Black magic

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Black magic (Latin: maleficium) is the pernicious side of magical practice. It is based on gaining dominion over certain inner forces of nature by circumventing one's own moral development through unlawful, often bestially evil machinations, and on conquering other beings through harmful spells. To practise it is to enter into an alliance with Ahriman, and begins where occult activity is carried into the world without unselfish worldly interest. To an even greater extent, the seduction to black magic comes from the Asuras, who are spirits of the very strongest egoism.

„... black magic begins where occult activity is carried into the world without one being able first to extend one's interests to world interests, without one being able to value other interests more than one's own interests.“ (Lit.:GA 145, p. 149)

The practice of black magic

Practically, the path to black magic begins with cutting into a living being and taking pleasure in its pain. Sexual debauchery encourages black magic to flourish. But even the simplest lie brings us close to black magic:

„The lie on the physical plane becomes destruction on the astral plane. The lie is murder on the astral plan. This phenomenon is the origin of black magic. The commandment on the physical plane: Do not kill! - can therefore be translated for the astral plan: Do not lie! - On the physical plane, the lie is only a word, an idea, an illusion. It can cause much harm, but it destroys nothing. On the astral plane, all feelings, all thoughts are visible entities, living forces. On the astral plan, the lie causes a clash between the false and the true form; they kill each other.

The white magician wants to give the other souls the spiritual life he carries within himself. The black magician thirsts to kill, to create emptiness around himself in the astral world, because this emptiness around him creates the field for him to unfold his egoistic passions. For this he needs the power, which he seizes by taking the life force of all living things, that is, by killing.

That is why the first law of black magic is: one must defeat life. Therefore, in certain schools of black magic, students are taught the abominable, cruel practice of stabbing living animals with knives, with precise indication of the part of the animal's body that gives rise to this or that power in the one who performs the sacrifice. Externally, there are similarities between black magic and vivisection. Today's science is dependent on vivisection because of its materialism. The counter-current against vivisection springs from deep moral reasons. But science will not abolish vivisection as long as medicine has not regained higher vision. It is only because it has lost clairvoyance that medicine has had to resort to vivisection. When we have again conquered the astral world, which has withdrawn from us, clairvoyance will permit the physician to immerse himself spiritually in the inner state of the diseased organs, and vivisection will be omitted as superfluous.“ (Lit.:GA 94, p. 64f)

„The higher forces of our spiritual predecessors are linked to the forces of our own lower nature. The human passions are occultly related to the higher forces of the spiritual beings that preceded us. Wherever there is debauchery, there is matter, in which powerful asuric forces pour out refined intellectuality into the world. Such powerful asuric forces are to be found in depraved tribes of men. The black magician draws his strongest serving powers precisely from the swamp of sensuality. The sexual rites are there to banish into these circles. There is a continual struggle on earth which, on the one hand, strives to purify the passions and, on the other, strives to strengthen sensuality. The beings who have the Christ-principle as their leader seek to win the earth for themselves, but the other, hostile beings also seek to usurp the earth.“ (Lit.:GA 93a, p. 149)

Black magic and fear

Fear is a particularly good breeding ground for black magic. Fearful people can very easily be made the tools of the black magic arts.

„You see, anyone who wanted to become a black magician today would have a great fund for the black magic arts from the outset if he were a fearful hare-foot, terrified of everything that might happen to him. Such a fear within man is a very good starting point for the black magician, for this fear is only compressed egoism. Suppose some man intended to practise black magic on a large scale. He would first look around in the world for individuals who are as hare-footed as possible. For this fund of fear is a good means which can be transformed in such a way that the hare-footed persons concerned acquire certain other powers and authority, without knowledge and insight, to a much greater extent than man can otherwise have. What would such a magician have to do who wanted to have such arts? He would first have to set up a laboratory in which he would train these cowards - I speak radically, but it will be clearest to you in this way - to harden themselves completely by the means of letting them continually cut into living flesh and see blood run. What in the feelings of fear, which the hare-foot has to a great extent, works outwardly as a certain force, that can be transformed into something opposite, if man is taught to harden himself by cutting into living flesh. In a man who has no fear, this procedure would be of no use at all.“ (Lit.:GA 101, p. 130f)

Black magic and racial prejudice

When spiritual powers are exercised in the service of a single, segregated race, black magic is practised on a large scale:

„When that which is to serve humanity is used in the service of a separate race, for instance to give this race supremacy over the earth, then this is black magic on a large scale, for it is not done in harmony with the earthly leadership. It is the first requirement: to be beyond that which connects us only with a part of humanity. For a present-day white magician, this is the first principle. Man cannot strive for selflessness, but he can strive for love for all humanity. He can expand the field of his love. That he can do, and that is what it is all about.“ (Lit.:GA 101, p. 128f)

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.
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