Ritual Chaos Magic: Plans for 2010

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this blog, and those who have commented on it, I appreciate your feedback, and an even bigger thanks to those who have linked to this blog and voted for it on Occult100.com.

When I first started this blog, nearly a year ago now, I never expected so many people to read what I had written, let alone comment! It was started purely as on online magical journal to collect my thoughts and be an online record for those who were taking a similar magical path as me. Namely those combining the chaos magic and the more traditional ceremonial magical systems, and I know there are many of us.

For me, this year has been one of self-discovery and also universal discovery, I have found myself staring at the back of the cosmic TV set or Computer and been trying to find out what all those wires are doing.

My thanks go to all those who have been my mentors, guides and friends both physical and astral.

In 2010 I plan to carry on working both in my personal magical career, and also more widely by maintaining this blog and some other projects.

Plans for 2010 include:

- Creating some servitors that can be used by other magicians (any ideas)?
- Continuing work on the Qabalah.
- Continuing work on the Goetia.
- Some Enochian work (not sure what yet, I have already started doing some scrying).
- Creating some multi-media magical workings (sound/video).
- A full website, with library, resources, and possibly a forum.

I also hope next year to actually get some other magicians, witches, magical folk or just people with interesting ideas to actually contribute something too, so this is less about my own particular interpretation of magical and esoteric thought.

Oh, of course, finishing my book too!

Let me know also if there is anything you would really like to see here.

So, watch this space, and see you in 2010!*

*Unless I do something special for New Years Eve, you never know!

To The Great Work!

Frater Pan

DIY Qabalah Pathworkings

A few days ago, someone made a comment on the experiences I had when walking the Tree Of Life, how did I get these experiences? The more I think about it, the more I feel like saying....it really is up to you to work your way through the Tree of Life! The Tree of Life, the real Tree of Life, experiencing your connection (microcosm) to the external universe (macrocosm) can't be taught by any guru or learned from books, it is a personal initiatory experience which I now believe is why it was never actually written down in explicit forms, and if you are not ready to go past a certain point, you will be told so by the "guardians"! If you don't believe me, just try! I too thought Dion Fortune's talk of secrets and guardians was all a load of egotistical rubbish! It's not, the guardians are guardians of your mind, to stop you from accessing what you are not yet ready for at this point in your magical initiation and career. This is real "High Magic", this is real progress towards union with whatever you want to call god, your higher self, your HGA, this is not jerking off over a sigil and seeing what happens! This is maybe what some would call "mysticism", I call it real practical spirituality, because it helped me understand more about myself, and how I fit into the universe.

So the real question then remains, how did I create the pathworkings? The answer is quite simple, it uses no physical tools, no special robes, all I used was some incense and a banishing ritual, in this case the GPR or the LBRP will do just fine.

Pathworking Procedure

Step 0: The most important preliminary work, get a good book on the Hermetic Qabalah (see my reading list for some suggestions), read and study it, then make your own notes and diagrams, and have these in front of you, just as if you were getting in your car on a long journey to an unknown place your would have a map in front of you.

Also, one big diagram of the Tree Of Life on the wall in front of you, coloured in for the first world (Assiah, the material world, elements, planets and such like) is also good as a focus for your working.

You can combine the four worlds into one tree, but I decided to do them individually.

You will need to know the colours of each Sephirah before you begin, this is very important, you can't be trying to remember what the colours were half way through. Also knowing the other correspondences is important (for example Malkuth in Assiah corresponds to the four elements), you need them firmly in your mind.

So, starting with the world of Assiah:

1. Light incense and perform a banishing of some kind. Also, you may like candles and soft music.
2. Sit down in a comfortable position, facing your altar if you like.
3. Get yourself into a nice meditative state, a few deep breaths, close your eyes and prepare for the journey.
4. You walk along a path and see in fron of you a large sphere in the colour of the Sephirah (for example, the first one would be a large sphere which is black, with yellow rays, the colour for Malkuth in Assiah) that you want to experience.
5. You walk up to the sphere, and push through it, like it is a large bubble (I also found it helpful to vibrate the name of the Sephirah as I entered it).
6. You are now inside the sphere. Nothing may happen at first, it may just be empty, but be patient, and soon things will start to unfold, and you will be greeted by various entities.
7. When you have been shown the way out of this sphere by the gaurdians or relevant entities, you see before you a path leading to the next sphere, walk along the path, towards the next sphere, and see what this sphere holds!
8. Continue as before. Don't try to do too much in one session, when you feel overwhelmed, gently bring yourself back to normal consciousness, and record your notes in your magical journal. A final banishing may also help.

When continuing from a previous session, you don't need to go through the whole tree again, unless you were sent back to a previous Sephirah, it's like a computer game, you carry on from your last "save point". I can't remember where I read it, but I remember reading that once you had gained access to a certain Sephirah, you could access it again without needing to repeat the whole process again (unless I suppose you really wanted to).

Please modify this to suite you, again, this is a very personal experience. The paths between the various Sephirah also hold some interesting experiences, with their own environments and even "weather systems".

I hope this has helped some people. This work is in no way complete for myself, this was just the beginning and I intend to return to it soon.

Suggested Reading

My Free Ebook - An Introduction to the Hermetic Qabalah







To the Great Work of Magic!

Frater Pan

The Middle Pillar Exercise

This is something I have been using myself for about a week now, and I have found it an excellent exercise to start a ritual with, and also a good meditation.

