On the Nature of Evil: An Occultists Perspective

Evil may seem to be a vague and highly misunderstood topic, but one of extreme importance to the practicing Occultist. If you are wondering if you are a "practicing occultist" by definition you are if you practice any form of spirituality other than Christianity. Ironically, however, there are many similarities and parallels between the two.

The goal of this article is to present at least one perspective on what we commonly call "evil" as it exists perpetually and eternally. Anyone interested in the esoteric, metaphysical or alternative spirituality would benefit from a clear understanding of it.

Firstly, evil is not be given a name, a face or an identity as has been done by the Churches of Christianity in depicting "the devil" "satan" or "the prince of darkness" , for to do so is to manifest it within our common reality. However, it is far too late for this to be of concern at this time in history.

An Occultist has many choices when working with light or darkness and may choose a path to follow, however, a journey to the underworld must not be taken without guidance and knowledge of where one is going and what lies ahead.

The Occultist understands the trinity of evil and it is classified into three categories according to the method in which they exist or by the route it manifests into common reality.

1. Primary Evil
2. Secondary Evil
3. Accidental Evil

The duality theory of good versus evil is expressed, in some form or another, by many cultures. Those who believe in the duality theory of evil believe that evil cannot exist without good, nor good without evil, as they are both objective states and opposite ends of the same scale.

Evil which dwells in the place known as the Underworld, does not concern itself with theories or concepts for it simply is, without questioning why or how or what. The Underworld may perhaps be a physical place, perhaps a figurative place or both and neither, such as Heaven and Hell of the Christian belief, but once again it's definition is irrelevant as the more one contemplates evil the closer it approaches, for intellectualism is but another mask to hide the insidious fear which is the food of evil.

Within the Underworld exists Primary Evil, it cannot by its own accord make contact with the common reality in which humanity exists.
The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether it is observable, accessible or understandable by science, philosophy, or any other system of analysis. Reality in this sense may include both being and nothingness, whereas existence is often restricted to being.

Primary Evil is also known as the "Dark Satellite" by many Occultists and can be better understood as the source of all evil whose sole purpose is to consume and exist. Since it cannot make contact with our world of common reality it must feed by any means possible and this is most often by deception. Primary Evil is named "the "Dark Satellite" as many perceives it as a continuous, eternal body, mass or entity of darkness or the absence of light which orbits our common reality perpetually attempting to gain access to our world through the only doorway possible, the human soul.

Understanding this concept brings us to the next form of evil; Secondary Evil or evil that has passed through the doorway of the human soul and has manifested itself within our common reality.

Secondary Evil is probably the most dangerous as it has been consciously willed into being by the human doorway or host. Many amateur Occultists or those dabbling with Occult tools such as Ouija boards, spellcraft or mediumship have fallen victim to Secondary Evil by inviting it into our reality through poorly constructed ritual, lack of understanding of the Occult or failure to invoke the protection from the light and benevolent forces and entities available to us.

This is not to say that the Occult arts are themselves evil, they are simply tools such as a hammer which sits quietly in a toolbox doing nothing but when wielded by the hand can be a constructive tool to build a warm and comforting home or a destructive tool to smash, destroy and kill. So are the Ouija board, the spells of the craft and all forms of spiritual practice which includes the tools of Christianity and Catholicism.

The results of manifesting Secondary Evil are devastating and the deception used by Primary Evil is that of infinate power. Like a carrot which dangles before a horse in a bridle the novice or arrogant practitioner follows the path of Primary Evil and the promise of power to his own demise and often takes many others with him to the grave, through murder, torture and suicide.

A prime example of the manifestation of Primary Evil into Secondary evil is that of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party which had its origins in the esoteric Thule Society and Germanorden or "The Order of the Teutons" themselves not necessarily evil but resulted in powerful Occult forces which opened the doorway through Adolf Hitler. It is a commonly known fact that Hitler utilized the knowledge and tools of the Occult extensively in his reign of terror; including the perversion of the sunwheel or swastika which one represented the law of Buddha or good fortune but now is seen as a symbol of evil and terror (Buckland 2003). History reveals the horror of this evil which consumed millions of lives and eventually claimed that of Adolf Hitler himself by suicide.

