American Magic

America is a land of magic. No, no, not the David Copperfield sort of stage show. I mean the real thing; magick, as the occultists call it.

Let's be clear about the definition of magick. I am not talking about the conjuring of demons and elementals to do your bidding. Are such things possible? Probably, but that is just an extreme form. I am not talking about the dark dementia old Crowley and his ilk. Magick is simply changing the fabric of space-time, to suit your own purpose, by the strength of your will. That sounds fancy, but it isn't. Say I am hungry and their is ham and bread available. I will myself to go to the refrigerator and rearrange the fabric of the universe, which contains ham and bread, into a sandwich, which I will myself to take to the table and eat. I have worked an act of magick and there is so much going on in the brain and body when I do so that it really is magickal.

Think of all our technology. Sci-fi great, Arthur C. Clark said that any sufficiently advanced technology will seem magical to those who do not possess it. Cars, TVs, even vacuum cleaners would be astounding to the great Pharaohs of Egypt, and, again when you study the physics behind these devices, you realize that they are magick.

But, the greatest magickal act in American history was worked by an odd little fellow named Harry Smith. Smith was a beatnik, for want of a better term, and sort of a proto-hippy. He made fascinating experimental films and to this day, the importance of this broke down, alcoholic, pot smoking amphetamine addict is vastly overlooked.

Smith collected old 78 records, what were then called hillbilly and race records, blues, folk, gospel music. He, at the urging of a record producer, collected them into one package, and released The Anthology of American Folk Music. However, he packaged them in an interesting way. He grouped them by type and assigned each type one of the 4 basic elements of Classical and Alchemical thought.

Years later he explained his reason. He said that he was out to create a Magickal Working that would change America. He succeeded. His collection became almost a Bible for the late 50s=early 60s folk music revival. Out of that came Bob Dylan, perhaps our greatest songwriter, ever, and he has acknowledged his debt to Smith. Not only that, many of the 60s generation rock and blues greats learned their craft and found their inspiration from his efforts. Jerry Garcia and his lyricist Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead were huge fans. You can hear his influence in artists as diverse as Springsteen, David Crosby, and Joan Baez, among countless others. Even artists who have never heard the collection have been strongly influence by those who devoured it.

But, as is often the case, the magick went deeper. The songs Smith chose are reminders of an America that many had overlooked, sometimes quite intentionally. In his songs you hear tales of the strangeness that contributed to our greatness. The world of tent show preachers and voodoo healers, of outlaws and con men, of jealous lovers and gambling men, of low down women and weird mystic ramblers, is opened in his collection. There is a refusal by the old, weird folks who, just as much as the straight-laced, narrow minded businessmen, built this country; a refusal to just disappear in a corner, to just dry up and go away and stop embarrassing the regular folks. Thank God there is that refusal because, without the strangeness, even when it becomes unbearably sad or unspeakably violent, we would be terminally boring.

I guess everyone has some strange relative, an uncle, perhaps, who shows up at the family get- togethers and gets drunk and rambles on with old, tall tales and generally causes a scene. Well, think of Harry as that uncle and his collection as the pint of liquor the old guy sneaks in to liven things up. My Lord, wouldn't life be a bore without characters like that.

The Anthology of American Folk Music may be the greatest work of magick in the history of this strange old world. And just think, the work of a cranky, half-crazy lunatic changed the Nation.