Red Pill Yourself
(K)Chaos Magick-Praxis
Across the diverse tapestry of human cultures, organizations and spiritual practices, one theme consistently emerges: Initiation. From the secret rites of ancient mystery school lodges to the elaborate empowerments of tantric traditions, and even hazing in military organizations (they swear they don’t do any of that anymore), initiation marks a profound transformation, a gateway from the mundane to the sacred; a dividing line between the former self and a new self which cannot be undone. Whether in the form of ceremonial inductions, symbolic deaths, or personal rites of passage, initiation serves as a liminal moment in our lives—a deliberate, often ritualized crossing into deeper wisdom, power, or responsibility. While Initiatic forms and praxis vary depending on culture, tradition and geography, the essence remains the same across them all: to undergo initiation is to step outside ordinary reality, to pierce the veil of mundane life and walk into the ante chamber of occult worlds once hidden.
Lodges & Centers
When we talk about initiation within the context of the occult tradition in the West, we see two main streams of initatic traditions and practices. In one stream, we have the lodge tradition of various mystery schools, freemasonry even eastern Tantra. Within this stream, the practitioner, or adept, follows a process of structured, serialized curriculum, where in, each stage is introduced, tested for competency and upon passing, formal initiation into the next stage of insights and praxis is granted. Schools following this model of praxis involve Thelema, A.A., Holy Order of the Golden Dawn, The Fraternity of Saturn, India Shivsism, Shingon and Tibetan Tantra, to name a few. Structures like these are often quite hierarchal, in which the newer students, defer to advanced students or a primary teacher on important matters of the path. In some cases, membership dues are paid and organizational offices such as treasurer, secretary, president, and so forth are held (yes even in Asia). Much of this traditional organization is developed around the basic idea that by structuring both an adept’s curriculum, and their moments of revelation and initiation, consistency of the “lineage” is preserved because everyone gets the same program…more or less. Of course, humans- being, well, human…these systems, while earnest in attempting to provide an egalitarian formula, still fall prey to political machinations, personal agendas and money. Anyone who has been around for a time, has heard a story or two of someone getting fast-tracked through a system for quick organizational access to a trust fund. Stephen Segal has been declared a reborn Buddha. A lover gets promoted quickly. Its unavoidable. For all these reasons and more, I feel the overall efficacy of this system is in serious jeopardy these days. You don’t need to be an age-old occultist to notice that many lodges and centers are running a shoe string operation. A “successful” organization (IE the ones that have avoided bankruptcy to-date) in recent times touts membership at the one - two dozen level at best…so much for the religion of the New Aeon. It doesn’t seem to be working. For a system that has been in full swing in the U.S. for well over 75 years, the growth curve is inverted.
Experiment failed
Red Pill Yourself
The other stream of Initiatic tradition is wilder and less structured (although it doesn’t have to be), but I see it as the future of modern occult initiation. It’s the practice of Red-Pilling yourself through self-initiation. Self-initiation should be the preferred gateway to the Chaos Magickian’s path. If one is able to interface with the world of spirit, even once, in a direct and experiential way that holds personal meaning for the operator (as opposed to an institution). There are no degrees of curriculum that can replace the experience of briefly stepping into communion with the liminal planes of reality with your whole self. You will be changed forever. Just don’t stay too long. You may not make it back.
There are a number of avenues the aspirant can take as part of a self-initiation process, but they all have one thing in common; you have to get up off your ass; off your computer, and go out on an adventure. They key is to design, or compel an experience which successfully shakes the foundations of the conventional materialist belief system that is so prominent in our society today. The process, can be seen as a necessary rebellion against the suffocating grip of a materialist worldview that has come to dominate not only science but also organized religion and lodges. In a world that increasingly prioritizes measurable, tangible realities, a successful Red Pill operation invites the individual to reclaim the power of direct spiritual experience, embracing mystery, intuition, and the unseen forces that mainstream structures dismiss. As discussed, organized lodges and centers, often intertwined with materialist values, offer hierarchical systems of initiation, often mediated by the organization that can distance the seeker from genuine connection to the divine. In contrast, self-initiation allows one to bypass these organizational intermediaries, embarking on a personal, unmediated journey that can hold deep, personal meaning for the operator. This act of rebellion is not just against religious institutions but against a society that seeks to commodify and control the sacred. Hijack the sacred. Make it wholly our own. Take ownership of your path. The self-initiated practitioner asserts that the sacred is not confined to sanctioned rituals, dogmas or Apps, but is an ever-present reality waiting to be explored by the individual possessing adequate courage to take the first step alone.
Here are some basic tips if you want to Red-Pill yourself;
Prepare;
Un-plug for a 5-7 days, take a social media fast, a television break and set your intention. Allow your mind to focus on the intention for your initiation ritual, according to whatever your system of belief or praxis involves. During this time, cut back (or totally off) intoxicants; you can be the arbiter of what this looks like, but you need to develop some clarity of mind during this preparatory week.
