The Chaos Cookbook, edited by DJ Lawrence
Chaosmagic.com, 221 pp. (incl. bibliography), 2004
The Chaos Cookbook is a result of the combined effort of the Dead Chaoists’ Society, edited by its founder, Dead Jellyfish. It’s an interesting assortment of brief essays and ready-made group and solitary rituals for a variety of occasions.
Chaos magick theory is only briefly touched upon in a few short essays at the start of the book, as a brief introduction as to what is to come. Indeed, chaos magick itself is only ever loosely defined; Lawrence states that ‘…Chaos Magick does not use a concrete theoretical focus, the emphasis in Chaos Magick is on the Doing rather than the Explaining…Thus, in Chaos Magick a system of belief is a means to an end and is not an answer to the mystery of Life, the Universe and everything’.1
Though light on theory, The Chaos Cookbook does offer several personal non-traditional banishings and a rather eclectic assortment of rituals inspired by a variety of sources. The various contributors have gathered occult inspiration from the likes of Peter Carroll, H. P. Lovecraft, and spirituality from Hinduism to Satanism. Also included are a few familiar pieces from Jaq D. Hawkins, and a delightful invocation of Santa from Anton Channing is also worthy of note. Contemporary cultural references from The Matrix, Fight Club, Doctor Who and even The Incredible Hulk have been used as springboards for creative ritual ideas in an eclectic fashion typical to chaotes.
Despite the rough illustrations, typos, and lack of professional editing, this book has a certain rustic charm. This self-published collaborative work of the Dead Chaosists’ Society is a delightful light read, suitable for all palates.
The Chaos Cookbook can be purchased exclusively from Chaosmagick.com’s online store.
- p. 12 [↩]
