Black Magic versus White Magic -- the left hand path versus the right

The recent thread with Dr. Aquino put forth some ideas that demand clarification, specifically with regards to the essential difference between the Black Magic (left-hand path) practiced by devotees of Satan/Set and the White Magic (right-hand path) practiced by other religions and sects.

On page three of that thread, Dr. Aquino wrote:

“White” magic, as advocated by primitive pagan and modern institutional religions, offers devotees the illusion of “re-inclusion” in the Universal scheme of things through various ritualistic devotions and superstitions.

The Black Magician, on the other hand, rejects both the desirability of union with the Universe and any self-deceptive antics designed to create such an illusion. He has considered the existence of the individual psyche - the “core you” of your conscious intelligence - and has taken satisfaction from its existence as something unlike anything else in the Universe. The Black Magician desires this psyche to live, to experience, and to continue. He does not wish to die - or to lose his consciousness and identity in a larger, Universal consciousness [assuming that such exists]. He wants to be. This decision in favor of individual existence is the first premise of the Temple of Set.

The second premise of the Temple is that the psychecentric consciousness can evolve towards its own divinity through deliberate exercise of the intelligence and Will, a process of becoming or coming into being whose roots may be found in the dialectic method expounded by Plato and the conscious exaltation of the Will proposed by Nietzsche.

In his work Black Magic, he further opines:

Followers of the RHP are those whose stated goal is egocentric absorption into the OU [which they confuse with the universe as a whole]. They wish to harmonize their actions with it, attune their intellects and emotions to what they consider the God of Universal Consciousness, and thus partake of the immortality and divinity presumably characterizing that Consciousness. This is the theoretical nirvana of the Buddhist, the Jainist, and the Hindu; the "salvation" of the Christian.

The dilemma, of course, lies in the problem of "destroying" the ego and then continuing to exist on Earth thinking, talking, writing, and acting as an obviously still-egocentric being who is just as obviously not One with the OU.

This is extremely clever disinformation, as it uses softening language to cast doubt upon the veracity of the RHP while simultaneously infecting grains of truth with subtle lies. There's no doubt that Dr. Aquino has a solid intellect, and equally no doubt that he wrote those passages to deliberately obfuscate the true nature of the RHP.

We'll start first with the basics:

The goal of the RHP is NOT permanent absorption of the individual self into the Objective Universe.

The goal is of the RHP is NOT eternal abandonment of your unique self in favor of permanent assimilation into some spirit-amalgamation of Borglike consciousness.

In Buddhists works, nirvana is NOT a permanent destination, but is viewed as the "other shore" that one reaches and experiences before plunging back into the "waves of birth and death"—the normal world in which you can think, talk, write, and act and like everyone else.

What the RHP IS--what this process allows you to DO--is abandon all parts of the self that you are not.

Which begs the question--what are you? What are you, really?

Are you a composite lump of flesh and bone, a slave to the animal instinct of the body--a mere vessel designed to do little more than GORGE and HORDE and BATTLE and SEX your way through life until death sweeps you into oblivion?

Or are you a unique spirit tied to flesh for the purposes of experiencing this earthly life, a unique spirit whose natural state is to embody the divinity from which it arose?

Across long periods of time spent in a body, disconnected from the source, the soul accumulates unwanted habits. While encased in an material form, it becomes a slave to the instincts of the form it inhabits, and gradually comes to mistake these instincts as its true and original state.

Adherence to the RHP removes these delusions, cleansing the soul from the toxic influences of the form it inhabits. The RHP and its objective--the absorption in the source that Dr. Aquino speaks of with such thin-veiled disdain—is not a permanent thing unless you wish it to be, but is rather a spiritual bathing process that gradually washes away all of the accumulated and undesirable traits of instinct and uncontrolled emotion and habit energy that plague all biological forms.

This is a shedding of the animal self--the undesirable (and often self-destructive) instincts, cravings, and uncontrolled emotions of the lesser soul. The end result is a return to what Taoists and Buddhists call your “original face,” the state of unblemished and pure nature with which you entered this body and world.