Cleanse your diet and try to avoid greasy, or “heavy” foods.
During these first 5-7 days, conduct some level of inner purification as well. Cleanse your mind and body for the coming event. Purification can come in the form of energetic cleansing, meditation praxis focused on internal cleansing or breathwork to clear the energetic channels.
Setting;
Go out into the world. This doesn’t mean you need to take a train, plane or automobile if you cannot afford to do so. Just make sure to get out of your house! Self-initiation should never be done in one’s own home, where we sleep, eat, drink and make merry. Its a bad idea to stir up the spirit world in the same place you sleep. Go find a place foreign to you that is relatively isolated. Nature is preferred, but if that can’t work, a park, or abandoned building or house will do. If you can find a local that is notable for being haunted, scandalized or the focus of local superstition, that’s all the better.
Timing;
Try to hold your self-initiation rite at a date and time that is not arbitrary. Shoot for the sunrise, sunset, midnight, the witching hour, or any other time that you feel will hold the most significance for your world view. Dates can be important as well; major equinoxes are not a bad time to fall back on if you can’t make up your mind. Otherwise holidays, or holy day of significance for you can work just fine. Whatever date and time you select, walk backwards 5-7 days to determine the start of the aforementioned preparations.
[1]The Rite:
In true Chaos Magick fashion, I am not going to tell you what to do specifically. I will note that traditionally western, and eastern esoteric praxis generally use the following initiatory framework in serial order;
Pay attention to the direction you are facing. East is common. Orient yourself to a direction; a star; a constellation which connects with your cosmology
Preliminary Purification of the Setting (Set up protection circle, bless the space)
Offerings and Supplicatory verses (Alcohol, tea, fruit, incense)
Invocation
Self-Identification
Evocation
Proclamation of Operator’s Authority
Closing Proclamation
Conclusion:
After the rite take time to meditate or contemplate your new reality in silence. Contemplate the liminality of the spiritual and material, and your alignment with the forces invoked. Find confidence in yourself in reconnecting with your primordial rights as both cosmic, and human embodied into one being. Know and believe in your assertion and rights in commanding mind and spirit. Sit in silence in your environment and notice and changes in your surroundings, or within yourself. Sit as long as you prefer but don’t sell yourself short of a week’s worth of preparation! Things may happen in that setting. Let them happen; do not interfere or interact. Allow the impact of your operation to take hold on your being the space around you. Take on anything that occurs as part of the initiation process.
Post-Initiation Life and Carrying the Path
After the initiation is concluded, keep a journal for the next year if possible. Pay attention to your renewed outlook on life as mix of both the physical and spirit worlds. Look for signs to present themselves. It is common for rites of this kind to shake up our common place notions about the self, our security in the world, and our common held beliefs about reality. It can be disruptive. Let it be so. Let changes unfold as they present themselves. The process of self-initiation really only begins at the end of the formal rite. The initiatory process will continue to unfold for a time, although how long exactly is unique to each operator, personal circumstances and habits. This is known as carrying the path itself.
The journey has only begun!
Post Script 1:
I should note here that simply because we are focused on the paradigm of Chaos Magick, and one may well have a varied belief system which is different from others, doesn’t mean one shouldn’t get advice from other fellow practitioners who have gone before you. Any serious practitioner should still consult, and seek the advice of those who have walked before, if for any reason, to be pragmatic about garnering meaningful results of our efforts. While Chaos Magick is centered around individual beliefs, the journey need not be undertaken in complete isolation.
Post Script 2:
If this all seems like too much to take on at the moment, there are smaller less ritually intensive avenues one may take in an effort to shift their world view. One could take a psychedelic journey perhaps; or stay overnight at a haunted location or even take a long hike into a wild place which is not well known. The key is to get out, and into the wilds to re-connect with spirit through a challenging exercise.
[1] If you need more structured examples, see the Bornless Rite; Headless Rite, Gordon White’s 4 Kings initiation; Peter Carroll’s Transubstantiation Rite
Wow, this is such good timing for me to have come upon this now. I've recently started diving into chaos magick and was feeling the urge to somehow self-initiate, but unsure what that would even look like. Thank you for this thorough and libertory piece.
Great this, the most important work of the "red pill" is to get to ground zero and remove all belief. This is hard, as the bedrock at the bottom is not known. Only by removing all belief, and destroying the house can you then rebuild the house, this for me is the work. That first phase takes time, Gordon recommends drugs, I did it through a combination of spiritual autolysis, and eventually just trying to find myself, which when I looked closely I couldn't, this blow the hole through my ego that was necessary. Radical undoing (which Hyatt taught me) I think is the quickest way there, as it removes all crutches fast (and yes, even magic, if grounded in belief can be a crutch)