#o.t.o.

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

O.T.O. Newsletter, Vol. III, No. 9, Summer, Anno LXXV, August 1979

[maeviuslynn]

“Women have suffered a great deal over the ages, the last 2000 years, a great deal and that's still in the psyche of some of them. They think O.T.O. is a boys' club, but they don't realize that the women are the most important part of the whole thing.”

- Soror Meral, 2000 e.v.

[azael93]

In Memorium, St. + Pan

[156shadesofscarlet]

YT description:

In this lecture, Brian leads us on an exploration of antecedents to the Thelemic goddess, Babalon, in ancient goddess worship.

Additional notes relevant to the lecture may be found here:

[prince-liest]

what I love most about your 666 vox is that even though he and alastor make an olympic sport out of bending the boundaries of "safe and sane" sex, he seems to VERY firmly believe in the "consensual" part... him letting go of alastor the SECOND he uses his safe word, holding himself back when alastor can't handle touch during his rut, all that stuff. so what would his reaction be if the events of bus stop happened in the same verse and he learned about what valentino did? I know you mentioned it in another ask before but it's been rotating in my mind for days lol - ✨

Alright, y'all get the long and serious answer for this one! >:) Buckle up, buttercups! And thank you SO much for your kind words! <3

I genuinely think that Vox is a fairly shitty person who does not typically particularly care about the violation of consent. He is so free not just with lying, selling spyware, and enabling enabling Valentino, but also with dominating people's will with his hypnosis in his introduction. I think that, if anything, he gets a power trip out of it and he sees what Valentino does, generally, as an extension of that! They're the Vees! They're powerful, they're winning, they have Pentagram City wrapped around their fingers!

However, in 666, his view of Alastor and the fact that Alastor lets him do things is obsessive and borderline worshipful, in, like, a fucked up sadomasochistic way! 666 is written from Alastor's POV so you get to see a lot of his own emotional progression with regard to how he views Vox, but on Vox's end, he's also seeing Alastor differently. He would not be able to genuinely think that he's fallen in love with Alastor if he wasn't able to get past being worshipfully infatuated with him first. He's still obsessive, but especially after O.T.O Special 6.66, Now Streaming: The Birds and the Bees, Natural Wonders! (aka. the rut fic, I know, my fucking titles—) where Alastor starts offering Vox more genuine vulnerability without the looming threat of his shadow, he sees Alastor as more of an actual person rather than a celebrity figure to fight or fuck or both.

Which means that, before Vox made that transition, he would probably be pissed that Valentino ruined his chances to get up to more shit with Alastor. He is very careful with regards to Alastor's consent in the first two installations of 666 because he's extremely aware of how easily Alastor could withdraw it, and how little Vox could do about that. He's not willing to lose Alastor after the taste he's finally had! He's practically manic about finally getting what he wants!

After he's developed more genuine feelings for Alastor (and Alastor has moved solidly into being one of the relatively few people that Vox registers as not just being an NPC or untouchable raid boss in his life), he would be... absolutely fucking mortified, I think. The empathy would fucking suck! That's why he prefers not to have it for most people!

But the thing is, he also loves Val. He has history with Val. And he knows what Val is like. I think he would be less actually, genuinely, overtly angry at Valentino in this scenario than he would have been if he'd just seen Val as ruining his big break with Alastor. He'd make a show of it, sure, but how the hell can he really blame Valentino when he genuinely wouldn't have given (has never given) half of a shit if it had actually been Angel Dust?

And he also knows what Alastor is like. I think his decision would be forced by the fact that despite what happened, Alastor is alive and Valentino is very much about to not be. In a triage situation, one of those people is by default a higher priority.

Alastor, of course, would never forgive that. He would also never forgive the fact that Vox knows what happened—and knows it in a universe where Alastor had dared allow Vox liberties and slowly, eventually, trusted him not to abuse them.

Like I said! It would absolutely nuke the relationship, and I think Alastor would put a great deal of effort into turning all of V Tower and its inhabitants, likely especially Vox, even moreso than Valentino, into so much rubble and a wet smear on the ground.

[talonabraxas]

Ordo Templi Orientis Talon Abraxas Membership in O.T.O. is based upon a system of initiation ceremonies (or degrees) that use ritual drama to establish fraternal bonds between members as well as impart spiritual and philosophical teachings.

