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Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic Paperback – January 1, 2010
| Phil Hine (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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- Print length192 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 2010
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.48 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-101935150669
- ISBN-13978-1935150664
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An excellent introduction to chaos magick, and magick in general. --Psyche, spiralnature.com
An excellent introduction to chaos magick, and magick in general. --Psyche, spiralnature.com
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Product details
- Publisher : The Original Falcon Press; UK ed. edition (January 1, 2010)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 192 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1935150669
- ISBN-13 : 978-1935150664
- Item Weight : 11.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.48 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #47,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #87 in Occultism
- #206 in Magic Studies (Books)
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Some of us agnostics left organized religion not because we had a great, huge falling out or personal schism with it, but only because it became less meaningful over time or did not provide much spiritual support or just didn't jive with our personalities or intellect. This was true of me. I turned towards paganism/wicca in my 20s not out of rebellion or in search of a "new religion," but more because "religion" had never much worked for me spiritually. I thought a spiritual tradition based in nature and the rhythms of the seasons would suit a nature lover like me.
So I bought a lot of books on the general subject of magick/Wicca, as well as grimoires/books of shadows. But much of the rules, rituals, ingredients, equipment, and timings (sabbats, solstices, equinoxes, full/new/dark moons) which are at the very least expected (and often strictly required) were daunting, difficult, impractical, expensive or unavailable, or required waiting and precise timing.
It seemed like every book I bought pushed beginners to spend as much time as possible practicing magick, and to preferably find and join a coven--as if every reader's ultimate goal was to become a high priest(ess). The implication was that you had to be 'serious enough' about magick (because it's "dangerous") to devote lots of time to studying it -- and if you didn't, then not only is magick not for you, you're also kind of irresponsible.
But that's not how I've ever been about any religion or spiritual tradition. Why should magick be any different? Yes, there are naturally adept spiritual leaders for whom it is a calling. Their long training and great devotion helps laypeople in need and distress. But you don't need one of them just to pray for yourself or someone you care about. So why do I need to train seriously for years and join a coven just to occasionally do a spell or two which may or may not work, but will make me feel better for having done it?
I couldn't seem to find books aimed at curious newcomers where casual/occasional, solitary practice wasn't looked down upon. It was all surprisingly (and disappointingly) dogmatic (and kind of elitist). wtf? That a spiritual tradition which arose from nature turned out to be nearly as ritualistic and inflexible as the organized religions that tried to stamp it out, was more than disappointing, it was disheartening.
Then I found this book (and a couple of others).
This is not a book of shadows/grimoire. It is not a "how to" book. It is a book to change how you *think* about magick. It's about the philosophy behind chaos magick. It is basically a general intro, but it's also anecdotal. So while some spells are mentioned in passing as examples, you should not expect this to be a reference for spells. Some topics are advanced.
The reviewer who mentions the inconsistencies in this book is correct: there is some inconsistency ("there are no rules" vs. "you must do it this way"). For the most part, it seems that when speaking about magick in general the author believes there are (or there should be) no rules. But for certain specific actions (like servitors), the author strongly believes certain rules should be observed and such magicks should be worked carefully.
This seemed cautionary rather than patronizing. The author's point seemed to be that tapping into some of the stronger powers has consequences because the flow of energy is not merely one way, it's two way -- for what you receive, you may also have to give something. Plus there is always a chance something you *didn't* ask for may tag along with what you *did* ask for.
No, The Wiccan rede ("an' it harm none, do what ye will") and the three-fold law are not espoused in this book. The author seems less concerned with rules than with laws -- like, laws of physics. Framed more or less in those terms (which pleases the scientific side of me), the gist is that for every magickal action, there is an equal and opposite reaction... so you need to be prepared for that.
Another aspect of this book that is a little inconsistent is: some of it (the more general discussion) seems aimed at the very novice practitioner, but other parts of it (more specific topics) discuss quite advanced magick. Some of the advanced stuff was over my head. It's there if I ever need it, but I don't see myself going that far.
What I liked about this book was the DIY, non-elitist, and therefore empowering approach -- especially for the solitary or casual practitioner. The general message is, if you want to do magick, do it: use whatever you like and say whatever you like. Just make sure what you say and use are meaningful to *you*, and do it with clear/specific *intention*. Don't worry about getting it 100% right, 100% of the time, with 100% correct ingredients, recitations, rituals, timings, etc. Experiment with it. Above all, know (and focus on) what you specifically intend to bring about.
The author is not advocating a cavalier attitude towards magick, here. He is saying that the formal requirements outlined by established practitioners erect unnecessary practical and spiritual barriers (the latter, in the form of doubt) in would-be beginners. More importantly, if objects, items or rituals are used merely to adhere to magickal formalities (traditions) but do not hold personal relevance for the practitioner or the target of the magickal act, they may have no effect -- or may even have an unintended effect.
Those who dislike deviation from tradition may perceive this to be relativism, and I suppose it is. But to me it makes perfect sense. It stands to reason that certain items, objects, herbs, etc. would have completely different meanings to completely different people on different continents (or even the same continent) from different ethnicities or cultures.
Not to mention that there are plenty of modern objects and items which lack age-old symbolic meaning, yet may have very specific meaning for practitioners and are appropriate for use in a spell (emoticons, for example). Finally, some objects that have fallen out of use now lack meaning and relevance they would have had for most of the general population maybe fifty, sixty years ago (e.g., who uses clothes-pins now? besides me).
