Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine
This is a feeler to find out if others would like to start a discussion about ‘Condensed Chaos’ by Phil Hine. I am just beginning it (maybe 1/3 through) but there are so many ideas that discussing them might help a lot. @MeganB suggested I post something here to see if there was interest. I could easily start over if any who are thinking about it want to gofurit (several hundred on GoodReads want to read it).
It is available as Kindle, Audible and as a PDF download at archive.org (Google ‘Condensed Chaos PDF’ and select one of the first several links that come up
A portion of a review on 'Spiralnature.com’ says: Hine covers many of the possible hazards of magickal practice, detailing what to look out for and what to avoid, adequately preparing the would-be practitioner as much as possible, or at the very least, letting hir know what might be expected, and how to recognize signs of idiocy. Sensibly, he does this before getting into discussion of techniques, and even advises taking breaks as needed.
I’ve gone through his early advice and agree with the review. One of my favorite quotes is:
When there is an idealized future we are working towards, it will remain forever just out of reach. The great work of magic is collapsing the future into the immediate present. The magician sees reality and lives in the now, and knows that the future is the manifestation of his will.
Anybody interested?
The first two chapters are an introduction and background. I’ll start by summarizing some of what I think is important. Feel free to add to or challenge. My input will be brief - The first two chapters cover 38 pages and there is MUCH more there.
Chapters 1 and 2. IS CHAOS MAGIC? and CHAOS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD
He offers the core principles of Chaos. I’ve abbreviated them below but if you watched any of the introductory videos, they will be familiar. The text in parens is my summary:
Avoid dogmatism - (being right is not absolute, no one has a lock on truth)
Personal experience is paramount -( don’t take my word for it, check it out)
Technical excellence - ( rigorous self assessment )
Deconditioning - (step away from popular ideas of self, society and world. discard ego fictions)
Diverse approaches. (Use systems that work for you. use eclectic approach)
Gnosis - (enter altered states of belief at will)
He also emphasizes that humor is important and comes up with interesting quips.
One experience he relates, which is humorous and maybe frightening, is waking up with a heavy shadow on his chest and, after calming himself, he manifested a Pentacle and mentally shoved it into the shadow which then dispersed. He comes up with these things frequently and I have to read them with a grain of salt. I’m holding onto core principle 2 and withholding belief until I get through the rest of the book.