Introdution to Thelema Page 1 - Miscellaneous - http://maxpages.com/thelemicmagick/Intro_to_Thelema

The religion known as Thelema was 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.
Thelemic Religious Texts
The book The Holy Books of Thelema (reference 8, below), includes most of the
books which Thelemites consider to be Crowley's "inspired" texts, and which form
the canon of Thelemic Holy Scripture. The chief of these is Liber AL vel Legis,
sub figura CCXX, commonly called The Book of the Law. The contents of this book
are rather cryptic, and Crowley has prepared a number of commentaries thereto
for clarification (most of these are included in reference 3, below). Thelemites
are expected to interpret the book for themselves, based on Crowley's
commentaries and other writings; but are enjoined from promoting their personal
interpretations to others. Another book which forms an important part of the
Thelemic canon, but which is not included in The Holy Books of Thelema for
technical reasons, is Liber XXX Aerum vel Saeculi, sub figura CDXVIII, commonly
called The Vision and the Voice (included in reference 11 below). The I Ching
and the Tarot (considered as a book of mystic illustrations rather than as a
fortune-telling device), though of Pre-Thelemic origin, are also considered to
be part of the informal Thelemic canon.
Theology and Essential Tenets of Thelema
The following notes on Thelemic theology are based primarily on the writings
of Aleister Crowley. These notes are not intended as interpretation or
commentary on The Book of the Law outside the bounds of the Prophet's
writings, nor do they represent a definitive statement of Thelemic belief.
The theology of Thelema postulates all manifested existence arising from the
interaction of two cosmic principles: the infinitely extended, all-pervading
Space-Time Continuum; and the atomic, individually expressed Principle of Life
and Wisdom. The interplay of these Principles gives rise to the Principle of
Consciousness which governs existence. In the Book of the Law, the divine
Principles are personified by a trinity of ancient Egyptian Divinities: Nuit,
the Goddess of Infinite Space; Hadit, the Winged Serpent of Light; and
Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Horus), the Solar, Hawk-Headed Lord of the Cosmos.
The Thelemic theological system utilizes the divinities of various cultures and
religions as personifications of specific divine, archetypal and cosmic forces.
Thelemic doctrine holds that all the diverse religions of Humanity are grounded
in universal truths; and the study of comparative religion is an important
discipline for many Thelemites.
With respect to concepts of the individual soul, Thelema follows traditional
Hermeticism in the doctrine that each person possesses a soul or "Body of Light"
which is arranged in "layers" or "sheaths" surrounding the physical body. Each
individual is also considered to have his or her own personal "Augoeides" or
"Holy Guardian Angel"; which can be considered both as the "higher self" and as
a separate, sentient, divine being. With respect to concepts of the afterlife,
life itself is considered as a continuum, with death an integral part of the
whole. Mortal life dies in order that mortal life may continue. The Augoeides,
however, is immortal and not subject to life or death.
Parallel to Buddhist doctrine, the Body of Light is considered to be subject to
metempsychosis, or reincarnation, after the death of the body. The Body of Light
is generally considered to evolve in wisdom, consciousness and spiritual power
through cycles of metempsychosis for those individuals who dedicate their lives
to spiritual advancement; to the point that its fate after death may ultimately
be determined by the Will of the individual.
Thelema incorporates the idea of the cyclic evolution of Cultural Consciousness
as well as of Personal Consciousness. History is considered to be divided into a
series of "Aeons", each with its own dominant concept of divinity and its own
"formula" of redemption and advancement. The current Aeon is termed the Aeon of
Horus. The previous Aeon was that of Osiris, and previous to that was the Aeon
of Isis. The neolithic Aeon of Isis is considered to have been dominated by the
Maternal idea of divinity, and its formula involved devotion to Mother Earth in
return for the nourishment and shelter She provided. The Classical/Medieval Aeon
of Osiris is considered to have been dominated by the Paternal Principle, and
its formula was that of self-sacrifice and submission to the Father God. The
modern Aeon of Horus is considered to be dominated by the Principle of the
Child, the sovereign individual; and its formula is that of growth, in
consciousness and love, toward self-realization.
According to Thelemic doctrine, the expression of Divine Law in the Aeon of
Horus is "Do what thou wilt". This "Law of Thelema", as it is called, is not to
be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing whim, but rather as the
divine mandate to discover one's True Will or true purpose in life, and to
accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways. The
"acceptance" of the Law of Thelema is what defines a Thelemite; and the
discovery and accomplishment of the True Will is the fundamental concern of all
Thelemites. Achieving the "Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian
Angel" is considered an integral part of this process. The methods and practices
to be employed in this process are numerous and varied; and are grouped together
under the generalized term "Magick".
Not every Thelemite utilizes all the practices available, there is considerable
room for each individual practitioner to choose practices which are suitable to
his or her individual needs. Some of these practices are the same as, or similar
to, the practices advocated by many of the great religions of the past and
present; such as prayer, meditation, study of religious texts (those of Thelema
and of other religions as well), chanting, symbolic and initiatory ritual,
devotional exercises, self-discipline, etc. However, some of our practices have
been traditionally associated with what has generally been known as "occultism";
i.e., astrology, divination, numerology, yoga, tantric alchemy, and discourse
with "angels" or "spirits" are all taken by Thelemites as potentially effective
means for obtaining spiritual insights into the nature of one's being and one's
place in the universe; and for the fulfillment of such insights through
harmonious, evolutionary works.
Thelema considers any action which is not directed toward the discovery and
accomplishment of the True Will to be "black magic". This includes acts of
interference with any other individual's lawful exercise of their right to
discover and accomplish their own True Will. Thelemic doctrine holds that the
disharmony and imbalance created by such actions results in a compensatory,
equilibrating response from the universe; a doctrine similar to that of the
Eastern conception of "Karma". Thelema has no direct parallel to the
Judaeo-Christian concept of the devil or Satan; however, a
pseudo-personification of confusion, distraction, illusion and egotistical
ignorance is referred to by the name "Choronzon".

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