Lesser Magic is defined by the Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey as the following:
“wile and guile obtained through various devices and contrived situations, which when utilized, can create change in accordance with one’s will.”
Lesser Magic expanded then is the mind trick of telling people what wicked thing you are planning to do them in the future, before it actually happens for real. This accomplishes two things, firstly you have announced what you are going to do to the universe and thus have broken no metaphysical law. You have warned others, should they care to take note, and they have an option now to avoid what is coming, or to challenge it, or to simply let it happen. If it then transpires that they do not take any action to stop the act, it is not your fault as you gave plenty of warning, and you will receive no karmic punishment as a result.
Secondly the announcement lessens the impact of the real event on a victim, and when you actually perform what you have planned, they are somewhat numbed to it. This is especially potent if the announcement comes in the form of entertainment as the victim will remember positive feelings to attach to that experience. This is in opposition to the idea of a victim having something totally novel happen to them, in which case human psychology shows that they react with more anger, fear, and action.
Lesser Magic is also known by other terms such as predictive programming and the revelation of the method, but all serve the above goals of the perpetrator.
This thinking is principally used as a mechanism to “get away” with some wrong doing by not having anyone stand up to you, and it is often paired with the Hegelian dialectic which will chase a person from a harmless situation to a harmful one that you have contrived just by the perception given to them, and thus why it is considered a type of magic. It is perhaps also considered a type of warfare upon an opposing party, such that you want to win and avoid injury to yourself, and using Lesser Magic will hopefully avoid physical conflict altogether.
Largely this technique is used by someone in a perceived authority position and the words they may use are often like lawfare without any real substantiative legal basis, but merely by appearing to have status and control over a situation they convince. Put simply it is a con and a ploy to avoid getting ones own hands dirty. Lesser Magic is a trick to have your enemy fold without you having to lift a finger and it is very effective against an opponent who is weak minded and ignorant. However it has a flip side!
Lesser Magic can actually backfire for these purveyors of deceit. If the tactic is learnt by a victim, and if that person already distrusts authority, then not only can this mechanism of control not persuade the opponent to fold, it can embolden them to reveal your own scheming. If they are not phased by the initial presentation, then the opponent will not fall hook line and sinker for the bait offered, and thus the magic may fail.
The intended victim, now recognising that Lesser Magic is being used will maybe start an investigation into the person themselves, their position, their history, and the plan itself, and in doing so will gain knowledge as to what is going on and what any wider hidden objectives are. These are things that the magician does not want to be known. The aspect of universal law in revealing the plan openly can then be used against them, with the intended defeated individual becoming not only able to combat future attacks on this subject but also able to share the knowledge and arm others against the perpetrator and the group backing them.
For example if we have two people, A & B, entering into a Lesser Magic ritual. Person A writes a book about their plan and publishes it. Person A implements the plan by telling person B that something bad will happen if they they do not do as they are told. Person B recognises the shape of the setup and knows that the thing they are being told about is harmless, but the action they are told to take could indeed be hamful. So Person B does not comply.
Person A is aggrieved and makes threats and accusations, but Person B ignores these and begins to investigate person A and the organisation behind them. Person B learns of the nefarious nature of the organisation and Person A’s actions, so they share the writing that was used to absolve Person A of any universal punishment. Person B is then slandered and cancelled in an attempt to stop others listening to them, but it is already too late. Ultimately Person A and their group fail because the truth is more powerful than the lie and it doesn’t need to be hidden and defended by further outreach from authority and disinformation from supporters. It stands on it’s own for all to see the deception in the light of day.
The key to this is of course understanding this tactic in the first place, knowledge is indeed power, and ignorance in all cases is slavery. Lesser Magic is mind games and if one has control over the psychology of their human brain, then they will not fall for the lie being told. So there are indeed two sides to Lesser Magic and it is not the be all and end all of tactics that an aggressor can use, also it can be spotted as a technique and recognised in the future so there is every likelihood of once bitten, twice shy, being applicable here for any individual that suffers this approach.