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                                           1396

Subject: THE PACT (IOT) - The Story So Far

                                      by Pete Carroll

          In 1976 in an abandoned ammunition dump dug deep into a mountain

          somewhere in the Rhineland, two magicians, one English, one Germ
an

          announced the formation of a magical order with the celebration
of a

          Mass of Chaos in the company of a couple of dozen other magician
s.

          Soon after we emerged from the bowels of the mountain a localize
d

          tornado hit immediate area. This was but a small portent of thin
gs

          to come.



          We left the mountain with no particular idea other than to form
an

          Order such as had never existed before, that would break the

          existing mold and provide a vehicle for Chaos Magic. A year late
r

          some of us met in a splendid Austrian castle and formally arrang
ed

          ourselves into the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros
,

          using as a basis a simple structure of four grades and five offi
ces

          that I had devised in the meantime. Since then the Pact has evok
ed a

          veritable whirlwind of activity, and at the time of writing coun
ts

          some sixteen temples in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland,

          Australia and the USA. A meeting for all members is now held

          annually, usually at the same original castle (Burg Lockenhaus,

          Austria, 2.-6.August 1991 followed by an Exercitium open for all
).

          It is always a wild experimental gathering during which plenty o
f

          hard work is being done. In devising a structure I sought mainly
 to

          avoid the mistakes of previous established orders such as the Go
lden

          Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis. A certain division of labour
is

          essential just to ensure that people take responsibility for

          organizing that which needs organizing. Beyond that it seems an

          absurdity to form an order on the basis of one or a few persons


                                           1397



          adopting the role of great guru almighty. Their bluff must

          eventually be called, and such organisations are unlikely to adv
ance

          beyond whatever set of ideas they start with. Crowley had to bre
ak

          with the Golden Dawn to make his own contribution to magic, and

          Austin Spare had to break with Crowley in his turn. Such progres
s

          through schism is an idiotic waste of time and effort. Any

          contemporary order which wishes to remain alive, exciting and

          innovative requires a structure or at least a communication netw
ork

          to exist at all, but dogmatic ideas, rigid hierarchies and fixed

          teachings and beliefs will kill its creative spirit rapidly.

          Thus in the Pact, the individual temples, which are its basic un
it,

          experiment with whatever techniques, rituals and ideas they plea
se,

          and exchange results and inspirations through newsletters,

          magazines, a computerized electronic mailbox system, inter-templ
e

          visits and the annual Pact meeting. There is thus a natural

          selection of ideas. Techniques, Spells and Rituals which are fou
nd

          to be really useful become used and expanded upon whilst the les
s

          effective material is forgotten. Those members who enter the Pac
t

          bubbling over with ideas are encouraged to put them into use

          immediately. Naturally in an organisation such as this there is
less

          emphasis on discipline than on enthusiasm and creativity. The Pa
ct is

          more interested in those who can experience magic as a living th
ing,

          than in those who can merely follow instructions. Indeed the onl
y

          power the Pact reserves over its members is the right of expulsi
on

          for extreme non-fraternal behaviour or for bringing the Pact int
o

          danger. The Pact has but two aims. Firstly the pursuit of the Gr
eat

          Work of Magic and pleasures and profits attendant to this Quest.

          Secondly to act as a Psychohistoric Force in the Battle for the

          Aeon. To fulfill the first aim we provide communication faciliti
es

          that enable us to work together and develop our own magics throu
gh


                                           1398



          the exchange of ideas and information. Esoterics should also be
fun.

          If you don`t enjoy doing magic you are probably doing something

          wrong. The profits are entirely whatever rewards individuals can

          make from their own magic. There are no membership fees and the

          annual Pact meeting is free and funded by seminars and exercitiu
ms

          that some members hold for the general public plus any members w
ho

          wish to attend. The somewhat grandiosely phrased Psychohistoric

          action in the Battle for the Aeon, consists mainly in spreading
the

          philosophy of magical paradigm where we can, in print and by wor
d of

          mouth, although we occasionally perform acts of magic to hasten

          things along.



          The magical techniques and philosophy of the Pact are mainly Cha
oist

          in inspiration. Chaos Magic calls for a concentration of the act
ual

          mechanics at work when planning acts of evocation, divination,

          enchantment, invocation and illumination. It is techniques and

          intention that are important in successful magic. The most Impor
tant

          Techniques are those which adjust subconscious belief. Subconsci
ous

          belief controls both the self or selves and the world. So long a
s

          this is never forgotten one can structure a ritual or spell with

          just about any form of symbolism from Tibetan Tantra to Icelandi
c

          Runelore. And indeed, where else but in the Pact could you find

          magicians experimenting with Runic Sex Magic? Well perhaps you w
ill

          find other examples. I notice the eclectic approach becoming eve
r

          more pervasive in esoterics. Insights and ideas are now poached

          shamelessly from one so-called tradition to another, but this is
 how

          it should be, and Chaos Magic boldly encourages the meta-traditi
on

          which takes anything and everything that is effective from all

          traditions to create an explosive mixture.




                                           1399



          So, on with the pursuit of the Great Work of Magic, with whateve
r

          forms of Techno-Shamanism, Tantric Goetia or Greco-Egyptian Quan
tum

          Physics we can make work for us. There are worlds within us, and
 the

          universe is infinitely more weird, I`m sure, than all our theori
es

          put together. Hopefully, some of the explosives the Pact cooks u
p

          can propel us a little further into these strange domains. I hav
e no

          idea how this years Pact meeting will unfold, except that there
will

          be magicians from many lands seated in a huge circle ready to of
fer

          their specialities in everything from Buddhist sorcery through N
orse

          wyrdcraft and Chaos mathematical investment schemes to Voodoo an
d

          Ice Magics. We have the technology and we`re crazy enough to use
 it!



          The Pact may be contacted in the US care of:

          Temple Oblivion, P.O.Box 18514, Encino CA 91416-8514