College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

There's a Swedish translation, but a native speaker told me that it's not very good.

@poor+blind+misfi said

"
What, if any, are the proper motive(s) a person should have for aspiring to the Great Work?"

What a great question! "That which you are seeking is causing you to seek." - Cheri Huber

Motive is eclipsed by the motion that drives you in the direction in question. Embrace it and GO and, by all means, please don't wait for some authority figure to give you permission. The opinions of others are trivial in the face of a burning heart.

I enjoyed that. Thank you!

@RobertAllen said

"If you are responding in earnest, then it gets a lot murkier. But you know, as someone posted on another topic, in response to one of my posts, 'what is reality?' Or something to that effect. Please, don't feel as if you have to answer the question.

Take care. If we are ever in the same bar at the same time, I swear, I will drink you under the table! The drinks are on me!"

I'm enjoying this very much. I think there's a lot of profit in these kinds of discussions. I'm not participating as much as I'd like as time is limited. "What is reality" would certainly be a fun and challenging topic! By the way, if the drinks are on you I hope you make it to Berkeley sometime.

@RobertAllen said

"I believe that work on the self is possible, that you can learn to do new things, you can even change most aspects about your person—thought patterns, physical appearance, speech—except perhaps, your memories. I see actors do it all the time. I train them and I know when the work is honest."

I agree that work on self is possible, and that people are capable of making changes in the things you mention.

@RobertAllen said

"Now, changing from a human into a leopard, that's a bit more difficult."

Here is where I have to disagree. It's not difficult, it's impossible. Authors like Michael Ford and Andrew Chumbley offer formulae for a species of astral lycanthropic transformation. I submit that even if one undertook such an operation and perceived it to be successful, one is only having the experience of a human experiencing a human perception of an animal state. One is not really a wolf or bear or whatever.

Here is one of my favorites:

"I further take this opportunity of asserting my Atheism. I believe that all these phenomena are as explicable as the formation of hoar-frost or of glacier tables. I believe 'Attainment' to be a simple supreme sane state of the human brain." - Crowley in John St. John

With that, I do agree that the human capacity for human experience can be expanded and would even go so far as to submit that the limits of that possible expansion are unknown.

@RobertAllen said

"
As for changing your stripes, or spots if you are a leopard. Admittedly, real change is not easy, but it is possible.
"

I don't understand how a leopard can stop being a leopard and become something else. The same for a human, for that matter. Regardie posited that esoteric disciplines can result in a human "becoming more than human." A paradigm like that collapses without faith based propositions.

@Froclown said

"A leopard can not change it's spots, it has to discover what it is, and learn to be satisfied being a leopard and learn to stop dreaming about being a fish or a bird, that is what initiation is all about, giving up the fantasy that you can be anything you want to be and learning to be what you actually are."

Thank you for that breath of fresh air, Froclown.

I think that faith-based religious propositions that are so common in esoteric circles have the potential to set people up to spend a lot of time and effort pursuing imaginary goals that are unattainable. "As above, so below" has so many people operating from the assumption that humans are miniature duplicates of the Universe, for example.

With respect to Reguli, my opinion is no. Being "an incantation proper to invoke the Energies of the Aeon of Horus," it is a bit more generic in its application than Liber Samekh, for example. Aiwass is the noetic element of the pantheon described in the "Vertical [and] Horizontal Component(s) of the Enchantment" to which you refer. The "Energies," or current, if you prefer, can be chaotic when manifesting, especially via this rite, so it only stands to reason that one would not want to exacerbate that potential effect by excluding the noetic component (or "being" if that's more palatable) through which its manifestation was communicated to a human mind.

Additionally, replacing the name Aiwass with that of the HGA assumes that the HGA knows and/or cares that it is the Aeon of Horus. (Please note that I'm not suggesting that the HGA wouldn't know that you or I
believe that it's the Aeon of Horus.)

There's also the issue, much addressed on this list, of Aiwass as Crowley's HGA and the utility of the rest of us using that name as a temporary stand in for our own. That horse has been beaten into oblivion, so the short version is that we have to learn to "walk and chew gum" with this issue.

Tangentially, it has been the subject of debate as to whether or not Liber Reguli is useful, harmful, or perhaps even the "trap" that Crowley put into Magick in Theory and Practice. I think knowledge of the intended target of its energies is helpful in discerning that. Looking at the etymology of the word "incantation" is helpful for that purpose, as is a gander at Liber LXV Ch. V vs. 5.

Regarding the Middle Pillar, I would also say no. Tiphareth is where we meet the HGA (so to speak), not where it
is. I've always liked the way a friend put it: "The HGA is the Kether of your universe."

A liberal helping of Paul Foster Case is always very helpful. Dion Fortune and Israel Regardie are helpful. Maybe you've dipped into those wells already but, if not, they can help to clarify some of what Crowley wrote.

It's also important to practice as others have mentioned. LBRP, Resh, Middle Pillar, Will with meals, assuming god forms, and that sort of thing should be part of the regular routine of life for aspirants to this Art. Also, soak yourself in Liber AL and the other Holy Books (particularly LXV and VII) as much as possible. Become a Holy Books junkie. Pick one chapter from AL, LXV, and VII and read it aloud each day. It has an interesting and tangible effect if done over time.

Don't be afraid of magick but be prudent with it. The effects are mostly cumulative, but that's desirable. When I was a young person I really did harm to myself with my some-is-good-so-more-is-better attitude about magick. I had that attitude because I didn't respect it like I should have.

Find a routine, like what's suggested above, and commit to doing it daily for six months. Crowley teaches us that "the pain of the obligation" is a magical weapon itself. Wait to start with Enochian magick, evocation, and sex magick until later when you've got some magical muscles developed.

Anyway, for what it's worth...

Some of your comments were useful for me to reflect on, Ash. I can certainly empathize with your quandary as I've been there myself. Clearly Jim is correct in my opinion. Forgive the paraphrase, but if you wait to take the first step until you feel you're "ready," whatever that means, you'll always stand still. All the perfections of character in the world don't replace a burning heart.

"He that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is filthy shall be filthy still. Yea! deem not of change: ye shall be as ye are, & not other." - AL II 57-58

This is a great story! I hadn't thought about this in years, but my friend Mike and I attempted to "summon the Devil" for our seventh grade science project. We made a circle out of binder paper, drew all the necessary signs on it, made a wand, and stood in front of the class trying to summon the Prince of Darkness. Alas, nothing happened. I'm surprised we were allowed to go through with it as we were students at a Catholic school.

The book is great - a real treasure! I ordered it directly from the College of Thelema and had it in hand less than a week after I placed the order. Many thanks!