Beginning Thelema!
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@Trey said
"Thanks everyone. If I am dedicated how far along should I be within 6 months to a year?? Out of the O.T.O., A.A., and Others which is organization is the most challenging?"
There is no 'far along.' We don't measure each other based on some yardstick. Actually, some do with the Old Aeon occult grades like 1=10, 5=6 etc. but they are simply maps for the territory (and often simply ego-badges of attachment).
AA is more 'challenging' because the Great Work is challenging, its not the Great Lollipop licking... and AA focuses on the inner while OTO is almost entirely outer (social rituals, social interaction, etc.). There are a few lineages of AA and a few unofficial claimants to OTO, although there is a (legally) official one... Membership in either of these is NOT necessary to be a Thelemite.
For beginning reading you may also peruse:
*Active Thelema part 1
*Active Thelema part 2
*The Psychological Commentary on Liber AL vel Legis
*Thelemic Values: a new view of morality
*Journal of Thelemic Studies, Vol.1 No.1 (its free for download)IAO131
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I concur with Aum418. Nice plug btw there Aum418
Your e-zine does have some good articles in it, though.My thoughts on what it means to be a man of Earth (out of the 3 "grades" listed in Liber AL):
the man of Earth is where you concentrate on the axiom "know thyself". It is a time of reflection and discovery. You look at your past and your current situation and identify what makes you... you. You have to understand who you are, what you are, where you are at, before you can "progress" spiritually and become a Lover.As for good books to start with, the three that I would suggest to everyone is: Magick Without Tears, Book 4, and Gems From the Equinox. That's more than enough material to last you 6-12 months
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AUM418, I enjoyed your articles. In your writing on Thelemic Morality you said:
"Carl Rogers assures that, amazingly, universal "value directions" emerge when people across all cultures are allowed freedom to develop fully psychologically. The very fact that universal value directions emerge may show that although there is much more diversity, there is certainly still a certain commonality of values that arises."
My question is this: Isn''t the "old" morality of the Hebrew Commandments based on the universal values that are common across cultures? What is more common than not wanting murder, or someone stealing your things?
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@DavidH said
"AUM418, I enjoyed your articles. In your writing on Thelemic Morality you said:
"Carl Rogers assures that, amazingly, universal "value directions" emerge when people across all cultures are allowed freedom to develop fully psychologically. The very fact that universal value directions emerge may show that although there is much more diversity, there is certainly still a certain commonality of values that arises."
My question is this: Isn''t the "old" morality of the Hebrew Commandments based on the universal values that are common across cultures? What is more common than not wanting murder, or someone stealing your things?"
The fact is that these are static ideas, whereas value directions are dynamic and dont necessarily need to match up... nor are they entirely universal like old laws... they are simply a commonality of general direction of many people. It is there to console those who recognize the chaos (read: the freedom) that is generated in the system of Thelemic Values.
Laws against murder and stealing will probably be around for a while
Thanks for reading my stuff.
IAO131
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Trey,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
@Trey said
"I am curious as to the reading, and practice of Thelema's Curriculum. What first 3 or 4 books shall I study, what rituals or practices should I begin to observe and what about initiations for Man of the Earth??
Thank you."
What other philosophy, theology or magical literature have you read so far? What other religious or magical practices do you have experience with?
And... Why are you doing this?
Knowing these things will help people make more specific recommendations.
Here's a generic list I compiled for some others recently:
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“12 Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment”, 2nd edition known as “The One Year Manual”, by Israel Regardie – a great beginner's book, extremely deceptive in it's simplicity
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"Tree of Life" by Israel Regardie (this is somewhat mis-named, as it's more a general survey of magic than a technical treatise on Kabbalah, sephiroth, paths etc.)
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"A Garden of Pomegranates" by Israel Regardie - this is the more technical treatise you would expect "Tree of Life" to be
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"Foundations of Practical Magic" by Israel Regardie
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"A Kabbalistic Handbook for the Practicing Magician" by Lisiewski – despite Lisiewski's questionable credentials as a "physicist", this is a fantastic book for anyone starting out in ceremonial magic, but also has some great advice for how to develop your own magical practice regardless of what tradition or path you follow
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"Abrahadabra" by Rodney Orpheus – excellent “beginner’s Thelema” book
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"Prime Chaos" and "Condensed Chaos" by Phil Hines – very insightful whether you have any interest in Chaos magic or not
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"Shamanism" by Mircea Eliade – classic academic text very useful to any student or practitioner
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"The World's Religions" by Huston Smith – another classic academic text for a solid overview
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"The Law of Attraction" by Michael Losier - make sure it's Losier's, not the others – a bit on the “Oprah” side of things, but this is an awesome little book; it’s real NLP that anyone can use
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"3d-Mind" DVD set by Tom Vizzini at Essential Skills
As for Thelemic-specific, practically every Thelemite will likely want/need the following:
of course, “The Book of the Law”; I would recommend offering the small paperbound version instead of the larger hardback
“Magick in Theory and Practice” by Aleister Crowley - Dover edition is out of print, but worth buying used as it collects a ton of info in a very compact space
“Book 4” (this is Part 1 and 2 only; NOT the “big purple” book Liber ABA which is all 4 parts) by Aleister Crowley
“The Magick of Aleister Crowley” by Lon Milo Duquette
“The Holy Books of Thelema”"New Aeon Magick" by Gerald del Campo was also quite useful to me when starting out, even if his Greek is shite and it has other errors here and there; but you won't find much better for a clear view on daily practices that anyone can start right away
HTH!
Love is the law, love under will.
L
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Well, I have in my possession: The Goetia, 777, The Book of the Law, The Law is for all, The Sacred magic of Abremelin the Mage, The Magick of Aleister Crowley, Magick (book 4), Magick Without Tears, Middle Pillar, The Garden of Pomegranates, The Golden Dawn, The Kybalion, The Key to Solomon's Key, Do what thou Wilt, and I think that is about it!! Anything else??
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Yea, read them like a school text.
The Tree of Life by Regardie is excellent though. Delves into what Magic is.
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@hefool07 said
"How do i source for these books.i am based in England.i am more interested the Thelema way of practice.i would prefer step by step thelemic approach.Thank you"
93 Fool 07,
I would sugest, as others have said here, Magick without tears, Liber ABA, and Gems from the equinox. But more specificly I would focus on Magick in theory and prctice (part III of book 4). There is an amazing study guide for this by Bill Hendrick, you can find it here