Rosewicket Wicca Coven

With magic and Wicca being so intertwined today, the question of what "black magic" is, comes up quite a lot. Sure, everyone thinks they know what it is and how to stay away from it, and how or when it interferes with the Rede...but how much time have you really taken to think about it?

I'm not encouraging reckless behavior, but it needs to be addressed that you can't refrain from a behavior until you know what that behavior is.

I, personally, do not like the terms "black", "white" or "gray" magic. Personally, I think at the very least magic is in shades of gray, but that's generally pushing it, there are so many variables that you can't even begin to compare it with colours. (or a lack of).

However, for the sake of clarity, here (and usually elsewhere) "Black Magic" means magic that is used to purposely harm someone.

White magic is happy fluffy magic that harms nothing.

Gray magic is magic that is "white turned black", or magic that is meant to be good but ended up causing harm.

I think these labels are rubbish. If you've heard me talk about the Rede before, you know it's impossible to live without hurting another being. The example I use most often is that if you brush your teeth you're killing bacteria. Magic is the same way.

For example:

You have to KILL cancer to CURE a person of it. Thus a healing prayer encourages killing.

You have to MANIPULATE your emotions to BANISH hate. Thus, banishing rituals manipulate your feelings.

To GAIN money, it has to be TAKEN (or come from) somewhere.

But should we hope to die of cancer? Should we act on hate? Should we stay unemployed?

You can argue that caner and hate are bad things that deserve to be harmed, and you could argue that you can ask for monetary gain without taking it from someplace else. But the basic point is the same. Some things, like love and happiness are unlimited and cost us nothing. Other mundane things are not this way. Thus, if magic you work is self oriented, be conscious.

At the same time, “White” magic hardy exists. There is no way to tell what events your magic will set in motion. Maybe you bought candles from a store that imports from a foreign country with poor working conditions and low pay – thus in the workings of your spell, you supported the company that made your candles and poor treatment of other humans. Maybe something is sacrificed for your spell to work. Who knows? There is no way to tell. Keep your intentions pure and use your knowledge and common sense, hope for the best and you should turn out all right.

Yes, there is magic that is aimed to hurt people. Yes, people do use it. I do not encourage this, but some people see it as part of a balance.

When approaching magic, do not think in terms of "good" and "evil", think about cause and effect. By working with magic, you are causing something. What are the possible effects? How will they influence you or others? Is the end result worth it? Would you opinion be different if you felt that your actions would come back to you? If they wouldn't?

Magic is largely about responsibility. Essentially, you can take any spell of the internet and cast it. It may or may not work. But can you accept and deal with your actions? Sometimes it is not the spell that determines right or wrong - it is how the practitioner can respond to the workings of it.

That's up to you. For a long time I didn't eat meat partly because of the Rede. It's not like I think all people should stop eating meat, or that eating meat is bad, I just thought that since I wasn't doing a lot to really "help" nature, that was a good place to start.

I had to go back to eating meat for health reasons, but in the process I did learn about some great organizations that support better treatment of animals before they are killed for food. You don't have to be against meat to be against cruelty, you can eat meat and still work with organizations that give better care to animals while they are alive.

The Rede is a goal that Wiccans shiould have, not a list that we should follow. It's impossible not to harm something, but the rede means we should try our best to do good.

I agree that nothing we do will be perfect, but not that we are flawed as this is a christian idea. I don't think we have to be aware of our sinfulness, or even of our lack of perfection. 

Black and white as labels are just ways of saying this is godd and this is bad. I think we all know this and should act according to what we know. 

We are part of the web of life and death, but nothing ever really 'dies' except ego.

Merry Meet!

Also ich selbst glaube nicht an das Böse,für mich gibt es keine schwarze oder weiße Magie. Ich sehe in allen Dingen meistens nur das Gute,sicher man muss dran glauben aber das tu ich. Man könnte sonst so manches im leben auch nicht bewältigen. Muss dazu sagen,mein Wiccaglaube hat mir schon sehr oft über ganz schlimme Dinge im leben drüber weg geholfen. Dank an die große Göttin und unsern Gott! Sicher kein Mensch ist perfekt auch ich nicht aber ich lebe so gut es geht nach der Wicca Rede. Ich lebe nach dem Dreifachgesetz und daß ist mir immer Bewusst. Ich tu niemand wissentlich schaden ,nicht Mensch ,nicht Tier,keiner Pflanze und auch keinen Stein. Ich weiß und mir ist bewusst,würde ich es tun,so kommt es Dreifach auf mich selbst zurück!  Ich hüte mich davor! Blessed Be!  Artemisia Morgana.

