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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com



          

                      RITUALS AND SPELL OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN IN EIGHT MAGICS 
                                               by Pete Carroll

            Our perceptual and conceptual apparatus creates a fourfold division
            of matter into the space, time, mass, and energy tautology.
            Similarly, our instinctual drives create an eightfold division of
            magic. The eight forms of magic are conveniently denoted by colours
            having emotional significance:

                                       OCTARINE,
                                      PURE MAGIC
                      RED,                                BLACK,
                      WAR MAGIC          ....             DEATH MAGIC
                                         ....
                         ...             ....             ...
                            ...        ........        ...
                               ...  ..............  ...
                                  ... C H A O S ....
                                 ....... BOX ........
             ORANGE,   ....................................... BLUE,
             THINKING  ............. THE MAGICAL ............. WEALTH MAGIC
             MAGIC               ..... MAILBOX .......
                                  ...04962577966.....
                               ...  ..............  ...
                            ...        ........        ...
                         ...             ....             ...
                                         ....
                      PURPLE or          ....             GREEN,
                      SILVER,                             LOVE MAGIC
                      SEX MAGIC         YELLOW,
                                       EGO MAGIC

            The eight types of magic can be attributed to the seven classical
            "planets", plus Uranus for Octarine. However in the cause of
            expanding the parameters of what can be attempted with each of these
            forms of magic, such an attribution will largely be avoided. The
            eight forms of magic will each be considered in turn.


            OCTARINE MAGIC

            Following Pratchett's hypothesis, the eighth colour of the spectrum,
            which is the magicians personal perception of the "colour of magic",
            may be called octarine. For me, this is a particular shade of
            electric pinkish-purple. My most signifikant optical visions have
            all occured in this hue, and I visualise it to colour many of my
            more important spells and sigils on the astral. Before I set sail in
            a handmade open boat through the Arabian Sea I was tricked into
            accepting a huge and priceless star ruby by a wizard in India. It
            was of an exactly octarine hue. During the most violent typhoon I
            have ever experienced I found myself shrieking my conjurations to
            Thor and Poseidon whilst clinging to the bowsprit as mountainous
            waves smashed into the boat and octarine lightning bolts crashed
            into the sea all around. Looking back it seems miraculous  that I
            and my crew survived. I have kept the octarine stone, uncertain as
            to whether it was passed to me as a curse, a joke, a blessing, or a
            test, or all of these things.


                                                                                           1826
          


          Other magicians perceive octarine in different ways. My personal
            perception of octarine is probably a consequence of sex (purple) and
            anger (red) being my most effective forms of gnosis. Each should
            seek out the colour of magic for himself.

            The octarine power is our instinctual drive towards magic, which, if
            allowed to flower, creates the magician self or personality in the
            psyche, and in affinity with various magician god forms. The
            "Magician Self" varies naturally between magicians, but has the
            general characteristics of antinomianism and deviousness, with a
            predilection for manipulation and the bizarre. The antinomianism of
            the magician self arises partly from the general estrangement of our
            culture from magic. The magicial self therefore tends to take an
            interest in everything that does not exist, or should not exist,
            acording to ordinary consensus reality. To the magician self,
            "Nothing is Unnatural". A statement full of endless meanings. The
            deviousness of the magician self is a natural extension of the
            sleight of mind required to manipulate the unseen. The god forms of
            the octarine power are those which correspond most closely with the
            characteristics of the magician self, and are usually the magicians
            most important modes of possession for purely magical inspiration.
            Baphomet, Pan, Odin, Loki, Tiamat, Ptah, Eris, Hekate, Babalon,
            Lilith and Ishtar are examples of god forms which can be used in
            this way.

            Alternatively the magician may wish to formulate a magician god form
            on a purely idiosyncratic basis, in which case the symbolism of the
            serpent and the planet Uranus often prove useful starting points.

            The magician can invoke such god forms for the illumination of
            various aspects of the magical self, and for various works of pure
            rather than applied magic. The category of pure magic includes such
            activities as the development of magical theories and philosophies,
            and magical training programs, the devising of symbolic systems for
            use in divinations, spells and incantations, and also the creation
            of magical languages for similar purposes. It is worth noting here
            that chaos-magical languages are usually now written in V-Prime
            before transliteration into magical barbaric form. V-Prime or
            Vernacular Prime is simply one's native tongue in which all use of
            all tenses of the verb "to be" is omitted in accordance with quantum
            metaphysics. All the nonsense of transcendentalism disappears quite
            naturally once this tactic is adopted. There is no being, all is
            doing.

            The octarine power is invoked to inspire the magician self and to
            expand the magicians primary arcana. The primary personal arcana
            consists of the fundamental symbols with which he interprets and
            interacts with reality (whatever that may assault perception as),
            magically. These symbols may be theories or kabbalas, obsessions,
            magical weapons, astral or physical, or indeed anything which
            relates to the practice of magic generally, that is not dedicated
            specifically to one of the other powers of applied magic, whose
            symbols form the secondary personal arcana of magic.


