Andrew D. Chumbley

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Andrew D. Chumbley (September 15, 1967-September 15, 2004) was an English writer, poet, artist, practitioner-theorist of modern magic, and Magister of the magical group Cultus Sabbati. He died on his thirty-seventh birthday following a severe asthma attack.

Chumbley published a number of limited edition books through his own private press Xoanon Publishing, and a series of articles in various occult magazines; these conveyed aspects of doctrine and practice of a tradition of sorcery which he called 'Sabbatic Craft'. According to Chumbley the term "describes the way in which elements of witch-lore, Sabbath mythology and imagery were being employed in the cunning-craft tradition into which I was originally inducted".[1] His work is an unusual expression of modern Witchcraft, for which he claimed provenance from pre-modern revivalist forms.[2] His earlier work was published in the Chaos Magic journal Chaos International, and later work appeared in Starfire, journal of the Typhonian OTO, and in the long-established British witchcraft magazine The Cauldron. Daniel A. Schulke succeeded him as Magister of Cultus Sabbati.

Contents

[edit] Influences

Although Chumbley was mainly known for his involvement with traditional English Witchcraft,[3] especially that of the county of Essex,[4] his occult interests and influences were extremely diverse. Schulke writes of Chumbley's interests, "Chumbley's magical work spanned many fields of sorcerous influence, including Sufism, left-hand Tantra and Petro Voodoo".[5] Some influences on his work are those of the artist-occultist Austin Osman Spare and author-occultist Kenneth Grant. Chumbley evidently respected and was familiar with Grant's work and there appears to have been contact between the two magicians - at one time Chumbley operated an independent magical lodge that was affiliated to Grant's Typhonian OTO.[6] Spare's philosophy of the 'Kia' almost certainly influenced the non-dual gnosis which is a key element in Chumbley's system, although the 'Doctrine of the Void' (Shunyavata) is a foundation concept of Tantrism, which is likely to have affected Chumbley's work thorough the Uttara Kaula Sampradaya, of which he was an initiate. [7] In The Azoëtia the concepts of "Will, Desire, Belief" are presented as a threefold unity operative in sorcery; this is ultimately derived from Spare's work, although the primary textual source is Grant. [8] The use of sigils and magical glyphs in Chumbley's work also suggests a derivation from Spare, though for both authors the precedent (of the time ) was the tradition of magical grimoires including The Key of Solomon and Goëtia. Chumbley's familiarity with a broad range of Western esoteric doctrines that included Kabbalah, Enochian Magic, the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the Thelemic school of Aleister Crowley is demonstrated in The Azoëtia and subsequent writings. Another influence was the neo-Sufi author Idries Shah, particularly his theories concerning possible connections between Witchcraft and various near-eastern cults such as the Yezidi, Mandaeans, Sufis and Zoroastrians.[9][2] Chumbley addressed these themes, citing Shah's work, in his book Qutub: the Point (1995). Regarding the sources upon which he drew, both from literature and direct contact with practitioners of other occult and religious traditions, Chumbley stated: "In all contexts one may find pieces of magical lore and belief from many disparate times and places, but all are brought to function within the trans-historical arena of the sacred dimension, whether it be the magical circle of Witcherie or the Ninefold Plot of Sigaldry." [4] Schulke, in writing of Chumbley's magical recension observed that "Chumbley's grimoire Azoëtia, though wholly a reification of traditional British witchcraft, makes use of Sumerian, Egyptian, Yezidi, Arabic, and Aztec iconography, among others." [5]

[edit] Doctrine and Method

Chumbley's work proposes a doctrine of 'Transcendental Sorcery', founded on his belief that all forms of magic arise from a single source, which he termed the 'Magical Quintessence'; "Magick is the transmutability of the Quintessence of all nature" [1] he wrote, adding, "Sorcery is the knowledge of the universal points of transmutation. Its Art is to cultivate the ability to manipulate these foci of power in accordance with Will, Desire and Belief." [1]

