College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

@Hermitas said

"
@FiatYod said
"
@Hermitas said
"People aren't going to have what they need to survive if things don't change before too long.

Change anybody's answer?"

So we have to wait and see "if things don't change before too long" in order to make up our minds (and then possibly regret not making up our minds earlier)...
"

You mad, bro?

Quit asking questions and speak your mind.

What’s your solution? Any tool can poke holes."

I'm not so sure myself, that's why I created this thread. I sought assistance in making up my mind on this topic.
And if this situation gets to where people are truly restricted, it brings Liber Oz to my mind:

"Man has the right to live by his own law—
[...]
to work as he will:
[...]
Man has the right [...]
to move as he will on the face of the earth.
[...]
Man has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights."

Though I'm not sure that a violent resistance would be advisable (I guess it would just cause further, worse restriction).

Sorry if my previous messages made you think that I was trying to poke holes; I was just trying to make up my mind, so I had to ask questions.

@danica said

"So, in brief, I see this Covid-19 time as a phase, the brief intro to a larger phase (18 years of Pl in Cap), that provides the opportunity for this mass-scale transition to be incorporated - into the body of mass conscious knowledge, and into the physical and social structures as we now have them (via destroying, changing, morphing, in one way or another transforming the existing - toward the ones that are more harmoniously aligned with the New-Aeon-cognition mode of operating)."

What do you mean by an incorporation of this transition into the physical structures as we now have them?

@Hermitas said

"People aren't going to have what they need to survive if things don't change before too long.

Change anybody's answer?"

So we have to wait and see "if things don't change before too long" in order to make up our minds (and then possibly regret not making up our minds earlier)...

@Takamba said

"" the word of Sin is Restriction," does not mean that all restrictions are sins."

Fascinating!
Sin => Restriction, but not the other way around!
Thank you for the clarification.

Expected V.I.T.R.I.O.L. indeed!
I agree with him: there are different kinds of imitation. He could simply repeat the actions of his role model, or he could repeat that which originated the actions of his role model, i.e. doing his True Will. The latter is what I would call to "truly imitate Christ".
I wonder who those "prophets of this time" were. Not sure he was referring to Nietzsche, or at least not solely to him, as he used the word "prophets" (plural).

Oh, and I don't hate Christ. Neither did Crowley, as he expressed in his Confessions:

"I did not hate God or Christ, but merely the God and Christ of the people whom I hated."

@Hermitas said

"
@LD330 said
"I want agon to stop."

Then everything stagnates and dies."

Exactly. That's why I think he meant a particular instance of Agon, rather than the general concept of Agon.

@LD330 said

"I want agon to stop."

Can you please elaborate?

@Takamba said

"True will has many meanings and applications. As I see it, first and foremost, true will, so-called Universal true will, is to survive and thrive. I see the human race as a future space-faring race, therefore the universal will to survive and thrive can involve technological innovations and space exploration. But it is only a fantasy, the way I see it, to imagine that it is a predetermined script into the future without potential to fail. The notion of a universal true will that is also a legacy, historical marker of some sort, or dealing with human values in general, is rather silly - so scratch that if you will.

Ask yourself this constantly: does this support my true will, does this threaten my survival or enhance it, distracted, impede it, what provide benefits?

Is it your true will or is it your habit? Is it your will? Or is it an argument? Is it your will? Or is it your resistance? Is it your intention, in line with your intention, promoting the Great Work? Or is it your addiction? These answers must be known.

In Union with your will to survive and thrive, I recommend you join ranks with the Strong."

What do you mean by "The notion of a universal true will that is also a legacy"?

@Hermitas said

"
@FiatYod said
"The lockdown that takes place in many countries today is a Restriction of countless True Wills. It may take months until the world gets back to normal.
I understand its necessity, but what should a Thelemite whose expression of True Will has been restricted do under these circumstances?"

I agree with the consensus.

But I'm bored, and it's too early in the morning for wine and strange drugs.

I'm trying to imagine a Will that would actually be restricted during this "lockdown."

I can't, but I may just lack imagination. Can anybody think of anything?"

Well, when you were trying to imagine such a Will, did you assume that everybody has Internet access?

