Magic, White and Black

Materialization, which is dependent upon ectoplasm, an extract of the vital body, belongs also to the negative class of phenomena.

  If, then, we may not use material instruments or physical sensation in developing the “gifts of the spirit,” what is the correct method of developing them? The powers of White Magic are not sought nor developed for themselves. It is said that happiness is the by-product of a life well lived. Whether or not this is true of happiness, it is certainly true of these spiritual gifts. The way to acquire them, then, is to live the highest life of service of which we are capable. Max Heindel has said, “In order to become an invisible helper, you must first be a visible helper.” Christ said, “If I tell of earthly things, and ye have not believed, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?” Unless we are using all our earthly gifts in God’s service we cannot be trusted with heavenly gifts.

  Rule 4. The objects as well as the methods of White Magic are spiritual, not material. It is easy to see what objects are sought in certain systems from looking at their advertisements. One philosophy says: “Use the inner forces to attain happiness and success. Create the things you most desire. Command a realization of your desires.” The student is encouraged to learn how to obtain “the world’s benefits” and “freedom and personal power.”

  Another advertiser takes a bolder approach. “What do you want? Whatever it is, we will you to get it.” How different from the “advertisements,” of the greatest White Magician: “He who would be greatest among you, let him be the servant of all....If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me....For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice rather, that your names are written in heaven....But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you....Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

  When Christ spoke of the kingdom, He always referred to the spiritual kingdom, which He said is within you, not to any material domain or worldly power. Christ said of Himself that He “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” and Paul wrote of Him that “even Christ pleased not Himself.”

  Christ’s second temptation after incarnating in the Jesus vehicles was to use His magical powers to obtain the “personal power” which one of these philosophies offers us. The first temptation was to use His power to satisfy His own material wants. Although both Christ and Elijah did demonstrate their ability magically to produce bread, we do not find either of them using this power for himself.

  Usually false philosophies will add, as an afterthought, that they will also teach you “how to help others.” This is a more subtle method of counterfeiting than the use of the five-pointed star in its proper position. Devil worship is out of date. The general moral level of society today is such that an entirely selfish system could not attract a very large following. It is not difficult, however, for a person who is honest with himself to discern where the main emphasis lies-—whether it is on the material and self-centered concerns, or whether it is on the spiritual plane and service. There is an occult truth in the old belief about vampires. These creatures were believed to be unable to enter a home unless invited to come into it. In the final analysis, all Black Forces are subject to the same law. Max Heindel has given us a good rule in this connection. “There is a way to be prepared, and it is sure: Look to Christ and keep your mind busy each moment studying how you may serve Him.”

  The White Magician is not only forbidden to use his powers for himself, he is also restricted in using them for others. For a teacher or a student to use his knowledge of magic to help a willful evildoer out of his troubles could at times be little less than a crime. The man who helps a criminal to escape front prison is himself a criminal in the eyes of the law. If it is wrong to interfere with human justice, which often makes mistakes, how much worse it must be to interfere with unerring divine law. The man who is not happy probably has not earned happiness. That is why he has not found it. Of course, this does not mean that we must not help the undeserving. It simply means that we must help them morally and spiritually at the same time that we help them in other ways. To help others materially without at the same time helping them spiritually—in other words to make them happy without making them good—is Gray Magic, not White. To give a man material help, without moral and spiritual assistance, would not be doing him a service, for he would certainly have to pay, sooner or later, for that unearned benefit.

  The true spiritual healer will not heal merely because we wish to be well. We have no right to wish for health, knowledge, wealth, talent, or any other blessing for itself alone. We may only rightly wish for it in order to use it in service.

  Unfortunately, a great many astrologers fail to observe Rule 4. The astrologer who casts horoscopes only for the purpose of telling you when it will be advisable to invest your money, to take journeys, or to sign legal papers, etc., is not practicing White Magic. The White Magician, in forecasting the future, will tell you when you are most likely to be tempted and to what sort of sin, when you will have the best opportunity to do a good turn, and what line of Christian service you might enter. Of course, this spiritual counsel also applies to the messages received by clairvoyants. The first instruction to Joan of Arc by her saints was: “Be a good girl, Joan. Go to church often.”

