Chaos magic (belief)

Chaos magic is a new age spiritual belief that incorporates a mixture of psychology, philosophy, science, and mysticism as keys to unlocking supposed magical abilities. Chaos magic avoids relying on specific deities, rituals, or predetermined systems of beliefs; instead, the practitioner is expected to channel his or her inner power to affect a magical change in the universe. As the name suggests, chaos magic has no limitations or rules for use and can take whatever form the practitioner wishes. The concept first developed in 1970s England and was inspired in part by magical philosophies that dated back decades and centuries. In general, chaos magicians use whatever means necessary at the time to connect to the universe and achieve their magical goals. One common form involves creating an abstract symbol of a wish or desire and then achieving a trance-like state where the symbol is banished and the desire becomes reality.

Background

In simplest terms, magic is seen as a way for humans to gain control over the natural world through the use of supernatural means. The belief in magic dates back to the earliest human civilizations and almost certainly goes back even further to prehistoric times. Ancient cultures strongly believed that gods or other spiritual forces controlled the world around them, and that these forces could be influenced through the practice of rituals, spells, or other mystical actions.

Texts detailing the use of magic were written by the ancient Egyptians, Persians, and cultures in India. The Greeks and Romans believed spells and symbolic amulets contained magic that could influence everything from sporting events to romance and could even bring down the curse of the gods upon a victim. The medieval period saw a rise in mysticism and with it, the publication of a number of magical books known as grimoires. These texts featured a wealth of magical knowledge that included instructions for performing astrological readings, spells, rituals, and summoning demons or the spirits of the dead.

Medieval grimoires proved highly influential in later centuries, inspiring numerous magical orders in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. One of those groups, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, was founded in 1887 and had a lasting impact on the belief and practice of magic in the twentieth century. Among its members was British occultist Aleister Crowley, who founded the mystical philosophy of Thelema in the early twentieth century. Thelema was based on the concept of “true will,” the belief its followers could achieve harmony with the spiritual forces in nature by acting according to their own will.

Overview

An influential figure in the eventual creation of chaos magic was Austin Osman Spare, an early twentieth-century mystic and artist who was briefly associated with Crowley and the Golden Dawn. Spare was known for using magical sigils, a symbol representing a goal or desire. The sigil can be a pictographic image, a shape, or a word written in a magical alphabet. The magician then infuses the sigil with magical power through achieving a completely blank trance-like state and filling that void with magical energy. According to Spare, the magician creates their own magical energy through this process and does not need to rely on outside spiritual forces. Once the sigil has been charged with magical energy, the practitioner must completely push the symbol from their conscious mind so that it flourishes within the subconscious. In this way, the magician’s psyche connects with the energy of the universe to make their goal a reality.

Spare did not use the term chaos magic to refer to his methods, but his ideas were later absorbed and refined by British occultist Peter J. Carroll in the 1970s. Carroll is credited with creating the modern concept of chaos magic, which is often spelled magick to differentiate it from the illusions called magic tricks performed by stage magicians. Carroll was one of the co-founders of an order dedicated to chaos magic called the Illuminates of Thanateros, a name derived from the Greek gods of death and sex.

Carroll’s system of chaos magic is a combination of ancient mystic practices and elements of modern psychology and physics. Among his inspirations was the work of early twentieth-century psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who studied the relationship between the conscious and unconscious human mind. Among Jung’s theories is the idea that the unconscious mind contains a host of embedded memories from both a person’s individual past and the shared collective experiences of the human species.

Carroll also drew upon the relatively young field of quantum physics, a branch of science that studies the nature of matter and energy at the subatomic level. At such an infinitesimally small level, matter and energy do not follow the same rules they do at larger scales. In quantum physics, subatomic particles have been observed existing in multiple states and places at the same time. However, this seemingly contradictory effect disappears when the particle is actually observed by scientists.

To believers in chaos magic, the controlling and unifying force of the universe is a chaotic magical energy. To perform chaos magic, practitioners can tap into this force by channeling the magical energy found within themselves and connecting it to the energy in the universe. Chaos magic does not use specific spells or rituals to accomplish this; the method of creating the energy is left up to the individual. Practitioners can choose any object or symbol to represent a wish or a desire. This symbol can be something highly personalized and can vary from person to person. For example, if a person has been raised in a Christian tradition, they may choose a religious symbol. The actual symbol is not what is important; it is the abstract desire attached to it that is believed to power the magic.

The magician must then reach a mystic state of consciousness to connect to the power of the subconscious mind. Practitioners can reach this state through a number of ways, including forms of sexual arousal, anger, and deep meditation bordering on sleep. If the magic is performed correctly, the physical object or symbol will be driven from the conscious mind and replaced with a subconscious representation of the desire. This is believed to connect the magician to the fundamental chaos of the universe, altering the energy around them, and bringing their wish to fruition.

Bibliography

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Carroll, Peter J. Liber Null & Psychonaut: An Introduction to Chaos Magic. Wiser Books, 1987.

Chao, Mark. “Defining Chaos.” Hermetic Library, 15 Jan. 2017, hermetic.com/chaos/defining-chaos. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

Davis, Avi. “A Chaos Magician.” Vice, 1 Oct. 2008, www.vice.com/en‗us/article/3ba5an/chaos-magician-132-v15n10. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

Holloway, April. “Magic of the Ancients: Five Incredible Texts of Spells, Curses, and Incantations.” Ancient Origins, 24 June 2015, www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-writings/magic-ancients-five-incredible-texts-spells-curses-and-incantations-020408. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

Savage, Adrian. “An Introduction to Chaos Magick.” Chaos Matrix, www.chaosmatrix.org/library/chaos/texts/intchaos.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

Shelton, Jacob. “18 Facts About Chaos Magick That Will Make You Want to Practice It Every Day.” Ranker, 2019, www.ranker.com/list/what-is-chaos-magick/jacob-shelton. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.

Vitimus, Andrieh. “Chaos Magic: The Misunderstood Path.” Llewellyn, 12 Jan. 2009, www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1799. Accessed 29 Oct. 2019.