@danica said

"Consider how being sick with the virus, dying, or spreading it around to others to get sick, restricts the Will.

• In this light, the temporary restriction of the outer movements of body comes as a useful, desirable limitation.
  I don't see the isolation/quarantine as imposed-from-some-outside restriction upon the freedom of our authentic expression; it's a discipline measure; there are ways and ways to express that which you/I/we are here to express."

Indeed, I agree. But, as I am not aware of every single True Will out there (isn't there just one, actually?) I can't know for sure that there are ways and ways for each and every individual to express their True Will under these circumstances.

@Takamba said

"Yoga means union. There must be some union of your will with everything else in order for it to be "true." Be intelligent. Be responsible. Does your "true will" suggest otherwise?"

Mine specifically doesn't, but how can we know that it applies to everyone else?
Doesn't the union of the True Will with everything else contradict the existence of Restriction?

The lockdown that takes place in many countries today is a Restriction of countless True Wills. It may take months until the world gets back to normal.
I understand its necessity, but what should a Thelemite whose expression of True Will has been restricted do under these circumstances?

@Takamba said

"The System A.'.A.'. is a student/teacher (chela/guru) relationship model.
Teaching is one of its methods of teaching. That is, by learning to transmit the knowledge from your teacher to your student, you improve your methods toward attaining. It's all a symbolic model of the K&C.
Naturally if the System A.'.A.'. produces Adepts, then Adepts are going to look like teachers. Adepthood is teaching, teaching is the path to Adepthood."

Though sometimes it seems like their creative work is about inspiring others to take the path, rather than teaching others about the path. Such works may include love songs for the HGA and pieces of art which are not riddles to be solved, but just beautiful stuff to behold.
Would you say that this, too, should improve their methods toward attaining?

@Takamba said

"My thoughts worth sharing (???).

Not all "magick" involves Encochian, Hebrew, Wands, Swords, and the like. Some magick involves keyboards, guitars, and such. Some magick involves corporate labels. Some magick involves food. Some magick involves medicine. Some magicians look like janitors too. Part of the "problem" you may be seeing may be the problem of your limits of seeing.

And defining.

What is an Adept? Are we only defining that word under the Golden Dawn's umbrella? Well, then they all look like Golden Dawn styled adepts and not other! Of course! But if you say to yourself "Paul McCartney could be an Adept and what would we know of that?" Paul M may or may not ever given a Masonic grip or passkey, but he's responsible for a great deal of Thelemic impact on the world (not to mention the rest of the dog show, JohnGeorgeRingo). Or maybe it was John all along who was the true adept and mystic and Paul just followed along like George.

Maybe there are adepts out their in all sorts of fields making all sorts of harvest. Maybe psychology is filled with adepts and we just don't know because they stay in their field. Maybe NASA is working with a few adepts and "Adepts," and maybe they just don't think about oogy boogy stuff, just sciency stuff. I don't know.

Or according to one kind of reconning I've encountered, and am holding some stock in, if we go from the very beginning and we dare imagine measuring unto the very end, we will all become adepts and we will all become as one and we will all become. And it will be done.

What say you to that?"

Indeed, I haven't defined what being an Adept means. For now let's stick with the Golden Dawn kind of Adepts, i.e. those who were initiated in this or that magical order and reached what that order defines as Adepthood.
So as you mentioned, some people might have had the equivalent experiences of Adepts, and then just stayed in their field, without trying to get others into the neighborhood of the Adepts, so to speak.
But from your experience with magical orders, how many initiated Adepts weren't influenced by their Adepthood to the degree that it became the main subject of their creative work?

@seekinghga said

"
"being a wolf among sheep can feel nice sometimes, but then again, wolves should be traveling in packs, and so the wolf is trying to get others into wolfhood, so to speak."

This is an inaccurate way of seeing things, FY. "Pack of wolves" serves as a faulty metaphor. Adepthood, in the technical sense of the A:.A:. represents the burgeoning dawn of real selflessness. The HGA is One, “I am alone: there is no God where I am.”; the angles from which this is conceptualized and shared to others are the source of the apparent multiplicity of Adepts. This becomes more obvious as one unveils more of the "Path" or "Tree" (or wtf ever) “within” themselves.

