Mike182
Flaming Queer
Chaos Magic was mentioned in the last gathering of the Pagan Society at my uni, so i thought i would do a wiki on it 
Chaos magic is a form of magic with which practitioners claim they can shape reality. Although there are a few techniques, such as some forms of sigil magic, associated uniquely with chaos magic, practitioners borrow liberally from other belief systems, so chaos magic acts as a metabelief. Some common sources and techniques include ceremonial magic, chaos theory, science fiction, OBEs, and divination. Chaos magic is not necessarily syncretic. That is to say, practitioners do not try to fit together these different ideas so that they make sense. Rather, they temporarily assume the truth of parts of particular systems in order to accomplish their goals. Although chaos magicians differ widely, they often sympathize with the psychonaut counterculture (Terence McKenna and Robert Anton Wilson are particularly influential) and chaotic aspects of particular religions (including Taoism and Discordianism), and a number of chaos magic techniques rely on humor and the absurd.
Pre-History
Austin Osman Spare was initially involved with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn tradition[citation needed], and its offshoots such as the O.T.O and Aleister Crowley's Argenteum Astrum [citation needed]but later broke with them to work independently. He would develop theory and practices which would, after his death, profoundly influence the Illuminates of Thanateros. Specifically, Spare developed the use of sigils, and techniques involving states of ecstasy (see gnosis below) to empower these. Spare also pioneered the development of a personal sacred alphabet, and was a talented artist who used images as part of his magical technique. Most of the recent work on sigils recapitulates Spare's work; the construction of a phrase detailing the magical intent, the elimination of duplicate letters, and the artistic recombination of the remaining letters to form the sigil. Though he did not originate the term and might not have sympathized with it, some have regarded Spare as the original chaos magician, due to his rejection of established magickal systems in order to form his own methods.
Following the death of Aleister Crowley (and the then-obscure Spare), magic as practised by the still somewhat sparse occult subculture in Britain tended to become more experimentalist, personal and less bound to the magical traditions of established magical orders. Reasons for this might include the public availability of previously secret information on magic (especially in the published works of Crowley and Israel Regardie), the radically unorthodox magic of Austin Osman Spare's Zos Kia Cultus, the influence of Discordianism and its popularizer Robert Anton Wilson, and the increasing popularity of magic caused by the success of the Wiccan faith and the use of psychedelic drugs.
History
The term chaos magic first appeared in print in the widely influential Liber Null by Peter Carroll, first published in 1978. In it, Carroll formulated several concepts on magic that were radically different from what was considered magical mysteries in the days of Crowley. This book, along with Psychonaut (1981) by the same author, remain important sourcebooks. Magicians who align themselves with these ideas call themselves Chaotes, Chaoists or sometimes Chaosites.
Carroll also co-founded with Ray Sherwin the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT); an organization that continues research and development of chaos magic to the present day. Most authors and otherwise well-known practitioners of chaos magic mention affiliation with it. However, chaos magic in general is, unsurprisingly, among the least organized branches of magic.
Magical paradigm shifting
Perhaps the most striking feature of chaos magic is the concept of the magical paradigm shift. Borrowing a term from philosopher Thomas Kuhn, Carroll made the technique of arbitrarily changing one's model (or paradigm) of magic a major concept of chaos magic. An example of a magical paradigm shift is doing a Lovecraftian rite, followed by using a technique from an Edred Thorsson book in the following ritual. These two magical paradigms are very different, but while the chaote is using one, he believes in it fully to the extent of ignoring all other (often contradictory) ones. The shifting of magical paradigms has since found its way into the magical work of practitioners of many other magical traditions, but chaos magic remains the field where it is most developed.
One of the most frequently cited tenets of Chaos magic is that "Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted," a quote attributed to Hassan I Sabbah and used by Friedrich Nietzsche in his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Like Crowley's "'Do what thou wilt' shall be the whole of the law," this phrase is often mistakenly interpreted in its most literal sense to mean "there is no such thing as objective truth, so whatever you want to do is good and just for you." However, "Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted" is more widely interpreted to mean "there is no such thing as an objective truth outside of our perception; therefore, all things are true and possible."
The idea is that belief is a tool that can be applied at will rather than unconsciously. Some chaos magicians think that trying unusual, and often bizarre beliefs is in itself an experience worth having and consider flexibility of belief a form of power or freedom in a cybernetic sense of the word.
The Gnostic state
A concept introduced by Carroll is the gnostic state, also referred to as gnosis. This is defined as a special state of consciousness that in his magic theory is what is necessary for working most forms of magic. This is a departure from older concepts which described energies, spirits or symbolic acts as the source of magical powers. The concept has an ancestor in the Buddhist concept of Samadhi, made popular in western occultism by Aleister Crowley and further explored by Austin Osman Spare.
The gnostic state is achieved when a person's mind is focused on only one point, thought, or goal and all other thoughts are thrust out. Users of chaos magic each develop their own ways of reaching this state. All such methods hinge on the belief that a simple thought or direction experienced during the gnostic state and then forgotten quickly afterwards is sent to the subconscious, rather than the conscious mind, where it can be enacted through means unknown to the conscious mind.
