~Liber KKK~
by Peter J. Carroll

KAOS KERAUNOS KYBERNETOS
===========================
(THE CHAOS THUNDERBOLT STEERS ALL THINGS)

Liber KKK is the first, complete, systematic magical training programme for 
some centuries. It is a definitive replacement for the Sacred Magic of 
Abramelin the Mage, which system has become obsolete due to it's 
monotheist transcendentalism and it's dependency on repressive forms of 
inhibitory gnosis now considered inappropriate.

Liber KKK is presented as a series of general magical techniques which the 
magician must develop into a workable programme using whatever symbols, 
instruments and forms of gnosis that appeal to him. It would be 
inappropriate for a Chaos Magic text to prescribe any particular beliefs or 
dogmas, except that magic works if certain general principles are followed. It 
would be inappropriate for any Chaos magician to slavishly adhere to the 
fine detail of any system. Much can be learnt from Liber KKK in the process 
of adapting general procedures to personal taste and objectives. Liber KKK 
may be attempted by any adult. The word "magician" applies equally to 
either sex and the use of the male personal pronouns in the text is merely a 
literary convention in the absence of neutral forms in English.

Liber KKK is a series of twenty-five magical operations or "conjurations". The 
five classical conjurations of Evocation, Divination, Enchantment, Invocation 
and Illumination are each performed on the five levels of Sorcery, Shamanic 
Magic, Ritual Magic, Astral Magic and High Magic. Thus the whole work 
systematically resumes the entire tradition of magical technique, leading the 
magician from simple practices and the manufacture of tools towards the 
mastery of more complex experiments on the psychic level.

It is highly desirable that the magician has some form of private temple for 
his conjurations. Yet it is essential that the magician remains active in the 
world for the period of the work as a whole. The work does not entail any 
form of retreat from the world, but rather the world surrounding the 
magician is used as the proving ground for magic. Thus the business and 
social affairs of the magician are the prime focus for his magic. In 
performing that magic he gradually defines his style or spirituality. For it is 
senseless to define spirituality as other than the way one lives. If the Way of 
Magic is to have a spiritual component it can only be discovered through the 
performance, all strictures and exhortations are useless.

There is no upper limit on the time that may be alloted to complete the 
entire work but it cannot be completed in less than a single year. Any person 
with the time to complete the operation in less than a year should consider 
adopting further worldly commitments as arbitrary goals in support of 
which, various parts of the work can be used. Objective results are the proof 
of magic, all else is mysticism.

Samples of the Philosophers Stone which do not transmute lead to gold will 
also fail as elixers of enlightenment in a lifestyle of risk and uncertainty. The 
magician may need to consider whether he needs to adopt projects involving 
these elements before he begins the work. 

For the purpose of this operation, the five classical magical acts of Evocation, 
Divination, Enchantment, Invocation and Illumination are defined as 
follows:-

EVOCATION:

Is work with entities which may be naturally occuring or manufactured. 
They may be regarded as independent spirits, fragments or the magicians 
subconscious, or the egregores of various species of life form, according to 
taste and belief structure. In practice Evocation is usually performed for 
Enchantment, in which the evoked entities are made to create effects on 
behalf of the magician. Evoked entities also find some application in 
Divination, when they are used to discover information for the magician.

DIVINATION:

Includes all those practices in which the magician attempts to extend his 
perception by magical means.

ENCHANTMENT:

Includes all those practices in which the magician attempts to impose his will 
on reality.

INVOCATION:

Is the deliberate attunement of consciousness and the unconscious with 
some archetypal or significant nexus of thought. The classical conceptions of 
Pagan god forms are often used but other principles may serve. Invocation 
creates states of inspiration or possession during which Enchantment, 
Divination, or occasionally Evocation, can be performed.

ILLUMINATION: 

Is deliberate self modification by magic and may include spells of 
Enchantment cast at oneself to repair weaknesses or increase strengths, and 
Divination and Invocation performed for inspiration and direction.

Thus all magical operations are based on the use of will, perception and 
imagination, which is to say that they are all species of Enchantment or 
Divination. Imagination is that which occurs when will and perception 
stimulate each other.

The five levels of magical activity, Socercery, Shamanic, Ritual, Astral and 
High Magic are for the purposes of this operation defined as follows:-

SORCERY:

Is simple magic which depends on the occult connections which exist 
between physical phenomena. Sorcery is a mechanical art which does not 
require the theory that connection exist between the mind of the operator 
and the target. Any effects arising from such a connection can, however, be 
regarded as an added bonus. Workng on the sorcery level the magician 
creates artifacts, tools and instruments which interact magically with the 
physical world and which can be used again in more subtle ways on the 
other levels. The sorcery level work should be performed thoroughly, for 
simple as it's practices seem they are the foundation on which the higher 
level work rests.

