Thelema Trouble With Models

I recently read an article by Jason Miller who complained about other writers using the term "model" when talking about a type of magick that they work. You can see his article here. I would have to say that I agree completely with what Jason said, but whenever I have used the term "model" I have always made certain that my audience knew that I was talking about a theoretical construct. In short, a model, in regards to magickal practice, is just a heuristic device, which is a fancy way of saying that it is a learning tool. I have often said that no one works with just one of the several models of magick that I have proposed, and that in the real world, magicians work magick using several of them simultaneously. It's useful to talk about magickal models because it allows one to see a distinct quality of magick that may or may not be operating in what a person really does when they work magick.

The bottom line is to not confuse a theoretical discussion of a magickal model with the real thing, which is more complex and dynamic than what a single model would entail. Like all mental structures that are useful for classification, they have their uses and limitations. In the area of magick, one should never confuse a model, diagram or structure for what it is representing. We are dealing with phenomena that is difficult to classify, so if we simplify things to better understand it, then that doesn't mean that the simplified explanation or theory is the thing itself - it is a theory that is useful for understanding something, nothing more.

When I discuss the energy model, or the spirit model, the psychology model, the chaos model or the rhetorical model of magick, I am discussing theoretical approaches to understanding magick. No one uses just one model, and even if they did, there would be more to what they were doing than what is understood by the model. However, using models as a theoretical construct allows us to see the various aspects or techniques of a magickal system, which otherwise, would be opaque and incapable of analysis. The purpose of classifying something is to categorize it in a general manner so it can be compared to other analogous things.

I believe that I set the tone for this discussion early on in one of my articles, where I said:

"Like the analogy for food, there are also several different theories about magic, and all of them take a very specific model and methodology and apply it exclusively. So there is a theory of magic that is based on Spirit, another one based on Energy, and still another one based on Psychology. All of them are correct as far as they go, but all of them are limited to a single model and their associated assumptions. I would also consider them to be gross generalizations, but models are good learning devices, since they challenge and help us to accurately think about the way something really works."

And also, the statement:

"Witchcraft has the unusual advantage that liturgy and magical crafts blend together to form a single praxis. Devotional invocations to the gods can also be magical spells meant to cause changes in the material world. As we will see when examining the other theories, witchcraft is a hybrid, combining many theories into a blended and practical perspective."

So as you can see, I have been careful about talking about the various models of magick. I never state that a true system of magick conforms to just one model, and in fact almost all of them have at least three or more models active in them. Yet I will be certain to state this fact from time to time when I talk about models so no one gets any ideas that they are anything more than a learning device.

Frater Barrabbas

Suggested ebooks:

Solomonic Grimoires - The Emerald Tablets Of Hermes
Anonymous - The Laws For Witches

Thelema Shadow Magick Everyday

People who have been practicing magick for more than a little while will often say that the practice of magick is a lifestyle. Sure, there are folks out there for whom magick is just a hobby of sorts - we tend to equate them to Sunday Christians (those who only practice when it's convenient for them rather than every day). The best practitioners live and breathe magick at every moment of every day, or at least try to. Every action you perform can be imbued with intent and mindfulness that makes it magick. This is as true for Shadow practitioner as it is for anyone else, and is perhaps even more important.

Shadow Magick is serious work. It requires the practitioner to be absolutely honest with themselves: to pay attention to what they do and why, to examine their own motivations and feelings, and to own up to the consequences of their actions. Shadow Magick doesn't work if you do a ritual with absolute honesty and intent and then bugger off and start lying to yourself and others. Shadow Magick is designed to change the way you look at and interact with the world. You "have" to integrate it in your everyday life for it to work properly. Shadow practice is always going to be more effective when integrated into your life than otherwise. The bulk of Shadow Magick's formal practice is made of rituals and exercises to recognize our shadow selves, to see ourselves and our world more clearly, to integrate our shadows, and to transform ourselves. These practices need to be supported by our everyday actions, but it isn't easy.

Living shadow every day means being very, very self aware. Self-destructive habits, meaningless routines, and self-deception can all kill shadow work. You need to be able to step back out of the every day and look at what you're doing and why, and whether or not your actions are really supporting you. Too many of us are trapped in routines and habits that just take up time for no real benefit or, even worse, that actually send us backwards. Living shadow means looking critically at every action you take and asking yourself if it gives you a benefit. Your actions can help you earn a living, gratify your senses, make you feel good, help you improve yourself, help someone else, etc. Are there things that you do that don't actually benefit you? Why do you do them? ("Because you always have" is not a sufficient answer.) If you can't answer that, then it's time to stop doing it. Living shadow means acting mindfully.

Even more difficult than being aware of what you do is being aware of what you think and feel. Yes, living shadow means looking at your feelings under a microscope. It's not exactly a comfy process, but it's necessary. Are your thoughts and feelings based on truth, or are you twisting the facts to fit the way you want them to? Are you angry at your friend because she actually wronged you or just because she did something totally benign that made you feel threatened or did you just misinterpret what she did? Look at the facts of a situation objectively before you make decisions. Get an outside objective opinion if you need one (someone who has their own experience of the situation, not just your [probably biased] description). This examination is most important when you find yourself thinking negative thoughts or experiencing negative emotions because they have such tremendous power to color your entire experience. What a waste to spend all day angry because of a simple misunderstanding. Even worse, how are you supposed to do magick to see yourself more clearly when you've spend eight hours in self-delusion - that's energetic moment that will ruin the most carefully planned working. Being mindful of our thoughts and actions helps us to sustain the magickal momentum we begin in our workings and makes it more effective.

