Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic (Occult Studies) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

You may have noted that all the other reviews of "Condensed Chaos" (at least as of this date) are by practitioners of magick, so their concern is whether the this book helps them advance the state of their art. If you are a non-practitioner, as I am, you might wonder what this book is about and whether these folks are really serious about this magick stuff or whether they are putting you on. Well, here's my take on "Condensed Chaos," from a non-practitioner's point of view.

In brief, if you took a ballpoint pen and crossed out the word "magick" on every page of the book, you would have terse but comprehensive outline about what you need to do to assert your will in world. The secret is to maintain a clear intention of what you want; when this is absolutely clear, all of your actions naturally work towards your ends. However, maintaining a clear intention is easier said than done, since your brain, which was originally designed to help you climb down from the trees and throw rocks at small mammals, is not so good at dealing with life off the savannah. Much of the book is about the necessity to discipline your mind so that you can achieve this clarity of intention (plus some techniques for doing this). There are also techniques for tricking your mind, so that it lets you do what you want without it getting in the way.

I was surprised to find myself thinking, "Yes, this all makes sense" for most of the things he talked about. For example, he describes creating a sigil (a magical symbol) or a mantra derived from statement of purpose and then focusing on the sigil or mantra rather than the statment of purpose. My take on this is that the sigil is form of subliminal suggestion. Many times when you try to push yourself into doing something, your brain pushes back. By focusing your brain's border patrol on a sigil, however, you can subconsciously evoke a suggestion, sneaking it in through the back door.

So, where's all the spooky stuff? He doesn't spend much time talking about this, although he has one interesting story about a friend and him talking to a shadowy figure on his stairway, then just walking away from it when it couldn't give a convincing account of why it was there. I had the impression that it was not really important whether you achieved your ends through normal or paranormal channels. So, even if you don't buy into occult stuff, you could still make use of what he has to say.

What makes "chaos magick" different from other magical traditions is that it embraces all traditions---a kind of Unitarianism of the occult world. It also does not take itself too seriously; humor is an important component of its practice. For example, the magical servitor that helps you get through traffic is visualized as a cat on a skateboard. There is some tie-in with chaos theory, with he notion that brain activity turns into macroscopic effects in the world (the "butterfly effect," doncha know), but I get the impression that most of the stuff it embraces (fractals, quantum theory, etc.) is more important for its metaphorical impact than for any purported theoretical grounding.

Condensed Chaos opens by describing magic as being about change, not merely the "Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will" Crowley spoke of, but a more refined version, describing it more in terms of liberation, saying "Through magic we may come to explore the possibilities of freedom" (pg. 11). Then moves into a brief history of chaos magick, from A. O. Spare to Crowley to Carroll to Eris and Discordianism, laying the groundwork for chaos magick as we've come to know it and how it got that way.

Six "Core Principles of Chaos Magic" are outlined, the first being "Avoidance of Dogmatism'" while somewhat ironic in a list of "core principles" is a common ideal, and indeed few chaotes would contest these points. The fourth principle especially, "Diverse Approaches", is another reoccurring theme in chaos magick. As Hine sagely notes: "If you use only one magical model, sooner or later the Universe will present you with something that won't fit your parameters." (pg. 25) Though he also recognizes that "Chaos Magick not about discarding all rules and restraints, but the process of discovering the most effective guidelines and disciplines which enable you to effect change in the world." (pg. 26)

While liberation and freedom are possible, it does not come without possible consequence, as described in the section on dangers and pitfalls. Hine covers many of the possible hazards of magickal practice, detailing what to look out for and what to avoid, adequately preparing the would-be practitioner as much as possible, or at the very least, letting hir know what might be expected, and how to recognize signs of idiocy. Sensibly, he does this before getting into discussion of techniques, and even advises taking breaks as needed.

Hine uses numerous cute acronyms, such as 'C.H.A.O.S.', 'D.R.A.T.', 'S.P.L.I.F.F.', 'A. P.I.E.', etc. to abbreviate formulae and concepts, effectively making them easy to remember.

Instructions are given for servitor creation, programming, launching via various methods as well as practical examples for servitors successfully launched in various workshops and lectures. It contains relatively few straight rituals, mostly suggestions and comments, taking information approach rather than an instruction manual which force feeds information. Hine stresses flexibility without seeming wishy-washy, or being overly ridged, effectively maintaining that fine balance between the two extremes.

One thing that did annoy me was the over-emphasis given on how one appears to others. Adapting yourself to suit others to give in to what they want to see in the hopes that they will perceive greatness in you, while the method may work, why anyone would want to do such a thing in the first place? Pleasing the outside world to please yourself doesn't sit well with me, perhaps it's the years of reading Objectivist literature or hanging out with Satanists, but it did made something in me twinge. Fortunately, it's not a dominating feature in the book, and does stress self-evaluation and trying to maintain an honest view of oneself.

This is definitely a 'should-have' introductory text covering a wide variety of topics from the practical aspects of magick: dream recall, sigil, servitors, etc., to the more esoteric theories and suggestions as to why things work the way they do - and why not. An excellent introduction to chaos magick, and magick in general.

I'm sorry to say, I expected much more from this book.

As another reviewer already mentioned, Condensed Chaos is actually a re-print of a previous, and in my opinion, far better work by the same author called, "Oven-Ready Chaos." I guess by "condensed" he meant to say, additional comments inserted and added on to a pre-existing work.

The confusing aspect comes from the differences in demeanor the author displays in combining the two works. In Oven-Ready Chaos, his writing style is cohesive, comical, and entertaining. Light-heartedly poking fun at "established" forms of magical practice and dogma. In short, it's a great read.

In Condensed Chaos, the book is jovial one moment, and harshly critical the next. It starts out with a wonderful introduction to Chaos Magic and how "Nothing is true. Everything is Permitted." And suddenly changes tone, for instance, when dictating how to create and launch a servitor in very specific, "this is how it's done," terms.

Still, there are aspects I really enjoy in this book. The summoning of GOFLOWOLFOG, the spirit of smooth travel and overcoming traffic jams is a hilarious and useful example of Chaos Magic in practical application. Unfortunately, this is the exception and not the rule when it comes to Condensed Chaos.

Most of it seems to be spent on a method of addressing personal behavioral or emotional problems by labelling them as "demons," and then dealing with them in a variety of ways, as seperate entities within the whole of one's psyche.

I'm sure some people would find this approach helpful. However, when the author sites as one example, a situation in which he exorcises a personal anger demon associated with a fellow co-worker, by calmly, directly, and quite seriously threatening them with bodily harm, I can't help but wonder what happened to that jovial fellow who first wrote Oven-Ready Chaos.

And while he seems to take great pleasure in bashing "New Age" philosophy, which is fine by me, it seems as if he might actually gain some benefit from attending some fluffy little class on communing with dolphins or whatever. After all, as the author repeatedly states, any Chaos Magician worth his salt should be able to adopt and find value in any point of view. Seems to me he could use a little quality time with his Inner Unicorn...