I dont think blood magic has anything to do with delving into the deep and dark reserves of your soul. The only reason why it is dangerous is because we have mentally ill people on this planet who get over excited and hurt themselves or someone else--probably an animal and in some seriously retarded situations, even a human being. And then we have the stupid who believe that more blood is more power, which in my opinion, is completely untrue.
The use of blood in magic is minimal, as little as a tiny drop or lesser. It is something that represents you. The blood is believed to empower the spell. You can also empower a spell with your intention and belief in its outcome. Yet, some people feel the need to poke a needle into their finger, use a finger nail, a piece of hair, etc to be able to do that.
Just like everything in this universe can be used constructively and destructively, so can blood magic. But it's not the use of blood, its the intention that makes it constructive or destructive. The blood is merely a symbol of sacrifice or the element of spirit in your ritual. Your spirit.
Sorry about posting immediately, but I wanted to reply to cullen
Well even in animal sacrifices cullen, its not the blood that's energizing the spell. It's the energy of the spell-caster, who uses blood to transfer that energy into the ritual or uses the poor animal as short cut symbol of his sacrifice. A person sacrificing an animal believes that the animal belongs to him, which is why he chooses to sacrifice it. But nobody's life really belongs to you to sacrifice it, now does it?
You say that, but there are various traditions where Animal/Human sacrifice fuels the energy for, say, making sure it rains, or keeping favour with divinity. When I say various, I mean all across the world with cultures that had no contact with eachother. You can't excuse an ancient practice because it's gruesome, some Vodun practices involve the sacrifice of an Animal for healing, initiation or atonement. Yes, these cultures may have eaten the Animals after, but the focus is still the same.
Blood is life force, to use it in a spell is to sacrifice some. It may or may not be more potent with permission, but it was enough for spaced out peoples around the Ancient world to consider it powerful. The bridge between sacrifice of life and blood is that life is blood, the blood itself powered these old rituals.
Now, these Ancient peoples that were sacrificed - Atleast in Ireland, where I've already visited the sites - must have given permission. With Animals, I've proved my point. Life = Blood, Blood = Power, which can be used by anyone well versed in blood magick. This is my opinion from studying these cultures, you've got yours, I've got mine :)
I'm not rubbishing animal sacrifice or the use of their blood. Sorry if it came across like that. I agree with you that it is an ancient method, which is still used in many cultures. I have no doubt about that. And yes it can be gruesome. But its moralities, which include right-wrong, permissions-no permissions are a separate debate, for which we can start another thread.
My only point here is that its not the blood of an animal, human or mutant, in the ritual that's making magic happen. It's the spell caster's intention that's making the spell work. The blood, because, as you mentioned, is a life source, is used to transfer the spell caster's intention into the ritual. It's a symbol of his sacrifice of something that belongs to him.
Ancient man believed that animals belonged to him. Shortly after he began to domesticate them, he believed that he could possess and sacrifice them. The logic behind it is, . 'why pick my own blood, when I have a pig that belongs to me'
Such is also the case for human sacrifices. Once man began enslaving his own kind, he believed that the slaves belonged to him. And the logic remains the same--'why pick my own blood, when I can use someone else who belongs to me'
I don't know how many animal and human sacrifice spells worked. And if they have, then its probably because the ancient spell caster believed that the animal or slave belonged to him and he had every right to sacrificing it.
In my opinion, if you want to use blood then please go ahead. But use your own blood to transfer your intentions into the ritual. Your own blood or life force, will carry your energy better than using someone or something else's blood and life force.
It did, sorry for reacting so strongly, I'm very passionate about the Ancient practices :) I agree that there are morality issues when suggesting sacrifice in such a direct and intense form, and it's a topic for another thread, also.
Oh the intention that is vital, but I was saying that the energy comes from the blood or life force is what powers it. The intention moves with the energy and changes the universe, the same applies with cosmic events powering the ritual.
Not true, lets take the Mayans for example, they believed that the energy from said sacrifice causes the sun to rise. It's not even sacrifice, it's more like pulling energy from a source, though it's permanent and one-time only (Because it's life force).
When it comes to human sacrifice, it's rare that they were non consented, the Celtics used this to feed the creatures they took from to obtain healthy balance, also to balance the universe, so it was especially important to them - Enough to give their lives.
The old Magick required the energy to be morphed by divinity in order to make it rain, or to make their women more fertile.
I use my own blood, I would be a hypocrite to have not performed some type of Blood Magick. That's very true, our own blood is more personal, but also more binding, which can throw some off.
Re: Blood magic? By: TheGuide
Post # 18 Feb 11, 2013
Alrighty, blood magic while not my specialty I'll assume is still the same as other kids of magics. Like any magic knowing what you are doing is very important until you can recite the pros and cons from memory after not looking at it for ten-fifteen days. All magic can bite you in the butt. Just be careful and know what you are doing.
Harmful, good and bad are a personal judgement. In the case of Blood Magic, it is because of its gruesome history and perhaps even its misuse.
You dont have to hack someone or something or even hack yourself. Such things have been done by people who probably lost the plot.
Of course, those who practice it need to be mature, experienced and knowledgeable about magic. And most of all you need a sound mind.
Please do not label the use of blood in magic as bad, just because the concept has been misused in the past and left un-researched. Several pagan rituals have been labelled with all sorts of things due to lack of understanding.
