Carl Abrahamsson's Blog, page 9
September 26, 2024
New Chaos Magic comp!
This great book in which I’ve written about my love for the IOT magazine CHAOS INTERNATIONAL is now available on pre-order:
This Is Chaos is the first collection of its kind showcasing where chaos magic has come from, where it is now, and most importantly where it is going. Helmed by one of the originators of chaos magic, Peter Carroll, and filled with essays by some of the most respected chaos magic workers who are redefining magic for the modern practitioner.
Chaos magic emerged only a few decades back, but it has already grown into a magical tradition embraced by many. Chaos magic started under the influence of renowned artist and occultist Austin Osman Spare; it was then more codified by Peter J. Carroll and a few others. This Is Chaos delves into the history the magical system has come from, but more importantly looks at its current use and what the future holds. Chaos magic has always been about pushing new boundaries with a focus on belief utilizing aspects of magic such as sigils and magical servants (thought forms) to help accomplish one’s aims.
This Is Chaos includes essays on:
Chaos magic meets witchcraftEgregoresVirtual reality and cyber magicAnimist sorceryThe power of personal mythology and quantum chaosTarot in chaos magicA ritual that combines Hellenistic astrology/planetary magic/ceremonial magicTheoretical magical ideasChaos magic and neuro-hackingEsoteric Buddhism, the eight chaos gods, and the history of Japanese magicFeaturing a foreword by Ronald Hutton and essays from a wide cross-section of chaos magic practitioners, including Aidan Wachter, Carl Abrahamsson, Dave Lee, Ivy Corvus, Jaq D. Hawkins, Jozef Karika, Jacob Sipes, Julian Vayne, Lionel Snell, Mariana Pinzón, Sinobu Kurono, and Sanhre Daffowt.
This Is Chaos is a collection unlike any before, showcasing the many ways chaos magic is finding its way into other modes of magic workings, divination, and disciplines yet to come.
#chaosmagic #occulture #carlabrahamsson
September 23, 2024
Coming Into My Own
As you probably know, my wife Vanessa and I have a Patreon where we post about all the news, projects and material that’s percolating in our lives. One regular section is the MAGIC MONDAY every… you guessed it… Monday. Once a week we share magical workings, techniques, essays, developments, projects, philosophy etc with our Patreon Community. And once a year we publish these posts in book form.
You can check out our Patreon here.
(The Magic Monday posts are available for the $5 or more patrons)
Today’s post is so special to me that I have decided to publish it here on my web site too. Hopefully you will find it interesting and relevant. Thank You!
Magic Monday: Coming Into My Own
Last week Vanessa and I were in Stockholm. That in itself was a big thing as we hadn’t visited our old hometown for two and a half years. It was just a brief in-and-out, and no really major changes could be seen in the urban landscape, thank the gods!
The reason for our trip was that I had been invited to introduce two new documentaries at Bio Capitol, Stockholm’s best indie cinema. The films? Scott Cummings’s ”Realm of Satan” and David Charles Rodrigues’s ”S/He Is Still Her/e” about Church of Satan members and Genesis P-Orridge, respectively. We had seen both films before, and like them a lot. So it was honoring to be invited even though they aren’t ”my” films in any way. Well… I am in ”Realm of Satan” briefly, and the final credits music is the old White Stains classic ”Sweet Jayne.” And the Gen film uses videos and photos I’ve shot, so… I’m in there a little bit.
So far, so good. Lovely evening; meeting up with old friends, some of which we hadn’t met since before the pandemic – the last occasion for most of us was actually the screening of my LaVey documentary ”Into the Devil’s Den” in January of 2020 at the very same cinema!
Back at the hotel and trying to sleep, various mind-threads gelled and led to an insight…
No wonder really, as that night contained a full moon lunar eclipse in Pisces (here’s how the renowned astrologer Chani described it: ”This event spotlights anything lurking in the shadows, and as the first lunar eclipse of its kind in nearly two decades, it denotes a new wave of artistry, idealism, and mysticism. Because the eclipse is also conjunct Neptune (the planet of illusion), it pulls focus toward any ways we’ve been deceiving ourselves. But/and Saturn (the planet of structure) is nearby in Pisces, bringing a touch of pragmatism to the party. So follow your whims — just don’t forget to come back down to Earth.”)
