#Thelema

[minxinq]

“Kneel.”

[crysangria]

thelema

[anarcho-satanism]

[eternalvoxel]

I think more people should play Part 2

[maeviuslynn]

“The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal.”

― Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography

[dramajunkyy]

[noise-vs-signal]

Masonic Tracing Boards by Lady Frieda Harris (artist on the Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley).

[disease]

ALEISTER CROWLEY | 1912

“DO WHAT THOU WILT SHALL BE THE WHOLE OF THE LAW”

[voideclairck56]

thelema scribble but in cool pants

[anarcho-satanism]

HAIL BABALON

[ttexed]

Marjorie Cameron (1922-1995), illustration from 'Songs for the Witch Woman'

#majoriecameron #thelema 

[stupidneko]

YOOOOOO LESBIANS CHILL OUT

[maeviuslynn]

Are you new to Thelema?

Are you new to Thelema and looking for good beginner resources? Here is helpful list of beginner friendly books, podcasts, YouTube channels, and other online resources. They are listed in no particular order. Beginner Thelema book recommendations: Easier Crowley texts to start with: * Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley * Magick without Tears by Aleister Crowley * The Law is for All by Aleister Crowley Other great intro books to start with: * Living Thelema by David Shoemaker * The Magick of Aleister Crowley by Lon Milo Duquette * The Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo Duquette * The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley by Richard Kaczynski * Perdurabo by Richard Kaczynski * Abrahadabra: Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thelemic Magic by Rodney Orpheus * Thelema: An Introduction to the Life, Work & Philosophy of Aleister Crowley by Colin D. Campbell

Thelema resources online: YouTube channels: * Maevius Lynn: https://www.youtube.com/c/MaeviusLynn * O.T.O. USA: https://www.youtube.com/@OrdoTempliOrientisUSA * Blazing Star O.T.O.: https://www.youtube.com/@BlazingStarOTO * Horizon O.T.O.: https://www.youtube.com/@horizon-oto * Sekhet Maat O.T.O.: https://www.youtube.com/@sekhetmaat5987 * Dionysius Rogers: https://www.youtube.com/@dionysiusrogers3548 * Living Thelema with David Shoemaker: https://www.youtube.com/@livingthelema5221 * Temple of the Silver Star: https://youtube.com/c/TempleoftheSilverStar * Speech in Silence: https://www.youtube.com/user/speechinthesilence * Entelecheia: https://www.youtube.com/@entelecheia * Lon Milo DuQuette - Arcanum Luminarium: https://www.youtube.com/@Arcanumluminarium * Sword and Serpent Oasis Learning Library https://www.youtube.com/@swordandserpentoasislearni8589 Podcasts: * Living Thelema on Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-thelema/id935174735 * Thelema Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thelema-now-crowley-ritual-magick/id325185715 * Speech in Silence: https://www.speechinthesilence.com/

Website resources: * Internet Sacred Text Archive: https://www.sacred-texts.com/ * Hermetic Library: https://hermetic.com/ * Thelemistas: https://thelemistas.org/en/ * Thelemapedia: https://www.thelemapedia.org/ * O.T.O. Online library: https://lib.oto-usa.org/ * Ra-Hoor-Khuit Network's Magickal Library: https://www.rahoorkhuit.net/library/ceremonial/ * Zero Equals Two: http://zeroequalstwo.net/ * Qabalah resource: https://nofaithinthehumanrace.com/ * From the Mouth of the Beast. Introductory Thelemic texts: http://lapis-mercurii.org/motb/ * Occult meaning of colors and high res art: https://keepsilence.org/colors/ * Scans from the Equinox: https://keepsilence.org/the-equinox/ Thelemic Organizations: * Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.): https://oto.org/ * Typhonian Order (T.O.): http://www.starfirepublishing.co.uk/ * A∴A∴: * https://onestarinsight.org/ * https://outercol.org/ * https://www.thelema.org/aa/ * Temple of the Silver Star: https://totss.org/ * College of Thelema: https://www.thelema.org/college_of_thelema/

[gorgongrrlfriend]

the Mother of All Waters begins her Tantra:

“Know that my worship is of Flesh 

All else is abstract, obtuse and as dust. 

