Archive
Thelema unites that which Christianity divided apart
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
“The word of the Law is THELEMA… The word of Sin is Restriction. O man! refuse not thy wife, if she will! O lover, if thou wilt, depart! There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: all else is a curse.” -The Book of the Law
One problem with Christianity, and symptomatic of Western thinking in general, is its tendency to see opposites as completely irreconcilable: God is opposed to Devil, God’s will opposed to man’s will, Life opposed to death, and even saintliness opposed to sinfulness.
The Holy Books of Thelema assert the complementarity and even Unity of opposites over and over again. Constantly we are urged to accept all things including both high and low, good and bad, dark and light:
“My adepts stand upright; their head above the heavens, their feet below the hells.” (Liber Tzaddi)
Instead of striving merely to the heights and light, we must also strive to our depths and to darkness to be at complete equilibrium. The Beast 666 writes:
“The male must have completed himself and become androgyne; the female, and become gynander. This incompleteness imprisons the soul. To think ‘I am not woman, but man” or vice versa, is to limit one’s self, to set a bar to one’s motion. It is the root of the ‘shutting-up’ which culminates in become ‘Mary inviolate’ or a ‘Black Brother.””
The terms ‘Mary inviolate’ and ‘Black Brother’ are specific symbols used in The Book of the Law and Liber 418: The Vision and the Voice (which Crowley believed to be only second in importance to the Book of the Law) which can be studied therein. The basic idea of both these symbols is where the Ego shuts itself off from the world, insisting on a separate identity, proclaiming “I am I!” instead of the mystic statement of love under will, “Thou art That, and That am I!” This goes back to the idea presented in the beginning of this post: the person represented by ‘Mary inviolate’ or ‘Black brother’ refuses to accept the complementarity and even unity of opposites, including self vs. other.
This is also begins to show how people accusing Thelema of base ‘selfishness’ and ‘egocentrism’ are actually fundamentally incorrect. They would be closer to the truth, though, if they insist on ‘Willishness’ and ‘Willcentrism.’
We of Thelema do not divide but unite all things in “love under will” since Love is union. We unite in ourselves:
- God & Devil
- Light & darkness
- Masculinity & femininity
- Good & evil
- High & low
- East & West
- Life & death
- Virtue & vice, etc.
In this way, Thelema is a system of incorporation – Love that expands, assimilates, and includes all things – rather than castration, i.e. “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” [Mark 9:47, Matt. 5:29]. In this way we heal the rift in ourselves that Christianity has caused along with the attending neurosis & obsession over sin & salvation.
In short, Thelema unites that which Christianity has divided – the Soul of every man and woman.
“For Perfection abideth not in the Pinnacles, or in the Foundations, but in the ordered Harmony of one with all.” (Liber Causae)
Love is the law, love under will.
Thelema is post-Christianity, not anti-Christianity #2
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
“Not ‘Thy will be done’ but ‘Do what thou wilt!'” This is the sub-title or slogan of the Christianity is Dead, Thelema Lives series. This very phrase speaks to not the destruction but the continuation, fulfillment, and perfection of Christianity in the Law of Thelema.
We do not say that Jesus is dead, or that Christians are dead. Christianity is dead, and Thelema lives. Thelema is the torch by which we pass on the Flame of Gnosis through the Aeons.
Whereas in the Old Aeon of the Suffering Man – symbolized by Jesus and Osiris – found the source of Light outside of Man in the person of Jesus, in “The New Aeon [we] proclaim Man as Immortal God, eternally active to do His Will. All’s Joy, all’s Beauty; this Will we celebrate.”
“Every man and every woman is a star,” according to the Book of the Law and each star is like the Sun: a center of life, light, force, and fire. That is, the Fire of God burns in the heart of every man & every woman. God is found in one’s own Heart – the Self of oneself, “Thou who art I beyond all I am, who hast no nature and no name, who art, when all but thou are gone, Thou centre & secret of the Sun” (Gnostic Mass).
