what sorcery can be performed with photographs?

Question

people used to say that photos 'capture your spirit'.

well if you had a photo of people, what magic could you perform with it? black magic? white magic?

//develop past the notion of "white and black".//

why? yin & yang contain both white an black, god and satan, day and night... etc.

Answer 1

Almost anything you can do with a poppet, you can do with a photo.

For example, a spell to help you with a diet can be cut a bit thinner at every ritual. Or a love spell can have two photos tied together with red thread (if you have a photo of an intended). A banishing spell can utilize the photo of the enemy for more efficacy. The possibilities are endless...

Yes. They inherently have more energy to begin with than a poppet, as they are already a 'graven image', one that has captured the spirit of the person. My last partner was a powerful wizard, and was so concerned about this property of photos that he used to blast any film taking his picture so the image would only appear as an indiscriminate burst of light. There is no photo of him in existence to my knowledge. I wonder was he does for digital...

Oh, yes. And 'black' and 'white' are only for duality religions, which witchcraft isn't. Or maybe for racists...

I use colours for a style designation. I'm primarily Green magic, which
"originates from a "fam-trad" style and is literally centuries old, as green Witches were the herbalists and midwives of old. They used their expertise in local herblore to treat their family and neighbors medicinally. Not only to combat a variety of illnesses but, in true Green Tradition, to maintain and/or restore natural health and vitality.
"Many modern Wiccans/Witches have adopted the Green Man figure into their Traditions as a totem. As such it symbolizes the connection to a time when humankind held Nature in great reverence instead of regarding a beautiful open meadow as undeveloped land that would make a nice site for a shopping mall. The Green Man reminds us that we must join in common cause with Nature, for what we do to the earth we do to ourselves.

"Kitchen Witch:

"Used to refer to one who practices by hearth and home, dealing with the practical side of religion, magick, the earth and the elements. There are some who groan loudly at this type of terminology, viewing it as degrading or simply inappropriate. Many Kitchen Witches practice as Solitaries."
http://hometown.aol.com/innerlightcoven2/trads.html

I'm a trained herbalist, I also do Kitchen witchery and a less practiced branch of Green magic known as cosmatae. But it's still just a style of magic.

White magic is creation, inspiration. Black is destruction and renewal; a return to the womb. But remember, there is no creation without destruction. You cannot make white magic without black.

Answer 2

Before you can even make a good attempt at successful spellcasting, you need to at LEAST develop past the notion of "white and black".

Because there are more things in this world than just two opposites. Life is not a black and white silent movie. It's full color, with dolby surround sound.

There is black and white, sure, but also red, blue, green, yellow, purple, brown and gray too.

There is night and day, but there is also dawn and dusk.

There is up and down, but there is also north, south, east and west.

There is love and hatred, but also apathy.

The world holds an infinite variety. Dualistic thinking is the mark of the fundamentalist, only recognizing "This" and "That" and remainining convinced that nothing else can possibly exist that does not neatly fit into one of these two boxes.

The truth is, "white" and "black" are only IDEAS, not things. "White" and "black" exist only within our minds.

"White" and "black" magic is exactly the same. The lines that "divide" the two are so obscure they're virtually non-existant, with vast fields of gray between them and multiple colors surrounding the whole.

It is like saying a person can only be totally good or totally evil. Or that YinYang is wholly Yin or wholly Yang but cannot be both at once.

Life, Nature, Magic, does not care about "black" or "white" any more than a gun cares about "legal" or "illegal" when it fires. When magic becomes wholly "white" or wholly "black", it becomes a dangerous extreme. That is why.

Answer 3

Let me first say that Waylon above, was wise in saying that there is no black or white magic. Magic is neutral, it's the person intent who is using it that makes it light or dark. You can do many things using a person's photograph. But, you don't need one. People don't realize the power of simply a name. For to know a name, is to be able to conjure with it.

Answer 4

Don't think they capture your spirit, but they provide any easy way to "lock on to" a person's vibe, just like hair/blood/nail clippings, can be used with some minor variations in technique. It helps make it clear who you are steering the "energy"/intent of a ritual towards. In other they all can be used the focus and direct the energy.

Putting a picture of someone, who you want Deity to help, on an altar is a simple example of positive magic.

You say "people", if aiming at just one of the group, cut them out of the picture, so it's only them who are the focus of the ritual., BEFORE the ritual (ie in a non-magical mindset) unless you are wanting to work with magic to separate the group.

Not going to give you the "text" of a spell to perform such "sorcery", as its best for you to learn a lot of other stuff before attempting to affect others. Thinks like preparing sacred/ritual space, and entering/leaving magical mindset are all important for successful/safe (on the "caster") magic.

Also if your reasons for doing the sorcery aren't well considered, or the "sorcery" is performed badly it WILL come back in a bad way, regardless of your intent. I think that many Deities can't stand people who don't do their research. If you're serious, and prepared to invest time and effort in learning how to do it properly, go to local library (surprising what they have...) or an Occult bookshop, and read up. By reading you learn from the experiences that others have had, and you learn from their mistakes and successes.

I find the concept of black and white magic very useful, but it's to do with the " taints" the person doing the magic puts on it, not something intrinsic to the energy of magic. Black magic is designed purely to harm, White magic purely to help. There's also the often forgotten Grey magic, which is a mixture. Think about situation where there's several people applying for a job and you do a "spell" for one in particular to get the job. What about those who are "prevented" from getting the job? aren't they effected negatively?

I use it a guide to tell me if I'm getting "ethically challenged".
Just because I (usually) chose not to perform black magic, I don't deny that can be done.
I think it should be treated in the same way as parents should treat "the drugs talk". To reduce the likelihood of those who don't better experimenting foolishly, tell the truth about the issue as you see it. Ignore the possibility of black magic and newbies will just try to figure out how to do it for themselves with very little knowledge of the risks, or how to keep themselves safe.

Answer 5

Photos are not needed for sorcery, generally a strand of hair, a finger nail, or toe nail, or a personally possession of the person. that is all that is needed. there are other ways. weather black or white magic depends on your mental state and your heart.

Answer 6

there is no "black or white"magic it's all in the use of it.a photo is a very strong tool you can do a lot with a persons image but keep in mined the 3times law anything you do comes back 3 times

Answer 7

Don't photographers do this all the time with airbrushing etc. They certainly make the masses believe it's real.
They have people mutating themselves with surgery, starving themselves and parting with enormous wads of cash for ridiculous products.
Perhaps the indigenus tribes were right to be afraid of this medium. Enough people have sold they're souls to this kind of Voodoo, surely.

Answer 8

You can get people to stay out of your life by burying the picture on a Saturday night during a waning moon.

Answer 9

you can bind a person with just a picture not literally but bind their powers or from doing harm

Answer 10

Correct me if i'm wrong but i do believe that magic doesn't exist.