Thelema

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Thelema is the English spelling of the Greek word Θελημα which means 'will'.

Contents

Aleister Crowley's Thelema

Thelema is the name of a philosophical/religious system established in 1904 by Aleister Crowley with the writing of Liber AL vel Legis, or The Book of the Law. This small book Crowley claimed to have taken as dictation from a spiritual being named Aiwass in Cairo on April 8th, 9th, and 10th.

The word Thelemite appears in The Book of the Law, and is used self-referentially by the adherents of Thelema.

Antecedents of Thelema

Although the modern Thelemic movement traces its origins to the work of Aleister Crowley, he pointed to important antecedents to his use of the term, and other instances are apparent from research. The word is of some consequence in the original Greek Christian scriptures. Crowley also acknowledged Saint Augustine's "Love, and do what thou wilt" as a premonition of the Law of Thelema. In the Renaissance, a character named "Thelemia" represents will or desire in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili of the Dominican monk Francesco Colonna. Colonna's work was, in turn, a great influence on the Franciscan monk Francois Rabelais, whose Gargantua and Pantagruel includes an "Abbey of Theleme" which Crowley embraced as a direct precursor to modern Thelema.[1]

Doctrines of Thelema

The central doctrine of this system is that knowing and doing one's True Will is the ultimate purpose and duty of every being. This is summed up with the following phrases from Liber Legis,

  • "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (AL I:40)
  • "Love is the law, love under will" (AL I:57)
  • "The word of the law is Thelema" (AL I:39)
  • "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt" (AL III:60)

The True Will is a mystical concept that could be described as the one path of possible actions and encounters one finds no resistance in going. It is presumed that to do one's True Will is to be assisted by the whole universe, and that two True Wills can never contradict. Hence, to follow one's True Will means to respect every other True Will, which is described in "Love is the law". Opinions vary on whether one can know one's True Will, or merely judge by one's "success" in life.

Thelema stresses personal Freedom (balanced by disciplined responsibility), the inherent divinity of every human ("Every man and every woman is a star" �AL I:3), and the battle against superstition, tyranny, and oppression.

Living Thelema usually, but not necessarily, is intertwined with the practice of magick, particularly of the concepts and techniques explored and invented by Crowley.

Thelemic organizations

A number of organizations claim to follow the tenets of Thelema. Primarily, these include Ordo Templi Orientis and the Argentinum Astrum, or A.'.A.'.. Other groups exist which have drawn inspiration or methods from Thelema but which never fully accepted Crowley's complete teachings, such as the Illuminates of Thanateros and the Temple of Set. The Fraternitas Saturni and related groups are special in that they accept Thelema, but extend it by the phrase "Mitleidlose Liebe!" ("Merciless love!")

See also

References

Links of interest


References

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