TO MEGA THERION THE GREAT BEAST 666 The Life & Times of Aleister Crowley
by Brian Northmore
To Mega Therion
~2~
To Mega Therion
To Mega Therion The Great Beast 666
The Life & Times of Aleister Crowley 2010 version ~3~
To Mega Therion
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, photocopied or held he ld in any retrieval system or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which this is published published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Beejay Publications Ltd. Warwick Road, Doncaster, S. Yorkshire First published 2008 © B. B. J. Nort Northm hmore ore 2008 - 201 2010 0 Typesetting by Beejay Publications Printed in Great Britain by Beejay Publications
~4~
To Mega Therion
Contents Preface
ix
Chapter 1 – A Biography of the Beast 666 Aleister Crowley Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December December 1947) In Summary Life After Death In Conclusion And Finally .... Some Quotes from the Master The Magical Mottos of A.C. & his As A ssociates Some of Crowley’s Biographers Biographers’ Quotes A Short Chronology Chapter 2 – Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn History The Origin of the Cipher Manuscript Giving Credulity to the Order Progression of the Order The Eventual Breakup of the Order The Historic Lecture - Golden Dawn Dawn by Dr. William Wynn Westcott Structure and Grades of the Golden Dawn In Summary Some Prominent Members of the G.D. & their Magical Mottos Isis-Urania Ahathoor / Alpha et Omega Amen-Ra Stella-Matutina
~5~
1 3 45 50 52 53 55 59 62 63 65 71 73 74 75 76 79 84 88 90 91 91 92 92 92
To Mega Therion
Chapter 3 – Astrum Argentum A A History Continuation of the Order Grades within the Order The Order of the S.S. The Order of the R.C. The Order of the G.D. Liber LXI vel Causae The Preliminary Lection The History Lection Useful Rituals Some Prominent Members of the A A & their Magical Mottos Chapter 4 – Or Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) History Grades within the O.T.O. Man of Earth Triad Lover Triad Hermit Triad Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica/Gnostic Catholic Church (E.G.C.) Membership of the E.G.C. The Creed Some Prominent Prominent Members Members of the O.T.O. O.T.O. & their Magical Mottos
Chapter 5 – Thelema
95 97 102 103 103 103 103 105 105 106 110 112 115 117 126 126 126 127 129 129 130 131
133
What is Thelema? The Purpose of Magick High and Low Magick The Techniques of Magick Invocation/Evocation Banishing/Purification Eucharistic Ritual Consecration Yoga & Magick Divination Other Magical Practices The Tree of Life Keeping a Magical Record ~6~
135 135 136 136 136 139 140 141 142 143 145 145 145
To Mega Therion
Ceremonial/Ritual Magick Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram Components of Ritual Magick Magical Weapons Magical Formulae Vibration of God Names Paranormal Effects Enochian Magick The Enochian Tablets The Tablet of Union The Elemental Kings The Seniors The Sephirotic Cross Angels The Kerubic Square Angels The Enochian Keys The Religion/Philosophy of Thelema How Thelema Developed The Abbey of Thelema Thelemic Sacred Texts Thelemic Customs A Basic Guide to Thelema In Summary Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn
Appendix 1 – A A Essays & Other
Publications, Po Poetry, No Novels,
Understanding Crowley’s Works Classes of Publications Crowley’s Poetry, Novels, Essays and Other Miscellany Obtaining copies of Aleister Crowley's Publications
Appendix 2 – The Book of the Law The Book of the Law Egyptian Gods & Goddesses associated with the Book of the Law A Short Creation Myth Gods & Goddesses referred to in the Book of the Law Other Gods/Goddesses referred to by Crowley
~7~
147 151 153 153 153 154 154 157 158 159 160 160 160 161 161 169 169 170 176 176 177 178 181
185
187 189 200 211
