Thelema



The Book of the Law by Aleistar Crowley

This blog will explore the rich symbolic system developed chiefly by Aleistar Crowley, the religion's founder and main prophet. These images and symbols convey many of the pillars of Thelemic philosophy, including gnosticism, occult magick and Satanic worship. To do this I will be using clips from the experimental film Lucifer Rising directed by Kennith Anger, who was also a dedicated Thelemite.

THELEMIC PANTHEON

In 1904, when Aleistar Crowley began writing the religions main text Liber AL vel Legis or The Book of the Law, he believed the world was entering the Aeon of Horus, a new age in which religious expression would take on a new form. Previously the world had worshipped female fertility spirits (Aeon of Isis) and singular male gods (Aeon of Osiris), but the current Aeon is one of self-realization and actualization (Aeon of Horus).

Here we see Anger's representations of the Aeon's of Isis and Osiris. The scene begins with the materialization of the Ankh (a symbol associated with Isis and eternal life) which has been appropriated in Thelema as a symbol of the eternal life force in the physical realm. Next, we see Osiris whom carries the Crook and Flail (again, a symbol associated with Osiris and the afterlife) that symbolizes the death and the spiritual realm.

In the next clip, we witness the birth of Horus whom represents a linking of the physical and spiritual realms (Horus being the child of Isis and Osiris). The Thelemic gods together act as symbols of the gnostic cosmos. Humans exist in the physical realm (Isis) and Gods exist in the spiritual realm (Osiris) and it is knowledge/light (Horus) that enables humans to transcend the physical realm into the spiritual.

TRUE WILL

Crowley wrote that everyone has a True Will, or a divine calling, and that the only way to realize this calling was through the practice of ritual magick. Thelemites believe that they can use magick in everyday life to effect the world around them, in accordance with their will. Whether it is a mental, physical or spiritual exercise, magick is the tool that allows Thelemites to carry out their True Will.

In this clip, we see a mass ritual in which Thelemites dance and are able to invoke a spiritual Deity. They are able to physically interact with the spirit (climbing on its limbs, Deity begins picking them up with its hands). We then see a man evoking nature, causing thunderstorms and earthquakes. Common rituals also include purification, divination even sexual fulfillment. Rituals often are accompanied by symbolic tools which help Thelemic mystics control magick to their will.

This longer clip shows a slew of ritual tools, which bear symbols of Thelema.

A list in order of appearance followed by a description of significance:

1. Wand - The wand is a magic tool that can be used to command elemental spirits. (followed by the Eye of Horus, a key symbol of Thelema). [0:12-0:25]

2. Speculum - The mirror is used to see into the spirit realm or a non-adjacent physical location. (Framed by the Hexagram, a six pointed star which is prominent symbol of Thelema). [1:07-1:09]

3. The Throne - The throne is often used by overseers of rituals to observe and command mass ritual (has the Winged Sun Disc symbol associated with Horus). [1:35-1:50]

4. Spear/Sword - Used in rituals to cast circles of control over spirits (the man is also wearing a Hexagram with a 5 petal flower in the middle which symbolizes unity of the divine and the earthly) [1:57-2:06]

SATANIC WORSHIP

In accordance with Thelemic gnosticism, Thelemites believe that the physical realm was created by a demiurge, like Satan. The non-corporeal spirit whom dictated The Book of the Law to Crowley was named Aiwass and, like Satan, reins over the physical realm. The worship and communication with this spirits through ritual magick was vital in order to fulfill ones True Will.

This scene shows the Pentagram, a symbol of Satan, which is used as a cover for a portrait of Crowley. One of the men also retrieves The Book of the Law and opens it to The Book of Thoth, which discusses Satan and other devils. The illustration at the top of the page shows the copulation of Lucifer and Sin, which brings Death into existence.



This scene shows a Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. Mystics will use incense and candles to purify the air in their circle, which has a pentagram in the center (In this case, Anger places a giant T in the middle for Thelema). Like all of Anger's films, the film's title is printed onto the back of a leather jacket and displayed by the main actor.