SHAMANIC MAGIC:

Works on the level of trance, vision, imagination and dream. It opens the 
magician's subconscious by negating the psychic censor with various 
techniques. The magician faces considerable danger on this level and may 
have frequent recourse to sorcery techniques or banishing ritual if it 
threatens to obsess or overwhelm him.

RITUAL MAGIC:

Combines the abilities developed on the Sorcery and Shamanic levels. The 
magician brings together the use of tools from the Sorcery level with the 
subconscious powers liberated on the Shamanic levels and combines their 
use in a disciplined and controlled fashion.

ASTRAL MAGIC:

Is performed by visualisation and altered states of consciousness or gnosis, 
alone. Physical paraphernalia is not used although the tools and instruments 
from the previous levels can be used in the form of visualised images. At 
first the magician will probably require seclusion, silence, darkness and 
considerable effort at concentration and trance to succeed with such magic, 
but practice will allow it to be performed anywhere.

HIGH MAGIC: 

Is that which occurs when there is no impediment to the direct magical 
effect of will, no barrier to direct clairvoyance and prescience, and no 
seperation between the magician and any form of rapport or consciousness 
he chooses to enter into. For most people the portals of High Magic are open 
at a few peak moments in a lifetime. As the magician progresses through his 
training the momentum he acquires will force open the gates to the 
miraculous more often. No procedures are given here for the five 
conjurations of High Magic. High Magic represents the point where technique 
gives way to intuitive genius and each must intuit the key to unleashing 
such powers for himself.

The first twenty conjurations teach the full gamut of artificial tricks and 
techniques for throwing and catching the magical thunderbolt. In High Magic 
the primordial Chaos at the centre of our being grabs or hurls the 
thunderbolt by itself.

The five conjurations on each level may be attempted in any order but all 
five should be completed before beginning on the next level. The magician 
should prepare to begin the whole operation on a date that is auspicious or 
personally significant. Perhaps a birthday or a seasonal turning point. A book 
is prepared in which the magician is to record successes with each of the 
twenty-five conjurations. Only successful results are noted and the magician 
must modify his approach to each conjuration until results worthy of 
recording are achieved. Lesser results may be recorded elsewhere for 
reference. The record of the Liber KKK operation, however, should contain an 
account of notable successes with each of the twenty-five conjurations. A 
single success with each should be regarded as an absolute minimum whilst 
five successes with each of the twenty-five conjurations can be regarded as 
thorough work.

With the possible exception of acts of High Magic, all conjurations should be 
planned in detail beforehand. Upon entering the temple beginning work, the 
magician should know precisely what he intends to do. Most magicians 
prefer to write out a rubric for a conjuration even if they rarely use the 
written form as a cue. The magician will often have to do more than is 
planned as inspiration and necessity move him. Yet he should never fail to 
carry out what he has planned or begin work with a vague idea of doing 
some magic.

The Gnostic Banishing Ritual
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During the period of the performance of the Liber KKK operation the 
magician may need to defend himself against the results of his own mistakes 
and hostile psychic influences. He may also need to replenish his own health 
and psychic forces. For these purposes the Gnostic Banishing Ritual may be 
used. It is a technically compact and powerful conjuration of Ritual 
Enchantment for all of the above purposes. It may be used freely during the 
work as a whole and particularly as a prelude and an ending to each of the 
first fifteen conjurations.

Conjurations One to Five - Sorcery Level Magic
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Sorcery depends on exploiting psychic connection between the physical 
phenomena and only secondarily on establishing psychic connections 
between mind and physical phenomena. Each of the conjurations requires 
the use of physical instruments which can be used again on other levels. It is 
highly desirable that the magician make these instruments by his own hand. 
However the magician may adapt existing objects for use if such objects are 
especially significant, or unique artifacts, or designed by the magician, or if 
such objects become available to the magician in an unusual or meaningful 
manner. It is no accident that sorcery techniques often resemble certain 
childhood behaviour patterns. Children often have a natural familiarity with 
the simple principles of magic even if they lack the persistance or 
encouragement to make them work. The adult magician is seeking to regain 
that childlike sense of imagination, fluidity and wishful thinking, and turn it 
into something of real power.