                                                                                           1827
          


          From the vantage point of the octarine gnosis, the magician self
            should be able to perceive the selves of the other seven powers, and
            be able to see their interrelationship within his total organism.
            Thus the octarine power brings some ability in psychiatry, which is
            the adjustment of the relationship between the selves in an
            organism. The basis difference between a magician and a civilian is
            that the latter the octarine power is vestigial or undeveloped. The
            normal resting or neutral mode a civilian corresponds to a mild
            expression of the yellow power which he regards as his normal
            personality or "ego". The magician self however, is fully aware that
            this is but one of eight major tools that the organism possesses.
            Thus, in a sense, the "normal personality" of the magician is a tool
            of his magical self (and, importantly, vice versa). This realisation
            gives him some advantage over ordinary people. However the
            developing magical self will soon realize that it is not in itself
            superior to the other selves that the organism consists of, for
            there are many things they can do which it cannot.

            The development of the octarine power through the philosophy and
            practice of magic tends to provide the magician with a second major
            centre amongst the selves to complement the ego of the yellow power.
            The awakening of the octarine power is sometimes known as "being
            bitten by the serpent". Those who have been, are usually as
            instantly recognisable to each other as, for example, two lifeboat
            survivors are.

            Perhaps one of the greatest tricks of sleight of mind is to allow
            the magician self and the ego to dance together within the psyche
            without undue conflict. The magician who is unable to disguise
            himself as an ordinary person, or who is unable to act independently
            of his own ego, is no magician at all.

            Nevertheless, the growth of the octarine, or eighth power of the
            self, and the discovery of the type of magician one wants to be, and
            the identification or synthesis of a god form to represent it, tend
            to create something of a mutant being, who has advanced into a
            paradigm that few others are aware of. It is not easy to turn back
            once the jouney has begun, though quite a few have tried to abort
            the voyage with various narcotics including mysticism. It is a
            pilgrimage to an unknown destination, in which one awakes
            successively from one nightmare into another. Some on them appear
            vastly entertaining at the time. There are worlds within us, the
            abysses are just the initiations in between them.

            The evocation of an octarine servitor can create an invaluable tool
            for those engaged in magical research. The main functions of such
            entities are usually to assist in the discovery of useful
            information and contacts. Negative results should not be ignored
            here, the complete failure of a well prepared servitor to retrieve
            information about the hypothetical cosmic "big bang", was a
            contributory factor in the development of the Fiat Nox theory, for
            example.


                                                                                           1828
          

          BLACK MAGIC

            The Death programs built into our genetic and hence behavioral and
            emotional structure are the price we pay for the capacity for sexual
            reproduction which alone allows for evolutionary change. Only
            organisms which reproduce asexually, to replicate endless identical
            copies of their very simple forms, are immortal. Two conjunctions
            with the black power are of particular interest to the magician: the
            casting of destruction spells and the avoidance of premature death.

            So called "Chod" rites are a ritual rehearsal of death in which the
            Death-self is invoked to manifest its knowledge and wisdom.
            Traditionally conceived of as a black robed skeletal figure armed
            with a scythe, the Death-self is privy to the mysteries of ageing,
            senescence, morbidity, necrosis, entropy and decay. It is often also
            possessed of a rather wry and world weary sense of humour.

            Surrounding himself with all the symbols and paraphernalia of death,
            the magician invokes his Death-self in a Chod rite for one of the
            two purposes. Firstly the experience of the Death-self and the black
            gnosis brings the knowledge of what it feels like to begin dying and
            thus prepares the magician to resist the manifestation of actual
            premature death in himself and perhaps others by, as it were,
            knowing the enemy. A demon is just a god acting out of turn. In the
            course of various Chod rites the magician may well experiment in
            shamanic style by invoking into himself the visualised entities and
            symbols that he associates with various diseases, to practice
            banishing them. Thus the Death-self has some uses in medical
            diagnosis and divination.

            Secondly, the death-self may be invoked as a vantage point from
            which to cast destruction spells. In this case the invocation takes
            the same general form but the conjuration is usually called an
            Entropy Rite. One should always look for any possible  alternative
            to the exercise of destructive magic, for to be forced into the
            position of having to use it is a position of weakness. In each case
            the magician must plant in his subconscious a mechanism by which the
            target could come to grief and then project it with the aid of a
            sigil or perhaps an evoked servitor. Entropy magic works by sending
            information to the target which encourages auto-destructive
            behaviour.

            Entropy magic differs from Combat magic of the Red Gnosis in several
            important respects. Entropy magic is always performed with complete
            stealth in the cold fury of the black saturine gnosis. The aim is a
            cold blooded surgical strike of which the target is given no
            warning. The magician is not interested in getting into a fight,
            merely in a quick and efficient kill. The supreme advantage of such
            attacks is that they are rarely perceived as such by the targets who
            have nothing but themselves and blind chance to blame for the
            disasters which even magnanimity in victory does little to assuage.
            One disadvantage however, is that it is rather difficult to present
            invoices to clients for effects that appear to be due entirely to
            natural causes.


