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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 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 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.
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