Etymology

The word magic comes to us from the Latin magicus and the Greek magikos which in turn came from the the Persian Magi or Magians which was applied to Zoroastrian astrologer priests.

The "k" in Magick was added by Aleister Crowley, a 20th century occultist, in order to differentiate from the word magic as applied to stage magic or prestidigitation which was quite popular at the time.

Definitions

According to Aleister Crowley, Magick is ''the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the Will.'' By this definition the act of boiling water, planting a seed and painting a wall are all magical acts. Many are not prepared to accept this and limit the definition of magic to those acts which bring about change in a way science cannot explain away.

But these definitions are not satisfactory if we consider divination to be magic, as the origin of the word magic certainly applied to divination more than anything else. There are many people today who do not consider divination, astral projection, dream work, energy work and similar activities to be magick, but there are just as many who do. After all, is not seeking out knowledge an act of Will as much as gaining material goods?

Types of Magick

There are four major ways in common practice for bringing about change in comformity with Will in ways that science cannot easily explain way. These are ritual magick, astral magick, environmental magick and evocative magick. Most magic-users combine all or some of these in their practices.

Ritual Magic(k)

Ritual Magick includes practices commonly known as ceremonial magick, spellcraft and sympathetic magic though all of these magical types do tend to overlap. The idea behind ritual magick is that the act of ritual causes the magick-user's attention and energy to be focused on the task at hand and then "raised" through the act of ritual and finally released into the Universe to bring about the desired change. Ritual magic is commonly practiced by people who combine their magical and religious practices, especially practitioners of various Witchcraft Traditions, including Wicca. This sort of magick is sometimes referred to as High Magick.

Not all ritual magicians are religious, however. For example, practitioners of Chaos Magic generally do not attach religion to their magical practice and many (but certainly not all) are Atheist.

Astral Magic(k)

When a practitioner goes into a trance state and leaves his or her body in order to seek out knowledge on the Astral Plane, to visit another location on the physical plane or to cause something to happen on the physical plane, this is called Astral Magic(k). Astral Magick is also used by many people who incorporate their magical practices with their religous practices.

Environmental Magic(k)

Environmental magic(k) refers to the energies inherent in all things. Certain stones, herbs, colors, and other objects, even animals, may be employed to bring their certain energetic flavors into magical working. Someone may, for example, carry a bloodstone on his person to help fight off infections. This sort of magic is often considered Low Magic or Folk Magic.

Many complicated magical systems use environmental magic. An Alchemist my combine certain stones, metals and herbs into a talisman or potion and a Kitchen Witch may take the natural properties of her ingredients into consideration when preparing a meal to bring about family harmony or stimulate desire in a potential lover. Feng Shui may be considered a form of environmental magic as well.

Environmental magic is often used in conjunction with other types of magic to enhance effects and help focus energy.

Evocative Magic(k)

Evocative magic involves enlisting the aid of spirit beings such as Gods, elemental spirits, djinn, demons, and ancestors to bring about the desired change. Sometimes these spirits are asked nicely and offered gifts in exchange for their help, but in some cases the spirits are bound, threatened and otherwise forced into helping the magic user, as in Goetia.

Many people who combine their religious and magical practices use evocative magic. Some would disagree that evocative magic is magic at all and define it instead as prayer. However, there are those who believe that evocation involves summoning archetypes that are part of your own psyche and therefore there's nothing religious involved.