During both introductions I had told the same old story once again: my mid 1980s admiration for LaVey and Jayne Mansfield led to the White Stains record ”Sweet Jayne” which Genesis P-Orridge suggested I send to LaVey just for the hell of it. Which I did, and which led to me getting a very nice letter back, and with LaVey making me a member of the Church of Satan. And eventually a long and fruitful friendship. One of life’s little mysteries, apparently, how doors can open up when you least expect them to… Small decisions and creations can lead to massive transformations of your life.
Further on down the line, I paid my dues both backwards and forwards, in, for instance, the ”Change Itself” film and Sacred Intent book (about Gen), and the ”Into the Devil’s Den” film and Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan book. Because that’s what you do: you honor the teachers and mentors, and carry on in a similar spirit, yet in your own language and energy frequency.
But the insight you’re so politely waiting for is this… A classic ”What if?” Or, rather, a ”What if not?” conundrum. What if I hadn’t sent that record to LaVey in the first place? I would definitely not have been there in that moment at that cinema… and would that double bill even have happened? LaVey and Gen would of course have existed anyway and left their marks. But I do believe my working with their ”spirits” and presences in writing my own biographies over the past decade have helped them both resurface considerably. That has been intentional on my part.
My perceived centrality of the moment (as ”introducer”) didn’t only have to do with my own feeling appreciated; I was also literally re-experiencing part of my magical lineage in a poetic vortex that also included the audience itself (which contained Stockholm old school TOPY, OTO and Church of Satan people with whom I have worked magically over the decades) as a fascinating resonance box. In ”Realm of Satan” I read from the Swedish translation of LaVey’s Satanic Bible that I published in 1996, and the film itself ends with my own literal entry into LaVey’s / the Devils’ Den by playing ”Sweet Jayne.” And in the ”S/He is Her/e” film my integrated video of Gen reciting a poem (from ”Change Itself”) really rocked me because I was the one filming that poetic delivery (Oslo, 2014) with my camera/eye – with Gen literally talking to me:
Cut your SELF up,
See who you really are…
See who is really there…
The more detached one is from a role in someone elses’s script
The easier it becomes to create a new one.
Is THIS you?
Is this contrived character YOU?
Who is directing YOU?
Who is directing who?
There are more than one of you.
Choose another you.
Although I have read and heard this so many times, it sort of penetrated my rational resistance in that moment at the cinema. So true! I have come a long way, and soon it’s time for the RELEASE of my autobiography Meetings with Remarkable Magicians (Oct 1st). Is this a shedding of skin, a rebirth, a metamorphosis, a reformulation…? Am I now detached from my role in someone else’s script? I would say so, and hope so!
The full moon lunar eclipse and on to the very recent Autumnal Equinox (and today’s 23 celebration ov course!) was also tied to a text I wrote in my notebook the week before – and actually fiddled with on the train up to Stockholm. Sometimes I just write stuff, and it never ends up anywhere. But revisiting this text just a few days ago, it made such perfect sense in the big scheme of things; I can see it totally connected to the cosmic shifts as well as my insights post-movie-introductions.
I guess the moral or teaching of this story is that there are always full circles going on, but of different sizes and importances. Intuitive creativity is a very powerful form of psychoanalysis that leaves self-awareness (and self-deception) behind. When you take a step back and check not only what’s going on at work (whichever that may be or mean) but also the astrology and also your ongoing intuitive creations, you are very likely to reach insights like mine: I am ready to rock, on my own, and in my own words. Respect where respect is due, and much love and gratitude in paying backwards and forwards. But the only time is now, no matter how comfortable it is at times to cling to the past.
