Black Mass
Encyclopedia Britannica:
In the Roman Catholic Church, a requiem during which the celebrant wears black vestment. The term is more commonly used however for a blasphemous and usually obscene burlesque of the true mass performed by satanic cults. The naked back of a woman often serves as an altar, and a validly consecrated host is generally used to intensify the mockery. The rite commonly incorporates other elements of satanic magic such as philtres or abortifacients.
The term black mass was first used in English in 1896. There is little evidence that a true black mass was ever celebrated earlier than the late 17th century. Prior to this period, sorcerers occasionally used the ritual forms of the church for their own proposes to accomplish desired goals by their magic. When the proposes were evil, the ritual practices sometimes involved the perversion and defilement of catholic religious practices. However, the black mass as a celebration of homage to satan, or the antichirst, is a relatively modern activity. It was performed in the French royal court and probably in England by members of the Hell-Fire Club. Possibly, it was also done in the Russian royal court.
Although the black mass is associated with witches and witchcraft, it does not play a distinct part in witchcraft history. During the middle ages and in the midst of the witch hunt mania, witches were accused of participating in these ceremonies. It is doubtful if any, perhaps a few, witches ever participated in the celebrations. The black mass was more of a ceremony that attracted the more wealthy and educated dissenters of the church. The black mass had no association with modern witchcraft because most neo-pagan witches do not believe in the devil or worshipping him.
There is no set black mass ritual, rather the ceremony is a parody on the holy catholic mass. One ritual is that it is performed completely, or in parts backwards. The mass may include inverting the cross, spiting and stepping on the cross. stabbing the host, and other obscenities. Black candles were used instead of white ones. A defrocked generally performed the black mass wearing vestments of black or the color of dried blood.
The magical significance of the black mass rests in the belief that the holy mass involves the miracle of the subtantation, that is the magical or mystical changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. If the priest can affect this miracle within the holy mass, then it is reasoned the priest or magician could effect similar magic in other masses for other, usually harmful purposes. The Catholic church condemned priests who attempted to subvert the holy mass for evil purposes, such as cursing a person, to death as early as the 7th centaury.
One famous form of the black mass is the Mass of Saint-Secaire, which is said to have originated in the middle ages in Gascony. The origins of the current known versions of the black mass date back to the 14th century in France.
The peak for the black mass was reached in the 17th century during the reign of Louis XIV, who was accused of being lenient toward witches and sorcerers. It was the time when the black mass was extremely popular among the nobility who thought its performance was exotic. Also, this was a time when the church was becoming more stringent. The nobility still enjoyed indulging in the pleasures of life, which they considered sex still to be one of them. The black mass was a form of protest.
Sources:
http://members.tripod.com~Coronzon/blackmas.html
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/b/black_mass_the.html
