Spelling "Magick" with a K

I first issued this call to the online world on 6/25/2007. It bears repeating, especially with some of the results that have been showing up in the Newsreel under "Magick."

There has been a lot of discussion in the esoteric community over Aleister Crowley's spelling of "Magick" with a K. Some find reverting to the Elizabethan spelling of the word pretentious, while others contend that it draws a useful distinction between the spiritual arts and sleight-of-hand. As a Thelemite and student of Crowley's work I prefer the K spelling, but it was not until I started compiling articles for my blog that I discovered how useful the trailing K really is.

Two words: Google News.

Try it sometime. Go to Google News and do a search for "magic." These days, the Elizabethan spelling is not so much about distinguishing "the Science of the Magi from its counterfeits" but about distinguishing it from sports reporting, book and movie reviews, and bad metaphors. A search for "magick" yields a more relevant result set. The only real wrinkle there is the handful of musicians who use "magick" in their album titles, but to be fair most of them are interested in Crowley and their music could be relevant in for some searches.

I hereby issue a call to bloggers and journalists everywhere - spell "Magick" with a K when you're talking about occultism, even if you think it's pretentious. Web searchers, myself included, will thank you.