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You can indeed turn away from Chaos in a few cases, although the level of redemption you can earn varies.

If you were just a garden variety cultist who did some whack stuff but never attracted the attention of the Ruinous Powers, you're fine. You could even go on to live a happy productive life.

If you're an unwitting Chaos follower, who receives their gifts under a false pretense, you can indeed turn away and even use those powers against Chaos, but the Imperium probably won't accept you back.

If you are a follower who willingly accepts the Chaos gifts knowing what they are, your only option is to pull a Vandred. (See Blood Reaver by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.)

Horus defected from chaos the instant before he died, IIRC.

Cerebrium wrote:Horus defected from chaos the instant before he died, IIRC.

He felt remorse for what he had done, and was promptly obliterated completely by the Emperor, believing that Horus was irreversibly tainted.

I think that the Imperium takes heretics back (to be punished, ofc), but traitors are executed outright.

Not that there's a huge difference between a traitor and a heretic. Unless you somehow prove your worth in a major way, like killing a horde of Daemons, you're executed, or made to do some excruciating form of penance, or maybe lobotomized to make a servitor.

Jimsolo wrote:If you are a follower who willingly accepts the Chaos gifts knowing what they are, your only option is to pull a Vandred. (See Blood Reaver by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.)

And thus, 'pulling a Vandred' became an acceptable description.

Soul Drinkers were able to turn their back on chaos and a corrupt Imperium to be free marines so I like to think it is possible.