My Lineage is as follows:
In the A.·. A.·. and the Society O.T.O. my Superior is David Bersson, his Superior Marcelo Ramos Motta, his Superior Karl Germer, his Superior Aleister Crowley.
(I am fluent in English and Russian and aspirants can write me in either tongue.)
Written by Frater Thoth aka Frater H.O.T.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
To those of us who are called Thelemites and have dedicated our lives to the accomplishment of the Great Work it is vital to meditate and expound as clearly as possible upon an important issue---a spiritual life in the modern world. How can an Aspirant develop in a society? How is he to live among the ignorant if he has devoted his whole live unto the Great Work and keeps daily discipline which seems so strange to a commoner? Those are the questions I meditate upon at this hour when an insight inspired me to write this essay.
Firstly, let us survey very briefly the antiquity for the purpose of analysis and study of the development in attitude towards spiritual life and the contact between profanes and initiates.
In ancient times devotees of the Great Work were usually initiated priests of various Cults who were greatly venerated by their people. There was no friction between people and initiates but communication based on trust and respect. The advent of Christism and Mohammedanism changed it all. Instead of loyal priesthood who were benefiting their countries and governments there rose to power a Pope of Rome who enslaved all those who acknowledged his sick authority.
The times of Dark Ages was generally an era of the rise of hermits, those who abandoned all to search enlightenment in solitude and peace of mind away from the worries of common men. The original hermits lived in solitude and meditation imparting insights of wisdom from time to time, but the building of prison like monasteries changed it all as monks degenerated into inmate slaves. At that time there were also many magickal organizations who worked in a secret manner assisting mankind by producing great men of history; philosophers, scientists musicians, artists etc...
Let us now consider a spiritual live in present times; the carrying out of the Great Work within a society and the solution to its difficulties directly from our Holy Law.
An Aspirant to Thelemic path of Initiation leads a spiritual way of life at the same time lives quite smoothly within a society. How are we who dedicated our lives to spirituality to live among the people? We use the Book of the Law to look for a solution of all our problems and align it to our lives. It is written in Chapter II Verse 77 of our Holy Law:
"O be thou proud and mighty among men!"
This verse indicates precisely the manner in which we are to live in the world of men. For those of mystical nature to live as strong kings within a society is much more advanced formula of a Magickal Life and a way of spiritual advancement then to live as an Old Aeon worn out hermit on a mountain. By balanced application of this formula with confidence and authority as well as respect and politeness in our daily lives we will be appreciated by the society and avoid friction.
In the modern world a Thelemite aspirant upon the path of the Great Work whose will is to lead a spiritual way of life and persistent dedication to magick, one whose will is aflame to progress on the path of mystical discovery and enthusiasm for the high and sublime picks of undimmed glory is not required to abandon his life or to give away his properties but instead he reconstructs his life as he develops to align it with his will and condition it to his mystical path.
Indeed the aspirant may seem to the tormented profane to have totally abandoned his life to some strange unpragmatic path. All the commoner sees is a fool who stubbornly waists his life on useless pursuits of magick that will lead to nowhere. Yet the aspirant has not abandoned his life but changed it as he changes where he is on a higher level for others to see him for what he really is. He loves magick and knows that his discipline is the key to his own advancement and initiations that bring more wider comprehension of the mysteries of life and universe.
Initiation brings more responsibility upon the path and you realize that you can no longer waste your energy on useless efforts or cares of society, all you need are favorable conditions for your work -- you use what energy you get to further your advancement, and energy that itself comes from discipline. Your aspirations become more definite as you unlock more mysteries from within that are only possible with dedication. Suddenly you find yourself busy with magickal experiments and deep studies in great cities living among the multitudes and laboring to farther your evolution with silent comprehension that Initiation is the key to sublime existence, growth to fantastic possibilities and freedom from all restrictions whatsoever. You are no longer concerned with woes and weak joys of men but instead move among the nations of the earth in splendour and pride, revered and loved, selecting those who are worthy to follow the path of Θελημα.
This is my outlook on Spiritual Life in a modern society.
