It was...during the highest point of civilization and knowledge, as also of human intellectuality, of the fourth Atlantean Race—that, owing to the final crisis of physiologico-spiritual adjustment of the races, humanity branched off into its two diametrically opposite paths: the RIGHT - and the LEFT-hand paths of knowledge or of Vidya. "Thus were the germs of the White and Black Magic sown in those days. The seeds lay latent for some time, to sprout only during the early period of the Fifth (our Race)." (Commentary)
—The Secret Doctrine, I, 192 fn.
Magic is the most ancient and venerable system of true Wisdom and has been on earth as long as man himself, though our so-called "enlightened" civilization rejects the idea as superstition. Modern savants claim that Magic originated among primitive savages. This is disproved by finding the root of this word with an honourable meaning in the two oldest languages known to our civilization, Sanskrit and Avesta. "Magva," from which "Magic" is descended through Greek and Latin, was itself rooted in Avesta. The Vendidad, which is an ancient scripture, makes mention of a class known as Magva. They were a group of people who remained celibates, practised beneficent magic and taught Wisdom. These were the original Magi. Turning to Sanskrit, there is the word Magha-van which has a meaning similar to that in the Avesta; it is also one of the names of Indra, the Celestial Magician. There is also the word Maga—a magician, a priest of the Sun; it is also the name of a people who lived in Sakadvipa, and their work is the same as that of the Magi of Persia.
True Magic, then, is Wisdom; and a Magician, a man well versed in this Wisdom or Esoteric Knowledge, the synonym of all that was honourable and reverent, though the term has now come to be wholly perverted and is applied to one who is a pretender and a juggler.
Magic is the science of communicating with and directing supernal, supramundane Potencies, as well as of commanding those of the lower spheres; it is a practical knowledge of the hidden mysteries of Nature and of man known only to the few, because they are so difficult to acquire without falling into sins against Nature and man. Magic is not something supernatural. It is the study of the laws governing man and Nature. This study shows the omnipresence and omnipotence of Life. Knowledge of his intimate relation with Nature gives man the power to use these laws and principles to bring about certain results. That application is the art of magic. If it is misapplied it is black magic or sorcery; if used altruistically, it is true or White Magic. Both exist.
The results obtained from the practice of Magic and the phenomena produced are in no sense miraculous. They occur under laws now hidden from most men, and are produced by the use of the powers latent in all. The two constituent factors of any magical performance are motive and method. If the motive is rooted in purity, harmlessness, altruism, the practice tends towards White Magic. The Theosophical Glossary describes White Magic as "Beneficent Magic"; it is "divine magic, devoid of selfishness, love of power, of ambition, or lucre, and bent only on doing good to the world in general, and one's neighbour in particular." The slightest attempt to use one's abnormal powers for the gratification of self, makes of these powers sorcery or black magic.
The fact that we are always striving to obtain something for our personal selves shows what kind of magicians we are, and why we have so little power. A vast reservoir of force lies within us, but we cannot use it as we are selfish and want to gain powers without giving anything. The most wonderful phenomena that ever have been performed can be duplicated by any human being. The most wonderful powers that ever have been used can be obtained by any human being. But they cannot be obtained for selfish purposes; they can be obtained only by understanding the Teaching and living the life.
Spiritism, necromancy, is a form of black magic in which poor, diseased mediums are used by harmful invisible beings. One needs to beware, also, of hypnotism. Animal sacrifices in the name of religion, like all performances connected with blood, are black magic; such sacrifices are corrupting the pure Hindu religion. Many other so-called religious rites and ceremonies, like many scientific practices, also come under the category of black magic.
Who, then, are the White Magicians? Their whole natures, from the inside out, are of one kind. They are all in accord. They never seek anything for themselves. They use all the powers and all the possessions that come their way for the benefit of the rest of the world. In their thought, will and feeling all the time is the ideal progression of Humanity. By these motives, they naturally draw from the Highest, and everything they do has its effects for good, not only upon their fellow men, but upon the kingdoms below them. If we can understand that, then we have some idea as to what true White Magic is.
There are two primary objects in studying about Magic. First, we want to learn to protect ourselves from the dangerous influences in our modern civilization, so that we can maintain our soul integrity. This is not a selfish motive any more than is the maintaining of physical health so as not to be a menace to others. The second object is to use for good such knowledge as is available to us.
The best protection is purity of life, a clear conscience and a firm desire to benefit humanity. Ordinary goodness is not enough. The purity required includes purification of will, of imagination and of magnetism. Will, volition, determination, is the Magician itself; it must be unfolded and developed; its purity is purity of motive. Imagination is the power to create images and pictures in terms of our own choice; the imagination must create pure and radiant pictures. Our mind is made up of images and pictures of our thoughts and ideas. Their quality is determined by our motive; the intensity of will and motive which went into them determines how long they remain in the mind. The mind should be a Temple with the mental images true Idols, made living images by heart energy.
In the astral body is the magnetic fluid which all men possess and constantly radiate, especially through the eyes and finger tips, though generally unconsciously to themselves. Whenever we act, wherever we look, we affect other people and objects with our magnetism, so that we are all practical magicians, whether we know it or not.
True purity is more than physical cleanliness; it is of the magnetic fluid, and it is determined by the quality of our past thoughts and our present moods. All objects have their own magnetic emanations, though only man can direct the magnetic fluid at will and control its quality.
We can take the example of the housewife in the kitchen: her bad mood, impatience or irritability can poison the food she is cooking. Not only has each foodstuff its own magnetic property, but there is also the magnetism of the housewife herself, which affects the food she cooks. Similarly, the clerk in the office, the businessmen who compete with one another, may, unconsciously to themselves, practise a species of black magic.
Not only do the right images have to be formed in our minds, but they must be energized and made living by heart perception.
In order to really understand Theosophy, all that has been stored up in the way of previous conceptions and prejudices has to be laid aside for the time being, especially during the time of reading or study, in order that the meaning of the Teacher may be fully grasped by the mind. In order to gain knowledge of that Science which is a synthesis of all Life and Nature, the mind must be clear and clean, free from all preconceptions and prejudices, and devoted wholly to the acquisition of the Science, if one would learn and know it. As a preliminary to this study, the Three Fundamental Propositions of Theosophy should be well learned, understood, and applied to the problems of life, as well as to the detailed philosophy which the "Ocean" presents.
—Robert Crosbie