Freemason Letter On Crowley Status

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.

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Aleister Crowley - Freemason Letter On Crowley Status

Thelemic Gardening

When I see spring springing,
I do not see sweetness and lite,
and certainly nothing peaceful.

There are the conquering hordes,
pushing up Through great cracks,
driving ruthlessly to the light,
pillaging every Resource in reach.

These green mongols, who are
as much jihadists of the LIGHT,
make the human ants who mimic them
seem like rank diffident amateurs.

And yet against these thick armies
the wind breaks their supple ranks,
the waters drown them in rapid nourishment,
the sun which they seek burns them.

This is nothing if not all-out absolute WAR!

Mars is the symbol of spring, the breaker of
deadly winter; for it takes war and the ethics
of warriors to stir peaceful Nature back to life.

Open your legs harlot goddess, and be raped
by your Children! And little flowers and bees
will mask your writhing incests with lying
costumes of peace, love and harmony.

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The Invocation Of Thoth

Book: The Invocation Of Thoth by Aleister Crowley

An Invocation of the Egyptian God Thoth. Classic invocation of Thoth. With the manifestation of this book, the invocation proves Extremely successful.

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Aleister Crowley - The Invocation Of Thoth

Between A Rock And A Soft Spot

I am having a multi-venue discussion now about these questions of Thelema as religion, and how it might relate or not to other religions, especially Christianity. By the way, Keith418, if you have something to offer on these points, pro or con, offer it here as well, so I can reply. The following is something I posted to my Facebook wall. The reference below to Jesus' lesson is in reply to someone who made this claim—that it could be summed up in part as an encouragement to be more than we let ourselves be.:

In Christianity and Thelema, which we should recall are respective heresies of an older tradition, there is an idea that is central, and which is generally ignored by alleged adherents. This is the idea of surrender, and of diminishment and indeed destruction of self to serve the Great Work.

I think if Jesus' lesson was that we can be more than we let ourselves be, it would not be much different than the US Army's "Be All You Can Be". Yet I think their encouragements would have very different aims. So maybe their messages are also not very alike.

Jesus was mainly concerned that the spirit of the Law had been lost, because worship of the Laws had replaced concern for the Will of God, particularly as that might work through any human being. As for forgiveness, that was offered simply enough, but not without qualification. For example, a person, whose behavior clearly demonstrated he had not been salvaged, even after he affirmed faith by the magic words, was not saved. Nevertheless, no human was to judge this shortcoming in any cosmic respect in another, since who can know the ultimate plan, which may incorporate evil people and their ways (as Gandalf pointed out as well).

As for Thelemites, they are caught between the occult rock, upon which Thelema is built and which they generally do not understand, and the soft place of their cultural sensibilities, towards which they will escape and from which they will interpret Thelema, to conform it to their respective, respectable, zones of comfort. A pointless exercise. If there is an Aeonic change coming, it will be unbelievably destructive, not comforting or sustaining.

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What Aleister Crowley Says About Ordinary Life

"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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Babalon The City Of The Pyramids And The Night Of Pan

Choronzon is the dweller within the Abyss, and his purpose is to trap the traveller in a meaningless world of illusion. However Babalon is just on the other side, beckoning (in the sphere of Binah on the Tree of Life). If the adept gives himself to her—the symbol of this act is the pouring of the adept’s blood into her graal—he becomes impregnated in her (a state called "Babe of the Abyss"), then he is reborn as a Master and a Saint that dwells in the City of the Pyramids.

The City of the Pyramids is the home to those adepts that have crossed the great Abyss, having spilled all their blood in the Graal of Babalon. They have destroyed their earthly ego-identities, becoming nothing more than piles of dust (i.e. the remaining aspects of their True Selves without the self-sense of "I"). Within, they take on the name or title of Saint or Nemo (Latin for No-Man). In the system of A.'.A.'. they are called Masters of the Temple. It is a step along the path of spiritual purification, and a spiritual resting place for those who have successfully shed their attachments to the mundane world.

Of these adepts, it is written in The Vision and the Voice (Aethyr 14):

These adepts seem like Pyramids—their hoods and robes are like Pyramids And the Beatific Vision is no more, and the glory of the Most High is no more. There is no more knowledge. There is no more bliss. There is no more power. There is no more beauty. For this is the Palace of Understanding: for thou art one with the Primeval things.'

