What is Chaos Magick

After I got asked a couple of times what Chaos Magick is, I decided to write an article about it. People usually don't have any problem with general definition, they just want to know what it really means and how it compares to the traditional systems.

Theory of tradition
The main question is the history of traditional systems, who founded them? There are many myths of fallen angels teaching Magick or great adepts (e.g. Hermes Trismegistos) sharing their wisdom with a group of initiates. Before we can get any further, we have to take these only as myths, with no credible evidence, later we will find out why.

Historically speaking there are certain similarities in the Magick development all around the world. It starts with death. People were always fascinated by death. Where do our friends and relatives go after they die? Can they tell us? Can we contact them? Do they have any power in the other world? Burials are as old as humanity, it's our way of tributing our family which in return will protect us. Time passes by and known deceased parents become less known deceased grandparents or completely unknown deceased ancestors. There we got into ancestral traditions.

Give it some time and a new religion and we will get the belief in demons, another new religion and now demons are the bad ones and angels are the good ones. As time passes a nature turns into Mother Earth, then in God and then back into nature. These events usually repeat in cycles. Unless...

The creation of the cult comes with the creation of dogma. Where does Magick come from and how it works? Questions asked by generations need explanation, so someone comes with the explanation. It comes from God, it comes from angels, or the worst: it was REVEALED. Beig revealed usually means it was passed to us in the perfect form and we should not change it. The truth is Magick is still in the process of development, getting into the dogma means to block this progress.

Chaos Magick comes into the play
So, in the world full of dogma a new current appears on the scene. Why should we say this exact incantation? It was translated anyway and it could be translated into dozen different versions, depending on the style and understanding of the person translating it. Yet it still works. Comparing different mutually exclusive traditions made us realize a couple of things. First of all these traditions are not compatible. Secondly they all claim that Magick works only when "xyz" and this "xyz" is always different depending on the tradition, but most importantly we realized all these traditions work, no matter they differences. This means that the Magick has to be somewhere else than our traditions explained, but where?

Chaos Magick comes with the simple explanation, our unconsciousness, our soul is the main figure in Magick, fortunately there is a filtering mechanism between our conscious and unconscious mind called a psychic censor, else all our thoughts, desires and fears would manifest. It's a mechanism that protects us from ourselves.

Chaos Magick also comes with ways of bypassing this censor, not one way, not one "xyz", but billions of "xyz". We all are individuals so different stuff works for each person. All we, chaotes, can do is to find our own unique style, one that suits us completely, one that makes the Magick work for us specifically.

Chaos Magick doesn't equal to Sigil Magick
Many people believe that Chaos Magick have anything to do with Sigils. Spare's Sigil system was a great inspiration, yes, but for a chaote it is just another system to use when you feel like it. Have you used Sigils a lot and they are getting boring? Throw them away and do Astro Magick, voodoo, or go for healings, listen to your inner calls and always have fun practicing, hepaby!

Difference between ecclectic and Chaos Magick
Ecclectic Magick is where you borrow from different traditions to create one big mixed system, usually glued on many places and with a decent amount of duct tape used where the fragments don't really match. Chaos Magick is more about digesting the whole system, using it, and throwing it away like it was a sock (or a cheap girl). Sometimes chaotes go through the same troubles as ecclectic magicians and they create a complex system just to throw it away again. Belief is used as a tool in Chaos Magick, that means chaotes don't have any static belief, they believe in what they need or what they feel like at the moment just to believe something completely different few moments later. It is said that it is easy to make a chaote to believe in something, but it's nearly impossible to make him stick with it. Being bored in Chaos Magick means you will find new sexy paradigm pretty soon.

Pitfalls of Chaos Magick
Chaotes generally use the idea of subjective process of Magick well, but many of us sooner or later will get the idea that the whole Magick is subjective, instead of just the process. This either leads to the incomplete system more similar to placebo than anything else or we will abandon Magick forever (or at least till it gains our attention again). This problem is partially caused by the non-existent finish line, the missing goal. There isn't any philosophy bound to Chaos Magick except "Nothing is true, everything is permitted", which makes people think they don't need any end goal in Magick, which makes them run in circles and then finally arrive at the point where everything is subjective and Magick doesn't work.

The end goal is needed, its very existence is the building block of Magick, just a specific goal is missing. The goal of the chaote is the goal chosen by the chaote. Choose your goal and follow it on the path you build for it, that's the secret key to success in Chaos Magick. Also keep in mind that our world is objective and Magick is objective, as well, just methods of interacting with this world and the Magick are individual for each of us.