Of course, being mindful of our emotions does not mean we don't feel them. We all have moments when we feel things that we'd rather not or that seem counterproductive to our plans. There's nothing wrong with that - we're just regular human beings not bodhisattvas. The trick is to experience our emotions and then let them go, rather than hanging on to them and stewing in our own juices. For example, when I get cut off in traffic I get furious and that anger will stay with me for a while, depending on just how close the bastard got to hitting me. When I step back from the situation I realize that I get angry because someone has endangered me for no good reason and forced me to modify my behaviour unexpectedly. What I'm really feeling is a flash of fear and panic, and being forced to feel those negative emotions makes me angry. Knowing that my anger is really caused by fear will allow that anger to dissipate once I'm secure in my physical safety. My anger is a defense mechanism that fills me with adrenaline so that I can deal with danger. It's a useful emotion that serves a purpose, but it can be destructive if I don't truly understand it. I'm not actually angry with the other driver, I'm afraid for myself - that's a big distinction. Shouting at the other driver or getting road rage, while oddly satisfying, does nothing to satisfy my need for safety and thus won't actually help deflate my anger. I can feel the fear and anger, recognize them for what they are, and then let them go. Unfortunately, it's hard to step back when we're in the midst of strong emotions and if you can't do it at first that's ok. When you've calmed down a little take some time to examine what you were feeling and try to identify the root causes. Once you learn to do this after having strong feelings it will become easier to do so while you're feeling them. Much of the practice of meditation is designed to help people do just this, and for many people it can take a lifetime.

Living shadow means being mindful in your everyday life and making choices that continue the energetic momentum of your workings. Having the courage to be truly honest with yourself during your everyday life and not just in circle is difficult. In circle we know we're in a safe space and we usually have the time to take care of ourselves if we have disturbing realizations, in our workaday lives we rarely have this luxury. Make this level of awareness a goal and work towards it slowly. Allow yourself to progress at whatever pace you need and just see what happens.

A few resources that I found helpful:

Suggested ebooks:

Sirona Knight - The Cyber Spellbook Magick In The Virtual World
Joseph Ennemoser - The History Of Magic Vol 1
Anonymous - The Basics Of Magick

Are Golden Dawn Pagans Trying To Start A New Witch War

On the Heavens Within Earth blog and on HP Morgan Drake Eckstein's Gleamings from the Dawn blog, bizarre recent comments give the appearance that Golden Dawn members Eckstein and Peregrin (a Buddhist convert caught posing as Pagan while trashing the faith) are attempting to ignite a full blown WITCH WAR dragging the Pagan community into a decade old Golden Dawn conflict.

The incident began when Peregrin alleged on the Heavens Within Earth blog that Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento claims something or other about an alleged initiatic connection between Gerald Gardner and Italian occultism. The Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Tradition immediately put rumors to rest with the publication of the following official clarification:"NEITHER STREGHERIA DEL BOSCO SACRO OF BENEVENTO NOR THE GREAT RITE MAKE ANY CLAIM WHATSOEVER REGARDING ANY INITIATION OF GERALD GARDNER. ANY STATEMENT MADE BY ANY INITIATE CONTRARY TO THIS WAS CLEARLY MADE IN ERROR."In a fashion that has typified the Golden Dawn flame war throughout the last decade, for maximum strife stirring value, Peregrin repeated the original allegation on different venue, in this case on HP Morgan Drake Eckstein's Gleamings From The Dawn blog, to which Eckstein then replied:"Hmmm, this reminds of how many times errorous information has been removed from [their] other claims. Sometimes I think it would be easier if they quit making claims, rather than correcting the ones that they make in error." [Note how Eckstein here deliberately conflates Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Tradition with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (AO) although they are completely separate entities, the first being a Pagan religious Tradition and the second a secular, magical order outside the Pagan faith].The additional Witch War tactics underlying this incident can be best understood in light of the decade old Golden Dawn flame war. Several of the rhetorical tactics that have been routinely used against the HOGD/AO and its leaders have been:

* HP Eckstein's present allegation, repeated over and over across multiple fora, blogs, websites, etc, that the HOGD/AO has somehow "shifted its story" over time, when in fact our order has been quite consistent all along.
* The frequent repetition of deliberate misrepresentations across various fora, websites, and blogs, ignoring all refutation, but instead merely repeating the same talking points, over and over, propaganda style. This has resulted in HOGD/AO having to refute the same unfounded allegations, over and over, ad nauseam.
* Depriving through moderation HOGD/AO all right of rebuttal on the various fora, blogs, etc., where tactics 1 and 2 were being waged against our order as part of the ongoing flame war.

It is sad to witness Peregrin and HP Morgan Drake Eckstein suddenly reviving these failed Golden Dawn flame war tactics across the Blogoshpere. The time is long overdue for the Golden Dawn community to put all divisive flame war behind it once and for all - and to begin instead to heal the wounds left by over a decade of strife in our community.

