Mar 18, 2011

Chaos Magic & Order Magic

A very intelligent read to a very important form of magic, one that is the set if a play, the tools to build it, the paint, the flats, the costumes, rather than the actor who needs to be in the correct environment to do her/his job.

Here's the article written by Garden Stone.

Here's an article written by witchvox.

As Garden Stone explains in the first article, chaos magic is the ability to do free-form magic that is neither right, wrong, black, or white. It is the ability to create the "set of the play" and perform magic in any environment. Traditional magic such as rituals, candles, herbs, crystals, goblets, athames, and the like are seen as the actor. It is proposed that an actor needs a set to do her/his job, therefore needing an environment, which represents the tools, candles, rituals, etc.

Chaos magic is the ability to use ones inner energy to manifest, shape, form, and bend the universe based on how much we believe in it.

The term, in itself, sounds pretty cool, or even pretty dark to the easily-frightened. In actuality, the term has much more significance. In the article, Stone explains how chaos has a much more simpler meaning. It refers to the ability to be spontaneous and have no shape, form, or system, hence why this form of magic doesn't need a particular environment or set. Magic, in its definition, implies action being done at a distance, or actions occurring due to non-normal means.

There are, in my own general research and opinion, advantages as well as disadvantages to either forms of magic.


Advantages

Order: Systems which give people a sense of stability and sacredness. It is seen by some that this takes much longer to do, but generates much more energy for the practitioner. In this form of magic, most have come to realize that energy is abundant from earth, the elements they are incorporating, and their bodies to act as a type of generator, allowing energies from external sources to pour into them and transfer into the magical manifestations that they are trying to achieve.

Chaos: No needed traditional elements to perform magic, needing no particular system or set organization. Many chaotes have come to realize for themselves that this is the most effective magic because it's generally very easy to do for them and you need no preparation. This is a form of magic that resonates well with a person, it's much like wine in the sense that it has an acquired taste, but once it is acquired, it makes sense to them (The same could also be for order magic). It's seen as a very quick way to manifest magic rather than long psychodramatic rituals found in order magic. This form of magic can be done any place where there's a you in sight.


Disadvantages

Order: Needing traditional elements to perform magic rather than the raw energy of one's own will power. It typically takes longer and needs to incorporate external energy sources as well as mostly inspired mindsets, which can be taxing on the body's available energy. This form of magic can't be done most places without external elements. Some order rituals can be very psychodramatic in that a lot of preparation and drama is needed to actually manifest something that will not simply dissipate by the many forces in the universe.

Chaos: It is often hard to wrap one's mind around the fundamentals involved in chaos magic. It's definitely a very esoteric subject, and it's typically not for everyone. This form of magic makes it very important to its mages to study and constantly find new ways to do things that already have set rituals; things can be difficult sometimes. This form of magic is very chaotic in the sense that it has no set system and can be performed without any sense of knowledge of a ritual or blueprint; you don't need really any preparation. This can be taxing for someone who resonates more with order. Some are not as creative, and prefer traditions, which seem easier to them.


How magic actually works: 

It is very important to understand how magic works before even trying to manifest any type of energy into magic. There are many steps to take in order to perform magic because it's a very powerful force in this universe. When we actually create magic, it will go off into the universe if it's long-term or it will go off to affect things on the earth if it's supposed to be more immediate. Many magicians will always experience the never-ceasing-to-amaze-and-incense magic that never comes true. You work so hard to create a package and it is shipped off and it never reaches its destination. Why is that?

Magic is an intelligent energy, a type of thought-form manifestation that we have created. Where does it actually "go" when it goes into the universe? Maybe it goes into the complex layers/dimensions of the universe that govern our world on a various cause/effect chain reaction that will eventually reach its way back into the 3rd dimension reality that we inhabit. Maybe that magic never even sees that dimension or higher plane and stays right on earth. Not much information, at least in my shortly numbered years of studying the occult, is available for this kind of thinking, but I do know that magic works solely off of intention, belief, and proper handling based on one's knowledge of what they were trying to do and the used methods.

Some magic doesn't work and I believe that if more people were educated on the occult, how magic works, what it is supposed to do in the universe, and how it can be created, more beautiful things can come out of its grandness. I find it important to learn and study so when things like big natural disasters do come around, we'll all know how to properly and effectively conduct our rituals/spells to help the people/areas affected. Magic is definitely like a product in the sense that you must first think of what the product will be, what it will be made out of, what it will look like, how it will be constructed, how it will be shipped, and where it's going. All types of magic require some general sense of a plan, but as with chaos magic, it's generally used to do very quick things that don't require much planning.