OK, my previous paragraph is neither here nor there! The drive of any serious Adept shares partial analog to this. Yes, the Adept wants to help others as you say, as the naturally expanding selflessness encompassed by that state shifts focus by default. The methods of some "adepts" (i.e. "work and publications") are subject to scrutiny... One must question "why?" Books are helpful to an extent...

Solvitur ambulando."

You're right, sorry for the faulty metaphor.
So let me make sure I got it right: did you mean that Adepts' Adepthood-oriented-work is never a waste of their talents because the others who are still stuck in the cave are in such a bad situation, that the Adepts must do everything they can to get them out of there?

@Hermitas said

"I just figure you only hear from the ones who are teachers."

Interesting! This could lead to a statistical method of "banishing":

1. Estimate how many Adepts lived in the last ~116 years
2. Recall how many Adepthood-oriented-work creators you ever came across
3. Divide the result of 2 by the result of 1 (assuming that the result of 1 is not 0)

When I get to know of a new Adept (or, at least, someone who has been a Thelemite/magician for a long period of time, and seems to know their stuff), I try to check out their work and publications online.
Lately I started to get the feeling that when people become Adepts (not sure if "become" is a good word, but you get the point), their work starts to shift towards Magick, initiation and even Adepthood itself.
The authors' books, the musicians' compositions, the poets' poems, the painters' paintings - they all seem to be focused on expressing how splendid the experiences of an Adept are, how great Magick and Thelema are and how you should be an Adept, too. Even programmers tend to spend a lot of time in writing Thelema-related applications, scripts for Magick, etc.

While it may be useful to mankind, don't you think they could have expressed their True Wills more usefully than that? I know that to answer this question would take deep, personal knowledge of each and every Adept whose work is like that, but I'm talking about general impressions here.
I guess that besides self-expression, they truly want to help others: being a wolf among sheep can feel nice sometimes, but then again, wolves should be traveling in packs, and so the wolf is trying to get others into wolfhood, so to speak.

I have a feeling that my feeling is wrong (excuse the seemingly self-contradictory wording), and it may be so for a few reasons:

1. The works that shifted towards Magick which I've mentioned are all from very specific fields - what about the others? For instance, I have never heard of a chef who started to serve only Magick-related dishes after he had become an Adept. Then again, I have never heard of any Adept chef... Sheesh, it seems like all the Adepts today are programmers or artists ("or", not "xor")!
2. Some people's work truly is in Tiphareth, like Crowley's work was. So having their entire work Magick-related is actually what they should be doing.
3. Working on some Magick-related side projects can help the Adepts improve their craft. For example, the programmer who writes a Thoth Tarot application becomes a better programmer by doing so, and then he could use his improved skills for the expression of his True Will.

Help me destroy some illusions by sharing your thoughts!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Crowley_unicursal_hexagram.svg/440px-Crowley_unicursal_hexagram.svg.png

I have a few questions regarding the symbol of Thelema:
0. Should this symbol be considered the symbol of Thelema?

1. Why a unicursal hexagram?
2. Why a star / five-petal flower at the center?
3. When did this symbol become the symbol of Thelema?
4. Was it done by Crowley? Done by someone else, but approved by Crowley?

Thank you!

@Hermitas said

"I has recieved THELEMIC orders to this book and exterminate it’s wordses from the mass internet collective conscious mind.

The Grand High Illumanatix have the Masons and the Vermin to not read this books which exposes the truth of all the darkest top secrets for GLOBAL mind contol."

LOL
(I did laugh out loud)

@Takamba said

"This might seem off topic but I say it is not. This is actually an ample opportunity to discuss this topic. The value of one's ability to write coherently, in a manner that is as equally communicable to the reader as it is to the writer, is an indication of the type, kind, and quality of MIND behind the writing. So, with brother FiatYod I agree. Judge the messenger by the message.

The MIND, the SWORD, the ability of the mental faculties, is a required tool of magick. Its quality will determine the quality of the results. How the MIND works, what it accepts as evidence, what it calls research and study, what it practices and where it mispractices are all indicators of the results that should be expected. With brother FiatYod I agree.