The degrees serve an organizational function, in that certain degrees must be attained before taking on various forms of service in the Order (e.g. taking the degree of K.E.W. is a requirement for ordination as a priest or priestess in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica).

There are thirteen numbered degrees and twelve un-numbered degrees which are divided into three grades or "triads"—the Hermit, the Lover, and the Man of Earth.

Admittance to each degree of O.T.O. involves an initiation and the swearing of an oath which O.T.O claims is similar to those used in Freemasonry.

Advancement through the Man of Earth triad requires sponsorship from ranking members. Advancement into the degree of the Knight of the East and West and beyond requires one to be invited by ranking members.

The ultimate goal of initiation in O.T.O. is "to instruct the individual by allegory and symbol in the profound mysteries of Nature, and thereby to assist each to discover his or her own true Identity".[26]

The entire system is as follows:

Man of Earth triad

0°—Minerval

I°—Man & Brother

II°—Magician

III°—Master Magician

IV°—Perfect Magician & Companion of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch

P.I.—Perfect Initiate, or Prince of Jerusalem

[akhret]

Neith

𓈖𓏏𓋌𓁐     𓈖𓏏𓋋    𓈖𓏏𓌖     𓋋        𓈖𓏏𓋋𓆎     𓈖𓏏𓋌      𓈖𓏏𓋋𓆗
 𓋌     𓈖𓏏𓋋𓁐       𓏏𓏏𓋌

Meaning of her name

Her name possibly means:

"She belonging to Lower Egypt"

"terror", "fear", "terrible one"

Epithets

The father of fathers, mother of mothers

Enduring of love

The divine mother who protects Horus

Lady of the West

Neith who shines from the Akhet

Chief of the Nine Bows

Mighty of rage

Foremost of Per-netjer

Areas of worship

Esna. Ḥwt-Nt, or known as the Temple of Neith. Her and Khnum's temples were called Ḥwt-B3w , or the Temple of the Souls.

Temple of Neith at Satis

Offerings

Bow and arrows

Lapis lazuli

Turquoise

Jasper

Meat

Bread

Beer

Honey

Wine

Water

Spider web iconography

Knitting tools, yarn, fabrics

A loom

Information

Neith had emerged from the primordial waters, turning into a cow and then a *lates* fish. From there she brought thirty gods out of the primordial waters and raised the “High Mound” for her and her children. She possesses the power to control everything within the cosmos through thought, speech and names. She’s associated with weaving, with weaving being a symbol of the cosmic order and her divine wisdom. Her association with weaving, led her to being associated with making the bandages for the dead, but she herself had created the Duat for the deceased to pass through. She would enliven the dead and protect them during the passage through the underworld with her bow and arrows, which was a trademark symbol for the Great Goddess. Her symbol of the bow and arrows made her a goddess of hunting, later becoming war, and protector of her son, Re. She is the patroness of victorious weapons and would protect both the dead and alive from enemies or those who sought to harm the King and his heirs. Even when those she protected were harmed, you could seek her for her ability to heal.

Bibliography and more notes posted here

Image from:

[transgenderer]

John Whiteside Parsons (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons;[nb 1] October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952) was an American rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. He invented the first rocket engine to use a castable, compositerocket propellant,[1] and pioneered the advancement of both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets.

Following some brief involvement with Marxism in 1939, Parsons converted to Thelema, the new religious movement founded by the English occultist Aleister Crowley. Together with his first wife, Helen Northrup, Parsons joined the Agape Lodge, the Californian branch of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) in 1941. At Crowley's bidding, Parsons replaced Wilfred Talbot Smith as its leader in 1942 and ran the Lodge from his mansion on Orange Grove Boulevard. Parsons was expelled from JPL and Aerojet in 1944 owing to the Lodge's infamous reputation and his hazardous workplace conduct.

