Showing posts with label love spell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love spell. Show all posts

Freemason Letter On Crowley Status

Freemason Letter On Crowley Status Cover

Book: Freemason Letter On Crowley Status by Aleister Crowley

Letter from the Supreme Council of Freemasonry about Crowley's supposed status in the Masonic Order.

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Freemason Letter On Crowley Status

Books in PDF format to read:

Anonymous - Healing Gemstones And Crystals
John Moore - Aleister Crowley A Modern Master Extract
Thomas Voxfire - What Was Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley - Freemason Letter On Crowley Status

Diary Of A Drug Fiend

Diary Of A Drug Fiend Cover

Book: Diary Of A Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley's first published novel was "Diary of a Drug Fiend." The book was originally published in London in 1922. Although written over seventy-five years ago, the book is still relevant for today's readers. The book paints a vivid picture of the mind of drug users. The drug user's highs, lows, and sometimes strange thought patterns are described in great detail in this interesting book.

Aleister Crowley is one of the great unheralded masters of the Enlgish language. Many aspects of his spiritual and philosophical views may leave some people in the dust, however. The mysticism can be perplexing to the average reader. Diary Of A Drug Fiend is successful because it is very easy to understand. The use of language is masterful. It is not a pretty story, to be sure, and many will disagree with the seemingly pro drug message but it is a great tale. Peter Pendragon and Unlimited Lou are presented as both sympathetic and contemptible characters. One feels empahty but it is tainted by the knowledge that they have created their own problems. They are weak. King Lamus almost seems to be like a zen master who patiently guides his pupils to higher heights. I can not say that I agree entirely with the philosophy espoused by King Lamus but it is exhilarating to follow this tale as it unfolds. I am sure many will be offended by Crowleys portrayal of King Lamus as a master who can use and not use drugs with ease. I do not suggest that mastery over heroin or cocaine is easy or even possible but this is just a work of fiction. It should not be taken literally. I do not know if this is meant as a self defense for Crowleys own drug use. It is irrelevent to me. Many great artists were alcoholics or drug addicts. It does not deter my admiration for this spectacularly well written book. aleister crowley could have been one of the great novelists had he chosen to pursue that path. This was one of the best reads I had in years.

The infamous aleister crowley invokes a reaction with some people. Some say he was strange and went off the deep-end with his involvement in Magick, the practice of using various techniques to exert control over the forces of nature. If one is too close-minded to read this book because of the author's reputation, he or she would be missing a great read.

This story is supposedly based on truth. False names were used to conceal the identities of the people in the book. For instance, aleister crowley is called Peter Pendragon in the book. Peter went to a pub and was socializing with some people he knew when he saw the woman that would change his life, Lou.

"Across the moaning body of the blackmailer, I was looking at the face of a girl that I had never seen before. And I said to myself, "Well, that's all right, I've known you all my life." And when I said to myself "my life," I didn't in the least mean my life as Peter Pendragon, I didn't even mean a life extending through the centuries, I meant a different kind of life --something with which centuries have nothing whatever to do (Crowley 11)."

This truly eloquent description of Peter's first glimpse of Lou reveals that Crowley was truly a master of language. The book is written in such a clever way that the reader continues to want more.

Basically, the story is of Peter falling madly in love with a woman named Lou. They run off to Paris and travel throughout Europe. Lou introduces Peter to cocaine and heroin and they quickly become dependent on the narcotics. When their supply of drugs runs out, the withdrawal troubles begin. Lou's father, King Lamus, helps the two overcome their addiction by the application of practical Magick. Both Peter and Lou find their true purpose in life and live happily ever after.

Diary Of A Drug Fiend appealed to me because I knew someone that was caught up in drug addiction and wanted to know more about it. I wanted to know what it felt like and how the drug user felt. This book totally met my expectations and more, it showed me exactly what I was looking for. In the first instance I began to dislike the book because it seems to glorify drugs but then I suppose that is what it feels like when you are using the drugs.

"Diary of a Drug Fiend" would be a beneficial source of information for professionals involved with the psychology of addiction. Doctors, lawyers, police, and the average person would gain insight into the thought patterns of a drug addict from the first high, to the constant effort to regain the effects of the first high. The craving for the drug, and how it is the only thing the user thinks about when he or she does not have the drug for a period of time is covered thoroughly. How selfish and careless one becomes when he or she needs a fix is also mentioned in the book. Peter lost his love for Lou because he could only think of the drugs. He quickly knew this was wrong and constantly tried to regain his love for Lou.

If people are open-minded and enjoy challenging their beliefs, then "Diary of a Drug Fiend" may be the book to read. At the time of reading this book, I found many useful insights that could dramatically change one's life contained within its pages. Overall, this book by Aleister Crowley is fantastic.

Buy Aleister Crowley's book: Diary Of A Drug Fiend

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Anonymous - Dictionary Of The Forgotten Ones
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Aleister Crowley - The Diary Of A Drug Fiend

What Aleister Crowley Says About Ordinary Life

What Aleister Crowley Says About Ordinary Life Cover "Am I right in suggesting that ordinary life is a mean between these extremes, that the noble man devotes his material wealth to lofty ends, the advancement of science, or art, or some such true ideal; and that the base man does the opposite by concentrating all his abilities on the amassing of wealth?'

Exactly; that is the real distinction between the artist and the bourgeois, or, if you prefer it, between the gentleman and the cad. Money, and the things money can buy, have no value, for there is no question of creation, but only of exchange. Houses, lands, gold, jewels, even existing works of art, may be tossed about from one hand to another; they are so, constantly. But neither you nor I can write a sonnet; and what we have, our appreciation of art, we did not buy. We inherited the germ of it, and we developed it by the sweat of our brows. The possession of money helped us, but only by giving us time and opportunity and the means of travel. Anyhow, the principle is clear; one must sacrifice the lower to the higher, and, as the Greeks did with their oxen, one must fatten and bedeck the lower, so that it may be the worthier offering." — aleister crowley (Moonchild)

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Thomas Voxfire - What Was Aleister Crowley

Magick Without Tears

Magick Without Tears Cover

Book: Magick Without Tears by Aleister Crowley

In 1943 aleister crowley met a lady who, having heard of his wide knowledge and experience, asked his advice on occult, spiritual, and practical matters. This chance connection resulted in a stimulating exchange of letters.

