The Temple FAQ
From Barbelith
- What is magic? – the art of changing the world in accordance with conscious will.
- How do I know if magic works? – If you give it a spin. Experience is the only reliable teacher.
- What is the relationship between magic and religion - Do I have to join a religion to practice magic? (for example: Wicca, Asatru, Voudoun, etc.) – Magick is a set of tools. A religion is a guiding principle, a blueprint. Both operate on a spiritual level, but the one shouldn’t be mistaken for the other.
- Which system is best for me? – The one that seems true. The one you can believe in.
- Are you all barking mad? – Yes. And you are too. Get used to it.
- What relationship is there between CM and other magic theories? – Chaos magick’s central tenet is that all magickal systems are in some way equivalent; there’s enough correspondence between, say, voudou cosmology, theosophy and Silver Surfer comics for the plucky mage to use the bits that ring true and reject the bits that don’t. Chaos mages are the thieving magpies of magickal scholarship. See http://www.chaosmatrix.org for more.
- What is the typical structure of a ritual? – There’s an opening bit (often a banishing or psyching up), a middle bit (entering the magickal mindframe), a statement of intention, a climax of some sort, and then a closing or banishing. It’s the same basic outline as any kind of trip somewhere. You get there, you do something, you get home. Try not to offend anyone while you’re out there; some thoughtforms are tougher than you think.
- What's a banishing ritual? What good are they? Does it matter which one I use? If I make my own, what elements should it have in it? – a banishing ritual is a way of leaving (or entering) magickal consciousness and entering (or leaving) everyday reality. A good, post-ritual banishing sweeps the mental hallways – it’s a way of drawing the act to a close, bringing energy down to an everyday level, of letting your ritual go to do its thing without your conscious interference. Psychologically/spiritually speaking, they’re a matter of good housekeeping more than anything. It doesn’t matter which one you use – some choose to cook a good meal, others choose a ritual bath; some chant and visualize a glowing protective aura, while others simply banish with laughter.
- What are thoughtforms? – entities without physical bodies; anything from a meme (or viral idea) to a spirit, ghost, or deity.
- What's a servitor? How is it different from a sigil? Why would I choose to use one over the other? – a sigil is like a scrap of code; a servitor is like a program. A servitor is a magical impulse or thoughtform not fully autonomous, but capable of acting independently in pursuit of its programmed purpose. A sigil to protect a lunchbox is like a wall around the lunchbox; a servitor to protect a lunchbox is like a guard dog chained to that wall.
- What role do the old gods play in the CM rituals? – As potent archetypes, capable of great feats and miraculous interventions… in return for the proper respect and worship, of course.
- What is gnosis? How can it be achieved? – Gnosis is a state of mental openness, when your conscious mind takes temporary leave and lets the unconscious do its thing. It can be achieved through meditation, chanting, dancing, drumming, exercising to exhaustion, withstanding pain, or, most pleasantly, at the moment of orgasm.
- What's the difference between Chaos Magic Gnosis and the Gnosis of the Gnostic Christians? – Magickal gnosis typically refers to a mental state of emptiness or openness, like the mind-blowing moment of orgasm or the quiet serenity in the depth of a meditative trance. The term was borrowed from the Gnostics, who use it to mean “knowledge” in the sense of intuitive truth, perceived with the inner eye despite the inherently distracting nature of the world. For more on Gnosticism, see www.enemies.com , a vastly informative site.
- What is a sigil? - A symbolic restatement of a specific intention, executed in such a way that it sneaks under the radar of the conscious mind and heads into the fertile loam of the subconscious/astral plane/whatever to alter reality. The technique was invented by artist and magus Austin Osman Spare around the dawn of the 20th century. See http://www.flyingfists.org/archives/000450.html, http://www.sigilgarden.com/words.html and http://www.chaosmatrix.org for more information.
