Brent Hardy
Mrs. Abner
1st Block English 11
The Occult
The occult is a branch of religious practices with experience in the supernatural, spiritual, and magical aspects of nature and human thought. Mastery of it is a precise discipline, and although the picture of a robed and bearded wizard flinging lightning bolts and fireballs through the air appeals to some, especially Role-Players, this is a false assumption. Magick, as opposed to magic, which is simple sleight-of-hand and card tricks, is defined as a change in the internal or external world of the practitioner through an exercise of their will. It is divided into two paths: the Right-Hand Path, which is characterized by the use of helpful and sympathetic magick for the benefit of all mankind, and the Left-Hand Path, which is a more selfish calling devoted mostly to the acquisition of power. Magick has been around throughout history, from shamans guiding their tribes, to priests of individual gods performing miracles in their name, to the Renaissance emergence of modern theories of “High” and “Low” magick. In modern times, the occult has seen a virtual golden age in which people can practice whatever “witchery” they want with little fear of persecution. A debate arises, however, with the fact that the world’s main religions reject any teachings that are not incorporated into their own theology. It is pounded from every pulpit that witchcraft is “immoral and deviant.” Now, with some descriptions of the major magickal groups, I wish to sift through the fiction and social stigma surrounding these groups to reach the underlying facts of the phenomenon we call the occult.
The Right-Hand Path is known by its refusal to cause harm to others. Practitioners do not believe in a supreme evil, and thus do not fear going to hell. However, they do believe in karma, often called the three-fold law, which states that whatever you do comes back to you three-fold. Therefore if you perform a spell to give someone a thousand dollars, you will soon come into three thousand. Because of their belief in this, they use their power to heal and protect others.
The most popular religion in the
occult world today is Wicca, which literally means “enlightened ones.” Some wiccans claim that their religion is the
only uncorrupted form of the
Shamanism is another path of white
magick. Shamanism, or tribal magick, was
the religion practiced by Native Americans and some cultures in
Druidism is very similar to
Shamanism in respect to its attunement to nature. The Druids were a Celtic society where
priests totally ruled over the other classes.
Their magick is earth-based, and many legends say they were capable of
shape shifting and many other incredible feats.
They were also widely known for their prophetic skills, and one of the
most well known magicians, Merlin, was supposedly the most powerful member of
this ancient order. He is said to have
single-handedly built the famous
The Left-Hand Path is a road to personal gain where a person takes upon himself the god-like duty of judging right and wrong and punishing those that anger him. A Black magician may use what others think of as white magick, however he will only use it on someone or something he sees as worthy of his time. The typical Black magician will often delve into the obscene arts of trafficking with demons or dark gods, but sometimes they will use these powers for the benefit of others in order to justify their evil experimentation. A Black magician is often practiced in the art of psychic attack, in which he deprives his body of several comforts, even refuses to eat meat or bread, in order to bring his mind to a fever pitch so that he can project his harmful intentions onto another and thus destroy their mind.
The most famous type of dark art is Satanism. Modern Satanism, as defined in the 1970s by Anton Szandor LaVey, is very similar to modern atheism. Satanists do not believe in God or the Devil, they just use the language to frighten society with its Christian mindset. LaVey says in his book The Satanic Bible: “Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his ‘divine spiritual and intellectual development,’ has become the most vicious animal of all!” (LaVey, 25). The basic intrinsic belief of Satanists is that man is just an animal whose needs must be satisfied and, since man creates his own gods and then tells of them giving laws, man should set himself up as his own god and follow his own instincts. Satanism adds rituals to this belief in order to satisfy man’s need for mysticism. It is a greedy and vain religion, but it is certainly not worthy of all the criticisms it has received throughout the years.