If you are new to the Qabalah, then this is also a good way of getting familiar with the Tree of Life, before moving on to pathworking.

There are many extended versions of this exercise. I would be interested in comments on where the extended versions came from, as I haven't read a lot about this exercise so maybe Regardie or some other Golden Dawn or OTO magicians extended it? The one I'm using is straight from The Golden Dawn: An Account of the Teachings, Rites and Ceremonies of the Order of the Golden Dawn (Llewellyn's Golden Dawn series).

Here is how it goes:

1. Imagine yourself standing in the Temple, facing West. The Black Pillar of Severity will be on your right - the White Pillar of Mercy on your left. You will make the Middle Pillar as you stand between them.
2. Imagine now that the Black Pillar is reflected in your right side - the White Pillar on your left.
3. Take a deep breath and raise your consciousness to your Kether above your head and vibrate the name EHEIEH - which means I am. Imagine the Light flowing down through Daath (at the nape of your neck) to Tiphareth.
4. In the same manner, establish Yesod in the name SHADDAI EL CHAI, and Malkuth in the name ADONAI HA-ARETZ.
5. Make the Qabalistic Cross to indicate you have called down the Light of your Kether and balanced it in your aura. Then let your imagination dwell on the aura seeing it oval and clear, pulsating with the glow from Tiphareth.

Other versions and discussions:

http://www.davedavies.com/splanet/magic3.htm

http://www.sacred-magick.com/Practises/pdf/The%20Middle%20Pillar%20Ritual.pdf (PDF)

http://www.ritualmagick.org/Middle+Pillar+Ritual

http://www.hermetic.com/enochia/enoch_pillar.html (Enochian Version)


And some video clips:

Chaos Classics Back In Print!

The books on Chaos Magic written by Phil Hine, long regarded as classics by many are soon to be re-issued by Falcon Press! These books are currently hard to find (unless you can find a used copy on Amazon), so that is certainly good news.

http://enfolding.org/old-wine-in-new-bottles/

Find out more by Visiting the Original Falcon Press site...

Approaches to Goetic Magic

I have recently been experimenting with goetic evocation.

For anyone not aware of what this is, it's a very old technique that uses material from the "ancient grimoires" (Lesser Key of Solomon) to command or control demons.

There are however different approaches to geotic magic, these are some of the ones I have come across in my research.

1. These demons are literally demons, fallen angels who need to be commanded and threatened with curses and destruction if you want them to do anything useful and not harm you. The demon is evoked into the triangle of art, the magician MUST remain in the circle!

2. These demons were once pagan gods/goddesses that our judeo-christian ancestors re-classified as demons, because there could only be one true God, and these gods and goddesses were fallen angels who were pretending to be divine. For this reason, the goetic spirits should be approached with the same respect and even sometimes adoration as would be given to a god or goddess (for example, the "Poke Runyon" approach that sees the demon Astaroth as the goddess Astarte). Still keeping the circle and triangle arrangement.

3. The "shamanic approach": The magician acts as a channel for the goetic spirit, the circle and triangle is not used at all. This, from what I gathered is extremely dangerous, and few people ever use this method.


I personally use a mix of 1 and 2, yes they are demons who need to be controlled, but they must still be respected as powerful entities, possibly gods in their own way. In the words of Peter Carroll, "a demon is a god ignored"!

I have been using the book shown below, which is easier to read than the original Lesser Key of Solomon, and boils the practice of goetic evocation down to the essentials.

The Baptists New Book: The Urn

Alan Chapman and Duncan Barford over at The Baptists Head now have a new book out.

If you have read their previous book "The Blood of the Saints", then you have to read this! The second in a collection of three volumes where they talk openly and honestly about the whole process of Enlightenment as they encountered it.

Read More About "The Urn"...

Ritual Chaos Magic Workbook - Advance Preview

Those of you who know me, know I've been working on my book for a while now. This book blends some of the more traditional western magic and chaos magic, basically the things that have worked for me, some chaos magic basics such as sigils and servitors, and and some of the rituals I've written.

I plan to get it finished by Jan of next year, here is a preview of the things it will cover (obviously subject to change):

1 – Introduction: What is Magic And Why Do It?

2 – Classical Western Magic And Chaos Magic

3 – The Qabalah

4 – Setting Up, Temple and Tools (including info on how to create the tools)

5 – Banishing Rituals (including one of my own I wrote)

6 – Sigils (step by step guide to creating your own sigils)

7 – Divination: The Tarot

8 – Symbols and Correspondences – Ritual Design

9 – Servitors

10 – Grades, Initiations and Orders

11 – What next? Traditions and Techniques For Further Work

This will be a basic introductory workbook, covering mainly the practical aspects of magic.

Invocation of Chaos

Here is something I have been using for a while, and it seems to work for me. This is not the same as the Invocation of Chaos that is given in Liber Null, it's something I thought up myself.

Can be used after banishing (LBRP/GPR et al). Also useful to use before the Bornless One.

- Stand facing east.

- Make the Sign of the Enterer.

- Declare in a loud voice the Adoration To The Lord of the Universe (this adoration differs from the traditional GD form which uses the signs more):

"Holy art Thou, Lord of the Universe!
Holy art Thou, whom Nature hath not formed!
Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty One!
Lord of the Light, and of the Darkness!"

At the same time, visualize the chaos star, and the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol superimposed over it, spinning or flashing.

- You can also end if you like, by tracing in the air above you the chaos star.