In 1945, Parsons separated from Helen, after having an affair with her sister Sara; when Sara left him for L. Ron Hubbard, Parsons conducted the Babalon Working, a series of rituals intended to invoke the Thelemic goddess Babalon on Earth. He and Hubbard continued the working with Marjorie Cameron, whom Parsons married in 1946. After Hubbard and Sara defrauded him of his life savings, Parsons resigned from the O.T.O., then held various jobs while acting as a consultant for Israel's rocket program. Amid McCarthyism, Parsons was accused of espionage and left unable to work in rocketry. In 1952, Parsons died at the age of 37 in a home laboratory explosion that attracted national media attention; the police ruled it an accident, but many associates suspected suicide or murder.[2]

man i think this guy may have been doing life right

[566-hope-street]

Austin Osman Spare and His Theory of Sigils

by Frater U:.D:.

The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries was a time characterized by radical changes and great heretics. The secret lore and the occult in general were triumphant, and there were good reasons for this. The materialist positivism with its Manchester industrialism was beginning to show its malice, resulting in social and psychological uprooting. The destruction of nature had already begun to bear its first poisonous fruits. In brief, it was a time when it seemed appropriate to question the belief in technology and the omnipotence of the celebrated natural sciences. Particularly intellectuals, artists, and the so-called "Bohemians" became advocates of values critical of civilization in general as can be seen in the literature of Naturalism, in Expressionist Art and in the whole Decadent Movement, which was quite notorious at the time. 

Austin Osman Spare was a typical child of this era and, after Aleister Crowley, was definitely one of the most interesting occultists and practicing magicians of the English-speaking world. Despite his various publications after the turn of the century, he remained practically unnoticed until the late sixties. He was born in 1886, the son of a London police officer, and we know very little about his childhood. He claimed to have experienced while a child an initiation of sorts by an elderly witch, one Mrs. Paterson who, as far as we know, must have been quite a Wiccan-like character. Spare found his intellectual and creative vocation as an artist and illustrator, and he attended the Royal College of Art, where he soon was celebrated as a forthcoming young artist. But he rebelled against a bourgeois middle-class career in the arts. Disgusted by commercialism, he retreated from the artistic scene soon afterwards, though he still continued editing various magazines for quite a while. From 1927 until his death in 1956, he virtually lived as a weird hermit in a London slum, where he sometimes held exhibitions in a local pub. 

Spare in 1904

Around the beginning of the First World War, he released some privately published editions, and today one can acquire—at least in Great Britain—numerous, usually highly expensive, reprints of his works. However, we are primarily interested in his well-known Book of Pleasure (Self-Love): The Psychology of Ecstasy (London, 1913). Spare's actual philosophy will not be analyzed in depth here because this is not really necessary for the practice of sigil theory and it would lead away from the subject of this study. Before we begin with Spare's theory of sigils, it is perhaps useful to write a few words about the part sigils play in a magical working. Occidental magic is known to rest on two main pillars, which are will and imagination. Connected with these are analogous thinking and symbolic images. For example, Agrippa used a special sigil for each of the planetary intelligences. These are not, as has been assumed for quite some time, arbitrarily constructed, nor were they received by "revelation," but are based on Cabalistic consideration. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn also employed sigils as "images of the souls" of magical entities, which enabled the magician to establish contact with them; nevertheless, the technique of their construction was not explained. The same may be said for the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) under Crowley's leadership and for the Fraternitas Saturni under Gregorius. The name Agrippa already hints at the fact that magical sigils have a long historical tradition, which we will not discuss here because then we would have to cover the whole complex of occult iconology as well. 

In general, people think of "correct" and "incorrect" sigils. The grimoires of the late Middle Ages were often little else but magical recipe books, and practitioners believed in the following principle: to know the "true" name and the "true" sigil of a demon means to have power over it. Pragmatic magic, which developed in the Anglo-Saxon realms, completely tidied up this concept. Often Crowley's revolt in the Golden Dawn is seen as the actual beginning of modern magic. It would certainly not be wrong to say that Crowley was an important supporter of pragmatic thought in modern magic. But in the end, the Master Therion preferred to remain within the hierarchical dogmatic system due to his Aiwass revelation in Liber Al vel Legis. His key phrase "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will," as well as his whole Thelemic concept, prove him a dogmatic magician. 

