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Last Podcast on the Left: Chaos Magic (featuring Discordians)

Started by Cramulus, March 31, 2017, 03:35:56 AM

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Cramulus

Last Podcast on the Left is a show where a bunch of comedy peoples explores weird topics like serial killers, cults, and the occult. After doing an episode on the left hand path, and the right hand path, they wanted to do an episode on chaos magic. So they did like a year of research on it and its associated ideas. This is the first of two podcasts they did on it.

I enjoyed this one, haven't listened to the second one yet. They are usually pretty removed from the weird shit they are discussing, but here they clearly got into it a bit. In another podcasts, a few of them mention how most of the other NYC stand up comics they know are into some kind of occult practice. Is that weird or what? It's amazing, anyway

About 11 minutes into this podcast, they talk about Discordians. It lasts about 3 minutes, and it's funny - you guys should check it out


https://soundcloud.com/lastpodcastontheleft/episode-230-chaos-magic-part-one-the-basics


Cramulus

later in the podcast, they are laughing about how people get really snobby over the spelling of magic, and they say it should then properly be spelled "Madjicke" - I can't remember how they spelled it, but wasn't that a running PD joke? I bet you anything they lurked this place while researching this stuff

Q. G. Pennyworth

I know I used it in The Magicians, I think I've seen it elsewhere.

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

We totally got crazy with the spelling. Mahadgique was my favorite one, I think. It still makes me giggle. :lol:
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Wizard Joseph

There definitely has to be at least one "q" in there to spell correctly.

guess I have a thing to listen to this evening!
You can't get out backward.  You have to go forward to go back.. better press on! - Willie Wonka, PBUH

Life can be seen as a game with no reset button, no extra lives, and if the power goes out there is no restarting.  If that's all you see life as you are not long for this world, and never will get it.

"Ayn Rand never swung a hammer in her life and had serious dominance issues" - The Fountainhead

"World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation."
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality :lulz:

"You program the controller to do the thing, only it doesn't do the thing.  It does something else entirely, or nothing at all.  It's like voting."
- Billy, Aug 21st, 2019

"It's not even chaos anymore. It's BANAL."
- Doktor Hamish Howl

Cramulus

One of their descriptions of Discordianism, as a religion

--it's kinda like when you're taking a bunch of serious photos, and at the end of the roll, the photographer goes "Let's do a fun one--just do anything."



or like


If you wrote an entire Bible, and on the last page, it says "JK LOL"

The Wizard Joseph

Quote from: Cramulus on March 31, 2017, 01:45:29 PM
One of their descriptions of Discordianism, as a religion

--it's kinda like when you're taking a bunch of serious photos, and at the end of the roll, the photographer goes "Let's do a fun one--just do anything."



or like


If you wrote an entire Bible, and on the last page, it says "JK LOL"

Yeah. It sounded to me like the most actual fun they had in description what they were talking about. It's the secret power of Discordianism. It's not all a joke or even funny, but it's FUN even when you're personally about two steps from hell. That's not a common attribute of spirituality in a historical sense. It's precious for this alone before accounting for the value of any actual wisdom or bits of the Truth.
You can't get out backward.  You have to go forward to go back.. better press on! - Willie Wonka, PBUH

Life can be seen as a game with no reset button, no extra lives, and if the power goes out there is no restarting.  If that's all you see life as you are not long for this world, and never will get it.

"Ayn Rand never swung a hammer in her life and had serious dominance issues" - The Fountainhead

"World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation."
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality :lulz:

"You program the controller to do the thing, only it doesn't do the thing.  It does something else entirely, or nothing at all.  It's like voting."
- Billy, Aug 21st, 2019

"It's not even chaos anymore. It's BANAL."
- Doktor Hamish Howl

Vanadium Gryllz

They were an interesting couple of podcasts! I thought they way they broke everything down made it quite understandable.

The more I think about this kind of stuff the more repercussions it has throughout other areas - the part at the start of the second episode where they're talking about fractals was an interesting parallel to thoughts i've thought before.

