CHAOS MAGICK

"I must create my own system, or be enslaved by another man's." --- William Blake

What is this Book?

The bulk of the book is comprised of the revised editions of my previous occult books: Tactical Magick, Blood Magick, and Post-Modern Magick.  I have also included a genesis document for the Ellis movement. To complement these texts this book is peppered with quotes, boasts, and challenges. It boosts the page count by a few pages, but at $0.01 per page I figured it was worth $0.25 of your money for these “asides” to have their own pages.

Who Are You?

Obviously Seth isn’t my real name, though for the purpose of this book, my name is not important. What matters is that I wrote my first book at the age of 24, having graduated with a BA in Theology, before I knew shit about the world. I had been taught witchcraft and shamanism as a boy, but I had to learn the lessons of life to put everything into perspective. Over the course of the next several years I wrote three more occult books, all borrowing heavily from my own experiences, while being quite grounded in my academic background. They are solid books, and now, nearly ten years later, they still very much apply. I find that as an older man, with many changed perspectives as the result of getting out there and living life, that the books hold new meaning. My life experiences and continued magical study have helped to enrich the works I’d previously penned, and this revised collection is the best way to share. Am I blowing smoke up my own ass? Maybe, but the point is that when I did the bulk of my occult writing I had the hard edge of a 20-something going solo, and now I’m walking this planet as a 30-something with my firstborn on the way. I am both of those people, the 24 year old Seth and the older Seth, both powerful, both educated, both idealists and cynics, dreamers and adventurers, and this book is written by both.

Why no page numbers?

I want this book to function as many things, an occult text of many uses. My goal is to present you with a book that can be opened any time, to any page, and find the words that are most useful to you at that moment. A little slice of bibliomancy.

What’s the deal with this book, really?

I want to speak plainly. I avoid the psycho-babble (well, mostly). I don't want to play word games with you, I want to give you the straight dope and move on. So this book is raw, unrefined. Sure, I spell-checked it (yeah, we spell words, let that bake your noodle for a minute), and did some basic formatting, but you'll see nothing fancy here. Cram this book-grenade in your brain and explode. Once you put yourself back together the world (and life) is going to be quite the ride.

"I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content."  --- Conan of Cimmeria

LITERAL & MYTHICAL REALITY

A short conversation from "The Messenger" feature film, wherein Joan of Arc is awaiting her execution and is visited by a strange being who challenges her faith with his words while reinforcing it with his very presence/existence.

Joan of Arc: I've always been faithful to God and I've followed everything He's ever said and I've done everything He's ever asked me to do.

The Conscience: God asked you to do something?

Joan of Arc: Yes. Yes, lots of things.

The Conscience: You mean God said, "I need you, Jeanne."

Joan of Arc: No. But He sent me signs.

The Conscience: Signs? What signs?

Joan of Arc: The wind. The wind. And the clouds, ringing!

The Conscience: Ringing clouds?

Joan of Arc: The dance. The dance. The dance. The dance.

The Conscience: The dance.

Joan of Arc: The sword! The sword lying in the field. That was a sign.

The Conscience: No. That was a sword in a field.

Joan of Arc: No. No, that was a sign!

The Conscience: No. That was a sword. In a field.

Joan of Arc: It can't just get there by itself! It can't. A sword just doesn't get there by itself. It can't just get there by itself.

The Conscience: True. Every event has an infinite number of causes, so why pick one rather than another? There are many ways a sword might find itself in a field.

Literal Reality presents you with a sword in a field.

Mythical Reality presents you with a sign.

The trick is to know when you are being presented with a sign and when it’s just a sword in a field. Both have value. Signs can help you know our purpose, seed adventures, and serve as guideposts along life’s (and death’s) journey. And how cool is it to find a sword in a field? Sometimes the world is simply what meets the eye, and the world is pretty cool already.

HEX:  Laws of Magick

1. Health (fitness, hygiene, diet)

2. Equilibrium (psychological, social, behavioral)

3. Xenogamy (cross-fertilization through learning & experience)

HEALTH

How much control can you possibly hope to exert within your reality when you can’t control your own body?

Why talk about health and fitness in an occult book? Because a vast portion, if not (disturbingly) the majority, of the audience for this book struggle with their weight, health, and overall fitness levels. Did I just call you fat? Maybe, probably, but guess what, if you want to HAVE THE POWER then the first place to start is your own body. I’m not attacking positive body image, what I’m attacking is ignorance, laziness, and wasted potential.

The people who typically (in our modern world) who gravitate towards the occult arts, witchcraft, or pagan/alt religious paths are people who have, for one reason or another, found the world “as it is” to be unsatisfactory. We reject the world as it is presented to us, and we seek out the alternatives. Many of us find magick.

Ever heard the phrase “If you meet a hot witch you know she’s got to be crazy” before? I know I’ve heard it plenty, and generally the statement holds true. The attractive people, the pretty people, they typically have an easier time with life, and more often than not don’t actually end up getting into the occult. The few “popular kids” who get into the occult world are the exception, and (in my experience) are the stereotypical “damaged” person, though there are those who certainly do have the power.

I’m saying throw away your notions of sexy, popular, who got into the occult or why, and focus on being healthy. In fact, for we happy few who choose to step up and be the shapers of reality, there should be a striving towards something a cut above “healthy”. I’m not saying you need to hit the gym for four hours a day for seven days a week. I’m saying get a few push-ups and sit-ups into your daily life, get a walk in a few times a week (sidenote: who knows what you’ll find when you walk instead of drive, walkers attract adventure).

EQUILIBRIUM

How much control can you possibly hope to exert within your reality when you can't control your own mind?

Forces are at work in and around our lives at all times, these forces encompassing everything from gravity to relationships to finances to spirituality. Amidst this tempest of forces we must strive to maintain an inner-equilibrium so that we may navigate this reality with clarity, awareness, and power.

In short.... we have to KEEP IT TOGETHER. We live in the world, whether we like it or not, so we must become masters of living in the world. Gaining control of your mind will enable you to avoid the all-to-common pitfalls that many occult/pagan practitioners deal with. Social anxiety, bi-polar disorders, depression, obsessive & compulsive behavioral patterns... the list goes on. You know who & what I'm talking about, sadly it is (like the Health struggles) an unfortunate cliché that all too often rings true.

I'm not saying that its going to be easy, or that these few bold words in my little book are going to overturn years of mental illness and social ineptitude, but what I AM saying is that you MUST get your mind under your control before you can realize your full potential, as a practitioner and as a human being.

Actually go talk to people... yes, that guy/girl is probably going to reject you, but fuck it, the planet is full of them, so keep trying (but don't make an ass out of yourself accosting everyone). Of course you might find that you aren't one of the "popular" people, deal with it, because in some circles YOU are center-stage (just don't let it go to your head). And that holds true for business just as much as relationships. If you have some behavioral or psychological issues try reading some books, examine yourself and your life, and if you can't get it together on your own then by the gods get some professional counseling, there's no shame in getting help, just don't rely on it exclusively.

XENOGAMY

How much control can you possibly hope to exert within your reality when your experience of reality is confined within your existing comfort zone?

Yes, I used Xenogamy (fancy way of saying cross-fertilization) so that I could call my laws of magick "HEX", but guess what that's such a potent word (Hex) that it is something easy that you can remember. Check in with yourself all the time, day in and day out, and make sure you are living a Hex Lifestyle. Sounds cool right?

With your body and your mind fully in your control you are ready to cross-fertilize. Get out there and LIVE LIFE. Learning and Experience are the keys to unlock the whole of reality and yourself. Read books that you'd usually skip. Interact with people and social groups that you would typically avoid. Eat food that you've never tried. Travel as much as your budget allows. You're gonna take some hits, and part of learning is making mistakes, many of them you can't even avoid. Some books are crap, some people are trash, some food is just not to your taste, and not every journey is a vacation. Regardless, you have to get out there and DO.

It makes you smarter, harder, wiser, and more powerful. The world is yours, take it.

MAGICAL ACTIVISM

Magical Activism is the use of magic(k) in a variety of endeavors commonly associated with social change, or more specifically, the alteration of consensual reality to reflect the changes one wishes to manifest in the psychosocial fabric of human civilization.

Despite the classical definition of magical activism, there is another interpretation of its nature that has become, in this author's experience, more commonplace in the occult circles of my own experience. Perhaps this is evidence of the sorts of persons I am given to surround myself with, though I warrant that a non-classical and quite alternative, even if so much more so direct, interpretation is the more commonplace.

That definition, or re-interpretation, of magical activism is of the same stripe as environmental activism. In that environmental, as a word, describes the sort of activism being perpetrated, and not the tools by which such perpetration occurs. As such, environmental activism is activism that is chiefly concerned with the environment, and the preservation, nurturing, and re-establishment therein. So following this model magical activism would be activism chiefly concerned with the preservation, nurturing, and re-establishment of magic.

Naturally such a bold and broad statement such as this bears some delving into. Questions arise as to what exactly is the world of magic, and how one best goes about the preservation and re-establishment of such a thing, if even it is a thing. I propose that both definitions of magical activism jointly define and empower the other, to the betterment of both.

Magical Activism for the purpose of the preservation, nurturing, and re-establishment of magic is best perpetrated through the use of magic, employed in acts of magical activism.

What does all of this wordplay point too?

Practical magic. A life of everyday magical adventure. Occupy Reality.

The use of magical workings, knowledge, and abilities towards practical applications in the everyday lives of those who wish to become magical activists.

To practice magic in a direct and useful manner, in other words practical, in order to further the quality and goals of one's own life, and thus not only making one’s life of a higher quality, but also by association the human beings within your life (or whom are directly and perhaps even indirectly affected by your life), is a manifestation of magical activism. Reality has Momentum, so to change it we must apply direct and constant force in the direction of our choosing.

If the goal of magical activism is to preserve, nurture, and re-establish magic in the world, then living a life of daily practical magic is the most direct way of manifesting such activism. This not only expands the knowledge of the activist, hones his or her magical skills, but it also becomes a living expression and manifestation of the activism that the magician is striving for.

TACTICAL MAGICK

Magick is cheap, and power is all around you.

Introduction

The purpose of this book is to provide you with magical tech and survival skills.  Techniques, technologies, and skills that will give you an edge in living with magick in the harsh realm that is reality. Their purpose is to illustrate the use of magick to resolve situations effectively, which is the result of the incorporation of magick, requisite skills, and their usage into one’s daily life. The goal is to promote understanding of the role of magick as both a tool and as a method of spiritual enrichment, though the material presented within is a magical system primarily concerned with results and situation resolution.  A system that incorporates anything and everything depending upon personal relevance and usefulness.  Tactical Magick is a book that presents a way of taking magick out of the inner sanctum and onto the streets of the real world. This is results magick right to the core.

What is Tactical Magick?

A banishing ritual done with a Bic lighter and salt packets in a cheap hotel room. Possum skull house guardians and scarecrow golems in the cornfield. Teddy bear exorcisms and beating down the bogeyman with a water gun. Scrying for the future with a brick and pirated music. Turning a road trip into a vision quest with a mixed tape and a good friend. Punching your enemy right in the soul. Evoking a god with sidewalk chalk and cheap red wine in an alley.  Its Molotov magick that burns away the obstacles in your life, if you have the guts and the skills to harness your power.

This is for the soldier who dodges a bullet, the graffiti artist who evades arrest, the beggar who walks with the spirits of the street. The college student who needs to pass the final exam, the slinger trying to survive another score, the starving artist who has to hold on for one more month.  This is for the stock broker who has to make or break the deal, the twenty-something humanities major looking for a path in life, the police officers and firefighters who don’t want to become more names on a wall.  The stripper trying to raise a child by herself, the anarchist who wants to change the system, and the politician unwilling to leave a campaign to chance.

This is for you, so step up.

Hermetic Influences

Tactical magick, in many ways, is a magical system built upon the eclectic and situational use of symbols, associations, and relationships in order to create effective magical manifestations of the will. As such, it has no foundation beyond the daily lives of its practitioners. Though however incomplete, the following hermetic magical document is an effective glimpse into the fundamental elements of this approach to magick.

The Emerald Tablet

Truly, without deceit, certainly and absolutely that which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the Miracle of One Thing. And just as all things have come from One, through the Meditation of One, so all things proceed from this One Thing in the same way. The Sun is its Father. Its Mother is the Moon. The Wind has carried it in his Belly. It is nourished by the Earth. It is the father of every Perfected Thing in the whole World. Its Power is complete if it is converted into Earth. Separate the Earth from the Fire, the subtle from the gross, gently and with great care. It rises from the Earth to Heaven, and descends again to the Earth, And thereby receives Power from Above and Below. By this means, you shall obtain the Glory of the whole World. All Obscurity will be clear to you. This is the strong Power of all Power. It overcomes everything subtle and penetrates everything solid. In this way was the World created. From this there will be amazing Applications, of which these are the means.  Therefore I am called Thrice Greatest Hermes, holding three parts of the Wisdom of the whole World.

Herein have I completely explained the Operation of the Sun.

The Basics

There are a multitude of books, tapes, workshops, and articles that focus on what are considered to be the basics of magical practice. As such, there will be no exhaustive discourse on these elements. However, there are three basic aspects of magical practice that are of great importance to the understanding and capacity to interact with the concepts presented in this text, and pursuant to this will be presented in a limited fashion here. These basic elements are physical fitness, meditation, and energy manipulation.

Despite how much we may or may not view the flesh as a prison, after a Gnostic fashion, we are beings housed in and a part of the physical realm. Keeping the body, this temple, at peak condition is important to any magical endeavor. When the body is good physical condition there is an abundance of vitality, awareness, and endurance, all of which are important faculties in magical practice. This is best done through balanced diet, consistent exercise, uninterrupted restful sleep, and good personal hygiene. When the body is well rested as a result of sleep, full of vitality as a result of a balanced diet, refreshed by cleanliness, and poised from exercise, the magus is ready to engage in effective magical practice. Not only will these healthy habits improve the quality of your life, but also the potency, duration, and precision of your magick.

Meditation is a cornerstone of magical practice, though is not as rigid as one might think. There are a multitude of theories and methods of meditation, in fact, it is not the act of meditation that is of importance, it is the resulting state of relaxed readiness that is the goal. The most simple meditation technique is to find a comfortable physical position, though not one that will encourage the practitioner to fall asleep unexpectedly (hence the common usage of an upright or sitting position). Once in place, the practitioner begins to breath deeply, not hyperventilating, but drawing breath all the way down into the lower parts of the lung, and breathing out in a controlled and slow manner. Eventually the mind will sharpen and the body will relax, creating the ideal state of relaxed readiness. It is from this state of relaxed readiness that effective magick springs forth. In time the practitioner will become adept at achieving this R&R state with a single controlled breath, allowing them to prepare for empowered magical action at a moment’s notice.

Energy manipulation, like fitness and meditation, is discussed at length in many texts and sources external to this book, though a brief overview will be given. Magical energy, as the fundamental element of any magical endeavor, must be manipulated by the practitioner in order to manifest the will. There are a plethora of theories and techniques regarding energy manipulation, and it is likely that the reader of this book is already well versed in such techniques, though some things bear repeating. Energy must first be sensed, this can be done with a combination of the ‘magical senses’ which will be discussed later in the book and the act of visualizing the energy you are being faced with in whatever manner is most compatible with your personal worldview. Once the energy is sensed you must reach out with your will and take control of that energy, shaping it into patterns of your choosing, or using the pre-existing patterns as you see fit. This is the most basic element of magick, and is heavily reliant upon the strength of your will and your belief in the existence of magick itself. Once the energy is shaped it can be used for the magical sending or spell you are attempting to produce. When the magical act has been completed, ground the leftover energy by projecting it into either an object, the ground itself, or dissipating it into the ambient environment. When you have mastered these basics…

…the world of magick is an open door.

Do What Thou Wilt Is the Whole of the Law.

Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted.

Now suit up and let’s ride.

Magical Senses

In order for a practitioner to become a dynamic force of change, that practitioner must have the ability to percieve the reality in which he or she is working. The aspiring magus must develop what can easily be called ‘magical senses’. Much like sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell, these senses must be recognized and developed in order for the practitioner to be able to interact with and manifest the will within reality. These senses for the most part mirror the standard five senses, though some extend past those five and become what many people refer to as the sixth sense and beyond. This is the occult art of observation and perception.

How can a sorcerer hope to interact with spirits if they cannot be sensed? How powerful can the changes wrought in reality be if the mage who manifests those changes cannot percieve the results of the exertion of her will? If a warlock is cursed and does not have the magical senses necessary to notice, what hope has he of countering it? These are the sorts of problems that a practitioner without developed magical senses can find themselves dealing with. The development and constant maintenance of these senses is of the utmost importance, because it is these senses that will allow the adept to observe and percieve situations and deal with them as they arise. A magus at the top of his game is proactive and preemptive, not blindly reactionary.

The most effective training method is a visualized expansion of awareness that in time becomes actual magical awareness. First achieve a meditative state, either through personal meditation techniques or whatever mental or physical methods the individual uses to enter a state of calm. Once you have settled into this state, begin to expand your awareness. Try to visualize your room in your mind’s eye, see without seeing. Now combine your other senses with this mental picture. Hear the room, and use the ambient sound to construct that same mental picture. Then create that picture with smell and taste. Try to create the picture with touch, this will require you to visualize your sense of touch extending far beyond your physical body. Imagine the textures of the various objects in the room, the walls, and the floor. Once you have created the picture in your mind, try to create it using all five of your senses at once. Sight will naturally come the most easily, but once you see the room try to hear it with your eyes open. Now, while watching and listening to the room, smell, taste, and touch it. The point of this exercise is to illustrate to the practitioner that even the common human senses can be used with much more detail, precision, and range when coupled with creative visualization.

After considerable practice expanding the five senses, now it is time to discover and develop the magical senses. For the most part magical senses are types of energy perception, a good metaphor would be that a magus who has developed magical senses can percieve not only other realms, external entities, but also the very fabric of reality. The best way to being training in these senses is to repeat the afore mentioned exercises, though instead of perceiving the physical elements of the room, use sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell to become aware of the energy patterns that make up the physicalities of the room. It would be beneficial at this point to add a few magical items to the room, perhaps the sorcerer’s ritual dagger or a ceremonial vessel. For the most part the physical objects in the room will feel magically just like they do with the standard senses. However, when perceiving magical items the mage will be able to hone the senses to an awareness of the magical properties of the items. At the most basic levels of skill the mage will be able to tell a magically charged item from a mundane item, be able to pick out the empowered dagger from an entire collection of knives for example. The more developed this sense becomes, the magus will be able to percieve what sorts of magical energy permeate the items, allowing the magus to divine elements of the item’s origins and purpose.

The same techniques hold true for external entities and places of power. The more aware of energy patterns in reality the witch becomes, the better able she will be to interact with those elements of reality. For example, when a witch walks into a building she can use her magical senses to determine if it is haunted, where in the building the primary manifestations are taking place, and to some degree what sort of entity is doing the haunting. By developing an occult awareness, the practitioner will be able to discern details about reality that can be very useful. Imagine how much of an advantage you would have if one had the ability to tell practitioner from non-practitioner with a mere glance, or be able to tell when someone or something is looking for or at you. It is important to have the ability to percieve, communicate, and interact with entities, magical constructs, or complex enchantments and magical items.

In essence, every magus has the ability to develop what many call the ‘second sight’. It is the ability to percieve and observe magical energy patterns. Though with the aide of visualization the magus will be able to expand these senses to a range much greater than the physical body. Some practitioners may require ritual items or physical foci to help them to maintain and focus this awareness, like enchanted monocles or perhaps a talisman of ‘seeing’, though these senses can be developed without such augmentations. Once the mage becomes aware of reality, then the manifestation of the mage’s will is much more powerful and precise.

LEARN HOW TO FIGHT

You must be a capable person, take up a martial art, get into a school, throw on some armor and go bash at an SCA event. Not only are you becoming physically capable, but you’re gaining confidence, mental alacrity, and taking a step towards mastery of self.

The Logris

The majority of this chapter is borrowed from one of the author’s previous titles, Post-Modern Magick. While readers familiar with that work may feel this to be overly repetitious, readers new to the concept will require the reprinted material in order to better understand the later part of the chapter, which will deal with creating what are called spell protocols that can be stored in the Logris field.

The Logris, in a classical sense, is a dynamic symbol of Chaos, better known as the chaosphere or chaos wheel. While keeping this original meaning as a reference the word Logris can also be used to describe the staging area for spells within the “aura” of any magus, like a membrane or energy field of sorts that surrounds the magus. While much argument and essay could be held in defining and investigating the aura itself, that will not be done here. Instead, the word aura will be defined loosely as the collection of energy fields that permeate and surround the magus. One of these energy fields is the Logris.  For those who are aware of its existence and skilled enough to use it, the Logris can serve as both a medium for the casting of spells and an amplifier for the power of the spell.

The theory and procedure are as follows:

Much like various parasites that graft themselves to the skin or aura of humans and magi alike, just so can a spell be attached, or “hung” on the Logris energy field, almost like a temporary tattoo on the skin.

The magus first casts the majority of the spell. Once the spell is complete, but not sent, the spell caster visualizes the Logris field.  When the Logris has been raised the spell caster puts the spell onto the Logris.  Perhaps visualizing physically hanging the spell on a wall, peg, or the shimmering surface of a forcefeild. By doing so practitioner will be able to effectively store up spells until they are needed.  At that point there are two things that can be done. The practitioner, finding his or herself in need of quick and powerful magick, could pull one of these spells off the Logris.

This acts as a power multiplier for the spell.  First there is energy put into the spell itself, added to the power used to activate the stored spell and push it out of the Logris.  Then there is the additional energy boost from the spell’s passage through the Logris itself.  Thus making a most potent spell indeed.  Effectively allowing the spells cast by that magus to have potency much greater than the caster himself.

This technique also allows the caster to perform lengthy and complex ceremonial or formulaic magick, and then store the spell to use at their leisure.  Thus making the practice of ceremonial magick much more effective in situations requiring immediate action and result.  However, one must always remember that the laws of thermodynamics also, at times, apply to magical energy.  The amount of power and thus number of spells that can effectively hang on the Logris depends greatly upon the power and energy capacities of the magic user himself. Once a spell is hung on the Logris it begins to decay like an unused muscle or a leaking barrel of gunpowder.  Depending upon how much power was put into the original spell, it will take a small portion of that to maintain the spell’s potency over long periods of time. As a result most magic users who employ the Logris technique either hang several spells that they intend upon using soon, or they store only a few potent ones and then hold onto until just the right moment.

A final exciting benefit from using the Logris often is that the energy field is gradually affected by the spells hung upon it.  So the observant, patient, and powerful magus could use this knowledge to cast the same spells often.  Over time the Logris will begin to “remember” spells often hung upon it, and once the adept becomes the master the Logris will evolve from being merely a storehouse and amplifier, but also providing immediate access to a multitude of spells regularly cast though it.  A living grimoire.

These impressions made upon the Logris that allow it to ‘remember’ spells that are used often are what can be referred to as ‘spell protocols’. These function much like sigils, in that they can be empowered and cast a specific spell with few steps or preparation. Though instead of walking around with a pocketful of sigils (though a valid even if haphazard technique), the active magus with many protocols etched into the Logris from constant use has the entirety of these protocols on hand without the need for piles of paper or any sort of organization. Often the Logris can ‘load and execute’ a protocol of a specific type when the magus is casting a spell even if the magus does not consciously choose to use a protocol.

While the Logris remembers frequently cast spells, and in time they become incorporated into the field as protocols, the industrious and creative magus can actually consciously ‘etch’ protocols into the Logris at will. The practitioner would focus on creating the spell, painstakingly focusing on every detail of the spell’s construction to that once the spell is ready to send, it is sent directly into the Logris itself, essentially ‘uploading’ it to the Logris field. Henceforth, the spell protocol is available to the magus when such a spell or one similar are needed, then that protocol is summoned forth, augmented where necessary to fit the situation, then sent on its way. Some might call this a subtle form of hyper-sigil magick, because this technique can be used outside the Logris as well, infusing spell protocols into occult devices or including them in the creation of magical entities, all of which will be discussed in later chapters.

Shields

The knowledge of shields and the mastery of their usage is a vital component in the repertoire of a modern magus. This world is full of magick, and much of it is of a kind that you may not want to be in contact with it. Besides, it is much more efficient to be prepared with shielding techniques than merely react to stimulus with protection spells or countermagick. Shields are, in essence, personal energy fields constructed for the purpose of acting as an energy filter and a defense grid when needed. This chapter will illustrate shield creation and usage as well as the practitioner’s natural defenses.

The first step is to come up with a personal visualization for shields and how they work when used. Most practitioners encounter thus far by the author tend to use what can be said as the force field model. They see their shields as energy fields that harden and flex when attacked, much like fictional shields in Star Trek or Star Wars. As the threat vary they visually alter the ‘frequency’ of the shields to adapt. Though other visualizations are available, the imagination of the practitioner is the only real limitation. Shields could be seen as the actual historical devices that materialize to stop the incoming threat as it nears the practitioner, or it could be a metaphysical membrane that surrounds the practitioner that blocks or absorbs the threat much like its biological counterpart, the possibilities are endless. Shields encompass a space much of the same size as a person’s aura, and thus vary from person to person. They can, with increased energy expenditure, be made to cover an area much greater if the controller of the shield has the focus and skill to maintain the integrity of the field at such sizes. Normally shields are powered by the practitioner’s personal power reservoirs, though depending upon the practitioner’s ability and resources, may be hooked up to and empowered by external sources. These sources can be other magi, places of power, stored energy repositories, or energy drawn from the immediate environment. In most cases the amount of power fed to the shields will relate directly to their strength, though a skillful manipulation of that energy is required to adapt the shield to the particular situation or a multitude of threats with different methods of attack.

The particular visualization of a shield will greatly affect the exact methods in which the shield is powered, adapts to threats, and is used when the time comes. To illustrate we will use two examples. First, the force field style of shield. Most practitioners who employ this sort of shield usually only have it nominally powered during times of perceived safety or ‘downtime’. When a situation arises, they in essence use their magical will to give the ‘shields up’ command, and they begin to rapidly send energy into the energy patterns of the shield. Depending upon their skill in energy manipulation, the shields will grow to their full power very quickly or gradually. As the threats vary in number and type, the practitioner visualized a change in their shield’s ‘frequency’ or ‘recalibrate’ the field in order to deal with the new threat. Most practitioners using the force field style of shield use, in addition to their personal power, external sources. Most of these sources are connected with visualizations of power cables, tendrils of pure energy, or sigils that funned power directly into the shield. The second example, the membrane style of shield, is much different. Practitioners who use this style of shield tend to keep it somewhat more charged at all times than the force field style practitioners. This gives them the advantage of being more difficult to affect when caught off-guard, though at any given time much more of their energy is directed towards maintaining their shield, and so may not be as aware of their environment or able to push greater quantities of energy into other directions without first withdrawing some from their shields. Membrane shields tend to function in a very organic manner, so have several methods of threat elimination. One way is for the membrane to harden, like chitin or tough skin, in order to simply deflect the incoming threat. Though the second method is the most versatile, even as it is the more difficult. The shield can be made to work like an external immune system in that it engulfs and dissipates (digests) the incoming threat. This has several benefits. The first is that the incoming threat is not merely sent in another direction, but is eliminated completely, so there will be no surprises that may arise as a result of only deflecting the threat. The second is that when the engulfed threat is dissipated, its energy goes to feed the shield itself, thus the more threats it is able to absorb, the more powerful it will become. This will allow, as the conflict continues, the user of the membrane shield to use personal energy for other purposes, as the shield itself is feeding off the efforts of the enemy.

The ways around shields are just as infinite as the types of shields. Again, much of the way in which a practitioner will get around a shield depends upon that practitioner’s visualization of the opponent’s shield. If the shield is of the force field sort, a constant ‘recalibration’ of the attacks used may be able to stay one step ahead of the shield long enough to slip something through. Perhaps the practitioner could visualize the shield as the firewall software of a computer, and ‘hack’ the shield in order to bypass its defense grid and gain access to the ‘mainframe’, which would be the now unshielded practitioner behind the grid. If the shield is of the membrane style, then perhaps sending sizeable attacks or a multitude of them could overload the absorption capacity of the shield. The more devious attacker could create a threat designed to destroy the shield from the inside, like an organic ‘virus’ the threat is absorbed by the shield, only to replicate and overload the shield from the inside.  Naturally, there are several ways to bypass the need for complex shield-busting. One is to simply send such a powerful attack that the opponent’s shield is not able to affect it, and is simply blown through as the threat makes it’s way to the target. Another way is to plant an item on the person of the target, like a seemingly innocent gift of jewelry or perhaps a talisman slipped into their coat pocket when no one is looking. This item, given that it is connected to the attacker and according to the magical principle of contagion, provides the attacker with a way of instantly bypassing or corroding a breach in their target’s shield. This is of course only two examples, as an infinite number of shields exist, as to the ways in which to neutralize their defenses.

Now that the concept of shielding has been explained, it would do to illustrate the practitioner’s natural defenses. A practitioner, by virtue of being a dynamic magical being, has certain naturally occurring defenses. They work much like shields, and in essence can be visualized as naturally occurring shields, like the aura. Something that is simply a natural part of the physiology of a magus. Though, like the aura or muscle, the natural defenses can be strengthened through training. The best way to become more naturally shielded towards magical attacks is to actually be assaulted. Just like any martial artist will tell you, no amount of training beats actual experience. However, there are ways to train oneself so that the practitioner can survive those valuable experiences. The author and associates have developed a little exercise they have aptly named Spellblast. The concept is very simple, though its execution requires trust, control, and responsibility. The participants consciously lower their shields, and by powering down their defensive grids leave themselves open to magical assault. Then the participants cast very weak hexes at each other. By not being protected by their shields the participants take the full force of the hex, though because the hex is weak it is not overly damaging and its effects are temporary, the results being minor discomfort and misfortune.  After being bombarded with these minor hexes the natural defenses are able to grow in potency and versatility as time goes on. Once the training is finished, shields are raised and the participants go through a cleansing to get rid of any persistent hex residue. After several years of this the natural defenses become quite potent, though constant evolution of the shields are also important. The end result is a practitioner with strong shields, though one who is capable of handling even powerful magical assaults when the shields are bypassed or if the practitioner is caught unawares.

Don’t be Afraid – No really, don’t be afraid. I know you’re being cynical right now…

but seriously, don’t be afraid.

Spell Trajectory

It is important when creating a sending (using magick), that the trajectory of the sending has been considered and incorporated into your work.  The trajectory of a spell can be defined for this purpose as the path taken by the sending in order to achieve the intended results and manifestation of the practitioner’s will. While this element of magical practice may seem elementary, the potency of the sending and its results can be increased exponentially if greater awareness and planning goes into the development of a trajectory.

While a great many spells seem to operate on a simple ‘point A to point B’ principle, the adept has the opportunity to further control and fine-tune the sending. Of course the most often used example is the ever-popular money spell. If the caster does not specify where the money should come from and does not take steps in their own life to allow for a realistic gain in wealth, like look for a new job or play the lottery, then it is possible that the money may come due to reasons that are of negative consequence to the caster such as theft or the loss of a loved one.

Take for example this hypothetical situation: A magus wishing to place sigil graffiti underneath a public library in order to draw upon the knowledge energy patterns of the location decides to cast a spell of protection upon himself. At this point the spell is simply ‘protection’, which may manifest as the event going smoothly or the magus evading any unforeseen police responses. Though as a result of the unspecified nature of the spell, it may act to protect the magus from what could be a dangerous and illegal situation, and thus the magus finds himself bedridden with a broken leg or severe cold. While this is an extreme example, the possibilities of unintended results of an aspecific spell are indeed both positive and negative. The better, more specific approach to the spell, would be to cast a spell of protection against police intervention and a spell of  ‘It is my will for the mission to go smoothly’. By having the spell designed to empower the activity itself the magus has a greater chance of successfully tagging the building and escaping without notice. Though just in case, the magus has prepared a specific spell to use should the police discover his activities and attempt to arrest him for it. Should he decide that escape is preferable to arrest, then he has the spell at his disposal.

Like a hunter in the forest seeking your quarry, take care to visualize all of the possible outcomes of your shot before you take it. Take into account not only yourself and your target, but also the environment in which the sending will take place. By paying attention to environmental queues, situational factors, as well as the possible outcomes of the spell, the practitioner will be able to perceive and manipulate the path which their magick takes. Magick, like water for example, is most cases follows the path of least resistance. So by being aware of the situation, and attempting to visualize multiple outcomes and solutions, the magus will be able to best perceive what sort of sending to create and what path is best for the desired outcome. The more adept the practitioner becomes at this technique the more able he or she will be in developing effective trajectories in less and less amounts of time, so that potent sending can still be cast should time ever be a factor.

It takes a certain arrogance to conceive yourself powerful enough to change the world, the trick is to nurse this arrogance to its full effect without transforming it into hubris.

Hot Spots

These are places of power, repositories or choke points of magical energy that can be tapped and harnessed for you own ends should you require magical energy in amounts beyond your personal capacity.  Any place of cultural significance, social gathering, magical importance, or a waypoint of temporal travel.  These could be churches, office buildings, nightclubs, sacred lands, or even a train station. Anywhere there is a constant flow of energy. With the right tech, a witch could utilize these hot spots to fuel her personal magick.

Let us begin with places of power, as they are the most obvious targets, even if the most uncommon. Places of power are just that, unique locations that seem to generate magical energy simply be existing, or as a result of their mystical significance.  Some historical and well-known examples of such locations could be the pyramids of Egypt, the stone temples of the Mayans, Stonehenge, the catacombs of Paris, or the temple mount in Jerusalem. Other lesser-known hot spots are burial mounds, ancient forests, haunted buildings, or battlefields. There are also hot spots that can only be known on a local level or be perceived because of personal relevance. Examples of this would be the street mage who is empowered by a network of alleyways that, for him at least, seem to trace out a mystical pattern that generates magical energy. Or perhaps a practitioner that finds a particular country field to be sacred, for no other reason than that it has a potent magical resonance.  The best way to interact with these sorts of hot spots is to simply be in their presence. While it is theoretically possible to subvert a place of power, to ‘take control’, the task is quite daunting and beyond the scope of this text. By being in the presence of these places of power the magus is able to allow himself to be permeated by the energies of the location. By drawing upon the ambient power of such locations, the magus can find a readily available source of ‘free energy’. It should be noted however that the energy of such places carries with it a resonance similar to that of the location from which it springs forth. So it follows that power taken from a battlefield will have a more aggressive or sorrowful resonance, or power taken from a temple or holy place will take on the ‘flavor’ of the site.

Repositories are another sort of hot spot. Repositories differ from places of power in that the magical energy that resides within does not have its source in that particular location. Repositories are places where magical energy collects as a result of worship, energy sendings, or the symbolic meaning of the location. An example would be the various government buildings and national monuments in Washington D.C., the site of the Twin Towers tragedy in New York, Vatican City, or most any other place with cultural, religious, or national significance. There are other, lesser known but certainly powerful locations that are repositories. Such places as the houses owned by famous occultists, the hotel room in which Aleister Crowley dictated the Book of the Law, and the gravesite of Marie Leveau. Local hot spots can also act as repositories, there could be such energy reservoirs inside a famous college campus, a notoriously dangerous stretch of road, or a particularly popular nightclub. As to the methodology of pulling energy from such places is similar to the places of power in that simply being present within such locations is often sufficient to provide the needed energy. Though the application of rune or sigils designed to funnel energy into the magus are good ways to focus and control the flow of incoming energy. However, because these hot spots are not the sources of their own power, but receive it from outside sources, there is not the overriding need for restraint in the taking of energy from the location. While in a place of power the magick hungry magus might find that there are unsavory consequences that result from bleeding such a place dry to fuel his own desires. Though in a repository, due to its nature, can be used as much or as little as is needed. Regardless of the amount of energy drained, such a place receives its power because of its meaning and significance in the minds of the masses, and as such the magus would have to continually drain the location over a long period of time before any adverse effects began to arise. Though let it be said that discretion is a key skill for any sorcerer.

Choke points is a phrase that refers to any place, usually temporal, that acts as a waypoint in the general physical flow of the masses. Such places are focal points for the generally undirected energies of the masses. Potent examples would be massive train stations, highway toll booths, international airports, concert arenas, public beaches, amusement parks, shopping malls, and school campuses. People who are not practitioners of occult arts still generate plenty of energy, though unfocused, and generally broadcast it openly without perceiving their own energy fields. These choke points are the places in civilization that have the densest gatherings of the unfocused masses, and thus are a rich miasma of free energy waiting to be harvested.  As a result of this high concentration of ambient unfocused energy, there are very few ethical reproductions from harvesting as much as is needed. The resonance of this energy is very weak due to the lack of focus, and as such is easily transmuted into useable magical energy that does not permeate the witch with a particular resonance in the way that a place of power or a repository will. The methodology of harvesting energy at choke points varies depending upon the specific location. For example, if a witch were trying to siphon power off of a crowd while at a concert, the best way would be for the witch to harvest the energy directly. That is to say that she could cast a spell directly on the crowd and siphon the energy directly from the ambient field generated by the crowd, or she might simply open her hand and call the energy to her. However, a sorcerer who wants to harness the human traffic at a local train station would be best served by using a sigil created for the purpose of collecting the energy of the passengers as they pass through the doors, ticket booth, or riding the train itself. The sorcerer could simply draw the sigil on a few stickers and paste them on walls, in doorways, or affix them to the ticket counter or turnstile. That way, each time someone enters the sigil’s field of influence, it siphons off a miniscule amount of energy, and with hundreds of people passing it daily, the energy collects very quickly.

The discerning practitioner may find that drawing upon his or her own personal power is the most effective and rewarding source of energy.  While this is indeed true, keep these alternative energy sources in mind. It is possible that in the course of your life that you may find yourself in a situation where having that extra juice can be the difference between success or failure, maybe even life or death.

Occult Machines

The creation and implementation of occult machines is a potent method of overcoming challenges in addition to making one’s magical life somewhat easier. Like their more mundane counterparts, occult machines serve to allow the sorcerer to accomplish feats and complete tasks with more consistency, speed, and economy of energy. Again, in a fashion similar to their mundane counterparts, by design occult machines empower the sorcerer to create very complex magical workings by performing multiple functions in simultaneously. While the machine performs a multitude of simple magical functions the sorcerer is free to focus full attention upon working with even more powerful and complex magicks, thus the machine allows the sorcerer to perform magical acts that are otherwise in most cases too difficult, complex, or taxing.

The fundamental difference between a mundane machine and an occult machine is that the occult machine is powered by magick, and its primary functions are magical processes. There is a distinction between tools and machines, in both the mundane and occult worlds. A person using a crowbar to lever open a locked door is considered to be using a tool. In the same way a magus using a wand to aid in the casting of a spell is also considered to be using a tool. Though a person using a satellite imaging system to explore our planet’s surface is considered to be the using of a machine. Similarly, a person using a remote viewing helmet that has been outfitted with sigils, a loadstone monocle, and other augmentations to explore our planet’s surface would be considered to be using an occult machine.

An occult machine, by its nature, is a device that is fueled by subtle energies in order to produce a specified result. In many ways occult machines are closely associated with other mundane devices in that they produce similar results to their counterparts, it is their input/output methods that make them decidedly occult. Take the afore mentioned satellite imaging system and the remote viewing helmet. They both allow the user to see visual representations of their intended targets. The satellite tech is fueled by electricity, while the remote viewing helmet is fueled by magical energy. Because the helmet’s function is to focus magical energy towards remote viewing, the energy gains that resonance as it passes from the helmet to the wearer. Also the various occult augmentations like the sigils and loadstone monocle, perform basic magical tasks like scrying, empowerment, and auric scanning, the sorcerer is better able to concentrate on the much more difficult task of tightening the focus and resolution of the remote viewing images and impressions. Granted, there are enough differences that to compare these two machines to closely would become a pointless exercise. Though, to illustrate the point, they will be said to be similar. It should also be noted that there are a great many magical and mundane machines that have no counterpart or likeness amongst the other group of machines. So while the remote viewing helmet is similar to the satellite system, the Eloigning Clock, which will be discussed at length momentarily, has no known functional counterpart amongst mundane machines.

It has been stressed in other texts that personal relevance is of paramount importance in the practicing of magick. Occult machines, due to their technological nature, are to some degree one of the few exceptions to that guideline. The entire function of an occult machine is that it will work regardless of who is using it at the time. Naturally there are several factors involved in using an occult machine. One must have some idea what the machine’s function is, have the magical capacity and knowledge to activate the machine and control its use, and be able to perceive its process and results. Again using the remote viewing helmet as an example, if one sorcerer was to create the helmet it would of course have been created as a machine very personally relevant for its creator, and would carry with it the creator’s personal style and taste. Though all another sorcerer would have to do to use the helmet for their own purposes would be to perceive its primary purpose, which would be remote viewing. Then find out how to activate the machine, which would likely be empowering a sigil or some other such symbolic ‘lock & key’ mechanism. Then the user would have to have the ability to focus and infuse the machine with magical energy, and then the sorcerer would be free to use the machine for its intended purpose. The only alteration the interloper would possibly need to make is to change any elements of the machine that would make it more personally relevant to themselves, though generally a machine is a machine.  In that all cars work off of the same principle, so if one recognizes a machine as a car, despite some design differences, all cars are designed and function the same way. So it is with magical machines. What follows are two further examples of the author’s own occult machines, the Witchengine and the Eloigning Clock, to serve as examples for the creation of future occult machines.

The Witchengine is a multi-purpose occult machine that acts at once like a portable generator of magical energy and a resonance filter. The physical component of the Witchengine is a simple cube. Several exist in wood, some of stone, and others of etched metal. Close associates of the author possess spherical witchengines, and in the spirit of tactical magick, one has recently been constructed with the ever-useful ouija board. There are several sigils that have been etched, burned, or painted onto the engine. These sigils act as input/output ports. One draws in ambient magical energy, then once the energy is gathered another sigil strips the magical resonance of the energy. The resonance of the energy cannot be removed without separating out some of the energy itself, so the portion of the energy that contains the resonance of the location in which the engine is being used is vented out of the engine and back into the environment by an exhaust port sigil. The remaining energy is funneled through one of two sigils depending upon what the engine is being used for. If the desired function is to act as a portable battery the engine stores the energy in a silo sigil, where it is held until the user required an extra magical charge. If the desired function is to channel additional power directly into the user, yet another sigil exists to pour the energy straight into the user. There is a sixth sigil that acts as a lock, preventing others from using the machine casually, and must be overcome before the engine can be used, this is the reason that the cube is such a convenient physical vessel for such a machine. This machine was created for the express purpose of allowing the user to draw upon the ambient energy of the environment without picking up the resonance of the location from which the energy was taken. The only resonance to travel into the user along with the energy is that of the witchengine itself, which is for the most part an extension of the individual user. So a sorcerer using a witchengine in a place of negativity could draw energy from the environment without being permeated by the negative resonance of the place. It is a way to use magical tech to overcome the natural order of reality.

The Eloigning Clock is a gateway and the key to that gateway. Its physical component is actually a painting, though one with a complex background. The Clock exists not only on the physical plane but also in the subtle realms beyond. Though in this world simply a painting, its cadaver is an ever-moving spherical body of concave silver plates that oscillate around a centerpiece of smoky quartz, which has been polished and shaped into a sphere. Crescent shaped pendulums swing in opposite directions from two opposite ends of the sphere, attached by tight and thin wires to the core of the sphere. The user connects with the Clock’s subtle body through focusing upon the painting. Once a connection has been established with the subtle body of the Eloigning Clock, the painting of course being the artist’s physical representation of that subtle body, the user can interface with the Clock. The machine is capable of functioning as a device for scrying into the subtle realms as well as acting as a waypoint for the user undertaking next level travel into the subtle realms of the multiverse.

Magick should not be your last resort.

Nor should it be your opening action if a more suitable alternative is available.

Ouija Boards

Almost everyone involved with magick and the occult has played on a ouija board, or at least has seen one.  Most people have an opinion about them, those opinions ranging from fervent belief, adamant denial, or the concession that there is ‘something’ about them. In much of society, at least western cultures, the ouija board carries with it very potent associations with obsession, madness, control, and deception. There is much skepticism and debate, both in the occult underground and society at large, about the nature, purpose, and value of these ‘talking’ boards. Regardless of your personal beliefs, unless those beliefs have you doing everything you can to avoid them, ouija boards can be made into very powerful magical devices. With the right augmentations and associations, an industrious and skilled practitioner could turn a ouija board into the equivalent of an occult laptop, capable as functioning as a portable ritual space, casting tool, astral gateway, and grimoire.

While the history of ouija boards is dubious at best, and is irrelevant to the creation of this magical device. What is important however, is the socio-cultural empowerment that the boards receive.  Contemporary ouija boards, to the best estimation, began as a parlor game, and were marketed as such by the board game industry. Like tarot cards before them, ouija boards were powerful occult tools that became highly commercialized and sold to non-practitioners in high volumes. Again, like the divinations of tarot cards these boards could occasionally be used successfully by the ignorant, contacting entities of varying natures and opening gateways through which multiple levels of reality could merge. Though for the most part these boards either did not function as advertised, were manipulated by the users either subconsciously, or were the method in which the gullible were duped by a light-fingered charlatan. Despite all of the horror stories that came from misuse, the disappointment from failure to establish communication, and the predations of charlatans the ouija boards are still in production today. Also, because of its colorful and notorious history, the ouija board still commands the attention, opinions, and therefore energies of many people. Like thought-forms, deities, and ideas these boards gain power from their continued production, use, and infamy. With so many people being in contact with these boards, they have the potential to become powerful tools for the practitioner.