Demonomancy, or Demonology, is what most people think of when they hear the word “Satanism.” They are the actual study and conjuration of evil entities known as “demons” in the Christian world. The demonomancers use ancient books of spells and magickal formulae called grimoires to call up the infernal spirits. Most of the grimoires apply a mixture of divine literature and supplications to God and a profane corruption of Bible verses and prayers. The most famous of these grimoires, The Lesser Key of Solomon the King, or The Lemegeton, gives the names and personal sigils, or unique symbol for identification purposes, of over seventy evil spirits and what gifts they may offer the summoner. It also gives directions on how to prepare a magickal circle for protection from the evil spirits and talismans for both protection and the actual conjurations. The use of prayer and the divine names of God compels the demons to appear. These devil worshippers may actually attempt to make a pact with the demons they summon, trading their lives or souls, or something more trivial, for a set time of power, wealth, love, or other material gain.
Similar to demonomancy is Necromancy, which is an art that specializes in utilizing the energies present in death. Necromancers have been written about through history, and are usually viewed in a negative context. They are reputed to summon the spirits of the dead in order to gain knowledge, animate and enslave the corpses of the dead, and are able to strike people dead with a single ritual. They had handbooks similar to grimoires in which they, like the ancient demonomancers, placed nonsense rituals and phrases in order to throw off the ignorant and allow only the learned to gain real power. They are twisted by the dark powers they deal with and often are driven insane or become very sick, just like the demonomancers are often possessed by the very spirits they try to control (Shah, 237).
There are several forms of magick that do not fall under the category of White or Black. These are called Gray Magicks, and are seen by White magicians to be on the road to evil and by Black magicians to be a little too good to be considered dark. The most popular forms of Gray magick are mediumship and Voodoo, but include a few more classes. A practitioner of Gray magick must be extremely careful that he does not cross a particular line into White or Black, else some of the methods they use will be closed to them as a result of their extremist alignment.
Voodoo is practiced mostly in
Mediums are well versed in the psychic arts. They are known for their skill in cleansing and purifying spaces and in exorcising spirits. They don’t take magick as a religion, but more as a profession. Mediums can manipulate psychic energies and holy powers to help people, but also contact darker entities for help if the situation calls for it. Mediums are often called in to help restless spirits and ghosts pass on into the afterlife and to quell poltergeist activity in a home or office.
Sorcery is a branch of magick that can be Black or White, depending on the one who uses it. Sorcerers do not believe in karma, and thus can do as they will with their only restraint being their own morals. They are often called Chaos Magicians or Discordians, depending on what they believe in. They rely heavily on the practice of believing what is convenient and then forgetting it when they have achieved the goal they want. One of the main techniques of a Chaos Mage is the creation of “servitors” and “egregoris,” or spirit beings that follow the commands of the creator and are usually given some task to complete. These are similar to the traditional witches’ familiars in that they follow their creator around in an attempt to serve in whatever way possible. Old stories tell of sorcerers who give their servitors a physical body, and these unnatural creations are called homunculi. Traditionally, they are created in a consecrated circle filled with animals that the sorcerer wishes it to be composed of. A clay idol is anointed with the sorcerer’s blood and let set for several days. The creature comes alive and is filled with obedience for its master.
Diviners are the typical fortune-tellers. They use various methods to scry, or tell the future. The most famous of these methods is the crystal ball, which is gazed into as you go into a trance and the future can then be viewed like it was from a television screen. There is disagreement on what the crystal ball should look like, however. Some say that it should be pure crystal; others think it can be artificial. Some can work better with bubbles inside the ball to focus, some think it works better without blemish. Color seems to work better for some people also, while Nostradamus was said to have used a black ball and focused into the images reflected off its obsidian surface. Diviners also use Tarot cards, Astrology, Runes, meditating on dreams, the I Ching (a form of Chinese divination used by Confucius), or gazing into the flame of a candle. Psychic talent also is a major factor in how accurate a divination is.
Students of the paranormal make a specific study of the psychic arts used by most other forms of magick. They are interested in telekinesis, or moving matter with the mind, telepathy, or communication through a mental bond, pyrokinesis, or mental control of fire, extrasensory perception (ESP), or the knowledge of things a person couldn’t perceive with the normal five senses, astral projections, or out-of-body experiences where a person “goes” somewhere while his body remains stationary, psychic healing, poltergeists, ghosts, and spirits, and other psychic phenomenon. These are The Exorcist’s
Tangeenas, modern Ghostbusters who use their knowledge (along with a little bit of psychic talent, usually) to study and control other unexplainable events.