English magic of the turn of the century was also influenced by an important young science which would actually achieve its major triumphs only after the Second World War: the psychology of Sigmund Freud. Before that, Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, as well as Frazer's The Golden Bough, had given important impulses to the occult in general. William James's comparative psychology of religion influenced deeply the intellectuality of this time, but Freud, Adler, and especially Carl G. Jung eventually effected major breakthroughs. From then on, people started to consider the unconscious in earnest. We will not analyze by whom Spare was influenced. Rather, we will discuss his greatest achievement: his psychological approach towards magic. This leads us to magical practice proper. 

In Spare's system there are no "correct" or "incorrect" sigils; neither is there a list of ready-made symbols. It is of no import whether a sigil is the "correct" one or not, but it is crucial that it has been created by the magician and is therefore meaningful to him/her. Because s/he has constructed it for personal use, the sigil easily becomes a catalyst of his/her magical desire. This pragmatic approach which dominates present-day Anglo-Saxon magic (Israel Regardie, Francis King, Stephen Skinner, W. B. Gray, David Conway, Lemuel Johnstone, to name but a few relevant authors) goes to show that Austin Osman Spare, rather than Aleister Crowley, should be considered the real Father of Modern Pragmatic Magic. In the German-speaking countries, the situation is quite different. Writers like Quintscher, Gregorius, Bardon, Klingsor and even Spiesberger allow but little room to maneuver when creating magical coordinates individually. Here the adept is expected to grow into a ready-made system instead of fashioning one. This is a completely different approach, the value or non-value of which we will not discuss here. The works by Mahamudra, which have of late been receiving some attention, are mainly of a descriptive nature and deal with traditions and new interpretations, thus remaining within the context of German magical heritage; however, they do take heed of recent results in scientific psychology and are, therefore, at least partially related to the pragmatic approach. Pragmatic magic will become more and more important because today's magicians have to face a psychologized and psychologizing environment whose philosophical relativism has been shaping all of us, and still does. Regardless of the significance or amount of truth one concedes to psychology, we all are infiltrated by its way of thinking and its vocabulary. So even we magicians will have to attain to a critical, sensible look at it. It will be left to another era to find different models of explanation, description and practice. 

How does Spare proceed in practice? Sigils are developed by fusion and stylization of letters. First of all, a sentence of desire has to be formulated. Let us take the example Spare himself gives in his Book of Pleasure, the declaration of intent: THIS MY WISH TO OBTAIN THE STRENGTH OF A TIGER. This sentence must be written down in capitals. Next, all the letters which appear more than once are deleted so that only one of each letter remains. Thus, the following letters remain: THISMYWOBANERGF. The sigil is created from these letters. It is permissible to consider one part (for example, M) as a reversed W or, seen from the side, as an E. Hence, these three letters do not have to appear in the sigil three separate times. Of course, there are numerous possibilities of representation and stylization. However, it is important that in the end the sigil is as simple as possible with the various letters recognizable (even with slight difficulty). The artistic quality of the sigil is irrelevant, but for simple psychological reasons it should be obvious that you should not just scribble or doodle in haste. You should strive to make it to the best of your abilities. The finished sigil, which in the beginning will probably take a few attempts to construe, will then be fixated. You may draw it on parchment, on paper, in the sand, or even on a wall. According to Spare's short instructions, it should be destroyed after its internalization. Thus, you will either burn the parchment, wipe it out in the sand, etc.

Example of a sigil

Spare's basic idea is that the sigil, together with its meaning, must be planted into the unconscious. Afterwards, the consciousness has to forget it so that the unconscious can obey its encoded direction without hindrance. When the sigil is ready, it is activated by implanting it into the psyche. This is the most difficult part in this process, and Spare offers only very few hints on practical procedures. However, it is crucial that the sigil is internalized in a trance of sorts. This may take place in a state of euphoria (for example, by means of drugs), in ecstasy (for example, by masturbation or sexual intercourse), or in a state of physical fatigue. For the latter example, eyes and arms may be tired by folding your arms behind the head while standing in front of a mirror and staring fixedly at your image. The important thing is that it should click, meaning that the sigil must be internalized spasmodically, which, of course, requires some exercise and control. This procedure may be supported by repeating the sentence of desire rhythmically and monotonously like a mantra, becoming faster and faster. In doing so, one must stare fixedly at the sigil. After spasmodical internalization, the symbol must be destroyed and deleted from the conscious mind. As mentioned before, from now on it will be the unconscious which has to do the work.