The above exposition reveals the attempt of two Golden Dawn Adepts not merely to rekindle the Golden Dawn flame war, but also to drag the greater Pagan community into the conflict, escalating it into a full blown WITCH WAR.

Admittedly, Frater Peregrin indeed reposted the official clarification as well, although he is at least guilty of reposting allegations across venues in a manner typical of the Golden Dawn flame war. Peregrin, therefore, may only be guilty of bashing Pagans yet again, although this time at least not posing as Pagan as he has done in the past. HP Morgan Eckstein, however, deliberately attempts to conflate the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (AO) with Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Tradition.

Perhaps Peregrin and Morgan do not yet realize how the greater Pagan community is far less tolerant towards War-mongering Witches than the Golden Dawn community has been over the last decade. In the Pagan community, it is considered in extremely bad taste for one Pagan Tradition to wage Witch War against another, and War-mongering Witches may quickly find themselves shunned by the entire community.

Clearly, any attempt to drag the greater Pagan community into an old Golden Dawn conflict will not be well looked upon by the greater Pagan community. Attacking the Stregheria del Bosco Sacro of Benevento Pagan Tradition by attempting to conflate it with the purely secular, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (AO) clearly constitutes nothing other than WITCH WAR.

Scholarly Debate Vs Golden Dawn Flame War

Almost everyone that is interested in the Golden Dawn and that reads the internet is aware of the "Golden Dawn Flame War" that accompanied recent litigation. Anonymously published attack blogs and websites, falsely alleged everything from Nazi Golden Dawn connections to Golden Dawn death cults led by Satanists. Typical of these "anonymous attack blogs" is "The Golden Dawn Insider" - with a clear ties with Robert Zink's, Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn.

In March, 2008, our order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega, launched an initiative to end the flame war and to promote greater harmony in the Golden Dawn community. As part of this initiative, I publicly and repeatedly condemned anonymously published websites and blogs attacking ANY Golden Dawn order, and publicly appealed to those misguided individuals attacking the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn to stop. Thankfully, they did.

Robert Zink, however, refuses to do the same. Thus is is quite clear that anonymous attack blogs like "The Golden Dawn Insider," that this week resumed attacks on the HOGD/AO and its leaders, are published with the full knowledge and approval of EOGD leader, Robert Zink. This week the "Golden Dawn Insider" wrote:

"Does anyone find it odd that there has been a time of peace and quiet in the online Golden Dawn community recently, not in and of itself, but that it was broken simultaneously by David Griffin and his cohort "Frater Sincerus Renatus (SR)" AKA Tomas Stacewicz. This is just recent. Within a couple of days we have David Griffin blogging (scroll down below the video) about how Robert Zink's Golden Dawn order is nothing but new age garbage, and almost simultaneously we have Frater S.R. bashing Pat Zalewski's group. Are you guys just bored? Did you think nobody would notice?"The Robert Zink sponsored "Insider" here conflates with "flame war" with legitimate and healthy debate in the Golden Dawn community. In truth, I do not personally even object to Robert Zink reforming his EOGD in the decidedly New Age direction he has taken it. Diversity in the Golden Dawn community is a good thing. I have come to understand that there is plenty of room in the Golden Dawn community for New Age Golden Dawn orders as well as for Thelemic Golden Dawn orders. Such diversity is how our tradition grows.

The EOGD is certainly not "garbage" either. I have met privately with a number of EOGD members. They are hard working individuals that are very dedicated to the Golden Dawn system. Moreover, I am also the first to applaud Robert Zink when he does something good. For example, Robert Zink's initiative to help Haiti deserved to transcend inter-order politics, so I jumped on his bandwagon.

All I truly DO object to about Robert Zink - is his dishonesty in marketing. There is nothing wrong with New Age innovation. It is, however, highly dishonest to present New Age innovation as "traditional Golden Dawn" practice.

"It is highly dishonest to present New Age innovation as 'traditional Golden Dawn' practice."

In truth, there are significant and profound differences between various Golden Dawn orders - and the public has a right to know and understand these differences. For example, on his website, Robert Zink claims that his "Astral Initiation" can make you a "full Golden Dawn initiate" without ever leaving your own living room. All you have to do is send him 185 - and for your trouble - he will even throw in a free CD on how to "Unleash Your Inner Adept!"

The HOGD/AO, on the other hand, as a classical Golden Dawn order, insists on traditional Golden Dawn initiation while physically present in real Golden Dawn temples. We honestly and openly admit that the Golden Dawn is a spiritual path demanding an enormous amount of time, energy, discipline, and dedication.

In another essential difference, Robert Zink claims on his "The Golden Dawn Blog" that the Golden Dawn is really about "the coming New Age shift in 2012" and elsewhere that the Emerald Tablet of Hermes is really about "The Law of Attraction" as popularized in New Age film, The Secret. The HOGD/AO, on the other hand, understands that the classical Golden Dawn is rooted in the Hermetic and Rosicrucian traditions, teaching the ancient Egyptian Royal Art of Alchemy, Astrology, and Theurgy (Magic) with the ultimate aim of accelerating energetic evolution in order to attain Solar Ascension and Conscious Immortality. This is diametrically opposed from Robert Zink's "instant gratification" Golden Dawn promises.

Next the Robert Zink sanctioned, "Golden Dawn Insider" sock goes on to claim that HOGD/AO's Sincerus Renatus recently "attacked Pat Zalewksi's group."