Crowley then asked others to put similar questions to him. The result was this collection of over eighty letters which are now being issued over the title that he chose, "MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS". Crowley did not keep copies of his early letters to the above-mentioned lady, so was unable to include them in the collection that he planned to publish. Fortunately they have been preserved and are now included in the introduction to this book. Their original form has been retained with the opening and closing formulae which Crowley used in all his letters.

Crowley at first intended to call the book "ALEISTER EXPLAINS EVERYTHING", and sent the following circular to his friends and disciples asking them to suggest subjects for inclusion.

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Magick Without Tears

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Thelema Is Religion Or Philosophy

Thelema Is Religion Or Philosophy Cover No, I don't intend to give you a deep scourging in answering this perennial question. In fact, the question was once again asked a few weeks ago on a Facebook group, and I answered it concisely, and in a manner I thought might be helpful to people wanting to cut to some kind of chase.

So, I will repost it here:

This question gets asked a lot, and the same answers given:

1. Religion.
2. Philosophy.
3. Both.
4. Neither.
5. Something else (additionally or instead)).

So, what gets learned or settled?

What makes something a religion?
What makes something a philosophy?

Greek philosophers were rejecting or avoiding a religious worldview and adopting another brand, which invited skeptical inquiry and disputation.

I think most philosophers would be bothered and find dubious a commandment such as "Do what thou wilt", especially given its alleged origin, a praeternatural entity. They would not only want to know why such a commandment is correct for humans to follow, but they would question its authority per se.

Crowley of course answered that objection. He said if Aiwass said do something, it doesn't matter what you think about it. It's the Law.

And that isn't a philosophical attitude. It's religious.

Thelema is fundamentally a religion. It does incorporate a lot of aspects of Nietzschean philosophy (as Crowley understood that), but the only reason these have any authority in Thelema is because they align with something Aiwass said about the nature of the Law.

Someone asked in reply what I could cite in support of Aiwass saying do what you're told.

And I replied:

"Magick Without Tears", in a letter entitled "Morals of Liber AL" (Crowley is answering regarding moral "difficulties" of Liber AL):

"You disagree with Aiwass—so do all of us. The trouble is that He can say: 'But I'm not arguing. I'm telling you.'"

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

John Arnott Macculloch - The Religion Of The Ancient Celts
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Aleister Crowley Vs Neo Con Morality

Aleister Crowley Vs Neo Con Morality Cover When the work of Aleister Crowley, the most infamous Satanist of the 20th century, is the governing policy and spirit of a so-called "Christian" movement, you get what it is known as a Republican party. Here, now, the parallels between Neo-Con Christianity and Crowley's Book of the Law...
"You know what, I don't have any problem taking his head sticking it underwater and scaring the living daylights out of him and making him think we're drowning him, and I'm a Christian."

A lot of you thought I was kidding when I said there were parallels between Glen Beck's 9-12 Project and the principles embraced by Satanist Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law. Crowley, as you might recall, was a British Satanist who called himself the Beast of Revelation, and signed all of his letters with the number 666. What makes his claim credible enough for Britain's MI6 and the CIA, however, can be found below and in detail here.

I wasn't kidding about Glen Beck, as you'll soon see. But before we start I'd like to discuss the issue of the only unforgivable sin mentioned in the bible: blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. It is a sin that trumps murder itself, as even Paul, who persecuted and murdered Christians before his conversion to Christianity, found forgiveness and became one of the most important martyrs in the Bible.

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is to deliberately misrepresent good as evil, the very thing the Pharisees and and Sadducees engaged in when they called the miracles of Jesus evil and said that they were done through Satan. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is to imply Jesus approves of torture, when he committed no sin, and never struck a man in anger. It is the act of a television anchor, i.e. Sean Hannity, going on his show, calling himself a Christian, and telling his naive viewers that torture is compatible with Christianity; this when Jesus Himself was tortured to death. After all, isn't that what crucifixion is? death by the cruelest torture imaginable? And that's aside from the 39 lashings. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is the sin of every Klansman who burns a cross, the symbol of Christ's sacrifice to atone for the sins of humanity. Is it not obvious? They do it for hate. Christ never stood for hate, but for love and tolerance. For the forgiveness of enemies.

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is the hallmark of the Satanist. They encourage it in their followers to burn any bridges should they attempt to renounce Lucifer. They encourage it in people who know nothing about them, to make their paths towards Christianity impossible. If a major media or political figure, it is incited in millions of people at once. If you consider the following verse, you might see how it could easily apply to television and film...

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Revelation 13:15

We will discuss some individuals whose actions encourage the commission of the Only Unforgivable Sin. We will compare their life's work to the teachings and principles of Crowley's ode to Satan.

The following, in italics, are excerpts from Crowley's Book of the Law. For the full version, click here.

Crowley claimed to have channeled the Templar god Baphomet when writing this book. Much of it involves Egyptian mysticism and rituals.

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Thomas Voxfire - What Was Aleister Crowley
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Gargoyles

Gargoyles Cover

Book: Gargoyles by Aleister Crowley

Gargoyles, Being Strangely Wrought Images of Life and Death by Aleister Crowley. Bound holograph manuscript with revisions in the hand of Aleister Crowley. Also printed in The Collected Works of Aleister Crowley, Vol. III, Page 84, Society for the Propagation of religious Truth, Boleskine, Foyers, Inverness, 1907.

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Gargoyles

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Liber 165 A Master Of The Temple

Liber 165 A Master Of The Temple Cover

Book: Liber 165 A Master Of The Temple by Aleister Crowley

Frater Achad's magical diary with comments by Crowley. See also: Equinox III I, p. 127

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Liber 165 A Master Of The Temple

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Secret Agent 666 Introduction

Secret Agent 666 Introduction Cover

Book: Secret Agent 666 Introduction by Richard Spence

Aleister Crowley is best known today as a founding father of modern Occultism. His wide, hypnotic eyes peer at us from the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and his Influence can be found everywhere in popular culture. Crowley, also known as the Great Beast, has been the subject of several biographies, some painting him as a misunderstood genius, others as a manipulative charlatan. None of them have looked seriously at his career as an agent of British Intelligence. Using documents gleaned from British, American, French, and Italian archives, Secret Agent 666 sensationally reveals that Crowley played a major role in the sinking of the Lusitania, a plot to overthrow the government of Spain, the thwarting of Irish and Indian nationalist conspiracies, and the 1941 flight of Rudolf Hess.

Download Richard Spence's eBook: Secret Agent 666 Introduction

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Will In Thelema

Will In Thelema Cover Will is at once an exceedingly simple and amazingly complex subject. It took me years to get to the understanding I currently possess, and I am fairly certain I am not yet done with my learning on this matter. Suffice it is to say that this page will not be able to cover fully my Life's lessons regarding Will.