                                                                                           1829
          

          God forms of the black power are legion; if the simple form of a
            cloaked skeleton with scythe does not adequately symbolise the
            Death-self then such forms as Charon, Thanatos, Saturn, Chronos,
            Hekate the Hag, Dark sister Atropos, Anubis, Yama and Kali may
            serve.

            Servitors of the black power are rarely established for long term
            general use, partly because their use is likely to be infrequent and
            partly because they can be danger to their owner, thus they tend to
            be made and dispatched for specific single tasks.

            BLUE MAGIC

            Wealth is not to be measured in terms of assets, but rather in terms
            of how much control over people and material, and thus ultimately
            one's own experiences, one achieves by economic activities. Money is
            an abstract concept used to quantify economic activity, thus wealth
            is a measure of how well you control your experiences with money.
            Assuming that varied, exciting, unusual and stimulating experiences
            are preferable to dull ones, and that they tend to be expensive for
            this reason, then the main problem for most people is to find a
            highly efficient form of money input which has the above agreeable
            qualities. The aim of wealth magic is to establish a large turnover
            of money which allows agreeable experiences at both the input and
            output stages. This demands what is called Money Consciousness.

            Money has acquired all the characteristics of a "spiritual" being.
            It is invisible and intangible, coinage, notes and electronic
            numbers are not money. They are merely representations or talismans
            of something which economists cannot coherently define. Yet although
            it is itself intangible and invisible it can create powerful effects
            on reality. Money has its own personality and idiosyncratic tastes,
            it avoids those who blaspheme it, and flows towards those who treat
            it in the way it likes. In a suitable environment it will even
            reproduce itself. The nature of the money spirit is movement, money
            likes to move. If it is hoarded and not used, it slowly dies. Money
            thus prefers to manifest as turnover rather than as unexploited
            assets. Monies surplus to immediate pleasure should be re-invested
            as a further evocation, but the truly money conscious find that even
            their pleasures make money for them. Money consciousness gets paid
            to enjoy itself. Those in money consciousness are by nature
            generous. Offer them an interesting investment and they will offer
            you a fortune. Just don't ask for small cash handouts.

            The attainment of money consciousness and the invokation of the
            Wealth-self consists of the acquisition of a thorough knowledge of
            the predilections of the spirit of money and a thorough exploration
            of personal desires. When both of these have been understood, real
            wealth manifests effortlessly.


                                                                                           1830
          

          Such invocations must be handled with care. The blue gnosis of
            wealth and desire creates demons as easily as gods. Many
            contemporary success and sales seminars concentrate on creating an
            hysterical desire for money coupled with an equally hypertrophied
            desire for the mere symbols of wealth rather than the experiences
            the punters actually want. To work like a possessed maniac all day
            for the questionable pleasure of drinking oneself into near oblivion
            on vintage champagne every night, is to have missed the point
            entirely and to have a entered a condition of anti-wealth.
            However, the majority of those who are poor in relatively free
            societies where others are rich, owe their poverty either to a lack
            of understanding of how money behaves, or to negative feelings which
            tend to repel it. Neither intelligence nor investment capital are
            required in any great degree to become wealthy. The popularity of
            tales about the misery and misfortunes of the rich is testimony to
            the ridiculous myth prevalent amongst the poor, that the rich are
            unhappy. Before beginning works of blue magic it is essential to
            seriously examine all negative thoughts and feelings about money and
            to exorcise them. Most of the poor people who win in lotteries, and
            only the poor regularly enter them, manage to have nothing to show
            for it a couple years later. It is as if some subconscious force
            somehow got rid of something they felt they did not really deserve
            or want. People tend to have the degree of wealth that they deeply
            believe they should have. Blue magic is the modification of that
            belief through ritual enactment of alternative beliefs.

            Blue magic rituals may thus involve exorcisms of negative attitudes
            to wealth, divinatory explorations of one's deepest desires, and
            invocations of the Wealth-self and the spirit of money during which
            the subconscious wealth level is adjusted by ritual expression of a
            new value, and affirmations of new projects for the investment of
            resources and efford are made. Hymns and incantations to money can
            be delivered. Cheques for startling sums can be written to oneself
            and desires can be proclaimed and visualised. Various traditional
            god forms with a prosperity aspect can be used to express the
            Wealth-self such as Jupiter, Zeus and the mythical Midas and
            Croesus.

            Simple money spells are rarely used in modern blue magic. The
            tendency nowadays is to cast spells designed to enhance schemes
            designed to make money. If one fails to provide a mechanism through
            which money can manifest then either nothing will happen or the
            spell will flesh by strange means, such as a legacy from the
            untimely death of a much beloved relative for example. Serious blue
            magic is never attempted by conventional forms of gambling.
            Conventional gambling is an expensive way of buying experiences
            which have nothing to do with increasing one's wealth. Blue magic is
            a matter of carefully calculated investment. Anyone but a fool
            should be able to devise an investment that offers better odds than
            conventional forms of gambling.


