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Economics Is Magick

The Dark Work of Imposing One’s Will on Others

Mike Luoma
6 min readMay 17, 2020

Stage magic involves sleight-of-hand and misdirection — look over here, while I do this over there. Theirs is a game of theatricality in appearance as well — the Magician looks the part, in robes, or a stage costume, or — more likely these days — in leather and tattoos. Their magic is a Production, with a capital “P” — designed to impress, and create a perception of the impossible achieved, to create awe.

Photo by Joy Marino from Pexels

That is a Show.

That is not how real Magic — or, if you prefer, “Magick”, per Aleister Crowley — actually works.

But even Crowley and his followers were limited by the occult trappings and esoterica with which their fine de siècle frameworks burdened their interpretations. One need only do a quick image search on old Aleister to find him glaring at the camera in his pyramid hat and robes.

More recently, those identifying themselves as practitioners of Magic have divided — those fond of Ancient Ways, Old Rituals and Forms have become Wiccans, while others, believing the Practice needed to Transcend the Old Forms, call their stripped-down approach Chaos Magic.

And they’re both kind of cool. But?

That is not how real Magic is being worked on the world. Not how it has been worked for…

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Mike Luoma
Mike Luoma

Written by Mike Luoma

Author, Podcaster, Radio Host & Music Director, Explorer, Researcher, Science Fiction & Comic Book Creator. From Vermont.

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