... cnt...
Chaos magic is a form of magic with which practitioners claim they can shape reality. Although there are a few techniques, such as some forms of sigil magic, associated uniquely with chaos magic, practitioners borrow liberally from other belief systems, so chaos magic acts as a metabelief. Some common sources and techniques include ceremonial magic, chaos theory, science fiction, OBEs, and divination. Chaos magic is not necessarily syncretic. That is to say, practitioners do not try to fit together these different ideas so that they make sense. Rather, they temporarily assume the truth of parts of particular systems in order to accomplish their goals. Although chaos magicians differ widely, they often sympathize with the psychonaut counterculture (Terence McKenna and Robert Anton Wilson are particularly influential) and chaotic aspects of particular religions (including Taoism and Discordianism), and a number of chaos magic techniques rely on humor and the absurd.
Pre-History
Austin Osman Spare was initially involved with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn tradition[citation needed], and its offshoots such as the O.T.O and Aleister Crowley's Argenteum Astrum [citation needed]but later broke with them to work independently. He would develop theory and practices which would, after his death, profoundly influence the Illuminates of Thanateros. Specifically, Spare developed the use of sigils, and techniques involving states of ecstasy (see gnosis below) to empower these. Spare also pioneered the development of a personal sacred alphabet, and was a talented artist who used images as part of his magical technique. Most of the recent work on sigils recapitulates Spare's work; the construction of a phrase detailing the magical intent, the elimination of duplicate letters, and the artistic recombination of the remaining letters to form the sigil. Though he did not originate the term and might not have sympathized with it, some have regarded Spare as the original chaos magician, due to his rejection of established magickal systems in order to form his own methods.
Following the death of Aleister Crowley (and the then-obscure Spare), magic as practised by the still somewhat sparse occult subculture in Britain tended to become more experimentalist, personal and less bound to the magical traditions of established magical orders. Reasons for this might include the public availability of previously secret information on magic (especially in the published works of Crowley and Israel Regardie), the radically unorthodox magic of Austin Osman Spare's Zos Kia Cultus, the influence of Discordianism and its popularizer Robert Anton Wilson, and the increasing popularity of magic caused by the success of the Wiccan faith and the use of psychedelic drugs.
History
The term chaos magic first appeared in print in the widely influential Liber Null by Peter Carroll, first published in 1978. In it, Carroll formulated several concepts on magic that were radically different from what was considered magical mysteries in the days of Crowley. This book, along with Psychonaut (1981) by the same author, remain important sourcebooks. Magicians who align themselves with these ideas call themselves Chaotes, Chaoists or sometimes Chaosites.
Carroll also co-founded with Ray Sherwin the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT); an organization that continues research and development of chaos magic to the present day. Most authors and otherwise well-known practitioners of chaos magic mention affiliation with it. However, chaos magic in general is, unsurprisingly, among the least organized branches of magic.
Magical paradigm shifting
Perhaps the most striking feature of chaos magic is the concept of the magical paradigm shift. Borrowing a term from philosopher Thomas Kuhn, Carroll made the technique of arbitrarily changing one's model (or paradigm) of magic a major concept of chaos magic. An example of a magical paradigm shift is doing a Lovecraftian rite, followed by using a technique from an Edred Thorsson book in the following ritual. These two magical paradigms are very different, but while the chaote is using one, he believes in it fully to the extent of ignoring all other (often contradictory) ones. The shifting of magical paradigms has since found its way into the magical work of practitioners of many other magical traditions, but chaos magic remains the field where it is most developed.
One of the most frequently cited tenets of Chaos magic is that "Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted," a quote attributed to Hassan I Sabbah and used by Friedrich Nietzsche in his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Like Crowley's "'Do what thou wilt' shall be the whole of the law," this phrase is often mistakenly interpreted in its most literal sense to mean "there is no such thing as objective truth, so whatever you want to do is good and just for you." However, "Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted" is more widely interpreted to mean "there is no such thing as an objective truth outside of our perception; therefore, all things are true and possible."
The idea is that belief is a tool that can be applied at will rather than unconsciously. Some chaos magicians think that trying unusual, and often bizarre beliefs is in itself an experience worth having and consider flexibility of belief a form of power or freedom in a cybernetic sense of the word.
The Gnostic state
A concept introduced by Carroll is the gnostic state, also referred to as gnosis. This is defined as a special state of consciousness that in his magic theory is what is necessary for working most forms of magic. This is a departure from older concepts which described energies, spirits or symbolic acts as the source of magical powers. The concept has an ancestor in the Buddhist concept of Samadhi, made popular in western occultism by Aleister Crowley and further explored by Austin Osman Spare.
The gnostic state is achieved when a person's mind is focused on only one point, thought, or goal and all other thoughts are thrust out. Users of chaos magic each develop their own ways of reaching this state. All such methods hinge on the belief that a simple thought or direction experienced during the gnostic state and then forgotten quickly afterwards is sent to the subconscious, rather than the conscious mind, where it can be enacted through means unknown to the conscious mind.
... cnt...
