MYSTIC LIGHT

Magic,
White and Black
Part 1
N A RECENT MAGAZINE an article

I appeared which sought to prove that there is

no such thing as Black Magic. The writer
seemed to be of the opinion that for magic
to be “black,” it must be malicious. The
Rosicrucian Fellowship teaches that not only mali-
cious but any selfish use of magical powers consti-
tutes Black Magic. The selfish use of magic is all
too common, although in most cases the wrong is
done in ignorance.
Studying magic is like exploring the swampy
country in certain southern states: It is very fasci-
nating. You will see interesting scenery such as
you can see nowhere else. It is also safe to explore,
provided you either have a competent guide with A representation of the materialization of a departed spirit
through ectoplasm emanated from the medium’s vital body.
you, or you yourself know the landmarks well The sense centers of the medium’s desire body spin counter
enough to tell at a glance whether a certain section clockwise (negatively) and the connection between the physical
is safe, questionable, or outright dangerous. and vital bodies is “exceedingly lax.” Mediumism may result
In the study of magic, unfortunately, many in evolutionary retardation due to spirit controls retaining pos-
session of the medium’s desire body after death. Deprived of
teachers who are perfectly competent in their own that vehicle, there is nothing to cause the ego to reincarnate.
fields, insist upon acting as guides in fields with
which they are not familiar. In this case, the advice the negative forms of psychic development—test
and information they give is seriously misleading. mediumship, phantoms, crystal vision, etc.
In the unknown fields they usually seem more On the other hand, in his Varieties of Religious
interested in Black Magic than in White, probably Experience, he devotes only four pages to “the
because Black Magic is always the more sensa- sense of a presence,” which is the psychologist’s
tional of the two. In the early twentieth century term for positive clairvoyance. Then he dismisses
William James was probably the world’s best the subject as “this false perception,” as if it were
authority on religious psychology, so far as it dealt not even worthy of the investigation of a scientist,
with the phenomena commonly taught in the and as if his judgment of its “falseness” would
orthodox churches. But he also made some inves- never be questioned. In view of the thousands of
tigations in the field of clairvoyance. Here he was cases which might be cited of this “sense of a pres-
off his own ground. He wrote an essay on ence,” James’ attitude is hardly scientific.
“Psychical Research,” dealing at length with all George Bartin Cutten was another authority on

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 the psychology of religion living in James’ time. In
his book Psychological Phenomena of Christianity, Magic is a process whereby we may accom-
Cutten, an orthodox Protestant, devotes a chapter plish certain results not achieved by means of
to the study of “ecstasy,” a practice cultivated pri- laws ordinarily known....Both of them [White
marily by the Roman Catholic church and certain and Black Magicians] use and manipulate the
extreme Protestant sects. Therefore, as we might same forces, the difference being the motive
expect, he states that there are two kinds of ecstasy, which prompts them. The White Magician is
and follows this statement with a very scholarly prompted altogether by love and benevolence.
study of the lower form which is artificially Although he is not actuated by thoughts of
induced. The chapter is twelve pages long, but reward, a soul growth wonderful to contemplate
contains only part of one paragraph—three sen- results from his use of magic. He has put his
tences, to be exact—describing the higher type. talents out to usury and is gaining interest a
Mrs. Eddy, in her textbook on spiritual healing, hundredfold. The Black Magician, on the other
included a chapter on spiritualism or clairvoyance. hand, is in a sad state, for it is said that the “soul
She seemed to be wholly unaware that there are that sinneth, it shall die,” and all we do contrary
two kinds of clairvoyance, one positive, useful, to the laws of God inevitably results in a deteri-
and good; the other negative, harmful, and evil. oration of the soul qualities. —Max Heindel,
From her constant references to matter, electricity, Questions and Answers, Vol. 1 p. 279
and the physical senses, it is evident that the only
forms with which she was familiar were negative. duced by the activity of the highest, or spiritual,
The following statements could not possibly be part of the mind, called by some the “supercon-
applied to positive clairvoyance: “It [spiritualism] scious” mind. American psychologists make so
is the offspring of the physical senses....The so- many blunders on this subject because, as a rule,
called dead would need to be tangible and material they posit a mind that has only two sections—con-
or the material senses could take no cognizance of scious and subconscious. They are not competent,
them....Spiritism consigns the so-called dead to a therefore, to explain phenomena which really come
state resembling that of blighted buds, and they from the superconscious.
return to their old standpoints of matter....How can In Scriptural language magic is the use of “the
it [spirit] communicate with man through electric, gifts of the spirit,” which are described in 1 Cor.
material effects?” 12: “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the
Anyone who has ever experienced positive clair- same Spirit....For to one is given by the Spirit the
voyance knows that it is not dependent upon the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowl-
physical senses, nor does it make use of electrici- edge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the
ty. Aside from the authority or the mistakes of same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the
teachers, however, there are certain landmarks in same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to
the field of magic by which even the layman can another prophecy; to another discerning of spirit;
recognize at once the sound and the unsound. It to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the
has been said that the black forces often employ as interpretation of tongues.” In contemporary lan-
their trademark the star with one point downward, guage magic includes such gifts as clairvoyance,
while the white forces use a five-pointed star with spiritual healing, prophesying, the miraculous abil-
two points down and one up. This, however, cannot ity to speak or understand unknown languages.
be depended upon, as the black forces are not above There is one other “gift” which may not properly
counterfeiting. There are certain characteristics in belong to the field of magic but which we must
the teachings themselves which will tell us instantly consider because of the prominent role it has
whether we are dealing with Black Magic or White. played in one particular ceremony—the condition
Before describing these differences let us define the Roman Catholic church calls “ecstasy,” literal-
the word “magic.” Magic refers to the effects pro- ly, out of stasis or static body. The chief object of