Love is the law, love under will
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Sometime at the beginning of mankind there was established a Spiritual Dynasty on all the continents of the earth which has survived from ancient to modern times. The Magickal Royal Family of this Dynasty consists of mystically related to each other people who are more advanced then their earthly fellows which in comparison are nothing more then biological animals, cowering slaves, parasites of the earth.
It does not mean however, that this Royal Bloodline of ancient magicians survived by physical means of transmitting Wisdom from father to son. True Wisdom cannot be transmitted or given as a gift. This Dynasty has survived by means of incarnation of the Souls which are capable of Understanding and have inner Light to guide them through the material existence.
Members of the Royal Family, once born, usually go through the some accursed routine of being brought up as commoners, go to school, college, frequent churches or temples, fill their time with senseless activities, pray, etc... Yet for each of them, sooner or later; there cometh a moment of Calling which they never fail to recognize and to obey. Suddenly they abandon all and disappear into the wilderness of desert and become Hermits.
Now I am not talking about the cursed hermits, charlatans who lock themselves up behind thick high walls of their prison monasteries and get praised constantly for their courageous deeds of shaving their heads or growing big beards, or abstaining from sex, I am talking about the True Hermits of the New Aeon of Horus who have dedicated their lives to the Great Work both in deed and word. They are unknown, they are not praised, yet they are the true Saints and Kings of the earth.
To those do earthly kings bow, and the whole universe with all the creatures assists Them in their Task.
This is the Spiritual Dynasty that hath endured through the Aeons and centuries, through the times of the caves and the pyramids, the times of the Great Sorcery and the time of technological advances, and will endure unto the ages to come.
Love is the law, love under will
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
The aspiration of love and joy unto the highest, this beautiful exultation of the soul of a devotee unto the Great Work leads the aspirant to evolution and initiation (Liber LXV II:37-43). In the moments of inspiration, when all reason is lost and only pure joy of existence is felt aspirants take a proper view on the universe and their own life. In such moments of spiritual ecstasy we acquire clarity in which we see all in the true light of our spiritual perception.
Definitely the profane science is assisting mankind in learning about the universe we live in and is contributing to the greater awareness which cuts the chains of ignorance. But even psychology has proven that that which makes us into who we are is much more then just matter. Even on the beginning level, a person who hath aspired on the path of magick and mysticism begins to feel those invisible forces of more subtle material then matter. He feels something steering within his soul. He begins to experience the universe in a way that he never did before.
He is like a child discovering the universe anew. Every thing bewilders him, his attention begins to be drown to things that he had never noticed before. He sees messages from the Gods written in the clouds, he feels holy spirit in the smile of a woman, he hears the trees talking to each other.
All your senses are heightened, touch, smell, sight, hearing and feeling are at its best, your so called 'sixth sense' is being slowly activated. The aspirant becomes perceptive and more sensitive to the slightest movements in the ether, therefore it is necessary for him to do constantly the Banishing Ritual of Pentagram or its Thelemic version; the Star Ruby in order to defend and purify oneself from the magickal attacks of spiritual or material beings. When the aspirant thus makes himself holy and consecrated unto the Great Work, it is then necessary for him to learn how to manipulate the forces which he invokes and evokes daily, and not be manipulated by them.
A true aspirant is aware of the magickal fact that the level of his energy defines the intensity and strength of his initiation. This he does by pure intuition, for how would you be initiated if your health is bad, your aura is weak, and your soul is corrupted? Thus he learns how to acquire the energy from his daily practices. The best Rituals to raise energy are Liber V, Liber Resh and mystical assumptions of God forms and other practices which he may invent and which appeals the most to his soul.
As my energy grows,
Away all the shadow goes,
And my soul blooms as a scarlet rose,
I hast to write my experience and my meditation's thoughts
In this holy prose!
This is a poetical description of what happens when the energy fills your being. Monotheistic mystics call it the Grace of God, Polytheistic mystics call it the awakening of Creative Force, We of Thelema call it the awakening of Hadit in the soul of an aspirant (AL II:6).
What is it? How can we define it? But you cannot describe it as perfectly as you can feel it. This force of inspiration flames within the soul of an artist, poet, sculptor, writer and mystic. Leonardo Da Vinci expressed it in his paintings, Tolstoy expressed it in his novels, William Shakespeare expressed it in his plays. You can all behold and feel its mystic grace, and it dwells in your hearts as well.
