Religion Series : THELEMA
Thelema
+ Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley
+ Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelema
Crux:
DO WHAT THOU WILL SHALL BE THE WHOLE OF THE LAW. LOVE IS THE LAW, LOVE UNDER WILL. THERE IS NO LAW BEYOND DO WHAT THOU WILL.
Thelema is a philosophy and/or religion. Thelema is a greek word meaning “Free Will” or “True Will”.
Thelema owes its roots to the French Humanist and writer Francois Rabelais. Rabelais rebelled against the authoritarianism of the evangelical french church of his period. He wrote a number of works that criticized and lambasted the religious authorities and prevailing dogma of his day.
Aleister Crowley expanded on Rabelais’s themes and the fictional “abbey of thelema”. Crowley was a prolific writer and wrote a vast collection of “libri” – thelemic scripture, instructions, poety, fiction, etc. He also formed several Thelemic fraternal organizations to assist individuals find and follow their own free wills.
The law of Thelema states that the individual is free to follow their own free will, and that every act should be an act of love, as long it is under free will.
Thelemic deity is archetypal in nature. We do not believe in any praternatural
supreme beings. Indeed thelemic credo is represented well by the following :
“There is no god but man”
“Let there be neither god nor master above us”
“Deus Est Homo / Homo Est Deus”
Thelemites therefore are libertarians and anti-dogma, be it political, religious or cultural. If you think religion is BS, democracy is a farce, and seeth with anger whenever anyone in a uniform tells you what to do or what you are not allowed to do – then congratulations you are a thelemite.
Crowley wrote a manifesto for the law of Thelma in simple words of one syllable where possible so ALL could understand :
1. Man has the right to live by his own law--
to live in the way that he wills to do:
to work as he will:
to play as he will:
to rest as he will:
to die when and how he will.
2. Man has the right to eat what he will:
to drink what he will:
to dwell where he will:
to move as he will on the face of the earth.
3. Man has the right to think what he will:
to speak what he will:
to write what he will:
to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as he will:
to dress as he will.
4. Man has the right to love as he will:--
"take your fill and will of love as ye will,
when, where, and with whom ye will." --AL. I. 51
5. Man has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights.
Background
Crowley was raised by ultra religious parents, who belonged to an evangelical movement called the Plymouth Brethren. This group has two main claims to fame – they pretty much invented the concept of the pre-tribulation rapture and exported it to the USA – and spawned Aleister Crowley.
The Plymouth Brethren believed all other Christians were doomed to hell for not being devout enough. They only allowed the bible and approved essays on the bible as reading material. All non approved art & literature were deemed “sinful” – and sex of course was disgusting and only to be used for procreation.
Young Crowley was sent to an “approved” (fundamentalist) Christian boarding school where he was beaten and subjected to verbal and sexual abuse. Doctors were so concerned about him that they thought he would not live past 11 years old. To avoid the scandal of his mistreatment he was sent to live with an uncle.
His Uncle was much more liberal and young Crowley soon discovered the joys of art, the theater, literature, fine wine and food, good clothes…….and sex. At 11 he seduced a 14 year old serving girl on his uncles domestic staff and had an epthiany:
Christians claim to be caring and loving – but in actuality are moralizing, life hating, judgmental and authoritarian. Therefore Christians say they are good – but in actuality are rather evil. Everything Christians say is evil (sex, art, literature, wine, drugs, fine apparel,etc) is in actuality rather wonderful and good.
Crowley became a Buddhist. Even spending several years in a Buddist monastery in the far east. HE was an expert on Hinduism. Also Islam – he could read the Qur-an directly in its native language – so well in fact that he was asked to give readings in a mosque in cairo when he lived there for a while.
Being an expert in the worlds big five religions, he still found something missing. Budhism he felt was the closest to the truth, but he did not agree with the axiom “life is sorrow”. Crowley felt that life should be pure joy – as long as the ego could be controlled or even slain. Conversley, in crowley’s opinion the most dishonest and fucked up religion of all the big 5 by a long way was Christianity.
It is important to know that Crowley was not the “Satanist” that the xtians still like to paint him as to this day. He did not hate Christ or the teachings of Christ. He dispised the power seeking, profiteering, authoritarian edifices of organized religion that pollutes and corrupts the core messages.
Crowley merged east and western mystism to create Thelema. And in 1904 the Book Of the Law (Liber Al Vel Legis) was written. This was followed by a wealth of other “holy books” and commentaries, plus the formation of the A.’.A.’. and O.T.O.
Literature
The works of Francois Rabelais
The Libri of Aleister Crowley http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/
The works of Robert Anton Wilson Phd (RAW) – Prometheus Rising, Cosmic Trigger, Illuminati Trilogy.
The works of Christopher Hyatt Phd
The works of Jack Parsons – founder of the Jet Propulsion Lab
TO BE FINISHED LATER……..WORK IN PROGRESS………..
Artwork
Music
