Some typical questions about magick:

1) Is there such a thing as "Black Magick?"

Yes. And no. In my opinion all magick may be considered "white" in that it springs from a Divine source. However, it may all be considered "black" because it is concerned with the invocation of Divine power to serve personal desires. Arthur Edward Waite remarked that "There is a magick behind the magick" and what he meant was the Divine Will always triumphs over the will of any magician, so a successful spell, white or black, represents the harmony of individual and Divine wills. Or you could say conscious and unconscious thought.

Certainly, there are magicians who think of themselves as black and those who think of themselves as white. As we shall see, color-symbolism plays a huge role in magickal operations, but I find it useful to divest symbolic colors from any moral connotation. You may feel differently. Magick has often been referred to as the "Dark Arts" and as Jung pointed out this has a lot to do not with its moral capacities but with the manner by which occult information is most often transmitted and occult knowledge and results gained: out of the light of normal, everyday life.

2) Do you need special robes and ritual gear to do magick?

No. Magick can be performed without any implements whatsoever. The common vision of a magician in robes standing in a pentagram with a pointy hat has been and may be still true for some Ceremonial magicians. But, no, it is not necessary to have this stuff to do magick.

3) What is the "Necronomicon?

It is a fictional book in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, one which is often mistaken for an actual occult treatise and spellbook. Yes, Lovecraft and the "Necronomicon" play a role in certain quarters of the Chaos-magick crowd, but not in my particular corner of the world.

4) What is the Law of Occult Silence and aren't you/we breaking it by having this discussion?

The Law of Occult Silence is not something that is commonly admonished by occultists to other practicioners, but it should be. It pertains to the discussion of specific rituals and specific results only. It does not pertain to theory or to general discussion of practice or implements.

In other words it's ok to share a spell you created or have had good luck with, but it is potentially hazardous to say: "Hey gang, I am starting a spell now and I'll be back later to let everyone know if it worked." Even worse is to start "bragging" about results you have had; in some extreme cases, when the ego gets too out of control and the magician no longer recognizes any limit to their vanity or power, it can be of lethal consequence.  Mostly though it just causes your spells and other operations to flop. 

Why is it bad to break the Law of Occult Silence in regard to specific rituals and specific results? Simply put: it's a form of "breaking your concentration:" as if a golfer stopped in the middle of their swing to say "Look at this!" and then went on and hit the ball anyway!

The more your operations and spells are brought into the light of ordinary life, simply put, the more they lose their magickal capacities and that includes spells that have already been cast, even if they seem to be working. Try not to become egotistical or too-talkative about your specific practices and results and you will experience far less "backlash" or outright failure from your magickal operations. A rule of thumb: it is good to reveal and share knowledge; it is perilous to claim it with exclusivity as your own.  

5) Is there such a thing as "sex-magick?"

Yes, we'll talk about that a little later!  (But it's a lot duller than you may think!)

6) Is magick evil?

Absolutely not. You are engaged in ritual and magick whether you are conscious of it or not on a daily basis, so how can it be evil? Any application of individual will, be that writing a great novel or just baiting a fish hook, consists in some ways of ritualized concentration and that is all we are talking about here.

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.

Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.

Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence.

All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

Principles of Chaos Magick

The following characteristics distinguish Chaos Magick from other major branches of modern magickal practice such as Wicca, Ceremonial Magick, Thelema, or Witchcraft.

1) Chaos Magick is open-ended. There are no rules; merely underlying theories and assumptions.

2) Chaos Magick is a primarily pragmatic interpretation of magick, rather than an esoteric interpretation of magick. It's more important to produce results and act toward producing them than to perform ritual or ritual magick for its own sake or because of arbitrary refrences to Holy Days, seasons, or custom.

3) Chaos Magick is highly-compatible with modern scientific theories such as quantum physics and makes free use of association and ritualization of these concepts and theories. However, it is not necessary for any practicioner to be familar with or make use of science or quantum theories.

4) Chaos Magick wants to be modern, that is: it is acceptable (even encouraged) within its framework to make reference to contemporary culture, art, literature, and even movies and TV within the framework of ritual or spellcasting or divination. It is of course not necessary to do so.

5) Chaos Magick is highly usable by the individual and requires no coven or church or group to realize its potentials. It is also perfectly at home within the context of a coven, church, or group, but it is not mandatory that a Chaote have any reference point for their workings other than their own knowledge and the knowledge they attain through their magickal studies and, most importantly, through their magickal practices.

6) Chaos Magick is considered to have descended from the magician Austin Osman Spare. Without a doubt, Spare remains the best source for knowledge of Chaos Magick in its "classical" form and his writings are both extensive and readily available. That said, it is not necessary for any Chaote to read Spare's works or, in fact, have any interest in Spare whatsoever.

7) Chaos Magick refutes the idea of occult leaders, prophets, or any form of hierarchical interpretation of the magickal consciousness. There are no messiahs in Chaos Magick. 

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

(An Aside on ReverseSpeech)

I want to add a few thoughts about the Jimmy Page/Led Zep "Toolshed" connection, here. It has long been posited that the "backwards" messages (most notoriously found on rock songs) in pop culture are the result of wilfull "backmasking."

This is absurd in my opinion. However, the recent discovery of the "reverse speech" phenomenon by  Oates furnishes a highly-credible counter-theory to the existence of the huge number of backward messages in recorded discourse and entertainment.

In light of the reverse speech connection, I would posit that Jimmy Page, in fact, did purposely and consciously select a "take" of "Stairway to Heaven" that contained spontaneous instances of reverse-speech, most pertinently the "backwards" intonation at the very beginning of the backward-played "Stairway." However, the backwards speech, including references to Boleskine House's oratory as a "toolshed," were not "backmasked' onto the track consciously. For many years I've wondered whether Page even consciously knew the reverse-speech instances were on the official track of "Stairway" (before someone angrily accused of him of worshipping Satan!) but then I realized he probably did, in fact, due to Crowley's urging of magicians to listen to phonograph records backwards. And well, he, Page, had a hyper-modern studio in Boleskine House to do precisely this, with recorded Led Zep tracks before they were put on the final record!!!! 

As such, the track "Stairway to Heaven" can be considered a magickal operation: reverse-speech owes it's discovery and serious, scientific contemplation to the existence of alleged "backmasking" on popular records. In effect, the "controversy" of Stairway to Heaven led to the discovery of reverse-speech, which if seriously regarded, certainly qualifies as a communion with a "Higher Consciousness" one which in effect can expose humanity's hypocricies and lies to the light of day. This could be world-changing knowledge which moves us all closer to illumination and truth. But it is knowledge and self-revelation which has previously been part of the "dark" arts. Easy to follow the progression if you posit at some point reverse speech being brought to the same light of conscious understanding as say, race or gender relations, are now.

Thus, Page is truly channeling the "Lucifer" archetype in some ways bringing Light and knowledge (threatening and destructive to the ego) which I think explains why so many people feel threatened by the idea of reverse-speech and/or the backwards messages which are alleged to be found in certain pop-songs.

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."

"Art is the celebration of the ego's destruction."