Thelema WikiProject Thelema Category:Thelema

Core topics

The Book of the Law Aleister Crowley True Will · 93 Magick The Unicursal Hexagram, designed by Aleister Crowley, is one of the common symbols of Thelema Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun θέλημα: will, from the verb ἐθέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... Image File history File links Unicursalhexagram. ... The Book of the Law (ISBN 0877283346), also known as Liber AL vel Legis, is the text central to a philosophical / magical / religious practice called Thelema, written by Aleister Crowley. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The phrase True Will does not appear in the Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ... The number 93 is of great significance in the religion of Thelema, originated by Aleister Crowley in 1904 with the writing of The Book of the Law. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Mysticism

Thelemic mysticism The Great Work Holy Guardian Angel The Gnostic Mass Within the modern system of Thelema, developed by Aleister Crowley in the first half of the 20th century, is a complex mystical path designed to do two interrelated things: to learn ones unique True Will and to achieve union with the All. ... -1... Aleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass—technically called Liber XV or Book 15—in 1913 while travelling in Moscow. ...

Thelemic texts

Works of Crowley The Holy Books Thelemite texts Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)—mystic, occultist, and mountaineer—was a highly prolific writer, not only on the topic of Thelema and magick, but on philosophy, politics, and culture. ... Aleister Crowley, the founder of the religion of Thelema, designated his works as belonging to one of several classes. ...

Organisations

A∴A∴ · OTO · EGC Argenteum Astrum, also known as Argentinum Astrum, Argentinium Astrum (Latin for silver star), Astron Argon (Greek for silver star), or simply A∴A∴, was a magical order created by Aleister Crowley after leaving the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ... Lamen of Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (Order of the Temple of the East, or the Order of Oriental Templars) is an international fraternal and religious organization. ... Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (EGC), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema. ...

Deities

Nuit · Hadit · Horus Babalon · Chaos Baphomet · Choronzon Ankh-f-n-khonsu Aiwass For a strict look at Nuit from an ancient Egyptian point of view, see: Nuit (mythology) Nuit (alternatively Nu, Nut, or Nuith) is the speaker in the first Chapter of the Book of the Law, the sacred text of Thelema written in 1904 by Aleister Crowley. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... Heru-ra-ha is a composite deity in Aleister Crowleys quasi-Egyptian mythology; composed of Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-par-kraat. ... Babalon riding The Beast, as depicted on the Lust card of Crowleys Thoth Tarot. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Choronzon is an entity, described by Edward Kelley as that mighty devil. It is associated with the tenth Aethyr in the system of Enochian Magick devised by John Dee, and is the Dweller in the Abyss in the magickal system(s) developed by Aleister Crowley. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Aiwass is the figure who is said to have dictated The Book of the Law to Aleister Crowley on April 8th, 9th, and 10th in 1904. ...

Other topics

Stele of Revealing Abrahadabra Oil of Abramelin In the system of Thelema, Stèle of Revealing refers to an ancient Egyptian work of art that played a role in the creation of the system. ... Abracadabra is a word used as an incantation, considered by some to be the phrase that is pronounced most universally in other languages without translation. ... Abramelin oil, also called Oil of Abramelin, is a ceremonial magical oil blended from aromatic plant materials. ... This box: view • talk • edit

Within the system of Thelema founded by Aleister Crowley in 1904, the Holy Guardian Angel is the "Silent Self", representative of one's truest divine nature. The Unicursal Hexagram, designed by Aleister Crowley, is one of the common symbols of Thelema Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun θέλημα: will, from the verb ἐθέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

In occultism, the term is so widely known HGA has become a common abbreviation even in non-English-speaking countries. Crowley seems to consider it equivalent to the Genius of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Augoeides of Iamblichus, the Atman of Hinduism, and the Daemon of the gnostics. He borrowed the term from the Grimoire "The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage". Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis (not a Rite of the Golden Dawn). ... Augoeides can be translated as luminous body. ... Two historical persons go by the name Iamblichus (Greek: Ιάμβλιχος) A Greek novelist; see Iamblichus (novelist) A neoplatonist philosopher; see Iamblichus (philosopher) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Advaita philosophers believe that individual personal souls exist as Maya only. ... Hinduism {Sanskrit/Hindi - HindÅ« Dharma, also known as Sanātana (eternal) Dharma, and Vaidika (of the Vedas) Dharma} is the religion of the majority in India. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This design for an amulet comes from the Black Pullet grimoire. ... Abramelin, or Abra-Melin, is the claimed eponym of the author of a famous grimoire which calls itself The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. ...

Even though the HGA is, in a sense, the “higher self”, it is often experienced as a separate being, independent from the adept. In the system of Thelema, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one’s HGA, a process termed “Knowledge and Conversation.” By doing so, the magician becomes fully aware of his own True Will. The phrase True Will does not appear in the Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ...

For Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any adept:

It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step—crossing of the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple. (Magick Without Tears, Ch.83)

See also: Thelemic mysticism, Initiation An abyss (Greek: a-, privative, bussos, bottom) is a bottomless depth; hence any deep place. ... Within the modern system of Thelema, developed by Aleister Crowley in the first half of the 20th century, is a complex mystical path designed to do two interrelated things: to learn ones unique True Will and to achieve union with the All. ... Coming from the Latin, initiation implies a beginning. ...

