Chaos
|
Asymmetrical symbol of Chaos |
Chaos derives from the
Greek Χάος and typically refers to
unpredictability. In the
metaphysical sense, it is the opposite of
law and order: unrestrictive, both creative and destructive.
The word χάος did not mean "disorder" in classical-period
ancient Greece. It meant "the primal emptiness,
space". It is derived from the
Proto-Indo-European root ghn or
ghen meaning "gape, be wide open": compare "chasm" (from
Greek), and
Anglo-Saxon gānian (= "yawn"),
geanian, ginian (= "gape wide"); see also
Old Norse Ginnunga Gap. Due to people misunderstanding early Christian uses of the word, the meaning of the word changed to "disorder". (
The Ancient Greek for "disorder" is ταραχη.).
Mathematically chaos means an aperiodic deterministic behavior which is very sensitive to its initial conditions, i.e. infinitesimal perturbations of boundary conditions for a chaotic dynamic system originate finite variations of the orbit in the phase space; see
chaos theoryChaos is often considered analogous to
thermodynamic entropy. Chaos is a
poetic or
metaphysical concept evoking a sense of discord, whereas entropy is a
concretely defined function of a
physical or
communication system. See
entropy for the mathematical quantification of the disorder in a system.
Physical chaos might be conceived as utter confusion, an incomprehensible and heterogeneous mess. This intuitive notion is at odds with the famous
Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that entropy cannot decrease in a closed system. Maximized entropy always corresponds to apparent
homogeneity in a system. Any random disturbance of a homogeneous system results in no meaningful change, therefore
scientists will say the randomness, i.e. chaos, is maximized. (Supposing that any real system is constantly subjected to random disturbances, and that randomness by definition cannot produce organization, the Second Law is then
self-evident.)
As with any scientific concept or mathematical abstraction, entropy may not be equally applicable in every situation. For example, it is unknown whether
protons may remain forever free and unchanged, or whether they are subject to
destruction by cosmological randomness.
In
Greek mythology,
Chaos or
Khaos is the primeval state of existence from which the first gods appeared. In
Greek it is Χάος, which is usually pronounced similarly to "house" (Koiné) or "cows" (Attic), but correctly in ancient Greek as /'k
ha."s/; it means "gaping void", from the verb χαίνω "gape, be wide open",
Proto-Indo-European *"ghen-", *"ghn-"; compare English "chasm" and "yawn",
Old English geanian = "to gape".
In Egyptian mythology the world also begins with chaos. In this chaos lived 4 frog Gods and 4 snake Goddesses:
Nu and
Naunet (water),
Amun and
Amaunet (invisibility),
Heh and
Hauhet (infinity) and and
Kauket (darkness). These gave birth to all other Gods and Goddesses in the Egyptian
pantheon.
There are also many cultures that have a certain
deity or figure representing chaos. Some examples are Set (or
Sutekh), the Egyptian God of chaos (as well as storms and thunder) who has been called "Set the Destroyer," and
Eris, a Greek Goddess of "chaos, confusion, laughter, and discord." Eris is hailed to in the
Discordian religion as well.
According to
Hesiod's
Theogonia (The origin of the Gods), Chaos was the nothingness out of which the first objects of existence appeared. These first beings, described as children of Chaos alone, were
Gaia (the Earth),
Tartarus (the Underworld),
Nyx (the darkness of the night), and
Erebus (the darkness of the Underworld).Thus, at the very start of his story, Hesiod establishes the deities related to each element known to man, beginning with the primordial elements: the Earth, the starry Sky, the Sea.
Theogonia presents two ways to come to life: division (Gaia, Nyx) and mating. After Gaia, almost all deities brought to life by division are negative concepts (Death, Distress, Sarcasm, Deception, and so on) and for the most part are produced by the goddess Nyx. From this point on is set the model for reproduction, from the action of two entities, male and female, as it appears in the divine world in response to human society. So the first answer by the myth to the question "What is the cause of this?" becomes "This is the father and this is the mother".
Furthermore, deities created by division almost never become allies with those created by mating.
The original meaning of Χάος /'xaos/ or /'χaos/ was "Space, the great outer void".
Ovid, in his
Metamorphoses, described Chaos as "rather a crude and indigested mass, a lifeless lump, unfashioned and unframed, of jarring seeds and justly Chaos named". From that, its meaning evolved into the modern familiar "complete disorder", and the word "Chaos" is used by
astronomers in
Mars placenames to mean "area of disorderly faulted terrain".
Chaos features three main characteristics:
* it is a bottomless gulf where anything falls endlessly. This radically contrasts with the Earth that emerges from it to offer a stable ground.