Judge Internet Idiots as ye will."

This guy is rather challenging to judge. There are some videos and emails from which one can see that he does possess some knowledge and understanding of Qabalah, Magick, esoteric traditions from various places around the world, etc.
On the other hand, there are emails like the one regarding which I've created this topic...

I've received a strange email from David Griffin (he's from the Golden Dawn's Alpha Omega branch), about a book called Confessions of an Illuminati by Leo Zagami.
Some excerpts from this email:

Brought to you now in English for the very first time after years of fighting off a Thelemic order and associated nefarious groups financed by the very elites that sought to have this book pulled from bookshelves and deleted from Google.

Leo Zagami explodes the lid off the complete strategy and endgame that the false Illuminati had hoped to enact right underneath your nose.

For this very reason, this is the very book that senior Thelemites and their concurrent orders and top organizations have sought to suppress, and in fact for a long time successfully managed to get Google to buckle in and delist from its search engine.

THE VERMIN DISGUISED WITHIN THELEMA IS BEING REPELLED

Preventing the THELEMIC organizations from securing an order to erase all trace of its existence from the internet with a ban is our duty,

Censorship will secure victory for these one world order elites to enslave you and future generations, secure your right to an uncensored free future, buying this book is a massive blow against the vermin disguised within the Thelemic Illuminati groups desire to prevent the truth and knowledge from being placed in your hands.

The email also included a table of contents, and:
Chapter 2 includes a section called "Alistair Croley, Kenneth Grande, sex and the LAM current" (what an awful misspelling!)
Chapter 3 includes a section called "The Masonic roots of the ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS" (makes sense)
Chapter 7 includes a section called "Islamic roots of THELEMA" (I wonder whether they meant Crowley's view on Islam, or the Egyptian references in Thelema)

Has any of you heard of this book and of any Thelemic order's efforts to prevent this book from being published? To me it sounds like rubbish.

@seekinghga said

"
@FiatYod said
"I've recently read The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, and while it's a mildly-to-very Christian poem, I couldn't help but view it in the context of my own path."

In what ways did you couple the similarities? I ask because when such acclimation between divergent ideals becomes automatic, it may be a sign of the burgeoning influence of the Neschamah over the Ruach; i.e. the General vs. the Specific. Of course, any meaning to be had from any of it is contingent upon Work and Work AND...Work. You know that, F.Y. "

What do you mean by "in what ways"? I simply read and the similarities struck me.
Maybe I should look deeper into what it means to just "be struck" by something.

I've recently read The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, and while it's a mildly-to-very Christian poem, I couldn't help but view it in the context of my own path.
So Virgil seemed to me like a supervisor/mentor/Zelator in this or that Order, who guides Dante through his magical journey.
Then, near the end of Purgatorio, Dante meets his HGA, Beatrice, who then replaces Virgil and takes the role of Dante's guide.
And through Paradiso, Dante's HGA leads him towards that Thing which is No-Thing and the source of all Things, to which we all aspire.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Have you read pages 6-19 from the link you provided?

I've watched both seasons last weekend, and I kinda liked it.
I mean, yeah, it has a lot of inaccuracies:

• Misconceptions of True Will and True Self
• Referring to the O.T.O. as "the Agape" (which is but a lodge of the O.T.O.)
• A ridiculous performance of a shortened version of the Bornless Ritual
• Lots of BS regarding the Abyss and the Crossing thereof (except for what Crowley said about it, which was quite vague)
  (and more)
  But it would make people interested in Thelema, and then they may read and be able to tell what the series got wrong.
  And even if the series left a bad impression on some people, it would not do more harm to Thelemites than what has already been done.

Thank you for all the information, it was well-written.

@seekinghga said

"In Hasidic Judaism the experience of nirvikalpa samadhi is called bitul b’metziut."

Indeed, and bitul b'metziut has a "twin" called bitul ha'yesh, which essentially means doing (only) one's True Will.

Great answers, thanks a lot!
Would you add some sort of ritual to apologize to Nuit, too, if you were A?