The Relationship Between Magic and Music
Throughout my life, I’ve often heard the conspiracy theory that some musicians “sell their soul to the devil” and deliver his messages through their music. People claim that beats put listeners into a trance or that lyrics contain hidden messages. Although I’ve never believed these ideas, I became curious about the origins of these beliefs and their impact on music today, so I decided to take a deeper look into the connection between occult practices and music.
In A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and the Occult, the relationship between music and magic is described as “complementary art forms, each inspiring the other.” At first, this struck me as odd—I could see how music might inspire magical rituals, but I found it harder to understand how magic could inspire music. As I read further, however, I saw examples of how mysticism influenced certain pop songs, especially during the rise of New Age spirituality. David Bowie’s Quicksand and Ozzy Osbourne’s Mr. Crowley stood out, as both songs were inspired by the infamous Aleister Crowley, once dubbed “the wickedest man in the world.”
Interestingly, rock fans and musicians viewed Crowley not as wicked, but as a visionary who anticipated the rebellious spirit of future generations. Crowley’s influence appears not only in Bowie and Osbourne’s music, but also in The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover and is believed to have shaped The Rolling Stones’ work as well (Medium). It seems that drugs and the cultural environment of the 70s and 80s played a large role in magic’s presence in rock, as Crowley’s occult beliefs aligned with the anti-establishment, rebellious nature of rock and roll at the time.
This got me thinking—while I can see how rock bands of the past engaged with occult imagery, is the same true of today’s artists? One example that immediately came to mind is Lil Nas X’s Montero (Call Me By Your Name) music video. The video, which sparked controversy, involved shoes supposedly filled with human blood and marked with “666.” Many people, particularly conservatives, claimed that the song and video were promoting Satanism (Vox). In response, Lil Nas X made a mock apology and joked about releasing “Chick-Fil-A shoes” to poke fun at the backlash. The outrage surrounding the video mirrored the “Satanic Panic” of previous decades, although this time it felt like more of a cultural statement on society’s perceptions of sexuality and rebellion.
There are certainly more examples of music that stirs up similar debates, especially as the nation’s political climate remains polarized, with one side more closely tied to Christian values and the other appearing indifferent to occult symbols. However, I do think the connection between occultism and music seems to be less pronounced today than it was during the height of the 70s and 80s “Satanic Panic.” As I continue exploring this topic, I’ll be diving deeper into social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube for more modern examples, but for now, I’m fascinated by the history of magic and music and how they’ve intertwined through the years.
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Great blog on music and magic, thanks. I appreciate the research you did. There are simply tons of songs referencing magic and witches, and tracing it back to the 60s with the Sgt. Peppers cover and Crowley is insightful. When he died, Crowley was impoverished and mostly forgotten, as his greatest notoriety was during the early decades of the 20th century. But he was certainly resurrected by the rebellious 60s. Since then there's been a constant stream of references. And the 60s also launched multiple explorations of new belief systems, such as Wicca. Suddenly witches were everywhere. I look forward to your blog explorations.
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