â˝âžWhy We Donât Use Magic with a Kâžâ˝
The version of the word has been popularized by a terrible racist, and if that is a good enough reason for you not to want to use it then feel free to stop here. However if you're interested in learning more about the wider context, here is a short history.
Agrippa is cited as being the author of the first occult book where magic is spelled with a k at the end. There is a 1600s translation where someone used that specific spelling, and there is no denying that it is technically used. However, those that point to this in order to justify its use now seem like they just don't want to change. When the document had been written, English had not been codified, and many other spellings of magic (magik, magyk, magique) are also floating around during this time. These do not nearly get the same defense.
The word would not return to the occult community for nearly four hundred years between the book's English translation and the popularization of magic[k].
Aleister CrowleyÂ
The real meat and potatoes of why we don't use the word magic[k], is that it was popularized by a man by the name of Aleister Crowley.
The quotes from Crowley that demonstrate his character are actually so terrible that for common decency, and the safety of my account, I'm not quoting them here. They are not too terribly hard to find, and you'll hardly find a soul denying they exist.
He wanted to differentiate from stage magic (elaborated on more below). However, even at the time no one was having trouble telling the difference [see generally: historians at the time, anthropologists, and other practitioners], so Crowley justified it in other ways. In his mind he wanted magic to have six letters. He liked hexagrams a lot. The number six was significant for him. Thus, giving magic six letters was his mark on the word itself.
He left a nearly irreparable scar on modern occultism both being the progenitor to things like Wicca, and the writer of his own system based on the teachings of the Golden Dawn, Thelema. Not only are a lot of these systems often more than dipping their toes in, but prone to soaking their whole feet in appropriation and bigotry if the practitioner isn't careful, they were often based on the writings of a lot of people who were wholesale racists/ antisemites. The work that goes into removing the bigotry from these systems, and occultism/ modern practice at large, is often substantial, and this is a step we've chosen to continue doing so. Namely, by removing Crowley's personal influence where we can.
There is an argument that magic[k] as a spelling is necessary to differentiate from stage magic. (Or in some cases differentiate between witchcraft and Magic the Gathering.) I've personally seen this argument a lot, but have not personally encountered a situation where it was necessary. There are far too many, in my mind anyway, easy swaps (witchcraft, energy work, etc.). There has also been no evidence I've found of this ever being the true intentions of the word's use. Especially since if that were the case, they probably should've also changed the objectively more confusing turn of calling themselves "magicians", or of the word "magical".
Coming back around to why we don't use it today, we find the reasons above to be compelling, and beyond that we strive for above and beyond sourcing, care, and respect for our minority members. If we can push magic in a direction that has more easily accessible information and less of the past's notions that are often founded in bigotry, we are going to. More often than not, that means trying to remove Crowleyâs mark on everything.
While some might seek to reclaim it, we've chosen to let it fade.
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