One class of drugs has proven to be particularly useful in producing
the shifts in consciousness needed for doing magick. Psychedelics work by
radically changing our perceptions, causing states of heightened emotions,
heightened senses, hallucinations, and changes in neuro pathways. The most
commonly consumed psychedelics are: psilocybin, THC, LSD, MDMA, and DMT, all of
which are currently illegal in most countries and (many would argue without
merit) classified as Schedule I in the US—of no clinical value and has high
rates of abuse. As with many other drugs, this classification stems more from lack
of cultural familiarity and as a means for systemic persecution of those who
commonly use them.
This classification has led to a lack of serious medical research into
their properties for over fifty years. It has only been in the past twenty
years that research, closely scrutinized by the government, has seen the light
of day. The majority of these studies have found these substances useful in
fighting depression, ease and comfort for terminally ill patients, facilitating
emotional bonds in family therapy, and ironically, treating addiction. It is
important to note:
No credible study of any of
these substances has found any negative short-term health effects when taken by
adults in recommended doses. No data exists on the effects of chronic,
long-term use. None of these substances have been found to be physically
addictive.
This should not delude anyone into believing these substances do no
harm. They can be abused just like any other coping mechanism, such as over
eating or watching too much TV. By far the largest contributing factor in their
potential to do harm comes from them being illegal. Black market substances
have no quality control. They can vary wildly in potency and purity. It makes
it much easier for them to be adulterated, as no authority exists to punish the
manufacturer without punishing the victim. Depending on your locale, possession
can be punishable by loss of employment, fines, long prison sentences, and in
some places execution. May the spirits protect ye brave psychonauts.
Each of these substances have different properties and different uses
in a magical context. We will also touch on some of the social and physical
uses for them as well, as they can be just as important for an individual
magus. While we endeavor to describe the mental experience of each drug, keep
in mind that it can differ radically from person to person, depends heavily on
dosage, and oftentimes cannot be described in words. We recommend that each
individual research for themselves possible interactions, proper dosage, and
proper consumption, and to always err on the side of caution.
Since atheist on other platforms just can’t handle it when a free-thinking individual doesn’t defend religion, but also refuses to accept their bullshit too.
In many respects, atheism is
akin to racism. It’s the arrogant belief that the sum product of human endeavor
is a delusion. It bold face says that our ancestors were sub-human,
unintelligent, and unable to determine hallucination from experience. It is the
worship of science plain and simple. It tries to convince us that our
technological society is the only way to be human. It makes capitalism the only
game in town, as even our experiences can be created, bought, and sold since
nothing about us is unique. Like the horrible faith mongers of the radically
religious it is based on fear. Fear that other peoples and other cultures might
actually have something to say that is worthy of our attention. Atheism is for
those who fear the fact our universe is something larger and stranger than they
will ever comprehend.
“We have this extraordinary conceit
in the West that while we’ve been hard at work in the creation of technological
wizardry and innovation, somehow the other cultures of the world have been
intellectually idle. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nor is this
difference due to some sort of inherent Western superiority. We now know to be
true biologically what we’ve always dreamed to be true philosophically, and
that is that we are all brothers and sisters. We are all, by definition, cut
from the same genetic cloth. That means every single human society and culture,
by definition, shares the same raw mental activity, the same intellectual
capacity. And whether that raw genius is placed in service of technological
wizardry or unraveling the complex thread of memory inherent in a myth is
simply a matter of choice and cultural orientation.”
I really want to write another Intention vs Will post. It’s just so damn difficult to discuss some things if I don’t understand the readers frame of reference. I could just explain things how I do them which may be completely meaningless to most readers and possibly confusing to even those who would understand it.
Curse of being too eclectic I guess.
Which leads me to wonder. Should I just select a frame of reference that is near universal so the most people can get what mean?
I always wonder how many really get what I try to convey over this form of communication and those that kinda get it but just like it.