“Each star has a function in its galaxy proper to its own nature. Much mischief has come from our ignorance in insisting, on the contrary, that each citizen is fit for any and every social duty. But also our Law teaches that a star often veils itself from its nature. Thus the vast bulk of humanity is obsessed by an abject fear of freedom; the principal objections hitherto urged against my Law have been those of people who cannot bear to imagine the horrors which would result if they were free to do their own wills. The sense of sin, shame, self-distrust, this is what makes folk cling to Christianity-slavery.” (Commentaries to Liber AL)
The central rite of the Ordo Templi Orientis, the first of the Masonic Orders to accept the Law of Liberty, is the Gnostic Mass. This rite is also called “Liber XV” and “Ecclesiæ Gnosticæ Catholicæ Canon Missæ.” The Beast 666 himself writes, “[Liber XV] represents the original and true pre-Christian Christianity.” (Magick Without Tears). This Gnostic Mass is “the central ceremony of [the O.T.O.’s] public and private celebration, corresponding to the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church” (Confessions).
The Mass itself reflects that Christianity has preserved the Gnosis – or True Wisdom – despite its exoteric dogmas and superstitions. “The Christian Religion is packed… with survivals of pagan rites” (Liber 888). As the Beast 666 says, “Christmas is at the winter solstice, the birth of Christ put for the birth of the Sun… It is rather amusing to observe that ultra-Protestants, in proving that Roman Catholicism is pagan and phallic, which they do quite irrefutably, need merely to be confronted with the proof of the Catholics that every point of their religion is derived from Scripture, to form the premisses of a syllogism, whose conclusion is that Christianity is but an adaptation of Phallicism.” (Liber 888)
And with that, we close with a version of the “Lord’s Prayer” which is appropriate to this New Aeon of the Crowned & Conquering Child:
Hoor hath a secret fourfold name: it is Do What Thou Wilt.
Four Words: Naught-One-Many-All.
Thou-Child!
Thy Name is holy.
Thy Kingdom is come.
Thy Will is done.
Here is the Bread.
Here is the Blood.
Bring us through Temptation!
Deliver us from Good and Evil!
That Mine as Thine be the Crown of the Kingdom, even now.
ABRAHADABRA.
These ten words are four, the Name of the One.
(Book of Lies, ch.2)
Related posts:
- Thelema is post-Christianity, not anti-Christianity #1
- Thelema has Certainty of Experience, not Superstitious Faith & Belief
- God in Thelema is not the morbid Christian God
(join the discussion on the XiD Facebook page!)
Love is the law, love under will.
Jesus is not the Savior, You are!
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
“The New Aeon proclaims Man as Immortal God, eternally active to do His Will. All’s Joy, all’s Beauty; this Will we celebrate.” -Aleister Crowley
God’s will is expressed by every man and every woman doing their wills. Man & woman’s will is not inherently opposed to God’s, but an expression thereof. In doing our own will we fulfill the Will of God.
“Thou must (1) Find out what is thy Will. (2) Do that Will with a) one-pointedness, (b) detachment, (c) peace. Then, and then only, art thou in harmony with the Movement of Things, thy will part of, and therefore equal to, the Will of God. And since the will is but the dynamic aspect of the self, and since two different selves could not possess identical wills; then, if thy will be God’s will, Thou art That.” (Liber II)
Each person is a center of God’s Light, we do not need to borrow or depend upon another’s Light. Every man and every woman is a star, and the flame of God burns in the core of every star and the heart of all people. In giving forth our own light we give forth the Light of God.
Each person is a vehicle of God’s Love. The stars of Mankind get their fill and will of love as they will, when, where and with whom they will! In performing acts of “love under will,” we express God’s Love.
This isn’t Will, Light, and Love of God that is clouded with the morbid insistence on your wretchedness, baseness, sinfulness, and unworthiness. On the contrary, “Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.” (The Book of the Law)
“Bring us through Temptation! Deliver us from Good and Evil! That Mine as Thine be the Crown of the Kingdom even now.” (Book of Lies, ch.2)
We need not look up to God but look with even eyes… no, the same eyes! In a sense, Jesus was an example of the Man-God, who was both Man and God. In him was God made Man and Man made God. God ’sent’ Jesus to show that God & Man are & can be One. When we come to know ourselves as God and perform our Will as one with God’s Will – that is when we become our own savior. We do not need a savior from sin, but a savior from the restriction – external & internal – that inhibits us from full expression of Will.
(join the discussion on the XiD Facebook page!)
Love is the law, love under will.
