From: Christeos Pir Area: Thelema To: Herb Mitchell 13 Mar 95 21:00:54 Subject: Intro to Thelema? UpdReq -=> Herb Mitchell sent a message to All on 12 Mar 95 22:35:02 <=- -=> Re: Intro to Thelema? <=- Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. HM> Can someone recommend a good, basic introductory text on Thelema? You'll probably be deluged, but here goes anyway. It's hard to know what someone considers a basic intro, and I've had people think that something I found dense was simple and vice versa. For that reason, I've included some stuff that I personally don't think of as necessarily being basic intro material, but that is good enough to recommend it anyway. Your querent might find it to their taste. Crowley, Aleister: Magick Without Tears. New Falcon Press; ISBN 0-941404-17-X; $14.95 (last I checked). A series of essays in the form of letters to a student, outlining Thelema and many other subjects from the Holy Guardian Angel to Black Magick to ... Crowley, Aleister: The Holy Books of Thelema. Weiser; ISBN 0-87728-686-8; $17.50 Just about every one of Crowley's inspired writings in one place. Less expensive, though not as comprehensive, as Gems From The Equinox (Regardie, ed.). Crowley, Aleister: Book Four: Liber ABA parts I-IV. Weiser; ISBN 0-87728-737-6; $49.95. If you can only afford one book on Thelema in your whole life, make it this one. (Well, and "Holy Books," above... Ok, that's two.) Brand new, exhaustively complete, painstakingly checked against the original texts, it contains the entire and corrected texts of Mysticism, Magick (Elementary Theory), Magick in Theory and Practice, and Thelema - The Law [The Book of the Law and AC's account of his receiving it]. Close to 900 pps with extensive -and I DO mean extensive- foot- and end-notes, appendices and a great intro by Hymenaeus Beta, head of the O.T.O.. I admit it might be a bit much for a beginner, perhaps better suited as a reference or advanced text, but we've all got to advance as we go, right? Crowley, Aleister: Heart of the Master. Mine is an old edition from 93 Publishing in Toronto, but I know it's been reprinted. This was the book that got my wife interested in Thelema -- the other stuff just put her off. Then. del Campo, Gerald: New Aeon Magick: Thelema Without Tears. Llewellyn; ISBN 1-56718-213-5; $9.99 Gerald set out intending to write a simple book for his children and ended up writing up a winning intro for beginners. Duquette, Lon Milo: The Magick of Thelema: A Handbook of the Rituals of Aleister Crowley; Weiser; ISBN 0-87728-778-3; $14.95 Despite some typos, an excellent textbook on the Ceremonial Magick side of Thelemic ritual. Everything from the Lesser Pentagram ritual to the Gnostic Mass. Regardie, Israel, ed.: The Law Is For All. I don't have my copy handy, so I can't give you the publisher's info. I presume it's from New Falcon, since they're linked to the Regardie estate. Contains the text of The Book of The Law, with some of Crowley's "liner notes" -- however, they were edited pretty drastically by Regardie. Regardie, Israel, ed.: Gems From The Equinox. Again, my copy's out of reach at the moment. Not as exhaustive as Book Four, but a major chunk nonetheless, and like Book Four more of a reference or advanced text than an intro. My recommendation would of course be for this person to take a look into each of these and see if it attracted them enough to peruse it further. If, however, someone were to say to me, "I'm an absolute newbie at this magick and Thelema jazz, and I live in Podunk, Nebraska -- pick one or two and I'll order them by mail," then I'd probably suggest Magick Without Tears, The Law Is For All and maybe the del Campo. Hope this helps somewhat... Love is the law, love under will. - Vitriol ... He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence. 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718 From: Fir Area: Thelema To: Christeos Pir 13 Mar 95 07:45:00 Subject: Speaking of books... UpdReq 93 Christeos, CP > Speaking of books, I just got a catalog in the mail from CP >someone called Kessinger Publishing I got their catalogue within the last month too. I've got several books highlighted and my first cut at an ordering list has 15 titles on the wish list. Let's see if we have any in common here: CP > HARTMANN, FRANZ, _Principles of Astrological Geomancy: The Art This will be on my 2nd order list probably. CP > WAITE, ARTHUR EDWARD, _Alchemical Writings of Edward Kelley_ I had already checked this out of our local library and made a copy. It's got The Stone of the Philosophers, Certain Fragments selected from the Letters of Edward Kelly, The Humid Way, or a Discourse upon the Vegetable Menstruum of Saturn, and The Theatre of Terrestrial Astronomy. Thanks for the tip though! As you know, I share a birthday with Kelley. CP > MEAD, G.R.S., _The Chaldean Oracles Vols. 1 & 2_ [...] 190 CP >pages, $18.00 Yep, this is on my list, as well as _Chaldean Magic its Origin and Development_ by Francois Lenormant. I just recently found out that certain names/words in the Star Ruby are from the Chaldean Oracles. CP > ...and many more by Manly Hall, Walter Scott, Besant, Leadbeater, CP > Waite, Paracelsus, Wynn Westcott, Florence Farr, Anna Kingsford, CP > Eliphaz Levi, Paul Foster Case, etc., etc... You left out Elias Ashmole . _Theatrum Chemicum Brittanicum_ and __The Way to Bliss_. Also Frater Achad's 3 books. Thanks for the info! Keep 'em coming. I'd have to say that your scoop of the year so far was _Women of the Golden Dawn_. 93 93/93, Fir 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718 From: Martin Krogh-Poulsen Area: Thelema To: Grey 9 Mar 95 10:59:04 Subject: Oto UpdReq well, hi Grey! Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. it was around Friday March 03 1995 that Grey informed To Meta Therion: G> No vaseline. ROFL !!! Love is the law, love under will. 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718 From: Nilen Area: Thelema To: Josh Norton 14 Mar 95 00:00:00 Subject: I.N.R.I. Rec'd UpdReq JN>Thus said Kevin Bold to Josh Norton concerning I.N.R.I.: JN> KB> Heh, heh, heh, you missed it: JN> JN> KB> I need reliable information. How about "Idioscrencies, Not Repetitous Incompentence JN>Groan! Am I bleeding? JN>... YHVH: Yes, He's Very Hip. JN>--- JN> X Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 X JN> * Origin: Access! Information Services (93:9000/2) ___ X CMPQwk #1.4X UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718 From: Fir Area: Thelema To: Grey 14 Mar 95 19:33:28 Subject: Re: SOLAR ENLIGHTENMENT UpdReq Hi Grey, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. > In the Vision and the Voice, 8th Aethyr, the Angel of the Aethyr > describes an > operation similar to the Abramelin Working, only much more feasible > for the modern aspirant. I'm fortunate in that I have the ear of someone locally who has done the Abra-Melin working. He had ordered the French manuscript to study that Mathers had translated from. Recently people are saying that the German version has a whole book that's not in the French version though. Another gentleman was kind enough to track down an ISBN on the German. I appreciate the tip. I'm also going to take a look at various abbreviated Abra-Melin workings, such as in King and Skinner's book and in William Gray's _Between Goodd & Evil_. Someone even suggested that the Cullings GBG book had a good magical retreat ritual in it so I borrowed that book from a friend and xeroxed it. Love is the law, love under will. Fir 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718 From: Herb Mitchell Area: Thelema To: Christeos Pir 15 Mar 95 17:56:00 Subject: Intro to Thelema? UpdReq Thanks for the suggestions. 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718