Methods of Achieving Knowledge & Conversation

Crowley said that the Abramelin procedure was not the only way to achieve success in this endeavour:

It is impossible to lay down precise rules by which a man may attain to the knowledge and conversation of His Holy Guardian Angel; for that is the particular secret of each one of us; as secret not to be told or even divined by any other, whatever his grade. It is the Holy of Holies, whereof each man is his own High Priest, and none knoweth the Name of his brother's God, or the Rite that invokes Him. (Book 4, "One Star in Sight")

Since the operation described in “Abramelin” is so complex and requires time and resources not available to most people, Crowley wanted to provide a more accessible method. While at the Abbey of Thelema in Italy, he wrote Liber Samekh, a ritual designed specifically for attaining the Knowledge and Conversation with one’s HGA. In his notes to this ritual, Crowley sums up the key to success: “INVOKE OFTEN.” The Abbey of Thelema was a temple founded by Aleister Crowley in a rented villa at Cefalu, Sicily in 1920. ...

He also explains, in more detail, the general mystical process of the ritual:

The Adept will be free to concentrate his deepest self, that part of him which unconsciously orders his true Will, upon the realization of his Holy Guardian Angel. The absence of his bodily, mental and astral consciousness is indeed cardinal to success, for it is their usurpation of his attention which has made him deaf to his Soul, and his preoccupation with their affairs that has prevented him from perceiving that Soul.

The effect of the Ritual has been

1. to keep them so busy with their own work that they cease to distract him;
2. to separate them so completely that his soul is stripped of its sheaths;
3. to arouse in him an enthusiasm so intense as to intoxicate and anaesthetize him, that he may not feel and resent the agony of this spiritual vivisection, just as bashful lovers get drunk on the wedding night, in order to brazen out the intensity of shame which so mysteriously coexists with their desire;
4. to concentrate the necessary spiritual forces from every element, and fling them simultaneously into the aspiration towards the Holy Guardian Angel; and
5. to attract the Angel by the vibration of the magical voice which invokes Him.

The method of the Ritual is thus manifold.

Another detailed description of the general operation is given in The Vision and the Voice, Aethyr 8.

Variations in Crowley's view of the HGA

Crowley only espouses a view that the HGA is the 'silent self' in his early life. In his seventies, when composing Magick without Tears, he presents a completely different and diametrically opposed view. According to this definition, the HGA is not one's 'self', but an independent and discrete being, who may have been a human like oneself at one stage: Magick without tears ( ISBN 1561840181 ) is a book of letters by Aleister Crowley, to Cara Soror first published in 1973. ...

"Now, on the other hand, there is an entirely different type of angel; and here we must be especially careful to remember that we include gods and devils, for there are such beings who are not by any means dependent one one particular element for their existence. They are microcosms in exactly the same sense as men and women are. They are individuals who have picked up the elements of their composition as possibility and convenience dictates, exactly as we do ourselves... I believe that the Holy Guardian Angel is a Being of this order. He is something more than a man, possibly a being who has already passed through the stage of humanity, and his peculiarly intimate relationship with his client is that of friendship, of community, of brotherhood, or Fatherhood. He is not, let me say with emphasis, a mere abstraction from yourself; and that is why I have insisted rather heavily that the term "Higher Self" implies "a damnable heresy and a dangerous delusion." - Crowley, Magick Without Tears

Carroll & the HGA

Peter Carroll split the concept in two and speaks of two "Holy Guardian Angels". According to him, one is the Augoeides, a projected image of whatever the magician strives for, and the other is quantum uncertainty, which he says ultimately determines the acts of the magician and is a spark of the only true creative force, chaos, much as previous concepts have spoken of the Guardian angel as a spark of divinity. However, Crowley's view on the subject remains the more popular one. Peter J. Carroll (born 8th January 1953, 1:30am; 50 degrees 50 minutes N, 0 degrees 25 minutes W) is a modern occultist, author and co-founder of the Illuminates of Thanateros. ... The Heisenberg uncertainty principle or just uncertainty principle (sometimes also the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle - a name given to it by N. Bohr) is one of the cornerstones of quantum mechanics. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... A guardian angel is a spirit who is believed to protect and to guide a particular person. ... Divinity has a number of related uses in the field of religious belief and study. ...

See also: Chaos magic The chaos star (called a chaosphere by some practitioners) is the most popular symbol of chaos magic. ...

References

• Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book 4. 2nd ed. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.
• ___. (1982). Magick Without Tears. Phoenix, AZ : Falcon Press (ISBN 1561840181)
• ___. (1998). The Vision & the Voice : the Equinox, IV(2). York Beach, Me. : Samuel Weiser.
• Thelemapedia (2005). Holy Guardian Angel. Rerieved on 03/15/05.

External links

• Free Encyclopedia of Thelema
• Thelemapedia, the original Encyclopedia of Thelema & Magick