Styles of Magick

High Magick and Low Magick

One of the oldest and most useful ways of sorting the field is the distinction between high magick and low magick.

High magick tends to be formal, structured, and focused on spiritual development, contact with higher forces, or the refinement of the practitioner. It often involves complex ritual, long preparation, planetary or elemental frameworks, and systems drawn from ceremonial traditions. The emphasis is frequently on the elevation or transformation of the self.

Low magick is practical and results-oriented. It is concerned with concrete outcomes in daily life: protection, money, love, health, justice, influence, or removing obstacles. It is often simpler in form, uses materials that are close at hand, and prioritises effectiveness over elaborate ceremony. Folk magic, traditional spell casting, Hoodoo, and much of what people call witchcraft fall into this broad category.

The two are not moral categories. High does not mean good and low does not mean bad. They describe different aims and different methods. Many practitioners move between both according to need.

Some of the Main Currents

Ceremonial and Ritual Magick

This is the formal, structured end of the spectrum. It relies on precise ritual, specialised tools, detailed correspondences, and often planetary or elemental frameworks. Much of modern ceremonial work descends from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century orders, particularly the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and its offshoots. The focus is frequently on spiritual development, the balancing of the self, and contact with higher forces, though practical results are also pursued.

Grimoire Tradition and Solomonic Magick

This current works from the old magical books known as grimoires. The most famous include the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key of Solomon (which contains the Goetia). These texts give detailed instructions for preparing the magician, constructing tools, and calling spirits, both celestial and infernal. Goetia specifically deals with the seventy-two spirits listed in the first book of the Lesser Key. This tradition is highly structured and demands careful preparation. It is one of the clearest examples of working with named spirits under formal conditions.

Demonolatry

Demonolatry is the practice of working with demons in a relational and often respectful manner rather than through the traditional commanding methods of the Solomonic grimoires. Practitioners may honour, petition, or form ongoing alliances with specific demons. It can include ritual, offerings, meditation, and practical spell work. Demonolatry is a magical system that can be practised on its own. It does not require membership in a religion or the adoption of a complete theological framework, although some people later choose to develop it in that direction.

Satanic Witchcraft

This refers to the use of witchcraft techniques (spell casting, ritual, herbal work, spirit contact, and practical magick) within a Satanic or adversarial framework. It may draw on LaVeyan ideas, theistic Satanism, Luciferian currents, or personal interpretations of the Satanic. The magical methods themselves are often similar to other forms of witchcraft or low magick, but the symbolism, philosophy, and spiritual orientation are Satanic. Like demonolatry, it can be practised as magick without requiring full religious commitment or initiation into an organised group.

Folk Magick and Traditional Witchcraft

These are the practical, often orally transmitted practices of ordinary people. They use what is at hand: herbs, stones, spoken charms, written petitions, and simple ritual actions. The aims are usually concrete: healing, protection, love, prosperity, or removing trouble. European cunning craft, rural witchcraft, and many household traditions belong here. The methods are rarely elaborate, but they are tested by results over generations.

Hoodoo, Rootwork, and Conjure

An African American folk magic tradition that developed in the United States. It blends West African spiritual practices with Native American herbal knowledge and European folk methods. Hoodoo is results-driven and concerned with everyday needs: protection, money, love, justice, and influence. It makes strong use of roots, herbs, candles, powders, condition oils, mojo bags, and personal concerns. It is distinct from Haitian Vodou, though the two are sometimes confused. Hoodoo is low magick with its own history, materials, and logic.

Chaos Magick

A modern approach that treats belief itself as a tool. Chaos magicians often borrow freely from any system, create their own symbols and methods, and discard what stops working. The emphasis is on results and personal experimentation rather than loyalty to tradition. It can be very flexible, but it still requires the ability to focus will and observe outcomes clearly.

Kabbalistic Magick

This draws on the Jewish mystical system of Kabbalah, particularly the Tree of Life, the sefirot, and the use of divine names. In Western esoteric practice it has been adapted into both Jewish and Christian or Hermetic forms. It is intellectually demanding and usually requires sustained study of correspondences, structure, and symbolism before practical work becomes coherent. Many ceremonial systems incorporate Kabbalistic frameworks.