Hi and Merry meet, Everyone --

There are a lot of beginners who do think of magick as either "white = good, or black = evil" but with all due respect, most experienced witches see that an an error tht's been brought into witchcraft from Christian values and ethics, not Pagan, and certainly not Wiccan.

Let me explain, if i may: but this may take a bit -- (my apologies for the length, but i want to be thorough) --

Magick is a TOOL, like a hammer. A hammer may be used to build a house, or tear one down; a good, well-used hammer will eventually be used for BOTH purposes. Would you call a hammer used to build houses, a "good" or "white" hammer, and one used to tear down houses, a "bad" or "black" hammer?

Let's consider gardening: To have a successful, productive garden, you must destroy pests and weeds -- Is that "black" gardening?

When you prune a tree, is that "black" arbor management? Unlimited light would be as dangerous as constant darkness; and the "growth" tendency untempered by the principle of limitation or death, is what we call Cancer.

The notion that "black=evil" magick comes out of *Christian* dualism, which in turn developed out of classical Greek dualities. Greek philosophers divided up the entire universe into sets of "opposites":

COLUMN A -       COLUMN B

Light              -        Dark

Spirit             -       Matter

Mind             -        Body

Heaven       -       Earth

Logic           -      Emotion

Reason       -      Intuition

Above        -        Below

Sun          -         Moon

Linear     -       Wholistic

Culture      -      Nature

Order       -       Chaos

-- Etc.

-- And furthermore, they said that in order for the Universe to function safely, it was necessary for everything in "Column A" to "rule over" and "hold in check" everything in Column B. Now, where do you think these mostly male philosophers placed "males"? -- right, Column A; females they consigned to Column B. This was the philosophical rationale for white males "ruling over" everyting from the Earth, to dark skinned people, to women.

These dualisms entered early Christian thought by way of "Saint" Paul, who as a Roman citizen was steeped in them; and together, they became the foundation for Western thought and culture for the next 2000 years.

HOwever, There is ANOTHER way to understand / view the Universe, that is NON-dualistic. This alternate way -- the more Pagan way -- views the universe NOT as a collection of dualistic opposites, but rather, as a collection of diversities within ultimate UNITY or BALANCE; and it is the BALANCE that is important, not one "side" or the other.

Back to our examples, above: those examples of the hammer, the garden and the tree, clearly demonstrate the weaknesses and limitiations of the dualistic view.

The term "black magick" is a MISnomer, particularly inappropriate for Pagan/ Wiccan magick.

Furthermore, there are PROBLEMS with such useage.

As mages and metaphysicians, we know that Words have power to create and sustain social systems, cultures, and even reality.

If we use word-concepts like "Black=evil" and "White=good" in magick, we support and encourage the dualistic world view that splits the universe into two opposite and opposing "camps";

-- The view that celebrates Spirit over matter, mind over body, logic over intuition, heaven over earth, order over chaos, light over darkness, and males over females. It's a "packaged deal," ysee.

Furthermore, As long as we allow the word "black" to symbolize evil, we buy into, encourage and perpetuate its inherent racism.

By using those words in that way, we give tacit approval to and even encourage the entire system of dualisms which idealizes "light" and demonizes "darkness", idealizes spirit and demonizes matter; idealizes logic and demonizes emotion, idealizes maleness and demonizes femaleness -- And we encourage and perpetuate the stranglehold that conservative, fundamentalist Christianity has over our culture, by buying into their terms, their philosophies, their attitudes, and their values.

Magick is neither white nor black, good nor evil -- It is a TOOL, and whether it manifests as positive or negative is dependent upon HOW it is USED, and the INTENT of the USER.

I hope that's helpful --  Blessed Be -  GaiaDianne

Merry Meet !

Yes,i think this is right. Magick is no black or white! I think so!

I ,can much learn here in Rosewicket! Thank you on all!

Blessings Artemisia Morgana.

dividing something as general as magick into two categories is impossible. There is no such thing as purely good magick or purely bad magick