The Gates of Ganzir

Synchronicity and Disruption

In the Shamanic tradition Synchronicity is deemed to be a sign that you are on the right path. It represents a clarification of the connection between the Subjective and Objective realms, and can direct us how to utilise this unification into action. This is a view incorporated by Carl Jung who explained Synchronicity as a meaningful coincidence of inner and outer events that are not causally connected. In 'The Well of Wyrd' Edred Thorsson concurs with the Jungian view, summarising Synchronicity as 'a meaningful coincidence when outer events coincide with a psychic event'. Thorsson takes this further by recognising Synchronicity as a time 'when our souls and all the world around us can be reshaped to some extent'. Like the Shaman, the Black Magician should view synchronistic events as a sign of being on the right path. They should also be recognised as an expression of the unified Self, and should never be ignored.

Synchronicity is something that exists in the lives of everyone. You can talk to anyone and find some event or another in their life that represents the force of Synchronicity in motion. A striking example of its power can be found in the life of a man named John Woods. This is the man who was due to take the ill fated Lockerbie flight back in 1988, but cancelled at the last minute to attend an office party. This is the man who was on the 39th floor of the World Trade Centre when it was bombed in 1993, but escaped totally unharmed. This is also the man who walked out of one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre seconds before the hijacked plane struck it on September 11th 2001. Most people in the mundane world would merely attribute all this to 'luck', 'something spooky', or 'God', but in the view of the Magician this would be viewed entirely as Synchronicity. To survive not one, but three catastrophic terrorist attacks, is a remarkable display of one man's experiences with Synchronicity.

Obviously not all Synchronicity is as dramatic as the experiences of John Woods, though the example of a sudden change of intent or routine does provide us with a basis of a model of Synchronicity influenced by Disruption. Synchronicity can often come about because of a disruptive element that steers one away from the path that they originally intended to take. In a recent telephone conversation, Priest F likened the force of Synchronicity to being the equivalent of all the lights being on green. Essentially I would agree with that statement, however, I believe it can assume a more complex character when the lights appear to be on red.

In Egyptian mythology it was the birth of Set which disturbed the harmonious development of creation. The trials of disruption we face in our plans and our lives could be seen as elements of the chaos that the existence of Set brought into being in the Universe. If Synchronicity is a sign that you are on the right path in your goals, then disruption could be seen as the force of Set Himself giving you that little nudge in the right direction. Disruption is an obstacle to overcome to help you forge a stronger and truer Self. Like Synchronicity, it can be related to a Shamanic concept, this time as the concept of the Ordeal. The ordeal is a ritualistic symbol of death and renewal, with the death representing the obstacle that blocks our path to immortality, but the resulting rebirth after successfully completing an initiatory trial, is the Remanifestation of the path to godhood. Trials and ordeals should be welcomed. The Left Hand Path is not a smooth one. Expect to be tested, challenged, knocked back, and bruised from time to time. That sinking feeling in your gut when things go wrong should not be fled from, rather it should be welcomed as a learning experience of how to improve, and how to avoid future mistakes. Sometimes we never learn exactly why things have gone wrong, but if you view disruption in the same way as you view Synchronicity, there are often subtle signs we can learn from in hindsight.

Our last attempt at arranging a Pylon meeting at my house was a classic example of Disruptive and Synchronistic forces in action. Right up until the day before it seemed like nothing was going to go wrong. Then, when my wife arrived home, she rather sheepishly admitted that whilst polishing the coffee table she had put my Set statue on the floor. The dog then came racing into the room and ran straight into it, knocking it over and severing the left hand clean off. Despite her remarkable effort of covering up the damage with superglue, there was no disguising to me that this was a sign of Disruptive Synchronicity. I fatalistically commented that I now knew things would go wrong with the Pylon meeting.

Later that evening with the Tsunami Relief concert established as a potential traffic nightmare, and the coming to light of the rail engineering works that effectively blocked Wales off from anywhere North of Gloucester the exact nature of the disruption was revealed. Indirectly, the disruption caused by the Asian Tsunami was reverberating into the Gates of Ganzir Pylon. This is also the case today, with Setian W's late arrival owing to another charity event in relation to that disaster.