Conjuration One - Sorcery Evocation
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The magician creates with his own hands a physical representation of a 
fetish entity by carving, moulding or assembly. Its functions are in general 
to attract success, to protect by repelling misfortune and to act as a reservoir 
of power for the magician. It is usually shaped to resemble some kind of 
actual living being or chimerical being whose form suggests its function. If it 
is vaguely humanoid in shape it is known as a Homunculus. It may be made 
to contain parts of the magician's body or be annointed with blood or sexual 
fluids. The magician treats the fetish as a living being, speaking his will to it, 
commanding it to exert its its influence in his favour and carrying it on his 
person when on critical errands. Some magicians prefer to make two 
fetishes, one to implement will, the other to bring knowledge and 
information.

Conjuration Two - Sorcery Divination
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The magician prepares a simple model of the universe for use as a 
divinatory tool. A set of Rune Sticks or Rune Stones is most excellent for this 
purpose. Occidental geomancy sticks provide a somewhat simpler model 
whilst the systems of Tarot or I Ching can prove too complex for later work 
on the Shamanic levels unless abbreviated in some way. The magician should 
perform divination both for general trends and for answer to specific 
questions. The element of the divinatory tool should be treated as having a 
fairly direct relationship to the parts of reality they represent and the 
procedures of sortiledge should be regarded as a mirror of the process by 
which reality takes its decisions. Divinatory activity should be pitched at a 
frequency and complexity which allows answers to be remembered. It is 
preferable to divine for phenomena which are likely to confirm or negate the 
divination within a relatively short time period.

Conjuration Three - Sorcery Enchantment
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For the work of the third conjuration the magician may need to prepare or 
acquire a variety of instruments, but chief amongst these should be a single 
special tool or magical weapon, for enchantment. A small pointed wand or a 
knife are especially convenient. This special instrument or weapon can also 
be usefully employed to trace the pentagrams in the Gnostic Banishing 
Ritual. A fist sized piece of modelling clay or other plastic material may be 
the only other instrument required. To perform Sorcery Enchantment the 
magician makes physical representations of his will and desire. Where 
possible the magical weapon should be used to help make or manipulate 
these representations. The magician should perform one or several 
conjurations of this type per week. As always he should aim to influence 
events before nature has made her mind up, and he should not put too great 
a strain on nature by conjuring for highly improbable events.

Conjuration Four - Sorcery Invocation
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The aim of the fourth conjuration is to create radical changes in behaviour 
by temporarily altering the environment. There is no limit to the variation of 
experience the magician may wish to arrange for himself. He might, for 
example, after some careful background research, depart in disguise to some 
strange place and play out a completely new social role. Alternatively, he 
may wish to equip his temple and himself in such a way that he experiences 
being an ancient Egyptian god for a time. In Sorcery Evocation the magician 
tests to the limit his ability to create arbitrary change by modifying his 
environment and his behaviour.

Conjuration Five - Sorcery Illumination
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In works of Illumination the magician aims for self improvement in some 
precisely defined and specific way. Grandiose plans for spiritual 
enlightenment should be abandoned in favour of identifying and overcoming 
the more obvious weaknesses and increasing existing strengths. For the work 
of Illumination the magician makes or acquires some object to represent his 
quest as a whole. This objects is technically known as a "lamp" although it 
may take the form of anything from a ring to a mandala. The "lamp" is used 
as a basis over which to proclaim various oaths and resolutions. Such oaths 
and resolutions may also be marked onto the design of the lamp. The 
magician may need to perform various supplementary acts of invocation, 
enchantment, divination and even evocation to make progress with the work 
of illumination. It is not unusual for the magician to destroy and rebuild the 
lamp during the work of illumination.

Conjurations Six to Ten - Shamanic Level Magic
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Shamanic Magic depends on the use of altered states of consciousness in 
which active visualistation and passive vision seeking can most easily occur. 
The altered states which are easiest and safest to access are those of half-
sleep, dream and light trances brought on by quiet meditation. However, any 
method of Gnosis can be used according to taste, but in initial exercises it is 
wise to avoid certain dangerous and ecstatic practices which can lead to a 
loss of control. In general it is preferable to try and deepen the trance by 
concentrating on visualisation and vision than to deepen it by extreme 
Gnosis beforehand. In Shamanic Magic the magician is seeking to discover 
and establish connections between his mental imagery and phenomena in 
the world. Visions frequently occur in symbolic language, thus for example, 
diseases take on the appearance of insects or loathsome animals, and fears or 
desires may appear as spirits. The magician or shaman should deal with such 
things as the images in which they present themselves, banishing or 
invoking such forms by force of visualisation and interpreting their physical 
meaning where necessary. Shamanic magic tends to become a very 
idiosyncratic and free form exercise in which the magician also explores his 
symbol synthesising faculties.