The metaphor of an ‘occult laptop’ is being used as a visualization for the purpose of communicating the idea, though if the individual using the board finds another visualization to be more effective, by all means use that. The primary reasons for the laptop visualization is that the board lends itself to such a metaphor. The board is thin, lightweight, and portable, much like its mundane counterpart. Using the afore mentioned spell protocol and occult machine techniques the board can be made into a multifunctional tool that can be used in much the same way as a laptop. The ouija board can be given an onboard energy processor, be used to store spells or protocols, can be used to ‘connect’ to the subtle realms of reality, and is a tool that one can carry in a backpack or by hand without inconvenience.

One of the features of the ouija board is that it is a portable ritual space. Because of the occult associations held by consensual reality, the ouija board creates a magical field simply by existing. When a magus pulls out the board and places it herself she has not only created a magical field by using a ouija board, there is the additional empowerment because the intention of the placement of the ouija board was to create a ritual space. So there is not only the power of the intent of the magus, but the power of the board itself as dictated by consensual reality. Another feature of the board is that it can be used as a casting tool. Like a wand, dagger, candle, or any other common casting tool, a ouija board can be used as such. As when it is used as a portable ritual space, the associations held about the power of a ouija board can provide a significant energy source when the board is used to help the caster focus for the casting of a spell. Imagine how disconcerting it might be to an opponent, or significant in the mind of the caster and thus empowering, to lay one hand on the ouija board and point the other at the target.

The ouija board can also be used for what it was intended, as a gateway to the other levels of reality, a portal into the greater multiverse and the subtle realms. While most people use the board in the popular style, by placing hands onto the planchette and allowing an entity to communicate with them through the board, there are other options available to the sorcerer should he or she choose. Depending upon the skill and ability of the practitioner to take and endure journeys of the consciousness into the subtle realms (astral travel), the board can be used in a much more invasive manner. Depending upon the particular technique the individual practitioners uses to gain access to the subtle realms, by employing the ouija board into that routine the magus will gain the energy infusion from the power that the board carries with it in addition to the resonance the board already possesses as a gateway tool in pop-culture.

In addition to being a ritual space, casting tool and gateway, the ouija board can also be used as a grimoire. The magus can cast spells into the board, using it as a storage device. First the magus should cast the spell, then at the moment the spell is leaving the caster, target a specific point on the board, pushing your spell into the board itself. By choosing a specific location on the board, be it  one of the letters, numbers, pictures, the yes or no, or the goodbye, the practitioner is able to trap the spell in progress. It should be mentioned at this point that the technique of managing the spell trajectory is very important, in that the spell hitting the board before the target is integral to the success of the spell storage. Once the spell is ‘installed’ onto the board, the practitioner can wait to use the spell at the most opportune moment. For example, an industrious magus may have several curses bound into the A, the 3, and the Goodbye. When the spells are needed, the magus ‘activates’ the spell through some personally relevant method (breathing onto the symbol, touching it with a finger, moving the planchette over it and saying a command word, etc), the spell in progress leaves it’s stasis inside the board and continues on it path towards the target.  In this way a sorcerer could conceivable carry an entire array of spells in progress that only need the touch of a symbol to activate, thus having the potential to cast a multitude of spells in a short amount of time given that the spells have already been cast, and only need to be released.

Another method of using the board as a grimoire or casting devise is to associate each character or image on the board with a particular spell or magical concept. Much like sigil magick, the sorcerer could then mix and match the characters on the board (most likely touching them or using the planchette to activate them in the desired order) to create and cast whatever spell that is desired. Or the magus could simply empower the board to manifest his or her will according to the letters and numbers highlighted by the planchette, simply spelling out what the magus desires, and empowering the board to focus the will to achieve the desired result. The author and some of his associates choose to do what they call ‘hotwire’ their ouija boards by placing stickers, painting, or drawing various sigils and magical symbols or phrases on the backs of their boards to further empower them on a personal level. This technique can also be used to setup wards to prevent other practitioners or entities from taking over the board and using it to their own ends. The use of ouija boards in magical practice can be both effective and stylish.

Magick is Real. Get in the Game.

It is the Only one worth playing.

This will be hard. It is going to hurt.

And in doing so, you shall be Godlike.

Subverting Reality

Consensual reality, in most cases, is acutely opposed to the practice of real magick. Practitioners come to find that their entire lives are a constant struggle against the forces of doubt, persecution, and the devaluing of their chosen path in life. Our society, government, and educations are all in conflict with what we as magi know to be true, magick works. Because of this indoctrination and conditioning practitioners are always having relapses into doubt, questioning their sanity, and becoming conflicted with what their famililial, professional, and educational influences would have them believe. While this is an almost unavoidable lifelong struggle, there are ways to temporarily bypass this wall of denial and create effective magical manifestations. The most potent of these will be discussed here, which is in essence ‘playing reality’s game’.

Consensual reality, while not at all concrete, can be made to work for the warlock instead of against him. Within consensual reality there are many superstitions, cultural attachments, and associations that can be used to empower an act of magick that is done ‘according to the rules’. While indeed a mage is a dynamic force of change, sometimes it is less difficult and more effective to operate within the boundaries of established reality. For example, as with the ouija board mentioned above, most people generally believe (when they don’t think anyone is looking) that ‘black magick’ done to the photograph of a person will work. Even if they say they don’t, even the most atheistic person will get at least a little unnerved if they were to discover that someone had taken a picture of them and stabbed it full of holes.

The point is, if a magus works magick within these ‘boundaries’ of consensual reality, it will actually help to support the actions taken by the magus. This is where the benefits of Aleister Crowley’s “Live like a Magician” philosophy become much more apparent. Its risky admittedly, but if one were to adopt the ‘style’ of what consensual reality erroneously believes to be how a mage is supposed to be, then magick within those boundaries becomes much easier to manifest. For example, consensual reality rejects the existence of a man in a three-piece suit standing on top of a sigil holding a dead chicken and a rain stick. However, consensual reality does seem to allow for the possibility that a Hopi shaman could speak with the spirits of the land through a vision quest. Similarly, consensual reality rejects the idea that a exorcism could be performed by a goth witch on a possessed child using a teddy bear to bind the malignant spirit. Though that same reality allows for the possibility that a Catholic priest could accomplish the same task with the Lord’s prayer and a bible. It’s a question of style and perception.

While this may not work for some practitioners, those who find themselves in need of a break from the constant struggle with consensual reality may find that by playing the ‘part of the magus’ may actually provide some relief and yield useful magical results. In this case, conformity may be the backdoor you have been looking for. Simply identify those elements of magick that seem to be a part of culture, social association, or superstition and exploit them. Who knows, maybe the more magick we incorporate into our personal style and daily lives the more consensual reality will adapt.

Do it now, make it epic.

Crisis Energy

Just as every spell is affected by the resonance of the magical energy that fuels it, so can the resonance of the energy and resulting spell be affected by the situation in which the event occurs. It has been established that magical energy has the resonance of locations, and that spells can resonate within the magus who casts them. Yet the power of a situation can also affect both the resonance of the energy and spell, but also the potency. One element of this concept of situational influences on magick that will be investigated here is Crisis Energy.

For the purpose of this topic, crisis will be defined as the moment of intense transformation of one state of being into another. For example, a piece of chalk sitting on the palm of someone’s hand is considered in general, all quantum physics aside, to be in a state of rest, otherwise a state of potential. If that someone dropped the piece of chalk it would be in motion, or in a kinetic state. The minute moment of time in which the chalk has been released from its state of potential but has yet to become kinetic is a time when the chalk is in a state of crisis.

When applied to magic the idea of crisis becomes a potent, if at times volatile, source of energy and gnosis. The concept of crisis energy, when applied to magical practice, becomes the moment in a sorcerer’s life when immediate action must be taken to resolve a situation. These moments of crisis exist right before an automobile accident but after it is inevitable, in that state of crisis the magus has the opportunity to change reality and alter the situation. By identifying when these moments happen, the adept can in effect ‘alter fate’. The auto accident is narrowly avoided as the magus identifies the moment of crisis and utters the word ‘no’, then miraculously avoids the accident entirely. Crisis magick occurs when the bullet IS going to hit you, but then you become empowered by that moment of crisis, and with your magical will deny the bullet its rightful target.

It is the moment of clarity in which your magick MUST work. The mastery of crisis energy is the result of observing the moments in one’s daily life in which a state of crisis is achieved by objects, ideas, or people. The more adept as identifying and tapping the crisis energy, the more you will be able to direct the outcomes of the events in your life. Oddly enough, the power of crisis magick works in reverse to most other methods of magick in that the ability to affect the smaller, more minute details of life is the mark of the master, while altering the outcomes of important events is in general the less difficult task. It is easier to identify and tap the crisis energy of a life and death situation than it is in a more routine or daily occurrence. That is not to say that avoiding bullets and car crashes is easy, far from it, yet in such dire circumstances the extraordinary is much more likely to occur. Though it is to say that it is much more difficult, and requires much more skill, will, and ability to stop objects from falling, prevent a car from starting, or altering the trajectory of a thrown object.

While crisis theory can be used as infrequently as only to alter traumatic events or as often as to attempt to control the outcomes of many daily occurrences or perhaps even the attempt to manifest a sort of functional telekinesis (possible if unlikely). The most practical use of crisis energy is in the application of daily magick. Before casting the spell, become aware that there will be a time in the casting in which the spell will either succeed or fail, then use your will to empower the spell to further success. By becoming aware of the event horizon between do or do not, you can use the state of crisis to gain the gnosis required to achieve the outcome you desire.

Omnimancy

There is a trend in both literature and practice to affix labels to particular styles or magical systems in order to distinguish them as valid paths or concepts within an occult context. The benefit of this methodology of classification is that once a technique or system of magick has been identified and labeled, it becomes concrete and definable, something that can be studied and learned in an at least superficially ordered manner. In many ways once such a classification occurs a style can emerge, and a system built upon it, then perhaps even a personal paradigm can be created using the style of magic as a way of interacting with reality. Take necromancy for example, at its core a magical style that utilizes the multifaceted energies, entities, and concepts of death, the dead, and dying. When one begins to layer upon that basic style the beliefs, practices, rituals, and formulas of an individual or group that is focused upon this style, it can evolve into a functioning magical system. Once that magical system becomes the primary mode of interaction with reality, it has the potential to become a personal paradigm.

The purpose of this chapter is to show that by simply adding the suffixes 'mancy' and 'mancer' to certain words, actions, and ideas, the industrious practitioner could use these linguistic labels to spontaneously generate fully functional magical systems with a fusion of language and logic. By becoming adept at identifying opportunities for generating these systems within the practitioner's daily life, that person would potentially have a plethora of magical systems on hand in order to resolve any situation or desire that may arise. For example, in this way a practitioner is able to not just cast a spell using death energies, but is able to do so in that specific moment as a full fledged necromancer. Then once the spell has been cast return to the original resonance of the practitioner. This technique will allow the practitioner to become a much more potent and dynamic magus, able to do magick at any given moment from any magical system as if the practitioner was fully immersed in that system. A person who has mastered this technique can go from being one sort of magus to being a different sort, and be genuine in the transition, then return to the original form once the moment has passed. The best description of this magical system, for what else could it be but a style or system, is Omnimancy. The practitioner who utilizes the full spectrum of magical applications is an Omnimancer. Though in each individual act of magick the practitioner may be a necromancer, pyromancer, technomancer, or a multitude of possibilities, the fundamental mutable system is Omnimancy (which of course is also a paradigm to be used and discarded as needed, just like any other).

It is likely that the reader at this point is aware of some of the more common systems of necromancy (death), oneiromancy (dreams), chiromancy (palmistry), technomancer (technology), and many other more common sorts of magical systems. What follows are several examples, some more unorthodox than others, that will serve to illustrate the grand spectrum of magick available to a practitioner wishing to utilize omnimancy. Always remember that a magus can, with diligence and sincerity, conceivably be a 'mancer' of just about anything, though naturally some 'mancies' will be more useful and easier to work with than others.

Urbanomancy- The urbanomancer is a magus who is attuned to the resonance of the city. They strive to become aware of the ebb and flow of city life, traffic, public opinion, and the general state of affairs in their environment. Where someone else may find a subway commute tedious and draining, the urbanomancer is able to draw vitality from such a journey. They are able to navigate the cityscape and avoid unpleasant encounters, which in most ways is how their magick manifests. (A useful system in a traffic jam or on a crowded subway).

Bibliomancy- Book magick and information magick. This is the power of divination and of control. The bibliomancer is able to divine knowledge, precognition, and gnosis from techniques such as automatic writing, random Internet searches, sporadic reading of text, and barely perceivable patterns in text or data. The bibliomancer is also able to manipulate these elements, making information difficult or easy to find, arranging for ideas to spring forth into the collective subconscious, and many other possible applications of their attunement to information. (This is a system that is very useful for research or study, or making certain information disappear.)

Pornomancy- The pornomancers, called so in order to distinguish what they do from neo-pagan sex magic, are adepts of sex, gender, sexuality and the energies surrounding them. There is a great deal of energy generated from sexual encounters, though pornomancers are able to, unlike some other magical systems, gain gnosis without requiring the magical participation of their partner. For a pornomancer, casual sex and one night stands can be just as empowering as intense ceremonial encounters or actual lovemaking. Also, they are able to generate and manipulate the energy from sexuality and eroticism. Naturally most pornomancy takes the form of carnal encounters or magick based in physicality. (Good for getting laid, and snatching up some gnosis along the way.)

Neuromancy- Neuromancers are magi who have successfully integrated the theory of neuro-linguistic programming into a magical system. They are able to combine magick and memes with their knowledge of human behavior, socio-cultural conditioning, symbology, subterfuge, and personal charisma to impose their will upon the people around them. While neuromancy required a significant amount of academic study and magical prowess, it is a very powerful system. (Making people do and think what you want them to.)

We are the masters of our environment, and it is up to us to shape the details of that environment. I’m not saying you can dodge bullets, but that when you are ready, you won’t have too. Yes, that’s straight from The Matrix, if you haven’t seen it go watch it right now, then come back and finish this book.

Magical Combat

Most magi at some point in their careers are forced to participate in magical conflicts. These conflicts can occur for a multitude of reasons and be fought on many different levels. The author has previously published a text on the planning, adaptation, and execution of such conflicts in a separate work, titled The Occult Art of War. However, this chapter will go into detail about the tactics and methods of participating in these conflicts. While magical violence is a topic that is often preceded by disclaimers and exhaustive essays on the law of returns, karma, and the moralities of such actions, this chapter will deal explicitly with hex creation, countermagick, and offensive augmentation. Let it be said now that the following magical practices have either been used by the author himself or by trusted associates (unless otherwise specified).

The hex, or curse, is the name that will be ascribed to any sort of offensive magick in this chapter. While there are many ways in which to magically assault an opponent, several will be detailed here.  A hex, at its core, is a spell designed to influence the life of the target in a negative manner, to manifest the will of the attacker in the form of injury, misfortune, sickness, and death. This damage can occur on multiple levels, the two most common are etheric and physical. The etheric is the layer of reality that is most similar and approximate to physical reality. While it is a subtle realm, it is closely tied to the physical, and changes wrought in that reality directly affect the physical. For example, if a magus was to lay a curse upon the spiritual corpus (subtle body that exists in the subtle realms) of an opponent, that cursed person would find that curse manifesting on an etheric level. The most common signs of damage that occurs as a result of etheric assault are sudden bouts of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or self-destructive behaviors and severe mental disorders for which there are no physiological explanations. Horrible nightmares, sleeping disorders, night terrors, and hallucinations are also signs of etheric trauma. The physical layer of reality needs no explanation, as it is the realm in which humanity spends the majority of its consciousness enmeshed within. A hex that is cast upon the physical corpus of a target tends to have much more physically damaging effects, and thus is more difficult to cast successfully because of the internal layers of doubt held by most magi that their spells can be so powerful. However, if the practitioner can overcome this illusory limitation and accept that magick can exist and affect the physical world, then such spells can be severe and effective. Physical hexes tend to manifest as financial, relationship, or professional misfortune in addition to sudden illness, unexplained or coincidental injury, and possibly death. More often than not such physical occurrences seem to the untrained eye as coincidence or freak occurrence, and are usually not attributed to a hex.

Hexes, or curses by another name, exist in an infinite variety. The magus who is more oriented towards traditional styles and traditions of magical practice can find a wide variety of offensive magick in the annals of history, mythology, and tribal culture. Such sources are full of curses and hexes. From the black corn curse of the Hopi, the voodoo dolls of the Afro-Caribbean cultures, the demon bowls of Babylon, and (when hurling it at someone perceived as demon or heretic) the Lord’s Prayer of the Catholic faith. Though history, culture, and mythology are not the only sources of hexes. As a modern magus the practitioner has the opportunity to borrow from these cultural spells as he or she chooses, mixing and matching to fit the occasion. Also, the practitioner doesn’t even need to have elements of these tried and true methods in order to make a hex work. All that is needed is a clear intent to do harm and the focus/power sufficient to manifest these changes in reality according to one’s will. Often the magus will need ritual or ceremonial elements to the spell for the purpose of providing the magus with a method for focusing on the spell with the intensity as is required to manifest such results. So any ritual, ceremonial, or physical component that is personally relevant to the individual caster can be used. For example, three magi wish to curse the same individual. One magus may choose to create a painting of the individual suffering the effects of the curse, then burn the painting as a way of sending the curse to its target. The second magus may opt to write the hex on a piece of sturdy parchment paper, empower the paper with inked curse sigils, and bury the paper somewhere near the target’s home, school, or job. The third magus may simply meditate and listen to a particularly violent piece of music while focusing their attention on ‘wishing ill’ to the target. Usually a hex is designed to affect the target on either the etheric or the physical level of reality. Though assaulting the target on both levels is possible.

Should the magical senses of the victim or the victim’s associates be sufficiently acute, countermagick can be attempted. Like hexes, most countermagick works on the etheric level, physical level, or both simultaneously (much more difficult). Countermagick is magick that targets the spells and magical workings of other practitioners or entities. While countermagick has its applications outside the realm of hex removal, the methods in which countermagick is employed to resolve curses are the same methods used to perform countermagick in most any capacity, so as the technique remains similar, only the combat aspect will be dealt with in this chapter.

The most effective form of countermagick is to have potent shielding techniques as described above. If one’s shields are of sufficient versatility and power, they can resolve most incoming magical assaults before their negative influence can infect the life of the magus being assaulted. Should the shields be circumvented for whatever reason, there are several techniques for removing unwanted magical influences. One method is to construct magical countermeasures that extend beyond simple shielding. Creating talismans, wards, or spells that are specifically designed to block, absorb, dissipate, redirect, or reflect incoming offensive spells are a very effective method. The best way to accomplish this is to create the spell with much the same technique and visualizations as one creates shields, then once the core spell has been constructed, load a ‘defense’ protocol into the spell. By visualizing how the spell will function and the sorts of magical influences it will guard against as you create it will further empower the spell to your advantage.

Inevitably there will be offensive magicks that will slip past the defenses of any magus, just as entropy enters any physical system, so will harmful magick eventually find its way into the life of every practitioner at some point in their lives. When this occurs the best way of dealing with those magical influences is what will be could the ‘scorched earth’ method. First isolate the target of the spell, be it a person, building, beast, or object. The goal is to blast the victim with an overwhelming amount of magical energy with the intent of removing any and all magical influences. While this method will also remove positive magical influences, this is a good way to be absolutely sure that the negative influences have been removed, as most such spells are very insidious and difficult to completely root out any other way. This can be done entirely by direct energy manipulation without any ritual component should the victim and associates choose. Though some ritual components are usually helpful. Perhaps the magus could draw a bath of hot water and scented oils and ‘soak away’ the harmful influences. A trip to a bathhouse or a sweat lodge is an effective way of leeching out the offensive magick, provided that the actions taken are sufficiently empowered by the will of the practitioner. For buildings a good method is to redecorate, remodel, or freshly paint the property. Items can be dipped, sprinkled, or sprayed with empowered ‘magical cleansing solution’ and left to dry or rest in a sufficiently empowered location for a period of time. The author and associates (when not using the pure energy method) have at times used ‘decontamination chambers’, which are simply temporary ritual spaces created through placing sigils on every window and door of a room, then having the victim remain in the room inside a sigilized ‘detox’ casting circle for varying lengths of time.

Magical offensive augmentations is another method of magical combat. This technique is the use of magick to augment pre-existing forms and tools of conflict. While this element of magical violence is not usually a part of the life of many magi, there is always the chance of a situation requiring such techniques and activities. For people who practice magick as more of a hobby or pastime, this is an element of magick that may not become of any precedence. Though for those of us who have incorporated magick into our daily lives, we have the opportunity to use it in ways that many others have no occasion to attempt. We will discuss several sorts of offensive augmentations, the use of magick to empower mundane tools to be effective on an etheric level, and the ability to lay magick aside in favor of more effective methods.

As modern magi we have access to a great many tools of conflict. The techniques described can be used in conjunction with any tool, though for the confines of this chapter we will discuss the gun, the knife, and the fist. As they are the most preeminent tools of violence in modern society, they hold a special place in the magical arsenal of a magus. It is hoped that one will never have to use such tools, though preparedness is a key element of magical practice, and as such these tools are a part of the sorcerer’s toolbox.

While no amount of magical enhancement can replace technical skill with a firearm, an industrious magus can use sigils and spells to increase the accuracy of the firearm and enable the bullets to cause harm on an etheric level as well. Let it be stated that while firearms can be made, through magical augmentation, to harm non-physical entities, the physical bullets must still be accounted for, and so the use of firearms for this pursuit is discouraged. There are two common ways to empower a firearm with magick. One way is to use a metal engraving tool to etch sigils of accuracy and etheric harm into the gun itself, or if one is careful the bullet casings (don’t blow yourself up by pressing too hard). The other is to empower the gun before shooting, usually by calmly blowing a controlled breath into the gun (usually into the firing mechanism or the trigger, don’t blow your head off blowing down the barrel). The breath acts as a carrier for the magical energy that fuses with the gun to make it more damaging and accurate.

The knife can be similarly empowered, by etching sigils of harm and striking precision onto the blade or handle. Also, like the gun, a knife can be ‘awakened’ with the breath or some other significant act. Unlike the firearm, the knife is a most effective tool for dealing with non-physical entitles, as they can be struck and damaged without much risk of the injury of bystanders or property. Again, this is a situation in which the possession of acute magical senses is of vital importance. With a blade that ‘works both ways’, a magus can enter almost any location without fear of not being able to defend themselves. Most entities will flee the sight of a witch carrying an enchanted blade and prepared to use it for real. Using a knife against a live opponent is a different matter all together. There are many books and classes available to teach one how to properly use and care for a knife, and it is highly suggested that such training is undertaken as soon as possible. As with the gun, there is an overwhelming temptation to use the knife as a tool of prevention instead of a tool of resolution, this is a mistake. As many of the training manuals and live instructors will tell you, never draw a weapon that you do not have the will or intention of using.

For those readers who have ever trained in martial arts, the idea of using magick in conjunction with physical combat is not a new idea. For those who have not, it is possible to blend magical technique with physical combat in such a way as to make the body of the mage a casting tool. It is suggested that training manuals or classes with live instructors be consulted on the actual technique of physical combat, as there are many styles of martial arts available and the style that best suits your personal needs is out there somewhere. The blending, once a rudimentary understanding of a martial style is achieved, of magick and physical combat results in the ability to harm the subtle bodies of the opponent. In essence, the ability to harm someone’s ‘soul’ with physical techniques. By becoming aware of the energy fields generated by the physical body, and developing an awareness of the etheric realm and resulting spiritual corpus of the energy, the magus can produce results far beyond those possible by non-practitioner combatants. For example, one magus, though no fault of his own, becomes involved in a late night bar fight. He avoids a clumsy strike from his assailant and delivers a powerful fist strike to the abdomen of his attacker. The fight is broken up and everyone goes home. The assailant is not even bruised where he was struck, but soon develops severe internal damage in the form of a bleeding ulcer because his etheric subtle body was torn to shreds the night before when struck by the magus. While this may seem like an extreme example, it is not. Extreme would be causing aneurisms and cardiac arrest. As most energy healers and mystics will tell you, severe damage to the subtle bodies results in some pretty heinous physical manifestations.

The final form of magical combat is the ability to leave magick behind and consider other options. On one level, this is the ability to blend mundane skills with magical technique. If a witch has constructed a curse statue, she must have the stealth and intelligence to bury the statue in the backyard of her target without being noticed, which is a difficult task indeed. Though on a more meaningful level, the ability to leave magick behind is manifested in the magus being able to find alternative solutions to magick. Sometimes the best way to get someone to like you is to talk to them, while magick can help, it must be provided with avenues in which to manifest. While a spell for a new career is a powerful thing, one must actually go out and look for a new job. Though this chapter is about violence, so in closing an example of magical combat without magick will be used. Let’s say that you have just entered into magical combat with an opponent who is far more powerful than yourself, and the offensive magick being hurled against you is far more than you can handle. Your magick seems to just bounce off the shields of your opponent, and nothing you can do magically seems to make any difference. If magick isn’t working, try something more mundane. If you are wealthy, buy their house note from the bank and evict. If you are a computer whiz you could alter vital information. There are many ways in which you can solve your magical violence situation that just magick. Think about this, how different would the occult community be if in their famous magical battle Mathers, who was clearly outmatched by Aleister Crowley, had put aside magick and instead leaned across the table and punched Crowley in the teeth? Hard to do as thou wilt when choking on your own blood.

Its what you DO with magick that is of the greatest importance, not that you do magick. You’ve got to use it for something. Having the power and not using it is like being one of those people who hang swords or guns on their wall for “decorative purposes”, or the car enthusiast who never drives the collection of sports cars. Once you see that reality is yours to shape, its time to turn off the TV, put your boots on, get off the couch and go change the world.

Magick by Rote

While the primary focus of this book is to show that magick can be created from scratch, and no specific formula must be followed to achieve results, this chapter will illustrate the advantage of keeping track of these patchwork magical creations. When a magus discovered a particular combination of components that are effective at creating the desired manifestation, that magus could benefit on a personal level by recording this event. There are a great many occult texts that encourage the reader to keep a magical diary or journal, this book is no different. Though it may seem tedious and will initially be difficult to form the habit, once this act becomes second nature the magi will be able to track his or her own progress through the pages of this diary. Over time the sorcerer will be able to recognize patterns in his magick, and be able to extract further knowledge and technique from his own writings as if he were being his own teacher. Not only will this diary allow the sorcerer to observe personal progress, he will be able to create what will be called ‘rotes’.

Rote is just a fancy word for a specific magical technique that produces results worth repeating. If a witch casts a particular spell, making it up as she goes, and is pleased with the results, she may choose to use the same procedure in a future situation. Despite the knowledge that ritual and procedure are simply methods in which to focus the will of the magus, one can use these procedures over and over again if they produce the desired results. That is the whole point of tactical magick, use what works. So if you discover that casting a spell using specific ritual, physical, and verbal components is producing the desired results, why not repeat the procedure? By keeping a magical diary you will be able to search it for these similarities, and in so doing end up compiling your own list of rotes. This list of rotes will become your personal grimoire, the foundation of your own tradition. As time goes on your grimoire will grow until you have a fully functioning magical system of your own making, and while it is personally relevant, may even be of use to others. Naturally the magus will still end up using improvised magick and eclectic techniques for much of their magical lives, though by having rotes at your disposal you have systematic magick with predictable results should you need it.

For those who have read the author’s previous texts this chapter on rotes should illustrate the methods used to develop the more formulaic and stylish spells presented in those earlier texts. For those new to the concept, the following example rotes have been provided, each with its own unique (and creative) title, description, and components.

Denial- This spell is an act of countermagick to be used when the magus is able to percieve an oncoming magical assault. By calling up a countermagick sigil through visualization, the magus projects the sigil towards the offensive magick. When the sigil comes in contact with the assault, depending upon the style of countermagick, it will deflect, absorb, or reflect the magical assault.

Components- The magus may choose to create the sigil in written form on parchment and commit it to memory. Once it is firmly in the memory, empower and burn the parchment into ashes, visualizing the burning of the parchment as the commitment of the sigil into magical reality. Then, if consuming those ashes is a personally relevant act, do so. When calling up the sigil the magus may choose to breathe it towards its target or to ‘hurl’ it with a hand gesture or power word.

Spirit Nuke- This spell is designed to allow the magus to remove all magical influences (be they spell or entity) from a particular area. A container, full of magical ingredients, is infused with as much magical energy as the magus is able to harness three times a day for three days. This timetable is based upon the mystical significance of 3, though any numerically significant timetable can be used depending upon the individual magus. As the container is being filled with magical energy for the allotted time, bind runes are placed on the container to prevent the energy from dissipating prematurely. Then the container is taken to the target area and placed at the closest approximation of the center. A protective circle or ward sigil is drawn under or around the container, to prevent unwanted tampering or premature release of the spell. Depending upon what sort of activation protocol the magus has constructed for the container, this protocol is employed and the nuke ‘detonates’. It will release the stored energy in one massive blast, the energy naturally having been placing into the container with the intent to ‘drive out’ all magical influences and thus resonating with that purpose. Take care not to be too close to the ‘blast radius’ of the container, as nearby magi could suffer severe etheric damage from the spell.

Components- The container can be anything that makes the participating magi think ‘bomb’, this could be a shoebox, tin can, garbage pail, or plastic cylinder of some kind. The author and associates prefer to use a perforated cardboard cylinder (for reasons illustrated below). The type of material in the container should be materials that, at least in the minds of the participating magi, cause harm or distress to magical entities. The author and associates have used large amounts of salt, mixed with a vial of iron filings and a diced garlic clove. The bind runes are simply magical symbols designed to keep the energy contained until the nuke is ready to be deployed. Symbols of personal design are certainly effective, as are any symbols, sigils, or runes that are of personal relevance to the participating magi. The author and associates prefer to use bind runes of their own make. The activation protocol is also a very flexible element of the nuke’s construction. Spell protocols (as mentioned in previous chapters) can be loaded into the device, allowing for a remote magical ‘detonation’. Or the magi can make the device ‘breath activated’, so that the magus breathes the activation power into the nuke, then makes a run for it as the power unlocks the bind runes and touches off the blast. For those of a more, alternative, mindset, there is the option of actual explosives. The author and associates have in the past used a various combination of over the counter fireworks to spice up the rote. When the fuse is lit and the device explodes it sends the mixture of salt, iron, and garlic outwards into the target area (hence the use of cardboard, shrapnel counterproductive). Granted the target area smells like garlic for a few days, spiritual radiation perhaps, but it ‘works like a charm’.

Pathos and Power are fuel and fire.

Once you see it, there is no going back.

Working with a Group

There are several types of group practice available to the discerning magus. There are the close-knit covens, international magical societies, and a multitude of groups of every size in between. It is important to examine both the group and your personal reasons for wishing inclusion within that group. The benefits must be weighted against the hindrances to your personal magical development and practice.

Covens, as such groups will be called in this chapter, tend to be small groups of between five and twelve people that have no allegiance to groups outside of the local coven. Covens are very polarized in their lifespan in that they either exist for only a few short months or years while others last for the lifetime of those involved. Groups like this are powerful in that they are usually all friends or at least associates outside the confines of the coven, though this can at times be a disadvantage. When friendships or relationships within the coven and social group go sour, there can be severe magical consequences. Another disadvantage is that some covens have members that are romantically entangled with one or more of the members, and often the maturity and social boundaries of the coven are strained or broken when romantic tensions reach their peak. However, because of the intimate nature of covens the members can expect a great deal more emotional, magical, and physical support from the coven than most other magical groups. Most covens are unified by a particular magical system or set of beliefs, though often the interpretation of these beliefs gives the coven a strong diversity in actual magical application. Group casting also tend to be a favored activity of such groups.  Conflicts within the group on a magical level are much less protracted than in larger groups and are resolved much more quickly, though these conflicts tend to be much more intense given that the average coven is enmeshed within the social and physical circles of the members. Many covens are centralized around a particular location, which is most often a residence which houses one or more of the coven members.

Large magical societies also have their unique advantages and disadvantages. The primary strength of international societies is that the members often have a network of contacts throughout the world, and can reach other members through various official channels. In addition to a vast support network, the members share a common set of beliefs and magical practice, with each member in the society ascribing to the same, in general, magical system. The disadvantages of such groups spring forth from their very strengths. Magical societies are so vast and virulent precisely because of their common vision of reality, and typically require various oaths, bindings, and financial obligations in addition to an at times strict adherence to certain beliefs or methods. Often such groups have an organizing document, charismatic leader, or meta-narrative that binds the group together with a common paradigm, magical system, and code of behavior. While this is advantageous for those practitioners who thrive on group work and magical doctrine, other more independent minded individuals may be stifled in such an environment.

The above examples are of the small intimate groups and the large and at times impersonal international societies. There exist in the world many groups of varying sizes, with many being groups that resemble covens in that they are unified by social ties and more intimate magical relations though have several dozen members. There are also international magical societies that have a worldwide membership in name only, and the society is made up of individuals with not real social network. There are schools and lecture centers, workshops and temples, and all manner of group dynamics spread across the globe. What is important is for the individual practitioner to decide what he or she needs out of a group, then choose accordingly.

In the spiritual community, and to some degree the occult community, there is an alarming number of charlatans and manipulators. It is important not to fall in with these sorts of groups, as they hinder both social and magical growth, perhaps even becoming abusive or dangerous. There are many sources available for research into the subject of cults and the negative aspects of group work. The author is not an expert on cults, and highly suggests that the reader to independent research into abusive groups in order to gain a working knowledge of such groups. It is up to the individual practitioner to be observant, keeping watch for the warning signs of cult indoctrination, the predations of the group leadership, and harmful doctrines or adherence to dogma that may hinder the growth of the individual practitioner. Never fall victim to fear or peer pressure, be prepared to shoot your way out if you have to, and you’ll be fine. That said, there are several warning signs specifically for, but not limited to, occult groups that need to be taken into consideration.

Charismatic leaders are to be automatically viewed with suspicion. Men and women who lead their groups by force of personality, personal charm, or reputed magical power. For example, if you are invited to join a coven in which members believe that they receive their magical potency directly from the group’s leader, stay away. This simply becomes a vehicle for control, with the leader having the ‘power’ to take magical potency away from members. Groups that have leaders who ‘channel’ otherworldly beings or forces, then encourage the group to live by the proclamations or teaching of that being are to be regarded with skepticism. It is possible that the leader is either a charlatan and not channeling anything but his or her own ego, or perhaps the entity being channeled is not what it says it is or is manipulating the group through the leader. Basically any group that has a leader who relies upon his or her personal abilities instead of their knowledge or teachings and who does not encourage critical thinking is not to be trusted. Certainly join if you choose, but be ready to get out if things get dodgy.

Magical dogma is also to be approached with reservation. Most sufficiently developed magi have come to understand that there are a multitude of way of practicing magick, though others may work better than some, there is a healthy current of diversity in most modern magi. If you come into contact with a group that encourages indoctrination into a specific magical system to the exclusion of others as a way of devaluing other paths, this group may stifle your creativity and individual magical development. It is much like going to a martial arts school and having the teacher try to claim that the style taught by their school is the only way to beat ass. It’s just not true. If they have elements to their magical system that you wish to learn in order to incorporate, then by all means do join. Though understand that as you progress others in the group may take notice that you have infiltrated their group without total adherence to their beliefs, and conflict may result.

The final warning sign, though while on occasion applies to men, is focused as a warning for women. There is a strong undercurrent of sexual predation within spiritual communities, healing communities, and especially in occult circles. While this is most prevalent in smaller coven sized groups, there are predators lurking in the ranks of the larger international groups. They have several tactics for engaging in their abuse. If you find yourself approached by an all male coven for membership, be cautious. If you find yourself invited to a ceremony or ritual in the role of  ‘goddess’, be skeptical.  There are groups out there that will use the lure of magick and witchcraft as a way of pulling in females who are interested in occult practice. Once involved the unwary female is often targeted by one or more of the male members, and after its too late she realizes that she was invited to participate as a way of getting her sexually involved with one or more of the members of the group and not from a recognition of her magical potential or value. It’s like a very complex pick-up line. If some guy is trying to get you to let him ‘teach you magick’, listen to your bullshit alarm when it goes off. Though most sexual abuse occurs in smaller covens, international societies have their own breed of predators. These are the members who joined the society because they believe that ‘loose’ women also join such organizations. These self-styled ‘magi’ are nothing more than sexual predators looking for an easy lay.

The purpose of this chapter is not to instill a sense of paranoia or to dissuade the reader from joining a magical group, quite the opposite. Having been involved in both covens and international societies, the author has witnessed much of what is mentioned above. Cult influence can be neutralized. Sexual predators can be avoided. Magical indoctrination can be guarded against. The purpose of this chapter is to encourage individual practitioners to exercise common sense, caution, and awareness of the situations in which they find themselves. The benefits of group practice can be worth the risk, as long as they are pursuant to the manifestation of your will.

The Toolbox

An important aspect of tactical magick is the sorcerer’s toolbox. This can be an actual container or a metaphorical description of the sorcerer’s collection of magical tools and components. The toolbox is the source from which the practitioner draws the various materials and elements of his or her magical workings. Naturally the more personally relevant the materials the magus gathers, the more potent the results of the magical endeavors. Though the variety of the materials is also important, as to provide a material flexibility when working magick in the vast spectrum of situations in which the practitioner may find a use for magical workings.

For example, a magus could take a container that has some personal significance (perhaps an old heirloom trunk or a handmade wooden chest), and place upon it sigils of creativity, inspiration, or whatever else is seen as advantageous. Then inside the toolbox there are magical items of personal relevance: perhaps a few vials of essential oils, incense sticks, a ritual dagger, tarot cards, two red candles, occult themed pieces of jewelry, several pieces of wood from the local craft store, a wood burning tool, a porcelain doll, a plastic mask, a few empty bottles, and an old monocle from a grandparent. Of course there are many sorts of items that one might find use for in a toolbox. Perhaps instead of keeping an actual container, the magus simply keeps a stash of useable materials in the home, car, and office. There could be sigil paintings, blank books, and old pieces of circuit boards at home, while in the car there is a magical wand on the dashboard and an altar cloth draped over the back seat, and in the office their may be a few enchanted suit ties, a collection of occult spell casting software, and the statue of an ancient god sitting on the desk. Just about anything that can be of personal magical significance, possess a powerful magical association, or be usefully symbolic is a viable element.

The idea is that by keeping a full toolbox the magus will have access to materials that will aid in the creation of effective magical manifestations without having to go hunting about for useful components. Often the practitioner will not require physical items or accoutrements to aid in the use of magick, though having such materials on hand is advantageous. Which leads to a more compact version of the toolbox, the sorcerer’s kit. The kit is nothing more than a portable toolbox that can be carried on a personal level by the individual practitioner. For example, a magus that carries a backpack already may choose to include a cigarette lighter, a few vials of salt, a handwritten spellbook, blank sheets of paper, a portable music device, a compass, and a box of crayons. This way the magus will always have a multitude of items at his or her disposal with which to work more effective magick than had the items not been present. The author usually carries two pocketknives, sidewalk chalk, a handful of crystals, several feet of waxed string, matches, and a few blank pages of parchment. The key to kit creation is to make an effort to gauge what sorts of items you might find yourself in need of, meaning that one mage’s kit will be quite different from another’s.

Expanding Worldview

As has been shown, tactical magick is a system based on associations, symbology, and personal relevance. Though even as it exists as a magical system it can be used as a style with which one uses other systems. It is a versatile magical practice that can be adapted to any practitioner or magical system according to personal, socio-cultural, and magical needs. This path of magick feeds on knowledge and understanding of the hermetic relationships that make up reality.

It is important for the practitioner, regardless of situation or agendas, to continue both the magical and academic education. Study history and science, explore philosophy and religion, become familiar with art, culture, and music. The more that a practitioner knows, especially in the areas of culture, science, and the occult, the more vast the practitioner’s repertoire for magical significance will be. For example, knowing the history and culture behind the various systems of magical symbols, ancient runes, and writing systems the more capable the practitioner will be of drawing upon those elements of reality in such a manner as to be useful in any situation. The more a practitioner knows and understands the natural world through the study of physics and chemistry the more able he or she will be at manifesting the will within the physical and etheric realms. Imagine how greatly the discipline of physics has influenced the study of magick, or how much of an impact modern chemistry has had on alchemy. By staying informed and ideally having at least a functional knowledge of these subjects, the better able the practitioner will be at taking advantage of the advancements of science, culture, and art in relation to the practice of magick. The more you know about science, culture, and art the more of a ‘database’ of associations, symbols, relationships, and magically significant elements of reality you will have at your fingertips.

Survival is all about evolution, and necessity is the catalyst of innovation.

Global Events – You’ve heard the phrase “Think Global. Act Local.” before I’m sure. Well, the same applies to your magical life, in fact every aspect of life. Being an active meta-participant in reality means that your awareness of your actions and the consequences of those actions will resonate through the whole of reality, no matter how small or large those actions may be. Everything you do affects everything else.

POST-MODERN MAGICK

LIBER I

Introduction

It is impossible for one book to encompass the entirety of magick, which by its very nature defies all but the most persistent and necessary illusory definitions.  All attempts will be made however, to present within these pages a possible path of self-discovery and initiation that will lead the determined seeker into an evolution of knowledge, wisdom, and skill. Ultimately all magi must evolve alone, yet it is hoped that the following pages may serve to facilitate the treacherous first steps down this path.

Within the reader will be first presented with a basic and introductory course in post-modern magick. This presentation is designed to inform and prepare the beginner in the study and applied practice of magick. Yet it is also such a rich and full series of concepts, that a return to the fundamentals can be of great benefit to even the most potent of adepts.

The introductory section will be followed by a grimoire of post-modern spells. First is a list of various formulaic, spontaneous, and ritual spells, all appropriately named and carefully explained. Also included is an intensive ceremonial spell, presented in classic dramatic form, and exists as a multi-purpose group working. By delving deeply into the multitude of spells presented, the discerning magus will be able to glean the ways in which effective and powerful spells are created.  Thus empowered, both the beginner and the adept will have at their disposal not only this array of spells, but the knowledge and ability to create and implement their own.

After the spells segment, will come several example post-modern texts. They are independent manuscripts in their own right, and completely self-contained paradigms. They have been included to serve two purposes. One is to illustrate the way in which an informed post-modern magus, in this case the author, is able to create personal paradigms, each one valid within its own precepts, and change his or her own belief systems at will. The second purpose is to present a model for aspiring magi to create paradigms and the accompanying spells of their own.

The final section of the text is a collection of older magical texts from which much modern magical traditions and practices derive.  These texts provide not only as a reference for modern elements, but also as a framework for the seeker’s initial post-modern activities.  By presenting some of the primary sources for modern magical practice, the neophyte and adept will not only be able to investigate their likely “roots”, but when combined with the previous experimental grimoires, they will have an initial body of work from which to begin their careers as post-modern magi.

What is Post-Modern Magick?

Defining Magick: (Magic is defined as the process of shaping reality to the will of the user of said magic. Whereas the word spell means the tangible result of such use of the will, magic is the process in which the spell is completed.  One might argue that science is a process that produces useable data, and therefore is magic.  The one difference between magic and any other process, thus the one thing defining it as magic, is the fact that it is an occult process.  Everyone knows or has the ability to learn or discover normal or scientific processes, magic by its nature as an occult element of reality, is secret and difficult to learn or command.  For the Initiated, meaning those who have delved into the occult realms of reality and have learned those secrets, such a process is an option.)

Post-modern magick is an eclectic and deconstructionist non-system of reality shaping. While there is no fundamental structure or form, an illusory and pragmatic construct must be presented in order to accomplish basic communication in the literary medium.  So it follows that this book itself is a work of postmodernism, and in no way should be seen as the singular valid vessel of knowledge where post-modern magick is concerned.

This book is intended to serve as a primer, given that the essence of post-modern magick is individual personal relevance.  As such, there can be no authoritative text on post-modern magick, only presentations of the Crafts of individual post-modern magi who hope to teach by example.  This being said, post-modern magick has a somewhat simple fundamental magical theory, and an essentially Hermetic, or Western Mystic, approach to the study and use of magick.  Though not at all trapped by dogma or inflexibility in either aspect.

Do not be mistaken, post-modern magi are very committed people, and do not suffer from the relativism that cripples many of the more eclectic practitioners in other traditions.  While post-modern magick is based on the deconstruction of existing systems, it is done will full knowledge of these systems and a deep-seated drive to rediscover, invent, and evolve.

The General Perennial Principles of Magick

In nearly every culture of the world there is, or once was, a notion of what is widely known today as magic.  The words vary from culture to culture, but they all have the same general meaning, so for the sake of clarity the word magic will be used in all cases.  Also, for the sake of time and clarity, the existence of magic will not be questioned.  It will be assumed, within the scope of this paper, that magic does exist and the issue will not be addressed further.

