Chaos & Hexenzauber

by Nicholas Hall

Rather than invest belief in abstruse metaphysical theory, Nick Hall has chosen here to build a system from an eclectic range of practical procedures culled from many cultures. Informing the whole treatise however is the chaoist meta-belief that belief structures reality. This is pragmatic magick at its best. Devise or discover a technique that seems worth investing belief in, and if you can validate it, include it in your grimoire, without worrying how or why it works. Many times in the course of reading this text I stopped to make a note of something that seemed worth trying out. That, I think, is the mark of a useful book. Unless the vast majority of the magicians work in complete isolation from their more public peers, then the ratio of civilians who merely collect magic books to actual working magicians may be estimated at ninety to one. This is a book for the one-percenters, although it may inspire the rest to actually pick up a wand for a change. All it takes is guts and imagination, not much specialist knowledge is required
-Peter J. Carroll

Genres: Magic

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Fabian Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Written in a style that is sharp, eloquent and relatable, describing a system that is direct and no nonsense. Clearest description/method of evocation I've yet read (haven't read Bardon yet). Describes Nick Hall's magical system that is largely African Tribal Shamanism and Voudon crossed with Nordic Paganism using Chaos Magic principles. The meditations are a little involved but I think I could adapt them slightly. A large proportion of the book revolves around doll magic for healing and attack, which I found very interesting. He primarily suggests using clay to make dolls from. I discussed this with a friend of mine who practises this form of magic and she was of the opinion that when using a poppet or doll for healing or protection, it is advisable to use a material that cannot crack or break readily as it could potentially cause detrimental effects, e.g. wax or thick branches covered in cloth. Clay is generally moulded into the shape you want and then if not fired in a kiln tends to dry out and crack, which is fine if you only need to use the doll for a short length of time.

I don't completely agree with him about Tarot, I think it depends how you approach it, what you are using it for etc. I personally find it more useful than divination methods that provide an easy yes or no answer, which are frequently problematic and can be plagued with inaccuracy, resulting in self-delusion and even self-reinforced psychosis if one is not careful. This is why I prefer Tarot. TBH I'm really not that big on divination in general to predict anything. To me it's more a form of impetus to psychological exploration and stimulation of the imagination. But that's just personal preference. Runes might be the best method he suggested although a bit 'new agey' (i.e. runes were never used for such purposes originally as far as I am aware), not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. I also don't think it's worth divining the likely outcome of a ritual, because not only will the answer either be incorrect or a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it makes you attach to the result, which is according to Hall and Carroll not what you want to do. But obviously no one is forcing you to divine your rituals!

He does repeatedly claim that he can change local weather with magic, even on a sunny day. I'd like to see it, but until then I remain extremely sceptical and entertain the possibility that he got a bit 'carried away' and deluded himself, giving himself credit for something that would have happened anyway maybe.

There is a slight theistic or literal belief in magic affecting the external world and in the literal existence of external entities in general running through this book, which is up to the author's belief system, but it could have been more conservative about such claims, leaving it up to the individual to add that interpretation. Also, any references to Christianity are factually incorrect and exaggerated, and come across as rather ill informed or knee jerk, which I put down to youthful enthusiasm. This isn't uncommon in books on magic and tbh it could have simply been left out and would have been the better for it. Given how much research has gone into other religions and occult practices, I am a little surprised here, but I guess he wasn't interested in actually studying it at that point in time. Also, the bibliography is shockingly short and it seems the sole sources of African tribal magic are a small handful of encyclopedias. Given the amount of information about such African practices in the book, I would have expected more references in the text and for him to have read more widely. The odd mention of a tribal practice here and there is also very vague, where he doesn't actually mention which tribe practises it, which is rather unhelpful - not sure if this is simply rushing completion of the book or not.

Also it's a bit pricey for 120+ pages but is well worth it and I would strongly recommend it.

Update: Frater UD's High Magic II references doll magic in one chapter, which is actually only 3.5 pages long lol, but he does reference Hall's Magickal Twin as 'The Deflection Doll' as being a useful tool to hide one location if one places the doll elsewhere, and also that you could use the accumulated hostile energy from others and send it back to them or anyone else I guess. Whether it's worth paying £30 for that information is debatable however. Otherwise S Rob has a new books on the subject, which are moderately useful, but they are very short and repetitive and I wouldn't pay for them.

[Krapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaos & Sorcery by Nicholas Hall is a tour de force of Chaos Magick. It blows away the pretensions of many Chaos Magicians: it's hard core. I don't subscribe to the Chaos "metamodel" or "metaparadigm" as it might be called. I stuggling with the simple fact that I do seem to live in a world inhabited by Spirits little and Spirits big (call them Gods and Goddesses) who are separate entities, most of whom don't care whether I believe in them or not. There have been a couple of times I might as well not have believed in some hypothetical freight train roaring down the track upon me when I've dozed off carelessly. What's more, many things just work, regardless of any amount of initial skepticism concerning them. So, intelligent (tho' for the most part very young) as Chaos Magicians may be, belief is not truly very important.

That's the disclaimer. Pick up Chaos & Sorcery for the techniques. It's a thin but dense how-to on more "primitive" magical practices. There are things you can learn in this book (always intensely practical) that I've not seen elsewhere. The poppet magic chapters are wonderful (or horrible, Hall is absolutely amoral).

Especially refreshing is Hall's disavowal of the foolish practice of constant banishing, a thing unprecendented (AFAIK) among Ritual Magicians, including Chaos Magicians. You can't live in a bubble: when your Private Idaho is a smoldering ruin—and some day it will be—you will not deal well with the suffocating flood of reality, of Real Things: might as well live there to start with and learn to deal with all the s(*&. Sometimes, true, you need to banish if you live in a magickal universe, most of the time not. There are emergencies. But a good offense beats a solid defense, especially if you've got nothing but defense up your sleeve. And there are far better means of defense 99% of the time. Far from being merely defensive, most banishing techniques are extremely offensive to a great many of the Multiverse's inhabitants. Many of whom are bigger and stronger than you'd ever become even if you lived a thousand years.

Two things in closing. First, I get the feel that Nicholas Hall walks the walk far more than he talks the talk: this is his only book AFAIK. That's an extreme rarity in the magical world. Second, if you're a beginner and you start using this book as your training workbook you will find trouble quick: trouble will find you. Be warned. Without a solid background in any number of things Hall doesn't bother mentioning, you will experience, at the very least, some psychological damage. In fine, this is an advanced text. Maybe the most advanced Chaos Magick text yet written. (Austin Osman Spare was not a Chaos Magician but a witch of some sort: he was a being quite apart and other.)

This is not an easy book to get hold of. If you get a chance, do. Even if you detest Chaos Magick, even if you're a rank beginner or on the contrary think you're an adept of some "Inner Order of White Light" and would never harm a fly or do magick for any but pure and spiritual goals (pardon me while I guffaw) or some such nonsense—read "I only do magick that accomplishes nothing"—, get this book. It's worth it.