Will constitutes that which a person means to do. For example, if you feel you need to open a window, then, in a sense, it is your Will to do so.

However, Will is not some casual and flippant representation of every passing whim of the individual (See Brother R.B.'s thesis on the matter for a countering viewpoint). Understanding Will absolutely demands an understanding of respect for all things. To execute one's Will, one must actively seek to respect the Will of others.

The theory is that if every person were following their true Will, there would never be any unneccessary conflicts between persons, because the nature of the Universe, with all its complexity, includes these interworking Wills. Conflicts which do occur are generally caused by either someone straying from their True Will, or are conflicts which need to happen to further the evolution of humanity.

Will is not frivolous in nature. It represents a very serious commitment to understanding one's role in the Universe, and to acting on that commitment.

Some people seem to think it is their Will to force others to do as they demand. Though it is possible that their True Will includes such activities, I personally find it more likely that people who lean on this as justification for their actions are generating false rationalizations.

An example: A friend of mine was heavily involved with the local wiccan community, and hosts the ceremonies for the Sabbats. One year, she was caught in a public place discussing the upcoming ceremony in the presence of the head of a new Thelemic organization in town. He pointedly asked her if he would be invited to come to the event. It was a bit rude to ask like that, in a public place, because any answer other than in the affirmative would certainly be rude, given his status at the time. So she invited him to the Sabbat.

He showed up with several of his underlings, and during the preceremony gathering, they all proceeded to get drunk. During the ceremony, they began to urinate -- and I don't have all the details on this part, as to whether it was on the altar, or in the circle, or what have you -- and thought this was just the funniest thing that they'd ever seen happen.

My friend's mate was a fairly well grounded Thelemite, and, incidentally, a member of the O.T.O., and he approached these jerks. Their response? "Why, were just doing our will, brother. You should let us continue."

His response was "If you continue to dishonor and desecrate a ceremony that all these people", and he gestured to the crowd behind him, "hold sacred, then it'll be my Will to kick your asses out of here."

They were stunned. Descriptions of their stunnedness suggest that perhaps this condition was prolonged by their collective inebriated stupor. My friend's mate then leaned forward, gave a small half wave and said "93!". He turned his back on the jerks and returned to whatever function he was performing before the distraction.

After awhile, the drunkards wandered away.

I'm convinced that it wasn't really their True Will to pee in the circle, but of course I'll never know. I'm sure they were just using the Law of Thelema as a shield to hide behind, in a vague and immature attempt to justify their ascinine actions.

One of the clearest signs I have come to recognize that someone is falsely justifying their action as being in accord with their True Will is when they try to use that argument to other people in defense of their actions.

A Thelemite doesn't concern himself with justifying his actions to anyone. What does it matter what those other people think? The only thing that matters is that the action was in league with the Thelemite's understanding of his own True Will. Noone else dictates it, and it caters to noone else. Therefore, what they think of it is of no concern to the Thelemite.

So when I hear people defending their actions, presenting as their strongest, and frequently only, evidence the fact that they are doing their Will, all sorts of red flags go up.

Not that it matters what I think; in fact, spending any amount of time on the matter of the True Will of another being is pretty much wasted time anyway; the focus of a Thelemite is his own True Will. Period.

Ironically, after much time spent in pursuit of understanding Will and attempting to describe Will to others, I have discovered that I actually learned more about Will when I was focusing on the Will of others, rather than myself and my own Will; the difference was that I was trying to find ways to not infringe upon the Will of others, as opposed to trying to ascertain what it was. It was then, and only then, that I began to develop any sense of understanding my own Will, and understanding Thelema as a concept unto itself. And so, only by spending a lot of time looking into the Will of others was I able to see what a waste of time worrying about the Wills of others was, and yet, it was only by this means I could have come to the realization.

And so Will is actually quite a complicated subject. To know what one's True Will is takes a lot of introspection, and to execute one's Will requires a great deal of patience and care.

The Law of Thelema is all about learning one's True Will and executing it.

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Essential Thelemic Practices

Essential Thelemic Practices Cover Within the system that Crowley developed, the core task for the adept is the discovery and manifestation of Will, defined at times as a grand destiny and at other times as a moment to moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony with Nature. This Will does not spring from conscious intent, but from the interplay between the deepest Self and the entire Universe. Therefore, the enlightened Thelemite is one who is able to eliminate or bypass the consciousness-created desires, conflicts, and habits, and tap directly into the Self/Universe nexus. Theoretically, at this point, the Thelemite acts in alignment with Nature, just as the stream flows downhill, with neither resistance nor "lust of result."

The ability to accomplish this Great Work requires a great deal of preparation and effort, according to Crowley's system. The programme consists of several key elements, including a thorough knowledge of the Hermetic Qabalah (especially the Tree of Life), disciplined concentration (i.e. meditation), the Development of one's Body of Light (or astral body) (in order to experience other spiritual realms) and the consistent and regular Invocation of certain deities or spiritual beings.

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Aleister Crowley - The Three Characteristics
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What Crowley Got To Do With Thelema

What Crowley Got To Do With Thelema Cover It's strange being a magickian among the witches. Stranger still being a Thelemite magickian, a member of the OTO and other Orders and always getting blamed for Uncle Al's misbehavior. Really! What does aleister crowley have to do with Thelema anyway?

He's only its founder…

In 1904, in a small hotel room in Cairo the end of the world occurred. The Apocalypse happened and only a middle aged cynical rationalist Buddhist was there to see it. He did not want to be there but after his pregnant wife started telling him "They're waiting for you," he took some interest. He asked "Who are They, What are They like, What are their Attributes?" And she, neither initiate nor studied, rattled off the secret and unpublished traditional Golden Dawn correspondences for Horus: His color, planet, station in the temple her husbands relationship with the god and many another attribute. The Buddhist, formerly an adept of the Golden Dawn, calculated the odds of correctly guessing the right combination and it was astronomical. Horus was calling.

He was still skeptical. "Show me his image," he demanded of his wife, and off they went to the Cairo Museum. He secretly smirked as she walked right past image after image of Horus until she stopped and pointed, "That one!" It was the Funerary Stele of the Priest Ankh-af-na-Khonsu. In the Museum catalogue it was numbered Stele #666. Crowley, whose mother used to always call him "You Beast!" was dumbfounded. He had the curators make a copy and a translation and went back to the hotel.

