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Black magic
Black magic
Black magic
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Black magic (Middle English: nigromancy), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes.[1]

The links and interaction between black magic and religion are many and varied. Beyond black magic's historical persecution by Christianity and its inquisitions, there are links between religious and black magic rituals. For example, 17th-century priest Étienne Guibourg is said to have performed a series of Black Mass rituals with alleged witch Catherine Monvoisin for Madame de Montespan.[2][failed verification] During his period of scholarship, A. E. Waite provided a comprehensive account of black magic practices, rituals and traditions in The Book of Ceremonial Magic (1911).[3]

The influence of popular culture has allowed other practices to be drawn in under the broad banner of black magic, including the concept of Satanism. While the invocation of demons or spirits is an accepted part of black magic, this practice is distinct from the worship or deification of such spiritual beings.[4] The two are usually combined in medieval beliefs about witchcraft.[5]

Etymology

[edit]

The first known appearance of "black magic" in English is Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene, where he anglicizes the contemporary term "nigromancy", derived from Latin nigromantia, a medieval variant of necromantia "necromancy" influenced by Latin niger "black".[6]

For he the tyraunt, which her hath in ward
By strong enchauntments and blacke Magicke leare
Hath in a dungeon deepe her close embard,
And many dreadfull feends hath pointed to her gard.

— Book III, Canto XI[7]

History

[edit]
Main articles: Medieval European magic, Magic and religion, Goetia, and Witchcraft

The lowest depths of black mysticism are well-nigh
as difficult to plumb as it is arduous to scale
the heights of sanctity. The Grand Masters of
the witch covens are men of genius – a foul genius,
crooked, distorted, disturbed, and diseased.

Montague Summers
Witchcraft and Black Magic

Robert M. Place's 2009 book, Magic and Alchemy describes the origins of black magic as being like its counterpart white magic: traced to the primitive, ritualistic worship of spirits.[8] Unlike white magic, in which Place sees parallels with primitive shamanistic efforts to achieve closeness with spiritual beings, the rituals that developed into modern black magic were designed to evoke those same spirits to produce beneficial outcomes for the practitioner. Place also provides a broad modern definition of both black and white magic, preferring instead to refer to them as "high magic" (white) and "low magic" (black) based primarily on intentions of the practitioner employing them. He acknowledges, though, that this broader definition (of "high" and "low") suffers from prejudices because good-intentioned folk magic may be considered "low" while ceremonial magic involving expensive or exclusive components may be considered by some as "high magic", regardless of intent.[9]

During the Renaissance, many magical practices and rituals were considered evil or irreligious and by extension, black magic in the broad sense. Witchcraft and non-mainstream esoteric study were prohibited and targeted by the Inquisition.[10] As a result, natural magic developed as a way for thinkers and intellectuals, like Marsilio Ficino, abbot Johannes Trithemius and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, to advance esoteric and ritualistic study (though still often in secret) without significant persecution.[10]

Malleus Maleficarum, 1669 edition

While "natural magic" became popular among the educated and upper classes of the 16th and 17th century, ritualistic magic and folk magic remained subject to persecution. Twentieth-century writer Montague Summers generally rejects the definitions of "white" and "black" magic as "contradictory", though he highlights the extent to which magic in general, regardless of intent, was considered "black" and cites William Perkins posthumous 1608 instructions in that regard:

All witches "convicted by the Magistrate" should be executed. He allows no exception and under this condemnation fall "all Diviners, Charmers, Jugglers, all Wizards, commonly called wise men or wise women". All those purported "good Witches which do not hurt but good, which do not spoil and destroy, but save and deliver" should come under the extreme sentence.[11]

In particular, though, the term was most commonly reserved for those accused of invoking demons and other evil spirits, those hexing or cursing their neighbours, those using magic to destroy crops, and those capable of leaving their earthly bodies and travelling great distances in spirit (to which the Malleus Maleficarum "devotes one long and important chapter"), usually to engage in devil-worship. Summers also highlights the etymological development of the term nigromancer, in common use from 1200 to approximately 1500, (Latin: niger, black; Greek: μαντεία, divination), broadly "one skilled in the black arts".[11]

In a modern context, the line between white magic and black magic is somewhat clearer and most modern definitions focus on intent rather than practice.[8] There is also an extent to which many modern Wicca and witchcraft practitioners have sought to distance themselves from those intent on practising black magic. Those who seek to do harm or evil are less likely to be accepted into mainstream Wiccan circles or covens in an era where benevolent magic is increasingly associated with new-age beliefs and practices, and self-help spiritualism.[4]

Artes prohibitae and artes magicae

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Main article: Artes prohibitae

Seven artes prohibitae or artes magicae were arts prohibited by canon law as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456. Their sevenfold partition reflecting that of the artes liberales and artes mechanicae.[12] While the term nigromancy broadly construed includes the six associated divinatory practices, it more specifically refers to the demonic magic of the Late Middle Ages. Demonic magic was performed in groups surrounding a leader in possession of a grimoire. Practitioners were typically members of the educated elite, as most grimoires were written in Latin. One such case in 1444, Inquisitor Gaspare Sighicelli took action against a group active in Bologna. Marco Mattei of Gesso and friar Jacopo of Viterbo confessed to taking part in magical practices. Nigromancy may include, but is not a synonym for, necromancy ("death magic").[13]

Voodoo

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Main articles: Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo
Voodoo doll

Voodoo has been associated with modern black magic; drawn together in popular culture and fiction. However, while hexing or cursing may be accepted black magic practices, Voodoo has its own distinct history and traditions.[14][4]

Voodoo tradition makes its own distinction between black and white magic, with sorcerers like the bokor known for using magic and rituals of both. But practitioners' penchant for magic associated with curses, poisons and zombies means they, and Voodoo in general, are regularly associated with black magic.[15]

