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Types and Classifications of Magic August 25, 2005 @ 11:45 pm
There are as many varieties of magic as there are cultures and subcultures in the world, and there are also a ton of different ways of classifying and categorizing magic. I will update this page in my esoterica as I learn more.
Magic itself is causing change to occur in conformance with will by means not currently understood by science. Arthur C. Clarke defined magic simply as the use of scientific laws and technologies not yet fully understood. Magic, in this way, is the science of the future. Some religions teach that all magic is evil either because it draws from an evil source (often attributed to Judeo/Christian Satan - "adversary") or is a defiance of God's will and providence in the world. This kind of stance, however, seems to advocate total passivity. While many mystical and relgious truths can be apprehended through a 'sweet surrender', a belief in the evil of activity should mandate a cease in ALL acitivity, including science, technology, business, and maybe even getting out of bed in the morning! And indeed, many times all of the above have been banned and persecuted right along with magic as arrogance and defiance of the will of God.
Magic is taking things into your own hands, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Magic is a power that is simply a tool in itself - it can be used either for good or evil ends. The word magic originates from a caste of Persian Priests called the magi, who practiced many esoteric arts with an especial knowledge of astronomy and astrology. Three of these magi were said to have followed a great star to witness the birth of Christ. Magic is a power that demands responsibility, safety and caution, but it should not be feared for its own sake - only in how it is used. Unless spiritual entities are involved, magical energy is 'dumbfired' - simply going where directed. Magic is sometimes spelled 'magick' to distinguish it from stage illusions. This spelling was invented by Aleister Crowley, who also believed that this spelling imparted the word with more useful numerological properties.
Magic by social class
Low Magick is called so because it was practiced by the working class people of Europe who lived in the lowlands. Low mages generally did not have access to expensive or rare materials or the documents, knowledge and implements of writing. However, the life of European peasants put them in constant contact with and dependence on nature, and through this low mages gained a powerful connection with the spirits, energies and gifts of the natural world. Low magick tends to be intuitive, relying on right-brain skills and usually practiced by women. The lore of herbs and stones is a vital part of this tradition, as well as the practice of sympathetic and imitative magic. Low magic is sometimes used as a derisive label for magic that aims for more mundane than spiritual ends, but this is a misnomer.
High Magic was the providence of the middle and upper classes who lived on higher land, and was often used by scholars and clergy. This magic is much more logic-oriented and left-brained, and is traditionally the domain of men. High magic can be very elaborate and abstract, utilizing a large grammer (grimoire) of esoteric symbols and language to classify and categorize the spiritual world. High magic tends to utilize sentient and intelligent spiritual entities to accomplish goals, rather than the simpler forces of nature. High magic is not necessarily more powerful or holy than low magic, though due to patriarchal and class bias many of its practitioners have considered it so and tried to "purify" it to keep it focused on lofty goals.
Magic can also be classed by technique and approach:
Ritual and Ceremonial Magic utilizes material objects and symbols as a medium for raising and directing magical energy. Ritual magic is performed individually and allows privacy and individual preference, while ceremonial magic is performed as a group and taps into both group energy and drama. Natural materials, magical tools and implements, and spiritual powers and personalities all fall into an often complex system of correspondences and may be used continually or for particular purposes. Ritual is used as a means for both general empowerment and to magically address specific areas. Ritual magicians can develop a broad knowledge base of correspondences that gives them flexibility to work with magic from many cultures. The art of ritual when properly performed, as well as well crafted tools, can be beautiful, graceful and inspiring. The pitfal that many ritual magicians often fall into, however, is a depedence on their tools and fixed ceremonies, and a reluctance to be creative in their rituals or dispense with their 'props'. Some even fall deeper and begin to believe that the truest power comes from the objects, words and gestures, rather from the individual and the universal.