In short, the RHP is about development of the higher self while learning to overrule the baser instincts of the biological form you inhabit. The RHP is about raising the soul to a higher level of consciousness, about attenuating yourself to the morality of God and furthering your personal spiritual evolution.

The goal is to realign your spirit with the morality and ethics of the source from which it arose, allowing it to once again commune with—but not forever lose itself in!—the spirit of God. By attuning the spirit/consciousness so it more closely aligns with the consciousness of God, allowing the practitioner to strengthen his true self, to supplant and override the ego with a complete and untarnished exercise of free will.

Like Dr. Aquino states in Black Magic, where he states fourth and fifth degree Setians have the option to temporarily connect the consciousness with that of higher powers, so too does the advanced practitioner of the RHP have the ability to volitionally fuse their consciousness with that of a higher entity.

The difference, friends, is that in the case of a practitioner of the LHP, the individual fuses themselves with Satan, with Set, with any number of malevolent entities that have already embraced the path of darkness.

In the case of a practitioner of the RHP, the individual is fusing themselves with the Creator--with the eternal essence of light and love that fuels the universe.

But in both cases, the practitioner still retains the ability to "detach" from the source and exist as an independent being. No free will is lost in practicing the RHP; no sense of personal identity is forever relinquished.

This practice merely cleanses the soul and strengthens the will to the point where you no longer have to be a slave to future occurring instincts and animal desires, bringing you to the point where you alone can fully exercise the gift of free with which you were born.

This is what Taoists call “free to stay or go,” a state where you once again become a master of your body, instead of a servant to its needs and desires.

This is what Dr. Aquino wants you to misunderstand.

(cont. below)

(pt 2)

Fine, you say. Fair enough. So the RHP is aiming towards mastery of the self, towards an exercise of complete free will. But isn't the LHP offering the same thing?

Not quite.

The RHP is a bathing in the source, a renewal of your true spirit nature, and a realignment of your ethics and morality with that of the divine Creator. And as the RHP is an intentional attenuation to the ethics and morality of God, the LHP is, by inverse definition, a deliberate turning away from God.

Both paths offer the opportunity to master the exercise of free will. But whereas the LHP offers you the choice to turn away from the morals of God; the RHP offers the chance to embrace them.

The paths are close in purpose, but wholly opposed in direction.

The LHP offers a reunion with Satan/Set. The RHP offers reunion with the Creator.

The only question is—which sounds better to you?

To wrap up, I'd urge everyone to take the writings in the Aquino thread with a grain of salt. Whether unintentionally or deliberately, there's some serious misinformation present--if not outright lies.

But then again, it’s hardly surprising. Satanists tend to do that.

reply to post by therealguyfawkes


There is no such thing as white magic or black magic. The only good/evil that exists is inside your heart.

You know, I haven't read that thread, nor had I planned to....

My instincts tell me to stay away from his meanderings. When I clicked to read that thread, I had a clear mental picture of my passed grandmother pointing at me with a firm, no, don't pour your energy into that pot. I'm going to stay with that, and avoid the temptation to read that particular thread..

As to the lhp or rhp - I find myself stuck in the gray - seeking god and the light while battling the temptation of ego and desires I know will drag me down away from what I aspire to.

CdT

CirqueDeTruth

As to the lhp or rhp - I find myself stuck in the gray - seeking god and the light while battling the temptation of ego and desires I know will drag me down away from what I aspire to.

CdT

What you described is the RHP--constantly refining the self to become more Godlike, more compassionate, empathic, and divine. If you keep that attitude every day of your life, I guarantee you'll find what you're seeking.

reply to post by therealguyfawkes


I feel that no Christian has the right to chastise or judge another for partaking in such practices. Personally, I find the guy pretending to drink the blood of a dead man for eternal life just as obscene as the guy sacrificing a goat to Satan for wealth and power. Same damn thing in my book.

reply to post by therealguyfawkes


I think you may have missed the point of Mr. Aquino's post. Then again maybe I missed the point.
But my initial reaction to your post here, is that if I am the embodiment of divinity, then everyone is in for a bad time. Or a good time depending on your preference.

Actually the maximally attainable goal for humans is not achievable by either the left or the right paths. The sanskrit word yuganaddha if properly understood explains the target very well.

