Now, o my Son, that thou mayst be well guarded against thy ghostly Enemies, do thou work constantly by the Means prescribed in our Holy Books.
Neglect never the fourfold Adorations of the Sun in his four Stations, for thereby thou doest affirm thy Place in Nature and her Harmonies.
Neglect not the Performance of the Ritual of the Pentagram, and of the Assumption of the Form of Hoor-pa-Kraat.
Neglect not the daily Miracle of the Mass, either by the Rite of the Gnostic Catholic Church, or that of the Phoenix.
Neglect not the Performance of the Mass of the Holy Ghost, as Nature herself prompteth thee.
Travel also much in the Empyrean in the Body of Light, seeking ever Abodes more fiery and lucid.
Finally, exercise constantly the Eight Limbs of Yoga. And so shalt thou come to the End.
—Liber Aleph
W ILL IS THE SOUL of Aleister Crowley's magical philosophy; his famous definition of magick is “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.” 4 He named his system Thelema after the Greek word for Will. Everyone has a Will —a purpose, unique talent, calling, or function in the smooth running of that magnificent cosmic machine which is the Universe. Magick provides the tools to accomplish two things: First is to “know thyself”—to use techniques like journaling, meditation, ritual, and invocation to identify your personal strengths and successes—and thereby discover your true Will. The second is to use these same tools to accomplish your Will.
Find your Will and do it. Sounds easy. But all the books written on magick; the varieties of magical and mystical systems through the millennia; the universities filled with college students wondering “What should I major in?”; the plethora of “self-help” books filling modern bookstores; and the workplaces occupied by people simply “getting by” in unfulfilling jobs, are all testimony to the fact that this is anything but easy. Crowley's innovation was to repurpose the traditions of magick to make this task more efficient.
Another of Crowley's innovations was to bring magick into the modern age. He coined the term “scientific illuminism” for his approach, which applies the scientific method to magick. This includes an emphasis on reproducibility . Rituals and exercises are performed precisely so that they can be replicated by others. Likewise, you should get clear and reproducible results with practice: If not, the particular ritual or exercise you're doing is (for you) merely superstition. To build a record of success, students first master these techniques in simple, mundane, and measurable goals before applying them to the higher purposes of magick.
Crowley also united the various systems of the East and West into a cohesive package. Magick recognizes certain universal truths contained within all religious and spiritual systems. Crowley attempted to extract that essence from the teachings of the world's varied schools of spiritual attainment. Building on an idea common in esoteric groups like the Theosophical Society and the Golden Dawn, he forged a particularly effective integration of Western magic, Eastern yoga, Qabalah, Hermeticism, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and other mystery traditions throughout history.
Here follows a brief analysis of the major trends of spiritual development united in Crowley's system. Later we will look at the Holy Books he penned and some of their common themes.
Tribute and hyperbole are paid in equal measure to the medieval magical textbooks, called grammars or grimoires . These occult recipe books involve summoning angels (or demons) to do one's bidding— everything from making “three girls (or gentlemen) appear in your room after supper” to causing “Seething Water to come forth anon after thou hast put it in thy Hand.” Much as we might like to see that last trick, we now live in more enlightened times— hopefully. Nevertheless, grimoires like the Key of Solomon, Lesser Key of Solomon (the Goetia or Lemegeton ), Grimoire of Armadel , Grimoire of Pope Honorius and others still influence today's practices. These “forbidden books” give magick the following traditions:
The present discussion is historical. Modern mystical and magical practices will be discussed in the next three chapters.
Two especially important traditions focus on angelic magic. One of these, The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage , deals with how to contact one's Holy Guardian Angel (see Chapter 2 ). Another is the Enochian magic of Dr. John Dee (1527–1609) and Edward Kelly (1555–1597). The former was one of Europe's most learned men, court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth, a mathematician, cryptographer, and owner of England's largest private library. Kelly, on the other hand, was a convict and a spirit medium. Inspired by the apocryphal Book of Enoch , they summoned and conversed with angels, learning not only their magic but also their language, Enochian. These communications became the basis of the Enochian magic that played such a large role in the Golden Dawn, and in many of Crowely's writings, especially “A Brief Abstract Representation of the Universe” and The Vision and the Voice . The latter is the first recorded systematic exploration of Dee's Enochian Calls.
