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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com


 
 
 
                              THE PACT (IOT) - The Story So Far 
 
                                       by Pete Carroll
 
 
 
           In 1976 in an abandoned ammunition dump dug deep into a mountain
 
           somewhere in the Rhineland, two magicians, one English, one German
 
           announced the formation of a magical order with the celebration of a
 
           Mass of Chaos in the company of a couple of dozen other magicians.
 
           Soon after we emerged from the bowels of the mountain a localized
 
           tornado hit immediate area. This was but a small portent of things
 
           to come.
 
 
 
           We left the mountain with no particular idea other than to form an
 
           Order such as had never existed before, that would break the
 
           existing mold and provide a vehicle for Chaos Magic. A year later
 
           some of us met in a splendid Austrian castle and formally arranged
 
           ourselves into the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros,
 
           using as a basis a simple structure of four grades and five offices
 
           that I had devised in the meantime. Since then the Pact has evoked a
 
           veritable whirlwind of activity, and at the time of writing counts
 
           some sixteen temples in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
 
           Australia and the USA. A meeting for all members is now held
 
           annually, usually at the same original castle (Burg Lockenhaus,
 
           Austria, 2.-6.August 1991 followed by an Exercitium open for all).
 
           It is always a wild experimental gathering during which plenty of
 
           hard work is being done. In devising a structure I sought mainly to
 
           avoid the mistakes of previous established orders such as the Golden
 
           Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis. A certain division of labour is
 
           essential just to ensure that people take responsibility for
 
           organizing that which needs organizing. Beyond that it seems an
 
           absurdity to form an order on the basis of one or a few persons
 
 
                                            1397
 
 
           adopting the role of great guru almighty. Their bluff must
 
           eventually be called, and such organisations are unlikely to advance
 
           beyond whatever set of ideas they start with. Crowley had to break
 
           with the Golden Dawn to make his own contribution to magic, and
 
           Austin Spare had to break with Crowley in his turn. Such progress
 
           through schism is an idiotic waste of time and effort. Any
 
           contemporary order which wishes to remain alive, exciting and
 
           innovative requires a structure or at least a communication network
 
           to exist at all, but dogmatic ideas, rigid hierarchies and fixed
 
           teachings and beliefs will kill its creative spirit rapidly.
 
           Thus in the Pact, the individual temples, which are its basic unit,
 
           experiment with whatever techniques, rituals and ideas they please,
 
           and exchange results and inspirations through newsletters,
 
           magazines, a computerized electronic mailbox system, inter-temple
 
           visits and the annual Pact meeting. There is thus a natural
 
           selection of ideas. Techniques, Spells and Rituals which are found
 
           to be really useful become used and expanded upon whilst the less
 
           effective material is forgotten. Those members who enter the Pact
 
           bubbling over with ideas are encouraged to put them into use
 
           immediately. Naturally in an organisation such as this there is less
 
           emphasis on discipline than on enthusiasm and creativity. The Pact is
 
           more interested in those who can experience magic as a living thing,
 
           than in those who can merely follow instructions. Indeed the only
 
           power the Pact reserves over its members is the right of expulsion
 
           for extreme non-fraternal behaviour or for bringing the Pact into
 
           danger. The Pact has but two aims. Firstly the pursuit of the Great
 
           Work of Magic and pleasures and profits attendant to this Quest.
 
           Secondly to act as a Psychohistoric Force in the Battle for the
 
           Aeon. To fulfill the first aim we provide communication facilities
 
           that enable us to work together and develop our own magics through
 
 
                                            1398
 
 
           the exchange of ideas and information. Esoterics should also be fun.
 
           If you don`t enjoy doing magic you are probably doing something
 
           wrong. The profits are entirely whatever rewards individuals can
 
           make from their own magic. There are no membership fees and the
 
           annual Pact meeting is free and funded by seminars and exercitiums
 
           that some members hold for the general public plus any members who
 
           wish to attend. The somewhat grandiosely phrased Psychohistoric
 
           action in the Battle for the Aeon, consists mainly in spreading the
 
           philosophy of magical paradigm where we can, in print and by word of
 
           mouth, although we occasionally perform acts of magic to hasten
 
           things along.
 
 
 
           The magical techniques and philosophy of the Pact are mainly Chaoist
 
           in inspiration. Chaos Magic calls for a concentration of the actual
 
           mechanics at work when planning acts of evocation, divination,
 
           enchantment, invocation and illumination. It is techniques and
 
           intention that are important in successful magic. The most Important
 
           Techniques are those which adjust subconscious belief. Subconscious
 
           belief controls both the self or selves and the world. So long as
 
           this is never forgotten one can structure a ritual or spell with
 
           just about any form of symbolism from Tibetan Tantra to Icelandic
 
           Runelore. And indeed, where else but in the Pact could you find
 
           magicians experimenting with Runic Sex Magic? Well perhaps you will
 
           find other examples. I notice the eclectic approach becoming ever
 
           more pervasive in esoterics. Insights and ideas are now poached
 
           shamelessly from one so-called tradition to another, but this is how
 
           it should be, and Chaos Magic boldly encourages the meta-tradition
 
           which takes anything and everything that is effective from all
 
           traditions to create an explosive mixture.
 