The Master of the Temple accordingly interferes not with the scheme of things, except just so far as he is doing the Work which he is sent to do. Why should he struggle against imprisonment, banishment, death? [...] The Master of the Temple is so far from the man in whom He manifests that all these matters are of no importance to Him. It may be of importance to His Work that man shall sit upon a throne, or be hanged.

I was instantly blotted in blackness. Mine Angel whispered the secret words whereby one partakes of the Mysteries of the Masters of the Temple. Presently my eyes beheld (what first seemed shapes of rocks) the Masters, veiled in motionless majesty, shrouded in silence. Each one was exactly like the other. Then the Angel bade me understand whereto my aspiration led: all powers, all ecstasies, ended in this—I understood. He then told me that now my name was Nemo, seated among the other silent shapes in the City of the Pyramids under the Night of Pan; those other parts of me that I had left for ever below the Abyss must serve as a vehicle for the energies which had been created by my act. My mind and body, deprived of the ego which they had hitherto obeyed, were now free to manifest according to their nature in the world, to devote themselves to aid mankind in its evolution. In my case I was to be cast out into the Sphere of Jupiter. My mortal part was to help humanity by Jupiterian work, such a governing, teaching, creating, exhorting men to aspire to become nobler, holier, worthier, kinglier, kindlier and more generous.

The City exists under the Night of Pan, or N.O.X. The playful and lecherous Pan is the Greek god of nature, lust, and the masculine generative power. The Greek word Pan also translates as All, and so he is “a symbol of the Universal, a personification of Nature; both Pangenetor, "all-begetter," and Panphage, "all-devourer" (Sabazius, 1995). Therefore, Pan is both the giver and the taker of life, and his Night is that time of symbolic death where the adept experiences unification with the All through the ecstatic destruction of the ego-self. In a less poetic symbolic sense, this is the state where one transcends all limitations and experiences oneness with the universe.

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Liber 074 Testis Testitudinis

Book: Liber 074 Testis Testitudinis by Aleister Crowley

Liber Testis Testitudinis vel ty sub figura LXXIV

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Aleister Crowley Vs Neo Con Morality

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.

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Liber 067 The Sword Of Song

Book: Liber 067 The Sword Of Song by Aleister Crowley

Two Poems. A critical study of various philosophies. An account of Buddhism. 1925. See also: Collected Works, Vol. ii, pp. 140-203.

One of Crowley's most significant early works, it was the first work in which Crowley publicly identified himself as 'The Beast.' Referred to by Richard Kaczynski as 'Crowley's first great talismanic book,' it is a handsomely produced work. The first half of the book comprises the poems 'Ascension Day' and 'Pentecost', works after Robert Browning's Christmas Eve and Easter Day, along with notes and Introductions. They are followed by three Appendices, each a work in itself: 'The Three Characteristics,' a parody of a Buddhist 'Jataka story', featuring characters that are obviously Allan Bennett and Crowley himself, Ambrosi Magi Hortus Rosarum, an allegorical account of the aspirant's journey, and the essay, 'Berashith. An Essay in Ontology with Some Remarks on Ceremonial Magic.' A final essay, 'Science and Buddhism' is followed by an Index and short Epilogue. 'The sword of Song' is the classic Crowleyan mixture of serious philosophy, humour, and vulgarity ('Ambrosi Magi Hortus Rosarum' has hanging line notes, which spell out the words 'quim,' 'arse,' 'frig,' 'puss,' and 'cunt.')

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Liber 067 The Sword Of Song

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Crowley Spiritual Retreat In The Wilds Of China

Nevertheless, the magus continued his world travels and adventures. For several months during 1905-1906 he undertook a dangerous trek on pony through the wilds of southern China. Amazingly, Rose joined him. Even more amazingly, they brought their one-year old daughter! For Crowley the journey became a lengthy, intense spiritual retreat. For it he sought inspiration from two major sources. The first was a grimoire (magical book) titled The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Malin the Mage, which had been translated from French by Mathers and included diverse prayers, ceremonies, and magical techniques. The second was the “Bornless Ritual”, an invocation (purportedly of ancient origins) used by Golden Dawn members.

