Blackout and Sigils

Fra.: Apfelmann

The blackout or as it is commonly referred to, the death posture, is the technique that the late Austin Osman Spare refined for his own magical use and which has been adopted by chaoists, solo and group, world wide as its popularity has been increased by the works of the IOT over the last decade or so.

The normal procedure, as many will undoubtedly be familiar with, (and this is only one of its uses) is that a sigil/glyph of desire is held in the mind`s eye whilst in what we all refer to as the death posture e.g., stood on tiptoe, arms locked behind the head, body stretched to its limit, deep spasmodic breathing, until total exhaustion and inevitably one blacks out, the sigil is then lost to the mind of the inner and the banished of laughter is evoked to prevent the resurfacing of the said sigil.

Anyone who has used this technique for the above said purpose, will have at sometime or another experienced, even if just slightly, difficulty in holding the posture long enough for the desired gnosis to take effect sufficiently for blackout. And due to this difficulty, a well planned ritual can be a well planned waste of time as the desired result is not implanted properly.

A technique that has been repeatedly employed by myself on such occasions is based upon the same principles as the death posture but as I have found, a little easier and without pitfalls that one can experience with A.O. Spare`s technique.

This technique is a strange mixture of inhibitory and excitatory gnosis, forced overbreathing, dancing or spinning, and of course exhaustion. The end result is of necessity for this process the blackout, which is as we know, of the inhibitory gnosis. I will now explain how this technique is employed by one for the insertion of sigils for whatever purpose one feels the need.

First one has to sigilise the desire in any form that one may wish, but in all cases and especially this one, it must be very easy to visualise. Once that has been achieved, one may then begin to design the ritual for that particular purpose in mind. Banishings and invocations may be employed, if so wished, this is, however, not a necessity for the successful outcome of this process. At the culmination of the rite the individual starts the overbreathing, panting deeply and spasmodically and at the same time visualising the sigil as vividly as you possible can, bright, intense and very clear as the overbreathing continues. Then when you feel that the time is right, start your spinning round and round, still overbreathing and still holding your visualised sigil in your mind`s eye. Music can be played for a background to the dancing, tom toms or any other drum is rather excellent background sound for this purpose. When the individual has reached a state of sheer exhaustion, very dizzy, sweating and ready to drop, he or she then, still spinning and overbreathing and of course holding the visulised sigil in mind, works their way to the centre of the circle or working area.

There a partner, either active or passive to the rite, (in other words, if a solo worker, try to get someone to help you with this part) stops you spinning and grabs you in a bear hug lifting you off the ground and squeezing you about the solar plexus, where a large network of nerves lie. At this precise moment the music, if any has been employed, is stopped, and death-like silence is kept. The practitioner holds his or her breath whilst being squeezed and the sigil is visualised as if burning with bright, white heat as its image is burnt into your mind. Within seconds the blackout will occur and the sigil is lost to the mind. At this point it is important that your partner lets you drop to the floor, unless that is you wish to return to primal chaos!

On coming round, in most cases, you should evoke laughter to banish the sigil and all thoughts thereof, your laughter breaks that silence and the rite is finished in whatever manner wished.