College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

@Vod-Vil said

"The Dragon position is more commonly referred to as "Seiza".Do an internet search and you will get a ton of information on the position."

Thank you so much!

Thank you, Vod-Vil. That clarifies things.

If I may ask, where did you learn that from?

Since we're talking about the Dragon asana, can someone tell me how I'm supposed to position my toes? I can't figure that out.

Am I on top of them, similar to how one is while crouching, or are the tops of my feet on the ground?

Thanks!

@Frater Sabaechi said

"Maybe True Love is just a cliche, like finding one's true love. Maybe there is a deeper aspect of true love that is an archeptypal energy. You may or may not see where I am going with this, but I think its worth exploring people's impressions."

Nope, I really don't. I am going to retire from this thread, as I believe that it is something of a ramble.

@Frater Sabaechi said

"Now, do you believe in True Love?"

There is a lot of semantic ambiguity in that phrase - can you please elaborate on your definition of "True Love"?

Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law

"Well this is history in the making, right in time for 2012.

I believe the main thrust of Thelema is that there is no Sin. "

Yes, I believe one of the main tenants of Thelema is that the only sin is that of restricting one's own True Will.

I'm curious as to what you mean by 'history in the making', though, specifically with the year 2012. Are you suggesting that some sweeping world-wide event will occur in which man kind unanimously adopts Thelema? Or, perhaps I'm just putting words in your mouth.

Love is the Law, Love Under Will

93, Escarabajo -

I have only been practicing ritual and meditation for a little under two years, so I am by no means an expert. But, for what it is worth, I have learned that I do best by practicing my meditation (asana, etc) in the mornings just after I get up and my ritual work (daily banishings, etc) in the evenings shortly after work.

I have also noted that I have to watch my diet during the day (no junk food, including soft drinks!) in order to feel right during the ritual. Also, I have added a short but fairly intense kettlebell workout shortly after the ritual work to help keep my body in shape and help ensure that I feel my best.

Ultimately, breaking up the yoga and the ritual helped me out. I was originally trying to do them both together in the evenings, and found myself getting stressed out.

Hope this helps.

Donna - regarding Jim's statement, I couldn't agree more. It really has helped me begin to reconcile different pieces of my previous experience with my growing understanding of Thelema. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has stumbled along in the beginning.

IAO131 - that seems like a fair fit to me, and will meditate further on those attributions.

@Jim Eshelman said

"
I suspect, from what you're saying, that you still feel a little distant from Thelema. Therefore, anything real and intimate to you might feel to you a bit distant from Thelema. That's OK - it all sorts itself out with time and persistence.

One step I think important in ceremonial magick is an initial invocation of undifferentiated Divinity - before you particularize it into a specific form. Think of it as getting electricity turned on in your house before you worry about what specific appliances you're going to run off of it. That stage can be well spent in adoration of Nuit."

Jim - you hit it. I am in the beginning phases of working with Thelema, and am beginning to try and tune myself to it. Over the past two years, I have examined a number of 'systems', but Thelema kept whispering to me no matter how hard I tried to go elsewhere. I have decided that this is where I need to be.

I have spent my spare time each day over the past two weeks contemplating the various aspects, which is what brought me to these questions. The idea of formalizing those sessions into an invocation is very inspiring. I will work something out.

Thank you for your time!

OK. This is starting to make some sense to me.

Let me step away from YHVH for a moment, and ask about the various forces that we assign to the Sephiroth. Let us say I was going to perform an operation regarding Netzach, and I was going to call upon the God Name, then the Archangel, etc, etc. How do I relate all of that to Nuit?

I suppose my hang up is one of trying to reconcile what feels like two distinct systems. Intuition tells me that these forces are pieces of existence, just as I am, and that I should consider any ceremony performed with joy as an act of tribute to Her... but uncertainty won't stop biting at my ankle.

Actually, let me add a little more to this to give some context.

Coming from a Christian background, I would have considered the Tetragrammaton to represent the whole of creation. Perhaps that is incorrect, but it is the way I used to view it. Qabalistic workings made a lot of sense to me with that model, as I was working with 'pieces of God'.

Now considering myself a Thelemite, I am trying to fit all of this in with the Thelemic model. Am I stretching things to now equate the Tetragrammaton with Nuit?

Thank you for your patience

@Jim Eshelman said

"
@fraterlvf said
"Does this mean that a Thelemite considers those divine names to live within the body of Nuit?"

I don't think I've ever heard anyone put it that way before.

Personally, I wouldn't think of it so spatially.

I do, however, regard Nuit as encompassing and including all things.
"

I think pantheism would be a way for me to explain my choice of words here. Does that apply?

All gods are part of Nuit, just as we are?

Thank you very much for your reply, Jim.

Does this mean that a Thelemite considers those divine names to live within the body of Nuit?

Do What Though Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law.

I'm trying to understand what the Tetragrammaton is from a Thelemic point of view as compared to that of a Christian. Does it still represent one of the names of God? Is it assigned to Nuit? Or is it only thought of in a formulaic sense now, as in the constant creation and destruction of the universe by Nuit (0=2)?

Thank you for your time.

Love is the Law, Love Under Will

Just thought I'd toss my two cents out here. The Thoth deck was the first I ever purchased, and while I found it complex, I am in debt to it for giving me the push I needed to delve deeper into the mysteries. Each card offers you so much, and I felt compelled to learn more and more about each little element.

As for getting started, Lon Milo Duquette has a good book to begin with. I recommend picking that up as well as Crowley's. If you are like me, you'll find that the book seems to be revealing something completely new every time you read it.

Hope that helps.

Frater LVF

Thank you all for your thoughts on this topic. Since I am primarily concerned with Theurgy at this point in my practice, I am going to consider the construction of a circle on a 5'x5' piece of canvas. I think I can probably unroll it on the floor when I do my daily work.

Intuitively, that seems to be the more important item to have over an altar, as it truly represents my working space and its holiness.

Does anyone have any thoughts on that decision? Can someone offer a reason as to why the altar should take precedence?

Thanks as always.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law

I have been performing daily banishings and what not for about a year now. All have been done without any temple of any sort, and I think it is time that I take it a step further.

I am currently residing in a Brooklyn apartment, which doesn't give me a lot of space to work with. In fact, I have a clear space of 5'x5'. I have plans to go elsewhere, but they are medium-term and I don't think that my current conditions should stop me from moving forward.

I figure that there must be several of you in a similar situation, and I am curious as to how you go about erecting a temple for your day-to-day work? I am most interested in hearing about Altars and the Circle in such conditions.

5'x5' does not give me a lot of room, but at least it is something. Any input?

Thanks to all.

Thank you all for your replies! I now have a much clearer idea of the position and will continue on with my practice.

This morning was somehow much easier than yesterday, but I imagine that the troubles will come back with a vengeance.

I have been exploring the basic asana's, and am curious about the position of the toes in the dragon asana. Are they:

1. facing forward, as if I am in a normal crouch
2. somehow 'curled' backwards, as if I was in a normal crouch but decided to curl the toes back
3. facing backwards, because the tops of my feet are flat on the ground, and I'm I'm sitting directly on my heels

???

I'm sure that one of you more experienced types can give me some advice. Please feel free to ask for clarification if I'm not being clear. I have a copy of Book 4, but I'm having trouble making out the demonstration.