STRUCTURES OF MAGICAL TRANCE Pete Carroll, the founder of Chaos Magick, Magick, is credited with drawing attentions attentions as magicians to the significance of magickal trance which is defined as “ gnosis”, while clearly breaking it down into various categories at the same time. Carroll basically distinguishes between two types of gnosis in his book Liber Null, namely the “nhibitory mode and the !"citatory mode#. Inhibitory Mode
Excitatory Mode
$eath posture
%e"ual e"citation
Magical trance concentration
!motional arousal, egg... &ear, anger, love, ect'
%leeplessness
Pain, (orture
&asting
&lagellation
!"haustion
$ancing, drumming, chanting
)a*ing
+ight way of walking
ypnotic or trance-inducing drugs
!"citatory or disinhibtory drugs
%ensory deprivation
yperventilation %ensory overload
(hese are the two two basic principles of magick, namely the “%piritual bla*ing of a fire# and the establishments of “%piritual peace as deep as the ocean# are both reflected in the trance structure. (he type of trance chosen depends depen ds ust so much on the temperament of the magician as on the goal of one/s corresponding magical operation. CONCENTRATION CONCENTRATION LEADING TO MAGICAL TRANCE त रटक 1) Object concentration: this includes tratak 0(r1t 2 aka 0%anskrit n. त tr1t tr1t 2 aka3 tratak, trataka4 to 2aka 2aka3 look, or to ga*e5, among other things, of course this form of concentration can be e"panded in numerous ways. ) Sound ) Sound concentrati concentration: on: (he magician concentrates on acoustically perceptible, articulated, or imagined sounds, usually mantras, in order to block verbal thoughts from intruding while at the same time developing the 6ey to words of power and the skill of spell casting. !) Image !) Image concentrati concentration: on: (he magician concentrates on images of symbols, such as a circle, or cross, s7uare. More complicated image se7uences can also be used. (his is the key to metal magic and working with the magical double, as well as to create Psychogons and charging ch arging sigils through staring. !ven demonology relies heavily on this techni7ue.
8ith 8ith these three forms of concentration the magician can gain control of the parts of one/s one/s mind that that are responsible for both pictorial as well as verbal thoughts. %urely if we focus on a magical statement of intent, this becomes an e"tremely powerful magical techni7ue, provided that we can maintain or better yet improve the state of trance reached in the meditation e"ercise. ") Sexual ") Sexual excitement excitement:: 9 se"ual e"citement is one of the most powerful tools the magician has. $uring the state of se"ual e"citement, the sensor is blocked by up to :;;< the path to the subconscious is wide open and the magician is free to implant in it anything one needs for his=her operation.
%e"ual e"citement can be obtained by any number of methods that the individual perfers, but the magician should on occasion also use other methods that are not nesecarly one/s favorite. 0(his should also be the rule of thumb for all magical practices5. Cases in which this could be b enifitual are4 95 >peration that re7uires particularly strong energy3 ?5 8hen se" magic practice has become strongly routine3 C5 n case of se"ual over-saturation. %e"ual e"citement is especially suited for creating independent beings 0Psychogons5 and when working with a partner, this partner could invoke and mentally embod y certain principles or deities, followed by se"ual union with the invoked principle-a practice common to se"ual magick and tantric operations. #) Sleeplessness, Fasting, and Exhaustion: with the help of these techni7ues everyday reality is “softened# and the magician becomes more receptive to subtle perception, since the sensor weakens with time. $escribed by Carroll as “old monastic favorites# there inhibitory techni7ues are still part of the standard repertoire of all shamans and natural mag icians today. (he trick is for the magician to be able to turn the confused state of consciousness that these techni7ues will eventually produce into a true and powerful magical trance in which one retains enough control to impregnate oneself with the magical will at the moment you lose consciousness.
owever, over e"aggerated self-deprivation is useless, it/s much wiser and more effective to find a moderate level of sleeplessness. &asting, and or e"haustion tha t custom fits the magician/s mental 0and trained5 gnosis ability. ?ut this matter of personal e"perience and is difficult for an outsider to udge, even though many magicians and shamans are able to develop a feel for the trance ability and depth of a person, and therefore help one accordingly, in order for one to achieve optimal results. (his is e"actly what the participant in a group operation demand of a ritual leader, since him=her responsible for activating, storing, impregnating and directing the energies of each participant on an e7ual level to reach a common goal. $) Gazing: 8e/ve discussed this subect thoroughly in connection with the magic ga*e, so you/ll get no further e"planations. %) Hypnotic or tranceinducing drugs: +egardless of the legal aspects associated with this subect, the use of drugs for magical purposes is generally N>( recommended. (his applies in particular to the beginners, especially those who have already e"perimented with many types of drugs and still do so on a fairly regular basis. 9 trip is a far cry from a ritual@@@ 9lthough a ritual 0but does not nescearily5 lead to states of altered consciousness that strongly resembles those endued b y the use of drugs, it doesn/t work the other way around. $rugs blunt the sharp will. &) Sensory !epri"ation: (he techni7ue of sensory deprivation was and still is used among monks and hermits alike, along with occasional practices of seclusion. ts goal is to reduce the number of e"ternal impulses that affect our rational thoughts as much as possible which will eventually cause it to paraly*e due to the lack of stimuli. $uring a ritual we create sensory deprivation by using blindfolds, hoo ds, and the element of darkness. !"periences have shown that due to the “shock effect# it causes, it/s much more effective to shut out e"ternal stimuli for ust a short period of time instead of banishing it entirely over a longer period. Long term sensory deprivation is usually more suited for mystical practices.