I try to give enough examples from different systems (Hermetics, chaos, Yoga, chi Kung, ceremonial, breath work) but I feel like I kind of have to say sometimes, “Put it all together!” Once you do you can realize magick, hell, even life is easy. It’s all here for *you* to experience, to grow, to become a god.
But then I think, fuck that sounds too new agey or woo.
Same thing as intention. It can manifest change. Just not at the bullshit fluffy bunny levels. When you can really be at one, and truly feel as if the whole universe is within you, intention does work change on the universe.
Which is why magical training demands purification. If you were not ready and expanded and tapped into ALL, then some shitty intention can manifest with great ease. If you are fairly trained you can still get some dumb or goofy manifestations (recently manifested a cassette tape of AC/DC’s back in black. Literally handed to me and was told “I bet you would like this)
So, ya. Idk. Thoughts?
This makes me think of a meditation I did recently on the Universe card from the Thoth deck. In that meditation the snake spoke to me about how nature wants to have intercourse with humans in order to create magick. The feeling I got was, “hey man, if you’re here to make love to creation then it’s here to make love to you.”
And there’s so many ways to do that, so many paths you can choose to follow. Frames of reference that you might use. Various trips you might go on. It’s all part of the journey which is the experience of tapping into ALL.
I want to address what I believe to be @justinbthemagician’s central question of intent vs. will before I too far into my own ideas. I believe intent is a idea, a proposition that one affirms, usually about an action or pattern of thought. Will then is a mental and/or spiritual force that empowers us to manifest that intent. I believe intent is closely related to goals, or desired outcomes. I believe will is closely related to focus, attention, and endurance. Both intent and will can be cultivated or practiced. One can practice being aware of one’s intentions and can train themselves to select what they view as optimal or maximally right intentions. Will is cultivated through mediation and disciplines like Yoga. The cultivation of will aids in the manifestation of intent, magically or by mundane means. (Love the ACDC tape story!!!)
To me the central idea becomes that spiritual development is possible and you have a lot of potential inside of you. I’m at a point in my practice where a good portion of what I’m doing is getting out of my own way. I have structure and a system of follow (shout out to the Hermetic Christians doing the Great Work in its various forms) but I’m also doing a lot of body work, finding the tension in my body, which totally impeeds my practice. learning more about Qigong, and just my own energy in general.
For a while I felt very trapped in the elemental grades of the GD system. I’m not a member of a lodge, but I have a rough idea of where my self tutelage has taken me. I felt like I’d never get close to adepthood. I had to come at it from a different direction. I was so focused on attainment I couldn’t see or appreciate my growth. Insead of training a spiritual warrior king, I started growing sacred a tree in my heart. It was hard for me to let go of some of my desires for attainment, for that was the first step in getting out of my own way.
You guys seem to be making a great deal of sense to me, so I have to ask a question. Do you practice group magick?
Awe shucks, I haven’t practiced in a group since high school. Even that was only sporadic. I knew someone getting actual proctoring from legit Golden Dawn members, and I practiced with them a little. I would honestly love to be a part of a Golden Dawn group, but I know of no functional lodges in the greater Seattle Area. Admittedly I could try harder, put out more and targeted feelers.
I’m open to group study or practice. I am a little bit of a hermit and cagey around new people especially in meat space. But in this case the juice is more than worth the squeeze, and I expect my issues are not uncommon in the wider Ceremonial Magick community.
It’s obvious that you folks are doing good work, so I would never say you need to do things a certain way, but here are my thoughts on why a good group improves my magick.
Working with a group helps a magus understand Will on a deeper level. When you see the conflict and combination of Will by good magicians in a magical space, you develop a better understanding of how your Will fits with the universe. It’s that much closer to putting yourself in flow with universal consciousness.
A good group helps you get out of your own way. Nothing will strip you of your ego like a dozen or so people, high on LSD, screaming in tongues and unifying their magical purpose. Once again, you become the group and expand your understanding of Will.