In truth, Sincerus Renatus' article is not an "attack" at all, but rather a scholarly presentation of the very real differences between the HOGD/AO and Pat Zalewksi's "Order of the Golden Dawn." As Sincerus Renatus correctly points out, Pat Zalewksi (whose name is not even mentioned in the article!) believes that the Second Order of the Golden Dawn (the R.R. et A.C.) should be devoted to an intellectual study and analysis of the outer order rituals. This is extremely different from the HOGD/AO, where we teach a traditional Hermetic and Rosicrucian curriculum in advanced Hermetic and Rosicrucian magic and alchemy in our Second Order, remaining completely faithful to the classical Golden Dawn.

These clearly are essential differences between Golden Dawn orders and the public has a right to know. Such outlining of the actual differences between orders is certainly not "flame war" but rather scholarly debate.

There is one thing that I must agree with the "Insider" sock puppet on, however. He is absolutely correct that a great deal of rather unflattering and unfraternal material about the EOGD and the HOGD/AO still remain on one another's websites, fora, and blogs. There remain, for example, thousands of posts attacking our order in the archives of the EOGD forum. The EOGD websites and blogs are riddled with attacks on our order as well.

I completely agree with the "Insider" troll that it is high time to take this old "flame war" stuff down. For over two years now, I have offered to do so on a reciprocal basis with Robert Zink. The problem remains that Robert Zink completely and utterly refuses to take down any material attacking our order from the EOGD websites, blogs, etc.

Nonetheless, the HOGD/AO remains completely committed to harmony in the Golden Dawn community and against flame war.

The time is long overdue, however, for Robert Zink to renounce sock puppets, anonymous websites and blogs attacking other orders - and instead to make the same firm commitment to harmony in the Golden Dawn community that I have made - and that the HOGD/AO has championed for well over two years!

Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua

David Griffin

G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis

Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

outer order of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega

"Ex Deo Nascimur.
In Yeheshua Morimur.
Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"

Crowley Chose Ankh Af Na Khonsu

TM> To expand on my earlier comments on Satanic symbolism in Thelemic
TM> ritual, and their relevance to the question of whether Thelema is a
TM> form of Satanism under some reasonable definition of that word.
TM>
TM> You ought to get a copy of "Magick in Theory and Practice" if you're
TM> interested in the issue. Crowley's ritual and meditative instructions
TM> were his best writing, possibly because they dealt with what he knew
TM> best. It's because of the power and importance of these instructions
TM> that I was willing to overlook his appalling right-wing politics and
TM> cite Crowley as a source in Twilight Crossing; LaVey and Aquino have
TM> made no contributions that measure up to these.
TM>
TM> I'm going to track through the various Liberi in Appendix VI, "A Few
TM> Principal Rituals", in order.
TM>
TM> Grimorium Sanctissimum. The O.T.O./A.'.A.'. sex magic expressed in the
TM> form of a Black Mass, with a naked virgin as the altar.

How is is it a Black Mass? Or are all sex magick rites Black Masses? It doesn't involve Christian crucifixes, upright or averse, though it
does have oil and a bell. One might say it has cakes and ale, but
these are not the stolen and desecrated ones of an oppressor, but rather the natural secretions of the participants. I usually think of a Black Mass as a specific attack on the Catholic Rite, reversing and spoiling.

TM> The Star Ruby. Therion and Babalon, who are the Beast and the Scarlet
TM> Woman from the Apocalypse of John, and who are explicitly Satanic
TM> symbols. (The Star Ruby is the Thelemic recension of the Lesser Banishing
TM> Ritual of the Pentagram.)

Only Tim calls it "thelemic recension. It is interesting to note that this ritual was published in two forms by Crowley himself, the other one using Chaos, Babalon, Eros and Psyche. Babalon in this case refers, I think, to the Babalon of Dee and Kelly, rather than the Babalon of Revelation, though Dee and Kelly were certainly aware of the latter. (It pairs with Chaos, who in the Dee and Kelly system would be Choronzon.)

TM> The Star Sapphire. Set, a very close Satanic cognate, and Baphomet,
TM> the demon supposedly worshipped by the Templars.

This ritual is designed to unify opposites. Not surprising that Crowley's Christian opposites would be used. Note that L.V.X. is invoked at the end, and not N.O.X.

TM> The Mass of the Phoenix. The magician carves his or her breast with
TM> the Mark of the Beast, soaks the blood into a cake, and eats it.

I don't know what Tim's source is for the use of the Mark of the Beast.
It may be a confusion with the following ritual. This ritual says 'the proper sign', which I take to be a personal and individual symbol,
which for Crowley may well have been the Marlk of the Beast. But I've found no specific record of what the proper sign is.

TM> Liber V vel Reguli. "Being the Ritual of the Mark of the Beast".
TM> The Beast 666, Therion, Babalon, Averse Pentagrams, "Saturn or Satan
TM> is exalted in the House of Venus or Astarte", "the Father-Mother
TM> Set-Isis", and so on.

This ritual, being the Ritual of the Mark of the Beast, is especially personal to Crowley, and he notes that it is to be adapted for the
daily use of other Magicians.

