Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole of the Law
Today, January 2nd, 2016 -☉ in 12° Capricorni : ☽ in 23° Librae : dies Solis,
begins the Initiatory Course for all those who partake of this Working in the promulgation and practical exercise of the Law of Thelema for Wisdom as well as under the prospects of Liber AL.II.76 - "to look forth upon men, to tell them this glad word", verse 19 of Liber B vel Magi - "And woe, woe, woe, yea woe, and again woe, woe, woe, unto seven times be His that preacheth not His law to men!", etc.
This Working officially began yesterday, at least in mind, and I decided to now make this Working public for those who find this publication a useful channel to join me and deepen their own wisdom and understanding as I slowly go into the Libri of Aleister Crowley, primarily to serve as a foreground for future endeavors and explorations. This is an open invitation to those who seek more Light to begin finding their own True Will by working the steps that have proven useful to many Adepts of the past and present.
I will begin here with An Account of A∴A∴, which is "first written in the language of his period by the Councillor Von Eckartshausen, and now revised and rewritten in the Universal Cipher." Crowley called it "An elementary suggestive account of the work of the Order in its relation to the average man. The preliminary paper of M∴M∴M∴ (Liber LII in the O.T.O.) may be classed with this."
It should be known that this is Liber 33 in the Libri, but being essential at the outset to the understanding of the aims of this Inner Order to be introduced now. Each Liber is numbered with a significant value, and here 33 as is probably recognized is the penultimate number of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, as well as the age at which Jesus was when he was martyred, and the number of disks in the spinal column - just a few correspondences which convey the heights and the depths of this monumental Work. Note also that in Greek 33 shows Gamma-Γ and Lamba-Λ, veiled forms of the Square and Compass signifying the tools of the Craft.
AN ACCOUNT OF A ∴ A ∴
FIRST WRITTEN IN THE LANGUAGE
OF HIS PERIOD
by
THE COUNCILLOR VON ECKARTSHAUSEN
AND
NOW REVISED AND REWRITTEN
IN THE UNIVERSAL CIPHER
A ∴ A ∴
Official publication in Class C.
Issued by Order:
D.D.S. 7 ° = 4☐
O.S.V. 6 ° = 5☐
N.S.F. 5 ° = 6☐
AN ACCOUNT OF A ∴ A ∴
IT is necessary, my dear brothers, to give you a clear idea of the interior Order; of that illuminated community which is scattered throughout the world, but which is governed by one truth and united in one spirit.[The Revisers wish to acknowledge gratefully
the translation of Madame de Steiger, which
they have freely quoted.]
This community possesses a School, in which all who thirst for knowledge are instructed by the Spirit of Wisdom itself; and all the mysteries of nature are preserved in this school for the children of light. Perfect knowledge of nature and of humanity is taught in this school. It is from her that all truths penetrate into the world; she is the school of all who search for wisdom, and it is in this community alone that truth and the explantation of all mystery are to be found. It is the most hidden of communities, yet it contains members from many circles; nor is there any Centre of Thought whose activity is not due to the presence of one of ourselves. From all time there has been an exterior school based on the interior one, of which it is but the outer expression. From all time, therefore, there has been a hidden assembly, a society of the Elect, of those who sought for and had capacity for light, and {7} this interior society was the Axle of the R.O.T.A. All that any external order possesses in symbol, ceremony, or rite is the letter expressive outwardly of that spirit of truth which dwelleth in the interior Sanctuary. Nor is the contradiction of the exterior any bar to the harmony of the interior.
Hence this Sanctuary, composed of members widely scattered indeed but united by the bonds of perfect love, has been occupied from the earliest ages in building the grand Temple (through the evolution of humanity) by which the reign of L.V.X. will be manifest. This society is in the communion of those who have most capacity for light; they are united in truth, and their Chief is the Light of the World himself, V.V.V.V.V., the One Anointed in Light, the single teacher for the human race, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The interior Order was formed immediately after the first perception of man's wider heritage had dawned upon the first of the adepts; it received from the Masters at first-hand the revelation of the means by which humanity could be raised to its rights and delivered from its misery. It received the primitive charge of all revelation and mystery; it received the key of true science, both divine and natural.
