But my friend's assertion was that there were some people in the occult who found the books dangerous, if people took it upon themselves to build upon whatever is in the books without knowing what they are doing.
And that's the key thing right there, really, those last few words. For someone who really had no clue what they were doing, the most likely result is absolutely nothing. To get any sort of result magically, one really has to have a basic idea of magical theory. It's highly unlikely for an unskilled, uneducated individual to accidentally manifest magical results of any sort, whether good or bad. However, there are exceptions to this which I'll address further on down in this post.
Shwebb said:
So, I guess here's another question--is there a dangerous side to the wiccan or pagan belief system? I always thought it was based on keeping a balance.
This is where it gets really interesting, and I'll probably have to cut myself off in a few paragraphs before this turns a dissertation.
Your question as related to Wicca and paganism can be answered in a couple of different ways, so I'll try to address them all. To clarify my answers, understand that I am (a) a pagan who follows a tradition based on but not limited to Celtic legend and mythology, (b) a member of a Wiccan coven whose magic is rooted in the worship of a goddess, and (c) someone who has some knowledge of ceremonial magic.
Which brings me to this: I can't really say there is danger in a belief system, but I could see some possible inherent dangers in certain magical activities. There are two different kinds of magic. The first is practical magic - this is what you normally are talking about when you're talking about neopaganism, many Wiccan paths, and all the spell books you see in the New Age section at B&N. Practical magic is magic that "makes stuff happen" -- manifesting prosperity, love spells, healing rituals, a working that causes one's ex-boyfriend to suffer from impotence. This is practical magic, and it's based in the natural world.
Anyone can learn practical magic. If it's performed by someone who doesnt' know what they're doing, the only real danger is that if things are not worded properly or their stated intent is outweighed by their subconscious desires, they may end up with a result they don't like. Another possibility (and one that's more common) is that nothing at all will happen and they'll decide magic doesn't work and they wash their hands of the whole thing rather than try to figure out where the spell went wrong.
The second kind of magic is high magic (also called goetic magic or ceremonial magic). This is a broad spectrum of magical practice, and involves much deeper occult theory and ritual. It includes communication with spirits, in some cases the invoking of entities, and even the manifestation and controlling of spirits, demons, or angels.
In high magic, a significant amount of study is involved, sometimes years of training before the mage even considered conjuring up something. Usually, when someone reaches the level of discipline necessary to perform goetic workings, they've also achieved the level of knowledge to keep themselves safe from whatever they manage to manifest. However, you occasionally run into people who are all "Oooh, I'm a ceremonial mage, I'm so spooky, I'm gonna conjure up [insert entity's name here]." And then when they get it, they don't know what to do with it or how to control it, and that can present a danger. This is usually a matter of arrogance and inpetuousness rather than a lack of education.
So to kind of answer your question -- no, I don't believe there's any inherent danger in Wiccan or pagan belief. However, I can see how there could be some dangers to an untrained or immature individual who decides they're going to start practicing ceremonial magic. The real danger lies, as in most things, with people who bite off far more than they're ready to chew.
Some time ago, Diana Hignutt started an excellent thread on magic, and for the life of me I can't remember where it went. There's a lot of discussion in there about ceremonial magic.