WHITE AND BLACK MAGIC

Good vs Evil by Andrej Vystropo

A history of white and black magic and the bigotry that goes with it.

During the Taurus New Moon, I saw a trend online where folks were calling it "The White Witch New Moon" for many new practitioners they may not realize the history around the use of "White" or "Black" magic which happens to be problematic. When we use it we are perpetuating the idea that "White" means good, and "Black" means bad. So what makes "Black Magic" "bad"? Historically speaking, from the Church's perspective, they viewed anyone who did any kind of rituals with spirits that were not the Christian god to be doing "Black Magic." When witches use "white magic" we are implying that we agree with their definition and we are contradicting our own beliefs, and perpetuating bigotry against any indigenous, polytheistic, or modern non-Abrahamic religious culture.

If you are looking for different language when describing your practice or the type of magic you are doing, some better vocabulary could be:

Baneful Magic 

Magic that hexes or curses another.

Malevolent Magic  

Showing or wishing to do evil magic to another.

Benevolent Magic  

Well-meaning and kind magic.

Theurgy

Magic that involves spirits who assist in human affairs.

Alchemy

When doing magic that does not involve spirits.

Magic/Spells

When you do any magic.

I also put together a timeline to paint a picture of how this has unfolded overtime as a resource for those who would like to research this further with some notable books that influenced and perpetuated that idea of "White" magic is "good" and "Black" magic is "bad."

Timeline

1200s

Medieval Grimoires and Christian theology talk about "maleficium" (essential evil sorcery) but the phrase "black magic" is not yet formalized.

1300s

Early Middle English references to "nigromancy" (black necromancy) a misinterpretation of "necromancy" (a form of divination that communicates with the dead) and the Latin word "Niger" meaning black.

1486

Malleus Maleficarum ( The Hammer of Witches) by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger is published and essentially establishes the existence of witchcraft, and provides guidelines for identifying, prosecuting, and punishing alleged witches. This book is SUPER FUCKED UP. Mainly because it instructs people how to identify witches based off of physical markers like birthmarks and moles and then encourages torture as means to extract a confession from suspected witches.

1584

The Discoverie of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot discusses cunning folk and healers introducing the concept of "good witches" but there is no "white witch" term yet. This book is one of the earliest and most influential works that aimed at debunking myths and superstitions surrounding witchcraft, essentially stating that the accusations against them were based on irrational fear, ignorance, and hysteria. He condemns the witch trials and their violent persecution as unjust and unfounded. He proposes that what people believe to be witchcraft is simply natural phenomena that could be explained by science, psychology, or a misunderstanding of the natural process (Something I strongly agree with today.) He also criticizes the witch-hunting authorities of his time and their process being unscientific and barbaric. Because of this it was very controversial at the time and condemned by religious authorities.

1597

King James VI of Scotland/I of England's Demonologie book strongly condemns witchcraft as black and evil magic. This starts to equate sorcery with "black forces." The term "black magic" does not exist yet, but it formalizes that black equals evil. It is important to understand that "Demonology" is the study of spirits that are not the Christian god. These are deities and spirits from other cultures that are villainized and rebranded so that the church can still continue to study them, but not admit that existence that other gods and spirits influence people's lives and cultures. His book is separated into three books. The first part describing the nature and existence of witchcraft, asserting that witches have the ability to summon evil spirits and demons to do their bidding, and that such acts are not only sinful but a direct affront on "God." The second book goes into the methods in which witches engage with forces including their supposed rituals, familiars, and pacts with the Devil and how they harm others with magic. The third part stresses the importance of legal trials and religious authority in exposing witches, including how to get them to confess (usually under extreme duress) and how to "properly" execute justice.

1600/1700s

It is speculated that the exact term "white witch" probably started circulating through oral traditions around this time due to the rise in the villainization of witchcraft.

1725

The History of Witches and Wizards with an anonymous author uses "black art" to describe the magic of magical practitioners.

1811

Is the first well known printed definition of "white witch" as someone who "pretends to do good" and cures bewitchments in  Francis Grose's Provincial Glossary.

1815

Is first publicly defined in 1815, used by Francis Grose's Provincial Glossary describing folk beliefs in England, and I'm going to paraphrase for clarity: "In cases where cattle are bewitched, or children fall ill by unseen means, the village seeks aid from the white witch, skilled in herbs and prayers, who undoes the evil spells"

1825

By this time it was widely used.

1855

Eliphas Levi's Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie defines "black magic" explicitly as magic performed against divine will; later translated from French to English and deeply influences occultism.

1950

Wicca's early founders, like Gerald Gardner, begin talking about "white magic" vs "black magic" popularizing a split in modern neopaganism.

1958

Elizabet Goudge writes a historical novel, "The White Witch" portraying a sympathetic witch during the English Civil War

1980

Begins a modern revival of the terms "White Witch" and creating a division of Benevolent and Malevolent magic.

1981

"A Witches' Bible" by Janet and Steward Farrar becomes very influential in teaching the idea of ethical witchcraft, their work inspiring those who would use "white witch" to sounds friendly to outsiders.

1986

"Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft" explains "white witchcraft" as positive, healing magic, making the term friendly for new Wiccans and solitary practitioners.

1990's

Silver RavenWolf becomes popular who in "To Ride a Silver Broomstick" (1993) heavily pushes the idea of "white magick" and "white witches" as accessible, light, and positive. (I have my own feelings about this author, mainly because she speaks in absolutes, especially when speaking about non-Wiccan practices. Statements that are often completely false and misinforms her readers about practices that she is no part of.)

"Black Magick" with a "k" becomes more common among modern occultist and witch communities to distinguish ceremonial practices from state performance magic. Influenced by Aleister Crowley's Earlier choice to use "magick" to be used for "real magic." (I have my own feelings about Aleister Crowley, the creator of Thelema, former member of the Order of the Golden Dawn. Like many male practitioners of that time, he was an entitled bully and if you ask any Thelemites, most will agree he is not a role model.)

2004

Google Trends shows a noticeable increased use of the term "white magic" and popularizes online.

2008

The first search for "The White Witch New Moon" is searched according to Google Trends.

2020's

Thanks to TikTok and online witch communities becoming more mainstream, there is pushback against the use of terms like "White Magic" and "Black Magic" since it perpetuates a division of beliefs and harmful stereotypes.

2025

There are no known published books in regard to "The White Witch New Moon" there is over 18 million posts tagged #whitewitchnewmoon on TikTok, the earliest post created 4/25/2025 related to the Taurus New Moon. (It appears that it's use case is used differently as "White New Moon Witch" referring to when someone is not menstruating on the New Moon.)

Conclusion

Knowing this history is critical to understand how its perceived today, and how it perpetuates good vs evil stereotypes. At the end of the day, most witches just work within the cycles of nature, with their indigenous deities and ancestral spirits. If you know of any important books, that I may have missed let me know I can always add to this timeline.

As much as these terms give me the ick, however, I find this topic fascinating as the origins of the word "magic" and all the etymology that surrounds it does come from this root of "lie" vs "truth" in language, perpetuating "good" vs "evil." I highly recommend checking out The Endless Knot's video on "Where does Magic come from?" where he deep dives the etymology and the surrounding words we use in English that refer to magic.

If you are looking for ways to identify yourself in you practice, I highly recommend checking out my previous blog post. Happy witching!