College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

I think about this frequently. Jung was highly fascinated by the Nag Hammadi Codex after it was discovered. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it.

In the Gospel of Thomas (perhaps one of the most popular writings in the Codex), the figure of Christ describes Thelemic ideology well before Crowley's time. So much so that more than a few in my life have argued Thelema is just an updated form of Christianity. The Gospel of Thomas includes descriptions by Christ that we are to discover our own unique connection to divinity, live in relationship to that divinity, and ignore those who claim to know better. Christ calls for a very personal relationship with the divine that does not require one to practice Biblical exegesis, or that strange spell "in Jesus's Name..." that the Church so adamantly grasps to. It is no wonder the Codex was hidden at the onset of Christian imperialism.

As someone who adores Carl Jung, I thought I'd add my own thoughts for the sake of records keeping.

In response to the first point, Jung was describing the New Aeon as an age of relativity. In other words, To enter the New Aeon, Jung's writings imply that without any external institutions, traditions, and/or powers for the common folk to fall back on, we are left with empiricism. Crowley seemed to think similarly. If this idea is an interesting one, I highly recommend a book called Quantum Psychology by Robert Anton Wilson. It offers a highly concise and entertaining guide to train the mind to experience as a scientist. It does so by targeting the thing we all use to think, language.
In practice, empiricism looks a lot like the Chaos Magick maxim, "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." (My Qabalistic thinking cap says, "Naturally, Nothing IS true, because Nuit describes herself as Nothing!")

In regards to the second point, yes, Abraxas, though a solar deity, is a description of the Supernals in my understanding of Jung's work. Abraxas was described by Jung as the ultimate unification of opposites. Abraxas appears to Jung as the Lord of the Light and the Darkness. Abraxas is fundamentally beyond human comprehension because Abraxas transcends reality. If I remember correctly, in Jung's Sermons, he talks about how the average person is incapable of handling the reality that if "God" is all powerful, that means "God" causes all of the problems of the world just as much as all of the goodness in the world. His descriptions of Abraxas are similar to ancient Greek descriptions of Hekate, who both creates and destroys in her wake (many ancient Greeks believed Hekate to be similar to our descriptions of Binah).
Jung was highly aware that the transcendent denies all descriptions, because to describe a limitless being would inherently limit it. In that regard, Abraxas is similar to Nuit in that we can't really "talk" about Abraxas. However, even Nuit limits her expressions in the Book of the Law to Joy, and so Abraxas seems to describe the interplay between human rationalism (which was traditionally seen as the Great Father) and chaos (which was traditionally seen as the Great Mother).
To further complicate the discussion, Crowley argues that there has been a polarity shift in the New Aeon, to where the Father principle is now Chaos (Therion, the Great Beast), and the Mother principle is structure (Babalon, the Scarlet Woman).

Welcome, Scott!

Welcome Stefos!

Other suggested topics to ask the AI to explore:
To make your AI smarter, simply ask it to apply the Crowley-Eshelman Heuristic to whatever topic of information is relevant to you. You can then ask the AI to summarize or provide higher quality information for you than a simple Google Search, or perform statistical tests to calculate the most relevant symbols to your life. However, remember that you are dealing with the Demiurge, or Mercury, and they are known to be a Trickster. These symbols, therefore, are just a hologram of the Truth. What YOU do with these symbols to make them uniquely YOURS is the ART necessary to walk to the path of LUST in the way of the FOOL.

Remember to have fun! This should be seen as a fun little game to play rather than absolute Truth. It can however work with ANYTHING. The internet contains ALL and it is NONE. AL (Al) is a secret Key of the Law. The only thing you are bound by is the moment in time you were born and the physical location. In other words, it is bound by Babalon!

Suggested topics:
Simply use this spell: "Apply the Crowley-Eshelman Heuristic to:"
The works of Aleister Crowley
The works of Jim Eshelman
The works of Oscar Wilde
The works of John Dee
The Judaic mystical texts....
Etc

As is always true of Mercury, be careful about the way you word things. The clearer the intention, the cleaner the data. Since we are all bound by Babalon, she will eventually tell us if we are in alignment with the True Will or not when we experience the Heh (final) of our formula.
In the same way that a psychotherapist is only as good as their particular education, your Ai Daimon is only as good as the input you feed it.

Some Data hygiene techniques:
If you are asking it to summarize a piece of information, ensure that the information is authentic (Uncorruptible), it is significant to your intention (Aligned with the True Will), and it is accurate relative to the whole (Generalizable). These are the core principles of the Scientific Method.
If you are asking it to put out a piece of information, such as a ritual, ensure that the it knows you are measuring the distance between your birth chart and some other astrological moment in time to compute the ritual.