Crowley’s goal was what the Abra-Malin grimoire and Golden Dawn members called “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel”, i.e., mystical union with one’s Guardian Angel (or “Higher Self”). During the journey he doggedly performed the invocation daily. Even after the journey he continued to perform it regularly. Finally, after approximately three months he began to enjoy results. He reported in his diary in May 1906, “Vision quite perfect; I tasted the sweet kiss and gazed in the clear eyes of the Radiant One [i.e., his Guardian Angel or Higher Self]. My own face became luminous.” Such was Crowley’s determination, dedication, and self-discipline with regard to spiritual development.
The Crowley family

Following the trek through China, Crowley left Rose and Nuit in India. The plan was for him to return to England via the Pacific and United States, and Rose and Nuit to return via a more direct route which would include the Suez Canal and Mediterranean. Arriving home, Crowley learned that his daughter had died of typhoid in India and Rose had descended into alcoholism. Crowley, grief stricken, unfairly blamed the death on his wife. Nevertheless, in the summer of 1906 Rose gave birth to the couple’s second child, Lola Zaza (see illustration, above). However, their marriage was doomed. For years Crowley had been having affairs, which took their toll on Rose. He agreed to allow her to divorce him on grounds of adultery. Their marriage ended in 1909.

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Babylon And Ishtar

Perhaps the earliest origin is the ancient city of Babylon, a major metropolis in Mesopotamia (modern Al Hillah in Iraq). Babylon is the Greek variant of Akkadian Babilu (bab-ilu), meaning "Gateway of the god". It was the "holy city" of Babylonia from around 2300 BC, and the seat of the Neo-Babylonian empire from 612 BC.

One of the goddesses associated with Babylonia was Ishtar, the most popular female deity of the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon and patron of the famous Ishtar Gate. She is the Akkadian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and the cognate to the northwest Semitic goddess Astarte. The Greeks associated her with Aphrodite (Latin Venus), and sometimes Hera. Ishtar was worshipped as a Great Goddess of fertility and sexuality, but also of war and death, and the guardian of prostitutes. She was Also Called the Great Whore and sacred prostitution formed part of her cult or those of cognate goddesses. Many have associated Ishtar with the figure in the Book of Revelation of Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and Abominations.

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Thelemic Schools

Thelemites are divided into two main spiritual schools or orders, the A...A... (Astrum Argentium, or Silver Star), and the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis, or Order of the Temple of the Orient) (there are at least two more Thelemic organizations authorized by Crowley, viz., the L.I.L. and the G.B.G., and a few that appeared posthumously, but the former are the main ones).

The A...A... is a temporal manifestation of the Great White Brotherhood, and not necessarily the only one, one of the three fundamental spiritual schools of humanity, the others being the Black School, associated mainly with Buddhism and Gnosticism, and the Yellow School, associated mainly with Taoism. In addition to the White, Black, and Yellow Schools, there is a fourth group called the Black Brotherhood, not to be confused with the Black School, whose adherents consist of high ranking adepts who, through fear and selfishness, failed to transcend the limitations of the human personality and hence 'fall back into" or 'remain in" the abyss, where they morally disintegrate. The Black Brothers are at odds with all true spiritual schools, and seek to dominate the human race, subjecting them for their own purposes. They are closely associated with the exoteric systems based on priest craft and rules, which almost completely reject the pursuit of personal spiritual experience in favour of a rule-based ethic of obedience, conformity, and vicarious salvation. The Black Brothers interfere with human history in pursuit of their own agenda, precipitating wars, chaos, and social strife, promoting authoritarianism, materialism, rationalism, industrialism, urbanism, scientism, and collectivism, and repressing all authentic spirituality in the pursuit of global domination and the subjection of the human race. The White School is also involved in human history, much more so than either the Black or Yellow Schools, which avoid worldly involvements. Many of the greatest historical spiritual teachers, as well as many artistic and scientific geniuses, have actually been Secret Chiefs of the Great White Brotherhood, who have entered into incarnation in order to help guide humanity towards the realization of the ultimate goal, the attainment of universal enlightenment. aleister crowley himself claimed to be a Secret Chief of the White School, and not a Black Brother, although in a moment of pique he described himself as a "black magician."

The A...A... is divided into ten grades, plus four intermediate grades (shown below in square brackets), divided into three orders, which altogether comprise a complete system of spiritual attainment, as follows (from highest to lowest):

The Order of the Silver Star (The S.S.)

Ipsissimus 10A° = 1?
Magus 9A° = 2?
Magister Templi 8A° = 3?
[The Link-Babe of the Abyss]
The Order of the Rose-Cross (The R.C.)

