Chaos Magic and Dark Paganism are not the same, although many Dark Pagans no doubt find it intriguing and effective. Although not necessarily associated with Dark Paganism, Chaos Magic is more likely to be found on a dark path than a light path for the simple reason that it is more internal and dependant upon the practitioner and often goes against more traditional systems. Trying to define Chaos Magic is no small task. Its very nature is so unstructured that to define it would take away its very essence. Simply put, Chaos Magic is a magical "system" where truth is meaningless. No belief system is required and any belief system can be drawn from. In theory one could make something up and still find it just as effective as an ancient rite of a secret society. This may seem very similar to eclectic magic. Both the chaotic magician and the eclectic magician would draw upon various, often unrelated, sources to perform magic or personalize a belief system. The eclectic however, attempts to build some sort of structure or system around these beliefs, whereas the chaotic magician is more concerned about using these beliefs as tools. There is also a difference in attitude between the two. The eclectic magician attempts to find the truth behind the various sources and combine them to form a viable system. It is believed that these personalized systems, as well as the various systems from which the beliefs were drawn, share a common, intrinsic, or absolute truth that reaches beyond any given system. The chaotic magician could not care less about such truths because it is believed there is no absolute truth: anything can be true just as it can be false. It is the magician who gives these beliefs their power, not the beliefs themselves. So while the beliefs of any given chaotic magician may be considered eclectic, the approach is quite different. One of the advantages of Chaos Magic is that it can make use of powerful, yet fictitious imagery such as the archetypal characters called The Endless (including Dream, Desire, Death, and Destiny) of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels or the plethora of powerful magical imagery of the Dungeons and Dragons-based games. Practitioners of Chaos Magic may seem on the surface to be disrespectful in their flagrant use of various beliefs – that they are simply trying to find an easy way past the more traditional forms of occult learning. Granted, many such people are attracted to it because of this impression, just as many are attracted to Dark Paganism because we are not afraid to accept that we desire a sense of power in our lives. However, such shallow people soon grow weary as they learn that their so thought "easy way" demands more than they were willing to give. The truth is, the chaotic magician must take it upon him/herself to empower the work being done. While most other practitioners have specific traditions or systems to draw upon, the chaotic magician must rely on him/herself to draw such connections to and empower – the system or systems currently being used. This is not easily accomplished and requires great strength of will. In the end, Chaos Magic is not for everyone. Some will find it of value while others, needing a more stable system, will prefer to stick with the more traditional approaches.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 10:31:55 +0000