TM> The Gnostic Mass. Chaos, Babalon, Baphomet, Abrasax, Therion, Simon
TM> Magus, and another reclaiming of the Black Mass with its naked virgin
TM> on the altar. (The G.S. form above is more adapted to the ceremonial
TM> use of two people, while this form is for the puhblic and is veiled
TM> with a cloak of symbolism.) Interestingly, something very like this
TM> ritual may have a great deal to do with our general conception of the
TM> Black Mass, coming from the Star Chamber affair in France. It is
TM> unclear how much of the accusations were exagerrated and brought into
TM> line with the Inquisitional mythology, and how much was an actual
TM> "amatory mass" as some of the sources refer to it.

I disagree from the outset that this is a Black Mass. It is, to me, the adaptation of the Russian Orthodox pomp and circumstance (very
impressive to a Plymouth Bretheren-raised individual) to a fertility religion. It is not the reverse of a religion, it is the use of very standard ritual for another religion.

TM> This ends the appendix containing the principal Thelemic rituals, with
TM> the exception of Liber Samekh. That is so important that it receives
TM> its own appendix, IV. As you know, the emphasis of Liber Samekh on
TM> Satan is intense. It also exalts the Beast and the Scarlet Woman yet
TM> again. This is the ritual of "the Attainment of the Knowledge and
TM> Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel" or Higher Self; in Crowley's
TM> case, he believed this "devil or angel" to be named Aiwaz or Aiwass,
TM> and to have delivered the Book of the Law, the foundation of Thelema.

Liber Samekh was originally developed by Crowley for Crowley at a
particular point on his path, where he was trying to get in contact with his HGA. Note that the Barbarous names themselves have nothing Satanic in them with the possible exception of the mention of Babalon, which I do not think is original. The source of these Barbarous names is a Greco-Egyptian papyrus. The satanic symbold Tim claims are in the ritual are in fact in Crowley's notations of his interpretations. In other words, we are back at Crowley's personal spiritual path. Note that within the ritual the choice of identification of the name and race of the aspirant is up to the aspirant. (This is explained in the commentary Point II, Section Aa) The original ritual had Moses and
Israel, when first rehashed by Mathers. Crowley chose Ankh-af-na-Khonsu and Khem, when he rewrote it, and refers to himself as The Beast 666 directly as an individual who picked these names for this purpose.

TM> I have not mentioned the constant repetition of the Serpent symbol,
TM> which for Crowley was interpreted along the lines of Genesis -- or an
TM> anti-Genesis which reclaimed the pagan symbol demonized in the Hebrew
TM> myth. Someone could object, after all, that Serpent-worship is hardly
TM> confined to Satanism; we have to see how much Crowley explicitly inverted
TM> the tail of the Bible before we can know certainly that he did the same
TM> with the head. So the Serpent or Snake has little evidentiary value
TM> in itself, except where it is very plainly a reference to Genesis, as
TM> in "I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge" in the Book of the Law.
TM>
TM> As we can see, there is not one Thelemic ritual, among those Crowley
TM> thought most important, which is lacking in Satanic symbols.

Tim is here defining Thelema as the aping of Crowley and the use of his personal rituals as dead instruments, rather than live examples.
I would rather call this Crowleyanity, a phase of the development
of the understanding of Thelema that Crowley foresaw and dreaded.

TM> Now, we should also consider Appendix VII, "A Few of the Principal
TM> Instructions Authorised by the A.'.A.'." These are much less Satanic
TM> by and large. Many of them have no Satanic references worth mentioning,
TM> such as the Yogic instructions of Liber HHH, Liber E, and Liber RV,
TM> and the Golden Dawn derived ceremonial magick practices of Liber O,
TM> Liber Yod, Liber Resh, and Liber A. Similarly for the past-life recall
TM> practice (perhaps Theosophical?) of Liber Thisharb and the penultimate
TM> practice of Liber B vel Magi. Yet there are other works in the same
TM> appendix which contain notable Satanic symbolism, such as Liber Astarte,
TM> Liber III, Liber Cheth, and Liber A'ash.

I find it suspicious that he doesn't quote any of these. The mention of Cerberus in Liber III is negative, and this ceratinly has Thelemic gods;
Nuit, Hadit, and the word ABRAHADABRA. Much of the symbolism is from the Book of the Law, the Priestess, the Ox, the Fool, though these do appear elsewhere as well, of course. Liber HHH opens with a quote from Liber LXV, and the aspiration is towards one's own HGA. Liber Astarte quote Liber LXV also and only warnings against the wiles of the devil's distractions, which in this case I take to be simply advice to not break concentration. He does mention Babalon at the end. In Liber RU he refers the reader to Liber XXV and Liber CLXXV, Astarte. These instructions are all intertwined and interrelated, and I think it is erroneous to base conclusions on a few of them, especially ignoring thelemic references when it is convenient to do so.

TM> The interesting thing about the instructions of this category is that,
TM> for the most part, they are not particularly Thelemic either. There is
TM> little mention of the Thelemic trinity of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit,
TM> or of the Book of the Law, or of the word Thelema, or "Do what thou wilt"

As I mention above. this is not true, apart from the purely ceremonial ritual instructions, such as are based on Hebrew CM traditions. It may be that Tim's definition of Thelemic is more restricted than mine. In fact, I think he defined it and then went looking for evidence.