Thelema

The system developed by Aleister Crowley after 1904. Its central statement is “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” Thelema combines ceremonial magick, yoga, Qabalah, and a philosophy centred on discovering and carrying out one’s True Will. It has influenced a wide range of modern magical practice, both directly and through later adaptations.

Planetary and Astrological Magick

This current works with the forces of the planets, the fixed stars, and the timing of the heavens. It includes the creation of talismans, the election of favourable times for workings, and the use of planetary hours and days. Arabic and later European texts on astral magick form an important part of this stream. It can be practised in both high and low forms.

Natural and Herbal Magick

Work that relies on the inherent properties of plants, stones, metals, and the elements. It includes herbalism used for magical ends, the creation of oils, powders, and charms, and the observation of natural cycles. Much folk magic and kitchen witchery sits here. The emphasis is on relationship with the material world rather than complex ceremony.

Spirit Work and Necromancy

A broad category that appears inside many of the systems above. It includes contact with ancestors, land spirits, angels, demons, and the dead. Methods range from simple respectful offerings and listening to formal evocation and invocation. The skills required and the risks involved vary widely according to the type of spirit and the tradition being used.

Black Magick as an Orientation

Black magick is less a closed system than a direction of will. In popular language it means magick performed for selfish, coercive, or harmful ends. In more precise use it refers to work that deliberately engages the darker or more forceful currents: domination, binding, justice by force, cursing, or alliance with spirits that operate in those areas. It appears inside folk traditions, grimoire work, demonolatry, Satanic witchcraft, and modern Left-Hand Path practice. It requires strong foundations because the forces involved do not forgive carelessness.

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Magick and Religion

One of the most common points of confusion for newcomers is the difference between magick (spell casting and practical work) and religion.

Magick is the practical art of directing will and energy to produce change. It is a set of skills and techniques. You form an intention, apply method, and observe results. It does not require belief in a particular god, membership in a group, moral codes, or acts of worship. A person can cast spells, work with spirits, or use adversarial symbolism purely as a practical system.

Religion, by contrast, usually involves a broader framework: shared beliefs about the nature of reality, a relationship of devotion or service to one or more deities, moral or ethical rules, community, and often some form of worship or ongoing spiritual commitment. Religion answers questions about meaning, belonging, and how one should live. Magick answers the question of how to make something happen.

There are also spiritual practices that sit between or alongside these categories. Some people develop personal relationships with spirits, engage in devotion, or follow a philosophical path without turning that into a full organised religion, and without making every act of contact into a magical working. Understanding that spiritual practice and magick are not the same thing is especially important when you are brand new.

This distinction becomes clearer when we look at specific traditions that are frequently misunderstood.

Vodou (Voodoo)

Vodou is a religion with roots in West Africa that developed in Haiti and the diaspora. It involves relationships with the Lwa (spirits), ceremonies, offerings, and a full spiritual worldview. Magical work is part of it, but Vodou itself is not “just magic.” Many people use the word “voodoo” loosely to mean any dark or folk spell work, which creates confusion. The religion and the magical techniques that appear inside it are not the same thing.

Wicca

Wicca is a modern pagan religion that emerged in the mid-twentieth century. It typically includes reverence for a Goddess and God, seasonal celebrations, ethical guidelines (such as the Wiccan Rede), and ritual structure. Magick is practised within Wicca, but Wicca is not simply a system of spells. A person can use some of the same magical techniques (candle work, herbalism, circle casting) without becoming Wiccan or adopting its religious framework.

Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a Jewish mystical and esoteric tradition. It is practised within Judaism and involves deep study of texts, the Tree of Life, divine names, and contemplative or theurgical practices. Not all Jews study or practise Kabbalah. While Western occultists have adapted Kabbalistic ideas into ceremonial magick, traditional Kabbalah itself remains a religious and mystical path inside Judaism. Using Kabbalistic correspondences in a spell does not make someone a practitioner of Jewish Kabbalah.

