HISTORY LECTION
TO THE ERUDITE OF THELEMA:
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Our Order first announced itself to the public with a
Manifesto published in 1604, and widely distributed throughout
Europe beginning in 1612. Its impact on the cultural evolution of
the Renaissance was inestimable, despite the fact that it operated
almost entirely in secret. Countless volumes, often speculative
and fanciful, have been written on its subsequent history. In
1887, it authorized the establishment of a visible Outer Vehicle
called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
When the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ruptured in schism
in 1900, conventional wisdom said that it was a failure; yet no one familiar with Western Hermetic Magick in this century can question
the major positive influence it continues to have even today.
On the 300th anniversary of the publishing of our first
Manifesto, a representative of the governing Third Order, named A.,
contacted a brother, P., and ordered him to assume governance of
the Order and to reformulate it along certain lines. A new
Manifesto was dictated, called the Book of the Law. This is the
true Book T which, as our predecessors wrote, is found at the Heart of the Master. It was dictated in 1904, and widely distributed
throughout Europe and the world beginning in 1912.
Together with another brother, D.D.S., P. reformulated the
Order as instructed. In doing this, they dispensed with an Outer
Order altogether, and opened immediately, to all who were prepared
by life, the Work of the Inner. (For example, the old sub-grades
of Zelator Adeptus Minor through Adeptus Adeptus Minor were now
called simply Neophyte through Adeptus Minor.) They identified
themselves by the initials A.'. A.'.
For their work we are grateful, for we are among their direct
successors and were brought to Light by their Wisdom.
Yet, while superior to all that had gone before, their work
failed in one respect: There remain aspirants, capable of success,
who require a more graduated approach to the Inner Veil; and our
Greatly Honored Fraters provided no clear approachway for such
students.
Only a few years later, another Frater P. resigned from the
American remnant of the old Golden Dawn order, as an act of
conscience. He, too, was then contacted by an agent of the Third
Order, named R. This Master completed P.'s initiation, and set him
the task of preparing a new Outer Vehicle by which the greatest
number of aspirants could undertake the task of self-regeneration
and be prepared for the Inner Work. In this, P. succeeded
admirably, accomplishing for the Outer Order, by his perseverance,
what the other P. accomplished for the Inner Order by his
endurance.
For this we are grateful, for we are among the direct
successors of this P. as well, and have seen the fruits of Beauty
harvested by the gardeners trained in his school.
Yet, while the instruction of the Master R. gleams with
Wisdom, his words soar with the same philosophy that is found in
the Book of the Law, and he refers regularly to the dawning of a
New Age of Regeneration and Healing for all humanity, this Outer
School did not align itself openly with the new Thelemic
Dispensation. It taught of Light, Life, and Love; but rarely
carried the additional torch of Liberty.
In our own time, we were among those to reap the rewards, and
therefore inherit the trust, of the A.'. A.'., and to find the path lighted by the Book of the Law. With this trust came the
responsibility to make clear the Path for those who come behind us.
Yet so many of those who approached were ill-prepared to begin the
journey. Our Soror M., through her College of Thelema, provided a
preparation for many; but even this appealed only to a specific
type of character.
The Outer Orders already existing and known to us did not
fulfill the genuine needs with which we were faced. Those which
both initiated and taught were not Thelemic; while those which were Thelemic would not teach.
The Next Step, therefore, was clear. It was necessary to
establish a new Outer Order, on the pattern of the Tree of Life,
whose methods include ceremonial initiation, structured education,
and on-going group participation; whose members as a condition of
membership, are prepared to put the Great Work foremost in their
lives; and which bases all of its practices and principles on Liber AL vel Legis, The Book of the Law.
This task has been accomplished. The Order's name is the
TEMPLE OF THELEMA. Its chief Work is the preparation of the
individual for INITIATION; yet it seeks only those who truly desire to grow in love, power, and wisdom and to serve humanity in
conformity with the Book of the Law.
By this letter, we invite all to search themselves sincerely
and decide if they are of us.
Application for an interview, or specific questions, should be
addressed to the Temple Cancellarius at:
Harpocrates Temple
TEMPLE OF THELEMA
222 North Manhattan Place
Los Angeles, CA 90004
"This shall regenerate the world, my little
sister, my heart & my tongue, unto whom I send
this kiss."
Love is the law, love under will.
Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum.
Suggested ebooks:
Aleister Crowley - Liber 161 Concerning The Law Of ThelemaAnonymous - The Prayers Of The Elementals
Aleister Crowley - Pocket Guide To Thelema