Thelemic mysticism

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Within the system of Thelema, developed by occultist Aleister Crowley in the first half of the 20th century, Thelemic mysticism is a path designed to do two interrelated things: to enable one to learn one's 'True Will'; and to achieve union with 'the All.'[citation needed] The techniques for accomplishing these goals Crowley referred to as 'Magick,' a word he used to describe Western ceremonial magic (especially invocations and eucharistic ceremonies) supported by Hermetic Qabalah, Tarot, and Yoga in an astrotheological framework.

History[]

This path to mystical attainment or enlightenment was largely based on the Crowley's studies in Buddhism and the Hermetic Qabalah, especially the latter as it was presented by Eliphas Levi in the 19th century and later by various members in the occult society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In 1904, Crowley received and transcribed, via "direct-voice transmission"[This quote needs a citation] from a "praeternatural intelligence"[This quote needs a citation] named Aiwass, a book which came to be titled The Book of the Law. Crowley made this book the central sacred text of his new religious movement called Thelema, which he believed heralded a new Aeon for mankind.

Between 1907 and 1911, Crowley wrote a series of other small texts which he considered to be inspired, written through him rather than by him, which he afterwards collected together and called the Holy Books of Thelema. The final text added to the list was The Vision and the Voice, a vivid account of Crowley's astral travels through the thirty Enochian Aethyrs. These texts formed the mystical backbone of Crowley's system.

Aspects[]

The ability to accomplish the Great Work requires a great deal of preparation and effort, according to Crowley's system. The programme consists of several key elements, including a thorough knowledge of the Hermetic Qabalah (especially the Tree of Life), disciplined concentration (i.e. meditation), the development of one's body of light (or astral body) (in order to experience other spiritual realms) and the consistent and regular invocation of certain deities or spiritual beings.

True Will[]

Within the system that Crowley developed, the core task for the adept is the discovery and manifestation of True Will, defined at times as a grand destiny and at other times as a moment to moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony with Nature. This Will does not spring from conscious intent, but from the interplay between the deepest Self and the entire Universe. Therefore, the enlightened Thelemite is one who is able to eliminate or bypass the consciousness-created desires, conflicts, and habits, and tap directly into the Self/Universe nexus. Theoretically, at this point, the Thelemite acts in alignment with Nature, just as the stream flows downhill, with neither resistance nor "lust of result".

Tree of Life[]

The Tree of Life is a tool used to categorize and organize various mystical concepts. At its most simple level it is composed of ten spheres, or emanations, called sephiroth (sing. "sephira") which are connected by twenty-two paths. The sephiroth are represented by the planets and the paths by the characters of the Hebrew alphabet, which are subdivided by the five elements, the seven classical planets, and the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

Within the Western magical tradition, the Tree is used as a kind of conceptual filing cabinet. Each sephira and path is assigned various ideas, such as gods, cards of the Tarot, astrological planets and signs, elements, and so forth. Crowley's Liber 777 is one of the most comprehensive collections of such qabalistic correspondences.[1] Other authors have written on the topic, including Eliphas Levi,[citation needed] Israel Regardie,[citation needed] and Gareth Knight.[2]

The path of attainment is largely defined by the Tree of Life. The aspirant begins in Malkuth, which is the everyday material world of phenomena, with the ultimate goal being at Kether, the sphere of Unity with the All. Through various exercises and practices, the aspirant attains certain spiritual and mental states that are characterized by the various sephiroth that ascend the Tree. Crowley considered a deep understanding of the Qabalah to be essential to the Thelemite.[a][b]

Part of the reason why the Qabalah is so important is that it is the key to understanding the Holy Books. Most of them, including The Book of the Law, are written in abstract, poetic, and often obscure language. Through the use of the Qabalah, and especially the function of gematria (a form of numerology), the normally opaque meaning of the texts can be made clear. Thelemites can also make use of gematria to link words and concepts and to validate revelations given to them in magical operations, such as astral travel.