Flesh of Flesh is sacred to me 

My Yoni 

And Stars: 

The points of Connection & the Wheels of Configuration of release…

“Sex in all its infinite forms is Shakti as restless and endless as the Ocean about you 

As the tidally-­sparked blood within your Flesh

Ever flowing, ever seeming to encompass All Things 

Ever filling and settling into All Spaces 

Sex is my Mantra, my Spell, My Siren Cry 

And it is I who always answer this cry, 

it is the glory of my Flesh that suffuses the Mystery 

And the release of Orgasm that calms the turbulent Ocean that is also I.

You see me as a Mirror Image of All,  so as to mate with me 

And so become whole. 

Mystery of Anima & Animus 

Flesh & Spirit 

Nu & Hadit 

And the restless Shakti ripples 

Called Heru 

Pan & Babalon reveal this age­old Mystery 

As do Shiva & Shakti 

Yin & Yang 

And every archetypal dyad eternally mating

Melding

Into One 

Great Ocean of Bliss 

Becoming 

Nun…."

~ The Book of Shakti-Babalon

IN NOMINE BABALON🥀

[school-of-roses]

✽✾Why We Don’t Use Magic with a K✾✽

A case against Magic[k].

The version of the word has been popularized by a terrible racist, and if that is a good enough reason for you not to want to use it then feel free to stop here.  However if you're interested in learning more about the wider context, here is a short history.

Agrippa

Agrippa is cited as being the author of the first occult book where magic is spelled with a k at the end.  There is a 1600s translation where someone used that specific spelling, and there is no denying that it is technically used. However, those that point to this in order to justify its use now seem like they just don't want to change.  When the document had been written, English had not been codified, and many other spellings of magic (magik, magyk, magique) are also floating around during this time. These do not nearly get the same defense.

The word would not return to the occult community for nearly four hundred years between the book's English translation and the popularization of magic[k].

Aleister Crowley  The real meat and potatoes of why we don't use the word magic[k], is that it was popularized by a man by the name of Aleister Crowley. The quotes from Crowley that demonstrate his character are actually so terrible that for common decency, and the safety of my account, I'm not quoting them here.  They are not too terribly hard to find, and you'll hardly find a soul denying they exist. He wanted to differentiate from stage magic (elaborated on more below).  However, even at the time no one was having trouble telling the difference [see generally: historians at the time, anthropologists, and other practitioners], so Crowley justified it in other ways.  In his mind he wanted magic to have six letters.  He liked hexagrams a lot.  The number six was significant for him.  Thus, giving magic six letters was his mark on the word itself.

He left a nearly irreparable scar on modern occultism both being the progenitor to things like Wicca, and the writer of his own system based on the teachings of the Golden Dawn, Thelema.  Not only are a lot of these systems often more than dipping their toes in, but prone to soaking their whole feet in appropriation and bigotry if the practitioner isn't careful, they were often based on the writings of a lot of people who were wholesale racists/ antisemites. The work that goes into removing the bigotry from these systems, and occultism/ modern practice at large, is often substantial, and this is a step we've chosen to continue doing so. Namely, by removing Crowley's personal influence where we can.

Stage Magic argument

There is an argument that magic[k] as a spelling is necessary to differentiate from stage magic. (Or in some cases differentiate between witchcraft and Magic the Gathering.)  I've personally seen this argument a lot, but have not personally encountered a situation where it was necessary.  There are far too many, in my mind anyway, easy swaps (witchcraft, energy work, etc.).  There has also been no evidence I've found of this ever being the true intentions of the word's use.  Especially since if that were the case, they probably should've also changed the objectively more confusing turn of calling themselves "magicians", or of the word "magical".

Circling Back

Coming back around to why we don't use it today, we find the reasons above to be compelling, and beyond that we strive for above and beyond sourcing, care, and respect for our minority members.  If we can push magic in a direction that has more easily accessible information and less of the past's notions that are often founded in bigotry, we are going to. More often than not, that means trying to remove Crowley’s mark on everything. While some might seek to reclaim it, we've chosen to let it fade.