However the way to the target varies somewhat on a case by case basis. Also of note is that no known path, left or right documents the non-mystical path involved; one must find it without any assistance.

You do make some insightful observations however.

KPB

First off, a good rebuttal to a point that I myself saw Aquino make that I rolled my eyes at. The bias was clear.

Second, coming from a neutral perspective myself on this issue, I think there is some bias in your post as well.

I think both groups, left and right handers, will tend to skew what the other side actually is through a perception that the two sides are diametrically opposed, when IMO, they are simply different; not so much total opposites.

IMO the LHP is not some satanic thing in the colloquially sense, ie, aligned with pure evil. Nor is the RHP its opposite.

therealguyfawkes
The only question is—which sounds better to you?

Depends on your goals. I think both can be used positively or negatively.

I myself lean towards preferring the synergistic balance between opposites. Speaking of the extremes of both paths, I think losing yourself in "oneness" is just as foolish as totally segregating yourself from all other beings in a spiritual sense.

Both extremes will lead to stagnation in a macrocosmic sense, both for the self, and the whole.

It is the synergistic relationship between the concepts of the right and left HPs that if integrated, I think, will lead to harmony, balance, and happiness for all.

There is only one suitable reply for me in this thread... and it's quite short.


Madhyamaka.

watchitburn
reply to post by therealguyfawkes

 

I think you may have missed the point of Mr. Aquino's post. Then again maybe I missed the point.
But my initial reaction to your post here, is that if I am the embodiment of divinity, then everyone is in for a bad time. Or a good time depending on your preference.

"You" aren't the embodiment of divinity, because the embodiment of "you" that you're clinging to is the conditioned self--the accumulation of habit energies that you've accumulated over this (and other) lifetimes.

The divine you is the you stripped away all all habit energy and conditioning--the core essence of the self that still remains once everything else has been removed.

To illustrate the point, make a list that defines your current "self." Generally, most people will write down a list of their likes, dislikes, habits, and proclivities--all the things they attained in this lifetime. Use that as a starting point.

Now start crossing off items one at a time. Start removing each of your likes, dislikes, etc. After the removal of each one, ask the question: are you still you? Of course you are. Now keep going--keep chopping away at that uncarved block to find the core essence of yourself.

Eventually you'll get down to a point where you've got no likes and no dislikes, nothing left but a name.

Now ask yourself--were you born with that name, or was that given to you?

Looks like you can toss that out, too. So once you strip away everything, what's left?

The answer is your original face, your true self.

The point is, you--the real you--is what's left once you peel back all the nonsense and conditioning that society foists upon us. That's the spirit of yourself that embodies divinity. But you've got to carve away a lot of conditioned nonsense to reach it.

That's why you can't see yourself as divine, and why you rightfully believe your actions/thoughts correspond with divinity--because the "you" you're clinging to isnt' your true self, but merely your societal conditioning.

So how can you get to that divine state? Well, you need to employ "chisels" that can chip away at your conditioned thoughts.

Meditation can help you strip away that societal conditioning. So can prayer. So can certain substances whose mention isn't permitted at ATS.

Compared to the LHP, which revels in the conditioned self, the path of the RHP is long, and is isn't easy to follow, but everyone who seeks it can eventually get there. And in the end, the rewards are much, much greater. I'd personally rather spend a lifetime embodying the characteristics of God rather than Set/Satan... but that's a decision that everyone has to make for themselves.

3OGRE3
There is only one suitable reply for me in this thread... and it's quite short.


Madhyamaka.

Good sir, that'll definitely get you to the right end of the path. I'm a Taoist, but Buddhism embodies the exact same practices and has the exact same goal at the end of the day--a perfection of morality and self--as do all authentic traditions of the major RHP religions.

KellyPrettyBear

Actually the maximally attainable goal for humans is not achievable by either the left or the right paths. The sanskrit word yuganaddha if properly understood explains the target very well.

However the way to the target varies somewhat on a case by case basis. Also of note is that no known path, left or right documents the non-mystical path involved; one must find it without any assistance.

You do make some insightful observations however.

KPB

The road to becoming an Arhat, a Bodhisattva, a Buddha, or what Taoists call a Sage is all the same goal... and it is the end result of the RHP, whether or not you're actively trying to follow it.