9s already mentioned, it strongly depends on the personal preferences and goals of the magician as to which form of gnosis one should chose. t is obvious that an aggressive operation of magical warfare would be easier to perform with an e"citatory trance than with inhibitory gnosis. >n the other h and, such an operation could be amid at breaking down the opponent or his=her situation, which would surely benefit more from a sort of “corrosive inhibitory trance#. t/s important to master and not ust arrive a state of trance, otherwise it can lead to ust the opposite of what the magician actually intended. (hat is why persistent practice in this field is a high priority for all t ypes of magic. 0:5 (he fact that this is not the same as blocking the conscious mind is often forgotten or overlooked@ ') Emotional #rousal: n principle, all emotional states can be used magically. owever e"perience has shown that rage, fear, and horror work most effectively. !ven on a physical level, all three of these emotions can lead to the release of unsuspected skills4 Aust think about the unbelievable shear ph ysical power of someone who is raving mad, or about the perseverance and physical power of people in panic situations. (he effectiveness of these three emotions is certainly ust as strong as that of se"ual e"citement 0but not as much fun5 but they have the disadvantage that they are 7uite difficult to arouse without a great deal of effort. 9lthough systematic training can help remove some of the obstacles along the way and every magician should undergo such training, it remains 7u ite difficult to get a fit of rage on command and then use it magically. 1() $ain, %orture, Flagellation: (his method of trance is the complete opposite of sleeplessness, fasting, and e"haustion. 8hile the later calms and inhibits, the former ignites bod y and spirit. !"treme pain always dima"es with either unconsciousness or lust, because the human body orgasm can only handle lasting pain through ecstatic acceptance. (he penitent practice of the middle ages with their umping, processions, and self-flagellations, the &akis of indus, and Christians in %ir Lanka and the Philippians. (hese are all e"amples of access to ecstasy b y paraly*ing the intellect and the sensor and shaping the spirit to the same degree that a magician re7uires for his=her magical operations. >f course these methods have the great disadvantage that they can lead 7uickly to in effective and highly damaging e"cess, because even if the human body is supposable 7uite insensitive to pain naturally or through conditioning, the stimulus threshold gets higher and higher until eventually only selfmutilation will be able to achieve the desired effect.
strongly warn against e"cessive use of this practice. 11) !ancing, drumming, and &hanting: t/s a different story with dancing, drumming and chanting. Practical alone, or in a group these techni7ues can 7uickly lead to 7uite usable e"citatory trance. (he magicians musical and gymnastic 0or lack of5 are of no great importance what so ever although group work re7uires more coordination than when working alone in the temple. Chanting includes mantra/s and sitealiste songs the telling of myths and barbaric na mes of evocation, or magic spells and words of power. 1) 'agical (al)ing: Magical walking is a techni7ue that/s related to Ben walking, but goes well beyond this. (his involves walking for long stretches while using the :;D ga*e, where by the hands, fingers, and arms should be held unusual positions. !"perience has shown that pressing the thumb n ail sideways into the top of the sensitive pinky is 7uite effective. (his creates a certain pain that is completely harmless as long as the skin isn/t damaged. !ventually, thinking will cease and the mind will become totally absorbed in its envierment. &rom this description, it/s clear that this techni7ue is not really suited for conducting a ritual or specific magic operations 0with the e"ception of charging a mantric sigil5, but it can be used 7uite effectively for training such states of consciousnesses.
1!) Excitory or Inhibitory drugs, mild hallucinogens, and hyper"entilation: +emember what we already said about the use of drugs in magic. ?asically there/s not much more to say. !"citory or nhibitory drugs and mild hallucinogens 0remember it is the dosage that counts5 include alcohol in small amounts, cocaine, cannabis, as well as L%$, mescaline and psilocybin along with some modern designer drugs and of course stimulants 0amphelamira5. (ea 0usually hot5 made from galangal root is milder yet still effective. (his is a legal substance by the way. ?ut even black tea, coffee, and tobacco can have an effect, although the price of one/s health must be paid. (his is why you shouldn/t use drugs' 1") Sensory O"erload: >ne of the classical methods of tantric training includes k eeping the candidate awake over an e"tended period of time while his=hers eyes are blindfolded 0sleeplessness5, then subect him=her to flagellation 0painful torture5, load music, water dripping in a sink o r on top of the Erd eye, there is many ways to overload a person/s sensory these are ust a few e"amples.
9ll of these techni7ues are for allowing us to go from one state of consciousness to a deeper one, but are ultimate goal is to be able to go from one state to another without thought and that takes time and plenty of training using one of these techni7ues or one of many that are not listed here. 9s with all thing is magic it is personal preference to which you use, but let your ultimate goal be that you can enter a state of gnosis without thought, and that is done through repetition till it becomes no longer a thought process and a natural one without the use of a trigger obect 0word, obect, pain and the list goes on5.
