On the Fifth Aeon

What you are about to read is an excerpt, more precisely a chapter, from the book Liber Null and Psychonaut, by Peter Carroll, co-founder of Chaos Magic. Those of us who approach these texts with epistemic curiosity always face the challenge of extracting what we consider valuable from the broad spectrum the book covers. Carroll genuinely believes in magic, in the magical tradition, and in esotericism, both as a hermeneutic thread running through a type of literature that connects Gnostic writings to those of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, and the Tarot.

But what kind of "epistemic curiosity" leads us to read texts like these? In my case, it is fairly simple to explain: my interpretive framework holds that hermetic, magical, and esoteric texts attempt to find explanations for phenomena in the realm of psychology. It is nothing more than a truism to say that the study of the "soul" in the classical world was replaced by the word "mind"; and it was not until the emergence of clinical psychology, at the beginning of the twentieth century, that a discipline exclusively devoted to the study of the mind, the brain, and its relationship with human action was truly developed in depth. To explore this connection further, I recommend reading TechGnosis, by Erik Davis, another book reviewed on 421.

This is why, even in texts of absolute epistemic nullity such as one on Chaos Magic, one can find more than interesting passages -- "intuitive" rather than scientific in nature, but with insights that I place in the beautiful category of "awakening." In this chapter of Liber Null, we have one of those cases where the author compiles a historical overview of cultural periods and how "psychic forces" were used in each one.

It is interesting to see how a book published in 1987 already anticipates some of the trends that are now becoming very clear; and how some of them have become real and relevant for understanding the current context. For example, the emergence of "lifestyle consultants as priests of the new civilization." Because of assertions like this, I also like to say that one can never fully distinguish a good book on esotericism (interesting at the curiosity level) from a good book on psychological warfare. Ultimately, what both cases -- or is it the same one? -- are about is describing the art of manipulating the human psyche. Quite the task.

Without further ado, step in and enjoy.

The Millennium, by Peter Carroll

Humanity has evolved through four great states of consciousness, or aeons, and a fifth is on the horizon. The first aeon emerges from the mists of time. It was an era of shamanism and magic, when the rulers of men had a firm grasp on psychic forces. Such forces conferred a high survival value on the fragile naked man living in intimate communion with the dangers of a hostile environment. This form of consciousness has left its mark on the various subterranean traditions of witchcraft and sorcery. It has also survived in the hands of various aboriginal cultures, in which these powers were used to enforce social conformity.

The second, pagan aeon arose with a more settled way of life, as agriculture and urban living began to develop. As more complex forms of thought emerged and men moved further from nature, the knowledge of psychic forces became confused. Gods, spirits, and superstitions filled with difficulty the gaps created by the loss of natural knowledge and man's growing awareness of his own mind.

The third, or monotheist, aeon arose within the pagan civilizations and swept away the ancient form of consciousness. The experiment was attempted once in Egypt, but failed. It truly consolidated with Judaism and, subsequently, with Christianity and Islam, which were offshoots of it. In the East, Buddhism was its predominant form. In the monotheist aeon, men worshipped a singular, idealized form of themselves.

The atheist aeon arose within the Western monotheist cultures and began to spread throughout the world, although the process is far from complete. It is not simply a denial of monotheist ideas. It contains the radical and positive notions that the universe can be understood and manipulated through careful observation of the behavior of material things. The existence of spiritual beings is considered a question without real meaning. Men seek in their emotional experience the sole foundation of meaning.

Now, some cultures have remained in one aeon while others have advanced, although most have never fully freed themselves from the residues of the past.

Thus, sorcery contaminated the pagan civilizations and even our own. Paganism stains both Catholicism and Protestantism. The time required for a leading culture to advance into a new aeon shortens as history progresses. The atheist aeon began several hundred years ago. The monotheist aeon began two thousand five hundred or three thousand years ago. The pagan aeon began about six thousand years ago, with the beginnings of civilization, while the first shamanic aeon stretches back to the dawn of humanity.