On that note, here is the text I wrote the week before the Stockholm trip:
Authority
Recently, I fully embraced my magical authority. Quite simply, this was done not by mental shenanigans but by beginning to (inter)act within the role. A positioning of myself inside a force field that already existed, in great part thanks to the long-time projections of others. It’s remarkable how hard this has been for me. Beginning to help others see themselves was a great help in this process. Concretely, to ”launch” the Source Magic Mentorship and not only get acknowledgments (as per usual) but also commercialized interactions. I love the model, the modality, the modus (operandi). I am simply so good at being the spiritual/magical teacher! I have come into my own.
While on the podcast ”Occult Rejects” recently I had to formulate myself as well as the Meetings with Remarkable Magicians book for unknowing yet fairly curious Americans. Focusing not only on my pedigree but also on my capacity to formulate and inspire by example made me realize that I am indeed very special and unique in the magical ”community.”
It’s taken me ”two times Saturn” to individuate to the degree I have. This is undoubtedly as important as the pedigree and teaching in itself… A balanced position within a scene or community that seems tho thrive on or even feed off imbalanced minds is truly unique.
What I can offer, I offer through the books and other creations, and also through the Source Magic Mentorships. It gives me great satisfaction to inspire people to help themselves, whether short or long term.
My experience is tangible and visceral, and I know very well how to share it with others. Those who are interested can take me at face value or as a composite of the pedigree and its glamor, or both. To me, it is now all the same.
The Society of Sentience as an anti-structure to facilitate accumulation of original material and its dissemination has grown very slowly and organically over the decades. The work has been private or shared with a very few. For me, it’s been very rewarding to be immersed in this kind of structural creation although essentially it’s not needed. But I accept my psychological predisposition and am more than willing to work with it. It is a learning process also for myself.
I would say that the Source Magic Mentorship is already integrated within the SoS, if it actually hasn’t been all along the way.
Integrated is also the system/anti-system called the No-handed Path, signifying a transcendental dissolution of attitudes and decidedly religious approaches within the so-called Left-handed Path (more so than in the Right-handed one). It makes a whole lot of sense housed within the already supremely holistic SoS model.
There is kinship/resonance with the ancient Green Dragon Society that has yet to be explained. But what I already have and have created is a remarkable accumulation of useable methods and philosophies that I know can help other people. A stronger synthesis and, paradoxically perhaps, anti-system will be beneficial for visibility and contacts.
Carl Abrahamsson, September 2023, finalized on the 23rd.
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A relevant Post P.S: This autumn I will have some time to take on new sessions with individuals who are genuinely interested in Source Magic Mentorship – a process of intuitive individuation in tandem with talismanic creativity. If you want to know more and/or book sessions with me, please e-mail me at CARL at CARLABRAHAMSSON dot COM.
September 9, 2024
Back on Rendering Unconscious
I’m on the Rendering Unconscious Podcast again, talking to Vanessa about what’s going on right now in terms of new books, classes, conferences, source magic mentorship, and much more…
#renderingunconscious #occulture #sourcemagic #thefenriswolf #vanessasinclair #carlabrahamsson
The Fenris Wolf 12 is published
The Fenris Wolf 12 is now published. Pre-orders will be sent out over the coming weeks (Thanks for your patience!). Order your own copy:
Remember to order from the Amazon site closest to you for best postage rates.
What’s in this issue? Cover art by Val Denham, material by Derek Seagrief, Kathelin Gray, Val Denham, Matthew Levi Stevens, Julio Mendes Rodrigo, Charlotte Rodgers, Jesse Bransford, Gustaf Broms, Gabriela Herstik, Miguel Marques, Vicki Bennett, Jack Stevenson, Alexander Nym, Dave Lee, Gary Lachman, Tom Banger, Anna Sebastian, Lionel Snell, Aki Cederberg, Freek Wallagh, Thomas Bey William Bailey, Frater UD, Billie Steigerwald, Emma Doeve, Gordan Djurdjevic, Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold, Hagen von Tulien, Carlos Abler, Peter Jenx, Robert Podgurski, Mitch Horowitz, Vanessa Sinclair, Devin Person, Peter Sjöstedt-H, Henrik Dahl, Ana Leorne, Peggy Nadramia, Anders Lundgren, Karin Valis, and Carl Abrahamsson, on topics as diverse as magico-anthropology, planetary myths, Genesis P-Orridge, Industrial music, Coil, magical patterns, sacred geometry, performance art as magical ritual, cinemagic and experimental film, Tod Browning’s “Freaks,” conspiracy theories, JG Ballard, Perttu Häkkinen, elemental dogs, Johanna Wagner and African clan-animals, gnosticism, Babalon, Aleister Crowley, the sex magic of the Fraternitas Saturni, Thai amulet magic, Oscar Wilde & Taoism, mind power, Freud and the Occult, fictional wizards, psychedelics and philosophy, Peter Whitehead, Umberto Eco, the Russian Embassy in San Francisco, the backstory of Anton LaVey’s The Compleat Witch, Satanic comics, AI Language Models, new poetry, and much more…
Order your copy today!
