Θελημα— meaning ‘WILL’ —philosophical school founded in 1904.

Origin

Thelema is a spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded by Aleister Crowley.

Core Principle

Central to Thelema is the concept of ‘True Will‘ which refers to an individual’s divine purpose that transcends ordinary desires.

Influences

Thelema draws from various traditions, including Hermeticism, Kabbalah, and ancient Egyptian religion.

Thelma comes from the following Writing:

The Book of The Law is the central axiom, the Law of Thelema.

The Law is summed up in two phrases from the Book: 

1. “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”
– AL I:40)

&

2. “Love is the law, love under will”
– AL I:57

THELEMA’S GOAL:

TRUE WILL

True Will is the Will from Heaven.

Know firmly, O my Son, that the True Will connot err; for it is thine appointed Course in Heaven, in whose Order is Perfection. 

– Liber Aleph vel CXI – The Book of Wisdom or Folly pg.13

HOW THELEMITES ATTAIN TRUE WILL? MAGICK

THELEMA’S DOCTRINES:

COSMOLOGY

The Book of the Law establishes a model of reality that combines two elementary forces: the infinite extension of space, which is personified by the Egyptian sky-goddess Nuit, and the infinitely contracted point, personified by the Egyptian god Hadit.

It is the interaction of these two forces that results in manifested reality.

Crowley often described this interaction in sexual terms:

“Nuit is the centripetal energy, infinitely elastic because it must fit over the hard thrust directed against it; Hadit, the centrifugal, ever seeking to penetrate the unknown”

Magick Without Tears, Ch.38

The union of these two opposites results in the new current of the present Aeon, represented by Ra-Hoor-Khuit (lit. Horus of Two Horizons), also called the Crowned and Conquering Child. 

ETHICS

Arguably the central Thelemic ethic is one of individual liberty and the personal freedom to fulfill one’s Will.

Social restriction—such as laws that make illegal certain sex acts between consenting adults—is generally seen in a negative light by most Thelemites. 

Two documents in particular help to define Thelemic ethics for most adherents

Oz and Duty

• Liber Oz establishes the rights of the individual.
• Duty is described as “A note on the chief rules of practical conduct to be observed by those who accept the Law of Thelema.”

---

THELEMA IN THE BIBLE

Thelema appears in the Holy Bible referring to divine will, human will, and even the will of the Devil.

One well-known example is from “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:10,

“Your kingdom come.
Your will (Θελημα) be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

mat. 6

More Bible Verses

“He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

—Matthew 26:42

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

—John 1:12-13

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

—Romans 12:2″

Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

— Revelation 4:11″

…and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

—2 Timothy 2:26

RESOURCES

• The Book of the Law
• Aleister Crowley
• Svecchachara
• Religion
• Arguments for Thelema being a religion
• Rabelais: The First Thelemite
• Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Rabelais
• Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, by Francesco Colonna
• Thelema 101, a good introduction to Thelema
• Thelema Homepage
• About Thelema, from O.T.O. U.S. Grand Lodge

---

• Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick Without Tears.Tempe: New Falcon Publications.
• Sabazius (1998). The Kiblah. Retrieved June 9, 2004.
• Thriambos, Dionysos. The Utility of the Bible to the Student of Thelema. Retrieved Sept. 17, 2004.
• Weinberg, Florence M. (1972) The Wine and the Will: Rabelais’s Bacchic Christianity. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
• Wikipedia (2004). Gargantua and Pantagruel.Retrieved Sept. 17, 2004.