Regarding
Thelema
Do what thou
wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
One should not slavishly
and lazily accept the interpretation of the Law of Thelema habitually given
by sensationalistic writers with no regard for truth and accuracy, fanatic
and radical, religiously intolerant fundamentalist factions of the Judeo-Christian
community, and the equally extreme, ego-serving satanists who consistently
go out of their way to pervert every possible religious and esoteric idea/l
and concept known. Each of these in their own way, for their own purpose,
serve ego, the false self. Would it not be wiser to accept the Thelemite's
interpretation of the Law of Thelema?
Aleister Crowley
has more than once explained the Law--for example: "'Do what thou wilt'
does not mean 'Do what you like.'" (Liber II: The Message of the Master
Therion, to be found in THE "BLUE" EQUINOX, Vol. III, No. 1). That is to
say, the Law is NOT a license to cater to the petty dictates of ones ego
as the fanatic pseudo-xtians, intellectually perverse satanists, and ignorant,
sensationalistic media insist. "Do what thou wilt" means that one is to
discover and accomplish ones True Will, ones purpose for existing, which
is God's Will, the Universal Will, the expression of Existence. To follow
the Law of Thelema, while enjoying all things of sense and rapture in life
as one may, one must OFTEN ignore the petty desires of ego, and of course
this is no burden for there is no greater joy, no greater freedom, than
to be bound by and completely devoted to ones True Will, doing the one
thing on earth that one most WANTS to do and which most suits ones talents
and termperment--the purpose for which one was born. "Every man and every
woman is a star" (CCXX I.3), that is to say, we are all self-luminous
beings, each with an individual magnitude, and each with his or her proper
orbit in the universe of being--stars in the Body of Our Lady Nuit--and
there is no greater pleasure in life than to REAL-ize this fact.
Too many people tend
to ignore the complimentary phrase, "Love is the law", and this may indicate
THEIR shortcomings in life. This phrase, this verse from THE BOOK OF THE
LAW (technically called LIBER AL VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURA CCXX), means a great
deal and it qualifies the nature of the Law of Thelema, which is love.
(I note here that sensationalistic writers tend only to love their egos
and all that gratifies ego, pseudo-xtians and sadly many genuine Christians
preach love but fail to practice what they preach, and of course satanists
do not even know what the word love means!)
It is also worth
noting that an important part of the Law of Thelema is this: "The word
of Sin is Restriction" (CCXX I.41). This not only means that one should
not unnecessarily restrict oneself from discovering and accomplishing
ones Will, nor allow others to stand in ones way of accomplishing that
purpose, the purpose for which one was created, but it also means that
one is not permitted to interfere with the Will of another. This tends
to make the GENUINE Thelemite one of the most polite and law-abiding members
of society. Because of this no REAL Thelemite would steal from another
person resources which another just may need to discover and do his or
her Will. Likewise, to rape another would be to take from that person precious
psychological resources while blocking that person's Way by creating psychological
complexes. And of course murder is STRICTLY forbidden for a number of reasons,
primarily because it robs another of the physical vehicle he or she needs
to discover and accomplish his or her True Will on earth. "An it harm none,
do what thou wilt." I see no disagreement between the Wiccan Rede and
the Law of Thelema. True, if someone INSISTS upon preventing a Thelemite
from doing his or her Will, stands in the Way and refuses to budge, it
may be necessary to run over or through that obstacle like a tank. However,
unlike the satanist who carelessly walks all over people without a second
thought to satisfy his ego's every little desire, the TRUE Thelemite will
only knock down or push aside the opponent if there is no way around that
person, who, by his or her actions, PROVES that in all probability he or
she is NOT doing his or her Will since few orbits naturally intersect in
such a way as to make a collision of stars inevitable.
This must be remembered,
that "Compassion is the vice of kings" (CCXX II.21), and while the emphasis
is usually that the Thelemite, "King of the Earth", master of his passions
et al, should not perpetuate the ills of society under the PRETEXT of compassion,
it is also true that compassion is the one "vice" which proves the Thelemite's
kingship or essential royal nature. A GENUINE Thelemite cannot help him-
or herself and MUST feel compassion for all since the Thelemite REAL-izes
that "every number is infinite: there is no difference" (CCXX I.4), that
we are all, in fact, closer than brothers and sisters. As for the "wretched
& the weak" that the Thelemite is to "stamp down" (CCXX II.21), this
does not necessarily mean the physically handicapped, mentally challenged
and/or poverty stricken person whose courage and fortitude may be far greater
than that of the healthiest, wealthiest man. The "wretched & the weak"
that THE BOOK OF THE LAW speaks of are those who are poor in SPIRIT, "wretched"
to others and "weak" in CHARACTER. Even then, in dealing "hardly" with
them, compassion is exercised since the opposition may strengthen the individual's
character and make him or her realize his or her weakness and folly and
correct this fault to come closer to his or her True Self and the active
expression of That essential divinity "in" all of us, the True Will.
Anyone who objects
to the Law of Thelema, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law",
must either be objecting out of ignorance and arrogance or because he or
she is religiously intolerant and truly "satanic", even if calling him-
or herself a Wiccan or Christian. The True Will is God's Will, and to object
to and oppose God's Will, according to Judeo-Christian thinking, is "satanic".
According to the laws of the Craft, it would be a violation of the Wiccan
Rede to oppose another's True Will and to try to prevent its expression--although
commentary and debate is always welcome. After all, "As brothers fight
ye!" (CCXX III.59), which implies an essential bond of love, respect and
fraternity, struggle out of love rather than hate, and at least the modicum
of politeness and consideration due a member of the same fraternity...
The human fraternity.
"The Brotherhood of Man".
Love is the
law, love under will.
Copyright © 1992 E.V. G.M.Kelly
All Rights Reserved
Downloading for personal use is encouraged.
Written permission from the author is required for
republication separately or as a part of another work.
G.M.Kelly
July 4, 1994 E.V.
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