The Devil Made Me Do It! by R. Whitaker Power is a guiding force, one which attracts individuals to Black Magic. What confronts the dilletante -if they find a real school of Black Magic- is not a conception of vulgar power, but a refined understanding within which one develops the skills AND the power to control the influences which may directly affect his/her existence, the power to sense one's own relationship to those influences, and the balance necessary to create delicate changes -altering the swing of the pendulum- in one's favor. This is creative power -true individuality- and it is the most difficult of powers to obtain, and as such it comes with its' own responsibilities and dangers to oneself and others within your area of influence. To accomplish this, the Black Magician places himself in a position that opposes the natural order...opposes God. The powers of Darkness have always been aligned with the visions of individualism --and this IS power-- and the hallmark of the Prince of Darkness. God is the natural order and its laws are observable and complete. Mankinds very self consciousness is a rebellion against the nature of God, and it is this Self Consciousness -the essential nature of the Devil- which allows us to make a choice. To merge as one with God and nature, or to assume an individual Will and existence which will allows the opportunity to break free of God in order to accomplish Self Will -the Will of the balanced ego- or the will of god. The Devil -in one conceptual sense- represents to the Black Magician man's original genius and self consciousness. This realization itself will take you a long way to accomplishing your Will. To advanced Initiates the form of the Devil goes beyond this consideration and envelopes the Devil as an objective entity which altered the human animal's brain structure at a cellular level so that there existed -under proper circumstances- a potential for independent self consciousness. The path of the Black Brother is a far more difficult one to walk than that of the contemporary religions. There are a number of valid reasons for this. It is difficult to fight against the nature of god's will, i.e. the intrinsic inertia to not do. The Work involved is too difficult for most, it is easier to accept dogma and concepts based upon faith rather than objective evaluation. This is the natural order of things, and this is indicative of the essence of one's soul. There are few Satanic souls, but the opportunities for the choice -and let there be no misunderstanding, one must consciously decide upon the Dark Path- are being made more available. This BBS is one small proof of that as are numerous other factors existing in the contemporary social fabric. The choice is yours. The author of this article may be reached via E-mail on this BBS. User number is #1.