[Note: In this edition, there is no description of Conjurations 11-15. They are
omitted from the edition which this one was formatted from. I am looking into
this.]

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 its monotheist
transcendentalism and its 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 its 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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