Pieces of Hate for Pieces of Eight
I just finished reading Gordon Whites Pieces of Eight. Here is everything I hate about it.
1. Makes me have to do more research into UFOology to keep up with his very well presented arguments about how they relate to magic.
2. Makes points I have made about the place of Astrology in Magic better than I do.
3. Only available on Kindle. It’s so good I want multiple hard copies. I would actually spring for a delux version of this.
4. Gets Chaos Magicians to take historical accuracy and spirit reality into account. Something I have failed at many times.
5. Makes me feel like a slack ass – this is his third book release within a year! I asked his he had a Ouija Word Processing app, but he ain’t talkin…
6. Really great books contain bits that make me think “I wish I had written that!”. I said that a LOT while reading pieces of Eight.
Obviously I loved the book.
Years ago I wrote about Post Chaos Magic, and what that might look like. It looks like this book. I guess my only comment on that front is that it feels less like Chaos Magic evolving separately from the rest of magic, and more like Chaos Magic returning to the fold and effecting all it touches. Whether you are a Grimoire Mage, a Neo-Pagan, or a Strategic Sorcerer I don’t think there is anything that is going to make you dig out your eight pointed star ring from the 90’s, but I absolutely think this book will open up a larger view of what you were doing, and perhaps help you make it better. It offers up both supports and challenges to just about any view of magic – indeed old-school Chaotes might find the most assaults on their view regarding historical accuracy and spirits – but the critiques from inside always sting the worst.
If you haven’t grabbed this yet, and I can’t imagine that if you read this blog you haven’t, you need to. In fact you really need to grab the three books he released this year, which make a sort of triad:
Starships – on the pre-historical origins of magic and what that implies for magic overall.
Pieces of Eight – for an updated view of chaos magic and how to use it
Chaos Protocols – for how to apply said magic for survival in this particular time and economic reality.
