276 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
The Moëbius Strip is an example of how there are
strange exceptions to what we think of as “normal”
reality: exactly the kinds of loopholes and anomalies
that a Wizard exploits, through knowledge, to enact
change through the exertion of his
(or her) Will.Klein Bottle
The Moëbius Strip
has a single surface
and a single edge. If you
could somehow get rid of the edge, so there is only a
single surface, you would have an “impossible” three-
dimensional object called a Klein Bottle. At least, it
was said to be impossible until I (Oberon) made the
one shown here.
I made it out of two donut-shaped clear plastic
rings, which I cut to fit and glued together with clear
silicon. If you can find such rings, you can make one,
too. It’s a fun thing to
pass around at parties!Curved Space
As the Moëbius Strip warps two dimensions into a
continuum, so does the Klein bottle warp a three-
dimensional object into a single continuum. By the
same token, Albert Einstein (1879–1955) proposed a
mathematical model for the warping of space itself into
a curving continuum. This concept provides a basis for
his theory of gravity, as
well as a foundation for
such things as worm-
holes connecting one part
of the universe with another.Lesson 7: Chaos Magick
(by Ian “Lurking Bear” Anderson)In recent times, mathematicians have devised a study
known as Chaos Theory. We Wizards have recognized
in it what many of us knew intuitively all along. One
aspect of Chaos Theory tells us that there are hori-
zons of knowledge in a complex, changing system, and
that we can never know every detail about it. This
knowledge horizon exists even if all the pieces follow
predictable rules, which they don’t.
Another aspect of Chaos Theory is that it shows
how tiny changes in a chaotic system can cause large,
unpredictable differences in the pattern that emerges.
This is the famous “Butterfly Effect,” so named be-
cause Edward Lorenz, a meteorologist, asked, “Does
the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tor-
nado in Texas?” Weather is a classic example of a cha-
otic, unpredictable system, and even the mightiest com-
puters cannot predict the weather correctly.Chaos Theory also describes times when sys-
tems break down into seeming randomness and emerge
into new patterns in unpredictable ways. It is in these
times that the Butterfly Effect can be especially po-
tent, where crisis and opportunity intersect.
The entire biosphere is a chaotic system, and so-
ciety and culture also are chaotic. It is in the chaos of
the biosphere that new forms arise spontaneously and
unpredictably, and evolution occurs. The Butterfly
Effect gives the Chaos Magician the lever to influence
huge systems, to choose carefully those cusps in un-
folding patterns, and through small actions influence a
larger sphere. Simply planting some plants in a recov-
ering ecology, or a short speech at a key meeting can
trigger a cascade of events that determines the pattern
of a new emerging order.
Whenever a system has sufficient size and com-
plexity, the extremely improbable becomes statistically
inevitable. Chaos magick is the magick of the excep-
tional circumstance, the freak occurrence, the outland-
ish. The Chaos Magician rides the fencelines between
different realities.
As usual, with that power comes responsibility.
Make sure that herb you plant is not the next kudzu
invasion, or that speech at a meeting doesn’t just help
trigger endless cycles of grief and conflict. Naturally,
the Chaos Magician doesn’t really control anything and
can’t really predict what exact effects a chaos work-
ing will have. The Chaos Magician can only help nudge
things in desired directions with a very careful choice
of time and place of action.
Another form of chaos magick is Discordian or
trickster magick. Many cultures have trickster deities
such as Coyote or Eris. The value of the trickster is in
breaking down destructive orders such as oppressive
governments, hidebound academic theories, or cor-
porate monopolies. Where systems are broken down
and things are stirred up, opportunities for change arise.
We can act as tricksters in our lives and make many
changes in the world around us. Tricksters can be found
among modern activists, baffling and befuddling the
keepers of systems they resist. A trickster is not afraid
of seeming ridiculous and is willing to be a “holy fool”
in service to the universe. The trickster is willing to
call into question what is normal, think the unthink-
able, and speak the unspeakable.
There are dangers to the trickster path. Trickster
deities are not necessarily ethical, and we must stand
for what we believe is ethical, or trickster spirits can
run roughshod over us. Being a rule-breaker and
trouble-maker all the time, no matter where you are,
can be destructive and useless. There are some bound-
aries best left untested, some old traditions turn out to
be a good idea, and some rules are there for sound
reasons. At this time on the Earth, there is no shortage
of destructive order in the world, so Trickster Wiz-
ards today shouldn’t lack for creative, worthwhile
outlets for their energies.“Flat space”“Curved
space,”
warped
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