What is Dark Magick and The Dark Arts?

Traditional "Dark Arts" include the practice of demonic evocation, the breaking of taboos, necromancy, sexual rites, treasure hunting, berserker combat, shapeshifting, gaining and employing animal familiars, dealings with savage gods, the use of plant intoxicants/entheogens and the casting of curses, etc...

A Dark Magickian may practice any combination of these traditional arts as well as some more modern ones. Hypnosis, Chaos Magick, Neo-Druidism and work with extra-terrestrial (and otherwise alien) intelligences are some of the relatively recent developments which all include their own explorations of the dark and disturbing side of things.

Even such things as traditional and modern creative arts (painting, poetry, music, ceremony, film making, dance, etc...) can, and often do involve the deep and sincere explorations of the broken and refused. The resulting experience is communicated and/or recorded through their preferred modality. Those artists who dare to draw up leviathan with a hook and express that can certainly be considered as practitioners of the Dark Arts.

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I personally feel that "Dark Side"/"Light Side" is a false dichotomy. Dark Magick doesn't necessarily involve malevolent goals. This popular misconception comes mainly from our fiction. The protagonist in most fiction is an abnormally pure person and their antagonist is typically an abnormally evil character. It is true that some people get involved with the hidden, rejected and twisted forces of nature because their goals demand that they seek out less benevolent forces. This is certainly not the only motivation for delving into the shadows. The truth is that you don't have to choose Dark or Light alone. The Taoist Yin/Yang symbol is a useful way to express this concept.

There are many Dark Magicians who are first and foremost knowledge seekers, motivated to transcend all false dichotomies and move beyond good and evil. These "Dark Magicians" are simply those who have the courage and drive to explore their own shadow. Once inside the shadow, the demonic and bestial "entities" found there can be recruited into the magician's service. Ideally they can be healed and fully integrated into the practitioner's consciousness. The results being that the entity's life force, experience and skills eventually become directly available to the magician with no more resistance. The healed and integrated shadow entity can now continue to grow healthy in the light of consciousness, retaining it's quintessential nature and now participating in a greater united consciousness. This process is similar to some forms of psychotherapy. In shamanic practice, this is often referred to as "soul retrieval."