                                                                                           1831
          

          RED MAGIC

            As soon as humanity developed the organisation and weapons
            technology to defeat its main natural predators and competitors it
            seems to have applied a fierce selection mechanism to itself in the
            form of internecine warfare. Many of the qualities we regard as
            marks of our evolutionary success, such as our opposable thumbs and
            tool handling abilities, our capacity for communication by sound,
            our upright posture, and our capacity to give and receive commands
            and discipline, were almost certainly selected for during millennia
            of organized armed conflict between human bands. Our morality
            reflects our bloody history, for whilst it is taboo to attack
            members of one's own tribe, it remains one's duty to attack
            foreigners. The only debate is over who constitutes one's own tribe.
            When enthusiasm for war is limited, we devise sports and games in
            which to express our aggression. From the whole ethos and
            terminology of sport it is plain that sport is just war with extra
            rules.

            However, it should not be supposed that war is completely without
            rules. Wars are fought to improve one's bargaining position; in war
            the enemy group is a resource that one wishes to gain some measure
            of control over. Wars are fought to intimidate one's adversaries,
            not to exterminate them. Genocide is not war.

            The structure and conduct of war reflects the "fight or flight"
            program built into our sympathetic nervous system. In battle, the
            aim is to intimidate the enemy out of the fight mode and into flight
            mode. Thus, assuming there is sufficient parity of force to make a
            fight seem worthwhile to both parties, morale is the decisive factor
            in conflict. Indeed, it is the decisive factor in virtually any
            inter-human competitive, sporting or military encounter.

            Red magic has two aspects, firstly the invocation of the vitality,
            aggression, and morale to sustain oneself in any conflict from life
            in general to outright war, and secondly the conduct of actual
            combat magic. A variety of god forms exist in which the War-self can
            be expressed, although hybrid or purely idiosyncratic forms work
            just as well. Ares, Ishtar, Ogoun, Thor, Mars, Mithras and Horus in
            particular are often used. Contemporary symbolism should not be
            neglected. Firearms and explosives are as welcoming to the red
            gnosis as swords and spears. Drums are virtually indispensable.
            Sigils drawn in flammable liquids, or indeed whole flaming circles
            in which to invoke should be considered.

            Combat magic is usually practised openly with the adversary being
            publicly threatened and cursed, or finding himself the recipient of
            an unpleasant looking talisman, spell or rune. The aim is
            intimidation and control of one's adversary who must therefore be
            made as paranoid as possible and informed of the origin of the
            attack. Otherwise combat magic takes the same general form as that
            used in Entropy Rites, with sigils and servitors carrying
            auto-destructive information to the target, although with sub-lethal
            intent.

            However, the real skill of red magic is to be able to present such
            an overwhelming glamour of personal vitality, morale and potential
            for aggression that the exercise of combat magic is never required.


                                                                                           1832
          

          YELLOW MAGIC

            Most of the extant texts on what is traditionally called "solar
            magic", contradict each other or suffer from internal confusion.
            Astrological commentaries on the supposed powers of the sun are
            amongst the most idiotic nonsense that discipline can produce. This
            is because the yellow power has four distinct but related forms of
            manifestation within the psyche. This fourfold division has led to
            immense problems in psychology, where various schools of thought
            have chosen to emphasise one in particular and to ignore those which
            other schools have alighted upon.

            The four aspects can be characterised as follows. Firstly the Ego,
            or self image, which is simply the model the mind has of the general
            personality, but excluding most of the extreme behaviour patterns
            that the selves are capable of. Secondly Charisma, which is the
            degree of self-confidence that a person projects to others. Thirdly,
            something for which there is no single English term, but which can
            be called Laughter-Creativity. Fourthly, the urge to Assertion and
            Dominance. All these things are manifestations of the same yellow
            power; although their relative emphasis varies greatly between
            individuals.

            Success in most human societies usually results from a skilful
            expression of the yellow power. The strength of the yellow power in
            an individual seems to bear a direct relationship to levels of the
            sexual hormone testosterone in both sexes; although its expression
            depends on personal psychology. There is a complex interplay
            between testosterone levels, self image, creativity, social status
            and sexual urges, even if they are unexpressed. In esoteric terms,
            the moon is the secret power behind the sun, as most female
            magicians realise instinctively, and most male magicians discover
            sooner or later. The Ego gradually accretes through the accidents of
            childhood and adolescence, and, in the absence of particularly
            powerful experiences thereafter, remains fairly constant even if it
            contains highly dysfunctional elements. Any type of invocation
            should make some difference to the ego, but direct work with it can
            achieve much more. Several tricks are involved here. The very
            recognition of the ego implies that change is possible. Only those
            who realize that they own a personality rather than consis of a
            personality, can modify it. For most people a preparation of a
            detailed inventory of their own personality is a very difficult and
            unsettling activity. Yet once it is done it is usually quite easy to
            decide what changes are desirable.

