Books
of Interest: chaos magic
The underlined
links as book titles, which appear on these pages are provided to allow you to
buy them from Amazon in the UK or the USA… UK readers click on the book title itself
and American readers please click on the ‘Buy it in the USA’ highlighted link
below each title. This costs you no more than usual, but a small
commission that we receive from each direct referred sale from these links
helps the running costs of this site.
Where books
are not available from Amazon in either location an alternative vendor is
indicated where possible, and in some cases electronic books are provided free
of charge or at nominal cost.
|
COVER IMAGE |
TITLE |
SYNOPIS OR REVIEW |
|
|
The Good, The Bad, The Funny By Adamai Philotunus (Ramsey Dukes) available
direct from publisher as paperback book or electronic book |
Pseudonymous
book, written by Occult philosopher Ramsey Dukes, this title proposes a
challenging Trinitarian philosophical approach to escape the logical, moral and
material tangles of a Dualist philosophical stance: What would happen if we thought in threes as naturally as
we think in twos? If, in place of a God/Devil (Good/Bad) duality we were
brought up with a God/Devil/Trickster (Good/Bad/Funny) trinity? This idea is
explored in depth - as a philosophy, as a psychology, as practical way to
heal the divisions in society and in our selves. With practical suggestions for further work, including an
entire revolutionary magical system based on a trinitarian instead of the
‘traditional’ fourfold model. Until now only circulated in manuscript form to
a select circle of friends, this first edition includes the full account of
Ramsey Dukes' infamous "Cybermass of Thrice Greatest Data-Hermes" |
|
|
|
SSOTBME by Ramsey Dukes available
direct from publisher as paperback or electronic book |
"The book that put the magic back in magic"
Gerald Suster - First published in 1974, SSOTBME immediately established
itself as a seminal text of the magical revival. The book became an essential
text for the Chaos Magic current as well as was a significant influence upon
the later New Age movement. Long out
of print, SSOTBME is now brought right up to date and enlarged with
additional commentary to over 150 pages by Ramsey Dukes. |
|
|
|
SSOTBME Polish Edition |
103 pages
including over 25 illustrations by Austin O Spare and special |
|
|
|
Blast! By Ramsey Dukes |
Volume 2 of the collected essays of Ramsey Dukes. “I want to be rich,
happy, sexy, powerful…. Hey, I’ve discovered a thing called magic that can
make you rich, happy, sexy, powerful…. It’s quite simple to become rich,
happy, sexy, powerful… as long as you do one thing- you have to become
perfect first. So how do you know when you’ve made yourself perfect? Oh shit.
You know you are perfect when you no longer WANT to be rich, happy, sexy,
powerful…” This is about the nature and power of belief,
human mental evolution, artificial intelligence modelling, chaos magic, the
Abramelin operation, the dichotomy between science and magic (which is not
just a rehash of the beautiful argument that appears in SSOTBME), and
investigates some thorny little paradoxes; like why do all occult leaders
seem to be, at least in part, or on occasions, charlatans? 'He appears more than ever a combination of Robert Anton
Wilson and Tommy Cooper... The Peter Pan of the British occult scene, and
long may he go on diverting us.' Paul
Geheimnis, in Chaos International No 15 |
|
|
|
Thundersqueak by Ramsey Dukes |
There
are many challenges and insights in such a relatively short book- such as why
academic research into ‘weird’ (another label!) subjects like magic is not
done: “although society is now so rich in money that we are prepared to risk
millions on a nuclear gamble, we are in fact so poor in time and trust that
nobody is officially prepared to dedicate a lifetime to test an alchemical
theory. (Unofficial testers are therefore suspicious and their conclusions therefore
annulled), ” but “when we are taught to be suspicious of spiritualists who
insist on working in the dark, what are we to make of nuclear physicists who
do not ever allow any observers within a hundred miles of their tests?” …More
liberation stuff abounds: “Morality that depends upon individual judgment is
a vigorous living thing; but when morality becomes equated with a rigid code
of law and dogma then it is no longer part of us, we are ‘distinct’ from it
and can grow free. The church did mankind the favour of thus enslaving
morality long, long ago.” …In other words- YOU ARE FREE TO DO WHATEVER YOU
WISH (OR ‘WILT’). Providing you are also prepared to accept the consequences
of your actions, and act accordingly. This is perhaps the best modern exposition
of the Law of Thelema; and it goes way beyond that. It’s a magick book, it’s
modern politics and sociology torn to pieces with the claws of a Hawk, it’s
philosophy, it’s art (The insight of writers who can see Austin Osman Spare,
Aleister Crowley and Rudolf Steiner as archetypal figures of Pluto, Uranus
and Neptune respectively is just awesome), it’s science… it’s tragic, it’s a
laugh |
|
|
|
Words Made Flesh by Ramsey Dukes paperback
or electronic book direct from publisher here |
Ramsey
Dukes' groundbreaking exploration of virtual reality and its impact on the real'
world. The information universe' as an potent alternative model for chaos
magic. First published in 1986, this e-edition updates the original text with
the addition of later essays. THE WONDERS OF A FINITE UNIVERSE Many of us struggle from time to time with the technology blues as we
search for our own path through the modem world. Futuristic visions tend to
inspire anxiety in seekers working within the context of their traditions,
some of which may be so ancient as to exclude any possible adaptation to
contemporary life. With Words Made Flesh, we have an articulate attempt to
boost our understanding of the world and enhance our vision - no matter how
involved we are with a traditional study or practice. This book is not about
artificial intelligence. Devoted to the presentation of a new model of the
universe, it develops the concept of artificial intelligence as a