Has anyone read Condensed Chaos? Is it worth the read or will it all be the same map =/= territory stuff in different language?
"I was fine until my skin came off.  I'm never going to South Attelboro again."

Cramulus

I've read Condensed Chaos. When I was into that kind of thing, it was a good primer.

CM is useful as a sleight of mind. Back in my mushy-headed occult days, I developed some tools that would help me focus, or speak clearly.. just little gestures and phrases that would get me into the right state of mind. To this day, before a job interview or first date, I find myself running through them.. and they still work.

So if you're going to down the occult rabbit hole, CM is probably one of the better places to start. Its emphasis on "do what works for you" keeps you from getting sucked into thousands of pages of reading about traditions that don't matter. But it's also worth noting - most of the goods have already been looted from the occult and carted over to other disciplines.

Vanadium Gryllz

Quote from: Cramulus on April 03, 2017, 07:36:33 PM
I've read Condensed Chaos. When I was into that kind of thing, it was a good primer.

CM is useful as a sleight of mind. Back in my mushy-headed occult days, I developed some tools that would help me focus, or speak clearly.. just little gestures and phrases that would get me into the right state of mind. To this day, before a job interview or first date, I find myself running through them.. and they still work.

So if you're going to down the occult rabbit hole, CM is probably one of the better places to start. Its emphasis on "do what works for you" keeps you from getting sucked into thousands of pages of reading about traditions that don't matter. But it's also worth noting - most of the goods have already been looted from the occult and carted over to other disciplines.

Thanks Cram! That was a useful overview.
"I was fine until my skin came off.  I'm never going to South Attelboro again."

Bu🤠ns

Quote from: Cramulus on March 31, 2017, 01:45:29 PM
One of their descriptions of Discordianism, as a religion

--it's kinda like when you're taking a bunch of serious photos, and at the end of the roll, the photographer goes "Let's do a fun one--just do anything."



or like


If you wrote an entire Bible, and on the last page, it says "JK LOL"

"Discordians CAN be annoying..." :lulz:

Cramulus

Quote from: Xaz on April 03, 2017, 08:50:50 PM
Quote from: Cramulus on April 03, 2017, 07:36:33 PM
I've read Condensed Chaos. When I was into that kind of thing, it was a good primer.

CM is useful as a sleight of mind. Back in my mushy-headed occult days, I developed some tools that would help me focus, or speak clearly.. just little gestures and phrases that would get me into the right state of mind. To this day, before a job interview or first date, I find myself running through them.. and they still work.

So if you're going to down the occult rabbit hole, CM is probably one of the better places to start. Its emphasis on "do what works for you" keeps you from getting sucked into thousands of pages of reading about traditions that don't matter. But it's also worth noting - most of the goods have already been looted from the occult and carted over to other disciplines.

Thanks Cram! That was a useful overview.

I feel obligated to add an addendum

when I got out of my mush-head phase, it took a lot of work to disabuse myself of magical-thinking junkfood.

CM can be useful

it can also make you a total shithead


(& these aren't mutually exclusive)




The Parable of the Bong


A few years back, I met this Discordian who was real deep into chaos magic. He was a pretty heavy dude -- in the sense that he was always talking about fate and death and the mysteries of the universe and what have you. He walked around everywhere with a wooden staff which he had "sigilized the fuck out of". He was okay to hang out with when he wasn't trying to enlighten everybody.

I always wondered why such a powerful wizard frequently found himself bumming spare change for bus fare. Like maybe all those hours spent charging sigils could have been spent pursuing his desires in more concrete, tangible ways.

I bumped into him a year later, and asked him if he still did ritual thing. He said no, he was into "Eastern stuff" now.

"Like what?" I asked

"like Taoist chaos magic"

"What's that mean?"

"It's effortless", he said sagely. "You don't do anything."



somewhere, across space and time, a bong sounded

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

Quote from: Cramulus on April 06, 2017, 05:13:47 PM
Quote from: Xaz on April 03, 2017, 08:50:50 PM
Quote from: Cramulus on April 03, 2017, 07:36:33 PM
I've read Condensed Chaos. When I was into that kind of thing, it was a good primer.