215 217 232 232 233 243
To Mega Therion
Appendix 3 – The Gnostic Mass Catholicae Canon Missae
247 249
Appendix 4 – Images of Aleister Crowley, Crowley, his Associates & Artwork
271
Images of Aleister Crowley Crowley’s Sketches & Artwork Images of People Associated with Crowley
273 277 278
Appendix 5 – Basic Hebrew
281
The Sacred Alphabet Gematria, Notarikon and Temura Appendix 6 – Glossary of Terms
~8~
283 285 2 93
To Mega Therion
Preface The Internet site from which this book has been compiled (http://www.tomegatherion.co.uk) (http://www.tomegatherion.co.uk) took me a long time to prepare, and is still relatively new having been uploaded as recently as April 2008. As a consequence, I really would greatly appreciate any feedback from you with suggestions of other topics for inclusion, or notification of any errors you might notice as you browse the pages, through my 'Contact page' page' on the site site itself. Only with your help can I possibly hope to make the site one of the most interesting and comprehensive to be found on the Internet covering the life and times of this complex man. The site was created to assist those who are curious to learn a little more about Aleister Crowley, to enable them to make up their own minds about this enigmatic character to whom I have now devoted many years of research. Perhaps I should explain explain that it was only after experiencing numerous unexplained profound psychic phenomena that I got so deeply and seriously involved in all matters to do with the occult. I have studied studied the occult for a number of years now – too numerous to me mention ntion – and find this this particular particular personali personality ty of great interest. interest. I would have loved to have met him, but he died a few months after I was born, which ought to convince my wife that I cannot possibly be his reincarnation! Despite my my being fascinated by Mr Crowley, Crowley, all of the pages to be be found on the site, site, and thus in this this publicati publication, on, are completely unbiased in any way, my own beliefs, experiments and experiences remain as such, i.e. my own , and have not influenced anything I have written, except where I have stated something along the lines, “my own personal opinion is . . . . ” This book, like its sister publication Links 2 the Occult , is dedicated to my lovely, thoughtful and caring wife, Maureen, who has put up with my researching Aleister Crowley and the subject of the occult in general for hours on end day after day, month after month, year after year, and who then desperately wanted to read both of my sites ‘To Mega Therion’ and ‘Links 2 the Occult’ in their entirety, but due to very stressful work commitments, along strenuous and I really mean very stressful with those of running a home with three demanding teenage children, could never find the time. Consequently, I extracted all the relevant information and compiled it in this format, something she could pick up and read at her leisure whenever those time constraints permitted.
~9~
To Mega Therion
The book is presented in more or less the same manner as the site. There are five chapters: Chapter 1 is a biography of the great man, Chapter 2 describes the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Chapter 3 the Astrum Argentum A A , Cha Chapte pterr 4 the Ordo Ordo Templ Templii Orientis (O.T.O.), (O.T.O.), and Chapter 5 Crowley’s System of Thelema. In addition there are six appendices: Appendix 1 lists the A A ’s authorised publications of Aleister Crowley, Appendix 2 is The Book of the Law, Appendix 3 reproduces the Gnostic Mass, Appendix 4 shows images of Crowley, his associates and his art, art, Appendix 5 describes Basic Hebrew, while Appendix 6 provides a Glossary of the Terms used in Thelemic belief.