But as men multiplied, the frailty of man necessitated an exterior society which veiled the interior one, and concealed the spirit and the truth in the letter, because many people were not capable of comprehending great interior truth. Therefore, interior truths were wrapped in external and perceptible ceremonies, so that men, by the perception of the outer which is the symbol of the interior, might by degrees be enabled safely to approach the interior spiritual truths. {8}
But the inner truth has always been confided to him who in his day had the most capacity for illumination, and he became the sole guardian of the original Trust, as High Priest of the Sanctuary.
When it became necessary that interior truths should be enfolded in exterior ceremony and symbol, on account of the real weakness of men who were not capable of hearing the Light of Light, then exterior worship began. It was, however, always the type or symbol of the interior, that is to say, the symbol of the true and Secret Sacrament.
The external worship would never have been separated from interior revel but for the weakness of man, which tends too easily to forget the spirit in the letter; but the Masters are vigilant to note in every nation those who are able to receive light, and such persons are employed as agents to spread the light according to man's capacity and to revivify the dead letter.
Through these instruments the interior truths of the Sanctuary were taken into every nation, and modified symbolically according to their customs, capacity for instruction, climate, and receptiveness. So that the external types of every religion, worship, ceremonies and Sacred Books in general have more or less clearly, as their object of instruction, the interior truths of the Sanctuary, by which man will be conducted to the universal knowledge of the one Absolute Truth.
The more the external worship of a people has remained united with the spirit of esoteric truth, the purer its religion; but the wider the difference between the symbolic letter and the invisible truth, the more imperfect has become the religion. {9} Finally, it may be, the external form has entirely parted from its inner truth, so that ceremonial observances without soul or life have remained alone.
In the midst of all this, truth reposes inviolable in the inner Sanctuary.
Faithful to the spirit of truth, the members of the interior Order live in silence, but in real activity.
Yet, besides their secret holy work, they have from time to time decided upon political strategic action.
Thus, when the earth was night utterly corrupt by reason of the Great Sorcery, the Brethren sent Mohammed to bring freedom to mankind by the sword.
This being but partially a success, they raised up one Luther to teach freedom of thought. Yet this freedom soon turned into a heavier bondage than before.
Then the Brethren delivered unto man the knowledge of nature, and the keys thereof; yet this also was prevented by the Great Sorcery.
Now then finally in nameless ways, as one of our Brethren hath it now in mind to declare, have they raised up One to deliver unto men the keys of Spiritual Knowledge, and by His work shall He be judged.
This interior community of light is the reunion of all those capable of receiving light, and it is known as the Communion of Saints, the primitive receptacle for all strength and truth, confided to it from all time.
By it the agents of L.V.X. were formed in every age, passing from the interior to the exterior, and communicating spirit and life to the dead letter, as already said.
This illuminated community is the true school of L.V.X.; {10} it has its Chair, its Doctors; it possesses a rule for students; it has forms and objects for study.
It has also its degrees for successive development to greater altitudes.
This school of wisdom has been for ever most secretly hidden from the world, because it is invisible and submissive solely to illuminated government.
It has never been exposed to the accidents of time and to the weakness of man, because only the most capable were chosen for it, and those who selected made no error.
Through this school were developed the germs of all the sublime sciences, which were first received by external schools, then clothed in other forms, and hence degenerated.
According to time and circumstances, the society of sages communicated unto the exterior societies their symbolic hieroglyphs, in order to attract man to the great truths of their Sanctuary.
But all exterior societies subsist only by virtue of this interior one. As soon as external societies wish to transform a temple of wisdom into a political edifice, the interior society retires and leaves only the letter without the spirit. It is thus that secret external societies of wisdom were nothing but hieroglyphic screens, the truth remaining inviolable in the Sanctuary so that she might never be profaned.
In this interior society man finds wisdom and with her All --- not the wisdom of this world, which is but scientific knowledge, which revolves round the outside but never touches the centre (in which is contained all strength), but true wisdom, understanding and knowledge, reflections of the supreme illumination. {11}
All disputes, all controversies, all the things belonging to the false cares of this world, fruitless discussions, useless germs of opinions which spread the seeds of disunion, all error, schisms, and systems are banished. Neither calumny nor scandal is known. Every man is honoured. Love alone reigns.
