Learn Black Magick for Beginners: A Detailed Introduction

Dark magick? Black magick? Do you want to become a “black witch” or mage?

You’d likely imagine yourself wearing a black robe, a garland made of skulls, wielding a skull on your left hand, carrying some crow feathers and human nails on your right hand (maybe add some black cloth and black pepper to boot), going to the middle of a graveyard at 12 AM, and evoking most vile demon you can think of to do your bidding.

While that may be somewhat of a decent picture of a typical black magick (or dark magick) ritual, don’t get ahead of yourself -- It is superficial and incomplete. Without knowing what you are doing, you are likely to be spawning disaster for yourself more than anything. At best, your dark magick will remain largely ineffective.

In most western magickal systems, dark magick or black magick spells are most often cast by evoking demons, familiars and other forms of “lower” spirits.

In the eastern Tantric traditions, there are a myriad of different ways. For example, you could evoke spirits, but the same can be done by chanting a range of different mantras or performing certain “Tantric rituals”. These include Uchatan, Maran, Videshan, Sthamban or Vashikaran “types” of mantras and Tantra rituals.

The magickal systems of the African continent and that of the tribes of South America have their own idiosyncrasies for performing black magick.

But what underlies them all? Are they all really very different? What is the true mechanism behind a successful black magick or dark magick spell?

Note: This article will be constantly updated based on new knowledge and wisdom based on experience as I navigate through my journey. If you think there is something I have missed based on your experience, please drop a comment below.

Before we dive deeper into how to really perform black or dark magick to your own bidding, it is important to ask a very fundamental question -- are these classifications of magick even necessary? In fact, what makes something black magick or white magick?

One would customarily imagine white magick as an altruistic act, performed for the benefit of the world and others at large, and black magick as a selfish one, performed for gaining something for oneself or to harm others.

However, with such a simplistic division, you are trying to bottle up the entire existence into fitting into your own preconceived mental frameworks.  It is essentially the death of nuance, and consequently, a divorce from reality itself. One must remember that both “black” and “white” exists within the same reality and is part of the whole.

Dualities are merely how our minds have evolved to perceive a reality that is vastly more expansive and complex than it can ever conceive.

Any act of magick has a butterfly (or domino) effect on reality. If you have any experience with magick, you will know that the results manifest itself in synchronous and subtle ways.

The chain of events that lead to the results may surprise you (especially with dark magick). In fact, you will most likely have forgotten your wish for results when it manifests all of a sudden, jolting you into remembering and realizing that it is the effect of your own spell.

However, what is often less discussed is that the way magick manifests and the consequences of the results itself is greatly dependent on the vessel of the caster – namely the quality of the mind, the heart and the level of consciousness overall and also during the said act of magick was performed. The intention of the caster alone is of very little significance.

Consider this analogy – An extremely drunk driver, no matter how good his/her intention is to stay in the right lane and get back home safely, will most likely crash into someone else. At best, the car will crash into a pole, minimizing damage done to others (hopefully). But the person itself will most likely either die, or be life threateningly injured unless really lucky.

How do you know you are actually being altruistic when you cast a “white” magick spell?

Who are we to judge what constitutes black magick or white magick?

If you have a peanut sized consciousness, your “altruistic” act will most likely end up like the drunk driver who tries to get home safely.

The sin on his/her part is to drink to lower levels of consciousness, but for you, it would be that you never worked on raising your consciousness level and self control. Mastery over the body-mind complex is critical before any form of advanced magickal undertaking. 

By default, magick requires more than an access to a simple, mundane level of consciousness and an excellent grip over the multitudes of selves and the desires that make up who we are.

Your intention in performing “white” magick will most likely have a negative consequence with a mind that is not tamed. At best, it will have no consequence at all.

Every day, billions of people flock to temples, churches and mosques with the intention of performing altruistic prayer. You might think they have nothing to do with dark magick.

However, how many of these people are truly altruistic? How many of them pray for selfish gains?