_______________________________________________________
Aleister Crowley, like so many of the world's other outstanding men who preceded him, him, was undoubtedly undoubtedly a man born before his his time. He was a man who did not suffer fools gladly living in Victorian and Georgian societies that could neither understand him nor even begin to appreciate his true genius. His extensive extensive writings so shocked shocked the vast majority of the influential people of the time that he was most likely robbed of the praise that many of them so richly deserved. Fortunately the world today is a much more enlightened place, and even more fortunately for those of us still living in it, his publications live on. To see a list list of these publications, publications, in particular particular those relating to the Astrum Argentum A A , the organisation he formed with George Cecil Jones after the collapse of the Golden Dawn, see Appendix I. I would certainly recommend that you read his autohagiography titled The Confessions of Aleister Crowley . Apart from being a tremendous read, it may well alter any preconceived impression you have of the man, irrespective of what your thoughts were originally, saint or sinner. The cost of Crowley's Crowley's publications publications has rocketed since since his death, so you may well consider the expense is not worth worth it. In this case I would would suggest you try the Public Public Library, which is from where where I obtained and read my first copy many years ago, but you really should bear in mind that truly rare books can turn out to be a sound investment. I consider myself myself very fortunate as I recently acquired a copy of the 1989 reprint (in outstanding condition for its age) on eBay for less than £23 including postage. Amazon is another web site you can try with complete confidence. confidence. I was also very lucky when when I picked up an original First Edition of the 1969 print in hardback, hardback, also also ~ 10 ~
To Mega Therion
relatively cheaply and and in wonderful condition. This was the first complete airing of this great tome, as prior to this the first two parts of the book only had ever been published! published! We should thank the ‘Secret Chiefs’. Shortly before Crowley's death, John Symonds, coeditor of Confessions persuaded him to get the remainder of the manuscripts typed, typed, which he did. He sent a copy to Symonds and The Confessions of Aleister Crowley is Crowley is the subsequent result. The name Aleister Crowley still instils revulsion and horror in the hearts and minds of many, although these tend to be uninformed bigots who know nothing whatsoever of the man except what they have been told by other uninformed uninformed bigots. He gained much notoriety during and after his time on this earth, and was (in)famously dubbed The Wickedest Man in the World by the magazine John Bull , a title of which which he was was indubitably indubitably proud. The same magazine magazine ran headlines such as 'THE KING OF DEPRAVITY', 'A HUMAN BEAST' and 'A MAN WE'D LIKE TO HANG' after the scandal concerning the Abbey of Thelema. His interests interests and accomplishments were wide-ranging. wide-ranging. Apart from Magus, he was a chess master, an expert mountaineer and being a Magus, rock climber, an adventurer, and a truly prolific poet and writer as can be seen from his list of publications. publications. In addition to these these talents, he wrote and spoke spoke several languages. He was also a painter, painter, astrologer, drug experimenter, experimenter, and social critic. His experiments with hallucinatory drugs quite clearly developed his growing addiction for heroin, a habit from which he suffered for the remainder of his life. He is perhaps best known today for his extensive occult writings, in particular The Book of the Law , which became the central sacred text of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. I sincerely hope you enjoy what you read and discover! discover! You may well change the opinion you hold of the world’s greatest magician. Should you find this book of interest and decide you wish to read and/or and/or learn more more (signific (significantly antly much more) more) about magick and the occult in general, while at the same time demystifying the myths and taboos surrounding it, then why not visit my well-established partner site Links 2 the Occult ? This is probably/possibly the most informative site on the internet explaining all you need to know about the subject subject in layman's language. It is is highly highly recommended to anyone who wishes to broaden their outlook on magick and the occult!
~ 11 ~
To Mega Therion
~ 12 ~
To Mega Therion
Chapter 1 A Biography of The Beast 666
~ 13 ~
To Mega Therion
~ 14 ~
To Mega Therion
Aleister Crowley
(12 Octo October ber 1875 1875 – 1 Decem December ber
1947) A man totally misunderstood and even feared by many during his lifetime, Aleister Crowley channelled his genius and numerous talents into magick in the beli be lief ef that that he wa was s the reincarnation of one of the world's Eliphas Lévi greatest magicians, Eliphas Lévi, who died in the same same year in which he was born. He also remembered past 1 incarnations as Alessandro Cagliostro and Pope Alexander VI amongst others. The spelling of magick in this manner, now in common practice, had been used centuries before Crowley came into being in his latest existence but had gone out out of fashion. fashion. It was revived revived by him to distinguish the true science of the Magi from its 'counterfeits', such as stage magic, legerdemain and illusion. It could ‘possibly’ be coinciden coincidence, ce, but ‘k’ ‘k’ also also has an esoteric esoteric meaning meaning in that that kteis in Greek means vagina.
