So, since it was getting closer to the date of the gathering, I've begun talking to a few people here and there brainstorming the focal point of the ritual we would be doing this Chelseanacht in New Orleans. This is the sum total of mine and others brainstorming. A few of you I may have discussed this with in part, but this is a combination of multiple conversations. A big shout out to axaeon for pulling a lot of shit together into a more polished result.
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First of all, Chelseanacht celebrates the anniversary of the Chelsea Working, wherein the Domus Khaotica was created and signaled the evolution of Marauder Underground into DKMU. The Chelseanacht working, as I understand it, changed everything about how the group operated and related to itself, and eventually the echoes of which spawned the series of Egregores/Godforms we know today, which seems to be a core of dkmu as it stands today. The Chelsea Working created indirect effects upon the outside world, but primarily evolved the group itself. I propose something along the vein of this.
DKMU today, regardless of your thoughts on the matter, has a strong focus upon the DKMU Godforms and the attempted systems which emerge in an attempt to wrestle the unwieldy entities into a coherent cosmology. The entities DKMU deals with are not a pantheon, they are a series of entities created (Or discovered) with an attempt to propel the individual who works with them upon the Path of the Initiate (the Path of Initiation, or whatever other series of words you want to go with). While they fit into this framework just fine if utilized as such, they are, first and foremost, their own entities. Aside from the marathons, I notice a vast majority of the people who work with the godforms ending up picking one they like and working exclusively with that entity for most intents and purposes. This is fairly similar to the devotional practices of many pantheons of deities. It is, however, counterproductive if we view the godforms as more of a vehicle of progression, which is a role I think they are better suited to.
It is for this reason and a few others that I think we as a group could use some Cogito Ergo Sum action, and what better vehicle to effect the operations and workings of the group as a whole than to effect the godforms themselves which attract and hold so many members, and operates as a majority of the thread which binds us together. We could use cohesion and progression, and the godforms themselves reflect this.
I think that Conjunctio emerged for this very purpose, and it is Conjunctio which serves as the focal point of the proposed ritual to take the raw materials we have today and create from them a cohesive unit which will truly be the engine of progress so many have seen the potential for and worked to pave the way for (Looking at you Alysy <3).
The ritual calls for no less than 7 participants as myself and axaeon have envisioned it. This is far from a finished result, and is more of a skeleton currently.
7 altars placed separately in the same area (The current area of operation is slaked to be what is colloquially known as the "End of the World" which is a peninsula where the Mississippi River meets the canal atop the levee and is relatively secluded.) representative of Ellis, Doombringer, Ino, Trigag, Zalty, Red King, and White Queen are arranged in a septagram around a central conjunctio glyph with some sort of fire or cauldron in the center. Each altar is arranged appropriately with candles and accoutrement associated to each entity respectively, and each participant is dressed in ritual attire representative of the entity they are working with. Each participant then invokes the godform at their given altar separately. Just as all of the godforms are their own self and all of us come to dkmu in varying methods and manners. When the invocation is complete, each will come to the center and share the fire of their ritual candle with the central fire/candles/cauldron. A ritual of joining and communion will then be performed within the large central seal utilizing the joining nature of Conjunctio to truly join the Godforms as one whole to operate together and assist those who would progress along the path of initiation along the way. Those who could not make it can assist through the web by invoking one of the godforms at their personal altars and connecting themselves through Conjunctio. Upon the conclusion of this ritual, the central glyph will become a "Meeting of the Gods" if you will. As we've just invoked and been operating as our respective godform, we will likely still be at least partly playing that role, but the hang-out will be essential.
We're a fucking group, a group of cats perhaps, but a group. We are a coalition, a unit, and cohesion is part of this. We are here for many reasons, but progression upon our magical path as individuals and as a whole is extremely important. We need you, all of you. You're all part of the whole.
That said, I need more people for this, we have 3-4 people coming as it stands, so RSVP so I can figure out who's here, what's getting done by whom, and how. I want your ideas on this ritual, I want your debate and contest, your agreement and additions oh ye children of the House of Khaos, oh ye who are the Marauder Underground. Furthermore, I want your RSVP. This is the thread for both/all of those things, so STAND UP AND MAKE YOURSELVES KNOWN.
This sounds awesome!
What happens if more than 7 people show up ?
I haven't figured it out yet, but groups of invocatours doesn't sound like something which is out of the realm of possibility. I'm hoping for more than seven personally. Alternately, perhaps there will be those representing primal forces in the joining ritual. there are a lot of possibilities on that end, and I won't know more until I get a better idea of how many are coming.
It would be good if we had a time for this event. That way it will be easier to coordinate the rest of the group who cannot make it to the "End of the World".