Alchemy is known today as one of
the major forerunners of the sciences, especially chemistry. Contrary to popular belief, the alchemists
were not interested in turning lead to gold and other such
impossibilities. They used these as code
words to hide their true intentions for delving into the magickal arts. The alchemists were concerned with the discovery
of the incommunicable axiom, the absolute secret of divinity that cannot be
conferred to another being but must be discovered for oneself. The main goals of the alchemists were the
Philosopher’s Stone that turned base metals into gold (the purifying of
commonality), the Universal Panacea that could heal any malady (absolute
healing of the broken aspects of human nature), and Palingenis, or the ability
to create a living being (elevation to god-like status). The secrets of alchemy were passed down from
ancient
The art of magick is a very free form of expressionism. However, there are several laws that are usually followed in its practice. The first set of these laws has to do with knowledge. The laws of Finite Senses, Infinite Data, Knowledge, Names, Self-Knowledge, and Words state that there is an infinite amount to be learned about everything, and the more you know about something, when coupled with a name for that thing, gives you power over it. The second set of laws is the laws concerning opposites. These laws, including the laws of Balance, Polarity, Pragmatism, Synthesis, Similarity, and True Falsehoods, establish a universal balance where everything has an opposite, and anything contradictory is probably true. The last set, laws of transformation, includes laws of Association, Contagion, and Identification. They state that if you imagine one thing as something else, it becomes it in a ritualistic sort of way, and afterwards retains some of its characteristics. This is best described in The Emerald Tablet by Hermes Trismegistus when he states “As above, so below” or vice-versa. The meaning of this statement is, in a nutshell, that anything happening on earth has a corresponding event in the heavens or in the greater scheme of things. Thus a ritualistic representation of a grand event will have effects on the event. Pope Urban VIII used this law when it was predicted that he would die during a lunar eclipse. He hired a famous magician to recreate the known solar system inside his chambers. They performed several rituals and remained there until the eclipse was finished. It was obviously successful, as he did not die for another twelve years (Cavendish, 16).
Another almost universal aspect of magick is the use of the elements and ritual tools. The elements (earth, air, fire, water, and spirit) are represented by the five points of the pentacle, the most sacred symbol to most witches. The elements are endowed with both good and bad aspects of human nature. For example fire can represent strength and passion, but it also represents rage and war. Air is intelligence, but also flightiness. If the elements are invoked to aid a spell or ritual, they add all their characteristics, both good and bad, to it. (Fitch, 34) The ritual tools are consecrated by each magician for use only by him or her. The athame is a small ritual knife used for tracing symbols and projecting energy. The wand is also used for projection. The cup or chalice represents the womb of the Great Mother and holds the consecrated wine or water. The pentacle or disc is a flat circle used for grounding energy and enchanting objects placed upon it. These are the implements used most often in magick, but some traditions or rituals call for more. A sword that has never drawn blood is used to trace magick circles. A staff of power is created from a virgin branch to focus energy and ground the magician to the earth’s protection. A magickal lamp is used to set the atmosphere comfortable to spirits when they are being summoned. Various talismans and amulets are used to attune the magician to certain powers and for protection. Finally the ritual clothes are to be ritually christened and worn only when working magick. Also used are various herbs and stones, all having different properties, and planetary, runic, or other symbols which, due to the law of association, carry all the power of the things they represent.
In the course of practicing magick there are several forms of rites in which one might undertake. The simpler ones, or spells, are characteristic of Low Magick, and bring about only brief or minor changes in the natural order of things. More major rites are called rituals, and can bring about a total change in the life of the magician or in the world directly around him. These are very taxing upon the psyche of all involved and, as there are usually at least two people participating, use a lot of energy to affect a great change. Rituals also frequently call on a god’s or higher power’s intervention in increasing its potential. Rituals should be worked carefully, as the exact wording of a plea is exactly what you get when dealing with divine powers.