16 RAYS 98
 the “witches sabbath” practiced during the
Middle Ages was the (wrongful) induction of
ecstasy.
A great deal can be learned about any phi-
losophy from the moral character of its origi-
nating teacher. There is no more infallible rule
than this: “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
Magic is not a study for young souls. We have
a right therefore to expect significant spiritual
development in those qualified to teach it. The
one who is competent to teach magic will be
living in accordance with the highest moral
standards known in his time and country. Not
a high standard, but the very highest.
I once met a teacher who said he “had not
tasted meat for several years.” Yet at the same
time he not only smoked tobacco and drank
liquor in moderation himself, but he made
liquor and even gave it to minors! The teacher
who considers himself so advanced as to be
“above the law” is like a mathematician who
has never had time to learn the multiplication
table because he has been too busy teaching
trigonometry.
Even Christ did not consider Himself above From Illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy, Gustave Doré (1833-1883)

the law, but stated that He had “come not to The Simonists
Dante reserves the plight pictured above for those who, like Simon
destroy but to fulfill” the law. Concerning His Magus, show their spiritual blindness by seeking to buy occult
own teachings He told the Pharisees, “These powers—in Simon’s case, the power to confer gifts of the Holy Spirit.
things ought ye to have done, and not to leave
the other undone.” so contrary to his own interests as that of uproot-
Many saints have written about the effects their ing my vices.”
visions and mystical experiences exerted on their The final goal of the White Magician is to reach
personal characters: St. John of the Cross tells us the “measure of the stature of the fullness of
that “they enrich it [the soul] marvelously. A single Christ.” The fate of the Black Magician, at least
one of them may be sufficient to abolish at a stroke the one who practices Black Magic in its vilest
certain imperfections of which the soul during its form, is to become a “lost soul,” and we can see
whole life had daily tried to rid itself.” St. Theresa signs of gradual moral (and sometimes mental)
says, “A genuine heavenly vision yields to her a disintegration in those who follow its milder
harvest of ineffable spiritual riches, and an forms. They are the sign posts which God has set
admirable renewal of bodily strength. I alleged out, marking certain practices “Dangerous.” I have
those reasons to those who so often accused my known of two teachers who began by teaching
visions of being the work of the enemy of man- apparently harmless, but selfish, philosophies. One,
kind....All those who knew me saw that I was a woman, ended by teaching “free love” openly and
changed; my confessor bore witness to the fact.... frankly. The other, a man, became a sex degenerate.
As for myself, it was impossible to believe that if We may establish, then, as our first rule:
the demon were its author, he would have used, in Rule l. White Magic has a beneficial, and Black
order to lose me and lead me to hell, an expedient Magic an injurious, effect upon the moral charac-

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 ters of those who practice it for any length of time.
A second rule, to which we will not have to give
much attention because it is already so well known
and has been so widely discussed:
Rule 2. White Magic is never used either for
money or for show. It is only used for some defi-
nitely good purpose. The Bible is the greatest text-
book known on White Magic. We cannot do better
therefore than to cite some examples from the
Bible. The eighth chapter of the Book of Acts nar-
rates the story of Simon the sorcerer, who sought
to buy “the gifts of the spirit” with money. “And
when Simon saw that through laying on of the
apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he
offered them money, saying, Give me also this
power that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may
receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him,
“Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast
thought that the gift of God may be purchased with
money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this mat- Bartolome Esteban Murillo, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
ter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.” Liberation of St. Peter
Many times the Bible condemns the use of mag- Technically, angelic intervention in human affairs is not magic
ical powers for show, or seeking after “signs and because spiritual forces are not being directly wielded by the
wonders.” In Matthew 16:4 Christ speaks of the individual. Such manifestation is magical in the sense that
laws governing normal physical processes have been sus-
Jews of his day as “a wicked and adulterous gen- pended or superseded by higher laws relating to spirit worlds.
eration, [which] seeketh after a sign,” and adds that
“there shall be no sign given unto it.” The third of tongues concerns a man who was called as mis-
the three temptations presented to Christ by Satan sionary to the Navajo Indians. Upon reaching their
was to cast himself from the pinnacle of the temple country he found that he could already speak and
without harm, thus making a show of his power. understand their language without previous study.
Again when brought before Herod, the king asked There are many instances given in the Bible of
him to perform a miracle, for entertainment, but the visits of angels or the return of spirits of the
Christ refused. dead, but it is always for some purpose, never
There are several instances in the Bible of the merely to astonish or impress. In fact, in the para-
temporary suspension of certain physical laws, ble of Dives and Lazarus, when Dives asked that
such as gravity and the conduction of heat, but the spirit of Lazarus be sent to earth as a “sign” to
never merely for show. Christ walked upon the his brothers, the permission was refused because
water in order to reach the boat in which His disci- “if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
ples were being tossed about by a “contrary” wind. will they be persuaded, though one rose from the
The lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego dead.” In 2 Kings 6, however, a whole army was
were preserved in the “seven times heated” fur- sent to protect Elisha and his servant. In Acts 12 an
nace. The “gift of tongues” was not given originally angel was sent to deliver Peter from prison. Angels
as a “sign.” It was given, as recorded in the second often appeared to comfort those in trouble. Elijah
chapter of Acts, for a specific purpose; i.e., in order was so comforted in 1 Kings 19. Even Christ needed
that the foreign-born Jews in the city of Jerusalem the ministrations of the angels after His temptation
might understand the gospel when it was preached. and in Gethsemane. An angel warned Lot to flee
One modern recorded instance of the gift of from Sodom. In Genesis 32 an angel directly

