Chaos Magic

Chaos magic

Chaos Magic has long been known as an experimental and highly inpidualistic form of magic said to be first ‘founded’ as a result of a meeting between Peter J. Carroll and Ray Sherwin in 1976.

It is the concept that we have control over our circumstances in life, through magic. Yet, to describe it as such even in bare terms, or to give it a definition at all changes the definition and becomes something different from what Chaos Magic actually is. 

The energy known as ‘chaos’ is the energy that exists all around us at all times and is responsible for the continuing of all things as it has always been there. In this chaos there is the absence of order as well as the order which we have created for ourselves. It is the simultaneous belief and non-belief in God or it can be the faith in inescapable gravity as it is the belief that gravity has no effect over us at all. Belief is an active magical force, and in chaos magic we all have the ability to consciously choose what we believe, which therefore puts power into our own hands over our life experiences. This means that you are as responsible for your own poverty as you are over your own personal abundance. Chaos Magic speaks to the strength of the mind and the will within each of us. 

Within Chaos Magic, there are no active beliefs to follow, no tenants to speak of held by one particular group only because any belief is highly personal and therefore relative. In this, nothing is true therefore you are free to take anything that you like and use it as IF it were true. The term Chaos Magic(k) is used to describe the randomness of the universe as well as our relationship with that randomness. It is the belief in everything and in nothing simultaneously; the only truth is derived from our own truth.

Chaos is brought into existence by each person’s observations according to their likes and dislikes which are then morphed into preconceived manipulations.  Chaos can be bent any direction if we use our intelligence enough. At any point in your life if you have felt as though you could predict the weather or if you had a suspicion about someone and that suspicion came true. You too, were moving and bending the matrix of chaos to create the images that existed in your mind.

We are all creators at varying levels, and we all tap into this chaos, regardless of our religious preference. This formless voice of primordial matter exists and we evolve our circumstances based on what we think about. 

Most newcomers who approach Chaos Magic usually have some preconceived notion that it is some dangerous thing, and they either believe that Chaos Magic causes Chaos and destruction and want to be a part of it or they are completely against the idea. But Chaos Magic is so much more than that. It encompasses both the possibility for peace and for destruction at the same time because it is the energy that we utilize to accomplish our ends.

Therefore of course, if you are focusing on destruction, that is what you will get. Whereas if you are focusing on bettering your life experience by instigating positive change with those around you, that would also be possible. Chaos Magic is non-discriminatory. Usually the only cautionary wisdom that seasoned Magicians will mention is that if you are utilizing a destructive force to perpetuate a destructive end, then do not be surprised if that energy consumes your own life as well as those you intended to destroy.

This energy does not pick and choose, you are the one holding the flashlight, and you focus your thoughts on what it is that you desire just as you would focus the light into the darkness. Therefore what you think is what is create, so pay attention to your thoughts. 

Chaos Magicians tend to urge newcomers to practice enhancing their own intuition to see if they find the truth within the chaos for themselves. 

There is a concept common within Chaos Magic and that is known as Gnosis, which simply refers to one’s own magical abilities. This is the achievement of a deep state of consciousness known in various traditions as ‘No-Mind, One-Pointedness, or Sartori.’ It is the ability to be aware yet also be empty of all distractions in the mind except for the one object or subject that you desire to focus on.

This state of intense focus can be achieved in many ways such as frenzied dancing, shamanic journeying, trance meditation and the like. Whichever form works for you is the best choice but the end result is one that takes the inpidual to a place of complete and perfected creative Ecstasy.

This can sometimes result in mystical experiences, such as visitations by God or the revealing of pine truths, depending on your religious back ground. But most find a level of wisdom that they were unable to attain prior to practicing this form of deep concentration. Some have historically even used hallucinogenic drugs in order to get them to this state of consciousness, though it is more than possible to do so without them. 

Gnosis encourages those ping into the new world of Chaos Magic or any spiritual tradition to push beyond the phase of theoretical curiosity. Reading and studying is important, most assuredly but is in the long run of little value if you do not put your understanding to work. There is no substitute for personal experience. Chaos Magic tells you that you must be capable of connecting to yourself in a more personal way then what is put to you on a daily basis.  

Changing the very form of one’s own reality is not something that tends to come naturally being that we have all been taught what IS and what IS NOT. But Chaos Magic exists no matter what you believe, and it is up to you to recognize the responsibility you have in what does or does not happen in your own life experience. The power is in your hands should you at any point choose to use it. 

By Flo Saul
Nov 16, 2012