Direct Magic advocates that magic should ideally be practiced by the most efficient and simple means through the direct manipulation of energy. Tools and ceremonies, if used, should be tailored to the needs of the magician and should serve a distinct role in aiding the powers and faculties of a mage's energies. They should never be used merely for the sake of tradition. Direct Magic also advocates freeing magic from any unnecessary and ingrained religious dogma, be it mono or polytheist.
The mages who are formulating this old and yet new approach to magic have recognized that most magicians, upon reaching an advanced stage of their practice, can benefit from a concentration and specialization of their studies into a particular area. At this stage, studying everything is simply too time-consuming, difficult and inefficient. The process may be compared to choosing a college major. Direct mages, however, do not advocate choosing a caste until a mage has advanced enough in their practice to have a general knowledge and experience across the board and perceive a calling of sorts to a particular area, based on such factors as their personality, experience, and skills. To do so prematurely could be compared to an undeclared freshman, or even a high school, junior high or elementary student, choosing a major before they are educated enough to make the decision.
The 14 Castes of Direct Magic are not intended to limit mages, but to empower them by creating a classification system that will allow them to recognize their areas of speciality, and providing as such a useful category for research and communication with other mages. These castes are:
Wizardry
Sorcery
Necromancy or Death magic
Natural or Green magic works with the powers of Nature and draws wisdom and inspiration from it. Balance and a maintainence or even encoragement of natural order and providence are important to practitioners of this discipline, who often acquire an intimate knowledge of plants, animals and minerals, and all their magical powers.
Celestial, Divine or Clerical Magic works with deities. Prayer, devotion and faith are both profound topics of contemplation and powerful tools for spiritual upliftment in this discipline. It can be practiced by both polytheists working with personal deities, or monotheists working with the different levels of the All-encompassing Divinity.
Summoning or Conjuration
Enchantment or Magical Artifice
Black or Entropic Magic
White Magic
Life or Healing Magic
Mental or Blue Magic
Divination
Elemental or Red Magic
Satanic or Individualist Magic
Going beyond these basic and encompassing magical paradigms, there are more specific schools and traditions of magic in the modern age:
Thelema is the magical legacy of Aleister Crowley, a powerful yet controversial mage who in addition to extensive personal experimentation and exploration, attained high levels of mastery within the orders of the Golden Dawn and the Knights of the East (Ordo Templi Orientis, OTO for short). This tradition teaches that "Love is the law - love under will" and encourages the individual to exalt his unique destiny and free himself from the bonds of acculturation and taboo.
Qabalah is the esoteric tradition of Judaism, and has truly become an international, multicultural and multifaceted genre. The word is Hebrew, meaning "that which is received". Qabalah dates back to the period of the 2nd temple and has incorporated the teachings and magics of several other cultures through its history, including Egyptian, Babylonian and Greek. Qabalah can be categorized by several methods (and several different English spellings, which is a moot point and purely political, as transliteration is really just a matter of preference). Kabalah can be classified by tradition, area of study or discipline, and method of transmission.
The traditions of Kabalah include the following:
The Orthodox, or 'Kosher Kabalah',is Kabalah as taught and practiced by Orthodox, Haredi and Chasidic Judaism. Tradition teaches that this Kabalah can only be taught to a righteous Jewish man of at least 30 years of age (40 according to some), who is married and fully educated and conversant in Jewish scripture and tradition (including the Torah - "Instruction" - the Prophets, The Writings, the Mishnah, Folklore, the Talmud, and even the commentaries of the Talmud). Kosher Kabbalists believe that while much Jewish wisdom may be shared with the nations (goyim) of the world, the Kabbalah is a special inheritance that should be reserved for Jews alone, as a sign of their consecration as a holy people by God.
The Western, or 'WASP Qabalah' is the Qabalah practiced by Europeans and Americans of Christian, Pagan, Progressive Jewish and even Buddhist faith. This Qabalah is open to all and is non-sectarian. This tradition began in the Renaissance when Humanist scholars began to search for Truth outside of the Church's official teachings, in the past and the present.