There’s also all those other benefits, such as working with practitioners with different paradigms, so you can steal their shit.
Getting a good group together is hard fucking work. It’s hard to find a group that you can sync with, and it’s hard to form a group of like-minded individuals. But I would argue it is part of the Great Work that every magus undertakes. Nothing good is easy.
I really want to write another Intention vs Will post. It’s just so damn difficult to discuss some things if I don’t understand the readers frame of reference. I could just explain things how I do them which may be completely meaningless to most readers and possibly confusing to even those who would understand it.
Curse of being too eclectic I guess.
Which leads me to wonder. Should I just select a frame of reference that is near universal so the most people can get what mean?
I always wonder how many really get what I try to convey over this form of communication and those that kinda get it but just like it.
I try to give enough examples from different systems (Hermetics, chaos, Yoga, chi Kung, ceremonial, breath work) but I feel like I kind of have to say sometimes, “Put it all together!” Once you do you can realize magick, hell, even life is easy. It’s all here for *you* to experience, to grow, to become a god.
But then I think, fuck that sounds too new agey or woo.
Same thing as intention. It can manifest change. Just not at the bullshit fluffy bunny levels. When you can really be at one, and truly feel as if the whole universe is within you, intention does work change on the universe.
Which is why magical training demands purification. If you were not ready and expanded and tapped into ALL, then some shitty intention can manifest with great ease. If you are fairly trained you can still get some dumb or goofy manifestations (recently manifested a cassette tape of AC/DC’s back in black. Literally handed to me and was told “I bet you would like this)
So, ya. Idk. Thoughts?
This makes me think of a meditation I did recently on the Universe card from the Thoth deck. In that meditation the snake spoke to me about how nature wants to have intercourse with humans in order to create magick. The feeling I got was, “hey man, if you’re here to make love to creation then it’s here to make love to you.”
And there’s so many ways to do that, so many paths you can choose to follow. Frames of reference that you might use. Various trips you might go on. It’s all part of the journey which is the experience of tapping into ALL.
I want to address what I believe to be @justinbthemagician’s central question of intent vs. will before I too far into my own ideas. I believe intent is a idea, a proposition that one affirms, usually about an action or pattern of thought. Will then is a mental and/or spiritual force that empowers us to manifest that intent. I believe intent is closely related to goals, or desired outcomes. I believe will is closely related to focus, attention, and endurance. Both intent and will can be cultivated or practiced. One can practice being aware of one’s intentions and can train themselves to select what they view as optimal or maximally right intentions. Will is cultivated through mediation and disciplines like Yoga. The cultivation of will aids in the manifestation of intent, magically or by mundane means. (Love the ACDC tape story!!!)
To me the central idea becomes that spiritual development is possible and you have a lot of potential inside of you. I’m at a point in my practice where a good portion of what I’m doing is getting out of my own way. I have structure and a system of follow (shout out to the Hermetic Christians doing the Great Work in its various forms) but I’m also doing a lot of body work, finding the tension in my body, which totally impeeds my practice. learning more about Qigong, and just my own energy in general.
For a while I felt very trapped in the elemental grades of the GD system. I’m not a member of a lodge, but I have a rough idea of where my self tutelage has taken me. I felt like I’d never get close to adepthood. I had to come at it from a different direction. I was so focused on attainment I couldn’t see or appreciate my growth. Insead of training a spiritual warrior king, I started growing sacred a tree in my heart. It was hard for me to let go of some of my desires for attainment, for that was the first step in getting out of my own way.
You guys seem to be making a great deal of sense to me, so I have to ask a question. Do you practice group magick?
Not stupid at all. I wouldn’t say that divination necessarily is an intrinsic part of chaos magick but it is extremely popular with chaotes and some of the training programs consider divination as one of the skills a magician should learn.