* it is a place without any possible orientation, where anything falls in every direction;
* it is a space that separates, that divides: after the Earth and the Sky parted, Chaos remains between both of them.
In Ancient Greek
cosmology, Chaos was the first thing to exist and the womb from which everything emerged. For
Hesiod and the Olympian
mythos, Chaos was the 'vast and dark' void from which the first deity,
Gaea, emerged. In the
Palasgian creation myth,
Eurynome ('goddess of everything') emerged from this Chaos and created the Cosmos from it. For
Orphics, it was called the 'Womb of Darkness' from which the
Cosmic Egg that contained the Universe emerged. It is sometimes conflated with 'Black Winged Night'.
The idea is also found in
Mesopotamia and associated with
Tiamat the 'Dragon' of Chaos, from whose dismembered body the world was formed.
Genesis refers to the earliest conditions of the universe as "without form and void," a state similar to chaos.[
1]
Primal Chaos was sometimes said to be the true foundation of reality, particularly by philosophers such as
Heraclitus and those trained in Orphic schools. It was the opposite of
Platonism. It was also probably what
Aristotle had in mind when he developed the concept of
Prima Materia in his attempt to combine Platonism with the
Presocraticism and
Naturalism. It was a concept inherited by the theory of
Alchemy.
Within the
Thelemic Canan, Chaos is often paired or passionately united with either
Babalon (
Binah,
Neschamah,
Aima,
Isis, "Mater" and He of Tetragrammaton) through the path of Love (Daleth; see the magick circle), or with the "purified" Virgin Daughter of Babalon (
Earth,
Malkuth,
Nephesch,
Persephone, "Filiae" and He final of Tetragrammaton; see
The Vision and the Voice, 4th AEthyr)- who awakens "the eld of the all-Father". This uniting of the "Great Father" with the Mother and Daughter completes the
Christian conception described in
An Essay Upon Number, part II. Chapter 11 of
The Book of Lies and
The Vision and the Voice insists upon the unity of Chaos and Babalon as the
Supernal Triad. As a Tetragrammaton or four-fold word, Chaos "is equal to her seven-fold word" by
gematria (Kaph + Ayin + Vau + Samech = 156) which suggests the 4=7 and 7=4 Grades of the A.'.A.'. Furthermore, the Mystery of Chaos is "beyond the comprehension of any but
Masters of the Temple" (a Grade in the
A.'.A.'. associated with Babalon).
Chaos is also considered the Beast.
As both the "Word" or "Logos" of the
Gnostics, and the Wisdom of the
Kabbalists, Chaos pertains specifically to the 9=2 Grade of
Magus (the 11th progressive Grade in the A.'.A.'.), which it conceals.
A note to
The Abul-diz Working identifies Chaos with Aleph (large=1000) Tau (ATh or Essence; "the") in Hebrew with a numeration of 1400 ("Tria Capita" or "the Three Heads" - TLT RYShYN); with a regular aleph, 401 (ARR - "cursing"). In
An Essay Upon Number,
Aleister Crowley draws a connection between ATh and the Word
Azoth - "the sum and essence of all, conceived as One". Furthermore, Chaos is identified as "the Unknown God of Chokmah in Liber 418." In Greek (applying isopsephy) Chaos adds to 871, which is identical with the words "Pain, Sorrow", "Secret, dark", Web; cloak", "To purify", and "Against one's will."
The primary source concerning Chaos within the Thelemic canon is
The Vision and the Voice. Chaos is also mentioned in the
Class A documents
Liber I and
Liber CLVI. Rituals that include Chaos are the first version of
Liber XXV ( from
The Book of Lies), and
Liber XV.
From the
Escalier des sages (1689 e.v.) Chaos as an alchemical formula has the following
Notariqon: Caliditas Humiditas Alger Occulta Siuitas.
From
The Vision and the Voice, 4th AEthyr:
"This is the meaning of that passage; they are attempts to interpret Chaos, but Chaos is Peace... Blackness, blackness intolerable, before the beginning of the light. This is the first verse of Genesis. Holy art thou, Chaos, Chaos, Eternity, all contradictions in terms!... But when the balances are equal, scale matched with scale, then will Chaos return."
*
Hesiod's Theogony*
Alignment (role-playing games)*
Chaos Theory*
Chaos magic*
Chaos in
Michael Moorcock's Multiverse*
Chaos (Warhammer) for
Warhammer Fantasy and
Warhammer 40000*
Azathoth and
Nyarlathotep from the
Cthulhu Mythos*
Discordianism*
Hakim Bey*Thelemapedia. (2004).
Chaos. Retrieved April 14, 2006.
*
Ovid,
Metamorphoses (I, 7)
*
Hesiod,
Theogony (116; 123-132)
