Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Temple >

Magick, Ritual, and Virtual Reality

19:21 / 11.02.03

Does anyone have any interest in how Virtual Reality spaces fit into the Chaos Magick universe, or how these spaces could be used for ritual? How does VR compare or contrast to consensus reality, or aetheric reality?

I'm working on a project attempting to translate magick & ritual into a 3D virtual space for online workings. I'd really like to hear any ideas, concerns, shortcomings, possibilities, etc., that you fine folks may have about this topic.

01:12 / 12.02.03

Definitely an interesting question.

There were projects like this going on in San Francisco maybe 7 or more years ago - Mark Pesce and Tony Parisi (?sp?) were working on VRML and both had (at the time) a serious technopagan bent... I have no idea what the current crop of technopagans is up to, would love to find out!

I think it depends on what you want your focus to be. If you want real-time group ritual in an online environment, one place to start would be some of the web-conferencing stuff that's out there - not so much the web-cam stuff, but maybe an adaptation of group "whiteboard" tech. Another possibility would be to adapt a platform from online shooter games or MUDs...

The possibilities could be fantastic. This is an interesting place to apply "As above, so below." And, of course, VR could be the perfect stage for the next generation of narative hypersigils. Imagine The Invisibles taking place in the environment of Snow Crash's Metaverse!

16:43 / 12.02.03

Thanks, iszabelle. I really like your thought about Invisibles-meets-the-Metaverse. As far as VRML goes, I know Pesce was into magick and paganry and attempted to create some ritual spaces. Unfortunately the common level of technology wasn't really up to the level necessary to make VRML work.

To reveal one of my fiction suits, I work for Adobe on a project called Atmosphere. It's basically a world builder & plugin wich allows you to embed a 3D space inside a web page. We use avatars and chat to enable community. This is my job and, as cool as it is, it still draws me away from my spiritual/shamanistic/magickal path. So I've been trying to find a way to bring the magick into my work and use this tool to create "hyperspaces".

I've played around with building altars and temples, but I'm finding it difficult to create more than just a space. I thought of doing an interactive divination tool, like a Tarot or I-Ching oracle. Or random media feeds from around the web streaming in as audio/video. Not sure.
I like your idea of a whiteboard as well (that's something we've been thinking about for Atmosphere...).

Hmmm...

09:10 / 13.02.03

There is a place called the garden of forking paths, in a MUD I think, where you basically wander a maze until you reach the end, where an I Ching hexagram is described, determined by your journey. VR divination? I will find out where...
I think VR is more mutable than consensual reality because, well, you consciously create it. On the down side it is therefore less consensual, and arguably less real. I love the idea of building a VR sanctum that people can visit, that would be great. Snow Crash Invisibles- yeah...

trouser the trouserian

09:59 / 13.02.03

Chris
I've thought for a while that a VR/multimedia approach to say, the correspondences in 777 or maybe even a more personalised memory-associative tool (i.e. for Sandalphon one might have a dolphin perched on top of a pile of sand) would be interesting projects. I think it'd be great to move online interaction away from text towards objects.

Just been reading a review of "Impossible Creatures" & wondering if that kind of 3d-morphing could be used by some clever bod for creating servitors, or building up telesmatic images.