Luciferianism

Luciferianism centres on Lucifer as the Light-Bringer and often emphasises knowledge, self-sovereignty, and personal enlightenment. For some it is a full religious or spiritual path that includes devotion and a complete worldview. For others it is a philosophical and magical orientation that does not require religious commitment. Magical work with Lucifer can be practical, relational, or devotional depending on the individual. The spiritual practice and the spell work remain distinct choices.

Demonolatry

Demonolatry is the practice of working with demons in a respectful and often relational way. Some practitioners develop it into a full spiritual path that includes ongoing honour, offerings, and a personal theology. Others treat it strictly as a magical system of alliance and results. It sits in a grey area: it can function as a religion for those who choose to make it one, but it does not have to. Many people work with demons magically without adopting demonolatry as a religious identity.

Other Examples

The same pattern appears elsewhere. Thelema contains both a magical system and a religious philosophy. Hoodoo is primarily a magical practice rather than a religion, which is why it is often distinguished from Vodou.

In all of these cases the key point remains the same: magick is the practical work of directing energy and will. Spiritual practice involves relationship, meaning, and sometimes devotion. Religion adds community, doctrine, and identity. These can overlap, but they are not automatically the same.

You can learn and use magical techniques from many sources without adopting the religion or spiritual path those techniques originally sat inside.

Understanding this difference prevents a great deal of unnecessary confusion and pressure, especially when you are just beginning.

LaVeyan Satanism and Theistic Satanism

These are the two broadest modern forms of Satanism. We are going to break this out a little further because there’s often a lot of confusion around Satanism, and they are completely different buckets. Although the same could be said for a lot of the other religions above, in the theme of Black Witch Coven, this deserves a special highlight.

They share some symbolism and an adversarial stance toward conventional religion, but they differ sharply in what they believe Satan actually is and in how they approach spiritual practice.

LaVeyan Satanism (also called Philosophical, Atheistic, or Rationalist Satanism)

Founded by Anton LaVey with the Church of Satan in 1966 and set out in The Satanic Bible (1969).

In this approach Satan is not regarded as a real supernatural being. Satan is a symbol of the carnal, the individual, pride, vital existence, and rebellion against restrictive religious and moral authority. The only “god” is the self.

LaVeyan Satanism is atheistic. It rejects belief in literal gods, demons, or an afterlife in the traditional sense. Ritual is treated primarily as psychodrama: a way to focus emotion, release, and will. Magick is divided into Greater Magic (ritual) and Lesser Magic (everyday psychological manipulation and influence). The emphasis is on self-interest, personal responsibility, indulgence rather than abstinence, and living fully in the material world.

Theistic Satanism (also called Spiritual or Traditional Satanism)

This is the broader category of people who regard Satan (or a closely related figure) as a real spiritual entity or force.

Beliefs vary widely. Some see Satan as a liberator, teacher, or source of power and knowledge. Others approach him with devotion or form personal alliances. The figure is rarely identical to the Christian devil of popular imagination; he is more often understood as a being of strength, freedom, sexuality, and opposition to imposed spiritual authority.

Because Satan is treated as real, ritual and magick are usually understood as literal interaction with a spiritual presence rather than pure psychodrama. Some theistic Satanists develop a full religious framework with ongoing devotion. Others keep the relationship more practical or magical. There is no single organisation or doctrine that defines all theistic Satanism.

Key Differences at a Glance

• Nature of Satan: Symbol only (LaVeyan) versus real being or force (Theistic).
• Belief in the supernatural: Generally rejected or minimised in LaVeyan practice; accepted in theistic practice.
• Purpose of ritual: Primarily psychological and cathartic in LaVeyan work; often relational or literal spirit contact in theistic work.
• Religious character: LaVeyan Satanism functions more as a philosophy and life stance with ritual elements. Theistic Satanism more readily becomes a full religious or spiritual path for those who choose that depth.

Both forms can include magick, but the magick sits inside different assumptions about reality. A person can use satanic symbolism or perform workings with adversarial force without adopting either system as a religion.

As with the other currents discussed on this page, the practical magical work and the religious or philosophical framework remain separate choices.