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From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nigris (333))
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Subject: 'The Meaning of "Thelema"' (LONG essay)
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Date: 29 Aug 1996 08:29:24 -0700
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49960829 AA1  Hail Satan!!

[from email: Thelema93-L (majordomo@hollyfeld.org)]

E6

	'The Meaning of "Thelema": Structure and Current'

			by nigris (333)*
			________________

INTRO

this is a beginning investigation of the meaning of the term 'Thelema' 
and where it may be found, isolating a standard of initial research for 
those of my Order ("OTO") and beyond.

as my Order is called 'Thelemic', I begin by analyzing its components 
such that I may discern what it and its prophet thinks 'Thelema' to be, 
as compared to the means of its promulgation (current/principle vs. 
structure/org).  I start by noting its association with masonry and 
gnosticism and proceed to other, more specific, objects.


MASONRY

First, my Order is 'masonic', and by this we may mean: 

	"a system of communicating truth -- religious, philosophical, magical
         and mystical; and indicating the proper means of developing human
	 faculty by means of a peculiar language whose alphabet is the 
	 symbolism of ritual.  Universal brotherhood, and the greater moral
	 principles, independent of personal, racial, climatic, and other
	 prejudices, naturally formed a background which would insure
	 individual security and social stability for each and all."

	_The Confessions of Aleister Crowley_, A.Crowley, 
				eds. Symonds/Grant, Arkana, p 700.
	__________________________________________________________

my Order is structured as a masonic framework, conferring initiatic degrees
through rite, deriving its authority and/or current from previous European
and quasi-Egyptian associations, reconstructed by Crowley in the early 1900s.

	"The eighteenth-century Rosicrucians, so-called in Austria, had
	 already endeavoured to unite various branches of Continental
	 freemasonry and in superstructures; in the nineteenth century,
	 principally owing to the energy and ability of a wealthy iron
	 master named Karl Kellner, a reconstruction and consolidation
	 of traditional truth had been attempted.  A body was formed
	 under the name O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis) which purported
	 to achieve this result.  It purported to communicate the secrets
	 not only of freemasonry (with its Rites of 3', 7', 33', 90', 97',
	 etc.,) but of the Gnostic Catholic Church, the Martinists, the
	 Sat Bhai, the Rosicrucians, the Knights of the Holy Ghost and 
	 so on, in nine degrees, with a tenth of an honorary character to
	 distinguish the 'Supreme and Holy King' of the Order in each
	 country where it was established.  Chief of these kings is the
	 O.H.O.  (Outer Head of the Order, or Frater Superior), who is
	 absolute autocrat."

	Ibid, pp. 700-1.
	________________

early on (about 1920), my Order claimed to confer regular masonic 
initiations, accepting those who'd been through rites of comparable 
rank or style in "parallel orgs" to the appropriate rank of its own 
-- these perhaps terminating at the lower end of the order-
structure itself (0-IV/"Man of Earth").

Crowley claims that my Order 

	"is in possession of one supreme secret.  The whole of the system
	 at the time when I became an initiate of the Sanctuary of the
	 Gnosis (IX') was directed towards communicating to its members,
	 by progressively plain hints, this all-important instruction."

	Ibid, p. 702.
	_____________

I presume that previous claims as regards the Universal Medicine,
the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Immortality (perhaps the
same thing, perhaps a multiplex) by L. Bathurst IX in the _Manifesto
of the O.T.O._ (_Liber LII) are of similar nature, likely compounded
to complexity with a dense absorption of claims to the mysteries 
(inclusive of the sexual, which K.Kellner claims to have connected
via Indian, Tantric, sources).

yet as stated by many sources, Crowley inherited the rites from others, 
and at some point proceeded to 'bring them into line with Thelema',
thereupon accepting whatever one might mean by 'the Law of Thelema'
through that reconstruction.

thus we may presume that the structure of masonry, especially as 
Crowley saw it, is not itself Thelemic, though it may be reworked
so as to promulgate Thelema (rather than possible alternatives).