Rose, his wife, told him to do an invocation to Horus, but the way she wanted him to do it broke all the rules. He was to invoke the archetype and force that is Horus among the Egyptians from among four other cultures all at the same time! Although common in modern practice in his day this was unheard of. He went and invoked the Patron of all Magicks, Thoth, who told him to obey his wife.

On March 20, 1904 Crowley was told by the image of Horus he invoked to enter the emptied room of their hotel suite with only paper and pen and wearing a simple white robe on April 8, 9, and 10 at the stroke of noon.

He sat down at the desk facing the wall of the room with paper and pen in hand. As the twelfth bell was tolled, a Voice behind the scribe began to speak, "Had, the manifestation of Nuit…" This was Aiwaz, the minister of Hoor-Paar-Khraat; the babe in the lotus, the god of innocence and silence. He had come to announce the end of the reign of Osirus, the Slain God, and the enthroning of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the Risen Lord. Very much like the angel of the Apocalypse of John, who came bearing a little book to be kept sealed until the end times, Aiwaz came bearing words of a new testament of the relationship of Humanity with the Divine.

The central image of this relationship is Ra-Hoor-Khuit, which means in Egyptian the Illuminated Solar Hero. Horus is the only god among the Egyptians who is, dies, and is born again forgetting all of his godly wisdom but with all of its unguided power. Through His struggles against Set (read Matter) and with the help of his teachers Isis and Thoth, he remembers Who He Is. He awakens from His dreamlike ignorance and chooses to war no more against His Twin as He now remembers Set to be. No longer needing to fight with Matteriality, educated in Art, by Isis, and Science, by Thoth, He is suitable now to rule.

Without an adversarial attitude toward the world what of the Buddhist doctrine "All is Sorrow?" Chucked. What of the Christian attitude of suffering? Not necessary. "Remember all ye that existence is pure joy, that all the sorrows are but as shadows, they pass & are done; but there is that which remains. (AL II, 9)" What Aiwaz was saying Crowley would not accept but he was forced to write on, "I see thee hate the hand and the pen but for me in thee which thou knewest not…" For three days from Noon until the stroke of One, Crowley wrote the two hundred and twenty verses of the Book of the Law.

For nine years the manuscript gathered dust in the attic of Crowley's Scottish Highland home. Until one day, while looking for skis for a guest he found the manuscript. He had avoided magick and all things related since the time in Cairo. No yoga, no meditation, just being a husband. I think his marriage ended at this point or he chose to go on an excursion to the Sahara for some particular reason. During his sojourn in the desert he was inspired to perform the Enochian Calls of the 30 ?thers. During this visionary experience he became convinced of the profound importance of the Book of the Law and determined to promulgate its way.

In essence Thelema is a call to radical individual Liberty and Responsibility. It is summed up in the axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." Thelema is Greek for will in its creative, magickal or primogenital sense. Thus for an incarnate being one's will is the intent for which one incarnated. The working hypothesis is that if all things did their Will, did what they are "supposed" to do, there would be no Accidents. The model to describe this is the orderly Solar System, each planet following its own orbit. However, stars, some times whole galaxies, collide. "As brothers fight ye," we are counciled. There will be conflicts of will, perhaps from a greater perspective the conflict itself is the central act and not the apparent ends, and so with the awareness that we are essentially all family let us enter into our conflicts with justice, fairness and honor in our hearts.

This brings us to the phrase, "Love is the law, love under will." This is the principle which is expressed in physics as gravity. In the Egyptian and Hermetic philosophies there is no separation between the forces of nature and the actions of the Humanity and the Divine. The apparent differences are a question of scale. Love is seen at the natural attraction of all things for each other as gravity binds all matter together over vast distances. The place of will is then a matter of determining the right relationship to have with other bodies. We are at the correct distance from the Sun for our kind of life to flourish on Earth. Not much closer or farther would kill us. Thus is Earth in a state of love under will towards the Sun, prolonging its rightful existence. We choose to be near our friends and lovers, we choose to be far from places of pestilence and decay. The law is love, we must have relation, but we get to choose how to relate, placing our love under will.

Throughout the Book of the Law there are little messages to Crowley telling him he will never fully understand that which he has written. An ego blow for sure, but when we look at the declaration made in the third verse, "Every man and every woman is a star," and look at Crowley's life it is obvious that he never out grew the Victorian misogyny he was raised with. Although he intellectually comprehended the equality of the sexes he never lived it. Unfortunately, some who follow this path follow in Aleister's footsteps, others are simply blamed for it…

I was raised by stern Irish-Polish Catholic parents. It was wrong to say "no" to them; obedience was a virtue. I was expected to follow out the program set down for me by parents in education, then grow up and get a "respectable" job. However, the world my parents grew up in is not the one I'm living in and they simply don't have the experience necessary to advise me. With the way I was raised I was very uncertain of myself. I did not know what I really wanted to be when I grew up. To Know Your Will is to know Who You Are and What You Want. This is the essence of the practice of Thelema.

Using classical and self-created rituals and meditations I seek and attain to knowledge of my Will daily, ever knowing that my Will is not a dead static thing but a living process. Perhaps in an ultimate sense one's will is always perfect, yet from our limited perspective we don't always see how. Many 'accidents' become windfalls, if viewed in this light. This is the central teaching of Thelema, that everything is already perfect, if we should just awaken from our ignorant slumber and see.

When Crowley returned from his trip in the desert, several books of verses came spontaneously to his mind and pen and, having written them, he was as yet uncertain of the author. They came to be known as the Holy Books of Thelema, recently published by Samuel Weiser & Co. These cover in greater detail the Cosmogony of Thelema as a resention of the Egyptian Gnosis and as an extension of Hermetic Philosophy. These Texts show the Great Work as the working towards ending of Sorrow, Sickness and Death: Hedonic Immortalism; learning through pleasure, through love, creativity and cooperation. No longer is it necessary to have a ruler high upon his or her throne to tell us all what to do. "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt." Each of us is a sovereign with the right and the power to create the world we wish to live in, and also the responsibility.

Responsibility is the key to practicing Thelema. By being willing and able to respond to the needs of the times, we as humans fulfill our role in the world as the causers of change and growth. No animal on this planet has the tool making and using skills that we have to transform our environment into a living Heaven or Hell.

Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I shall move the world." If working the path of causing responsible change is your heart's desire, then Thelema might give you the Lever Long Enough and a Place to Stand.

Oh, yes, what's Crowley got to do with Thelema any way?