CM is useful as a sleight of mind. Back in my mushy-headed occult days, I developed some tools that would help me focus, or speak clearly.. just little gestures and phrases that would get me into the right state of mind. To this day, before a job interview or first date, I find myself running through them.. and they still work.

So if you're going to down the occult rabbit hole, CM is probably one of the better places to start. Its emphasis on "do what works for you" keeps you from getting sucked into thousands of pages of reading about traditions that don't matter. But it's also worth noting - most of the goods have already been looted from the occult and carted over to other disciplines.

Thanks Cram! That was a useful overview.

I feel obligated to add an addendum

when I got out of my mush-head phase, it took a lot of work to disabuse myself of magical-thinking junkfood.

CM can be useful

it can also make you a total shithead


(& these aren't mutually exclusive)




The Parable of the Bong


A few years back, I met this Discordian who was real deep into chaos magic. He was a pretty heavy dude -- in the sense that he was always talking about fate and death and the mysteries of the universe and what have you. He walked around everywhere with a wooden staff which he had "sigilized the fuck out of". He was okay to hang out with when he wasn't trying to enlighten everybody.

I always wondered why such a powerful wizard frequently found himself bumming spare change for bus fare. Like maybe all those hours spent charging sigils could have been spent pursuing his desires in more concrete, tangible ways.

I bumped into him a year later, and asked him if he still did ritual thing. He said no, he was into "Eastern stuff" now.

"Like what?" I asked

"like Taoist chaos magic"

"What's that mean?"

"It's effortless", he said sagely. "You don't do anything."



somewhere, across space and time, a bong sounded

Hells to the yeah!
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


Vanadium Gryllz

Quote from: Cramulus on April 06, 2017, 05:13:47 PM
Quote from: Xaz on April 03, 2017, 08:50:50 PM
Quote from: Cramulus on April 03, 2017, 07:36:33 PM
I've read Condensed Chaos. When I was into that kind of thing, it was a good primer.

CM is useful as a sleight of mind. Back in my mushy-headed occult days, I developed some tools that would help me focus, or speak clearly.. just little gestures and phrases that would get me into the right state of mind. To this day, before a job interview or first date, I find myself running through them.. and they still work.

So if you're going to down the occult rabbit hole, CM is probably one of the better places to start. Its emphasis on "do what works for you" keeps you from getting sucked into thousands of pages of reading about traditions that don't matter. But it's also worth noting - most of the goods have already been looted from the occult and carted over to other disciplines.

Thanks Cram! That was a useful overview.

I feel obligated to add an addendum

when I got out of my mush-head phase, it took a lot of work to disabuse myself of magical-thinking junkfood.

CM can be useful

it can also make you a total shithead


(& these aren't mutually exclusive)




The Parable of the Bong


A few years back, I met this Discordian who was real deep into chaos magic. He was a pretty heavy dude -- in the sense that he was always talking about fate and death and the mysteries of the universe and what have you. He walked around everywhere with a wooden staff which he had "sigilized the fuck out of". He was okay to hang out with when he wasn't trying to enlighten everybody.

I always wondered why such a powerful wizard frequently found himself bumming spare change for bus fare. Like maybe all those hours spent charging sigils could have been spent pursuing his desires in more concrete, tangible ways.

I bumped into him a year later, and asked him if he still did ritual thing. He said no, he was into "Eastern stuff" now.

"Like what?" I asked

"like Taoist chaos magic"

"What's that mean?"

"It's effortless", he said sagely. "You don't do anything."



somewhere, across space and time, a bong sounded

I had actually decided to put Condensed Chaos on the 'eventually' pile but I just noticed it's available via the reading list so maybe it'll get bumped forward. Not too long either.

I will try and avoid becoming even more of a shithead than usual.
"I was fine until my skin came off.  I'm never going to South Attelboro again."