I stumbled against this weird manual called “The Complete Psychonaut Field Manual” and read it through… then I find out the author and found this article. I have little thoughts about this topic, but this realm of information seems to be very interesting and has been too little investigated. Gnostics and magigians have been around for centuries, maybe it is time to find out what they know about this reality…
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I am supremely excited to present an interview with magician, artist, author and creator of “The Psychonaut Field Manual”, Arch Traitor Bluefluke. His PFM is fast becoming one of the most well known and iconic texts of modern chaos magic. In addition to the manual, Bluefluke has a tarot deck in the works based upon the Eight Circuits of Consciousness of which the filed manual also uses as a foundational map.
Q: What do you consider your greatest magical achievement?
A: Being able to connect with and form genuine bonds with Fear Eaters (i.e. shadow people) and creating a system that empowers others to do the same. Our new found ability to communicate with them has put the long running view that they were (at best) sentient thoughtforms reflecting the inner psyche or (at worst) just hypnagogic hallucinations, to rest. These are sentient, intelligent beings, with complex social structures, capable of camaraderie, empathy and even love. And while their behavior can often seem odd or disturbing this boils down to having radically different psychological frameworks as our mind are structured to process information much differently.
My hope is that we as a community will begin to better differentiate between spirits that emanate within us (local spirits) from those that emanate from without (non-local spirits). Both exist and both are valid subjects of study. I’m also fairly proud of my reconstruction of the aging Eight Circuits of Consciousness. This revolutionary illumination system was meant to be an agnostic answer to theological heavy systems such as Kabbalah and the Chakras. Shamefully, this incredible technology had been neglected for almost thirty years and hadn’t been updated with the many groundbreaking discoveries made in psychology, neuroscience and the occult so I stepped to the plate and did so myself.
Q: Who are your personal heroes, those who most inspired you on your own journey?
A: Robert Anton Wilson is my philosophical cornerstone. He taught me that while occult technologies absolutely do work, not to fall into explanations just because they confirm my personal ideological belief system. To observe evidence divorced of my own bias and question the claims made by those who are considered authorities on the subject, not just in the occult but on any matter as even the greatest minds may confuse indubitable truths with their own confirmation bias regardless of suffixes attached to their name. No one is immune to human nature. Art wise, I learned to draw and color using an NES emulator called Nesticle that allowed you to replace in game graphics with your own.
The limited graphical abilities of the console was a great teacher as it forced me to be creative in order to make the most of as little resources as possible. The greats of the “Demoscene” were a huge influence on me in that regard. Their projects taught me how to use complementing colors, how to create the illusion of extreme detail with only a few lines and the importance of thick outlines to convey boundaries. Even with unlimited hardware resources, I still abide by demoscene rules and use six similar sets of four color palettes. I was fully content in that medium until the day I read Incal, a comic book illustrated by Moebius and instantly fell in love.
I’d read comics most of my life and while there were a fair number of truly talented artists along the way nothing compared to Moebius. Every panel was on par with a painting in an art gallery. I put down rom hacking and trained myself to master pens and pencils. To this day he remains my favorite artist and I use his work as a motivation to push myself as far as I can.
Q: What importance, if any, do you place on full visual manifestation of a spirit during evocation?
A: Visual manifestation of spirits is hugely important for me, personally. I spent years doing grueling visual meditations solely for this purpose. Sure, you can “see” them in your imagination as you would a day dream with little or no practice (and most do) but actually seeing them in right front of you in full detail, in real time, with no morphing or distortion removes all doubt and gives them a “realness” that is hard to describe. This becomes even more profound if you’ve chosen to bond with a companion spirit. Instead of just being trapped as a voice in your head they can move freely about the environment however they wish.
This may seem small but for them it means the world. It makes them feel human. Solid. It gives them a feeling of independence and selfhood that we very much take for granted. Again, you don’t need advanced visualization skills, you can just keep you eyes closed and imagine the spirit you are interacting with. In fact, should you be able to reliably quiet your mind during regular meditation, the image you’ll see in your imagination will be very close to what the spirit is attempting to project themselves as since there should be little or no “thought noise” to interfere with your connection.
Q: What was your first “oh fuck, this shit is real” moment in your personal magical practice?
