Im sure a lot of you who are witches know what "black" and "white" magic is. You've probably used the terms yourself.
"Black" magic is "darker" magic. Magic that is considered bad, evil, or shouldn't be done. Things such a Voodoo, Necromancy, etc. etc.
"White" magic is "good" magic. Magic that everyone should do, and shouldn't do the "evil" magic. Things such as candle magic, Paganism, whatever.
The Wiccan Three Fold Law too - that should also be mentioned here. Whatever you do will come back three times to you.
But, have you even considered what these words imply? When using magic, we should be mindful of our words and what we say, and the history behind them. Why do we call these sorts of magic - necromancy, summoning demons, etc. as BLACK magic? The color black is one of protection, stealth, safety, why is it used in such a negative fashion? Because of colonization of witchcraft.
Magic is about intention too, right? When you are conjuring the dead, its not like you are doing dark and evil magic if you are calling upon your ancestors, or summoning the spirits of the dead to ask advice to. We should label magic based on the intention used with it, not because of the stereotype of it. Like "negative" or "evil" or whatever else you have it, but black=bad. In witchcraft it has only been used negatively when EXPLAINING negative things.
Magic isnt inherently good or evil, and never will be. Its alright if you believe in the Three Fold Law, but things that are considered evil beneath this law is Hexing, Cursing, animal sacrifice, and much more. There's a lot of racism embedded within our practice, even if you never meant for there to be there, nor even known!
Either way, this is just one example of many, many ways that witchcraft and magic has been colonized (or other things have been appropriated, glossed over, or cherry-picked). I would recommend any beginner witch to look into decolonizing their craft, it helps a lot in making it make more sense to practice. Things such as:
Racism
Unethical use of natural resources
Abuse and Misuse of Closed Practices
Commercialization & Consumerism
Appropriating Spiritualities that ARENT actually 'witchy'
and much, much more. You can get started just by looking up "decolonizing witchcraft".
Feel free to add your own thing to this, or move it if need be. This is my first time posting something so Im unsure how things work around here. Recommendations, experiences, anything else! I might make a part two to this on how to decolonize your craft, but thats if i feel like it. Please, go do some research on it, everyone should look into this!
Re: "Black" & "White" Magic By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 2 Aug 15, 2023
Please remember that it is against the rules of this site to type out your words all in capital letters. Continuing to do so could result in you no longer being able to post here.
You might also consider that the Three-Fold Law is a Wiccan concept and may not apply for other magical practices.
Necromancy is simply a form of divination where one calls upon the spirits of the dead rather than using something like Tarot, etc.
Voudou is not Black Magic. It is an Afro-Caribbean religion where its practitioners practice a form of magic that is drawn from the tribal religions of the African slaves brought to the Americas.
You are correct that there are many things that those who know little about magic use the terms "black" and "white" to identify. And there is a racist connotation there. That, of course, is why all of the Afro-Caribbean Diasporic religions such as Voudou, Candoble, Santeria, etc are always portrayed as evil.
Alright, thank you for letting me know about the all capital thing! I didnt know that was a rule ^^
I hope my post didn't come across as attacking people for believing in the Three Fold Law, I was just giving an example of how some practices have been demonized even though they are regularly practiced by some people without bad intent. Its up to the person who uses the Three Fold Law to decide whats good and bad to them I guess. Im still pretty new with witchcraft, so I might be wrong in some places also, thank you for correcting me!
Magic has no color. There is no such thing as Black Magic or White Magic. Magic is simply energy and the manipulation of energy toward your will. The misconception arises from how individuals use those energies. It all comes down to your intentions and the intent you wish to achieve.
Many people ask all the time where to find specific herbs or paper or items needed for a spell. You do not need specific items to make a spell work. You can use anything, in fact, you can make your own spell. It will work or not depending on your will, intent, and concentration. Beginners believe they need to follow a spell exactly as written. You don't. You can use it as a base for creating your own spell. It all comes down to how you manipulate and work with the energy you are trying to use.
There is no evil magic, but when someone uses energy to manipulate something to harm or hurt someone, this is seen as negative energy or negative spell casting. Magic isn't black or white, it is energy in the form of positive, negative, and neutral. It is manipulated by how we use it and the intent we are putting out.