And now - a Biogr Biograph aphy y of The The Beast Beast 666 Edward Alexander Crowley (his surname being pronounced as one would pronounce the word ‘holy’) was born on 12 October 1875 at 30 Clarendon Square, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, into a wealthy and strictl strictly y religiou religious s Victoria Victorian n family. family. His father, father, despite despite having having been
1
Pope Alexander VI (1 January 1431 1431 – 18 August 1503), 1503), born Roderic Llançol Llançol (later Roderic de Borja i Borja - Italian: Rodrigo Borgia) was Pope between 1492 and 1503. He is probably the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance, and his surname (Italianised as Borgia) became a byword for the debased standards of the papacy of that era. era. Rodrigo assumed the family family name of his mother (Borja) (Borja) upon the elevation of his maternal uncle, Alonso de Borja, to the papacy as Calixtus III in 1455. Although supposedly celebate celebate as the pope, Roderic suffered from syphilis
~ 15 ~
To Mega Therion 2
a brewer, was a member of the Plymouth Brethren. The Crowleys came from from Alton (Hampshir (Hampshire), e), and and ran a brewery brewery in Croydo Croydon n (Surrey) (Surrey) for over 200 years. years. They were very successful successful at selling selling beer along with with wh what at wa was s des descr crib ibed ed as as ‘a fir first st clas class s san sandw dwic ich’ h’ in the the Alt Alton on Alehouses Alehouses for for 4d (four pence – four old old pence pence that that is). This could could be considered the forerunner of the modern-day ploughman's lunch. It was wa s aft after er the the brew brewer ery y was was sold sold in in 1877 1877 that that the they y mov moved ed to Leamington, and it is thought that Edward invested his money in the 3 highly successful Amsterdam Water Works Company . Although Although he was an only only child, child, his parents parents did conceiv conceive e and bear another, Grace Mary Elizabeth, on 29 February 1880, who lived for five hours. As a young young boy, the the only book he was allowed to read was the Bible , but it seems he had no interest in the narrative with the exception of that in Revelation . He was attracted to the opponents of heaven such as the Dragon, the False Prophet, the Scarlet Woman, and in particular, the Beast 'whose number is the number of a man, six hundred and three score six' , with whom whom he could could identify. identify. His attitude towards his parents is probably one of the stranger stranger facets of his early life, life, eventually eventually leading to his contempt for Christianity. His father was undoubtedly his hero and friend, a natural natural ‘born ‘born leader’ leader’ of men men who who influenced influenced thousa tho usands nds throug through h his expressiveness, but he tells us he despised his mother and treated Crowley’s Father, her like one would a Edward servant, although he always appeared to have a ‘soft spot’ for her when we actually read between the lines. He maintained frequent contact throughout her life and often stayed with her when he needed to convalesce. Crowley’s Mother, Emily Bertha, née Bishop 2
The Plymouth Brethren are members of a fundamentalist Protestant Christian Evangelical movement that began began in Dublin in the late 1820s. The Brethren are commonly considered to be divided into two branches, the Open Brethren and the Exclusive Brethren , although this is perhaps an over-simplification and may not reflect the many sub-branches sub-branches existing existing within within these these two groups. groups. They insist on the literal literal interpretation of the Bible as being the exact words of the Hol y Ghost. 3 Ever since 1851, the Dune-water company had provided the people of Amsterdam with fresh drinking water from the dunes at Vogelenzang. Through 23 kilometres of cast iron piping, it was pumped into the city where it could be bought for one cent per bucket outside the Willemspoort.
