I think the word can mean different things to different spheres. Chaos can be substituted as a word for something else that means powerful energy that can be channeled into spells.

[ Istredd has come up against this before, and it is not that Chaos doesn't also mean the same thing in his world. It just is a little more complex than the easy definitions for a word. ]

It is dangerous, but harnessing anything that powerful can be. Mages do die, if they're not trained.