quarta-feira, setembro 07, 2005

"Thelema" by Aleister Crowley

The sovereignty of the individual will: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is, as it were, the system's first commandment.

Crowley's idea of will, however, is not simply the individual's desires or wishes, but also incorporates a sense of the person's destiny or greater purpose: what he termed the "Magick Will." Much of the initiatory system of Thelema is focused on discovering one's true will, true purpose, or higher self. Much else is devoted to an Eastern-inspired dissolution of the individual ego, as a means to that end.

The second commandment of Thelema is "Love is the law, love under will"
and Crowley's meaning of "Love" is as complex as that of "Will". It is frequently sexual: Crowley's system, like elements of the Golden Dawn before him, sees the dichotomy and tension between the male and female as fundamental to existence, and sexual "magick" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual.

This unprecedented Law demands the utmost discipline. It suggests that we all have a purpose, a Will; and that we have a responsibility to follow that Will, live in harmony with the rest of the Universe, and be who we truly are.