There are a great variety of purposes for conducting a spell- some beneficial, some destructive. The most commonly asked about are love spells, but is it right to coerce another human being into an unnatural affection for some person? Many only direct the spell to attract their best potential mate, but some insist on commanding the one they desire into loving them. But what happens when the one they love is abusive, but so obsessed with the idea that they are in love that they won’t leave? Protection spells are commonly used on houses and automobiles. They effectively ward off any bad omens and ill intents toward that which they guard over. Healing spells are used most frequently by White magicians, and can actually restore a person’s body from the brink of death. Glamour is a spell that can alter the way a person perceives you. Change in eye color, being made taller or slimmer, and other physical illusions are examples of what glamouries can do. Curses can bring harm on the enemies of the magician. They are usually accompanied with symbols of death and destruction and mad rages on the part of the magician. Justice spells are the more ethical counterparts of curses and are used when someone thinks someone else is in the wrong but they do not see themselves fit to judge. Users of justice spells must be careful, however, for the scales may find in favor of the one whom they think ought to be punished.
Rituals also come in many varieties. Banishing rituals are often used at the beginning and ending of other workings. They cleanse the work area of any dark energies and evil spirits that may affect the magicks. Sabbatt rituals are practiced on the days of the witch’s Sabbatts and only act to please the spirits and gods for the coming season. Empowerment rituals are frequently used in self-help groups without anyone even realizing it. They tend to boost the ego of the practitioner to the point where they feel better about themselves and their lives in general. Rituals to see the future are a little more advanced than what is practiced by the common Diviner. They usually result in prophetic visions or dreams, and help the magician in reaching into the Akashic Records, the collection of human knowledge called by Jung the “over-soul.” Finally, rituals of conjuration or summoning call upon spirits or higher intelligences. Some call on angels, some demons, some the dead, some even the gods themselves. A common practice in Ancient Greece was to call down a particular god who would then possess a particular priest and then speak through their mouth.
The very subject of the occult seems to get people to prepare for an argument. Some people think that practice in magick can be healthy. It opens up the furthest reaches of the mind. Magick teaches visualization skills and meditation techniques. It gives the average person a sense of control over his or her own destiny. It doesn’t encourage petty prejudices like some other religions do, except occultists tend to not like people who try to force their beliefs on other people. Also, magick may actually effect reality and produce change in the world. Those who are against magick protest on a variety of theological and philosophical grounds. The most common argument is that the Bible condemns it. Most occultists do not believe in the divine nature of the Bible, however, and this statement only tends to annoy them. Some say that dabbling opens gateways to powers that are beyond human control, and that dabblers can be possessed, driven mad, even killed. Some are even worried about people coming to rely compulsively upon magick, using spells and divinations for even the most minor aspects of life.
The occult has had a heavy influence on modern thinking. All our modern holidays are but the Christianization of pagan sabbatts. Easter, with its symbols and bunnies and eggs, was once the celebration of the spring solstice, a season of growth and fertility. Christmas, once called Yule, was the feast of Saturn, celebrating the rebirth of the sun after the shortest day of the year, hence the traditional Yule logs and decoration of a tree (Cavendish 176). People are also influenced by psychic hotlines that are constantly in the media and by the occult content of modern literature. There are many debates still smoldering, but there is hope in that “this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,” a time that has been prophesied to bring universal peace and love. The only way people can look at the issue is that you can dabble, practice, or be mortally opposed, and it’s nobody’s business but your own. The choice is entirely yours.
Works Cited
Gonzalez-Wippler, Migene. The Complete Book of Spells, Ceremonies, and Magic.
Llewellyn Publications.
Fitch, Ed. A Grimoire of Shadows.
Llewellyn Publications.
Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts. Perigee Books. 1967.