Chumbley considered the practice of willed dreaming essential as a means of interacting directly, and consciously, with the spiritual dimensions he called 'the High Sabbat'; he commented: "Every word, deed and thought can empower, magnetise, and establish points of receptivity for a magical dream, likewise any of these means can do the opposite - fixating perception in a manner that is not receptive - that seals the soul in the body instead of enabling it to go forth at will." [1] In conjunction with dreaming and trance experience Chumbley used different methods of automatic writing and drawing to manifest the knowledge drawn from ritual magic; this procedure, in which the magician offers her or himself as a vehicle for the forces summoned instead of utilising another as medium, is less commonly encountered in occult tradition - the modern exemplar perhaps being Austin Osman Spare. The results of Chumbley's practices can be seen in his drawings and sigillisations; further, he believed that the natural manifestation of magical gnosis and power occurs through creative activity: "Dreaming and the mutual translation of dreamt ritual and ritual-as-dreamt form the basic rationale and context for our work. The active discourse between initiates and our spirit-patrons inspires and motivates this dreaming. This is demonstrably manifest in the magical artistry of individual initiates, whether through text, ritual performance, song, tapestry, craftsmanship, or image." [10]

[edit] Written and illustrated works

Chumbley's first book The Azoëtia, was published privately by the author in 1992 as a softcover volume under the Xoanon imprint. This ambitious work was greeted with reviews praising its scope and originality by influential contemporary practitioners including Freya Aswynn, Phil Hine and Jan Fries. [11] Described as "...a complete recension of Sabbatic theory and praxis, relating the Three Great Rites of Ingress, Congress, and Egress, together with a detailed exposition of the 22 Letters of the Sorcerer's Alphabet"[10], the book forms a resumé of Chumbley's system and is the core text for practitioners wishing to study and practice the Sabbatic path of magic. A tenth anniversary edition, revised to include further textual and illustrative material was issued by Xoanon Publishing on October 31st, 2002 as Azoëtia (Sethos Edition). Part of the book's significance in modern occult literature lies in its conscious reinvention of the format of the 'grimoire', or sorcerer's instruction book.

Qutub: The Point followed in 1995, published for Xoanon by Fulgur[12], in which Chumbley combined illustrations and poetry with the intent of creating a telesmatic volume. The illustrations demonstrated that Chumbley's skills as a draughtsman were advancing quickly. The book was described as follows: "This work treats of the Arcanum of the Opposer, a magical formula of the Crooked Path concerning the Powers of Self-overcoming. The book consists of an arcane poetic text in 72 verses, a detailed commentary in critical prose, and a substantial glossary of esoteric terms and names. The whole is illustrated throughout with calligraphic and sigillic depictions of the Opposer's composite mysteries." [13] Issued in several different hard bindings as standard, deluxe and private editions, copies of Qutub copies included unique additions such as hand-drawn talismans or sigillised inscriptions.

Numerous articles by Chumbley followed, published in British and American occult journals, but no further books appeared until ONE: The Grimoire of the Golden Toad in 2000, described by Xoanon as: "...the first full grimoire-text to treat specifically and from personal account of the Traditional East Anglian ritual called 'The Waters of the Moon': the solitary initiation of the so-called 'Toad-witch'." The purpose of this traditional folk-magical rite is to obtain a specific bone from the flensed corpse of a toad; the bone is believed to bestow certain powers upon its owner, primarily control of animals. Chumbley's ONE, however, presents a thoroughly antinomian re-visioning of the ritual procedure and its results, combining ritual practice with a series of dramatic visions recounted in prose-poetry. Seventy-seven hand-bound copies of the book were offered for sale, each copy accompanied by a hand-written page of a sigillic 'inner grimoire', signed by the author, and an envelope containing a hand-painted talisman made from antique toadskin leather, a toad bone, and a single blackthorn. A further three copies were retained "for internal distribution"; these were bound in leather with an actual toad's head set into the front cover, with toadskin leather panelling on the rear. [13]

Other works by Chumbley are known to exist, but have not been issued; they were either unpublished at his death, or had been produced solely for private distribution. The Draconian Grimoire: The Dragon-Book of Essex was intended as the second volume of a trilogy of Sabbatic grimoires, following Azoetia; it appears to be a very substantial work, described as "...a Compleat Grimoire of Crooked Path Sorcery, distilled from the many years of practice... Being the fruit of a decade of concentrated praxis in the Cultus' inner circle, this work is intended as an entire resumé of the ancestral and ophidian components of Traditional Sorcery and Sabbatic Gnosis." Ten copies were published circa 1998 as a private 'initiatic' edition in three volumes totalling 1200 pages.[10]

The Auraeon was referred to by Chumbley as a forthcoming volume concerning solitary initiation, of which he said: "In the Sabbatic Craft, solitary initiation or ‘The Lonely Road’ is recognised as a vital aspect of every practitioner’s path and the understanding of ‘solitude’ is subject to many levels of interpretation. Autonomy is the key virtue, irrespective of whether one practices in human convocation or ‘alone’ – in the ever-present company of spirits." [1]

Another volume titled The Greene Gospel is referred to in a footnote to Michael Howard's The Book of Fallen Angels (Capell Bann, 2004) where it is identified as being privately distributed.

