Chaos Witch

By Jaq D Hawkins

Chaos Witch addresses a relatively new term among young witches, Chaos Witchcraft. It explores how methods like sigil magick and free belief relate to traditional paths of Witchcraft, to the Ritual Magick influences that gave rise to Chaos Magick, and to the practices of Chaos Magick itself and how they've become relevant to modern witches today.

Jaq D. Hawkins was the first Chaos Magician to make information about Chaos Magick available to the general public in her book, Understanding Chaos Magic (now incorporated into The Chaonomicon.) In recognising how the results oriented practices of Chaos Magick has transcended beyond the formal schools of Magick and taken it into the hands-on methods of folk witchcraft, she bridges the perceived divide between these differing paths.

With an overview of the history of pre-Wiccan witchcraft, Ritual (Ceremonial) Magick and the basic concepts of Chaos Magick, Chaos Witch encourages a personal approach to magic that can draw from known methods of any path as well as imagination, giving the Chaos Witch the tools to create her own spells and methods of divination into a unique and individual practice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golbin Publishing
• Release date: Jul 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005903664

Jaq D Hawkins

Jaq D Hawkins was originally traditionally published in the Mind, Body, Spirit category, but moved to indie publishing soon after releasing her first Fantasy fiction novel, Dance of the Goblins. She currently has one book on chaos magic in release, The Chaonomicon, and a new, complete volume about Elemental Spirits is to be released July 2018.She currently has five fiction novels released which include the Goblin Series (Dark Fantasy), comprised of Dance of the Goblins, Demoniac Dance and Power of the Dance, and her Steakpunk novel, The Wake of the Dragon (Airship Pirate Adventure) is soon to be followed by a follow-up novel, The Winds of Winter Storms.A science fiction novel called The Chase for Choronzon is in progress, as well as further writings in occult subjects.Jaq lives in England with her family and works on amateur filmmaking when she isn't writing. Most of the time she juggles deadlines between the two. She is a strong advocate of human rights and equality, which is reflected in her Fantasy stories through diversity in central characters.

Book preview

Chaos Witch

by

Jaq D Hawkins

First published in Great Britain in 2022

Golbin Publishing First Edition July 2022

Copyright Jaq D Hawkins 2022

ISBN 978-100590366-4

Jaq D Hawkins has asserted the right to be identified as the author of this work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owners.

Contents

Introduction

What is A Chaos Witch?

Witchcraft

Ritual Magick

Alchemy

Chaos Magick

Spellcraft

Divination

The Nature of Belief and Ritual

Further Reading

Internet References

Introduction

A Personal History

I started actively studying magic at the age of twelve. At the time of writing, that's fifty-two years ago. I had some preliminary influence in the form of an aunt who introduced me to astrology at the age of eight, but she had only surface knowledge to share. No hereditary grandma stories here. I found my own way through paths and workings of different magical systems and traditions through my teenage years and beyond.

I've also lived roughly half my life in each of two countries; the U.S. and the U.K. Terminology as well as approach to magical traditions can vary between these separate cultures, but I learned to translate between the two.

My early study was in books, like so many people drawn to the world of magic(k)tm. In 1968, when I was all of twelve, a magical revival was in full swing and materials were easy to come by. I started out reading the works of magicians from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including A.E. Waite, Israel Regardie, MacGregor Mathers and of course, Aleister Crowley.

I read everything I could get my hands on from Blavatsky to Sybil Leek, sifting through to decide what was useful to me and what was not. At fourteen I started actively practicing my own rituals, drawing from various sources that included folk magic as well as High Magick.

It wasn't until I was twenty-five that I came across modern witchcraft and Wicca. I got into networking and learned what are now commonly known rituals for the Sabbats and seasons, but I always thought of myself as a magician rather than a witch. Witchcraft and Wicca had a religious element to it that didn't quite fit for me. I still practice ritual according to the traditions of whatever circle I might be visiting at the time, but on my own, I had a more eclectic approach, taking elements from folk magic and combining them with formal ritual to suit myself.

In the late 1980s I came across Chaos Magick. I suddenly had access to a library that had the works of Peter J. Carroll and Ray Sherwin as well as Austin Osman Spare and Kenneth Grant. There were rare chapbooks by magicians whose names have faded with time and I had it all to peruse at my leisure. Suddenly I'd found a label that suited me: Chaos Magician.

This didn't slow down my study of all paths. I wanted to know what everybody did for their practices; the Golden Dawn, the OTO (all factions), the various Satanist groups and also the different Wicca and witchcraft traditions, which as I've said, are very different between the U.S. and the U.K. and probably in the other English-speaking countries. Certainly there are differences in other European countries, which have their own historical traditions factored in.

I became comfortable in my own version of Chaos Magick and was called on to write about it, but also continued to network with friends from all paths and to watch the changes that happened over time with fresh perspective from new generations.

Then one day, I heard the term, 'Chaos Witch'. Suddenly it was everywhere, as if it sprang into common usage, usually from younger people. This drew my attention and I was surprised to find very little information online, or even a blog describing what was meant by 'Chaos Witch'.

So I asked people on social media who claimed the classification what they meant by it. What I found, in a nutshell, are magical people practicing in systems that are basically witchcraft, but with an understanding of the principles of Chaos Magick and often also knowledge of ritual or ceremonial magick.

In other words, what I've always done. The next question was, why hasn't anyone written a book about this?

Thus I decided to write this book. Though I still refer to myself as a Chaos Magician, my practices of magic within the inherent systems of nature could easily be described as folkloric magic or pure witchcraft. The use of sigils and other methods popularised by Chaos Magick have roots in many traditions and can be easily adapted to most systems.

My purpose here is not to impose a definition on a term already established in common use, but to provide an easy resource for those young Chaos Witches who don't see themselves in the other available materials on magical traditions. It's time for a new generation of magical people to step forward and make their mark on the history of occult traditions.

Besides, no one else has done it. So here it is.

What Is A Chaos Witch?

The minute you try to define anything with the word chaos in it, someone will disagree. So the obvious first definitive statement I should make here is that a Chaos Witch isn't confined to parameters defined by some arbitrary set of rules or customs. A Chaos Witch is someone who thinks outside the box and expresses her magic through individuality.

More to the point, a Chaos Witch is someone who calls herself a Chaos Witch. There is no compulsory initiation, no official dogma or set of rules that go with Chaos Magick in any form. Not even the spelling of