From the past to the present magic has been a part of many, if not most, of the cultures of the world.  Each culture has it’s own views as to the properties, uses, and ethics of magic.  With so many cultural versions it can be very difficult to gain a real understanding of magic.  This has led too much of the skepticism of magic throughout the years.  Since the ideas of magic are so varied throughout the world it has been difficult if not impossible for many to accept the validity of both science and magic.  Many people are of the opinion that if science were to be integrated with the idea of magic in its many current forms, that science would be somehow lowering itself.  In order for there to be an integration of the two disciplines all magic must be unified under one set of principles, much like science has its foundations in the scientific method.

In order to create this set of principles a perennial approach must be taken.  Perennial philosophy is a way of thinking that takes into account one’s own existence and experiences, but also those of all people past and present.  It is a school of thought that attempts to find a commonality in human experience and understanding.  The perennial approach would search out common ideas and views of magic and put them together.  In the perennial approach we try to find the commonalties of magic throughout the world.  With these commonalties we will be able to identify the core elements of magic.  From those core elements the classical principles of magic can be developed.

While making the attempt to create such a set of principles it is important to include absolutely no cultural elements in the principles.  There are persons who would disagree with this; the argument being that culture is necessary and that stripping it away is foolish and disrespectful.  The removal of culture from the set of principles is necessary to provide science with an unbiased and objective counterpart.  Once magic and science are made to coexist then the culture surrounding magic can once again be considered because the basic principles that culture’s magic is working off of have been identified, thus satisfying the demands of science.

There is an unfortunate lack of respect in the field of science towards the practice and existence of magic, just as there is an equal amount of aversion towards science in the minds and hearts of many who follow magical paths.  In our culture the importance of science has been elevated above all other things, many times at the expense of magic.  Perhaps by taking up the practice of magic and entering into a dialogue with science these problems can be dealt with.

What follows is the set of principles I was able to identify and develop through my own research into the various magical traditions of the world, both past and present.

All energy is potential magical energy.

Magic is the use of will to elicit change in energy towards a desired end.

The ability to use magic is directly affected by belief.

The power of magic depends upon the focus of the user.

“All energy is potential magical energy.”—This is the principle that shows homogeneity of magical energy in all magical traditions of the world.  Most cultures have a word that is a close approximation of magical energy.  Some cultures call this energy “mana”, others call it “chi”, and some just call it “juice”.  There are many names for this magical energy that is believed by these cultures to permeate the world, and is there for those who can access it.  The fact that every magic-using culture has some idea of a magical energy shows a commonality.  Physics shows that all natural events involve a transformation of energy from one form to another, but the amount of energy does not change in the transformation.  The law of conservation of energy shows us that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed.  Albert Einstein showed that all matter is energy.  If everything in creation is energy in some form, including magical energy, and energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed, then it can be said that all energy is potential magical energy.

“Magic is the use of will to elicit change in energy towards a desired end.”—This is the principle that deals with the actual act of magic.  Of the four principles this is the one that is found in every culture almost without exception.  Many cultures see magic as an individual acting apart from society or religion in order to achieve some personal goal, and when acting alone the only tool one has is the will. The process of magic, the act of using one’s will to do magic, is morally neutral.  The moral implications of magic fall upon the shoulders of the magic-user, not the magic itself.  Through the use of will changes are made in energy, that, provided the will is strong enough, result in the desired outcome.  Much like it takes will to sit in Buddhist meditation for hours on end, it takes will to summon up magical energy and use it to cause changes in reality.

“The ability to use magic is directly affected by belief.”—This principle of magic is the principle what illustrates the dynamic nature of magic.  It can be inferred from this principle that if a person does not believe that they are capable of magic then they are not capable of doing so.  One might argue that experiences like the Kundalini awakening, a phenomenon entailing the abundant rising of potent spiritual energy from the base of the spine, happens regardless of belief in magic.  While Kundalini is a magical experience, the person experiencing the awakening is not at that moment willworking.  The awakening does however greatly encourage the belief in such things as more energy openings occur in the person, which eventually develop into the Kundalini powers, psychokinesis and telepathy, which are in their most basic, non-cultural nature, magic.  The ability to use magic is not only the capability of magic, but also the style of the ability.  The way in which one believes magic works greatly shapes one’s ability to use it.  For instance, many Satanists believe that their powers come from studying texts and initiation rituals.  Many of them even believe that their leaders and demonic allies grant powers to them.  They also believe that such powers can be taken away from them.  Many practitioners of Vodoun also believe that their powers are granted to them in some form by the loa.  There are other magic-users who belong to a group known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn who believe that magical ability is a measure of one’s will, and that the only limiting factor the self.  If one strips culture away from this principle it can be seen that belief shapes the ability to use magic, which is a commonality among most cultures.

“The power of magic depends upon the focus of the user.”—This principle is perhaps the most broad of the four principles.  This principle deals with several elements of focus.  One of the elements of focus is the ability of the magic-user to gather various amounts magical energy and shape it into the desired form without losing control of the summoned energy.  An example of this would be a Teutonic sorcerer attempting to write runescript upon the blade of a sword.  The more magical energy the sorcerer puts into the drawing of the runes, the more powerful they will become.  If the sorcerer tries to use more energy than he or she can control and still cast the spell, then something undesirable might happen, such as the sword breaking or the spell simply not working.  Many people believe that this is one of the many roles played by rituals.  Aside from their social functions, rituals provide the magic-user with a specific way to go about using magic.  Many psychologist and sociologist have showed that human beings like order.  To be more specific, human beings like maps.  The rituals serve as maps for the magic-users to keep in mind while they work their magic; it is a tool for deepening one’s concentration and energy controlling capacity.  Because of this many magical traditions feel that ritual is a tool to be used until the magic-user is capable of causing the same changes without the use of ritual, metaphorical training wheels in a way.  For these traditions, the more internalized rituals become, the less one has need for them.  The other element of focus is the perceived source of the magical energy being utilized by the magic-user.  Many magic-users focus on drawing the magical energy from within their own being, in essence they see themselves as their own power source.  Others focus on drawing their energy from specific deities.  This is not to say that the above sort of focus applies to those people who coerce spirits for aid.  This focus applies to the practitioners of theurgy.  For theurgist, the magical energy that they use comes directly through the deity that they are focusing upon.  An example of this would be a Catholic priest performing an exorcism upon a possessed person, by invoking the power of God the priest is able to shape that power and use his will to cast the demon out.

Now that the principles have been shown and explained, one might wonder why one would practice magic in the first place.  There are several reasons.  One reason is responsibility.  Each person’s responsibilities are different; therefore, they will need different ways of dealing with those responsibilities.  Shamans, priests, police officers, and politicians perform their services to aid and protect their societies.  Parents are responsible to their families.  Citizens are responsible to their governments just as governments are responsible to their citizens.  Magic, just like any other skill or tool, can help a person to live up to their responsibilities.  It is a potent addition to the versatility of individuals who have magic as one of their abilities.  In addition to being a very useful skill or tool, magic has a deeper element to its practice.  Many of the magical traditions of the world see magic as a way of deep exploration of the self and the universe.  When someone enters into the practice of magic that person comes into contact with very powerful forces within the universe that serve to deepen the magic-user’s perceptions.  Much like the UFOE experience discussed in many transpersonal psychology circles, the exposure to magic forces a widening of one’s sense of the universe.  It shatters the construct of a purely rational and empirical worldview, and forces the person to live in a much wider, deeper, more cosmically aware state of being.

There is, however, a common pitfall that many people may experience in relation to the practice of magic.  Magic is, as one can see from the four principles, a practice that can easily lead to the inflation of the ego of the magic-user.  Grandiosity and egocentrism can be very difficult problems that sometimes develop in the lives of magic-users, both past and present.  Some might begin to flaunt their powers before those without them.  Others may interpret their powers as evidence that they are some sort of important religious figure, the “One”.  Many might make the mistake of placing will above all other things as what is best in people, this sentiment stemming from the use of will in magic of course.    Sometimes the magic-user gets caught up in the power before the openings of perception occur and the deepening of the self becomes a reality.  The struggle not to fall into egocentrism and grandiosity is an ongoing one, so vigilance and openness must always be maintained.

Now that you have finished this chapter, read it again.  Commit to memory and analysis until you find yourself questioning it, possibly even finding disagreement with it.  It is this informed questioning that is the essence of post-modern magick.

Now you are ready.

"Magic is the first and last religion of the world. It has the power to make us whole, to open our eyes to the Dominions and return us to ourselves. Everything that isn't us is also ourselves. We're joined to everything that was, is and will be. From one end of the Imajica to another. From the tiniest mote dancing over this flame to the Godhead Itself." --- Clive Barker

Free Form Magick

In order for there to be any religion, there must exist in the world fundamentalists of that religion.  They give it form, create its tenants, formulate the paradigm, and shape the worldview of that religion. There also exists in the world religious and spiritual seekers and people who take a more eclectic approach to religion.  They sample from several faiths, moving through them as if trying to find the best fit. Though there are a great many of these eclectic seekers they would have no material to work with were it not for fundamentalist and their creations.  Without a group of people who have dedicated themselves to one path, perceived by them as the only “true” path, the eclectic seeker would have no frame of reference from which to begin and continue their journey.

The absolute same principle exists in the realm of magick.  There must be fundamentalists who create systems of magick in order for there to be material for the more eclectic, or Hermetic, magick users. The knowledge, wisdom, theoretical, and functional advantages of such rigid systems as Wicca, Classical Thelema, and Goetia, are all examples of such fundamentalist systems.  If one makes an in-depth study of most forms of magick, like ceremonial magick or chaos magick for instance, one will discover a great many persons who believe that only their system (ceremonialists), or the rigid denial of a system (chaos mages), is of any use or importance. While the value and potency of these systems is undeniable, it is important for those of a more informed and eclectic way of being to not allow themselves to be trapped by rigid magical systems or the denial thereof.

Magick is a very vibrant and versatile art, one that cannot be contained, defined, or encompassed by one system alone.  Also remember that even styles of magick, when viewed as the “only” or “superior” way, can lead to stagnation, a shutting out of the potential for growth.  It is possible, if one chooses, to combine paradigms, such as the Wiccan earth oriented path and the Thelemic true will/ego path, and create an entirely new paradigm.  Or one can switch back and forth as one sees fit.  This can also be done with styles of magick.

So long as one has studied, truly delved deeply into the various traditions, paradigms, and styles of magick, a true and enlightened style of free form magick can be transmuted from this patchwork collection of ideas and techniques.  The primary key is that all elements of one’s tradition, paradigm, and style of magick is that they are personally relevant.  If one part of a ritual is relevant and another is not, remove the irrelevant element and replace it with something better.  In essence, use what works for you, and do not worry so much about protocol, dogma, or tradition. Versatility is the very evolutionary essence of magick.

The end result of an approach such as free form magick is that the student becomes the “Jack of all Trades and Master of None”.  This is one of the two paths of magick available to any neophyte or adept.  The other path is that of the master.  The master is a magus who devotes his or herself completely to one school of thought, magical tradition, or any other singular and rigid pursuit.  In time that magus will become a most puissant practitioner of their chosen art, though will not have much in the way of flexibility or the ability to evolve beyond their own paradigm.

The “Jack”, the post-modern magus, is the harbinger of magical evolution.  This magus studies the workings and advancements of the masters, then uses this knowledge interchangeably to forge ahead into new territory. Though never becoming a master of anything, the post-modern magus becomes competent at everything, and thus always has the ability to overcome.  This is truly the path of those predisposed towards innovation and research, instead of refinement and the progression of traditional initiation.

Post-modern free form magick is indeed the middle path, with Attitude.

The Gods are real, and hidden in plain sight throughout the world.

Hermetic Magick

The Hermetic tradition has a long and prestigious history, one far too complex and exhaustive to detail in these few pages of a single book. There are quite literally libraries full of texts and manuscripts from the Hermetic tradition.  What will be attempted here is a basic introduction to Hermeticism.  It is important to have a working knowledge of the tradition that is most closely related to post-modern magick, and is in many ways the precursor to the post-modern approach.

The Hermetic tradition has is roots in the eclectic miasma of mythology, philosophy, theology, folklore, and magic that was synthesized by a great many occult writers and explorers throughout history.  The original idea held by these individuals, at least the idea in a functional form, was that they would combine as many of the above methods as possible into a useable system that breached the cultural boundaries in the search for a universal discipline.

They postulated that if one could strip away much of the cultural dogma that surrounded the mystical teachings and hearth knowledge of the various traditions, one could successfully combine all of these traditions into a single tradition that was greater than just the sum of its parts. This led to a flourishing exploratory occult community, combining all manner of magical practices in an experimental attempt to distill an essence of magick and the occult.

The primary concern of the Hermetic tradition is to take from each system the most powerful and useful elements and arrange them cross-culturally in order to find the commonalities and most efficient uses.  Once these fundamentals can be identified, then the Hermetic would be able to control the forces of reality without being bound by one culture, dogma, or system.

For the Hermetic, magick can easily be divided into an infinity of forms, and new techniques are developed and implemented often, so listing them would be an unending process.  So for the sake of clarity and pedagogy, the ten basic forms will be listed, as well as five of the most fundamental techniques.

These forms are very basic, though the details of the form can be made more specific should one choose.

The forms are Animal (animals), Aquam (water), Auram (air), Corpus (body), Herbam (plants), Ignem (fire), Imaginem (image), Mentam (mind), Terram (earth), and Vim (power).

The same precautionary statement should be made for the techniques in that these are the fundamentals, are more refined techniques can and have been created and used.

The techniques are Creo (creation), Intellego (perception), Muto (transformation), Perdo (destruction), and Rego (control).

The Latin names are used both to provide an additional empowering departure from the norm, and to make it easier to form ritually appropriate sentences of form and technique.  All Hermetically oriented spells can be classified within three types of magick.

Formulaic magick is very structured.  Formulaic spells are intricate combinations of invocations, gestures, and physical foci used to channel, define, and tightly focus the present magical forces.  Though Formulaic spells often take a long time to research, develop, and master, once integrated and committed to memory they enable the magic user to control vast and puissant forces with relative ease.  Most Hermetic study is concerned with Formulaic Magick, and the majority of the available writings pertain to it.

Spontaneous magick however, sacrifices power a precision for versatility and speed. Instead of using the finely controlled rigors of a formulaic spell, the magic user simply combines a few words or gestures that are appropriately significant with magical energy summoned for the spell, and wills the effect to occur.  Though easier and faster than any other magic, spontaneous magick is resultantly less powerful and its effects temporary.

Ritual magick, on the opposite end of the magical spectrum from spontaneous, is the most powerful and most time consuming of the three types of magick.  Rituals, in general, take a long time to perform, and as a source of potency usually require the caster to incorporate rare or difficult elements into the ritual.  Exotic or expensive plant and animal material, archaic languages, forgotten symbols or names, and all manner of challenging ceremonial verses and sympathetic foci are all part of ritual magick. Because of the preparation, performance challenges, and inherent specificity of rituals, they become the most precise and puissant of spells available to a magus of any knowledge or ability.

There are other, less fundamental types of magick.  While they are not discussed at length here, they are chiefly concerned with the summoning, channeling, benevolence, or evocation of external spiritual beings.

Magical Will

Magick, as it is known to most, is more an act of will than any other event.  It is commonly agreed that it is through this force, this enlightened Will, that all magick is given its fundamental potency. Though it is the energy that gives substance to any working, it is the will of the magick user that shapes and wields the energy.

It occurs to the author of this passage that the difference between magical will and personal will should be investigated and clearly defined.

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” – Aleister Crowley

Take the above statement, at face value the word is taken to mean the force of personality, a desire, some facet of a person’s ego.  Yet once the phrase is fully analyzed, with the element of magick involved as Crowley intended, the meaning becomes much less cut and dry.  There is a difference between what is commonly referred to as will and what can aptly be aptly called the Magical Will.

Will, as it is known and accepted, is the vehicle that transports the desires of the ego and personality.  This can be taken to mean that a strong willed person is someone who can forcefully manifest his or her desires into physical or social reality. This is not to say, however that a person equipped with a strong will is necessarily capable of great magical workings, or that a person with a weak personal will cannot have a strong magical will. Quite possibly, a person with an absolutely weak magical will could possibly have a near indomitable and unshakeable personal will.

The Magical Will is the force that one exerts in order to manipulate magical energy. It is used to both gather and shape those energies, as well as control and send out those energies. Magical will is the raw strength of a magick user. It is a spiritual element of all humanity that allows t to touch, tap, and control magick.

Therefore, if the magical will of a person is their raw power, the skill of a person determines how well the power can be used. The amount of learning, wisdom, and knowledge gives the magus the ability to understand and perceive the motivations, causality, and consequence of magical workings. So it is that one must not only have strength, but one must have knowledge and skill. It is with the proper skills and sufficient knowledge that the adept is able to fully utilize the magical will, whereas all others wane in weakness or misapplications of uncontrolled power.

I have, as an academic exercise, created several paradigms of my own. I do not personally hold to them in the forms they are presented here, though I did “test drive” all of them and found them plenty successful. Paradigms are like clothing outfits, you pick the one that best suits the weather of your life.

The Logris

The Logris, in a classical sense, is a dynamic symbol of Chaos. While keeping this original meaning as a reference the word Logris can also be used to describe the staging area for spells within the “aura” of any magus, like a membrane of sorts that surrounds the magus.

While much argument and essay could be held in defining and investigating the aura itself, that will not be done here. Instead, the word aura will be defined loosely as the collection of energy fields that permeate and surround the magus. One of these energy fields is the Logris.  For those who are aware of its existence and skilled enough to use it, the Logris can serve as both a medium for the casting of spells and an amplifier for the power of the spell.

The theory and procedure are as follows:

Much like various parasites that graft themselves to the skin or aura of humans and magi alike, just so can a spell be attached, or “hung” on the Logris energy field, almost like a temporary tattoo on the skin.

The magus first casts the majority of the spell. Once the spell is complete, but not sent, the spellcaster visualizes the Logris field.  When the Logris has been raised the spellcaster puts the spell onto the Logris.  Perhaps visualizing physically hanging the spell on a wall, peg, or the shimmering surface of a forcefeild. By doing so the magic user will be able to effectively store up spells until they are needed.  At that point there are two things that can be done. The magic user, finding his or herself in need of quick and powerful magick, could pull one of these spells off the Logris.

This acts as a power multiplier for the spell.  First there is energy put into the spell itself, added to the power used to activate the stored spell and push it out of the Logris.  Then there is the additional energy boost from the spell’s passage through the Logris itself.  Thus making a most potent spell indeed.  Effectively allowing the spells cast by that magus to have a potency much greater than the caster himself.

This technique also allows the caster to perform lengthy and complex ceremonial or formulaic magick, then store the spell to use at their leisure.  Thus making the practice of ceremonial magick much more effective in situations requiring immediate action and result.  However, one must always remember that the laws of thermodynamics also, at times, apply to magical energy.  The amount of power and thus number of spells that can effectively hang on the Logris depends greatly upon the power and energy capacities of the magic user himself.

Once a spell is hung on the Logris it begins to decay like an unused muscle or a leaking barrel of gunpowder.  Depending upon how much power was put into the original spell, it will take a small portion of that to maintain the spell’s potency over long periods of time. As a result most magic users who employ the Logris technique either hang several spells that they intend upon using soon, or they store only a few potent ones and then hold onto until just the right moment.

A final exciting benefit from using the Logris often is that the energy field is gradually affected by the spells hung upon it.  So the observant, patient, and powerful magus could use this knowledge to cast the same spells often.  Over time the Logris will begin to “remember” spells often hung upon it, and once the adept becomes the master the Logris will evolve from being merely a storehouse and amplifier, but also providing immediate access to a multitude of spells regularly cast though it.  A living grimoire.

The Astral

The astral realm is a phrase used loosely to describe the quite possibly infinite levels of reality and perception, most specifically the reflection of our physical realm.  Yet the most commonly experienced level of reality, beyond the physical, it the realm of dreams. It is a place where sight, sound, and feeling are perceived as “real” whilst the dreamer is inside.  While the multiverse is considered by most magick users to be made up of an immeasurable number and variety, there are several places generally considered to be the realms most common to the experience of a magus.  These are the astral, the infernal, the dreamscape, the celestial, and the realm of faerie.

The astral realm is the spiritual reflection of the physical realm. While much of the realm is identical to the physical realm, the energy resonance of places is tangible in the astral. The infernal realm is a distillation of the negativity and more evil or demonic elements and denizens of reality, many others refer to this realm as the lower astral.  The celestial is a realm of ideals, positive energy, and is the repository for most of humanities higher spiritual aspirations.  The realm of faerie is the patchwork world of folklore, myth, and fantasy.  The realm of dreams is less its own reality and more a staging area for entrance into one of the above realms.

Some call the astral the spiritworld, others simply refer to it at the “other place”. To make the attempt to classify levels of existence that defy classification would be a waste of pages.  Instead I will endeavor to equip the reader with the knowledge that will allow you to explore these elements of reality for yourself.

One must believe, or at least be ready to believe.  As an overabundance of skepticism will prevent the mage from leaving the body and entering the alternate reality.  One must achieve an altered state of consciousness. The best method of course is meditation or controlled breathing.  By doing so the mage, through visualization, leaves the body and enters the astral.  There are many techniques for this most difficult of transitions, the most simple of which is meditation and visualization of stepping out of one’s body and being reborn into an alternate world.

This skill is much more difficult than most other magicks due to its subjective nature.  Many times the beginner will question if actions taken in the astral really happened, or if they were a hallucination or mental fantasy.  Sometimes they will be real, other times they will be the products of an imaginative mind rushing towards a delusion of success.  It is important to remember that lucid dreaming is also a viable method of gaining access to the astral.

The best resources on astral magic and travel are the following two books:

Arcane Lore – A text that focuses on gaining access to the astral via lucid dreaming.

The Magical Use of Thoughtforms: An experiential and academic combination of the techniques and descriptions of the above two books, very easily the authority on the subject.

LIBER II

A Post-Modern Grimoire

Zen Navigation

This spell allows the caster who finds his or herself in a situation in which there is a need to follow someone, find a thing, or seek a place without the luxury of a map, area knowledge, or homing device.  The caster first focuses her consciousness/awareness upon the target, be it a destination, object, or living quarry.  Once a firm connection has been established, the mage must “lock-on” to the target, never letting the attention waver. The caster becomes so focused upon the target that as she moves towards the target, be she on foot or in a vehicle, the usual difficulties of travel will not hamper her.  So long as she maintains this trance like state she will be able to arrive at the target just as if she knew exactly where to turn, how far to go, and when to stop.  To the unknowing bystander the caster will appear lost, or at the very least to be simply wandering randomly, though in reality the mage is allowing both her inborn senses and her magical connection with the target to guide her through the unseen pathways that lead straight to the target.  The one drawback of the spell is that should the caster lose focus for some unforeseen reason, the caster may have to contend with the likelihood of being lost or losing her quarry.

(Components) The most effective focus or sympathetic element of this spell would either be a compass or loadstone, ritually charged expressly for this purpose and carried or worn on the caster’s person.  Though a personally significant object associated with travel, or a seeking rune, could always be used instead or in conjunction.

Alacrity

This spell enables the caster to increase her own natural physical speed.  This is accomplished by the caster extending her senses into her own body.  Once a state of continuous biofeedback has been achieved she uses her magical will to increase the output capacity of her muscles, tendons, and ligaments.  This increase in output capacity will allow her body to propel her motion at much higher speeds as long as she continuously feeds magical energy into the spell.

(Components) This spell doesn’t simply make a person fast, it enhances what physical prowess is already present. Thus, the components for this spell are physical fitness and the ability to use meditation or trance techniques to achieve biofeedback.

The Old Straight Track

This divination spell both allows the caster to create a mental map of lay lines in the area, but also to gather power from them by walking along them.  First the caster clears her mind, then she extends her senses as far as they will go, searching for hints of raw magical power, the area of her search limited only by her magical prowess.  Once her senses have picked up on the source, she extends her consciousness into these lines of power. Once she is hooked up to the “grid” of interlocking ley lines, she will be able to walk along them. This is allows a magus with sufficient capacity to gather power from these lines like a whale feeding on plankton.  Do be careful, as a high dose of raw power could severely shock or overload and unwary magus.

(Components) A dowsing rod would be very helpful, while one of wood is more attuned to the wild natural power of the lines, any rod of any material will do.  Perhaps a compass whose needle has been attuned to power instead of north would work well.  Loadstones or simple concentration are also quite effective.

Alarm

This spell allows the caster to set up an invisible magical alarm system in a specific area.  T the caster weaves together sensitive strands of magical energy around the desired area like a spider web.  When the strands are disturbed they will silently alert the caster in an empathetic manner.  The energy strands can be further strengthened with traps, contingency spells, and secondary alarms to prevent circumvention or the success of a counterspell.

(Components) In the astral realm the visualization of the strands of energy is usually component enough.  In the physical realm the caster may find aid in the use of actual spider silk or cobwebs, but a bit of string tied around the perimeter will also do the trick of focusing the spell during casting.

Manifest Reality

This spell allows the caster to gradually change and warp the reality of a specific area in the physical realm.  Given that reality can be visualized and exists as a jumble of energy patterns, the mage makes subtle alterations to those patterns, slowly bending reality to his will.  This spell is done by first becoming intimately aware and familiar with these local patterns.  Then usually through sympathetic or visualized means, the caster channels energy into these patterns, slowly altering their fundamental form.  This is a process that takes time, yet when completed allows the caster to permanently alter the flow of energy, and therefore to a certain extent the output of those energies in the physical realm.  Some examples of this spell could be a mage heightening the tangible presence of magick in a specific area, a mage causing an area to produce certain types of dreams when people sleep in a specific area, or perhaps the caster simply wants to change the general presence of a place.  This is a slow moving spell and requires the expenditure of a tremendous amount of energy, especially if a more permanent change is desired.

(Components) Often the best method for this spell is deep meditation and the willful manipulation of energy, following the energy shift like breathing so as to change the fundamental elements of the area. Candle burning, incense smudging, and physical rituals such as dance are also effective, though must be repeated over time, thus making the meditation method more viable on a practical material level, as it does not require the constant replenishment of physical components.

Affect Lifeline

This spell can be used to reduce or increase the fundamental vitality of entities that consciously move across the threads of time.  The caster makes magical contact with a visualization of the lifeline of the target entity.  Then the caster uses the will to alter the lifeline’s pattern.  The entity can be made to lose or gain vitality in an amount determined by the caster’s power and skill.  This is a potent spell however the changes will not be immediate, due to the subtle nature and invasiveness of the spell it will produce its effects over time.  So while the effects of this spell will take time to manifest the spell itself will be much more difficult to detect and counter.

(Components) The spell works best if the entity to be affected is touched in some way by the caster.  For more potency and success the caster may find it useful to perform a more ritualistic version of the spell in which the caster touches the entity with a finger that has a bit of string attached to it.  The string is later used sympathetically and is either cut or lengthened with more string.

Dreamscape

This spell gives the caster the ability to not only enter the dream of another, but to control and direct them as if the caster was in her own lucid dream.  The caster enters into a meditative state and sends her astral self into the dreamscape.  Once in the dreamscape the caster uses a pre-established connection with the target to find their present dreaming.  Then the caster enters the dream and changes according to her will, anything is possible.  The caster can enter and alter the dream as subtly as being a non-intrusive and silent observer or as forward as ripping the dream apart and building an entirely new dream that the target is forced to experience.  The limitations of the control and influence over the target’s dreams are dependent upon the skill and power of the caster.  Also, if the target realizes that the caster is the source then a battle of wills may begin for control of the dream.

(Components) The components of such a spell are also the methods of casting the spell.  One needs to be skilled in meditation, powerful of will, and knowledgeable of the ways of the dreamscape.  The connection that needs to be established before the spell is cast can be made with anything sympathetically linking the caster and the target.  It could be something positive like the relationship of a significant other or a flower from a friend, or as negative as a bit of hair or an object once owned by the target.

Conceal

This spell enables the caster to render an object or entity effectively invisible.  The caster uses his senses to become familiar with the patterns of the object or entity in question.  Once knowledge of the make up of the target the caster then uses his magical will to isolate the patterns within the target that allows other entities to perceive its presence by spatial awareness.  The caster alters the spatial patterns of the target to resemble negative space instead of occupied space of the target’s size.  If the target moves or is moved the spell will be much less effective unless energy is used by the caster to maintain the spell’s integrity in motion.

(Components) When casting this spell on objects usually sprinkling some sand or dust on it will provide amble substance for focusing the will.  For living beings or spirits in the astral physically touching the target if it is not oneself is an effective component.  Also using conventional camouflaging techniques in conjunction with the spell will aid in the spell’s potency.

Ghost in the Machine

This spell allows the caster to alter a mechanical device at will without leaving traces of the caster’s involvement or presence within the device.  First the caster must make an empathetic link and familiarize himself with the device, other spells exist for the accomplishment of this task.  Once intimate with the device the caster exerts his will upon the various mechanical patterns of the device to achieve the desired change.  The caster can alter the efficiency output of the device, components and their functions can be altered, or the device could be rendered unusable.

(Components) Usually other components have already been used to establish the empathetic link with the machine and therefore there is no one component that would be overly helpful enough to mention once intimate with the machine.  This is a spell of willful domination of the machine and requires no physical component for further potency.

Machine Empathy

This spell enables the caster to develop an empathetic rapport with any mechanical device, thus allowing the caster to manipulate and affect the device.  The caster uses her senses to establish an empathetic link with the device, using her will if necessary to circumvent any defensive spells or the machine’s own stubbornness.  Once the link is established the caster uses that link to gain impressions of the machine’s maker, function, components, and the mechanical relationships between those components.  In essence the caster uses the link to gain a working knowledge of the machine, what it does, how it does it, and how it can be repaired or sabotaged.

(Components) Using a physical medium to establish the connection is very effective.  This object could be a bauble, ring, or talisman that is attached to or laid upon the device.  The laying of hands upon the device, verbal incantations, and runes are also effective components.

Mantle

This spell, upon casting, encases the caster within a defensive energy field.  The uses her will to weave a field of defensive energies about herself, solidifying them into a potent defense grid.  This field will aid the caster in the natural avoidance of physical or magical harm.  In essence this field will increase the chances of the caster avoiding harm.  The likelihood of tripping over something, the probability of a bullet striking home, or perhaps the odds of success for an offensive spell hurled at the caster of the field.  It augments the caster’s natural defenses and creates a field of probability in the caster’s favor.  The spell remains until the caster chooses to no longer expend energy to maintain the field’s integrity.

(Components) Any object that can be adjusted sympathetically would be tremendously helpful in this situation.  An example would be a ring with a compartment that will open or close.  Perhaps a watch with a dial switch or a glow stick necklace.  Some sort of object that could sympathetically represent the turning on and off of the field.

Nullify

This spell allows the caster to absorb, store, or redirect magical energy from incoming spells and magical patterns.  The caster of this spell focuses upon the incoming spell or pattern and nullifies it with his or her magical will.  Immediately after the moment of nullification there is a tremendous amount of formless magical energy which must be shaped to avoid the venting of volatile energy into the immediate area. The caster may choose to absorb the energy and hurl a spell of her own, though if this route it taken the caster must be prepared to cast the next spell reactively.  The energy of the nullified spell may very well overload her system if it remains too long.  Although a master with enough capacity may choose to store the energy from the nullified spell for later use, this should only be done if the caster is confident in her capacity to handle such an addition to her own energy stores.  The third option is to redirect the formless energy into an object or other realm.  To do this the caste must either have a physical item capable of handling the energy input without breaking or be of sufficient skill and power to safely shunt the energy into another realm without losing focus or control.

(Components) Personalized hand gestures accompanied by a verbal denial of the incoming spell or pattern.

Summons

This spell allows the caster to reach out with her power and force an entity to come into her presence.  The caster must be familiar with the intended target, the more detailed her knowledge the more powerful and difficult to resist the spell will be when cast.  The caster then uses that familiarity to distinguish that particular entity from all others and establishes a magical connection with that entity through the caster’s senses.  Then the caster uses her will to exert power over the entity and force it to come to her.  The affected entity will then do everything in its power to reach the caster.  The more powerful the caster the more powerful the summons will be and the greater the distance that one can force the affected entity to travel.  The skill of the caster is what determines how much knowledge the entity has of the reasons for its sudden need to be in whatever location the caster is waiting.

(Components) An object touched by the target entity or perhaps something once possessed by the target are both very potent augmentations or foci for the spell.  Facing a mirror with the object and using verbal components analogous to summoning is a tremendously effective manner of casting this spell.

Ruin

This spell gives the caster the ability to rapidly age any inanimate object. Depending upon the strength of the caster the amount of aging could be months, years, or even centuries.  Under the influence of the spell wood rots, metal rusts and becomes brittle, stone weathers, structures collapse, and machines fail.  This is accomplished by the magic user extending her senses into the object in question and establishes a connection to it in the flow of time. Then the caster uses her will to increase the effects of time upon the object to the desired age.  Like many spells, this spell requires subtly and patience, for even in the astral realm it is possible that it may take time for the object to begin to show the effects of the spell, given that the changes are fundamental, not superficial.

(Components) Physically touching the target object is tantamount to the success of the spell, it allows for a more intimate and swift connection to the object in the flow of time. Verbal components may also be useful at this juncture.

Silent Ambush

This spell allows the caster to setup traps within his own mind to ensnare and damage intruders.  The caster visualizes his mind as a grid, then places traps and snares at various points upon the grid.  These traps could be complex patterns that snare the intruder’s mind within the caster’s own, thus putting the invader at the caster’s mercy.  Or they could be as simple as sensitive areas within the mindscape that blast intruders with raw energy in the attempt to destroy and expel the invading mind.  The complexity, power, and sensitivity of such mental devices depend upon the skill, focus, and power of the caster and the frequency which the caster refreshes such defenses.

(Components) There are no helpful components other than the ability of the magic user to visualize the casting of such a spell.

LIBER III

Reality Hacker

Reality Hacker Creed: Beauty, Variety, Conflict

Open Source Mantra:

I am a dynamic force of change.

My victories belong to everyone.

My defeats are my own.

Boredom and drudgery are evil.

The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.

Freedom is good.

Attitude is no substitute for competence.

NEW AEON: Theoretical Analog for Fundamental Change

This is the event horizon of the New Aeon, a time when the barriers that constrict the flow of magical energy are broken and dissipated, thus allowing for a new age of spiritual freedom and evolution. Control of the multitudes of humanity will be wretched from the hands of our modern rulers and their governments. Dogma will become a relic of times soon to be left behind. It will be a time of spiritual anarchy. It will be a time in which all religions, all creeds, and all spiritual paths must reevaluate and redefine themselves in a world where all roads can lead to paradise or desolation.

Religion has for millennia been the differentiating and defining factor in the relationships amongst human groups. Be these relationships of commerce, marriage, warfare, or territory. Religion has been the way in which humans have identified “us” and “them”. If there is only one right faith, and one group is in possession of that faith, it becomes easier on a psychological level to enter into conflict with other “divine” groups.  Throughout human history religions begin with the well meaning and insightful ideas and experience of one or a few individuals who come into contact with the divine, and end up being used as vehicles for control by those whom inherit or seize leadership. Religion has been the justifying banner on many unjustified battlefields.

This basic truth is also fundamental in the history and future of Empires. They begin as provocatively bold movements full of enthusiasm and ideals, and end up being the oppressive systems they were created to replace.  So both Empire and Religion, birthed of creativity and passion, are destined to fail. There is however, a third element to this system of revolution/institution/decay, it is Commerce. Just as the varieties of religions and governments are many, so are the systems of commerce, and like the institutions of Religion and Empire, Commerce fails again and again as time churns on.

Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Wicca, Democracy, Communism, Monarchy, Capitalism, Socialism, Bartering; all of these systems and institutions fail because of one thing. They do not see that they are all subject to the entropy of time and the chaos of chance.  If they become too solid, too organized, too stable, the fundamental elements of Reality tear them down.

In the wake of the New Aeon we are at this point of meltdown. How can we as a species cope with this bleak time when all we build seems meant to collapse and fail? The answer is neither easy nor overly palpable for those who cannot take the long view of our continued survival and success as a species.

Feudalism is the most basic and natural way of life. Once feudalism is clearly defined its governing tenants can be seen throughout nature as well as human society. Feudalism is the eternal symbiotic relationship between Ruler, Protector, and Provider. In medieval times the Rulers were the monarchs, the Protectors were knights, and the serfs the Providers. In bee colonies the Queen is the Ruler, the warrior drones are the Protectors, and the worker bees are the Providers. This metaphor of Ruler, Protector, and Provider can be as grand as the interpretation of Earth as Ruler, humanity as Protector, and Earth’s other creatures as Providers.  While this view is somewhat romantically in favor of human kind as the Protectors of Earth, but it is certainly closer to the actual state of affairs, all illusions aside, than seeing humanity as the Rulers. Or this metaphor can be as minute as to apply it to the fundamentals of cellular existence. It is arguable that what shall be called feudalism is a universal and completely natural system of life. With feudalism seen as a natural system it can be easily identified in most relationships, from Earth to Organism.

In the New Aeon our eyes will be opened to the spiritual connections amongst ourselves, our religions, and Reality itself. As stated previously, in this state of spiritual anarchy our social climate will reflect this turmoil.  As the global ascension occurs the element of Religion in humanity will reach equilibrium with time and chance, becoming adapted to it. Ascension by its very nature is a condition which allows spirituality and belief to ebb and flow alongside time and chaos, solid enough to support the soul but flexible enough to allow it to grow and change. From this ascension the institutions of Religion will rise and fall, as is their nature, but it will be the growing pains of evolution, not the warfare of dogma. The other two elements, Commerce and Empire, will coalesce in this new world. While in much of human history Empire and Commerce have been very distinguishable entities, soon they will become One.

In our modern world, as well as much of the ancient, the institution of Empire changes its visage often. While Commerce does not. Kings and armies come and go, but trade routes tend to remain unchanged and ever flowing. In the present, the Information Age and Global Market has allowed for the radical proliferation of a vessel of Commerce known as the Corporation. These business conglomerates are entities in and of themselves. The human element exists within the confines of the corporation, yet no one person has complete control over a long enough timeline to affect its overall evolution. Corporations to not die with their founders, they lumber on, buoyed by those in lower ranks moving up the ever-present corporate ladder.

As the Global Ascension sets in, the power of governments and despots will dissolve.  The working public will no longer support social parasites, unjust control from corporate leaders, or the work-a-day lifestyle.  The general public will expect and demand the time, tranquility, and funding to exercise their spiritual freedom and newfound insight.  The corporations will see the need to comply with such demands, after all, they are made up of people with in the same spiritual condition. The institutions of Empire and Commerce will become one. The corporations will become Empires, with the upper leadership levels of the corporations serving as the Rulers.  The skilled employees such as lawyers, programmers, security officers, the military, and other such persons will become the Protectors.  The working public and unskilled laborers will become the Providers. Because of their newfound spiritual condition and health workers will be more productive. Working conditions and the salary to buying power ratios will improve as these corporate fiefdoms prosper and compete.

This competition, not only for currency and materials, but also for employee retention, will create and environment that fill foster growth.  This New Aeon of Corporate Feudalism will allow for the institutions of Empire and Commerce to rise and fall with the natural progression of time and chance.  By existing in a state of spiritually healthy corporate feudalism the human species will survive, prosper, and evolve amidst the tumult of Reality unfolding.

The Program

Reality, especially and more specifically the astral plane, can be thought of as a vast operating system, which contains many programs, each representing a level of perception or existence, realms if you will.  Most people operate within the Program, magi, called Programmers, have learned to actively change the Program from within.  Physical reality within the Program itself, which could be known as the Interface, is the output of the Program as it runs. Programmers can change the data within the Program itself to produce changes in the Interface.

What we perceive as physical objects are called data clusters.  Once one learns to reprogram a particular type of cluster one could alter the data in it, allowing one to change an object’s fundamental patterns.  This sort of magick is best done with a computer or some other such technological visualization tool. The basic mode of casting being going into deep trance, then just coding.  The lines of code that the mage types may appear as gibberish and have no real relevance, yet the act of coding provides the magi with a near unbreakable magical link and visualization with the Program, because the act is both mental and physical.

One changes the code in the Interface by moving or changing the data in the Program.  By changing the programming language, you can move objects between the multitudes of the astral realms.  Each level of reality has its own Program, written in its own unique language.  This makes up the rules in that realm.  The existence of its denizens are constantly rewriting the Program, though with enough power one could make low-level programming changes which could be retained and incorporated into the Program itself.  In essence, spells and levels of innovation in the Program are only as finite as the imagination and power of the Programmer.

Righteous Hacks

ICE

This spell is an enchantment that the caster sets upon his or herself prior to a foray into the Program.  Like the firewalls and network security software of mundane computer systems, ICE is an empowered security routine that protects the Programmer while working with the Interface.  The first thing the caster does is “plug in”, connecting with the Interface.  Once inside the first task is to summon up magical energy, then shaping it into an aura-like field that surrounds the caster, a halo if you would.  This spell acts like a shield, though an extremely aggressive one.  Instead of simply blocking incoming spells or spirits, the ICE will actually assault the threat, using its own energy in the attempt to deflect and disrupt.  While no ICE will ever be more effective than constant vigilance on the part of the Programmer, it serves as a potent early warning system, and often serves to weaken a threat significantly before being circumvented.  This of course allowing the Programmer both the time to power up a secondary response, but to slow and weaken the incoming threat. The more powerful the Programmer, the more effective and deadly the ICE.

(Components) Perhaps a physical object, like a statue or other guarding attuned talisman/symbol, could be set near or affixed to the terminal being used by the Programmer in the physical world, thus creating a sympathetic in the Interface.  Then of course the Programmer would benefit by coding in a link/representation of the ICE once plugged in.

Hyper-Coding

The act of coding in the physical world is what empowers the magick of the Programmer within the system. Though the spiritual power of the Programmer may be significant, the vitality of the body often becomes taxed long before the spirit.  This spell is simply a precautionary trance state that allows the caster to code faster and longer.  Through meditation and controlled breathing the Programmer puts himself into a hibernation like state, thus requiring less food, rest, and energy.  Once in this low maintenance state, the Programmer ingests on a regular basis large amounts of “uppers”, like caffeine, chocolate, and orange juice to increase the coding speed of the Programmer in the physical realm.  While this resembles the long term coding tactics of mundane hackers, this is an empowered act, and thus much more potent and long lasting.

(Components) A firm grasp on the skills of mediation and breathing exercises is crucial to achieving the trance state.  Then one would need the actual physical upper consumables.

Download Spirit

This spell is the Reality Hacker version of a summoning and binding spell rolled into one function.  By extending his or her senses into the Operating System, a Programmer of sufficient skill and power can sense the subtle currents and programs in the Interface. The Programmer then codes a quick search spell, much like the basic search engine in a mundane internet browser, and keys in the search parameters to the specifics of the spirit or entity that the Programmer wishes to interact with.  Once the results of the search come back, the magic user then uses that retrieved data cluster to establish a magical connection with the target.  Once this connection is established the Programmer can both summon and bind the entity, effectively “downloading” the entity into whatever medium is desired.

(Components) The Programmer will need a repository into which to download the entity.  This could be as esoteric as a software application or data cluster within the Interface, or as physical as a floppy disk, the computer’s hard drive, or hand held device.

Soul Hacking

This is the most potent and invasive spell in the Programmer’s database of spells.  Through the use of the coding trance and a powerful magical connection to the target, the Programmer is able to hack the spirit of another being in the same way that a mundane hacker would a simple computer.  First the Programmer must obtain a very potent connective element of the target.  The specifics of the element are entirely dependent upon the personal paradigm of the Programmer, but in any case should be as closely related to the target as possible.  Then, using that magical connection, the Programmer breaches the natural spiritual defenses of the target.  Like any computer system, the target will, even if unaware of the intrusion, defend itself.  So it is best to have a solid offensive array of software prepared before the intrusion is made.  This spell will allow the Programmer to add, modify, or delete code within the fundamental essence of the target.  The potential effects of this spell are too fantastic to mention in these pages, though it can be said that in the hands of a master, this spell is most formidable and dangerous, allowing the Programmer to implant behaviors, thoughts, feelings, or perhaps even skills or secondary spells.

(Components) A potent sympathetic connection to the target, such as a true name, body parts, or personal item.

The Market

This is a section that deals with more subtle adjustments of reality that draw wealth towards the magus, or Principal.  The whole of Reality is pure energy.  As modern physics has shown us everything that can currently be perceived by human means is energy in some form or another.  Therefore, the energy that the Principal drawn upon in order to perform adjustments in Reality is fundamentally the same as energy in any form.  Money, a tangible manifestation of the more esoteric energy of wealth, is an example of some past adjustment of Reality.  Some group or individual used will and daring to shape Reality so that small pieces of metal or paper, and now even non-physical data points, carry the weight of history and the world.  People will lie, steal, cheat, trade their very lives for its possession.  Still, it is energy, money is fundamentally no different than dirt or stone.  Wealth is the flow of energy from which money, currency as it were, gains its power.  The ebb and flow of the currents of wealth can be seen by the keen observer.  Wealth flows along trade routes, pools in banks, forms eddies in the palm of a consumer.  By controlling one’s body and spirit with calm meditative trances, the principle may contemplate, become familiar with, and gain subtle control of the flow of wealth.