Well, he wrote it down…

Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - White Stains
Aleister Crowley - Book 4 Part Iv The Law
Aleister Crowley - To Man
Aleister Crowley - Pocket Guide To Thelema

The Wickedest Man In The World

The Wickedest Man In The World Cover John Bull, March 24th 1923

The Wickedest Man In The World

In this article we reveal startling facts regarding the corruption of children in Aleister Crowley's "cesspool of vice" in Cefalu, and describe some of the blasphemous and bestial ceremonies - or orgies - which have taken place in the so-called "Abbey Of Thelema," for which he is now seeking new recruits from the young men and women of two English Universities.



In our last two issues we have published a series of charges against a man named Aleister Crowley, who from a safe retreat on the shores of Sicily spreads a contaminating influence that has already brought to ruin more than one young life. The more the activities of this degenerate Englishman are investigated, the more incredible becomes the tales of his villainies. It is understood that the Italian Government are resolved to put an end to Crowley's career of vice, and in this effort they will have the sympathy of decent-thinking people in every land.

Our past exposures of Crowley have been, to say the least of them, highly sensational, but they are as nothing compared to these we have yet to make concerning the amazing record of this degenerate poet and occultist, traitor, drug fiend, and Master of Black Magic, his knowledge and practise of which are amply proven by his writings and by the evidence of those who have come into contact with him. He may well be described as the Wickedest Man in the World.

We are impelled by the sheer horror and gravity of his recent devilries to make further exposures concerning what is going on in his Lust Temple at Cefalu, Sicily, to which he is seeking to lure a number of unsuspecting students from Oxford and Cambridge Universities - both men and women - under the pretence of studying occult science and the mysteries of the Cabbala. Already, one eminent Cambridge professor - whose identity is known to us - has arranged to join Crowley at Cefalu next month for this purpose, and is now working with a well-known titled scientist in South Africa, who is, we are informed, conducting a Lodge or "Study Circle" in Bloemfontien, of the Cabalistic Order, of which Crowley is the Past, if not the Present, Grand Master.

Our revelations of the sinister circumstances leading to the recent death of a brilliant young Oxford graduate at Crowley's so-called "Abbey," in Cefalu, first brought to light the existence there of little children, all between five and seven years of age, who are living there with the Beast and his abandoned acolytes under conditions that defy description.

These unhappy children - two boys and a girl - are said to be half starved and have already been taught by "The Beast" to indulge in the vilest practises, while they are made to witness sexual debaucheries that are too disgusting to describe. Tow are children of one of the female drug fiends who are living with Crowley in his "Abbey," one of them by her former husband, and the other by Crowley, who is the father also of the third child by some other of his countless women victims.

The main room of the "Abbey" - which is really a converted farmhouse - is windowless, with a flagged stone floor on which is painted a great orange circle, lined with pale yellow. Inside this "magical circle" are interlaced black triangles. This room is furnished as a sort of pagan, or Pantheistic, temple, in which are performed, not only Cabalistic ceremonies, but the most depraved forms of Dionysian rites. (Dionysus was the Greek God of Wine, in whose honour Bacchanalian revels and orgies were given.)

The nature of these can be barely hinted at, but one - to the facts of which we have two independent eye-witnesses of it's performance on two separate occasions - has to do with the violation of a naked woman in front of the "altar," and her subsequent slaying and "sacrifice" of a goat, which is made to play a principal part in these disgusting Dionysian rites.

The woman, who acts as the "Virgin Goddess" or priestess in this vile ceremony, is first given an aphrodisaical drug, such as hashish (known in the East as Vhang") or another similar drug distilled from Indian hemp, known in scientific circles as "Anhalonium Lewine."
This renders the debauchee capable of participating in practices which no normal person could conceive of, much less describe.

We understand that, aroused by our exposures, the Italian Government is determined to clean out this plague-spot of crime at Cefalu, and bring Crowley to justice for his illegal traffic in noxious drugs.

There are, however, other "activities" at the Abbey which admit of more detailed accusation. One of these is the method employed by Crowley of paying his numerous debts on the island, by sending out his women as "hostages" to those who are willing to accept this despicable method of payment.

Another, which has considerably hampered our enquiries and is even calculated to baffle the inquiries which have already been instituted by the Home Office and by Scotland Yard, is Crowley’s practise of getting certain prominent and highly-placed citizens of Cefalu and Palermo up to his "Abbey," where they are persuaded to take part in the sexual orgies which follow drug parties, and which even form a leading part in the Abbey’s "religious ceremonies."

We shall not hesitate to hand to the authorities the names of some of these distinguished visitors, together with further sworn testimony if, as we anticipate, a certain official on the Island endeavours to stifle Government investigations.

Suffice to say for the moment, that one of Crowley’s women in the "Abbey" is shortly expecting another child to be born, the father of which is known to be a prominent banker in Palermo, who is a friend of the British Consul.

We may mention that, up to the time of this article going to press - no death certificate has been received by the relatives of the young Oxford graduate who died under such suspicious circumstances at the Abbey four weeks ago, nor has any reply been received from the British Consul at Palermo to the anxious inquiries made by the young man’s mother and sister concerning his death.

Another of the women inmates of the Abbey has borne two children by Crowley, both of whom are now dead. This woman was living with him when he had his London Lust Temple in the Fulham Road, to which he enticed a number of young women whom he induced to indulge in various forms of unnatural vice while under the influence of drugs which he had administered first to them. Since our publication of the particulars of his abominable attack upon the life and sanity of one of our informants, we have received information which shows that he has deliberately driven other women mad who had come under his influence. One of these died on Holloway Jail while serving a term for being found in possession of the drugs with which Crowley had supplied her, while another - the Hon. Mrs. K., died in an asylum.

Unless the authorities act quickly Crowley will succeed in luring others to hi den of infamy. This must be prevented at all costs.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Andrew Lang - The Witch And Other Stories
Rabbi Michael Laitman - Attaining The Worlds Beyond
Naomi Janowitz - Magic In The Roman World

The Tao Teh Ching

The Tao Teh Ching Cover The Tao Teh Ching, roughly translated as The Book of the Way and its Virtue (see below on translating the title), is an ancient Chinese scripture. Tradition has it that the book was written around 600 BCE by a sage called Laozi (also spelled Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, Laotse, "Old Master"), a record-keeper in the Emperor's Court of the Zhou Dynasty. A careful reading of the text, however, suggests that it is a compilation of maxims sharing similar themes. The authenticity of the date of composition/compilation and the authorship are still debated.

