What is Light and Dark Magic?

This is a very common question for those learning about magic. Terms like Light, White, Dark, Black, Neutral, and Grey Magic litter web pages and blogs. Should you do this? Should you do that? Will a band of demons rip you from your bed at night if you do this? I would like to give my perspective of this.

Quite simply I do not believe in these classifications. Magic is energy. Energy is life. It is constantly changing forms. What I do believe in is a balance.

When you look at nature there is balance everywhere. A thunder storm rolls in and brings both death and life. A baby bird is pushed out of the nest and dies but in its death its siblings grow stronger.

In my personal life I feel there is a series of checks and balances. If you are born with everything money can buy there is something in your life that is negative to balance this out. Maybe your parents were never around for love and comfort. Maybe your line of work makes you feel uncomfortable or makes you suppress other people. You may become an adult to realize the woman who are attracted to you "love" you for your money and not for the person inside your body.

On the other end of the scale, I feel someone who has struggled to survive either has something others wish they had or will end their lives with a brighter outlook. I have had some bad things happen to me the past few years but on the other hand I have a husband who loves me unconditionally and my family has become closer.

My views may sound generic or like I have no faith in greater powers impacting my life. Well I don't. I am an Atheist and feel everything around me should be accounted for either by myself or science and nature. I personally feel it is sheepish to blame bad happenings on evil demons or to keep hoping to a deity to make things better.

If you have a bill that is due what do you do? You pay it. It is unrealistic to look at the bill and say "Deity I ask that you help me pay for this bill" and then set the bill aside. You have to do something about it for it to get paid. The same goes to those asking deities to heal their illnesses. You can ask your deity to help you heal your body but if you don't do anything about it yourself then nothing will ever happen.

So Black and White magic...

There is always a payment for what you do and YOU need to be accounted for it. Is it wrong for you to pray and cast spells to influence someones decision? Depends on the situation but I am sure many of you have already done this without realizing it. You go into a job interview. In your mind you keep thinking really hard that the person will like you and hire you. You are metaphysically pushing your ideas onto someone else. Have you used words or gestures to influence a conversation into your favor? Have you twisted facts to make people agree with you? Have you used your body, voice, and gestures to influence a sexual partner into being attracted to you? You may say "But I didn't actually cast a physical spell to do these things!" Then ask yourself what is a spell? Is a prayer to a deity to help a family member in a car accident a spell? Is imparting love and kindness into the food you cook for your family a spell? Is being infuriated and invision a protective shielf around you a spell?

But what about the Rede? The Wiccan Rede is for followers of Wicca. Current Wicca is a bastardization of the origional path. It was a path created by Gardner in the 50s that had a set of rules, structered progression through learning, and the requirement that covens needs to be traced back to the foundation coven. How many followers of Wicca do you know can say and trace their coven back to Gardners? Wicca has become the stepping stone for people leaving main stream structured religions like Christianity and step into a socially acceptable non mainstream religion. The Internet has further watered it down to the point it is hard to find what is really Wicca and what is the neo "I can call myself Wiccan and belief anything I want because this is an religion a billion years old" mindset. The Wiccan Rede is for those who follow Wicca which is only one path of Paganism.

I dont want you to take what I say as fact. What is fact is what you learn through your heart. You already know everything you need to know it is just the process of unlocking what you already know in your heart. Read and research all you can but always take things with a grain of salt and never stop learning. If you feel uncomfortable with a certain path then start looking into others that have the same types of beliefs you have. Know that names of religions were put in place by a small amount of people with a big voice. If you start researching into world religions you will see many religions are connected in beliefs. You do not have to label your beliefs. Just say you follow what you feel is right. Know that you do not have to follow deities to be Pagan and that many Pagan authors, especially ones in the past 15 years, only pump out books because it is a money maker right now.