Christian responses to encountering the Beast 666
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
If anything, this blog ‘Christianity is Dead’ has exposed many Christians to the Law of Liberty. These are quotations are to show that, although perhaps not accepting & promoting it, Christians are at least examining the message of Thelema:
- “You know what – I am going to take up this challenge and look deeply at ‘Thelema’ and Aleister Crowley’s life – to see what is taught and at the heart of this philosophical pursuit…which one might call religion?” (societyvs)
- “I read through much of your literature on the philoshopy and ideas of Thelema. Thank you first for visiting the blog and responding to the post… The idea that Christianity is dead and will be redeemed and brought to fruition & perfection through Thelema is interesting to us.” (Derek)
- “As a Christian, I obviously disagree with much of what you believe. Still, some of what you say about Christianity is true, at least with respect to how professing followers of Christ have observably behaved.” (dave)
- “I am interested in the law as it pertains to the U.S. Constitution and our national justice system. Clearly, I am a Christian. Additionally, my political view standpoint is a Libertarian. According to Thelema, ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!’ and ‘Heaven is on Earth, and we live joyously without fear of grace or guilt, having discarded the priestly bogey of sin.’ What the above statements about Thelema mean is simply: 1. Individual freedom of choice, 2. Love yourself, 3. Abide by the law. As a Libertarian, I believe in individual’s freedom of choice and this is supported by our U.S. Constitution too. Libertarians believe in limited Government to control personal liberties which does support Thelema’s statement, ‘do what you will and that is the law’ [sic!]” (Christina)
- “I’d ask simply – what’s the point of this thelema ideology? What’s the goal – the intended ending exactly? I read and I see: we need to lose our ‘restrictions,’ Doubt has more meaning than faith, sexual repression (of any sort) is not acceptable, we all determine our own wills (which is also about sexuality in the quote), The ‘God-idea’ must be placed with the rest of the relics of times past. I have studied some Huxley (in passing fancy) and this sounds a lot like his humanistic ideals of spirituality.” (societyvs)
- “I see that you are disciple of Aleister Crowley. I must admit even by standards of some of my occultist friends Crowley was a wicked man. A genius? Yes! A Prophet? Of Lucifer indeed! An amazingly talented writer and poet? Of course! But Wicked above all things I must concur…” (dubi0usmonk)
Love is the law, love under will.
The Beast 666 on St. Augustine’s “Love, and do what thou wilt”
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Here are two quotations, straight from the Beast’s mouth (or pen, specifically), regarding the similarity of the Law of Thelema to a statement made by St. Augustine.
The first quotation is taken from a letter written by The Beast 666 (Aleister Crowley) to Karl Germer in March 1942 (available in the ‘Downloads’ section of LAShTAL.com):
“St. Augustine’s ‘Ama, et fac quod vis’ [roughly ‘Love, and do what thou wilt’] puts the cart before the horse, begs the question, and is moreover liable to the most serious misunderstandings. As if the fact of ‘loving’ were sufficient excuse for all and sundry acts, or lines of conduct.
Safer, ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law’ with ‘love’ relegated to its scientifically correct position as the means of carrying out all plans soever: Hungry man ‘loves’ food and drink, i.e. unites chemically therewith, assimilates it to his own nature, and so becomes man refreshed i.e. capable of continuing to pursue his true will. Hence, ‘Love is the law, love under will.’
It will not help him to ‘love’ anything but food and drink on such occasions; and it must be the food suited to his nature and his powers of digestion. Hay will not restore or nourish him; and food too gross, or too plentiful, drink too cold or too intoxicating, may disturb the perfection of the process.
Of course you [Karl Germer] know all this well enough; but I thought that you might find it useful to quote St. August to the common blatant guffaw of the omnipresent blackguard ‘Do wot yer loike, eh? What ho!'”
This second quotation comes from an unfinished essay by To Mega Therion 666 called “Antecedents of Thelema“:
“It has been remarked by some critics of the Law of Thelema that the words “Do what thou wilt” are not original with the Master Therion: or, rather, with Aiwass, who uttered to the scribe Ankh-f-n-khonsu, the priest of the princes, The Book of the Law.
This is true enough, in its own way: we have, firstly, the word of St. Augustine: “Love, and do what thou wilt.”
