Thelema - to Lars and others

[Guest guest]

Is there any particularly informative website on the subject of Thelema,

that you might direct us to for curiosity sake?

I would appreciate it. I keep hearing just a little bit here and there

about it, and would like the opinion of an actual Thelemite as to good websites

on the subject, if you know of some.

 

Peace,

Cathie

In a message dated 10/21/2004 9:52:20 AM Mountain Daylight Time,

bhagatirtha writes:

> 93

>

> [A small correction - of course, "svechchhA niyama".]

>

> Writings of AC can be understood on different levels. To understand

> fully writings of class A we need to be siddhas ourselves . Even

> Crowley himself didn`t realize totally the message of Liber AL...

>

> His life was the life of Vira. Nobody says Crowley was perfect in all

> ways and all what he said is ultimate truth. But it may be useful to

> concider his experience and knowledge.

>

> Thelemic doctrine is much similar to that of Kaula-mata. This fact is

> the reason of my interest towards it`s sourses.

>

> Concerning what U `ve asked about Law, i shall no comment. As U may

> know from commentary of AC to Liber AL, it is prohibited to discuss

> these matters.

> "Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all,

> as centres of pestilence.

> All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my

> writings, each for himself.

> There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt."

>

> Love,

> A.

>

>

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/21/2004 3:24:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

SophiasHeaven writes:

Is there any particularly informative website on the subject of Thelema,

that you might direct us to for curiosity sake?

I would recommend looking up information on the mgacal order he used to head

called the Ordo Templi Orientis

 

there main address (I believe) is here:

 

http://oto-usa.org/index.html

 

There you will find tons of information and links relating to Aleister

Crowley and his philosophy known ad Thelema.

 

The Lon Milo Duquette book recommended by Ma Baiju - The Magick of Thelema,

is a guidebook to understanding rowley's rituals. It's a good book because

deciphering what Crowley expected on a practical level can be quite difficult.

 

The thing that makes Crowley tough to understand is that he wrote on many

levels; he has a book on yoga, books on magic, poetry, translations of medevil

grimoires, philosophy and other subjects. He also designed his own Tarot deck

which incorporates a lot of Quabbalistc and Alchemical symbolism.

 

Basically, he is hard to follow because he is so encyclopedic! From his books

I would recommend;

 

Magick Book 4 parts I-IV -this is the tome that contains the thrust of his

magical work.

 

Book of Thoth- an exegesis of the Tarot and there is a deck of cards also

 

8 lectures on Yoga- which was pretty impressive for the time period!

 

The Book of Lies- contains truth!

 

and of course The Book of the Law- which is purported to be a channeled

writing and therefore not Crowleys own pen, although this is quite debatable!

 

That should be enough! Almost everything the man has done has been published

in some for, so navigated through it all can be tough.

 

The best and easiest thing to do would be to visit the OTO homepage, then

find a local branch and just contact them. I've had many friends int he order

over the past few years whiule not being a member myself. I can assure you that

you have no "doomsday cult" scenario to fear and they won't harrass you. They

would probably be happy just to talk to you and tell you all about it!

 

Your questions??? will get answered a lot faster that way.

 

Hope this helps.

 

William

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

, SophiasHeaven@a... wrote:

> Is there any particularly informative

> website on the subject of Thelema,

> that you might direct us to for curiosity sake?

> [....] Cathie

 

I'm sure our experts will weigh in on the subject,

but as a filler in the meantime.....

a suggestion from this non-expert:

 

Lon Milo Duquette describes himself as a Thelemite; his

 

Angels, Demons & Gods of the New Millennium

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Weiser Books; (September 1, 1997)

ISBN: 157863010X

 

is tremendously witty and truly fascinating. See the reviews at

amazon.com for more details.

 

I have not read the following (by the same author), but I expect it

goes far more in depth into the subject of Thelema:

 

The Magick of Aleister Crowley: A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema

by Lon Milo Duquette

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser; (November 1, 2003)

ISBN: 1578632994

 

Cathie, I sent you some web links via email. Let me know if you

don't receive them and need them re-sent.