We must not, however, imagine that this society resembles any secret society, meeting at certain times, choosing leaders and members, united by special objects. All societies, be what they may, can but come after this interior illuminated circle. This society knows none of the formalities which belong to the outer rings, the work of man. In this kingdom of power all outward forms cease.
L.V.X. is the Power always present. The greatest man of his times, the chief himself, does not always know all the members, but the moment when it is necessary that he should accomplish any object he finds them in the world with certainty ready to his hand.
This community has no outside barriers. He who may be chosen is as the first; he presents himself among the others without presumption, and he is received by the others without jealousy.
It if be necessary that real members should meet together, they find and recognize each other with perfect certainty.
No disguise can be used, neither hypocrisy nor dissimulation could hide the characteristic qualities which distinguish the members of this society. All illusion is gone, and things appear in their true form.
No one member can choose another; unanimous choice is required. Though not all men are called, many of called are chosen, and that as soon as they become fit for entrance. {12}
Any man can look for the entrance, and any man who is within can teach another to seek for it; but only he who is fit can arrive within.
Unprepared men occasion disorder in a community, and disorder is not compatible with the Sanctuary. Thus it is impossible to profane the Sanctuary, since admission is not formal but real.
Worldly intelligence seeks this Sanctuary in vain; fruitless also will be the efforts of malice to penetrate these great mysteries; all is indecipherable to him who is not ripe; he can see nothing, read nothing in the interior.
He who is fit is joined to the chain, perhaps often where he though least likely, and at a point of which he knew nothing himself.
To become fit should be the sole effort of him who seeks wisdom.
But there are methods by which fitness is attained, for in this holy communion is the primitive storehouse of the most ancient and original science of the human race, with the primitive mysteries also of all science. It is the unique and really illuminated community which is absolutely in possession of the key to all mystery, which knows the centre and source of all nature. It is a society which unites superior strength to its own, and counts its members from more than one world. It is the society whose members form the republic of Genius, the Regent Mother of the whole World. {13}
We go on with Liber B vel Magi, or Liber I which is first in the list of Libri. (Full Libri here.)
According to Crowley, "This is an account of the Grade of Magus, the highest grade which it is ever possible to manifest in any way whatever upon this plane. Or so it is said by the Masters of the Temple.' Also known as The Book of the Magus."
(The images in the video are drafts of Atu I by Lady Fried Harris. The icon image comes from a sketch in a journal of Crowley's I viewed at the Harry Ransome Library in 2014. In the video I also link to Projective Synthetic Geometry in Lady Frieda Harris' Tarot Paintings and in Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law on Peter Koenig's Parareligion.ch site.)
A∴A∴
Publication in Class A.
Publication in Class A.
00.
| One is the Magus: twain His forces: four His weapons. These are the Seven Spirits of Unrighteousness; seven vultures of evil. Thus is the art and craft of the Magus but glamour. How shall He destroy Himself? |
0.
| Yet the Magus hath power upon the Mother both directly and through Love. And the Magus is Love, and bindeth together That and This in His Conjuration. |
1.
| In the beginning doth the Magus speak Truth, and send forth Illusion and Falsehood to enslave the soul. Yet therein is the Mystery of Redemption. |
2.
| By his Wisdom made He the Worlds; the Word that is God is none other than He. |
3.
| How then shall He end His speech with Silence? For He is Speech. |
4.
| He is the First and the Last. How shall He cease to number Himself? |
5.
| By a Magus is this writing made known through the mind of a Magister. The one uttereth clearly, and the other understandeth; yet the Word is falsehood, and the Understanding darkness. And this saying is Of All Truth. |
6.
| Nevertheless it is written; for there be times of darkness, and this as a lamp therein. |
7.
| With the Wand createth He. |
8.
| With the Cup preserveth He. |
9.
| With the Dagger destroyeth He. |
10.
| With the Coin redeemeth He. |
11.
| His weapons fulfil the wheel; and on What Axle that turneth is not known unto Him. |
12.