Modern accusations

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See also: Blood ritual

In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian state media accused Ukraine of using black magic to fend off the Russian military, specifically accusing Oleksiy Arestovych of enlisting sorcerers and witches as Ukrainian soldiers who were consecrating "weapons with blood magick".[16][17]

See also

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References

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Further reading

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Black magic

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from Grokipedia
Black magic, also known as dark magic or nigromancy, refers to purported supernatural practices involving rituals, spells, and invocations aimed at harnessing malevolent forces or entities—such as demons—to cause harm, manipulate events, or secure personal gain at others' expense. The term's etymology traces to late 16th-century English usage, likely evolving from "nigromancy," an older term for necromantic arts associating darkness with evil intent rather than racial connotations. Historically, such practices appear in ancient traditions like necromancy, where communication with the dead or infernal beings was sought for destructive ends, and later in European grimoires such as the Grand Grimoire, which details goetic evocations for pacts with demons. Distinguished from benevolent "white magic" primarily by malevolent intent, black magic has fueled cultural fears, leading to witch hunts and persecutions documented in texts like the Malleus Maleficarum, which codified beliefs in maleficium as real threats. Despite persistent folk beliefs associating it with envy-driven curses or supernatural causation of misfortune, empirical investigations reveal no verifiable causal mechanisms, positioning it within superstition rather than demonstrable phenomena. In contemporary contexts, claims of black magic persist in various cultures, often intertwined with psychological or social dynamics, but lack substantiation under scientific scrutiny.

Definition and Conceptual Foundations

Etymology and Terminology

The term "" entered English in the late from magique and Latin magia, ultimately deriving from Greek magikē (tekhnē), referring to the arts of a magos, a Persian priest or wise man associated with Zoroastrian rituals and . This root emphasized perceived exotic or supernatural , often viewed with suspicion in Greco-Roman contexts as foreign and potentially deceptive. "Black magic" as a specific phrase appeared in English by the 1570s, denoting sorcery aligned with sin or evil, with "black" evoking moral darkness rather than literal color or racial connotations. Its earliest documented use dates to 1590 in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, where it translates or adapts Latin nigromantia, a medieval term for demonic divination or sorcery. Nigromantia itself arose from a folk etymology conflating Greek nekromanteía (divination by the dead, from nekros "corpse" and manteía "prophecy") with Latin niger "black," leading to associations with forbidden, infernal arts involving spirit summoning or harm. In medieval Latin and vernacular texts, nigromancy (or Middle English "nygromancie") specifically signified ritual magic invoking demons, distinct from astrology or natural philosophy, and was condemned by church authorities as heretical. Terminologically, black magic has historically encompassed practices aimed at malevolent ends, such as curses, demonic pacts, or manipulation of occult forces for personal gain or harm, often overlapping with goetia (Greek for "sorcery" via low spirits) or necromancy proper. This contrasts with "white magic," a later dyad emerging in the Renaissance to denote ostensibly benevolent or divine-aligned arts like healing or protection, though the distinction reflects subjective moral judgments by observers rather than inherent properties of rituals. Terms like sorcery or witchcraft were sometimes used interchangeably but carried broader connotations; for instance, sorcery implied manipulative arts without specifying color, while black magic emphasized infernal agency. In Abrahamic traditions, such labels served to pathologize non-orthodox supernaturalism, privileging monotheistic miracles over pagan or adversarial variants.

Distinctions from White Magic and Other Supernatural Practices

Black magic does not constitute a unique discipline or homogeneous system but rather a cultural category designating magical practices perceived as harmful, coercive, or immoral, distinguished primarily by intent rather than technique from white magic or natural magic. Black magic is conceptually distinguished from primarily by the intent behind its application and the purported sources of power invoked. Proponents and historical accounts describe black magic as employing rituals aimed at inflicting , , or personal gain at others' expense, often through appeals to malevolent entities or demonic forces, as seen in medieval European grimoires that detail curses and necromantic evocations. In contrast, is framed as benevolent, focusing on healing, protection, or harmony with natural or divine forces, without violating ethical boundaries like the Wiccan Rede's prohibition against . This binary, however, reflects cultural and ; what one tradition labels —such as herbal remedies for illness—might be condemned as sorcery by orthodox religious authorities if it bypasses sanctioned divine aid. The terms' historical roots trace to late medieval and , where "black magic" (from Latin nigromantia, or ) denoted forbidden arts involving communication with the dead or infernal spirits for selfish ends, while "white magic" aligned with acceptable theurgic practices invoking higher celestial intelligences for moral elevation. Early Christian texts, such as those influencing the (1487), equated black magic with diabolical pacts, distinguishing it from 's purported alignment with God's will, though empirical scrutiny reveals no verifiable causal mechanisms for either. Critics from skeptical perspectives argue the distinction serves more as a rhetorical tool for in-group validation than an objective categorization, with overlaps in ritual forms like circles or incantations used across both. Relative to other supernatural practices, black magic is often portrayed as more overtly antisocial than , which emphasizes ecstatic communion with spirits for communal healing or , typically in indigenous contexts without inherent malevolence. Shamanic traditions, documented in Siberian and Amazonian ethnographies from the onward, prioritize balance and ancestral guidance over the manipulative hexes central to black magic narratives. , meanwhile, frequently overlaps with black magic in historical accusations—such as European witch hunts targeting alleged maleficium (harmful sorcery)—but modern neopagan revivals like reposition it toward ethics, rejecting curses in favor of personal empowerment and nature reverence. Sorcery, akin to black magic in its emphasis on coercive spells or potions for dominance, differs in its cultural framing as learned technique rather than innate or pacted power, as distinguished in anthropological studies of African and Oceanic practices. These boundaries remain fluid, with no consensus, underscoring that classifications often stem from rather than intrinsic properties.

