Black Magic As Part of Religion
Many rituals performed by black magic practitioners mentioned on television are mentioned as having aspects similar to Christianity though in a perverted form, and it appears to be universally based upon a religion, but using perverted rituals to suit the needs of the user. For example, black magic users might invert a pentacle. Likewise, corrupted rites or sacrifice may substitute blood or feces for the water or wine. Seen from this perspective, the distinction between black and white magic would be simple,
- White magic would be the original rituals, which embody the tenets of the religion in question. For Buddhism or Hinduism, this might be long and complex prayer sutras. Taoist and Shinto magic would largely be based upon fertility and nature rituals.
- Black magic would be a corruption or misuse of such above rituals, using them to self-serving or destructive ends without regard for the cultural morals of the religion. This could be something such as making poppets to cause harm.
- In a certain context, even devotional forms of ritual such as prayer can be regarded as a form of black magic, if the intended purpose of the prayer is to cause harm or injury to another. Prayers such as those that evoke the destruction of enemies and so on that produce negative results fall within the realm of ill intent. Some argue instead that in the form of devotional ritual, the responsibility of morality falls on the Deity in question, instead of the aspirant.
Read more about this topic: Black Magic
Famous quotes containing the words black, magic, part and/or religion:
“If there is a man white as marble
Sits in a wood, in the greenest part,
Brooding sounds of the images of death,
So there is a man in black space
Sits in nothing that we know,
Brooding sounds of river noises....”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“You become a reader because you saw and heard someone you admired enjoying the experience, someone led you to the world of books even before you could read, let you taste the magic of stories, took you to the library, and allowed you to stay up later at night to read in bed.”
—Jim Trelease (20th century)
“There is a close tie of affection between sovereigns and their subjects; and as chaste wives should have no eyes but for their husbands, so faithful liegemen should keep their regards at home and not look after foreign crowns. For my part I like not for my sheep to wear a stranger’s mark nor to dance after a foreigner’s whistle.”
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
“But is it not the fact that religion emanates from the nature, from the moral state of the individual? Is it not therefore true that unless the nature be completely exercised, the moral state harmonised, the religion cannot be healthy?”
—Harriet Martineau (1802–1876)