The massage, not the man.

Do What Thou Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law.

In this post I would like to discuss a common misconception about Thelema, and that is the association with the lifestyle of Aleister Crowley. After a great theosophical conversation with a classmate I was posed with a very good question, “Do you agree with the way he lived his life, his actions?”

Honestly, I don’t think it matters. Yes, I think Crowley was a philosophical genius and a great thinker, but that’s only my opinion based on what I have read.  The truth is that his life and actions don’t make his philosophy better or worse. In fact, one has nothing to do with the other. Just like the fact that Walt Disney was an open anti-Semite doesn’t make Snow White a Nazi. There is A LOT of information about Crowley available to the public these days, and most of it is false. But it doesn’t change the philosophy he published. I want to stress the message, not the man.

Crowley himself urges the seeker to form opinions of their own, which is kind of the point of the whole system. ( i.e. Timothy Leary- “Think for yourself… question authority”). He also made no effort to defend himself against the ridiculous, and sometimes comical, accusations made by the press of his day. He expressed faith in the historical record to decipher the truth, and didn’t waste his time trying to refute the opinions of what he called “the ignorant.”

Personally, I think he was attacked with so much bad press and publicity because the things he said shook the foundations of lies that people built their egos on. When you say something that makes people think, and question themselves and their own actions, they automatically label you as something evil, or immoral so that you can’t be taken seriously.

I want to end this post with a quote, because I couldn’t possibly put it into better words. I am not sure the author,  but I will post the URL of the page it came from.

“A religious philosophy that requires no absolute belief, but instead encourages its adherents to rely on the self instead of some externalized father figure; claims no route to salvation and celebrates the biological facts of human existence, seems quite rational to me, which is why I remain a member.  Laugh all you like – we can laugh at ourselves too. There will be no Thelemic fatwa coming your way, because we don’t get touchy when people poke fun. We can accept that all religions are absurd, but then so is modern life.”

Quote taken from

https://www.facebook.com/secretfireoasis?hc_location=stream 

Love is the Law, Love Under Will.

The next step in a confusing simplicity.

Do What Thou Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law.

      For the second post on this blog I am going to jump around a bit, and cover the three chapters of the book of the law, and each of their philosophical implications. Since each chapter is voiced from a different "God", they correspond to three aspects of existentialism.So, here we go.

      The book of the law is written in a poetic style of verse. It is written in relation to Egyptian symbols and Gods. Although this can immediately strike one as “pagan” or “heathenish” (for lack of a better word), it is these symbols and ideas that can convey complex ideas very simply. The book is written in three sections, three different voices. These can be taken as the three fundamental aspects of existence.

1.)The infinite. The all. The universe. The first chapter is the voice of Nuit. Great goddess of the starry heavens. She is the manifestation of the ocean of possibility. Everything is not only in her, but she is everything. That is to say that the sum of everything is the infinite. This is similar to the idea of the En-Soph in Kabbalism, and of the Shekinah. The feminine counter part to the creator God. She is the canvass of existence, waiting to be painted by experience.

Nuit is often shown arched over the earth, such as this, since she represents the night sky.

2.)Energy, experience, life, substance, the concentrated point in space (Nuit). The second chapter is the voice of Hadit. The eternal divine experience of Nuit. Hadit is the masculine counterpart of Nuit. Or, said another way, the love between Nuit and Hadit crystallizes into substance. It is the constant marriage of these two things that constitute our experience of existence.

Hadit is referred to as the "Winged snake of light." Symbolized here as a disc of light with wing. Note Nuit surrounding him.

     I feel compelled to elucidate this idea of “Gods.” Nuit and Hadit are not beings living in another realm. They are the representation of the fundamental ideas of existence. Without the experience of energy and the plane to experience it on, there would be no life, no death, no existence. Without these two things there could be nothing.

3.) The ever coming child. Ra-Hoor-Khuit. The third chapter of the book is the most controversial, but it is also the most accurate representation of the human psyche. He is commanding, proud, noble, and strong. He is the personification of all the qualities that make up the individual. Although it can be a little hard to swallow at first, this chapter of the book is a great source of philosophical wisdom.

 Ra Hoor Khuit also symbolizes the divine self, and is pictured here offering a bounty of spiritual gifts.

     I digress to discuss the Book any further, since it is clearly stated in the Book that each seeker of wisdom is to decipher for himself its personal meaning to him. I will however point the seeker to the comments written by Crowley himself with this hyper-link. 

 http://hermetic.com/legis/new-comment/

Until next time, 93. 

Love is the Law, Love Under Will.