  We come now to a rule which is well known, but which has not been analyzed or studied to any great extent.

  Rule 5. White Magic never interferes with the reason or will of other people. Occult philosophy expresses the same thought in the saying, “White Magic begins with self-mastery. Black Magic begins with the mastery of others.” A work of fiction by Leonora Eyels, The Shepherd of Israel, gives illustrations of White and Black Magic as they were practiced in ancient times. The first is an instance of a form of Black Magic which was practiced by certain renegade Egyptian priests at the time of Moses:

  “He ran round to a little room at the back of the old buildings, now almost in ruins, which were slowly being replaced by gorgeous new ones of sandstone. This little room was now used only for one purpose and that scarcely a lawful one, known certainly to the College of Priests, and winked at by them but not permitted.

  “Rameses looked toward the corner and saw there what looked like a ball, but what he knew was a man. Some of the sham priests would take a slave, and, breaking his bones, double his body and truss it with ropes. Then, until he died-—sometimes in a day, sometimes seven days-—they would torture him with word and deed until his terrified spirit was as much enslaved as his body, and, at the moment of death, might be bound by his tormentor, who had taken a powerful drug to help him in his task. [Note Rule 3.] In this way, the magicians made for themselves armies of invisible slaves who knew no freedom, even in death. In this way they set a silent, unsleeping guard on their tombs and possessions, an enslaved will that obeyed the imposed command forever.”

  In another part of the same work is given the experience of one man who underwent the true Egyptian Initiation. The account is too long to quote verbatim. The body of the candidate’s body was bound in mummy cloths, “the sacred white linen that would one day wrap it in his long sleep in the tomb.” Then he was placed on the Stone of Initiation in the pyramid of Khufu. Here he was left for eleven days to “forge the Sword of Will which even the gods cannot bestow upon man without his own labor.” The first three days were devoted to conquering his physical wants. He was without food or water, but “knew that at a call the great stone door would open and he would be led forth to a banquet.” This call, if he wished to become an Initiate, he must not give. Neither must he allow himself to fall into unconsciousness. It was “hard to bear the agony of his imprisoned limbs and the worse agony of his unimprisoned tongue which could bring him instant succor.”

  After becoming “Master of hunger and thirst, of heat and cold, of pain and of weakness,” he entered upon the second period of his ordeal. The next three days were spent in gaining a “sense of balance” among the emotions. Desire, lust, and hate were wrestled with and compelled to take their proper place as servants, not masters.

  Having learned to “put his feelings in subjection under him so that all his feelings with his fellows will be just,” the candidate enjoys a day of rest and peace before entering upon the third and hardest step in his Initiation. This is “to make a citadel in the world of thought and to hold it against all invaders.” If he passed this third test, and came forth alive and sane, he was greeted by the College of Priests as a true Initiate, Lord of Himself, and Child of Maat, the goddess of Truth.

  In the modern practice of magic, the working of Rule 5 is especially seen in the field of healing. Christian Science says: “God has endowed man with certain inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. No person is benefited by yielding his mentality to any mental despotism....The heavenly law is broken by trespassing upon man’s individual right of self-government....A Christian Scientist does not trespass on the rights of mind.”

  Compare this position with the practice of hypnotism, which is also used in the treatment of sickness. In an old book entitled Practical Lessons in Hypnotism, by Dr. Wm. Wesley Cook, we find the following instructions:

  “Constantly endeavor to exert an influence over others by your will power....When you have a subject before you, devote all your mental energy to compelling his subjection to your influence... Mentally force him to obey your suggestions with as much confidence as you would feel in verbally commanding a child (that is in dealing with a subject who resists)....Make your mind passive for a short time while the subject is before you. This will mentally throw him off his guard [!] Then suddenly concentrate your thoughts upon the one idea of overcoming his resistance, focus your mind, and make the attack successfully.” The writer certainly used the right word when he said “attack.” His procedure is nothing less than mental assault and battery!