Using visualization the Principal should see the flow of wealth energies as golden waters, flowing throughout the world.  These rivers of gold can be touched, breathed in, drunk.  Become intimate with these waters.  Once the Principal is ready, slowly channel some of that wealth towards oneself or some other target.  Allow it to flow into the reservoir of the ready spirit.  With vigilance, patience, and maintenance these connections will become tributaries, in time the tributaries will become rivers.  The flow of wealth spreads naturally, it seeks the places where it is not felt, and will fill any space it can find.

Once the Principal has become a part of the flow of wealth, currency will find its way into the life of the Principal.  This process may take time, depending upon how separated the Principal is from the natural flow of wealth, and how skilled and intimate the Principal is at influencing wealth.  Patience is key in drawing wealth and currency together into the life of the Principal.  Once this basic accruement of wealth is mastered, the Principal is able to influence wealth energies on an external level, becoming a player in the on-going numbers and confidence game that is reality perceived as the Market.

Portfolio

Little Black Book

This tome is the personal treasure trove of the Principal.  Notes, addresses, calendars are all kept here, just like a normal business organizer.  However, this book also contains notes on wealth meditations, recent financial events, new spell ideas, and other more sensitive information.  Like the wizards of olden times, the Principal is never without a grimoire.

(Components) A little black book of course.

The Pen

Like the wand is a symbol for the witch and warlock of myth, the pen is the tool and the sword of the Principal.  Sometimes a pentacle is discretely engraved upon the pen for added access to wealth energies.  It is both a symbol and a tool.  The pen is used like a normal writing stylus, yet it channels wealth and in its ink comes the promise of currency.

(Components) A pen. A really good one. This spell also works just as well with a Palm Pilot, calculator, laptop, or any other common business icon.

Market Stability, Market Crash, Market Projection

The Market is a fickle paradigm, while the mundane global market is even more so.  During times when the Principal wishes for the Market as a whole to stabilize, perhaps to protect investments, ruin the gambits of others, or simply to give oneself a breather from the tumult of the constantly shifting energy of the Market.  The Principal goes into a meditative state, becoming intensely aware of the flow of wealth across reality. Once awareness and a connection has been established with the Market via the currents of wealth, the Principal visualizes the Market in such a way as to be mentally able to affect if, perhaps blueprints or a stream of stock quotes.  The Principal observes carefully as the visual Market moves about its existence, though watching carefully for any unwanted currents, influence, or anomalies.  When such things are noticed they can be willed away or forcibly removed or redirected.  The Market is a protean thing, and unable to be held under sway for very long, so the power and subtle control of the Principal is directly responsible for the duration and successful release of the Market Stability.  Once the period of stability is over, the Market will return to its chaotic state, so great care must be taken to let it down easily and carefully, lest the Principal suffer from the backlash of an energy pattern dammed too long.  The Market Crash and Market Projection spells work off the same basic principles.  For the Crash, which is intended to be a magically induced stock market crash in the mundane market, one simply shatters the Market, dispersing its energies in all directions, causing wealth redistribution and a net loss for all.  This of course being the perfect time to buy low, then sell high once it stabilizes or is made to by the Principal at a later time. For the Projection, a divination spell designed to give the Principal intuitive knowledge of the near future of the Market’s energy patterns.  This spell allows the Principal to glimpse possible futures within the Market’s existence, thus making their next business and magical decisions much more informed.

(Components) Stock quotes, software, drafting materials, or a simple mental visualization are all useful for visualizing the Market, establishing a connection, and a means of a ritual manipulation of the Market.

Networking

This is a simple spell in which the Principal focuses on making his or herself more attuned to the pattern of potential while in a social or business setting.  In essence, the Principal creates a personal aura of power that is designed to bring about opportunity.  When the spell is effective, anyone who can potentially do or provide something of value to the Principal makes themselves known and available. This may come in the form of something as complex as an in-depth introduction or as simple as the passing along of a business card. The more powerful and skilled the Principal, the more useful and well-timed the responses will be.

(Components) A talisman, rune, tattoo, or some other such focusing element that can be worn or carried into the situation by the Principal.  This allows the Principal to move about the situation without having to put a distracting amount of conscious maintenance into the spell’s upkeep and execution.

Doubt is an enemy to be respected, feared in healthy amounts, and engaged. Always engaged. Make a friend of fear... it will whisper to you of flaws in your logic, holes in your armor, weakness in your heart, shadows hidden in your spirit. Master your fear, make it your weapon against apathy, in-action, and mediocrity.

GOTH

This is my Magick

Drumbeats in my ears matching rain on the pavement

The heresy in my eyes hidden by sunglasses after dark

My tools hang from my side

And I walk without care because now I know what I am living for

This is where I make my stand

The in-between places call to me like old friends

Unseen worlds masquerading as alleys, tunnels, and the forgotten places of the world

Nothing can take the light away

It lives in this place

And it shines through me

Where there is mystery and wonder you will find me close

Here Gods walk as homeless men

Addicts and whores do battle against unspeakable evils

Old things walk in new skins

Telling the stories that will save the world

This is sacred ground

You have been warned

Magick in the Dark

Goth magick is based on two things, eclecticism and mana. Eclecticism is of course the sampling and combination of many, often radically opposed or different, viewpoints, ideas, beliefs, and practices. Mana, a word borrowed from Polynesian warrior culture, is the magical power of presence, attitude, and personality.  In other words, the power of goth magick comes from within, is shaped by eclecticism, and expressed through mana.

Goth magick, in many ways, is the reflection of the social scene from which it has been born.  Disassociative elements are thrown into stark relief against one another, the resulting conflict being a source of internal power for the goth mage. This is how the goth mage is able to tap the power of paradox and look cool doing it.  It is in this way that one could witness a goth mage using a oujia board and a calculator to cast spells without the least bit of hesitation or self-consciousness.  This is why the goth is able to call upon the most primal elements of life, sweat, blood, tears, even while presenting a personal style associated with death and urban sprawl.  It is magick, witchcraft, dimestore voodoo and pop culture all rolled up into one. Goth mages exist at the event horizon between the ordered patterns of the city and the wild chaos of nature unbridled.

By using an eclectic approach they are able to pick and choose for themselves from among the various magical traditions of the world.  Thus each goth mage is able to develop his or her own style of magick as seen fit on a personal level.  For the goth mage, personal relevance is paramount.  By sticking only to what is personally relevant, the goth mage ends up with an eclectic system of magick that is not only completely unique, but one hundred percent relevant.  There is a certain disregard for rules and traditions within their ranks, and therefore more meaning is placed on what works for the individual as opposed to what culture and tradition dictate.

It is at this point that mana become central to the goth mage’s craft. The amount and potency of mana for a goth mage can be the difference between a dramatic ritual’s overwhelming success or debilitating failure.  Mana is expressed in many ways.  It could be simply looking cool on the dance floor, or it could be appearing completely valid holding a sword and calling out ritual verses by candlelight.

Mana is the power of the self on a magical/social level.  Mana is showing up as a stranger at a club or coffeehouse and being seen as a magical peer or superior upon arrival.  It is a delicate combination of personal presentation, confidence without the need for approval, and the palpable aura of power.  Mana not only provides social status and influence, but allows the goth mage to successfully pull of spells with spectacular results that would otherwise not be easily done.

Rivals can be magically silenced with a gesture, members of the opposite sex manipulated, and the energy levels of the area influenced.  Mana is a powerful asset when performing rituals and others such magicks in the presence of witnesses. Though as much of a power boost as man is, it is mostly a social element, and it must be kept in mind that there are goth mages out there with no real mana to speak of who are quite powerful. It is just that those with mana have access to a most puissant advantage.

When taken in as a whole, goth magick by its nature produces a fringe element within an already outcast subculture.  This results in three sorts of mages.  The most populace being the covens of goths unified by their pursuit of magick.  They are generally loyal to at least each other and keenly interested in group practice.  The second group can be seen as the predators.  They are the sexual abusers, mind control groups, and general magical miscreants and self-proclaimed “Satanists”.  Fortunately their magick is weak, but if allowed to remain unchecked, their mana will grow quite strong.  The best method of eliminating this threat however, is easy. Ignore them, and their powers will fade.  The third, of course, is the loner.  The shadow in the crowd.  While this path is more difficult, the dissonant nature of goth magick lends itself to solitary practice.

Paradox, Power, and the Potency of Power.

The Track List

Opening the Eyes of the Sleeping

This spell allows the caster to introduce an energy field into the target’s waking life.  Once under the spell the target will begin, on a subtle level, to experience and perceive the world as it really is.  They will see spirits hiding in corners, hear secrets pass between unseen lips, and will be forced to see that magick IS real.  The effects of the spell are temporary, but sufficient to force the target to question their values, dogma, and sense of self.  This spell is simply and energy field placed upon the target that heightens their level of enhanced perception.  A simple spell yes, but very taxing as the energy field is drained by disbelief, so must be maintained constantly.  This is the reason such a spell is not regularly performed, so it’s use must be a well-timed as possible.

(Components) More often than not the best method is to take the target in hand drag them along on a magical adventure. Though a carefully placed symbol or talisman will do to forge the link.

This is your Life

A very mana intensive spell in which the caster, via the spell, causes the target to examine their own life with brutal honesty and merciless pessimism.  If done with enough force, the target will suffer the spell’s effects on a more fundamental level, with the victim often spiraling down into a genuine self-destructive depression long after the spell has worn off.  This spell is cast by establishing a firm visualization of the target, and probing for their more sensitive negative feelings and thoughts, once found, those elements are empowered by the caster and then pointed out cruelly in conversation, thus adding the potency of the caster’s mana to the spell.

(Components) Verbal manipulation and derision work best if done in a social setting, thus providing both an advantage to the higher mana of the caster and increasing the caster’s mana should the spell be successful.

Face in the Crowd

This spell allows the goth mage to effectively disappear from notice or perception amongst even the smallest of crowds.  This is an especially useful spell, given that most goth mages are quite striking in appearance.  The caster summons up the awareness and palpable presence of the crowd, and uses it to overpower her own presence, both physically and spiritually.  Her pattern will be permeated and overtaken by that of the crowd, thus only the most earnest of seekers will be able to single her out.  Once blended and blanketed by the crowd the mage must remain in proximity of the group in order to maintain the spell.

(Components) Usually none are used physically other than physical attempts at inclusion and perhaps a talisman or fetish item created specially to focus the power of the mage towards that very spell.

Bum a Dollar from the Universe

By using this spell the goth mage in financial despair is able to summon forth cash, seemingly as if from thin air.  The caster summons up an energy pattern that is attuned to cash and visualizes grafting it to his or her own aura.  Then the caster walks the streets, the spell enhancing and attuning the senses to subtle currents of reality in relation to money.  The result of the spell is that the caster is able to be the person who “finds” the loose change and lost bills in the immediate environment.  While this seems like a small time sort of spell, an extra five dollars could get you out of tight spot someday.  An extra quarter or two could mean the difference between going hungry and not. Also the more powerful the mage, the more cash will be found, in larger denominations.

(Components) Some magi prefer to put the spell into a small coin and swallow it or make a loadstone out of it, though one could simply hold it under the tongue.  Others roll up a bill and place it behind their ear or play with it in their hands like a worrystone whilst they make the journey.

It’s the Little Things that Kill

This hex is used to cause all manner of minor inconveniences in the daily life of the victim.  The mage focuses upon the target while forging a connection, be it sympathetic or purely an energy bond.  Then, while the link is active, the caster introduces massive amounts of entropy energy patterns into the life of the target with extreme negative intentions.  The victim will find themselves tripping over their own feet, losing car keys, forgetting important meetings, utilities not working properly, or perhaps the spell manifests and simple and extreme bad luck.  Another variation of the spell is one that removes the joy from daily activities.  The victim finds that food no longer tastes just right, music is not so soothing as before, as all of the small pleasures in life that are taken for granted are stripped of meaning and reduced to hollow activities.

(Components) A strong sympathetic connection is recommended, be it in the form of personal items like nail and hair samples, or simply an image.  The use of mana in this spell is somewhat limited, given that once the spell’s presence is noticed it can be struggled against, so is best done in secret.

Goth Glamour

Everyone makes a big deal about dressing up to go out, but goth mages make this mundane activity into a powerful ritual.  They play carefully selected music while taking great care with each nuance of clothing, make-up, and jewelry.  With immaculate precision or haphazard application, the goth mage weaves a spell upon themselves.  It is a highly individual act, yet every glamour simultaneously as armor, a persona, and any specific element the goth mage chooses to present.  This could be a presentation of power, a force that compels others to protect or pay attention to the caster, or even a seductive or repulsive pattern that works at the caster’s behest.  This spell is cast by empowering each article of clothing, streak of make-up, or accessory with the desired energy pattern, and adding it to the eclectic whole of the persona being created.

(Components) Clothes, music, make-up, jewelry, incense, perhaps even a partner to do the dressing.  One’s personal mana does a great deal to both empower and flavor the spell.

Survey the Herd

This is a spell designed to enable the caster to make a cursory examination of the crowd in the immediate vicinity. By attuning herself to the energy patterns of surface thoughts, moods, and mana, the goth mage can survey a crowd and glean a great deal of information.  Who is dating who, the hierarchy of leadership and degrees of pack mentality, alliances, rivalries, and general threat levels in the room.  A useful spell for observing the environment as a precursor to an attempt at gaining more mana.  Besides, you look cool doing it, even if no one is watching.

(Components) One might find that a good vantage point for physical observations lends itself well to this spell, allowing the caster to put faces with the information gleaned from the spell.

Coffee

This is a very low-key ritual spell that is very integral to the goth magical culture.  While not all do, a significant portion of the goth scene denizens frequent one or more local coffee houses on a regular basis.  This constant presence provides for a good smoke screen, covering from prying eyes the tremendous amounts of magical energy trafficking.  The goth mage who uses this spell is able to impart power, transmit simple emotions or intuitions, or partake of power at will.  The caster focuses on a cup of coffee, or other beverage, infusing the cup with either their own magical energy, empower it by drawing down external energy, or integrate their feelings into the warm liquid.  When the coffee is ingested, the person drinking it will receive a power infusion from another’s donated energy, become enlivened by external power should the caster seek to boost his or herself, or transmit the feeling or impulse to another who drinks.  The possible uses of the spell could be boosting the energy of a friend or ally in need, empowering oneself, or passing subtle warnings or impulses onto others.  Plus coffee is full of caffeine and just tastes good.

(Components) A cup of coffee or other beverage.  It work best to either hold the cup, breathe into it, or stir it.  This is a very physical spell, and physical actions transmit the spell best.

The Marauder Underground

Warbringer

There is another world out there, in fact there exists within the space of one breath an infinity of worlds.  All of which cannot be seen with naked eyes, heard with ears unaided or touched by physical means.  Yet these worlds are all closely tied to our own, just as ours is to each and everyone of them.  We exist in a multiverse, fueled by the breath of God.  There exists about this plethora of realms only one Reality.  The Veil that covers the Inner Eye deceives us with illusions of multiple realities with no ties to one another.  This illusion leads to others, the separation of religions, gender roles, the existence of races and nations.  These are the lies of the ignorant and the blind, the Illusion of Singularity, the belief that any reality is separate or better than another.  Each universe, each realm, each reality is nothing more nothing less than the other.  They are all facets in the Eye of God.  And you, you must see with your Inner Eye, a war is being waged right now.  All around you and within you forces struggle for dominance in the shaping of Reality in your hearts and minds, and your world.  There is only one Reality, but because of the existence of the Veil you and everyone you know is blinded to the Truth.  You live in a world of self-imposed limitations, a world shaped by a consensual reality that you chain yourself too.  Believe me when I tell you that a war rages across the multiverse, and you are at the center of it, everything is.  It is a war for Reality, it is a war of illusions.  A war in which those who believe themselves to have the Truth attempt to shape Reality in their image.  Like all things there is good and bad in this, it is at least better to choose a side and take a stand rather than decay to nothing in a cesspool of indecision and cowardice.  Even if your cause is an illusion and your heard blind, it would be better that you die against the ramparts of faith than not live at all.  Every step you take towards God, even if you are walking in the darkness of ignorance, God runs a thousand to you, eventually you will find each other.  I am here to tell you that the war is going to change.  We will tear down the walls of the Veil to build bridges to other realms.  We will make the world such that one must look with the Inner Eye or be driven mad.  Everywhere and inside all things heaven and hell will be one place, madness and reason will be one and the same, dreams and nightmares will no longer stop when you wake.  We will see all the worlds as they are, One.  Then we will all see the Truth.  As a species we will finally be free.

Reality Deviant

An act of terrorism tends to be one of violence committed against those who are not capable of protecting themselves from such an assault.  There is also an agenda that goes along with these actions, that is what separates these directed acts of violence from random attacks.  Most are political, with small groups using terrorism in order to be heard by the majority.  Some can be religious, in truth there are any myriad of reasons for terrorism.  What I will discuss there is magical terrorism.  The use of magic to commit acts of terrorism against a world unaware.

What is the goal or agenda?  The agenda is to spread enough chaos and vulgar magic that the eyes of the blind are pried open, to bring magic back to the world if you will.  Magical terrorism is the weapon for those who would see the world changed.  Terrorism is also the weapon of the outnumbered and the hunted.  Such is the state of affairs for a mage seeking to change the world.  You will be hunted because you will be seen by most as the villain, even by other magic users, perhaps them even more so because they can perceive the full extent of the damage being done.  If it takes being the villain to do what we must, then so be it.  By making the barrier between the realms thinner, by being antagonistic with magical acts, by being who we are really are with no apologies or disclaimers, we force the world to deal with us.  And all eyes will turn towards you, and you will be the hated redeemer.  What follows are some examples of what could possibly be considered magical terrorism in the name of global ascension.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  In the years since I’d written this chapter, I’ve tempered my edge. In retrospect, the word “terrorism” is just far too loaded in my opinion, too negative. These days I use the words “reality deviant” instead of calling it magical terrorist (or ism). I’ve modified the chapter title, but in the spirit of owning my past writings I’ve left the chapter itself intact.

Arsenal

Plague Arks

From the Old Testament book of Exodus come the Ark of the Covenant.  The God of the Hebrews instructed the tribes to build a vessel in which the covenant with Israel would be stored.  The ark is two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, a cubit and a half high, it had four rings, two on each side through which ashen poles were placed in order to carry it.  The lid was crowned with two griffin like angels.  When captured by enemies the presence of the ark caused disease and madness.  The plague ark is a deliberate perversion of the actual ark.  Built the same way, but instead of gold it is coated in a mixture of paint and the blood of those involved with its construction.  The inside is filled with sand which should fill the box half-full and cover the Unraveling Rune burned into the bottom of the inside of the ark.  The ark can be used in two ways.  The first is the more subtle and long-term method.  The ark is constructed and then hidden in or near an energy nexus from where is can cause the most damage.  Possible areas would be in the sewers underneath prominent areas such as downtown areas, town squares, office buildings, churches, theatres, arenas, etc.  The magic of the ark will gradually inflict potent nightmares and madness upon the city and wear the world barriers thin.  The second way to use the ark is much more immediate, but much more risky on the part of the builders.  The lid is removed and the builders carry the ark openly through the streets.  The effects are the same though much more potent, and the barriers are much weaker in the presence of such a powerful weapon.

Plaguebearer

Go into a meditative trance after purifying oneself for whatever amount of time one feels appropriate, keeping in mind that in most cases the longer and more encompassing the cleansing is the more potent the spell.  Once in this meditative trance you will shape the energies of reality into an act of creation and summoning.  You will visualize a virus spirit, once it is the only thing you are focused on feed it energy, make it stronger.  After the spirit is empowered summon it to you, this can be done in whatever manner you choose.  For the sake of this example I will say that one should summon the spirit through inhaling smoke.  Then one breaths the smoke into the host of the virus spirit, be it an animal, insect, or other person, even oneself.  The virus spirit can then propagate itself using the host.  The affects of the virus spirit depend on what sort of spirit you choose to conjure up.  Also, wear a sigil of protection so that the virus cannot affect you.

Poisoning the Spirit

In a ritual vessel mix an amount of wormwood with water.  Focus your will upon the mixture and breathe a visualization of the Unraveling Rune into the vessel.  Once this process has been repeated enough times that the caster is no longer comfortable keeping the vessel in the home, it is ready.  Take this vessel of spiritual poison and deposit its contents into the drinking supply of whatever populated area one is targeting.  Ingestion of the tainted water will over time cause madness, nightmares, and thin the barriers within those affected persons.

Gates

Portals and pathways between the worlds still exist, usually in sacred or strange places like haunted places, remote or isolated wilderness, certain landlocked bodies of water and other places in the waters of the world, etc.  There is nothing that can stop you from opening a gateway and leaving it open, in fact holding it open.  Simply find a place whose energies seem to be conducive to a pathway, and rip a hole in reality and hold it open.  Use portal runes to make the gate, the power focused through the runes will hold it open.  Remember to check back from time to time to keep the runes fresh and in place.

Magical Gifts and Giveaways

This one is fun, and not quite so invasive, much more subtle but effective none the less.  Make little talismans and single spell items, rune jewelry, and other such trinkets.  Give them away to random people.  Sometimes they will refuse, others will take them and leave, and others still will remain with interest and questions.  All of them will be effected on some level.

Art and Music

These mediums are also just as effective at producing, channeling, and expressing magic as they are emotion and thought.  Listen to the tribal music of the ancients and you will know.  Read some folk myth and you will know.

LIBER IV

The Corpus Hermeticum

The 4 Book of Occult Philosophy

The Grimoirium Verum

The Greater & Lesser Keys of Solomon

Theurgia Goetia

The Books of Ambralein the Mage

The Alexandiran Book of Shadows

The Old Testament Book of Leviticus

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Papyrus of Ani

The Book of the Law

American Gods

The Great and Secret Show

Grendel

The Power of Myth

Money is raw power, and can make even the meekest truly mighty. Money is also inert pieces of paper, coins, and binary code on a computer screen. Don’t stress too much about it, though take care that you do not ignore it. Remember that “buying power” is relative, and it’s the quality of life that is important, not the specific amount you control. All money is wealth, and the power it holds in your life is fluid.

BLOOD MAGICK

Blood is the Symbol, the Medium, and the Price of Power.

People will tell you that this book is dangerous. Some will say that blood magick cannot be done, shouldn’t be done. For the weak, ignorant, and gullible these warnings could not be more true. If you are looking for convenient excuses for violence, unsanitary acts, or excessive self-mutilation, then proceed no further. This book is not for you. The author of these pages will not be held responsible nor have pity for the misuse of this book or irresponsible deeds done in its name. This book is about knowledge, transcendence, and power. It has been written for those with the intelligence and forcefulness to seek it.

Initiation

Threshold

Blood magick is dangerous. The sorcerer uses the power that lies within the physical substance that is blood, with the aim of shaping reality into what he or she wills. This requires enough force to impose one’s will upon the world, enough discipline to master the subtitles of arcane lore, and enough willfulness to utilize the potency of blood. A sorcerer who would tap into the power of blood must break free from social and cultural taboos in order to explore the full potential of magick.

Blood magick can be as flashy as one using it to siphon the life energies from others, curse them with disease, or cleanse and heal the self or others. Yet it can be subtle. Reshaping the world requires more than spectacle, it takes time, effort, and transformations of the fundamental patterns that reside deep in the essence of all things.  An accomplished sorcerer will understand the appropriate applications of both sorts. Blood magick aims to create a state of mastery over the self and the environment, to remove any barrier between desire and fulfillment.

High blood magic is magic that is enhanced with ritual and the use of blood. By using such essence the sorcerer is able to supercharge the act of ritual, which in turn empowers the spell, which has been brought about like any other spell. So the sorcerer is able to use his or her own maximum energy, the ritual boost, and the power residing with in the blood to exponentially compound the potency of any spell.  Spells of this nature are arduous and powerful, allowing those with sufficient discipline, patience, and power to achieve bewilderingly potent results.

Low blood magic is direct magick, the sorcerer’s intentions becoming results immediately and with little preparation. An adept might throw an offensive spell and use an aggressive hand gesture to provide some sympathetic component to her spell. The old adage of "like to like” for example, my blood is your blood. So there is a link between us through our blood, we are both human, so the sympathy is already there, no need for complex rituals the majority of the time. Thinking in this manner makes you able to cast quite effectively on anyone or anything, regardless of shielding or naturally occurring defenses.

Low blood magic, keep in mind that the low\high distinction exists only to differentiate from primarily ritual based and more direct magicks, operates on this sympathy principle. If one looks at unified field theory, or pantheism, or just the idea that all life shares a link and is part of a greater whole, then the connections will be made. In a way, one could call blood magic just a focused form of basic life magic. So a mage could use blood, any blood, to form the sympathetic connection to any other target. Of course the more similar the blood being used is to that of the target the more effective the spell will be.

The Source

In most religions there are paths that believers may take that will, given faith and determination, lead them into a closer relationship with Reality.  Sometimes these paths are not at all accepted by the dominant religious tradition, but they exist nonetheless.  These traditions exist because some of the believers in those traditions wanted a more direct experience of Reality, something unmediated by their priests and rulers.  From the perspective of those in power this is a most disturbing development.  The ability and position of mediation of contact with the divine is the primary reason that such power hierarchies exist.

The mediation of contact with the divine is a way of establishing control.  The power to control a person’s contact with the divine is the power to control most all aspects of that person’s life, future, and perception of the past.  These people live under the implied threat of the removal of the divinity in their lives, the loss of wonder and mystery, the loss of hope.  The idea that there can be hope without freedom is foolish and blind.  Those without freedom are without hope, those without hope are easy to control.  The paths that emerged and continue to emerge from the religious traditions of the world are the attempts of a few hearty individuals to throw off the shackles of dogma and meet the Universe on their own terms.  Armed with the religious structure of their respective traditions these mystics and seekers of truth band together to make their own way in the world, they establish their own ways of unmediated experience of the divine.  In their minds they are still members of their original religious traditions, though they may not be a part of the dogmatic community.  They exist on the fringe of their traditions and cultures.  They are respected and feared, loved and hated, always balanced between heresy and innovation.

Many times it has been asked what is to become of those without a tradition?  Or those who are already in a religious tradition but find even the fringe communities to be overly dogmatic and in the business of control?  The answer is not simple or easy.  The path to be set before you is one that should not be taken lightly.  Once you begin there is only one way out, and that is to go forward.  Always growing. No one can help you, when you walk down this path you do it alone.

One might wonder how magic could be a spiritual path to the divine and not at all be wondering in ignorance.  Everything about the modern world tells us that magic does not and cannot exist.  We lock up our insane brothers and sisters, we tell ourselves that only science can show us the way of seeing the world.  We laugh and heckle the candle peddlers and diviners while we try to convince ourselves that new age hippies are the extent of the community of magic users.      We lock away our elders in “resting homes” and wait for them to die instead of listening to their stories and learning their wisdom.  We read our history books and religion texts and pretend that the religions of the ancients were founded on superstition and ignorance.  Since our childhood we have been force-fed the illusions of our leaders, we have had our imagination and sense of wonder beaten out of us from preschool on.  We force our children to see the world the way we do, and never give them the chance to see it the way they do.  This is the reason that children can see us for what we are, they are not yet clouded by logic and dogma.  We are raised to worship science and reason, and are taught that those who believe in magic cannot believe in science.  Science is perhaps one of the most important skills or disciplines one could possess, but it is not the only way of knowing and investigating reality.  Science is a tool, and a mage armed with both science and magic is a tremendous force to be reckoned with.  Magic, like any other thing that can be seen in its own light, is a viable option for a spiritual path, simply because it exists.

Heroes, by their definition, are already dead men.

Its up to us, the common people, to keep the light burning.

The Six Pillars

There are six pillars that combine to form the system known as Blood Magick. The first four are the primary pillars of Blood, Will, Knowledge, and Unity. These represent the most fundamental elements of all blood magick, and can be found in every aspect of the system.

Blood: The sorcerer seeks to draw upon the inherent potency of blood, more specifically, the magickal essence of blood. Blood in an of itself hold no power, it is merely a nutrient rich fluid that permeates creatures complex enough to have circulatory systems. In its true form, blood magick is drawing upon the magical energy so readily abundant in blood. As the substance that carries the power of life itself; blood is simply the medium. Mere spilt blood has no power, until the sorcerer comes along to unlock the energies within.

It is this potency of blood that forms the entire basis for the tradition. Not only does it both carry and represent power in a physically tangible way, blood is dangerous.  Using blood, one’s own or that of others, either as a physical magical component or as a basis of visualization and association, tests a sorcerer’s limits.

To spill blood as a spell component is violent by necessity, how else but through physical damage can blood be extracted from the body? To use blood as the key symbol or associative focus of a spell, even if none is shed, is considered aberrant thought and behavior by most societies, magical or otherwise. Blood magick, by its very nature, tests social boundaries, breaks taboos, and forces both the sorcerer and those around him or her to come to grips with the potent and immediate reality of magick.

Will: The use of magic is an act of will.  Without willpower the magic user cannot use the magic they so fervently believe in.  A magic user must be humble enough to understand their place in Reality, and yet be arrogant enough to use their will to shape the fabric of reality as they choose.  Willpower is the raw strength of a magic user, the measure of the amount of raw power that the sorcerer is able to bring to bear.  The skill of a magic user is defined as the effective use of the will to manipulate reality.  This pillar ties all of the four together.  The magic user must first believe in magic, then be able to understand the source of magic, then be able to harness that source, and finally be able to willfully shape that force with enough finesse to make it productive.

Knowledge: Here's how I made it through high school and college: I had a realization in 11th grade that the BS I was learning, math especially, was only the basic building blocks for higher learning. I know that sounds like a line, but its cliché' because its true. Fast forward to college physics 1 freshman year, I learned more about magic in that single class than I had in years of study. Not because I was learning magical rotes and rituals and such, but because I was learning how to see the world through the objective eyes of science. The more I knew about physical reality the more I was able to discover about magic theory and its application. Fast Forward to senior Biology, I realized then that all I needed to do to really learn potent life magic was to pay attention in class. How can a Life Mage cast any spells of any real importance without knowing about the life systems he or she is dealing with?  Bad metaphor I know, but the Harry Potter Hogwarts school, that is easily any school in which we magic folk take classes. The more you learn period, the more you learn about magic. IN GENERAL, the more powerful and knowledgeable mages are also skilled in mathematics, art, language, science, politics, etc.

You can't be a Renaissance Man without education. Magic is Science is Art is Language. And the masters of such disciplines are the most potent people the world over. Having power and the will to use it means absolutely nothing if the sorcerer does not possess the knowledge of it. Knowledge in this case can be defined as a conglomerate product of experience and education.

Unity: In its most basic form, Unity explains that everything has an essence and that this essence is both individual and shared. The second is that all energy is potential magical energy.  This principle is taken from the scientific investigations of physicists.  Einstein and others have come to the conclusion that all things are energy in some form or another, but that all things are fundamentally energy nonetheless.  If everything is made up a singular existent we call energy, then all things are this singular energy in one form or another.  What follows is the notion that magical energy is this singular energy in a specific form, but since magical energy is this singular energy just the same, then all forms of energy are potentially magical energy.  With this principle in mind one can see the infinite power of such a truth.  If magic is fueled by magical energy and all energy is potential magical energy then any act of magic is potentially infinitely powerful.

The final pillars are Resonance and Sympathy. It is these two minor pillars that connect with the first, blood, to give this system of magick it’s unique potency and permeating flexibility.

Sympathy: “If we analyze the principles of thought on which magic is based, they will probably be found to resolve themselves into two: first, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not. Charms based on the Law of Similarity may be called Homoeopathic or Imitative Magic. Charms based on the Law of Contact or Contagion may be called Contagious Magic. To denote the first of these branches of magic the term Homoeopathic is perhaps preferable, for the alternative term Imitative or Mimetic suggests, if it does not imply, a conscious agent who imitates, thereby limiting the scope of magic too narrowly. For the same principles which the magician applies in the practice of his art are implicitly believed by him to regulate the operations of inanimate nature; in other words, he tacitly assumes that the Laws of Similarity and Contact are of universal application and are not limited to human actions.

Resonance: Resonance and the Self-Propagation of Magical Energy When a sorcerer gathers energy to fuel a spell one must remember that the energy is not going to be “pure”.  It will by all means be pure magical energy, but the energy itself with have what is called a resonance.  It is this resonance, or flavor if you will, of the energy that will determine some of its unique qualities.

For example, if a wizard happens upon a burial ground and finds it necessary for whatever reason to cast a spell, the energy that he gathers will have the flavor of those burial grounds.  Perhaps this visualization, magical energy could easily be seen metaphorically as water.   Water is water, but water from any source will be different on some level than water from another source.  There is distilled water, pond water, river water, ocean water, sewage, run off, and precipitation.  Water tends to take on characteristics of its environment, so it is with magical energy.  It is for this reason that a witch from a rural area might find that her spell feels different when powered by magical energy from a city than from her home ground.

Resonance tends to self-propagate.  For example, the energy of a city powers wizards in its area of influence, and those wizards continue to use its power.  Like the magical muscles of spell casting, so to it is with locations of power.  The more they are tapped for energy, as long as they are not burned out, they grow back stronger.  Now perhaps it is more clear just how powerful the spreading of cities really is, because as all magic users know, normal people can be affected by the energy of a location just as easily as mages or spirits.

Not only does the location of the magical energy effect the resonance of the energy, the resonance of the energy directly effects the spell caster himself.  Think of the old cliché “you are what you eat”.  This very much applies to magic users in two major ways.  The first is that magic users are more affected by the resonance of locations than normal people, and sustained exposure to such locations affect magic users just like it does the magical energy in its area of influence.  So the more attuned to a location, or certain type of energy (nature, urban, death, etc) a magic user is, the more it will “color” their spells.  More often than not magic users are easily identified by what sort of magic they seem to be doing, the resonance of their energy.

It is this coloring of the spells by the resonance of the magical energy that is the second way in which the resonance directly affects the magic user herself.  Think of the metaphor of the athlete.  If a person trains constantly for running, they will develop the long and lean body type of a runner.  If a person is a weight lifter or football player, they will develop the stocky body type that best fits their chosen sports.  All sports are like this to some degree, with a certain body type being superior to all others in that particular sport.  Now, what would happen to a runner who tried to enter a bodybuilding contest? Or a ballerina who suddenly had to play football?

This is what happens to magic users who allow themselves, for better or worse, to take on the resonance of a specific type of magical energy.  The more healing spells a person casts, the more permeated with the healing resonance they become.  The result is that they become an immaculate healer, but their abilities in say death magic or astral projection might very well suffer.  While it tends to be natural for magic users to become permeated to at least a moderate degree with one sort of magical energy resonance, it can become detrimental to the flexibility of the seeker sort of magic user to become trapped in one of these aspects.  For example, a blood mage is incredibly powerful when he has access to the fluids he requires.  Deny him those components or energy patterns, and he will be in serious jeopardy, unless another solution presents itself. Though such a lack is highly unlikely given that the sorcerer almost always has access to his own body.

Energy resonance can be garnered just about anywhere and doing any sort of magic.  It is no different for a wandering wizard.  As a traveler the wandering wizard will have the ability to maintain a relatively clean slate when it comes to resonances from locations.  Also, with a clear mind and a taste for variety the wanderer will be able to avoid a spell type rut.  Yet one must accept the fact that the wandering wizard over time becomes permeated by the energy of motion.  So travelers should take care that they stop sometimes.  As said above, resonance permeation can make one incredibly powerful, but limits the magic user who is trapped in that aspect.  One must be aware that overmuch avoidance of at least a moderate amount of permeation will lead to resonance of “jack of all trades, master of none”, which can also limit one’s progress.  So in conclusion, be aware of your permeation levels.  They are both a strength and a weakness.

Desire, Emotion, Intent…. These are your nitro-fuel for super mojo-magick.

Application

Sacrifice & Significance

Blood is the connective element, both figuratively and literally that allows the blood sorcerer to tightly focus spells upon their target, adapt without difficulty, and always have a magical “angle of approach”. The fact that this angle can be found in either the physicality of blood rites or the associations of energy is what gives this system a great deal of its power.

Blood, when used as the crux of a magical paradigm, becomes a renewable resource. The proper harvesting and usage of this substance is crucial. Mindless carnage robs blood of its potency by devaluing its significance. Obsessive application of self-mutilation replaces the deeper meanings of blood with the frantic instability of mental illness. Carelessness with the blood of others puts the sorcerer at risk for poisoning and disease.  There are many dangers in blood magick, these are but a few. The sorcerer must be mindful of the source of the blood, maintain awareness of its potency, and keep vigilant against being distracted by the spilling of it.

It is possible that during one’s career as a blood sorcerer there may come a time when sacrifice is necessary. Always remember that the sacrifice of a living being is nothing short of murder. If you pursue this course of action understand that responsibility must be taken, accept that the sacrifice is a murder, even if a necessary one.  To believe any other way is to invite excessive callousness and a disconnection from the inherent power of blood, not to mention that sacrifice is illegal in the eyes of most temporal governments.

There are many ways in which to gather shed blood, what follows are a few guidelines to aid the aspirant in developing a personal framework for the harvesting of it.

The first, and most common, is the act of cutting. The most potent choice would be to perform the cutting upon oneself, thus benefiting from the clarity that controlled pain can often bring. Also, the blood of a sorcerer who is actually involved in the casting of the spell has much more potency and significance than any other blood source. Though blood is blood, so any source will serve the sorcerer’s purpose.

It is suggested that the cutting instrument be as sharp as possible, like a scalpel or razor, so as to prevent excessive scarring. Though scars can be used to store power or as magical focusing tools, much like any tattoo or body paint, it is best not to cause a scar when the only intention of the cutting is to draw blood. If one intends to draw blood, then do so, only scar when the scar is the desired product of the act.

The forearms, thighs, and biceps are the most efficient locations for extraction via cutting. These areas of the body bleed well when wounded, but do not incapacitate or cause mortal danger to the recipient should the cuts be made too deep.  The chest is a good location when a more potent source is needed, as is the abdomen. Though great care must be taken for these areas, cutting too deeply into the chest or abdomen can cause severe damage and possibly death. The lips are more sensitive, requiring a more skilled application of the blade, but yield potent blood, given the symbolic connection most humans make with the soul and the face.

The second method of blood harvesting is the use of the needle. While the act of cutting provides a more dramatic, dangerous, and ultimately more potent magical result, a discerning sorcerer would do well to develop skill with the needle. Using a needle to draw blood is far less invasive, requires less skill, and produces just as much blood for the effort. The benefit of pain is not as present in this technique, but it is far more discreet and easily hidden from outsiders. A gash on one’s forearm is much more difficult to hide or explain than a pinpricked fingertip concealed by a band-aid.

The most effective harvest points are the lips and fingertips. Both areas bleed profusely when wounded, and are quick to heal, depending upon the size of the needle. If a large sieve-like needle, such as those used for donating blood, are used, then one must be very cautious. Puncture wounds take time to heal and the blood flow from such wounds can be difficult to stop. Thus, it is recommended that smaller needles be used, once again pointing out that the act of drawing blood must lend itself to the act of magic, not supercede it.

Also, always have the proper medical supplies present should any significant bloodletting be desired.

Ritual Magick

As human beings we are creatures of images.  In our earliest times to the present we have been enamored of images.  We make paintings on cave walls and carvings or statues of our gods and heroes.  As we have expanded our range of mediums of imagery we seem to have become much more reliant upon external imagery than a translation of the internal to the external.  In essence, we have lost or suppressed that inner imagery for favor of the easier and less committed imagery of the external.  Instead of listening to storytellers and dancing out our myths we watch movies and play high-tech video games.  It isn’t that these more modern mediums of image expression are better or worse than those of the past, the problem is that these modern mediums have become so central that the old ways have been all but ousted.  While the modern mediums are wonderful and deeply expressive and rich in visual qualities, they lack the deep internal commitment that dancing and storytelling demand.  In many ways we have pushed away our ability to visualize and express for ourselves internally, we have to have something tangible, like a movie or a book.  For the magic user visualization is not only a necessary talent, but also a cultivated skill.

Any action executed by a human being requires visualization on the part of the person.  Even something as simple as reaching for a glass of water.  The person visualizes a glass of water in their hand and so doing, reaches for the glass and picks it up.  The same basic principle is at work in any act of magic.  Once a mage has reached the point where they have ascended and no longer need visualization beyond the basics, executing a magical act is no more complicated than moving one’s arm to collect a glass of water.  However, for those of us who are not at that step a more complicated process of visualization is necessary.

When a mage casts there must be an internal visualization of what is going on around and inside them.  Because magic is normally an act whose effects and results tend to exist in the realm of the invisible the mage must visualize both its process and results.  This visualization shapes the spell and empowers it.  Without any shame or reservation the mage must see internally through the imagination the channeling of the power, the shaping of it, and the casting of it.   For many this may be a sufficient amount of visualization, because their imaginations are vivid enough that they are able to create enough of a personally believable visualization that they cast the spell without many external clues as to what they are doing.

For many others however, simply visualizing the spell’s creation and use just isn’t sufficient.  This is the role of ritual in magic.  A ritual is any external process executed for the purpose of casting a spell or producing some supernatural effect.  Rituals can be as simple as lighting a candle or as complicated as month long purifications or choreographed movements and special words.  The purpose of all ritual is to focus the participant’s attention and power to a fine point.  Ritual also provides a potent structure and shape for the energies being used by the participants.  Here is an example: The reason blood and bones are such important parts of magic are that they are very powerful conductors and receptacles of energy. Partly because of their relationships to the physiology of life.  Blood carries life, bones support it.  Also, due to our perception of those relationships we are more open in our hearts and minds to the fact that these items can be used in magic.  Many times these items are more powerful than many other things, as long as we believe and make them so.  Bones and blood can be used in magic not related to the animal itself, or even a use that doesn’t deal directly with life.  It is a way of making the invisible world of magic seemingly tangible long enough to create a space in which the two worlds meet and powerful magics can be wrought.

This leads again to the idea of high and low magic.  First let it be said that all magic is equal in that it is shaped energy, there may be a degree of separation in that one spell may be more powerful than another, but they are equal in their potential power and thus fundamentally the same.  The idea of high and low magic is an illusion, sometimes necessary for those who choose to use it as a paradigm for their magical workings.  High magic is magic that requires ritual in order to perform and tends to have very potent effects.  Low magic is magic that requires little to no ritual and while at times potent, tends to be less invasive.  In this system low magic is magic that requires no ritual on the part of the mage, and provides room for growth in that greater magic has the potential to be lesser magic once the mage has gained enough control over the energy.

This is an example of the self-imposed paradigms that dominate the realm of magic.  While magic itself is totally without moral and dogmatic limitations, those who practice magic are.  This is because we are human beings and have a compulsion towards structure and order.  This is why there are so many different paths of magic, “schools” if you will.  There are shamans, witches, diviners, and necromancers just to name a few.  All of which have their own styles of magic and rules to govern them.  For example, in medieval necromancy there was an emphasis on the study of magical tomes and grimoires before an adept even made the attempt to undertake a magical working.  Another example is the more modern versions of witchcraft, which insists on the illusion that all magic comes back on the caster threefold.  These are all paradigms that would not exist if no one believed in them.  Much like the laws of physics.  If we as a society chose to deny the existence of gravity as a mass relationship and defined it as some greedy god pulling everything towards it, we could not be proven wrong, just as those who believe in gravity cannot be proven wrong.

We define magic, like gravity and physics, by its relationships because those relationships are the only reasons that we are able to perceive its existence.  Since those relationships are a multitude, the interpretations of those relationships will exist in a multitude.  Basically the belief system that one ascribes to is the one that they use to live in a defined reality, they know exactly what they are capable of and live accordingly.  Someone without a permanent paradigm walks a much harder path in that they live in a world of mystery and the unknown, but for these people the potential for growth is much more.  Metaphorically, the believer is a warrior who only trains with one weapon, and so becomes a master so long as it is with that particular weapon.  The person with no set paradigm is the warrior who is familiar with all weapons but is not a master of any one in particular, and so is never unarmed.   I have always believed that a person on the path of the mage should treat paradigms like clothing.  If it is hot, wear a t-shirt and shorts.  If it is cold, wear pants and a coat.  The same goes for rituals.  If the situation is such that the mage wants a boost in focus and power, a ritual can be done.  Or if there is something the mage wants to accomplish right away a spell can just be cast without any structured elements. The beauty of blood magick is that it has the power to transcend paradigms. Wiccans, Thelemites, Chaos Mages, Clerics, or any manner of magic user can utilize blood magick. Like gravity, blood connects us all, regardless of our belief systems or magical approaches to its use.

Symbols of Power

Almost every magical tradition worldwide has a physical element to their magical practices.  The practice of using physical representation of the magic to be cast and the desired result is generally called sympathetic magic.  Runes and effigies and other symbols of power are a product of such practices.  Effigies are actually physical representations of people, places, or things that are the focus of spells.  Two examples of this would be a vodoun sorcerer making a doll out of cloth and using the hair and semblance of the recipient of the blessing or the curse.  Another would be an Egyptian sorcerer making wax boats, putting them in a bowl of water and shaking the bowl, causing an invading fleet to sink beneath unusually large waves.