Adeptus Exemptus 7A° = 4?
Adeptus Major 6A° = 5?
Adeptus Minor (aewithout" and aewithin") 5A° = 6?
[The Link-Dominus Liminis]
The Order of the Golden Dawn (The G.D.)

Philosophus 4A° = 7?
Practicus 3A° = 8?
Zelator 2A° = 9?
Neophyte 1A° = 10?
[The Link-Probationer 0A° = 0?]
[Student]

The ten main grades correspond to the Cabalistic Tree of Life, a diagram that represents the correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm, reality and consciousness.

As in the A...A..., the O.T.O. is divided into three sets of three grades, the three main grades being (from lowest to highest) the Man of Earth, Lover, and Hermit, based on the grades described in the Book of the Law. However, unlike the A...A..., these grades are ritually conferred in the style of Freemasonry and correspond to increasing degrees of intelligence not tied to actual magical or mystical tasks or attainments.

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Thelemic Practices

he Law of Thelema is a system of experiential spirituality. This means that Thelemites engage in various spiritual practices in order to realize the truth of the spiritual life in and for themselves. The ultimate goal of the spiritual life is to identify with and actually become a spiritual being, free of the constraints and constrictions of conditioned existence. The state of being a spiritual being is an ecstatic, powerful state of union with everything (Thelemic "compassion"). The Law of Thelema also teaches that all religions are variations of one fundamental underlying spiritual truth, which become fragmented into different religious traditions as a result of variations of place, time, and degree of realization and mutual isolation and hostility as, with the passage of time, religions become increasingly diversified and exclusive. Religions thus harden into increasingly exoteric systems, based on devotion to priest craft and rules, in which individual spiritual experience is increasingly repressed in favour of an official orthodoxy, ultimately the prerogative of the Black Brothers, which becomes increasingly metaphorical and vicarious. Thus, the Law of Thelema rejects aereligiosity" altogether, and actively seeks to destroy it, since the religious attitude in this sense is harmful to the spiritual life and impedes, blocks, restricts, and interferes with real spiritual progress. Consequently, Thelemites incorporate practices from all religious traditions without distinction, in order to reconstitute the primordial tradition that underlies them all. Crowley compared this process to recombining the colours of the spectrum into white light. This reconstruction is the special task of Scientific Illuminism, which is one aspect of the Law of Thelema, the operative branch of which is Magick.

Spiritual practices are pursued in the context of various systems of attainment, which are appropriate to different types of aspirant, differentiated by race, culture, personal psychology, and degree of realization or "grade." Consequently, not all practices are suitable for all aspirants at all stages of development. Recognizing which practices are suitable to which aspirants at different stages of their spiritual development is the special skill of a spiritual master.

In the system of the A...A..., the grades correspond to specific tasks and corresponding attainments, arranged in an hierarchy. Many of these tasks and attainments have become the special study of parapsychology and transpersonal psychology in recent years. In the system described by Crowley, these are the main attainments of the Outer Order (collated from the three main documents describing these attainments, Liber XIII, Liber CLXV, and "One Star in Sight"):

The Neophyte formulates the Body of Light (popularly known today as "astral projection").
The Zelator masters Hatha Yoga, specifically, Asana and Pranayama, resulting in the experience of aepsychic opening."
The Practicus achieves Kundalini Awakening, so-called (see Lee Sanella, The Kundalini Experience).
The Philosophus masters Rising on the Planes (popularly known as the "out of body experience" or "OBE").
The Dominus Liminis acquires the power of mental Concentration (ekagrata).

The Adeptus Minor attains the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, so-called, corresponding to the Hindu trance-state known as Atmadarshana, but with important differences as well.
The work of an aspirant to the A...A... is so subtle and advanced that it is beyond the ability of most people, although a few aspirants attained high grades in the A...A... during Crowleyaes lifetime. The tests, some of which are published, which Crowley applied to aspirants in order to qualify were very stringent, and Crowley did not grant grades casually. For example, one has to "astral travel" through an abstract symbol that one has never seen before and describe a vision the character of which is consistent with the symbolaes meaning in order to pass the test for "rising on the planes."

Crowley was promoted to the leadership of the English branch of the O.T.O. in 1912 e.v., and he used this order ever afterwards as a vehicle for popularizing the Law of Thelema, as well as the practice of the Supreme Secret of the O.T.O. During his lifetime, this secret was zealously guarded, although it is not always discreetly hinted at in the esoteric literature of the day and by Crowley himself. However, since Crowleyaes death the cat has long been out of the bag. The Supreme Secret of the O.T.O. is nothing other than the use of sex in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, equivalent in fact to a Western Tantra.

