A
and one O.T.O.Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I HAD ORIGINALLY INTENDED to write this book myself. Time constraints suggested I offer it to someone I could respect and trust. Richard Kaczynski was the natural choice. A gifted scholar, he is well-versed in Thelema (the Greek word meaning “will,” by which Crowley's teaching is designated). Richard is the author of the excellent biography of Aleister Crowley, Perdurabo. He is a highranking member of O.T.O. whose service has gained him the admiration and appreciation of many. Our friendship allowed me to speak directly about my concerns for a doctrinally accurate book. He cheerfully and humbly accepted my condition that the work be vetted and approved by a carefully chosen board of Thelemic scholars and magicians.
I am happy the gods have directed the project as they have. Richard and I come from different generations. He will be closer to the shared experiences of many readers than I might be. In 1977, the year he was enthusiastically bicycling home at age 14 with his first copy of Magick in Theory and Practice tucked in his backpack, I was 29 and in the throes of a magical ordeal demanding I develop “certainty, not faith” to sustain my very life and sanity.
This book is not an attempt to provide a broad survey of current Thelemic “offerings,” e.g. the multiplicity of recent “orders” and “schools of interpretation.” We acknowledge one A
A
and one O.T.O.
We will also avoid the interpretations so common to much post-Crowley magical literature. This is an attempt to document Crowley's teaching as he designed his system, with some reference to the modern development of Thelema. O.T.O. Frater Superior Hymenaeus Beta has spent many years brilliantly editing the corpus of Crowley literature. I also highly recommend J. Daniel Gunther's Initiation in the Aeon of the Child: The Inward Journey (Ibis Press, 2009), which is, in my opinion, the most important doctrinal contribution since Crowley's death.
Otherwise, my recommendations on magical literature have remained unchanged for decades. Read Crowley. If you don't understand what he is saying, buy a dictionary. If you're still unclear about what he means, keep trying. Once in a while you may be lucky enough to meet someone who can help shed light on the subject. I sincerely hope Richard Kaczynski and this book can serve that function for you. Crowley gave us a very intelligible guide to the importance he placed on his individual writings by organizing them in a literary classification system. Richard explains this fully on page 33. Such a system is unique in the annals of religious history and is further confirmation of Aleister Crowley's stature as a world teacher.
On a personal level, this book conjures the spirits of departed loved ones and guides—angel-headed hipsters whose lives are intimately entwined with my earlier years and quest for an understanding of Aleister Crowley—Grady McMurtry, Harry Smith, Angus Maclise, and Richard Gernon.
May this book serve as a Lamp to illumine your steps as you seek to discover your True Will.
Love is the law, love under will.