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.
My interest in and study of magic is one of the longest such interests over my lifetime. Childhood interest is common to most people, but my own interest in the supernatural and fantastic never left me. During later adolescence it manifested publicly with science fiction and horror movies, but in private I read voraciously in occult studies, reading and re-reading every book I could find on the subject. This continued through every college I attended, where the library was a regular haunt and the study carrel nearest the occult section the one I claimed. My status as a “believer” in magic was always in question, even when I began formal study and practice in a particular tradition. During my formal training as a magician, I found that I did not generally enjoy the company of other magicians and occultists. Most of them are phonies and the few authentic ones usually too dogmatic for my tastes. I’m solitary and opposed to group-thinking by nature, so this led me to be somewhat like the classic occultist: alone in a room surrounded by old books of strange lore, both skeptic and a believer, an obscure middle-aged sage with bloodshot eyes and a tendency toward archaic speech (as the result of reading medieval manuscripts and anything written by Aleister Crowley). I’m almost always reading a book about magic, studying some strange grimoire, or analytically studying a school or form of magical practice.
My academic training is also more than adequate to the task. While I do not possess any post-graduate degrees, my decades as an undergraduate have provided me with coursework comparable to some first-year master’s programs, and my research skills surpass those of most graduate students (a fact I can state comfortably since students and professors have paid me to do research for them and praised my results). I continue to pursue the occasional college coursework, as always failing to focus in any particular area of study (which is why I don’t have any of those degrees, you know).
Finally, as there are no doubt shortcomings in my abilities, my purpose in beginning and maintaining this project is that the community of magicians and occultists out there might “keep me honest,” guiding my research and development with their criticisms and input. This is a considerable task, but one I feel both necessary and possible.
My interest in and study of magic is one of the longest such interests over my lifetime. Childhood interest is common to most people, but my own interest in the supernatural and fantastic never left me. During later adolescence it manifested publicly with science fiction and horror movies, but in private I read voraciously in occult studies, reading and re-reading every book I could find on the subject. This continued through every college I attended, where the library was a regular haunt and the study carrel nearest the occult section the one I claimed. My status as a “believer” in magic was always in question, even when I began formal study and practice in a particular tradition. During my formal training as a magician, I found that I did not generally enjoy the company of other magicians and occultists. Most of them are phonies and the few authentic ones usually too dogmatic for my tastes. I’m solitary and opposed to group-thinking by nature, so this led me to be somewhat like the classic occultist: alone in a room surrounded by old books of strange lore, both skeptic and a believer, an obscure middle-aged sage with bloodshot eyes and a tendency toward archaic speech (as the result of reading medieval manuscripts and anything written by Aleister Crowley). I’m almost always reading a book about magic, studying some strange grimoire, or analytically studying a school or form of magical practice.
My academic training is also more than adequate to the task. While I do not possess any post-graduate degrees, my decades as an undergraduate have provided me with coursework comparable to some first-year master’s programs, and my research skills surpass those of most graduate students (a fact I can state comfortably since students and professors have paid me to do research for them and praised my results). I continue to pursue the occasional college coursework, as always failing to focus in any particular area of study (which is why I don’t have any of those degrees, you know).
Finally, as there are no doubt shortcomings in my abilities, my purpose in beginning and maintaining this project is that the community of magicians and occultists out there might “keep me honest,” guiding my research and development with their criticisms and input. This is a considerable task, but one I feel both necessary and possible.
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