A Black Mass is a ceremony celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms, and the modern form is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous parody of a Catholic Mass.
In the 19th century the Black Mass became popularized in French literature, in books such as Satanism and Witchcraft, by Jules Michelet, and Là-bas, by Joris-Karl Huysmans.
Black magic (Middle English: nigromancy), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes.
The links and interaction between black magic and religion are many and varied. Beyond black magic's historical persecution by Christianity and its inquisitions, there are links between religious and black magic rituals. For example, 17th-century priest Étienne Guibourg is said to have performed a series of Black Mass rituals with alleged witch Catherine Monvoisin for Madame de Montespan. During his period of scholarship, A. E. Waite provided a comprehensive account of black magic practices, rituals and traditions in The Book of Ceremonial Magic (1911).
View the full Wikipedia page for Black magicThe Abbé Étienne Guibourg (c. 1610 – January 1686) was a French Roman Catholic abbé and occultist who was involved in the affaire des poisons, during the reign of Louis XIV. He has been variously described as a "defrocked" or "renegade" priest, and is said to have also had a good knowledge of chemistry. He is best known for performing a series of Black Mass rituals with Catherine Monvoisin for Madame de Montespan.
View the full Wikipedia page for Étienne Guibourg