An Abbreviated Introduction to Chaos Magic

By Lupa

Chaos! Mayhem! Disorder!

Well, not quite.

Chaos, in this case, isn't about being 100% destructive, or worshipping Tiamat, or being a Discordian. Rather, it hails back
to the original Greek definition for the term--the pure potential that predated the ordered world that we know today. In my
mind, Chaos is like a round ball of Play-doh sitting in its cup. Take it out, make something with it--that's order. Smash
whatever you're made--that's disorder. Roll the Play-doh back into a ball and pop it back into the cup--back to Chaos.

The roots of Chaos magic are several; Peter J. Carroll, the creator of Chaos magic, was inspired by everything from
shamanism to the works of Austin Osman Spare, one of Aleister Crowley's contemporaries. Rather than being a tradition in
and of itself, it is a system that boils magic down to its bare-bones components, free of cultural trappings, to create a
practical methodology. There are no set gods or spirits, and Chaos magic may work within any model of how magic works,
from energetic to psychological and then some. Additionally, there are no central religious beliefs; for many, though not all,
Chaos magicians, belief is a tool to be used as needed.

And that brings me to one of the hallmarks of Chaos magic: paradigmal piracy. This is the practice of taking effective,
practical aspects of various paradigms (religions, magical systems, etc.) and using them to work effective magic. Unlike
eclectic paganism, this is not done for primarily spiritual purposes, nor is it generally a permanent adoption. Joshua Wetzel
references two types of piracy--buffet style, in which a magician takes a little of each of several paradigms, and immersion,
where s/he may spend a certain amount of time working with a paradigm full-time to learn what s/he finds useful.

One goal of piracy may be to gain new methods of achieving gnosis. Gnosis, in Chaos magic terms, is different than what it
is understood to be in ceremonial traditions. In Chaos, gnosis is an altered state of mind in which the mind is focused on a
single point, object or other thing. There are several ways to achieve gnosis. Inhibitory methods include sensory
deprivation, quiet meditation, and the "death posture", a particular way of holding the body that induces trance. Excitatory
methods range from dancing to the point of exhaustion, to taking entheogens, and even sex. Once gnosis is achieved, the
magician may then move on to whatever magic s/he intended to work.

While a Chaos magician may work with just about any sort of magic, there are two in particular that are associated with
Chaos magic, sigils and servitors. The sigil was derived from Spare's work. Seeking an easier way to work magic than long,
drawn-out ceremonies, Spare devised a method of creating a picture of one's desire by writing out what the magician
wanted out of a particular magical act. Certain letter would be removed from the sentence, and the remaining letters
rearranged and overlapped or connected to create an abstract picture. The resulting sigil would then be charged.

Servitors are thought forms (or spirits, if you will) that are created by the magician to perform certain magical tasks. They
may be created in a similar manner as sigils, with the purpose and name of the servitor turned into one or more sigils. Some
magicians create physical representations of their servitors. While servitors are generally created to carry out single tasks
and are then destroyed afterward, some magicians do create permanent servitors for multiple uses.

More generally speaking, some Chaos magicians use Carroll's Eight Colors of Magick. Carroll uses different
correspondences than Isaac Bonewits did in "Real Magic", and assigns one color/type to each point of the eight-pointed
chaostar. The correspondences are as follows:

Black: Death
Blue: Wealth
Green: Love
Yellow: Ego
Purple or Silver: Sex
Orange: Thinking
Red: War
Octarine: "Pure" Magic

Octarine is the name Terry Pratchett gave to the (humorous) theory regarding the eighth color of the spectrum.

As to the connection with Chaos theory in physics, Carroll dedicated the first chunk of "Liber Kaos" to the scientific
exploration of how magic works. While a thorough understanding of physics isn't necessary to be a Chaos magician, a basic
grasp of Chaos theory is useful.

Additionally, Chaos magic is sometimes confused with Discordianism, a parody religion founded in the late 1950s with the
publication of the Principia Discordia. While a number of Chaos magicians may draw on Discordianism, they are not one and
the same.

This is an incredibly basic introduction to Chaos magic; my recommendation would be to do further research at the following
websites, as well as the recommended reading list below.

http://www.chaosmatrix.org
http://www.spiralnature.com
http://www.irreality.net

Sources/Recommended Reading

Carroll, Peter J. (1987). Liber Null & Psychonaut. Boston: Weiser.
Cunningham, David, Taylor Ellwood and Amanda Wagner (2003). Creating Magical Entities. Ohio: Egregore Publishing.
Ellwood, Taylor (2004). Pop Culture Magick. Stafford: Immanion Press/Megalithica Books.
-- (1992). Liber Kaos. Boston: Weiser.
Hawkins, Jaq D. (2001). Understanding Chaos Magic. Capall Bann.
-- (2003). Chaos Monkey. Capall Bann.
Hine, Phil (1995). Condensed Chaos. Tempe: New Falcon.
-- (1999). Prime Chaos. Tempe: New Falcon.
Wetzel, Joshua (2006). The Paradigmal Pirate. Stafford: Immanion Press/Megalithica Books.

Konton Magazine - Available through cafepress.com; no new issues have appeared for some time, but back issues are
readily available for new
Chaos International - Difficult to get in the United States, sporadically published in London, but worth it if you can get it