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. However, the real driving force of black magic ultimately comes from the sun and earth demon Sorat, the two-horned beast mentioned in the Apocalypse of John.

„... 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)

Prostitution of the spirit with matter

„The abuse of spiritual powers is related to that seductive power of the beast with two horns. And we call this abuse of spiritual power black magic in contrast to the right use, which we call white magic.

Thus, by dividing itself, the human race will prepare itself, on the one hand, to reach ever more spiritual states and thus to enter into the use of spiritual powers, into white magic, and on the other hand, that which abuses spiritual powers will prepare itself for the wildest power of the two-horned beast, black magic. In the end, humanity will split into beings who practise white magic and those who practise black magic. Thus in the secret of 666 or Sorat is hidden the secret of black magic. And the seducer of black magic, of that most terrible crime in the evolution of the earth, which no crime can equal, is represented by the apocalyptic through the two-horned beast. Thus, as it were, the division of humanity enters our horizon in the very distant future: the chosen ones of the Christ, who will ultimately be the white magicians, and the opponents, the wild sorcerers, the black magicians, who cannot get away from matter and whom the apocalypticist represents as those who make prostitution with matter. Therefore all this activity of black magic, all that arises in marriage between man and the hardening in matter, is brought to his view before his visionary soul in the great Babylon, in the community which unites all those who practise black magic, in the terrible marriage or rather wild marriage between man and the forces of degenerate matter.“ (Lit.:GA 104, p. 231f)

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 plane. 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)

Black magic and the forces of the earth's interior

→ See also: Interior of the Earth

Rudolf Steiner has also pointed out that the forces used in black magic are related to that of the ninth, central layer of the earth's interior, to the ice hell in Dante's "Divine Comedy":

„This last layer consists of a substance endowed with moral activity, but its morality is opposite to that which must unfold on earth. For its essence, the violence associated with it, that is: division, discord and hatred. Here in Dante's hell is Cain, the fratricide. This substance is opposed to all that is good and beautiful among men. The effort of mankind to spread brotherhood on earth diminishes in corresponding measure the power of this sphere. It is the power of love which, in the degree to which it will spiritualise, will even transform the body of the earth. This ninth layer is the substantial origin of that which appears on earth as black magic, that is, as magic founded on egoism.“ (Lit.:GA 94, p. 108ff)

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 Sorat

„When the sun will have reunited with the earth, then man, having purified his impulses, desires and passions, will redeem the Luciferic beings. The Luciferic beings who do not go with him to the sun remain in the state in which they were; they then appear as ejected into the evil lower astral world. This is then the old serpent and the first of the dragons emerges. So when the earth enters the sun, a dragon appears. But there are other retarded things: such people who cannot quite help being retarded in animalism, who remain slaves to their animal instincts. While the other people go to the sun, they form an evil power towards the others. They form the second monster, and the apocalyptic says in his exact manner: the Luciferic dragon appears in the sky because he comes from higher worlds; the second beast rises from the sea - these are the retarded animal men. (cf. Rev 12:3 - 13:10).

Now we have a third manifestation: these are the black magicians. They do not remain in animalism, they develop spiritual abilities within themselves. They have turned away in full consciousness and give up the carnal incarnation for the Sorat; this will be the carnalisation of the sun-demon.“ (Lit.:GA 104a, p. 120f)

Black magic and lunar forces

Among the lunar beings, who were the original teachers of humanity before the moon was separated, there are "more imperfect" ones who take a burning interest in certain expressions or emanations of the human being and develop their effectiveness in them. These emanations of the human being are connected with the four elements or with the different kinds of ether. There are therefore seven types of such radiations:

  1. movements radiated by the human being
  2. skin radiations of the liquid
  3. skin radiations of the aeriform
  4. heat radiation
  5. light radiation
  6. chemical force radiation (black magic)
  7. vital radiation. (Lit.:GA 243, p. 150)

In themselves these effects are quite positive, especially the effects of the life ether; only the forces of the chemical ether can be misused for black magic purposes.

