Do What Thou Wilt

Thelema is a religion is founded upon the idea that the 20th century marked the beginning of the Aeon of Horus, in which a new ethical code would be followed; "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law".

The word θέλημα (thelema) is rare in classical Greek, where it "signifies the appetitive will: desire, sometimes even sexual", but it is frequent in the Septuagint. Early Christian writings occasionally use the word to refer to the human will, and even the will of God's opponent, the Devil, but it usually refers to the will of God.

 François Rabelais was a Franciscan and later a Benedictine monk of the 16th century. Eventually he left the monastery to study medicine, and moved to the French city of Lyon in 1532. It was there that he wrote Gargantua and Pantagruel, a connected series of books. They tell the story of two giants—a father (Gargantua) and his son (Pantagruel) and their adventures—written in an amusing, extravagant, and satirical vein. Rabelais wrote from a Christian humanist perspective. It is in the first book (ch. 52-57) that Rabelais writes of this Abbey of Thélème, built by the giant Gargantua. It is a classical utopia presented in order to critique and assess the state of the society of Rabelais' day, as opposed to a modern utopian text which seeks to create the scenario in practice. It is a utopia where people's desires are more fulfilled. However, as well as being satirical, it also epitomises the ideals considered in Rabelais' fiction. The inhabitants of the abbey were governed only by their own free will and pleasure, the only rule being "Do What Thou Wilt". Rabelais believed that men that are free, well born and bred have honour, which intrinsically leads to virtuous actions. When constrained, their noble natures turn instead to remove their servitude, because men desire what they are denied.

Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer ( 1708 – 1781) was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club*.

Francis Dashwood
15th Baron le Despencer
( 1708 – 1781)

Sir Francis Dashwood adopted some of the ideas of Rabelais and invoked the same rule in French, when he founded a group called the Monks of Medmenham (better known as The Hellfire Club*). An abbey was established at Medmenham, in a property which incorporated the ruins of a Cistercian abbey founded in 1201. The group were known as the Franciscans, not after Saint Francis of Assisi, but after its founder, Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer. John Wilkes, George Dodington and other politicians were members. We have little direct evidence of what Dashwood's Hellfire Club did or believed.  The one direct testimonial comes from John Wilkes, a member who never got into the chapter-room of the inner circle. He describes them as hedonists who met to "celebrate woman in wine", and added ideas from the ancients just to make the experience more decadent.
*[The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. These clubs were rumoured to be the meeting places of "persons of quality" who wished to take part in immoral acts, and the members were often very involved in politics. Neither the activities nor membership of the club are easy to ascertain.]

Fire, I'll take you to burn.
Fire, I'll take you to learn.
Arthur Brown Lyrics
" Fire "

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) was an English occultist and writer. In 1904, Crowley claimed to have received The Book of the Law from an entity named Aiwass, which was to serve as the foundation of the religious and philosophical system he called Thelema.

Aiwass was the name of a voice that Aleister Crowley heard on April 8, 9, and 10th in 1904. Crowley claimed that this voice dictated The Book of the Law to him.

 Thelema is a spiritual philosophy or religion that was developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician, Aleister Crowley. He came to believe himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Æon of Horus, based upon a spiritual experience that he and his wife, Rose Edith, had in Egypt in 1904. By his account, a possibly non-corporeal or "praeterhuman[1]" being that called itself Aiwass contacted him and dictated a text known as The Book of the Law or Liber AL vel Legis, which outlined the principles of Thelema. An adherent of Thelema is a Thelemite.

[1] "Some of you may have heard of the term praeter-human entity, and in the context of this discussion this phrase should be recognized as that which is beyond the human. In occult tradition it is accepted that there are spiritual beings in existence out of the general reaches of human manifestation, and therefore not subject to the same laws of space and time which operate on our dimension. History is replete with accounts of contact between such beings and humans. Examples which spring to mind are, Moses receiving the Ten commandments, the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, the seances of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly and Aleister Crowley's contact with Aiwass, Amalantrah and Abuldiz. Contact with such higher forces is usually considered to be beneficial, resulting in the communication of new knowledge and understanding."[ Simon Hinton, The Typhonian Tradition, pg. 9.]

According to Crowley, every individual has a True Will, to be distinguished from the ordinary wants and desires of the ego. The True Will is essentially one's "calling" or "purpose" in life. Thelema draws its principal gods and goddesses from Ancient Egyptian religion. Thelemic magick is a system of physical, mental, and spiritual exercises which practitioners believe are of benefit. Crowley defined magick as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", and spelled it with a 'k' to distinguish it from stage magic. Crowley was a prolific writer, integrating Eastern practices with Western magical practices from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He recommended a number of these practices to his followers, including basic yoga; (asana and pranayama); rituals of his own devising or based on those of the Golden Dawn.

There are no "standards of Right". Ethics is balderdash. Each Star must go on its own orbit. To hell with "moral principle"; there is no such thing. —Aleister Crowley

Saturday, January 7, 2012
Golden Dawn
A series of compulsory reincarnations?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor (HBofL)

The terms Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path refer to a dichotomy between two opposing philosophies found in the Western Esoteric Tradition, which itself covers various groups involved in the occult and ceremonial magic. In some definitions, the Left-Hand Path is equated with malicious Black Magic and the Right-Hand Path with benevolent White Magic.

The Right-Hand Path

The Right-Hand Path is commonly thought to refer to magical or religious groups which adhere to a certain set of characteristics:

• They adhere to social conventions and avoid taboos.
• They divide the concepts of mind, body and spirit into three separate, albeit interrelated entities.
• They adhere to a specific moral code and a belief in some form of judgement, such as karma or the Threefold Law.

The Left-Hand Path

Left-Hand Path practices:

•                    They often reject societal convention and the status quo, which some suggest is in a search for spiritual freedom. As a part of this, LHP followers embrace magical techniques that would traditionally be viewed as taboo, for instance using sex magic or embracing Satanic imagery.

•                    They often question religious or moral dogma, instead adhering to forms of personal anarchism.

•                     They often embrace sexuality and incorporate it into magical ritual.