 

To learn more about Thelema, go to http://www.thelema101.com/

A director who's short films are well worth your time, go to http://www.kennethanger.org/

DISCLAIMER: I do not own rights to the above mentioned video material. Under fair use, I used clips from Lucifer Rising for criticism and analysis of Thelema and its precepts.

The Book of Abraham

The Book of Abraham is striking to someone who has read the bible, first because it places a firsthand account of Abraham in the hands of readers. The books of the bible which many read today are a selected works of many writers divided by millenniums of history. I guess if you were to compare the two works, one might be under the impression that the bible is a text that faced more scrutiny, editing and discussion than much of Joseph Smith’s writing. However, this merely outlines the first hurdle Joseph Smith had to overcome through this text.

By translating a first hand, authorial script from Abraham, Smith is asserting a more direct link to this figure and this time period which so many religions harken back to for legitimization. The book begins with Abrahams near death at the hands of his people, whom wished to sacrifice him to their Egyptian idols. Again, we start to see a little bit of what I call “Smith syncretism”, which is an important tool he uses to make his work appeal despite lack of a higher standard of believability. Smith, who is no slouch of a writer, takes multiple stories of the Bible, in this case he combines the story of Abraham with that of his son Issac, and is able to turn them into one cohesive event with a lot of grandeur.

Despite this, however, Smiths work remains prey to so many arguments that make this story seem less and less believable, or just fantastic enough to be believable. The time in which Abraham was alive (2000BC), was a time of sustained peace known as “The Middle Kingdom”. Needless to say, the Gods he claims the people worshipped do not match up with the history. During this time the funerary cult of Osiris dominated Egyptian religion, which would not be focused on sacrificing live people, but performing rituals aimed at conferring and helping the already deceased.

Mormonism and the Second Great Awakening

The video we watched on Wednesday portrayed Joseph Smith Jr. as  young man struggling to make sense of the world around him. The interesting way the movie presented Smith’s situation growing up, dependent on his family and others but existing comfortably in New York without much contest. Of course this movie does not mention several key problems that Smith would have faced during his young life which I think are important in order to better understand Mormonism as a faith through the facts. The movie makes no mention of the massive debt Smith’s father owed and worked most of his life to pay off and conflicts with other folk religious during the Second Great Awakening.

Living in a indebted house is not easy. Smith’s family would’ve all needed to help in order to work off his father’s debt. This is important to understand, as it wasn’t uncommon for the family to be an economic model, but this would’ve been an important problem the Smith family had to deal with. Certainly that debt would not pass away with his father’s death, and would’ve passed on to him. While considering this American life the Smiths were involved in, maybe the economic and property benefits given to them as Americans were not a major focus of theirs. For Smith, folk religion might have been an escape from the pressures of debt and land ownership. The religious fever of the Second Great Awakening certainly frames the perfect time period for such an escape to occur. However, fervor can lead to violence and the movie makes no mention of the Mormon Wars of 1838. Anti-Mormon mobs did battle with Mormon followers that left many dead over their religious idealism.

To think that the Mormon faith was born of the passive, free and carefree age in the early 1800’s is a farce. It seems like it was actually born out of tension and strife of white indebted landowning Americans, which does not in any way discredit the faith or insult its pillars. In fact, I find the more historically correct story to be much more interesting account that attests to life in the 19^th century as well as important religious movements that shaped our nation.

Spectacle in the Third Book of Nephi

The visitation of Christ to the people of Nephi is one of the most visually descriptive passages in the the book of Mormon. The people look up to the sky, and witness Jesus descending from heaven, in a white robe, speaking to the people in a voice that “shaketh them to the core”. He orders the people to feel his wounds and know that it is him. There was never a visitation of Christ in this manner to the people of Israel in the Bible after his death, and this physical appearance of him seems to cater to a 19^th and 20^th century audience as grand spectacle that would have impressed readers.