Concentration[]

Another key element to Thelemic mysticism is the ability to concentrate. This skill has two modalities: the first is the rapid, accurate, and efficient movement of thought (which is the realm of magick) and the other is the stopping of thought altogether (which is accomplished in Yoga). In the first, it is the manipulation of all ideas into one idea, and in the second is the taking of that one thought and reducing it to nothing.[c]

Concentration is essentially the prerequisite for all sustained success, not only in spiritual practices, but in day-to-day life as well. The general program for developing concentration is borrowed almost completely from the practice of Yoga within the Hindu and Buddhist systems. Crowley gives a general overview of the techniques in two books: Eight Lectures on Yoga and in the section called "Mysticism" in Magick (Book 4).

Body of light[]

The body of light — Crowley's term for the subtle body — is the theoretical aspect of self that can leave the corporeal body and carry one's senses and consciousness during astral travels. Crowley writes of it in Book 4: "The work of the Body of Light—with the technique of Yoga—is the foundation of Magick."

The Body of Light must be developed and trained with exactly the same rigid discipline as the brain in the case of mysticism. The essence of the technique of Magick is the development of the Body of Light, which must be extended to include all members of the organism, and indeed of the cosmos [...] The object is to possess a Body which is capable of doing easily any particular task that may lie before it. There must be no selection of special experience which appeals to one's immediate desire. One must go steadily through all possible pylons.[3]

Crowley explains that the most important practices for developing the body of light are:

1. The fortification of the body of light by the constant use of rituals, by the assumption of godforms, and by the right use of the Eucharist.
2. The purification and consecration and exaltation of that body by the use of rituals of invocation.
3. The education of that body by experience. It must learn to travel on every plane; to break down every obstacle which may confront it.[This quote needs a citation]

The benefit of astral travel is essentially one of education...it is akin to exploring one's own spiritual universe ("Every Magician possesses an Astral Universe peculiar to himself"[4]) and understanding the fundamental components, so that the adept can eventually master it. The general object is the "control of the Astral Plane, the ability to find one's way about it, to penetrate such sanctuaries as are guarded from the profane, [and] to make such relations with its inhabitants as may avail to acquire knowledge and power, or to command service".[4] Also, "one's apprehension of the Astral Plane must be accurate, for Angels, Archangels, and Gods are derived therefrom by analysis. One must have pure materials if one wishes to brew pure beer."[4]

Crowley believed that what was experienced during "astral travel" was not relevant in terms of what is "real" or "unreal." He thought that the only value to this practice is in the utility it provides to the adept.[d] He believed that the body of light is more important than simply for astral travel—that it is also the storehouse of all experiences.[e]

Magick ritual[]

Main article: Ceremonial magic

According to Crowley, there is a single definition of the purpose for ritual magick: to achieve Union with God through "the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm."[5] Since this process is so arduous, it is also acceptable to use magick to develop the self (i.e. one's body of light) or to create ideal circumstances for the Work (e.g. having access to a place in which to do ritual undisturbed). There are many kinds of magick, but the categories of ritual that are recommended by Crowley include:

  1. Banishing—the elimination of unwanted forces. "The Magician must therefore take the utmost care in the matter of purification, firstly, of himself, secondly, of his instruments, thirdly, of the place of working."[6]
  2. Invocation, where the magician identifies with the Deity invoked. There are three methods:
    • Devotion —where "identity with the God is attained by love and by surrender, by giving up or suppressing all irrelevant (and illusionary) parts of yourself."[6]
    • Calling forth—where "identity is attained by paying special attention to the desired part of yourself: positive, as the first method is negative."[6] (e.g. assumption of godforms)
    • Drama—where "identity is attained by sympathy. It is very difficult for the ordinary man to lose himself completely in the subject of a play or of a novel; but for those who can do so, this method is unquestionably the best."[6] (e.g. many initiations and the Gnostic Mass)
  3. Evocation—which is bringing a spiritual being before, not into, the magician (e.g. goetia)
  4. Eucharistic ritual—which "consists in taking common things, transmuting them into things divine, and consuming them."[6]
  5. Consecration—"the active dedication of a thing to a single purpose."[6]
  6. Divination—such as the use of the Tarot or other tools used to gather information.