Even if they do pray for others, they most often have a subconscious, selfish motive for attaining heaven or something spiritually transcendent, depending on the religion in question.

Hence, if you go by the traditional classification, most of humanity performs dark, black magick on a daily basis regardless of their intention.

To the cosmos, it is of very little significance as to whether you wear a black robe or a white robe, whether you call upon demons or angels, go to a graveyard or to a temple high up in the hills. They’re all different tools to activate different centers of our own minds while performing magick.

There really is no “good” or “bad” when you remove the abstractions concocted by our human minds.

We label phenomena as “good” or “bad” based on whether or not it is conducive to our own survival, as humans. To the cosmos at large, human conception of morality is of lesser significance (although it certainly does play a small part since we are part of the cosmos after all!).

What is really of extreme significance before any act of magick is whether or not you go into it with higher levels of consciousness (meaning your multiple selves knows what it is doing and what it wants) or lower levels of consciousness.  When you operate on higher levels of consciousness, you act more in alignment with the universe itself. Otherwise, you are more in tune with your animalistic survival mechanism (dark magick or not).

In some Kabbalistic circles in the west however, the left hand path of the Qlipoth is said to take the magical adept one step further than that of the enlightenment and union with God in the light, Right Hand Path by enabling escape from the current universe or "God" to become a God in his/her own right.  

The eastern equivalent of this is described in various Left Hand Path texts as a state of "Turya". This state is considered one that is beyond enlightenment itself.

Recommended reading for beginners to understand the Left Hand Path:

When translated to magick from pure mysticism, the rituals of the left hand path are often seen as black magick or dark magick. “Gnosis” or trance states required to cast spells are often achieved through channeling the extreme negative emotions, shutting down the mind, clearing path for the dark magickal will.

The end goal or consequence of such magick may not be any different from “white” magick. Only the means differ.

Whether or not you use black magick or white magick for specific results does not matter so much as whether or not your end goal manifests out of your tendency to be a base animal with lower consciousness or a being with higher consciousness.

(Remember: "White magick" and right hand path is not to be confused with the average prayer of the unconscious sheep in this context)

The human vessel is the perfect transitory bridge between these two states or “worlds” and can slip into either side. A mind that is untrained and untamed, devoid of any consciousness in waking life will easily lose its grip and control in a state of gnosis.

What magickal system you want to engage in will totally depend on your peculiarities.

For most people, the right hand path may be the safest bet, simply because most minds may not be able to deal with the jolts demanded by the path of the black magician. Once sufficient training has been achieved with RHP magick and meditation techniques, the jolts can be more easily managed.

The nature of the human mind is that it is easily shattered, and if not careful, the LHP can easily lead you to madness. This is true, not only because of the nature of the rituals involved, but also because of the means in which the black magician achieves desired results.

The average person who dabbles with the dark magick energies is almost sure to head on a path to self-destruction, because even if their minds somehow survive the jolts of the black magick rituals, the ego will likely fail to implode and it remains swelled in an epic proportion of madness because the material powers and rewards that it can bestow becomes a great distraction from the real destination.

Anything that unstable in the universe is bound to collapse and fall back eventually, of course.

Before actually dabbling with black magick, how do you actually know whether or not this is the path for you, especially if you are only starting out? The truth is that no one can really answer that question definitively for you. You will have to find out for yourself.

That being said, here is a personality table that might be of help to navigate, under the disclaimer that it is not to be taken as an end all, be all (scroll right and left if  you are reading on a phone):

From the table above, if you are an eccentric personality with a thick skin, the black magician’s path is very much likely for you. You may be surprised that the altruist, regardless of whether or not he/she is sensitive or thick-skinned is built for the black magician’s path. This is because the altruist’s ego is very unlikely to swell. Moreover, the true altruist can only get into the practice of black magick as an explorer, like the eccentric. 