This short work is one of the most important in Chinese philosophy and religion, especially in Taoism, but also in Buddhism, because the latter – an Indian religion – shared many Taoist words and concepts before developing into Chinese Buddhism. (Indeed, upon first encountering it, Chinese scholars regarded Buddhism as merely a foreign equivalent of Taoism.) Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers and even gardeners have used the book as a source of inspiration. Its influence has also spread widely outside the Far East, aided by many different translations of the text into western languages.

Many believe that the Tao Teh Ching contains some universal truths which have since been independently recognized in other philosophies, both religious and secular. Each modern language interpretation (including even interpretation of the three-character title, of which there are dozens) differs at least slightly and occasionally profoundly from the next. Depending on how one reads them, some chapters could have three or more interpretations, ranging from practical wisdom for the common man to advice intended for kings to even the odd medical recipe.


There is also an interpretation of this Chinese classic by Aleister Crowley out there.

Books You Might Enjoy:

John Dee - Table From Liber Loagaeth French Version
John Dee - The Calls Of Enoch
Israel Regardie - The Art Of True Healing
Aleister Crowley - Liber 157 The Tao Teh King

The Golden Dawn Internal Problems

The Golden Dawn Internal Problems Cover In addition to Crowley’s expulsion, there was rampant in-fighting among founding members of the organization. Woodman died in 1891 and wasn’t replaced. Mathers produced an initiation ritual for the Adeptus Minor degree. Most of these rituals were based on Freemasonry. Many members thought that he was a little eccentric, possibly a lunatic.

He claimed his wife, Mina, received teachings from the Secret Chiefs through clairaudience, psychic hearing. Mathers translated The Book of the Sacred magic of Abra-Melin the Mage, which he claimed was bewitched and created by a nonphysical intelligence. He claimed the Secret Chiefs had initiated him into a Third Order and was expelled from the organization. In 1897, members discovered Westcott's questionable activities in founding The Golden Dawn. He resigned. Schisms beyond repair had formed within the organization.

In 1917, it was reestablished as the Merlin Temple of the Stella Matutina which lasted until the 1940s when it declined after the publication of its secret rituals by former member Israel Regardie, Crowley's one-time secretary.
Crowley and the Golden Dawn

The rise and fall of this hermetic organization parallels the history of many occult groups. Highly intelligent people with mystical beliefs found these organizations and attract others who share these qualities. Eventually there are internal conflicts for various reasons. Some splinter organizations of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn still exist. Aleister Crowley, a heroin addict, died in Hastings, England on December 1, 1947 from a respiratory infection. His teachings also live on.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Order Of The Golden Dawn - Lesser Invoking Ritual Of The Pentagram
Order Of The Golden Dawn - The Invoking Pentagram Ritual Of Fire
Morwyn - The Golden Dawn
Order Of The Golden Dawn - Meditation With The Archangel Auriel

Starting Path Of Thelema

Starting Path Of Thelema Cover In April of 1904 an astonishing event changed the life of Aleister Crowley: poet, mystic and Golden Dawn occultist. While he and his wife, Rose, were vacationing in Egypt a mysterious entity initiated contact with the couple. First the voice moved Rose to lead Crowley to the funerary stele of an ancient Egyptian priest named Ankh-af-na-Khonsu. Later Crowley heard the voice over the course of three days. The voice, which belonged to a divine entity, commanded Crowley to transcribe his words, culminating in a piece of writing called Liber AL vel Legis, sub figura CCXX, or The Book of the Law.

Although Crowley resisted much of the teaching of The Book of the Law for many years, ultimately he accepted the role it assigned to him as Prophet of the New Aeon. The entire process is described in detail in Crowley's Equinox of the Gods and Book 4, Part 4. The Book of the Law is short - only 220 verses in length - but packed full of poetic, cryptic passages filled with Egyptian and apocalyptic Christian symbolism as well as strings of letters and numbers which appear to be an unsolved code.

Like many esoteric scriptures, there are several potential meanings to the verses in Liber AL, often apparently contradictory meanings. Crowley later wrote a short comment which included the line, "All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself." This line is generally interpreted to mean that each person must interpret Liber AL for themselves and none other.

In 1922, Crowley became the Outer Head of Order of the group known as Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Eastern Templars). Under Crowley's leadership, the O.T.O. adopted The Book of the Law as its holy book and Crowley revised the order's rituals to bring them in line with the teachings of the path of Thelema.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Lady Galadriel - The New Book Of The Law
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - Three Lives
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - The Hermit
Anonymous - The Prayers Of The Elementals

Spiritual Practice Of Thelema

Spiritual Practice Of Thelema Cover Many occultists endlessly spin out cosmologies and other symbolic arrangements having little relationship to any apparent pragmatic issue. Crowley speculated quite a lot, but coming from the rigorous curriculum of ritual and meditation of the Golden Dawn, and exposure to Buddhist monasticism and Hindu yoga, he was more concerned with setting up a program of spiritual exercises and degrees.

In Thelema the goal of the path is always the same, to be the most oneself that one can be, to know who you really are and to let that eternal self or True Will be the guiding force in life. To do this it is recommended that one practice ritual and meditative disciplines that still and focus the mind, travel astrally to various locations in the spiritual world inside or outside oneself, invoke sacred energies and beings, evoke and command spirits, attain to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel at the central sphere of the Tree of Life (called Tiphareth or Beauty), and at the Abyss between the supernal and lower spheres, give up all one's conceptions about one's self in favor of the radical perspective of the eternal self.

Initiation is a major theme in Crowley's system of Thelema, as in its two direct ancestors, the Golden Dawn and Theosophy. Initiation is a complex subject and has been the subject of extensive study by anthropologists. Freemasonry is an initiatic tradition in Western society that follows the model of initiation accepted by anthropologists, and esoteric Freemasonry has been a major contributor to the Golden Dawn, Theosophy, and Thelema as well as other magical groups, including modern Witchcraft. Initiations mark stages in personal development. Occult theories differ on whether initiations induce progress by working magic on the initiate, or whether they mark progress already made in personal work, or both.

The practices of Crowley's system are arranged in an initiatic progression that is called the A.·. A.·. system (those glyphs after the letter "A" are triangles made up of three dots, a Masonic usage indicating a claim to possess the Lost Word). This curriculum is a combination of Golden Dawn magic, Yogic and Buddhist meditation practices, and original practices developed by Crowley. The work required to achieve even the middle ranges of the system is very difficult and few people have accomplished this. Many Thelemites have claimed personal attainment in A.·. A.·. terms without undertaking the basic requirements.