            Changes to the Ego or self image or personality by magic are classed
            as works of Illumination and are mainly accomplished by Retroactive
            Enchantment and Invocation. Retroactive Enchantment in this case
            consits of re-writing one's personal history. As our history largely
            defines our future, we can change our future by redefining our past.
            Everybody has some capacity to re-interpret things which were
            considered to have gone wrong in the past in a more favourable
            light, but most fail to pursue the process to the full. One cannot
            eliminate disabling memories, but by an effort of visualisation and
            imagination one can write in parallel enabling memories of what
            might also have happened, to neutralise the originals. One can also,
            where possible, modify any remaining physical evidence that favours
            the disabling memory.


                                                                                           1833
          

          Invocations to modify the ego are ritual enchantments and
            personifications of the new desired qualities. Attention should be
            given to planned changes of dress, tone of speech, gesture,
            mannerisms and body posture which will best suit the new ego. One
            manoeuvre frequently used in yellow magic is to practice the
            manifestation of an alternative personality with a specific mnemonic
            trigger, such as the transference of a ring from one finger to
            another.

            Various god forms such as Ra, Helios, Mithras, Apollo and Baldur are
            useful to structure fresh manifestations of the ego, and for
            experiments with the other three qualities of the yellow power.

            Charisma, the projection of an aura of self confidence, is based on
            a simple trick. After a short while there is no difference at all
            between the pretence and the actuality of self confidence. Anyone
            wishing to remedy a lack of confidence and charisma, and uncertain
            as to how to begin pretending to these qualities, may find that a
            day or two spent pretending to absolute zero self confidence will
            quickly reveal both the effectiveness of pretence and the specific
            thoughts, words, gestures and postures required to project either
            pretence.

            Laughter and Creativity may not immediately seem to be related, but
            humour depends on the sudden forging of a new connection between
            disparate concepts, and we laugh at our own creativity in forging
            the connection. Exactly the same form of elation arises from other
            forms of creative activity, and if the insight comes suddenly,
            laughter results. If you don't laugh when you see a seriously
            brilliant piece of mathematics then you have not really understood
            it. It also take a degree of positive self-esteem and confidence to
            laugh at something creatively funny. Persons of low self-esteem tend
            only to laugh at destructive humour and the misfortunes of others,
            if they laugh at all.

            Laughter is often an important factor in the invocations of the god
            forms of the yellow power. Solemnity is not a prerequisite for
            ritual. Laughter is also a useful tactic in drawing conscious
            attention away from sigils or other magical conjurations once they
            are finished with. The deliberate forcing of hysterical laughter may
            seem an absurd way of ending an enchantment or an invocation, but it
            has been found to be remarkably effective in practice. This is yet
            another sleight of mind manoeuvre which prevents conscious
            deliberation.

            The "pecking order" within most groups of social animals is usually
            immediately obvious to us, and the animals themselves. Yet within
            our own society such dominance hierarchies are equally prevalent
            within all social groups; although we go to quite extreme lengths to
            disguise this to ourselves. The human situation is further
            complicated by the tendency of individuals to belong to many groups
            in which they may have different degrees of social status, and
            status is often partly dependent on specialist abilities other than
            displays of naked force.


                                                                                           1834
          

          However, assuming that a person can appear competent in the
            specialist ability that a social group requires, that person's
            position in the group depends almost entirely on the degree of
            assertion and dominance that person exhibits. It is basically
            exhibited through non-verbal behaviour which everybody understands
            intuitively or subconsciously but which most people fail to
            understand rationally. As a consequence they cannot manipulate it
            deliberately. Typical dominance behaviours involve talking loudly
            and slowly, using lots of eye contact, interrupting the speech of
            others whilst resisting the interruption of others, maintaining an
            upright posture of concealed threat, invading the personal space of
            others whilst resisting intrusion into one's own, and placing
            oneself strategically in any space at the focus of attention. In
            cultures where touching is frequent, the dominant always initiate
            it, or pointedly refuse it. Either way, they control it.

            Submissive behaviour is of course the reverse of all the above, and
            appears quite spontaneously in response to successful dominance from
            others. There is a two way interaction between dominance behaviour
            and hormone levels. If the levels change for medical reasons then
            the behaviour tends to change, but more importantly, from a magical
            point of view, a deliberate change of behaviour will modify hormone
            levels. Fake it till you make it. There is nothing particularly
            occult about the way some people are able to control others. We
            simply fail to notice how it is done because nearly all the
            behavioural signals involved are exchanged subconsciously. Dominance
            signals do not tend to work if their recipients perceive them
            consciously. Thus in most situations they must be delivered subtly
            and with gradually increasing intensity. One of the few situations
            where such signals are exchanged deliberately is in military
            hierarchies, but this is only possible because of the immense
            capacity for direct physical coercion that such systems exhibit.
            Break the formal rules of non-verbal communication with an officer
            and he will have a sergeant instil some submission by direct means.
            Eventually the formal rules become internalised and function
            automatically, allowing enough obedience to permit mass
            self-sacrifice and slaughter. The yellow power is the root of most
            of the best and the worst of what we are capable.

