Magic and Illusions

Sympathetic Magic is a term which is used to describe magic of "likes". ie. you want to pay a debt, you use a cheque in your spell, made out in the full amount of the debt or you use seeds to "grow" a wish.

I have never encountered contagious magic.

Witchcraft is in part, but not exclusively, the practice of magic in its many and varied forms.

Second Answer

These terms are classifications of historical magical practices made by Sir James Frazer in his book The Golden Bough. The term Sympathetic magic is an umbrella term for the principles of Similarity and Contagion. Similarity being the principle in magic which likes cause likes. So as an example would be a certain Jewish love charm was created with the names of the desired recipients and along with other rituals in scripted with a phrase that asks the angels to burn the heart of a certain man then later also saying the eyes of the woman to be lighted like a candle. After finished the amulet was to be burned in a fire. The law of Contagion says that once a person has touch or owned something it creates a bond, which can be used magically, that can never be broken. An example would be using someone's fingernails in a curse. A voodoo doll is a perfect example of both principles. You need the victim's hair to cast the curse and the action of sticking in pins creates the pain or misfortune. These forms of classification are cross cultural and purely historical.

A Pagan Perspective

This seems to be a common question so to clear things up. Magic is the manipulation of naturally occurring powers by the will and hand of a magical practitioner. What few practitioners of any discipline come right out and say is all magic is manipulation.

I often use electricity as a mundane corollary. The energy itself is neither good nor bad. It is in its use that polarity can be attributed. When electricity is used to cook food, heat homes and light the darkness it is perceived as good. When it is used to torture people, damage things or kill someone, then it is perceived as bad or evil. The energy itself is neither, it simply is.

In the same way, magical energies are simply there. It is how we draw upon and use the energies that determine how they are perceived. There really is no such thing as "White/Good" magic or "Black/Bad" magic. It does however give those who do not practice, or wish to designate a polarity for the ethics of the practitioners.

The magical practitioner is the one who puts the polarity on the magic. It is very important that those of us who are magical practitioners are constantly vigilant of our practices, and motivations.

Answer 2:

Black magic in any religion and in general, is essentially aligning oneself with inferior/demonic spirits and trying to influence them to project negative energy to someone in the flesh, or being the innocent recipient of a demonic/black magic attack. Most demonic attacks or black magic are not initiated by someone on This Side but from one or more personalities on the Other Side (in the Spirit). If one wishes to rid oneself of the influence of inferior spirits, simply become more spiritually conscientious and reject that influence.

In contrast, white magic in any religion and in general is essentially aligning oneself with beneficent spirits and trying to influence them to project positive energy to someone in the flesh, or being the lucky recipient of a white magic blessing.

Near-death experience research confirms that there is a non-living higher power in operation on the Other Side. This higher power is often referred to as The Breath of God, The Light of God, or simply as The Light. We are all judged by The Light after death regardless of our belief system. We are judged by our application of The Golden Rule (or lack thereof), by our selflessness (or lack thereof), and by our character. How we have lived our life dictates how far we can go into The Light after bodily death. The higher the plane, the greater the expansion of consciousness and the more powerful the dimension of energy. The limit is not infinity, as no soul can grow into being endless, but spiritual excellence to the point of becoming a Co-Creator.

In light of this (pun intended), there is indeed absolute truth and absolute morality in existence, and we are all held accountable for our actions and even our intentions. It just doesn't seem that way, on This Side, until we return to the Other Side, the Primary Reality of The Light, and it all becomes happily (or painfully) clear.

Another view:

Some believe that "black" and "white" in magic refers more to whether one tries to manipulate events in unnatural ways or people against their will. Plus intent is a factor too.

For instance, take a love spell. A seduction spell would be considered Black magic as it is intended to force someone to love someone. On the other hand, an allure spell would be White magic since it only makes the seeker of the spell seem more attractive without tampering with the will of their target. The difference is that the Black magic version is about force or coercion, while the White magic version is about making the intended target more willing.

One of the problems with using coercive spells is that they can backfire. For instance, what if someone casts an enduring love spell on another to force someone to love them, and they end up with an abuser, rapist, or stalker? So not respecting the free will of others can have devastating consequences. So a spell to improve oneself or to alter perceptions of a particular person would be better as those respect the targets free will.

Spells that deal with death tend to be considered black magic. If you cast a death spell, there is always the possibility of it backfiring upon oneself and working against you rather than your intended target. That is obvious, but a spell to resurrect the dead can also be considered black magic since it may require that another person die to bring the desired person back to life. Thus in terms of karma, you'd be held responsible for that person's death.