Ain Sof

(Qabalah) Hebrew “Without end.” A reference to God, who is everywhere and in all things. If Ain is the number 0, then Ain Sof is the number 1 and represents creation as it is about to manifest. Because Ain Sof represents a pre-existent state and is infinite, it can have no attributes. Ain Sof represents the second Veil of Negative Existence.

Ain Sof Aur

(Qabalah) Hebrew “Limitless Light.” The third Veil of Negative Existence, from which all things are manifest.

Alkahest

(Alchemy) In alchemy, a mysterious power that facilities alchemical transformation. Otherwise known as the “universal solvent,” to indicate its capacity to reduce all physical matter to its basic quintessence. Alkahest was used to transmute metals to their purest form, which was gold. In physical terms, this meant creating or revealing the Astral Body.

Akasha

(Yoga, Theosophy) Sanskrit for space or sky. Madame Blavatsky popularized the word in her Theosophical writings. It is synonymous to the Ether of the alchemists, Levi’s “Astral Light,” and that mysterious “Fifth Element” or “Quintessence.” It is very similar to the Thelemic concept of Hadit. Akasha is the substance from which thoughts are created.

Alchemy

(Alchemy) From the Arabic “al-kimia.” The Medieval origins of chemistry. The preparation of the Stone or Elixir. The word originates with the Coptic “khem” which allude to the fertile black soil of the Nile. It is an esoteric term referring to the First Matter, the One Thing through which all creation manifests according to Hermes. Alchemy is the Work of nature that perfects matter. In modern times, alchemy and its terminology have become a language used is Jungian Analytical Psychology to explain spiritual phenomena. Some schools hold that alchemy is a metaphor for sex magic.

Archon

(Gnostic) Literally “Ruler.” Refers to the creators and governing forces in the material world. The Demiurge is an archon, as are his offspring: the angels.

Chakras

Sanskrit Seven centers of spiritual energy located in the astral body, but correspond to the physical body as well according to yoga philosophy. In rare cases, they can sometimes be seen by the naked eyes. The most important Chakras are: Muladhara (4 petal lotus) located at the anus, Svadhishthana (6 petal lotus) at the genital organ, Manipura (10 petal lotus) at navel, Anahata (12 petal lotus) at the heart, Visudha (16 petal lotus) at the throat and Ajna (2 petal lotus) at the space between the eyebrows. The seventh Chakra is known as Sahasrara, which contains a thousand petal lotus. It is located at the top of the head.

Emotivism

(Philosophy) The emotive theory of moral judgments maintains that moral statements (good and evil) are to be understood wholly or primarily in terms of Emotive Meaning.

Expedient

(Philosophy) Something useful or convenient serving to promote one’s interest based on a concern for self-interest rather than principle. Expedient arguments are often countered with what morality or justice demands, but Mill sometimes uses expediency to refer to Utilitarianism.

Fountain

(Alchemy) The fountain is a symbol of the Ouroboros. Whenever three fountains are found they represent the three alchemical gunas: Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt. When a King and Queen are illustrated sitting in a fountain this indicate a bath or Dissolution and Distillation.

©2009 Gerald del Campo
Edited by Sheta Kaey

Gerald del Campo is the author of A Heretic’s Guide to Thelema, New Aeon Magick: Thelema Without Tears, and New Aeon English Qabalah Revealed, among other works. You can visit his blog at http://solis93.livejournal.com and his website at http://thelemicknights.org. Gerald serves as Senior Managing Editor of Rending the Veil.

“It’s all ‘cos of Quantum.” — Sir Terry Pratchett.

It’s a common meme in New Age writing is to use physics paradigms, from vague hand-waving about “vibrations” and “energies” to the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!?. Rarely does this go beyond crude wielding of metaphors not actually understood by the proponent. (Fair enough — you don’t have to be a physicist to make use the metaphor… but most often it’s used lazily.) So it’s a real treat to see this idea explored well.

After a long absence from the field, Pete Carroll, the Father of Chaos Magic, comes back with a new interpretation of the Chaos paradigm, heavily rooted in his own background in mathematics and a strong appreciation of modern physics, as well as his extensive magical investigations.

He starts with a simple distinction — between being and doing. Considering what an object or person or phenomenon does, rather than what it is allows one to examine the assumptions that underlie so much of western thought, especially the processes which fuel division and bigotry: “…the seemingly innocuous idea of ‘being’ encourages sloppy thinking and prejudice, it allows us to create idiotic religious ideas, it prevents us from understanding how the universe works, and it renders us incomprehensible to ourselves.”

From this simple basis, he extrapolates a plausible and coherent system of thought which encompasses magical phenomena and materialistic science without the need for a separate controlling/ creating godlike entity.

He’s taking a similar tack as the later work of the last truly great writer who combined quantum models and magical thought, Robert Anton Wilson (especially in books such as Quantum Psychology), but Carroll’s take is more methodical and much clearer.

It’s also instructive to compare his perspective to the tenets of the “New Atheist” position on the nature of consciousness and evolutionary reasons for the existence of belief — especially in Chapter 4, where he says;

“…where does the widespread idea of literally real gods and spirits come from?
It comes from the same ‘theory of mind’ facility that has evolved to equip us with a working hypothesis about the existence of minds in other people (and animals), and a self-image.”

