Overview of Dada Magick
Alice Scarlet Death
Dada is an anti-art movement from the early 1900s that turned its nose at the establishment.
It ignores aesthetics. It is anti-art, which means that it represents everything art isn’t supposed to be. Dadaism breaks convention, and means to offend the senses.
If magick is the “Science and Art of causing Change in conformity to their Will,” according to Aleister Crowley then what would Dada magick be? How can an anti-art be magick?
It’s kind of like in physics. If a particle and an antiparticle meet, they cancel each other out. It’s like yin and yang. Zero equals two. Both are the same, yet infinite in their difference. Because anti-art is anti-art, that also makes it art.
When a volcano erupts, the lava wipes out everything in its path. Eventually it settles, and new life begins to grow. Could you not say that the destruction is also creation? To destroy is to create.
The rituals I write that I consider to be Dada Magick (or Magiq to distinguish it) are ones that take concepts and intents commonly found in Hermetic rituals and framing them in such a way that appears to be erratic and nonsensical. There is no aesthetic. There is no symbol set (which is a symbol set in itself in some ways. You are your own symbol set.)
For me, it is a lifestyle philosophy. It isn’t an aesthetic or a theme. My lifestyle is my magick, so therefore Dada is my magick. I have written a book on the topic called Liber Dada. In it I have explored the philosophies behind Dada Magick.
In the book, I have written many rituals that correlate with my Dada lifestyle. They are mostly based off Hermetic rituals of some sort. There’s no “how to make people fall in love with you” type stuff, but I might do a folk magick analogue at a later date. It is mostly absurdist ceremonial magick. Here’s an example:
The idea behind this ritual is reincarnation. You’re basically absorbed into the pizza and eaten by your friends, thus living through those with which you’ve maintained a magical link. There are numbers and signs that have some significance. There are other rituals, like a banishing ritual that involves ipecac. A ritual where you sit and stare at a wall for an hour.
I have also developed a fraternal Order called O∴N∴ and I’m not technically allowed to say what the letters stand for. They probably stand for nothing. There are seven initiations, and I’ve written them all out. They are publicly available for anyone to read. I’ve also written a tutelage program called The Invisible Sisterhood which is designed to help you invoke Dada into your life.
Like I said before, Dada is more of a lifestyle. You have to be in the state of mind for it. I want to help people fall into the state of trance required to receive Dada.
I have also created a Tree of Life more in line with the modus operandi of Dada. I plan on sharing parts from the published book here on the blog. Look forward to it!
