College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

It is worth considering some of Rabelias' inspiration via the Benedictine Abbey of Maillezais, beautiful, and full of incredible, and symbolic stone carvings and statues ( the giant is amazing). Behind the building is the legend of the Melusine, whose magick erected the Abbey for Guy de Lusignan (mentioned above by another poster)--and also serves as informative commentary on themes including love, as a love story is the background. She is a water-sprite, and assimilated with figures such as "Lady of the Lake", and her role in Avalon. So, an "esoteric Rabelianism" has in its character not just a Medieval nature--but something also distinctly of the Northern and Celtic tradition. Josephine Peladan elaborates on the "corporate", thus guild (and therefore operative grade system) symbolism in Rabelais, and of course interprets matters esoterically. And, although I lack the resource at the moment, I've heard it that Rabelias contains a type of cypher and gematria of its own (or some unique) internal correspondences (perhaps even Liber Al's prophecy concerns this). Now, not to say these are all and the only esoteric interpretations of Rabelais--but to indicate just how much is wrapped up in his "system" itself--Thelema then ends up absorbing something of Rabelaism--profound as it is in itself--while including and being much more.

The Angelic College of Damkar was organized by Ninevah Shadrach and Frances Harrison in Canada. Its "style" had a distinct Golden Dawn quality, to which was added Arabic magick, Jinn magick, use of the Arabic alphabet, 99 Names, etc. A great deal was drawn from "classic" Arabic sources such as al-Boni's "Sun of Knowledge", comparable perhaps to Agrippa's work in the West. The grade system never fully developed--at a distance, one's mentor was supposed to coach them, and guide them to the next grade by assessing the reports of the students work, via essay mostly--this however did not occur as planned, and then the Order more or less disbanded, leaving Shadrach and Harrison to go on publishing independent of an Order structure.

Crowley mentions the possibility of experimenting with the effects of varying the breath cycle as well as noting the effects of certain gases--among which he includes carbon dioxide. This is interesting because oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood have everything to do with blood Ph levels--which can swing in either the direction of acidosis or alkalosis. Now, I do not wish to attribute every PY phenomenon to the acidosis/alkalosis ratios; however, given that PY techniques certainly, and quite quickly, alter blood Ph, we can at least think of the physiological phenomenon as the locus or "support" of certain PY effects. Thus, for example, acidosis, or blood Ph lower than 7.3, can produce tetany--which in a controlled state of PY and Dhyana can surely be understood to account for "automatic rigidity". It is fascinating, and needs to be explored further--if I recall, a small book on yoga by Ernest Woods has a chapter concerning these effects as well in physio terms.
www.mhhe.com/biosci/ap/foxhumphys/student/olc/u-reading1.html

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law"

Greetings! Have just recently joined this forum and am exploring the threads. My background in esotericism includes an affiliation with Thelemic Orders, but also Masonry (Blue, Scottish), BOTA, and Angelic College of Damkar. I have been licensed as an Oriental Medical Doctor for several years, which is a sort of bridge between alchemy and the practice of medicine, the study of the macrocosm in the microcosm. Looking forward with pleasure to fruitful conversation here.

"Love is the law, love under will"

Mercvrivs