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Wand, check. Cup, check. iBook, check.

  
 
Digital Hermes
16:50 / 21.12.06
I suppose the first facet of magical computer-use is obvious: community. We're all logging into this through code and browsers, and it might actually affect how we conduct ourselves in our non-on-line magical workings.

I'm not convinced of spellcasting involving computers, at least not so far. Unless you're a hard-core hacker able to code in assembly language, any attempt at workings would be mediated through someone else's code, which seems diluting...

Another facet I've been considering is organization: I've been meaning to create a qabalah database for some time now, mostly hampered through a lack of programs. Having an easily-referenced list of correspondences would be a powerful tool. (Which leads me to my next question: does anyone know of any good Mac-based database or data organization programs?)
 
 
ceilingsarecool
17:56 / 21.12.06
I've used computers in magick for the following:
1)for ritual via MIRC. You have to develop the same skills offline for technology-based magick as you do for the old fashioned type; meditation, visualization, and in online ritual at least perceptual bilocation is pretty useful.
2)to scan in seals I want to use for a focus online, or because my hand is too sloppy to get them well should I simply copy them by hand
3)attaching small pieces of energy to an email; the receivers claim that they worked, whether it was perceptive or actual remains to be measured.
 
 
Ticker
18:10 / 21.12.06
I use several forms of online divination and my laptop provides music during ritual.
I wrote a hypersigil on a few of my laptops as well.
 
 
electric monk
18:58 / 21.12.06
I once made an mp3 recording of myself vibrating a mantra, then looped it with the Media Player it as I conducted a ritual. It got pretty creepy after a while hearing my disembodied voice speak the words over and over and over.
 
 
the permuted man
18:58 / 21.12.06
I've used Reason to record drumming for shamanistic voyages. I've also done various kinds of internet divination.

I wish I knew more about making databases. As you mention, the computer seems the perfect way to catalog and organize things. Short magickal things I record by hand, but longer things (dreams, visions, etc) I typically type up since I type so much quicker. I must admit I don't organize them any better than chronologically however.

City Magick outlined some (rather obvious in my opinion) ways to use computer/internet for magick. The part about using a dummy email address to send things to made me think though. While I've written letters or incantations of magickal intent and thrown them away, I thought part of the magick was that they were still out there somewhere. I actually did create something exerting a constant choatic causality on the universe (though not out of nothing obviously). Is the same true of an email sent to an address no one will ever read? But I guess the most important creation is in the universe inside my head and they both exist there just as well? It made me think at least (and I should think more, I believe).

Lastly, do computers constantly change? I think about this a lot since I work almost exclusively with digital music nowadays (in one form or another). The information part of a computer is digital and at any moment has a finite calculable state. For any state of the computer, you can find two distinct points in time (albeit likely close to each other) for which the computer is stuck in that state. And if you can find two, you can find an infinite number. Even if you extend the model to all the information on the internet (not just your home PC), it's still true.

Since it doesn't constantly change, I don't think it can provide an interesting model of reality. A stone is a better model of reality, because at least it's infinite and constantly changing. (Remember I'm talking about the information and not the computer itself which is very much like the stone). I guess it just seems computers/internet are often adapted as models of reality--and I question that association. As tools, I think they're great though.
 
 
the permuted man
19:06 / 21.12.06
I once made an mp3 recording of myself vibrating a mantra, then looped it with the Media Player it as I conducted a ritual. It got pretty creepy after a while hearing my disembodied voice speak the words over and over and over.

I didn't use to be comfortable with my own voice, so one day, inspired, I sat down with a microphone and my computer vowing to take however long it took to remedy just that. I would record one track. Then while playing it back, record another of me talking over it. Each time I'd pan the track a bit in the stereo field, or add a slight effect. Once you have about six versions of yourself talking, each sounding slightly different coming to brain in different ways, it gets really interesting.

Now, my speaking voice and I get along just fine. But next I must come to terms with my loud voice.
 
 
charrellz
18:47 / 22.12.06
I've made some sigilesque things in flash utilizing binary, ascii, morse, and combinations thereof. There's just something about flashing lights and noises that help get to the edge of gnosis. I haven't used this method much because I'm not a big sigil person, but the proof-of-concepts went quite well.