Long before a red string around the wrist signaled its entry into popculture trendiness, the Qabalah was already the heart and soul of the Western mystery tradition. More than the lingua franca of magick, its Tree of Life is the diagram of creation and the road map for attainment. The Qabalah is nothing less than the occult Rosetta stone: It translates the languages of astrology, tarot, mythology, and pretty much anything else you can imagine into a common vocabulary.
It's deceptively simple. In magick, the principle of correspondence says that like things go together: The planet Venus is named after a Roman goddess, who is also the Greek Aphrodite and the Norse Freya or Frigg, who gives her name to Friday (Freya's Day). She is also identified with the Egyptian Hathor, Netzach (Victory) on the Tree of Life, the Empress card of the Tarot, the Emerald, and the Rose. (See 777 .)
One may not need Hebrew mysticism to make such lists, but the Qabalah's Tree of Life (illustrated on page 40) provides a handy way to keep them organized. The 10 Sephiroth and 22 interconnecting Paths can be written out as a thirty-two-item list. So long as our table is keyed to the organizational model of the Tree of Life diagram, we can put all our lists together and read across rather than down. In so doing, we see what ideas go together. Here are some examples of a few very important attributions collected together into tables that shed light on the esoteric meaning of a series of related symbols:
Memorizing these connections may seem like a daunting task at first. Just remember that Crowley, upon joining the Golden Dawn, was bitterly disappointed that he was simply given the Hebrew alphabet to memorize, nothing more. Study and learn one column at a time. Only after you can close this book, write the numbers one through ten or eleven through thirty-two on a piece of paper and easily fill in their correspondences from memory should you move on to the next column. It will take time, but it will be well worth it: Crowley speaks in the language of Qabalistic correspondence, and you need to understand it thoroughly to get the most out of your magical studies. 6
As discussed earlier, the magical groups championed by Aleister Crowley derive from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century secret societies like the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians. Some students find it helpful to read up on their heritage and place it in the larger context of popular fraternal groups of the era. It can also help to realize that the O.T.O. and A
A
didn't appear fully formed in a vacuum but built on older traditions. The roots of the O.T.O. are entwined with numerous Masonic and quasi-Masonic groups like the Illuminati (0° and VIII°), Blue Lodge (I°–III°), Lodge of Perfection (IV°/P.I.) and Scottish Rite (V°–VII°), as well as more exotic rites like Memphis-Misraim, Martinism, and the Swedenborgian Rite. Likewise, A
A
builds on the Golden Dawn model, which itself is an outgrowth of groups like Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, the Society of Eight, the Fratres Lucis, and the Gold und Rosenkreuzers. While some may find history and legitimacy in tracing these roots, it isn't necessary to be a historian in order to be a magician.
The magical and theurgical traditions of second century Greece coalesced in various guises as Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and Hermeticism. All these traditions work their way into Crowley's magical worldview. Golden Dawn founder William Wynn Westcott translated the Chaldean Oracles and similar texts of this period, which were incorporated into the Order's initiation rituals. Crowley frequently cites or paraphrases the Chaldean Oracles as well. Likewise, the Goetia that Crowley published (translated by Golden Dawn founder S. L. MacGregor Mathers) has prefixed to it a “Preliminary Invocation” which originates not from Solomonic tradition at all, but from a Graeco-Egyptian magical papyrus in the British Museum. Crowley thought this invocation so important that, dubbing it the Augoeides or “Bornless One,” he analyzed it in “Liber Samekh” and used it as an invocation of his Holy Guardian Angel.
Another idea central to Crowley's system is that of Gnosis: That practitioners of magick can—and must—obtain meaningful insight into the divine through direct experience. Although the bulk of the known Gnostic texts were not discovered until 1945 at Nag Hammadi, enough was known to inspire the French Gnostic revival of the 1890s, from which the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica emerged. As early as The Sword of Song (1904), Crowley referred to the Codex Brucianus , one of the Gnostic texts known in his time. Interestingly, the fundamental idea of Gnosticism—encountering the divine without the need for intermediaries—is not far removed from the Plymouth Brethren, who believed that any Christian, not just priests, can celebrate the Lord's Supper.