            GREEN MAGIC

            There is inevitable a considerable overlap in what is written in
            popular magic books on the subject of venusian (love) and lunar
            (sex) magic. Consequently a planetary nomenclature has been largely
            avoided in this text. Although love magic is frequently performed in
            support of sexual objectives, this chapter will confine itself to
            the arts of making other people friendly, loyal and affectionate
            towards oneself.

            Friends are probably anyone's greatest asset. My adress book is
            easily my most valuable possession. As with erotic attraction, it is
            first necessary to like oneself before others will. This ability can
            be enhanced by appropriate invocations of the green power. Most
            people find it easy to elicit friendliness from people that they
            like themselves; but making persons who are not disposed to
            friendship towards you, become friendly, and making persons who you
            do not like at all friendly towards you, are valuable abilities. An
            unreciprocated friendship is a disability only to the person
            offering it.


                                                                                           1835
          

          Invocations to the green power should begin with self-love; an
            attempt to see the wonderful side of every self one consists of, and
            then proceed into a ritual affirmation of the beauty and loveability
            of all things and all people. Suitable god forms for the Love-self
            include Venus, Aphrodite and the mythical Narcissus, whose myth
            merely reflects a certain male prejudice against this type of
            invocation.

            From within the green gnosis, spells to make people friendly may be
            cast by simple enchantment or by the use of entities created for
            this purpose. However it is in face to face meetings that the
            empathic abilities stimulated by the invocation work most
            effectively. Apart from the obvious manoeuvres of showing interest
            in everything the target has to say and affirming and sympathising
            with most of it, there is another critical factor called "behavioral
            matching", which usually takes place subconsciously. Basically, in
            the absence of overtly hostile postures on the part of the target,
            one should attempt to match the non-verbal behaviour of the target
            precisely. Sit or stand in the identical bodily posture, make the
            same movements, use the same degree of eye contact, and talk for
            similar intervals. As with dominance behaviour, such signals only
            work if they are not consciously perceived by the recipient. Do not
            move to match the target's moves and postures immediately. It is
            also essential to try and match the verbal behaviour and to
            communicate with the same level of intelligence, social status and
            sense of humour as the target.

            Before I made myself wealthy, I used to practice these abilities
            when hitch-hiking. Soon, even people whom I found quite ghastly were
            buying me lunch and transporting me far out of their way. Empathy
            will get you anywhere.

            ORANGE MAGIC

            Charlatanry, trickery, living by one's wits and thinking fast on
            one's feet are the essence of the orange power. These mercurial
            abilities were traditionally associated with the god forms which
            acted as patrons to doctors, magicians, gamblers and thieves.
            However the profession of medicine has now partly dissociated itself
            from charlatanry since doctors discovered that antibiotics and
            hygienic surgery actually worked. Nevertheless about eighty percent
            of medications are still basically placebos, and the profession
            still retains the mercurial caduceus for its emblem. Similarly the
            profession of magic has become less dependant on charlatanry with
            the discovery of the quantum-probabilistic nature of enchantment and
            divination and the virtual abandonment of classical alchemy and
            astrology. Pure magic is now best described as an expression of the
            octarine power, having an Uranian character. Yet charlatanry still
            has its place in magic as in medicine. Let us not forget that all
            "conjuring tricks" were once part of the shamanic warm up repertoire
            in which something lost or destroyed is miraculously restored by the
            magician to get the audience in the right mood before the serious
            business of placebo healing began. In its classical form, the
            magician puts a dead rabbit in a hat before pulling out a live one.


                                                                                           1836
          

          To the list of professions drawing heavily on the orange power one
            must now add salesman, confidence trickster, stockbroker and indeed
            any profession with an extreme heart attack rating. The motive power
            of the orange gnosis is basically fear, a species of fear which does
            not inhibit the user, but rather creates an extraordinary nervous
            speed that produces quick moves and answers in tight corners.

            The apotheosis of the Wit-self is the ability to enter that state of
            mental overdrive in which the fast response is always forthcoming.
            This ability is,, paradoxically enough, created by not thinking
            about thinking, but rather allowing anxiety to partially paralyse
            the inhibitory process themselves so that the subconscious can throw
            out a quick witted response without conscious deliberation.

            Invocations of the orange power are best delivered at frantic speed
            and gnosis can be deepened by the performance of mentally demanding
            tasks such as adding up large lists of numbers in one's head or
            ripping open envelopes containing difficult questions and answering
            them instantly; activities which should be persisted with until a
            breakthrough to the experience of thinking without deliberation is
            achieved. Varied god forms can be used to give form to the Wit-self.
            Hermes, Loki, Coyote the Trickster and the Roman Mercurius are often
            employed.

