This essay is a preperatory for addressing the heady question regarding the intersection of Thelema and Ethical behavior, or Right Action. This article first appeared in the Templar Cross, the newsletter of the Order of Thelemic Knights.

Any discussion containing Ethics should start with a definition of what is meant by the term. By doing so, one heads off hours of semantic wrangling and can immediately proceed to the actual points of one's argument. For purposes of this article -- and most any other article, essay or paper written by this author -- ethics is utilized to refer to the consensually shared points of intersection within the personal morals of a group or society. Morals are personal, ethics are societal (in some cases even trans-societal), though this begs the question "what are morals?" Morals are one's personal set of guidelines for determine "right" actions from "wrong" actions.

When people with similar moral principals form some form of association, the synchronous points line up to create the Social Mores of the group. These evolve into the groups ethics, so one could assume some sort of longevity or permanence being associated with the concept of Ethics. Certainly, classical views posit an eternal quality to Ethics, a view which holds forth an objective set of Ethics built upon the absolute authority of an unchanging god.

Obviously, this conception of an unchanging god cracked under the stress of changes in socio-political and scientific thought. This cracking was heralded by the reception of Liber AL, and the ushering in of the Aeon of Horus. In the shadow created by the hulk of the broken god interposed between the individual and the radiance of the new Aeon, we find that Ethics have been cast aside. Society fractures and bleeds from the wounds created by the lack of certainty which has been created by the vacuum. It is incumbent upon us, as partakers of the Light, to pass on that Light, that it may burn away the hulking ruin of the previous Aeon, and thus facilitate the passage of the rest of humanity from the darkness into the Light.

How shall we do this? What are our tools? Simply put, Ethics. Just as the tools for carpentry remained the same from the old Aeon to the next, so have the tools for facilitating the socio-spiritual evolution of Man remained consistent.

One of the great axioms of Western Occultism -- and thus Thelema -- is the maxim of "as above, so below". This gem from the Emerald Tablet of Hermes is reflected in (if not actually derived from) the words of Jesus, as related by the King James Version of the Bible, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" [Mttw 16:19, another version appears in 18:18]. While similar, there is a distinct difference between the two. The Bible posits a one-way correlation, from Earth to Heaven (although it does not posit that there is no reciprocal correlation). The Hermetic Axiom on the other hand posits exactly the opposite, that heaven acts upon the earth. Again, the reciprocal is not denied, merely not referenced.

Personally, I feel that both are true, and that there is a reciprocal relationship between "heaven" & "earth". The physical realm is a reflection of the spiritual on another order of being. What exalts us, what fulfills us, what makes us stronger as an individual and as a species also exalts, fulfills and strengthens our spiritual nature (what I like to refer to as our Soular Nature).

Now to tie the above together [You did have faith that I had a point for writing all this, didn't you]. Ethics are the cornerstone of personal spiritual pursuit. They strengthen the individual and society, and according to the teachings of the Magi of both the previous and the current Aeon, they strengthen the individuals Soular nature. [q.v. Liber Librae, Duty and others]. When we develop our Ethical nature, we reinforce and strengthen our Moral nature. We benefit society and ourselves. The Order of Thelemic Knights recognizes this fact, and seeks to promote it so that we can be those showing the Light. By our example, and no other method is available [q.v. AL III:42] lest we propagate the previous Aeons Procrustean error [Procrustes was a a villainous son of Poseidon in Greek mythology who forced travelers to fit into his bed by stretching their bodies or cutting off their legs] of forcing people into unnatural conformity, we shall show the benefits of an Ethical life upon our physical, mental and spiritual lives.

Truly the master was wise when he instructed his A∴A∴ students to meditate upon "Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law", then upon "Love is the law; love under will" until they came to realize that they were one and the same.