I spent a lot of time this weekend contemplating the lamen of O.T.O. (I was at a Kaaba Colloquium and seated much of the time in front of the podium.) It gave me some time to think about the symbols that appear in it. One of the things that really struck me is how much…
Author: Entelecheia
On the Dual Aspects of the Priest and the Eucharist in the Gnostic Mass
ABSTRACT The Lord Secret and Most Holy in the Gnostic Mass is the Secret Root of the self, symbolized in the Mass by the serpent crown and the particle broken off the host. It is represented by I/Yod in the magical formula VIAOV. By being depressed into the cup of wine (the priest’s “blood”), it…
Babalon and the Mass
In the Gnostic Mass, the Priest takes up the role of CHAOS, who is associated with Chokmah. He serves the function of the logos or the word, which is also the phallus or the creative aspect of the Father. From his own body, he produces the seed (sperma). By means of an alchemical process, this…
What is Thelema?
Thelema is a religion founded in 1904 by the English poet and mystic, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), who is regarded as its prophet. Those who follow the path of Thelema are called Thelemites.1 Thelema (Θελημα) is a Greek word for will, and the essential teaching of Thelema is “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole…
Four Thelemic Noble Truths
Now, this is joy. It is a preeminent reality. Coming into being is joyful. Enduring is joyful. Passing out of being is joyful. This is the origination of joy. It is a preeminent reality. It is this love of Nuit that leads to further being, accompanied by passion and delight, seeking pleasure here and there….
The argument against compassion
Please Note: It is up to each individual to decide this question (and all questions regarding Liber AL vel Legis) for themselves by appeal to Crowley’s writings (or however they see fit). I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Crowley’s condemnation of compassion. This condemnation is in the Book of the Law itself (AL II.18-21), and Crowley…
Change and Stability
Hadit’s raison d’être is to explore itself through the artifice of duality. According to the commentaries, this is why the nature of existence is pure joy, and why the character of all change is love. The cardinal sin is to take the presentation of duality as a restriction of my will rather than a vehicle…
On the relation between the finite will and the infinite will
It’s in the nature of the human mind to always be in the process of bringing about some new state of affairs. There is a general, indeterminate desire to live, to be, to become, that exists outside of conscious choice. You can call it “conatus” as Spinoza did, “fabrication” as the Buddha did, or “true…
The ground of the distinction between the finite will and the infinite will
1. “[Hadit] hath no Nature of His own, for He is that to which all Events occur.” (Djeridensis Comment on AL II.2) 2. The nature of something is its characteristic behavior, the way it tends to act. 3. Actions are intelligible in terms of their ends. Running and cooking are differentiated by the results they…
Thelema and truth
People argue constantly over whether Thelema is a religion, a philosophy, a spiritual path, or total bullshit. In my opinion, Thelema is first and foremost a challenge. It is a challenge to each individual’s spirit. It is a challenge to live differently from how we are used to living. Unlike New Age spirituality, Thelema does…