Whats the best way to come to Thelema?

ravenest

Aeon418 said:
One useful way to approach the more violent aspects of chapter III is to view it as the essential spirit of the pre-adept work. It is war with the inertia of the elemental self, that will drag you down unless you stand your ground and fight. (AL III:4-9) Mercy and pity won't help you in the battle (AL III:18) as you struggle with your own ill ordered house (your self). The work may become distasteful and is not entirely risk free. Ra-Hoor-Khu is with thee. (AL III:11)

When considering the god RHK it is helpful to study Atu XVII The Tower (War) and Atu VIII Adjustment (Vengeance). As the tutelary deity symbolic of the True Will he is an energizing and balancing force, provided you are in alignment with him. If there are blockages to the True Will then he appears destructive and his means of balancing the scales is Geburah (see the 5's of Tarot).

ravenest

The Volume of Sacred Law.

Professor X said:
I have a couple of general questions about the Book of Law. If anyone has any input I would be interested in reading it.

1. If you have ever read the Key Of Solomon you will notice that certain sigils and conjurations use certain bible verses in them to produce a certain effect.
Can the same be done with the Book of Law verses. I would imagine you could so if you desired. Im not implying that the BOL is a Bible but rather if different parts can be utilized in occult practices in a similar way.

Most deffinatly! Happens all the time in different culture; Koran, Bible, Hebrew Scripture. Looking at the process of many rituals (disregarding belief and looking at the technology) this is an important aspect and most certainly works with the BoL for Thelemites. Some of my own ritual scripts (specifically the Consecrations of magical weapons and tools, Evocation Rites and ESPECIALLY initiation rituals) all source verses from the BoL , often based on the G.D. stuff. It worked very well with some verses seemingly fitting exactly for the task at hand.

In Masonry, Lodges allow any 'accepted' religous book to be on the altar when the candidate takes their oath; Bible, Koran, etc. Some accept the BoL on the altar! They refer to the Book on the altar as The Volume of Sacred Law. I think the idea is that this volume means something special to you and is used to get through to a deeper part of yourself and perhaps the uncouncious (where one needs to change ... to make REAL change).

Professor X said:
2. Do certain verses have affinity with the qualities of the different planets,from what I have seen thus far I would say so. I would imagine you could use certain things to get intuned with planetary energies.

Yes, You can use them like that. The thing about developing a system is that it has to have its own internal integrity and a type of magical logic ... that works for you ... and your 'unconcious'

.

ravenest

Bitter Almond said:
Ultimately, just read the book and follow it to the best of your ability. Thelema isn't anywhere near as different from any other religion as it's made out to be. "Do what thou wilt" is just another way of saying "Do what you believe is right".

When I first became a Thelemite what I believed was right (back then, as I hadnt worked through a lot of past conditioning) is very different from the approach I have now that I understand what my Will is ( a little bit more

).

The trouble with further explaining 'Do What Thou Wilt' with another short phrase is that it either confuses or limits the issue at hand. THose words were chosen to be very specific.

Aeon418

ravenest said:
The trouble with further explaining 'Do What Thou Wilt' with another short phrase is that it either confuses or limits the issue at hand. THose words were chosen to be very specific.

Very specific indeed. Bitter Almond substituted "thou" for "you". Big difference there, and very misleading.

Professor X

ravenest said:
Some of my own ritual scripts (specifically the Consecrations of magical weapons and tools, Evocation Rites and ESPECIALLY initiation rituals) all source verses from the BoL , often based on the G.D. stuff. It worked very well with some verses seemingly fitting exactly for the task at hand.

That is good to know. I wrote my first Thelemic type of ritual and I incorporated some of the aspects of the Book Of Law in it. When it comes to your own private rituals I am seeing that the more personal the better off you will be with it all. The more the verses involved with magical mean to you personally the more effect they will have. I also like to take other rituals as a starting point and then modify it with my own personal touches.