Black Magic Disadvantages

From my experience, the rule of three does not exist. Karma does though. You will only suffer just as much and not three times more. Every action has and EQUAL and opposite reaction. As for avoiding it, nope. As a magician, your power comes from the universe and the universe is also what regulates karma. The one thing I will say is that there are times when black magic can be justified. If you have absolutely no choice and are cursing for protection, then that isn't considered evil.

As was stated, every action has an opposite reaction, this is physical and magickal law. Every action you do has consequence. But if you are performing magick that is either 1 invoking the law of three, therefore using it to right a wrong (basically causing karma to work through you instead of waiting around) or 2 if your intentions are of justice and are giving back to them an equal action to theirs. If someone doesn't deserve what you have placed on them, then you are in the wrong and karma will come after you to equal the score.

If someone was raped for instance, and the police have done nothing, a curse upon that person stripping them of the happiness they've stripped from you isn't deemed as wrong. It is an eye for an eye. Karma works in many ways, and it usually comes back from the reaction of the action. In that case the one raped would be the instrument of karma, and karma would do nothing further to the rapist because they have already received their punishment. This is the entire idea of magickal practicioners being one with the divine will within their craft. Flow with the natural ways of the world and you will be on the mark with the divine will. Flow outside of those natural ways and you'll be targetted by karma

For the record, the threefold law and karma are rather different.

The Threefold Law is the believe popularized by Wicca that what you do comes back to you threefold, good or ill. In other words, in most Wiccan belief if you do something good or bad it will come back to you in an amount times three.

Karma is the Hindu belief that your actions will determine the life to which you are born when you are reincarnated. For example if you are a terrible person you might come back homeless, broken, etc. Or you may be some awful variety of animal. If you are a good person, you may be elevated to a position where you have every advantage, or are a sacred animal of sorts (no, not a unicorn or a dragon, but a cow or something like that).

Back to the question at hand: the disadvantages of black magic are generally that in doing harm to another you tend to upset others. In most cases you will make your life more dramatic, stressful, and in some cases inspire retaliation. If you go around punching people in the face, eventually somebody stops you. This might mean a stern lecture. It might mean you get put in the hospital or worse. The repercussions of curses, hexes, and other intentionally harmful magic are generally the same but on a spiritual level.

Although karma can be viewed as folding over into our next life, most karmic beliefs are simply viewed as the laws of cause and effect. An action will have consequence, good or bad depending on its own nature. And it somewhat connects to the law of attraction if you study it. You attract and become what you give out. Various beliefs on karma span the entire East, so it is difficult to put a finger on exactly what "karma" is. But most understand the basic idea of it.

When it was brought to the west, it was mixed in with theories of Jung and the law of three. Nothing wrong with it. Its all just philosophies that melded together. It happens all the time when cultures mix and time goes by. The beliefs evolve.

I personally do not believe in the law of three, however I love the number three and all the symbolism surrounding it. Especially that of body mind and spirit. So when I invoke something 3 times over, I am using it to effect on a mental, physical and spiritual level (the whole of a person) and not that it be enhanced three times over. So when I discuss the "law of three" I have quite a lot of doubt that it is fair that someone reap three times more than they sow. Instead, I feel that it is significant to how it effects the individual.