The Magic Code v0.90

Modifiers

There are several ways of describing finer nuances in the Code system. The following are lifted from the Geek Code, illustrated using a fictional category X:

X+++(+): Indicates you fluctuate between X+++ and X+.
X+>+++: Indicates that you are X+ but aspire to X+++.
X@: Indicates your X rating is too variable to really be categorized.
X$: Indicates you get money because of your usage of or involvement with X.

M - Magically Oriented

The Geek Code specifies that a person's Code shall start with the letter "G" for Geek, followed by some letters which broadly describe what field of Geek s/he is. The Magic Code is similar, except of course we use the letter M.

Choose the letter or letters following the M which most suit you. For example, I am a Chaos mage with some fairly strong Thelemic leanings, so I would begin my Code with: MCH/TH. A Neopagan who thought Qabalah was really useful would write MPA/QU. And so on. (Don't put down everything you do in this, because that's what the other categories are for!)

MAL Alchemy
MAS Astrology
MCH Chaos magic
MDE Demonology/Goetia
MEN Enochian
MGD Golden Dawn
MHE Hermeticism
MHY Hypnotism/fascinations
MMU Music/Pythagoreanism
MNE Necromancy
MPA (Neo-)Paganism (non-Wiccan)
MQB Qabalah (without Hermeticism)
MRU Runes/Asatru
MSH Shamanism
MTA Tarot pathworker/meditation
MTH Thelema (Crowleyan)
MVO Voodoo/voudoun/Santeria
MWI Wicca
MYO Yoga
MO Other

S - Secret Order membership

A "Secret Order", for our purposes, is one which requires secrecy about anything except membership of other people. (An Order which forbids you to reveal that So-and-So other than yourself is a member, isn't being unduly secret.)

You get an additional plus rating if any Order you are part of disapproves of your membership in any other Order you are part of. You get two extra pluses if any Order you are part of (but not being removed from) disapproves of your membership in itself.

S++++: I'm in the XI' O.T.O., am a 33' Freemason, and my last name is Weishaupt.
S+++: My Order forbids me to reveal my own membership in it.
S++: My Order forbids me to reveal its initiation rituals in any detail.
S+: My Order forbids me to reveal its passwords or grips.
S: I am not a member of a Secret Order. I'm not really concerned with them.
S-: I would never join an Order that swears me to secrecy.
S--: I would join an Order that had such a vow, and ignore the secrecy clauses according to my own discretion.
S---: I would join such an Order just to reveal its secrets.
S----: If the Masons find me, my legs are gonna be miles from my head within minutes.
S*: I can neither confirm nor deny any vows of secrecy which I may have made.

W - White and black magic

W++++: To even think an evil thought is an act of black magic so heinous that your very soul risks being annihilated by the Great White Brotherhood.
W+++: If any of my magic ever came close to harming the least hair of another sentient being I'd have to atone until the next millenium.
W++: Do what you will, only an it harm none.
W+: The Great White Brotherhood is about helping each person find their own path, and not being intolerant.
W: I do not care about white and black magic concerns. I don't bother others when they don't bother me.
W-: Evil? Evil can be a beautiful thing.
W--: Evil? I pride myself on being evil.
W---: The Great White Brotherhood, if it exists, is for pansies who can't even be bothered to kill to entertain themselves.
W----: I seek to increase division throughout the universe and general establish myself as master of reality.
W-----: Choronzon, Mara, and Satan are just euphemisms for my name.

N - Netmage quotient

Provided by chiaroscuro

N+++++: I am Joshua Geller.
N++++: I turn on my computer by electrokinesis, create sigils with 3d rendering software, write Unix system daemons using the Key of Solomon, and have uploaded most of my consciousness to the net.
N+++: I have created portions of the alt.magick.* hierarchy, work with net.aether in preference to the regular, boring kind, and have extensively developed my esoteric understanding through the constant memetic testing (cleverly disguised as flamewars) on the net.
N++: I'm on the THELEMA, TIAMAT and ARCANA lists, am a prominent regular on alt.magick, have killfiled the subject line "love spells", and regularly use the Internet as a magickal focus, medium, or metaphor.
N+: I've checked out alt.magick a few times and have Divination Web's address stashed somewhere.
N: I do not see computer technology as particularly relevant to magick.
N-: I posted to alt.magick asking if anyone had any love spells, but all I got was a brownie recipe.
N--: I posted to alt.magic asking if anyone had any love spells, and 200 people mailed my sysadmin asking him to get rid of my account!
N---: Computers and magick don't mix. I can't bring my will into focus within ten meters of one of the things.
N----: Computers are not only inimical to magick, but are technocratic evil incarnate and should be reduced to smoldering scrap.
N-----: My last name is Butler and I'm organizing a jihad.
!N: Huh? A network is something I catch fish with.
N*: I am an artificial intelligence; eat my dust, meat-brain.

