One of the most prevalant memes within Consensus Thelema is the idea that Crowley changed his mind so many times on so many different issues, it’s pointless to try to isolate any invariant “truth” within his thought. (Therefore it’s up to each individual to define for themselves what Thelema is blah blah blah let’s open…
Author: Entelecheia
Monism and the Two Aspects of Reality
One of the implications of Crowley’s commitment to holistic monism is a two aspects view on reality. Again, holistic monism is the view that (a) empirical items must be such that all their properties are determinable only within the context of a totality composed of other items and their properties (i.e., you can never unequivocally…
The Sphinx and the Gnostic Mass
Part VIII of the Gnostic Mass—Of the Mystic Marriage and Consummation of the Elements—could be viewed as the formation of the Sphinx out of the Priest and Priestess (or the elements attributed to them, if you prefer). The Sphinx represents the elements balanced in the individual. It is a hieroglyph of the individual who has…
Self-Transcendence
As mentioned previously, Crowley’s philosophy can be understood as a form of derivation monism: the requirement that the a priori conditions of experience must be somehow derived from a single, absolute first principle. For Crowley, the a priori conditions of experience are the subjective point of view (which he calls Hadit) and the intersubjectively accessible…
Origin of the Kabbalists’ (and Crowley’s) first principle
The idea of “nothingness” as a creative first principle is often assumed to have an “eastern” (e.g., Chinese or Indian) origin. For instance, Pierre Bayle made this claim about the first principle of Kabbalah (Ain) in the 17th century, and Jacob Brucker made a similar claim in the 18th century. Recently I was saw someone…
The Divine Individual
Part 4 of the Dualism, Monism & Thelema series Having established the relationship between Nuit, Hadit, and the Qabalistic Zero, let’s now look at the relationship between Nuit and Hadit, in combination, and the Star. The Definition of a Star After introducing Nuit and Hadit as the “elements” of the Thelemic Universe, Crowley then introduces…
The Path in Eternity Series
A series of articles analyzing the Path in Eternity in light of an animated movie I created. Introduction Qabalah, Thelema, and the Star The Khu Why a circular Tree of Life?
The Cosmic Egg: Nuit, Hadit, and the Zero
Part 3 of the Dualism, Monism & Thelema Series Nuit and Hadit as Foundations The Book of the Law presents Nuit and Hadit as the two exclusive deities of the Thelemic universe. I am Heaven, and there is no other God than me, and my lord Hadit. AL I.21 Furthermore Crowley took Nuit and Hadit…
Logical Framework
Part 2 of the Dualism, Monism & Thelema Series For there to exist a dualism between two terms, there must be a distinction to be made between them. Likewise, to speak of the same two things from a monistic perspective means in some sense to deny the distinction between them. The philosophical tradition has acknowledged…
Dualism, Monism, and Thelema
Part One: Introduction Thelema includes both monistic and dualistic doctrines, and Crowley makes monistic and dualistic pronouncements throughout his writings. For our purposes, monism will mean any theory or doctrine that in some sense denies the existence of a distinction or duality in some sphere, either in fact or in thought. An example of one…