The mythology and religion of Egypt made a profound impact on the culture of Crowley's generation, and the popular fascination with all things Egyptian shows no sign of waning today. In Crowley's day, the Rosetta stone had only recently unlocked the previously-indecipherable mysteries of Egyptian hieroglyphics. 7 Until that time, careless speculation filled in what was unknown about Egypt. This led to claims like that of Antoine Court de Gébelin (ca. 1719–1784), who wrote in Le Monde Primitif (1781), that the tarot derived from ancient pictograms of Egyptian initiatory rites; since the language had not yet been translated, nobody could say he was wrong.
While neither Crowley nor the Golden Dawn followed the Egyptian religious traditions per se, they assimilated names, ideas, and archetypes from the pantheons into their lexicon of symbolism. One of Crowley's most fundamental magical instructions, “Liber Resh” (see Chapter 6 ), involves addressing the sun four times daily with various appellations of the Egyptian sun god. Crowley's book on the tarot, The Book of Thoth , takes its name from the Egyptian god of magic and of writing. He named the “honeymoon,” “burnout,” and “second wind” phases of any undertaking (particularly magical work) after the gods Isis, Apophis, and Osiris, respectively: Isis is the Egyptian Venus, Apophis the adversary serpent who threatens to swallow the sun, and Osiris is the slain and resurrected god. These gods also serve as an arcanum for the Gnostic holy name IAO, which was itself the Greek version of the Hebrew Yahweh (YHVH).
Crowley named historical epochs (or spiritual dispensations) of mankind after the Egyptian divinities: Early matriarchal and fertility religions, of which the Venus of Willendorf is a popular archetype, he identified with the goddess Isis; the period dominated by slain and resurrected figures (including Jesus, Attis, Adonis, Dionysus, etc.) was named after Osiris; and the current era, the New Aeon of the Crowned and Conquering Child, or new age of mankind, after their child, Horus.
The most significant Egyptian connection to Thelema is, of course, the revelation of The Book of the Law. It is intimately associated with the Theban priest Ankh-f-n-Khonsu (ca. 725 B.C.E. ), and its three chapters are attributed to three different Egyptian figures. Nuit is Infinite Space, the starry night sky. Hadit, the point of individuation, is depicted on the Stele of Revealing as a winged disk. Heru-ra-ha is a name for Horus as the Lord of the Aeon of Thelema. Horus in his active form is known as Ra-Hoor-Khuit, seated on his throne on the Stele. In his passive form, Horus is known as Hoor-paar-kraat (Hoor-pa-kraat or Harpocrates), most often iconographically depicted in the Sign of Silence.
In 1902, not long before Crowley's magical mentor and tutor, Allan Bennett, moved to Burma and entered a Buddhist monastery, Crowley paid him an extended visit in Ceylon and studied under him and his guru, Ponnambalam Ramanathan. 8 Crowley thus experienced firsthand the spiritual disciplines of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Orientalists like Max Müller (1823–1900), Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843–1922) and Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) 9 had already introduced these ideas to the West. They were embraced particularly by the Theosophical Society, which eventually migrated in both emphasis and location away from the West to Adyar, India. However, Crowley achieved an unprecedented level of integration between Eastern and Western occultism. His system of attainment goes far deeper into the techniques of yoga than any of the other Western hermetic schools.
Crowley's writings cover not only the central ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism but also place extensive emphasis on the Eight Limbs of Yoga discussed by Patanjali. 10 These include various yogic practices such as asana (posture) and pranayama (breathwork) along with many other more advanced forms of meditation and concentration. 11 Crowley refers often to the Buddhist doctrine of dukkha (the belief that attachment to material things is the cause of all suffering, karma, and reincarnation). The Hindu idea that our world of individuality and separateness is maya (illusion), and that the ultimate reality is actually universal consciousness, finds its expression in the words of Nuit in The Book of the Law , “the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all.”