Lastly and possibly the easiest to manage (if such can be said about evil) is Accidental Evil whose manifestation has entered through a doorway of the soul without conscious intent on the part of the host, uninvited and unsolicited.

Considering that Primary Evil perpetually and unrelentingly searches for a mode of manifestation it will detect even the slightest shadow within the soul and focus upon it until it succeeds in changing a minute shadow into a doorway of darkness, darker than night.

Shadows may come in the form of hatred, rage, fear, envy, lust or violence and obsession with the material or physical. Again do not misunderstand; these are not evil in themselves for truly they are all within the normal range of human emotion and existence. It is when these states of being become all encompassing, uncontrollable and the negative and destructive forces of evil begin to enter through the host, subtly and quietly.
Shadows of evil are not, by the Occultists definition, true evil but merely the potential to become so if left unchecked or ignored. This is why we often hear such statements as; "It does not matter if you do not believe in evil, for evil believes in you” or "When you look into the abyss, the abyss is also looking into you."

It is truly a fool upon a dangerous path who denies the existence of evil, for it is the shadow of their fear which causes them to deny the existence of evil which feeds it and "accidentally" manifests it into common reality.

The seed of evil is fear, and I will repeat that as it is important, the seed of evil is fear, or in by the definition of Primary Evil as an entity which consumes and exists; the food of evil is fear.

To clarify the reference of darkness as synonymous with evil, this is an analogy, not a literal reference. Nor is it correlation between white and black as colors of the light spectrum. Nor any reference to a color being either good or evil. In the context of this article we are discussing an Occultists perspective on evil, darkness refers to the absence of light, not light as in daylight or the light from a lamp but the light which is the life force, collective spirit, truth, absolute and life giving energy.

Analogies are comparisons or stories which help to add understanding to abstract concepts which much of spirituality is, as our human perception is limited by the words and vocabulary that we have to express it. A common analogy "The Allegory of the Cave" comes from philosopher Plato
which is not literal, but a story used to describe the abstract concepts of truth, reality, light and darkness;

"Imagine prisoners, who have been chained since their childhood deep inside a cave: not only are their limbs immobilized by the chains; their heads are chained as well, so that their gaze is fixed on a wall.

Behind the prisoners is an enormous fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway, along which statues of various animals, plants, and other things are carried by people.

The statues cast shadows on the wall, and the prisoners watch these shadows. When one of the statue-carriers speaks, an echo against the wall causes the prisoners to believe that the words come from the shadows.

The prisoners engage in what appears to us to be a game: naming the shapes as they come by. This, however, is the only reality that they know, even though they are seeing merely shadows of images. They are thus conditioned to judge the quality of one another by their skill in quickly naming the shapes and dislike those who begin to play poorly.

Suppose a prisoner is released and compelled to stand up and turn around. At that moment his eyes will be blinded by the firelight, and the shapes passing will appear less real than their shadows.

Similarly, if he is dragged up out of the cave into the sunlight, his eyes will be so blinded that he will not be able to see anything. At first, he will be able to see darker shapes such as shadows and, only later, brighter and brighter objects.

The last object he would be able to see is the sun, which, in time, he would learn to see as that object which provides the seasons and the courses of the year, presides over all things in the visible region, and is in some way the cause of all these things that he has seen."
(The Republic, book VII 531d-534e.)

Similarly but not all inclusive this analogy can be used to perceive the meaning of evil, as an illusion, which exists (as do the shadows to the human perception) and are real inside the cave, which can be interpreted as the confines of our own minds or world view. However, through spiritual enlightenment (escaping the prison of our minds) and seeing the truth of the light (the fire and the sun) we realize that the shadows are not true reality, but are created when light is blocked.