cosmological metaphor. I believe this metaphor is of considerable
significance to mystic and mage alike. |
|
|
|
What I did in my holidays by Ramsey Dukes |
Further collected
essays: In a way it's frustrating that when you get 'occult' attached to the
description of a book you've removed 99.9% of your potential audience -
frustrating because this book is *so* impressive it deserves to be extremely
widely read. Ramsey Dukes has a clarity, and creativity, of thought that
means each of the many and varied chapters of this book leaves you with
something to think about long after you've finished reading. The world needs
more original thought, and more people prepared to consider ideas too unusual
for most people to work with. |
|
|
|
Peter Carroll- to follow |
|
|
|
|
Satanic Viruses by Andy W Smith |
Nothing to do with
Salman Rushdie; the title is just a clever pun on Rushdie’s, and it plays
more with the use, meaning and enormous power of words- the science of
Memetics…. Salman was damned to death and forced into secure hiding places by
a group who’d not even READ his book, after all…. The subtitle of the book
gives more clues: “The fall of the Roman Empire and how to bring it about”.
This is a fascinating piece. Originally published in a few hundred printed
versions as a chaos magical paperback in the late 1980s (although there are
no rituals as such, it’s more about concepts than a “do this, then this, then
this…”- kind of book), and hawked around various magical gatherings and
conferences it has been updated and amended to take into account the intervening
years, and to clarify the ‘hits’ among those predictions which were made way
back then. And there are a hell of a lot of hits. Andy Smith taught himself
astrology, as a tool for using symbols, and to examine the world via those
symbols- and he explains it competently enough in a few pages for a
non-astrologer like me to be able to understand where he’s going- some
achievement- and this is not ‘tall dark stranger on the horizon’ astrology,
it’s more about how Aeons change, and how the period concerned saw such
‘minor world events’ (not) as the fall of the Berlin Wall. And it’s funny,
eclectic and challenging- within these pages you will find Monty Python,
Einstein, art, advertising, Women’s suffrage, Oriental philosophy, politics
and world trade, multiple realities, Armageddon, whether a cancer cell has a
sense of morality, Quantum physics, neurology, Tolkien, Crowley, Austin
Spare, the anti-scientific bias of most pagans…. and a whole lot more- don’t
be misled by the relative length of this book, it packs in more than many
supposedly authorative tomes which are three times longer. |
|
|
|
Prime Chaos By Phil Hine |
A superb introduction to
practical magic - the sort of book to lend to interested, doubting or
downright skeptical friends. Phil so obviously writes from experience that he
wins immediate respect. He maintains that respect by writing intelligently,
without posturing and with a light touch of humour. This book does a good job
of directing chaos into mainstream culture, not just because it is so clearly
sane and perceptive. Phil says that for him magic is about "learning to
experience your world in different ways"; he describes the point where
"one ceases to believe in magic as something 'separate' to (sic) the
rest of one's familiar world. Rather the world is becoming magical." To
me this is the real place of magic in the 21st century: we live in a
shrinking world of limited resources, and the future lies with those who can
re-experience and sanctify what is around them rather than rely on new
conquests and further exploitation of resources to satisfy the need for
growth and novelty. In a similar vein Phil questions the desirability of
mastering the skills of dream control, when the great joy of dreams lies in
their very unpredictability and weirdness. Or else the book's real
value might lie not in the text itself but in the author's experience it
contains. A future generation of magicians could read Prime Chaos and be
inspired by it. They could pass on what they find to benefit others even when
the book is long forgotten and all that remains of Phil Hine is a statue cast
in solid platinum atop a hundred foot high marble pillar in the middle of
Trafalgar Square. (Ramsey Dukes, 2002) |
|
|
|
Oven Ready Chaos by
Phil Hine |
|
|
|
|
The Hellgate Chronicles by Hugo L’Estrange |
Being the collected
diary columns of the arch-Satanist The Honorary Hugo C. St J L'Estrange. As
as the old Aeon of the 70’s (with punk rock and winters of merry discontent)
blossomed foully into the personal hell-heaven greedy materialist
‘me’-generation era of the demons Yog-Soggoth, Thatcher and Choronzon, this
collection of diary entries was serialised in Aquarian Arrow magazine,
detailing the some
important history of both the world of Satanism and such other trivialities
as wars, deaths, plagues and famines which littered the period. There are
particularly several accounts of various Satanic Conferences down the years,
including the Winter 82-83 column where the workshop in ‘What’s New in
Torture’ had to be cancelled, as “Kenneth Grant has not published any books
recently”. There is also one historical curio- being the only article Hugo
ever had published by the Hermetic Journal, which seems particularly
apposite, as (paraphrasing Hugo) the transmutation of blackness/lead into
gold is a pretty healthy idea at the material level, but an abominable idea
as a spiritual metaphor… |
|
|
|
Theatre of Magick by Ray Sherwin |
An early and rare chaos
magick text, now available free of charge |
|
|
|
Positively
Wyrd by Tom Graves |
This is a personal
development book with a difference - literally a weird one. Starting with a
new way of looking at an old word, it merges chaos theory with transpersonal
psychology to create something that's highly practical and that gives new
power and new direction to the everyday confusions of life. In Nordic
tradition, the word 'wyrd' - or 'weird' - meant much the same as 'fate'. Like
fate, it describes the fabric of our lives: yet we always have choice, though
there's always a twist that changes each one to something we don't expect.
