Black, White and Gray Magick - Real or Not Real?

If you are a magick practitioner regardless of what flag you fly under (Wiccan, Witch, Pagan, Heathen, Wizard, Warlock etc. etc.) you will at some point here the terms *white magick*, *black magick*, *gray magick* and even *White Witch* or *Gray Witch*. And right along with that comes the debate about those terms. Is there such a thing as black, white and gray magick? Some say yes, some say no. I say ... it's complicated.

Why do I say complicated? Well, first thing you will hear is that magick is neutral because it is just energy. Energy is energy, the argument is made and does not distinguish right or wrong, good or bad. Ok, let's go with that. But that isn't the end of it. Magick is energy, fair enough. But magick is done with *intent* and that intent is either good, bad or neutral etc. So, with that in mind, one could say it is actually the intent of the magickal practitioner that is being defined -- not the energy of the magick. So, if a magickal practitioner says they practice *white* magick, in essence they are defining the vein of their intent when they work magick.


Maybe this will explain it better if you happen to be a gamer. When creating an RPG character, you have to determine whether they are inherently good, bad or neutral. Once that is chosen, everything your character does is done through that filter of either good, bad or neutral. To me, putting an adjective on your magick such as white, black or gray is very similar.

However, even at that, if we settle into agreeing that magick of a practitioner can be described as white, black or gray, we still have issues because there is no set definition of what those terms express. So, for my purposes, this is what goes through my mind when I hear those terms:

white magick = inherently good / focus on others -- the practitioner is revolving their magickal workings around doing good for others. Light workers come to mind as do healers. Wiccans would usually fit here as well due to the Wiccan Rede - Harm None. White magick practitioners would be against doing magick for self gain.

black magick = negative / self focus -- this magick is more fixated on personal desires and negative emotions. Hexes fit here. I think of these practitioners as being negative, hissy, judgmental and vindictive people -- not all but it is a nice roost for that sort. I think of people that are hooked on power and manipulation and people that like to scare others -- the kind that make open threats about what they will do to others magickally if you mess with them. Some will likely buck at my explanation of this but remember, I prefaced this by saying, this is what goes through *MY* head. And this is what goes through my head regarding black magick.

gray magick = neutral good / do the right thing -- I think of these practitioners as being people who strive to do the right thing and will balance white and black magick to get the proper outcome. For instance, a binding spell would fit here if all other options were exhausted -- for instance when a perpetrator effects a single person, that person can shield themselves and do lots of things for personal protection without binding the other person -- this would be working in the white. But if the perpetrator was effecting lots of people then a worker of gray magick would see fit to then bind the perpetrator to keep their evil from spreading to more and more innocents. An example would be a rapist or child predator being bound to protect future victims.

Clearly there is no absolutes when it comes to defining these terms. These are just the way I define them for purposes of my day to day comprehension.

So back to the original question, black, white and gray magick - real or not real? I say real and I've shared why. Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts on this topic.

Bright Blessings and Blessed Be,
Rayven Michaels