Goddardian Chaos Magick

"Imagination is the only redemptive power in the universe. It is the means by which we create reality."

Neville Goddard

With the advantage of hindsight it is evident that for all the utilitarian good that Chaos Magick has done it has also taken some turns and directions that have proven less useful. Directions taking us further away from practicality and simplicity towards speculation and complexity. Largely, I would argue, that is because it takes as it's starting point Austin Spare's aesthetics, emphasis on transgression and psychological and mechanistic worldview, leading later chaos magicians to frame magick using concepts from neuroscience, probability theory, and quantum physics.

Look, as much as I love aspects of Spare's work and can vouch for the effectiveness of his techniques, he was also a deeply flawed character. Bit of a dick actually. These flaws are compounded when we consider that the majority of people encountering Spare's ideas are getting them second or third hand. Largely, this is because his prose is so convoluted and idiosyncratic it requires interpretation and, by extension, misinterpretation. There's also the very real possibility that his methods are incomplete, that there are nuances to what he was actually doing that he himself may not of been aware.

With this in mind, it is worth considering what would have happened if Chaos Magick had instead taken its impetus from a different source. A source potentially clearer in iteration and more expansive in possibility. If that urge towards explicitly practical magick had not found its genesis elsewhere. What if Peter Carroll had stumbled across a different fount of inspiration? Let me recommend to your attention Barbados born mystic Neville Goddard, who, independent of Spare, articulated an identical method for practical sorcery couched in Biblical allegory.

Different Frames, Same Mechanism

Spare and Goddard’s methods operate on the same psychological principle:

1. The subconscious mind is the true creator of reality.

2. The conscious mind must step aside to let the subconscious work.

3. Symbols (sigils or mental images) communicate desire to the subconscious.

4. Faith (or forgetting the desire) ensures no resistance blocks manifestation.

   
   

Ultimately, both Spare and Goddard offer practical, non-dogmatic approaches to manifestation—one through occult symbolism, the other through mystical imagination. The core mechanism, however, is identical.

In many - if not all - respects Goddard's ideas are more clearly and coherently articulated than Spare's, cutting to the core of what early chaos magick was attempting to create in terms of pragmatic magick. Whereas Spare's methods are mired in obfuscation and near impenetrable prose, Goddard is clear and direct, boldly challenging his audience to "Try it, and if it doesn’t work, then you can tell me I’m wrong." Ballsy hey?

What we gain from comparing and contrasting Spare and Goddard is a better understanding of the underlying mechanism that gets magick to work. If magick is one leviathan-like elephant and we are all blind men fondling bits and trying to relate we what we find, comparing notes, particularly when they track such similar lines, can help us grasp at its totality.

Let's look at both Spare's sigil method against Goddard's core technique in greater detail and speculate at what Goddardian Chaos Magick might look like. Note: Neville is the man's preferred title but somehow "Nevillean" doesn't have the same ring.

SPARE VS GODDARD

Whilst Austin Osman Spare and Neville Goddard came from vastly different backgrounds (Spare from an occult and artistic tradition, Goddard from a mystical-Christian perspective), there are striking similarities in their core methods of manifestation. Both emphasise the subconscious as the functional gateway to altering reality, and both rely on techniques that bypass rational thought to implant a desired outcome.

1. The Subconscious as the Creative Force

• Spare’s View: The subconscious is the seat of magical power, operating beyond the ego’s interference. Sigils work by embedding intent directly into the subconscious, which then shapes reality according to that desire.

• Goddard’s View: God is not an external deity but human imagination itself, specifically the subconscious mind. To change reality, one must impress a belief (a “feeling of the wish fulfilled”) onto the subconscious, which will then externalise it in the physical world.

2. The Role of Symbolism and Forgetting the Ego

• Spare’s Sigil Method:

  • Reduce a desire into a sigil.

  • Charge it with strong emotion in a moment of gnosis (trance, ecstasy, exhaustion).

  • Forget it—release attachment so the subconscious can work unhindered.

• Goddard’s ‘State Akin to Sleep’ (SATS) Method:

  • Enter a deeply relaxed state (a hypnagogic or near-sleep state).

  • Vividly imagine the desired outcome as if it has already happened.

  • Feel it as real, then let go—allow the subconscious to manifest it.

Both emphasise that once the intent has been impressed upon the subconscious, conscious interference must cease. Spare does this through forgetfulness; Goddard does it through faith (assuming it is already done).

3. The Use of Altered States (Gnosis vs. SATS)

• Spare’s ‘Neither-Neither’ state: The ego must be neutralised through paradox, trance, or sexual energy to allow the subconscious to take over.

