In some ways, writing a book is like a waking dream. You carry it around with you for so long. The process takes months, sometimes years, and completion always seems out of reach. It’s a long hard slog.
I am so ecstatic right now because I just received the artwork for my upcoming book – Emergent Magick: Rebuilding Our Tribes Through Ritual and Meaning.
Much love for the magnificent Clinton “Toast” Burkhart for all his hard work creating this lovely art.
As much as I would like to avoid it, I feel I must first
define Emergent Magick (EMK). Especially considering that at this point, there
are maybe about fifty practitioners of EMK on the planet. If you follow my
other blog, Scroll of Thoth, you probably have some idea what it is, but I know
that I have failed to define it with any concision. Part of that is because I
am publishing a book on the subject, which will be released in early 2019. It
really needs an entire book and more to get the concept across. Also because
like any other magical philosophy, it’s slippery, and no matter how skilled I
think I am as a writer, words always fail to encompass it in its entirety. And
you’ve probably figured out by now I’m a wordy son-of-a-bitch, which makes it
doubly hard to do this. I’ll endeavor to make it as short as possible so we can
get on with the real subject at hand.
EMK defines magick as, “The art of altering consciousness.”
In essence, the universe itself is created and directed by consciousness, and
magick is a way to influence that consciousness. Consciousness itself lacks
universally accepted definition. For our purposes it includes any sufficiently
complex system that can perceive. If you accept that sub-atomic systems are
sufficiently complex, and that quantum theory proves that particles have some
form of perception, this includes everything in the universe to a greater or
lesser degree. Art, the activity of creation, influences consciousness. Ritual
is the art of the magician, and it is specifically designed to alter
consciousness.
I am very proud to announce the creation of a new blog – Emergent Animism (EMAN). EMAN is my own personal Emergent Magick paradigm, and this blog will be going deep with my thoughts on spirits, daily practice, and magick in general.
Don’t worry. Scroll of Thoth is not going away. I will be cross-posting on this blog until Emergent Animism develops a following of its own.
As much as I would like to avoid it, I feel I must first
define Emergent Magick (EMK). Especially considering that at this point, there
are maybe about fifty practitioners of EMK on the planet. If you follow my
other blog, Scroll of Thoth, you probably have some idea what it is, but I know
that I have failed to define it with any concision. Part of that is because I
am publishing a book on the subject, which will be released in early 2019. It
really needs an entire book and more to get the concept across. Also because
like any other magical philosophy, it’s slippery, and no matter how skilled I
think I am as a writer, words always fail to encompass it in its entirety. And
you’ve probably figured out by now I’m a wordy son-of-a-bitch, which makes it
doubly hard to do this. I’ll endeavor to make it as short as possible so we can
get on with the real subject at hand.
EMK defines magick as, “The art of altering consciousness.”
In essence, the universe itself is created and directed by consciousness, and
magick is a way to influence that consciousness. Consciousness itself lacks
universally accepted definition. For our purposes it includes any sufficiently
complex system that can perceive. If you accept that sub-atomic systems are
sufficiently complex, and that quantum theory proves that particles have some
form of perception, this includes everything in the universe to a greater or
lesser degree. Art, the activity of creation, influences consciousness. Ritual
is the art of the magician, and it is specifically designed to alter
consciousness.
I am very proud to announce the creation of a new blog – Emergent Animism (EMAN). EMAN is my own personal Emergent Magick paradigm, and this blog will be going deep with my thoughts on spirits, daily practice, and magick in general.
Don’t worry. Scroll of Thoth is not going away. I will be cross-posting on this blog until Emergent Animism develops a following of its own.
Emergent Animism (EMAN) is coming soon….
Amazon has only one Gutter Bible left in stock. We are hoping that if they sell it they will buy some more. If you have been thinking about purchasing one, now is the time.
“I bring thee the flower which was in the beginning, the
glorious lily of the Great Water!“
– Hieroglyphic text from Denderah
One can find depictions of the blue lotus flower in almost
every Ancient Egyptian temple and much of the sacred art.
The blue lotus was a symbol of rebirth as the flower closes in the evening and re-opens every day of its life-cycle.