„For, you see, all the forces, all the impulses of the present epoch must hasten towards the use of vital radiation on earth. But it is extremely obvious that one enters into that which lies between this vital radiation and all the other radiations which one would so like to have: black magic. People would so much like to make visible what is expressed in the movements - we shall have to speak of this - to make visible what is present in the exhalation and so on, what is present in the radiation of light. All this is related in a certain sense to something good, to that which can actually only be good, because the Michael Age is dawning among men.

But between all this lies black magic, which must be kept off if the good, the right ways of supersensible research, and not the evil, wrong ways of supersensible research, are to be taken.“ (Lit.:GA 243, p. 150)

Through black magic, those lunar forces are brought to activity that remained in the earth after the separation of the moon:

„All these things then lead to direct black magic, where work is done with the spiritual hidden in the earthly. With what spiritual? Well, I have told you, and you can read this in my "Occult Science", that once the moon was connected with the earth. But the moon did not take many forces with it, not all that belonged to it. Many have remained in the earth and now permeate minerals, plants and animals. They are still there today, these lunar forces. So if one works with lunar forces here on earth, forces that do not actually belong to the normal mineral, plant, animal and human forces, then one can enter directly into the area with these lunar forces in an unseemly way, in which one comes together with the beings who, as elementary beings, learn many things from the lunar beings, but learn in a way, as I have indicated to you, that does not belong in our world. And so the black magician works on the one hand with the lunar forces that are still here on earth. But by working in this way, he comes into contact with elementary forces which directly, one might say, by kibitzing, watching as at a game of halma or chess, by kibitzing at what is going on in the right way between man and the lunar beings, learn to come as close as possible to the physical world; they either look in or enter this physical world too. But the ordinary man, for whom all this remains in the subconscious, has nothing to do with them. The black magician who works with the lunar forces, who has the lunar forces everywhere in his retorts, in his crucibles and incenses, is surrounded by these forces.

A good person can learn a lot from these black magicians. In the first part of his Faust, Goethe portrayed this being surrounded, which borders quite alarmingly on black magic. Through the use of these lunar forces, man enters the region where beings who have entered into the service of the lunar forces are ready to have intercourse with man. And there arise the centres of black magic, where magicians co-operate with lunar forces, with spirits who have placed themselves directly in the service, but in an evil service, of the lunar forces. The fact that many things have been done in this direction in the course of the last centuries has created a dubious atmosphere on earth. And this precarious atmosphere is there. Many such forces are whirring and weaving about, arising from a combination of human activity with lunar ingredients and lunar dynamics with elementary beings who are in the service of unseemly lunar forces. This precarious atmosphere, it's there. And this is the region which is just now working strongly against what is to come out of the solar region in the age of Michael, and what is to take special account of the vital radiation in the pure soul-spiritual.“ (Lit.:GA 243, p. 154f)

Black magic and rock music

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and the androgynous musician Marilyn Manson are considered particularly prominent exponents of black magic in rock and pop. In addition, there are a number of other musicians and bands who have turned to black magic. KISS, AC/DC ("Higway to hell") and the Rolling Stones ("Sympathy for the devil") are just a few examples. The technique of some of these musicians and bands includes backward masking, with which satanic messages are to be transported into the subconscious of the listener.

What protection is there from black magicians?

„The best means is to try to preserve one's freedom, to use one's sound judgement and reason. If one is always mindful of this, one will not expose oneself to any danger and will not have to endure anything from this side. Admittedly, where today the belief in authority plays such a great role and the addiction is great to recognise all kinds of things in a dim state of consciousness, it is easily possible that black magic forces flow in. Protection from them is only necessary when one enters a certain stage of occult development. In a rightly existing occult training, which strives for harmony of the soul forces, one already receives protective forces against such attacks. General rules do not exist.“ (Lit.:GA 110, p. 178f)

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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