… a position many neurotheologists would consider entirely reasonable. I suspect however that few of them would be able to make Carroll’s (from my perspective, entirely reasonable) leap into a (his term) Neo-Pantheism, which holds scorn for the fundamentalism of both faith and science.

His description of the (no shock!) eight underlying principles of Neo-Pantheism are one of the many very precise pleasures of this book. I found myself nodding in agreement with each of them.

Later chapters expand on these basics, discussing consistent (and verified as plausible by several anonymously-thanked physicists) models in both quantum and astrophysics which allow not only for magic to work but for it to fit our understanding of the physical world. No small trick — and the science bits (though complex) are elucidated well (though visualizing a “vorticitating hypersphere” was beyond me!).

Then, to cap it all off, he introduces us to the newly-minted goddess Apophenia. The word apophenia is usually taken to mean “false pattern recognition” (it was that usage of the term by William Gibson that first drew my attention to it), but as Carroll points out, that just means, “finding pattern or meaning where others don’t” — something many magicians do on a regular basis.

Apophenia is often acquainted with a similar trait (also incarnated as a goddess here) called Pareidolia — best illustrated by the excellent blog on the subject Madonna of the Toast. Carroll illustrates the difference between them thus: “…whilst Apophenia could bring the Universe to us in a grain of sand, Pareidolia merely distracts us with the face of the Virgin Mary in a pavement pizza,” (though he does note Her influence in art and mystical religion).

The ritual given for working with Apophenia — and to a lesser degree her sisters Pareidolia and Eris (who should need no introduction!) — does require some background in the working style of Chaos magic in general and IOT-based ritual work in particular, but even if you don’t swing that way, it holds a lot of useful tools.

The appendices give deeper explorations of the maths involved in his model and a brief description of how the concept of Apophenia-as-goddess was born.

Like any paradigm there are a few things he takes for granted, and sometimes these assumptions are not fully explained or justified — but for the most part it all holds together nicely and it certainly held the attention of this reviewer (who, though someone who uses Chaos concepts in my work, was not the biggest fan of Carroll’s earlier books). Though the paradigm is not perhaps a complete one (and to his credit Carroll says precisely this) I suspect it’s as close to a Unified Field Theory of Science and Magic as we’re going to see for quite a while.

The whole thing is leavened with Carroll’s characteristic dry wit — for example: “I describe anyone I’ve not actually net as ‘imaginary.’ (Only lunch can translate imaginary people into real people.)” Several pages also have more poetic insights, including a new-variant Tree of Life, nicely illustrated by Ingrid Glaw.

A small book in size, but enormous in scope. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in expanding their own praxis or models of the universe, to magicians looking for ways to reconcile their worldview with modern scientific thought, and especially to pagans who need convincing that Chaos Magic isn’t all about wearing black and not believing in anything.

Review content ©2009 Ian Vincent
Edited by Sheta Kaey

Ain

(Qabalah) Hebrew Literally, “no thing.” Some texts suggest that this is the condition of being that is God. Or, to put it another way, God is absolute nothingness or negative existence. No thing that can be understood. Ain represents the first Veil of Negative Existence.

Cherub

(Qabalah) Hebrew The four powers of the Universe, corresponding to the Four Worlds, the four elements, the Four Powers of the Sphinx, the four senses, and which are generally represented by the four fixed signs of the zodiac. They are elements that manufacture our world by way of unconscious delineation and discrimination. The word “Cherubims” is incorrectly given as a plural form in the King James version of the Bible, by adding the English plural termination to the Hebrew plural cherubim instead of to the singular cherub.

Griffin

(Alchemy) A mythological beast, half-lion and half-eagle, whose eggs symbolize the Conjunction of the fixed and volatile principles. The griffin egg is a reference to the Vessel of Hermes.

Lunette

(Ecclesiastic) From the Latin luna, meaning “moon.” In the Catholic Mass, a lunette is a crescent shaped clip made of gold or silver, used to hold the Host in an upright position in the monstrance.

Philosophy of Mind

(Philosophy) The branch of philosophy which studies the nature of the mind. Central questions in the philosophy of mind include: Is it possible for a machine to think? How is the mind related to the brain? Do animals have minds? How can I know that anyone else has a mind?

Premise

A principle accepted as true.

Psychological Hedonism

(Philosophy) The doctrine that a person actually pursues nothing except his or her own pleasure or happiness.

Pyx

(Ecclesiastic) A small metal container, used to house the Host while it is taken to the sick and housebound.

Reflection

(Psychology) Mental activity that concentrates on a particular content of consciousness. A spiritual trigger, or religious instinct in the search for meaning. See meditation.

Tetragrammaton

(Qabalah) Greek The four-lettered Ineffable Name of God: Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh. Its true pronunciation has been lost, and legend has it that its proper pronunciation can confer great power.

Gerald del Campo is the author of A Heretic’s Guide to Thelema, New Aeon Magick: Thelema Without Tears, and New Aeon English Qabalah Revealed, among other works. You can visit his blog at http://solis93.livejournal.com and his website at http://thelemicknights.org. Gerald serves as Senior Managing Editor of Rending the Veil.

©2008 Gerald del Campo
Edited by Sheta Kaey