GNOSTICISM

as was mentioned previously, my Order associates itself directly with
an ecclesiastical lineage, namely the 'Gnostic Catholic Church', or
'Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (EGC)'.  this derives from a tradition 
which is called that of the 'Wandering Bishops', and includes notions
of apostolic succession (from the Schism of Utrecht, 1739) as well 
as consecrated conferment of authority, presumably through baptism or 
perhaps some other Judeochristian rite.

disputation within my Order (of the Swiss, British, American and 
various alternative portions) appears to have occurred in part due to
the involvement of Aleister Crowley and his reputation and activities,
including the installation of his 'Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae
Canon Missae' (_Liber XV_) as its central rite, said to contain 
reference to all its hallowed secrets/mysteries.

Crowley's replaced previous Gnostic Masses, and so its form changed with 
the infusion of 'Thelemic elements'.  this being the case, neither 
can we consider Gnosticism 'Thelemic' per se, as it may change forms 
to match its climate and participants.


THE BOOK OF THE LAW

it has often been said by the faithful that _Liber Al vel Legis_, 
or _The Book of the Law_ (aka the Book of Evil Sayings or merely the
Evil Book) was a revelation heralding the 'New AEon', and that this 
new period of human history is marked by its 'Thelemic character'.  
yet it is also said that Thelema preceded Crowley.  this latter being 
the case, the Evil Book may only be said to represent a certain 
manifestation of 'Thelema' (perhaps the mystico-religious or 
scripto-centric).

here we come closer to the nature of Thelema in that a given author
and prophet indicates (along with his devoted following) that a certain
text penned by him is of a 'Thelemic character', and yet excepting the
tautological equation of it as such, we are not left much to go on.
books in and of themselves, and those containing abstruse and mystico-
religious contents, are not, apparently, all 'Thelemic', and so if this
one qualifies there must be something in particular about its contents
(in specific or evaluative measure) that inspires this categorization
among its admirers.


THE WORD/LOGOS

so far as the foregoing three elements are concerned, they do not
equate to Thelema in any strict sense, even while they may have the
character or 'current', if you will, of Thelema infused within them
through origination (the Evil Book, which some say is an embodiment 
of Thelema) or rework (Masonry/Gnosticism, which apparently both 
survive in different forms through the Thelemic reconstruction).

and yet Crowley writes of Thelema as a 'word':

	"...Aiwass, uttering the word Thelema (with all its implications),
	 destroys completely the formula of the Dying God. {eds. note:
	 The 'Dying God' is Christ; this means that *Thelema* transcends
	 Christianity.}  Thelema implies not merely a new religion, but a
	 new cosmology, a new philosophy, a new ethics.  It co-ordinates
	 the disconnected discoveries of science, from physics to 
	 psychology, into a coherent and consistent system.  Its scope is
	 so vast that it is impossible even to hint at the universality
	 of its application.  But the whole of my work, from the moment
	 of its utterance, illustrates some phase of its potentiality...."

	Ibid, p. 399.
	_____________

now whether Thelema destroying the "formula of the Dying God" constitutes
transcending Christianity I leave to the Satanists and anti-Satanists
to unravel.  what is important to me here is that Crowley promotes the
concept of the 'Logos' or 'divinely uttered Word' --  one which, by its
profundity and breadth of significance, characterizes a particular object,
and its prophets (e.g. an aeon or age).

yet as even the Great Beast points out, this concept of 'Logos' is 
presumed to be different than Thelema, indeed it is commonly presumed that 
there are several Words which have been uttered by the various magi
over the course of centuries.  Crowley attempts to analyze these within
_Liber Aleph vel CXI_ (pp. 68-75) as 'Logos Aionos' (Words of the AEons), 
including:

			'tao' 	 	(Lao Tzu), 
			'anatta' 	(Gautama Buddha), 
			'inri (iao)' 	(Jesus Christ, as well, perhaps, 
					  as Krisna and Dionysus), 
			'amoun (aum)' 	(Tahuti/Thoth),
			'ihvh' 		(Moses), 
			'la allh' 	(Muhammad), 
and			'abrahadabra'	(Ankh-af-na-Khonsu).

therefore, in and of itself, it does not appear that Words or 'Logos' 
are necessarily 'Thelemic' of character.  we must look deeper.


THE LAW

the Evil Book contains Nuit's apparent statement:

	"The word of the Law is [Thelema (originally spelled in Greek)]."

