Tis an yll wynde that blowth no man to good, men say.” – English proverb

     “Times” have always been hard, and those hardest hit have always made a lot of talk about who’s to blame – specifically going so far as to paint them “evil”, naturally positing themselves as “good” by comparison. Without going into too great a detail about the American state of absolute blamelessness and unaccountability, I’d like to take the conversation in an entirely different direction.
     Poor people have always blamed their woes on the rich, and it’s pretty common to hear that all a person’s problems would be solved “if I had X amount of money”. This is why the lottery stays in business, because when a person finds themselves at a disadvantage because of a specific lack, in their mind the resource they lack becomes a magical cure-all for everything wrong with their life.
     Rich people have the same problem. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal stated that America’s wealthiest people wouldn’t actually consider themselves “rich” unless they had a net worth of at least $7.5 million. Most Americans wouldn’t even know what to do with that amount of money, at least from their current perspective.
     Which brings us around to the subject of today’s food for thought. The vast majority of what people have always labeled “evil” is almost entirely a matter of perspective. Events like the American Civil War and World War II have commonly become spun up into tales of Good’s epic quest to vanquish Evil, but that’s fairly common with revisionist history. It’s common knowledge that Operation Desert Storm was so that the American White Knight could liberate the poor beleaguered nation of Kuwait from the evil Iraqi invaders, but it’s also UNcommon knowledge that the White House had previously stated it had no resistance to Iraq reclaiming Kuwait (Kuwait had been part of Iraq until a British treaty declared them a sovereign emirate), much as the United States had offered no resistance to Nazi Germany reclaiming countries within the borders of Old Germany (the Holy Roman Empire in Europe). We conveniently forget the truth in favor of a lie which justifies our prejudices.

EVIL

     When we describe something as Evil, what are we actually saying? What IS Evil in our world? Naturally, the actual criteria which qualifies a person or event as Evil varies from person to person, but it tends to find its greatest utility of definition in the qualities where we find ourselves most disadvantaged. For the poor, Evil is rich people. For the rich, Evil is the government and legislation that forces them to pay the bulk of taxes in America. For the Pagan, Evil is the Christian religion that persecuted them since Christianity was brand new. For the Christian, Evil is the Islamic religion that seeks to replace them as God’s favorite son. For the Muslim, Evil is the Great Satan that constantly interferes in their internal affairs in the Middle East and around the world. For men, Evil is the woman who seduces and uses them, spending the man’s hard-earned money and leaving with half his stuff when he’s broke. For women, Evil is the man who breaks promises and uses them for sex, beating and raping the woman when she doesn’t behave.
     Evil is always the Other Guy. Evil is never us.
     So if Evil is such a subjective term, does it even have any use today? Probably not in its current form. However, if we examine the root characteristics of everything currently labeled “Evil”, we might be able to reclaim both the labels “Good” and “Evil” and actually use them productively, even though this requires accepting certain truths about ourselves which we might find uncomfortable. “Wizards of the Coast”, the company that owns and produces the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, offers a novelty online Alignment Test for those players who are uncertain as to which alignment their character would be, based on honest descriptions of their actions. Naturally, it’s a gaming aid and not some sort of moral pronouncement judging a person’s soul, but it’s the kind of honest introspection a practical magic-using person should engage in periodically.
     Now, I’m hardly one to sit here preaching to people that they should “be good for goodness’ sake”, but I strongly recommend against defying one’s inmost nature. The point is that we all have our moments. We’d all like to think of ourselves as “good” people, with a vast preponderance of good actions outweighing anything bad we do. And the few things we do which we actually consider “bad”, we have plenty of justification for. So does everyone else.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SELFISH

     Basically, it comes down to self-interest. Everything we do, we do for an apparent “good”, for some overall purpose which is of benefit to ourselves and our interests. Even the most altruistic gestures are often done just to boost a person’s self-esteem, so they can think of themselves as a “good person”. Maybe it’s not that obvious, though. Each and every one of us was raised with a more or less well-defined code of conduct, and when we follow that code of conduct we feel “right”. When we deviate from it, for whatever reason, we feel “wrong” and when we feel “wrong” we have to find some way to ameliorate our guilt.
     Since nearly everything we do is motivated by some degree of self-interest, this process of amelioration is usually pretty cut-and-dried. Kenny robbed that convenience store because he lost his job and needed money to meet his financial obligations. Colleen cheated on her husband because she found out her engagement ring was cubic zirconia, and she felt he didn’t value her love as much as he’d led her to believe. James was violent and abusive toward his live-in girlfriend’s children because they made him feel as if her ex-husband was somehow invading James’ home.
     We all have reasons for the things we do, both good and bad. However, while we generally accept the reasoning behind our own actions, we seldom feel satisfied accepting the reasoning behind the actions of others. Oh, Kenny *says* he robbed that store so he could pay his rent, but I bet him mom really pays his rent and he just wanted to party and buy drugs, or he probably owed money to someone who wanted it back right away. Everyone knows James is just a jerk who drinks too much, and Colleen’s just a whore. THAT’S the motivation we assign to their actions.
     Why?
     We find their actions unpleasant to think about, or even repugnant, and we’re uncomfortable with the possibility that they might have had justified or even compelling reasons for doing what they did. We seldom look at the circumstances of a person doing something horrific, and accept that we ourselves might have done the same thing. This is why the bad guys in movies always commit crimes out of “pure” evil, simple greed or just because they’re insane. Are we more comfortable with “flat” characters, because we don’t like the idea of “bad” people being just like us? Would that mean that, in the right circumstances, we ourselves would become “bad” people with no regrets?