Crowley contributed a unique body of spiritual literature to the Western esoteric tradition. These texts originated from sources beyond human understanding. Crowley taught that they should not be changed by even a single letter, lest doing so alter or erase some subtle truth in the document which we are not yet equipped to comprehend. These unchangeable documents he called “Class A,” and they play the central role in the doctrine of Thelema. While The Book of the Law is preeminent in the Thelemic canon, several other Class A books followed from 1907 until the early 1920s (see table on page 66).
The “Short” (or “Tunis”) “Comment” (itself a Class A document) instructs people to arrive at their own understanding of The Book of the Law by reading its contents and looking exclusively to Crowley's writings for clarification. Especially helpful in this regard is The Law Is for All (edited by Louis Wilkinson and Hymenaeus Beta). The Law Is for All is the “popular” edition of Crowley's voluminous commentaries, edited at Crowley's request into a concise package by his friend Louis Wilkinson (Frater T.A.K.A.T.A. [1881–1966]). Here, Crowley takes The Book of the Law line by line and offers his explanations and musings on its verses. The Revival of Magick (edited by Hymenaeus Beta and Richard Kaczynski) is also useful. It collects together the essays on Thelema and magick which Crowley wrote for a general readership, explaining himself without the technical language and references that make so many of his other books—often written for hard-core students of magick—so difficult for the beginner.
I believe it's possible to summarize some of Crowley's writings on The Book of the Law while remaining faithful to the intent of the “Short Comment.” Key concepts he noted include the following:
Aeons : The world progresses through a series of Aeons, millennialong epochs where the primary magical formula is based on an archetype, first of the Mother (Isis); second of the Father slain and reborn (Osiris); and then of the Child (Horus), which The Book of the Law heralded.
Will : The Greek word Θελημα(Thelema) or Will refers to the legitimate expression of a person's human and divine natures. It may be compared to one's purpose, function, calling, destiny, mission, or similar concept. In accordance with the principle “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” Thelemites devote themselves entirely to the discovery and fulfillment of their true Wills. (Note: The value of Thelema Θελημα in the Greek Qabalah is 93, in fact, the same value as the Greek word for Love, Agapé (Aγαπη). This led Crowley to abbreviate the phrase, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” as “93”; and its corollary, “Love is the law, love under will” as “93 93/93.” Thelemites often greet each other with “93.”)
Individuality : Along with Will come other ideas which emphasize the uniqueness of every individual. Liberty and freedom are common themes in Crowley's writings, for people must be free to pursue their Wills unfettered. (See “Liber Oz,” reproduced in Appendix III.) I believe this necessarily implies moral relativism—a code of conduct dictated by one's conscience rather than moral absolutes, assuming one does not interfere with the equally valid Will of others. 12 The poet and the soldier will behave differently, neither inherently wrong, yet each appropriate to the individuals' roles. On the other hand, Thelema may never be cited as an excuse for crime. This is a complex issue, perhaps best summarized by Crowley in the statement, “Collision is the only crime in the cosmos.” 13
Inclusiveness: The philosophy expounded in Liber AL is syncretic, which is to say it expresses ideas from Egyptian, Qabalistic, Buddhist, Christian, and other traditions. In his essay “Duty,” 14 Crowley elaborates on “Love is the law, love under will” by explaining that we ought to experience and assimilate every new point of view that we encounter, thus creating a broader foundation on which to understand the world.
On the other hand, The Book of the Law makes clear in no uncertain terms that its doctrine replaces those of the Old Aeon. “Behold! the rituals of the old time are black. Let the evil ones be cast away; let the good ones be purged by the prophet! Then shall this Knowledge go aright.” (AL II:5). Statements such as the following from the third chapter of The Book of the Law also militate against the idea of a New Age multicultural approach in Thelema.
49. I am in a secret fourfold word, the blasphemy against all gods of men.
50. Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!
51. With my Hawk's head I peck at the eyes of Jesus as he hangs upon the cross.
52. I flap my wings in the face of Mohammed & blind him.
53. With my claws I tear out the flesh of the Indian and the Buddhist, Mongol and Din.
54. Bahlasti! Ompehda! I spit on your crapulous creeds.
Joy of Union : The Theravada Buddhism with which Crowley was familiar taught that the separateness of the world is all an illusion (maya ), ultimately leading to suffering and transmigration. By contrast, The Book of the Law teaches that worldly divisions, and any suffering from the illusion of separateness, are overshadowed by the spiritual ecstasy of divine, passionate union. Where Buddhism says all existence is sorrow (dukkha ), Thelema says that existence is “pure joy.”