Historical Evolution

Ancient Origins in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Classical Antiquity

In ancient polytheistic societies, magical practices were often regarded as neutral mechanisms for harnessing supernatural forces, applied for protective, healing, or offensive purposes, with distinctions akin to "black magic" emerging primarily from communal judgments of practices as socially disruptive, harmful, or associated with adversaries rather than inherent moral categories. In ancient Mesopotamia, sorcery (Akkadian kišpū) was recognized as a form of harmful magic employed by witches or sorcerers to inflict illness, misfortune, or death, often through incantations invoking demons or ghosts. Texts from the first millennium B.C., such as the Maqlû ("Burning") series, describe elaborate anti-witchcraft rituals where effigies representing the sorcerer were burned while reciting incantations to reverse the malevolent effects, reflecting widespread fear of anonymous witchcraft causing physical and mental ailments. These practices, rooted in Sumerian and Babylonian traditions dating back to at least the third millennium B.C., distinguished offensive sorcery from protective asipū rituals performed by exorcists, with legal codes prescribing severe penalties, including death, for proven witchcraft. In ancient Egypt, heka—the cosmic force of magic—was a neutral power wielded for both benevolent and destructive ends, with offensive spells manifesting in execration rituals targeting enemies of the state or individuals. Execration texts, inscribed on pottery, figurines, or wax models from the Middle Kingdom (circa 2040–1750 B.C.), listed names of foreign rulers, rebels, or supernatural threats like demons, which were then ritually smashed or drowned to symbolically destroy the targets and avert harm to Egypt. Evidence from sites like Saqqara and Mirgissa reveals standardized formulas cursing Asiatic and Nubian adversaries by the 19th century B.C., illustrating state-sanctioned black magic to neutralize political rivals or chaotic forces, distinct from funerary or healing applications. Such practices extended to personal vendettas, as seen in Deir el-Medina ostraca invoking harm against specific foes, underscoring magic's dual role in daily and elite contexts. Among the Greeks and Romans of classical antiquity, binding spells via curse tablets (katadesmoi in Greek, defixiones in Latin) represented a pervasive tradition of malevolent magic aimed at rivals in litigation, athletics, or love. These thin lead sheets, inscribed from the fifth century B.C. onward and deposited in graves, wells, or sanctuaries across the Mediterranean—from Athens to Roman Britain—invoked chthonic deities like Hecate or Pluto to "bind" (defigere) the victim's tongue, limbs, or fortune, with over 1,500 examples attesting to their use until the fifth century A.D. Archaeological finds, such as those from the Athenian Agora or Roman baths, often targeted competitors with formulas like "I bind the feet, memory, and words" of opponents, blending popular folk practices with ritual elements like nails or hair offerings, though Roman law under emperors like Augustus criminalized such maleficium as harmful sorcery. This technology of aggressive magic evolved from earlier Greek precedents but proliferated under Roman imperial expansion, reflecting societal anxieties over competition and justice outside formal channels.

Medieval and Renaissance Developments in Europe

In medieval , the concept of black magic—already rooted in ancient distinctions—was amplified by the monotheistic framework of Christianity, which, akin to Judaism and Islam, asserted a singular divine authority and recast alternative supernatural agencies as demonic usurpations, conceptualizing maleficium as harmful sorcery effected through such illicit pacts. The Catholic Church's theological framework, building on patristic writings, viewed such practices as heretical deviations involving explicit or implicit contracts with , enabling acts like causing illness, sterility, or weather disturbances. collections, such as Gratian's Decretum (c. 1140), explicitly forbade sorcery and , equating them with and prohibited in biblical texts like Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Persecution mechanisms evolved through inquisitorial procedures, initially targeting but expanding to sorcery by the . Pope John XXII's bull Super illius specula (1326) responded to alleged magical assaults on his person, authorizing inquisitors to prosecute necromancers who conjured demons using circles, incantations, and sometimes animal sacrifices or mediums for prophetic visions. Trial records from the papal court at (1330s) document over 100 cases of clerical , where practitioners—often university-educated priests—sought or power, facing penalties from to execution. Secular courts handled popular maleficium cases, such as village healers accused of cursing , with evidence drawn from confessions under or witness testimonies of anomalous events. The late medieval period marked a shift toward formalized , culminating in Heinrich Kramer's Malleus Maleficarum (1486), a treatise asserting that witches, predominantly women, consummated pacts with demons through carnal rites and attended nocturnal sabbats for blasphemous worship. Kramer, an , detailed procedural guidelines for identifying and interrogating suspects, emphasizing demonic illusions in phenomena like shape-shifting or aerial flight. Published amid regional witch panics in the , the text influenced subsequent trials, though its endorsement by papal bull (1484) was limited in scope. Estimates suggest fewer than 1,000 executions for before 1500, concentrated in Alpine and French regions, reflecting a transition from sporadic to systematic hunts. During the (c. 1400–1600), black magic persisted amid intellectual revivals of ancient esoterica, but ecclesiastical authorities intensified condemnations to counter syncretic occultism blending with demonic invocation. Grimoires like the Sworn Book of Honorius (c. 13th–14th century, circulated widely post-printing) prescribed rituals for spirit conjuration, including protective circles and divine names, ostensibly for angelic communion but often veering into necromantic territory condemned as black magic. Printers in and disseminated such texts alongside anti-sorcery manuals, enabling clandestine use among elites while fueling inquisitorial vigilance; for instance, the 1521 trial of Venetian necromancers revealed networks employing astrological timing for summoning. Renaissance humanists like Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa distinguished natural magic—manipulating occult virtues in nature—from illicit demonic arts, yet his De occulta philosophia (1533) warned of the perils in misjudging spirit hierarchies, contributing to perceptions of blurred boundaries. The Faust chapbook (1587) dramatized a scholar's damnation via demonic pact for forbidden sciences, encapsulating cultural fears of hubris in occult pursuits. Inquisitorial efforts, such as those by the Roman Inquisition (established 1542), targeted "learned magic" as superstition or heresy, with over 200 sorcery cases prosecuted in Italy by 1600, emphasizing causal links between rituals and empirical harms like crop failures attributed to spells. This era's developments thus bridged medieval theology with early modern witch-hunts, institutionalizing black magic as a prosecutable offense under both canon and civil law.