P - Pantheon

Mages use/worship/descrate a variety of pantheons. Here you should describe which pantheon you use most often (with two letters) and how many gods/saints/other entities you give a serious amount of devotion to (with plus signs).

PAM Aztec/Maya
PCE Celtic
PCM Cthulhu
PEG Egyptian
PGR Greco-Roman
PHI Hindu
PJA Japanese
PNO Norse pantheon
PNG Neil Gaiman's Endless
PPA Pantheism
PPO Polynesian
PSB Sumerian/Babylonian
PWM Western Monotheism (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
PZO Zoroastrian
PXX Atheism
POT Other pantheon
PEC Eclectic pantheon

The number of pluses indicates number of deities worshipped.

P: I worship no entities. (Note that this is different from atheism. PXX would mean you believe in no gods. PZO, for example, would mean you believe in Ahura-Mazda, but do not really worship him.)
P+: I worship one entity. (A devout Muslim would be PWM+)
P++: I worship a handful of entities (2-8). (Worshipping Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, their wives, and the composite would be PHI++)
P+++: I worship a small pantheon (9-15). (Practicing adorations to the complete family of Osiris and Isis would be PEG+++)
P++++: I worship a large pantheon (more than 15). (Being a Roman Catholic and meticulously observing every saint's feast day would be PWM++++)

D - Self-disciplines

Many magical traditions advocate strong self-discipline. No one (well, almost no one) ever fulfills such disciplines perfectly, but calculate your D rating based upon your typical performance and the guidelines below.

Note: Only count things below which are undertaken because of your spiritual beliefs and practices. Do not count dietary restrictions due to doctor's orders. Do not count vegetarianism if it is because you don't like the taste of meat or you have a personal moral objection to the killing/raising of livestock.

Example D rating formats would be: "D" (none of these disciplines), "Ds++/d" (may not have sex and must keep kosher), etc.

Ds - Sexual Disciplines

Ds: May not have sex under certain conditions (e.g. Crowley's definition of chastity).
Ds+: May not have sex except to procreate or for explicit rituals.
Ds++: May not have sex at all.

Dd - Dietary Discipline

Dd: May not eat certain specific types of food (meat is too general) (e.g. keeping kosher or halal, eating sattvic foods, etc.).
Dd+: Must keep very strict diet (e.g. no meat at all, no drinks other than water) or must fast at regular intervals (at least one day or night per week).
Dd++: Must keep very strict diet and fast at regular intervals. (Being a devout Muslim, with halal and Ramadhan, would count.)

Dr - Ritual Discipline

Dr: Must perform some small ritual not more than four times daily (e.g. praying before bed/at rise, saying rosary, Liber Resh, etc.) and/or before meals (e.g. Grace, Will). ay
Dr+: Must set aside one full day per week, or one hour per day, for spiritual practices (which you try to do same day every week or same hour every day).
Dr++: Must set aside two days per week (the same two every week), or three hours per day (the same three every day), for spiritual practices.
Dr+++: Must avoid all contact with other people for at least 3 weeks per year, with the exception of others in group operating under similar restrictions (OTO high-degree magical retreats, monastery time, etc.)

A - Alchemy

A+++: I have produced the Stone of the Wise.
A++: I've actually begun experimenting with alchemical processes myself.
A+: I've extensively studied Splendor Solis and the like, and I can describe most of the processes.
A: I've read a fair amount of alchemical literature and I don't think it's just about turning lead into gold.
A-: I know it involves metals and the elixir of life and something called a philosopher's stone, but that's it.
A--: Obviously it derives from embellished legends of hedge-wizards making fool's gold.
A---: Alchemy is the primary reason that magic has a reputation for being ridiculous.

a - Astrology

a+++: I can do transits fairly quickly (doing many of the calculations in my head) and once I've seen someone's birth chart I can usually tell how good today will be for them.
a++: I can plot a star chart given an ephemeris, time and place of birth, etc. and can produce a half-decent interpretation.
a+: I know my sun, moon, and ascendant signs, and know roughly the virtues of the planets.
a: There may be some validity to non-newspaper astrology, but I've not investigated it.
a-: Astrology's so-called successes are nothing but a set of lucky hits, and neglecting the greater proportion of misses.
a--: Astrology? Jeanne Dixon, right? I prefer to read it in the paper - it's cheaper there.
a---: I never miss the real astrology columns - you know, in Teen and Mademoiselle and so forth.