Milestones[]

Main article: A∴A∴ § Milestones

Crowley often wrote that every adept's path will be unique. He also wrote that two major milestones are fundamental to Thelemic mysticism, which he called the knowledge of and conversation with one's Holy Guardian Angel and the crossing of the Abyss. Crowley wrote, "the two crises—the Angel and the Abyss—are necessary features in every career. The other tasks are not always accomplished in [any given order]".[7]

Holy Guardian Angel[]

Main article: Holy Guardian Angel

Even though the Holy Guardian Angel (or HGA) is, in a sense, the “higher self”, it is often experienced as a separate being, independent from the adept. In the system of the A∴A∴ magical order, 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. For Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any adept.[f]

In most of his writings, Crowley described the Holy Guardian Angel as one's "Silent Self", at times equitable with one's deepest unconscious. In later writings, he insisted that the HGA is an entirely separate and objective being. Whichever position is taken, the object remains the same—to gain an intimate spiritual connection so that one's True Will can become fully known and manifested. When using the Tree of Life as a guide, this event occurs in the Sphere of Tiphareth.

Crowley wrote Liber Samekh [1] as an example of 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.” Another detailed description of the general operation is given in The Vision and the Voice, Aethyr 8.[8]

Crossing the Abyss[]

Main article: Abyss (Thelema)

After one attains Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel, the adept may choose to then reach the next major milestone: the crossing of the Abyss, the great gulf or void between the phenomenal world of manifestation and its noumenal source, that great spiritual wilderness which must be crossed by the adept to attain mastery.

This doctrine is extremely difficult to explain; but it corresponds more or less to the gap in thought between the Real, which is Actual, and the Unreal, which is Ideal. In the Abyss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but are without any possible meaning; for they lack the substratum of spiritual Reality. They are appearances without Law. They are thus Insane Delusions.[9]

Choronzon is the Dweller in the Abyss; he is there as the final obstruction. If he is met with the proper preparation, then he is there to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the Abyss. If unprepared, then the unfortunate traveller will be utterly dispersed into annihilation. Both Choronzon and the Abyss are discussed in Crowley's Confessions (ch. 66):

The name of the Dweller in the Abyss is Choronzon, but he is not really an individual. The Abyss is empty of being; it is filled with all possible forms, each equally inane, each therefore evil in the only true sense of the word—that is, meaningless but malignant, in so far as it craves to become real. These forms swirl senselessly into haphazard heaps like dust devils, and each such chance aggregation asserts itself to be an individual and shrieks, "I am I!" though aware all the time that its elements have no true bond; so that the slightest disturbance dissipates the delusion just as a horseman, meeting a dust devil, brings it in showers of sand to the earth.[10]

However, just on the other side of the Abyss awaits Babalon. She calls the adept to surrender completely, so that he or she may cross over.

See also[]

  • Magical formula

Notes[]