Sex is, of course, the single most powerful psycho-physiological energy in man, so pressing it into the service of spiritual development is a natural evolution, once one overcomes the restriction of shame. From the Tantric point of view, sexual abstinence is really a form of "sex magick," so-called, since sexual abstinence modifies the sexual instinct. Exotericism sees in sexual abstinence the rejection of sexuality per se as contrary to the spiritual life, but the Tantric view is more subtle and profound. Rather than rejecting sex, the Tantric practitioner seeks to sublimate the sexual energy, inhibiting its outflow so that the energy accumulates in the brain, its original source, where it induces the state of illumination (the physiological precursor of enlightenment).

Once one realizes that this is how sexual abstinence actually works, the possibility of a contrary methodology presents itself to the discerning consciousness. Instead of repressing the sexual energy, one can intensify it to the point where the sheer excess of sexual arousal causes the energy to ascend the spine and, once again, "illuminate" the brain. In the latter case, however, the body is also "illuminated." Thus, the formulae of sexual abstinence and orgiastic excess are realized to be essentially identical, variations of the same underlying energy-economy.

The members of the O.T.O. are encouraged to engage in practical experimentation, and many members pursue various tasks connected with the Great Work. This is especially true of the followers of Kenneth Grant, who has created a system of Thelemic attainment strongly suggestive of Vodou, the primal religion of Africa and humanity, since, according to current archaeological research, humanity originated in Africa.

In addition to the major tasks of the Great Work described above, committed Thelemites are enjoined to engage in a number of regular daily practices that have the effect of disciplining and directing the mind and regulating oneaes life according to objective natural cycles. These include (based on the Official Publications of the A...A...):

A short reminder of oneaes dedication to the Great Work, spoken before meals.
Rituals of purification and empowerment, performed at the beginning and end of each day (see Liber V, XXV, and XXXVI).
A daily eucharist (see Liber XLIV).
The adoration of the Sun, followed by one hour of meditation, repeated four times daily; thus, the truly committed Thelemite, like the followers of the Sant Mat, meditates four hours per day (see Liber CC).
Adoration of oneaes Star, performed as it rises above the horizon (see Liber CMLXIII)
In addition to the foregoing, members of the O.T.O. observe the Gnostic Mass (see Liber XV), in which the Supreme Secret is rehearsed and an eucharist consumed by the celebrants, and various visualization practices. The Book of the Law also refers to the spiritual use of drugs, which informed the spiritual practice of many significant spiritual teachers before their criminalization, including Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (according to Timothy Leary), Julius Evola, Aldous Huxley and others. Drugs are also an integral part of many different South American aboriginal shamanic cultures. The traditional cultures of the Quiches, Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs bears many striking affinities to the Law of Thelema, more so even than Africa.


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Thelemic Holidays

"There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride! A feast for the three days of the writing of The Book of the Law. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet-secret, O Prophet! A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death! A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture! A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight! Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu." (AL II:36-44)

The rituals of the elements and feasts of the times are celebrated at the equinoxes and solstices. Some Thelemites go one step farther and divide the year into cross-quarters as well, creating eight holidays not dissimilar to the "wheel of the year" often seen in other Neo-pagan traditions. While the equinoxes and solstices naturally fall on the same day as they do for other Neo-pagan traditions, the cross-quarter holidays are all shifted slightly, for example, Samhain (ritual of water) falls at 15 degrees Scorpio which is closer to November 7th than October 31st.

The Feast for the First Night of the Prophet and his Bride is celebrated on August 12th. There is no formal celebration that I am aware of. One O.T.O. body with which I am affiliated has an ice cream social on that date.

The Feast for the Three Days of the Writing of The Book of the Law is celebrated on April 8, 9 and 10, the three days that Crowley wrote Liber AL. Each day, beginning at noon, celebrants read aloud one of the three chapters of the Book of the Law.

The Feast for the Supreme ritual is the Thelemic New Year. This holiday, falling on March 20th, commemorates an invocation of Horus.

The Feast for the Equinox of the Gods is celebrated at the Spring Equinox to honor the founding of Thelema in 1904.