TM> or its cognates such as "the law of liberty". Where these do occur, they
TM> are usually in passing rather than central to the instruction; and in
TM> nearly every case, the degree of Satanic symbolism is proportional to
TM> the degree of Thelemic symbolism.

I think this is an inaccurate representation. He is discounting half the books that have thelemic references, and simply claims they lack them.
This may relate to his more limited definition as to what is Thelemic.

TM> That is, there is hardly a book that contains noteworthy Satanic
TM> symbolism that does not also contain Thelemic symbolism of roughly equal
TM> note, and vice versa. The books which don't contain one rarely contain
TM> the other.

Basically when he discusses gods, he discusses gods. The other books deal with other matters. This is not surprising, given his range of interests.

TM> Liber A vel Armorum could be taken as a counterexample, but even there
TM> the quote from the Book of the Law is merely an opening clause having
TM> no import to the teaching in itself; it is a single sentence stating
TM> Crowley's authority to present the book. If it were omitted, it would
TM> have no effect on the instruction of how to construct elemental weapons.
TM> It's of no more significance than the mention of Typhon in Liber O.

Or perhaps Satan, SET, etc. in all the personally adaptable rituals?

TM> In Liber Astarte and Liber III, the Thelemic and the Satanic symbolism
TM> are both used in passing, almost as afterthoughts. (Astarte also contains
TM> some of the anti-Satanic symbolism that Crowley sometimes uses; the
TM> Thelemic devil is named Choronzon, and here he is presented as leading
TM> the aspirant astray.) In Astarte, the little Satanic symbolism consists
TM> of a reference to Babalon, which is also Thelemic symbolism; the only
TM> other Thelemic references are to Choronzon and a single short clause
TM> (out of fifty clauses) which urges the use of Thelemic books and
TM> aphorisms in the practice. In Liber III, the Thelemic mythology is
TM> solely in an opening benediction which (once again) could easily be
TM> omitted without having the slightest import to the meditation practice,
TM> while the Satanic symbol of "Cerebus, the great Beast of Hell" is almost
TM> as unimportant.

I think Tim is identifying as Thelemic only the mythology mentioned strictly in the Book of the Law. This may be the source of his only identifying Satanic mythology as Thelemic. Thelema embraces a good deal more than the Book of the Law, though of course it is central. But it is good to remember that Crowley got the Book of the Law when he was 29, before he got involved with the OTO, or started the A.'.A.'. He lived to be 72, and never stopped refining the system. The Book of the Law is without a doubt the most satanic book by Crowley. I think this has a lot to do with his state of development at that age.

TM> Was Crowley a Satanist? Is Thelema a form of Satanism? Only the most
TM> contrived definition of "Satanism" could answer these questions "no".

I think these are two very different questions. How does Tim define Thelema?

TM> What would Crowley have answered? In a dedication to "Why Jesus Wept",
TM> he told G. K. Chesterton that he, Crowley, had "found [his] Messiah in
TM>...
TM> the Devil and all his angels", and showed through gematria that the
TM> Serpent was the true Messiah.

Here Crowley is baiting a Catholic, and catching Tim.

TM> In "Magick in Theory and Practice" (cap.IV) and "The Book of Thoth",
TM> and many other places, he praised Satan
TM> at length. He sang rapturous love-songs to the devil in his ritual
TM> practices, and gave him the unholy kiss referred to in the legends of
TM> the templars and the Sabbat. He wrote, in the last chapter of "Magick
TM> in Theory and Practice", that:
TM>
TM> "The Devil" is, historically, the God of any people that one
TM> personally dislikes. This has led to so much confusion of
TM> thought that THE BEAST 666 has preferred to let names stand
TM> as they are, and to proclaim simply that AIWAZ -- the solar-
TM> phallic-hermetic Lucifer -- is His own Holy Guardian Angel,
TM> and "The Devil" SATAN or HADIT of our particular unit of the
TM> Starry Universe. This serpent, SATAN, is not the enemy of
TM> Man, but HE who made Gods of our race, knowing Good and Evil;
TM> He bade "Know Thyself!" and taught Initiation. He is "the
TM> Devil" of the Book of Thoth, and His emblem is BAPHOMET, the
TM> Androgyne who is the hieroglyph of arcane perfection.
TM>
TM> We have no need to speculate on the issue. The man has spoken clearly
TM> for himself.

I agree with this final summation. Crowley has spoken for himself,
and specifically for his own HGA identification. That does not mean that Thelemites all have Satan as their HGA. It would be perfectly viable, if somewhat silly, to consider Hadit the Holy Ghost, Nuit Mary, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit Christ. 'I bring not peace, but a sword!'

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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Liber 837 The Law Of Liberty

Book: Liber 837 The Law Of Liberty by Aleister Crowley

This is a further explanation of the Book of the Law in reference to certain Ethical problems. See also: Equinox III i, p. 45; III x

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Theory And Practice Of Abyss

The founder of Thelema, author Aleister Crowley, says of the Abyss in his Little Essays Toward Truth:

This doctrine is extremely difficult to explain; but it corresponds more or less to the gap in thought between the Real, which is ideal, and the Unreal, which is actual. In the Abyss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but are without any possible meaning; for they lack the substratum of spiritual Reality. They are appearances without Law. They are thus Insane Delusions.
Now the Abyss being thus the great storehouse of Phenomena, it is the source of all impressions.

