Chaos Magic and the IOT
The Illuminates of Thanateros is essentially a practical Order, acting to organise local groups (Temples) and larger meetings, where members can take part in magical work in a group context. Plenty of other organisations exist for people who simply wish to read about magic or wish to practice on their own. The IOT strives for excellence in magical technique to those who are sufficiently self-motivated to make that effort.
The Illuminates of Thanateros represent the "organised" side of what is usually called Chaos Magic. The distinguishing approaches of Chaos Magic are:
- Emphasis on gnosis by which we mean an altered state of conciousness, as essential to the performance of magic. Gnosis in this sense is achieved through excitation to the point of mental saturation via e.g. dancing, drumming, sex etc., or through inhibition of the normal mental/emotional functions through prolonged meditation, stillness, breath control etc. The result in both cases in (hopefully) a brief cessation of the internal monologue and a focussing of the powers of consciousness onto a single aim or symbol.
- Emphasis on belief shifting. This means that we take on a belief in order to achieve a particular effect on ourselves or on our circumstances. The belief is only "true" for the time we employ it; belief becomes the tool of magical transformation and sorcery, rather than the envelope of "truth" inside which the magical practice is performed. This is signified in the slogan:
Nothing is True
Everything is Permitted
IOT Temples are autonomous, provided they follow a few basic rules which keep the IOT's identity intact. This means that there isn't a single type of work that all Temples will engage in - each is an affinity group with its own specifications. Throughout the Pact, the variety of working paradigms and magical models used is quite extensive.