Within the Western Qabalah are a number of streams:
*Christian Qabalah developed out of the belief that Jewish mysticism leads to Christian conclusions and reveals the divinity of Jesus. In this practice, the tetragramaton YHWH is supplemented or replaced with the pentagrammatons YHSWH and YHWSH - Yeheshua and Yehoshua - Jesus.
*Pagan Qabalah appropriates Qabalistic cosmology to create a very universal framework within which all the powers of the Western tradition can be placed and mapped. Many neopagan groups draw their lineage back to Englishman Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, who learned Qabalah as a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - a Victorian Age esoteric society that was the first to use the Tree of Life schematic as a blueprint for creating a system of magical correspondences. It is worth mentioning as well that a disproportionate number of the converts to Wicca and other neopagan religions are ethnically Jewish.
*Progressive Jewish Kabalah holds that Jews have been chosen by God not only to receive the precious gifts of Kabbalah, but to share and teach them to the whole world as a mechanism for bringing all humankind back to a true understanding of God. The diaspora, in this view, was not entirely negative then, as it allowed the Jews to learn from and disseminate their wisdom to cultures all over the world. Progressive Judaism's emphasis on Tikkun Olam - the repair of the world - takes on an exciting and almost missionary fervor in this tradition. Jews of this school will teach Kabalah to anyone interested, and believe it has a universal and even scientific appeal (think quantum physics) that transcends Jewish religion. The popular and celebrity drawing Kabalah Centre is one school within this group that has been criticized for shallow and commercial behavior, though admitedly it has reached the largest audience.
*Buddhist Kabbalahis a new approach beginning to emerge with American Buddhists, often Progressive Jews who have converted to or supplemented their religious faith with Buddhist teachings and practices. Their experience with the two faiths has led them to recognize a startling similarity between the teachings and practices of the Kabbalah and Buddhism. Research into Kabbalistic history has shown that as early as a few centuries into the common era, Qabbalistic rabbis were familiar with Eastern mysticism, recognizing many powerful and authentic teachings while criticizing 'idolatrous' practices. In this vein, American Buddhists look to Kabbalah as a middle way for them to incorporate the mystical teachings of the East into their monotheistic framework and traditions.The disciplines or areas of Kabbalistic study and practice:
The Theoretical Kabbalah speculates and studies the nature of God (theology), the universe (cosmology), creation and its mechanisms (Maaseh B'reshit), angels, demons and other spirits (daemonology), and man and his soul (anthropology). Theoretical Kabbalah is usually used to provide a conceptual framework for other areas of kabbalistic inquiry. The Western Qabbalists have made great strides and advancments in this area through integrating and corresponding Qabalistic cosmology with the diverse spiritual entities, sacred geometries and magical correspondences of the Western tradition. Sadly, Orthodox Kabbalists have usually refused to share in the new discoveries of what they view as a "perversion" of Kabbalah.