Luna, it certainly would, but I don't have all the information necessary to make that call yet. I forsee it being around 1-2 AM on the 17th, so that's the current working goal if that helps. the date is still like 4 months away though, so a lot can change during that time.
If I could suggest something/muse for a bit.
I never saw the point in building yet another pantheon that exists just to remask the same old archetypes. Now that I've worked with them, okay, they're pretty cool, and it's good to have a pantheon or whatever they are that's chaos-focused and not tied down with a lot of cultural baggage. But I still don't like the idea of them just being there. What put me off initially was the sense that, while the AoR is primarily outward focused and deals with affecting the world we can see, the godform thing looked like a retreat from the world to dig around in discarnate levels of reality mostly just for the hell of it.
Which is exactly what it is. There's kind of a pull and push dynamic. The Assault takes things from behind the veil and tries to bring them out into the sunlight to catch people's attention. The godforms, then, exist to take the ball (initiate, oistar) from Ellis and carry it back to the other side, thus effecting an exchange of information and slowly wearing the barrier down while also giving the oistar the power to start thaumaturging things back in the other direction. Other initiatory paths serve the same purpose, hence why Ellis doesn't seem to care whether anyone she attracts starts following this set of godforms in particular. Specifically, any curious newb who takes up a chaos path would immediately run into an analogue of Doombringer and go from there.
My point is that the godforms aren't meant to be a static system, imo, they're actually the other half of the assault on reality and part of the overarching scheme to initiate everyone.
So, if I could suggest something...
I have no idea what I was going to suggest.
That the cycle be seen as an active force drawing people to the Other places, not just something that sits there.
Ringtail: that's the intention. What I notice currently in this is that it tends to be viewed as a pantheon and treated as such. I see many of those whose practices include the godforms (I honestly see them as really big egregores, which differs greatly in my mind from Deities) kinda exploring a few tentatively, then picking one and becoming something akin to a devotee of that entity. This, while obviously useful in some way to those who choose to do so, is counterproductive to what I see as the potential of this collection of entities. I see them as a series of stages on the path of initiation, and they are meant, I think, to be progressed through. I tend to imagine that in a perfect world they would naturally propel the individual who works with them from one to the next organically, kinda making a sort of handshake/baton pass to the next step. This is then intention I hold with the ritual. For those who become familiar with Ellis, she will eventually pass the baton to Doombringer, who then inspires a new series of ideas, realizations, and breakthroughs. Doombringer will work with the aspiring mage for as long as necessary and pass the baton onto Ino, etc.
I just currently see the progression as clunky and non-organic, hence Conjunctio and the idea to streamline the process a bit by joining the godforms into a whole to operate cooperatively, rather than the set of fairly independent and disjointed entities I see and experience now. I'm not trying to solidify these beings into a stagnant pantheon, just the opposite: the current intention is to help the DKMU godform progression to be something which emerges of its own accord in those who work the path rather than the current need to facilitate some quick "marathon". For instance, the marathon occuring currently has each entity being worked with for a week. This is great to use for some specific goal, but again misses the point methinks. If this is to be a representation of the path of the Initiate, then the stages will occur of their own accord, some may last years, some months, and everyone will be different.
Another intention of this ritual is to affect the group as a whole through the usage of the godforms. We all have our own practices and methods, shit we're doing and shit we're working on. This is still a group at the end of the day however. Mutual goals and cohesion is a part of any group, and the current fairly significant lack of cohesion and mutual progression has been a greatly troublesome thing to me. This ritual, through its use of conjunctio to unify the godforms into a coherent group is also aimed at DKMU as a whole on this plane toward a similar purpose. Progress and cohesion. Joining as necessary to accomplish mutual aims, both as nodes within dkmu and dkmu as a whole.
I certainly don't want to say one way of utilizing the DKMU godforms is WRONG, simply that there is a potential to affect and evolve the egregores and group as a whole. I see this sort of action as the spirit of Chelseanacht, and along a similar vein to the original Chelsea working. We cannot only focus upon that which is outside, but also perform actions and works which affect ourselves and our dkmu as a whole. Quite a few people put a lot of tangible work into the maintenance of this group. The least we can do to thank those who have made it possible for us to be having this conversation is to continue the legacy and grow from what has come before. Beauty/Variety/Conflict is important for many reasons. My operating usage currently is thus: Beauty is a method of attraction and fascination, Variety is a method of staying power and health, Conflict is a method to inspire growth and evolution.
I hope that clears a few things up instead of obfuscating the ideas involved, as I tend to write this shit when I get off work and am not on top of my game mentally.