~ 16 ~
To Mega Therion
Chapter 2 The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
~ 17 ~
To Mega Therion
~ 18 ~
To Mega Therion
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn History In was in 1888, that three Kabbalists, Freemasons, and Rosicrucians founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (G.D.), to fill the gap that had been left by the Theosophical Society, which had shifted to an Eastern orientation. The founders intended the Order to be the guardian of the Western Esoteric Tradition, keeping its knowledge intact, while at the same time preparing and teaching the mysteries to those individuals who wished to learn. The primary creator of the G.D., whose brainchild it actually was, was Dr. William Wynn Westcott (1848 – 1925), 1925), a physician physician and London coroner interested in occultism. Westcott was a Master Mason a nd the Secretary General of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA). His associates were Dr. Dr William Dr William William Robert Woodman (1828 W nn Westc Westcot ottt Robert Woodman – 18 1891 91)) and and Samu Samuel el Lidd Liddel elll MacGregor MacGregor Mathers Mathers (1854 – 1918). A different different account account of the foundation of the Order tells us that it was initially founded by Westcott and Woodman, with Mathers being asked to join them later. Dr. Woodman was a retired physician, and a member of the SRIA. He was was also an excellent Kabbalist, and probably played a leading role in developing the Kabbalistic studies of the Order. The magician of the G.D. was without doubt Mathers. Of the three founding members, he was the one most responsible for turning the G.D. into a truly magical, initiatory Order. To fully fully understand understand how the G.D. G.D. came about, about, some reference to the Cipher Manuscript, the document upon which the Rituals and ~ 19 ~
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
To Mega Therion
Knowledge Lectures of the Order are based, is necessary. One story tells us that sometime during the 1870s or 1880s, the cipher manuscript was discovered on a bookstall by Dr. Woodman, but another, the one most favoured, is that in 1887 Westcott was given some sixty pages of a manuscript, written in cipher, by a Reverend A.F.A. Woodford, an elderly Mason who, it was claimed, got the manuscript from ‘a dealer in curios’. curios’. The manuscript, manuscript, which certainly certainly appeared to be old, was deciphered by Westcott using the cipher found in Abbot Johann Trithemius’ book Polygraphiae . It proved to be a series of five ritual outlines of an occult Order, which Westcott expanded into full fu ll working grade gr ade rituals rit uals from Neophyte Ne ophyte (0° (0 °=0°) =0°) through to Philosophus Philosoph us (4°=7°). =7°). In addition to the five rituals, the manuscript manuscript contai contained ned details details of the true true attributio attribution n of the Tarot Tarot trumps, something which had been sought for centuries and which cleared up a host of Kabbalistic difficulties. Upon completion of this this task, Westcott asked Mathers and Woodman to join him as chiefs of his new Order. Yet another tale relating to the cipher manuscript is that it proved beyond the combined powers of the two eminent doctors to decipher, although it is reputed that Florence Farr (1860-1917), also known as Mrs Emery, Emery, said that a child could have done it. The two doctors called on the assistance of Mathers, not only a scholar, but a Mason and magician of considerable distinction who successfully ‘deciphered’ the manuscript, after which he was invited to join the Order.
The Origin of the Cipher Manuscript Whatever the truth relating to its translation, the debate continues as to the origin of the Cipher Manuscript. Some Some schola scholars rs are of of the opini opinion on that that Westcott created it, while others think it was either written by Lord Edward Bulwer-Ly Bulwer-Lytton tton (1803 (1803 – 1873), 1873), the a author uthor of an occult novel called Zanoni, A Strange Story , or else by Frederick Hock Ho ckle ley y (18 (1809 09 - 18 1885 85), ), a fam famou ous s Rosicrucian seer and transcriber of occult manuscripts. Several other theories have been proposed as possible sources of the Cipher Manuscript, including a Masonic Lodge in Frankfurt called the Loge zur aufgehenden Morgenrothe, and a ~ 20 ~
To Mega Therion
Chapter 3 Astrum Argentum A
~ 21 ~
A
To Mega Therion
~ 22 ~
To Mega Therion