I haven't delved into using chaos magic for much more important and grand reasons, I've only used it so simple tasks that I could manage without using ritualistic order magic. Such as sending a telekinetic ball of energy (psi ball) to a friend for her to IM me or tracing protective symbols on my body when I fear something bad is going to happen, or sending energy to follow someone to morph into a type of energy that has emotion transfixed to it such as luck, love promotion, healing, etc. When I have more complex things to accomplish, I definitely bust out the candles, the herbs, and the crystals. Some complex things that I have done are helping myself to understand things inside of me, help heal myself, cleanse areas or entire houses, expel negative forces, exorcise houses, charge negative wards, etc. 

There are great tips to manifesting the right magic that will fully accomplish the intent that you have sent out. Some tips are: Keeping a focus and trying to keep your thoughts that will tamper or taint your intentions, doing magic or setting up rituals in spaces you are comfortable in and without any disruption possible, not telling many people about your spells/rituals as not to "take away" from the energy you sent out, having a prepared plan of action, and knowing your stuff. Chaos and order magic have their own tips, but these are general tips for general magic.

Now that I've covered how magic works, let's get back into the discussion about chaos and order magic.

With order magic, one uses external elements, which can be cumbersome to someone who prefers chaos magic. Say one wants to send a burst of energy to another person via psi ball to tell them to look over at them in a large noisy crowd, someone who prefers order magic would have a difficult time achieving this. To make a point, we all use chaos magic in some small or large form. As for order magic, not all the time. Chaos Magicians mostly utilize sigils, symbols, or runes to help manifest energy to become magic, and Order Magicians use not only that, but also external things such as candles, statuettes, incense, herbs, etc. Chaos magicians don't necessarily have to use these symbols, but they're definitely an option.

The main focus of chaos magic is to use whatever means necessary to help one believe in the production of the actions that they are trying to manifest.

This is very important and must be contemplated and seen through, or else there is no manifestation. Chaos magic relies solely on one's own energy, not external energies. This can be an issue for the magician because often, it requires a great deal of confidence, which many have seen as arrogance or having a haughty attitude, and as Stone in the first article says, it is much like how an artist has to dramatize his/her brilliance in order for people to care about his/her work. Order magic, doesn't necessarily depend on one's own energy, which can be great.

Once you start it, it sometimes can't be undone and it's very hard to reverse. This obviously can have its own consequences that are either good or bad, depending on the intent of what the person was trying to do with magic. If the order magician suddenly gets lazy or loses track temporarily, they can rely on the fact that they can take a quick breather and keep working on the ritual at hand. As with a chaos magician, if concentration is broken, it's almost as if that person has to start all over again. It can be cumbersome, which is why much studying is involved in chaos magic, and I don't want to spread a misconception that order magic is easy and doesn't require much studying, because that isn't true. Both require lots of studying and both magicians are subject to backlashes, repercussions had the ritual/magic gone wrong, and negative consequences.

Both must be taken seriously.

I've found that most typically prefer one over the other, and I have also found that combining the two are also just as equally powerful. Ultimately, it truly depends on the person's personal choice. The great benefit to order is that it's a set system and a person doesn't have to try to come up with innovative ways to do magic in the absence of other sources that have their own energies. Some chaos magicians could say that they find it difficult or even cruel to take energies from other sources, but then again, most magicians have an ethical code which requires them to ask these sources for their energy and participation in rituals. Some like to be as creative as possible and can't stand order, and some enjoy order and its stable and reliable systems and can't imagine life without it.

Although these two are the most common, there are other forms of magic to be accounted for and definitely not forgotten about---Blood, animal, sun, moon, other celestial bodies, necro (energy of the dead), bones, spirits, plant, soul, life, etc. These different types of magic have their own rules, laws, and advantages/disadvantages just like order and chaos magic, but that's another discussion.

In my experience, there is no right/wrong way to perform chaos magic (only a right or wrong intent), and in essence, magic is the ability to manifest energies from our will power that will go off into the universe to affect our world indirectly. Obviously, order magic has a set system and must be studied extensively so one "gets it just right."