A note to the contributors: an e-mail will be sent shortly, and your comp-copies will follow. Thank you for your contribution and your patience.
Please use this link to promote:
For e-book aficionados: the e-book version will be available in a few days.
#thefenriswolf #valdenham #occulture #carlabrahamsson
August 30, 2024
Occult film class coming up
Got your ticket yet?
Magical Film History! Occult movies! Satanic movies! Forgotten and Forbidden movies!
Join Swedish author and film-maker Carl Abrahamsson for a unique four-sessions class focusing on Occult Cinema. From films thematically dealing with the Occult and the Satanic to hidden away, macabre masterpieces to forgotten films made by sheer force of will, this inspiring class will be an enlightening, occasionally terrifying, and, most of all, fun way to broaden your horizons when it comes to both Occultism and its supreme magical tool: Cinema.
What lies hidden in the psychic darkness always needs to (re)surface and shine; this might happen within your own golden mind, projected on the ”silver screen,” or, quite often both at the same time… In this class, we will leave “good taste” behind as we invite you to open your mind, and dive into the collective unconscious of forgotten film history.
#occulture #cinemagic #morbidanatomy #vanessasinclair #carlabrahamsson
August 16, 2024
A Spanish Edition of Sacred Intent
This just showed up: the Spanish translation of Sacred Intent! Translated by Franco Borgogno and published by excellent publisher Aurora Dorada. VERY happy about this, and Gen would be/is, too!
Who would be interested in publishing this great book in other languages?
The original in English is available here:
#genesisporridge #genesisbreyerporridge #topy #occulture #sacredintent #intencionsagrada #carlabrahamsson
August 15, 2024
I’m on the Library of Babel Podcast
I recently had a GREAT conversation with Chen Malul of the excellent Library of Babel podcast about Occulture and beyond. Check it out:
https://libraryofbabel2.substack.com/p/episode-8-carl-abrahamsson-and-the
#thelibraryofbabel #borges #occulture #magicalrealism #magic #literarymagic #carlabrahamsson
August 14, 2024
Weeklies: Forest-strolling
The forest breathed a sigh of relief as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue upon the treetops. Shadows lengthened, stretching out like the fingers of ancient gods reaching down to caress the earth. The air was alive with the symphony of evening; the gentle rustling of leaves, the distant call of an amorous bird, the soft murmur of a stream meandering through the undergrowth.
As I walked along the fern-covered paths, my senses were awakened to the beauty that surrounded me. The scent of pine and damp earth mingled in the air, filling my lungs with a heady perfume that spoke of centuries past. I could feel the cool touch of the breeze on my skin, a reminder of nature’s eternal presence.
Above me, the canopy of firs swayed gently in the fading light, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. It was as if I walked through a cathedral, with nature itself as the architect and the trees as its pillars.
The further I ventured into the woods, the more it seemed as though time itself had become a fluid concept. The ancient oaks whispered secrets of forgotten realms, their branches entwined like lovers locked in an eternal embrace. Each step I took echoed with the cadence of a mythological dance, where fairies and trolls cavorted in the hidden groves.