I get what you're saying. I've been seeing it as both pantheon and connected progress engine and I like that it can act as both. From what you're saying, the point of this ritual is to make Conjunctio the spirit of the connected engine/the godform part of dkmu/the push back to the other side of the veil, more than it is already. I see the marathon thing as establishing an initial connection with each of the entities through which they can find you and you can find them, since no one is going to really go through the full path in two months.
I connect more easily with some of the godforms than others, which I'm sure is true of most everyone. Some of that might be due to the hidden dynamics of my life right now and I'll see a drift over time, while some of it I might keep coming back to. Stripping away the godform mask for a minute, people bounce between different aspects of reality throughout their lives but also have a few core affiliations that stick with them. None of it is really permanent, it's just that one "stage" might last their whole life, and any given archetype is deep enough to devote more than a lifetime to. I think it would be a mistake to expect people to visibly work through the whole cycle from one to the next like in the marathons, or that they would do it all with the the dkmu godforms, or that it would happen in any recognizable order.
It's more like the path is there on an ideal level and it works with people in whatever way will do the most for their growth.
What bothers me about the way the godforms are presented isn't that they're not cohesive, but the idea that they're not out there to change the world.
I haven't been here long and I could be wrong about all of this. Also, where can I read about the original Chelseanacht?
Traditionally, part of the point of most paths of initiation that I've looked into is to accelerate a process which would occur naturally over many lifetimes. There are also fairly well documented stages of progress which an initiate would follow which mirrors the natural course of progress through the mysteries. In fact, these stages are fairly consistent in terms of the order they take, though the stages manifest differently for each individual. The DKMU egregores mimic this same progression. Yes, occasionally you'll have someone jump the gun and start somewhere else. Invariably, however, the more foundational stages must be returned to, and the progress gained farther along the path repeated with the newer understandings so that they can actually be integrated into the consciousness. Until that progression takes place, understandings gained further down the line are incomplete and spotty. I hear what you're saying, but as a mage, part of what you must do IS progress from one stage to another. Visibility is somewhat irrelevant, as these paths are intensely personal.
The path to change the world begins with the individual. If the individual has not progressed beyond the current state of the world how can that person hope to progress anything beyond themselves? This is an attempt to create a seamless progression, an accelerated path utilizing these conscious stages as such. The lack of cohesion in both the egregores and the group as a whole is actually harmful to even the activism inherent in dkmu's stated goals. This is still an occult group, and as such requires progression on an internal level. I wish to see this become inherent in working with these entities, and they have a lot more potential to inspire this form of growth than is currently being utilized.
I've only been here for about 2 years myself, and in that time I've just been watching, and I've done a pretty decent amount of work with the "godforms", integrating them into my practice in just such a way, however, they seem to resist this rather than attempt to help. They have a lot of the same failings I notice with most group egregores, in that they crave attention. For instance, in my experience, Ellis cares about Ellis and advancing the "Cult of Ellis" so that she may become more and more "Real". I see these entities as a family with a lot of potential for the advancement of any and every individual who touches them.
The goal is not to force a singular form of progress either, but to get both the godforms and dkmu to begin acting more as a group composed of individuals rather than a bunch of individuals who are only marginally connected by a title.
If you're interested in the original chelseanacht working, I honestly can't remember exactly where I read about the specifics, but it's all in the literature of the group... I dunno, occultus conturbo maybe? I can't really remember. It's all stellar work and I'd highly recommend it.
Something about this is making me uneasy but I barely know what I'm talking about. You wanted my debate and contest, so there it is. You know the situation better than I.
Is anyone else watching this thread who has something to add?
I appreciate the debate, you've given me a few things to think about, and as this working would effect the group as a whole every voice matters. You raise valid questions and concerns, and are the only one who has done so currently.
So thank you!
I think Avianna's raising the right questions, which I hope is due to our marathon having been helpful.
It bothers me that in the future the DKMU could turn into a religion just like all the others, in which every person who joins has to follow instruction for the rituals and do them in the same way. Then it ossifies and turns into a religion of order instead of chaos. The direct energy which makes DKMU rituals work better than set religious rituals, and possibly better than set ceremonial magic rituals as well, seems to lie in the individual contributing and making their own path to as full an extent as they're able. I presume that's why the callings in Liber Sigillum are only outline rituals, and I picked up the impression from somewhere that you only use them the first time anyway and then the next time introduce more and more material of your own.
When people are brand new they do need something to follow or else they don't know what to do, so in the Oistar group we have ended up putting links to rituals, or compiling the sources into a new ritual like Frater Theodbald did. But I wouldn't want it to turn into a liturgy that everyone has to do.