Suddenly such feeling of power sizes you, that you will to create some type of masterpiece, something that will forever be a witness to your initiation and serve as a magickal sign to inspire and encourage others on this path filled with wonder and excitement, energy and Godlike beauty.
It is thus the true artist and wise men are born, brought up and trained by mystics. If you are an artist, with the Law of Thelema you shall become such an artist as Rembrandt was. If politician, you shall become such as Plato. If a man of science, with the Law of Thelema you shall become as Lomonosov and greater then all those (AL II:71:72).
Our prophet hath written for our comfort openly in Liber CL "Let this be of great comfort to you all, that if I be so imperfect-and for very shame I have not emphasized that imperfection-if I, the chosen one, still fail, then how easy for yourselves to surpass me! Or, should you only equal me, then even so how great attainment should be yours!". Those words were written by the greatest magician of our time, Mr. Aleister Crowley. Those words prove that he was not a charlatan that his enemies accuse him of being. He truly and honestly willed to bring his fellow man and woman to their own Godhood.
This power of aspiration makes men do great things, conquer kingdoms, explore unknown lands, write poetry and perform so many miraculous wonders. The absence of this power makes men weak and dependent, the luck of this power is stagnation and death in misery and sorrow.
But Sorrow is the vice that every aspirant is inevitably destined to meet on his path, yet in such moments of darkness of trials and in solitude of desert do thou hold on to thy aspiration, veil not your vices in virtuous words and remember that existence is a pure joy! Behold the Fool who walks among the crocodiles that are waiting to tear him to many pieces if he looses his confidence and wavers so much as one step from his path! But his head is high, and his heart is filled with aspiration. He smiles in the face of death itself, for if you live long enough, you will learn how to desire death which is the crown of all! Knowing that, you will have no fear and sorrow will vanish in the light of a torch of your joy.
The Great Work as life itself is infinite in its scope with its infinite variety of adventures, ordeals and inspirations, it is dark and lonely, it is beautiful and desirable, full of mad passion and love, of bloody battles and ecstasy of peace. You move as a star on your appointed course, yet that course stretches unto infinity. Behold the glory and rejoice in the great comfort, for it has been sworn that the joy of Her love will redeem ye from all pain. This is indeed so and you will understand it if you realize that all ordeals are but to make you stronger. All the universe and events are but an expression of your will. "thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that and no other shall say nay" (AL:II:42-43) For if your will is True Will, it is also the Will of the omnipresent universe for Her joy is to see our joy!
There are many ancient and modern texts describing the path of mysticism, I have read many of them, some of them false, some inspire the heart, but there is no book that I have read that equals the wisdom of The Book of the Law that hath been revealed by Aiwass, and yet no holy book took me so long time to perceive the beauty and deep insight of its brilliant verses! And with each new reading it inspires fresh insights within me! There is a story in Armenia, during Turkish genocide when the Turks sized libraries with ancient manuscripts, the life of one Armenian soldier was given in exchange for each sized book. The Book of the Law is worth a thousand such lives! Tens of thousands of heathens shall die on arenas in jaws of the lions as company of heaven shall feast their blessed eyes at such a marvelous sight for so much as lifting a finger against the Holy Law!
Read, read the Book of the Law,
Aspire and call forth the name of the God of the Aeon,
The Lord of Royalty and War!
Ra-Hoor Khuit!
They shall gather us the Children,
Into Her fold,
The Great Wild Beast,
And the Scarlet Whore!
Ah my soul overflows with this everlasting lounger of delight,
Behold the Flaming Beauty of the Law!
The soul of a mystical Thelemite flows like a crystal clear stream, one of the keys to understanding the Law is in reading daily our Holy Books and eventually your heart is going to flower like a garden of paradise. The spiritual perception of an aspirant unlocks the most hidden treasures of his creativity. Open your hearts and free your souls, you shall discover talents and inspiration erupting from the depth of your being.