As the last remnants of daylight clung desperately to the horizon, the forest took on a surreal quality, as if I had stumbled into a painting by some divinely inspired artist. The colors around me intensified, turning the mundane into the extraordinary. Shafts of amber light pierced through the canopy above, illuminating patches of wildflowers that seemed to glow with an inner fire.
I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing my other senses to take over and guide me through this enchanted realm. The symphony of evening sounds crescendoed around me, enveloping me in a cocoon of natural harmony. The earth beneath my feet felt alive. I decided to sit down and remove my hiking boots and socks. A nearby little stream beckoned, and I sat down by it, gently dipping my feet in the almost ice cold water.
The water was a shock to my feet, sending a shiver up my spine that quickly dissipated into a sense of invigoration. The stream murmured softly, its song harmonizing with the rustling leaves and the distant calls of nocturnal creatures. I closed my eyes and let myself be carried away by the symphony of nature, feeling as though I had become a part of the ancient dance of the forest.
As I sat there, with my feet immersed in the cool water, I couldn’t help but think of the myths and legends that must have been born in places like this. Perhaps naked nymphs once danced along this very stream, their laughter bubbling up like the water around my toes. Or maybe a wise old tree spirit watched over me from the shadowed depths of the woods, its ancient eyes full of secrets. Or maybe Oden himself wanders past here regularly, on his way to some sacred grove nearby, where runic talismans are inserted into the soil or hollow trees while the sun sets or rises.
I opened my eyes and watched as dragonflies and butterflies flickered past me, painting patterns of energy against the gathering darkness. The sun was setting. They danced in a silent aerial ballet that spoke of ancient rituals and mysteries long forgotten. The forest seemed to hold its breath, as if waiting for some unseen cue to continue the performance that had been going on for eons.
I stood up, feeling a sense of reverence wash over me. The beauty of this moment was not lost on me; it was a glimpse into a world beyond the mundane, where the boundary between reality and myth blurred and intertwined like the roots of the trees surrounding me.
Boots and socks back on, I made my way along the fern- and moss-covered path, the last vestiges of daylight fading into twilight. I carried with me the memory of that enchanted forest stroll. In that fleeting moment, I had touched something timeless and eternal, a connection to nature and myth that would stay with me long after I had left the woods behind. And as I emerged from the forest into the world of men once more, I knew that I would forever be drawn back to that place where the golden hours of early evening wove a tapestry of magic unspoken and unheard of – something genuinely transcendental and stemming from the instant connection between nature as such and human nature. In those brief glimpses we can settle the score of differences that basically do not exist. We can’t cling to them either; rather we just need to be respectful and grateful for being granted a peek into the mysteries of the world as it really is – beyond our human frailties and compensations.
While strolling, I often “take pictures” and have a hard time juggling my creative intuition and the futility of the attempt. Nature is vast and rich; its documentation most often banal and clinical. I can’t help it though. I feel a need of bringing some sort of evidence back to my mundane mind-frame. Sometimes it works – the images become evocations and mementos of sensual and philosophical delights. In the image lies a flat reminder of something immense, a helping reflection for the memory and my organism itself. Formulating the ineffable is hard, but in some way it constitutes the basic attempts of all human endeavors, doesn’t it? Beyond the mechanics of mere survival, we basically mimic what we are in awe of. I’m quite happy to be a word man with a little camera in hand. It thickens and enhances my experience of being alive. It’s as good as it gets.
(For Vanessa & Linnea)
August 5, 2024
New Class Up Ahead
Get ready for a wild ride:
Join Swedish author and film-maker Carl Abrahamsson for a unique four-sessorbidions class focusing on Occult Cinema. From films thematically dealing with the Occult and the Satanic to hidden away, macabre masterpieces to forgotten films made by sheer force of will, this inspiring class will be an enlightening, occasionally terrifying, and, most of all, fun way to broaden your horizons when it comes to both Occultism and its supreme magical tool: Cinema.
What lies hidden in the psychic darkness always needs to (re)surface and shine; this might happen within your own golden mind, projected on the ”silver screen,” or, quite often both at the same time… In this class, we will leave “good taste” behind as we invite you to open your mind, and dive into the collective unconscious of forgotten film history.