On a practical level, Crowley's published instructions on the Abyss tell the reader to consider some philosophical problem without using magic or intuition, until the mind focuses on this problem of its own accord: "Then will all phenomena which present themselves to him appear meaningless and disconnected, and his own Ego will break up into a series of impressions having no relation one with the other, or with any other thing." This prepares the student for the mystical experience that Crowley elsewhere calls Shivadarshana.Crowley modeled these instructions on his own experiences in the year 1905. The Vision and the Voice describes two additional methods of entering the Abyss. The first of these "concerns things of which it (was) unlawful to speak openly under penalty of the most dreadful punishment," namely receptive homosexual intercourse under the desert sun that went against Crowley's social habits of conduct or his conscious self-image. The second involves Ceremonial Magic and focuses more on the theory behind the Abyss.

In the Qabalistic system of Crowley, the Abyss contains the 11th (hidden) sephira, Da'ath, which separates the lower sephiroth from the supernals. This account derives from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's view of Genesis, in which Da'ath represents the fall of man from a unified consciousness into a duality between ego and divine nature.[8] The Abyss is guarded by the demon Choronzon, who manifests during the third, ceremonial method of crossing this gulf. He represents those parts of one's consciousness and unconsciousness -- "a momentary unity capable of sensation and of expression," in Crowley's terms -- that are unwilling or unable to enter the Divine. According to Grant Morrison in the Richard Metzger Book of Lies, at least, Choronzon

is Existential Self at the last gasp...Beyond Choronzon we are no longer our Self. The "personality" on the brink of the Abyss will do anything, say anything and find any excuse to avoid taking this disintegrating step into "non-being."

"Crossing the Abyss" is regarded as a perilous operation, and the most important work of the magician's career. Success confers graduation into the degree of Magister Templi, or "Master of the Temple."

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Liber 370 Aash Vel Capricorni Pneumatici

Book: Liber 370 Aash Vel Capricorni Pneumatici by Aleister Crowley

"Liber A'ASH Vel Capricorni Pneumatici Sub Figura CCCLXX. Contains the true secret of all practical magick." Analyzes the nature of the creative magical force in man, explains how to awaken it, how to use it and indicates the general as well as the particular objects to be gained thereby. Sexual magick heavily veiled in symbolism. See also: Equinox I vi; III ix.

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The Enochian Tablets And The Book Of The Law

Book: The Enochian Tablets And The Book Of The Law by Aleister Crowley

It was part of my plan for the Equinox to prepare a final edition of the work of Dr. Dee and Sir Edward Kelly. I had a good many of the data and promised myself to complete them by studying the manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford --- which, incidentally, I did in the autumn; but it struck me that it would be useful to get my large paintings of the four Elemental Watch Towers which I had made in Mexico. I thought these were probably in Boleskine. I decided to go up there for a fortnight or so. Incidentally, I had the conveniences for conferring upon Neuberg the degree of Neophyte, he having passed brilliantly through this year as a Probationer.

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Liber 004 Or Magick Liber Aba

Book: Liber 004 Or Magick Liber Aba by Aleister Crowley

Magick, Liber ABA, Book 4 is widely considered to be the magnum opus of 20th century occultist Aleister Crowley, the founder of Thelema. It is a lengthy treatise on Magick, his system of Western occult practice, synthesized from many sources, including Eastern Yoga, Hermeticism, medieval grimoires, contemporary magical theories from writers like Eliphas Levi and Helena Blavatsky, and his own original contributions. It consists of four parts: Mysticism, Magick (Elementary Theory), Magick in Theory and Practice, and the Law (The Equinox of The Gods). It also includes numerous appendices presenting many rituals and explicatory papers.

In November 1911, Crowley carried out a ritual during which he reports being commanded to write Book 4 by a discarnate entity named "Abuldiz". This was duly accomplished at a villa in Posilippo near Naples, Italy, and was published in the winter of 1912-3.

Liber ABA refers to this work being a part of Crowley's system of libri. In most systems where letters are given numerical value, ABA adds up to 4 (thus the name Book 4).

Much of the book was dictated to several of Crowley's students, who would also ask questions to get clarification. The principal collaborators were Mary Desti (Soror Virakam), Leila Waddell (also known as Laylah), and Mary Butts, all of whom were given coauthorship credit. (from wikipedia.org)

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Gargoyles

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.

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Olla An Anthology Of Sixty Years Of Song

Book: Olla An Anthology Of Sixty Years Of Song by Aleister Crowley

The last book Crowley published before his death. An Anthology of Sixty Years of song by Aleister Crowley. Poetry. Aleister Crowley's best poems selection.

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Secret Agent 666 Introduction

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.

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Will In Thelema

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

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.

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What Crowley Got To Do With Thelema

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…

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Liber 860 John St John The Record Of The Magical Retirement

Book: Liber 860 John St John The Record Of The Magical Retirement by Aleister Crowley

John St. John. The Record of the Magical Retirement of G.H. Frater O.M. (Aleister Crowley). A model of what a Magical record should be, so far as accurate Analysis and fullness are concerned. Equinox I i, Supplement

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Thelemic Holy Days

Part of the spiritual discipline of a Thelemite consists in the coordination of his personal, individual, terrestrial life with the great cosmic cycles that regulate the life of the earth and humanity. Accepting the Law of Thelema is itself such an act of coordination or alignment with the cosmic cycle known as the precession of the equinoxes. Crowley implies that the New Aeon of Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child, which began with the self-revelation of Aiwass at the Vernal Equinox, 1904 e.v., corresponds to the advent of the astrological Age of Aquarius. By aligning one's personal life with the universal life mediated by these cycles one becomes a vehicle of the manifestation of the universal life, thus making oneself a channel of higher spiritual forces which in turn accelerate one's natural spiritual evolution and affect the karma of the planet.

