Andrew D. Chumbley - Influences

Influences

Although Chumbley was mainly known for his involvement with English traditional Witchcraft, primarily that of East Anglia, his occult interests and influences were extremely diverse. According to Schulke, "Chumbley's magical work spanned many fields of sorcerous influence, including Sufism, left-hand Tantra and Petro Voodoo". Other influences included the artist-occultist Austin Osman Spare and author-occultist Kenneth Grant. Chumbley was familiar with and respected Grant's work and was a member of Grant's Ordo Templi Orientis from 1993–1999, operating an affiliated magical lodge. Spare's philosophy of the Kia almost certainly influenced the "non-dual gnosis" which is a key element in Chumbley's system, although the similar "doctrine of the void" (Shunyavata), a foundation concept of Tantrism, is also likely to have affected Chumbley's work through the Uttara Kaula Sampradaya, of which he claimed to be an initiate. In The Azoëtia Chumbley presents "Will, Desire, Belief" as a threefold unity operating in sorcery; this is ultimately derived from Spare's work, although the primary textual source is Grant. The use of sigils and magical glyphs in Chumbley's work also suggests a derivation from Spare, though classical magical grimoires such as the Key of Solomon and the Goëtia provide an earlier precedent.

The Azoëtia and Chumbley's subsequent writings demonstrate his familiarity with a broad range of Western esoteric doctrines including Qabalah, Enochian Magic, the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Thelemic school of Aleister Crowley. 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. Chumbley addressed these themes, citing Shah's work, in his book Qutub: The Point (1995).

Regarding his sources, drawn from both 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." Schulke 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."