C - Chaos

Provided by chiaroscuro (chaos@crystal.palace.net)

C+++++: I am Robert Anton Wilson, Kerry Thornley, Peter Carroll, Austin Osman Spare, Benoit Mandelbrot, or Mitchell Feigenbaum, reincarnated if appropriate.
C++++: I base much of my magick on fractal geometry, dynamical systems analysis, phase space modelling and complexity theory. My favorite number is 4.669.
C+++: I base much of my magick on Liber Null and Psychonaut, with a bit of Liber Kaos when I'm feeling adventurous. My favorite number is 93.
C++: I base much of my magick on the Principia Discordia. My favorite number is 23.
C+: I base much of my magick on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My favorite number is 42.
C: Yeah. Chaos. So what?
C-: Chaos is really just another kind of order. Or at least, I think it said something like that in a Fruitopia commercial.
C--: Chaotes are a bit scary. I like a degree of stability in my life.
C---: I can't deal with this chaos thing. If there's anything that drives me, it's the need to feel secure.
C----: The sole purpose of existence is to subjugate chaos, beating it into rational, predictable, static order at all costs.
C-----: My friends call me Greyface.
C*: As I am the Logos, I can't really comment - wouldn't want to give away the game.

G - Goetia

G+++++: Solomon was a wimp when it came to the spirit world.
G++++: I use nothing but Goetia for even the simplest of tasks. Demons live in my house.
G+++: I've bound several servitors and kings with Pacts, and I've got nothing to fear from demons.
G++: I find the Goetia to be an extremely useful means of getting results.
G+: As an experiment, I've evoked a demon once or twice. Nothing big.
G: I'm vaguely aware of the art of conjuring/evoking demons, but I've never bothered with it.
G-: Demonology worries me. Goetic magicians must be either very careful, or insane.
G--: My deity forbids me to ever even speak a demon's name, much less employ one.
G---: I've been on the Tom Ankerberg show exposing Goetists.
G----: In a previous incarnation I was a judge in Salem, Mass.
G*: I am of demonic descent myself and choose not to comment further.

Q - Q/C/Kabballah

The correct spelling of this has been much debated. One correspondent expressed the belief that Qabalah was the Hermetic way, Kabballah the Jewish way, and Cabala the Christian way. Whatever. I intend no disrespect, but there really isn't consistency on this subject.

In recognition of the problem, however, I have added letters to the 'Q'. If you include the Qabalah (or whatever!) in your Magic Code, please use the letter 'Q' first to provide consistency (K and C are more likely to be taken by other ratings than Q.) So for example, as an enthusiast of Qabalah from a Hermetic perspective, my Qabalah rating would be: QH+++.

QH Hermetic Qabalah
QJ Jewish Qabalah
QO Other Qabalah

Q+++++: 5 pluses is Geburah, and Q is Qoph, that's 100 - you figure it out.
Q++++: Now how did you say your name was spelled?
Q+++: I've got much of 777 memorized and I use it all the time.
Q++: I can rattle off the 10 sephiroth and their colors, and maybe remember the Tarot attribution.
Q+: The Hebrews and Greeks were probably onto something. Interesting study.
Q: I am aware, sort of, of the qabalah, but I don't really use it.
Q-: It's just numbers and letters. You can get anything out of it.
Q--: It's just numbers and letters. You can get nothing out of it.
Q---: Cabala is a big waste of time by some stuffy old Hebrew nuts.
Q----: My God teaches that arithmetic is the work of Satan.
Q-----: Cabal? Isn't that a video game?

666 - Aleister Crowley

666+++++: Same as 4 pluses (below) except I was actually enlightened.
666++++: I got addicted to heroin, refused to wear underwear, sacrificed 150 baby boys in one year, exorcised 3 Catholic priests, and tried to take over the O.T.O. just so I could be like The Master Therion.
666+++: In a previous life I was one of his students.
666++: I can quote large chunks of his works at the drop of a robe.
666+: I own 3 or 4 of his books. I swear by his system of magicK.
666: I've read The Book of the Law.
666-: I've heard of him, read a pamphlet or two. No big whoop.
666--: I don't see what all the hype's about. He didn't say much of value.
666---: I read all about him in Fundamentalist Weekly.
666----: Christ's Kingdom isn't so great; considering the Antichrist has already come and gone in the form of Crowley, this must be it ...
666-----: Prince of Dallas from Vampire: Jyhad (by Wizards of the Coast, Inc) ?
666*: As a Secret Chief who once hired Crowley, I choose not to comment.

y - Yoga

y+++++: I taught Patanjali everything he knew in a previous incarnation.
y++++: I spend more time in samadhi than in the shower (and yet my personal hygiene is excellent).
y+++: I have managed to hit dhyana on occasion and feel like I'm making progress.
y++: I have no problem holding asana for 30 minutes and I do pranayama frequently.
y+: I picked an asana in which I can sit for 20 minutes tops.
y: Yoga might well have value, but I don't really use it.
y-: It seems rather silly and useless to me.
y--: I'm sure that it leads to atrophy and is otherwise bad for you.
y---: Yoga? Didn't John Byner do that on Bizarre?
y----: Yoga? Didn't he steal picnic baskets from Mr. Ranger?

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