	Evil Book, I:39.
	________________

the words listed above are those of AEons, ages, and not, as specified 
in this quote from the Evil Book, 'Words of the Law'.  'the Law', as
Crowley uses the term in his many writings (I'm sure that it varies 
somewhat), appears to pertain to *human nature*, to the course of our
being, especially to those of us who have liberated ourselves from 
the shackles of previous ages and the limitations of our instructors.

in this sense 'Thelema', as the Word of the Law, characterizes human
nature, our most perfect and essential quality, encompassing the most
vital and significant element of our being, thriving, living.  how far
this 'Law' extends and what a 'Thelemic Law' includes is still left 
for us to fathom.  

a particular seal within one of the publications of my Order 
(_Equinox III:10_), carries the assertion "Deus Homo Est" (or perhaps 
"Deus Est Homo", it is rather impossible for me to tell as it is set 
triangularly :>) -- 'God is Man'.  given its truth, we might presume
that, despite the counter-assertion of several religious through
history, 'God's Law is Man's Law' (especially, perhaps, a certain
kind or ideal of human being).

there are several concepts of 'Law', and all of these are not 
necessarily associated with 'Thelema' in any way, even though 
'Thelema' is called 'the Word of the Law'.  we are moving closer 
to the target and yet have not reached it.


THE PROPHET

to discover at least what Crowley thought of the term we must look to
his interpretation of its usage in his 'Commentary' on that text, as
well, perhaps, as any other expression he has concerning it.  the
former will suffice for a rough start:

	"39. Compare Rabelais.  Also it may be translated, 'Let will
	 and action be in harmony.'

	"But [Thelema - Greek] also means will in the higher sense of
	 magical one-pointedness, and in the sense used by Schopenhauer
	 and Fichte.

	_The Law is For All_, ACrowley, ed. IRegardie, pp. 96.	
	________________________________________________________

therefore we have at least a preliminary definition from which to work,
and two or three philosophers based on Crowley's recommendation, to
which we may attend in our studies of this term.

for those who would care to delve the intricacies of the Master's mind,
I append the further commentary on the Evil Book below.  analysis of the
text immediately above I leave for another post, within the context of 
Rabelais, Schopenhaer and Fichte, should none attend it before me.  I 
encourage commentary upon this file and corrections where pertinent.

E6/6/6

tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
nigris (333)
------------
credit: thanks to my Order Brother BHeidrick for corrections of this text.

appendages:

	"The		the essenial ['Aleph Zain' is my guess, Hebrew],
			Azoth, etc. = [The - Greek].
	"Word		Chokmah, Thoth, the Logos, the Second Emanation.
	"of		the Partitive, Binah the Great Mother.
	"the		Chesed, the paternal power, reflectoin of the
			'The' above.
	"Law		Geburah, the stern restriction.
	"is		Tiphereth, visible existence, the balanced harmony
			of the worlds.
	"[Thelema-Gk]	The idea embracing all this sentence in a word.

	"Or:

	"[Th-Gk] The	= [Teth-Hbrw] the Lion, 'Thou shalt unite all
			these symbols into the form of a Lion.'
	"[e-Gk]	Word	= [He-Hbrw] the letter of Breath, the Logos.
	"[l-Gk] of	= [Lamed-Hbrw][libra-astrl] the Equilibrium.
	"[e-Gk] the	= [Tau-Hbrw] 418, Abrahadabra.
	"[m-Gk] Law	= [Mem-Hbrw] the Hanged Man, or Redeemer.
	"[a-Gk] is	= [aleph-Hbrw] the 0 (zero, Nuit, which is Existence).
	"[Thelema-Gk]
	        Thelema = the sum of all."

	Ibid, pp. 96-7.
	_______________

* - having finally received my initiation certificate from my Order, a mere
    3 years and some odd weeks after the event, I note that my motto chosen
    at that time ("Haramullah") does not appear thereon.  neither indeed 
    does my present vulgar name ("tyagi nagasiva"), but a previous version
    of the latter, at the time of which my motto had been "nigris".  
    
    I also note that recently I was informed that my Order's initiation
    oaths are no longer available for preview just prior to the rites,
    rendering them in my eyes counter to the Law of Thelema, being given
    during a time of duress and disorientation at which one might become
    enslaved to corruption within the Order itself should this arise and
    and not be checked within its masonic veil.

    for this reason I amend my motto within the Thelemic community 
    to reflect my new relationship to my Order and to its apparent 
    dictation of my temporal status through administrative oversight 
    (nigris (333) -- call me what you will).

Orig-Lines: 333 (unintentional; thus a confirmation of this last note)

EOF