Witches Cupboard Blog
new age & spiritual guidance

As you research and study witchcraft, you may find yourself questioning which term is accurate, magic or magick, and why? If you attempt to find the answer you will discover a couple of things.

1. Some people get very very upset if you use the term “magick.” They may even believe it used by those who are simply perverting or cheapening the term “magic.”
2. Some people believe the term was coined by Aleister Crowley.
3. Some people believe the word “magick” to be a new age term or modern slang.

So what is the true origin of the word “magick,” and how does it differ (if at all) from “magic?”

For clarity, I assume the modern understanding of magic takes on four general forms.

1. Illusionary magic, also know as stage magic.
2. A paranormal or unexplained occurrence or a superstition.
3. The manipulation of natural energies to ones will.
4. Fantasy, such as that portrayed on TV or in movies.

The definition and reality of these four types of magic are beyond the scope of this article as I want to focus on how “magic” relates to “magick.” However, I intend to tackle the subject in a subsequent article.

Is it true that magick is a new term, possible coined by Crowley as many believe? Is it just new age slang?

Absolutely not. The word magic comes from Middle English magike, which may have come from the Greek magikos and/or Latin magicus. At some point, the term magick was used in place of “magike,” likely before “magic” was in use. Evidence of this can be found in the Universal Etymological English Dictionary, published in 1731. A copy of this is available for free download from the Google Books service.

As you can see, the term is a valid form of the word magic, and in fact predates the use of the word magic itself. Therefore it should be a perfectly accepted term in modern times shouldn’t it? But is it really since our word magic evolved from magick, making the use of magick outdated? And we must also consider the current usage of the word magick. In my experience, the word magick is (currently) only used to describe the kind of magic that involves the natural manipulation of energies to serve the will of yourself or others, and occasionally (though rarely) to refer to magic portrayed on TV and movies, not to describe all kinds of magic. In essence, the word has taken on a more specific meaning that it originally had, so I guess in that way it has become a slang of sorts.

In summary, the word magick is an antiquated word that has made a comeback. It is no longer used to describe illusionary magic, instead it currently pertains to the kind of magic practiced by Witches, Shamans and the like. I personally support the use of the word magick to distinguish the practice of manipulating energies from the practice of creating illusions, but using either term to describe your own practice is a matter of choice.

~Anyanka

Browse magick, occult and witchcraft books (including ones concerning Aleister Crowley) for study aides!