Global Spread During Colonialism and Early Modernity

European settlers and colonizers carried concepts of black magic, framed as diabolical sorcery, to the starting in the late , where these ideas intersected with indigenous spiritual practices. Grimoires and demonological texts, such as those detailing invocations and pacts with spirits, circulated among colonists, contributing to the establishment of prosecutions modeled on European precedents. In and Portuguese , the targeted native shamans and healers accused of maleficium, with records documenting over 100 trials in alone between 1536 and 1620 for alleged sorcery involving herbal poisons and illusions. These European frameworks often recast local rituals—such as Maya soul manipulation—as infernal arts, facilitating cultural imposition under the guise of spiritual purification. The transatlantic slave trade from the 16th to 19th centuries propagated African beliefs to the , where they syncretized with European occultism and indigenous traditions to form hybrid systems frequently labeled black magic by authorities. Enslaved Africans introduced concepts of spirit-mediated harm, akin to European maleficia, which merged into practices like by the late and Jamaican , involving doll effigies and curses for retribution or protection. Empirical analysis of historical records indicates that slave-raiding regions in exhibited heightened witchcraft accusations, a pattern replicated in New World plantations where such beliefs served as coping mechanisms amid . Colonial edicts, such as Jamaica's 1760 anti-obeah punishing practitioners with execution, reflect the perceived threat of these disseminated arts to . In and , colonial administrations from the onward documented indigenous sorcery as primitive , yet inadvertently spread European grimoires and folk through trade and missionary networks. British records from the 1700s describe encounters with Indian tantrikas employing yantras for malevolent ends, paralleling imported Solomonic circles. While suppression efforts, including bans on African diviners in the by 1652, aimed to eradicate native variants, syncretic survivals persisted, with occasionally adopting local charms against ailments. This bidirectional exchange, though asymmetrical due to power imbalances, embedded black magic motifs into colonial , evidenced by the proliferation of printed necromantic manuals in ports like and Batavia by the early .

Cultural and Religious Contexts

Abrahamic Condemnations and Interpretations

In , black magic—understood as sorcery or invoking malevolent forces—is uniformly condemned as a grave sin equivalent to , rebellion against divine sovereignty, or pact-making with demons. These traditions interpret such practices not as neutral arts but as deceptive manipulations that undermine monotheistic worship and invite spiritual corruption, condemned primarily for circumventing God's exclusive authority rather than for any perceived inefficacy. Judaism prohibits sorcery explicitly in the Torah, deeming practices like divination, enchantment, and witchcraft abominations that defile the land and sever one from God's people. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 lists forbidden acts including "one who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead," punishable by death as in Exodus 22:18: "You shall not permit a sorceress to live." Rabbinic interpretations reinforce this, viewing magic as an assault on God's exclusive power, though some distinguish illusory tricks from genuine occult invocation, the latter remaining strictly banned. Christian doctrine builds on these Hebrew scriptures while adding warnings, such as Galatians 5:20 equating sorcery (pharmakeia) with works of the flesh that bar inheritance of God's kingdom, and Revelation 21:8 listing sorcerers among those destined for the . Early Church fathers and medieval theologians interpreted as demonic heresy, culminating in texts like the Malleus Maleficarum (1486), authored by Heinrich Kramer, which systematized identification, interrogation, and execution of witches across 28 editions through 1600, influencing Catholic and Protestant persecutions. This manual argued witches gained powers via explicit devil pacts, justifying inquisitorial trials that executed tens of thousands, primarily women, by 1600. Islam regards sihr (magic) as a major sin akin to unbelief (kufr), with 2:102 recounting how learned sorcery from devils during 's era, causing separation between spouses and harm, yet clarifying rejected it as demonic deception. traditions prescribe severe penalties, including execution for practicing magicians who do not repent, as it involves shirk (associating partners with ) and reliance on over divine will. Protective recitations like Surah Al-Falaq (113:4) seek refuge from "the evil of the blower of knots" (a sorcery method), underscoring magic's illusory yet spiritually destructive nature. The sharp condemnation in these monotheistic frameworks elevates black magic to a category of illicit practices associated with adversarial spiritual forces, distinguishing it from permissible divine reliance.

