological value of ritual practice%,drawing a clear distinction #etween. [1! 3a*ey himself was more specificA

White magic is supposedly utiliBed only for good or unselfish purposes, and #lack magic, we are told, isused only for selfish or %evil% reasons. (atanism draws no such dividing line. 4agic is magic, #e it used tohelp or hinder. ?he (atanist, #eing the magician, should have the a#ility to decide what is ;ust, and thenapply the powers of magic to attain his goals.

(atanism is not a white light religionC it is a religion of the flesh, the mundane, the carnal " all of which areruled #y (atan, the personification of the 3eft 'and ath.

?he latter =uote, though, seems to have #een directed toward the growing trends of Wiccanismand neo"paganism at the time.[1!

 Voodoo[edit!

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 > *oodoo doll.

Main article: %ouisiana 'oodoo

*oodoo, too, has #een associated with modern %#lack magic%C drawn together in popular culture andfiction. 'owever, while he<ing or cursing may #e accepted #lack magic practices, *oodoo has itsown distinct history and traditions that have little to do with the traditions of modern witchcraft thatdeveloped with European practitioners like erald ardner  and  >leister @rowley.[0![7![6!

$n fact, *oodoo tradition makes its own distinction #etween #lack and white magic, with sorcererslike the okor  known for using magic and rituals of #oth. ut their penchant for magic associatedwith curses, poisons and Bom#ies means they, and *oodoo in general, are regularly associated with#lack magic in particular.[!

Black magic and religion[edit!

?he links and interaction #etween #lack magic and religion are many and varied. eyond #lackmagic5s links to organised (atanism or its historical persecution #y @hristianity and its in=uisitions,there are links #etween religious and #lack magic rituals. ?he lack 4ass, for e<ample, isa sacrilegious parody of the @atholic 4ass. 3ikewise, a saining, though primarily a practice of whitemagic, is a Wiccan ritual analogous to a christening or #aptism for an infant.[&![)!

0th century priest, tienne ui#ourg, is said to have performed a series of lack 4ass rituals withalleged witch @atherine 4onvoisin for  4adame de 4ontespan.[+!

Practices and rituals[edit!

[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on th

This section provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject . (June 201

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?he lowest depths of #lack mysticism are well"nighas difficult to plum# as it is arduous to scalethe heights of sanctity. ?he rand 4asters of 

the witch covens are men of genius " a foul genius,crooked, distorted, distur#ed, and diseased.

4ontague (ummers#itchcra!t and Black Magic 

During his period of scholarship, >. E. Waite provided a comprehensive account of #lack magicpractices, rituals and traditions in&he Book o! Black Magic and eremonial Magic .[-! Gtherpractitioners have e<panded on these ideas and offered their own comprehensive lists of rituals andconcepts. lack magic practices and rituals includeA

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• ?rue name spells " the theory that knowing a person5s true name allows control over thatperson, making this wrong for the same reason. ?his can also #e used as a connection to theother person, or to free them from another5s compulsion, so it is in the grey area.

• $mmortality rituals " from a ?aoist perspective, life is finite, and wishing to live #eyond one5snatural span is not with the flow of nature. eyond this, there is a ma;or issue with immortality.

ecause of the need to test the results, the su#;ects must #e killed. Even a spell to e<tend lifemay not #e entirely good, especially if it draws life energy from another to sustain the spell. [/!

• Hecromancy " for purposes of usage, this is defined not as general #lack magic, #ut as anymagic having to do with death itself, either through divination of entrails, or the act of raising thedead #ody, as opposed to resurrection or @2.[0!

• @urses and he<es " a curse can #e as simple as wishing something #ad would happen toanother, through a comple< ritual. [1!

In popular culture and fiction[edit!

@oncepts related to #lack magic or descri#ed, even inaccurately, as %#lack magic% are a regularfeature of #ooks, films and other popular culture. E<amples includeA

• &he Deil ides *ut  " a 7)+ novel #y Dennis Wheatley " made into a famous film #y'ammer (tudios in 7/1

• osemary$s Baby  " a 7/1 horror novel in which #lack magic is a central theme.

• &he ra!t  " a 77/ film featuring four friends who #ecome involved in white witchcraft #utturn to #lack magic rituals for personal gain.

•

?he 'arry otter  series " #lack 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 #lack magic are simply used to distinguish#etween healingIdefensive spells 9such as a %cure%: and offensiveIelemental spells 9such as%fire%: and do not carry an inherent good or evil connotation.

• harmed  " a television series in which #lack magic is also known as %the #lack arts%, %darkarts%, %dark magic% or even %evil magic%, and is used #y demons and other evil #eings.

• &he Secret ircle " > short"lived television series featuring witches, in which there are twokinds of magic. While traditional magic helps you to connect to the energy around you, more

lethal and dangerous dark magic is rooted in the anger, fear and negativity inside you. Gnly afew #orn with it can access dark magic and some are inherently stronger than others.

• &he +oer o! Fie is an entire series #y >nthony 'orowitB a#out #lack magic and evilsorcerers. ?he antagonists are all #lack sorcerers and are all practitioners of #lack magic, #lackmagic is a means of summoning the Gld Gnes from their prison, 'ell. lack magic often takesthe form of mass murder and animation of inanimate o#;ects.

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• ight #atch " $n the Hight Watch #ook 9and movie: series the magicians are grouped intotwo sides %3ight Gthers% and %Dark Gthers%. ?he dark magicians are more motivated #y selfishdesires.

• Su-ernatural (.S. &' series) " ?he television series (upernatural features many events andcharacters that feature and participate in #lack magic.

• &he /obbit (!ilm series) " ?he films #ased on J. 2. 2. ?olkien5s #ook &he /obbit  featureelements of #lack magic centered around a character known as %the Hecromancer%, howeverthis is very seldom mentioned in the #ook. $t later is discovered that the Hecromanceris (auron who is the principle dark character of the whole 3ord of the 2ings series.

• &he %ord o! the ings " ?he 3ord of the 2ings5 essential antagonist is (auron. (auron andhis followers use #lack magic on many events such as the creation of many of his followers andthe forging of the Gne 2ing.

• Sherlock /olmes (0112 !ilm) " ?he first of the two (herlock 'olmes films directed #y uy2itchie includes elements of #lack magic although they are later discovered to #e false.