bagheera444 said:
the manifestation of thelema in occult groups like O.T.O with its FEARFUL (percieved) initiation rituals and threats of decapitation or disembowlment are quasi masonic but to some, veiled threat or not a scary thought and not at all the actions of a normal gathering of people. The demands for more MONEY the more initiations you take sounds a bit cultish .The CONTROL aspect (something you missed )begins to appear here as leaders who are undeserving even of their pompous titles ,MISLEAD, MISINFORM and generally act as pretend masters who unfortunately believe their own sense of self worth while looking to exploit the good will (thelema) aspect from within its membership.
To insist on secrecy ,to manipulate members for power, profit ,or some misguided spiritual principle is i hate to say it a wee bit cultish
Hello Bagheera444,
I think that there is a big difference between the philosophy of Thelema itself and the groups that follow Thelema. Amongst my Thelemic friends, the OTO is seen as a pale shadow of its former self, and is very much shied away from: it is viewed with contempt for its actions, and seen as nothing more than an excuse to take alot of dangerous drugs. Thelema itself however, cannot be a
cult because it is a philosophy. When it is applied in some groups however, those
groups may become a cult, but not the philosophy they hold onto.
Analgous to this, I will bring up the religion/philosophy of Christianity: many would say this is certainly not a cult, but when you look at the Nunneries that are a 'subsidiary' of the umbrella-term that is Christianity, many would say they
are cults indeed. But the teachings of the Bible can not be seen as a cult because they are merely words until acted upon by somebody.
(I hope I explained that okay...)
As for studying Liber Legis alongside Tarot, I think isthmus-nekoi is onto something here, especially when referring to the Thoth deck.
True, one can definitely
use the Thoth deck in readings without understanding anything of Thelema, but the fact is that Crowley designed it based on Thelemic principles, and these concepts are imbued in the deck itself. If you wish to study the Thoth deck for other purposes, say, because you wish to understand each image in the context of that specific deck (instead of in the context of traditional Tarot meanings), then I would say it is essential to understand where on earth Crowley was coming from! Since Liber Legis is seen as the primary work of Thelema, I would say it's a pretty good place to start.
The Lust card in the deck is a primary example of what I'm talking about: if you wish to use the deck for divination, then this card will take on the traditional meanings of Strength. But if you want to understand the concepts behind the card, you will need to first understand what Crowley throught of women, his concept of the Whore of Babylon, and his 'Scarlet Woman'. All these concepts are written about or alluded to in Crowley's works, and in Liber Legis you could say that the whole of Chapter 1 is devoted to this concept.
(Agh! I've just become a centre of pestilence...! It says in Liber Legis that anybody who discusses it will be a centre of pestilence. Ah well...)
So, that's my personal take on all this.
Blessings,
Kiama
