From:    Joseph Max                             Area: MagickNet
To:      Rain                                   16 Jul 97 22:54:00
Subject: learning the basics                    UpdReq 

... From center stage, Rain declaimed eloquently to Desperado ...
RR>  You might consider doing some reading about Paganism before
RR>  you go any further with trying to learn spellcraft.  There are some
RR>  basic skills, procedures, safeguards and ethical rules that are
RR>  very, very important to keep you from hurting yourself or someone
RR>  else, and it's also important to dos some thinking about *why* you
RR>  want to learn magick, and how it will change your life and your
RR>  psyche.  (It will, you know, in ways I doubt you can presently
RR>  imagine.)
And now for a differing viewpoint...
Magick is not _inherently_ bound up with Paganism, or any other religion. One 
can approach spellcraft as sheer technique with no moral baggage attached to 
it at all. It's a TOOL. A hammer can be used to build a house or tear one 
down -- morality has nothing to do with it. "There is nothing good nor evil, 
but that thinking makes it so", as Hamlet observed.
Magical practice can be dangerous, but so is driving a car. In my experience, 
no one who is basically free of serious psychological problems has "hurt 
themselves" with magical practice, any more than a person who is basically 
free of physical problems has hurt themsleves learning a martial art. So 
don't let anyone scare you into following their moral system.
Magic can have powerful effects on one's psyche, but usually only if it is 
specifically directed to do so. RELIGION certainly does, and Paganism is a 
religion. So if you approach magic from a Pagan direction, the religious 
angle will end up influencing your magic, and you will likely experience 
effects such as described above. But that's NOT built into the practice of 
magic TAKEN BY ITSELF. Magic and Paganism are not inseperable! In fact, in my 
humble opinion, religion and magic are directly antagonistic to each other. 
This explains why there's so much "danger" involved in approaching magical 
practice as a religion. The problem is NOT the magic, it's the religion!
If you want to learn some effective magical technique WITHOUT having it tied 
to any particular system of morality, try:
_Condensed Chaos_ by Phil Hine (New Falcon)
_Practical Sigil Magic_ by Frater U.D. (Llewellyn)
_Secrets of the Sex Magicians_ by Frater U.D. (Llewellyn)
_Visual Magick_ by Jan Fries (New Falcon)
_Stealing Fire From Heaven_ by Steven Mace (private)


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From:    Joseph Max                             Area: MagickNet
To:      Magick                                 16 Jul 97 22:15:00
Subject: The Liber Kaos                         UpdReq 

... From center stage, Magick declaimed eloquently to All ...
MM> Hello. I was wondering if any of you owned or had read a
MM> copy of  _Liber_Kaos_ by Peter Carroll. A friend of mine has
MM> recently  recommended the work to me. He was talking about a
MM> circle of 9  spheres connected to this book. Quite frankly,
MM> I have long been  interested in magick theory in any form,
MM> even if it isn't one that  I practice myself. Good example
MM> would be my friendships with a few  followers of the Left
MM> Hand Path even though I most definitely do  not follow it
MM> myself.
MM>
MM> Thanks for the help.
You're probably referring to "The Eight Colors Of Magic", part of Carroll's 
_Psychonomicon_, which is included in the _Liber Kaos_ publication. It's also 
available on the Internet, from Lysator's archives, I believe.
Actually, it's a "circle" of 8 arrows, each one representing one of the seven 
classical planets plus "Ouranos", representing the "trans-Saturian" planets 
collectively.
Each arrow has a corresponding color, and a particular area of magical 
interest, as follows:
RED - Mars - Aggression
ORANGE - Mercury - Thought
PURPLE - Luna - Sex
YELLOW - Sol - Ego
GREEN - Venus - Love
BLUE - Jupiter - Wealth
BLACK - Saturn - Death
OCTARINE - Ouranos - Magic
This system describes the basic magical paradigm used by the Illuminates of 
Thanateros (IOT) order, also known as The Pact, which was founded by Carroll. 
Each type of magical endeavor falls under one of the catagories; for example, 
sexual workings are called "Purple Magic".
Some of us who use this system regularly also designate a "9th" color (though 
this is not in Carroll's original conception) of Earth, usually brown, that 
is placed at the center of the circle. The distinction between this idea and 
what is usually associated with "Earth" in most magical systems is that it's 
not meant as a "grounding", but rather as a "centering"; a position from 
which any of the other eight directions can be taken. I personally like this 
idea -- it fits in with a heretical idea I once had: if one is practicing 
magick aboard a spacecraft, which way is "east"? How does one "ground" if the 
nearest ground is thousands or millions of miles away? Magic tradition is so 
very "earth-centric" that such questions make people's brains hurt...
I wouldn't call the system "dark", but actually pretty neutral. "There is no 
good nor evil, but that thinking makes it so..." -- Hamlet
_Liber Kaos_ is still in print, available from Weiser Books.

- J:.M:.555


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