In my own practical work I have discovered that it may even be useful to keep the sigil on you, such as wearing a ring engraved with it, etc. But this will depend upon the magician's individual predilection, and everybody should find his/her own way. Occasionally, it may prove necessary to repeat the whole procedure, especially if the goal is a very problematical one, requiring an outstanding amount of energy. Nevertheless, experience shows that it is of prime importance not to bring back the meaning and aim of the sigil into consciousness at any time. We are, after all, dealing with a technique akin to autosuggestion; thus, the rules are the same as with autosuggestions themselves. Therefore, you may not use negative formulas such as "THIS MY WISH NOT TO ..." because very often the unconscious tends neither to recognize nor understand this "not," and you might end up getting the opposite result than that which you originally desired. If you see a sigil every day, perhaps on a wall or engraved on the outer side of a ring, this should only take place unconsciously, just as one might not consciously notice an object which is in use all the time. Of course, you should keep your operation secret, for discussing it with skeptics or even good friends may dissolve the sigil's power. The advantages of this method, of which only a short summary can be given here, are obvious. It is temptingly easy, and with only a little practice it may be performed at any time and at any place. It does not call for any costly paraphernalia. Protective circles and pentagram rituals are not required, though sometimes may prove useful, especially with operations of magical protection. People who tend to psychic instability should, however, be cautious. Although the threshold to schizophrenia is not as easily crossed with this method as with common evocations, it does involve cutting deeply into the ecology of the psyche, an act which should be considered carefully in any case. The psycho-magical consequences are sometimes quite incalculable. 

As is well known, the real problem with magic is not so much the question whether it works, but rather the fact that it does. Used with responsibility, this method offers the magician a tool which provides him/her with a limitless variety of possible magical applications.

Austin Osman Spare, Self-Portrait, 1935

[tiorx]

i think at this point i just have to make my own system of magic almost from scratch which. ugh. i wish i could just go to the o.t.o. a state over

[sediti0niv]

تهه آمریکن لوفی

The American Laufey;

With Frigg on the inside;

Macha on the out;

Upsidedown Sephiroth;

Soror Ipsissimus xXxCLSR

New director in totalis de la A .•. A .•.

SOROR Ipsissimus xXxCLSR

Kether in the base of my root;

↑≠(♪¥¥€¢@№¢_&_±<)>/‡★”:›;¡¿‽()

Degrees of:

π = absolute value of 3.141593

10^πr^π³°=0³°★°^πr³°

SOROR Ipsissimus xXxCLSR

THE A•°•A•°• is now an open universal place of education for all interested. No longer is this broken fraternity what it once was. With my usurpation of Ipsissimus AND Magi★★★ Templi of not only Thelemic study but also I have stolen the reigns of the Illuminates of Thanateros rebranding this alleged inheritor of the O.T.O, the A•°•A•°•, the Golden Dawn and others. The new ORDER of KAOS with I as Eris and Erebus ISIS Bastet; Sekhet and Sekhmet are at my beck and call as is Thoth Anubis the Ogoadad as well as the whole of our known and unknown cosmos.

I am Kek as Keket through Evan Alexander Gnagey as she became herself as Abaddon, Miss Chief Maybelle Maria-Alyce Fleurie-Evans, then finally JEZEBEL Jubilation Alexis

Taking applications for grades/degrees of:

Initiates

Neophytes

Prospectus

Adeptus minoris

Adeptus equi

Adeptus majoris

Magi

Magi Star

Magi★ Secretariae

Magi Star Mater Noster qui es in Thelema

Magi ★ Templi es in Thelema

Abbot de Templi de la Thelema

Instructae de vitae in Templi de la Thelema

Instructae de curriculum de la Academia de la templi de Thelema

Instructae de curriculum de la universitatis de la templi de Thelema

Instructae de theogoria solomonicus

Instructae de curriculum de textilis

Doctor promotus ars almandel

Doctor promotus ars theogoria

Doctor promutus ars goetia

Etc.

Please this is an urgent call to all talented people men women LGBTQ+++---+++XXX(+(???‽‽‽

PLEASE ATTACH A RESUME OUTLINING Your DEGREES YOUR FOCUS OF STUDY

KENNEL CLUB aka K.C.