African, Caribbean, and Voodoo-Influenced Traditions

In sub-Saharan African societies, witchcraft is widely conceptualized as an innate, malevolent power enabling individuals—often perceived as adversaries driven by , jealousy, or disputes—to inflict harm through means. These beliefs persist across cultures, with practices aimed at countering through healers or protective rituals, though empirical evidence for such powers remains absent. In , for instance, households allocate significant resources—averaging 5-10% of income—to acquire or defend against magico-religious powers perceived as harmful, reflecting deep-seated fears of invisible causation in misfortune. These African traditions were transported to the via the transatlantic slave trade, syncretizing with local elements to form practices like , prevalent in and . encompasses rituals for both protection and cursing, including the use of poisons, effigies, or spirit invocations to cause illness, , or control over others, derived from West African spiritual systems and often viewed as the magic of rivals or disruptors. Colonial authorities criminalized as early as in , viewing it as a tool of slave resistance or disruption, leading to executions and suppressions that reinforced its association with forbidden, harmful magic. Despite legal bans persisting into the , practitioners continue to operate clandestinely, blending herbalism with alleged agency, though verifiable supernatural effects lack scientific substantiation. Haitian Vodou, emerging from similar African roots combined with Catholicism during the 18th-century colonial period, distinguishes between benevolent priests (houngans and mambos) serving loa spirits for community good and bokors, who engage in sorcery for personal gain or malice. Bokors are reputed to manipulate loa through "left-hand" paths, crafting via drugs and rituals or casting spells for harm, as described in ethnographic accounts from the . Such practices, while integral to Vodou's dualistic worldview, have been disproportionately sensationalized in Western narratives as synonymous with black magic, overlooking the religion's ethical emphasis on balance and reciprocity with spirits. Harmful sorcery in Vodou is not normative but occurs when practitioners prioritize , with no controlled studies confirming claims of efficacy beyond psychological or pharmacological influences.

Asian, Indigenous, and Folk Variants

In Hindu Tantric traditions of , the vāmācāra or left-hand path employs transgressive rituals involving the pañca-makāra—fish, meat, parched grain, alcohol, and ritual sex—either literally or symbolically, which some interpretations equate with due to its rejection of purity taboos for spiritual power, though practitioners claim it transcends dualities rather than intends harm. The sect, a Shaivite ascetic group originating around the in northern , extends these practices to include on corpses and consumption of human remains from cremation grounds to conquer ego and impurity, occasionally linked to sorcery accusations despite their doctrinal aim of non-dual enlightenment. In , Indonesian dukun (shamans) practice santet, a form of black magic deploying invisible projectiles or poisons to inflict illness or death, rooted in pre-Islamic Javanese and persisting alongside , with documented cases of sorcery accusations—often against perceived enemies—leading to violence as late as the . Filipino kulam, performed by mangkukulam sorcerers, involves , herbs, and incantations for cursing enemies, drawing from pre-colonial animist beliefs blended with Spanish colonial influences. In historical , gu magic entailed sealing venomous creatures in a vessel to produce a supernatural poison for assassination or control, with records (206 BCE–220 CE) describing imperial purges triggered by discovered and manikins. Among , Papua New Guinean Highlanders attribute misfortune to sanguma sorcery, where witches purportedly extract and eat victims' organs invisibly, fueling ongoing witch hunts documented in over 100 killings between 2013 and 2018 despite legal prohibitions. Australian Aboriginal groups in Cape York, such as the Wik, employ sorcery like bone-pointing—directing a or stick at a target while invoking spirits to cause sickness or death—integrated into kinship-based healing and systems persisting into modern times, often targeted at rivals. In the , indigenous Mesoamerican traditions, including Aztec nahualli sorcery, involved rituals to send harm via animal familiars or curses, often reframed as under Spanish colonial scrutiny from the 16th century onward. Folk variants of black magic worldwide blend local with syncretic elements, such as rural Chinese gong tau curses using talismans for revenge, reported in southern regions into the . In Japanese folk traditions, practitioners historically crafted spells or ushitora no toshi curses to bind or harm via paper effigies, with temples maintaining discreet curse-corner rituals as of 2018. These practices emphasize practical causation through , lacking empirical validation beyond cultural systems.

Alleged Practices and Methodologies

Rituals, Invocations, and Symbolic Elements

Rituals associated with black magic typically involve structured ceremonies aimed at invoking entities for malevolent purposes, such as inflicting harm or gaining personal power through forbidden means. These ceremonies, as described in historical grimoires like the Grand Grimoire, often require the practitioner to prepare an altar with specific tools and ingredients before entering a consecrated space. Invocations form the core of these rituals, consisting of chanted formulas or enns—short demonic calls—recited to summon entities like or lesser demons, sometimes culminating in pacts sealed by blood or oaths. Symbolic elements play a crucial role in containing and directing invoked forces, with magic circles drawn on the ground using chalk, salt, or to create barriers against the summoned spirits. These circles frequently incorporate geometric figures such as heptagons, pentagrams—often inverted to signify inversion of natural order—and personalized sigils derived from the entity's name or attributes. In European traditions, rituals might include animal sacrifices, where black animals like goats or hens are offered to underworld deities or demons, their used to empower curses or bind spirits. Curses and hexes, integral to many black magic rituals, employ such as dolls pierced with pins or inscribed parchments buried to direct harm, accompanied by incantations invoking decay or misfortune on the target. In African-derived practices like certain Voodoo or variants labeled as black magic, rituals blend with symbolic offerings to loa or spirits for retribution, though such acts are often contextualized within broader syncretic beliefs rather than purely malevolent intent. Procedural variations emphasize timing, such as performing invocations during lunar eclipses or midnight hours, to align with purported astral influences enhancing efficacy.

