Book 837- The Law of Liberty

Do What Thou Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law.
     One of the best resources available to describe Thelema is Book 837- "The Law of Liberty." It can be difficult for someone such as myself to induce lucidity of the system in the mind of someone else. Although it is perfectly clear to me, everyone's mind works differently. Aleister Crowley wrote Book 837 "for those who have not read our sacred book, The Book of the Law, or for those who, reading it, have failed to understand it."(Book 837, Section 2) It is a clarification of the general message of the book, and proves useful in describing the idea of the actions expected of a Thelemite. Crowley wrote quite a bit about the hidden meanings in The Book of the Law, and about the mystic nature of its teachings, but this text is a good starting point to understanding the 'main idea' of Thelema.

     This book starts with a brief explanation of why the phrase "Do what thou silt shall be the whole of the Law" is at the beginning of most thelemic texts. He writes, "Why, how else should I begin? What other greeting could be so glad? Look, brother, we are free! Rejoice with me, sister, there is no law beyond Do What Thou Wilt!" (Book 837, Section 2) This is one of the things I love about Crowley's work, he can convey the joy and enthusiasm he has for his subject very clearly. The phrase is the ultimate expression of our divine freedom, and an affirmation of the dissolution of sorrow. The rest of the text summarizes and paraphrases the first two sections of The book of the Law.

     The first summary covers the call of the "Great Goddess, Nuit, Lady of the Starry Heaven, who is also Matter in its deepest metaphysical sense, who is the infinite in whom we all live and move and have our being."(Book 837-Section2) Crowley is great at exploring multiple ideas based on one text, and The book of the Law is filled with phrases and stanzas that mean so many things at once that it is easy to get confused. He discusses the joy of the law, "And what are the conditions of this joy, and peace, and glory? Is ours the gloomy asceticism of the Christian, and the Buddhist, and the Hindu? Are we walking in eternal fear lest some 'sin' should cut us off from 'grace'? By no means."(Book 837-Section2) He supports all his claims with quotes from The book of the Law, and with common sense.
     One of my favorite points from this section of Book 837 is that every act should be a ritual. No matter your course of action, your action should reflect your convictions, and beliefs. Crowley writes, "This is the only point to bear in mind, that every act should be a ritual, an act of worship, a sacrament...let it not be self indulgence; make your self indulgence your religion...When you drink and dance and take delight, you are not being 'immoral', you are not 'risking your immortal soul'; you are fulfilling the precepts of our holy religion, provided that you regard your action in this light." (Book 837, Section 2) This proposes that the 'morality' of any act is only in the way you regard it. It is yourself who makes the choice between right and wrong, but it is also yourself that defines both, since no single action can be right or wrong in itself.

     The next section summarizes the ideas in the second section of the Book of the Law, the voice of Hadit, who represents, "eternal energy, the Infinite Motion of all things, the central core of all being."(Book 837- Section 3) Crowley goes on to describe how everything that exists is a "crystallization of divine ecstasy" since it is all a union of Nuit and Hadit.
     This section is extremely empowering and uplifting. Hadit bestows upon us joy, strength, and pride. In fact, it is that joy that strengthens and grows our soul. We are again confirmed the freedom to make our own decisions, and choose our own actions, "Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture; fear not that any god shall deny thee for this."(Book 837, Section3) The phrase "of sense and rapture" refers back to one of the points made in the previous section, about regarding our actions as sacraments.

     Crowley concludes Book 837 by reaffirming the joy and freedom, "Lift yourselves up, my brothers and sisters of the earth! Put beneath your feet all fears, all qualms, all hesitancies!"(Book 837, Section 3) He is calling on all of us to be free, joyous, proud and confident, "Go on, go on in thy might; and let no man make thee afraid."(Book 837, Section 3)
     The Law of Liberty does a wonderful job at describing the Thelemic outlook. While some could argue that self indulgence could lead to disaster, I would have to point out that nature is always the best teacher. There is a joy and beauty that is subtly sprinkled throughout the Book of the Law, and Book 837 conveys a portion of it very effectively. I would suggest this as one of the starting points to anyone who is new to Thelema, or anyone who is unsure of its intent.

Love is the Law, Love Under Will.