Morbitvs Vividvs

Any magician who carefully considers the definition of magic as “the art of changing reality at will” will be obliged to expand his field of action beyond the tracing of pentagrams.

Crowley made this very clear in Magick Without Tears and Anton Szandor LaVey also understood this to the point that in his Satanic Bible he defines magical practice in two categories: High Magic, of a ritual character and ceremonial nature, and Low Magic of a non-ritual character and social nature. According to him: " Non-ritual or manipulative magic consists of a ruse or fraud obtained through various artifices or planned situations, which, when used, can create "change, according to one's own will."

He continues, " Mui tas victims of the witch trials were not witches. Royal witches were rarely executed, or even brought to trial, as they were proficient in the art of enchantment and could bewitch men and save their own lives. Mui tas the real witches were sleeping with the inquisitors. This is the origin of the word “glamour”. The ancient meaning of "glamour" was sorcery. The most important quality for the modern witch is her ability to be attractive or use “glam our”. The word “fascination” has a similar occult origin. Fascination was the term applied to the devil's eye. Keeping one's attention fixed, in other words fascinating, was his curse with the devil's eye.”

In The Crystal Tablet of Set, the opening book every new Temple of Set member receives, Michael Aquino defines Low Magic as the art of controlling people's attention and behavior without them realizing they are controlled. First, this involves knowing the general motivations and laws behind people's decisions. Then apply this knowledge in order to guide people's actions in a discreet way so as not to be caught. It is in other words Low Magic is the art of cheating.

Individually, this type of witchcraft translates into mastery of social skills, applied psychology and some occult laws of the human being. Outside the individual field, Low Magic is used for the manipulation of the masses, which the magician must also be paying attention to – cultivating critical thinking – so as not to fall into these traps that are so common and inseparable from religion, propaganda and politics.

There are several fields of studies that can be explored by those seeking mastery in this type of manipulation of reality. Let's look at some of them:

Reading People

It literally means learning to read the human being. It consists of a set of techniques that allow us to say things about a person's life, to impress, gain confidence or even create empathy. It includes the fields of cold reading, body reading, basic laws of human behavior and especially attention to detail.

Some books for those who want to improve in this area:

• The Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene
• The Body Speaks, Pierre Weill
• The Games of Life, Eric Berne
• The Psychological Types, Carl Gustav Jung
• Passages: Predictable Crises of Adulthood, Gail Sheehy

illusionism

Also in The Crystal Tablet of Set, Aquino says that “Illusionism should be considered a hobby by anyone interested in real magic. First, it lets you score the curiosity of those who want you to “show your power” and gives you the ability to amaze and delight your friends and break the ice with strangers.

In the Satanic Bible LaVey says that the amount of energy needed to levitate a cup of tea (in fact) would be the same as putting an idea in a group of world leaders motivating them to agree on something. And even if you succeed in levitating the cup you should admit that some sort of trick was used anyway. If you want to float objects in the air, use ropes, mirrors or other devices and save your energy for important things. He says that all “divine” mediums and mystics always practice pure and applied stage magic, with their blindfolds and sealed envelopes, and any competent illusionist can duplicate the same effect.

Thus, illusionism is an excellent way to gain experience in the so-called Low Magic in a pleasurable way and with a minimum risk of offending your subjects. It also offers excellent training in basic techniques for controlling attention and human behavior. The magician must learn to assess his audience and guide their attention without arousing suspicion so as to accomplish seemingly impossible things right in front of their eyes.

Although illusions based on prestige equipment also aid in the development of the magician's ability to manipulate the audience, no type of magic is as suitable as the so-called mentalism. The techniques of mentalism are the most adaptable to everyday human needs and the most easily used were from the stage context. They create the illusion of being able to read the mind, predict the future and determine people's choices. Furthermore, the most impressive mentalism routines require rigorous memory training and other mental gymnastics on the part of the magician that will give him advantages in many other spheres of life. Being a good magician is a good start to being a good magician.

Some classic books on mentalism:

• Practical Mental Magic, Theodore Annemann
• Self-Working Mental Magic, Karl Fulves
• The Great Book of Magic, Wendy Rydell and george Gilbert
• Thirteen Steps to Mentalism, Tony Corinda

Seduction

Seduction does not just include successful flirting, but every useful use of your personal attraction. The Latin term seductione literally means “to take another way”. Likewise the word “charm” has French origin and means “magic formula”. It consists in creating a charming personality in every way, in strengthening one's charisma and mastering the subtleties of non-verbal communication, the power of symbols and personal aesthetics.

Some good books on the topic:

• The Art of Seduction, Robert Greene
• Double Your Dating, David DeAngelo
• The Command of the Gaze, by William Mortensen
• The Rational Male, Rollo Tomassi   (mainly for men)
• The Satanic Witch, Anton Szandor LaVey (mainly for women)

social manipulation

More powerful than listening to spirits and talking to demons is knowing how to listen and talk to other human beings. Convincing a judge, a boss, a customer, or a crowd is just as or more powerful than convincing a spirit within a triangle.

This is perhaps the widest field precisely because it is the very heart of Baixa Magia. It is about the perception of social games of a higher level, capable of anticipating and orchestrating their movements. It includes mastery of political strategies, oratory, rhetoric, as well as sales, negotiation, leadership, and advertising techniques.

There are several good books that can help in this field:

• The Art of War, Sun Tzu
• The Art of Prudence, Batlasar Gracian
• How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
• Mental Poisoning, Harvey Spencer Lewis.
• The Prince, Nicolas Machiavelli
• 33 War Strategy, Robert Greene
• 38 Strategies for Winning Any Debate, Arthur Schopenhauer
• 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene

self-improvement

Finally, Low Magic includes everything that can help to develop personal power and prevent the practitioner from falling into the traps of manipulation – especially those practiced for centuries by religions, the state and large corporations.

Self-Improvement also includes everything that will make it more likely that reality will be transformed at will. Avoid courses and groups that simply advocate positive thinking or serve as a substitute for an emptied spirituality. The best “self-help books” will almost never be on the self-help shelves. Look for those who help you develop critical thinking and real skills. Some examples:

• How to lie with statistics, Darrell Huff
• Mastery, Robert Greene
• Critical Thinking, Richard L. Epstein and Walter Carnielli
• Smarter than the Devil, Napoleon Hill
• Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman

In addition to all the works listed in this article, study the biography of great men and women such as Mohammad, Cleopatra, Napoleon, Queen Victoria. There are many books and movies about these and many other personalities who were true reality transforming magicians. Many of them like LaVey, Crowley, Rasputin and Cagliostro were also practitioners of High Magic, which can give you a greater understanding of how these two forms of magical art interact.

In the end, Low Magic is simply Magic. It consists then in developing a keen intelligence able to see things as they really are and a stubborn ability to transform them to how you would like them to be.

Morbitvs Vividvs is the author of Lex Satanicus: The Satanist's Handbook and other books on Satanism.