The Allegory of the cave also makes reference to our tendency to judge others who do not have the same or similar perception as our own;

“The prisoners engage in what appears to us to be a game: naming the shapes as they come by. This, however, is the only reality that they know, even though they are seeing merely shadows of images. They are thus conditioned to judge the quality of one another by their skill in quickly naming the shapes and dislike those who begin to play poorly.
“

The Allegory of the Cave and the Allegory of the Sun have been used as a tool to comprehend reality, illusion by using the analogy of light and dark. Additionally, it is important to comment on cultural perceptions of good and evil, the majority are the same, however expressed or perceived differently, the importance is in understanding that different does not mean right or wrong, simply another perspective on universal concepts.

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spent most of his life attacking Christianity and Christian morality and making unforgivable comments about women, he declared himself an immoralist and insisted on the aesthetic value of reality.

Nietzsche was the radical contemporary philosopher who declared "God is Dead" and thus rejected the concept of truth altogether and that at that time in history the influence of the Judeo-Christian church was false and a hypocrisy, Nietchze focused rather on the importance of self expression, personal power and creativity.

Nietchze's philosophy and beliefs about society, morality and religion are still alive and popular with counter-culture and radical minded individuals as he left the legacy that the moral constructs of "civilized society" should always be questioned and challenged. The endless concept of evil existing or not existing is a topic which many wise people discuss. It is a paradoxical concept as you have identified, evil both exists and does not exist, which sometimes is hard to wrap ones brain around !
When contemplating the realm of spirituality I have found it easier to let go of all concepts I have of the physical, mundane or ordinary reality because in the realm of spirit none of them apply or have meaning. This is a Shamanic concept sometimes referred to as "Piercing the Sky" in which one achieves a state in which they are able to, perhaps only for a moment; catch a glimpse of the workings of the universe, the "big picture" or what is behind it all.

The correlation of Evil and Knowledge as referred to in the Kabalistic Tree of Life, Daath representing both evil and knowledge I perceive as the symbolic link between the spiritual realm where evil "exists" and the metaphysical realm of the human mind and the many perceptions of reality that create the avenue, doorway, form or substance of evil. In this sense evil and knowledge are connected (also a Christian concept), But this does not mean that knowledge IS evil, only that knowledge (of evil) is a two way path to evil. As sentient physical and spiritual beings we ALWAYS have the power of choice, and as you stated "the only weapons evil has are intimidation and misdirection" (Right On !) this is how evil is able to manifest by misguiding or deceiving us into making choices which align us with evil so that it may enter our common reality.

Occult definitions of evil state that evil cannot harm you unless it is invited or unless one chooses to align themselves with evil either intentionally or accidentally. The Occultist who is aligned with the Light (sometimes referred to as a Light worker), has realized or learned the truth behind evil perhaps by surviving a willing or accidental alignment with it, or perhaps by intense spiritual life experiences and study and has made the choice NOT to be aligned with evil, but to have a healthy respect for its potential and to live a life of service to humanity with this knowledge.

The choice is not made by evil, no one is forced to take one path or the other, the choice is made by the individual and the hallmark is that those who serve evil are selfish and do not allow others their right to free will, whereas, those that serve the Light are selfless and respect others right to free will.

There are many, many spiritual and religious disciplines in our World and all of them true and legitimate in their interpretations of good vs. evil, light vs. darkness. Many represent them as adversarial, opposing forces others state that they are one in the same (two sides of the same coin), and still others state that the Light is the only absolute and true reality and evil is the shadow (illusion) created when Light is withdrawn or blocked.

The former is an Occult representation of good vs. evil and the majority of Occult disciplines tend to follow this perception. This does not necessarily make it the "correct definition" nor the others the "wrong definition" for everyone of us is a unique spiritual being.

We each spend our lifetime on the spiritual journey of understanding, a journey that I believe is eternal, we must all discover for ourselves the spiritual alignments which resonate with our unique spiritual beings and refrain from ever judging those of others for it is not our place to pass judgment, everything has a purpose and a reason for being, we are only a minute part of an enormous universe.