Before me is a picture of Leonardo Da Vinci's Painting of a Dragon attacking a Lion. By the light of my spiritual perception which I have developed from reading the Holy Books of Thelema I can feel the tremendous heat of fury of the Dragon in my face, I perceive the attacked lion as a strong beast, and although the Dragon is upon him, as if in the air, threatening to devour the mighty head of the beast, the lion shows no signs of weakness and answers with a great roar facing bravely his opponent, having no fear. I can feel the mad rush of adrenaline in the veins of the lion! Neither of them shows any remorse or pain, for these are left for the dead and the dying. Now I see myself as a participant of this bloody battle, both as a furious Dragon and a mighty Lion. A cloud of dust has covered us, I tear off the flesh with my teeth, I wound my opponent with my claws, I cry in victory and delight. I spread my Dragon wings far and wide that it covers the whole sky and rejoice in the experience of battle. Now, returning to my normal state, I can face and handle obstacles and trials of life with more strength and confidence. We can now see the magick which Leonardo Da Vinci imparts to those who can 'feel'.
The above example will give the idea to intuitive reader why it is so important and rewarding to be disciplined with the Great Work. This evolution refines our feelings and makes us a superior beings to our fellow men of the mobs. As we grow our perception of the universe that surrounds us becomes more complex and advanced. For some people this growth is completely impossible for to make gold, you must have gold to begin with. They, having not any seeds of creativity in them misunderstand the mystic. And of course the bushman with a drum will always think of Mozart as an ignorant fool.
You can apply this spiritual perception to any situation in life, after all, the path is filled with dangers and traps and no body wants to fail. What will it take to be worthy of Godhood? Certainly to be honest with yourself and caution will make you avoid delusions, discipline and minding your priorities will dissolve obscurities and you will avoid friction in the Order, common sense preserves your sanity. Intuition itself will guide you and show you the way to deal with different life situations.
I see the dawn in my soul,
I feel the sun arising in the east,
My eyes are wet and filled with fresh due & mist,
It is a pure joy I feel!
I smile and I feast!
My spirit is free,
My soul is crystal clear,
Something has changed,
I feel initiation must be near!
I bloom as a flower,
In the warm rays of the sun,
Sprinkle me with lovely water of inspiration,
O Bornless One!
Aleister Crowley, when he was still a child intuitively perceived his identity with the Beast 666 without reasoning it, this perception consequently directed him on the path and resulted in the discovery of his True Will. As we can now see, he was not mistaken. This observation will convince the aspirant that true intuition is never wrong. And we are told in Liber CL to search ourselves cunningly, analyzing our inmost thoughts, and in Liber Aleph we are warned not to take our slightest fancy as insignificant. We must be careful not to delude and loose ourselves in fantasy, yet imagination is a key to creativity, a line dividing wisdom and folly is thin, but aspiration is our light and conscientious aspirant will know how to keep balance on the razor of a sharp sword.
In my childhood I pledged myself to accomplish the Great Work, but due to my ignorance and false guidance I searched for the light in churches and prayers and asked God to give me the wisdom that he gave to king Solomon and teach me his sacred mysteries. But eventually I heard the Call of the New Aeon and saw the benefit of initiation. I abandoned my follies and spent all my teenage life studying the words of Master Therion and reading constantly the Book of the Law. After some years I aspired again unto the path of the wise, with greater understanding and spiritual maturity. I have knocked, nay, I have banged at the door and it was finally opened for me. In the rush of inspiration I write this little mystic tract.
O Muse of lovely sight,
I am intoxicated in this delight,
Nourish me with thy star light!
I whirl forth to Olympus heights,
As a spark of fire,
Higher, higher!
Past the heavens and the stars,
Past galaxies and suns,
I will to drink milk from Her swelling purple paps!
Yea! This mystic art of life has a virtue of its own, as does any art. A true artist is a Hermit who labors day and night at one little detail in his painting, and then after many months produces a masterpiece that is capable of inspiring men and make them do great things. This power of life is present everywhere in the universe and in ourselves but manifests and makes itself known only to those who can "feel". Thus Juan De Ark heard voices telling her to liberate France from British invasion. Thus Goethe was able to perceive an empirical phenomena of Nature. Thus the poets are revealers of most sacred mysteries of their hearts and therefore the universe.
The gentle voice in my soul is silent now, and I feel that I must end this essay. What I have written above is but a description of the first step and the energy that indwells the aspirant as he begins to invoke often.
Love is the law, love under will