The traffic light analogy I mentioned earlier made me think of something as mundane as driving. When you think about it, every time you get into your car you are subjecting yourself to the laws of Synchronicity and disruption. Leaving the house four seconds later can see you avoiding being at the front of a motorway pile up, and driving 3mph faster can get you through that green light which would have turned red. Going through that light on green can get you home thirty seconds sooner, and by arriving home thirty seconds sooner you arrive home just in time to catch the Parcel Force attempting to drop off that long awaited delivery from Runa-Raven Press.

This doesn't mean you should be wary of leaving your house in case 'something happens', but it does mean that when you leave your home, take a second just to contemplate how you could manipulate your destiny by delaying your actions slightly, or by taking a different route, or letting someone out in front of you in a queue, or altering your speed slightly. When eventful occurrences do or don't happen you can be left with more feelings of control over your actions than if you merely sleepwalk through your daily activities accepting the idiosyncrasies of daily life as predetermined or unavoidable. Obviously you still can't help it if some idiot cuts you up, or you get stuck in a jam, but you can step away from the fatalistic 'blame everyone else' attitude frequently adopted in ignorant society. Taking such a personal stance can in itself lead to greater control of your own fortune. Richard Wiseman states in 'The Luck Factor' that 'lucky' people often display behavioural techniques that enhance their good fortune. These are:

Maximising Opportunities
Listening to Intuition
Expecting good fortune
The ability to turn bad luck into good

As far as recognising the forces of Synchronicity is concerned, one of the key points raised above is that of listening to intuition. Examples have often been given about a gut feeling individuals may have felt about taking a certain action that in retrospect has either saved them from death, or from taking some other kind of bad move. Setian W has provided me with a few examples of this in his own life, including the time when a strange feeling urged him not to take the train that was later involved in the Hatfield disaster. Again, the Synchronicity here is provided by a disruption of some sort, either in the instincts of the individual, or some external circumstance.

The last point, 'turning bad luck into good' also points to a relationship between overcoming the forces of disruption to one's favour, however all these factors can be viewed as Lesser Black Magical techniques to be practiced within the Self to increase the opportunity for positive personal Synchronicity. They also seem to be consistent with the Locus of Control model of Julian Rotter, which McCombs later asserted is the measurement of 'The self as agent' and the role of the self as to 'the degree to which one chooses to be self-determining'. This has a bearing on 'one's realization of the source of agency and personal control'. The role of luck in Synchronicity portrayed in these models is one that can be seen as both determined and controlled within the self, not outside the self. In other words, we can create our own luck to some extent, as long as we choose to do so.

Examples of such significances are endless within us all, and are subject to the manifestation of the unified Self into the Objective Universe. M.L. von Franz states that synchronistic events almost invariably accompany the crucial stages of individuation. Synchronicity is also a highly self-serving and self-protecting agent. It is a factor that can enhance or even save our lives in the kind of way that the more superstitious would see as akin to the force of a guardian angel or Providence. To those of the LHP persuasion however it could be recognised as the Daimonic Self recognising subtle threats or chances for gain in the Objective Universe, and either consciously or unconsciously altering the Objective realm according to its Will to improve the odds of survival and fortune. It appears to be a gift that can manifest itself in anyone, though it is those who recognise the signs of its existence that can take control of it's power. Maybe this recognition and utilisation is a sign of a more empowered and better realised Daimonic Self.

Not every coincidence that happens is necessarily the forces of Synchronicity at work. It is the significant coincidences that count, and also the recognition of what really is significant. Putting £2 each way on a horse called Senor Set last Saturday was not, as I originally thought, a sign of Synchronicity. Perhaps that was just too obvious to be Synchronicity, as when it comes it is usually subtle, unlooked for, and only fully realised after the occasion. Saying that, sometimes it can reveal itself in a very obvious way. Shortly after conducting a Ritual on the theme of Metacommunication some months back I logged on to TS1 to find that Priest H had posted a very similar topic to some of the themes in my Working. The timing of this was immaculate, as the time I received the e-mail coincided with the approximate time that I had just started the ritual. I saw this example of Synchronicity as a sign of being very much on the right path as far as exploring the LBM aspects of communication and media manipulation were concerned. I contacted Priest H with regards to advice in this field, and it remains an ongoing interest of mine.

As practitioners of the Left Hand Path we yearn to Seek the Mysteries that present themselves to us via the chance events and encounters we experience for good or for ill, and then manipulate them to our benefit and progression. Doing so is one of the vital keys to becoming an Awakened Being and I would urge everyone to take note of the interactions between the forces within you and beyond you.