Goetia: Black Magic or not?

Question

So I have been reading that there are these medieval texts such as the Lesser Key of Solomon and the Greater Key of Solomon that tell you how to summon "demons". Also, in certain books by Aliester Crowley he's got a pentagram ritual with the points inverted (upside down), which I understand is intended to be use for rituals involving the "underworld" (for lack of a better term). Since the other kind is for invoking Angels, Gods, and Godesses, the inverted kinds must be for evoking "demons", right?

On the other hand, I keep hearing people say there's no such thing as "Black" Magic. But wouldn't, ya know, demon summoning kinda count? I mean if there's anything that could be classified as "Black Magic" that would be it, right?

Answer 1

This is the truth accept it or not... For the is no such thing as black ot white magic for it is either just plain ole magic or it is not.. There are just to many people that have misused that word...well we are white witches that use our magic for good. while this person uses the same magic to heal someone but that is considered bad magic because who the are.. Now as far as I am concern Magic will always be magic no matter how it is used. I don't know why when Moses threw do his stick and a snake appeared and then the Egyptians threw down there stick 2 snakes appeared... Now Moses snake ate the other two snakes... Only tells me that God the creator of magic is greater then the magic of  men.......And then Moses was suppose to talk to a rock so that water would spring forth instead because he was angry he tap the rock with his staff and water still appeared and mose was punish for that error by never entering the promise land...... Now all that says to me is that all magic stems from the same place and how that magic is used stems from the imperfect human mind.................. .

Answer 2

Goetia is an ancient term that defined magic that involved the so-called summoning of entities to perform coercive, self-serving, or malicious kinds of magic (and sometimes protective magic) and of general practical magic that had to do with commanding and coercing (often times through rituals that summoned spirits or "demons" or daemons, which had  a different connotation than the Christian idea of "demon") to get one's way in the world.  Theurgic magic was more mystical and involved invocation of angels and gods and also tried to manipulate nature but in a different way than goetic magic did.  

Many ceremonial magicians will say that magic  is not "black" or "white"; it it is just energy in a universe that operates despite artifical human  ideas about morality or "good" and "evil."  Hence, they say it is "gray."  Coercive magic or magic in which the practitioner invokes infernal energies (the goetia)  is still considered "dark" or "black" (nox magica). It may or may not be "malicious" magic, though.  (For example the fluffy The Secret stuff is a form of coercive  and rather banal magic.) White magic (lux magica) is more mystical and meditative or altruistic.  

I practice Chaos magic. It is considered to be a "Black Art" because it deals with coercive magic but it can be applied either as Lux or Nox. The same is true of Thelema and medieval magic (that of Agrippa).