Conjuration Six - Shamanic Evocation
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In this work the magician strives to establish a vision of an entity which he 
projects to do his bidding. It is often useful to work with the visualised 
forms of the entities used for the sorcery evocation although other forms can 
be chosen. In general, entities are used to encourage desired events to 
materialise, or to seek out information, in situations which are too complex 
for simple spells or divinations to be formulated. Entities act as semi-
intelligent spells with a limited degree of independent action. The magician 
seeks to build an increasing rapport with the entities he has conjured by 
imagination until they begin to have real effect upon the world. Some of the 
best work with entities can often best be achieved by interacting with them 
in dreams.

Conjuration Seven - Shamanic Divination
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In Shamanic Magic divination consists of a vision quest for answers to 
particular questions. However, the traditional term "vision quest" should be 
understood to include a quest for an answer sensed in any way, be it 
hallucinatory voices, tactile sensation or whatever. In general the magician 
concentrates on the question he wishes to put as he enters his state of 
dream, half-sleep or trance and then allows a flow of images, voices or other 
sensations to arise within himself. A completely free form vision can be 
attempted and later interpreted, or the magician may attempt to structure 
his experience by looking for special symbols, particularly those chosen for 
the sorcery divination work.

Conjuration Eight - Shamanic Enchantment
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In Shamanic Enchantment the magician seeks to impress his will upon the 
world by a direct or symbolic visualization of his desire. Thus whilst in his 
chosen form of trance he summons up an image of the target phenomena 
and visualises his desire coming to pass. The magician will often find it 
helpful to visualise himself in the spirit vision travelling to the person or 
situation he wishes to influence. He then visualises an imaginative enactment 
during which the situation or the person's behaviour changes to fit his 
desire. It is not unusual for the visualisation to become somewhat symbolic 
or distorted or coloured by the magician's imagination. In general these 
distractions should be banished by greater concentration on the desired 
visualisation. However, if they are persistent they may reveal some 
knowledge about the target or the magician's relationship to it which he can 
use to improve his enchantment. For example, if a target person repeatedly 
appears to have some kind of aura or animal form in a vision it is often best 
to work ones visualisation directly upon this. Similarly, if a target situation 
seems to have some kind of characteristic vibration or "feel" about it in the 
spirit vision then the magician will often succeed by spirit vision then the 
magician will often succeed by working his magic upon a visualisation of this 
rather than of the actual substance of the situation.

Conjuration Nine - Shamanic Invocation
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In Shamanic Invocation the magician draws knowledge and power from 
Atavisms, normally animal atavisms. A number of ingenious explanations 
exist as to why such experiences are possible. The human genetic code 
contains a huge amount of apparently unused information. Much of this must 
relate to our evolutionary history. The human brain has developed by a 
process of accretion rather than by complete modification. The older parts of 
our brain contain circuits and programs identical with those in other animals. 
Some magicians consider that the psychic part of humans is built up from 
the psychic debris of many past beings including animals, in much the same 
way as the physical body is. Others consider that the collective psyches of 
the various animal species is available to them telepathically.

To perform Shamanic Invocation the magician strives from some kind of 
possession by an animal atavism. The selection of a particular animal form is 
a very person matter. It may be that the magician has had some affinity 
with a particular animal since childhood, or has some characteristic, physical 
or mental, which suggests an animal, or it may be that an intuition builds up 
or that a sudden visionary revelation occurs. To develop the invocation the 
magician should try to visualise himself in animal form whilst in trance and 
even to project himself in astral travel as an animal. It is often useful to 
physically act out the behaviour of the animal in a suitable environment. 
With practice, varying degrees of split consciousness can be achieved in 
which it is possible for the magician to interrogate his atavism upon matters 
it understands and to ask it to provide him with such of its powers as his 
physical or astral bodies can support.

Conjuration Ten - Shamanic Illumination
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The so called medicine journey of Shamanic Illumination is a quest for self-
knowledge, self renewal or self improvement. It can take many forms. 
Traditionally it often takes the form of a death and rebirth experience in 
which the magician visualises his own death and dismemberment of his 
body followed by a rebuilding of his body and "spirit" and a rebirth. 
Sometimes this process is accompanied by physical privations such as 
sleeplessness, fasting and pain to deepen trance. Another method is to 
conduct a series of visionary journeys summoning up the so called "spirits" 
of natural phenomena, animals, plants and stones and asking them to yield 
knowledge. The simplest method of all is to retire for some days to a wild 
and secluded place far from the habitations of men and there to conduct a 
complete review of one's life up to that point, and also of one's future 
expectations.

