View source for Black magic

{{Short description|Magic used for evil and selfish purposes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Redirect|Dark magic|other uses|Dark magic (disambiguation)|and|Black magic (disambiguation)}}{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{Page numbers needed|date=December 2022}} 
{{magic sidebar|Forms}}

'''Black magic''' ([[Middle English]]: '''''nigromancy'''''), sometimes '''dark magic''', traditionally refers to the use of [[Magic (paranormal)|magic]] or [[supernatural]] powers for [[evil]] and selfish purposes.{{sfn|Melton|2001}}  

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 [[La Voisin|Catherine Monvoisin]] for [[Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan|Madame de Montespan]].{{sfn|Summers|2013|p={{page needed|date=December 2022}}}}{{Failed verification|date=July 2024}} 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).{{sfn|Waite|2011}}

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.<ref name=lewis/> The two are usually combined in medieval beliefs about [[witchcraft]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Myths – Occult Mystery |url=https://occultmystery.com/myths |website=Occult Mystery |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
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".<ref>{{Cite web |title=black magic, Oxford English Dictionary Online |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/black-magic_n?tab=factsheet#19401068100}}</ref>

{{poemquote|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<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Faerie Queene: Book 3: Canto XI |url=https://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/fq/fq37.htm |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=sacred-texts.com}}</ref>}}

== History ==
{{main|Medieval European magic|Magic and religion|Goetia|Witchcraft}}
{{quotebox|quote=The lowest depths of black mysticism are well-nigh<br /> as difficult to plumb as it is arduous to scale<br /> the heights of sanctity. The Grand Masters of<br /> the witch covens are men of genius – a foul genius,<br /> crooked, distorted, disturbed, and diseased.|source=[[Montague Summers]]<br />''Witchcraft and Black Magic''|salign=right}}

[[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.<ref name=place>{{harvnb|Place|2009|p={{page needed|date=December 2022}}}}.</ref> Unlike white magic, in which Place sees parallels with primitive [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] efforts to achieve closeness with spiritual beings, the rituals that developed into modern black magic were designed to [[evocation|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 religion|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.{{sfn|Evans-Pritchard|1931}}

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 [[Western esotericism|esoteric study]] were prohibited and targeted by the [[Inquisition]].<ref name=zambelli>{{harvnb|Zambelli|2007|p={{page needed|date=December 2022}}}}.</ref> 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.<ref name=zambelli/>

[[File:Sprenger - Malleus maleficarum, 1669 - BEIC 9477645.tiff|thumb|''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'', 1669 edition]]

While "natural magic" became popular among the educated and upper classes of the 16th and 17th century, [[Ceremonial magic|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 (theologian)|William Perkins]] posthumous 1608 instructions in that regard:

{{quotation|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.<ref name=summers>{{harvnb|Summers|2012|p={{page needed|date=December 2022}}}}.</ref>}}

{{anchor|nigromancer}}{{anchor|nigromancy}}In particular, though, the term was most commonly reserved for those accused of invoking [[demon]]s and other [[Demon#Evil spirits|evil spirits]], those hexing or [[Curse|cursing]] their neighbours, those using magic to destroy crops, and those capable of leaving their earthly bodies and [[Astral projection|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, ({{langx|la|niger}}, black; {{langx|el|μαντεία}}, divination), broadly "one skilled in the black arts".<ref name=summers/>

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.<ref name=place/> 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 [[coven]]s in an era where benevolent magic is increasingly associated with [[New Age|new-age]] beliefs and practices, and self-help [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualism]].<ref name=lewis>{{harvnb|Lewis|1996|p={{page needed|date=December 2022}}}}.</ref>

==''Artes prohibitae'' and ''artes magicae''==
{{Artes prohibitae}}{{Anchor|artes prohibitae}} {{Anchor|artes magicae}}
{{main|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]].{{sfn|Heiduk|Herbers|Lehner|2020|p=834}} 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").{{sfn|Herzig|2011|p=1028}}

==Voodoo==
{{main|Haitian Vodou|Louisiana Voodoo}}
[[File:Vudu.jpg|thumb|[[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.{{sfn|Long|2002}}<ref name=lewis/>

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 [[zombie]]s means they, and Voodoo in general, are regularly associated with black magic.{{sfn|Owusu|2002|p={{page needed|date=December 2022}}}}

== Modern accusations ==
{{see also|Blood ritual}}
In the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], [[Mass media in Russia|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".{{sfn|Gault|2022}}{{sfn|van Brugen|2022}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Religion}}
* {{annotated link|Demonology}}
* {{annotated link|Filipino witches}}
* {{annotated link|Gray magic}}
* {{annotated link|Gu (poison)|Gu}}
* [[Sexuality in Christian demonology]] ([[incubus]] and [[succubus]])