Chumbley also created a series of singular artworks known as the 'Unique Transmission Series'. These were books which were individually hand-written and illustrated; according to the Xoanon website: "Each book is executed on hand-made paper, presented in a carved wooden box with accompanying telesmata and sealed letter to owner. Each text embodies a unique recension of a specific arcanum of the Crooked Path." [13] The full number of works in the series was not disclosed, however one example, The Red Grimoire, is known to have been purchased by Jack Macbeth (Orlando Britts), and was referenced by him in his privately-published book The Totemic Invocation of the Shadow Selves, one of several recent books styled as 'grimoires' that have followed in the wake of The Azoëtia.

At the time of his death Chumbley was studying for a doctorate in the history of religion. In an obituary his close friend Michael Howard, the well-known writer in the field of the occult and publisher of The Cauldron magazine observed that "Despite this, Andrew was a man of the land, rural in both birth and character. He fitted totally within the traditional archetypal parameters of the English (and specifically Essex) cunning man." Howard recalled Chumbley’s kindness, generosity and sense of humour, noting that "To outsiders Andrew could sometimes appear to be aloof, intense and serious to the point of obsession… However, if he met kindred spirits of sincerity and honour, who shared his interests and serious intent, he would willingly go out of his way to offer them help and guidance on the Path… In fact he was a natural teacher and, like all good occult teachers, acted as a catalyst in the lives of his students." [14]

Chumbley's work is cited in several journals and books on the occult including The Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, a juried academic journal[15][16][17], Ronald Hutton's The Triumph of the Moon[18], Laurence Galian's The Sun at Midnight[19], and The Cauldron magazine[20].

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e 'An Interview With Andrew D. Chumbley', The Cauldron no. 103, February 2002.
  2. ^ a b Chumbley, Andrew, 'Hekas', The Cauldron no. 74, November 1994.
  3. ^ Hutton, Ronald, The Triumph of The Moon, Oxford University Press 2001.
  4. ^ a b Chumbley, Andrew, 'What is Traditional Craft?', The Cauldron no. 81, August 1996. Online text at sosyetedumarche.com.
  5. ^ a b Schulke, Daniel A. 'Way and Waymark', The Cauldron no. 122, November 2006.
  6. ^ Chumbley, Andrew, 'Opening the Way for the Daemons of the Void', Starfire Vol. II, No. 2, 1998.
  7. ^ Chumbley, Andrew, 'The Golden Chain and the Lonely Road: a typological study of Initiatory Transmissions within the Sabbatic Tradition', The Cauldron no. 94, November 1999.
  8. ^ Grant, Kenneth, Images & Oracles of Austin Osman Spare, Muller 1975, Fulgur Limited 2005.
  9. ^ These connections are proposed in Daraul, Arkon (1961). A History of Secret Societies. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0857-4. Idries Shah quotes Daraul in The Sufis (1964), adding little, however 'Arkon Daraul' is widely thought to be one of the many pseudonyms of Shah.
  10. ^ a b c Occult Art Gallery website, see link below.
  11. ^ Review by Fries published in The Nuit-Isis Reader, Mandrake of Oxford, 1993, and subsequently at Lashtal.com [1]
  12. ^ The Fulgur press specialises in high-quality editions of works by, and about, Austin Osman Spare. See link below.
  13. ^ a b c Xoanon website, see link below.
  14. ^ Howard, M., 'Andrew D. Chumbley', The Cauldron no. 114, November 2004.
  15. ^ Dave Evans, (ed.), Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, 2, Mandrake Books, Oxford, 2004.
  16. ^ Dave Green, (ed.), Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, 3, Mandrake Books, Oxford, 2005.
  17. ^ Dave Green, (ed.), Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, 4, Mandrake Books, Oxford, 2006.
  18. ^ Hutton, Ronald, The Triumph of the Moon, Oxford University Press 2001.
  19. ^ Galian, Laurence The Sun at Midnight: The Revealed Mysteries of the Ahlul Bayt Sufis, Quiddity Publishing, 2003.
  20. ^ The Cauldron, nos. 100, 101, 102, 108, 110, 112, 113, 114, 122.

[edit] External links

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