  1. ^ Crowley (1973), ch. 4: "The Tree of Life has got to be learnt by heart; you must know it backwards, forwards, sideways, and upside down; it must become the automatic background of all your thinking. You must keep on hanging everything that comes your way upon its proper bough."
  2. ^ Crowley (1996), "Man": "The whole subject must be studied in the Book 777, and the main attributions committed to memory: then when by constant use the system is at last understood—as opposed to being merely memorised—the student will find fresh light break in on him at every turn as he continues to measure every item of new knowledge that he attains by this Standard. For to him the Universe will then begin to appear as a coherent and a necessary Whole."
  3. ^ Crowley (1973), ch. 16: "For concentration does indeed unlock all doors; it lies at the heart of every practice as it is of the essence of all theory; and almost all the various rules and regulations are aimed at securing adeptship in this matter. All the subsidiary work—awareness, one-pointedness, mindfulness and the rest—is intended to train you to this."
  4. ^ Crowley (1997), Appendix 3: "The 'reality' or 'objectivity' of these symbols is not pertinent to the discussion. [...] The Magician must not accept [my] account of the Astral Plane, [my] Qabalistic discoveries, [my] instructions in Magick. They may be correct in the main for most men; yet they cannot be wholly true for any save [myself], even as no two artists can make identical pictures of the same subject [...] What one sees and hears is 'real' in its way, whether it be itself, or distorted by one's desires, or created by one's personality [...] The true, the final test, of the Truth of one's visions is their Value. The most glorious experience on the Astral plane, let it dazzle and thrill as it may, is not necessarily in accordance with the True Will of the seer; if not, though it be never so true objectively, it is not true for him, because not useful for him."
  5. ^ Crowley (1973), ch. 81: "In Magick, on the contrary, one passes through the veil of the exterior world (which, as in Yoga, but in another sense, becomes 'unreal' by comparison as one passes beyond) one creates a subtle body (instrument is a better term) called the Body of Light; this one develops and controls; it gains new powers as one progresses, usually by means of what is called 'initiation': finally, one carries on almost one's whole life in this Body of Light, and achieves in its own way the mastery of the Universe."
  6. ^ Crowley (1973), ch. 83: "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."

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Bonner (2002), p. 16.
  2. ^ Knight (1978).
  3. ^ Crowley (1997), ch. 21.
  4. ^ a b c Crowley (1997), Appendix 3.
  5. ^ Crowley (1997), ch. 1.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Crowley (1997), p. [page needed].
  7. ^ Crowley (1979), ch. 2.
  8. ^ Crowley (1998), Aethyr 8.
  9. ^ Crowley (1996), "Man".
  10. ^ Crowley (1979), ch. 66.

Works cited[]

Primary sources[]

  • Crowley, Aleister (1973). Magick Without Tears. Falcon Press.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1979). The Confessions of Aleister Crowley. London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1996). Little Essays Towards Truth. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Pub.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1997). Magick: Liber ABA, Book 4, Parts I-IV (2nd rev. ed.). Boston: Weiser. ISBN 0877289190.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1998). "The Vision & the Voice". The Equinox. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser. IV (2).

Secondary sources[]

  • Bonner, John (2002). Qabalah: A Magical Primer. Red Wheel Weiser. ISBN 978-1578632114.
  • Knight, Gareth (1978). A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism. Weiser Books. ISBN 978-0877283973.

Sources[]

Further reading[]

  • Apiryon, T. (1995). "Pan". Hermetic.com. Retrieved September 27, 2004.
  • Campbell, Colin D. (2018). Thelema: An Introduction to the Life, Work & Philosophy of Aleister Crowley. Llewellyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-0738751047.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1982). 777 and other Qabalistic writings of Aleister Crowley. York Beach, Maine: S. Weiser.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1985). "Eight Lectures on Yoga". The Equinox. Phoenix, AZ: Falcon Press. III (4). ISBN 0-941404-36-6.
  • Crowley, Aleister (1995). The Book of Lies. York Beach, Maine: S. Weiser.
  • DuQuette, Lon Milo (2003). The Magick of Aleister Crowley: A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema. Weiser Books. ISBN 978-1578632992.
  • Lycourinos, Damon (2017). "Sexuality, Magic(k) and the Ritual Body: A Phenomenology of Embodiment and Participation in a Modern Magical Ritual". Journal of Ritual Studies. 31 (2): 61–77. JSTOR 44988498.
  • Shoemaker, David (2013). Living Thelema: A Practical Guide to Attainment in Aleister Crowley's System of Magick. Anima Solis Books. ISBN 978-0989384414.
  • York, Michael (2018). Pagan Mysticism: Paganism as a World Religion. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1527535114.
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