Runes are similar.  They are symbols and patterns that allow the caster to focus on a certain element of reality.  This flexibility of symbolic representation is the reason why there are so many rune systems throughout the world.  This is the reason that I say each mage, while keeping the others in mind, should always search for other symbols and patterns that channel the energy of creation.  It is like language, the more words known the more versatile and specific sentences can be formed.  One can also “discover” or “invent” previously unused runes and symbols.  One merely has to become attuned and aware enough to notice them as they come along.

I believe in faeries. I believe in unicorns. I believe in gods and goddesses. I believe in a single unifying energy field called the force. I believe that we can’t know anything or certain. I believe in science. I believe in angels. I believe in demons, ghosts, and worse. I believe that ritual human sacrifice was probably just about the most potent form of magick ever dreamt of by humankind. I believe that there are thirsty gods lying just beneath our consciousness, waiting for succor and laden with reward. I believe in love. I believe in second chances. I believe in mercy, and I believe in being merciless. I believe in beer, barbeque, and beach parties. I believe in horror. I believe in hope. I believe in the light, and I believe in what hides in the shadows it casts.

Reality is a wild place.

Remote Viewing

There is a growing perceived need in the global community for more hi-tech intelligence gathering and analyzing methods and equipment.  Computer technology, satellites, code machines and a myriad of other devices and contraptions serve the intelligence agencies of the modern era.  I believe that the use of locators may become more commonplace as the infallibility and cost of technology rises.  Remote Viewing is a practical and tangible application of psychic or magical energy to the task of locating or perceiving a person or place without being physically present.  Remote Viewing was used by the Central Intelligence Agency in the 70’s and 80’s, but was allegedly discontinued for inaccuracy and inconsistency.  Remote Viewing is like all other abilities and powers of the mind and spirit, it is unpredictable and not infallible.  A remote viewer may see the layout of an enemy fortress accurately one day, and then fail to do so the next with a different base.  That doesn’t change the fact that it was done the first time.

Remote Viewing can be accomplished in one of several ways.  One possible method is to go into a meditative trance with a map of the world, region, or area in question at one’s fingertips.  If the target is a person then perhaps the locator has an item connected to that person, or has become familiar with faces and sensitive information about that person.  If the target is a location like a building, then personal effects won’t matter.  With the fingertips held slightly above the map the locator will move them all over the map until a ripple in the psyche or the mind occurs, a change in the energy of the map.  It is this point of flux that the locator is on watch for, there is where the target will be.  If the details of the building or area are needed the locator allows the subconscious image to surface in the mind.

Another method of remote viewing is via astral projection, or known to some as spiritwalking.  The locator goes into a meditative state and uses astral projection or spiritwalking to push their consciousness into the outer world.  From there the same mapping method is employed.  However, the locator is navigating with an instinctual map, a global awareness that cannot fit on a page.  Once this global connection is made the locator goes on intuition in order to find the target.  Like the previous method, the more facts known prior to the session is best, perhaps the first method would serve best as a preparation for the second.  In the astral realm or spiritworld the locator can find the target and report back with much more firsthand detail than if no contact was made.

Shapeshifting

It is a common practice in most cultures of the world.  There are several theories on the art of shapeshifting and so several varieties of shapeshifting.  The first discussed will be the physical act of shapeshifting.  This is a case in which the user shifts around the physiology of the body to suit the needs of the user.  Examples of this would be a man turning into a cheetah so that he might run quickly, or a wolf so that he might be stronger.  This sort of shapeshifting is quite rare, and usually out of reach for most adepts who are not focused upon that goal.  This is usually something achievable only by shamanic masters and spirits or creatures like the doppelganger.  The second sort of shapeshifting is much more common.  It is when a person or thing changes an aspect of themselves in order to gain certain advantages.  An example would be a person taking on the senses of a wolf, the strength of a bear, or the underwater breathing of a fish.  It could be something as mundane as growing claws to developing the benefits different respiration organs.  One might ask if the observer could see such changes.  The answer would be yes.  Would the changes be overtly physical in actuality?  Usually the answer would be no.  It is a shaping of energy into a specific form and function, and like most magic, remains mostly unseen.  The third kind of shapeshifting is the changing of the avatar, the spirit-self.  Much like the first physical shapeshifting, yet upon the spirit or astral plane.  Which, like all things in such a place, affects to some degree the physical plane.  Giving the user some elements of the first two methods. For any of the shapeshifting methods, adding portions of blood from the creature one wishes to shift into will speed up the process and increase the totality of the change.

Paradigms – They are just systems of belief, a set of symbols and guidelines for fabricating a “reality interface” for yourself. Many paradigms already exist, the obvious ones being Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and the myriad of pagan and indigenous religions of the world. Physics and science are others. When you throw reality-shaping magical disciplines into the mix, you can pick and choose (or create) paradigms to suit your personal taste, beliefs, and views of the world. There is no wrong answer.

Grimoire

Blood Amplification

The amplifiers are one of the main things that makes blood magick so different from any other system of magick. Fundamentally the amplifiers are magical constructs of blood that increase the energy output of the sorcerer using them. A possible metaphor for the amps would be that each amp is a personally significant rune or sigil inscribed in blood upon the aura of the sorcerer. The sorcerer meditates in order to establish a stable visualization of his or her own aura or spell sphere, and grafts the amp to it. Whatever ritualization the sorcerer feels is personally relevant will increase the amp’s potency. The ritual could be as complex as drawing sigils in blood upon the sorcerer himself, or a elaborate as the spilling of large quantities of blood as a ritual sacrifice in exchange for power. So when the sorcerer pushes energy outwards through a spell, the spell passes through the amplifier, unlocking the power of the blood that makes up the amp, and its power is increased.

An imaginary numbering system, which begins with 1 and has the potential to increase ad infinitum, has been developed to illustrate and explain amplifiers. In essence these numbers and notations mean nothing, but they are convenient illusions that will aid in the teaching and defining of the blood amplifiers. Each amplifier has a designation such as B1.  Each generation of amplifier is based on the relative power of the sorcerer that creates it, thus as the sorcerer grows in power new generations of blood amps must be created.  That makes every amp different from any other amplifier, which is why it gets another B number.  Each successive amp in the below list, normally increases one's power exponentially over the previous one, though for each individual the increase may differ.  Once again, the numbers below are imaginary and relative to the individual sorcerer who possesses the amp.

B1 - This simply provides  +5 to +12 power. This is common in other magical systems, and might be referred to as a focus rune/spell.

B2 x3 power

B3 x10 power

B4 x100 power

And so on towards power unimagined…

In operation, according to the theoretical model above, they give you an effective ability of movement of power times your base level.  In essence, the ability to channel more raw power into a spell.  For example, a sorcerer with a personal power of 24 using a properly powered B2, would cast spells at 72 power. Though the sorcerer is still a 24 power being, the magical output that the sorcerer is capable of is significantly increased.

The main difference between the B2, B3 and B4 application is that each can only efficiently use so much power before it can't use any more power to apply to the amplification process.  This is because as a sorcerer grows in power over time, the amps will cease to be advantageous. For example, once the sorcerer at 24 power gains enough skill, focus, and power, he will be able to craft a much more potent amp for himself. Thus the sorcerer discards the B2 and creates a B3 because he is now able to do so. These amplifiers only scale your power, it really doesn't give you greater detail control within that larger power. This is why a sorcerer cannot simply go from a B1 to a B4 over night, it takes time, patience, and discipline.

However, the benefits of even the smallest amp are beyond measure.  Because these amps are permanent constructs, they remain active unless the sorcerer chooses to power them down for a time. Once again, visualizing the amps as runes or sigils of blood that have been etched or grafted to the sorcerer’s aura is useful indeed.  The casting ability increases, simply because you can put more power behind things (so your shields are bigger, your will against other spells and such is greater, your spells are exponentially more potent, etc.).

At their most basic level, blood amps are external modifications of the sorcerer’s aura. When the sorcerer casts a spell it must pass through the aura, or spell sphere, on it’s way towards the target. It is during this passage that the amp further multiplies the power of the spell. In many ways, amps could be seen as magical rail guns, charging up the already powerful spell projectile and sending it on it’s way. However, regardless of how powerful the amps become, their power output depends totally on what power the sorcerer is able to put in, and thus are limited by the sorcerer’s own personal power. This is where the IBAs come in.

Internal Blood Amps function the same way as the external blood amps, though they are internal. These amps are grafted to the actual soul/avatar of the sorcerer. Once you start to play with the workings of one's own soul, your base power starts to increase on it's own.  The IBAs actually go inside the soul to take the raw energy residing in blood in order to amplify the base personal power levels of the sorcerer. The process of their creation is the same as the externals, though it must be done with a significant amount of focus, self-awareness, and skill. The sorcerer hoping to accomplish this feat must be a master of meditation, biofeedback, and the creation of external amps.

IB1 (otherwise known as InternalB1) is the combination of the techniques of B1 and the modification of the inner soul/avatar of the sorcerer.  IBAs  are a transformation of one's own soul.  To transforms one's own soul requires as much power as can be mastered, thus knowledge and use of powerful external blood amps is a prerequisite. As far as the numerical model, the IBAs provide power amplification at the same ratio as the external blood amps.

So combined with the external amps, the sorcerer is powerful beyond what is possible in most other traditions. For example, a sorcerer with personal power 50 creates a B2. Now her spells are cast at power 150. Then she successfully grafts an IBA2 to her soul/avatar, and is able to transfigure her inner self to use the IBA2. Her personal power remains at a 50, but when she wants to cast a spell she has a personal power output of 150. Then her spell goes through the B2, making her spells cast at 450. Thus, if she were of any other non-blood tradition, her spells would only be as powerful as her personal power. Through blood she is powerful beyond measure.

Spells

This spellbook is a collection of spells and magical workings.  While the origins and the stories of the discoveries of many of these spells are far too numerous to tell, you the reader have a unique opportunity to reap the rewards of those adventures and hours of study.  Within this work you will find spells that enable the magic user to accomplish feats unimagined, but also the much simpler spells not commonly thought of.  That is the purpose of this book, to open the mind of the reader to the endless possibilities of blood magick, regardless of tradition or creed.  This is the teaching of the fundamentals of spellcraft by example.  What is done with the magic, be it of good or evil, is up to the reader.

Each spell is listed by an appropriately descriptive name and possible situations in which they could be used.  The two realms in which these spells are meant to function are the astral and the physical.  The astral realm is the general term for realms beyond the ken of physical reality.  Places such as the spiritworld, dreamscapes, or ethereal cyberspace.  The physical realm is the world of facts and science, the world in which action and reaction are somewhat predictable.  An advantage of predictable outcomes at the disadvantage of less spectacular magical results.

After the realm of affects has been defined the method and effects of the spell are clearly defined.  Most descriptions will refer to various patterns.  These patterns are basic elements of reality that are utilized, conjured, and altered in order to shape and focus spells.  These patterns are such things as matter patterns, life patterns, and elemental patterns to name a few.  They are felt and manipulated by the user’s magical senses and magical will respectively.  The magical senses are the extraordinary senses of magic user’s that allow them to become intimately aware of their environment as well as objects and entities within that environment.  The magical will is the internal force of change wielded by the magic user to take control of or manipulate magical energy and accomplish the magical feat.  While ritual and material components are not vital to any spell, they greatly increase the potency of the spell and the focus of the magic user, and so are useful elements in any spell.

While this book is exhaustive not every possible spell is listed here, there are an infinite number at your fingertips.  Let this simply be a stepping-stone into a larger world.

Basic Spells:  One simple method of making any magick a part of the blood magick system is to spill your blood or that of another prior to the casting.  Thinking of blood as a magical ingredient for any spell greatly increases the versatility of the ways in which it can serve you. Smear it on blades, draw runes with it, anoint oneself or others during a ritual. The  possibilities are endless because the blood itself forges an instant and near unbreakable bond between target and caster,  a magical circuit through which the spell can flow. What follows are a few spells designed to provide a glimpse into the world of blood sorcery, they are examples only and by no means the totality of the system.

Insight: The sorcerer is able to take a biomatter sample from any living or once living being, and glean information about its source. The sorcerer focuses his will upon the sample, using the bonds of blood to form a magical circuit. While in this state of intense scrutiny the sorcerer, depending upon the potency of his magick, can learn anything from what sort of being the sample came from, its gender, emotions, strengths, weaknesses, just to name a few.

(Components) The more pre-Insight knowledge the sorcerer has of the target the better.  Most blood sorcerers will find that merely holding the sample will allow them to do their work, some may need to use meditations, scientific instruments, or perhaps even actual consumption of the sample in order to gain Insight.

Biofeedback: This is a meditative exercise in which the sorcerer is able to achieve total awareness and control of her bodily functions. By visualizing the consciousness as flowing through the body alongside one’s own blood, this total awareness can be achieved. Damaged areas can be investigated, diseases fought, nutrients redistributed, organs repaired, the possibilities are limited only by the knowledge and ability of the sorceress herself.

(Components) While most sorcerers are able to achieve at least a basic state of biofeedback with only meditation some may find it useful to concentrate on the inner blood flow as a focal point.

The Walls Have Eyes: This spell instills a basic awareness within the home of the caster. Walls, mirrors, tables, hangings, and all manner of baubles and household clutter can be made to observe the goings on within the home. The sorcerer can then use his power to retrieve the observations of these items. Walls could speak of intruders, chairs may tell who last sat upon them, mirrors show who last looked through them.  Depending upon the potency of the sorcerer and types of information sought the items may show images, impressions, emotions, or magical vibrations.

(Components) The caster simply needs to carefully spread one drop of blood discreetly upon each item he wishes to bestow the powers of observation. Then, when he chooses to investigate the object’s findings, the sorcerer will call upon the bonds of blood to form a connection with the object to witness its observations.

Scry: This is a divination spell that allows the caster to pour over the threads of fate directly tied to him. By focusing the will upon the medium the sorcerer is able to pick up on immanent events, pertinent feelings, and impressions of the ripples in reality caused by future events coming his way.

(Components) Simply fill a basin with water, spill the caster’s own blood into the vessel. Seek the divination in the swirls and clouds made by the diluting blood.

Consume: This spell allows the caster to steal away the life energies of anyone that the caster comes in flesh-to-flesh contact with.  The caster creates a physical sympathetic component for the connection via the bond of blood. Through the circuit the caster drains away the energy within the target, taking it into himself, making him temporarily more powerful or filling him should he be low on energy.

(Components) The most effective ritual component is a thorn, hollow needle, or some other symbolically penetrating object soaked in blood that is carried concealed upon the caster’s person. The amount of power taken, rate of drain, and the target’s awareness of the drain are all dependent upon the power and skill of the caster.

Forging a Link: This spell allows the sorcerer or sorcerers to share the magical energy reserves of another person or group of people.  The caster soaks a number of small stones in blood. The number of stones depends upon how many people are taking part in the power sharing.  The blood is most effective if it comes from the participants, though blood from another source is still sufficiently potent to work.  Each person taking part in the power network places a soaked stone underneath their tongue. As long as they hold the stone they and those also possessing stones can draw freely upon the power of everyone in the network.

(Components) Each stone should be small enough to be held firmly and comfortably under the tongue. This spell is quite effective should one sorcerer need to draw upon the power of many, or this can form incredible power solidarity within a group.

The Evil Eye: Known throughout time as on of the most powerful of curses. This spell is the fundamental sending from which all other curses find their root. It is the magical manifestation of hatred, malice, ill will, and the wish to cause harm upon another. The sorcerer summons up all such feelings, focusing the will so intently that the negative energy, the desire to curse, becomes manifest.  The potency of the curse depends upon the sorcerer and the degree to which he wishes to harm his target.  The degree of harm that can be manifested is limited by the power and skill of the sorcerer. The curse could be simply a stigma, where social interactions become difficult.  Or it could be a curse of moderate severity, a minor sickness or lasting injury, the target becoming a social outcast.  The most potent curses, those that only the most powerful of sorcerers can perform, can cause wasting diseases, permanently cripple, bestow life threatening bad luck, or even go so far as to put the target immediately into harm’s way.

(Components) For most minor to moderate curses hand gestures and harsh words suffice to deliver the curse through the circuit created by the bonds of blood. For more horrific curses the sorcerer may find that some ritual sacrifice of blood or sympathetic representation, like a statue or a doll ritually harmed, may be necessary to fully lay the curse.

Cleanse: This spell allows the caster to extract and dispose of all manner of detritus, both physical and magical. By focusing the will during an intense ritual cleaning, the sorcerer can divest herself of any enchantments laid upon her, astral parasites, negative energies, troublesome emotions, physical maladies, and mundane uncleanliness.  The power of the caster determines the degree of cleanliness that one can reach, for there are many spells that do not dissipate so easily or parasites that let go without a fight.

(Components) The most effective manner of casting this spell is in the form of a ritual bath.  Draw a bath of water while mixing in three drops of the caster’s own blood.  This infuses the bath with the sorcerer’s power and desire to extract detritus of both physical and spiritual nature. The blood bath will also serve to trap the detritus once the caster leaves. Allowing the caster to safely investigate or dispose of unwanted spells, grime, or astral hanger’s on. The caster must remember however that such a deep cleaning will remove positive spells and symbiotes as well unless attention is spent pupon maintaining them throughout the ritual.

Accelerate Metabolism: This spell is designed to give the caster the power to accelerate the metabolism of one target, be it the caster himself or another target life form.  The caster focuses upon the metabolic centers within the body and uses the will to artificially stimulate these areas.  This spell increases the natural rate of metabolism in the body of the target.  This increases the healing abilities of the body but also increases the need for food and sleep.  This spell is useful for rapid recuperation or can be used in a passive aggressive offensive manner to “thin” opponents over time.  This spell does not apply in the astral in most cases, as physiology is more fluid in that realm.

(Components) Knowledge of the physical body of the target’s species is a tremendous aid for the visualization of the metabolic centers.  Usually a laying of hands upon the target works best.  Though if the spell is being cast upon oneself then a piece of straw or incense lit at both ends and anointed with blood can aid the caster in visualizing the spell.

Spitting Blood: For this dramatic and potent spell the caster infuses a physical substance with corrosive energy patterns and hurls the substance at a target.  The enchanted substance will behave differently depending upon what realm the spell was cast in. In the astral the substance works like a strong acid, eating away at any material that it touches.  In the physical the substance, aside from shocking and surprising the target, will corrode through magical shields to damage the body’s energy fields and harm the spirit.

(Components) The most effective component is blood, though in a pinch water or spittle will suffice.  Remember that the substance is merely the vehicle for the corrosive energy patterns, but a substance that is reminiscent of fluid works best.

Adventure’s Call: This divination spell allows the caster to put himself into a state of heightened awareness and attunement to potential adventures as he comes into contact with them.  As most people walk through life they live it reactively, the only adventure that comes into their lives is when such things cross their paths.  This spell is designed to give the caster sufficient awareness to notice potential adventures as he goes through his life.  The caster will walk down the street and feel a pull towards a back alley.  One could be walking in the wood and feel the urge to take a different path than planned.  There are infinite possibilities and limitless adventures that people pass up everyday simply because they don’t notice them.  By going into a meditative state the caster focuses his will upon his own perceptions and creates a magical energy field about himself that is sensitive to and amplifies the subtle irregular patterns in reality.  These irregularities are the adventures in their potential forms.  Magic users who often employ this spell are constantly involved in some sort of goings on, and seem to be on top of things as they happen.

(Components) This spell is a complex one, and the components are much more personalized.  To create and maintain this energy field with mind and will alone is a difficult task, as such most magic users who use this spell utilize talismans or other fetishes, bonded to them through the connection of blood to maintain the energy field once it has been erected.  Any sort of personally significant object that can be used as the focal point and source of the field will do.

Old Wounds: This spell allows the caster to cause further harm to a target who suffers from preexisting wounds or to reopen older healed wounds.  By extending the senses into the target the caster can become aware of the life pattern of the target, as well as the irregularities in the pattern that represent the wounds.  The caster then exerts his will upon the irregularities and imbues them with power, increasing their prominence within the pattern.  This spell causes old wounds to reopen, small cuts to bleed profusely, and burns to turn out to be much more severe in addition to many other form of increased trauma.  As with many spells, the intensity of the agitation depends directly upon the skill and power of the caster.  Also, the effects will be much more spectacular in the astral, though the effects in the physical are no less potent.

(Components) Physically touching the target is the most helpful and effective component, though verbal components such as indications of the increasing pain are also effective. Sympathetic representations of the target, with the wounds visibly recreated, can provide an excellent ritual connection through which to strike.

I grew up in a small town in Arkansas, in the United States of America. My parents had trouble conceiving, so despite their Christian upbringing went to New Mexico to “talk to the man on the mesa”, and I was raised knowing that I had “medicine blood”. My father was a geo-physicist and a rice & soy beans farmer. My mother was educated as an art historian though chose to be a stay at home mom. I was a Lone Scout and Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. I spent my public school years either fighting or standing outside the circle during my goth phase, but had a grand time in college during my hippie phase. I’ve lived in many cities, traveled to far more. I’ve prayed at the Wailing Wall and looked skyward through the sacred stone inside the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. I’ve haggled over film licenses in Cannes, France. I’ve danced in the waves with a Maori girl in New Zealand. I’ve owned a house, broken apartment leases, will be a father very soon, have had two wives so far and new woman I want to make my last. I have seen that people are either sheep or wolves, and many do not realize they have the choice. I have looked out at the USA and known in my heart that I am a patriot, even if sometimes the President and the Ugly Americans piss me off. I’ve been a retail slave, a newspaper ad man, a telemarketer, a collections enforcer for credit card companies, a movie producer, and a military contractor. I’ve been a good man, and I’ve been less.

My point is this:

When it’s my turn to die I will not have wasted the gift of life by being meek or idle.

And you should be no different because the fire is already in you.

Roots

Medevil Magick

Many people, if asked, would agree with the assertion that the modern western view of reality is somewhat narrow.  We see what our five senses can perceive. We live in a world dominated by hard science and logic.  If something cannot be empirically supported, it is not held to be true.  We refuse to accept paradoxes.  We strive to find homogeneity in the world around us.  We experiment, rationalize, and categorize in an attempt to solve the mystery of our existence.  For us, there is no reality outside that which can be defined using our current level of scientific scrutiny.

How did our vision of the world become so narrow?  In order to discover the answer we must go back to the last period of western history in which people did not live with such a narrow view of the world.  This period is commonly referred to as the Middle Ages.  The Medieval period was the twilight of a commonly held view of reality that went deeper than the five senses.

The medieval mind saw a world that was full of possibilities, some of which were wondrous, and others most terrifying.  It was a world full of ghosts, spirits, monsters, and magic.  It was the belief in magic that made their view of reality so expansive.  It is this belief that allowed them to entertain serious ideas about ghosts, monsters, and other seemingly fantastical phenomenon.  The medieval mind had no problem living with paradoxes.  Thus, magic makes the impossible possible, and perceived reality becomes a realm of unfathomable possibilities.

The majority of the rural population of the medieval period was somehow involved in the practice of magic, by direct involvement or by the belief in its existence.  Despite the fact that Christianity was the official religion and that most rural people were baptized or converted, almost all people still adhered in various degrees to pagan beliefs and practices.  It was common for peasants of that time to be only nominally Christian and remain a pagan in practice.  Their lack of dissonance over this issue further illustrates the general acceptance of paradox in the medieval mindset.

Magic, for the scope of this section, will be considered any action or attempt that is made to affect a change in reality by any means that is not considered “ordinary”.  The use of plant material by itself would not be magic, but using these materials in conjunction with mystical words or rituals would be magic.  In the medieval mind words carried a certain potency, and the use of words and phrases as magic was common amongst the magic-users of the time.  Rituals, dances, songs, trances, and any other extraordinary activities could be considered magical.  Also, some types of healing among the peasants were considered magic by those involved.

At its most basic level, magic is control, the ability to influence one’s situation through extraordinary means.  This is the reason the peasants held on so fiercely to the practice of magic, sometimes suffering penance for magical acts that they felt important enough to suffer for.  In a world as mysterious and frightening as theirs, stability and security were major issues.  The practice of magic gave the peasants and opportunity to take control of their own lives in a world where they had little control over anything.

There are two basic types of control offered by magic.  The first is control of the person.  This sort of control is embodied in the magic that affects people directly.  Healing magic is the most obvious, when the magic-user utilizes certain plant and animal materials in conjunction with gestures and spoken words in order to heal a wounded or sick person.  Another example would be a curse, in which the magic user would cause bad things to happen directly to the victim of the curse.  The second type of control offered by magic is the control of nature.  This sort of control is embodied in the magic that directly affects things in nature.  An example of this type of control would be the use of magic to affect weather patterns.  The use of magic to directly affect crops and livestock is another example.  With magic the peasants were able to control the environment in which they lived.  They could heal the sick, stop droughts, bring fertility to their crops and livestock.

In addition to control, magic also possessed another important feature; it allowed for unmediated contact with the divine.  Many of the magical workings of the peasants called upon the forces of nature, the power of the person, and the grace of God.  The belief in magic was an important factor in the deep view of reality held by the peasants.  In this world of infinite possibilities and mysteries, the potential for direct experience of God was great indeed.  With this view of reality, and the ability to experience God directly, there was not a total reliance upon the Church for mediation of contact with God.

The belief in magic itself did not seem to bother the Church as much as the result of the belief and the actual practice of it.  The Church never denied the existence and potency of magic, but it condemned it none the less.  According to the Church the practice of magic was an act of pagan heresy, and that the only magic that was not diablerie was that of the Church’s saints.  Even then, the Church did not consider the actions of the saints to be magical.  The Church viewed what the saints did as supernatural but not necessarily magical.  Their power was coming from God, the source of the supernatural.  An example of this would be exorcism, while such an act was not officially considered by the Church to be magic; it does fit the definition of magic.

The saints of the medieval period were known for their prowess in the performance of miracles.  The Church did not consider these miracles diablerie because the power of the saints allegedly came directly from God.  The problem with saints was in proving that they were empowered by God instead of being cleverly disguised sorcerers.  Most of those saints who were acknowledged as such were members of the Church hierarchy already, and had no need to convince anyone of their source of power.  Saints who were not already connected with, and thus controlled by the Church, were shunned and sometimes imprisoned or killed.  Because they were independent, they were forced to announce publicly that they were saints and not mere sorcerers.  However, because they announced their sainthood the Church condemned them for being prideful sorcerers.

The reason for such attitudes and practices of the Church was control.  Magic was a form of control that the peasants possessed.  As long as they had some control over themselves, the Church did not have total control over everything, which was what it was seeking.  If the Church removed magic from the peasants, then the Church would have taken away control from the peasants, and it did.  Without magic the peasants became totally dependant upon the Church for everything the practice of magic had once provided.  They were forced to come to the Church and its associates, for healing and child birthing.  They were forced to come to the Church for all of their spiritual and religious needs, now their contact with the divine was mediated, they had lost control over their spiritual lives as well as their daily lives.

Once the Church had all but stamped out the practice of magic among the peasants, it had complete control.  Without anyone to teach the workings of magic to the next generations, the practice quickly became the stuff of superstition and legend.  Magic, however, was not completely done away with in all forms.  It still remained within the confines of the Church; there are nuances within the Orthodox Christian faith that qualify as acts of magic.  The act of a priest calling upon God to bless a person is by definition an act of magic.  The transubstantiation of the Eucharist is also an instance of magic at work within the Church.

With examples such as exorcism and blessings it can be said that magic has not left the world.  The way in which people look at it is what has changed.  Our modern western view of reality is narrow indeed, for we do not accept the existence of magic even though it is employed right in front of us on a regular basis.  The Eucharist, though it has the appearance and make-up of bread and wine, is the real presence of Christ transubstantiated by magic fueled by the power of God.  We still believe in paradoxes, we still believe in magic, it is only our perceptions of such things that have changed.  Reality is still the vast and mysterious realm it always has been, whether we acknowledge it or not.

The Flagellant Processions

This section has been included to teach only one thing: Mastery of the body, and thus both the trancendance from it and the abuse of it, is a powerful force. One may at times be tempted to use this power publicly, and while there are short term positive results from spectacle, long term negative results are possible. There is wisdom in secrecy and longevity in discretion.

“shut himself up in his cell and stripped himself naked and took his scourge with the sharp spikes, and beat himself on the body and on the arms and on the legs, till blood poured off him as from a man who has been cupped.  One of the spikes on the scourge was bent crooked, like a hook, and whatever flesh it caught it tore off.  He beat himself so hard that the scourge broke into three bits and the points flew against the wall.  He stood there bleeding and gazed at himself.  It was such a wretched sight that he was reminded in many ways of the appearance of the beloved Christ, when he was fearfully beaten.  Out of pity for himself he began to weep bitterly.  And he knelt down, naked and covered in blood, in the frosty air, and prayed to God to wipe out his sins from before his gentle eyes.”   ---Cohn (127)

In the overcrowded and desolate cities and towns of medieval Italy a movement began, the flagellant procession.  The movement had its foundations with a hermit of the city of Perugia in the year 1260, and the movement quickly spread south towards Rome and north towards Lombard.  From that year on, until the late 1400’s the flagellant movement was a powerful force in medieval Europe.

The flagellant processions of the medieval times were both frightening and inspirational.  In essence, the flagellants were punishers of their own bodies.  They would pierce, flog, and beat themselves both in public and in private.  This was all done with the hope of convincing God to have mercy upon the people, and visit them with less suffering and death.  They hoped that because of their acts of self-torture God would forgive them of their sins, gift them with salvation, and make the world that they presently lived in a somewhat better place.

The tortures that they inflicted against themselves were almost inhuman.  Many flogged themselves with a type of whip called a scourge; it consisted of a handle with several leather strips hanging off of it.  Each one of these leather strips had a twisted piece of metal fastened to the end of it so that when a person was struck the bits of metal would tear out flesh with each strike.  Other punishments involved torturing each other with hot iron spikes, simply burning and piercing the flesh until the person collapsed.  Some even carried life-sized crucifixes upon their backs, punishing themselves by carrying the heavy structure over the many hard miles that the processions covered on their journeys.  Some simply tied themselves up with rope and had themselves beaten, or they would just beat themselves.

The processions moved about from city to city, resting where they could and publicly torturing themselves.  They were usually lead by priests who had either given up on the church or had been forcibly removed from the church by their superiors.  When the hordes of man and boys would arrive in a city they would march into the city bearing banners and burning candles.  Once inside the city they would divide into groups and spread about the city, usually in front of local churches, and publicly punish themselves for hours at a time.

This public display of penance did a great deal to effect the masses that gathered to watch the flagellants.  People began to put aside their differences with each other, criminals confessed their crimes and made amends, ursurs gave back ill gotten funds, and enemies became friends and many blood feuds were called off.  As the processions moved on to the next town oftentimes a large number of people from each successive town would join the movement.The flagellant processions had become a beacon of hope to the downtrodden and suffering masses of Europe.  Soon the flagellants, as well as many of those who witnessed them, began to see themselves as not just working to absolve their own sins, but also the sins of others.  Many of the flagellants believed that they were taking on the sins of the world and like Jesus were sacrificing their own bodies in order to save humankind.  It was because of this that they were so accepted and loved by the masses of the towns and cities that they entered.  They were given food, financial assistance, and always gained new members when they left.

In order to understand why these horrific processions were so successful one must look at the world in which they lived.  Most of Europe’s common people lived in harsh poverty.  They were poorly clothed, starving, and constantly oppressed and harassed by the feudal state in which they lived.  The Lords of the state demanded taxes and the Church demanded tithes, neither of which the peasants could pay and still be able to live and support their families.  When wars would come the peasants had to support the armies that moved through the countries, and also suffered greatly when hostile forces would move upon their towns and villages.  All to often the poor would be made to support one army, but not be given protection and then massacred by the next army. The Church did little to help ease the suffering of the masses; in fact the Church was often seen as the enemy.  Corrupt priests and clergy members took advantage of the laity as they disgraced women and burned “heretics”, all the while demanding that each person pay tithes.  The commoners could not see how going to church, receiving Holy Communion, and prayer were doing them any good.  Loyalty to the Church seemed to have gotten them nowhere; it had even been harmful.  Needless to say there was a great deal of rage and dissatisfaction with the Church, and the flagellants offered another way for the masses to touch God.

Sometimes the flagellant processions would take a more revolutionary stance.  When these revolutionary flagellants entered cities they looted and burned churches, killed and tortured priests, and preached against the Pope and the Church.  These flagellants claimed that they could attain salvation through their own efforts and that they did not need the evil and corrupt Church to force them into anything.

It was during this time of revolutionary flagellants that the princes and bishops began to suppress the movements and burn some of the leaders as heretics.  By the late 1200’s there were two distinct groups of flagellants.  The church and state generally tolerated the processions in Italy and France, because they were more orthodox in their theology and not revolutionaries.  However, the processions in Germany were ever increasingly fanatical and revolutionary.  Many of these flagellant movements were met with violence and condemnation as heretics.

A part of the reason for the German condemnation of some of the revolutionary flagellants as revolutionaries was because of the mystical significance of the number thirty-three and one half.  In some of the earlier flagellant movements the processions lasted for thirty-three and one half days, the supposed number of years which were spent by Jesus Christ on earth.  This mystical number, combined with the fact that many of the flagellant leaders of the time claimed to possess Heavenly Letters, divinely inspired words from God, gave the church and state amble grounds and reason to condemn and destroy many of the revolutionary flagellant processions from the late 1200’s to the late 1300’s.

The outbreak of the Black Plague served to ignite many more flagellant processions throughout Europe.  If the poverty and oppression were not enough, the Black Death made matters even worse.  Once again, like their predecessors in 1260, the new flagellants took up their scourges and began to march.  Like before, the flagellant processions gave hope to the people and the movement grew in power and numbers.  The flagellant movement died out in the 1480’s as the last of the flagellants either stopped marching or were burned as heretics.  Other than the suppression of revolutionaries, the flagellant movements died out for one major reason, disillusionment.  After decades of marching and penance the world just did not get any better for anyone.  The plague continued, the poverty continued, the oppression and the corruption of the church continued.  The flagellants, without their knowledge, began to unwittingly spread the very plague they were trying to stop.  Without any advanced knowledge of disease control or sanitation, they carried the sickness with them everywhere they went.  Once a member of the procession contracted the plague, the rest of the group was sure to get it and then spread it to whatever town they came in contact with.  The very nature of the flagellant processions was perfect for the spread of the plague, with their constant beating and bleeding bodies.  Many of the flagellant groups had also gotten wrapped up in eschatology and believed themselves to be living in the endtimes.When the end never came, and they realized that what they were doing was not helping the situation, they could do nothing but lay down their scourges in defeat and go back home.  They helped for a time, gave hope for a time, but in the end they could not make the changes they had sought to, a temporary solution to a very difficult and timeless situation.

Trickster Gods

In many ways we are the inheritors of their legacy.

Dynamism, change, leading by example and teaching the world with our misadventures. We are the Hopi Sacred Clowns. We are Coyote.

We are  motherfucking Loki.

The Little Apocalypse

Blood Magick is intensely personal and tremendously powerful, making such sorcerers key players in shaping the world. I may not be correct, but as the author will take what is my right, and say what I believe. In the following chapter I will use words like God, Good, and Evil. Please feel free to replace these words in your mind with any, more personally appropriate nomenclature should you feel so inclined.

Reality as a whole can exist in one of two ways, one is a state of harmonious discord and the second is disharmonious triviality.  Harmonious discord is a state or condition of reality that is made possible by the constant struggle between stability and intensity.  In this state Creation is at its best, it is wholly Good, this can be seen as the world as it should be.  Ultimately, the world as God wants it to be, full of potentiality and a felt lure towards novelty.

Disharmonious triviality is the condition in which peace and stability exist but at the price of intensity.  In this state of affairs the struggle of order and chaos has been stalled, there is no motion.  Potentialities are denied, novelty never has the chance to occur because the lure toward creativity is no longer felt and \or responded too.  This is the way God cannot possibly want the world to be, in this instance this would be wholly Evil.

In classical theology the eschaton, or for ease and clarity the apocalypse, is the triumph of Evil over Good for a time and finally the ultimate victor being the side of Good.  This is a narrow view, in truth there is no end to Creation, the whole of reality is everunfolding, and so no ultimate end is conceived.

I think actual eschatology is made up of what will be called little apocalypses.  These little apocalypses are temporary and small instances when portions of reality end up changing from harmonious discord to disharmonious triviality.  It could be argued both ways as to whether the little apocalypses could become larger ones, thus making the disharmonious triviality more extensive and less temporary.  One argument is that it would be impossible for the evil of disharmonious triviality to spread into the entirety of Creation.  It could be argued that this would never happen because of the ever-present existence of potentialities and the creative impulse, that no matter what the potentialities would make their way into actuality and take hold.  Also, my common assumption given my experience is that Creation is existent in ever unfolding infinity.

Another possible argument is that once the disharmonious triviality has taken hold that portion of reality becomes a source of more disharmonious triviality, and so it spreads.  While for the sake of this text Creation is unarguably infinite, this disharmonious triviality could lockdown the potential in its area of influence.  As this disharmonious triviality spreads more and more of Creation falls under its sway.  Granted, creation is infinite, but the massive amounts of reality that are consumed would certainly give rise to the statement or observation that reality would be better off had that spread or occurrence of the disharmonious triviality not occurred.  It is most arguably an apocalypse of Creation that would be better had is never come to pass.

Along with this approach comes an intrinsic element of Armageddon, the battle between good and evil.  Classically good is seen as order and evil is seen as chaos, however, in this case I disagree.  The components of harmonious discord is what is wholly Good in Creation, then both order and chaos can be seen as good.  Necessary order can be perceived as good and chaos can be seen as necessary evil.  Disharmonious triviality is the peace and stability bought at the price of intensity, and ultimately freedom.

What comes out of this battle between Good and Evil is an eschatology of the present.  The apocalypse is now, in the dying of the present moment into the next, a little apocalypse, and Armageddon takes place at every transition.  What is left is the individual.  It is up to each individual actual entity to take part in the eschaton of each moment.  Be that actual entity one who acts in the name of order as a hero, or that actual entity act as a chaotic villain of necessity, something must be done.  It is not important what side one chooses, it is that a side is chosen.  There must be a struggle, it is this struggle that gives rise to the state in reality of harmonious discord, the balance that is achieved by the conflict between order and chaos.  Disharmonious triviality is the lost Armageddon, it is the cessation of that struggle between order and chaos.  Disharmonious triviality is the apocalypse of stagnation.  In process eschatology it is the decay of Creation that is the end of days.

However, more than the planned eschaton of classical theology, the everyday apocalypse in process requires individual action, as discussed above, and an unrelenting faith in God.  In classical philosophy one is told from the start that all is decided and that God and Good will triumph in the end.  One must have faith in a God that does not propagate a decided end.  There is the possibility that all may not turnout well, that God may not triumph and Good not be the dominant and final way of reality.  One does not have any assurance, none of the comfort provided by a planned and determined and final outcome.  There is no final victory for God and Good, one can only have hope that God and Good can prevail as often as possible.  Faith is paramount, and requires much more participation on the part of the believer and individual.

The time is always now.

We study magic to gain power.  If we are all honest with ourselves we will not deny this.  Under the search for power falls knowledge.  We are human and thirst for it.  If we study magic for these reasons alone, we will never be fully living up to our rightful potential.  The third tier is humility.  When we realize and accept our place in Creation we are able to grow into and beyond it.

TOY SOLDIERS

In my post-university years I found myself becoming everything I had resisted… a soulless worker drone, working for the collections department of a medical credit card company. In those days I felt that being a ghost in the machine was the best way to reclaim what I’d lost, and so a plan was hatched. Myself and another occultist, whose name I’ll leave out of this paragraph (but who speaks often in the document below) set out to create our own “occult fight club”. Yes, we are those dudes who watched a movie about Tyler Durden and decided we could do something similar. The best thing is that it totally worked. I started by publishing the Marauder Underground paradigm in my book Post-Modern Magick, then we hit the internet forums. We began what has been at times called the “marauder underground” or the “ellis movement”, and the use of the LS sigil (or linking sigil). At the time both of us were very much into the roleplaying game called “Mage: The Ascension” and in that storyline  there was a group of mages who were essentially “reality terrorists” who were trying to return the world to what I can best describe as a “mythic state”. Essentially a reality in which its “mythic reality” all the time. We decided that our Discordian Project Mayhem was going to be styled after those fictional magi, and so we set out to create the Marauder Underground. What you will read below is the majority of the forum postings in which we planted the idea-seeds, and helped the movement grow on its own, independent of our control. We never wanted to be leaders, or really in a group at all, but the world was going to be a better place (or at least more interesting) once Ellis joined the game.  There are several Ellis oriented groups out there now, and countless individuals who play the game solo. Its just another paradigm, but one of my favorites.

It’s about changing the world, taking an active stance, getting involved. I post as “Silenced”, and to this day remain on my own.

Am I a Prophet or an Asshole?

Probably both. Enjoy the Game.

The Marauder Underground

Our primary activity is attacking what is commonly known as consensual reality, the dominant paradigm, the mundane world, whatever you want to call it.

We cast spells, scribe sigils, summon spirits, and open gateways.  Anything that can be done to influence reality towards our goal.

We use chalk to tag buildings & sidewalks with sigils and goetic summonings.  We conjure up spirits and set them loose, leaving in our wake freshly haunted sites.  We infect the population with the power of chaos, and watch as random magick explodes into the lives of unsuspecting citizens.

We are reality deviants in the truest sense of the word, as we pry open the eyes of a sleeping humanity to the terror and wonder of the worlds beyond.

What you are about to read is a condensed presentation of the online forums, emails, and conversations that encompass the creation, implementation, and current state of Ellis and the underground.

Much of the original online discussion that gave birth to what may or may not be this movement has been lost or deleted. As a result, this text begins in the middle, with the first recoverable post. This text edited to the best quality, though consider the source, given that being published was not the original goal. To summarize, this discussion began with a question I posed about placing ads in newspapers with the text “Magick is Real” and what sorts of effects would occur.

Alaudurel: In retrospect, this could also be a great way to find others in your area; I, for one, think I'd get curious should I stumble across various markings. To do one better, we could go so far as to leave responses in various magical writing systems. Futhark and enochian, together at last.

Nyspryll: How about a discordian ritual or some humorous magickal working near a high or middle school, not with black robes or anything but just to lighten up the atmosphere in a place that is actually like a prison/ free labor camp and to stimulate the curiosity of very bored people?

Baphmetis: How about using chaosphere's? Peter Carroll has a good section in Liber Null & Psychonaut on them. Perhaps if a great number of them are chalked, spraypainted, molded from clay and left lying around in public, a ritual could be performed which could charge them all to make the manifestations of weird occurrences to happen that would challenge the consensus belief more likely. Just an idea. A chaosphere is a sphere with eight arrows pointing from it. It can be created as a 2D drawing or 3D model. It can also be charged. It's function, according to Carroll in Liber Null:

"It is a purposely created crack in the fabric of reality through which the stuff of Chaos enters our dimension."

It can be ritually charged with lifeforce in whatever form you wish to supply it, and acts as a "magic lamp" which "emitteth the brilliant darkness" according to Carroll. I like what he writes at the end of this section, as it inspired me to consider this:

"The erection of operating Chaospheres at various points about the earth will tend to hasten the immanentization of the eschaton, the change of aeon."

Or we could just clog up the personal ads in our local newspaper with phrases like "Magic Works!"

Silenced: 1. Maybe there is already a group at work on this very project. Just yesterday, after reading the posts here, I was walking home from work and saw that someone had used a pattern of a chaosphere to spray paint one in relief on the sidewalk. Now vandalism is bad of course, but damn it was cool to see!

2. Maybe someone could set up a free website (or we could use this thread), we could post stories & pics of our various activities as magical miscreants. Everybody uses an alias so as not to get anyone in trouble with the law.

3. I like the "reality game" thing in the previous post. Maybe we could do a sort of Fight Club thing, but instead of fisticuffs its magick, we contend via chalking, ads, statues in sewers, flier campaigns, making haunted places, etc. Urban exploration, magick, and a little streak of discordian mischief.

4. We could even get non-magick folks involved, a symbol of power is a symbol of power, with the right encouragement/wizard's trick, we could actually fool people into true magick, prankster style.

Any thoughts?

Post those Ads!

Just call your local paper and ask if they offer free ads to private party customers, not all papers do, but alot are getting on the bandwagon industry wide.

Alaudurel: An online log of occult experiments...could be nice, I'd be up for it. Are we talking about all doing the same sigil, or simply a mass of sigils that come to us?

Arjil: I think that perhaps we should have a "Linking Sigil" a simple sigil we use to link our works in this vein together, kinda like a spell header, and then we slap whatever else we've got around it. That way we would be working in conjunction, but also manage to maintain our autonomy and unique spellcasting style, making our overall effect more diverse and interesting. I think it could serve to create an entirely new ley line web, especially if we attached it to nodes (places of power) or especially weird places (haunted houses, abandoned asylums, spooky woods etc). A "Linking Sigil" would have to be something simple, so that you could scribe it quickly on whatever medium was at hand... it also would need to be something rather unique, that didn't have any previous occult significance tied to it so it didn't interfere with the spell... I'll think about that.

