White magic vs. Black Magic

Do you believe in magic, witches and charmers, Evil Eye or the Foretold One? In the traditional village, people believed that everything is the result of the fight between Good and Evil. A disease was considered an evil spirit, the objects could have powers to cure, to kill or to change the destiny. Even today, in some villages you can find an old woman who knows the incantation for cure the cancer (descântecul de rac) and in St. Andrew' s Night girls still can dream the future husband, after they eat a very salt bread.  

White magic, as a positive form, uses in the rituals objects considered pure or sacred,  counteracting generally the black magic effects. Normal practices have divination purposes (guess of future or fate), prophylactic (incantations for hex /the evil eye, disease) or try to relent nature and destiny, to assure the harvest).

The most important functions of the white magic are: the protective function (prevention or removal of hazards, diseases) and productive function (success in the event of creative or productive activities).

Black or dark magic, as a evil form, uses impure objects, focusing in symbolic manner the negative energies. The evil generated can take various forms: misfortune, diseases, reducing of harvest, theft of manna, death.

The main practices are: spell, charm, hex (by power of evil look) and curse (by the word and magic formula), directed either individual or community.

Although in black magic exists the erotic component, it is negative (chasing rivals into death, a magical binding of the lover against this will) and most often fatal.

Talismans and amulets are those objects with apotropaic functions, being endowed with a magical or sacral force, able to overcome evil, to prevent aggression of negative forces. 

Magic functions have a range of household objects (ax, scythe, knife, harrow, horseshoe, bell), sacred objects of the Christian religion (cross, holy water, incense, candles, icon), plants (hazel,  garlic, holy willow three, basil, wormwood), musical instruments (whistle/pipe, horn).

Aspect from the exhibition White Magic vs. Black Magic (2009 - Ethnographic and Folk Art Museum of Tulcea)