I was cruising through YouTube a week or so ago and saw one of the younger male witches I like, talking about chaos magic, so I stopped to listen. I expected to hear something new as I have some old perceptions of what chaos magic is. Imagine my surprise when he began to describe chaos magic as what I know to be Eclectic Witchcraft. I began to wonder if all that had been changed was the word used to describe the same thing. This led me to do research, which I enjoy. I compared our family definition of eclectic and chaos magic with the broader public definitions only to find it was pretty much the same as our family definition.
Here are some other descriptions I found along the way.
Eclectic witchcraft is a practice that combines spiritual, occult, and magical practices from many different cultures, philosophies, and time periods; There are so many practices the Eclectic Witch can use the list is endless but may include, Shamanism, Eastern philosophy, Buddhism, Ceremonial Magick, Psychism, Mediumship, and any of the many forms of divination.
My grandmother and mom always said our family craft was eclectic, which meant our practices were created from a broad spectrum of practices and beliefs. This broad spectrum aligned with our family’s definition of a Witch, being described as, “Having the ability to work with and or manipulate any energy, vibration, deity, spirit or being you encounter without any restrictions and being adept with plants for healing.” Which is pretty close to my definition of magic as well.
And chaos magic is the ability to catch or create, then use the most random rare, unusual, and one of, type of energies, occurrences, and created beings by using old and mystic occult practices and sigils. How does that differ from eclectic? The eclectic witch uses the fixed natural and re-occurring types of energies such as plants animals, and natural elements rather than the random and mutable energies combined through sigils and older occult practices.
That said I think some of the research I found describes it better. The Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary by June G. Bletzer describes chaos as; The creation of perfectness consisting of indestructible, Intelligent, energetic, atoms and smaller particles; As not having order, as mankind knows order; The essence of all things made in the universe; A Mish Mash of the original principles of humanity, the formless void of primordial matter; the essence of all things made; some call it chaos others call it perfectness as mankind knows no other.
Other sources state; “The perspective of chaos theory suggests that seemingly small life events can have a large impact on psychology, mental health, and human behavior.”
“And that chaos teaches beliefs can shape perceptions, and the world can be changed intentionally by altering those beliefs.”
“Chaos magicians use belief as a tool, often creating their own magical systems that combine different things like quantum physics, chaos theory, anarchism, and practical magic.”
It is in this way chaos magic and the eclectic are similar by using combined practices and intention. Yet the sources of the of the belief, the intention, and the systems used are quite different. The chaos practitioner uses complex systems whose behavior is highly sensitive to slight changes in conditions, meaning that small alterations can give rise to strikingly great consequences. To perform magic successfully, chaos magicians believe it’s necessary to enter a state of altered consciousness called “gnosis”. In this state, thoughts are stilled, and awareness is focused on a single point. And more often than not, Eclectic practitioners practice their beliefs while conscious.
Chaos magicians also believe in servitors, which are beings that can be given many names from different cultures’ demonologies. Where Witchcraft practitioners are more likely to make or attract a familiar instead of making a servitor, but this is not exclusively true. Some eclectics cross over into chaos magic just as easily as they do any other practice they are familiar with.
While chasing the rabbit down another hole I discovered this bit of information; Chaos Magic works on laws which may be either known or unknown. Everything in the universe functions according to laws. The Nine Laws of Chaos Magic are as follows:
- Kosmos and Kaos self-manifested together. Stability and change are mirror images of each other. The actions of Kaos are those of Kosmos with an infinite number of possible paths.
2. The condition of complex systems over time depends on their initial conditions.
3. All complex dynamic systems have Magic Points – critical points where a small change can have large consequences. Magic Points are seldom obvious. Stimulation of a Magic Point usually gets bad results before it gets better.
4. Complex systems are not reversible.
5. All living systems are dependent upon cooperation. Life creates the conditions for its own existence.
6. The more independent a system, the more feedback loops it requires.
7. The future of any complex system is unpredictable.
8. All creative activity is the result of tension between Kaos and Kosmos. Creativity, discovery, and invention result from the conjunction of two or more distinct frames of reference.
9. Complex systems at equilibrium are not really at equilibrium.
I know this is just the tip of the iceberg on both of these topics, but it is enough to get you thinking and chasing your own rabbits. Many Blessings to all.