Magic is not a visible spectrum of fascinating phenomenons of lights, wind patterns, and temperatures. This isn't Harry Potter or something out of a superhero comic book, like Fantastic Four. Magic is using one's energy in the way that they see fit to perform actions that they could otherwise do conventionally.

Each time you consciously send energy to heal a friend's sickness, each time you pray for the welfare of your friend while traveling on a plane, each time you wear a four-leaf clover symbol for luck, each time you light a red candle to lighten the mood during a romantic dinner, each time you meditate to balance your chakras, each time you do a psychic reading, each time you feel the many energies of earth, the sun, the moon, and the universe.... this is all magic.

There is so much to learn about energy manipulation. Some methods are truly archaic and obsolete. Nonetheless, depending on which type of magician you feel you are, it's a great feeling knowing that you can change the world around you with esoteric steps such as studying magic, the occult, and arcane wisdom and metaphysics. Magic is meant to be very intimately personal and it works solely off of how well you know yourself. It's very important to love the self, believing in your abilities, have confidence, have a good self-esteem, know your morals and ethics, and trust what you know. This may not seem like brain surgery to some, but it does to many others who take energy manipulation seriously.

The reason I actually wanted to discuss this was to educate uninformed/confused people on energy and how it can be used and manifested. I know that many people here agree on energy manipulation and the power of the mind as well as its abilities to manifest the world around them based on thought. I hope some have found this to be helpful and have gained some great knowledge to take along with them!

Namasté

Mar 1, 2011

My latest project

For the past few weeks, I've had my hands full with designing my very own card game. It was only a few days ago that I realized I could probably make a deck of cards using my 60 runes, or better yet, create a complex RPG board game with Zanguin and my language. Could it be done? Who knows. Sounds like countless nights up until 5am on the computer and drawing board for months (let's just stick to one project at a time).



My recently-finished project (thank goodness) was writing that novella, called Time. I haven't really touched it since November 30th and I plan on fully reading it some day soon. Right now, I want to write a long, long journal, but I'm sure that I'll just be writing about something that I've recently wrote about anyways, so why waste the paper? I also wanted to write in there the poem that I typed up this afternoon, but I'm too lazy, so I'll post it down below.

I buy my journals from Borders, which apparently is closing quite a few stores in Michigan, so I better stock up in case the big C is filing for some type of bankruptcy asap. According to NewYork Times, they're $1.29 million in debt. Poor Borders. I will miss them and their fashionable way of presenting things, after all, they were a Michigan company. This state was full of so many great things.. and they're all just tumbling downhill.

I don't understand why people hate Michigan so much. Everyone that I know wants to move and "get out of this hell hole." Is it because of Detroit? Probably not, but let's hope it is so that we can all take a big healthy nod and wipe that bit----- 0:-)

Any day now, my game, Producio, is going to be finished and I'll begin finalizing things and getting it ready to sell on the market. Wish me luck! Only time (I know somebody reading this will get why I giggled right here) will tell.


Reduced to minutes

Reduced into minutes,
A long appreciation of how to systematically place words,
Words that aren't even your own.

Put onto a long forum without hesitation.
Line by line construed and taken quickly,
Each line reduced, but the meaning just the same.
Each line reproduced, by the stern hand that writes.

I feel as though this is my life.
As the minutes are written by,
The words are only processed and put to the lines.

No true sentience or heart left to resonate,
With the soul that belongs to that hand.
I am a note awaiting to be filed in dusty droors,
And my voice with no demand.

And on that forum, the deep emotions from my lips.
Are taken for poor words without quips,
No one to regard this language as anything but simple.

I am a doll, a reproduction of society.
Nothing more to see here and nothing more to comprehend.
A majestic, plastic face which all disregards the voice therein.

They have seen something similar like me before.
Change the hair, the pants, the jewelry--it's all the same.
A face that everyone has already seen, so they expect what they have seen.
Maybe one person won't take me for a joke within a crowd.

But this is the plea of my reduced words.
To a society who has always seen and heard.
A repetition of the same production shuffled through the system.

No one will ever take in what I have to say which is so deep.
No one will ever hear the seriousness in the voice that I display.
I am reduced to a mere taking of notes, I am reduced to minutes.

When in my time will these hands finally see,
That if only they'd put down their pens,
And stare into the heart that lies within my soul,
That there is compassion, and so much to know.

Then maybe once, when one eye is to mine.
The rest will pick up and listen to my spirit, line by line.