So… no but also yes lol
Peter J. Carroll, one of the founders of chaos magick, had a dim view of divination and astrology in particular. He considered divination only worthy of short term determinations and not particularly effective. This is probably part of the reason that divination is not a main focus in many chaos magick texts.
It is also well known that Peter J. Carroll is a cake-eating twat who’s quite full of himself. Divination has been and always will be a major part of magick, from the Oracle at Delphi to modern diasporic religions, divination plays a major role. They can’t all be wrong.
For far too long I ignored divination in my practice, partly because of Carroll’s influence and partly because I thought I wasn’t good at it. Then I learned to call on spirits to guide me in divination and it is now, like many magicians, the second most common magical act I do on a regular basis (ancestor veneration being the first.)
No matter how you choose to approach divination, I suggest you do it on the regular. No other magical practice will build your magical awareness quite like divination. You will soon be finding synchronicity everywhere. You may even come to the conclusion that the world has meaning and that the universe essentially runs on magick.
It’s a bit funny to me that he’s such a snide bitch about divination because his own goddamn training programs (Liber KAOS KERAUNOS KYBERNETOS in particular) include it as a major component.
Maybe a little divination would have told him that calling something Liber KKK would not go over well with an American audience. Just sayin’ 😉
From a story told to me by my beloved friend, Frater Zentra El.
So I was in the UK visiting some people from the IOT. They invited me to a picnic at a park somewhere north of London. It was a good time, sort of a family event. I saw this old guy walk past me with a piece of cake on a plate that he was shoveling into his mouth. Cake crumbs were all over his shirt. Someone leaned over to me and said, “that’s Peter J. Carroll.”
“The guy with the cake on his shirt?” I asked.
I kind of lost all respect for him that day.
Okay, I’m the first to admit that this is totally petty. I mean, maybe he’s just a Buddha and doesn’t give a shit if he has cake on his shirt? Then I look back at my time hanging out on Arcanorium and all the bullshit racist shit he said about Muslims, and how he wanted to use the Knights of Chaos to fight against Islam. Cake or no cake, like many thinkers and folks who made significant discoveries, he’s a twat. So he’ll always be that “cake-eating twat” to me.
Not stupid at all. I wouldn’t say that divination necessarily is an intrinsic part of chaos magick but it is extremely popular with chaotes and some of the training programs consider divination as one of the skills a magician should learn.
So… no but also yes lol
Peter J. Carroll, one of the founders of chaos magick, had a dim view of divination and astrology in particular. He considered divination only worthy of short term determinations and not particularly effective. This is probably part of the reason that divination is not a main focus in many chaos magick texts.
It is also well known that Peter J. Carroll is a cake-eating twat who’s quite full of himself. Divination has been and always will be a major part of magick, from the Oracle at Delphi to modern diasporic religions, divination plays a major role. They can’t all be wrong.
For far too long I ignored divination in my practice, partly because of Carroll’s influence and partly because I thought I wasn’t good at it. Then I learned to call on spirits to guide me in divination and it is now, like many magicians, the second most common magical act I do on a regular basis (ancestor veneration being the first.)
No matter how you choose to approach divination, I suggest you do it on the regular. No other magical practice will build your magical awareness quite like divination. You will soon be finding synchronicity everywhere. You may even come to the conclusion that the world has meaning and that the universe essentially runs on magick.
We constantly tell people in Emergent Magick that you should be practicing with a group. Yet there are so few good examples of group ritual out there. So I thought I would share this.
Incantor – The Incantor holds a book,
wears black robes, and will be given a crown
Anointers – Carrying bowls of Abramelin
Oil, and crowns
Elements – Wear color coordinated
clothes if possible (shades of blue for water, shades of red for fire, shades
of yellow & white for air, shades of brown and black for earth.) Wearing
colored bandanas and carrying instruments (drum for earth, strings for water, brass
for fire, wind instrument for air)
Gods – Naked with a blanket or sheet to
hide under
The Mighty Dead – Wearing skull masks
and carrying rattles
Drummers – (Zey and Toast)
Preparation
Hang four
posters with AŌTH ABRAŌTH BASYM ISAK SABAŌTH IAŌ on each wall. Hang the poster
with the Orion constellation on the ceiling. Pass out all props and a black
card and markers to the participants.