The Astrum Argen gentum A A History George Cecil Jones was the man responsible for introducing Aleister Crowl Crowley ey tto o the Herm Hermeti etic c Order Order of of the the Golden Dawn (G.D.) in 1898. Shortly after returning from China with his wife Rose Ro se,, Crow Crowle ley y be beca came me ill ill an and d wen wentt to to stay with Jones. With Jones' assistance, and as a result of his own travels and experiences, plus the small matter of his expulsion from the original Order, Crowley decided to form his own replacement Order with the intention that it would not only supersede the remnants remnants of the G.D., G.D., but wo would uld activ actively ely promote promote his his own Religion/Philosophy Religion/Philosophy of Thelema (see Chapter 5). 5). They wrote Liber LXI vel Causae (Crowley’s Causae (Crowley’s own account of the G.D., its breakup and how the A A came to be formed), and in 1907 founded a new Order, the Astrum Argentum A A based on the Book of the Law . Crowley only ever referred to the organisation as the A A ; what the letters stood for was supposedly supposedly known known by members only. Israel Regardie in Gems from the Equinox suggests it should be Astrum Argentinum, while others call it Argenteum Astrum, Arcanum Arcanorum, Arcanorum, Argentinum Argentinum Astrum, Astrum, Argentini Argentinium um Astrum Astrum and Astron Astron Argon, although C.R. Cammell in his biography Aleister Crowley The Black Magician tells us it is Atlantean Adepts. However, the concensus of opinion seems to be Astrum Argentum. Unlike the A A , the G.D. was primarily a teaching order, preparing people to do magick magick in in its Inner Order. The A A , on the other hand, assumed that its members were either already trained in the arts or were undergoing the necessary necessary training from their immediate immediate superior. This new Order was considered to be remarkable for the originality of its structure, for unlike previous Orders, which tended to follow a lodge system, members were supposed to know only their immediate superior, plus, of course, anyone they introduced introduced to the organisation. While the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) has received the majority of the publicity as the Order which actively follows and promotes the teachings of the religion of Thelema, it was primarily designed to be a ~ 23 ~
To Mega Therion
fraternal organisation (until a member reached the highest degrees) while the A A was to be the major mode of transmitting Crowley’s Liberr XXXI XXXIII II - An magical and mystical techniques and beliefs. beliefs. See Libe Account of the A A . This publication publication was based on a part of Karl von Eckhartshausen's Cloud upon the Sanctuary which Crowley rewrote and edited to further describe desc ribe his new Order. There were no regular group rituals, rituals, although measures were taken to ensure the identity of the Officers were hidden during the few Temple initiation rituals, and members were expected to work alone, consulting as and when required required with their superior in the Order. In this way it was hoped to avoid the many m any social complications and ego problems that led to the downfall of its predecessor, the G.D. The A A was a spiritual organisation focussing on enlightening an individual, with an emphasis on maintaining the chain of initiates from teacher to student. A member of the A A would strive to do the following:
Discover for himself his own True Will, and then do it, and do nothing else. Accept the Book of the Law as the sole Rule of Life. Acknowledge that 'The word of the Law is Thelema' and that 'Love is the law, love under will'. Acknowledge the authority of the offices of the Beast 666 and Woman. that of the Scarlet Woman. Accept Ra-Hoor-Khuit as the Lord of the Aeon, and work to establish His reign upon Earth. Work to attain the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy Guardian Angel. Angel. After attaining the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy Guardian Angel, to enter into the Abyss, and to emerge again therefrom.
The Temple and headquarters were situated in a rented flat at 124 Victoria Street, less than a quarter of a mile from Buckinhgam Palace. The rituals and teachings of the Order were originally borrowed from the G.D., but rewritten in a less esoteric form, with Yoga and other oriental practices added, which Crowley had studied and learnt during his travels. He realised that all religions and traditions were interwoven, all having similar historic traditions and fables such as the Great Flood, and integrated those teachings and philosophies with the Western traditions. To begin with the only members were the two founders, Crowley and Jones (who did not take an active active role), but it wasn’t long before people people were flocking to join. Among the first were were ~ 24 ~
To Mega Therion
Appendix 1 Official A A Publications, Poetry, Novels, Essays & Other Miscellany
~ 25 ~
To Mega Therion
~ 26 ~
To Mega Therion