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 intervened to save a soul. There are many modern depend upon some form of physical sensation,
cases of the same sort of intervention. A woman combinations of sight, sound, or physical exercise.
left her two-year-old son in a high chair before a They might be used by anyone, no matter what his
fire to go out into the yard to gather wood. As she moral character or spiritual development. We must
started to pick up the first stick a voice said to her, therefore set them all down as objectionable. But
“Go back and see if baby is fastened in his chair.” the Black Magician goes farther and takes up the
She hurried in and found that the little boy was not use of harmful drugs in an effort to induce a state
fastened in and was just on the point of falling for- of ecstasy. The medieval “witches’ sabbath” was
ward onto the red-hot stove. little more than an unusually wild “dope party.”
On another occasion the same woman was The “witches’ ointment” with which those attend-
working in a paper mill when one hand got caught ing a sabbath applied on their whole bodies, was a
in the machinery. She felt an invisible force seize compound of certain powerful drugs. This mixture
her hand and snatch it out of the machine before was rubbed into the pores of the skin. Not so very
any serious injury was done, although the end of different, you see, from our modern practice of
one finger and the nail of another were lost. injecting drugs with a hypodermic needle.
White Magic always tends away from the phys- We remember that many witches claimed the
ical toward the spiritual. This fact gives rise to the ability to fly through the air. Aconite and bella-
next two rules. donna would, as a matter of fact, when taken
Rule 3. White Magic does not depend upon mat- together, produce an irregular action of the heart
ter for its manifestation. Here we must consider the which would give all the sensations of flying. It is
study of ecstasy. In the aforementioned book probable that a great many of the witches were
Psychological Phenomena of Christianity, George quite sincere in their claims and that they really
Bartin Cutten says: “There seem to be two distinct believed they had flown through the air.
forms of ecstasy. The one is characterized by wild Some modern writers still recommend the use of
excitement, loss of self-control, and temporary drugs as an aid in receiving metaphysical revela-
madness. It is a sort of religious intoxication, tions. William James cites some cases in which
indulged in largely for its delightful effects. This nitrous oxide, ether, or chloroform have been used
usually originates in dancing and other forms of for this purpose. That was then. Now the practice
physical manifestations. The other form is intense, is even more common, only the variety of drugs
but quiet and calm; it is usually spontaneous in ori- has changed.
gin, or else comes through mental rather than It will now be clear why the Rosicrucians dis-
physical means. A certain amount of culture (and courage the use of incense and alcoholic liquors, as
intellectual development) is necessary in persons well as such material props toward clairvoyance as
experiencing this, and it shows itself in solitude the ouija board and mirror and crystal gazing. Low
rather than before a crowd, as the other form does. entities in the Desire World often use the fumes of
The former type is seen among dervishes and med- incense and alcohol as media through which to
icine men, the latter among the Hebrew prophets make contact with the living. Compare this with
and Indian mystics.” the description of positive clairvoyance, which
In another part of the same work, Dr. Cutten dis- uses no material aids, given by Elizabeth Stuart
cusses the artificial stimulation of ecstasy. Phelps in Beyond the Gates: “No optical illusion,
“Literature of the orient, especially India, abounds no tactual hallucination, could hold the boy who
in passages, extracts from which would form a took all the medals at the gymnasium. The hearty,
working manual for the artificial attainment of healthy fellow could receive no abnormal sign
ecstasy....Among primitive people more crass from the love and longing of the dead. Only spirit
methods are in use, such as beating drums, howl- unto spirit could attempt that strange out-reach-
ing, convulsive movements, dancing, flagellations, ing.” (Concluded next issue) ❐
etc.” It will be seen that all these artificial methods —Sylvia Baker

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