There are signs that the fifth aeon is developing exactly where one would expect: within the leading sections of the most advanced atheist cultures.

The evolution of consciousness is cyclical, in the form of an ascending spiral. The fifth aeon represents a return to the consciousness of the first aeon, but in a higher form. Chaotic philosophy will once again become a dominant intellectual and moral force. Psychic powers will increasingly be regarded as solutions to man's problems. From current trends, a number of general and specific prophecies can be extrapolated showing how this will unfold and what the role of the Illuminati will be in the process.

Decades, possibly centuries, of wars lie ahead. The remnants of monotheism are rapidly collapsing, despite the occasional resurgence, in the face of secular humanism and consumerism. The technological and atheist superstates are attempting to establish an iron grip on human consciousness. We are entering a phase that could become as oppressive to the spirit as medieval monotheism. The production/consumption equation becomes increasingly difficult to understand or balance as the consumerist religion of the masses begins to dictate policy.

More and more mechanisms for the forced regulation of behavior are being introduced, as population density drives individuals to seek ever more bizarre forms of gratification in material sensationalism. The problem with any belief system is its tenacity and inertia once it is established and dominant.

Medieval religions murdered millions to protect their hegemony. Countless crusades, jihads, burnings, and massacres were perpetrated. In the end, no level of persecution could prevent the inevitable rise of atheism.

Now it is the atheist superstates that supply the weapons and drop the bombs in support of the hegemony of their worldview.

Now it is the atheist superstates that supply the weapons and drop the bombs in support of the hegemony of consumer capitalism or consumer communism. And this is only the beginning. The blind logic of technology and consumerism will cause alienation, discontent, greed, and identity crisis to escalate to catastrophic levels, potentially triggering a highly destructive war. A collapse of society in the form of an anti-technological jihad may occur.

These reactions will not resolve the contradictions of the system, but will simply introduce a new dark age and slow down the changes. Yet, however significant these events may seem, if they occur, they will not affect the movement of consciousness in the long term; they will only influence its timeline.

Nevertheless, the Illuminati must be prepared to seize the changes that will definitely occur. Among these changes are:

The Death of Spirituality. Fixed ideas about the essential spirit or the nature of man will be completely abandoned as an emotional technology is refined. Drugs, unknown sexualities, passing fads, bizarre entertainments, and material sensationalism are preliminary attempts toward this end. However, chemicals, electronics, and surgery will only tend to enslave. In contrast, gnosis, the alphabet of desire, and other magical methods will tend to liberate.

The Death of Superstition. Prejudices against the possibility of the occult or supernatural will dissipate in the face of the development of a magical technology. Telepathy, telekinesis, mental influence, hypnosis, fascination, and charisma will be systematically examined, refined, and exploited as methods of control. We may come to see magicians working behind barbed wire or in underground cells.

The Death of Identity. Ideas about a person's place in society, their role, lifestyle, and ego qualities will lose their influence as the cohesive forces of society disintegrate. Subcultural values will proliferate to such an extent that an entirely new class of professionals dedicated to controlling them will emerge. This transmutation technology will specialize in fashions and ways of being. Lifestyle consultants will become the new priests of our civilization. They will be the new magicians.

The Death of Belief. We will abandon all fixed ideas about what is absolute or valuable and what constitutes morality, as a psychological technology develops. Belief and behavior modification techniques -- in the military, psychiatry, detention centers, propaganda, schools, and the media -- will become so sophisticated that truth will become a matter of who believes it. Reality will become magical.

The Death of Ideology. Ideas about what form human aspirations should take will give way to a science focused on the preservation of the control mechanism: government and its agencies. These may become global or semi-global, but their primary concern will be the preservation of government, whether for or against the people. A primitive cybernetics will transform into a political technology. Governments will have to choose between adapting to coordinate growing human diversity or seeking to reduce that diversity through repressive measures.