Understanding Crowley’s Works Aleister Crowley was probably the most renowned and influential occultis occultistt of the 20th century, century, often for entirely entirely the wrong reasons reasons.. Fortunately he was also a prolific writer and has left us numerous books relating not only to his system of magick, but also to poetry, fiction and drama, but unfortunately for Crowley, who self-financed the vast majority of his publications, these books are in much greater demand since his demise than they ever were when he was alive. Trying to understand the ideas of this complex man is extremely difficult difficult to say the the least least - many of his publicati publications ons seem 'out 'out of context'. It is only when they they are categorised that they actually begin to make any sense whatsoever, but a reading of The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (his Crowley (his auto-hag auto-hagiogra iography phy - his own autobiog autobiography raphy of a saint - known as the 'Hag' for short) will give you some idea of his lifestyle, the way he thought, and the reasons for writing some of the material. Many of his individual works (shown below) became part of greater volumes, upon which I shall try to shed some light thanks to other websites which which have have helped in my research. research. For instance, instance, what is referred to as Book IV (Liber ABA) actually comprises four different works:
Part Part I - Mysti Mysticis cism m Part II - Magick Magick (Elementar (Elementary y Theory) Theory) Part III - Magick in Theory and Practice Practice (referred to as MTP) Part Part IV IV - Thelem Thelema a - The Law
Book 4 was a tremendous achievement taking years of laborious writing and rewriting, but The Equinox was probably Crowley's greatest undertaking. There are 'technically' 'technically' four volumes of The Equinox each Equinox each containing ten 'issues', each issue being a book in its own right. Unfortunately, Crowley Crowley did not live long long enough to see the completion of this work, passing away halfway through Volume III, all issues after this being made by the new owners of Crowley's literary works, Ordo Templi Orientis.
o
Volume I Issues Issues 1 - 10 - This was was the original original which which inclu includes des the the first issue of Volume III (see below), The Book of The Law , serialised versions of The Temple of Solomon the King *, *, ~ 27 ~
To Mega Therion
vari variou ous s ins instr truc ucti tion onal al ma mate teri rial al rela relati ting ng to the the A A , poe poetr try, y, excerpts from his diaries and reviews of books and profiles. King is basically a serialised biography * The Temple of Solomon the King is of Crowley’s rise through the grades, and has since been superseded by not only his own autohagiography, but other biographies.
o
Volume II A Volume of Silence. Silence. So named by Crowley Crowley as a joke, since he never published a Volume II due to spending the next five years in America (during World War I), as well as financial constraints.
Volume III
o
Issue Issue 1 - The Blue Blue Equinox. Equinox.
After the publication of The Blue Equinox, Crowley’s money ran out and it never appeared again as a regular journal although the O.T.O. continued to issue it in book format, these later publications being known by a number: o
o o o o o o o
o
o o o
Number Number 2 - Not pu publis blished, hed, although although the the main content content was supposedly Jesus (Liber 888) since published as The Gospel According to St. Bernard Shaw. Number Number 3 - The Equinox Equinox of the the Gods. Number Number 4 - Eight Lectur Lectures es on Yoga. Yoga. Number Number 5 - The Book Book of Thoth. Thoth. Number Number 6 - Liber Aleph. Aleph. Number Number 7 - The Shih Shih Yi. Yi. Number Number 8 - Tao Teh Teh King. King. Number Number 9 - Holy Books Books of of Thelem Thelema. a. These These are are Class Class A texts in which not so much as a letter can be changed (see below for classes of texts). Number Number 10 10 - Refe Referred rred to as 'Three-Ten 'Three-Ten'.'. This contains contains a great deal of material relating to the O.T.O. Volume IV Number 1 - Commentaries on the Holy Holy Books. Books. Number Number 2 - The Vision Vision and the the Voice. Voice. Number Number 3 - The Urn and and Other Other Papers. Papers.
~ 28 ~
To Mega Therion
Appendix 6 Glossary of Terms
~ 29 ~
To Mega Therion
~ 30 ~
To Mega Therion
A Glossary of Thelema A Abracadabra
The word 'abracadabra' is generally known as that used by stage conjurers conjurers to en ensure sure their 'trick' 'trick' work worked. ed. However, it is a word of true ancient origin, used by real magicians from around the third century AD. It appears frequently in Kabbalistic and Gnostic texts, and derives from an Aramaic phrase (Avarah K'Davarah), which means 'I will create as I speak'. Aramaic is a northwest Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew, dating from the ninth century BC. Its 'square' 'square' script replaced replaced the archaic Hebrew script, which by the time of Jesus had become the normal normal script for writing in Hebrew. It was widely used in Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia, the Persians extending its use to India, central Asia, and Asia Minor.
