What Defines Dark Magic?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 53529

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "psychodudeneo"
<psychomaverick at h...> wrote:

> I was just thinking.  Dark Magic is always hailed as being evil and 
> wrong.  However, who decides what is Dark and what isn't?  
> ...edited... There are only three curses we know of that are 
> defined as Dark Magic (the Unforgivable).  The rest seem perfectly 
> accepted in everyday use.
> 
> Can Dark Magics be used for good?  Or is it inherently evil? 
> ...edited...
> 
>  ...edited...
> 
> Durmstrang has a stigma about teaching it's students Dark Magic.
> Are they wrong to do this, or are they just letting the young 
> wizards see more options?
> - Psy

bboy_mn:

Go back about a month (Feb 18) and look for the thread titled - " Re:
Dark Magic and Evil (WAS: Grindelwald and evil)". This will lead you
to a very good discussion on the very issues you raised.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/52478

Here is a link to one of my opinions that will take you right to the
middle of that thread, and you can move up and down the thread to read
other peoples thoughts.

Summarize:
Light (as in not Dark) curses (and other magic) can be used for evil,
and Dark curses could be used for a good purpose, but there will
always be something negative, some destructive element involved in
it's creation of Dark Magic. The 'Darkness' doesn't come from the use
of the magic, it comes from the inherently distructive nature of the
creation of the magic. For example, the use of blood, especially the
blood of a person, are frequently associated with Dark Magic.

We also discovered that there is very little magic in the books that
is specifically designated as Dark.

Side Note:
The three unforgivable curses are not necessarily Dark Magic, without
a doubt it is evil magic, but not necessarily Dark.

I won't go into everything in detail here, go back to the thread I
pointed out and if you still have questions or comments, we will all
be more than willing to jump back into the fray again.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn