Mike Magee 7 December 1949 – 11 August 2024
Mike Magee, my friend, teacher, and publishing collaborator passed away in the early hours of 11 August 2024.
The Mike Magee I knew was kind and generous to his friends. Yet at the same time, he loved to wind people up, and frequently started arguments in online forums. He had a puckish sense of humour, and could be deliberately obtuse at times, particularly when dealing with correspondents who demanded complex answers to questions. He could, at times, be irreverent and outspoken. He was sometimes difficult to edit, and we argued good-naturedly over the veracity of sources. But at the same time, he pushed me to develop the necessary skills to cope with his demands. I am incredibly honoured and proud that he trusted me to publish his two books – Yakṣiṇī Magic and Kālī Magic – under my Twisted Trunk imprint.
Mike made no claims to being an authority or representing any particular tantric lineage. He was always humble, acknowledging his own shortcomings as a translator. In the introduction to an as yet unpublished work, ‘Lalita Magic’ Mike writes:
“I am aware there are some problems with my rendering of these texts, but hope that with their publication in this revised edition, that they will reach a wider audience and broaden the scope for others to dig up ancient treasures and make them better known to an already struggling humanity.”
Mike was active in the UK occult scene from the early 70s, editing zines such as Azoth, and SOTHiS. He was a member of Kenneth Grant’s Typhonian O.T.O – some of his memories, reflections, and irreverent stories of his friendship with Kenneth Grant can be read here.
Mike’s interest in the tantras also began in the 70s. In 1977 he met an Englishman – Lawrence Miles, who had become a white sadhu in India, taking the name of Shri Gurudev Mahendranath (1911-1992) a.k.a “Dadaji”. This meeting led to the formation of the “Arcane Magical Order of the Knights of Shambhala” (AMOOKOS) – a loosely-organized magical network that fused tantric and ‘western’ magical practices.
Mike was also known to many as a translator of rare tantric texts, especially during the years when the traditions were not yet the focus of scholarly attention. His website, Shivashakti mandalam was the first ever devoted to providing translations and summaries of Saiva tantras.
As if all this wasn’t enough for one life, Mike was a giant figure in the world of I.T. journalism. In 1994, he co-founded The Register, the U.K.’s first tabloid-style IT news website, with the masthead “Biting the hand that feeds IT.” Mike left the company in 2001 and founded The Inquirer as the sole editor, with all other content outsourced to freelancers. He left The Inquirer in 2008, founding TechEye in 2010, and joining Fudzilla as editor-at-large in 2016. In 2009, the Daily Telegraph listed Mike at #35 in their top 50 Britons who were influential in IT.
I can do no better than to recall the last day I spent with Mike (31 July). We spent about 10 mins discussing his next book-to-be -“Lalita Magic” (a collection of all his translations, digests, and observations regarding Sri Vidya and Tripurasundarī). We chatted about books, mutual friends, the garden, his coco-de-mer and the unusual Siva Nataraja in his bathroom. We spent the last hour or so regaling each other with I.T. stories (I’d worked in an IT support capacity for various companies). Mike told me that day that he felt very frail, he was, he said, virtually housebound, and could not even go into his garden as he kept falling down – “And not from drink” he added with a chuckle. The next day, I received a wetransfer from Mike with a 30mb document. It wouldn’t open, so our last exchange was a series of messages about file format issues. It took four tries, sending different file formats, until finally, gloriously, I beheld a 130,000 word document complete with footnotes and many, many Yantras. His last message to me: “OK, phew!”