When I first joined I loved the 'assault on reality' side of it. When I was really young, just leaving school, I went through a stage of using the phrase 'smash materialism' and later on I thought I must have been a complete immature idiot to have such a concept as that in my mind. But funny.....it means the same as the assault on reality. What I did notice though after joining DKMU was that a lot of the experiments people share relating to the assault on reality are very high level ones that people who have come from systems other than chaos magick can't understand very easily. For example, electrical circuits with Ellis in them, or very complex sigils drawing on runes and Voodoo veves and sigils from the Key of Solomon, and Ellis added to them. I will admit that these were too hard for me even though I had been in a lot of other systems before, simply because I voluntarily learned more of the religious side of those systems than the magical side.
Sometimes it's easier for new people to work together and share experiences with the godforms because they have learned how to do that in religions they've been in before, or with tulpas like Avianna.I do agree though that our godforms are more egregores than 'gods',and they sometimes call themselves egregores. They want to assist with the assault on reality but when they meet new human beings it's like, ' inexperienced material' for them and they say "we'll teach you" but it's easier said than done.
I think I wasn't clear in my intentions for this. I am not a fan of religiousness, I do not wish to see the godforms become anything to be worshiped, in fact, part of the intention of this ritual is to essentially give the whole set of entities a purpose which applies to the whole group in order to AVOID a religion popping up around a group of growing entities who, observably, are a bit lacking on the side of what they're there for. Egregores are created for a purpose, and groups of egregores likewise. As I was saying previous, the path of initiation manifests very differently for each person. You can readily identify, however, a sometimes frighteningly similar set of stages which such individuals move through, often with reference to certain realizations and understandings which occur before and after other understandings. The specifics will be different, the viewpoint will be different, the effect upon the individual will be different, the path to reach such understandings WILDLY different, but the conclusion essentially similar. They follow certain themes.
Ellis is both connective and rebellious, she connects to that which is sought looking to defy what has been standard throughout her history. She is an open act of rebellion, the first encounter of many to dkmu, and wholly similar to the first step I think many of us took first on our magical path.
Doombringer is the initiation. He is the door which is sought, and the death of what came before. Knowingly and calmly he strips away the tether to the life which came before. He is the path once it is found, and the action taken to begin it. He is also a point of no return, and thus is the first steps one takes upon the 156/663 current proper.
Ino, the inspiration which is given to those who look with wonder upon a new world, or upon an old world with new eyes. She is the songs which are sung and poems written trying to capture something which cannot be caged, and therefore finding freedom in the attempt.
And Etc. Trigag, the dark night of the soul; Zalty, the alchemical gold. These are all stages which are inherent to every walker on these paths, and they come in just such an order, and never end. I find it brilliant that they are given consciousness here, and intensely useful. This is truly a means to initiate the world, as ringtail mentioned, if only they transitioned naturally and smoother. If only the purpose were a bit more clear in their programming.
This is the sum total of everything I've said here. I don't know if I miscommunicated, or if I'm misinterpretting, but I've gotta go to sleep now. <3 thanks for the discourse again!
I didn't mean that YOU are a fan of religiousness Ahavah Ain Soph. I only meant that a religious approach could develop because it is the easiest thing for people to do. We will all have to stick with the approach of stages along the path of initiation, as you said.
And what I meant is that I want for people to still be able to work with the egregores outside of a strict singular progression. Maybe someone new comes in and they've already gone up through the dark night in one respect, so Zalty is what calls them, while in another area of their life they're still in the connection and initiation phase so they end up working with Ellis or Doombringer in that regard. Then maybe they have a specific project that they want to use Ino or Trigag or one of the others for, and so on. I have seen the attention hogging behavior you describe and I didn't think of it as a problem, but I can see how it might be. Honestly, at the time I was kind of flattered because until then I'd been the one trying to attract their attention.
(PS: Call me Ringtail. Avianna is something I pulled out of a name generator and it's actually been bothering me but I don't know what to change it to.)
I would love to participate in the ritual from afar, if the glyph is public i would like to use it as a focus.
Definitely agree with the last point ringtail. I believe the progression of the godforms is different for everyone, i tried to go in order, but everytime i go for a marathon i go in a different order, and end up getting 'stuck' in some godforms that i need to focus on more.
Okay, so...just to see if I can sum up for myself:
What we're trying to do is kind of edge the godforms more into a direct initiatory journey. Like the Stations of the Cross in Catholicism, only instead of following Jesus' path to through being crucified, we're creating a pathway for each individual to achieve some sort of personal apotheosis.
Basically, starting with Ellis as the initial doorway and then each of the godforms as an experience along that journey.