Nyspryll:  I like Arjil's idea, perhaps we could activate dormant ley nodes in public places and use a sigil as an energy pool for personal uses. Or we could create a servitor, however that's old and that plane is clogged up with people’s servitors anyway. How about posting our sigil in the classifieds, or using the energy we get from the newly activated node to open portals?

Silenced: Ok, so we've got a Linking Sigil. I can build a website this weekend, anyone have a lead on a better free service than yahoo?

Arjil: I'm feelin' somethin' good here...Mayhaps I'll attempt some recruitment around the web, see if we can get this thing kickin' on a large scale, that'd be cool huh? Ah, but who ever said we had to stick 'em where they'd be seen? The only point of the linking sigil is to form a magick net, all working to increase the levels of magick in the world, like a giant spell that evolves and grows each time we add to it till eventually. If you feel that you should Wizard's Trick it, and let the muggles *see and wonder* then cool, if you prefer to work your magicks in secret go for it. The linking sigil makes whatever magick you use it in conjunction with another piece of the puzzle. I believe I'm going to stick an L.S. with an adjoining chaosphere, perhaps throw in a rune or sigil of spiritual awakening to the underside of the new age/occult bookshelf in Barnes and noble. That should make a nice little addition.

Alaudurel: Oh, I like the bookshop idea. Incidentally, all of my markings do have the linking sigil in place nearby, so I look forward to the eventual buildup of energy and the theoretic effects. This should be fun.

Silenced: Anybody ever seen the Fallen? The one with the angel who travels from body to body by touch? Maybe one could set a "magic do as you will" sort of charge on someone, and program into the spell a "self-replicating sub-routine", so that the random magic charge would spread from person to person like a virus, dropping a little piece of empowered chaos into people's lives. The site for out little "activity" is going to be up by Sunday night. The address is  HYPERLINK "http://marauderunderground.chaosmagic.com" \t "_blank" http://marauderunderground.chaosmagic.com

Lady Hydralisk: I'd like to leave little notes in books at the children's section in the library, write them in spidery handwriting on papyrus, with a little magic spell on them, maybe for adolescent books. I remember when I was about eight, digging through the library stacks looking for grimoires in memory of a past life. Maybe help out another soul in the process.

Awakening_93: On the idea of magical symbol for shock value, I want to give an example that I hope we can take something from. At my school, it would seem a bunch of Wiccans got a similar idea. All over the school were chalked pentagrams with "Wicca" written underneath. I seemed to be one of the only ones who noticed enough to say anything, and even that was just "They could have been more original" (though I confess I was intrigued to find out who it was). So if we are to do anything for the physical shock factor, it would have to be something that stands out. I like to write "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" on my desk in maths, just to see if it is ever answered with a "love is the law, love under will". So far, it has not been. On the linking Sigil: I think it has gained a little potency already. I just wrote it on my notepad so that I would remember. I put my pencil down, and it zoomed across the edge of the desk in a strange direction, for about 30cm (1 foot) before being shot out towards the wall. How's that for bringing the forces of chaos into the world? I'm interested in getting this moving in Australia. I'll keep a stick of chalk on me, and tell a few friends.

Tolrn: I've started tackling the northeast coast of the USA. This place could use some more oddity.

Nyspryll: Should we make a sigil of fun to increase that aspect?

Daeinwolf: I will be starting tonight at some of the local dives. I might not be able to walk a straight line...but I damn sure should be able to draw a few.

Silenced: If anyone knows any building contractors, you could get them to let you draw sigils on the bottom side of each tile, thus creating entire floors of spellworking.

Everfool: Just to say, I've got a sigil worked up, and can more or less remember how it looks from memory. All I need is a night in London and a marker pen!

Silenced: Here's what I mean by reality deviant. To illustrate what this child witnessed, I must describe how I appear physically, then it might make more sense why I felt it pertinent to mention my looks. Keep in mind while I tell the story that I am a white guy, wearing green cargo pants, hiking boots, a black t-shirt, and those little goth forearm sleeves (a guilty pleasure I admit). I also have an average size goatee and well kept dreadlocks that end at the small of my back. I've let my physique go to pot since the dayjob, but still have the look of latent physical prowess (muscles no longer bulge, but I’m no slouch).What I'm trying to say is that I don't look Normal or Safe, especially for a small city in Arkansas. (most of these folks are surprised at nose rings, much less a dreadlocked mage who gives off no hippie vibe whatsoever).

Ok, not that I've painted the picture. I was walking home from work when I came upon a young boy playing swords with a small stick. His mother was rummaging inside her parked car and oblivious to my presence or her child's enthusiastic sword fight with who knows what. I happened to be carrying a plastic play sword with me at the time (leftovers from a St. Patricks day diorama the day before). I saw the lad and immediately charged up the sword with magical energy, filling the sword with power as I walked towards the kid. He finally noticed me striding towards him (this is the part where his eyes nearly bugged out of his head) with sword in hand. Without missing a beat, totally unnoticed by his mother, I knelt before him and presented him with the sword. I said "try this sword, its magic, and its yours". Wide eyed he dropped the stick and grasped the sword, the moment his fingers touched it I could see the spell go off. I walked away as he resumed his battle, the mother still unaware of my passing.

Everfool: Well, lets hope that’s one less soul chained and crippled.

Papercut: Hi, everybody. I´m new to this forum, obviously, and I don´t know squat about magick, so I apologize for any moronic questions. But isn’t the deal about sigils that you upload/activate them in (to) your unconscious and forget them?

Frotish-Mewn: That's one way to use them. There are many creative ways that don't need to be forgotten, or even charged by the mage who created them. Look around and you'll find out much more about the uses of sigils. You're only limited by your imagination.

Everfool: Wednesday 31st March, I'm hitting London. If I can get my mitts on a marker pen, up goes my sigil, accompanied by the linking sigil. My sigil is the intent 'Break the chains' - intended to loosen up people's possibilities, and giving them actual freedom to avoid the same old mistakes. I'm going to attempt to link these to previously opened chaos-vortexes so that they have an ongoing power supply. Wish me luck comrades.

Draggar: Recently I started putting Linking Sigil EVERYWHERE, on every flat, writeable surface: notebooks, mails, stickers, official exams... just everywhere, in various situations.

Baphmetis: I like to play around with sequencers and music-making software alot. I'm no professional, but I play around with that sort of thing and I could do with a project like that. Did you mean simply sampling an incomprehensible mantra and playing it low volume within a track? or did you mean something a bit more complicated?

I think William S. Burroughs used to do something similar. He used to make recordings and play them at very low volume in certain environments. I would expand on this but I cannot remember all of the details that well. It had nothing to do with music anyway. Just a pointless anecdote. Never mind. Hopefully someone else here knows what I'm on about.

Everfool: You could possibly play it at low volume, for a subliminal effect. But what really interests me is the thought of, somehow, getting some mix played at a night-club. Imagine a bunch of drunken exhilarated people dancing to some fast beat, when in comes Enochian or Latin or something. Average person won't notice a thing, but those of us in the know will be aware that magick is coming into the public domain.

Baphmetis: I was also thinking about sticking in a sampled mantra at low volume, because I swear that's being done already. Listen to Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar album - there are tracks (I think Wormboy is one of them) where if you listen very closely you can hear his voice muttering something under the instruments. I'm considering listening to the secret track at the end just to see if I can pick out anything similar. Given the occult nature of that album, it wouldn't surprise me if that was put in for magical effect of some kind. I have also noticed something like this in a Type O Negative album. I'm not sure, but I can't really see this as being simply an interesting sound effect, as it is less prominent than even the bass. Anyone else notice this?

Silenced: Assaulting conventional realty. Curb stomping the dominant paradigm.

I just wanted to revitalize a big thread from before the forum got hacked some months past. There were alot of us posting ideas and stories about goetic tagging, linking sigils, haunting new places, etc. Just thought I would throw this out and see if any of those folks were still around.

Collabari: I'm still here, and still tagging the linking sigil whenever I come across a good spot for it. Aside from that I've been trying to get some of the people around me interested in magic.

Adept Nul: I've got your linking sigil on my Palm, never know when I might need it.

Silenced: I live in a town where one can call in personal ads for free in the newspaper, so I've been running an ad daily saying "Magick is Real! Reality is up for grabs." I don't know if anyone's reading it, but its been running for about a month now. The nice thing is that anytime I'm out wandering I can snatch people's discarded papers (especially in front of apartment complexes or places people have moved out of but not cancelled their subscriptions) and have instant ammo for a quick spell. Which is usually cut out the ad, slap a linking sigil on it, and stick it to some public structure with a little spit. Yeah it’s crude, but hey, it’s a great thing to do when there’s nothing better around. I'm also working on a little business card with some powerful quotes or phrases on them, or maybe a quick "magick in 5 steps" thing, still in the works (costs a little more than I am willing to spend just yet, since most folks will throw them away at first glance). I'm also reading up on memes, basically a social psychology/magical theory about the collective subconscious & the tangible manipulation of ideas. Kind of like using soci-chemical formulas for effecting change in reality. Glad to see we all kept the ball rolling.

8CS: where did this all come from? Dunno how it escaped my attention...anyways.gonna go check that site. There’s some big graffiti near a train station here that says "embrace global consciousness: free energy is coming!!" I’m working on some kind of 'train magick' theory. Bit obsessed with the buggers at the moment. Trains and bridges.

Silenced: Train Magick eh? I like that. Sort of reminds me of those taggers in New York City who used to paint the cars at night when they were in the garage, then commuters the next day were faced with huge murals and messages as they went to work that morning. Then the transit authority would white wash everything, only to have it tagged again in a few days. There's always been something powerful about train stations, or underpasses, bridges, steam tunnels, abandoned urban structures, alleys, all of those places. Sometimes they are more than just messed up urban sprawl, sometimes I thin that they become repositories for the lost/hidden magic in the world. In-between places where energy pools, waiting for explorer mystics and street mages to discover and tap into. Maybe its just a flight of fantasy, but maybe I'm right too. So yeah, tell us all about train magick, seems right up our alley (pun intended).

8CS: Well there isn't much to tell right now, except that I too get the same kind of feeling you described above. I've not been too active with magical pursuits for a while, only recently making a conscious effort to open my eyes again... I read "time out of joint" by Phillip k dick and it described an "abandoned urban structure" which was sort of a last bastion of truth in an artificial world (without giving away the plot - read it!).

Anyways this just clicked with me. Melted together with the concept of TAZ, which incidentally finally came in the mail around the same time... (Love it when these things all fall together.) And the ideas that I’ve had for using various aspect of hip hop culture to um. "Assault conventional realty. Or Curb stomp the dominant paradigm." The trains in NY fall into that. Combine that idea with hip hops tendency to use repetitive drum patterns, symbols and logos, code words, chanting etc, even its own "wand" (mic). and I dunno. I got inspired.

Rin Daemoko: This is positively delicious. I know precisely how I can begin to "glitter bomb" my community. I  will simply have to decide on the "how" of this. I would love to get sheets of blank stickers and draw sigils on them, then attach them to bus shelters. I don't mean the kind of stickers that are easy to remove. I mean the kind that you  need industrial-strength WD-40 to get rid of. There is also a large park with a lake that is inhabited by an identity-less being in the center of the city (more or less). I could drop various items into the water which may or may not be found years from now. I can leave my stickers on garbage cans, lamp posts, washrooms, etcetera. Most of this city's occultists feel that reality is most malleable in that park, so it would make sense to widen something that is already open, right?

Oryztufre: You can get 'blank stickers' from places that cater to industry (try your local office store). At my work I have a few catalogs that have many MANY choices. Calling cards don't cost all that much...but yeah, certainly more money that I've got (same with buying stickers). But I'd be willing to shell out a few bucks fer some colored paper that I could print out and cut into pieces of 8...then randomly stick them under peoples wiper blades, mailboxes, news papers (buy one, place "ads" in the rest), etc. If you gimme a few of those phrases you (or others) would like to see, and maybe that 5 step program, I'll gladdly Glitter Bomb Cereal City. I've a few paint markers that I 'found' at work one day...I'll paint the image on a few quarters and then start buying papers.

9~6~3: Here's a hint for glitterbombing- sidewalk chalk. Quick, easy, and guaranteed you'll never get a ticket for vandalism!

Silenced: One could, if one were adept at conjuring thought form entities or able to summon outer entities from the astral/etheric, you could bind those entities to the sigil stickers or into talismans, and leave them in the target areas. Depending upon your skill level you could assign a specific task to the bound entity, or you could just leave them about, creating haunted areas as you go. Maybe a witch's ladder, a doll, or a talisman could be placed under buildings, hung in gardens, or placed under stadium seats or office cubicles, could be used to cast specific spells on the individuals in the immediate area. Slam them with dreams, graft random magick energies onto their auras (really liven up their day), or maybe just a spell to "increase weirdness levels" in the target area.

Chalk is wonderful. About a month ago myself and a few like-minded individuals drew some huge veves on the sidewalk, graf tags glorifying Papa Legba and The Baron. Chalking is quick, easy, capable of really big tags, and stays around, but isn't going to get you thrown in jail. It also lets you do your work and get away with it (chalk fits in the pocket much easier than spray paint). Its not just about planting thoughts or questions in people's minds, but also changing the energy patterns of reality. Sometimes I think that the unseen spells that change the environment can be just as effective as blasting their minds with sigil graffiti. Its like we are boxers setting them up with a right jab of sigil tagging, then laying them out with the left hook of global spellcasting.

Son of a Montage: I recommend getting your idea out there by signing up and posting it in the Magick section at  HYPERLINK "http://www.disinfo.com" \t "_blank" www.disinfo.com Thousands of people will see it. Also, a good place for "glitter bombs" are your local police station and courthouse bathrooms. The mall is another good place. Go into American Eagle and write on those strange things they call t-shirts while you're "trying them on" in the changing room. Slip bombs into library books... (Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter type stuff....) Church collections boxes. The following articles may spark ideas:

HYPERLINK "http://www.pifmagazine.com/2000/06/c_r_weems.php3" \t "_blank" Rules of Combat

HYPERLINK "http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s19071.htm" \t "_blank" Culture Jamming: How to Make Trouble and Influence People

HYPERLINK "http://www.sfgoth.com/~raveneye/nietzsche.html" \t "_blank" The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Proto-Marxism, Post-Nietzscheanism, and the Johnston Community

And books:

HYPERLINK "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0811817954/qid=1091628863/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1788869-4762350?v=glance&s=books" \t "_blank" Jamming the Media: A Citizen's Guide to Reclaiming the Tools of Communication

HYPERLINK "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0595282881/qid=1091628995/sr=ka-2/ref=pd_ka_2/104-1788869-4762350" \t "_blank" The Occult Art of War

HYPERLINK "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0595320503/qid=1091628995/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-1788869-4762350" \t "_blank" Post-Modern Magick

HYPERLINK "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0974945005/qid=1091628995/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1788869-4762350?v=glance&s=books" \t "_blank" Memetic Magic

8CS: how do you feel about going so far as the black djinn curse from Hakim Bey? Or rather, something similar, not as negative. Something more random, but I mean something more specific than random spells cast around the place. Or is the actual targeting of specific companies/organizations something you would try to avoid?? Or use the concept of the TAZ to physically create a space, which upon entering, people would start to have some kind of insight. Thoughts. Daydreams. Whatever you like. Mark out the area with sigils. Bury them in the ground at the entry points, etc.

Silenced: The black djinn ritual:  HYPERLINK "http://www.t0.or.at/hakimbey/taz/taz2c.htm" \t "_blank" http://www.t0.or.at/hakimbey/taz/taz2c.htm

That spell is right on, very much in line with what we all seem to be doing.

I think aggressive/offensive spells is just fine. The whole point of this is to shake things up, pry open some eyes, and if levels of damage are done in the process that's how it has to be. If karmic backlash is the price I have to pay, my soul is ready. Forgive my ignorance, but what is TAZ? Though I agree, sigils set up to create grids that people walk through is perfect. We could put them at the doors to stores, all over college campuses, or even sneak them into churches or the Fed.

Visceral/Spagyrical: Silenced, I first came across your site a while back and was very inspired by it. I've been spending a lot of time with mixing telepathic suggestion and day-to-day language. I've had great results so far. The best part is there's no sign of any magic being used. No sigils. No magical symbols. No words of power. Just day-to-day language. I really like the idea of projecting suggestions/hallucinations with phrases like "Hey, how's it going?" The results tend to be ridiculous because the target never understands what the hell is going on. I got the go ahead from peebrain over at psipog.net for an article on my method, but that's gonna take me some time since I'm currently balancing school with working full time and trying to cram in as much reading material as possible, not to mention finding time to practice every day.

Son of a Montage: 72 linking sigils + 72 Goetic sigils + 72 one dollar bills + 1 red sharpie = ? Steal and read the cover of Rage Against the Machines Renegades album to get the full idea.

Silenced: I've looked at psipog.net, they have some cool ideas that we could butcher for our purposes. I especially like the idea of their psi-ball, or energy ball, or chi ball, or whatever you want to call it. I was thinking about combining that idea with meme theory. An industrious occultist could possibly (unless my experiment later this weekend blows up in my face), summon up or form a psi-ball, and instead of using it to convey a spell, one could re-program it to deliver magically charged memes. Kind of a remote mindcontrol spell that lasts just long enough to deliver its meme payload, then the meme replicates on its own without needing magic.

8CS: I get the feeling this weekend could be fun. Thanks for clearing up the dot/chaosphere question. TAZ - is Hakim Bey’s book. That you linked to in the same post. Temporary Autonomous Zones. Perhaps its not a valid comparison. I intend to create some 'zones' of magical um... 'vibes' (?) by placing certain sigils underneath the entry's into some place. Like a park or something. I tried this once before in a market place, but it was for more selfish ends and bit me in the ass. Well actually the chest. But that’s a different story. Suffice to say, it worked, but I copped some sticky phlegm riddled incapacitating karma from it. It’ll work better this time.

Silenced: An excellent articulation of magical tagging.  HYPERLINK "http://www.spiralnature.com/magick/chaos/chaosgraffiti.html" \t "_blank" http://www.spiralnature.com/magick/...osgraffiti.html

Parabol: Just to let you know, I've been tagging the link sigil in random places throughout Vancouver.

Hypnos: All this is very inspiring! I wonder why I haven’t thought of this before.

I’ve always been fascinated by occult-related tags, flyers, stickers, details in buildings etc. but the thought of creating them myself has not crossed my mind until I came across this topic. I think the city I live in will get it’s share of sigils, memes and cracks in reality.

Nightshade: Nice... I'm in! This is the sort of thing I've been into for awhile. Actually, the last time I had a serious conversation about this was a year and a half ago; here! So, yeah... Nice! Albany NY has it's share of Mystai running about with paintpens and such. The problem is, that most of us have been wrecking each other (Bitchcraft) instead of a common foe. Need I say it? Conventional "Reality"! It's the same old story: The Vodoun folk don't like Witches (NO ONE likes the shiny, happy, fluffy ones!). The Witches don't get along with the Thelemites who don't... Yeah... Most of the "Psychic landmines" that one finds are specific to their target and are usually the real old school shizzle: Figures drawn in graveyard dust, bundles of knotted cords, ink drawn sigils etc. Still, this has its effect on the whole region. I'm not saying that the Sleeping masses deserve a gentle wake up (Is there such a thing?) but, come on!

Now, here's a question: If I were to add the Linking Sigil to a bunch of these spots, would it empower these nasty little Runes and thereby burn out each of their targets? Would I "Clear the slate" so to speak? I figure that everyone left standing would rather get to the task at hand instead of wasting so much time and energy on petty squabbles. Sure, I'd get an ass kickin' or two for it but I know how to take my lumps! Also, what do y'all think the probability would be of this having a negative effect on the whole grid? I'm NOT about to try this without first being sure that I won't be screwing up such a neat-o projekt!

8CS: I'm poppin some stickers around with the linking sigil. And some 'business cards' with both the LS and whatever else needs to be attached for whatever. I’m working at the time. And a 'catchy slogan' as if my working was a company selling a service. Stupid jokes basically designed so that people wont dismiss the card as a random scribble. maybe even pocket it if they like it. Nightshade, I’m not sure what the reaction would be but itd be damn interesting. Like a 'short circuit' of some kind. Or perhaps all the rest of us dropping the linking sigil could then tap into this power that otherwise would’ve gone to waste. Maybe you could place the linking sigil and something designed to 'defuse' those 'landmines' so that the loose magick just kind of drifts away in (8?) different directions.

Silenced: I think that adding the Linking sigil to the pre-existing tags would really get things 'mixed up', but that's the whole point. Who knows what will happen? Maybe you would be able to use the network to fuel whatever spells are hanging on those tags and 'clean the slate' with a huge magical clusterfu*k. Or maybe our grid will overpower the spells tied to the tags and empower the tags to our own ends. Maybe both, but we win either way simply by stirring things up. So what if we spark some conflict? We aren't being irreverent or immature, we are just doing what we feel needs to be done, its ok for us to enjoy it. What kind of hollow existence would it be if we couldn't derive some pleasure & entertainment out of working within our spiritual path?

Perhaps this idea could be expanded to include other, non-occult, tags. I'm not saying anybody go and get themselves splinched in a gang war. But think of it. Gang tags juiced up with the Linking sigil? What if that sparked a fire in some of the members affected by the spells hanging on the tag? Maybe the end result is a self-propagating meme/spell that leaves the limitations of the tag and begins to worm its way into street culture? What happens when magick wielding gang-bangers pop-up? Hobo cultures, street kids, graf artists, and the other groups are the ones that are going to be most affected by our actions, so they will be the first to show signs of our progress. Of course that's just a theory, being a part of street culture ourselves (to a varying degree since we are from all walks of life), this might be an interesting way to gauge our progress. Just a thought of course, a theory, an observation, a suggestion. But they are some interesting what ifs.

Nightshade: It's my belief that change is the only constant in the universe. Whether for "good" or "ill" (both actually) we're causing massive change. This experiment is one of the most ambitious endeavors that I've ever partaken of. Thanks for sharing! There are other, more useful places that I intend to use this sigil. All along the route to work, there exists a line of force. There are several wellsprings along this. I also have a couple of friends who can get to other nodes in the area. When enough of these places are linked, I think that things will be seriously shaken up! Good! It's like the last line of a King Missle song called Saturday. It goes something like: "Let's protest, break $#!+, F@<k $#!+ up! Because it's Satur(n)day and there's nothing better to do..." Well, Saturday or any other day, I can think of nothing better than to act as a catalyst for mass Awakenings. I think there's an ever increasing probability of awakening the average Joe, using this method. If this helps me out along the way (and I think it will) so much the better!

Son of a Montage: You make it sound like there's actually more than 6 people doing this.

Silenced: I for one think this has gone beyond occultforums. Not that its huge or anything, but I think the people posting on the forum are merely a sample of the active participants. I say that only because a few of us, myself for sure, have gotten our friends & comrades involved to some degree. So yeah, maybe there are only about 9 folks posting on this forum, but all of the people we involve on a personal level who don't post here are still very much a part of what we are doing. I like not knowing how many total are involved. It keeps me sharp and aggressive because we just might be the only ones, but at the same time I have hope because of the possibility that there are others like us out there stepping up. Its all about ideas on a global level and actions of individuals on a local level.

Wickerman: Is anyone doing this sort of thing in Toronto? I can get to Toronto easily enough, so I might start tagging random areas myself.

Visceral/Spagyrical: I've got lots of alchemical tattoos, so I tend to attract a lot of staring. Sometimes, a person will stare so hard that they tap into a symbol or two and the effects are quite fascinating to watch. So I'm thinking about getting the linking sigil tattooed in an inconspicuous place as a way of empowering the rest of my tattoos. This way, the next time someone thinks too hard about my tattoos, they'll be linked.

Nightshade: I'm relatively certain that this has gone beyond the few posting here. If not, it will... There are a lot of people seeking "hidden" knowledge. It seems that the numbers are increasing exponentially. Those people will probably take note of this symbol and get curious. Especially if they find it in all kinds of places and linked to other Sigils. Eventually, they'll figure it out. The very least we can hope for is that other like minded folk will begin painting their environment with their own symbolism. Yeah, there's a few Crossroads that I have to hit with this... A couple of Cathedrals... Malls, parks, billboards, bridges... But definitely Churches, Synagogues, mosques, Temples etc. Those, I'm gonna be as inconspicuous as possible with. Just harnessing a bit of all that FAITH! Alchemical tattoos? I bet those come in handy and WHOA... If you get this linking sigil tattooed to your flesh... You just gotta tell us the results! Seriously, as this whole thing progresses, you're likely to get an incredible rush. Or not. Who knows?

Frotish Mewn: I've been putting out sigils for this for a few months now. I have access to blank stickers at my job, so I've been having some fun. What I find really amusing is that the sigils I put up are the only graffiti that haven't been removed. I have a couple in the bathroom stalls where I'm assured by the sounds I hear that gnosis is being reached. I modified the linking sigil so that it causes paranoia in the viewer. Just recently I found out that I can create printed stickers at work and I've been printing out random phrases and drawing the LS underneath. Here are the phrases so far:

"NOTHING IS TRUE; EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED" (How could I pass on this?)

"MAKE FRIENDS WITH A MONSTER" (A la Douglas Coupland)

"ASK ME HOW"

I figured that while people ponder them in confusion, they’d fire off the sigils. To add to my fun, we send out palettes of products from my job across the country (US) and internationally. A few sigils have found their way onto those palettes. And now a lady friend of mine is helping me to put up some of the stickers, especially in those places out of my reach (women's bathroom). The other day I got to wondering about the web being created by the LS's, and I'm curious to know if anyone has actively tapped into it. When I thought about this while looking at one of the sigils, I saw thin golden threads radiating out from it. What are the possibilities from this web we're creating?

v/s: I like your idea for getting the LS tattooed. I'm curious about the effects of that. Wouldn't it link you into the web? I'm not really sure what that could result in, but it could be very powerful.

Visceral/Spagyrical: Well, because of the tattoos, my body is basically a living, breathing alchemical text that I'm writing myself (I'm not even done with it, yet). The tattoos represent the first alchemical process I ever uncovered (I've got quite a few up my sleeve) and it's the most mystical one I've found in all my years as an alchemist. I should also point out that I got the tattoos to assist in alchemical practices, not as an accessory to my appearance. In fact, my tattoos don't fit well at all with the way I dress or present myself. Anyway, the idea that I could link that particular process to a wider audience intrigues me to no end. Like I said earlier, I often catch a lot of people staring at my tattoos as I walk toward them or past them. Even last night, I saw a guy staring at my tattoos for at least a good thirty seconds while I was working. He appeared to be entering some strange state when I finally dug my eyes into his head so hard he was forced to make eye contact with me. For some reason the thought "you shouldn't stare so damn hard" came to mind while I was watching him, so I decided to break the connection.

Now, as far as linking into "the web" goes, that's something I've always strived for as an alchemist. Projection is a huge thing in alchemy. (It's often treated with more emphasis by alchemists than magicians.) I'm sure the results will be different in that projection will be enhanced exponentially with respect to certain individuals (i.e., marauders such as yourself), but I'm not so sure anything else will change. Maybe it'll just enhance the mystical aspect of marauding among its practitioners. Who knows? Maybe once I get it done and make it an official chapter in my text, you'll notice a difference in the way you perceive the linking sigil. When I finally do get it done, I'll let you know. To be honest, I'm not really sure what the results will be, but I'd love to find out.

Chitch: I had to sign up to say that this is a really intriguing idea. From browsing it seems like most folks here are in the US. I am in the north of the UK, and I have copied the sigil onto some stickers along with various slogans culled from Principia Chaotica and will start getting them out around my city. Have also given some to a colleague of mine with a passing interest in magic and asked her to do the same. One thing I am interested in. Is anyone actually checking for any discernable results that manifest in places where they have placed the sigils? If you have been placing them in various public places or at sites associated with specific organizations then it might be an idea to start checking your local press for any outbreaks of chaos and weirdness that might have occurred as a result?

Silenced: The use of stickers is a great move. My experience with the LS web we are creating with the LS is tough for me to describe, but I'll give it a shot. I see it as a metaphor (make visualization easy and describing it easier). Sometimes I see it as a conglomeration of datastreams (like the Matrix for lack of a better example). One big open source program to which we add, modify, and extract code and processing power for our individual works. The more of us there uploading our "lines of code", the bigger it becomes. The collective magical power generated by the people involved in the LS web are the source for its "processing power". I agree with previous posts, I see the connections to the LS web in my linking sigils as tiny golden threads, in my mind's eye they are both the power conduit that feeds and is fed by the LS web aswell as the "upload" conduit for my individual spell that grows and further evolves the web as a whole. That, in so many words, is how I see the LS web.

So getting a tattoo or scar of the linking sigil would allow a person to become a livewire, pouring their essence into the grid. So not only would the LS web gain a tremendous output boost, that person bearing the sigil upon their flesh would ( I think) have a much more intimate relationship with the web, and be able to draw upon its power much more easily than the rest of us. Also, given the connection, every spell cast by that person would leave echos throughout the web, again helping to make it grow, evolve, and "mix it up". Who knows what would happen in the long run, but it seems to me that further marauder activity and folks like v/s linking their living alchemical tat network to the grid, might provide the power to make the LS web a tangible paradigm capable of running up against consensual reality, but because of its chaotic nature, would not end up becoming an oppressive usurper after said struggle. Ok, enough for today, my fingers hurt.

Visceral/Spagyrical: I linked a professor today, but he doesn't know that.

Frotish Mewn: v/s, I knew your response would be well thought out. Well done! I think you are very well on the right track. I'm also into magickal tattoos and have a couple myself. Adding the LS is becoming a temptation. And please do start a thread about your tattoos and results.

Azi Dahaka: Tagged at least 15 linking sigils by themselves (I lost count)...I also blatantly ripped off frotish mewn (sorry about that, but I couldn't resist) with several "ask me how's", with the linking sigil of course.

8CS: Left a few business cards in key places, some of the slogans added have been mentioned, but also 'immenantizing the eschaton since 1980' - 'dont call us, we'll call you' - and ' you know you want it ' have been used. Also drawn on some of the cards MU so it give a bit more of an impression of being a business thing. Sitckers up, most places I go. got a roll of blank labels which I’ve working through. sometimes adding something else, sometimes just the LS. I plan to try 'tapping into it' in a few weeks when I have a gig on. See I’ve also been putting it on the back of some of the flyers for the show.

Silenced: Let us know how the show goes. If we could get a band to start running with us....oh the possibilities. From being able to tag the hell out of everything while on tour, to influencing reality with their music, to maybe even the linking sigil hidden within the cases in which their albums are sold or integrated with the band's logo or something. I know someone is going to say that over exposure/commercialization might kill what we are doing, that we would somehow lose our potency if this whole idea became "pop culture", but I disagree.

Pop Culture = The Masses

The more wide spread, well known, and in the public's eye we make this, the more powerful everything we do becomes. Isn't global liberation through reality wide chaos at least a facet of what we're doing? If we win, I will gladly put down my weapons and live in peace. But that day may be a long time coming, or never happen at all. So in the mean time I say we force feed the world till it chokes.

Just as an experiment, I'm going to put up a few blood tags. Throw up a few spells and link them with the L-sigil drawn in blood. Kind of a spin off of the tattoo idea, but less permanent. I'll probably hit a few hotspots on the railroad tracks, as there are alot of travelers who pass through there (interestingly enough more young folks since I've been working on the area). We'll see what happens.

8CS: Well the gig is hip hop, which as I ranted about before, has a lot of links to what we're doing, in my not so humble opinion. There is a possibility of using sigils on the album cover also. Its in the planning stages, and the lyrics, which is what I do, have a lot of cryptic references to reality breakdown etc. It was noted recently by my one other friend who knows about this sort of thing, that has been a 'weird vibe' round here as of late. Maybe it’s all coming together, or apart, as the case may be. Will keep you updated!

Hiro Tsukasa: This idea intrigues me, I'm extremely new to magic, so I'm probably going to sound stupid, but do you have to put a spell with the LS when you put them out or can you just put out the LS and if so, what are the results?

8CS: You can just put out the LS, and if this is working at all, it will contribute to a worldwide network of confusion and chaos. Effectively making any spells that ARE connected to an LS alot more effective.

Hiro Tsukasa: Ah, I see, so it's basically like networking a bunch of computers together combining all that power.

Son of a Montage: Seriously, if you want this to spread like a virus take all your bills out of your wallets, purses, ass etc. and write the sigils on them. You can register and track your money at  HYPERLINK "http://www.wheresgeorge.com/" \t "_blank" Where's George?

The idea inside the R.A.T.M. cover was to write political messages on currency because it passes into so many hands. Just write anything.

8CS: I was thinking. Does anyone know anyone in Greece? Particularly Athens? That would be able to get some sigils up over there now? There’s a lot of people there, and probably all running on high energy at the moment too. Between the cheering on of the crowd, and the athletes pushing themselves to limit. Gotta be a fair bit of 'free gnosis' to suck up?

Hiro Tsukasa: Heh, I got the crazy idea that the next time my band puts out some CD (we've put out two demo's so far) putting the LS in somewhere as artwork, we usually sell quite a few demos, last time up around 100 some. I live in Kentucky and I dunno if anyone else is putting the LS up around here.

Silenced: Money. There are so many magical theories pertaining to it, more in number and complexity than this quick post could possibly encompass. But I was thinking about Son of a Montage's sigils on money tactic. People invest so much energy in currency, (currency being simply a physical manifestation of wealth energy), that there really IS a "power of money". Being magic users we have the power to manipulate that energy pattern. So if we put the linking sigil on money, there could be two benefits for us.

#1- Linking sigil connects our spells to the grid, so whatever spells we hang on the money will grow the grid aswell as affect all who interact with the currency.

#2- The linking sigil would funnel some of that magical energy from the currency and the transactions into our grid (effectively letting us hack into the wealth energy pattern for free energy/processing power).

It’s so easy, just slap the sigil on the bill, or scribe the sigil & hang a spell, then send it into the world. And that website for tracking money can possibly help us monitor progress or, more importantly, re-connect with our money and refresh the potency of the spells upon them. Remote spellcasting.

Strange Divine: I agree about the money. I've drawn the linking sigil on some dollars. I put the sigil inside the all seeing eye pyramid. I figure that since there is so much metaphysical speculation about why that symbol appears on the currency, I might as well tap into that. Plus, I see it as a symbol of control. And we are, in essence, trying to undermine control. I'm also going to make a chalk drawing of the sigil inside the walk-through tunnel that connects a parking lot across the street to my university campus. A lot of people walk through it every day. Not to mention people drive over it.

It may also be interesting to somehow pass the sigil out with Halloween candy. My family often buys little Halloween baggies to put candy in, and gives those to trick-or-treaters. I could always inscribe the sigil on the bag. A Hell of a lot of excitement is generated on that night, particularly surrounding trick-or-treating. I think that energy of abandon and mystery is great. Plus, "I believe the children are the future." They are the ones who will be shaping the world soon. It might as well be a magickal world they create. OHH! I'll carve the LS into a pumpkin! There are some great possibilities in putting up the LS in close proximity to mall Santas, too.

Nightshade: I'm totally with printing on money! Particularly on $20 bills. They're very common and the denomination is such that the current owner is always aware of it's location. Some part of them is keeping track of their money. With the LS on it, I imagine that mental connection will be stronger: "That's weird. I wonder what it means..." and from there. Halloween candy, money, album jackets... These are some seriously kick-ass ideas! I really like the thought of placing the LS on the Great Seal on the dollar bill.

I have a friend hitting spots all over. I hit a crossroad sign (Shaped like a big "T") in my favorite cemetery. Also I climbed a wooded hill next to that cemetery and found a blank piece of wood (Handy huh?) with which, I made a sign (LS plus a little personal additive) to place over a hollow tree trunk there. Thing is, I KNOW that at least three other people do ritual work up there! I haven't met any of them but I know a little about what they're into: One is practicing some tradition of Voodoo, another is doing some sort of Faery oriented Witchcraft and the other is definitely a Necromancer. The place is a wellspring of energy, of course it attracts all kinds! I have a feeling they'll leave the sign alone. Without meeting, everyone seems to have come to an agreement not to disturb anyone else's offerings, charms or any other experiments. Everywhere else around here, it's a freakin' nasty free-for all. Oh well... It's about to get a little nuttier 'round here!

My buddy and I have decided to draw the sigil on a map of Albany. That's the path that we're going to take on a serious spree! Yeah... An uber-linking sigil; covering our entire city. I'm trying to refrain from a burst of maniacal laughter. I'm not sure that I can hold it back much further... I'm going to reserve it for when I've finished drawing on the money in my pocket. Laughter is such a great way to transfer energy!

Wickerman: Hmm. For those who work in record stores, what about drawing a few LSs on stickers, and putting said stickers on sold items? You might have to put the stickers in places that aren't easily noticed... anyone want to give this a try?

Oryztufre: I work in a water plant...if I wrote it on a pipe would it 'power the city' so to speak? Or ya think it'd have to be seen in order to work properly?

Strange Diving: I lean both ways. Therefore, my suggestion is: just try it!

Hiro Tsukasa: I think I scared my friend of the LS, I drew it down quickly on a piece of paper and brought it into work to show it to him (he just got on at the video store I worked at and I was training him). I had it in my pocket and was working waiting on him to get there and we were having a slow day so I went to bring the trash cans in. Got to the last one and the door somehow slipped from my hands and I tried to catch it but instead got my middle finger crushed in the door, I believe then it started bleeding under the nail, kinda weird and hurt, so I went back inside and messed with it a bit to make it not hurt so much. Around that time my friend shows up and I was starting to show him what the LS looked like and I started feeling bad sick and for some reason my vision was getting very fuzzy to where everything looked white and then I couldn't hear out of one ear.

He instantly figured it was because of the LS, but I had my doubts because I had felt sick all day...the vision loss was weird but I'm sure it's happened to other people when they were sick. Still I was confused as to why I couldn't see anything so I ran into the back and told him to watch the store, I thought in the dark maybe I'd see better but I didn't. So I ran to the bathroom and stayed in there with the lights off for a long time and finally (after cold sweating really bad) I began to feel a lil better and I turned on the lights and my vision was fine again. When I came back out my friend had ripped up the paper with the LS on it....well that's my funny anecdote for today. He's still convinced that's what it was, like I said....I have my doubts, prolly a coincidence and also (I'm new to this stuff, so PLEASE correct me if I am wrong) don't you have to do something to activate a sigil?

Nightshade: Hiro, I'm of the opinion that one has to charge a sigil for it to be active. Then again, after a symbol has entered a large portion of the mass consciousness, it may take on an innate power of it's own. Yesterday, my landlord gave me notice that he wants to rent my apartment to someone else. I have to move at the end of September. There have been no problems, up 'till now. This just came out of left field so to speak. At a glance, astrological portents show that people under the water signs may need to deal with a little extra crap for a time. Not that astrology holds that much sway over our lives, but I think that it may help by showing major TRENDS. I use it to help explore probabilities. I think it strange that you felt better at the time your co-worker tore up the sigil. Is everyone else experiencing some major wackiness (the Bull-$#!+ kind)? I'd hate to think that there's a line of seriously bad code in our "web". If that's the case, I guess we'll just have to modify it. I doubt this is the case though.

Hiro Tsukasa: I'd just say it was a coincidence, or perhaps maybe the sigil was reacting to something in the area, the store has alot of negative energy around, at least it feels that way and being a worker there alot of people I notice come angry or upset alot.

Nightshade: I just thought of something. Which, in my vacuous mind is quite the achievement! We are all acting as agents of change. Thus, we must be prepared for unstable and/or sucky situations. I've found that "Reality" doesn't like to be folded too hard. Whenever I've done something that one could construe as "seriously impossible", I've had to deal with some messed up consequences. Not all people affected by the LS are going to take it in a positive manner. Hazards of the game, I guess. Now, this could just be me, but I've noticed that the mundane, mouth-breathing, masses tend to recoil from catalysts for change. Most of us stand for things that the general populace fear; because the unknown is sinister to those who make better pets than people.

Orytzufre: This LS is, in a way, being powered by all that see it, in turn it is powering all the things it is linked too. Under this technique would it be possible to power a global servitor? As in adding the LS + SS (Servitor Sigil) to various objects so that other people can help you to empower the little critter? By my thinking, it should raise it to godhead rather quickly. I'm not talking about Skavan here...I'm talking about making a new one. Possibly related somehow to the LS, or possibly created to further the advancement of Magick in general, that all of us could call upon, use, and befriend(?). On a side note, next week sometime you can expect the LS to be written on the 3 main pipes at the water plant, as well as at least 2 of the booster stations & one of the water towers.... Figured it might loose some power half way through the city so I'd give it a power-up in the same places that the water itself needs a boost.

Frotish Mewn: I've been carrying around LS's in my pocket, but in the last 2 weeks I started carrying more of them. Tuesday night at work I smashed my finger under a pallet. I didn't make any connection at the time, but other things have happened since then. The next night I was driving a Hi-lo (a motorized machine weighing between 3-4 tons with forklifts). I stopped it, and just as I was about to get off, it started to move again. The control stick had gotten stuck so that it was slowly turning. Last night I just had horrible luck with a Hi-lo in my last hour at work. I started feeling a little paranoid about it, but I'm still not sure what I think. If any of this has to do with the LS, I'd think that it isn't the LS itself, but maybe the other sigils linked through it. What about the "psychic landmines" that NightShade mentioned?

Son of a Montage: I may or may not be experiencing things related to the LS.

Hiro Tsukasa: Possibly the tactic here is to plant the LS rather than pack it around, as there may be some case that other sigils linked by an LS could work off of others.

Nightshade: I've come to the decision NOT to add the LS to anyone else's sigils in my area. It occurred to me that adding it COULD have bad results (Being as those sigils are malicious in nature). It seems to me that the probability of some kind of backlash is MUCH too high. Any probability greater than zero becomes a certainty if you test it enough times. Even without pissing off Mystai in the middle of a "Witch-War", I've got enough problems! Correct me if I'm wrong but we all adopted the LS in the hope of "shaking things up" and advancing a paradigm that's more conducive to our Willworking. Perhaps we should all EXPECT the unexpected. We're sowing the seeds of Chaos; is it any wonder that Entropy would manifest more fully in our lives?

For now, I'm focusing on stability. I won't be doing anything in specific until I've made that uber-sigil over my region. It's my hope that the effects will settle into a "normal" pattern. Once this is done, I will begin warping things with it. I suggest that we all focus on this aspect for awhile. This way, we may avoid some chaos working us over. It's like we are adding threads to the "Quilt" of "Reality" and things could get frayed. I'm sure things will smooth over though. Eventually the LS and the Magicks we've all added to it will be assimilated into the "Weave". Until then, we may all have to deal with "reality's" natural defense system. Wow! An entire water supply! It's like making holy water. Hail Eris! Now the thought of a LS Universal Servitor intrigues me. There very well may be an egregore forming in association with it already. It would be an amalgamation of all our Willworking traits. That's pretty freakin' wild! Maybe we should all decide on a "Name" and set a date/time for a long-distance group Rite to breathe Life into it! Then again, maybe we should focus on the "backbone" of our "web" first.

8CS: My home town which may or may not be where I was on Friday night may or may not have experienced a drunken bout of stickering around its central business district. perhaps. I explained the logo to a friend that night also, expecting him to be like 'what the fark? That’s weird man' type dismissive. But no, my basic explanation of 'its about the 'breaking down of reality'' was greeted with a reply of 'yeah? cool.' This is good as he is also in the 'band'. funnily enough, the initials of which are LDD, which can also be seen in the LS sigil. !!*wow*!! So um, maybe its working its magic around here? I too got a finger injury! A week ago though. But it still hurts. just a 'sprained' or 'jarred' finger. This is all moving along well.. yes? Now a question: has anyone tried meditating on this sigil? Like tried on some astral level to tap into this web visually?

Son of a Montage: Shit, all you got was a finger injury? I got my face smashed into the concrete and later that night I woke up in a doghouse. Then I was arrested about 15 minutes after that for disorderly (Hail Eris!!!) conduct, trespassing, and destruction of property. All in a drunken daze...

Hiro Tsukasa: Maybe the LS just naturally elicits chaotic events, I wouldn't guess everywhere but maybe it depends on the energies in it's area, like I already mentioned the video store where I had the occurrence definitely has alot of negative energy about it.

Chitch: My fingers are intact. However, I did my first major bombing with the Sigil on Friday night, having been carrying copies with me since last week. On Saturday my girlfriend missed her flight to Spain, my car broke down, and I managed to get locked out, was unable to contact the landlord, and eventually had to call out a locksmith to the tune of £140 (that is about $255 for our American members). How is that for a nice intrusion of chaos?

Son of a Montage: Damn, you beat me!!!

Chitch: If the LS is operating to create a kind of network for the absorption and redistribution of chaotic energies, then would it not be possible to feed a servitor into it that could roam the network like a virus in the net? It could be programmed to act as a kind of flow control, directing the energy for specific purposes, or just to help empower any other magic that draws from the network for its power.