The non-elitist, DIY aspects of this book, more than any others, spoke to me where all the other books on magick/wicca, spellcraft, and grimoires had not. For the first time reading a book on magic, I thought, Hey, I can really do this -- anyone can! Emboldened by the ideas in this book, re-thinking magick and how to practice it along the book's lines, I modified a few spells and ideas from a couple other books (Supermarket Sorceress by Lexa Rosean and The Magick of Folk Wisdom by Patricia Telesco). And they worked. Quite well, actually.
Obviously, the more one does something, the better one gets at it. But that doesn't mean your first few attempts will automatically fail, either. You're not a preschooler with an undeveloped mind and rudimentary hand-eye coordination learning to ride a bike, and you don't need training wheels. You're an adult with a fully developed mind, body and spirit learning to enact your will on multiple levels including the metaphysical.
Another review of this book says if you crossed out the word "magick" everywhere it exists in this book, what would be left is a book about asserting yourself in the world. This is true. Magick is just the 'edge' you're giving yourself to do that.
If you have felt intimidated, daunted or disheartened by the dogma, rules, requirements, rituals, ingredients, and sometimes subtle (sometimes not) elitism of other books on wicca/grimoires...
If you can't or don't want to devote all your extra time to learning and practicing magick (any more than, in the past, you devoted all your extra time to going to mass or church in your previous religion or the one you were brought up in)...
If you want to just go ahead and do it (magick) yourself, but you're worried about the warnings you've read in other books about practicing magick...
Then read this book and consider chaos magick. You will probably like both.
The first thing I noticed about this book was that it outlines a lot of techniques that, I someone who's been in mental health recovery for a long time, have been taught in varying degrees of psychotherapy. I'm making the bold assumption that the techniques I was taught are based on the occult and not the other way around, since renowned psychologist Carl Jung was heavily into the occult and probably based much of his counseling techniques and therapies that he administered to his patients on the occult practices he'd learned, either through his own practices with whatever orders he was involved with or from the occult books he'd read. I don't know which came first, but I'd make the bold assumption that occult practices like centering yourself, breathing methods and reframing ideas were adopted by the modern psychological associations that apply them to people like me. I will say, by reading about these practices in this book, I got much more out of them than I ever did from a therapist for some reason. Maybe it's because the way they're applied here, in a so-called "magical" sense is new to me and I found that exciting. I know I'm certainly not magically inclined, but I did find some useful meditations written in this book.
Which brings me to one of the core aspects of this book, "belief as a tool," this is something I've been practicing for years before I'd ever even heard of chaos magic. I don't really believe in much, but I'll adopt certain aspects of a religion like, say, Buddhism, and use it in my day to day life. In 2011 and 2012 I spent a lot of time at a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple. All I did was meditate with the robed patrons of the establishment. I didn't fit in very well but I enjoyed my time there and felt that it was helping my psychological state a lot until I had a psychological break and wound up in a psych ward after running out of the temple in a panic. I was invited back by the head monk, who expressed his sympathy for my mental state, but I never did go back and that's something I do regret. But this still happens from time to time, I'll read about a practice in a certain religion and apply or try to apply it to my day to day life, like I did with meditation from Mahayana Buddhism. The book explains that there's more to it than that, and that it's not exactly an overnight process (shifting beliefs, that is) but I found it funny that that was something I'd been doing for years before I ever even discovered the idea of chaos magic.
So if I don't believe in any of this stuff, why did I read this book, you might be asking? Well, my favorite author is William Burroughs, author of books like Naked Lunch, The Wild Boys and Junky. From what I understand, in the last ten years of his life, Burroughs got heavily involved with the chaos magic movement. I was simply curious about chaos magic and decided to buy a few books on the subject, the second of which I'm reading now. Like Burroughs, I am a sad, tortured little man. And while there's some good stuff in this book about certain (apparently) psychological exercises, it doesn't really give any advice to someone who's more on the agnostic spectrum like me. Like, I don't know if there's anything truly "magical" in the Crowley sense of the word, frankly I'm pretty sure there's not, but maybe there is. To me, magic is the sun rising over the ocean on the beach on a summer morning or the first snowfall of the year. I don't really think there's anything particularly mystical about tarot cards (which the author of this book seems to think are super great) because they're just olden-style playing cards that are still used for games in Europe. But I bought these books because I thought "If Burroughs got something out of all of this, maybe I can, too." And I didn't get as much out of it as I thought I would, just some breathing techniques, reframing ideas and relaxation methods.
Because I lack the necessary belief to practice any sort of meaningful magic, as I outlined in my first paragraph of this review, I don't think I'll be putting on any magical masks or robes any time soon or doing tricks with tarot cards for people or invoking servitors or writing sigils or whatever. I did find this to be a fun read, though. It's very well written and it's worth checking out if you believe in magic or are interested in the occult and want to see if anything in this book works for you. I mean, I honestly don't think it will do anything except make you feel better, because from what I gathered just by reading this book is that magic is all in your head and making it work for you depends on you, which s a nice way of saying "If it works for you, do it." I don't think it's possible however to summon up demons or perform curses or anything like that because even this book said that demons are purely psychological-born entities that come from YOU, not really from any sort of underworld or spiritual realm. That's what I really got out of this book, is that the world is what we make of it and that through certain exercises we can train ourselves into making the world a little better for us by being a better person over the natural course of time. I really don't think there's anything more "magical" to it than that.
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I understand that books need to give a foundation, but 20 pages or so. I am on page 80! Does this book go anywhere? So far, it is a vague summary of very, very basic personal psychology with a few standard meditation techniques.
Another half dozen pages and I think I may investigate the returns process!