Be very honest with yourself and do not let your ego choose the path for you. The LHP and path of the black magician is not to be treaded on because your ego thinks it is “cool” and “sexy”. Another big mistake most people make is to think they are different when they really are not.

The megalomaniac, the narcissistic and the psychotic seem to naturally get drawn to this path, either collapsing from the jolts or driving themselves into egoistic madness, giving black magick a bad reputation.

Preliminaries

Like any practitioner of magick, the objective of a black magician lies in the successful execution of the disciplines of Enchantment, Invocation, Evocation and Divination.

The difference only lies in the means of execution.

With the path of the black magician, the outcome of enchantment lies  in the casting of hexes and curses.  Invocation and evocation are done mainly through working with the lower spirits of demons, familiars, succubi, incubi and the like or with deities like Lilith, Tiamat, Kali and the like.

The deities are keener on helping you on your way with the Left Hand Path in general while the lower spirits are more useful for executing specific tasks. This is not a hard and fast rule, of course.

Divination about someone without their consent, although not black magic per say, can be said to lean more into the black side than otherwise. Divining with demonic sigils surely falls under the dark magick side.

The tools of the black magician are mostly useful for material gain and destruction, more than for overall personal growth and creation. But remember that for a Left Hand Path sorcerer, things like material gain and destruction are not mutually exclusive to personal growth and creation. They are two sides of the same coin.

One must remember that the lower spirits also appreciate evolution, much like yourself, and latching on to a human medium is perfect for them to break their own shackles.  

Consequently, as a black magician your objective is not to try to "control" or order around these spirits like most people try to do (that is a recipe for disaster for reasons mentioned below) but to work in tandem with them. Be respectful and welcoming to them.

For example, they help you with your material needs in exchange for using your human medium to learn about a plane that dwells in a higher reality than their own (which is our reality).

Constructing protective circles and seals before evoking a lower spirit will only serve to show your disdain towards them. Such a thing should be left to the average person.

In the psychological model, any spirit, demon or deity can be thought of as archetypes within your own sub conscious. With demons and lower spirits, they could be considered as the emergent, anthropomorphic representations of your base desires, fears, wants and other repressed emotions.

Alternatively, they can also be thought of as actual beings that exist as part of the universe, representing the apropos emotions, desires, fears and wants that were part of the universe, much before it was evolved into our own minds.

Whatever it may be, just because they represent negative energies does not necessarily mean that they cannot be channeled for productive use.

The adept knows not to shun away his anger, fear and negative emotions but to channel it for his/her own advantage even when not performing a dark magick ritual.

Repressing and pushing down your “negative” emotions and desires will only serve to make them increasingly violent and rebellious. The same can be said while working with lower spirits like demons.

Also remember that if you let your own ego inflates and do the "wanting" while dealing with the powers of dark magick, you get dragged down into the lower planes of animalistic existence instead.

The main problem with conscious interference and trying to consciously tell the spirits what you want is that more often than not, you do not know what you want and every “want” tends to have “conflicting wants”.

The lower spirits are also akin to innocent children in that they are often uncaring about the side effects of their actions, and will only care about the results manifesting, regardless of how much damage it can do to you or others you love. The classic example among mage and witch circles where the death of a relative manifests into inheritance and hence, money, is not to be overlooked as trite.

You must let the lower spirits figure out what you need materialistically and let it attack adversaries that threaten you automatically for the most part. Anyone or anything that challenges your existence and hence, their human vessel will automatically become their enemies also. In this instance, your loved ones for example are not in any immediate danger because you sub consciously don’t want them to be harmed as well. With conscious interference, you override this safety function.

This is just cautionary, of course. How you deal with them is entirely your own business.

Black Magick Practicals: How to perform black magick

I can choose to give you a set of black magick rituals from my personal grimoire that has worked for me or from some ancient text and tell you that it does “x”. However, that will be of less use to you than if you learned how to construct rituals on your own.

You can of course, start off by imitating dark magick rituals that are available already in grimoires  to start, given that it is practical and does not contain something really unnecessary and that it does not get you into jail or in the hospital for being criminally insane.