The Meditative or Contemplative Kabbalah follows the path of the arrow, and provides teachings and exercises that allow a person to purify their soul, ascend through the heavens, and unite with God. Techniques of the Meditative Kabbalists include pathworking on the maps of the theoretical kabbalah, contemplation and mantric recitation of Divine and Angelic names, the study and enhancement of prayer to a point of ecstacy, and the 'work of the chariot' (Maaseh Merkavah) to ascend through seven heavens and behold the throne of God. This area still remains mostly studied and practiced by Orthodox Kabbalists, and some of its most powerful techniques are jealously guarded.The Literal Kabbalah is often not considered mystical or magical at all by its practitioners, who are usually Jewish rabbis seeking deeper, broader and more specific understandings, interpretations and laws in Jewish scriptures. This discipline teaches that scriptures, especially the Torah, have layers of meanings and teachings, and that to read only the surface text as narrative is to miss out on much of its wisdom. In addition to teaching about the allegorical, expository and mystical levels of scriptural interpretation and meaning, Literal Kabbalah teaches that the words and letters of the scriptures have relationships and inner meanings that can be discovered by reducing and permuting them through mathematical formulas called gematria and temurah. The Hebrew words and Aramaic letters can serve as mediums for mysticism and magic, representing forces through which God shaped creation. Although the Practical Kabbalah has the worst rap, I believe this area to be the most abused. Orthodox scholars have used kabbalistic methods of exegesis to create extremely limiting laws and regulations based on sweepingly applying kabbalistic particulars to generalities of human life. The rabbinical principle of "building a fence around the Torah" by eliminating every oppertunity for even possibly commiting a sin (sometimes even for conceiving of it) is mostly to blame for this abuse, which may keep Jews completely safe from God's wrath but completely locking them out from much of the joys that God offers to them through Earthly existence. Progressive Jews often wholly reject such methods along with the halachic legal rulings produced through them, but they themselves, along with Christians, have often fallen prey to the allure of a newer abuse of literal kabbalah: Equidistant Letter Sequencing, or Bible Codes, which are purported to reveal the future.
The Practical or Magical Kabalah takes the path of the serpent, and is, ironically enough, the least practiced. Western Qabalists, though often magicians, are largely unaware that this knowledge even exists, and most of the books with both "magic" and "Qabalah" in their titles are in reality theoretical kabbalah (sephiroth, cosmology and correspondence) and meditative kabbalah (pathworkings). Meditative Kabbalists often believe these teachings and practices to be too dangerous to be used by any but the most pious of Jews, and many have even reached the erroneous conclusion that only bad can come of them. The mixed attitudes towards the Practical Kabbalah are embodied in the legends surrounding the golem, a statue of clay brought to life by three rabbis by a ritual which included inscribing the Name of God upon the clay. Empowered to defend their Jewish community from harm and slander, the artifical creature performed miraculously and well, until its tasks were completed and a lack of orders and regulation caused it to begin to get out of control, whereupon the rabbis decided to return it to its previous state. Famous meditative kabbalists often railed and campaigned against the practical kabbalh, which is one reason why many of its teachings have been lost or sequestered. New translations of documents previously available only in Hebrew are beginning to offer a more balanced perspective of this powerful yet misunderstood art. A particular area of the practical kabbalah that Jews have excelled with and which has been given slightly more leeway by rabbis is the construction of taslismans, phylacteries and amulets, often used to protect the home and newborn children. Even this area, however, has been abused to create talismans for gambling luck and ill will. The reading of ottiyot (signs) for revelation of future possibilities and illumination of the present often uses the Aramaic letters, and debates rage about whether or not this falls into the Torah's classification of prohibited 'divination'. The evocation of powerful angels and other spirits also lies in this kabbalistic category.
Qabalah began as experiential knowledge (gnosis), was passed down as oral tradition, and eventually set down and codified in written documents. These works often had their authorship attributed to great figures of Jewish history to establish their validity, though any serious mystic or mage who peruses such works as the Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar, or the Sefer Raziel can sense their power and beauty irrespective of whether their claims of authorship are literally true. Ideally, a well balanced student of Kabbalah will be eclectic in drawing on this vast tradition: open minded to its many varieties, yet tempering theory and dogma with critical thinking and personal experience.
Cyber magic is a fairly new approach that looks at magic through the paradigm of information science. Emerging in the wake of the counter-culture and New Age movements of the 70's, the computer scientists who created the Internet and modern programming often had a mystial and magical background. Cyber mages take full advantage of the Internet's power to unite and focus energy and information, and are specialists in the downloading of information into the human mind.
"Details in the Fabric" - May 31, 2009
Not So Quick Questions - April 6, 2009
The Morning Stars - Lords of the 15 - April 9, 2009
Sincerity and Faith in Magic - April 10, 2009
Not So Quick Questions (2) - April 14, 2009
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