--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chaos comes before all principles of…" description: "\"Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy, it's neither a god nor a maggot, its idiotic desires encompass & define every possible choreograp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png" --- # Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy, it's… ![“Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy, it's neither a god nor a maggot, its idiotic desires encompass & define every possible choreography, all meaningless aethers & phlogistons: its masks are crystallizations of its own facelessness, like clouds.” quote by Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png) > “Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy, it's neither a god nor a maggot, its idiotic desires encompass & define every possible choreography, all meaningless aethers & phlogistons: its masks are crystallizations of its own facelessness, like clouds.” [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that disorder precedes any system of order, and that chaos itself is a faceless, ever‑shifting force shaping all patterns. **In simple terms:** Chaos comes first, shaping order and meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, recognize its role. Themes chaos order entropy creation meaning Mood reflective intriguing analytical Type aphilosophical poetic critical When to use this quote - artistic creation - scientific research - personal decision‑making - social movements Key Concepts philosophy ontological complexity Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing chaos affect your planning? - Can you find value in disorder? A Different Perspective Chaos can be overwhelming and may paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Choreography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choreography/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Entropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entropy/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) ## Related quotes > [“Eventually he forgot what event had started off his decline into entropy; God mercifully occludes us to the past as well as the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/eventually-he-forgot-what-event-had-started-off-his-decline-into/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The only thing I do know is that from chaos comes opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-loeb/the-only-thing-i-do-know-is-that-from-chaos-comes-opportunity/) Daniel S. Loeb > [The mythology is that from chaos comes great work. I actually used to think that when I was younger, and I no longer think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-paulson/the-mythology-is-that-from-chaos-comes-great-work-i-actually-used-to/) [Sarah Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-paulson/) > [“through chaos comes clarity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/311/through-chaos-comes-clarity/) 311 > [My awesome career has been nothing but chaos. Whatever comes toward me feels like the right thing to do in the moment and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-hahn/my-awesome-career-has-been-nothing-but-chaos-whatever-comes-toward-me/) [Kathryn Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-hahn/) > [People in my band and in my life see me as someone who is seeking out chaos, and that's why it comes to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-rodriguez-lopez/people-in-my-band-and-in-my-life-see-me-as-someone-who-is-seeking-out/) [Omar Rodriguez-Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-rodriguez-lopez/) > [Black chaos comes, and the fettered gods of the earth say, Let there be light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/black-chaos-comes-and-the-fettered-gods-of-the-earth-say-let-there-be/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Hold on a second! Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, guys!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pinkie-pie/hold-on-a-second-eternal-chaos-comes-with-chocolate-rain-guys/) Pinkie Pie > [Add the hippie-rock-drugs atmosphere circa 1970, and you get Clinton's rechristened group Parliament, decked out in weird costumes, singing cosmic lyrics and laying down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/add-the-hippie-rock-drugs-atmosphere-circa-1970-and-you-get-clinton-s/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [ HAMLET \[...\] we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots. Your fat king and your lean beggar is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/hamlet-we-fat-all-creatures-else-to-fat-us-and-we-fat-ourselves-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The Knowledge Rule 2080: From maggots to men, the world is a corner bully. Better you knuckle up and go for yours than have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-knowledge-rule-2080-from-maggots-to-men-the-world-is-a-corner/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Zombies smell worse than anything you can imagine if you haven’t been hunting things on the dark side of the world. It’s a ripe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/zombies-smell-worse-than-anything-you-can-imagine-if-you-haven-t-been/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [She's all over us like maggots on garbage, just because I interfered with one pickpocket yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/she-s-all-over-us-like-maggots-on-garbage-just-because-i-interfered/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [She would not shed a tear, she would not waste the rest of her years simmering in the maggot broth of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/she-would-not-shed-a-tear-she-would-not-waste-the-rest-of-her-years/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Yet some can be patriotic who have no self-respect, and sacrifice the greater to the less. They love the soil which makes their graves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/yet-some-can-be-patriotic-who-have-no-self-respect-and-sacrifice-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Hakim Bey > [Don't just survive while waiting for someone's revolution to clear your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/don-t-just-survive-while-waiting-for-someone-s-revolution-to-clear/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [Only the dead are truly smart, truly cool. Nothing touches them. While I live, however, I side with bumbling suffering