The curriculum requires the daily practice of rituals and meditations, as well as magical retirements, a kind of one-person spiritual retreat in which weeks or months at a time may be spent in meditative solitude. The motto of Crowley's literary and magical journal, the Equinox, was "The Method of Science, the Aim of Religion". While his methods fall short of a truly scientific standard, one feature his system shares with anthropology is the requirement that one keep a detailed journal of practices and observations. Writing a phenomenological record of ritual experience is a crucial part of what is called ethnographic field observation in anthropology and of the A.·. A.·. system as well.

The A.·. A.·. system of initiations follows the spheres of the Tree of Life, as did the Golden Dawn. In addition to the Golden Dawn and a variety of Freemasonic and fringe Masonic degrees, Crowley gave and received the A.·. A.·. grades, the Ordo Templi Orientis degrees, and the ordinations and bishoprics of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica or Gnostic Catholic Church. These are all different systems but there is some overlap in themes and practices. The O.T.O. system follows a traditional model derived from Freemasonry, although like all Crowley's groups it admits both women and men. Rather than any arduous practices being required as in A.·. A.·., patience, devotion, the O.T.O. initiation rituals, some secret teachings, and a fraternal social process are supposed to equip the initiate over time to deal with inner mysteries of a magical nature. The EGC system is closely related to the O.T.O. but revolves around the traditional ecclesiastical offices of Priest and Bishop, as found in the wandering Bishop tradition of esoteric Christianity.

A number of new Thelemic groups with their own initiations and courses of study have sprung up since Crowley's death in 1947 and several are currently in operation. In addition, there are a number of different lineages of A.·. A.·. and several rival claimants to the title of O.T.O. The largest O.T.O. group, under Hymenaeus Beta, has won court cases in which it asserted the right to the O.T.O. name and to its share of the Crowley estate.

The Literalist might say this: The A.·. A.·. is the Great White Brotherhood, that hidden order of Initiates that has existed in Service throughout the ages and has emerged behind such masks as the Rosicrucians and the Zoroastrian Magi. The Third Order of A.·. A.·. has direct access to the deities and sages who operate the Occult Government not only of this world but of other worlds as well, both physical and spiritual. The Book of the Law was sent to humanity by the A.·. A.·. on the occasion of the revolution in ?ons declared by its Secret Chiefs. Crowley held the grade of Magus in the A.·. A.·. and as such uttered the Word of the ?on, THELEMA, which all members accept as natural Law. Outer Orders such as O.T.O. are less important than the Inner Order of A.·. A.·. but exist in Service to it and may prepare the worthy to scale its heights.

The Chaotic might say this: The A.·. A.·. is an abstraction which includes all authentic magical paths. There are real groups that call themselves the A.·. A.·. but its real nature is in the continuity of spiritual traditions everywhere. Different groups may be best for different people and thinking of any one group as the One True Path is a remnant of the ?on of Osiris. Today there are spiritual methods that improve on Crowley's curriculum, like isolation tanks, trance music, sigilization, and mind machines. The Protestant work ethic is obsolete and there's no reason a magical path has to cop a Victorian attitude. Progress is possible through play as much as perseverance and perspiration.

The Skeptic might say this: Religious systems present themselves as revolving around doctrine, practice, and morality but they can often be best understood by the methods of political science, group psychology, sociology and anthropology. The homogenizing and leveling effects of social bonding are always in tension with the freedom of the individual. The ruling system offers a narrow range of compromises to preserve an appearance of free thought while keeping the range of acceptable viewpoints and statements narrow through tacit groupthink processes and/or overt dogma. The work of such scholars as Gershom Scholem, who researched the dynamic between traditional dogma and individual spiritual experience in Qabala, and Ellic Howe, who documented the social dynamics of the Golden Dawn, is useful in understanding Thelema as well. Thelemic groups have a dogmatic tendency that is in conflict with their commitment to freedom. There are many power dynamics involved in initiatic hierarchy and many people seek degrees for status and power. Still there is no psychological reason to doubt the basic premise of spiritual exercise -- that by dedicating time and work to the development of mental faculties they may be strengthened just as physical exercise strengthens the body.

The Mystic might say this: The ordinary mind is a roaring babble that drowns out the voices of the Holy Guardian Angel and of the True Will. Establishing Silence through Yogic concentration, then calling upon and strongly imagining the Forces behind the sensible world and emanating downward from Kether, one may climb the Ladder of Lights and obtain Enlightenment. Most people require instruction by groups to learn the practices that make Enlightenment more than a faint hope or dream and all such Fraternities derive their authority from A.·. A.·., which has existed since humans have and perhaps longer. Descending from Kether is a great Spiritual Hierarchy that beckons downwards to us and calls us Upward, as our Aspiration also lifts us Upward through the successive Emanations of the one supreme and invisible God within ourselves.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Sepharial - Primary Directions Made Easy
Aleister Crowley - Pocket Guide To Thelema
Anonymous - The Prayers Of The Elementals
Ophiel - The Art Practice Of Caballa Magic

Rosicrucian Mysteries

Rosicrucian Mysteries Cover Attempt to stop their publication, Mr. Aleister Crowley, the defendant in the case of MacGregor . Crowley appealed an order of Mr. Justice Buckmill at chambers. Mr. Whately with him, Mr. A. Neilson for the defendant, said that the order appealed from granted an injunction restraining the publication in the third number tomorrow (March 22) of a magazine called the "Equinox" of any matter relating to the secret forms, rituals or transactions of magic order known as the Rosicrucian, of which the plaintiff Comte Liddell MacGregor claimed to be the head or chief.

The defendant was the proprietor of the "Equinox". No.2 was published in September and there was commenced in it a series of Articles entitled "The Temple Of Solomon The King" and the articles were intended to be continued in No.3 which was due to be published tomorrow (March 22nd). Counsel submitted that the injunction should be dissolved, because on the writ and affidavit by the plaintiff, it was plain that there was no cause of action disclosed. His next point was that he could satisfy the court that the plaintiff knew all about the matter of which complaint was made on November 11, and the writ was not issued until March 11, only ten days before the day the magazine was about to be published.

Lord Justice Moulton asked what were the tenets of the order. Mr. Whately replied that it was instituted for the study of the mysteries of philosophy and antiquity. Lord justice Farwell asked Sir Frederick Lawrence, who with Mr. P. RoseInnes appeared for the plaintiff, what harm would be likely to be done with the publication of the matter in question.