 
 
 
                                            1399
 
 
           So, on with the pursuit of the Great Work of Magic, with whatever
 
           forms of Techno-Shamanism, Tantric Goetia or Greco-Egyptian Quantum
 
           Physics we can make work for us. There are worlds within us, and the
 
           universe is infinitely more weird, I`m sure, than all our theories
 
           put together. Hopefully, some of the explosives the Pact cooks up
 
           can propel us a little further into these strange domains. I have no
 
           idea how this years Pact meeting will unfold, except that there will
 
           be magicians from many lands seated in a huge circle ready to offer
 
           their specialities in everything from Buddhist sorcery through Norse
 
           wyrdcraft and Chaos mathematical investment schemes to Voodoo and
 
           Ice Magics. We have the technology and we`re crazy enough to use it!
 
 
 
           The Pact may be contacted in the US care of:
 
           Temple Oblivion, P.O.Box 18514, Encino CA 91416-8514
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            1400
 
 
                                                                             1402
 
 
                                  Blackout and Sigils 
                                    Fra.: Apfelmann
 
           The blackout or as it is commonly referred to, the death posture, is
      the technique that the late Austin Osman Spare refined for  his own magical
      use  and which has been adopted by chaoists,  solo and group, world wide as
      its  popularity has been increased  by the works  of the IOT  over the last
      decade or so.  
 
           The  normal procedure, as many will undoubtedly be familiar with, (and
      this is only one  of its uses) is that  a sigil/glyph of desire is  held in
      the mind`s  eye whilst in what we  all refer to as  the death posture e.g.,
      stood on  tiptoe, arms locked behind the head, body stretched to its limit,
      deep spasmodic breathing, until total exhaustion  and inevitably one blacks
      out, the sigil is  then lost to the mind  of the inner and the  banished of
      laughter is evoked to prevent the resurfacing of the said sigil.
 
           Anyone who has used this technique for the above said purpose, will
      have  at sometime or another experienced, even if just slightly, difficulty
      in holding  the posture long enough  for the desired gnosis  to take effect
      sufficiently  for  blackout. And  due to  this  difficulty, a  well planned
      ritual  can be a  well planned waste of  time as the  desired result is not
      implanted properly.  
 
           A  technique that  has  been repeatedly  employed  by myself  on  such
      occasions is based upon  the same principles as the death  posture but as I
      have found,  a little easier and  without pitfalls that one  can experience
      with A.O. Spare`s technique.  
 
           This  technique is  a  strange mixture  of  inhibitory and  excitatory
      gnosis, forced  overbreathing, dancing or  spinning, and of  course exhaus-
      tion.  The end result is of necessity  for this process the blackout, which
      is  as we  know, of  the inhibitory  gnosis. I  will  now explain  how this
      technique  is employed  by  one for  the insertion  of sigils  for whatever
      purpose one feels the need.
 
           First one has to sigilise the desire in any form that one may wish,
      but in all cases and especially this  one, it must be very easy to  visual-
      ise. Once that has  been achieved, one may then begin  to design the ritual
      for  that particular  purpose in  mind. Banishings  and invocations  may be
      employed,  if so  wished, this is,  however, not  a necessity  for the suc-
      cessful  outcome  of this  process.  At  the culmination  of  the rite  the
      individual starts  the overbreathing, panting deeply  and spasmodically and
      at  the same  time visualising the  sigil as  vividly as  you possible can,
      bright,  intense and very clear  as the overbreathing  continues. Then when
      you feel that the time is right, start your spinning round and round, still
      overbreathing and still holding  your visualised sigil in your  mind`s eye.
      Music  can be played for a background to the dancing, tom toms or any other
      drum  is rather  excellent  background sound  for  this purpose.  When  the
      individual  has reached a state  of sheer exhaustion,  very dizzy, sweating
      and ready  to drop, he or she then, still spinning and overbreathing and of
      course holding the visulised sigil  in mind, works their way to  the centre
      of the circle or working area.
 
 
                                                                             1403
 
 
           There  a partner,  either  active or  passive to  the rite,  (in other
      words,  if a solo worker,  try to get  someone to help you  with this part)
      stops you spinning and grabs you in  a bear hug lifting you off the  ground
      and squeezing you about the  solar plexus, where a large network  of nerves
      lie.  At  this precise  moment  the music,  if  any has  been  employed, is
      stopped, and death-like silence is kept. The practitioner  holds his or her
      breath whilst being squeezed and the sigil is visualised as if burning with
      bright, white heat as its image is burnt into your mind. Within seconds the
      blackout will occur and the sigil is lost to the mind. At this point it is
      important that your partner lets  you drop to the floor, unless that is you
      wish to return to primal chaos!
 
      On  coming round, in  most cases, you  should evoke laughter  to banish the
      sigil and all thoughts thereof,  your laughter breaks that silence  and the
      rite is finished in whatever manner wished.
 
      With fractalic greetings and laughter  * Fra.: Apfelmann *
 
 
                                                                             1404
 


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