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Converning The Book of the Law
CONCERNING
THE BOOK OF THE LAW
(Liber Legis)
Official Instructions of the
Thelemic Order and Temple
of the Golden Dawn
(Novus Ordo Aureae Aurora)
By Sir David Cherubim
(Frater Superior Chief)
Copyright (C) 1991 e.v.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Greetings and Salutations to all brothers and sisters of our Holy
Order of Thelema, to all of you who revel and rejoice in the New
Law of Liberty, and who, by that Great Law, are made true
partakers of the New Golden Dawn of Thelema, to live as free men
and women upon earth, to take your pleasure among the legions of
the living. It is now upon Us to deliver unto you knowledge and
insight regarding our Sacred Book of the New Aeon, which, as you
shall duly discover, is our Supreme Talisman and Magical Link to
Freedom. May what is to follow bestow upon you all a greater
understanding of the New Law of Thelema which The Book of the Law
announces as the Sole Rule of Life, the one worthy Code of
Conduct; and may you all attain to the Great Fulfillment of our
Royal Way of the Magick of Light. In the Name of the Crowned and
Conquering Lord of the New Aeon, Amen.
It is first necessary, my dear brothers and sisters, to
communicate unto you a brief account of the history of The Book
of the Law. The Book of the Law (called Liber Legis in the Latin
tongue), was dictated to Aleister Crowley by a Praeter-human
Intelligence named Aiwass, between noon and 1 p.m. on April 8, 9,
and 10, in the first year of Our Lord Horus 1904 e.v.. The Book
of the Law announces to mankind the New Aeon of Horus which
commenced on the Vernal Equinox of March, 1904 e.v., and which
shall remain for a period of 2,000 years. After its dictation,
Crowley dismissed The Book of the Law as being of no great value
and in the course of time he simply lost the original manuscript.
It was not until five years after its dictation that he
inevitably came across it, and this without the conscious intent
to do so. He was making a final search for his missing Enochian
Tablets and to his surprise the lost manuscript of The Book of
the Law was located in the same place as his missing Enochian
Tablets. It was then that Crowley began to study and comprehend
the revolutionary and dynamic Wisdom of The Book of the Law. He
inevitably realized The Book of the Law as the supreme charter to
man's universal freedom, by which humanity could take a great
step upward upon the Ladder of Evolution, to attain the Great
Work of the True Adepti of the Light.
Aiwass, the Angel who dictated The Book of the Law, defined
himself as "the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat". Hoor-Paar-Kraat,
called Harpocrates in the Greek tongue, is the Egyptian God of
Silence. He represents the Secret Self of every man and every
woman, that is, their Silent Self or Holy Guardian Angel Within.
True Understanding of this Silent Self Within is the Universal
Key to every Mystery of Magick and Mysticism. Hoor-Paar Kraat,
when manifested, appears in the active form of his Twin Ra-Hoor-
Khuit, the Crowned and Conquering Child of Force and Fire. Hoor-
Paar-Kraat is the Lord of Silence, whereas Ra-Hoor-Khuit is the
Lord of the Word. And Heru-Ra-Ha is the true name of that Great
Unity who is represented by these Twins of the New Aeon of Horus.
Crowley came to identify Aiwass as one of the Secret Chiefs of
the Third Order of the A.'. A.'., a discarnate entity of
superhuman intelligence and power. The Third Order of the A.'.
A.'. (Silver Star) is the Supreme Invisible Order of the
Universe, and Aiwass is the principal Messenger from that Most
Holy Order at this stage in the cosmic evolution. The God
symbolic of the Third Order is Hoor-Paar-Kraat, the Lord of
Silence. Hoor-Paar-Kraat is the Babe in the Egg of Blue, or the
Crowned Child upon the Lotus, and he is a universal symbol of the
Holy Guardian Angel. He is the Virginal God Within who represents
perfect innocence. His letter in the ancient Angelic Alphabet is
Aleph and he is the Fool of Atu 0 of Tarot who represents the
Free Spirit of Life. (Note: Members of the Novus Ordo Aureae
Aurora should consult the New Golden Dawn Correspondence Lesson
Number XI for further insights into the Grand Mysteries of Aleph,
the Fool Atu, and the Child Hoor-Paar-Kraat, or Harpocrates,
particularly in relation to the numbers 4638 of Liber Legis.)
The Book of the Law is a revelation of paramount importance from
the Third Order of the A.'. A.'.; it is the Supreme Link to the
Great White Brotherhood, by which men and women may participate
in the excellent knowledge and lofty administration of the Great
Work of the A.'. A.'., and become as one of the children of that
Most August Order, to be nourished in their souls with the
Celestial Wisdom, and to receive the Divine Kiss of the Stars by
which they shall experience the Supreme Rapture of Illumination.
The A.'. A.'., or the Great White Brotherhood, is a Body of High
Initiates who are pledged to the service of mankind. The Book of
the Law originated in the interior Sanctuary of the A.'. A.'.,
and the Law of Thelema as expounded in that book is the True Law
which emanates from the A.'. A.'., and which We of Thelema accept
as the One Law of the Universe, by which every man and every
woman is made a master in his/her own right. The Novus Ordo
Aureae Aurora, also called the Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn,
is the Outer College of the A.'. A.'. dedicated to the works of
Scientific Illuminism, whose method is Science and whose aim is
Religion. The Order of the Golden Dawn now embraces and upholds
the New Law of Thelema and seeks to extend that Law in the world,
to establish the New Kingdom of Horus upon earth. Thus are we now
called the New Order of the Golden Dawn, and we have transformed
the Old Temple into a New Temple for Our Lord Horus to indwell,
that His Kingdom may prevail on earth, and that the Great Work of
the A.'. A.'. may be accomplished in His Name.
The Book of the Law contains three chapters which are sacred
communications from three Egyptian Gods called Nuit, Hadit, and
Ra-Hoor-Khuit. The first chapter is the Voice of Nuit, Our Lady
of the Starry Heaven -- the Star-Goddess; the second chapter is
the Voice of Hadit, the flame that burns in every heart of man
and in the core of every Star; and the third chapter is the Voice
of Ra-Hoor-Khuit, the Child of Nuit and Hadit, the Crowned and
Conquering Lord of our New Aeon of Thelema.
Nuit can be defined as space, infinite extension or matter in its
deepest metaphysical sense. Hadit can be defined as that which
occupies space, infinite contraction, eternal motion or energy.
Nuit is the infinite expansion of the Rose and Hadit is the
infinite contraction of the Cross. Ra-Hoor-Khuit is the product
of the interplay of these two infinities which give birth to
finity. In the magical symbolism of the Novus Ordo Aureae Aurora,
Nuit is symbolized by the Circle and Hadit is symbolized by the
Cross. The uniting of the Circle and the Cross is the
accomplishment of the Great Work. The dual-symbol of the Cross
within the Circle is the appropriate occult glyph of Our Lord Ra-
Hoor-Khuit. This dual-symbol of the Circle and Cross is the same
as the Rosicrucian symbol of the Rose-Cross and of the Sun and
Moon Conjoined in our Holy Order. In The Book of the Law, the
Circle and the Cross are qabalistically indicated in the magical
words COPH NIA of Chapter III, vs. 72. COPH is the Cross and NIA
is the Circle. (Note: For a complete study of COPH NIA, the X and
the O, the Cross and the Circle, consult the New Golden Dawn
Correspondence Lesson Number XI.)
The principal message of The Book of the Law is the Law of
Thelema, that is, "Do what thou wilt." This is our perfect code
of conduct, our sole means to accomplish the Great Work in
absolute freedom. According to this New Law, we are now to assume
complete responsibility for ourselves, to advance forward in
freedom, to realize and pursue our own paths in life unto the
ultimate attainment of the supreme realization of our True Self.
We are to develop and realize our True Self by way of our True
Will; for the True Will is the True Self in action; it is the
dynamic aspect of our true natures by which we rend the dark
veils which blind us to the magnificent truth within. Until we
take responsibility for ourselves, to understand and act out our
True Will, we are bound to fail in the lofty task of establishing
the Law of Thelema upon earth, which, as initiates, we are bound
to accomplish. But if we take responsibility for our lives, and
cultivate love and freedom by the proper application of the Law
of Thelema, then will we establish that Law, for in such manner
we are living in harmony with the One Will of the Universe,
moving with the New Current, uniting with all in perfect joy and
harmony. We of Thelema must be strong and free to know our True
Will; then, and only then, can we act aright. Only those who fear
shall fail. Therefore we must be without fear, to exalt ourselves
in strength and freedom, to do our True Will with all manner of
energy and endurance. This is Our Great Work by which we are
brought to the Supreme Perfection, and by which we participate in
the Cosmic Order of the Starry-Heaven of Our Lady Nuit.
When we are doing our True Will, there is nothing that can hinder
us from going forth with indefatigable energy and endless ecstasy
in our chosen course of endeavor; we are free to interpret every
phenomenon as an essential part of our True Will; we may use
every force of the universe to serve our means to accomplish the
Great Work; we may use any act to achieve our magical end, yet
all this without lust of result. In The Book of the Law, I: 42-
44, it is proclaimed by Our Lady Nuit: "So with thy all; thou
hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say
nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the
lust of result, is every way perfect." Engrave this on your
hearts, my dear brothers and sisters, in puissant and penetrating
letters of subtle fire that shall guide you aright, to enlighten
your life with Liberty!
In The Book of the Law, II: 30-31, it is further stated, under
the figure of Our Lord Hadit, that "If Will stops and cries Why,
invoking Because, then Will stops & does nought. If Power asks
why, then is Power weakness." We are not to obstruct our true
natures by indulging ourselves in useless points of philosophy;
we are not to allow reason to interfere with the free course of
our true natures. Rather we must go forth in freedom to do our
True Will, with complete confidence in ourselves to accomplish
the task for which we have incarnated in the flesh. It is the act
of a foolish man to ask why a star travels in its appointed
orbit. It is like trying to discover a reason for the existence
of Nature herself! It is philosophical nonsense and mere mental
waste which inevitably leads to confusion and disorder.
The Book of the Law also proclaims, under the figure of Our Lady
Nuit, that "Love is the law, love under will." This defines
further the nature of "Do what thou wilt", which is the whole of
the Law. To love is to unite, to join together. We are to unite
ourselves passionately with all things, and thereby do we
annihilate our false sense of separateness from the Universe; and
we are to accept everything as it is in itself, as one of the
elements of our own nature. Doing one's True Will is a
sacramental act of love; it is the uniting of oneself with the
Universe, with the infinite All. It is the formula of Change by
the sacramental dedication of the Will, and the sacramental
dissolution of the self in the Universal All. The nature of our
Will is Love, but it is very necessary to understand that this
Love of which We speak is like the golden flower of our Will, the
sacred fruit of our pure aspiration to accomplish the Great Work
without lust of result. It is not the master of our Will, rather
is it the child of our going, the product of uniting ourselves
with one of the infinite possibilities of Nuit. Love is to be
magically directed; that is, it is to be the Serpent Love of
Liber Legis, I: 57. Every act of Love must be under Will, that
is, in accordance with one's True Will. This is the Excellent Way
of Infinite Delicacy, by which we are made partakers of the
Sacrament of the Wine that is the Blood of the Sun in the Holy
Graal of Love. By the proper application of the Law of Love --
under Will -- we drink of the delicious Wine of the Sabbath of
the Adepts, by which we take delight in the Mystick Rapture of
the Stars. What better delight can there be than this, for us to
drink the Wine which is the Life of Our Lord the Sun, to become
like unto the Sun Itself, radiant centres of Light, Life, Love
and Liberty?
Thelema is the Greek word for Will. It -- like Agape, the Greek
word for Love -- has the numerical value of 93. Aiwaz (Aiwass)
also has the numerical value of 93. According to the Qabalistic
Science of Gematria, words which possess the same numerical value
are descriptions of each other or they are subtle indications of
a single phenomenon. Thelema is "Do what thou wilt shall be the
whole of the Law"; Agape is "Love is the law, love under will."
Aiwass is the Angel of Thelema -- the New Law of Will and Love.
This New Law is the Sole Commandment of Nature; it is our Law of
Liberty, by which we perfect ourselves in Nature, to accomplish
our True Will. We should all learn to apply this Law to our every
problem in life and to determine our every action or question of
conduct in accordance with it. The proper application of this One
Law increases our efficiency on all levels of existence and it
offers to us the complete fulfillment of all our true spiritual
and material aspirations. By its application we can come to
understand our own true natures, and to express in our lives the
creative Will of our beings, to make joy and victory our lot.
In The Book of the Law, I: 3, it is proclaimed by Our Lady Nuit
that "Every man and every woman is a star." We are all individual
centres of the Infinite, each with our own unique and essential
orbit to pursue in the Cosmic Order. We are to be free of all
standard ways and codes; we are to exist by our own light and
truth in this Illustrious Way of Liberty. We are to calculate our
own orbits, and to transcend all accidental phenomena. We are to
come forth from our thick veils of darkness which blind us to the
Truth, to lift ourselves up from the messy muddled mire of the
mind, and to do our Will with all manner of ecstasy and delight.
Freedom is now the One Law of Life; every man and every woman
must now be free to realize their own True Self and to do their
own True Will. Freedom is the power to determine your own path at
Will; it is perfect self-control and emancipation from the false
paths which lead us astray into the darkness of ignorance and the
weakness of slavery. When we are fortified by Liberty, we are
able to fashion ourselves according to our own True Will. We then
make for our own progress and power as independent centres of our
own universe. Freedom is the Sweet Ambrosia of the Gods, by which
we nourish ourselves to prosecute the Master Work of Our Royal
Art of the Magick of Light.
The magical doctrine of The Book of the Law asserts that every
man and every woman has a proper course in life -- a True Will --
just as every star has its own orbit, and that the duty of each
person is to pursue his own course, just as every star must move
in its own orbit. It further states that we have no other right
but to do our own True Will, to fulfil our own chosen destinies;
and that any deviation from this path is a direct violation of
the Law of Thelema which is the Law of Liberty. If we all did our
True Will there would be no conflict, and no interference from
another. Any act that is not in harmony with one's True Will is
an hindrance to one's freedom. We must know our True Will and do
it with one-pointedness, and without lust of result. Every act is
to be a sacrament unto Nuit, a ritual of Love under Will. We
should not restrict ourselves or repress any true part of our
natures; on the contrary, we should be free to revel and rejoice
in all that we are, and to devote ourselves and every part of our
natures to the supreme task of doing our True Will. Therefore let
us all arise and awaken ourselves in the New Law, to live in the
majestic universe of the glorious stars, and to flame forth free
with Light and Liberty!
In "The Law is for All" (New Falcon Publications), Aleister
Crowley stated the following informative words: "Each person is
responsible to himself, being a star, to travel in his own orbit,
composed of his own elements, to shine with his own light, with
the color proper to his own nature, to revolve and to rush with
his own inherent motion, and to maintain his own relation with
his own galaxy in its own place in the universe. His existence is
his sole and sufficient justification for his own matter and
manner. His only possible error is to withdraw himself from this
consciousness of himself as both unique in himself and necessary
to the norm of nature."
As initiates of Thelema, We of the New Golden Dawn are dedicated
to the essential task of extending the New Law in the world, to
help develop a New Race of free men and women who are consecrated
to that One Law, and to establish the New Kingdom of Horus upon
earth. The Law is for all; thus we do not concern ourselves with
initiating a selected few; we concern ourselves with the
initiation of all mankind; and those of us who are initiates of
the New Order are obligated to that grand task by way of the
development of our own individual freedom; our principal work is
to uphold that obligation by fulfilling the Law itself, that is,
by doing our own True Will. We all need to express our own unique
natures, to fulfil our individual tasks in life, to do our own
True Will, and indeed we will be the makers of a New Race which
will live and reign like the wondrous stars of the beautiful
night-sky, in universal harmony, without clash or conflict, free
and mighty to flame forth on their own unique orbits in the
Celestial Order.
Now The Book of the Law contains 220 verses in all. 220 = 10 x
22. There are 10 Sephiroth and 22 Paths of the Qabalistic Tree of
Life. The Tree of Life is a scientific diagram of the various
macrocosmic and microcosmic forces which govern the Universe and
Man. It is the Qabalistic glyph of the Universal All. Thus in The
Book of the Law is contained the Mysteries of The All. Moreover,
220 = 20 x 11. Now observe that 20 + 11 = 31. The number 31 is of
great importance in the Qabalah of The Book of the Law. It is the
number of the Hebrew God Name "AL". The Book of the Law is
otherwise called "Liber Al". "AL" is an appropriate qabalistic
name of the God of The Book of the Law. The God "AL" is The All,
Pan, otherwise called Set in Egyptian Mythology. In Hebrew the
name Set is Shin-Teth. In Tarot, Shin is Atu 20 and Teth is Atu
11, and 20 + 11 = 31. Observe also that 31 is the number of the
Path of Shin on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Shin is the letter
of Set and it is the letter of our New Aeon of Force and Fire.
The original manuscript of The Book of the Law contained 65
pages. 65 is the number of NU (Nuit) and HAD (Hadit) united (Nun-
Vav + Heh-Daleth = 65.) It is also the number of Adonai, the
Lord. Ra-Hoor-Khuit is the Lord of the New Aeon, and Ra-Hoor-
Khuit (Set) is the Child of the Marriage of Nuit and Hadit. Now
65 (Samech-Heh), when translated into Tarot is "Temperance" (Atu
XIV) and "The Star" (Atu XVII). 14 + 17 = 31. Again, 31 is the
qabalistic numerical value of AL (Aleph-Lamed), of the God of The
Book of the Law. (Note: New Golden Dawn members should consult
the New Golden Dawn Correspondence Lesson Number XI and the New
Golden Dawn Flying Roll Number VIII for further important
insights into the number 31.)
It is a most important matter for us to understand that the
magical formula of The Book of the Law is not founded on an
absolute truth but on one that is relative to the Spirit of the
Times. The Book of the Law makes no false claim to solve all the
problems of humanity; it merely indicates a particular stage in
the course of evolution. This particular stage is called the New
Aeon of Horus. Horus, the Lord of the New Aeon, is the Child of
Osiris and Isis, and He partakes the elements of both his Father
and Mother. He is bisexual, a combination of male and female; He
is a Twin-God, that is, two in One. Like all true gods, Horus is
an archetypal symbol of a certain force of Nature, particularly
of the true nature of Man; for, as we shall discover in our
progress, there is no god but Man. Men and women are now free to
be what they are in truth, that is, self-sufficient gods of
infinite space, free to flame forth in the cosmos of infinity as
bright and glorious stars, unique and supreme. We are to live
like gods, crowned and conquering, free to do our own Will. Truly
this is Our Magical Heritage from the Stars, by which we make of
the Dance of Life a veritable Thrill and an Ecstasy Sublime; the
Sacrament of Incarnation becomes a sublime source of great joy
and pleasure. As gods we must live, in Light, Life, Love and
Liberty, not as mere mortals who determine no path for their
life, who are but simple slaves yet without even a master to rule
them. We must master ourselves and our own destinies, and verily
we will make of the Sacrament of Life a Grand Celebration of the
Limitless Freedom of Existence!
It is very important to bear in mind, if we are to understand The
Book of the Law, that it is not the letter that counts, but
rather the Spirit of the letter. Words are designed to indicate
essence and meaning; other from this they are meaningless. There
are certain verses in The Book of the Law which are not to be
interpreted literally, but rather magically, in spirit and
essence. For instance, when The Book of the Law speaks of
stamping down the wretched and the weak it may in fact be
referring to the essential operation of banishing those wretched
and weak elements in yourself which hinder you from knowing and
doing your True Will. When it speaks of violent actions, this
does not mean that we should be violent and do those brutal
things which are often described in horrible detail. Rather it is
indicating certain revolutionary formulae. The language of the
Author of the book, who was Crowley's Holy Guardian Angel, may on
the surface appear violent and abominable, but this is only so in
our limited world of thought. Aiwass, the Author of the book, is
of another world and reality, and his ways are not our ways; and
it is a very possible fact that Aiwass was using such a
revolutionary language to bar the profane from the realization of
certain recondite truths of the Universe which were revealed in
The Book of the Law, lest the profane abuse those sacred truths.
This is the New Aeon of Horus; the Old Aeon of Osiris is dead!
But Horus is just a babe and he is still clinging to Old Aeon
principles, in fear of the unknown. We are Horus, the Child, and
there is no escape from the fact that we are still clinging
childishly to the false doctrines of Christianity and other Old
Aeon rubbish. We fear the unknown and thereby remain bound to the
old. But we must grow in freedom; it is the law of our nature. My
point is this: We should take a jump into the Unknown, putting
aside all Old Aeon ways of thinking, and by such a process it
will become more possible for us to comprehend the revolutionary
language of The Book of the Law. The language of The Book of the
Law is not the language of a man; it is the language of a
Praeter-human Intelligence, a being of a transcendent kind. The
Book of the Law contains a new language making way for a new
epoch in thought. It is the language of a New Aeon, concealing an
inner meaning which may in fact be the reverse of its outer
meaning. Let us penetrate beyond the mere letter, and perceive
instead the Spirit, essence and secret meaning of the letter.
There is more than meets the eye in The Book of the Law! As
Hadit states in the second chapter: "There is great danger in me;
for who doth not understand these runes shall make a great miss.
He shall fall down into the pit called Because, and there he
shall perish with the dogs of Reason." Hadit further states:
"Also reason is a lie; for there is a factor infinite & unknown."
Let us go beyond the limited operations of mere reason when we
approach The Book of the Law. Let us rather read it and
experience the essence, the inner meaning of its symbolism and
characters. It is designed to inform us concerning certain
important principles of practical universal worth, to assist us
in our cosmic evolution, to help us progress in freedom and joy.
Let us put aside our useless prejudices and beliefs based on Old
Aeon principles, and let us advance forward in the Rising Light
of the New Golden Dawn, to partake of the freedom and joy which
The Book of the Law announces as essential to progress. If we are
to understand anything correctly in this New Aeon of Horus we
must cast aside all systems, ways and beliefs of the Old Aeon,
and be willing to judge things in the Spirit of the Times, free
from the false notions of the dead past. When we approach The
Book of the Law and become appalled by some of its verses, we
should ask ourselves whether or not we are doing so in the light
of the New Aeon or if we are simply projecting our old ways of
thinking. For the New Aeon of the Crowned Child is here! Begone
with the old; let us make way for the new! Let Change, which is
Love, work its Mighty Miracle in the world, bringing with it joy
and liberty and success.
Receive now, my dear brothers and sisters of the New Aeon, the
supreme and sublime benediction of Our Book of the Law: the New
Life of Freedom -- the True Path of Liberty -- by which all men
and women are brought to the Supreme Illumination, made sublime
in the Cosmic Rapture, and transformed into veritable Stars that
flame forth on their own majestic orbits with eternal motion and
endless ecstasy, supreme and unconquerable in this infinite
Universe of Perpetual Delight. All this to the Glory of Nuit,
Hadit, Ra-Hoor-Khuit, and for the establishment of the Dominion
of His New Law; yea, for the establishment of the Dominion of His
New Law. In nomine Novus Ordo Aureae Aurora, Sic sit vobis!
Love is the law, love under will.
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