Continuing with the use of spectacle, Christ blesses 12 disciples whom he wants to go out and baptize in his name. He selects these people from the crowd, including Nephi. This makes the anointed known to the people and reinforces Nephi as their true prophet, removing all doubt. Christ then orders everyone to bow to the earth and being to pray. His words to God are unknown to the people, but they fill them with an immense sense of joy that they begin weeping and praising him afterwards.  He then performs several other miracles, including multiplication of the loafs, healing the sick and ascending to heaven in a cloud which obscures him. This would likely appeal to the previously discussed audience’s need for spectacle since it is a condensed version of Christ’s miracles into one visitation, making it all the more grand and impressive.

The use of spectacle in The Book of Mormon is fantastic, and this seems like one of the more embellished accounts of a visitation from Christ. It certainly is not aiming for subtlety. Readers get all the fireworks of the event, and are left shocked and a little bit overwhelmed. The early 18^th century saw massive religious revival during the Great Awakening, which permanently affected American religion. The forceful preaching and use of spectacle was all important in this movement, and this passage from The Book of Mormon is reflective of that grand air of exhibition.

Intertheoretical Religion

Can common religious ideas about compassion be intertheoretically reduced into a single adjective “religious compassion”? Baha’u’llah’s writing about past manifestations of God collectively teaching a single body of truths to be followed by the Baha’i faith encourages a collective evolution towards the universal compassion, justice and education. However, these past manifestations have specific contexts in which they were writing, often thousands of years apart. Compassion, then, as taught by these manifestations must be very different in many respects. The Catholic, Hebrew and Muslim teachings about compassion are unique in each religion, and just each religion establishes itself apart from others, so do their “religious compassion”.

One of the pillars in Judaism is the tikkun olam, or the duty for all Jews to help repair and perfect the world. This is an idea that by nature implies the idea that there can be a world without suffering. Thus this duty places a large burden on the behalf of the faith to do works of mercy until this goal is achieved. The Quran states "(Zakat) charity is only for the poor and the needy and those employed to administer it, and those whose hearts are made to incline, and (to free) the captives, and those in debt, and in the way of Allah and for the wayfarer – an ordinance from Allah. And Allah is Knowing, Wise." (9:60). This is a very different kind of compassion from Judaism. Islamic compassion is used rather as a tool to help only the truly suffering. This promotes a very different message, one that focuses specifically on those who suffer inherently more than others. Catholicism sums up an important pillar of their faith in Corinthians, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing” (13). Catholicism emphasizes the importance of love over compassion. Compassion, therefore, must be in the name of God and the loving relationship between him and man. Without this, compassion is empty and trivial.

All of these ideas about compassion are used in different ways to achieve different means. What compassion means to these different faiths is very unique and any reduction of these ideas into a single term would be derelict in its duty. These are all different types of compassion, to your needy, to yourself and to God and therefore illustrate important ways in which we might be able to show compassion through religion.

Globalized Religious Compassion

Baha’u’llah’s religious tradition is one that fits in with the message that Armstrong promotes in her video. Armstrong is calling for a planet wide reconsideration about religion and how compassion should be brought to the forefront of their discussion on globalized, golden ruled policy concerning religion. Baha’u’llah promotes this very same kind of complete, compassionate and worldwide religion that seeks to unify all people across the planet. Many instances in Baha’u’llah’s life can be linked to his mission of one unified global spirituality beginning from his time spent preaching to when he was finally imprisoned until the end of his life.

 Baha’u’llahs time spent in solitude in the Kurdish mountains would be a sort of acid test as to how dedicated someone might be towards a globalized compassionate religion. This area, as well as the people of this mountain is yearly slaughtered by religious zealots who hunt and murder the people of Kurdistan even today. Baha’u’llah went to this mountain alone, dressed as a Sufi and began writing by himself in impoverished conditions. Soon, others living around him saw he knew how to write, and he was called to advise leaders and religious authorities in Kurdistan. He later was called home by his family back to Iran and after years spent there.

Baha’u’llah is not only an inspirational figure simply because of his charisma or skill writing, but his dedication to starting a globalized compassionate spiritualism was beyond belief. To even set foot in one of the most dangerous places in war torn Kurdistan alone, no protection only to preach and seek study in solitude is unbelievably compassionate. This is what Karen Armstrong would like to bring to the forefront of the discussion on globalized religious compassion, the story of an individual taking this goal into his own hands so that others may be more like him.