PLEASE MESSAGE ME FOR ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS OR REQUESTS

evansjazzzybelly@gmail.com

e.a.gnagey667@gmail.com

stellar_heat@proton.me

#ipsissimus #thelema #eclesiastica-gnostica-catolica #EGC #evanalexandergnagey #jezebelgnagey #Cellarheat #stellar_heat #sediti0n(iii-vi).tumblr.com #stellar_heat@proton.me

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

John W. Parsons (text) & Marjorie Cameron (illustrations) - Songs for the Witch Woman - Fulgur Press - 2014 (from material originally produced back in the 1950s)

[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/ * 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/

[azael93]

In memory of Saint + Karl Johannes Germer

[gladstones-corner]

The Gnostic Creed - A Simple Look

Welcome back! It's been a little bit since my last series of posts, but I'm rested and recharged! So now it's time to get back to the analysis and commentary.

Today, we're going to discuss Crowley's Gnostic Creed, featured in Liber XV (the Gnostic Mass). Crowley originally wrote it in 1913 during a trip to Moscow; a year later, Thelemites performed the Mass publicly for the first time in London. Since then, the Gnostic Mass (and by extension, the Creed) has become the central public ritual and declaration for Thelemites.

While I won't discuss the Mass in its entirety here (That would be a series of posts), I"ll hit the high points and then dig into the Creed.

Without further delay, let's dive in. 

The Mass and the Creed 

As previously stated, Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass in 1913 for the Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae (E.G.C.), the ecclesiastical arm of the O.T.O.

Aside from the common purposes to religious gatherings (fostering community, tradition, and culture) the Mass was written to facilitate spiritual transformation. Through this transformation, participants commune with the divine and are imparted with mystic wisdom.

Central to the Mass is the Gnostic Creed. It is a collection of beliefs and confessions that elucidates the central values of the E.G.C. and O.T.O. The Gnostic Creed is short enough to reprint here, so before getting into any commentary, here it is:  

"I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name CHAOS, the sole viceregent of the Sun upon Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breaths.  And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON.  And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET.  And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA.  And I believe in the communion of Saints.  And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.  And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom whereby we accomplish the Miracle of Incarnation.  And I confess my life one, individual, and eternal that was, and is, and is to come.  AUMGN, AUMGN, AUMGN"

(Crowley, Liber XV) 

Let's break it down, section by section. 

The Effable Names 

CHAOS, BABALON, BAPHOMET: these are the holy names given to the mystic energies that give rise to all. To understand any single one, you must understand them all in context.

CHAOS and BABALON stand at two ends of a spectrum. CHAOS represents the primordial state--unbridled energy and movement. BABALON represents that which gives shape to CHAOS--but more than that, she is the mystery of incarnation that drives existence. BAPHOMET is the unification and transcendence of this polarity--they hold the other two in perfect balance. 

Do What Thou Wilt 

With the fundamental ideas of polarity and balance in mind, we can move to the central statement of the Creed: 

"And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA"

(Crowley, Liber XV) 

Let's start at the end. THELEMA is the central concept of Crowley's religious philosophy. It is Greek for divine "Will". To realize one's THELEMA is to discover one's true purpose, whose nature is invariably a path towards spiritual Light and eternal Life, founded upon the principles of universal Love and Liberty.

 Individuals who believe in this statement are considered part of the Gnostic Catholic Church. Let's break that down a little more.

Catholic in this case does not mean Roman Catholic. Crowley uses the archaic form, meaning Universal. Gnostic in this case emphasizes the individual experience and interaction with the divine.

Therefore, to believe in this statement is to be a part of the universalist, individualist Church that follows the law of THELEMA.

 

Other Beliefs 

The other two beliefs of the Gnostic Creed are not nearly as complicated as the first one. They are the beliefs in the Communion of Saints and the Miracle of Mass.

First, the Communion of Saints. This is a declaration of reverence for all individuals whose actions have embodied or irrevocably influenced the Thelemic path. They do not have to be Thelemic themselves, but they do need to have a contribution to humanity's evolution. Note, too, that Gnostic Saints don't need to be deceased (or even born yet) to qualify for sainthood. For a full list of Thelemic Saints, please reference this page on the Hermetic Library. 