Frotish Mewn: I like the idea of an egrogore to help direct the flow of energy throughout the web (if that doesn't contradict the whole purpose), but I think we'd have to be careful in it's design. The web has been up and growing for a while now and any entity introduced would most likely grow very fast. The programming would have to be well thought out to avoid any problems with behavior. After all, would you want to release a monster into such a widespread network? The main reason I'm even into this idea is to lessen the amount of negative activity from the web. Maybe it's best if we do some active exploration along the web to get a better feel of what's going on. Another reason I'd have for an egregore is to prevent people from tapping into the web with destructive intent. I'd hate to tap into it myself and find out that someone has set traps, connected a vampiric servitor, or any such thing.

Silenced: Reality can be bent only so far before it tries to spring back into place. More subtle magick of course does not risk this as much, but we are being consciously vulgar and reckless with our endeavors. We are putting unrelenting pressure on reality's boundaries, and as such we will, some of us, from time to time, have to suffer the backlash from this. (I myself have had an unnerving string of bad luck and an unexplained nosebleed, and from what I've read I got lucky.) Its a risk we take. If anything this is a sign that we are making a difference, even if small, if reality is biting back against those connected to the LS web. So in a kamikaze kind of way, this is a good thing. However, the bigger and more potent the LS web gets, the harder reality is going to hit back, and I for one don't want to die just yet.

So we need a solution, here's my idea:

A friend of mine recently gifted me with a dream catcher, he called it his "Oh no you didn't!" dream catcher. It is made with the usual web of knotted artificial sinew and crystals woven into the net. The web is spun upon a triangle made from honey locust (lots of really wicked thorns). While normal catchers absorb & store negative energy, this variant is a nasty "return to sender" sort of catcher, if you get my meaning. We create, as individuals, personal halos, locks, or shields, depending upon your personal visualization/terminology preference.

Example: I visualize all of my spells & tags as connected/generating the LS web with little golden tendrils of energy, I too am connected to the grid by these tendrils. I create a nasty looking "return to sender" halo that is grafted to my aura/avatar/mage soul. When I activate the halo it becomes an "input only" device, thus no energy/spells from the LS web can reach me (though I can continue to feed it with my energy), they are stopped by the halo. If they are overt attacks, intruders to the grid, or reality backlashes, the halo protects me, and if necessary (like some punk ass trashing our grid or trying to corrupt us from within) hit back, hard. When I deactivate the halo I am naked to the grid, and can draw upon its power. Maybe by all of us using this halo/shield/lock method, we can continue to grow the grid yet remain at least a little safer from the backlash or other negative effects of the LS web. Then again, if chaos is what we dish out, it is inevitable that chaos will find its way back into our lives.

As to servitors powered by the LS web, why not? I was thinking about the citywide sigils mentioned before. We could make cut outs of the LS sigil, or the LS sigil combined with a sigil of "magick on the road" or "cast chaos spell on whomsoever passes over this sigil". Then take the cut out on a road trip. At night (less cops & traffic), stop in the middle of the road, throw down the cut out and spray it with spray paint. Do it on both sides of the road, do it as often as possible, on all the roads you can. Then every time someone drives over it they get nailed with the spell. Whether they see it or not, it will get them. So many thousands of people a day depending upon how many roads get tagged.

Oryztufre: Maybe on/under an overpass...as above, so below (if ya get my meaning).

Strange Divine: I have had the linking sigil drawn on my left wrist for a while. On Saturday, I set up a LS on the skeleton of an old dead tree near my house. The tree has magickal significance for me, because when I was about 10 years old, I believed that the tree was originally from Salem MA, and had been magickally transferred to my property by the Horned God, whom I was really into at the time. It was all a part of a bizarre reincarnation scenerio that I am amazed now that I came up with at such a young age. I "activated" the sigil by imagining it lighting up in a blazing white outline, with ripples emanating from it, warping the space around it.

I also set up a LS on my altar, and focused on it during meditation. I also had the LS on my wrist when I attended a Catholic mass yesterday, which may have been gazed on by a priest while he administered communion to me. However, I woke at 12 this morning (the dawning of the 23rd, incidentally), violently dizzy and proceeded to vomit and experience other sordid symptoms for the remainder of the night. I won't go into further detail because I'm such a Victorian, but I felt compelled to "deactivate" my sigils for the time being. Though, my brother-in-law is having similar symptoms, and I think I heard that someone else I know is experiencing the same thing. Therefore, I suspect that this illness may be unrelated to the LS Network, but I can't be sure. A strange incident recently occurred in my town. During a lightning storm, a bolt of lightning hit near a large pond and instantly killed an entire group of ducks that were going for a swim. I have no idea if it is related, but it strikes me as odd.

Again, we may be over-reacting and blaming unrelated occurrences on the Network, but perhaps we should take a precaution, and adopt the fluffy New Age tactic of "directing positive energy" into the system. Or something similar. Maybe trying to direct chaos is against our original aim, but I for one would like to see the project creating a more magickal world, rather than simply releasing random outbursts of unpleasantness. But maybe these problems are just temporary, and will settle somewhat as the Network becomes more established.

Oryztufre: I'm holding off tagging the water supply till the network is a bit more stable...no point in making the 53,364 people that live in this  HYPERLINK "http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A1303282" \t "_blank" fair HYPERLINK "http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A1297235" \t "_blank" city ill. Well...that & I seem to have lost my sharpie *shrug* If the network is becoming unstable then maybe an egregore really is in order...maybe a legion of them. As I'm not all that into Chaos Magic, lemme know what I can do to help...and I'm in!

8CS: I don't know about all this messing around with the network via egregore etc. Not yet. I believe this network is just warming up, I mean, these events aren't really what I would’ve thought were the kind of things we were trying to achieve. Seems like its just getting psyched up, before the real reality altering shit begins. I reckon let it slide a bit longer. Find its feet as it were. Something I would suggest, is to give the sigil more of an identity, so the thing itself may evolve into a servitor/egregore/whatever the hell... on its own, in its own time. Much like the earlier example of that Mr. Fortamecus fella. Thusly, I propose that instead of LS, we name the thing Ellis. "eL - eSS." Gettit? Plus, its similar to Eris. Like the long lost cousin, or lovechild perhaps. This may calm it down a bit. Well calm isn’t the word. I really think its trying to 'find itself.' Ok that’s my 8.3 cents for now.

Strange Divine: Ah, and it seems like only yesterday it was a mere idea, now it will probably go on a cross-country road trip of self-discovery, and will experiment with other like-minded individuals at university. Errrr, but yes, I agree. I think the egregore development should be more organic rather than unnecessarily forced. And I like the idea of giving it a name. It all sounds good to me. It seems that the tactic so far has been basically to plant the sigil all over the place with the intent of making it stronger, without giving much thought to what unforeseen forces it might be absorbing. Perhaps we should be focusing more on empowering it ourselves at this point and moulding it, before releasing it into the wide world. To use the child trying to find itself metaphor again, it seems that the web is associating with "bad influences" before it has gotten a chance to develop its own identity: therefore, it is being shaped by what ever it comes into contact with. In these early stages, it may be better for us to attach it to places of personal power for us, like a favorite outdoor ritual spot, instead of busy urban areas. This way, we can have a better idea of what is going in during this very formative period. After we have observed the development for a while, then we can really go for it and allow it to shake things up.

Silenced: 8CS, I like it. Who knows what will, or is happening with the grid. Maybe backlash is slamming us around, or maybe we are more apt to ascribe such recent events to the grid because of our interest, enthusiasm, and purpose. As I see it, we take a chance either way. Its like this chaosphere tag on a building I walk past twice a day on the way to work. Most of the time I just kiss my finger and touch/empower the symbol (put there by persons unknown). Yet, there are times when walking past it that I consciously throw up a shield, sometimes there is enough trouble in my life without being bathed in the energies of chaos. But I AM NOT going to shut off my sigils. Though in the future if I feel like reality or the grid is getting ready to slam me or is dumping more disorder and bad juju into my life than I can handle, I'll just throw up a shield long enough to catch a breather, then get back into the game. Strange Divine, I think we should do both. Keep absorbing/projecting the chaotic energies of urban areas and other random variables (for strength and evolution), and tie it to our personal places (for identity and purpose).

Strange Divine: Good idea. I think tying it to personal places may help keep the system balanced and somewhat focused. I have a very strong feeling that something extremely important is happening with the grid right now. Is anyone else feeling this?

Hiro Tsukasa: The whole grid thing and the LS has been crossing my mind a whole lot today than it has usually and I can't really say why. I've not created/planted/or activated any LS since my recent finger injury, I'm new to magick so I'm taking a break to learn some basic defensive spells before heading into another endeavor with them, I also agree on the personal places being used to balance out the system. I had 3 LS with me the day at the Video Store I work for when I got my finger smashed, I deactivated two and discarded them but I somehow lost the other one, as far as I know it's still in the store. Nothing weird has happened since then so I think things have balanced back out, if it was in fact the Sigil's doing.

8CS: Basically since I had the 'ellis' idea I’ve had this excited/nervous/anxious feeling... a) to see what the rest of you think but b) because it feels right, to me. As I wrote the post I could almost visualize the steady growth of some semi invisible (like Predator in 'stealth mode') creature thing. This feels good.

Visceral/Spagyrical: Just recently burned over 150 books to a CD along with a .jpg of the linking sigil. Then I gave the CD to a friend of mine.

Fatbastard: If I were you I would researched it a bit from sacred geometry

before I would construct something like that, but that’s because I`m an anal alchemist :-p

Seriously now, if you need to construct something that will behave as a network you

must have a foundation to limit its structure and direct its growth, otherwise you'll end up with a big metaphysical tumor behaving like a 3 year old throwing tantrums all the time.

Which in case it could be fun, after all this is the chaos magick forum eh?

But anyway, I’m surprised, you don’t want Chaos, you want a specified sort of Chaos,

which is order. You don’t want unpleasantness neither accidents. You want metaphysical amusement. Come on people, by principle Chaos dissolves things to make room so that things can be coagulated and recombined to something NEW. It is not evil "negative"

energy, dissolution always hurts. It is Eris doing that, while Eros is responsible for

coagulation and unity.

Silenced: More or less I agree with fatbastard, though I see the grid as more of a mutagenic virus mass than a construct that can be controlled or an equation that can be balanced. This is all about chaos & turmoil. Insert, thrust, repeat. If we get some on our shoes, oh well.

Fatbastard: Then don't complain if things explode in your face. Neither try to make them right. What you reap, is what you sow.

Frotish Mewn: Chaos is Order, just on a scale and sort that is beyond our normal understanding. What you say is only partly true for myself. I don't mind some unpleasantness, but I guess I do want it to be more readily observable how it can lead to new things from which I may benefit. Then again, that is up to my perception of events. What current events have done for me besides make work even weirder and more hectic is still a mystery to me. Oh, and I just found out that I have a distal fracture. I broke the bone in the first digit of my finger. And still, I have no intentions in stopping my distribution of the LS, nor ending any exploration of the webs and its uses.

Fatbastard: Keep it up then, people should not complain, that was my point initially. I've made a slight technical error. When I said that Chaos dissolves things I was wrong. When I speak for Chaos I refer to it as the alchemical Prima Materia, and Prima Materia does not dissolve things, it is the product of dissolution. So in alchemy, in order refine something you first need to reduce it back to Prima Materia by "killing it" so that the extracted essence gets coagulated and falls down to the dead matter in order to revive it.

So in a way, your experiment works a bit like that, it reduces segments of your everyday routine life back into their Prima Materia (or is in the process of) so that a new understanding may arise. I need to apologize as I see it now. The "unpleasantness" and "weirdness" of this experiment is absolutely ESSENTIAL. It marks onset of the first alchemical stage, 'Nigredo'. My advice to you, is to continue at all cost. If you leave it in

the middle, you will fail and need to start all over again. So, keep going and keep

your 'heat' in moderation.

Silenced: Just a random thought, maybe too off the cuff, but here goes: What if one were to call up a visualization of the sigil, then use one's magick to graft the sigil to the auras of others? Pretty invasive, and maybe risking some heavy karmic backlash, but it would certainly change a person's life in a MAJOR way. That may raise some issues about personal freedom, forcing a paradigm shift, but like I said, only an idea at this point. I guess that qualifies as hardcore magical terrorism, though I suppose at this point the laws of men do not apply.

Hiro Tsukasa: I'm not complaining about my finger injury I had a slight feeling when I first read the posts about the LS under the forum for Chaos Magic I had a feeling that of course it's results would be chaotic. Now I'm starting to see there's kinda two beliefs as to what the LS is doing and that leaves me wondering a bit more than I already did. I started college today and during the time I took for lunch I sat bored at my table for awhile since I couldn't find my friends and played with this black marker I found on the floor, as I got up to leave I grabbed a napkin remaining at the table, drew the LS and below it wrote "Tap Into Reality" and left it sitting in the middle of the table, lol.

Azi Dahaka: A few smashed fingers is just the price I'll have to pay. I’m going to borrow my mothers sticker making machine and mass produce the LS. I read on a website called Irreality (I think) that there were plans to make large banners with their logo on it and hang them on tall buildings all at the same time. I could probably manage a few large banners on some of my local abandoned buildings.

Nightshade: Funny, the last post I did here kind of vanished... That was a couple of days ago (and would have been my 23rd post btw). Yet much of what I had said has been covered by everyone else! Which leads me to this little question: Has anyone thought about how much "Ellis" has linked ALL OF US? In some ways, it seems that we are on the same wavelength. Cool! Fastbastard made some interesting points. The most important in my opinion was the statement that we are in the blackening stage of our work. Which, in our own way, we have all come to realize. All the weirdness IS good! It shows that what we've set out to do is WORKING. Already, my own little woes are being fixed. The first prospective landlord I spoke with set me up with a MUCH better deal than my current situation! So, destruction makes way for creation and the cycle continues... Yeah, I'm a pragmatist. Aren't we all?

Now, I'm thinking on the Sigil with the "Proper" connectors... It seems that the sigil we've been working with has the effect of expansion and the other would of course, contract. I'm feeling a bit retarded today so bare with the oversimplifications please. This could be the "flow control" we have been wondering about for a little while now. Then again... Silenced had the idea of auric grafting with Ellis. Hmmm. What if some of the nastier effects of this experiment could be channeled toward another using the "contractive" version? This is obviously a vicious thing to do. Perhaps this idea could be applied toward institutions... Who knows?

At this point, I'm sticking to tagging spots along the natural lines of force in my area. Also, I'm approaching others with this project. Or should I say, they are approaching me?!? An acquaintance felt compelled to show me that he's a "Card carrying member" of the Church of the Subgenius. It explains a lot about him that I had silently questioned. He's not on board yet. Although when I made mention of this experiment (In a VERY round about manner) he seemed to know exactly what I was getting at! Our conversation was brief. I spend more time talking to his girlfriend. I've known her for a couple of years and she's about the only Wiccan that I can stand to have around. She doesn't conform to the norm for that group of practitioners. She actually "walks the walk" and she doesn't talk unless she really knows something!!! Thing is, I haven't mentioned Ellis or anything to do with this to her. At some point, I intend to. Perhaps she may have a few ideas that are worth exploring.

One more odd coinkidink that SEEMS to be in conjunction with my leaping into this experiment: about a quarter of the employees (23%?) at my job, have either quit, put in their notice, or been fired during the last 2 weeks! 2/3rds (ahem) of these people are management... Unfortunately, most of these people have been my most cherished co-workers. Now, I REALLY am curious to see what's next! Well, this long semi-meaningless ramble has to come to an end. I'll come back with further progress reports and to see what new ideas y'all have and what you've been up to. Has anyone noticed how many posts and VIEWS this thread has? Is this the most viewed thread at OF?

Son of a Montage: That may or may not be my fault. I may or may not have done something that may or may not be attracting views to this thread.

Nightshade: Right on! You may or may not have to keep it up!

Strange Divine: I've been thinking about that a lot, actually. I think we are all being psychically linked. We are using "linking sigils," after all. It could be that we are creating a composite consciousness, with the minds of each individual it connects with acting as nodes, or neurons. In other words, something greater than the whole of its parts. Is anyone familiar with the "third-mind" theory? It was mainly pushed forward by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, but they were certainly not the first to notice the phenomena. Anyway, they basically believed that no two minds can communicate with each other without first creating a "third mind," a separate entity between them which acts as an intermediary. We could be heralding in a new age of human evolution by purposefully constructing a group third mind that is more powerful than any one individual.

Son of a Montage: I ordered the cheapest copy (it still wasn't cheap...) of The Third Mind I could find. Hopefully it will come in useful during this operation... Has anyone here read it?

Random: Its late in the thread to referring to this, but I just read it and had to comment. Forgotten urban areas have always had an effect on me in some subconscious way. I have even considered a coffee table book of photography as a project, even though I'm no photographer. They stick in my memory from adolescence. I was prone to wander the neighborhood (not particularly urban but not so suburban either). These places were odd little things. Metal and rusty with bases of concrete, many out in fields or company lots. Some, small outdoor access places to runoff cisterns or pumps. I can see them, feel them, even now. Others were lonely forgotten places where I sat and dismantled the paradigms of my parents and peers, and fed my teenage angst with lusty thoughts of inaccessible women and girls. Places we'd gather to drink stolen beer and talk about how we weren't going to be our parents. Once or twice even with girls. Sometimes while driving with the family I'll see one, a 'new' one and mention to the wife, just vaguely, how I like those places. She gives me an odd look and changes the subject politely. I must find these places again or anew. When I do, I just might link them to this project, or maybe my own selfish uses first. In the mean time I am off to a local (KY) dive bar to link the men’s room and a barstool or two.

8CS: Hey! I agree. PLEASE read Phillip K Dick's "Time Out of Joint," novel. If you feel like I feel you'll really dig it and maybe be kind of spooked by how 'right' your feelings were.

Nightshade: "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I AM in the midst of them."---Jesus

Sounds like the "Third Mind" concept has been around for awhile. Still, I'm going to read it as soon as I make the funds/time etc. That Jesus quote was the impetus for a long discussion I partook in once about how Gods are only as powerful as their followers. You didn't get this from me. We determined that the secret to deicide (Not the band) was hidden in that concept. There is a group mind that overshadows us all. Each neuron connected and firing in time. Someday it will act on it's spontaneous sentience. True AI... Well, I'm told the internet has that possibility anyway! By the time we're done (Like we'll ever be "done"), Ellis will be deific indeed.

8CS: Anyways I was thinking. anyone here a bouncer or nightclub owner/manager/doorbitch? Can we get the sign of Ellis onto some kind of stamp? Imagine if everyone in one club to see some show was stamped with Ellis!

Son of a Montage: Izabel

Silenced: The Izabel site is...interesting. Working off a similar theory, but more specifically deific. Though the Izabel phenomenon is a good example of what might happen, for better or worse, if we tried to impart too much personality to the grid. Still chewing on Izabel, but definitely thinking that much fun could be had, in addition to being a harbinger of chaos, if one built a sigil that incorporated the Izabel deity. Might that link the deity to the grid, making a "god" a part of Ellis in that same way that all of us are? If that were possible, why couldn't we just go around an wake up all of the old gods (like Baal, Ra, or Quetzoquatl) and hook them up to Ellis?

Nightshade: I'm still painting Albany Magickal! I've also devised some variants that may serve as "flow control" and one that is primarily a replication LS. I thought of it when trying to figure out how to charge the sigil at a distance and decided why not temporarily make two (or more) places ONE. I'm gonna see how it goes and then I'll definitely share! I think it's pretty friggin’ wild that so many people are using the same ideas all over. Especially the idea of tracing out the symbol on a map and then using that as map of tagging frenzy! While reading about "Izabael", I couldn't help but think of "Pombe Gira" of Afro-Caribe tradition. They're almost identical from what I can tell. As for linking various deities and spirits, I don't know... I know several spirits that might be interested (I'd have to speak with them). Thing is, we really don't want some of them!

Pamphage: Well I communed with Izabael about this after discovering this thread, and she loves the idea. However, she only wants to glitter bomb bedrooms, boudoirs, or other places where lovemaking is performed, or could eventually lead to lovemaking. She's not down with being spray painted in alleys and such. But it's your will. You guys can do what you want. If you don't believe me, I recommend you invoke/evoke her yourself before you glitter bomb with her, but like I said, she LOVES the idea, but only in stylish/romantic places....even a club stamp is extremely cool with her. Mainly she doesn't want to be in alleys in spray paint i guess is what she doesn't like. I don't know what else to say about that =/ Feel free to commune with her yourselves on this.

8CS: I was thinking about getting in touch with her soon, after discovering your site/work with Izabael yesterday. was thinking carved into tree's would be nice. Or a parkbench. Like some romantic movie thing. I think it’s very cute that she's such a romantic. In fact I’m quite smitten with her myself, and I hardly know her!

Nightshade: Well, I'm still working on some innovations. Then again, aren't we all? Unfortunately, I've spent more time THINKING about these things than DOING them. Sure, I've tagged a couple more places and marked every bit of currency that I can get my hands on. Still, I need to get out MORE and try these variant sigils out! I will say this about the spots I've tagged recently: The "Normal" patterns have completely fallen apart! "...Dogs and cats living together; mass hysteria..." Well, not quite "Ghost Buster" crazy but then again, it's only just begun. The number of vehicular accidents around the area has gone up by about 1000%. No kidding! Here's the strange part: No fatalities. I guess you'd have to see some of these accidents to think it strange but trust; it's strange. That's one example. I could totally go on. It's like all the longshot odds are playing out. Hmm. Maybe it's time to play the Lottery.

Silenced: Nightshade's post got me to thinking. Its always easier to cast spells when one is in a "magical" place. Sometimes the magic isn't necessarily pleasant, but it is potent just the same. Or when a ceremonialist prepares a ritual space in which to perform complex ritual magic. Or something as subtle an unusual as a packet of sugar and a bic lighter in a seedy hotel room. Magick is much easier and more potent when practiced in areas of "high magical resonance". What we accomplish with tagging, in addition to Ellis, is a proliferation of locations with high resonance. Naturally, the more we do this and the more people helping us, the more widespread this becomes.

There is potential for some serious change. If we focus more (though can't bring myself to stop sporadically casting & tagging wherever I am) on one area, we could change entire streets, districts, or even cities. Imagine if a bunch of hardcore magi tagged & cast every building, alley, and subway tunnel in New York City. Or the French Quarter in New Orleans. Or downtown Seattle or San Francisco. Those places already have a resonance, and it could easily be used to create "magical cities". The result of course being that the entire city would be a ritual space, and everyone would feel it, magick would be easier and more overt. In the same vein, we could juice up places or cities that don't already have a magical resonance. There should be no reason we can't do this the world over, its simply a matter of logistics & timing.

Son of a Montage: Who works at an electric plant?

Nayld23: How many here liked it when OF was hacked then torn apart? Think about the consequences of that "glitter bomb". We did not like our "consensual reality" shattered against our will did we? All I want to say about this Glitter Bomb project is that without any foundational focus of intent it will lead to some serious backfires. And may have already done so. It is exactly that, a "project". You are "projecting" un-focused energy on others against their wills. I am all for causing change and am very much the anarchist but I understand my personal responsibility involved in it. I wouldn't have even bothered with this thread except someone came to me for my opinion/advice on this project and it's consequences and I am just being honest.

This comes from the Marauder Underground main page: We conjure up spirits and set them loose, leaving in our wake freshly haunted sites. We infect the population with the power of chaos, and watch as random magick explodes into the lives of unsuspecting citizens. We are reality deviants in the truest sense of the word, as we pry open the eyes of a sleeping humanity to the terror and wonder of the worlds beyond.

That is the equivalent of slipping someone LSD against their will. What is the point, a good laugh? I doubt that anyone hear is awake "to the terror and wonder of the worlds beyond" because when the script is flipped you more than likely will run. When you rip a world apart do you have something better to build? Actually the more I think about this... How many here actually use Magick to foresee the consequences of putting something "out there". Do you weigh the possibilities? Narrow it down to the probable and act accordingly? Magick deals with willful actions of intent, the art of putting in motion. I would see the benefits in the above idea if it had a definite focus of intent and was more akin to what I call Toxick Magick, which is also a form of de-constructing consensus reality but with focus. It weighs the outcomes. It is the Psycho-Path.

Silenced: Adversity and constructive criticism are welcome and appreciated. If you were with us on this, how would you change things?

"I would see the benefits in the above idea if it had a definite focus of intent and was more akin to what I call Toxick Magick, which is also a form of de-constructing consensus reality but with focus. It weighs the outcomes. It is the Psycho-Path."

I want to hear more of this Toxick Magick, sounds right up our alley (pun intended). We don't discuss what happens after reality is broken open because the aftermath IS the better tomorrow. We are iconoclasts. There are already enough scholars, healers and naysayers. We simply keep things in motion.

Its about beauty, variety, and conflict.

Nobody said it would be pleasant, structured, or politically correct. Of course that's just me & my opinion, but that's the cool thing about organic projects like this, its bigger than just one person's ideas. Its not that we don't have focus. We are simply focusing many directions at once, just like the chaosphere symbol.

Nayld23: Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing the individual aspect of this but the group effort of it. As an individual you can perform poetic terrorism and dada-esque/surrealist magickal workings and get great results because you can aim it with more accuracy. This glitter bomb idea is like firing a gun into the sky with no aim. That bullet will come down and hit something whether you intended it to or not, may even kill someone. Magickal intent works the same way. You need to aim that gun at it's target and be damned sure you want to pull that trigger. In this group effort, well, I don't know any of you. It is the net-working sigils I would be cautious of. I have no idea what you have charged that sigil with for one thing, what your real intent is, and if I could trust that you would be telling me the truth if you stated your purpose. Seems that some go about Magick without taking these things into consideration.

Strange Divine: Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. I don't think that there is a way for me to put this without sounding pretentious and self-important. Nevertheless, I would like to state that I am no longer involved with this project.

I feel as though I didn't think my involvement through very well. I'm not sure what I expected to result from this project: increased spirit table tapping, more frequent UFO sightings, resulting in a gradual shift towards a more "aware" global human perspective, perhaps. I'm not sure. But I think it's clear that I either did not want to, or was unable to appreciate the consequences of such a working. I am not judging myself, though. I think it would be counterproductive for me to judge my decision-making processes in the context of a former perspective based on my current perspective. Whatever the case, I certainly didn't anticipate the kinds of results that many of us (including myself) have been reporting. At the same time, I feel that it is rather dangerous for us to blithely attribute every non-ordinary occurrence to our involvement with this project. I can't be certain whether the things I experience have been caused by this, but I am taking the precaution of disengaging, anyway. To be clear, I haven't changed my mind about what I wanted from this project. However, I no longer see this as a viable (for ME) way to go about getting it. If I want change to take place in the perspective of humanity, I would be better off focusing on changing my perspective. People will adjust their outlooks when they want to.

Silenced: I like the phrase about firing a gun at random into the sky, letting the bullets fall where they may. I totally agree with you. That's very much how I see it. Though the gun is my magick, and the bullets my spells. And the linking sigil network "Ellis" is both my battery and my grimoire. The difference between you and I (and perhaps others), is that I see the "shooting the sky" tactic as a GOOD thing. While you do not. So unfortunately I think we will likely have to agree to disagree, given that our opinions seem at this point fundamentally irreconcilable. Or am I way off base about how you feel about this project?

Nayld23: I think in your "shooting the sky" you may not be weighing those consequences. For one, you are not "shooting the sky". That bullet can do a few things that you did not intend for it to do; it could hit a bird flying over, maybe a low-flying plane, and if not those it will indeed come down and hit something. I see it as neither good nor bad. I see it as without purpose. If you are going to rip apart the fabric of the illusion of "reality" what do you plan on doing with what you have left over? Honestly, I do somewhat share your view but I guess I have been there before and realize that "rebel without a clue" really gets nothing accomplished IMO. I think some of this idea in it's individual components is fine, like I said, as an individual practitioner, the intent can be very personally specific. It's the fascist group effort with the linking sigil I disagree with. The Nazis demonstrated to the world what magickal group work can do. I will ask you silenced, since you seem to be the mastermind behind some of this, just what is "the terror and wonder of the worlds beyond"? And what is your INTENT?

Silenced: Your comparison of our efforts to Nazism made me realize that I haven’t been clear with you, my fault.

#1- Go back to the beginning of this thread. Read up to this point. I think that you will find our INTENT rather clear (creation of a more fluid paradigm, among other things). I'm not trying to be rude or anything, its just that I don't care to repost things that you could just read for yourself.

#2- We aren’t' really a group or an organization or a party. EVERYTHING we do is on an individual level. Think global, act local. Our LS sigil web, Ellis, functions like the previous post stated (it is both a battery and a grimoire). We all put into the web, and we all take out. That's about as organized as it gets, which ain't much.

I know its alot of work, but going back and reading all of the previous posts will clear things up for you I think. (I’m not avoiding your questions, I just think re-typing everything is a waste of time).

As to the "terrors & such" confrontation you want, I can't give that to you.

It may seem weak, but I'm not going to let you call me out on an internet forum.

Besides, we all know what I mean when I say "terrors & wonders of worlds beyond", I can't say what it means for every individual, that's up to them, and that's the point.

Anyone here have access to maps of the NYC subway system? We could use the maps to plot out a sigil, tag it, then post it on the site so that the rest of us could see it, use it, and empower it. I hope to go to NYC in the next few months (barring any financial woes), but someone already there (or more internet savvy than myself) could get those maps much easier and possibly get the tagging done. Anybody?

1000 Shades of Gray: That has already been done. The subway and the Manhattan tunnels were used to create a gigantic bind rune that affects not only the whole city but the whole country. Trying to create such a sigil, would awake the bindrune's defenses and send a world of pain your way. I suggest avoiding that type of work on New York, São Paulo, Paris. But, If you don't believe me do it any way. You can get the maps here  HYPERLINK "http://www.nycsubway.org/maps/route/nysubway.pdf" \t "_blank" http://www.nycsubway.org/maps/route/nysubway.pdf

The São Paulo bindrune was created primarily to fight misery. There are 17.000.000 people living there and at least 17.000.000 more living in the slums ( The favelas ) that surround the city. There’s poverty, fear and an extremely high crime rate. If the bind rune is working as expected in the next 5 to 7 years we will see an enormous improvement in the life of those people. It is coded to blitz whatever could stop, harm or slow down that process. If it all goes well, several other similar bind runes will we placed in other cities in the world during the next 35 years.

The Paris bindrune has to do with culture and the saving of documents and art. Think of it as the birth of a world organization to preserve and protect culture and art, and to encourage the cultural diversity. The New York rune is composed of several other bind runes. I only know about a few of those, but the most important was made to control the Chaos that happens in New York ( and if you think that there isn’t much Chaos in there… Well, just ask some of the forum members that live there )

Arjil: Hullo, I felt the need to put my two bits in as the creator of the Linking Sigil concept and the sigil itself. You do, in a sense have a particular kind of point. Some of what people do with this new magick web we are creating isn't all that nice, however, some of it is. It balances itself out. The point of all this, from my perspective at any rate, is to increase the amount of Wonder in the world- to make people Believe in something again, and ultimately to reconnect the ley-line web which has been sorely damaged, reclaim lost sacred sites, and carve out new ones to empower the world with Possibility and imagination once more. It is my aim to bring the magick back, whether it ever was or not. The Mundane has held us under its sway for far too long, the Age of Reason did its job and it is time for the pendulum to swing back the other way. This is where my path has led. For my part, I use my influence and power to make peoples lives more interesting, providing a nice balance to silenced's more... gregarious approach. I'm all about waking up spirits and prodding the sleepy magicks of the world into wakefulness, but I tend toward a less malign aspect- and that's part of the point. Each person involved in this endeavor expands the overall effect with their own unique essence and imaginative input, some is naughty some nice, some just very very odd.

One might ask just who I think I am to start such a thing?, How dare I espouse such arrogance, to think I know what the world needs? How dare I unleash such a thing?

I dare because I've had enough. I've had to put up with the Mundane's shit for twenty eight years, trapped in a prison of Thou Shalt Not's, Do Not Enter's, and Back In Your Box Weirdo's, and frankly I'm not going to take it anymore. The world at large has Earned my Wizardly wrath, and I say let the wild rumpus start!

Nayld23: Yes Arjil, I am in agreement. I apologize for the above and probably read too much into the concept. Like I said, someone came to me with some problems with it and asked me to take a look. I don't find the idea, as a utopian de-construction, "bad" at all, I am a Discordian/SubG. But, like you said, I do have a "particular point" and it might help to consider that point before jumping into any group project that has the potential to bring harm back to yourself, unless THAT is what someone intends for themselves. It's nothing really personal, but sometimes things need another point of view. You could even say that my posts above were my little "glitter bombs" to disrupt your concept a little. See it can go both ways and a third. So do carry on. I am all for poetic terrorism, I just tend to weigh the outcomes a little. Again, I apologize to you and silenced (I am not above that).

Alaudurel: Wow. To think that most of this started because I have the bad habit of carrying chalk around and talking about it... pardon the clichéd moment here, but I love this forum. The original intent here, as Arjil just stated, is not so much a global network of magic to tap into; it's a quiet rebellion, seeding seemingly random acts in an attempt to get the general population to wake up and trigger some gnosis our way. That the web has grown this much is interesting in itself, and would seem to mirror the premises of chaos in the completely random nature which this has progressed.

To an extent, yes, we are firing a gun into the air; however, from intent and what was originally intended to go into this, it's much more along the lines of a paintball gun than a .45. Someone walking along the street feels a sting, looks at themselves, and suddenly sees themselves covered with a color from out of nowhere. Is it bad? The person felt discomfort and has to wash their clothing, sure; however, their thinking pattern should be changed a bit, along the lines of "What if that was something more substantial?" We want people to wake up and think, to embrace the odd and inexplicable as well as the meticulous. We want a world where the various methodologies and mythos that comprise the premise of the forum has a standing chance in society and is not simply written off as superstition. How many people have seen a ghost the first time and had to reevaluate their worldview accordingly? We're just working to hasten that moment, and to make it more accessible. Hell, if it comes to it, I'll run down the street in a sheet screaming "Boo!"

Nightshade: Wow! Thanks everyone! I've spent the last couple of days examining my motives in involving myself in this project. I had a long talk with my friend Juan Kaotee and we set some parameters for our involvement. What do you know? The same thing has been going on here. I THINK that we're pretty much on the same page, as far as intent. I really doubt that anyone has malicious intentions. My divinations have shown that much to me. But hey, I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. This idea, in one form or another, has existed for more than a decade. I jumped in because people were actually DOING something instead of sitting around theorizing. As for my actions with Ellis, I've limited myself to tagging places that I know to be wellsprings of power and marking a lot of money. Still, I haven't tagged anything over the last couple of days because I've been dealing with some negative issues, which have nothing to do with Ellis; so I figure I won't add my bullspit to the mix.

I must say thanks again for this project. It has been the impetus for growth and experimentation. Otherwise, I would have stagnated for a good long time. It's sad, I know... But I've allowed myself to get stuck in the quagmire of day to day existence. So, at least this project has done one thing that it set out to do. Yeah... This kind of honesty, from strangers, makes me go a big rubbery one too.

Arjil: Hey Nalyd23, no cause to apologies, anything that makes us wake up and question what we are doing is a good thing, it ensures that we know both What we are doing and Why, quite empowering actually. Besides, we're Discordians *grin*shaking things up is what we do. As for weighing outcomes- yes I weighed them, and decided I'm willing to put myself at risk involving myself in this project. Of course I Am the guy who invented the game Piss Off The Bees and Run sooo...

Oh, on a side note, this little girl came into Barnes and noble the other day looking for a book on Dragons (she Really loved Dragons) I found the Dragonology book for her- really cool children's book, it's big with a red scaly looking cover with jewels set into it. Anyway, when she went to get her mother to show her I charged a crystal with some essence of Enchantment and slipped it into one of the pockets of the book. When she came back and got the book I could tell that she is going to be one interesting chick when she grows up, and the magick shall know her when it's time. It was cool.

ChaosTech: Weeeeee! Rip the foundations of reality away and destroy us all in the holy fires of chaos in order to enlighten us all! This is like setting off bombs all over the earth, some a small as fireworks and other's the size of 100 kiloton nuclear bombs, in the hopes that it will enlighten the masses to the reality of magick and somehow then change the world for the better. This is insanity. If you truly believe in your efforts, I have a question to ask of you. You claim you are opening random portals, evoking random entities, etc, into the outside world, but are you doing this to your personal inside as well? The answer is obviously no, as you wouldn't be here if this was true as you would either be insane to the point you couldn't function anymore or dead outright. I admire your passion to "enlighten" the masses, but you are acting foolish. You are spreading nothing but destruction. What polarity do you think ignorance belongs to? The creative, constructive, life, side? Or the decomposing, destructive, death side? Certainly not the life side, as ignorance is a destructive concept to life.

As far as thinking that opening both the mouths of the heavens and hells to this world will smack the reality of magick in the faces of the masses, indeed it will, but not in a way you want! Ever heard of the Dark Ages? People were more aware of the "otherworldly" than they ever have been or ever will be. The problem is that human's often focus on the negative way more than the positive, and so crazy shit like what happens in the Dark Ages happens. In essence everybody loses, ignorant or not.

Order gives more possibilities to chaos to bloom into things it's never manifested into before. Why don't you use this knowledge and fashion your own constructs for chaos to form into to spread the magickal enlightenment you desire (like write a book that will reach and bring the reality of magick to thousands), while working within the framework of the very illusion that allows us to be.

Think carefully before you execute your magick. Chaos has no care about anything, it is pure power. It only wants one thing, and that is to DO. Even the ancient's knew this. You can destroy yourself and or the world (or at least try to), or you can create yourself (evolve) and or the world. Chaos at it's core HAS NO FORM! You, I, and everything that is does indeed have form. A human absorbing pure chaos without an intent for it, is like being in a vortex. Channeling pure chaos is SUICIDE! This is what your linking sigil is. It has a channel to flow, but no program (construct), and thus intent and so is manifesting in truly chaotic ways, depending on uncountable variables of the construct that is this world which it is being channeled into.

Magick (power) with no purpose (intent, will) is not only dangerous, but foolish. As I said if you want to change this reality you have to do it within the laws of this reality, even if they only extend to this reality system and are meaningless outside of it. Also I'm not attacking you all who have contributed, personally, as you can do whatever you want and as long as it doesn't affect me, my family and friends, I could care less. I'm rather selfish in this way, but it is how I am, and it keeps me sane as the world is to big to give any more concern over anyone else. I only post this at all, to save yourself from alot of shit, if not the end of your life. Magick ain’t child’s play folks. You can get hurt, or killed, physically. You probably knew this already, you just didn't think this through. Yes order is illusion. Yes this "consensual reality" is an illusion. But so is your body, mind, and every other part of you that has form.

Strange Divine: I was the paranoid individual who asked Nalyd for some input, which resulted in him posting in this thread. Therefore, I should clarify what has prompted my concern. Unlike many of you, I live in a rather small, rural community. In these types of communities, everyone knows everyone else, and knows everything that happens. Actually, I'm a bit reclusive and wouldn't hear about any gossip if it weren't for my mother's networking skills. However, there have been several unconventional, accidental deaths in this community following my involvement with the sigil. Aside from the deaths, there has been an increased number of non-fatal auto accidents. I won't presume a link, but the possibility of a correlation is impetus enough for me to feel wary. For those of you living in urban areas, it is conceivable that you wouldn't notice increased levels of unpleasantness as quickly, or as viscerally as someone living in a small community would. It's easier for me to find out about these things.

Silenced: I've been reading & rereading ChaosTech's post. Its quite evocative I'll admit, and well thought out and presented with mutual benefit in mind. There is a cautionary note in many of these posts, and they are appreciated, but ultimately unnecessary.

Most of us, I think anyway, HAVE examined our motives. Most of us do have a focus and intent, with a mind for consequences. We know that there is danger involved, for ourselves and everyone else. We understand that there are consequences of "opening the heavens" as CT put it. Our intent is very focused, it just does not seem so until one realizes that we are focusing on something much larger than the average mage. We are targeting reality, which though much larger than any of us can possibly process, is a viable target. All of the concerns in the previous cautionary posts are things most of us have already considered. Don't think for a moment that we have just leapt into this without a care or rational examination of our actions.

The majority of us are rational, logical, and mature adults who have made a choice.

We know that we are going to be stepping on people's toes, and we are willing to do so. Besides, for the most part it IS poetic terrorism, just empowered with magick and done on a global scale (intent is global, focus is local). While there certainly are malign elements to it (since we are imposing a paradigm shift), people have to act as they feel they must. We just happen to be adversaries to the dominant worldview, and admittedly a large portion of the occult levels of society.

If there are people out there who disagree with us, that's great, diversity is a key element of evolution. If there are people out there who will actively oppose us, that's fine too, conflict is an unavoidable side-effect of life as a dynamic actual entity of change (mage). Its kind of like that Egyptian god set, he is often portrayed as a divine enemy of sorts. A god of storms that, through his adversity, forces evolution (which could easily be seen as the solidification of individuality being forced upon the masses). If a person doesn't stand up for what they believe in, even if its counter-cultural, what good are they? Each individual has to act as their own conscience dictates. Apathy is for the weak.

Thank god for free speech eh?

ChaosTech: Silenced, well it's good to know you've thought this through and are a mature adult who accepts responsibility for your actions. The only question I have to ask though, is how is unleashing massive amounts of chaos, for the good or ill of humanity, going to change the world for the better? Or are you just trying to change the world, not for good or ill per say, just change it? If you are striving for utopianism, this is impossible. Many, both cowans (non magickal people) and magicians have tried this many times in the past and it never works, as there will always be those who fuck it up.

Nayld23: Which paradigm are you trying to shift? There are literally thousands of paradigms circulating in the world right now. Some are more dominant than others but they all hold some ground being that they are paradigms. And what paradigm are you trying to shift to? Just curious.

Silenced: Well, I'm going to try to do this right, so I'll try a metaphor (inevitable result of a theology degree).Yes, the are no doubt an infinity of paradigms out there in the world. When I say dominant paradigm, I mean the idea that there is only 1 view of reality. By tearing down this veil, others can be shown that reality can be anything, to show that there are no limits. An example of the limitations I am talking about would be: Jesus is the only way. There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is His Prophet. Science is the only answers. Magic doesn't exist. Humankind's Manifest Destiny. I'm not talking anarchy or utopia, just a realignment of our perceptions towards a more fluid & kinetic reality.

To put it simply (with a few water references). Reality is a pool of water that has stagnated, we use a stick to stir it up. Reality is an aquarium full of fish dying because there isn't enough oxygen, so we churn the waters to get the tank re-oxygenated. I know it stinks that most of our posts and ideas are deconstructionist, and that we don't offer many suggestions about what to do afterwards or how to "put the world back together". Basically we are drawn to changing for the sake of change, for better or for worse. Its up to the people drawn to reconstruction to pick up the pieces and carry us into the "better tomorrow".

Bad Metaphor Warning: We are like the cowboy who comes to town to liberate it from the bandit gang. We defeat the bandits by being like them (fight fire with fire). But, like all those western stories, at the end of it all, when the dust settles and the story ends, the cowboy is either dead or rides off into the sunset. Why? Because, the kind of rough son of a bitch that can defeat a gang of bandits IS NOT the kind of guy that should pick up the pieces and help the town recover. He's just as bad as the bandits, so he has to go when the movie is over.

Did that make any sense or am I just spinning my wheels here? I guess I'm saying that I, for myself, am not that sort of healer/creator person. I was born with that stick in my hand, it is my path in life to "churn the waters". That is my karma. There are others out there way more powerful than myself who are waiting for their chance to shine.

ChaosTech: This is the last I will post on this subject as I simply don't care. As you said some will fight you for your efforts, some will support you, and some like myself will be neutral. I've decided to let the opposers and the supporters discuss this, I simply don't care. I will say this though. Fighting fire with fire in my experience only makes a bigger fire, and after the fire is out, only ashes of all it consumed remain. Out of the ashes will come new life, as long as the fire didn't become titanic and consume it all.

Silenced: Couldn't have said it better myself. A Phoenix Reality is precisely the goal.

I was told about  HYPERLINK "http://www.letterboxing.org" \t "_blank" www.letterboxing.org recently.

After visiting the site I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up one of those little $4 boxes, wood burned a bunch of personal runes into it, then the linking sigil, and left this "chaos box" on a city trail. It not only radiates chaotic energy patterns, but if it is ever picked up there is a little glitter bomb surprise tucked away inside.

I'm going to place a few more, and may just start placing them whenever I travel.

Also, we could all start letterboxing, and all use the LS as our personal stamp, thus co-opting the entire letterboxing community.

Alaudurel: I'm somewhat enthralled by the letterboxing concept for all this...it's along the lines of a project a friend of mine heralded, the Found Art Project (much along the same lines; create a work of art and leave it in a public place with a note explaining that whoever found it is entitled to keep it). Things along this line are perfectly synchronous with the glitterbomb idea; it adds a moment of wonder and clarity to a person's life, causing them to contemplate exactly what led to that moment. As far as destructive potential, yes, this could feasibly become a time-bomb of sorts; however, that is where original intent comes in. This is an honor system of sorts, trusting that those putting their efforts into it are going to follow the premise and not take the opportunity to sow needless destruction. Glitterbomb, people; not C-4. In an interesting update, the original chalkings that I did, close to a year ago, are still on the surfaces. They're quite prominent on the entryway to an administration building here in Lubbock, though completely open to the elements. The others I planted, as far as I've found, have all faded gradually; the original chaosphere and linking sigil, however, are still as visible as the day I drew them (with nothing than regular took-it-out-of-a-classroom chalk). I'll try to get a picture up, if such can be managed.