• Goddard’s ‘State Akin to Sleep’ (SATS): A deeply relaxed state (often before sleep) is the best time to implant a desire because the conscious mind is inactive.

Both methods recognise altered states as the optimal moment to communicate with the subconscious.

4. Belief as Reality Creation

• Spare: Reality is shaped by subconscious will, but the conscious mind must be bypassed to avoid doubt.

• Goddard: The world is a projection of inner assumptions; to change external circumstances, one must shift internal beliefs.

This aligns closely with the chaos magic idea that belief itself is a tool—not an objective truth, but a mechanism for manifestation.

Practical Similarities

Spare’s Sigil Magick	Goddard’s SATS Manifestation
Create a sigil from desire	Form a mental scene that implies fulfilment
Enter gnosis to charge it	Enter a deep relaxed state (SATS)
Forget the sigil to avoid resistance	Assume the wish is fulfilled and let go
The subconscious works unseen to manifest	The subconscious externalises belief into reality

Speculative Outcomes: What Would Goddardian Chaos Magick Look Like?

• A strong focus on faith and assumption rather than randomness and probability.

• Imaginal acts instead of sigils.

• Less paradigm shifting, more identity shifting.

• A more structured approach to consciousness and reality creation.

• No use for gods, demons, or spirits—only the individual as the total creative force.

  
  

Ultimately, both Spare and Goddard tapped into the same mechanism of subconscious reality creation—one through sigils and forgetting, the other through imaginal acts and faith. The real difference is in how they framed it: Spare approached it through symbolism, psychology, and transgression, while Goddard saw it as divine law, requiring nothing but internal conviction.

This begs the question could other techniques of chaos magick not be better explained through Goddard's framing? If gods and spirits exist within imagination, then working with them in a fully immersive imaginal act could yield real, tangible effects—whether psychological, synchronistic, or genuinely supernatural.

OVER TO YOU

Rather than draw hardline conclusions about what magick is or isn't I'd rather invite you to test the methods for yourself. As Neville suggests:

Take my challenge and put this philosophy to the test. If there is something tonight that you really want in this world, then experience in imagination what you would experience in the flesh were you to realise your goal and deafen your ears, and blind your eyes to all that denies the reality of your assumption.

Experimental Setup: Comparing Goddard vs. Spare’s Methods

Step 1: Choose a Specific, Measurable Desire

To fairly compare both methods, pick a clear, testable goal—something small but meaningful, like:

• Receiving a random sum of money (e.g., $50 or an unexpected gift).

• Getting a message from a long-lost friend.

• Finding a specific rare item in an unexpected place.

  
  

Step 2: Divide the Desire into Two Separate Tests

You’ll use one desire for Goddard’s method and a similar but separate desire for Spare’s sigil magick to avoid cross-contamination of results.

For example:

• Test 1 (Goddard): Manifest an unexpected $50 using assumption.

• Test 2 (Spare): Manifest an unexpected gift using sigil magick.

Method 1: Testing Goddard’s Assumption Technique

1. Enter a Relaxed State (SATS – State Akin to Sleep)

   • Lie down or meditate until you're deeply relaxed but aware.

2. Visualize the End Result

   • Imagine yourself already having received the $50.

   • Feel the money in your hands, see the bank notification, or hear a friend saying, “Here’s that $50 I owed you.”

   • Engage all senses (sight, sound, touch).

3. Feel the Emotion of Fulfilment

   • Experience the gratitude, excitement, and certainty that it has already happened.

   • Feel like it’s 100% real in the present moment.

4. Persist in the Feeling Until Sleep or Detachment

   • Repeat for a few nights (typically 3 but as many as 7) or until you feel satisfied that it’s done.

   • Then let it go and carry on with your life without doubting.

   
   

Method 2: Testing Spare’s Sigil Magick

1. Create the Sigil

   • Write down: "I receive an unexpected gift."

   • Remove repeating letters: RCVNUXPDTGIF

   • Combine into an artistic symbol.

2. Charge the Sigil

   • Enter a gnostic trance (e.g., through breathwork, dancing, orgasm, or intense focus).

   • At the peak of energy, gaze at the sigil and impress it into your subconscious.

3. Forget the Sigil

   • Burn or discard it.

   • Avoid thinking about it to prevent conscious interference.

Give yourself 14-30 days and record any results. If you do this you'll learn something about the underlying mechanism that gets either technique to work. You'll also learn some things that I feel will be unique to you and how you get magick to work more effectively in your life.