Manifesting anything truly black magickal doesn’t have to deal with anything physically grotesque (although it can help tremendously). Only the appropriate emotions need be channeled to attain gnosis.

With any magick, the process usually involves stating intent and performing rituals corresponding to it (that your subconscious mind can draw meaning from), while shutting down the conscious mind from interfering through some method that corresponds to the emotions of the intent, to achieve a state of gnosis or trance states.

Hence the magickal steps of evoking a deity or spirit for example, regardless of what tradition you choose to follow will most likely look like the following (roughly):

1. Work out your intent for performing the magick and choose the appropriate deity or spirit you want to work with to help you carry out that intent. The more the mind knows about the characteristics and scope of the deity or spirit, the better.
2. Prepare tools (including the idol, object or medium where the deity or spirit is to be evoked onto), sigils, veves, offerings and other paraphernalia that is most closely associated with the deity or spirit. Get ready to perform the ritual.
3. Call forth the deity or spirit by focusing on its sigil/seal/symbol/yantra/veve while in a state of gnosis or trance. If the method of achieving trance corresponds to that of the entity's temperament and function, then the ritual may have additional chance of success. For example, if you are evoking a being that represents the intellect, trance state may be achieved by exhausting the conscious mind by repeatedly performing mathematical calculations. If you are evoking a being of poetry and creativity, methods of poetic chanting till the mind drops, can be used. In the case of black magickal demons of destruction (as in Goetia, for example), revenge and curses, fear and terror may be used.
4. Banishing acts are performed on the self to restore oneself to normal consciousness.

If the spirit you evoked was that of the lower order (demons, familiars and other spirits), the material where the spirit was evoked to can be destroyed whilst mentally visualizing the spirit’s vaporization when it is time to bid farewell to it.

The above example was that of evocation of a deity or spirit onto a physical object. Invoking a deity of spirit will involve temporary identification with a deity or spirit, instead of letting it manifest onto an object whilst enchantment will involve casting of spells by focusing on sigils that represent intent directly, instead of a deity or spirit. This might be more difficult for the budding magician.

Divination of course, will involve mastery over one or more of the many methods of prescience including Tarot, I-Ching, Rune stones and so on.

In the next section, I have suggested a reading list for the beginner to get to a point where they can use grimoires of the old to work with such dark magick. 

In the end, the initiate can train to a point where they are capable of handling the forces in grimoires such as The Lesser Key of Solomon and Grimorium Verum.

However, it is important to remember that the most effective magickal ritual (dark magick or not) is that which you improvise and create on your own, provided you have a sufficient understanding of how to and have a personal connection with the spirits who will likely let you know in on the secrets themselves.

The dark magick steps for evoking a demon or lower spirit in any grimoire surely resemble the technique that which is mentioned above in some form. If you pay attention, only the intent, the symbols, the tools and the method of achieving trance state changes while calling forth different types of spirits.

Recommended Reading Path to Dark Magickal Mastery (Sequential Order)

In this section, I'd like to propose a path for the absolute beginner to voyage through, to reach a base level of proficiency to be able to perform Dark Magick.

General Path

Tantric Path (After Condensed Chaos)

Defense against Black Magick

Conclusion

In order to conclude this guide on Black Magick, I’d like to summarize the pre-requisite a beginner to the dark arts should have, based on my own experiences and the experiences of many occultists I have talked to and worked with. The same can be applied to beginners of any kind of magick:

1. Work on improving your daily level of consciousness and be more aware of your own inner desires and wants.
2. Develop mastery over your own habits and tendencies.
3. Get some experience working with trivial magick if you haven’t already. For example, practice magickal techniques on getting things like finding a lost item. Practice casting basic sigil magick (Read up on condensed Chaos and other highly acclaimed Chaos Magick books).
4. Practice evoking servitors to get your bidding done.
5. Master at least one divination technique and learn to understand your own trajectory in life.