- Do I have to forget my sigil? – Forgetting a sigil is a necessary paradox. Once a sigil has been charged and shot off into the subconscious ether, it needs to act free of conscious (or semi-conscious) interference. Idle thoughts can gum up the works.
- Why are they called runes, like the old ones? - Runes are a form of sigel, so sometimes sigels are called runes. Really, this just confuses people. Runes refer to the Old Norse and Germanic alphabets, which are also used in magickal practice. So, it is best to say "sigel" unless you are talking about the Futhark to avoid confusion.
- What is the difference between a paradigm and an ontology and how do they affect magic? – an ontology is a worldview, an essential understand of the way things are. A paradigm is basically the same thing, although some define it in “smaller” terms, as a subset of an ontology; for example, “an ethical paradigm” or “a dietary paradigm.” The business of magick is the business of changing your ontology – changing the rules of reality, the way things are, with conscious direction.
- Why does Chaos Magick seem slightly out of date? – Because it was popular in the 80s and early 90s. Y’know, when the kids started putting up the psychedelic fractal posters and talking about how Chaos Theory was gonna turn the world of science on its head. Science, as always, marches implacably on. So does fashion.
- Can you really just make stuff up? – Yes. As long as what you make up is true.
- Is it dangerous? – What isn’t dangerous nowadays?
- Is it irreligious? Will I go to hell? – No. Well, probably not. If you’re a Bible literalist, then it’d be a good idea not to summon any spirits of the dead or worship any gods before Jehovah. But angels and saints are OK, and even the Levites (Old Testament priests) practiced divination.
- Are these things real, or is it all in my head? – Does the difference really matter?
Glossary
- Theurgy - 1) magick invoking, evoking or otherwise calling on some force or entity exterior to the magician; for example, praying that Shiva protects your lunchbox, or summoning an elemental to protect the lunchbox. 2) working in accordance with natural or divine forces for effect beyond that of the magickian, usually beneficial; sometimes called "white" or "right handed" magick.
- Thaumaturgy – 1) magick using the magician’s own will in relation to the universe; for example, creating a sigil to protect the lunchbox or divining the lunchbox’s future with tarot cards. 2) the bending of natural or divine forces for the benefit of the magickian directly ; sometimes called "black" or "left handed" magick.
- Sorcery - direct forms of magick based upon only the will or personal power of the magickian. SOURCEry. Also often seen as "black" or evil magick.
- 'High Magick' – An arbitrary division 1) usually ritual or ceremonial magick, typically (but not always) theurgic in bent. Often Hermetic in style making use of many symbolic correspondences such as the astrological. Formal. Think of a group of robed figures, chanting in a foreign tongue. 2) magick as generally celebratory or religious. 3) Sometimes referred to as “white magick” or “right hand path”
- 'Low Magick' – An arbitrary division 1) Spontaneous or personal Magicks, less based upon ritual structure or hermetic correspondences so much as individual effects or items or psychic ability. Pejoratively called “kitchen magick,” 2) Sometimes referred to as “black magick” or “left hand path”
- 'White Magick' - Magick of generally benign type typically done for the benefit of others or a community. An arbitrary division.
- 'Black Magick' - Magick magick as a tool to achieve “selfish” ends or personal goals. An arbitrary division.
- Right Hand Path - Usually used to refer to traditions of magick "high" or "white" in nature. Moral or "clean" paths, culturally accepted or traditional forms. Often also seen as benevelent or outwardly generous in nature. An arbitrary division.
- Left Hand Path - Usually used to refer to traditions of magick "low" or "black" in nature. Personal or sorcerous magicks; unpopular, heretical, or profane traditions; immoral or "unclean" practices. An arbitrary division.
- Godform – a postmodern way to think about a deity, as an archetypal figure rather than a specific, superpowered individual. Less “man with beard and trident” and more “essence of tridented beardedness.”
Still got questions? Ask them in this thread (http://www.barbelith.com/topic/17074) and Barbelith's finest will fall over themselves to answer. Er, probably.