[Guest guest]

Thanks William,

It looks like, from the excerpt below, they are hip to the Feminine

Divine...

I know this isn't a discussion forum for Thelema, but this is the

first and only clear description of this religion I have ever seen/read.

Since you shared the link, I'll share this excerpt of it for those

inquiring minds who want to know, so that when other members come onto the group

who are Thelemites, the shroud of fear will be lifted regarding these

individuals.

I know this is not an appropriate forum for an indepth discussion of

this topic -- but I figure it is ok to share this as a kind of basic

description.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Peace,

Cathie

In a message dated 10/21/2004 3:44:23 PM Mountain Daylight Time,

swastik108 writes:

> I can assure you that

> you have no "doomsday cult" scenario to fear and they won't harrass you.

> They

> would probably be happy just to talk to you and tell you all about it!

>

http://oto-usa.org/theology.html

 

The theology of Thelema postulates all manifested existence arising from the

interaction of two cosmic principles: the infinitely extended, all-pervading

Space-Time Continuum; and the atomic, individually expressed Principle of Life

and Wisdom. The interplay of these Principles gives rise to the Principle of

Consciousness which governs existence. In the Book of the Law, the divine

Principles are personified by a trinity of ancient Egyptian Divinities: Nuit,

the

Goddess of Infinite Space; Hadit, the Winged Serpent of Light; and

Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Horus), the Solar, Hawk-Headed Lord of the Cosmos.

 

The Thelemic theological system utilizes the divinities of various cultures

and religions as personifications of specific divine, archetypal and cosmic

forces. Thelemic doctrine holds that all the diverse religions of Humanity are

grounded in universal truths; and the study of comparative religion is an

important discipline for many Thelemites.

 

With respect to concepts of the individual soul, Thelema follows traditional

Hermeticism in the doctrine that each person possesses a soul or "Body of

Light" which is arranged in "layers" or "sheaths" surrounding the

physical body.

Each individual is also considered to have his or her own personal "Augoeides"

or "Holy Guardian Angel"; which can be considered both as the "higher self"

and as a separate, sentient, divine being. With respect to concepts of the

afterlife, life itself is considered as a continuum, with death an integral part

of

the whole. Mortal life dies in order that mortal life may continue. The

Augoeides, however, is immortal and not subject to life or death.

 

Parallel to Buddhist doctrine, the Body of Light is considered to be subject

to metempsychosis, or reincarnation, after the death of the body. The Body of

Light is generally considered to evolve in wisdom, consciousness and spiritual

power through cycles of metempsychosis for those individuals who dedicate

their lives to spiritual advancement; to the point that its fate after death may

ultimately be determined by the Will of the individual.

 

Thelema incorporates the idea of the cyclic evolution of Cultural

Consciousness as well as of Personal Consciousness. History is considered to be

divided

into a series of "Æons", each with its own dominant concept of divinity and its

own "formula" of redemption and advancement. The current Æon is termed the

Æon of Horus. The previous Æon was that of Osiris, and previous to that was the

Æon of Isis. The neolithic Æon of Isis is considered to have been dominated by

the Maternal idea of divinity, and its formula involved devotion to Mother

Earth in return for the nourishment and shelter She provided. The

Classical/Medieval Æon of Osiris is considered to have been dominated by the

Paternal

Principle, and its formula was that of self-sacrifice and submission to the

Father

God. The modern Æon of Horus is considered to be dominated by the Principle of

the Child, the sovereign individual; and its formula is that of growth, in

consciousness and love, toward self-realization.

 

According to Thelemic doctrine, the expression of Divine Law in the Æon of

Horus is "Do what thou wilt". This "Law of Thelema", as it is called, is not to

be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing whim, but rather as the

divine mandate to discover one's True Will or true purpose in life, and to

accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways. The

"acceptance" of the Law of Thelema is what defines a Thelemite; and the

discovery and

accomplishment of the True Will is the fundamental concern of all Thelemites.

Achieving the "Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel" is

considered an integral part of this process. The methods and practices to be

employed in this process are numerous and varied; and are grouped together under

the generalized term "Magick".