Cyberia

   Drawing conceptually on the vast tundra of Siberia, “Cyberia” (see Rushkoff’s 1994 volume of the same title, for instance) refers to the virtually vast region of the Internet. For contemporary cyber shamans, the Internet is a powerful resource, not only for networking and communication but also as a divinatory device and source of otherworldly (hyperreal) knowledge. Chaos Magickians who use altered states of consciousness and Austin Spare’s concept of “free belief” (appropriating any concept or symbol, not just arcane or indigenous lore, as a focus for effecting magic) may use Cyberia as a potent magickal forum. Cyberia interfaces with techno-shamanism in a number of ways, including the accessibility through the Internet of electronic music that is held to affect brainwave patterns and thereby induce trance.