Some Principle Considerations: The Use of the Word "American"

Formally, the term “American” refers to the land mass comprised of the two continents, North and South America, including the islands of the Caribbean. It is this general area people speak of when they say (inaccurately), “Columbus discovered America.” In general usage, the term “American” refers specifically to the United States of America. Many express problems with such a usage of the word. While I’ve heard Canadians (but never Mexicans or South Americans) object in principle to this exclusive usage, they however do not (for a number of reasons) travel about the world calling themselves “Americans.” When someone says “American music,” they clearly mean music from the United States; when people speak of “American foreign policy,” they aren’t thinking about Canada or Mexico.

Some Principle Considerations: Magic or Magick?

The field of magic is a contentious one, rife with forceful personalities who maintain strongly held opinions and sometimes claim access to secret or hidden knowledge. It is a field characterized by numerous debates over esoteric minutiae, many of them pointless and reductive to the point of absurdity. Theories and facts may contradict, and even historic sources will differ wildly at times. When entering into a formal attempt to analyze or study something within this field, it is best to get a few things out of the way, lest you become bogged down in one of these arguments and lost in a wilderness of mirrors.

Magic or Magick?

Aleister Crowley popularized the use of “magick” to differentiate ceremonial magery from the more popular and recognized fakery of stage magic. This term has become the standard usage among most magicians, as such alternative spellings are seen to free one from the burdens associated with traditional spellings and create a separation between the illusory effects of the stage magician and the real effects produced by an occult magician.

An Ambitious Project

More than one person, when told of my idea to write The History and Practice of American Magic, has remarked that it is an “ambitious undertaking,” a few attempting to discourage me but most intrigued and encouraging. It is an ambitious undertaking, but one for which I am adequately prepared. Not only do I have a lifelong amateur interest and study of magic, but over a decade in university studies has more than prepared me for the level of research and writing necessary for such a project.