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|2}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
* {{cite journal |last=Evans-Pritchard |first=E. E. |author-link=E. E. Evans-Pritchard |title=Sorcery and Native Opinion |journal=Africa: Journal of the International African Institute |volume=4 |number=1 |date=January 1931 |pages=22–55|doi=10.2307/1155736 |jstor=1155736 |s2cid=146139860 }}
* {{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Gault |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/russian-state-media-claims-to-discover-militarized-ukrainian-witches/ |title=Russian State Media Claims to Discover Militarized Ukrainian Witches |work=Vice |date=5 May 2022 |access-date=18 May 2022 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-first=Matthias |editor1-last=Heiduk |editor2-first=Klaus |editor2-last=Herbers |editor3-first=Hans-Christian |editor3-last=Lehner |title=Prognostication in the Medieval World: A Handbook |year=2020 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3110499773}}
* {{cite journal |last=Herzig |first=Tamar |date=Winter 2011 |title=The Demons and the Friars: Illicit Magic and Mendicant Rivalry in Renaissance Bologna |journal=Renaissance Quarterly |volume=64 |issue=4 |pages=1025–1058 |doi=10.1086/664084 |s2cid=162081348}}
* {{cite book |title=Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft |first=James R. |last=Lewis |author-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0791428894}}
* {{cite journal |last=Long |first=Carolyn Morrow |title=Perceptions of New Orleans Voodoo: Sin, Fraud, Entertainment, and Religion |journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions |volume=6 |number=1 |date=October 2002 |pages=86–101|doi=10.1525/nr.2002.6.1.86 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology |volume=1: A–L |edition=5th |year=2001 |editor-first=J. Gordon |editor-last=Melton |editor-link=J. Gordon Melton |publisher=Gale Research Inc. |title= Black Magic |isbn=0-8103-9488-X}}
* {{cite book |title=Voodoo Rituals: A User's Guide |first=Heike |last=Owusu |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing Company]] |date=2002 |isbn=978-1402700354}}
* {{cite book |title=Magic and Alchemy |first=Robert M. |last=Place |author-link=Robert M. Place |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0791093900}}
* {{cite book |title=Witchcraft and Black Magic |first=Montague |last=Summers |author-link=Montague Summers |orig-year=1946 |publisher=[[Courier Dover Publications]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0486411255}}
* {{cite book |last=Summers |first=Montague |year=2013 |orig-year=1927 |title=The Geography of Witchcraft |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415847933}}
* {{cite news |first=Isabel |last=van Brugen |url=https://www.newsweek.com/witchers-sorcerers-russian-media-ukraine-black-magic-claims-1704224 |title='Witches and Sorcerers': Russian Media Peddles Ukraine Black Magic Claims |work=Newsweek |date=6 May 2022 |access-date=18 May 2022 }}
* {{cite book |last=Waite |first=A. E. |author-link=A. E. Waite |year=2011 |orig-year=1911 |title=The Book of Ceremonial Magic: Including the Rites and Mysteries of Goetic Theurgy, Sorcery, and Infernal Necromancy |publisher=Martino Fine Books |isbn=978-1614271567}}
* {{cite book |title=White Magic, Black Magic in the European Renaissance |first=Paola |last=Zambelli |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-9004160989}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bergstrom |first=Lisa A. |date=2011 |title=Nigromancy in the Later Middle Ages |journal=Inquiries |volume=3 |number=6}} 
* {{cite web |last1=Kosloki |first1=Philip |title=What is a "Black Mass"? |website=Aleteia |url=https://aleteia.org/2018/10/09/what-is-a-black-mass/ |date=9 October 2018 |access-date=21 January 2020}}
* {{cite book |last1=Luck |first1=Georg |title=Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Collection of Ancient Texts |year=2006|url=https://archive.org/details/arcanamundimagic00luck |url-access=limited|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |edition=2nd}}
* {{cite book |title=Modern Satanism: Anatomy of a Radical Subculture |first=Chris |last=Mathews |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0313366390}}
* {{cite book |last=Pegg |first=Carole |title=Mongolian Music, Dance, & Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities |year=2001 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0295981123}}
* {{cite book |title=Contemporary religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology |year=2009 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-5286-1 |first=Jesper Aagaard |last=Petersen}}
* {{cite encyclopaedia |first=Ippei |last=Shimamura |article=Yellow Shamans (Mongolia) |editor1-first=Mariko Namba |editor1-last=Walter |editor2-first=Eva Jane |editor2-last=Neumann Fridman |encyclopedia=Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture |volume=1 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=978-1576076453 |article-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8waCmzjiD4C&pg=PA650 |pages=649–651}}
* {{cite book|title=A history of magic and experimental science |last=Thorndike |first=Lynn |publisher=Macmillan |year=1923 |isbn=978-0231088008 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0231087993}}
* {{cite book |first=Kevin B. |last=Turner |title=Sky Shamans of Mongolia: Meetings with Remarkable Healers |publisher=North Atlantic Books |year=2016 |isbn=978-1583949986}}
{{refend}}

{{witchcraft|state=expanded}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Magic}}
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