Magick itself is neutral, a tool: like a hammer, it can be
used to smash or to build. Intent is what colors it. White
magick is a term to describe that which is positive,
constructive or helpful; black magick that which is negative,
destructive or harmful. If you have a business and you work
spells to make it prosper, that's white magick, Some people say
this is gray magick, but that is their opinion. Doing spells to
destroy your competition would be black magick. These are not
racial terms: good and evil, dark and light, are other words
which can be used to express this same concept.
Why black and white, not some other colors? To answer this
you have to go back into prehistory and imagine how terrifying
the night was for humans before we learned to use fire. The
black of night was full of unseen threats, a dangerous time you
might not survive. The white light of day brought illumination
and safety, welcome relief.
White magick is the right-hand path, black magick the
left-hand one. The symbolism of right and left is also very
ancient: the right hand was used for eating, the left hand for
bathroom functions. Imagine life without toilet paper and you'll
understand why it's customary to shake right hands. This has
nothing to do with being right- or left-handed, but it does
explain why left handed people were often forced in the past to
learn to write with their right hands.
There are several theories of gray
magick, but I think gray magick is what Hindus call Maya -
illusion.
- One theory holds that since good and evil both exist,
some people need to do black magick in order to balance the
white magick. I don't buy that for a minute. Do murderers
balance nice people, or child abusers balance loving
parents? If they create balance, does this excuse their
crimes? Try telling that one to a judge! "Well your honor, I
only stole that car to create balance in the universe."
- There is another polarity theory, where if you do two
hexes and two healings they balance one another or cancel
each other out. There is some logic to this one but its
still just a self-serving excuse, a way to delude yourself
you are a white witch when you practice black magick.
- Some traditions hold that which you cast on yourself as
white magick, that which you cast on others gray magick. The
wordsmith in me quibbles with this one on semantic grounds.
I think a spell that harms yourself or anyone else is black
magick; one that helps or heals anyone, including yourself,
is white magick. Being of service to people in need or
distress is one of the things witches do best, so I see
nothing "wrong" in casting spells that help others - with
their permission, of course.
Some witches argue there are evils too great, situations too
grave for white magick to deal with; that the end justifies the
means, makes black magick necessary for the greater good. That
is the best argument of the lot, but I have never encountered a
situation I couldn't handle with white magick. Binding,
banishing and transformation are the powerful tools of a white
witch.
The term green witchcraft is sometimes used to describe
Celtic magick, fairy magick, earth magick or any combination of
those.
Seekers and novices sometimes ask me how they can avoid being
seduced by the dark side of magick, avoid the temptation to hex
or harm others. The answer is to have an ethical framework in
which you practice magick. Seduction by the dark side is not a
concern for Wiccans. We have our Goddess and our Law to guide
us: