Thelemic Politics

Dear John Bull, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. The mass media is forbidden in the Abbey of Thelema. However, no doubt the tabloid press will malign our spiritual college as unconventional, blasphemous and ‘simply looking for trouble’ (excuse the writer if he is not as inventive as a journalist). Please, please, leave us alone; we are a private household that simply, in the grand scheme of things, display some incongruous anamolies to other private households of similar stature. We are not looking to become celebrities, media villains or a scapegoat scandal. It was the 1920’s abuse from various newspapers that ruined Crowley’s happiness in Cefalu, Sicily. We hope to continue that man’s magical, mystical and literary legacy well into the 21st century and any media attention would simply be at best a thorn in our side – and most probably break our hearts into jigsaw pieces… Do you not have bigger fish to fry than a small community of Thelemites? Again, please let us be, our business is with a magick and mysticism not wholly on your plane and we believe any mischief that is wrought against us will just make you appear more like the thumbscrew than the winepress. If our supposed ‘notoriety’ makes us headline news, for good or ill, you will be basely caricaturing and parodying the ‘salt of the earth’. You will undoubtedly have brought upon yourselves the punitive current – and no sane party actually desires this. We wish only to make our peace with God, as is the goal of every religion, including Thelema. Can you photograph and write reports about Him? Do you really possess that level of audacity? I repeat: we are a private Abbey and home of Law respecting men, women and children who do not wish to be disturbed, repackaged by various official media, and thrown into an unforgiving collective unconscious. Just because we have the words: ‘DO WHAT THOU WILT’ engraved above our points of ingress and egress does not entitle you to spy on us and twist our message! Give us a break! It has been 85 years now since the press has been almost universally demonising Aleister Crowley…and guess what? People in general have stopped caring. Write a story about travel to Mars, the bionic man or perhaps even the Loch Ness Monster. Leave us eleven poor souls in peace. Love is the law, love under will. Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719

Ordo Templi Orientis Dear Temple, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law At the above address you will find a recently established Abbey of Thelema, called presently Amen House. We intend to follow an ‘apocryphal’ book called Liber ATh vel Via Vitae sub figura CCCI. We have all ACCEPTED Liber AL, but we have differing opinions as to the 1925 Tunis Comment, and these things cannot be discussed in a promontory letter. The writer once went to join the Order, in his youth, expecting to take the First Degree, but he actually failed Minerval. He presently does not wish O. T. O. duties and privileges as there is enough task mastering to engage him here at the Abbey. Obviously this letter is at once one of declaration and hope for feedback. Please send a member of any Triad to come and see and inspect us. We actually desparately NEED constructive criticism from a trained Thelemite. You will be received well initially. But who knows where this will lead? As regards our Postulants who maybe members of the O. T. O. (in its varying manifestations) the writer is not at liberty to speak. As you will already know the Abbey is run more along A A lines than the quasimasonic manifesto of the Ordo Templi Orientis. But with such a building the old distinctions (especially in regard to mundane advantages of ‘sharing’ or ‘teaching’ magick) are increasingly becoming blurred. Whilst we will not set up a conference centre on the tutelage of astrology for instance (for ‘money’ that is) we might find it necessary to accept an anonymous contribution to pay for essentials. If you wish to see an outline of our financial forecast we may do so if an appropriate person can be found. What help do we need from you? Only one thing, that you continue in your sworn task to widen the worldly dominion of Thelema/Scientific Illuminism and that you do this with flair and absolutely no fear of the consequences; this is what Crowley did and he forms part of skeletonic history itself. The division in Thelemics is necessary for its evolution – we simply ask that you hope for a new bud to bloom in its season. ‘Salutation on all points of the triangle’ ‘Establish at thy Kaaba clerk-house: all must be done well and with business way.’ Love is the law, love under will. Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719

Dear Grand Lodge of England, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Dear Members of the Lodge, You will now be aware of an Abbey of Thelema, called Amen House, at the above address. What your opinions of this Abbey are is no concern of ours whatsoever. This, as you already understand, is necessarily so. (The person who writes this letter once asked to join a Masonic Lodge. He knocked on the door (the side door) three times and was answered by a middle aged man. He said, “I want to join the Freemason’s.” “How old are you?” “19.” “Come back when you are 21.” “Can I please come in for just five minutes.” “No.” At this point there was a slight altercation. The writer smashed a bottle of red wine on the wall that sides the door, the fluid went onto various places. The middle aged man replied “Silly lad.” And then he closed the door. The writer then proceeded to violently knock the door, in batteries of three, several times, until a small amount of blood was left on its wooden surface from his split knuckles. He was then carted off by the police and charged with ‘drunk and disorderly in a public place’.) I am not a Freemason. MABN = 93 = 719. And ABRAHADABRA implicitly. This is not nearly as unfortunate as it sounds. As you will find in the rubric of the Ordo Templi Orientis: ‘we in no way infringe the just privileges of the Grand Lodge of England or any other jurisdiction which is recognised by it.’ And so on. If you wish to send a representative from the Lodge he will be warmly welcomed by us all, recognition of adepthood is not necessarily an issue either. Any other information that is required or desirable can be requested at the above electronic mail address. We simply ask that you do not use the language to perhaps infiltrate and maybe even sabotage us. There are eleven of us and five million of you so please do not ask for a repeat of David and Goliath. Love is the law, love under will. Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719 PERPETUA IN MEMORIA 1 – 2 – 1

To the postulant’s family Dear Family of Our Beloved, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. First of all do NOT be concerned for the immediate safety of your loved one. Here we have all the necessities of life in abundant spirit. Please do not hesitate to contact us using the above details for whatever reason concerning the person you may have mistakenly thought you lost. But, in all fairness, she has a spiritual, as well as a genetic family at the moment – and to all accounts and purposes she is doing OK. Our visiting hours are somewhat inconvenient for most people, so perhaps it is best if she spends time off to see you all. This Abbey, by the way, only resembles a prison (joke!) but it is not actually so. It is possible that she went through personal and emotional problems at home with you, that she underwent self imposed ordeals and initiations – even that she hurt those closest to her. We will have none of this. Thelema IS a new religion and its adherents frequently come from families who do not empathise at all with what is perceived a ‘fad’, a ‘phase’ or perhaps simply just ‘New Age mystical mumbo jumbo’. We however are an extremely serious Thelemic Order, with a highly selective membership; and our general watchwords are Liberty, Discipline and Routine. Please have a brief look at the Primary Axiom that begins this letter. One suspicion that we expect to arise in you is that Amen House is a cult. It is not. Your daughter is free to leave at any time (given that we ascertain she has an alternative and appropriate residence to move into), she will probably WANT to go when she realises the pace of life is almost ascetic, indeed she will be ENCOURAGED to vacate if she does not stick to our 44 stated Articles. ‘Cults’ hem in and psychologically imprison masses of people whilst, on the contrary, we are a small community of religious magical scientists attempting some kind of right ascension – we will all eventually fragment and splinter off after we have achieved our objectives (nameless as they at this stage); we wish you daughter to share what we have! So, if you really are worried, do not hesitate to come and see her here at the Abbey – we hope this will put your mind at ease for a while. Love is the law, love under will. Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719

To the psychiatrists Dear Fellowship, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. The Abbey of Thelema is an elastic, non dogmatic and non-sectarian body of men, women and children. We have no interest in spreading insanity via the dissemination of random, incoherent imagery (T. V.s, radios and cyberspace), neurotoxins (illegal or not), memetic plague, false ideologies, the promulgation of ‘religion’ or cults, mind control technologies or electronic warfare. True Thelemites do not drive individuals mad. Although we believe psychiatry has a valid, or rather expedient, role in modern society; also one of our Postulants (who penned this letter) is certain that at LEAST SOME of the U. K.s mental institutions are in direct contravention of the principles we, as Thelemites, hold closest to our hearts… On this admittedly tenuous basis we ask that if any of your esteemed Fellows visit the Abbey any perusal is made on a strictly non-professional basis. All other ‘incriminating’ literature that the Abbey of Thelema associates with is freshly published (electronically and otherwise) if one wishes to attempt a group diagnosis of what may appear to be a sociological anathema. Love is the law, love under will. Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719

To the spy, Dear Operative, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. This is left as an open letter to one whom we expect to infiltrate our hallowed walls; you obviously know who you are – because YOU WILL be alone. Please think twice about spying on us. ‘MYSTERY IS THE ENEMY OF TRUTH’ is something you should memorise, or perhaps forget completely. Who is your favourite? Do you know where your loyalties lie? Do you know exactly what it is you are doing in Amen House? Because WE DO! When you were told to infiltrate (whether it was a real person or a ‘voice’ in your brain) Us were you given a specific objective? If the answer is ‘yes’ then please do what thou wilt and leave us to concentrate on Rising on the Qabalistic Planes. If the answer is that you were told to simply ‘nose around’ then kindly FUCK OFF… A Thelemite simply does not lie to another, let alone his or her immediate superior – and if you are wearing one of our robes, using our books and sleeping with our store of women (not understanding of Rule of Chastity of course) then beware that IF and WHEN we sniff you out you will pay a dear price. The punitive current will be entirely yours! Besides I am no longer persuaded to waste my INK (black ink) on you and your ill fated ilk! Love is the law, love under will. Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719h

To the unwary Dear Pilgrim, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Firstly, pilgrim alone, or of a group, thankyou for visiting the portal of Amen House. We exist, amongst other ‘reasons’, to invite in guests, friends and family (and on occasion enemies) into our home. The person who wrote this letter was himself a Thelemic pilgrim for many years and he can sympathise perhaps with some of your angst! Do you honestly expect the vitriol that troubles you to cease once the portal is flung to one side? We are a serious spiritual Order with a more or less rigid routine of work and play and we simply cannot afford, on many mediums, to allow someone, or some group, entrance purely because they claim to be sincerely Thelemic. And you must also know well that this tears our hearts in two! Also, we do not expect of you displays of devotion, trials of initiation, ‘rites of passage’ – or even a hefty financial donation! Just accept us, and leave us in peace, and the tolerance that comes from a pure human heart – that has within it the full spectrum of nobility. You can enter our House, if you so will, but beware! Note Bene! Cave! If someone is in the House, you ring the bell and you will be cordially invited in. You will then be given a short document called Liber ATh vel Via Vitae sub figura CCCCI, which forms the guidelines by which we operate. You will then be told to sign a simple pledge form stating simply that you wish to perform your True Will whilst on the consecrated grounds of the Abbey. State the formulaic expression of your True Orbit to whoever prevents themselves, and the time you think it will take; you will be quickly told if such an action is appropriate here. If there are vacancies for membership at the Abbey you can apply for membership as a postulant; there is a strict vetting protocol (mainly bureaucratic) that must be adhered to however… So knowing this, stranger, walk in with an open mind and a foolish heart but do not be surprised when you discover that the truth is a two-edged sword, and that the walk home is longer and more depressing than a true Thelemic pilgrimage! PILGRIM BE A PILGRIM NO MORE. Love is the law, love under will.

Frater Pyramidatus 93 = 719

To the scientists Dear Scientific Council, Do what thou wilt shall be shall be the whole of the Law. You by now may be aware of an Abbey of Thelema, called Amen House, located at the address given above. We hope one of your delegates or associates will soon visit us. Do not be dissuaded from doing so by our ostensible appeals to unbridled anarchy. ‘Thelema’ recognises itself as a branch of what is perhaps best termed as ‘Scientific Illuminism’; HOWEVER as we practise ‘magick’ also this letter is serving as a guard against hostilities between disciplines and as an open hand of reconciliation over intellectual stances. Are you still with me? I hope so. Is the ‘Unified Field Theory’ the chance that all scientific models will eventually converge and find an unprecedented congruence? This is our understanding at the Abbey anyway. Please, please, please do not preclude the magical systems of Aleister Crowley from this HOPE of complete unification. We are certain that members of your council have not only dismissed Thelemic magick as nonsense but wish to ridicule, marginalise and eventually destroy us! An autocracy has never truly existed on Earth, and the members and friends in Amen House believe that an attempt at an unocompromising ‘technocracy’ (the real life effect to scientific stipulation) is potentially malefic, certainly dangerous and ultimately dehumanising. What is needed at this crucial time is once again balance. Hypothetically speaking, can you possibly imagine the consequences of excluding the magick of Crowley from our naïve attempts at a U. F. T. simply because it belongs to an ancient paradigm(s)? Let me, without wishing to, lead you to believe that the consequences could be dreadful – the all too obvious nature of the human body without the omnipresent and beautifully vague notion of the soul, is maybe a simple analogy. But I suspect this last paragraph is stating the obvious. Why is Thelema scientific? Integral in our field is the Qabalah and this admittedly composes both our bedrock and keystone of thought. Qabalah is mathematical, geometric and linguistic. It is a science, perhaps imperfect, stretching back millennia – one could indeed argue that it is PRIMORDIAL. Our ceremonial temples are the laboratories of the spirit, we have mathematically theorised gestures, astrological timing, geometrically constructed furniture and ‘trappings’ (of our art), ‘magical records’ that form our constant guide and recapitulation through the labyrinth of experience, one of our watchwords is ‘THE METHOD OF SCIENCE, THE AIM OF RELIGION’, we study anatomy (yoga postures), psychology (meditation and creative visualisation), colour theory, dymaxions and synergy, chemical gnosis and athletic psychology. We are scientists, we are magicians, but nobody seems to believe we are anything but very eccentric! Magick does actually work, and we are trying to prove so under trial for the good (and especially the balance) of humanity. However we need much more time.