It's those twists that give our wyrd its weirdness; yet the real weirdness is
that these 'messages from the wyrd' are always there to help us. We can
ignore them, and wait passively - fatalistically - for life to change: which
it probably never will. We can fight against them, try to wrest control of
our life from the Fates: only to discover that control itself is nothing more
than a myth. Or we can learn to work _with_ life's weirdnesses - and use
their help to weave the fabric of our fate into a new form of our choosing.
That's our choice: yet there's always that twist... It may seem a weird way
of working with the world, but unlike so many others, it's one that _does_
work. With commonsense and clarity, with humour and humanity, and with a
strong emphasis on practice and personal experience, this book shows how to
develop an affinity for the natural weirdness of life - and to make life
positively wyrd. |
|
|
No image available |
Wyrd Allies
by Tom Graves |
No
matter how hard we try, we can never control our relationships with others. Whether
those relationships are personal or professional, social or familial, there's
always a hint of chaos and confusion. And sometimes it can seem that life
goes in circles and cycles: the faces and places may be different, but in
some weird way a different relationship can seem very familiar... Merging
ancient mythology and modern chaos theory with the subtle insights of
transpersonal psychology, this book shows how we can work _with_ the
weirdness - the wyrd - in our relationships, moving beyond the chaos of
control and manipulation, and towards a way of relating which empowers
everyone. Here we learn how every person can be our ally - whatever it may
seem on the surface - and every relationship can be a way of finding out more
about our wyrd purpose in life. |
|
|
|
Kaos 14 Magazine (Joel Biroco,
Editor) Supplied free direct from publisher’s website |
Extensive
and authoritative downloadable free magazine on modern occultism and magic,
including pieces on Kenneth Grant, the OTO, voodoo, book reviews etc |
|
|
|
Apikorsus by L.O.O.N (Lincoln Order of Necromancers) |
Anarchic
and creative piece of writing by a collective of modern chaos magickians |
|
No Image Available |
Anathema
of Zos: The Sermon to the Hypocrites by AO Spare
|
|
|
|
Artworks by Spare |
Are sometimes available from here |
|
No Image Available |
Focus
of Life; Mutterings of Aaos by
AO Spare |
|
|
No Image Available |
Youth
and the Sage, The
|
|
|
No Image Available |
Ethos
The Magical Writings of
Austin Osman Spare - Micrologus,the Book of Pleasure,the Witches Sabbath,Mind
to Mind and How by a Sorceror by AO Spare
|
|
|
No Image Available |
Mystery
of an Artist: Austin Osman Spare Austin Osman Spare (Illustrator)
|
|
|
No Image Available |
Stealing
the Fire from Heaven
|
|
|
No Image Available |
Images and Oracles of
Austin Osman Spare by Kenneth Grant Out of Print in USA, try ABE (below) |
After
almost 30 years out of print this superb collection of artistry and magical writing
is shortly due for re-issue- contact the publisher direct here |
|
No Image Available |
Outside
the Circles of Time by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
No Image Available |
Cults
of the Shadow by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
|
Nightside
of Eden by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
No Image Available |
Beyond
the Mauve Zone by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
No Image Available |
Hidden
Lore: The Carfax Monographs by
Kenneth Grant |
|
|
No Image Available |
Zos
Speaks!: Encounters With Austin Osman Spare by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
|
Cults
of the Shadow by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
|
Outer
Gateways by Kenneth Grant |
|
|
You may also help us in the same way by searching Amazon for your book and other general needs via these boxes, thankyou! |
USA Readers click here: 
UK
Readers shop here for all your needs
Book
you need Out of Print?
If you can’t find it new, UK readers try ABEBOOKS for a huge
selection of second-hand and antiquarian books…
worldwide readers click here : ABEWORLDWIDE from where
you can customise a search to limit to sellers in your country etc.
Return
to general magic books page