Next, the Miracle of Mass. The Creed states this: so far as we can convert subsistence into fuel, so can we also take the grosser aspects of ourselves and convert them into spiritual enlightenment. In fact, it's all one process: 'meat and drink' are converted into energy, which contributes to our well-being, which allows us to grow. This is the secret of alchemy.

 

I Have Confessions to Make 

To round out the Gnostic Creed, there are two confessions. Think about them like this: where beliefs are theorems, confessions are postulates. They are the confessions of the Baptism of Wisdom and the Eternal Life.

The Baptism of Wisdom is heady. Essentially, it is the first realization of one's THELEMA through the activation of the Personal Genius. This doesn't mean you're immediately aware of your entire THELEMA, nor does it mean you'll avoid all struggle and pain. The Baptism of Wisdom means that you acknowledge the transcendent spiritual awareness that allows you to participate as a proactive force in your life.

The confession of Eternal Life is also heady. The Creed implies that life is both eternal and punctuated--interconnected, yet independent. This confession acknowledges the oneness inherent in all things while still recognizing the uniqueness in every individual thing. The goal here is to increase confidence in the self, while decreasing fear of the unknown.

 

The Closing Syllable 

Creeds, like prayers, benefit from a strong closing statement. In the Gnostic Creed, it's a triple AUMGN--which is actually two distinct syllables: AUM and GN.

AUM is a different phonetic spelling of the Sanskrit OM. Crowley chose this spelling because each letter in AUM has a distinct meaning: Creation (A), Sustainment (U), and Destruction (M). Together, they form the totality of existence and experience. 

The final GN is a Gnostic addition that represents Dynamism. Where Creation and Destruction are balanced opposites, Sustainment has none to offset its less savory aspects. However, GN adds the concept of Dynamism to the formula. This provides a counterbalance against the stagnation of Sustainment. As one statement, AUMGN creates an equation for spiritual transformation. 

One final note: I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to pronounce this word. It's roughly phonetic, but I thought it would be helpful to include the pronunciation here. It's OWm-GAN, where GAN makes the "gne" sound in "champagne". It takes some practice, but it's easier than it seems. 

Conclusion 

And that's it for the Gnostic Creed, at least for now! As with all of Crowley's works, there are deeper layers that warrant further discussion—but we'll cover those later. 

For now, and as always, thank you for reading. I look forward to hearing back from you all and learning your thoughts on the Creed and what it means. 

Stay safe, stay tuned; blessed be~ 

[phantasmagoricagaric]

Aleister Crowley

(CW for talk of religion, cults, and brief mention of drugs)

The namesake of Crowley in Good Omens, Aleister was most well-known for being an English occultist and novelist. He founded his own religion, Thelema, and became its self-proclaimed prophet.

Aleister Crowley was born to wealthy, devout, Christians. He went to the University of Cambridge, where he studied poetry and mountaineering, lifelong passions of his. After he got out of uni, he became a spy for British secret services. He then proceeded to join a cult, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. There, he studied under two famous occultists. Eventually, he went to India, and studied Hinduism and Buddhism. After he finished his notes on how to make a successful cult, he married his wife, Rose Kelly, and then moved to Cairo for a bit, because why wouldn’t they?

Crowley used this honeymoon time to get yelled at by a spooky voice entity who threw a book at him (hyperbole but you get the point), and thus Thelema was founded. After traveling the world all over again, Crowley settled down in Britain to get famous for writing stuff, and then decided to co-found yet another cult, the A∴A∴. He then joined another cult, the O.T.O., and established some of the beliefs of Thelema in it.

He kept promoting his religion, made a commune (this guy is basically Klaus Hargreeves). He attracted the attention of the British government, and got kicked out of Italy.

Crowley travelled Europe, and was popular for his writing, libertarian lifestyle, being openly bisexual, and, of course, his baby, his love, his cult. Also for doing lots of drugs.

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And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I think it’s pretty obvious why this guy is the perfect namesake of Crowley in GOmens tho xD

If you wanna know more, there’s tons of books about him, the Wikipedia page is quite interesting (and extensive) and that’s what this post is based off, mostly, and I’m sure his own works would be a great read.