Tools, Ingredients, and Procedural Variations

In Western esoteric traditions documented in grimoires like the and the Heptameron, a central tool for alleged black magic rituals involving spirit is the , typically inscribed on the ground with chalk, flour, or blood, featuring divine names, sigils, and geometric patterns to protect the practitioner from summoned malevolent entities. Accompanying implements include the , a black-handled ritual knife for directing energy or carving symbols, and sometimes a triangle of manifestation placed outside the circle to contain the entity. Other tools cited in historical accounts of sorcery encompass cauldrons for mixing potions, black candles for , and wands or staffs inscribed with for channeling intent. Ingredients purportedly used in these practices often rely on principles, incorporating personal artifacts from the target such as hair, , clothing fibers, blood, or photographs to forge a metaphysical link enabling harm or control. Toxic or symbolically "dark" botanicals like belladonna, henbane, or root feature in recipes for curses or potions, alongside animal parts, graveyard dirt, or for enhancing malefic potency. Pins and serve as tools for "binding" or inflicting pain in workings, as described in folk texts. Procedural variations diverge by cultural lineage; European Goetic rites emphasize preparatory fasting, planetary hour alignments, and verbose incantations over hours or days to compel demons, as outlined in 17th-century grimoires. In contrast, Vodou-derived black magic often centers on dolls stuffed with the victim's personal items, anointed with oils or bodily fluids, and pierced during rituals to the loa (spirits) like for hexing effects. African practices, influential in Southern African witchcraft accusations, involve herbal concoctions or animal sacrifices blended with incantations to "throw" misfortune, varying by ethnic group such as Zulu sangomas using bones or roots. Indian tantric variants may incorporate mantras, yantras (diagrams), and offerings like menstrual blood or semen in left-hand path rituals for domination, differing from orthodox Vedic prohibitions. These methods, drawn from ethnographic and historical reports, lack empirical validation and stem from believer testimonies or inquisitorial records prone to exaggeration.

Claimed Supernatural Mechanisms

Believer Perspectives on Demonic or Spiritual Agency

Believers in black magic frequently attribute its purported efficacy to the independent agency of demonic or spiritual entities, which they claim can be summoned and directed to enact harm, manipulate events, or confer personal advantages. These entities are conceptualized as autonomous intelligences residing in extradimensional or astral realms, possessing volition, hierarchies, and capacities to interact with beyond human means. Practitioners assert that proper rituals compel compliance, but warn of risks if the entities' agendas conflict with the magician's intent. In Goetic traditions, derived from medieval grimoires, evokers maintain that demons like those cataloged in the Ars Goetia—such as or —exist as tangible spiritual forces responsive to within consecrated circles protected by divine names. Accounts from practitioners describe these beings manifesting through sensory phenomena, such as voices, apparitions, or environmental disturbances, and executing commands like cursing targets or revealing hidden knowledge, thereby evidencing their agency and obedience under authority. Theistic Satanists regard and subordinate demons as literal deities with proactive wills, invoked via rituals involving sigils, offerings, or pacts to channel destructive or empowering energies. They claim these entities ally with devotees, granting boons in exchange for loyalty or sacrifices, while exercising discernment in responding to calls based on the summoner's alignment with infernal hierarchies. Across various folk and syncretic practices, such as certain or African-derived systems, black magic adherents invoke malevolent spirits or "hot" entities—often equated with demons—for hexes or domination, believing these forces operate through possession, curses, or sympathetic links to afflict victims independently of the practitioner's ongoing involvement.

Purported Effects: Harm, Control, and Self-Benefit

In various traditions associating black magic with malevolent practices, adherents have claimed it enables harm through curses and hexes intended to inflict physical, mental, or financial damage on targets, often using personal items like or photographs to direct the effect. Reported symptoms in such beliefs include baseless fears, reversed fortunes, confusion, sleep disturbances, chronic headaches, and behavioral changes like eccentricity. Historical European accounts from the 16th and 17th centuries described curses as causing death, maiming, spoilage of goods such as , or contamination of water sources, with rituals invoking demonic forces to bind and impair victims' bodies. In Voodoo-influenced practices, hexes involving dolls pierced with pins are purported to produce targeted suffering by channeling dark energies. Claims of control center on spells to dominate others' will, particularly in romantic or social contexts, where black magic rituals allegedly passion, induce obsession, or compel obedience through left-hand path sorcery. texts and modern practitioners assert that such invocations manipulate desire, creating unbreakable attachments or subservience, often via symbolic bindings or demonic pacts that override . These effects are said to extend to broader influence over events or individuals, compensating for perceived lack of agency by summoning spirits to enforce outcomes. For self-benefit, black magic is purported to yield personal gains like and power by attracting prosperity through rituals that harness forbidden forces, such as money magnet spells using charged items to manifest financial influx or resolve debts. Believers describe outcomes including sudden abundance, enhanced economic status, or empowerment via demonic alliances, reinterpreting dark practices as tools for individual advancement rather than communal good. These rituals, often involving candles, coins, or invocations during specific lunar phases, claim to align mystical energies with the practitioner's intent for sustained material success.

Empirical and Skeptical Analysis

Absence of Verifiable Evidence and Scientific Testing

No has been documented demonstrating effects from black magic rituals, such as curses or invocations intended to cause , under controlled, replicable conditions. Scientific investigations into analogous claims, including those involving purported or malevolent spiritual influence, have consistently failed to produce results exceeding chance expectations or effects. For instance, parapsychological experiments on phenomena like or remote influence—mechanisms often invoked in black magic narratives—have yielded non-replicable outcomes, with meta-analyses attributing apparent successes to methodological flaws, , or statistical artifacts rather than genuine agency. Efforts to test black magic claims directly, such as through challenges offering substantial financial rewards for verifiable demonstrations, have met with no success. The Educational Foundation's , active from 1996 to 2015, invited claimants to prove supernatural abilities—including those resembling black magic effects like curses or spirit manipulation—under rigorous, mutually agreed protocols, yet no participant passed preliminary testing, let alone the full scientific scrutiny required for payout. Similarly, anthropological field studies of accusations, such as those among the documented in the 1930s, record beliefs in sorcery but find no causal mechanisms beyond , , or , with no independent verification of magical efficacy. Observed harms attributed to black magic, including "" cases reported in ethnographic literature since the early , align with psychosomatic responses triggered by extreme fear and cultural expectation, rather than external forces; physiological studies link these to overload, akin to nocebo-induced stress reactions measurable via levels and cardiovascular strain. While supernatural mechanisms remain unverified, beliefs in black magic can produce tangible psychological effects through autosuggestion and collective conviction, where shared fears in a community amplify nocebo responses, rendering harms socially real without occult intervention. Absent reproducible data, claims of black magic's potency remain unsubstantiated by the standards of empirical , which demand and independent replication—criteria unmet despite centuries of anecdotal reports and sporadic testing attempts. Skeptical analyses emphasize that reliance on unverifiable personal testimonies or post-hoc interpretations invites , where unrelated misfortunes are retroactively ascribed to rituals without causal linkage.