Conjuration Fifteen - Ritual Illumination
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In Ritual Illumination the magician applies various ritual acts of divination, 
enchantment, evocation and invocation to himself for self improvement. As 
with all acts of illumination the changes attempted should be specific rather 
than vague and general. The magician may find it useful to prepare a more 
elaborate "lamp" perhaps in the form of a mandala representing his self or 
soul for this conjuration. One effect of ritual illumination is often to force the 
magician to choose between Atman and Anatta. If he works within the 
paradigm of Anatta, the hypothesis of no-soul, then illumination is a matter 
of the addition or the deletion of certain patterns of thought and behaviour. 
If the magician works within the paradigm of Atman, the doctrine of 
personal soul, or Holy Guardian Angel, then he faces a more complex, 
dangerous and confusing situation. If a personal soul is presumed to exist 
but without a true will then the atman magician can proceed as if he were an 
Anattaist. If a true will is presumed to exist then the conjuration must be 
directed towards its discovery and implementation. The author has avoided 
treading too far along this path but has observed the process go 
spectacularly wrong in numerous cases. Those who wish to attempt it are 
counselled to avoid accepting as true will, anything which conflicts radically 
with ordinary commonsense or "lower will", as it is disparity called in this 
paradigm.

Conjurations Sixteen to Twenty - Astral Magic
_________________________________________

Astral Magic is Ritual Magic performed entirely on the plane of visualisation 
and imagination. Unlike Shamanic Magic where a fairly free form use of 
images and visions is explored, this magic requires the precise and accurate 
visualisation of an internal landscape. In this landscape the magician carries 
out processes designed to bring him knowledge of the ordinary world or to 
change the world or himself. Astral Magic has to be approached with at least 
as much preparation and effort as it put into ritual magic or else it can tend 
to become a brief series of excursions around the imagination to little 
magical effect. Properly performed, it can be a source of extraordinary 
power and it has the advantage of requiring no physical equipment. Astral 
Magic is usually begun in some quiet secluded place whilst the magician is 
comfortably seated or couched with closed eyes. There may be few outward 
signs that anything is happening apart from perhaps a variation in breathing 
rates or posture or facial expressions as the magician enters gnosis. 

To prepare for Astral Magic a temple or series of temples needs to be 
erected on the plane of visualised imagination. Such temples can take any 
convenient form although some magicians prefer to work with an exact 
simulacrum of their physical temple. The astral temple is visualised in fine 
detail and should contain all the equipment required for ritual or at least 
cupboards where any required instruments can be found. Any objects 
visualised into the temple shold always remain there for subsequent 
inspection unless specifically dissolved or removed. The most important 
object in the temple is the magician's image of himself working in it. At first 
it may seem that he is merely manipulating a puppet of himself in the 
temple but with persistence this should give way to a feeling of actually 
being there.

Before beginning Astral Magic proper, the required temple and instruments 
together with an image of the magician moving about in it should be built up 
by a repeated series of visualisations until all the details are perfect. Only 
when this is complete should the magician begin to use the temple. Each 
conjuration that is performed should be planned in advance with the same 
attention to detail as in Ritual Magic. The various acts of astral evocation, 
divination, enchantment, invocation and illumination take on a similar 
general form to the acts of Ritual Magic which the magician adapts for astral 
work.

Conjurations Twenty One to Twenty Five - High Magic
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All the techniques of magic are really just so many ways of tricking some 
indefinable parts of ourselves into performing magic. The universe is 
basically a magical structure and we are all capable of magic. The really 
useful theories of magic are those which explain why magic tends to work so 
erratically and why we have such enormous inhibitions about believing in it, 
making it work, and recognising that it has worked. It is as if the universe 
has cast a spell upon us to convince us we are not magicians. However, this 
spell is rather a playful cosmic joke. The universe challenges us to shatter 
the illusion by leaving a few cracks in it.

No details are presented for the five conjurations of High Magic, nor can they 
be given, the reader is referred back to the remarks made on them in the 
introduction. The magician must rely on the momentum of his work in 
sorcery, shamanism, ritual and astral magics to carry him into the domain of 
high magic where he evolves his own tricks and empty handed techniques 
for spontaneously liberating the chaotic creativity within.

KAOS KERAUNOS KYBERNETOS