| From all these actions must He cease before the curse of His Grade is uplifted from Him. Before He attain to That which existeth without Form. |
13.
| And if at this time He be manifested upon earth as a Man, and therefore is this present writing, let this be His method, that the curse of His grade, and the burden of His attainment, be uplifted from Him. |
14.
| Let Him beware of abstinence from action. For the curse of His grade is that He must speak Truth, that the Falsehood thereof may enslave the souls of men. Let Him then utter that without Fear, that the Law may be fulfilled. And according to His Original Nature will that law be shapen, so that one may declare gentleness and quietness, being an Hindu; and another fierceness and servility, being a Jew; and yet another ardour and manliness, being an Arab. Yet this matter toucheth the mystery of Incarnation, and is not here to be declared. |
15.
| Now the grade of a Magister teacheth the Mystery of Sorrow, and the grade of a Magus the Mystery of Change, and the grade of Ipsissimus the Mystery of Selflessness, which is called also the Mystery of Pan. |
16.
| Let the Magus then contemplate each in turn, raising it to the ultimate power of Infinity. Wherein Sorrow is Joy, and Change is Stability, and Selflessness is Self. For the interplay of the parts hath no action upon the whole. And this contemplation shall be performed not by simple meditation—how much less then by reason! but by the method which shall have been given unto Him in His initiation to the Grade. |
17.
| Following which method, it shall be easy for Him to combine that trinity from its elements, and further to combine Sat-Chit-Ananda, and Light, Love, Life, three by three into nine that are one, in which meditation success shall be That which was first adumbrated to Him in the grade of Practicus (which reflecteth Mercury into the lowest world) in Liber XXVII, «Here is Nothing under its three Forms.» |
18.
| And this is the Opening of the Grade of Ipsissimus, and by the Buddhists it is called the trance Nerodha-Samapatti. |
19.
| And woe, woe, woe, yea woe, and again woe, woe, woe, unto seven times be His that preacheth not His law to men! |
20.
| And woe also be unto Him that refuseth the curse of the grade of a Magus, and the burden of the Attainment thereof. |
21.
| And in the word CHAOS let the book be sealed; yea, let the Book be sealed. |
Since I did not begin Liber I on January 1, but on the 2nd, I went ahead and also read Liber II - The Message of Master Therion, which puts The Law of Thelema in simple terms, or as Crowley said; "It explains the essence of the New Law in a very simple manner."
The text is below:
Liber II
The Message of
The Master Therion
Θελημα—Thelema—means Will.“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”
“There is no Law beyond Do what thou wilt.”
“The word of the Law is Θελημα.”
The Key to this Message is this word—Will. The first obvious meaning of this Law is confirmed by antithesis; “The word of Sin is Restriction.”
Again: “Thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.”
Take this carefully; it seems to imply a theory that if every man and every woman did his and her will—the true will—there would be no clashing. “Every man and every woman is a star,” and each star moves in an appointed path without interference. There is plenty of room for all; it is only disorder that creates confusion.
From these considerations it should be clear that “Do what thou wilt” does not mean “Do what you like.” It is the apotheosis of Freedom; but it is also the strictest possible bond.
Do what thou wilt—then do nothing else. Let nothing deflect thee from that austere and holy task. Liberty is absolute to do thy will; but seek to do any other thing whatever, and instantly obstacles must arise. Every act that is not in definite course of that one orbit is erratic, an hindrance. Will must not be two, but one.
Note further that this will is not only to be pure, that is, single, as explained above, but also “unassuaged of purpose.” This strange phrase must give us pause. It may mean that any purpose in the will would damp it; clearly the “lust of result” is a thing from which it must be delivered.
But the phrase may also be interpreted as if it read “with purpose unassuaged”—i.e., with tireless energy. The conception is, therefore, of an eternal motion, infinite and unalterable. It is Nirvana, only dynamic instead of static—and this comes to the same thing in the end.
The obvious practical task of the magician is then to discover what his will really is, so that he may do it in this manner, and he can best accomplish this by the practices of Liber Thisarb (see Equinox I(7), p. 105) or such others as may from one time to another be appointed.
Thou must (1) Find out what is thy Will. (2) Do that Will with a) one-pointedness, (b) detachment, (c) peace.