  Some other comments by Dr. Cook are: “Realizing that your influence has induced action will increase your desire to control others, and this will increase your power to do so....Subjects hypnotized by this method lose all their personality during the hypnosis and are completely subject to the slightest suggestion.” We may be glad that scientific investigation has proven that the last statement is not entirely correct.

  In choosing subjects for hypnotism, Dr. Cook finds that the Dutch are poor subjects “because they resist attempts at coercion.” Americans are also difficult because “their independence of thought must be regarded as an unfavorable influence.” He recommends as good subjects, “young men, accustomed to working under a hard boss for little pay,” because they are “accustomed to obedience.” The whole trend of the above is clearly force, Force, Force!

  The underlying principle behind Rule 5 is the basis for the custom which forbids the true spiritual healer to treat anyone who has not asked for treatment. A preacher, when trying to explain why God never converts anyone against his will, nor restrains another from sin by force, once said, “Jesus Christ is a gentleman. He never goes where He is not wanted.” All White Magicians show the same courtesy.

  It is by applying Rule 5 that we clearly differentiate between speaking “under control” and speaking “by inspiration.” These two terms are often used interchangeably, as if they were synonymous. A spirit speaks to a living person by inspiration. He speaks through a living person who is under mediumistic control. The “inspired” speaker or writer receives a message from higher powers while in the full possession of his reason. If his conscience approves of the message, he can then pass it on with the full consent of his reason and will. The speaker or writer who is completely under mediumistic control by another entity often does not even know what he is saying. The message so given may be good. It may as easily be evil. In fact, it is more likely to be evil, for no beneficent spirit would take forcible possession of another’s reason and will. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that messages delivered “under control” are often questionable.

  We find many references in the Bible condemning the practice of having any relations with “familiar spirits.” “Regard not them that have familiar spirits....There shall not be found among you a consulter with familiar spirits...For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.” One of Manasseh’s sins was that he “dealt with a familiar spirit.”

  On the other hand, we are expressly commanded by St. John to “try the spirits, whether they are of God.” It is recorded of Christ that he “preached to the spirits in prison.” In his letter to the Hebrews Paul asks, “Are they [the angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Communication with spirits, then, is not forbidden, but encouraged. It is only relations with “familiar” spirits which is condemned. What do we mean when we say that a certain person becomes “too familiar”? We mean that he takes unwarranted liberties with the person of someone else. May not a familiar spirit, then, be one which takes unlawful possession of another’s body and mind?

  The one who receives the real gift of tongues receives it without damage to his mind, and, like the “inspired” speaker, knows what he is saying and does not speak without the consent of his will, reason, and conscience.

  The operation of Rule 5 can also be seen in the attainment of both true and artificial ecstasy. Real spiritual ecstasy can be distinguished from the counterfeit by the following facts: True ecstasy does not in any way approach delirium, hysteria, or hallucination. It is entirely normal and natural, like positive clairvoyance. The person experiencing it does not enter any trance condition. He remains in full possession of his senses. It is a well-known fact that among cults which encourage and practice trances of various kinds, a great number of followers become insane. Human reason will not stand much abuse. Dr. Cutten describes false ecstasy as “loss of self-control and temporary madness.” The madness all too often becomes permanent.

  Crichton-Browne says of a certain psychic that “his highest nerve centers were in some degree enfeebled or damaged by these dreamy mental states which afflicted him so grievously.” On the other hand, Tennyson, speaking of true ecstasy, says, “There is no delusion in the matter. It is no nebulous ecstasy, but a state of transcendent wonder, associated with absolute clearness of mind.”

  In conclusion, although much Black Magic is practiced in ignorance, we must remember that ignorance is sin. Especially is this true of those who are advancing by the intellectual path, the development of the head rather than the heart. In any case, these are the ones who are most likely to be drawn toward the study of magic and they should therefore be especially careful to “look before they leap.”

  --Sylva Baker