Cast of Characters : Nuit, the Egyptian goddess of the star-filled night sky, represents infinite space, the unlimited possibilities of the universe, the All. “. . . I am Infinite Space, and the Infinite Stars thereof. . .” 15 Hadit (Had) is just one of those possibilities, a particular point embodying unique and supreme individuality, the infinite defining itself as the finite. 16 “In the sphere I am everywhere the centre, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found.” 17 Ra-Hoor- Khuit is the warrior god, the child, born of the union of the All with the One, come forth in the world as sovereign manifestation. “Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the strength, force, vigour, of your arms.” 18
Holy Days : The Book of the Law outlines a calendar of Thelemic holy days. These include the rituals of the elements which Crowley mentions in the New Comment as the equinoxes and solstices (approximately March 20, June 21, September 21, and December 23). Other significant days include the anniversary of Crowley's wedding to Rose Kelly (August 12, 1903, the “feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride”), and the three days on which The Book of the Law was written (April 8, 9, and10). Three major life events are also observed for each individual: birth (“a feast for life”), puberty (“A feast for fire and a feast for water”) and death (“a greater feast for death”). Finally, there are daily and nightly feasts unto Hadit and Nuit, respectively. The vernal equinox traditionally marks the beginning of the Thelemic new year, counting from 1904.
The table on page 66 briefly summarizes the names, dictation dates, and subject matter of the Class A writings, including all the Holy Books penned by Crowley. They range in length from a single page to several chapters. They may be found in The Vision and the Voice and Other Papers, The Holy Books of Thelema , and The Equinox.
4 Magick , p. 126.
5 See 777 for these attributions. Note that this table reflects the Hé and Tzaddi switch as discussed in detail in The Book of Thoth and Magick.
6 Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah is an excellent introduction to this subject.
7 The stone was discovered by Napoleon's army in 1799, and in 1822 used by Jean-François Champollion to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
8 Ramanathan (1851–1930) was a Shaivite, and author of the books On Faith or Love of God (1897), An Eastern Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus According to St. Matthew (1898) and An Eastern Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus According to St. John (1902).
9 Author of the immensely popular Light of Asia.
10 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are published in various editions. Raja Yoga by Vivekananda was one of Crowley's favorites. See also Crowley's Eight Lectures on Yoga .
11 The yogic books include “Liber E” (asana ), “Liber Ru” (pranayama ) and “Liber Astarté” (bhakti yoga ). All are found in Magick , The Equinox , and Gems from the Equinox . Similarly, the entirety of Book 4 Part II (1913) is dedicated to yoga; this book is reproduced in Magick . An excellent modern overview is The Weiser Concise Guide to Yoga for Magick by Nancy Wasserman.
12 [Editor's Note: The meaning of “moral relativism” in a Thelemic context is far more complex than its typical secular humanist connotation. For the individual, morality is Absolute, “thou hast no right but to do thy will.” On the other hand, what's right for you may be wrong for me. In Magick in Theory and Practice (page 262), Crowley described the moral teachings of Do what thou wilt as “the most sublimely austere ethical precept ever uttered, despite its apparent license...”—J.W.]
13 Crowley, Aleister. The Law Is for All: The Authorized Popular Commentary of Liber AL vel Legis sub figura CCXX, The Book of the Law , ed. Louis Wilkinson and Hymenaeus Beta. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon, 1991, p. 53.
14 In Crowley, Aleister, The Revival of Magick and Other Papers , ed. Hymenaeus Beta and Richard Kaczynski, Tempe, AZ: New Falcon, 1998.
16 One could compare this to the “quantum cloud” idea of electrons: Unobserved, electrons exist as a probability “cloud” showing all possible locations of the electron simultaneously; once observed, this probability wave collapses and the odds of a specific location rises to 100 percent.