In one of the
Egyptian creation myths a blue lotus, son of Nun and Nuit, emerges from the
primordial waters and opens, creating the world.
It is also interesting to note that the blue lotus when
ingested has mild psychoactive properties not unlike MDMA. A favorite Egyptian pastime
was to drink wine that had been steeped in dried lotus flowers.
In my visions I sometimes see the scribe-priests of Khemenu,
after a long day copying and creating scrolls, walk down to the banks of the
Nile to enjoy the cool air. They would sail on small barges, drinking the blue
lotus wine late into the evening. As Nuit revealed her glory above they would participate
in what gnostics later called the, “Feast of Love.”
Today, on the sixteenth day of September, 2018, the first
day of the Feast of the Cyprians, I have completed the first draft of the book,
“Emergent Magick.” For over a year-and-a-half my beloved Thoth has been a
guide, an inspiration, and at times a harsh task master. So I bring to him this
offering of a crystal blue lotus flower, in gratitude for his aid in this great
accomplishment.
Praise Djhuety!
Now the hard work begins. Editing, lay-out, more editing,
re-writing, more editing, and production. It needs to be the best I can make
it, in honor of all those who inspired its creation. Stay tuned, as we will be
asking for help in the coming months with all that is necessary to bring the
book to print.
“It was right in everyone’s face.
Tyler and I just made it visible. It was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Tyler
and I just gave it a name.”
– Fight Club (1999)
Have you ever been to an
outdoor music festival? Saw the masses of people all moving to the same music?
Felt the connection, knowing you were with The People now, and this is has it
has always been? Asked yourself, what breaks this connection when the lights go
down and the band leaves the stage?
Have you been to Burning
Man, or one of the many regional burns? Saw the flames lick up into air? Felt
the ecstasy of release and jubilation? Succumbed to the moment? Have you ever wondered if it could have a
deeper meaning?
Have you ever been to a
good party? On a camping trip around a campfire, or a bonfire in the backyard?
Witnessed the organic flow of the conversation? Been a part of the vibrations
of emotion and shared experience? Sensed the timeless quality of the night?
Felt a deep bond with all in the circle? Have you asked yourself, why do our
daily lives not feel this way?
This book is for you.
Because the answer to
these questions is magick. It’s really magick. A timeless art practiced by our
ancestors, and it has never really gone away. From the tribes of Africa, to the
Egyptians, the Greeks, the witches’ fires in the Middle Ages, magick ruled the
minds and hearts of human beings. It ruled their world. And every time someone
figured out a way to sell it, it lost some of its power.
It’s time to take it back.
In 1987, when Samuel
Weiser unleashed on the world the first mass market version of Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter J.
Carroll, it included a flow chart that expressed the progress of magical
traditions. The chart declared the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of
Thanateros (IOT) as the culmination of all other magical tradition that
proceeded it. While the creators of this book would argue that the progression
of magick is decidedly non-linear, the chart does elegantly express the idea
that magick is not moribund in ancient tradition. That as a living, breathing
art form, those that practice it learn from what has come before and make
improvements. Certainly Carroll did not presume that the IOT and Chaos Magick,
as it would come to be called, would be the final destination of that
progression. Nor do we presume what lies within to be the last word on magical
practice.
It is the next step.
Emergent
Magick presents the
distilled learning of a multitude of magical practitioners who have worked in
multiple systems. It represents the cutting edge of magical thinking. If you
find the contents of this book familiar, it’s because they are things that many
practitioners have been saying for years. Sadly, we have found few books that
actually express these ideas concisely. All too often, magical tomes contain
in-depth explorations of a single paradigm, or worse yet, lists of spells
expected to work like recipes.
The creators wanted this
tome to be useful to a rank amateur with only a passing interest in magick. But
we haven’t “dumbed it down.” We advise those with no experience to consume this
book slowly, and do not shy away from researching while reading any concepts
you may be unfamiliar with. At the same time, experienced practitioners should
not just skip the “how-to” sections of this book as they represent the
application of the new theories put forth.
We hope that at the very
least this book generates worthy discussion on new magical theory. For those
who have just joined the ranks of the magi, we salute you.