            Orange magic is usually restricted to invocations designed to
            enhance general quick wittedness in secular activities such as
            gambling, crime and intellectual pursuits. Enchantments and
            evocations performed subsequent to an invocation of the orange
            gnosis rarely seem to give results as effective as the invocation
            itself in my experience. Perhaps something should be said about
            crime and gambling for the benefit of those hotheads who may
            misunderstand what can be done with orange magic in support of such
            activities. Theft is ludicrously easy performed methodically yet the
            majority of thieves get caught after a while because they become
            addicted to anxiety, which they experience as excitement and
            start taking risks to increase it. The novice thief who, in state of
            extreme anxiety, takes something in a situation of zero risk, does
            not of course get caught and neither does the careful professional.
            However there are few careful professionals because there are far
            easier ways of making money in most societies for people with that
            kind of ability. The great majority of thieves however always manage
            to find some way of incriminating themselves because the anxiety of
            the theft itself fades, only the anxiety of punishment remains.
            Those quick witted and outwardly cool enough to thieve successfully
            can easily make more from salesmanship.


                                                                                           1837
          

          There are three types of persistent gambler. The losers account for
            two types. Firstly there are those addicted to their own arrogance,
            who just have to prove that they can beat pure chance or the odds
            set by the organisers. Secondly there are those addicted to the
            anxiety of loosing. Even if they win, they invariably throw it away
            again soon afterwards. Then there are the winners. These people are
            not gambling at all, either because they are organising the odds and
            stakes, or because they have inside information, or because they are
            cheating. This is true orange magic. Poker is not a game of chance
            if played skilfully, and skilful play includes not playing against
            persons of equal or superior skill, or persons holding a Smith and
            Weston to your Four Aces. Most conventional forms of gambling are
            set up in such a way that the use of anything but the most extreme
            forms of psychic power will make little difference. I would not
            bother to bet on odds that I had reduced from an hundred to one to
            merely sixty to one. However certain results obtained using double
            blind prescience with horse racing show encouraging potential.

            PURPLE MAGIC

            A large proportion of all the cults throughout history have shared
            one particular characteristic. They have been led by a charismatic
            man able to persuade women to freely dispense sexual favours to ther
            men. When one begins to look, this feature is startlingly common to
            many ancient cults, monotheistic schismatic sects and modern
            esoteric groups. Many, if not the majority of adepts past and
            present were, or are, whoremasters. The mechanism is quite simple,
            pay the woman in the coinage of spirituality to service the men who
            repay you with adulation and accept your teachings as a side effect.
            The adulation from the men then increases your charisma with the
            women creating a positive feedback loop. It can be a nice little
            earner until old age or a police raid catches up with the
            enterprise. The other danger is of course that the women, and
            eventually the men, may come to feel that constant changes of
            partners work against their longer term interests of emotional
            security and reproduction. The turnover in such cults can thus be
            high, with young adults constantly replacing those approaching early
            middle age.

            Few religions or cults lack a sexual teaching, for any teaching
            provides a powerful level of control. The vast majority of the more
            durable and established religions trade on a suppression of so
            called free love. This pays considerable dividends too. Women's
            position becomes more secure, and men know who their children are.
            Naturally adultery and prostitution flourish in such conditions
            because some people always want a little more than lifelong monogamy
            has to offer. So it's quite true that brothels are built with the
            bricks of religion. Indirectly so with conventional religions,
            directly so with many cults.

            All this begs the question of why it is that people have such an
            appetite for wanting to be told what to do with their sexuality. Why
            do people have to seek esoteric and metaphysical justification for
            what they want to do? Why is it so easy to make a living selling
            water by the river?


                                                                                           1838
          

          The answer, it appears, is that human sexuality has some built in
            dissatisfaction function of evolutionary origin. Our sexual
            behaviour is partly controlled by genetics. Those genes most likely
            to survive and prosper are those that in the female encourage the
            permanent capture of the most powerful male available and occasional
            liaisons (clandestine) with any more powerful male that may be
            temporarily available. Whereas in the male, the genes most likely to
            prosper are those encouraging the impregnation of as large a number
            of females as he can support, plus perhaps a few on the sly that
            other men are supporting. It is interesting to note that only in the
            human female is oestrous concealed. In all other mammals the fertile
            time is made abundantly obvious. This appears to have evolved to
            allow, paradoxically both adultery and increased pair bonding
            through sex at times when it is reproductively useless. The economic
            basis of any particular society will usually supply some pressure in
            favour of a particular type of sexuality and this pressure will be
            codified as morality which will inevitably conflict with biological
            pressures. Celibacy is unsatisfactory, Masturbation is
            unsatisfactory, Monogamy is unsatisfactory, Adultery is
            unsatisfactory, Polygamy and Polyandry is unsatisfactory and
            presumably Homosexuality is unsatisfactory, if the renetic
            merry-go-round of partner exchanges in that discipline is anything
            to go by.