Psychological, Sociological, and Cognitive Explanations

in black magic often stems from psychological mechanisms rooted in anxiety and the desire for causal explanations amid , where individuals attribute misfortunes to malevolent forces rather than chance or personal agency. Studies indicate that such beliefs correlate positively with personality traits like extroversion and , as measured by scales assessing endorsement of black magic's reality, with higher scores among those prone to imaginative or socially oriented thinking. The nocebo effect exemplifies this, wherein perceived curses induce real physiological harm through heightened stress and expectation of negative outcomes, independent of any external agency; autosuggestion further contributes, as convinced individuals may unconsciously sabotage their efforts, fulfilling the prophecy through altered behavior and perception. Cognitively, and black magic beliefs arise as by-products of evolved mental heuristics, such as hyperactive agency detection, which prompts attribution of events to intentional hidden agents over random processes, fostering intuitive supernaturalism. reinforces these views by selectively recalling instances aligning with prior expectations of malice, while ignoring disconfirming , a pattern observed in experimental priming studies where contextual cues amplify interpretations of ambiguity as threats. Threat biases further naturalize such ideas, making negative events more salient and interpretable through lenses of sorcery, as negativity heightens cognitive processing of potential harms. Sociologically, accusations of black magic function as mechanisms for social regulation, serving as idioms of or control in tight-knit communities where direct confrontation risks escalation, often designating scapegoats to explain inexplicable misfortunes and maintain order. In diverse ethnographic contexts, these beliefs act as pressure valves for underlying tensions, enabling blame-shifting during misfortunes and reinforcing group norms by deterring deviance through fear of reprisal. analyses reveal that sorcery narratives proliferate in high-mistrust environments, correlating with reduced prosociality and heightened , as seen in regions where explanations justify violence against perceived perpetrators. This persistence underscores how such ideologies embed within cultural worldviews, perpetuating cycles of amid resource scarcity or social upheaval, with effects manifesting psychologically and socially even absent supernatural reality.

Societal Impacts and Controversies

Historical Persecutions, Witch Hunts, and Moral Panics

The European witch hunts, spanning roughly 1450 to 1750, targeted individuals accused of , often defined as pacts with demons to cause harm through maleficium. Estimates indicate between 40,000 and 60,000 executions across the continent, with the majority of victims being women subjected to trials involving and coerced . These persecutions peaked in regions like the , where secular and ecclesiastical courts prosecuted thousands; for instance, in southwestern , Catholic courts alone conducted over 300 trials resulting in hundreds of executions. A pivotal influence was the , published in 1487 by , which framed as a enabled by female susceptibility to demonic temptation and provided procedural guidelines for inquisitors, including interrogation techniques and rationales for prosecuting supposed aerial flights and shape-shifting. This treatise, reprinted numerous times, amplified fears of organized satanic cults and contributed to the doctrinal shift toward viewing black magic as diabolical rather than mere , fueling trials in , , and . Church authorities, including papal bulls like in 1484, endorsed such pursuits, intertwining theological doctrine with legal mechanisms to eradicate perceived threats to Christian order. Notable episodes included the (1581–1593), where around 368 people were burned, and the trials (1626–1631), claiming up to 900 victims amid regional wars and religious strife. In colonial America, the of 1692 saw over 200 accusations and 20 executions by hanging, driven by and community tensions rather than physical proof of maleficium. These events outside were rarer in scale, though ancient Roman laws like the Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis (81 BCE) punished harmful magic with exile or death, reflecting early codifications against sorcery. Empirically, these persecutions constituted moral panics, precipitated by socioeconomic stressors, religious zeal following the , and misattributions of natural misfortunes to agency, with no verifiable of the alleged demonic pacts or effects. Confessions extracted under duress often detailed fantastical rituals, but post-trial analyses reveal patterns of marginalized figures, such as elderly women or outsiders, amid broader societal anxieties rather than substantiated black magic practices. The decline by the mid-18th century coincided with Enlightenment and legal reforms prioritizing empirical proof over testimonial or confessional . In regions of , accusations of —often equated with black magic for causing harm through supernatural means—continue to incite lethal violence. In , on July 2, 2025, a killed six individuals accused of witchcraft, with two burned alive, stoned, or beaten, as reported by local officials. Similarly, in as of April 2025, hundreds, predominantly elderly women, faced risks of murder, beatings, and banishment due to witchcraft suspicions, exacerbating abuses in witch camps. In the , witchcraft-related beliefs contributed to 2,180 child abuse cases handled by in 2024 alone, often involving ritual harm justified by claims of malevolent spells. These incidents reflect a pattern where personal misfortunes, such as illness or crop failure, are attributed to invisible malevolent agents without empirical verification, leading to mob justice rather than evidence-based inquiry. Governments have responded with legislation targeting accusations rather than purported practices, recognizing that beliefs in black magic fuel vigilante actions unsupported by verifiable causation. Several nations, including and , have enacted laws criminalizing witchcraft accusations to deter extrajudicial killings, with penalties for false imputations of sorcery. The Office of the High Commissioner for has documented witchcraft-related violations, advocating protections against beatings, mutilations, and expulsions in affected communities. Efforts include pardons for historical witch trial victims in places like and , aimed at stigmatizing ongoing hunts by reframing past persecutions as miscarriages of justice, though enforcement remains inconsistent amid cultural entrenchment. In , anti-superstition acts in states like prosecute those promoting or acting on black magic claims, yet rural enforcement lags, allowing persistence of guru-led rituals promising harm or cures. Beliefs in black magic endure in contemporary societies, particularly in and , where surveys indicate up to 60% prevalence in some populations, correlating with lower education and economic insecurity rather than observed supernatural events. In African American communities, syncretic practices like Hoodoo incorporate elements of conjure for protection or retribution, tracing to ancestral African traditions but adapted without reliance on demonic pacts verifiable by controlled testing. Tribal groups such as the Santal in maintain witchcraft lore as explanations for misfortune, blending with modernization yet resisting empirical disconfirmation due to social reinforcement. Globally, occult subcultures invoke black magic symbols in rituals for personal gain or curse-casting, as seen in online forums and esoteric texts, though these yield no measurable effects beyond or , sustaining cultural narratives over causal evidence.