Silenced: I have seen people in the park where I live doing something similar to the Found Art project, but they have been doing it with performance art (kind of a dance/impromptu monologue). Maybe one of the more performance savvy of our number could come up with something along those lines. I've noticed a similarity in your chalking exploits to some of my own. Tags that should have withered by now have stayed visible, yet others faded within a day or two. It may be that the sigil has the potency to stand up to the elements and time thanks to the power of what we are doing and the symbol itself. Then again maybe the kind of chalk I'm using is just well suited to certain surfaces. The one staying are on brick walls, while concrete seems to shed the tag rather quickly. Ideas?

8CS: I was just wondering if anyone else had actually tried to commune with Ellis at all? It must be growing into something more servitor-esque by now. All I get is a distant sense of a random form. Vaguely humanoid but shifting around, like it was made of bees but they're not bees. More like just black dots. Any similar experiences?

Alaudurel: I find it rather odd that the sigil has evolved to this extent. We used it originally as a sort of accent along with other sigils, to link them into the network, as it were. That the sigil, in itself, has become apparently a thing of power and is, despite its relative newness, supposedly gaining a consciousness is, to me, an occult evolutionary marvel. Nothing is true, as they say.

Silenced: I agree, a most unexpected yet exhilarating situation.

Frotish Mewn: I made an attempt the other day. At first there was nothing, then I noticed a change. I saw something similar to the black dots, swarming around in a roughly globular shape. It reminded me somewhat of the Iad Uroboros from The Great and Secret Show and Everville by Clive Barker. Then it looked like a slowly roiling spheroid of plasma. Eventually I began to get a "voice", speaking slowly. I haven't done much in the way of evocation, so I'm not sure of my skill. From a brief "conversation" I got that Ellis just wants to be acknowledged and for the LS to be spread. The energies let in by the LS's are not of a positive or negative energy. It's just what it is. Ellis doesn't seem to really have any will or desire other than what I already mentioned. I got the impression that he's of a neutral disposition and can be easily directed by anyone who works with him. Can anyone else try and see if they can confirm this or share anything else. As I said, I'm not really sure of my skill in this area.

Silenced: Ok, I apologize for the crap visualization, but its the best description of what I get from Ellis. My experience of the LS web before we decided it was Ellis, was more like plugging into a computer network, like a big datastream. Now that its Ellis, when I am in contact with it I still have access to the datastream aspect of the web, but layered over it is something akin to the "Crystalline Entity" from Star Trek (nerdy, but what the hey). And it’s not as much sentient in my experience as it is driven by the impulses that we have bred into it. Though I'll bet anything that it’s different for all of us, given its patchwork creation, purpose, and sustenance.

Suppose one or more of us tags the Golden Gate bridge, or maybe the Arch in St. Louis, or maybe the Statue of Liberty or something of that nature. Would Ellis change the nature/meaning of the monument on a subtle level (thus becoming useful to us as a tool for 'mixing it up'), or would the monument simply act as any other tag point or building?

I guess what I'm wondering is, is it possible to change the meaning/significance of a place by changing its magical resonance? Extreme and near impossible example: Perhaps with enough juice, could the Statue of Liberty be transformed from having political significance to occult significance by changing its resonance? (Given that even non-mage people can be sensitive to such things?)

ChaosTech: Sense Ellis's only purpose so far is to spread. How about programming him to not only desire to spread, but do what he was intended to all along? That being enlightening people to the hidden world of infinite possibility (occult)? I would suggest programming him to do this in a positive, non harmful way to his targets, that being the people influenced by the sigils where his presence is, as a negative experience of the occult is just going to make people fear it and either deny it and or abstain from it, and or convince others to do the same as well. Which will do the exact opposite of what you all are trying to achieve. Also, a neutral experience wouldn't work either, as this would just cause neutrality to the occult and so indifference.

Silenced: I wholeheartedly agree. I for one have always pushed my programming of Ellis in that direction in addition to self-propagation. I also agree that, in general, positive workings are a more efficient approach (as wonder & mystery has more growth potential than conflict & horror). Though the darker aspects of this project still have their place, I think that most of our workings should focus on the more positive elements. However, I am also prepared to reverse my tactics should the conflict & horror aspect become the most efficient approach (I doubt that will ever be the case, but you never know). As to the monuments, most of those are generally positive icons, and it would be alot easier to channel their potency to our goals if we worked with a positive mindset.

ChaosShaman: Hey guys, I've just been looking at this thread and I am interested in how your magick is manifesting. For example, are there any 'real life' effects that you have record of? and do you consider the effects to be confined to one geographical location? Also, in terms of shadows, what kinds of servitors and hauntings have so far been produced by the technique?

Silenced: Well, the results have been subtle as to the environment itself. I put Ellis tags and other spells all over the industrialized parts of town, along the tracks, and at the abandoned train station. In several spots I have noticed that someone has placed the symbol considered by most to be the hobo tag for "untrustworthy person" near my sigils.

So they are definitely feelings its effects, though they seem to be reacting along the lines of creeped out and avoidance of the area. I feel bad sort of for spooking them, but now there is a 'strange' place on the underworld map.

I also found that the pillars under an overpass I had tagged were covered in Futhark runescript. Someone had layered over all 4 pillars (about 6ft of runescript on each pillar), blending the futhark with my linking sigil & spell. Combining to make some pretty impressive work. For the most part, I feel the magical resonance of the places I have linked to be higher, thus making my awareness, potency, and magick in general easier to work, sense, and empower. So I would say that the most important change is the increased levels of magical resonance in the environment. Making magick better for mages, and making it possible to be perceived and experienced by the general population.

Nightshade: So far it's been my experience that where ever I place the sigil, the surrounding area gets a little wyld. It's like all the long-shot probabilities get tested over and over at a progressed rate until that probability comes due. I've developed a couple of variants and I'm waiting for the right time to test them. For the most part, I've stuck to ensorcelling places that already have strong energetic qualities. As a result, I've gotten a sort of rush whenever I've tagged one of these "nodes". As for Ellis as an entity... So far, not much with the personality, but there enough to make several local spirits a little... edgy. Other Will-workers have taken notice. Most seem to have caught on and seem to be doing something similar. It seems that we're a little linked as well. Just go back and read through this thread. You'll see. As for geographical location, it really seems to link these together after a fashion. I haven't explored the implications of this to any great extent. If anyone else has, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Ceriel Nosforit: I'm using Ellis as an avatar for a forum that I frequent. I've also started drawing the sigil on money, and printed out 140 copies of it that I intend to spread around the city. There's already a lot of people here who place stickers with simple images on _everything_, but I haven't seen any other sigils.  Anyway, Finland is about to be linked.

Nightshade: OK. It's time to bump this thread back to page one. How could it have fallen away? Especially since tagging is now an almost acceptable form of expression. I've seen a lot of reference to tagging in the media. Example: Dead Like Me, a showtime series, just had the death of a tagger featured in one scene. Watch the show and you'll know why that's relevent. Anyway, I went to one of my favorite spots and decided to find out if Ellis answers simple evocations... I'm not sure if something decided to pose or if it was Ellis but I got a VERY developed ethereal response. All I can say is try it and see what happens. Until the other day, I had only had vague impressions or, like Silenced; I had "seen" lines of force.

My partner in reality crime has been leaving Ishtar eggs around. He takes plastic eggs and covers them with his art and various sigils, then he places spell components inside and the LS on paper wraps these things up. Whoever finds these artful surprises (He's REALLY very good at his Art) will know that they've found something of Magickal import. Anyone can tell that a Sigil a small candle and a mini incense stick and a couple of other goodies has to do with something mystical. Nice, huh? We've been doing a lot of strange work lately. Like tagging the state capital building and the entrance to the Governor's mansion... Hope we do some good! Finland is getting linked, huh? Cool! Ellis could use a little northern exposure. Yes, I'm grinning like a Cheshire Cat…

Jack Hectic: WHERE DO I SIGN UP???!!!

Silenced: By showing up here you just did.

I've been using a few drops of blood on some of my tags and comparing the environmental & resonance results with tags done without the blood. Now it is likely that the blood tags are more potent because on a personal level blood magick is kinda my thing sometimes, but it hit me with an idea about personal involvement. Like the reverse of the voodoo hair & nails thing. You could further empower your own sigils with bodily fluid, but it seems to me that you can 'steal' tags from others in the same way. Let's say that there is a gang tag in a certain part of town, you could (after making sure noone is watching so you don't get shot), spit or bleed on it as an act of 'taking over'. Then bend and twist the purpose of the tag on a magical level to suit your own ends. Effectively you could hook up the gang tag to Ellis, overpower its original meaning, and start force-feeding magick into gang culture. Yeah it would put some pretty intense juju into Ellis, but let's face it, alot of those guys have some real chutzpah.

Nightshade: Scaaaaaaary... I just had a dream about that last night! Well, sort of. It ended with some Latin Kings covering my back while I did a particularly public tag. Which is a bit strange. At any rate, it's a good idea. Careful though! Every crew of Kings has at least one Brujo. No kidding. Come to think of it, I may have met one in that dream. There was only one clear face in the bunch and I've never met this person in the flesh. Who knows? Dreams are... A little difficult to figure out sometimes.

I've made some personal inks for this project and have added other oils to the mix of pens, chalks and paints (Yes, the kind that one uses on the exterior of a house! Gonna use a roller too.). I'm just itching to try these out! I've just moved and. Yeah, those pesky responsibilities have a way of taking up one's time. It's a good thing I have friends who are working on this too! I don't know what I'd do without "Don Kaotee", "Juan Chaotee" and "Y. Li ChaoT". Not the most original names for a crew of Rag Taggers, I know, but I'd say we're ready to Ragnerok'n'Roll if needs be!

If anyone wants the recipe for an ink, like Dove's Blood or Bat's Blood (No actual blood in the mix unless you add your own) just let me know. When I get this new ink perfected I'll give out a recipe. The new ink burns and sparkles, then you'll never remove it without serious sand blasting! It's one of those "use with extreme caution" things. I just thought that the pretty sparkles would help me tap into certain Forces during the actual charging.

Oh! Get this: There's this empty theatre that Don Kaotee tagged with chalk. The front entrance already had numerous tags. The city decided to clean it up a bit and guess what didn't get touched?!? I've looked over the other sites and found that other tags got erased and the LS is still untouched... There are some exceptions though. Other Sigils have been left alone in some spots. I'm not sure who these other Will-Workers are but I'd like to meet them!

One more progress report: When I jumped into this, there was some SERIOUS enmity going on around my locale. Yes, I've stepped on a few toes. Yes, I've SUFFERED for it. Here's the payoff: There's been a lot less in the way of "Psychic Landmines" and a lot more of a cooperative energy going about. I think we're doing some good. I hope y'all are getting some positive results too!

Ceriel Nosforit: Linking Finland isn't going too quick, but hey, I'm not in a hurry. I'm starting out small, but keeping my eyes open for opportunities to go bigger. I figure the less friction I see getting Ellis into the environment, the less friction it will cause. I want things to run smooth, to run like music. Also, NightShade, you got me thinking; wouldn't it be interesting to do a completely public tagging, with nothing but Ellis? Say pin the sigil up on a billboard while passers by were watching? The tagger would do a lot of emotional charging if they usually do it discretely, and the direct attention of people should be beneficial aswell. Silenced, that's quite an instrumental approach to Ellis. Much like how yours truly approaches everything in life. Naturally, I like it.

Iamu: I just figured I'd let the record show that I tagged the link sigil in the perfect spot at work today (I'm in North Jersey, if anyone's keeping on eye on the geography of the net), and about a minute later while talking to a co-worker, I felt its energy kinda slam me in the side of the head. I'll spare ya the laundry list of corroborating little incidents, but let's just say that, overall, today definitely smacked of chaos more than usual. I'm gonna tag up a couple of "thin places" in my general area right now... I'm curious to see how the fields in these spots will react.

Nightshade: Thin places... Nice term! I have a "soft spot" for creative terminology. Totally let us know if you get some hardcore results. Ceriel Nosforit, A public audience for a tag? Whoa! Around here, the laws are such as to make that kind of risky. Since I've done a few under video surveillance (sp?) I've learned the subtle art of disguise and the not so subtle art of full on glamoury. So, I like it! "Juan" mentioned us rappelling off an interstate highway bridge and doing a really BIG tag (dressed as scary clowns) so... Maybe we'll do it. Or something like it. It's the get away that's difficult. Getting caught would suck in the worst kind of way! Oh! and definitely take your time! Well, I'm off (WAY off) to DO some of these things instead of sit here and write about them.

Ceriel Nosforit: It doesn't have to be done illegally, but dressing up as scary clowns does definitely sound a bit too fun an opportunity to pass up. Say you managed to get Ellis on a big sheet of paper you could pin it up on the bulletin board of a local supermarket (Around here, every grocery store has a bulletin board.) - If someone asks what it is, you can say you don't know. (A child sees a bird, learns its name, and never sees a bird again. Label Ellis and the mystery is taken away.) Maybe you've seen the tag around and was hoping you'd find out what it means? Add an email address and the adventure begins. Anyway, it's very easy to hide in a crowd. Act suspiciously and one is suspected. And acting dumb will get one out of the tightest spots.

Pax Noctis: Add Long Island to the list. I work in and around a lot of school, and I have sidewalk chalk out the wazoo. Who better for curious, active energy than kids? I've also taken to using the Linking Sigil in my nightly, Astral energy work, essentially dumping as much free energy as I can into the system. Hail Chaos.

Silenced: Well, finally bought my tickets yesterday, so now its official. Me & Ellis are going to be in Washington DC for the election, (actually flying out election day so I can get back home to vote).  I can't say that I'm arrogant enough to think that my actions alone could change the outcome, but every little bit helps I suppose. I feel compelled to jump in with both feet and mix it up. Besides, choking the seat of our government with the linking sigil + other assorted magickal acts is going to be empowering, entertaining, and hopefully effective. It seems to me that all eyes will be in that direction, so why not go for it?

Nightshade: It's good to know that someone is thinning the veil at Long Island. Silenced, I'm sure you will take advantage of the Capitol Hill layout. The Temple-like "floorplan" is kind of perfect for Magickal Operations. Although it's design says "Order, Order", we all know that the "Founders" all had a thing for throwing revolutions and not just here in the US. I'm sure they’d like whatever you've got planned. I was telling a friend how Street art and tagging is now in the mainstream consciousness and made mention of it here too. The next day I picked up a local publication and the front page has the title "Let us Spray" and an article that was pretty neat. Funny how that works, huh? Well, I've got work to do (Mystikal and otherwise).

Son of a Montage: Silence, you should dress up in a suit and tie and hand out Bush buttons with Ellis on his forehead. Make sure you have your hair slicked back. I'm sure you can come up many different ideas. This should help:  HYPERLINK "http://www.rtmark.com/index.html" \t "_blank" http://www.rtmark.com/index.html

Nightshade: I went to tag a significant crossroad and guess what I found there? A sticker for some union election that says: Elect ELLIS President of ..." Part of the sticker was missing. Now how could I not tag that spot? So, just above the sticker is a nice phat tag and all the State office people are going to catch a glimpse of this every day. I'll be continuing to infuse the spot with a special imaginative energy. Something to get folks dreaming on a more conscious level and remind them that there's more than just the banal world of office drudgery. Hope it works!

Frotish Mewn: NightShade, you posted (One more progress report: When I jumped into this, there was some SERIOUS enmity going on around my locale. Yes, I've stepped on a few toes. Yes, I've SUFFERED for it. Here's the payoff: There's been a lot less in the way of "Psychic Landmines" and a lot more of a cooperative energy going about. I think we're doing some good. I hope y'all are getting some positive results too!)

Can you go more into this? I'm very curious about how you suffered and what action you took to change things in your area.

Nightshade: OK, most of the "Suffering" I speak of is really the pangs of RAPID and somewhat uncontrolled change. I learned with a quickness, that one doesn't just slap places with a Sigil and not have any specific goal in mind. Yes, this is elementary I know, but I had to see what Ellis did on it's own. For awhile, it was as if the Universe itself abhorred my existence. I had a lot of strange and dangerous incidents for about a month there. Things LITERALLY fell apart around me. I think that I posted some of those results. Among them was the speeding up of probabilities, like car accidents (Like 12 in one week--All within a block of any given tag). Doubt can hurt... A lot of things changed on me before I got MYSELF together and started reworking the environment.

Then, came the almost immediate attention of several other Will-workers. Some were just curious and left Signs of their own and others reacted with mistrust and hostility. So, there were things left at spots that weren't so nice (Counter Magick signs wrapped around copies of LS with dead birds and other stuff left in paper bags is one example). As I said, there was already some enmity among local Practitioners of differing Traditions. I devised several variants of LS. One in particular helped a lot. It's LS, but in place of outgoing "arrows", I made "X"s. For me, this symbolized a Stasis. My intention was to "Lock out" such influences from the Web. These "StaticX" LSs were then scratched into Black Stones (jet) and left where ever I encountered one of those "Psychic Landmines". Sure, this in no way weakened a given spell meant for specific targets but it did keep the effects from anyone working with Ellis. These activities died down a lot within a couple of weeks.

By this time, I had drawn others into the project. Some have more time on their hands than others. So, Variants of the Sigil are cropping up everywhere and in more bold locales (I'm hitting a local monument in front of a Police station in the NEAR future). I've actually watched a couple of spots and seen peoples' reactions to this. I've listened to a few comments as well (Never letting them know that I had anything to do with it). Folks are curious about tags like this and why it's obvious that more than one person is responsible. "Is it a cult?" "Is it a new gang?" "Who or what is 23Skadu?" ...And best of all, I've watched as OBVIOUSLY Occult minded folks point out these Marks to friends (Including one acquaintance of mine pointing out MY OWN work to me!).

Most productive of all, are the "Ishtar eggs" that one of my buddies makes. They are lovely to look at. Filling them with the trappings of spell-work was my idea. I've painted shoe boxes and other containers and filled them with the components for whatever type of spell I felt like casting along with a nicely drawn Ellis Talisman. Then I stash these in places and wait for someone to find them. They don't know exactly what they've found but they know it's of an occult nature. Essentially, they cast the spell just by examining the contents. This goes TRIPLE for someone who DOES know what they're looking at. So, I've made sure that most of these spell-kits are geared towards nice things. I feel it's lessened the paranoia 'round here. Essentially, we've let them know that even if there were a new Cult in town, it means them no harm. If anything, I'll bet there are a whole bunch of people looking to join. So, maybe they'll just have to start their own cults and if they're cool; maybe I'll join... HA!

With the exception of what's said here and conversations within my little Cabal (If you could call us that) anonymity(sp?) is key. We're just doing our thing. Others are beginning to do similar things. Like I said in a previous post, Graffiti has suddenly become VERY popular in these parts but gang related incidents are down. Not bad for 4 months work, huh? Gotta go for now, but I'll post more about this all later. yeah, there's more...

Visceral/Spagyrical: I burned a CD of books in .pdf for a friend of mine--also an occultist. In addition to the books, I included a .jpg of the LS, so that he could use it if he chose to. He copied the info to his hard drive and immediately contracted a nasty virus that prevented him from running certain important .exe files. The both of us thought the virus was somewhere in one of the books on the CD, so we both scanned the CD, but found nothing. Personally, I think the LS was the virus, but I can't exactly prove that.

Arjil: Just out of curiosity, do you mean virus as in a strictly computer related way? I mean, there's the whole "spirits in the wires" thing to contend with, but if you got it either here or on the marauder site, unless it got hacked and messed with, it wasn't the LS. I made it in paint and wouldn't know how to attach a virus to it even if I wanted to.

Now, manifestations of chaos and net gremlins could easily find their way through the LS into a computer- which is precisely why one should have their computer Warded *grin*

Oh. and Nightshade- Nice. That's what I'm talking about.

Visceral/Spagyrical: No, I'm saying the LS brought a little Chaos to my friend's computer.

Ceriel Nosforit: This may not really be topical, but some may be interested to know that there are people out there who spend an great deal of time and effort on scanning and analyzing data from the entire net. I don't know what they are looking for, and the only reason I know that they are doing this is that someone reported an obscure bug (in a piece of software used for scanning) that only shows up when scanning absolutely insanely huge selections. Moral of the story: People would hardly be looking if they did not suspect there was something to be found. There may very well be ghosts in these machines.

Visceral/Spagyrical: When you have millions of people logged onto a mainframe that they're unconscious is convinced has life (for example, this forum is a gathering of PEOPLE rather than just text on a screen), that mainframe is bound to change one way or another. It's kind of like the mainframe created by the LS. Each LS is a little computer connected to one big web.

Nightshade: Seriously, the Cross was taken by a pragmatic church that made it their own. I've no doubt that the LS will be inherited by those who come after us and it's meaning and power will evolve. It has already. Ellis, is becoming more... Palpable in my experience. Anyone else?

OK... Just how many servitors have been tied to the Web anyway? I met one recently and it was of great help. Thanks to whomever created it! I really needed the extra cash! So, if you're walking along and should "See" an entity pushing along and it shifts direction and come right up to you, don't freak out! The one I mentioned above (Who shall remain unnamed here) was in the midst of a big whirlwind. Which brings me to:

The truly neat discovery that our collective servitors may be able to travel ANYWHERE along the Web, independent of our knowledge. I had never really considered this before a couple of weeks ago. Also, Servitors that are tied to the Web seem to be able to manifest with greater ease than others.

I'll have to describe some of the variants to you. As I'm not sure how to post pictures. So, here they are (The main ones anyway):

There's the "Closed LS" which is a couple of pages back on this thread. I've come to think of it as a Grounding LS. Instead of it Radiating Chance, it seems to draw it in. Thus, making that area more "stable". When there's lightning flashing everywhere, it's good to have a grounding rod, somewhere. There's the "StaticX LS" as I mentioned before. It's been used to "Lock" things out of the Web.  Then there's one I haven't really named yet... Each of the Arrows have been replaced with an "Ing" rune. You know, the Futhark letter that looks like a blocky double helix and represents replication anyway. I've used it in this way:

Take an object from the surroundings of a place you are about to tag (Stones, leaves... Whatever is "tied" to the place). Make your tag and make this cloning(?) variant on the object. Touch it to your tag and leave. When you get somewhere comfy, set the object down and KNOW it's connection to the tag you just made. From that location you may Charge the original...

I suppose you could take a picture of your tag and use that as a connection when Charging From Afar, but I don't own a camera. So far, it works pretty well for me. I'd really like to see how these work for others. So, get out there and personalize your environment, experiment and please tell us all how it went!

Bread Sandwich: Ah, I have the sigil now. At work, I was doodling sigils to bring about some glorious but unspecific future change. I am beginning to see a plan forming.

Nightshade: A few days ago, I had a strange experience concerning the LS. It's happened once before: I kept having the sigil "appear" and flash bright in my head for no reason that I could discern. Connection? Then again, I went to my favorite node and found that someone had taken my banner down (I had guessed this). They didn't trash it and they left it face up. I knew someone would eventually mess with it. There ARE other people who "Work" there. Last night, I honored the Hekate there and left little Offerings (And put the sign back up). I'm gonna make a better sign for the spot. The spiritual activity there is gone beyond what it was. One of these days, I'm gonna have to meet that Witch though. As the garlic left at the node, is mirrored in the garlic that someone planted on the corner of where I work. Well, it's time to do some things. I hope everyone keeps on changing their world for the better (Or worse if you prefer-- Just don't tie us in to it, please).

Son of a Montage: Yeah, so did I. I was minding my own business while I had a hangover and all of a sudden it flashed in white for a couple of seconds in my mind's eye. It was pretty bright and surprised the dying hell out of me... I laughed and recommenced with my minding my own business.

Silenced: As I mentioned in a previous post, I went to Washington DC this weekend for the express purpose of stuffing Ellis down the throat of our great country's governmental center. Yes, I specifically waited until the night before elections to make my move (mostly for the timing/magick, but also plane tickets are oddly very cheap for this weekend). I've only been back home for about an hour, but had to let everyone know the gist of what went down. Just to let you know what you jolly folk can now reach out and touch via Ellis.

Constitution and Bill of Rights - I traced out the LS sigil (security didn't arrest me for pointing and gesturing oddly). Left a servitor to keep things powered up and going.

Department of Justice - Traced out the LS sigil on the steps of the building and another at the door, also left a servitor to keep it up.

White House - Jumped in the air to snap off a branch of a tree growing in the compound (if its good enough for pagans its good enough for me), and used it as a connective element (wand) to trace out the sigil while at the mid point (facing the front door directly), left a servitor to keep things going.

So there you are, the door is wide open, do what you will.

Nightshade: We put up fliers (Using metallic colors) of LS with messages like:

Elect

Loyal

Lucid

Intelligent

Servants of the PEOPLE!

What did we expect? We started too late and did too little. Oh well. Don't matter. Silenced has opened the door and maybe we should use it wisely. All is not lost or if it is, then we're totally free (Like we weren't anyway...). I'm thinking of writing a page or so on the subject of "Marauders" as reality deviants. I intend to propose some wacky things and maybe take the sting out of our "paradoxical" activities.

Molikroth: Hehehe. After seeing these glitches and general screw-ups in the election, I'm seriously beginning to wonder now -smirks- I don't mean to drag up a dead and/or dying topic with the concept of the Ellis/election day link, but it is certainly becoming something to think upon.

Mauschen: I taped the linking sigil to one of the main printers at work. An hour later a huge disaster happened with the Christmas catalogues that were supposed to go out. ( I work at a bindery that distributes local newspapers and flyers). Basically everything had to be re-printed as somebody wasn't paying attention, and printed the wrong labels.

about 3 hours of extra work for whoever it was that messed up. Also, I taped them to the switchboard, and almost straight away the complaints started coming in. It was unreal. About 70 in an hour and a half. The odd thing was, nobody removed them. they were in clear sight.

Phasianidae: Oh, sweet. I've loved this idea since reading Douglas Rushkoff's MUST-read for this sort of meme-dissemination, called "Media Virus!" I need to buy it again, I let my copy get messed up somehow. Such a slob. It should be in like its third or more printing, since it was written about late 90s or so and probably has more tech-wise and social (post-Bush) sort of slant now, at least a new intro, probably. Even if not updated at all yet, it's incredibly pertinent and I offer it as a manual for this delicious new future hobby of mine.

The very term "glitter bomb," like "smart drugs," or "Marilyn Manson" - [so named for Charles Manson, Marilyn Monroe, Light Dark, etc, if you don't know] - is a "whatthe?" for people to stop. It's a form of Magick. Take two things that seemingly don't belong together: Soccer + Mom, becomes "Soccer Mom." Now they're called (the meme has morphed to fit the times) "Security Moms." Note how impermanent and adaptable the best memes have to be. The idea is you want to make them STOP and go, huh?

Instant subconscious "infection." Ideally, anyway. Good mages will be less susceptible, usually. "Normal" people don't even think of psychic/spiritual "Security," they're vessels waiting for a purpose. Might as well utilize them before your enemies do. Here in NYC there's an area downtown where there’s a black or white marijuana leaf apparently spray painted perfectly neatly on traffic light bases, I believe. Every so often you see it again. These "leaves" have become, only somewhat consciously so far, my sigils in a sense, as I'm a devout worshipper of She whom I shall call "The Goddess Sensemilla, the All Knowing, Mind Blowing," the Spirit of one of people's favorite potentially spiritualizing plants and pastimes. They remind me how I'm walking in an area where she is otherwise not allowed to be enjoyed (cops in vans just waiting for potheads, ooh, the threat to society...). Awesome thread, I checked the site out. Great stuff.

Nightshade: So, I'll mention this one more time: From my experience, LS by itself and with no other spell/intent can be very dangerous... Most of us have probably noticed this. When placed with another sigil, it works just fine. It seems to push the probabilities over and over until the one you intend comes up. Simple. Left alone, it just pushes probabilities... The entropy level goes WAY up. Don't believe me. Seriously. Don't believe me but if you want to see full-on matter pattern disassociation, just come on over my way and watch. So, once again, LS makes for a powerful link and helps us to create massive change but if it's left alone; that change will be uncontrolled. Interesting, yes! Dangerous, that too! Keeping these things in mind, it's still a powerful tool. Just don't burn yourself out too fast. Ya Know? I'll be happy to create an essay or two. Maybe even write out some of the more insane exploits. I'd get input from some of my friends but we don't talk much at this point. It's a good thing. Well, one of them... It's not really a good thing. He got himself thrown in a nut-hutch.

Visceral/Spagyrical: The best part about this willy-nilly kind of magic is that you can actually change peoples' lives simply by plastering graffiti at the entrance to your social supermarket.

Mauschen: Something weird happened at work last night at 9pm. I had stuck a few of the linking sigils around my desk last week and had forgotten about them.

Then this morning a co-worker (who was working late) tells me that she was walking by my desk and she heard music. She looked around to see if the computer was on. It was off. I have no radio. and she even checked inside my drawers to see where the noise was coming from. She checked the whole freaking office but she said she could only hear the music when she was standing at my desk.

Bood Samel: There's a few spots in Philly I'm gonna put the linking sigil up in. I'll make a stencil of it. First over at the abandoned oil refinery I spoke of in the thread I started. Also in this one alley. In center city Philadelphia there's this alley called Moravian St. that runs sporadically across all of down town. But there’s a good stretch of it that runs from 18th St. to Broad St. (Philly has no 14th, Broad is 14th). It's an ugly scar of dead space surrounded by expensive stores and office buildings. Over the past month or so I've been putting up art in this stretch of alley. The whole run of it has row after row of dumpsters which are really good to wheat paste on as they have smooth surfaces and people don't really care about them. I'll let y'all know how that goes and take pictures of it for whoever wants them.

Drop and River: I am formulating a book of sigils and other chaos related visual magical implements, and I have made the Linking Sigil of Ellis the first sigil. I also have Skavan's and some one of the sigils from the sigil housing project (the one to enhance magical ability), and am about to draw in both of Izabael's sigils, along with some of my own. The Linking Sigil is giving the book a decent energy boost, and as soon as I activated it the book just *felt* different. Just another addition in the World Wide Web of Ellis Chaos lol. This is going to be interesting.

Silenced: I recently watched the movie 13 ghosts for the first time and there was an element to the movie I thought might be useful to us. There was a part in the movie where one of the characters is creating a massive binding ritual using etched plexi-glass and a souped up gyroscope. The interesting part was that the character was using pre-recorded ceremonial magick in conjunction with his own spells. While I have been toying with the idea of integrating such things into my own practice, that got me to thinking about doing this with Ellis.

The idea is that one of the more computer savvy people here could write a program that would call up a graphics window and draw the linking sigil over and over, like a screensaver. If we could ad that to the marauder site or other sites, anytime a visitor opened the site the program would run in a window somewhere on the site, effectively casting the sigil right there in front of them. Think about some of the sites out there that have many thousands of hits a day. I'm no hacker, but the idea makes me want to be.

Thoughts? Reactions? Is this possible?

Drop and River: That would be awesome and would probably work. I also was bored and an idea came to me: get a map (globe is better) and charge the Linking Sigil on Ley Line Nexuses (sp?); the Chaos could float along with the energy in the line like a chemical drifts with water. Yes, some sympathetic magic must be used, but it is very doable.

Nightshade: I think there are a bunch of Spirits, Servitors and Others already traversing the Lines. I mentioned meeting someone's Servitor and it helped me out. Funny thing is, many appear willing to answer to the name Ellis. They are still "Themselves' but the connection is there. In Voodoo, there are Families of Spirits. One may call on Eshu/Ellegua and any number of Spirits who are in the Family will answer.

Oddly enough, I got Glitterbombed and it's fitting to this conversation:

So, I'm walking along with one of my Associates; we're talking about our Workings and planning some real nice ones and there is a box on the corner. We check it out and see that there are some cool things in there. Note: It was left under an LS tag. It's dark out so we decide to take the whole box and examine the goodies at my place. On the way back to my house, I start humming the theme from "I dream of Genie". It turns out, that the contents of the box had an "Alladin" theme... There was magnetic jewelry, gemstone beads, Art supplies of all sorts and a whole bunch of Aladdin toys (Mostly the Genie). Basically, we were given things that will aid in some VERY cool Glitterbombing activities. I won't be lacking Glitter glue or metallic pens and other neat stuff for a while. Next day, I'm walking to work and I can't help but hum the "Prince Ali, Fabulous He, Ali Ababua" song from the film. What do you think I found? A doll of Aladdin and next to him is the cape accessory that makes him "Prince Ali"... This was nowhere near the other site. Now, I have a good guess but I'll ask: Which one of you has tied one of the race of Djinn to the Web? Because that is SOOO cool!

Silenced: Ellis Island. Odd, I think, that such a place, with such a name, is a symbol for the hope of freedom and a new beginning. Someone has to tag this.

Pedero: I have always been a fan of this. I believe we should throw everything we got at Them, and run away before they notice They were attacked! You'll definitely be finding Ellis sigils in Mexico City.

Molikroth: Mwahahahaha I friggin love it! -drools and grins- On a side note: Perhaps the law of sympathy could be brought into play here? Nothing big, really...But I was considering a map of the Vatican and slapping Ellis right on top of it...Possibly at the Pope's lil party palace -grins evilly- Could make life entertaining.

Drop and River: I think that if you put the LS on the large nexuses of the Ley Lines, AND put it on the Vatican, you are going to have some interesting results. BUT remember, a lot of orthodox religion goes on there, which will in turn end up spreading into our "web". Do we want that energy to mix with our pleasant chaos?

Silenced: I think the idea of using maps to generate magical results is a fascinating idea. You could focus the power into the actual physical/astral reality of those locations via the map. Maybe even take a map and "redraw" it with the LS sigil incorporated somehow. It might be worth it to slap the sigil on maps in gas stations & bookstores, maybe a person following an "Ellis Map" would find themselves led into adventure and magic. We could print up our own maps, pass them out to tourist for free.

As to Nightshade's comments on spirit magick. We could all work on creating a few magical entities and sending them into the web, populate it with beings as it were. It might further complicate Ellis, but why not? It would be sort of like God and angels/demons, they are servants/bonded in some fashion to their God, so Ellis (be it he/she/it/they/pure energy/manifestation of unified field) would be the oversoul that guides these entities who exist within

Arjil: Oh! I just had a thought! Anybody here do astral work? Somebody should go a-taggin' on the other side of the fence.

Molikroth: Arjil-smacks himself in the friggin head- Gah! Why didn't I think of that!? That is such a cool idea! -grins- Which gives me many, many nifty theories and ideas of my own...I'll get back to you on the astral stuff once I sort them all out.

Silenced-That would be rather cool. I'd assume that the spots which are glitterbombed would be marked on the map as some sort of ultra special attraction (along with the usual haunted spots, pre-existing or otherwise). Maybe a little faux history surrounding the glitterbombed sites?

DropAndRiver-I've been mulling it over and it seems you are right...That sort of stuff could, theoretically (no way in Hell was I testing THAT), infect Ellis...So maybe if an additional servitor or two were placed nearby... Perhaps one (or both, if need be) programmed to turn the existing energy neutral. The other - working under the assumption it hasn't been used - could be programmed with turning the neutral juice towards making life more interesting while Ellis does it's thing. Now then, the servitors could be made vampyric, or they could just feed on something like lust (That'd be real fun...and real easy...to introduce into the Vatican) or maybe even have them go solar power o.o;; I don't think it sounds too bad, but it's my idea so naturally it sounds good to me, no matter how stupid it really is.

Frotish Mewn: I went to NYC today and had some fun. When I got there I connected to the mind of the city and asked to be shown wonders. I ended up walking down this block loaded with magick and opportunity. Above the entrance to one building was a Chaos star, which set me in action. While I didn't leave any physical LS's, I did hook Ellis up to a few point starting with the Chaos star. I hooked him up to greenman-like faces on the building fronts. One that seemed almost too good was a picture someone had in their window. It was the head of the Statue of Liberty with a massive beehive hairdo, and it said, "In the pursuit of life, liberty and big hair" or something close to that. When I hooked Ellis up to the pic, I saw in my mind's eye the picture's eyes glowing. Whatever magick is going on in that block is now part of the web. I did hook up a few other places, but none had that air of magick to them.

Silenced: I was wondering if anyone had any cheap method of making rubber stamps or any sort of stamp really, maybe paraffin? The idea is that we could carry around an inkpad & stamp kit, with the LS sigil, a Solomnic Seal, or a chaosphere, and tag things that are not normally accessed by paint or chalk. I'm thinking about stamping money when we have it. Going into offices and quickly stamping the first 10 forms in the stack while the receptionist isn't looking. Stamping any IRS form you run across, or maybe even hitting all of those Christian & politics pamphlets circulating about. Maybe stamp books in stores, like all of their bibles, every copy of the davinci code, and the inside jacket of every book on wicca out there.

8CS: Because my magick theories often revolve around 'urban' landscapes and areas like dumps, abandoned buildings, train lines and bridges etc., I’ve started using all my old transport tickets. leaving them around like maybe someone could use them, or half sticking out of the machine like I bought one but didn’t grab it from the machine, etc, but when you flip it over its got Ellis, another sigil, and a little drop of blood.

Lotic Trance: Okay, I have no idea how I could have missed this thread for so long, but it's kicking my ass. And I've only hardcore read the first 3 pages -- I swear to Eris I will go through the rest. I've got the linking sigil on some dollar bills I'll be spending tonight on coffee, cigarettes, etc. I've got an extra buck tucked away in the back of my wallet for the tip jar at work, complete with sigil (total fnordage of the entire hotel, it'll be great). Monday nights -- apropos enough, today! -- is an open mic/slam-style poetry gig at a local coffeehouse to which I've been going for a good six months now, straight. It's gotten so that enough people really like my style that I'm one of the few that manages to get everyone's attention -- and the applause proves it, I'm not just being a bastard. I'll work this coming week, or maybe even later today, on working up some verbal sigils, since spoken and written word is what I'm good at, and project those mothers into the crowd next Monday (which will be a VERY highly charged night, as two friends I haven't seen in over a year will be here for it). I'll let you all know how that goes. Also, the bathroom there, at the Acoustic Coffeehouse, well, it's graffiti-prone, and as such two walls are painted black and they have chalk in there for our enjoyment. I'll probably drop some stuff in the middle of bigger text, and make off with some chalk to wreak havoc across eastern Tennessee and southwest Virginia, heh.

Also, I caught that bit earlier by v/s about alchemical tattoos. My first tat was a stylized, chrome, almost graffiti-looking Eye of Osiris, and my second and recently healed is a rose, tearing through the skin. I've got a bunch of ideas on what to do with my sleeves (once I can afford it, ouch), including some sigil work. The process of getting it put on would be enough to charge and release it, all at once  INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.occultforums.com/images/smilie/icon_wink.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET Especially since I'm so freakin' skinny, heh. I'm not totally sure how I'll come up with spoken word sigils; I'm thinking I'll work with a phrase and possibly turn it into a Sanskrit-sounding mantra or dharani and work that in at some point. I'm sure I could just break down the composite connotations of whatever intent I'm using and scatter that through the entire poem while I reach a more feverish pitch, and climax with some drastic change to make people forget.

Arjil: You should look into the concept of neuro-linguistic programming. Also I've found that if you're speaking the words yourself, you can infuse the words with magick- kinda like The Voice from Dune. It's the bard trick. I suppose what you could do is create a sigil to do *something* and bind it to a specific word, or line in a poem for example, or an entire poem now that I think about it. You'd have to craft your sigil then recite your line over and over whilst empowering your sigil until your subconscious accepted that series of sounds to mean that particular sigil. Funnel your magick through your voice as you recite it and the sigil shall be cast. You could also use a shape poem, I'm sure you've seen the poem about a coke in the shape of a coke bottle- same thing, craft your sigil, then write your text in the pattern of the sigil, and scribe the magick to the text with your voice as you read it, that would be a good one for a scroll of multilayered enchantment.

Nightshade: WARNING: INSANE RANT FOLLOWS! I keep saying to myself "Maybe I should take a break from this" or something to that affect and then, I get about a dozen opportunities that very same day/evening. Some of these just can't be passed up. So I do it and the thing is, I'm incredibly pumped up when I do. Physically jazzed, zizzed or maybe it's Zos'd...

When I say that I just can't pass these up, I mean that they're just too tasty. For instance, this evening, I'm wandering home and find the perfect little area that is viewable only to a playground for an afterschool/daycare centre. I just HAD TO DO IT: tomorrow morning, the kids will all see some stars (Pentagram and a few others including the Unicursal Hexagram and a Chaos symbol) a Moon and of course, LS. The printing says: YOU ARE MAGICKAL

On another angle of this whole thing, someone has set a couple of stumbling blocks for me. I'm not worried. They have an idea of me (Erroneous as it may be) and they probably know that I'm a little... Quickly and therefore (im)possibly dangerous. It's Strange because they didn't outright deface the Sigil but they wrote a little something to counter it: "No! F@<! him and his world" .... What the?!? You know? Anyway, it's funny how the weathering removed most of their message but left Ellis intact...

The word "NO" was still there and bits of lettering but nothing really distinct. Of the letters that were left, I re-wrote their statement as:

"NO

THING

IS TRUE"

They can stick that shiite in their pipe and smoke it.

I'm not surprised that I'd get one of these Autumn Dust Children to screw with me a little. As "Marauders", we tend to piss in a lot of peoples' cornflakes without even meaning to. By virtue of our very Essence, we erode the very Foundations that so many are addicted to ( I have my little societal addictions too. Internet anyone?). What we do has been called by some "Petty Terrorism". OK, I can see their point. I have an open-ended reality system (like most Marauders). Seriously, we do tend to go for the "Larger than Life" Effects. We're more at risk of Blowing our own Minds too. Oh well. Let’s talk about Terror for awhile, shall we? You know that I'm grinning like the Friggin Cheshire Cat, Right?

My Tactics tend to be rather light as far as "Terror" goes. It definitely has its place but I'm not going to use PSIchologickal Catastrophe as a tool without a damn good reason. Because, if you get down to it, our more extreme methods could be called thus. No one need ever suffer any physical threat to be Terrorized. As "Awakened" or Illuminated Beings" (Or, more accurately, those with a broader view of the Terrain) we are above that. If you think about it, the True Goal of a Terrorist is profound change. They want to spread a message and they want to get as many people to feel the effect as possible. They want Media attention. To do this, they cause terror by making people unsure and afraid. You with me? Unfortunately, these assholes all think that they need to use murder as their chief method for doing this. NO! Who the Hell is going to care what your message is, if you go around blowing things up and killing people? In the eyes of the world (My World) these people are damaged material and couldn't possibly have a point (even in those cases where originally, the counter-movement had one). Silly fools! Tricks are for Discordians.

Is there a point to all this rambling? I don't know... Terror tactics should only be used to make people feel uncertain about things and want to know why things are going wrong. They need to reflect on what's happened and ask "What the?!?" Scare them until they crap themselves? YES! This can be done in a fashion that actually causes them to laugh when they realize that they're ok. People have a tendency to do that. If the situation leading up to the Reality Breakdown is strange and ultimately humorous, they'll pick up on any hidden messages you left as clues.

Use your Imagination!

Before you know it, you've got people looking into things they would otherwise never have even dreamed of.

Or, better yet...

Get them ALL to start Doing the things they've always Dreamed...

CLOSING STATEMENT

Well, that’s about all I’ve got. All of my secrets, all of my truths. See you after the jump.

"The Shaman: So liberating is this state of being in the Universe that the shaman, upon realization of his own existence, begins to undergo deep seeded changes corresponding to his perception of the world. The confusion manifests freedom, and everything at once becomes possible for him. His eyes grow defiant, and his will grows strong. Following the path of least resistance, he may shed his false skin and be reborn as himself. It is not an easy journey, but a powerful one, and at the end, there will be a party and cake." --- Frater Sheosyrath

Table of Contents

LITERAL & MYTHICAL REALITY

HEALTH

EQUILIBRIUM

XENOGAMY

MAGICAL ACTIVISM

TACTICAL MAGICK

Introduction

What is Tactical Magick?

Hermetic Influences

The Basics

Magical Senses

The Logris

Shields

Spell Trajectory

Hot Spots

Occult Machines

Ouija Boards

Subverting Reality

Crisis Energy

Omnimancy

Magical Combat

Magick by Rote

Working with a Group

The Toolbox

Expanding Worldview

POST-MODERN MAGICK

LIBER I Introduction

Introduction

What is Post-Modern Magick?

The General Perennial Principles of Magick

Free Form Magick

Hermetic Magick

Magical Will

The Logris

The Astral

LIBER II A Post-Modern Grimoire

LIBER III Reality Hacker

NEW AEON: Theoretical Analog for Fundamental Change

The Program

Righteous Hacks

The Market

Portfolio

GOTH

Magick in the Dark

The Track List

The Marauder Underground

Reality Deviant

Arsenal

LIBER IV

BLOOD MAGICK

Initiation Threshold

The Source

The Six Pillars

Application Sacrifice & Significance

Ritual Magick

Symbols of Power

Remote Viewing

Shapeshifting

Grimoire Blood Amplification

Spells

Roots Medevil Magick

The Flagellant Processions

The Little Apocalypse

TOY SOLDIERS

The Marauder Underground

CLOSING STATEMENT