This is however, as the context shows, by no means what is meant by The Book of the Law. St. Augustine’s thesis is that if the heart be full of Love, one cannot go wrong. It is, so to say, a rider upon the theorem of St. Paul’s thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians…
Far more important is the Word of Rabelais, Fais ce que veulx [Fr. “Do what thou wilt”]. The sublime Doctor does indeed intend, so far as he goes, to set forth in essence the Law of Thelema, very much as it is understood by the Master Therion himself… Superb as is this adumbration of the Law of Thelema by Rabelais with his Word Fais ce que veulx, The Book of the Law gives us more—it gives us “all in the clear light…”
Love is the law, love under will.
Thelema is post-Christianity, not anti-Christianity
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Concerns have been expressed regarding the approach of this series, which parallels more general concerns regarding the approach of Thelema to Christianity in general.
It is true that many people come initially to Thelema as something that challenges & goes directly against Christian ideals. After all, our prophet is known as the Beast 666, our Heaven is on Earth, and we live joyously without fear of grace or guilt, having discarded the priestly bogey of sin.
Thelema is not anti-Christian, but post-Christian.
We do not simply reject all things Christian because of their association, but even as Christianity itself absorbed the Pagan elements of past religions so does Thelema absorb and supersede Christianity.
“Every man and every woman is a star, and every one’s will is the will of God” (Blue Equinox)
Further, in the central text of Thelema known as the Book of the Law it is written:
“Aum! All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only that they understand a little…” (AL I:56)
and in another Holy Book it is written:
“To you who yet wander in the Court of the Profane we cannot yet reveal all; but you will easily understand that the religions of the world are but symbols and veils of the Absolute Truth. So also are the philosophies. To the adept, seeing all these things from above, there seems nothing to choose between Buddha and Mohammed, between Atheism and Theism.” (Liber Porta Lucis)
From this it is easy to see we do not indiscriminately reject whatever is Christian but instead penetrate past the outer exoteric dogmas & superstitions and retain the gnosis preserved by each tradition.
Yet that gnosis has also been clouded by each tradition. In the Book of the Law, we also find cursing of the old “slave religions:”
“I am in a secret fourfold word, the blasphemy against all gods of men. Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! With my Hawk’s head I peck at the eyes of Jesus as he hangs upon the cross.” (Liber AL III:49-51)
“The evident interpretation of this is to take the word to be “Do what thou wilt,” which is a secret word, because its meaning for every man is his own inmost secret. And it is the most profound blasphemy possible against all ‘gods of men,’ because it makes every man his own God.”
We not only discard but actively fight against the tyranny, superstition, and dogma that have come through Christians throughout the ages and which is even inherent in Christianity itself. In this way we “curse” and “peck at the eyes of Jesus.”
We also unite all diverse symbols & methods under the banner of the Law of the Aeon of the Crowned and Conquering Child, “Do what thou wilt.” In this way “All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only that they understand a little…” It’s even been said “Thelema is more Christian than Christianity, and more Satanic than Satanism!” (What is Thelema?)
We hope that this post and others that have been written will make it clear that we are not blindly against all things Christian but see the Law of Thelema as that which supersedes the Old Aeon of Suffering. Hopefully readers will look beyond mere appearances and initial impressions to find the True Message of this blog. Not “Thy will be done” but “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!”
Love is the law, love under will.
Reader responses on God in Thelema and Christianity
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
There were a few responses to the first post which was called “God in Thelema is not the morbid God of Christianity.” We include one comment here from a pastor and a response:
Pastor Tom the “revenator” wrote, “Truth can only be found when we realize that we are created beings. This makes us lower than God and we must always look up to Him, His way, His will and His authority. To think that a fallible lowly human being is god raises self to a level that in not achievable. We are so limited. We are not all knowing, all powerful or always present. Since your religion believes we are all god then there really isn’t a god because even a second god would eliminate a true god.”
The body & mind of the soul may be created things but the Soul in its purity is one with God. We need not look up to Him but look with even eyes… no, the same eyes! God ‘sent’ Jesus to show that God & Man are & can be One.
It is indeed achievable to be one in identity with Godhead, but only – as foreshadowed by Jesus’ own teachings – when one given up attachment to all things. All things being within my Body, I am omnipresent [all-pervasive]; All forces being within my Body, I am omnipotent [all-powerful]; All relations being within my Body, I am omniscient [all-knowledgeable]. This is spoken of in our own writings in places like Liber 418 & Liber Cheth.
