Now that we've (hopefully) got all the aggression out of our systems relating to this subject, I thought I'd start a new thread to discuss some of the issues raised.
The first question is: why does exclusionist behavior come about amongst magical practitioners? Why do people bash Wiccans? Why do Chaos Magicians often position themselves in the elitist camp?
I think it all comes down to the magickal path as a fashion choice. Magick certainly has it's trends and fashions, and over the last 10 years, if you wanted to be a part of the cutting edge futurist occult scene you would probably gravitate towards CM, as it's the new and exciting thing.
This has been the case for quite some time now and I do think it's high time for some constructive backlash. Not because I'm trying to tout anything I'm doing as 'the way forward' (TM) but because I think it's healthy to pick apart the paradigms we're working under from time to time and identify potential flaws and pitfalls.
Leading out from this would be the question of whether or not we think CM will come to be replaced by something else as the 'hot' new paradigm/path to get into. I personally think it will. Just as Al Crowley was pushing the barriers in his day and hadn't anticipated Chaos Magick coming along and making Thelema seem old fashioned, I think Chaos Magick will eventually come to seem dated and very much a product of it's time, to the generations of magicians who follow us.
Which is why I think it's interesting to speculate about what new forms might evolve from the current magickal climate we find ourselves operating in. Where can you go after Chaos Magick? For awhile I speculated that the next permutation might involve a heavier dose of science perhaps becoming a kind of techno magick, working at the quantum level, incorporating specialised jargon from the world of physics, enchanting occult objects with dark matter, and so on. I played around with this for a bit and eventually came to the conclusion that I was really just using a different, more scientific, terminology to describe basic processes that the magician/shaman has been doing for centuries, albeit using different terminology. The techno-magician who penetrates the 10 dimensional super string to charge his occult apparatus with shadow matter, isn't really doing anything different from the shaman who travels into spirit to get his power object. All that's changed is the language.
Whilst I think magic and quantum science still have a lot to offer each other, I'm not convinced that the next permutation of magick's evolution will be so simple as an adoption of a new terminology.
But does magick actually evolve? Is the next question this all raises. I'm not so sure it does. If we look at the various trends in magick that emerged in the last century during the 'occult revival' , Thelema, Wicca, Chaos Magick, to name a few. The main difference is in the attitude of the practitioner. In many ways Thelema is a product of Modernism, with it's 'Crowned and Conquering Child' and 'war engines' being akin to the energy and dynamism of the industrialised early part of this century. Similarly Wicca can be seen as a reaction against this same modernism, an attempt to return to more traditional and earthy values. You could perhaps attribute its increasing popularity throughout the 20th century to mass feelings of alienation and a fear of the new.
I think Chaos Magick is as much a product of the post-modern period as Thelema is of Modernism, and it's also facing the same dilemma that post-modern art and literature seem to be grappling with. Namely, what comes after? Where can we go from here? Can we go any further?
I think ultimately, we must.
So I've started this thread to see what other peoples thoughts are on this, see what public opinion is. I've been grappling with this for a couple of years really. I have the sort of mind that loves new things and always wants to speculate as to where we can take things next.
One hypothesis I've arrived at is that if magick itself doesn't change or evolve, and the only real difference between paths and traditions are purely cultural, then how valid are these individual paths that we follow. To what extent are they products of a kind of occult genre classification?
At this moment in time, we're all in a unique and unprecedented situation as magicians due to the ease at which we can gather information and communicate with others through using the web and e-mail. No other generation has had it quite so easy. Previously guarded occult secrets are a click away, you can compare notes with Haitian Mambo's, read the secret documents of the A,',A,', , or even engage in a bitchy slanging match with (probably perfectly lovely) fellow magicians  from around the world, all from the safety and comfort of your desktop.
An analogy I'd like to draw with this is that of the indigenous shaman who has a specific way of working that he's been taught by his mentor. The path he walks has been passed down to him over countless generations of his tribe. They live in a secluded part of a desert and have never had much contact with other tribes beyond a few skirmishes. One year, for some reason or other, the shaman goes on a big quest and comes to befriend a shaman from another village. This shaman has a totally different way of working but they both basically recognise they're doing the same kind of thing, so they compare notes, they teach each other different tricks and share methods of working. Because of their meeting, both shamanic systems are enriched. The 2 shamen will pass down what they've learnt to their descendents and both traditions grow and evolve.
Another parallel can be drawn with what we've come to know as 'the western mystery tradition' which far from being a pure tradition is a synthesis of Hebrew, Greek, Egyptian and other radically different elements that have been brought together into a cohesive whole.
It seems like it's a natural thing for a magician to synthesise new ideas s/he's exposed to and use them to enrich his or her method of working/world view. So what happens when virtually ALL the heretofore concealed occult secrets are just a mouse click away? For a start it creates the 'Shopping Trolley of Belief' effect, which isn't neccesarily always a good thing, (as I touched on in that other thread) as it can easily lead to a very superficial almost fly-by-night flirtation with various occult traditions without ever really exploring the mysteries of that culture.
But I think ultimately, this synthesis of global traditions might need to be made, and the eclecticism of Chaos Magic may only be the beginning of this process that leads towards a complete understanding of the magical technology of the human race. I don't know. You can draw a few parallels with the idea Grant M has been touting of everyone on the planet being a single entity that is becoming self aware. Zen Fascism as the enlightened hive mind, and so on. Taking a holistic look at the various magickal systems that have been developed on this planet, not getting caught up in paths and traditions, recognising common elements and synthesising differences. Maybe. Food for thought anyway. |
manner! 
