Day: 5/17/08

I acquired a couple of items over the weekend of which I am quite excited. The first is the book, "Chaos: The Making of a New Science" *ad pimp alert* which can be found in the Amazon list to the right *end ad pimp alert*. The other book is Liber Null & Psychonaut (which I have yet to scratch the surface of). The last thing I bought was a new deck of cards of Shaman cards (I do not remember the exact name of them at the moment).

The first book, Chaos, is really an interesting read to me. It is not so much a religious text on Chaos magick, nor is it particularly about the field of Chaos math/physics/science. It is primarily about the 'how' of Chaos coming into the picture of mathematics and physics the world over. It is a chronicle of sorts of the different original discoverers of this new field of science. It talks about their discoveries, without too much detail to bore the reader, and the struggles they endured to have their work recognized and accepted.

The second book, Liber Null & Psychonaut is actually two books in one. This is, as I understand it, a good read for those new to the realm of Chaos Magick. I have only read the first few pages, as the author states it is something of a workbook used by the Illuminates of Thanateros to train new members. As it is presented in a manner of a workbook, I feel I should definitely take this one slow and work my way through it. One of the first things the book recommends it to create a magickal journal and keep a daily record of all work done or not as well as thoughts and results while undertaking this path. I am still considering how I will manage this daily journal. I had considered putting it here, but I am uncertain of that. I could certainly make a new blog, or use my crippled and disused LJ page for it. Or, I may just keep it private.

I am not so keen on the keeping private, as I would like to share my journey and allow others who may just happen by and understand what is going on to give advice or point me in new directions that I may have missed. Much of any religion is being able to give and receive advice from others who have been there. This exchange enriches much of the tradition, especially lesser understood paths, and keeps people from feeling like they are the only person on the planet to be have this one particular problem. Chances are, if you are having a problem, there is someone else who has been there before. I do understand why some people may consider the private route as well. There is a lot of hatred and distrust and ugliness in the world we live in. People have little tolerance for things they do not believe in or do not understand or have been taught that it is wrong on more levels than there are stars in the sky. Point is, if I do go the public route and receive a hateful or aggressive comment, I will just read it, consider it, but I will not probably reply to it, and then continue on with those comments that are a little more helpful.

The shaman cards too I am taking slowly (I can't remember the name of them because of this). As I have them at work, I take each morning and draw one card, in order, out of the deck and put it right in front of me where I can see it as I work. While it is not particularly actively working with the card, I am still letting my subconscious work with the card. Once I have made it through the whole deck, I will be better (I hope) able to decide the best way for me to use the cards in my path work. I may not find any use for them, but I may find intense use for them, who knows.

I did have a good laugh though tonight. As I sat talking with a few online friends, I found that my 2 1/2 year old son had gotten a hold of my Liber Null book and had sat himself on the couch and was turning through the pages with a rather serious look on his face. I gently exchanged that book for his bunny book and moved my book to a higher shelf. While he probably meant no harm, harm sometimes comes in accidental ways when it comes to children and things. :)