In a sense there is no ‘second’ god but there are also Infinite Gods or infinite expressions of God. God is All, is in All, is express through All and each Soul has the potential to burst the sinful restriction-bar of separateness to become that All. Every man and every woman is a star and divinity is “above & in” each one of them.
Pastor Tom continues, “What happens when your god thought opposes my god thought? The strongest god thought will survive. Do what you wilt has been eliminated by the stronger willt!”
Truly! I agree! Therefore one needs to be in harmony with the thoughts & movements of all things so that there is no opposition but a Unity of Motion.
And finally he writes, “Face it, the only way for man to survive is to voluntarily submit to the One True God and come back into right standing with Him through the One Way He has made for us to come. I know this sounds narrow to the broad way of everyone doing what they will but truth is a hard pill to swallow.”
I actually agree with you, except I know that man can merely ‘survive’ without God. We want more than that: For man (and woman!) to be expressions of beauty, strength, joy, and laughter through expressing their own Godhead, their natural birthright. The difference between us is what we believe constitutes ‘submitting to the One True God’ and who that ‘One True God’ is. As I’ve said, Thelema does not simply deny all things Christian but actually brings many of the ideas to fruition & perfection!
We do not interpret God as some Entity that responds to prayer-petitions so we have no need of proving ‘His’ existence – we are with you on all counts of denying the existence of that God. Frankly, I would not even like to use the term ‘God’ as it brings up all of those associations of the Paternal Man-in-the-Sky who created & judges the world. As it has been said: “The keystone to this arch some have called God, some Brahma, some Zeus, some Allah, some even IAO the God of the sounding name; but in truth, O seeker, it is Thy-SELF.”
We don’t “follow” anything but see truths revealed in Thelema. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt. That is both a freedom from the incessant demands and dogmas of past religions & philosophies while simultaneously being a call to “Know Thyself” for you can’t Do what thou wilt if you don’t know who ‘thou’ really are. The Book of the Law reveals a simple & concise Law that has the solution to personal, social, sexual, emotional and spiritual freedom.
Your comments along with all others that have contributed to the conversation are much appreciated!
Love is the law, love under will.
Quotations on the Life of Thelema and the Death of Christianity (part 1)
“The word of the Law is THELEMA.” -AL I:39
“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” -AL I:40
Thelema has Certainty of Experience, not Superstitious Faith & Belief
“I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice.”
–The Book of the Law
We must have faith! This is what innumerable Christians say & parrot all day long. We must believe! We must have faith! Faith that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. This is nothing but a surrender of our God-given faculties of experimentation & reasoning to blind adherence!
This blind faith has lead to the indiscriminate slaughter of people who simply do not espouse belief in the same God, or simply use a different name for God! The Book of the Law acknowledges “Every man and every woman is a star” in the company of Heaven. This Heaven is not some place attained after we die but is here & now, even as Jesus tried to explain: “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
This blind faith has lead to restriction of the freedom of others – such as the prevention of equal rights for homosexual couples – innumerable times. The Law of Thelema enjoins us to “not repress or restrict any true instinct of your Nature; but devote all in perfection to the sole service of your one True Will.” (Duty)
This blind faith has lead to the infinite suffering of uncountable souls, who worry endlessly about their fate in some “here-after” instead of enjoying their life here & now on Earth.
This blind faith has lead people to commit atrocious acts and childishly negate their responsibility for them, saying “God told me to do it.” But if there is no god but man, you are still responsible!
In Thelema we abide by the certainty of our own experience, not blind faith. We only speak of God when we know God (and become God!). We might as well kiss Hank’s ass if we are working from faith!
“It all depends on your own acceptance of this new law [Do what thou wilt], and you are not asked to believe anything, to accept a string of foolish fables beneath the intellectual level of a Bushman and the moral level of a drug-fiend. All you have to do is to be yourself, to do your will, and to rejoice.” (Law of Liberty)
If we have faith, it is faith in ourselves. It is a faith in our Will to meet each moment with skillful and strong Love. This is a faith of action which is alive & dynamic instead of a faith of belief which is dead & stagnant. Not worrying if every action is sinful and guilt-ridden, we experience the pure joy of existence in each moment, having discarded the phantoms of fear and abiding in the strength & simplicity of the Law of Liberty, Do what thou wilt.
Facebook fan page
Christianity is Dead, Thelema Lives 
Recent discussion on XiD