Best of
Thelema

2009

Initiation in the Aeon of the Child: The Inward Journey


J. Daniel Gunther - 2009
    The doctrine codified in The Book of the Law and the numerous other Holy Books known as Thelema revealed Aleister Crowley as the Prophet of the new Aeon.In this ground-breaking book, author J. Daniel Gunther provides a penetrating and cohesive analysis of the spiritual doctrine underlying and informing the Aeon of the Child, and the sublime formulas of Initiation encountered by those who would probe its mysteries. Drawing on more than 30 years of experiences as a student and teacher within the Order of the A.·.A.·., the author examines the doctrinal thread of Thelema in its historical, religious, and practical context. This book is written in clear, precise language that will aid those students who seek to navigate the difficult terrain of the spiritual quest. More advanced students will find tantalizing clues to serve as guideposts and eventual confirmation of direct experience. With numerous diagrams and detailed references encompassing ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, the Apocrypha, the Old and New Testaments, alchemy, hermetic Qabalah, and tarot, as well as the writings of Carl Jung and Aleister Crowley.

The Progradior Correspondence: Letters By Aleister Crowley, Frank Bennett, C. S. Jones, & Others


Keith Richmond - 2009
    Large 8vo. (9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches) xii + 148pp. Blue cloth with gilt titling to spine. Dustjacket. b&w frontispiece. Index. Edition limited to 666 numbered copies. The Progradior Correspondence comprises the text of ninety letters and other documents that were exchanged between Frater Progradior, Aleister Crowley's Lancashire-born follower, Frank Bennett, and members of the Beasts inner circle, including Crowley himself, Charles Stansfeld Jones, Leilah Waddell, Leah Hirsig and others. The correspondence began in 1910 when Bennett wrote to Crowley seeking his advice on the performance of The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage. It continued through the years of The Equinox, through Crowley's residence in the United States during the First World War, and on past the heydays of the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu in the early 1920s. The exchange finally drew to a close in 1926, by which time Crowley had dropped or otherwise lost contact with most of his associates of the preceding decade and a half. A third of the letters were written by Aleister Crowley. Like the rest of the correspondence, these focus largely on the efforts that he and his followers were making to promote his occult fraternities, the A.'. A.'. and the O.T.O. As such they offer valuable first-hand accounts of the development of Crowley's creed of Thelema during this important period. The letters are highly revealing on a personal level as well, and provide considerable insight into Crowley's character and the influence that he had on the people around him. In broader terms they give a fascinating impression of the lives and activities of all those involved. The Progradior Correspondence is edited by Frank Bennett's biographer, Keith Richmond, who has also contributed a short Introduction and added footnotes to elucidate some of the more obscure names, words and passages in the letters.

To Perfect This Feast: The Gnostic Mass


James Wasserman - 2009
    careers--James and Nancy Wasserman (Bishops Tahuti and Mara) offer a coherent look at the ritual described by Aleister Crowley as the central ritual of [the O.T.O. s] public and private celebration. With no attempt to improve upon the teachings of the Master, they elucidate a method of performing the Mass whose entire rationale is a strict adherence to the instructions given in Liber XV. The authors have striven to understand the meaning of Crowley s text penned in the white-hot fury of his 1913 inspiration and extract the relevant spiritual teachings embedded within this elegant ritual. A series of insights, beginning in December of 2005 e.v., revealed solutions to long-hidden performance mysteries. The authors were encouraged to share these with a broader audience. If you are interested in Aleister Crowley and the Gnostic Mass, this book will teach you how to perform it in a manner that conforms to his instructions.

Starfire Journal: A Journal of the New Aeon, Volume II, Number 3


Kenneth Grant - 2009