#chöd

Festival FUMETTI Nantes 2026

David Tibet's description of Chöd is interesting to think about as an alchemical process.

Where the practice of chöd differs in relation to working most forms of traditional Craft, however, is in its relation to overcoming of (or total death of) the ego. In the Bön text, The Laughter of the Skygoers (The Laughter of the Khandros), the sādhanā prompts the practitioner to “…to blow the kangling to summon all the spirits and invite them to the feast…abide in the state of non-duality of emptiness and appearances and dance on the head of the demon of grasping - your mistaken belief in an existing identity or self.” However, witchcraft as its core is culturally transgressive. Generally, for many Craft groups (and indeed, within many pagan belief systems as well) ego is not something to be transcended (as in orthodox Buddhism), but rather something to be balanced and refined (see the teachings of Austin Osman Spare and his ideology surrounding the Zos and the Kia). This approach is necessary in order to focus one’s pursuits on higher values of creativity, truth, and spiritual empowerment. This is not to say that sacrifice or work on the part of the witch is not pertinent. As we’ve seen, “To consider adversity as a friend is the instruction of Chöd. The same can be certainly be said of the Craft. The sacrifice of an individual’s time and devotion to a relationship with the Arte Magical, their working tools, and their chosen deities as of chief concern. Chumbley states that, "All genuine practitioners of magick, whatever their persuasion, would agree that Time must be sacrificed if one is serious about the pursuit of any magical discipline.