Background
(Have every participant inscribe their black card with “AŌTH
ABRAŌTH BASYM ISAK” as the Incantor explains the background.)
There are several theories on how magick works, from it
being a purely psychological construct, to manipulating natural energies. We
call these models of magick. Most see magick as a combination of these principles.
One of the oldest is the spirit model. It is the belief that
a magician contacts the spirits—be they ghosts, gods, or spirits of animals or
objects—in order to effect things physically and metaphysically. This is the
basis for the oldest religion, animism. Which is still practiced by
hunter-gatherer societies today.
The image of the shaman or magician being headless comes
from prehistory. One of the oldest megalithic structures that pre-dates
civilization, Göbekli Tepe, shows numerous headless figures wearing ceremonial
belts. It is the idea that the magician has their head in the spirit world. Numerous
ancient burials have been discovered with the head separated from the body, and
the imagery cuts across times and cultures. It symbolizes the journey all
shaman take to learn how to communicate with the spirits and to speak for the
tribe.
We are about to perform a version of a ritual called the
Headless Rite. It is one of the oldest magical rituals ever recorded, believed
to be Egyptian in origin, and first written of in a series of documents
referred to as the Greek Magical Papyri that date from 200 BCE to 500 AD. The
purpose of the Headless Rite is to send an invitation to the spirits letting
them know you are open for dialogue. The words AŌTH ABRAŌTH BASYM ISAK SABAŌTH
IAŌ have no direct translation. They are a magical cipher. The name of the
Headless One who acts as an intermediary with the spirit world. The cards you
are creating become a talisman to carry with you, a sort of spirit calling
card. Many who have performed this ritual report strange events and dreams
about dogs. The dog being the animal spirit that guards the underworld.
So this is real old school, and originally written for a
single participant. I have done my best to orient this to a group ritual, but
it still has some old school elements—like a single person reciting most of the
lines. But I have written in many roles and activities for the ritual that I
hope make it more interesting.
Let’s blow our heads off!
ABCs
We will start with a quick ancient Egyptian banishing. Then
the drummers will start a slow beat. Everyone will be anointed with Abramelin
Oil. Abramelin Oil is another very old school magical tool, a scented anointing
oil used since Ancient Egypt. Everyone will also be given a crown to make them
one of the rulers of the heavens and earth. Those in the outer circle will
start dancing clockwise, chanting ABRAŌTH BASYM ISAK SABAŌTH IAŌ. The inner
circle will be the Mighty Dead (representing our ancestors), the Elements
(representing the rulers of all spirits of objects and place), and the gods
(the spirits of the outer world). The Incantor will recite the incantation, and
summon the spirits. They will start dancing counter-clockwise when called. Once
the spirits are called, participants will start entering the circle and
approach any one of the spirits. The spirit will lift their crown off,
symbolizing taking off their head. Headless participants will then start
dancing counterclockwise until we have a big mosh pit. The ritual ends as the
drummers climax and everyone cheers.
Banishing/Invocation
The spirits should mentally invoke any representation of the
type of being they are portraying. Everyone else shouts the words SET-WA SET-WA
SEM YEOW (away, away all travelling spirits in Coptic Egyptian), then cups
their hands to their mouths and blows air, visualizing that breath as a force
blowing away all negativity.
Anointing
The gods and the anointers approach the Incantor. The
anointers are carrying the Abramelin Oil and the crowns. The Goddess anoints
the Incantor’s forehead. The God places a crown on the Incator’s head. They
both say, “I make thee a ruler of the Earth, the spirits, and the
heavens.” The gods then go under
blankets until they are called. The elements stand in place until they are
called. The Mighty Dead sit on the floor until they are called.