Abrahadabra
Aleister Crowley believed the word Abracadabra was associated with the Gnostic God Abraxas . He altered the spelling to 'Abrahadabra' to achieve a specific value gematrically (418), when it first appeared in public in The Book of the Law (Chapter 3, paragraphs 1, 47, 75), 75), the central sacred text of Thelema. The number number 418 equates to the number of Crowley’s Holy Guardian Angel, Aiwass (Book of the Law, Chapter 1, paragraph 46), 46), and his castle Boleskine (Book of the Law, Chapter 2, paragraph 46). 46). When the word word is chanted, or when its letters are arranged in an inverted pyramid and worn around the neck as a talisman for nine days, it is reputed to possess a magical power which will ward off illness and cure fevers.
Abra Melin (Abramelin the Mage)
Abra Melin was known as Abramelin the Mage, a wandering Eastern sage whose magick is supposedly enshrined in the fourteenth century book, The Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage . Probably the most practically used of old grimoires, it contains a detailed and precise system of Ritual Magick, its authorship being attributed to Abraham the Jew . Oil of Abramelin (so named by Aleister Crowley who adapted his own recipe from that found in The Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage ) is used in Thelemic and other rituals.
Abraxas
Abraxas is a Gnostic solar deity associated with Yahweh, Mithras and the Celtic Belenus, as well as Yeshu (Jesus). (Jesus). Amulets (see below) and seals bearing the figure of Abraxas were commonplace in the second ~ 31 ~
To Mega Therion
century, and were used as recently as the thirteenth century in the seals of the Knights Templar. Gematrically, the letters in Abraxas total 365 (the number of days in a solar year, and the number of Aeons, or emanations, in Gnostic cosmology), while each of the seven letters represents one of the seven planetary powers. Abulafia, Abraham Abraham Abulafia was a thirteenth century Jewish mysti mystic c most most notabl notable e for trans transcri cribin bing g Jewish Jewish oral oral Kabbalah, which up until this time had been very jealously guarded, into written form. Abyss
In Ritual Magick and Kabbalah, the Abyss is the divide between individual ego-consciousness and Cosmic consciousness consciousness (enlightenment). (enlightenment). In Kabbalah, it is the divide between the Supernal and the lower Sephiroth, i.e. the divide between the higher and lower states of existence. The serpent Choronzon Choronzon is the 'dweller' 'dweller' in the abyss, the final great obstacle between the magician and true enlightenment.
Acolyte
An Acolyte assists the ordained and licensed ministers at worship services. Their responsibilities include lighting altar candles, carrying the candles in procession, preparing the wine and water for the Mass and assisting the Sacred Ministers in Mass. Acolytes include the Banner Bearer, Flag Bearer, Clergy Crucifer, Torch Bearer, Thurifer, Servers, Altar Boys and Altar Girls. Girls. (See Appendix Appendix 3 – The Gnostic Gnostic Mass). Mass).
Adam Kadmon
Some Kabbalists are of the opinion that the first form shaped, etched or produced by the ray of light which emanated from Ain-Soph was not the Sephiroth, but the body of Adam Kadmon, from which the Sephiroth then flared out. It is in Lurianic Kabbalism where we find this theory of the Ain-Soph’s original emanation resulting in the body of Adam Kadmon. According to some Kabbalists’ points of view he is actually the first God capable of being comprehended by man because man is made in his image.
Adept
Someone who is highly experienced and extremely proficient in a particular magical art, having passed through various grades. See also Magus. Magus.
Adytum
The inner sanctum of a Temple.
Aeon
Within Aleister Crowley's System of Thelema, history is broken down into a series of Aeons, each with its own dominant concept of divinity and its own 'formula' of redemption and advancement. According to Crowley, Crowley, the last three Aeons have been: ~ 32 ~