There is also fun to be had with the random functions. For instance, you can make a sort of tarot deck of images which are randomly selected and displayed while you are going about your ritual.

It basically comes down to how you view your computer. I've been toying with the idea of a digital shrine lately, but not like those crap animated gifs of candles you see on websites. I'm thinking of making a partition on my harddrive dedicated to a godform, and only putting things in that space that pertain to that godform. Say I make an Odin drive, than I'd put images that pertain to Odin there, maybe notes about rituals, or I could type up praise for Odin and save it to this space. Instead of dedicating a part of my home for a god, I'm dedicating a part of my freespace (possibly more meaningful when you compare how much maintence I put into the two). Granted, some deities may not be fond of this method, but some could appreciate the effort.

A computer is a tool for magic if you have the right connecton with it, just like runes, tarot, dice, candles, or really anything are tools for magic if you have the right connection with that something.
 
 
charrellz
18:51 / 22.12.06
Unless you're a hard-core hacker able to code in assembly language, any attempt at workings would be mediated through someone else's code, which seems diluting...

Is it diluting to light a candle on a shrine if you didn't make the candle? Is it diluting to make a sigil on store-bought paper? Is it diluting to go to a temple someone else built? As long as you're not just using a program with a big button that says "click here to cast spell" I don't see an issue with dilution of intent. Even in that case I could see an angle where it would be effective.
 
 
Chaos is relative
22:49 / 22.12.06
Okay, this will probably seem far out to some of you. I am hoping that some others have had similar interpretations of reality.

The idea first came to me while pondering the use of wave technology to control thought as is suspected of the HAARP project in Alaska. The human brain functions at a particular frequency as does electronic equiptment. Have you ever had an epiphany that corresponds with some kind of electrical anomaly such as lights flickering or computer crashing? I am not giving such ideas any scientific validity in this post, I just want to raise the question.

I have become accustomed to lights doing strange things when I am practicing telepathic or astral techniques. They may be coincidental, but they have become quite peculiar. These events are almost always accompanied by the same intuitive sense of truth. It happens when I get that warm chill that makes my hair stand up on my arms.

Recently I have started using the computer as a form of divination. If it crashes while I am writing an important email that is not well thought out I actually consider this advice. I can be a bit wacko at times, but it has seemed to work out for the best.

This has been extended to typing multiple words into a search engine. If I have a question about the relationship between two ideas I can type the two words into Google etc. The response isn't very clear in most cases, but with a little imagination I can find what I am looking for. Think about it. It is even more random than Tarot or astrology, which gives it a tasty chaos magick flavor. I will begin checking my results in Qaballah, Tarot, and Astrology for continuity.

One theory, that of Paul Foster Case, is that divination is simply a way for us to communicate with our subconscious. If one subscribes to the idea that the universe as interpreted by our perceptive faculties is the only universe we can talk about then why would it be absurd to share a divinatory relationship with a computer. We already know that synchronicity can be an effective tool for consciousness development. Why not include artificial life.

It seems the more I look for synchronicity and interpret the phenomena in light of how it relates to my present state the more enriched and fulfilling my life becomes.

"When two events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object of inquiry we must pay strict attention." Dale Cooper as quoted from the Twin Peaks television series.

I am not suggesting to disregard logic, morals, reason, or anything else ala the son of sam killing for his neighbors dog. I am asserting that computer divination can be an effective way to get ideas for solving complex problems as a form of meditation.

Other than calling me crazy, does anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
 
calgodot
16:20 / 24.12.06
One word: astrology. Whenever I need to do a chart, or otherwise utilize astrology, I go to the computer.

I know one technopagan who keeps a complex database of rituals, components, and results of her own trials. It's impressively geeky and magicky. She's been doing it for well over a decade, beginning with DBase 4, then migrating to MS Access, until now using MySQL. (She's a professional Oracle programmer, in case you were wondering.)

Then there's the InterWeb. Until I started interfacing with other magicians and pagans via the internet, nearly every similarly interested person I ever encountered was a soft-headed New Ager idiot or a manipulative psycho/socio-pathic control freak. Thank the gods for Barbelith, Meetup.com, and a few other sites.

Also: P2P/torrents. I've managed to accumulate a few PDFs of very hard-to-find out-of-print (and thus expensive to purchase) books using search engines. Most notable: Practical Sigil Magick by Frater U.D. and the notorious Voudoun Workbook of Bertiaux.