Am I hitting it yes or no?
Something like that, I'm still working with people to evolve the idea a bit, which has actually been going swimmingly. I'll be posting something soon on that evolved series of ideas.
There are a few goals in mind. One goal is to introduce programming into these entities to behave in such a way as to do almost precisely what you were saying. To act cohesively as a means and mechanism to facilitate initiation/progression along the initiatory path.
Another goal is to create a ritual which is simple and beautiful enough in essence, aim, and execution so as to utilize it as something which can be replicated by any group of 7 or more dkmu members upon meeting in such a way as to accomplish anything group oriented or even just for the hell of it due to its nature as a meeting ritual designed to strengthen the relational ties between the group. This is similar to many groups. Judaism has Minyan, when 10 men are assembled, certain prayers are augmented. This is derived from the Kaballah and the Sephirot of the Etz Chaim. Gardnerian traditions have certain rituals which every member of the tradition knows, and so when groups of them meet those rituals can be done in a cohesive and beautiful way.
A third aim, and a more physical one, is to edge DKMU into a more cohesive group, taking care to maintain diversity (BEAUTY! VARIETY! CONFLICT!) but also creating and strengthening common bonds, aims, and themes. A mechanism to make such an effect is already in place, just not utilized as such. This mechanism is the Godforms, seeing as that a large percentage of the group works with these entities, focusing such an aim through strengthening the bonds between the Godforms in certain ways is a good way to back up other work to be done.
The last aim is the creation of such a system of occultism/initiation which is as lasting, simple, complex, dynamic, adaptable, and self-sustaining as such systems as the Elemental, the Planetary, the Tree of Life, etc. This is being worked on separately at the moment between some peoples including myself.
That answer the question?
Alright, so who are these peoples you keep mentioning? Do you know yet who is coming?
So far, definitely Mr Hellfire, Axaeon, and myself. I need to talk to Branch again, since he was pretty gung ho about it last year. There's a potential Aletheia will be making a showing, though I think it's unlikely. Kiki has expressed interest in coming down. I really want Alysy to show up, but he has a lot of other stuffs going on. MQ was talking about coming last year.
So far the planning party has been myself, Axaeon, Hellfire, and some talks last year on the IRC with a bunch of people there. I've been asking questions of some old timers like Kael Mow to make sure I have some historical information correct. I also have chatted with more people in passing less extensively on various pieces of the puzzle.
We will likely see more RSVPs closer to the date, I have a feeling that perhaps Sam Hamilton will make a showing, but nothing and no one beyond the three I've mentioned are a definite yes.
Where I stand: If somebody was going from Colorado, I'd love to carpool. I can drive, or contribute gas money. I can probably get away for the weekend- like a thursday-friday-saturday-sunday dealio, possibly a little longer if things swing that way. IDK about on my own, I spoke with hubby and he doesn't care if I go, but can not take any more time off of work. I'm pretty sure my mom-friend would probably watch them for me, I would just have to bribe the boy with ice cream or something, so I am covered on that front. It mainly hinges on the work I can get in the meantime; the agency I'm working through is taking their sweet time to offer me anything.
A HUGE thanks to Ahavah for bringing the NOLA meet to the forums and FB, This will be the third year celebrating in the Big Easy.
Now that we are much closer to the date I'm back online and will be getting together the major plans for things, so....
The time has come, the walrus said...
If you plan on coming down to NOLA for the July meet, please send a message to me at
axaeonxiii@gmail.com
Let me know:
Who are you? your name on the forum, or FB or irc or even your real name ;)
How are you getting here? From Where? Are you willing to carpool or pickup?
Do you need help finding a place to stay? and/or how long?
Which of the DKMU egregores do you align with/would like to focus on with this working?Why?
(more on the exacts of the ritual and the simultaneous evocations to come)
and anything else you think appropriate, Or inappropriately informative. Non sequiturs are fine too, no discrimination here.
I'll be gathering all the info from last year's working for the forum in the next couple of nights, i'll post the link here if it ends up in a more appropriate Topic, as i'm still trying to re-find everyone else's collected info from last year.
Always-Axaeon
Email sent.
Only three responses so far!
Come on guys, I'd love to help you find a nice magical place to rest and I need to know all involved so we can finalize the ritual and seal.
Even if you're not coming but wish to be involved let me know and I'll send you something as a link to here for the working.
Also Info from Chelseanacht Ritual 2014 (https://www.dkmu.org/forum/index.php?topic=122.0)
(anyone wondering about the mirrors might find the link useful as well ;) )
Sent my rsvp (=
https://www.dkmu.org/forum/index.php?topic=259.0