I�ve seen people be called stupid, fluffy, and ignorant as a result of their usage of this one word. If anything, I think it is those who do the name calling who are the stupid ones as they start having a go without listening to that person�s reason behind their choice of spelling. So what exactly is their reason behind this choice?
The most common response to this question would be that is separates real magick from that of stage magic, which I can understand. Yeah, ok, it�s a fair enough reason. But even so, the nit-pickers still argue that this reason isn�t good enough and there�s no point in changing it, making it sound �special�.
I feel that there was a deeper meaning to this difference than just definitions. Most people know that Aleister Crowley was the original cause of magic being spelt with a "k", but not all know exactly why. I think that this is the main reason people dismiss it as some attempt to glamorise magick or an unnecessary method of keeping it separate from stage magic. The reason I am speaking of is of course that of the word�s numerological value.
Numerology doesn�t play a large part in Witchcraft or Wicca, but it does have significance in Ceremonial Magick. So if we were to apply this strictly, only Ceremonialists should really use the word �magick�, and others only need to use �magic�. I don�t speak for all of course, there are those Witches, etc. (like me) who use numerology sometimes and know the significance behind the different spelling. I don�t see any problem with that. I think that as long as you know the proper reason for why you spell it �magick�, then you can use it as much as you want. The real reason people get so uptight about different spellings is mainly when people take it ridiculously far, or just use it to sound cool. As for the wild spellings of magick, well Crowley certainly didn't use "majick", "majic", "magik", "magique", "majik" or "magickian". He also pronounced it magi-ick to draw attention to the word's derivation, i.e. the Magi.
For more information on the numerological reason for the k in magick, go HERE.
Almost everyone in the mystical community seems to have picked up the habit of spelling it �magick�. Actually, Wiccans (if they were sticking to Gardner�s way of things) have no real need to use the extra �k� as he always spelt it as �magic�. Any Wiccans who ever complain about people not spelling magic with a �k� are probably blissfully unaware of this little fact, so feel free to inform them that they are being silly, lol. Technically you could always use �magic� as opposed to �magick� in order to differentiate Witchcraft from Ceremonial Magick. And by the way, the only reason I use �magick� on this site is because of a) habit, b) I know the real reason behind the spelling, and c) it means you find the right kind of magic when searching for me on Google, lol.
Another issue which I recently discussed on a forum, was the subject on the original spelling of magick, through history. In my research I found this:
"Middle English magik, from Old French magique, from Late Latin magica, from Latin magice, from Greek magike, from feminine of magikos, of the Magi, magical, from magos, magician, magus."
So really it's not that easy to determine which is the original spelling as there have been so many variations on the word throughout language history. Looking at this quote, I'd say it would most likely be "magic" from "magus, magi". The subject is still open to debate though.
Phoenix