The bias here is hilarious.

reply to post by therealguyfawkes


Is the RH path capable of 'solving' the 'problem of evil' ?

There are those who say that Taoism, Buddhism and Advaita Yoga fail to solve 'this problem' which some might say is the 'final obstacle'.

If such noble paths fail in the end
..some might say their initial assumptions were wrong..

KPB

Don't kid yourself, it's all black. Whether you call it black magic or white it all comes from the same demonic source. It is with good reason that we are warned:

10 There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire,+ anyone who employs divination,+ a practicer of magic+ or anyone who looks for omens+ or a sorcerer,+ 11 or one who binds others with a spell+ or anyone who consults a spirit medium*+ or a professional foreteller of events+ or anyone who inquires of the dead.+ 12 For everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah, and on account of these detestable things Jehovah your God is driving them away from before you.+

Deut. 18:10-12

reply to post by KellyPrettyBear

Is the RH path capable of 'solving' the 'problem of evil' ?

There are those who say that Taoism, Buddhism and Advaita Yoga fail to solve 'this problem' which some might say is the 'final obstacle'.

Maybe those people would rather not have a reason to be grateful for what they have? Maybe they would rather take it all for granted and forget why they were ever grateful in the first place? We need pain and sorrow and fear to remember why joy and pleasure are good. When you eat your favorite food all the time, it stops being your favorite. It starts being tasteless. And then it turns repulsive. You hate the sight of it. Because it's all you know. And repetition is hell.

I don't want evil to go away because it's the only thing that makes the good stuff...well, good.

reply to post by therealguyfawkes



1- I'm not certain Aquino was trying to purposely obfuscate anything with what he wrote. I can understand that many on the "Right Hand Path" can be distrustful of those on the left, especially given the "left's" traditional association with Satanism, and the traditional association with Satanism as "Evil." And evil is associated with...well... evil.


However, I think Aquino's view does seem to match and align with a particular[b/] view of the "Left Hand Path." That is, one that is closer to the ideals that LaVey "originated" (or at least gave an overly-theatrical name to).


Namely that LaVey's version of Satanism and LHP, is one of selfishness rather than Evil proper. And I'm sure many of us do associate selfishness with evil, to one degree or another. But as purely catering to one's own ego and desires, it is not wholly evil. I mean, is it wrong to want happiness and good things for one's self? Is it wrong to want "a self" at all, as opposed to being absorbed into the godhead. Being "RHP," myself, I've always had a bit of a problem with that concept. Because to me, and my little earthly ego, that is a terrifying thought. It's nearly synonymous with death. The death of what I know, and think of as "me." At least. An that is a hard thing for a person to wrap their mind around. And that is one of the common goals of many "RHP" systems. That, or something very much like it.


So I can see the "selfish" desire to want to retain one's "self" as they presently know it, does align with one particular view of the LHP.




2- I'll also point out that Aquino and those like him may not view "Set" as being truly "evil" despite having some potential associations with "Satan" and that Set was not considered "evil" by many Egyptians. And one would think that those people might have had a better grasp of the pantheon than our modern scholars.

Though again, I can kind of understand this, because when I first read about the Temple of Set, I had a very hard time reconciling their "not actually evil" vibe, and words, with their associations with Satanism, and the LHP, etc.

On that note, I'm also curious what they inverted pentagram symbolizes to them.One of the many questions I wanted to ask in the AMA but missed the chance to.

3- You make some very straightforward, authoritative, "this is how it is" sounding claims about the afterlife, "nirvana" not being a permanent state, etc. You can not possibly know any of this, for certain, unless you've been there and come back with full memory. If that's what you're claiming, you'll have to forgive my skepticism (though I'd love to hear more, despite that.) I just wanted to point that out, as it makes parts of your argument somewhat flawed.

reply to post by therealguyfawkes


I think that there is something above the world of duality and that if there is a right and a left hand path you are probably taking one of two roads leading to the same place in the end.

reply to post by iwilliam


I think selfishness is really the only evil there is, short of ignorance itself. And I'm using "evil" in a very broad sense here.