crooked life, with anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/only-the-dead-are-truly-smart-truly-cool-nothing-touches-them-while-i/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [The autonomy of the individual appears to be complemented and enhanced by the movement of the group; while the effectiveness of the group seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/the-autonomy-of-the-individual-appears-to-be-complemented-and/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [...only drugs make you feel as good as people in TV ads appear to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/only-drugs-make-you-feel-as-good-as-people-in-tv-ads-appear-to-be/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [The dullard finds even wine tasteless, while the sorcerer is intoxicated by the mere sight of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/the-dullard-finds-even-wine-tasteless-while-the-sorcerer-is/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [If rulers refuse to consider poems as crimes, then someone must commit crimes that serve the function of poetry, or texts that possess the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/if-rulers-refuse-to-consider-poems-as-crimes-then-someone-must-commit/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [Art tells gorgeous lies that come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/art-tells-gorgeous-lies-that-come-true/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [The Universe wants to play. Those who refuse out of dry spiritual greed & choose pure contemplation forfeit their humanity - those who refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/the-universe-wants-to-play-those-who-refuse-out-of-dry-spiritual/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [Sorcery: the systematic cultivation of enhanced consciousness or non-ordinary awareness & its deployment in the world of deeds & objects to bring about desired results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/sorcery-the-systematic-cultivation-of-enhanced-consciousness-or-non/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [“i am awake only in what i love & desire to the point of terror -- everything else is just shrouded furniture, quotidian anaesthesia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/i-am-awake-only-in-what-i-love-desire-to-the-point-of-terror/) [hakim bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [Sorcery breaks no law of nature because there is no Natural Law, only the spontaneity of natura naturans, the tao. Sorcery violates laws which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/sorcery-breaks-no-law-of-nature-because-there-is-no-natural-law-only/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [The media of sameness and separation represent the world in its most religious form - the structuring of the social in images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/the-media-of-sameness-and-separation-represent-the-world-in-its-most/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [A Tong can perhaps be defined as a mutual benefit society for people with a common interest which is illegal or dangerously marginal -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/a-tong-can-perhaps-be-defined-as-a-mutual-benefit-society-for-people/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [“Poetic Terrorism WEIRD DANCING IN ALL-NIGHT computer-banking lobbies. Unauthorized pyrotechnic displays. Land-art, earth-works as bizarre alien artifacts strewn in State Parks. Burglarize houses but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/poetic-terrorism-weird-dancing-in-all-night-computer-banking-lobbies/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [Ten minutes in a video store should convince any impartial observer that we live in a police state of consciousness, far more pervasive than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/ten-minutes-in-a-video-store-should-convince-any-impartial-observer/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) [Explore all 37 Hakim Bey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) ## More Chaos quotes > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [If I meet a wise person, I think, 'Yes, tell me more about parenting, about marriage, about how to stay in love. Tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/if-i-meet-a-wise-person-i-think-yes-tell-me-more-about-parenting/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [In the ring, there's not a lot of room for mistakes. You're in a place that is chaos, that is on fire. That ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/in-the-ring-there-s-not-a-lot-of-room-for-mistakes-you-re-in-a-place/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“It was her chaos that made her beautiful. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/it-was-her-chaos-that-made-her-beautiful/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. Those trades (Eddie Murray & Carlos Baerga)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-belle/what-we-should-have-done-is-kept-the-same-team-that-played-in-the-95/) [Albert Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-belle/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Browse all 2,640 Chaos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy, it's neither a god nor a maggot, its idiotic desires encompass & define every possible choreography, all meaningless aethers & phlogistons: its masks are crystallizations of its own facelessness, like clouds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hakim Bey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-order-entropy-it-s-neither-a-god/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chaos" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-order-entropy-it-s-neither-a-god/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/hakim-bey-17371_chaos_chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-ord_1318482.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Chaos comes before all principles of order & entropy, it's neither a god nor a maggot, its idiotic desires…” — Hakim Bey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hakim Bey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Chaos comes before all principles of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-order-entropy-it-s-neither-a-god/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/chaos-comes-before-all-principles-of-order-entropy-it-s-neither-a-god/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```