Sir Lawrence replied that it would do irreparable harm " for the cat would be out of the bag"{laughter}. Sir Frederick - "Perhaps there is a second cat in the bag, my lord"{laughter}, and added that it was because the defendant had threatened to publish "a perfect account of the initiation of this ritual" that the application for an interim interruption was made. Lord Justice Vaughan Williams, in giving judgement, said that the injunction must be dissolved as the application made as it was on the eve of the publication of this number of the magazine, was made too late.
The Lord Justice Moulton and Farwell considered.

Solicitors for the defendant Messrs Steadman, Van Prague, and Gaylor, for the plaintiff Mr.Frederick Lawrence.;R.C.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Franz Cumont - The Mysteries Of Mithra
Roman Tertius Sibellius - De Vermis Mysteriis
Hargrave Jennings - The Rosicrucians Their Rites And Mysteries
John Dee - The Rosie Crucian Secrets
Max Heindel - The Rosicrucian Mysteries

Crowley Ordo Temple Orientis And Thelema

Crowley Ordo Temple Orientis And Thelema Cover He practiced satanism and identified with the number of the anti-Christ, 666. Crowley kept a series of Scarlet Women. Leah Hirsig, the Ape of Thoth, was the most notorious. They overindulged in drinking, drugs and sexual magic.

Crowley became involved with the O.T.O., Ordo Temple Orientis and moved to Sicily where he established his Abbey of Thelema. The press called him the “The Wickedest Man in the World.” Crowley relished this appellation. There was talk of alleged orgies, blood sacrifices and other perversions at the abbey. Mussolini expelled him from Sicily. Crowley moved to France and was later asked to leave because of his heroin dealings.

He wrote The Book of the Law, in which he included his version of the Law of Thelema, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” He interpreted it as rejecting conventional morality for the life of drug addiction and womanizing. A line from one of his poems sums this up. "I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend."

Crowley sued author and sculptress Nina Hamnett for libel because he said she wrote he practiced black magic. Her evidence of Crowley’s bizarre life-style and scandalous writings was so great that it horrified people. He lost the case and was forced to declare bankruptcy, which pleased the press.

A heroin addict, he died from a respiratory infection in a Hastings, England boarding house in 1947. He and his doctor died within 24 hours of each other. Newspapers claimed Crowley put a death curse on Dr. Thomson because he refused to continue his opiate prescription.


Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - The Star And The Garter
Aleister Crowley - The Zodiac And The Tarot
Aleister Crowley - Liber 101 Ordo Templi Orientis An Open Letter

Core Beliefs Of Thelema

Core Beliefs Of Thelema Cover The core beliefs of Thelema can be summed up in one phrase from The Book of the Law: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." (AL I:40). As one Thelemite I know put it, "That's the whole of the Law. All the rest is just commentary."

This phrase cannot be properly understood without knowing what Crowley meant by "will." Will is the English translation of the Greek word "Thelema" for which the path itself is named. It is the word one finds in the Greek version of the Christian Bible in the phrase "Thy will be done." Will is not wish or whim or want or karma or desire or predestination: it is a spiritual imperative that comes from the deepest, most true source of one's being.

The phrase from Chapter 1, verse 40 may be familiar to you. It is the phrase that was carved over the doorway to the Abbey of Thelema in Rabelais's Pantagruel. Pantagruel was a fictional story of a utopian society, written in 1532. Crowley borrowed some, but not all, of Rabelais's philosophy in constructing the path of Thelema. This phrase may also seem familiar because of the relationship between Crowley and Gerald Gardner. Crowley was inspirational to Gardner in the latter's revival of the Old Religion (Witchcraft) and Gardner used much of Crowley's poetry, both as written and re-done, in building the new traditions and rituals of Witchcraft.

Two other verses are particularly important to note when attempting to sum up the core beliefs of Thelema. The first is, "Love is the law, love under will." (AL I:57). Thelema has occasionally been accused of being a cold-hearted path because of this teaching. There are some who would consider putting love under will to be a perversion of love. Different Thelemites will, of course, interpret this phrase differently. Here is one possible interpretation: will is what makes us capable of love. Another possible interpretation: Love is the Law and doing one's Will is the Law. These two forces must be balanced with neither being allowed to run rampant. Love under will does not necessarily mean that love is beneath or lesser than will, but rather indicates a love aligned with spiritual imperative. Anyone who has roughly pulled their child out of a busy street, left an abusive lover despite still being deeply in love with her, or refused to lie to an alcoholic spouse's boss will recognize "love under will" though they may refer to it by another name such as "loving strictness, " "enlightened self-interest, " or "tough love."

Another important verse to consider, for those who wish to better understand Thelema, is: "Every man and every woman is a star." (AL I:3) As with all passages from The Book of the Law, this verse is open to a variety of interpretations. A common interpretation is the dual message that men and women are equally high in stature and that each of us is a powerful force. A common belief among Thelemites is that, were each of us to do our will, we would be like a universe of stars, majestically moving through time-space and rarely clashing with one another. While there is a strong imperative within the Thelemic culture to seek and pursue one's will, many Thelemites would agree that doing one's will would not involve forcing others to be or do that which they themselves do not will to be or do - simultaneously realizing that it is difficult enough to know one's own will and virtually impossible to discern the will of another.

A question that periodically arises both within and without the Thelemic community is whether Thelema should be considered a Neo-pagan path or not. In his writings, Crowley refers to himself with all apparent sincerity as a Satanist, a Christian (the truest of all Christians, in fact) and a Pagan. Likewise modern Thelemites can be found who identify themselves as Satanist, Christian, pagan and any combination of these categories. In fact, there are even Thelemites who consider themselves to be atheists or agnostics. With the typical paradoxical thinking of mystics from any of the world's religions, some Thelemites see no inherent contradiction to being all of these categories simultaneously. It is also not uncommon, however, to meet Thelemites who are vehemently opposed to any of these labels, especially the title of Christian.

Thelema encompasses not only a diverse range of religious categories but also a range of expressions. While some Thelemites consider Thelema to be a religion, others would be more likely to call it an occult path and still others regard Thelema as a philosophy. The only single unifying factor one can apply to all Thelemites is the personal pursuit of Will.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Dion Fortune - The Machinery Of The Mind
William Godwin - The Lives Of The Necromancers
Anonymous - The Prayers Of The Elementals
Nicolas Schreck - Demons Of The Flesh

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