The internet is a hypersigil.
 
 
Mario
17:39 / 30.12.06
I don't use my computer for magic... but I do treat magic as a form of computing. Rather than sigils & spells, it's icons & Perl scripts. I've had fairly limited success, however.
 
 
Quantum
22:32 / 30.12.06
Think about it. It is even more random than Tarot or astrology, which gives it a tasty chaos magick flavor. I will begin checking my results in Qaballah, Tarot, and Astrology for continuity.

Check out the old threads on googlemancy, they might interest you.

But why is it *more* random than tarot or astrology? Why does that give it a tasty chaos magick flavour? Why are you only now checking your results and why are you using Qaballah, Tarot, and Astrology for continuity?
 
 
squareye
12:26 / 11.01.07
I use my computer for automatic writing and spirit communication.

This involves a sigil of spirit seal, concentration and using the keyboard in a stream of consciousness sort of way.

Most have heard of EVP (electronic voice phenomena). You can do the same with video loop. Take your webcam and point it at the screen, switch it on(naturally!), and use a candle or lighter or match to create an initial source of light. After several seconds you can remove the light source and let the looping continue in a feedback sort of way. Record the resulting groovyness. By slowing down the playback you can sometimes catch faces in it. It's the updated version of looking into the hearth fire to see visions.

GROOOOOOOOOOOOVy!
 
 
Princess
15:35 / 11.01.07
I've had fairly limited success, however. - Mario

God, I love it when people say that. Not because I'm anti-success, just because it's nice to hear that kind of honesty and objectivity.

Mario, you rock.
 
 
Haloquin
15:18 / 12.01.07
I've used the random image generating thing in windows media player as a focus for trance, but not with any degree of frequency. I do use it for automatic writing, I sometimes find being on the computer trancey on its own and this leaves me in a good state for auto-writing... and with the perfect tool to do it with.

I came across the suggestion of putting key words or mantras/affirmations etc. into a screensaver as a kind of sigil I guess, but I like having my KittenZ (*blushes a little*) meowing at me from the pc, makes me feel like I've still got cats.

I like the idea of the video looping for scrying, will have to work out how to do that on here.
 
 
AnonProphet
07:33 / 13.01.07
I find that shuffle on winamp can be a good indication of how well I'm flowing with the synchronicity highway. I have several entries in my BoS-equivilent wherein I put in the songs as they pop up because they are so appropriate. Also, certain streaming stations can be good for this.

And, speaking of, I'm using a local wiki for my dream/ritual/special effects log (I really despise the term "Book of Shadows" for that). I find that I'm on my machine so much anyway (most of my work is done on it) that, since I'm staring at my browser first thing when I wake up anyway to check mail, it's easier for me than pulling up a book and trying to remember how to operate a pen.

I do video production, I should try the scrying thing with some of my more abstract loops, but it'll probably be more difficult for me to turn off the analytical part of determining the effects that were used in the production.

For a while I was considering trying to etch a circuit into the shape of a sigil (motherboard that looks like an elder sigil, anyone?) and seeing what effect it has. But, what about the inverse of that, seeing, say, the circuit pattern of your video card as a sigil and charging it?
 
 
ORA ORA ORA ORAAAA!!
07:56 / 13.01.07
as a disclaimer, I am no kind of magico.

That said, I made a program a while back which takes an image (of whatever), and produces a number of random noise-frames which, if you take odd frames as positive, and even frames as negative, sum to the original image (rgb value-wise). Then it loops through them, either in sequential order as generated, or randomly picking the next image on load.

I have found that watching the resulting full-colour static tends to show shadow images, moving objects, and sometimes letters and words, but I can't ever make any sense of it (I made it originally as an image-sigil obscuring device, not a divination tool, see also disclaimer).

I also made something which turns text into music, which could conceivably be used to turn a mantra into music, or to provide meaningful backing music for some kind of ritual, but I've never used it for that.
 
 
AnonProphet
10:14 / 13.01.07
RFR: those sound neat, especially the visual randomizer. I could put that to work in my professional life, even leaving aside possible spiritual results. Is that software available for the masses and, if so, what platform is it?
 
 
Mario
19:12 / 16.01.07
I prefer honesty. It's easier to remember.
 
  
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