The Feast for Life (also called the lesser feast) is a celebration of a new birth. A person's birthday is sometimes referred to as the "lesser feast" as well. The Feast for Fire is the celebration of a boy's reaching puberty and the Feast for Water is the celebration of a girl's reaching puberty. The Greater Feast for Death (often just called the greater feast) is the commemoration of an individual's death.

Some Thelemites also celebrate "Crowleymas" which is the anniversary of Crowley's birth (October 12th).

Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - The Hermit Hymn To Solitude
Morwyn - The Golden Dawn
Thomas Moore - Candle Magick For Love
Anonymous - Pagan Holidays
Frater Hoor - A Thelemic Calendar

The Last Days Of Aleister Crowley

In 1975 Rodney Davies met Kathleen "Johnny" Symonds, who had been Aleister Crowley's (AKA "The Great Beast 666" and "The Wickedest Man on Earth") landlady during the last months of his life in 1947. Here's his entertaining piece about it.

200908270919 Crowley brought with him some special gold coins, which he claimed had magic powers and was anxious about keeping safe, and a 'box of (I Ching) sticks'. He made frequent use of the latter. 'When he had an appointment for the dentist, for instance, he threw the sticks in the air. And once he called me and said, "Phone the dentist immediately! The sticks have told me not to go." The dentist was very amazed.'

The Great Beast soon settled into a regular daily routine. At nine each morning the housekeeper Miss Clarke took him his breakfast, and at ten, if the weather was fine, he would take a stroll in the garden, where Johnny kept some beautiful plump white rabbits, which he nicknamed 'The Chrysanthemums' and would love to watch. When the sun shone he would often sit with his hands held heavenwards.

Crowley then spent most of the rest of the day sleeping in his room, where he also took his other meals. His favourite snack was sardines sprinkled with curry powder. He roused himself as darkness fell, and sat up all night either writing letters, reading or indulging in his heroin drug habit.

'He had a ration of heroin which was allowed him,' Mrs Symonds said. 'It used to come down from a chemist called Heppel's in London. But the police knew about it. I've often watched him stick a needle in his arm. He didn't mind.'

...

According to Johnny, Aleister Crowley was an easy-going, trouble-free resident, who not only spent much of his time in his room, but who rubbed along well with the other visitors and with her and her husband. Indeed, her feelings about him were entirely positive: 'I liked him,' she said. 'He was great fun.'

Books You Might Enjoy:

Kenneth Grant - Aleister Crowley And The Hidden God
Aleister Crowley - To Man
Aleister Crowley - Poems
Aleister Crowley - Duty
Thomas Voxfire - What Was Aleister Crowley

The Tao Teh Ching

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 Law Of Thelema

The Law of Thelema was revealed to the world by a praeterhuman Intelligence calling himself Aiwass in Cairo, Egypt in March and April, 1904 e.v. Aiwass appeared first to Rose Edith Kelly nee Crowley, in an altered state of consciousness (ASC), and subsequently to the British poet and magical adept, Aleister Crowley (born in Leamington, England on October 12, 1875 e.v.).

Aiwass proceeded to demonstrate his objective existence independently of the psyches of both Crowley and Rose, by leading them to the stele of Ankh-af-na-khonsu, a Theban Egyptian priest of the 8th century B.C.E., in the Boulak Museum, where they had never been. He then dictated a sacred text to Crowley called the Book of the Law. For five years thereafter Crowley resisted the Law of Thelema and the mission of Thelemic prophet laid upon him by Aiwass, regarding the Cairo Working, as it is called, as an "astral vision" (i.e., a purely imaginative - but not "imaginary" - experience).

However, Crowley's subsequent attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple in the Supreme College of the Great White Brotherhood resulted in his acceptance of the Law of Thelema and of his own prophetic role as described in the Book of the Law. Crowley proclaimed himself as the prophet of a new eon for humanity for the first time in his long mystical poem, Aha! (1909), which has been compared in beauty and profundity to the Bhagavad-Gita. Thereafter he signed his correspondence and formal instructions with the two main slogans of the Book of the Law, ;Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and ;Love is the law, love under will."

Crowley founded a magical society, the A. ..A. .., took over the leadership of another, the O.T.O., and wrote a series of formal instructions promulgating the Law of Thelema, as well as teaching Scientific Illuminism and Magick. Many of these formal instructions were published during his lifetime in his Equinox periodical and elsewhere. Crowley believes that the Law of Thelema resolves all spiritual quandaries, harmonizes science and religion, and supersedes all historical dispensations, establishing a new cultural epoch for humanity, which he calls the New Aeon of Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child. According to Crowley, the New Aeon will endure for at least several hundred years, possibly for as long as two thousand years.