            Nothing in the spectrum of possible sexualities provides a perfect
            long term solution, but this is the price we pay for occupying the
            pinnacle of mammalian evolution. So much of our art, culture,
            politics and technology arises precisely out of our sexual
            yearnings, fears, desires and dissatisfactions. A society sexually
            at peace with itself would present a very dull spectacle indeed. It
            is generally if not invariably tha case that personal creativity and
            achievement are directly proportional to personal sexual turmoil.
            This is actually one of the major but often unrecognised techniques
            of sex magic. Inspire yourself with maximum sexual turmoil and
            confusion if you really want to find out what you are capable of in
            other fields. A tempestuous sex life is not a side effect of being a
            great artist for example. Rather it is the art which is the side
            effect of a tempestuous sex life. A fanatical religion does not
            create the suppression of celibacy. It is the tensions of celibacy
            which create a fanatical religion. Homosexuality is not a side
            effect of barracks life amongst elite suicide shock troops.
            Homosexuality creates elite suicide shock troops in the first place.

            The Muse, the hypothetical source of inspiration, usually pictured
            in sexual terms, is the Muse only when one's relationship to her is
            unstable. Every possible moral pronouncement on sexual behaviour has
            doubtless been given a million times before, and it would be
            unseemly for a Chaoist to re-emphasise any of it. However, one thing
            seems reasonably certain. Any form of sexuality eventually invokes
            the whole gamut of ecstasy, self-disgust, fear, delight, boredom,
            anger, love, jealousy, rafe, self-pity, elation and confusion.It is
            these things which make us human and occasionally superhuman. To
            attempt to transcend them is to make oneself less than human, not
            more. Intensity of experience is the key to really being alive and
            given the choice I'd rather do it through love than war any day.


                                                                                           1839
          

          A dull sex life creates a dull person. Few people manage to achieve
            greatness in any field without propulsion that a turbulent
            emotional-sexual life supplies. This is the major secret of sex
            mgic, the two minor secrets involve the function of orgasm as gnosis
            and the projection of sexual glamours.

            Anything held in the conscious mind at orgasm tends to reach down
            into the subconscious. Sexual abnormalities can readily be implanted
            or removed by this method. At orgasm sigils for enchantment or
            evocation can be empowered either by visualisation or by gazing at
            the sigil taped to one's partner's forehead for example. However
            this kind of work is often more conveniently performed
            auto-erotically. Although the gnosis offered by orgasm can in theory
            be used in support of any magical objective, it is generally unwise
            to use it for entropy or combat magic. No spell is ever totally
            insulted within the subconscious and any leakages which occur can
            implant quite detrimental associations with the sexuality.

            At orgasm an invocation can be triggered, this operation being
            particularly effective if each partner assumes a god form. The
            moments following orgasm are a useful time for divinatory vision
            seeking. Prolonged sexual activity can also lead to stages of trance
            useful in visual and oracular divination or oracular states of
            possession in invocation.

            The projection of Sexual Glamour for the purposes of attracting
            others depends on far more than simple physical appearance. Some of
            the most conventually pretty people lack it entirely, whilst some of
            the plainest enjoy its benefits to the limit.

            To be attractive to another person one must offer them something
            which is a reflection of part of their self. If the offer becomes
            reciprocal then it can lead to that sense of completion which is
            most readily celebrated by physical intimacy. In most cultures it is
            conventional for the male to display a tough public exterior and for
            the female to display a softer persona, yet in a sexual encounter
            each will seek to reveal their concealed factors. The male will seek
            to show that he can be compassionate and valnerable as well as
            powerful, whilst the female seeks to display inner strength behind
            the outward signs and signals of passive receptivity. Incomplete
            personalities such as those which are machismo to the core, or
            consist of the polar opposite of this, are never sexually attractive
            to anyone except in the most transient sense.

            Thus the philosophers of love have come to identify a certain
            androgyny in either sex as an important component of attraction.
            Some have taken the poetic license to express the quaint ideal that
            the male has a femal soul and the female a male one. This reflects
            the truism that to be attractive to others you must first become
            attracted to yourself. A few hours spent practising being attractive
            in front of a mirror is a valuable exercise. If you cannot get
            mildly excited about yourself, then don't expect anyone else to get
            wildly excited.


                                                                                           1840
          

          The "moon glance" technique is often effective. Basically one
            briefly closes the eyes and momentarily visualises a lunar crescent
            in silver behind the eyes with the horns of the moon projecting out
            of each side of the head behind the eyes. Then one glances into the
            eyes of a potential lover whilst visualising a silver radiance
            beaming from your eyes to theirs. This manoeuvre also has the effect
            of dilating the pupils and usually causes an involuntary smile. Both
            of these are universal sexual signals, the first of which acts
            subconsciously.

            It is generally unwise to cast spells for the attraction of specific
            partners but better to conjure for suitable partners in general for
            oneself or others. One's subconscious usually has a far more subtle
            appreciation of who really is suitable.

            Sexual magic is traditionally associated with the colours of purple
            (for ppassion) and silver (for the moon). However, the effectiveness
            of black clothing as either a sexual or an anti-sexual signal,
            depending on the style and cut, shows that black is in a sense the
            secret colour of sex, reflecting the biological and psychological
            relationship between sex and death.

              ________________

            This text is out of Pete Carroll's book
            "Liber Kaos, The Psychonomicon" (Weiser)

            With fractalic greetings and laughter  * Fra.: Apfelmann *


                                                                                           1841


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