THREE SIDES TO EVERY STORY

     We’ve all been there – a couple we know has a particularly nasty breakup and we spend the next few weeks listening to their tale of woe. It’s not often that we get to hear both sides of the story, though. They say there are two sides to every story, but there are actually three. There’s his side, her side, and the truth. This is not to say that they’re automatically lying about what happened, but they’re viewing it from their own personal perspective, running each event and grievance through the filter of what does and doesn’t benefit them personally. All too often, molehills turn into mountains and the emotional reactions snowball into a crisis over nothing.
     Likewise with “Evil”. We, all of us, every single human being throughout history, has done what they did because it seemed like the best option available at the time. That’s their side. As an outsider not party to that perspective, however, we often take the liberty of assigning to the action whatever motive best suits our personal agenda. That’s our side. The TRUTH is often very different from either party’s perspective.
     Nobody likes to be put at a disadvantage, or have something taken from them, so when power or materials shift from the control of one party to the control of another, there’s blame involved. Maybe your landlord raised your rent a significant amount, and it’s automatically assumed to have been done out of greed. Naturally, the landlord doesn’t think so or he wouldn’t have risked losing your tenancy over it. The TRUTH might be very different though, and maybe the rent increase was absolutely necessary to cover some new expense or make vital repairs to the building, without which there would be a steady decrease in habitability. It may be difficult to accept, but a great deal of what we label as “Evil” is completely justifiable by our own standards, even if it hurts.

EVIL MAGIC?

     I’ve heard a lot of very large talk about “Evil Magic” and the “Threefold Law” in my time, and there always seems to be a lot of freedom to assign blame or wicked motivation to specific individuals, or entire traditions. The British press denounced Aleister Crowley as “The Wickedest Man in the World”, and that assessment lingers today, due in no small part to Crowley’s love of perpetuating the controversy.  Other traditions also take delight in attaching that assessment to the various traditions Crowley was associated with.
     So what is the personal benefit in this behavior? It provides personal comfort to be able to point at the practitioners of another magic-using tradition and say “Look there. THOSE are the evil ones, not us.” If there is any doubt about this, try asking a Wiccan if they sacrifice animals. Instantly comes the conditioned response about Satanism, and how “THAT isn’t US. Look over THERE.”
     And why is this behavior even necessary? Because of still other traditions whose religious dogma teaches that all magic-using traditions are automatically “Evil”. Their various holy books instruct them to persecute all practice of the magical arts, to harass, convert or even execute magic-using people. Then again, their spiritual paradigm rests on the idea that there is eternal punishment for not participating, and in their reality even the Witch Hunts of 1666 were not only justified as a holy commandment, but of great spiritual benefit to its victims because it “saved” them from their “sins”.

CONCLUSION

     So … what do we do now? What do we do with what we learned? Did we even learn anything? Probably not. People love their prejudices, because they make us feel comfortable with ourselves. Are you Evil? Maybe. Is that wrong? Probably not.
     We all have to be true to our own natures. Some people are very ambitious and focused on personal gain and the advancement of their own agendas. If you are one of these people, accept that about yourself and move on. Some people are similarly ambitious and focused on distributing the rewards of their efforts to those less ambitious than themselves. Some would say these people are different from the first group, but that would be wrong. Both types of people are simply fulfilling their personal agendas. No matter what the fruits of their labor, good or bad, helping or hurting, THEY personally benefit.
     So what’s Evil? Is it about being selfish to the point of entirely disregarding the effect on others? Or is it simply being practical? They say it takes all kinds of people to make a world, and there’s no reason that shouldn’t apply to the magical community as well.
     So live your life unrestricted. Live your life in Truth. Keep your heart unencumbered by moral judgments, your own and those of others. Indulge yourself and really push your Will into the world. Do not concern yourself with the benefits others reap from your efforts, only your own. You’ll be given a variety of labels for this, but success is all the proof you need. People will say you’re evil. To hell with them. Others will say you’re good. To hell with them too.