Then, and then only, art thou in harmony with the Movement of Things, thy will part of, and therefore equal to, the Will of God. And since the will is but the dynamic aspect of the self, and since two different selves could not possess identical wills; then, if thy will be God's will, Thou art That.
There is but one other word to explain. Elsewhere it is written— surely for our great comfort—“Love is the law, love under will.”
This is to be taken as meaning that while Will is the Law, the nature of that Will is Love. But this Love is as it were a by-product of that Will; it does not contradict or supersede that Will; and if apparent contradiction should arise in any crisis, it is the Will that will guide us aright. Lo, while in The Book of the Law is much of Love, there is no word of Sentimentality. Hate itself is almost like Love! “As brothers fight ye!” All the manly races of the world understand this. The Love of Liber Legis is always bold, virile, even orgiastic. There is delicacy, but it is the delicacy of strength. Mighty and terrible and glorious as it is, however, it is but the pennon upon the sacred lance of Will, the damascened inscription upon the swords of the Knight-monks of Thelema.
Love is the law, love under will.
666
This Epistle first appeared in The Equinox III(1) (Detroit: Universal, 1919).
The quotations are from Liber Legis-The Book of the Law.
∞
As a Comment, it should be known that the Preliminary work for Qabalistic Analysis should have already been made through the previous posts of this publication, or if as yet unfamiliar then begin the first three two from June 9, 2012, or at least 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 for a brief introduction. By simple analysis of the title of The Magician or The Magus, THE GREAT MAGICIAN as he is called by Crowley in Liber 418 (3rd Aethyr) and The Dangers of Mysticism. and as 355 he is equated to THE BOOK OF THOTH as a whole, as well as ABRAXAS - the Devil-God or Demiurge of the full terrestrial cycle. The above is using Gimel, but THE MAGICIAN CARD shows that Cheth can also be used since both are transliterable as 'C' being the 3rd letter in English and the 8th letter in Hebrew. 355 is 10 less than 365, the Greek value of ΑΒΡΑΞΑΣ, but 10 is I, the value of the Magus as well as his field of Operation (Malkuth). Using Cheth in THE GREAT MAGICIAN it is brought up to 360 of the circle anyway.
Using 666 which is the value of the Solar-Power, the manifest 'Son-Sun' of the Supreme Light of Kether (the Father) we can see that THE GREAT MAGICIAN'S CIRCLE is equivalent to THE SUPREME CIRCLE which is traced in THE RITUAL circumnambulation of the Temple in the act of creating A CEREMONIAL CIRCLE (physically/ microcosmically, and metaphysically/ macrocosmically). Thus, the Power of the Magus is the derived from the self-same Power that perpetuates and governs the Stars and indeed The Universe.
Note also that THE GREAT MAGICIAN (355) + ALEISTER CROWLEY (644) using Hebrew-English Gematria (revealed by and as The Key of It All via the cipher 107) equates to 999 - the Hidden Formula of THERION (Nun final) revealed unto me throughpersonal work which began officially when I took my Oath of Probationer in the A∴A∴ on September 9th, 2009 (999). Though many had said that not much of this mattered at the time - I persevered and saw that indeed it did.
It is in this sense that LUCIFER, THE ANGEL OF THE LIGHT is the Bringer of Light to Humanity, the Initiator and he who is synonymous with THE EVOLUTION (=666) and Perfection of Humanity, for LUCIFER = 260 = TECHNOLOGY, and 260 is the value of the Qliphothic aspect of The Magician as Baratchial, ברטחיאל who preserves the Knowledge of Sciences. (See pages 162-165 of Nightside of Eden for more details.) Note also that 260 is 26 x 10, or IHVH/The Middle Pillar materialized, as well as 26 and the 0, i.e. 26 and the dark mirror of illusion, reflection, reversal, inversion, and imitation - i.e. Maya, synonymous with Magick. Light is thus the Manifestation of God, 'Fallen' as it were, because it has been separated for the chance of re-Union. No thing is separated from the Source which is the Most High, even the Accuser or Adversary has his position and duty in the Order.
Love is the Law, Love Under Will
finished 2:41 AM, January 3, 2016