#occulture #cinemagic #morbidanatomy #vanessasinclair #carlabrahamsson
August 2, 2024
Weeklies: A Decade of Anesthetic Anamnesis
The passing of time can be a cruel and unforgiving force, especially when it comes to the memories of those we have lost along the way. As I sit here, staring at my notebook, pen in hand, trying to put into words the mechanics of remembering a dead friend after a decade has passed, I am overcome with emotions that are both raw and bittersweet.
It has been ten years since my best friend Henrik Møll left this world. Ten long years filled with moments where I have felt his absence quite viscerally. And yet, as the years go by, I find myself clinging to hold onto the details of our friendship – inside jokes, late night conversations about life, the adventures we embarked on together, early TOPY formatting, an intense potpourri of nights at his legendary Copenhagen clubs and parties (including The Orb in the Copenhagen harbor in ’93), initiating the massive ”An Art Apart” documentary film project (that will keep me busy for a long time still), and then some. It all seems so distant now, like fragments from another lifetime. Some of us are allowed to enter new phases in life – almost unfair, it seems.
But then there are spontaneous moments when his memory floods back to me with intensity. A song on a playlist that was once an anthem-of-sorts, or a particular film quote, or a snippet of a general attitude of faux-misanthropic glee in regarding the world’s unwilling absurdist tendencies – these triggers transport me back in time and suddenly he is alive again in my mind.
They say that grief never truly goes away; it just changes shape over time. And for me, remembering my best friend after all these years feels like navigating through shifting sands – sometimes gentle and calm but other times tumultuous, overwhelming and scorching hot.
In Greek philosophy/mythology, there is a concept known as “anamnesis” which refers to the recollection or remembrance of things (past) that we basically always carry inside us. This idea resonates deeply with me when it comes to remembering my friend. It is as if his memory is imprinted in my soul, waiting to be occasionally summoned forth with the right trigger.
Thankfully he left a lot of triggering material behind, as a real data hoarder. Hours upon hours of DJ-sets from various clubs and restaurants in Copenhagen, in which he spun great jazz and movie soundtracks. He did become if not a prophet then at least a legend in his own home town.
For me, one of the most powerful ways of keeping my friend’s memory alive has been through carrying on in the ”An Art Apart” project. It’s been a few years since I did anything with it, but now it’s high time again. I basically have about ten documentaries shot and ready to be edited. I will invoke his editing skills (as he was a film editor by profession) and just carry on, and, as promised at his funeral ten years ago, letting the world know that ”a Trapart Film is always made in loving memory of Henrik Møll.”
In many cultures around the world, there are rituals or ceremonies dedicated to honoring and remembering those who have passed on. These acts serve as a way for us to pay tribute and keep their memory alive in our hearts.
Similarly, I have created my own personal rituals for remembering my friend. I usually light a candle in his honor and spend some time reflecting on our friendship; I always go to his grave when in Copenhagen. It may seem small but these little acts hold immense significance for me. Re-flection and re-memberance.
A sense of detachment and distance from my emotions is sometimes needed. It almost feels like a coping mechanism, a way to protect myself from a weird void. I guess the journey of remembrance begins with simply acknowledging the loss. It takes time for our minds to accept something that our hearts refuse to believe – that death is an irrevocable event. In accepting death as an inevitable part of our human experience, it becomes somewhat easier to come to terms with the passing of loved ones.
No matter how much time passes or how faded some memories may become, one thing remains constant – the bond between friends never truly dies. Remembering a dead friend after a decade has passed is a delicate dance between holding on and letting go. It requires effort and intention to keep their memory alive but also the understanding that memories will inevitably change over time. And in this process, we come to realize that although they may be physically gone, their spirit lives on through us – in every story shared, every ritual performed, every emotion felt, every memory honored, every piece of writing like this one…
So here’s to my dear friend Henrik Møll – may your memory continue to live on in our hearts and minds!
For Henrik Møll (600214-140801)
P.S. To read my original death rune, please visit:
Magic Møll Memento Mori