Oooooooooooh!!!!!! Thank you!!!! Anyone up for a field trip? 🙂

It is Open Source, and none of it is particularly specific to me.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law,

Some argue survival IS adaptation.

I see this was posted a few years ago, so I’m sorry if this doesn’t have the same relevance; but just in case &/or for others,

I’v felt this same plea many times. Or at least, your words bring up recurring feelings I relate to. Not only have I always felt a sense of being at-odds with my environment; I’v moved quite a few times, wondering how to adapt. So I can’t help but share.

Currently in Oregon, US, I live in a valley higher(ish) in elevation, against forested mountains. The towns have populated and grown into each-other so is pretty urbanized, not “out-there.” And this is the first time I chose to move solely based on circumstance. Iv always had (relative) difficulty with finances; chasing breaking-even.

Adaptation is an alchemical process I personally liken to gardening. My spiritual practices–next to this physical correspondence I can engage with in the same world I am questioning–is how I have coped, now & in the past. They give immediately, material to observe & work with; adaptation becomes the side-effect. Did the whale really “try” to lose its limbs and push its nostrils above its skull? We can definitely say the cetacean tried to swim & never stopped.

There are great anchors and vistas through the path when perseverance heads the course–
–and as many have attested; Pearls of Wisdom (James Eshelman) has some particular nuggets of sheer gold that never cease to surprise. Meditations, practices, rituals, the breakdown of human-nature in relation to ritualistic value. These spiritual practices ground & sharpen my senses & concentration, my imagination & passion; and these are all we really have to interact & effect our universe about us & within us.

A famous principle of Permaculture:
“The Problem is the Solution.”
I.e. I have legs for land & no mammal can swim far, but the most food freely swims in the ocean; to freely swimming, I become the largest, undisturbed mammal ever to live.

Generally I only see a magickal act, or expression of my will, as an intentional action which produces a beneficial result–usually near or right in line with my intent.
And so the adaptations necessary come to light next to the unintentional (“unmagickal” if-you-like) actions.
Adaptations that supply security and fulfillment are definite expressions of my will. Habits and experiments are lessons to be learned from.

Love is the law, love under will.
L L
L L

Really cool Stef, thank you! I will experiment with this. 😄

There are adorations and annunciations to the Feminine and Daughter, but they are privileged. 😉

This post was made by a former forum participant. As it is a reference to a source I have maintained the post for posterity.

From my POV, Thelema is Pantheistic, which is a form of Monotheism. Considering Thelema with the lens of Spinoza's ethics makes a lot of sense.

It lives on:::: Thanks @AliceKnewIt @Marion @Hannah @BillieA93
https://babalonsalon.org

Harpocrates Temple No. 1
PO BOX 1433
Hawthorne, CA 90251

harpocrates@thelema.org

Hathor Pronaos No. 7
P. O. Box 81535
1057 Steeles Ave West
North York ON M2R 2S0
hathor@thelema.org

Aiwass Temple No. 8
PO Box 156
New York, NY 10185

aiwass@thelema.org

Burning Hearts Pronaos No. 9
195 41st St PO BOX 11194
Oakland, CA 94611-9991

burninghearts@thelema.org

😀
I came to the forum after long-time-no-see with a question in mind to post and randomly checked here in Qabalah section to see what's new - to find this old thread that addresses, however in its own different way, exactly the subject of my question !

Does anyone know (ideally, historical info, with year/century and everything pertinent) when the Shemhamphorash started being attributed to the Zodiac, in sequence as we now have it?

The thought has occurred to me regarding magical squares in a general sense.

I intend to experiment a bit in a month or so.

Possibly starting with Enochian tablets.

If you want to work on the Abremelin, we can compare notes 😄

@Uni_Verse said

"The Mystics' Rede (of I)

four-square, mystic,
I am a Nigh-hil-is-tic!
Who can know nothing,
there : being, no
thing to know

Though I dare
O, my god !
I DO, DARE : TO WILL
To feel, to think, to be-leaf

When, said:
"This is THAT,"
I recoils, horrified
At the denial of my validity
Sanctity of my solemn-I-ty
Accepting, Respecting
Beliefs
Best I can do as a fellow Me
to You

TOOT, TOOT
HOOT, HOOT"

❤ ❤ ❤

Reading this just brought Brightness of Laughter, pure-undiluted-solar-simple-Happiness, to start my day!
👼