Other cycles with which the Thelemite aligns his life are the diurnal motion of the Sun, specifically, sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight; the diurnal rising of the star or constellation rising in his horoscope; the diurnal rising of the lunar orb; the monthly lunar cycle, especially the new and full moons; the monthly entry of the sun into the signs of the zodiac; the annual solar cycle of the equinoxes and solstices; and an annual calendar of holy days prescribed in the Book of the Law, as follows:

The First Night of the Prophet and His Bride, corresponding to the consummation of the marriage of Aleister Crowley and Rose Edith Crowley on August 12, 1903 e.v.;
The Writing of the Book of the Law, on April 8, 9, and 10, 1904 e.v.; and
The Supreme Ritual, commemorating the successful Invocation of Horus on March 20, 1904 e.v.

All these times are celebrated by means of rituals, in which energy is generated, and feasts, in which energy is both discharged and absorbed. In addition, Aiwass' directs that the birth, puberty, and death of Thelemites and their children are to be celebrated. Many Thelemites also observe the "quarter-days" of the wiccan religion, viz., Samhain (November 1 eve), Imbolc (February 1 eve), Beltaine (May 1 eve), and Lammas (August 1 eve). Finally, the Book of the Law alludes to a mysterious feast of Tahuti, which has never been satisfactorily explained.

The Problem of Aleister Crowley's Reputation:

Many criticisms of the Law of Thelema are based on a moral critique of the personal character and conduct of Aleister Crowley. These accusations generally resolve themselves into seven basic assertions: that he was a pornographer, traitor, sexual deviant, sado-masochist, womanizer, drug addict/alcoholic, or even psychotic. Each of these accusations can be discussed in the context of the evidence. It is certainly true that Crowley published or wrote pornographic poems and stories, and was extremely interested in extreme sexual experimentation; that he wrote apparently pro-German propaganda in America during the First World War;

that he engaged in sexual relationships with both men and women; that he engaged in physically and psychologically abusive sexual relationships; that he professed contempt for women; that he drank heavily and became severely addicted to heroin in middle-age; and that he experienced ASCs, generally induced rather than spontaneous.

Strictly speaking, however, the truth or falsehood of any of these claims is unrelated to the truth or falsehood of the Law of Thelema, just as the truth or falsehood of the Tractatus Philosophicus is unrelated to the fact that Wittgenstein was an homosexual. As every first year philosophy student learns, truth or falsehood is not a moral quality or a function of the personal psyche, and it is quite possible for a morally mean or even psychologically dysfunctional person to experience and express insights that are both beautiful and true.

The history of Western civilization provides numerous examples, many of whom are studied in universities. Crowley himself regards the pursuit of spiritual realization as a science, in which moral considerations are either secondary or entirely irrelevant. Crowley himself writes, "Since the ultimate truth of teleology is unknown, all codes of morality are arbitrary. Therefore the student has no concern with ethics as such." Philosophically, then, aleister crowley is an amoralist.

Nevertheless, the Law of Thelema does imply an ethical teaching. The doctrine of the Black Brothers itself implies a kind of moral judgement. The essential ethical teaching of the Law of Thelema is that each and every individual has an absolute and inalienable right to pursue his own True Will without restriction by others, and that no one has the ethical or moral right or duty to compel another to pursue any other path, or even the capacity to criticize them. A Thelemite who knows his True Will can however guide others in accordance with universal principles, but the relationship should not be one of imitation. If Aleister Crowley violated his own or any other individual's True Will at any time, he simply violated his own law and paid the karmic price, but this does not invalidate the Law itself.

Great art and true philosophies are both created by scoundrels, but we balk when a scoundrel creates a true religion. The imitative tendency, which Crowley despised, is deep. Since imitating the moral example of a founder is not the ethical teaching of the Law of Thelema, every Thelemite is free to imitate Aleister Crowley's personal lifestyle or not as they choose, although Crowley himself advises against it, warning that those who try to do so will be possessed or obsessed by the "vision of the demon Crowley" (Crowley, who was an amateur artist, even drew a sketch of this particular demon). Unfortunately, as the history of the Law of Thelema shows with great clarity, Crowley's advice was accurate, and numerous heedless Thelemites have been devoured as a result.

The True Will represents the inertia of the universe, and is irresistible (if not, that simply proves that it is not the True Will). However, no one may restrict the True Will of another, unless another chooses, without coercion, to be so restricted.

Aleister Crowley should be understood as a natural phenomenon, without moral judgement. A prophet is himself merely a symptom of the zeitgeist. A storm is not "evil." Aleister Crowley was a storm, which may yet sink the ship of the Judaeo-Christian civilization that he despised.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Aristotle - On Dreams
Frater Hoor - A Thelemic Calendar
Aleister Crowley - Duty