LaVey, Anton
Szandor. The
Satanic Bible.
Simon. The Necronomicon.
Shah,
Sirdar Ikbal Ali. Black and White Magic. The Octagon Press.
‘Spiritual
Depravation and Dabbling Open Doorways to Danger’.
News.
The
Mystica. <http://www.themystica.com>.
Spirit Online. <http://spiritonline.com>.
Topic: The Occult
Thesis Statement: The occult is marked by several different religious ideas, but is bound together by many basic magickal “laws” which are universally held. Whether it is a matter of fact or a pure myth, however, is subject to debate.
Outline:
I. Introduction
A. The occult is a branch of religious practices with experience in the supernatural, spiritual, and magickal branches of human nature.
B. Magick is defined as the willful change in the world around the practitioner.
C. The Right-Hand Path is characterized by the use of helpful and sympathetic magicks to benefit mankind, where the Left-Hand Path is more concerned with the use of power for benefiting the one who uses it.
D. Magick has been around since before written history. It existed then as mostly ancestor worship with minor rituals to benefit individual tribes. As civilizations emerged, pantheons were developed to watch over each individual nation. Around the advent of the Renaissance, the great thinkers practically rewrote the entirety of magickal theory into the basic groups of High- and Low- Magick that is still around today. As the Dark Ages came and went, magick stagnated into a strict pattern that was denounced by the church, at which time the Inquisition began burning all who were suspected of “witchery.” In modern times, the occult has seen a virtual golden age in which people can practice whatever religion they want as long as it does not violate the law.
E. A debate rises, however, in the fact that Christianity still rejects all practices that are not incorporated into its theology. In courtrooms and parliaments across the globe, the occult practices are denounced as “deviant,” and “immoral,” and from every pulpit-thumping sermon preached is the message that all who are not like us are abnormal.