Representations and Legacy

In European folklore, black magic is frequently associated with witches employing curses, potions, and pacts with malevolent spirits to inflict harm, as seen in tales of maleficium where practitioners allegedly caused illness or crop failure through supernatural means. Ancient Greek myths feature figures like Medea, a sorceress using deceptive spells and poisons for revenge and power, embodying early literary archetypes of dark sorcery. In Haitian folklore, Vodou rituals involving spirits (loa) have been misrepresented in Western narratives as black magic, with practices like doll effigies used for both protection and hexing, though practitioners emphasize balance over inherent evil. Literary depictions of black magic often explore themes of temptation, corruption, and moral downfall. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust (Part I, 1808) portrays the scholar Faust invoking the demon Mephistopheles for forbidden knowledge and earthly pleasures, culminating in a cautionary tale of overreaching ambition. William Shakespeare's Macbeth (1606) includes the Three Witches who prophesy the protagonist's rise and fall through cauldron-brewed spells and apparitions, symbolizing fate's manipulation via dark forces. In modern fantasy, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (1997–2007) contrasts "Dark Arts" such as the Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra) with defensive magic, depicting their use as corrosive to the soul and legally prohibited. Popular media amplifies black magic through horror and fantasy genres, portraying it as a perilous path to power. The film The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin, depicts a girl's demonic possession requiring priestly intervention, drawing from reported 1949 exorcism cases to evoke real fears of infernal influence. The Craft (1996) follows teenagers wielding witchcraft for revenge, illustrating how initial empowerment via spells devolves into obsession and tragedy, reflecting 1990s anxieties about youth occultism. Films like The Skeleton Key (2005) explore Hoodoo practices in the American South, presenting rootwork and conjuring as tools for vengeance across generations, based on African American folk traditions syncretized with European esotericism. Television series such as American Horror Story: Coven (2013) dramatize witch covens engaging in voodoo-infused rituals and resurrections, blending historical witch trial lore with sensationalized supernatural conflicts.

Influence on Contemporary Beliefs and Occult Movements

The concept of black magic, historically associated with rituals for harm, control, or demonic invocation, persists in shaping contemporary left-hand path traditions, which prioritize individual will and transgression over conventional ethics. These movements reinterpret historical practices—such as or adversarial evocations from medieval grimoires—as tools for psychological empowerment or self-deification, rather than literal agency. For example, the left-hand path, distinguished from right-hand path's focus on harmony and benevolence, incorporates curses, , and "dark" entities to confront taboos, influencing groups that view such methods as essential for personal evolution. Modern Satanism exemplifies this evolution, drawing aesthetic and structural elements from historical black magic while emphasizing symbolism over ontology. Anton LaVey's , founded on April 30, 1966, employs rituals inspired by 19th-century texts like those of Eliphas Levi, including psychodramas mimicking curses or invocations for cathartic release, explicitly rejecting belief in external demons. Similarly, Michael Aquino's , splintered from the Church in 1975, frames "black magic" as an initiatory process for awakening innate divinity, echoing historical sorcery's focus on power acquisition but grounded in subjective experience. These groups, part of a broader 20th-century revival, number in the thousands globally, with rituals performed in private covens or online forums. In traditions, black magic concepts manifest through Hoodoo, Conjure, and Rootwork, which blend West African spiritualism with European folk magic to include protective hexes and retributive spells against historical oppression. Emerging during U.S. slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries—evidenced in narratives like Frederick Douglass's 1830s accounts of conjurers using for empowerment—these practices persist today among primarily practitioners, resurging via "Hoodoo Heritage Month" observances and integrations with efforts, such as 2020 protest rituals invoking ancestral resistance. Unlike European-derived occultism, Hoodoo treats spirits (e.g., via mojo bags or crossroads offerings) as causally active for harm or defense, influencing niche esoteric communities despite mainstream attributing outcomes to cultural expectation or placebo effects. Broader contemporary beliefs in black magic fuel underground and digital subcultures sharing DIY spells for or binding, often via platforms like or , where sales of "hex kits" spiked post-2016 cultural events. However, neopagan movements like , which grew rapidly since Gerald Gardner's 1954 publications, explicitly distance from black magic via the Wiccan Rede's harm-none principle, viewing historical sorcery as unethical or illusory. This selective inheritance highlights black magic's legacy as a cautionary in discourse, informing debates on intent versus outcome, though no controlled studies validate supernatural claims, with effects traceable to cognitive biases like confirmation or .

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