Common Pitfalls in Chaos Magic

[Webmaster]

Disclaimer: Obviously this is just my opinion. If I were saying it was set in stone, it would be…

1. Too much dogma

Even though “no dogma” is one of the main points of chaos magic, you see this all too often in magicians. Sometimes it takes the form of a single holdover they can’t shake. Other times it comes after a long period of exploration in having no dogma when they feel like that period of freedom has allowed them to learn the “real” truth. Hell people even take the books about not having any dogma and treat them like dogma. Either way you see a lot of dogma and it’s not doing anybody any favors.

2. Not enough dogma

While you aren’t supposed to have any dogmas you hold onto in your permanent meta belief system, you are supposed to be using temporary belief systems (belief as a tool) and some of those are dogmatic, which requires you to go learn about them. I know it can be boring, but you have to learn the rules before you can break them. Go learn something and try it!

3. Sigil-itis

Sigils are one of the first things you learn. Please won’t you try a second thing instead of just only doing those forever ? Learn some rituals. Invoke something. Evoke something. Make a talisman. Shift paradigms. Pathwork. Shadow work. Fucking tarot even.

4. Magus-itis

Yeah yeah, you’re a God, we know. Don’t let that ego get the best of you.

5. Discordianism

Haha, sorry discordians. I kid, I kid. Yes the meta system allows you to use any other system, but to paraphrase Jeff Goldblum “you were so preoccupied with whether or not you COULD, you didn’t stop to think if you SHOULD”. You should be doing the things you are doing for a reason, to get the best result. Not just because they are wacky.

Did I miss anything?

[Digger]

I can totally see falling into the sigil trap. It’s a deceptively simple technique.

[Krelleth]

“My karma ran over my dogma”

Magus-itis, imo, is one of the ways you fail to negotiate Chapel Perilous, as you perform the amazing magic trick of disappearing up your own arse

The dogma problem is not so much of a problem if you are aware of your dogmas - magic requires a belief system to function - that’s how you get deep inside your own brain - the key is that it doesn’t matter what the belief system is; all you have to do is believe in it at the time you do the magic. That’s why a book that I always recommend, especially to chaos magicians, is Konstantin Stanislavsky’s “An Actor Prepares”. It will teach you more about manipulating your belief systems and creating a framework for a magical act than almost any other book.

And the purpose of Discordianism, whether the Discordians would agree or not, is to open yourself up to all possibilities, to make connections you wouldn’t normally make, through paradox and humour. After all, isn’t hearty laughter a form of gnosis?