During his lifetime Crowley succeeded in attracting a small following, mainly in Germany and America, of no more than one or perhaps two hundred souls (counting all those who adhered to Crowley at any time, for any length of time; a much smaller number remained faithful to Crowley at the end of his life). Crowley lost many followers due to his troublesome personality and libertine lifestyle, especially after he came to the attention of the British tabloid press following the First World War. After his death, Crowley left behind him a disorganized and demoralized O.T.O. movement which has since split up into several competing factions, notably the American Caliphate founded by McMurtry, the Swiss O.T.O. founded by Metzger, the English O.T.O. under the leadership of Kenneth Grant, and a Brazilian O.T.O. founded by Marcelo Ramos Motta. A very few members of the original A. ..A. .. also carried on the work in a very limited way, but the A. ..A. .. organization qua organization did not survive Crowley, at least not openly.

A larger number of revivals of the O.T.O., A. ..A. .., and other self-professed Thelemic groups, without any clear historical link to Crowley, with various, sometimes divergent points of view, have also come into existence since a revival of interest in Crowley's work associated with the counterculture revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Today the Law of Thelema has attracted several thousand adherents worldwide, as well as a larger following of curiosity seekers, including several prominent rock stars. The Law of Thelema has a strong presence on the Internet, and many of Crowley's writings are available online. Crowley first editions are in demand, and fetch high prices in the rare book market.

Books You Might Enjoy:

William Godwin - The Lives Of The Necromancers
Frater Hoor - A Thelemic Calendar
Prentiss Tucker - In The Land Of The Living Dead
Anonymous - The Laws For Witches
Anonymous - The Prayers Of The Elementals

The Golden Dawn Internal Problems

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

Term Equinox In Astrology

In astronomy and astrology, an equinox is defined as the moment when the sun reaches one of two intersections between the ecliptic and the celestial equator.

The word "equinox" comes from the Latin for equal night. The equinoxes occurring with the sun at 0° Aries and Libra (late March and September, respectively, on the common calendar) are the two occasions each year when the day and the night are of equal duration. For measuring the length of a day, sunrise is the moment when the sun is half-above the horizon and sunset is the moment when the sun is half-under the horizon. Using this definition, the length of the day (and the night) is precisely 12 hours at an equinox.

In the northern hemisphere, the Aries equinox is known as the vernal (spring) equinox and the Libra equinox is the autumnal (autumn) equinox. In the southern hemisphere, these names may be transposed. For simplicity, this article will refer to the equinoxes by the zodiacal names used above.

On the common calendar, the vernal equinox typically falls on either March 20 or 21 and the autumnal equinox on September 22 or 23 – the Gregorian dates vary because some years are leap years, shifting the calendar by a day or so relative to the seasons. The Thelemic Calendar, for obvious reasons, does not have the problem of varying dates for the equinoxes. Because the Earth's orbit is elliptical, the dates on which the equinoxes fall do not divide the year into equal halves.

The equinoxes can also be interpreted as virtual points in the sky. Although, during full daylight, stars other than the sun are overwhelmed by sunlight, making it hard to see where the sun is compared to other celestial bodies, the sun does have a position (as seen from the earth) relative to the other stars. As the Earth moves around the sun, the apparent position of the sun relative to the other stars moves in a full circle over the period of a year. This circle is called the ecliptic, and is also the plane of the Earth's orbit projected against the whole sky. The other bright planets like Venus, Mars and Saturn, also appear to move along the ecliptic, because their orbits are in a similar plane to Earth's.

Another virtual circle in the sky is the celestial equator, or the projection of the plane of the Earth's equator against the whole sky. Because the Earth's axis of rotation is tilted relative to the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, the celestial equator is inclined to the ecliptic. Twice a year, the sun, making its progress around the ecliptic, crosses the plane of the Earth's equator. These two points are the equinoxes. The time at which the sun passes through each equinox point can be calculated precisely—so the equinox is actually a particular moment, rather than a whole day.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Johannes Kepler - Concerning The More Certain Fundamentals Of Astrology
Aleister Crowley - Rodin In Rime
Aleister Crowley - The Equinox Vol I No Viii
Sepharial - Astrology And Marriage
Aleister Crowley - The Equinox Vol I No X

Starting Path Of Thelema

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