II. The Right-Hand-Path
A. White Magick
1. Cannot curse of harm others
2. Usually heals and protects others
3. Do not believe in a supreme evil, only good
B. Wicca
1. The Wiccan Rede
2. The Goddess and the God
3. The Sabbatts
C. Druidism
1. Keepers of Nature
2. Strictly Structured Social Order
3. Earth-Based Magick and Animal Empathy
D. Shamanism
1. Tribal Magick
2. Predominant in Native American and African cultures
3. Elitists only overruled by tribal chiefs
4. Used Vision Quests and other rites to help the tribe
III. The Left-Hand-Path
A. Black Magic
1. Concerned with personal gain
2. Use white magick, but only on those they see fit to, not anybody who needs it
3. Characterized by their use of magick to seek their opinion of what justice should be
4. Often delve into the arts of necromancy and demonomancy, but use it for the benefit of others to justify it
5. Use psychic attack to destroy the minds of their enemies
B. Modern Satanism
1. Do not believe in god or the devil
2. Atheists who try to use social stigma to seem more powerful
3. Believe that man creates his own gods, so why not make yourself your own god?
4. Thinks of man as an animal whose needs should be satisfied
5. Most of their political positions are reminiscent of the ‘60s and ‘70s
6. Add ritual to their religion to satisfy man’s need for mysticism
C. Demonomancy
1. The study and calling of evil, or demonic, spirits
2. Draw magick circle for protection and use symbols and arcane words to conjure the dark powers
3. Utilize the Hebrew and Greek names of god to coerce demons to appear.
4. Ancient Grimoires gave spells and exorcisms for the Demonomancers.
D. Necromancy
1. The art of using the energies of death
2. Summon the spirits of the dead for knowledge
3. One of the oldest forms of magick
4. They had many handbooks and tomes which gave instruction in their evil art
5. They and the Demonomancers placed nonsense phrases and rituals to keep the ignorant from acquiring real power.
IV. The Grey Areas
A. Voodoo
1. Practiced
mainly in
2. Worship “loas” or nature spirits
3. Main practitioners of necromancy
4. Liberally heal and curse
5. All practice, some are just more specialized
6. Use talismans, amulets, and powders to affect their spells
B. Mediums
1. Known for their psychic powers
2. Usually well-versed in cleansing and purifying houses
3. Can also exorcise spirits
4. Don’t use it as a religion, but as a profession
C. Sorcery
1. Branch that can go Black or White
2. Usually turn to the darker arts, esp. demonomancy
3. Use whatever they want from other branches
4. Also known as Chaos Magick or Discordianism
5. Some who practice voodoo call themselves sorcerers
6. Believe whatever works for the moment, and then forget it
D. Diviners
1. Fortune-tellers
2. Use various methods to scry, or tell the future
· Crystal ball (real or fake, colored, black, or clear)
· Tarot cards
· The flame of a candle
· Astrology
· Tossing runes
· Peering into scrying bowls filled with water or other liquid
· I Ching
E. Students of the Paranormal
1. Study the Psychic arts
2. Are interested in telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis, psychic healing, ESP, astral projection, poltergeists and ghosts, and other psychic phenomenon
3. Modern-day Ghostbusters
4. Studies
have been conducted by
F. Alchemy
1. Not what people think
2. Search for the Incommunicable Axiom
3. Most of their goals were in code
V.
Basics of Magick
A.
The Laws of Magick
1. Laws of knowledge
· Infinite Data- any phenomenon has an infinite amount to be learned about it
· Knowledge- the more you know about something, the more power you have over it
· Names- to know something by name gives power over it
· Self-Knowledge- to be trained in something makes it possible to do it instinctively
· Words- words are only that- words- and only have the power given to them
2.
Laws of opposites
·
Balance- one must keep balance to survive
· Polarity- everything has an equal and opposite, to keep the law of balance
· Pragmatism- if it works, it’s true
· Synthesis-Two opposing ideas will combine and create a compromise between the two
· Similarity- something always creates something like it
· True Falsehoods- if it is a paradox, it is probably true
3.
Laws of transmutation
·
Association- linking 2
things and changing one by doing something to the other (i.e. a voodoo doll)
·
Contagion- by being around something, you absorb
its energy
·
Finite Senses-no matter how much you know
something, since your senses can’t perceive it all, you can always know more
·
Identification- to identify with an entity is to
become it
B. Ritual Tools
1. Athame- dagger used for projecting energy, related to air
2. Cup- holds ritual water, used for banishing, related to water
3. Pentacle or disc- used for grounding and protection, related to earth
4. Wand- used to focus and trace designs, related to fire
5. Talismans- used for protection and to achieve goals
6. Magick Lamp- used to alter environment for spirits’ comfort
7. Sword- used in place of athame, draws the circle and projects energy, related to fire
8. Herbs, Stones, Candles (of different color), Lunar Cycles, Planets and their symbols, magickal symbols- have different properties used in magick.
9. Robes, crown, etc.- create mood necessary for some to practice magick.
VI. Basic Magic and Practices
A. Spells
1. Love Spells and if they are ethical
2. Protection Spells
3. Healing Spells
4. Justice Spells
5. Curses
6. Glamour
B. Rituals
1. Banishing Rituals
2. Sabbatt Rituals
3. Empowerment Rituals
4. Rituals to see the future
5. Conjuring/Summoning
VII. Objective Reasoning
A. Arguments in favor of Magic
1. It opens the psyche
2. Empowers the average person
3. Doesn’t encourage prejudices
4. May actually affect reality and make human life better
B. Arguments against Magic
1.
The Bible speaks
against it
2.
May make the human too
aware and drive him mad
3.
Opens gateways to
powers beyond control
4.
Can become addictive
so that you cannot do anything without descrying or casting a spell (Compulsive
Behavior)
VIII.
Conclusion
A.
How the occult
influences modern thinking
1.
It influenced early
Christianity, and holidays
2.
Psychic hotlines
3.
Major theme in modern
literature
B.
Issues are still
debated, and will take a while to work out
1.
Age of Aquarius will
bring peace
C.
You can dabble,
practice, or abstain, it’s your choice