Liber Kaos [Paperback]

Peter J Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1992

A complete, advanced magical training course for the individual or for groups, with details of the author's magical order, an outline for setting up a temple, and instructions for carrying out the essential rituals of Chaos Magic. Includes a fresh look at aeonics, cosmogenesis, auric magic, and shadow time, as well as discloses the technical aspects of spells and equations. Illustrated. Appendices. References.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Weiser Books (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877287422
• ISBN-13: 978-0877287421
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Liber Dogma, June 13, 2002

By 

"chaos_unreality" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liber Kaos (Paperback)

Liber Kaos is definately not a good book for someone new in chaos magic. Read "Condensed Chaos" by Phil Hine if you are a neophyte. Even though it does introduce key ideas about chaos magic Peter Carrol progresses rather quickly into more advanced concepts, that combined with large amounts of pesonal dogmatism makes it unsuitable for the newcomer.

As an advanced chaos mage you will clash with Carrol's ideas. The book from the beginning contains hard to agree with dogmatism. Within the dogmatism are some great theories and ideas but it is up to the reader to weave through it. Even though Peter Carrol in the father of chaos magic (with Austin Osman Spare being the grandfather) he suffers from what most authors about magic suffer from. Presenting their beliefs as universal truths.

Not all is negative though. Within his book there is a plentiful of concepts that you might or might not decide to include in your toybox. Moreover its a book that must be in your library since Peter Carrol is the first to give chaos magic a name and he is the one that started it all.

Assume nothing.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential For The Serious Student, April 14, 2000

By 

"killerclown" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liber Kaos (Paperback)

Less than 3% of all books on magic are worth reading. LIBER KAOS is one of them. The first part of the book attempts to explain magick in terms of quantum physics and chaos theory(interesting...that's all I can say). The second part of the book however,cuts straight to the nitty gritty of how to do magick properly to get results. Step by step procedure stripped of all religious, supersticious, and cultural symbolism and baggage. If you do not study these principles and use them you are shooting yourself in the foot.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE SCRIPTURES OF KAOS, June 4, 2002

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Liber Kaos (Paperback)

This book consists of 3 parts. The first, Liber Kaos proper, deals with the principles of magic, aeonics and the principles of chaos. It includes Pope Pete's fascinating psychohistory model in which the shamanic, religious, rationalist and pandemonic aeons are measured against the materialistic, magical and transcendental paradigms to illustrate the historical ups and downs of the spiritual worldview. Part two: The Psychonomicon, discusses practical magic, sleight of mind, auric and different types of color magic, from octarine to purple. It also includes the Thanateros ritual, which is a celebration of Chaoist principles and a momentary invocation of the power of chaos itself. The appendices make up the third part of the book and includes Liber KKK: an extended series of magical operations; the Gnostic pentagram ritual; chaos monasticism, and; Liber Pactionis: the structure, rituals and protocols of the magical pact of the illuminates of Thanateros. The text is enhanced by diagrams and two illustrations, and there is a short bibliography which includes Stephen Hawking and Terry Pratchet. Pope Pete certainly provides a compelling read, but I'm not convinced of his premises. As another reviewer has said, chaos only occurs in a localized context. Certain patterns in the universe, like the platonic solids and sacred geometry (the golden mean) seem to indicate the prevalence of order in the larger scheme of things. Call me a heretic or Reform Chaoist if you will, but I don't believe Pope Pete is infallible!