The Incantor turns to one of the anointers, anoints them
with oil, gives them a crown, and says, “By the power of the Gods I make thee a
ruler of the Earth, the spirits, and the heavens.” The one he anoints repeats
the process with the second. Then both anointers bless each participant (but
not the spirits) in the same way until all have been anointed and crowned. The
anointers then join the outer circle.
The Calling of the
Headless One
The drum beat picks up to a medium tempo. The participants
start to dance and chant ABRAŌTH BASYM ISAK SABAŌTH IAŌ.
The Incantor speaks:
“Subject to me all daimons, so that every daimon, whether
heavenly or aerial or earthly or subterranean or terrestrial or aquatic, might
be obedient to me and every enchantment and scourge which is from God.
I summon you, Headless One, who created earth and heaven,
who created night and day, you who created the Light and the Darkness; you are
Osonnophris whom none has ever seen; you are Iabas; you are Iapos; you have
distinguished the just from the unjust; you have made female and male; you have
revealed seed and fruits; you have made men love each other and hate each
other.
I am Threskiornis your prophet to whom you have transmitted
your mysteries celebrated by Avinsthr’l; you have revealed the moist and the
dry and all nourishment; hear me.
I am the messenger of Pharoah Osoronnophris; this is your
true name which has been transmitted to the prophets of Avinsthr’l.
Hear me,
I call the spirits of the four elements. (The elements start
dancing counter-clockwise. They at times shout and wave their arms at
participants in the outer circle and play their instruments.)
ARBATHIAŌ REIBET ATHELEBERSĒTH ARA BLATHA ALBEU EBENPHCHI
CHITASGOĒ IBAŌTH IAŌ;
I call upon you, awesome and invisible god with an empty
spirit, AROGOGOROBRAŌ SOCHOU MODORIŌ PHALARCHAŌ OOO.
Holy Headless One, deliver me from the daimon that restrains
me,
ROUBRIAŌ MARI ŌDAM BAABNABAŌTH ASS ADŌNAI APHNIAŌ ITHŌLETH
ABRASAX AĒŌŌY;
Mighty Headless One, deliver me from the daimon which
restrains me. MABARRAIŌ IOĒL KOTHA ATHORĒBALŌ ABRAŌTH,
Deliver me,
I call the Mighty Dead! (The Mighty Dead start dancing
counter-clockwise. They at times lunge and wave their arms at participants in the
outer circle and play their rattles.)
AŌTH ABRAŌTH BASYM ISAK SABAŌTH IAŌ.
He is the Lord of the Gods; he is the Lord of the Inhabited
World; he is the one whom the winds fear; he is the one who made all things by
command of his voice.
Lord, King, Master, Helper, save the soul,
I call the Gods Themselves! (The Gods start dancing
counter-clockwise. They can interact with the outer dancers as they are
compelled.)
We become the Headless Daimon with sight in his feet; We
become the mighty one who possesses the immortal fire; We are the truth who
hates the fact that unjust deeds are done in the world; We are the one who
makes the lightning flash and the thunder roll; We are the one whose sweat
falls upon the earth as rain so that it can inseminate it; We are the one whose
mouth burns completely; We are the one who begets and destroys; We become the
Favor of the Aion; our name is a Heart Encircled by a Serpent; Come Forth and
Follow.
The Incantor approaches one of the gods and they remove his
crown. The Incantor then starts beckoning the participants to enter the circle.
The participant can approach any spirit and that spirit will remove their
crown. After their crown is removed the participant continues chanting but
dances counter-clockwise.
After all crowns are removed the drummers crescendo. When
the drumming stops, everyone shouts to Orion.
In the original post I forgot to credit Triple Snake for the illustration. You can read about their experience with the Headless Rite here. Don’t forget to check out their selections of t-Shirts and posters. I sincerely hope they make a poster of this one soon.