A: I was thrown headfirst into the occult fairly early. When I was young I frequently suffered bouts of sleep paralysis and all the stereotypical experiences that go along with them. They were benign at first (annoying at worst) but as time went on they became increasingly dark and were inevitably accompanied by Fear Eaters looking for an easy meal. I went from doctor to doctor. Each of whom would fail, one after another. Their treatments progressively became more and more condescending, painful and dehumanizing until, out of desperation, I feigned wellness to escape the torture.
I began my own search for answers. My travels down the rabbit hole eventually landed me in an occult chat room occupied by magicians who sympathetically pieced together a banishing ritual to combat my attackers. I felt a sort of mix of skepticism (society at large declared magic to be make believe) and fear (I had been raised in a Catholic family) but I was desperate enough to try anything. I performed the ritual and to my shock, it worked. It really worked. Magic was real. A whole new secret world had opened up in front of my eyes. I was instantly hooked and quickly became obsessed with learning all I could.
Q: What is one piece of magical tech you could not live without?
A: Astral work in general. All about is weaved a fantastical wonderland of our own making, populated by beings both native and foreign. It’s an exciting frontier that never fails to produce something new every time you play with it. That kind of stuff hits me in all the right places.
Q: At what age did you start practicing magic and why?
A: I started a steady magical practice right after controlling the above said sleep paralysis. I began studying and experimenting with every technology I could find.
Q: What is your advice to the young aspiring magician just getting started today?
A: First, don’t take another magician’s word as absolute fact, including mine. Experience it for yourself and come to your own conclusions. If you are following a fraternities curriculum or an author’s instructions and you aren’t getting results after numerous attempts, change something. Tailor your magic to suite YOU. Second, DO THE WORK. Do it everyday. The first step of breaking in your mind through meditation can be boring as fuck (which is why it’s so difficult), but the more you do it, the easier it will become until you will be able to enter gnosis at whim.
Q: What are your current magical endeavors?
A: Currently, I’m about to release the first truly universal Tarot deck that works with all three major illumination systems, Kabbalah, the Chakras and the Eight Circuits of Consciousness. While it can be used as a divination tool like any modern deck it’s primary function will be Tarot’s original purpose, to act as a decryption key to a plethora of occult goodies. I’m also collaborating with I.O.T. wunderkind Julian Vayne on a comic covering chemognosis which is fairly exciting. And of course, I’m working on the fifth chapter of the Psychonaut Field Manual.
Q: How do you respond to Christian evangelists knocking on your door at dinner time?
A: I tend to be fairly tolerant of people who hold opposing viewpoints to my own. Outside of a poisonous handful of con men, cultists and theological dictators, I find most people who’ve devoted themselves to Christianity/Judaism/Islam do so because they feel helpless in the face of tragic circumstance or are lonely and just want someone, anyone, to love them. 99.9% of these people really do mean well and are, in my experience, sweet and tolerant people. However, I completely understand the utter disgust some have for such religions if they’re trapped in an overtly oppressive ultra orthodox environment or have had their lives either disrupted or destroyed by the constant attempts to dismantle the separation of church and state.
It must also be stated that occultists must stay vigilant as these religions are in their death throes. As such, some of their less intelligent believers have turned to conspiracy to justify their faith in a world moving on without them. Within these conspiracies we are portrayed as illuminati-esque monolithic juggernauts hell bent on destroying their religion so that we would stand unopposed in creating a one world government for the devil. This may all sound laughable but these ideas are quickly gaining traction. We must do everything in our power to keep those who parrot this nonsense from commanding the reigns of government.
Q: What effect and focus do you think magic should have upon politics and world events?
A: We’re all aware of Masonry’s legacy, throwing down the great kings of the earth and founding the democracies we live under today. They kept the ultra rich from seats of power and forced gender/racial equality when it was being cock blocked by zealotous jackasses. But because of Masonry’s massive decline there is no longer a collective force to keep corporations and the ultra rich from raping the body populace. It may be wise to emulate their model to some extent in order to keep our society from either devolving into a cyberpunk-esque dystopian hellscape or crumbling to ruin.
While this endeavour would require unprecedented cooperation by the occults great houses, it may be our last chance to right this battered ship. Occupy failed. Anonymous failed. The meme war campaign is a fucking joke. We have one last option to right the course and not long before that option will leave the board. We need to act, now.
Links:
Here is the PDF-link to “The Complete Psychonaut Field Manual” if you want to download it.
Here is Nathan Smith’s alias “Bluefluke” Facebook site