Philosophical school and religious belief established in 1904 from the writings of the Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947)
The Laws of Thelema can be summed up with two phrases from the Book of the Law
- “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”
- “Love is the law, love under will”
The general goal for a Thelemite (follower of this practice) is to discover and perform their true will, which is defined as being the innermost nature or a proper life course of the individual.
Along with certain doctrination, there are strong aspects of politics, ethics, aesthetics and culture that should be adhered to by all Thelemites.
Although this is the case, Crowley wrote many articles and essays on his ideas for proper behaviour within a thelemic society and as a thelemite, the primary theme enforced across this belief involves personal freedom, a recognition that men and women are born with divine nature and that love is the basis of the “Great Work”.
As with many philosophical and magickal doctrines, some adherents/followers of Thelema have their own understandings and paths to attaining the true will, rather than keeping to the outline of that by Aleister Crowley and his writings.
Thelema and the Book of the Law creates a model of reality that combines two elementary forces, that of infinite space; personified by the Egyptian Sky Goddess Nuit, and the infinitely contracted point; personified by Hadit*
With the interaction of these forces, thus reality came to be. Crowley has been known to often describe this interaction via sexual terms as seen in this quote:
“Nuit is the centripetal energy, infinitely elastic because it must fit over the hard thrust directed against it; Hadit, the centrifugal, ever seeking to penetrate the unknown”
From this union, two opposites resulted, represented by Ra-Hoor-Khuit, or literally translated to mean Horus of Two Horizons, also called the Crowned and Conquering Child.
This form of cosmological ideology has been interpreted as literal by some Thelemites, some will see it as a metaphor and others view it as a set of obscure instructions for particular practices which lead to personal attainment or a change of state.
As Crowley stated that he did not write the book of the law, but rather it was written through him, it has been documented that many of the elements within the book were beyond his own comprehension.
* In Thelemic circles, Hadit is an Egyptian God who has been interpreted as the inner spirit of man. However, in mythological circles there is no reference to an Egyptian God of this name.
When it comes to ethics within Thelema, this is a task of interpretation that is left to the individual, an ethical system of personal choice, although this is said, there are some common themes within the writings of Crowley and other thelemic philosophies.
The most common and central to Thelemic ethics is one of individual liberty and the personal freedom to pursue and fulfill one’s will.
Some social restrictions are seen in a negative light by the majority of Thelemites, particularly in regards to laws that make certain sex acts between consenting adults illegal.
There are four sections to Thelema which outline the duties and rules of practical conduct within this philosophy.
- Duty to Self
- This essential describes the self as the centre of the universe with a call to learn about ones inner nature. Every Thelemite is meant to develop every faculty and fact of themselves in a balanced way, establishing ones autonomy and to learn to do ones True Will.Duty to Others
- Thelemites are called to eliminate the “illusions of separateness” between oneself and all others. They must understand to fight when necessary, to avoid interfering with the will of others, to enlighten others when or if need be and to recognise the divine nature of all other beings. When it comes to the suffering of others, it is noble to relieve the pain, however pity should be avoided.Duty to Mankind
- Thelemites should attempt to establish the Law of Thelema as the sole basis of conduct. The laws of the land should have the aim of securing the greatest liberty for all individuals. Such things as crime are viewed as a violation of ones True Will.Duty to all other Beings and Things
“It is a violation of the Law of Thelema to abuse the natural qualities of any animal or object by diverting it from its proper function”
&
“The Law of Thelema is to be applied unflinchingly to decide every question of conduct.”
Information sourced from Thelemapedia