TO MEGA THERION

THE GREAT BEAST 666

The Life & Times of
Aleister Crowley

by
Brian Northmore
To Mega Therion

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To Mega Therion
The Great Beast 666

The Life & Times of

Aleister Crowley

2010 version
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This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, photocopied or held in any retrieval
system or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any
form of binding or cover other than that in which this is published and without
a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.

Beejay Publications Ltd.

Warwick Road,
Doncaster,
S. Yorkshire

First published 2008

© B. J. Northmore 2008 - 2010
Typesetting by Beejay Publications
Printed in Great Britain by
Beejay Publications

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Contents

Preface ix

Chapter 1 – A Biography of the Beast 666 1

Aleister Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December 3

1947)
In Summary 45
Life After Death 50
In Conclusion 52
And Finally .... 53
Some Quotes from the Master 55
The Magical Mottos of A.C. & his Associates 59
Some of Crowley’s Biographers 62
Biographers’ Quotes 63
A Short Chronology 65

Chapter 2 – Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 71

History 73
The Origin of the Cipher Manuscript 74
Giving Credulity to the Order 75
Progression of the Order 76
The Eventual Breakup of the Order 79
The Historic Lecture - Golden Dawn by Dr. William
Wynn Westcott 84
Structure and Grades of the Golden Dawn 88
In Summary 90
Some Prominent Members of the G.D. & their Magical
Mottos 91
Isis-Urania 91
Ahathoor / Alpha et Omega 92
Amen-Ra 92
Stella-Matutina 92

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Chapter 3 – Astrum Argentum A A 95

History 97
Continuation of the Order 102
Grades within the Order 103
The Order of the S.S. 103
The Order of the R.C. 103
The Order of the G.D. 103
Liber LXI vel Causae 105
The Preliminary Lection 105
The History Lection 106
Useful Rituals 110
Some Prominent Members of the A A & their
Magical Mottos 112

Chapter 4 – Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) 115

History 117
Grades within the O.T.O. 126
Man of Earth Triad 126
Lover Triad 126
Hermit Triad 127
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica/Gnostic Catholic Church
(E.G.C.) 129
Membership of the E.G.C. 129
The Creed 130
Some Prominent Members of the O.T.O. & their
Magical Mottos 131

Chapter 5 – Thelema 133

What is Thelema? 135

The Purpose of Magick 135
High and Low Magick 136
The Techniques of Magick 136
Invocation/Evocation 136
Banishing/Purification 139
Eucharistic Ritual 140
Consecration 141
Yoga & Magick 142
Divination 143
Other Magical Practices 145
The Tree of Life 145
Keeping a Magical Record 145
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Ceremonial/Ritual Magick 147

Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram 151
Components of Ritual Magick 153
Magical Weapons 153
Magical Formulae 153
Vibration of God Names 154
Paranormal Effects 154
Enochian Magick 157
The Enochian Tablets 158
The Tablet of Union 159
The Elemental Kings 160
The Seniors 160
The Sephirotic Cross Angels 160
The Kerubic Square Angels 161
The Enochian Keys 161
The Religion/Philosophy of Thelema 169
How Thelema Developed 169
The Abbey of Thelema 170
Thelemic Sacred Texts 176
Thelemic Customs 176
A Basic Guide to Thelema 177
In Summary 178
Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn 181

Appendix 1 – A A Publications, Poetry, Novels, 185

Essays & Other

Understanding Crowley’s Works 187

Classes of Publications 189
Crowley’s Poetry, Novels, Essays and Other
Miscellany 200
Obtaining copies of Aleister Crowley's Publications 211

Appendix 2 – The Book of the Law 215

The Book of the Law 217

Egyptian Gods & Goddesses associated with the Book 232
of the Law
A Short Creation Myth 232
Gods & Goddesses referred to in the Book of the Law 233
Other Gods/Goddesses referred to by Crowley 243

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Appendix 3 – The Gnostic Mass 247

Catholicae Canon Missae 249

Appendix 4 – Images of Aleister Crowley, his 271

Associates & Artwork

Images of Aleister Crowley 273

Crowley’s Sketches & Artwork 277
Images of People Associated with Crowley 278

Appendix 5 – Basic Hebrew 281

The Sacred Alphabet 283

Gematria, Notarikon and Temura 285

Appendix 6 – Glossary of Terms 293

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Preface
The Internet site from which this book has been compiled
(http://www.tomegatherion.co.uk) took me a long time to prepare, and
is still relatively new having been uploaded as recently as April 2008.
As a consequence, I really would greatly appreciate any feedback
from you with suggestions of other topics for inclusion, or notification
of any errors you might notice as you browse the pages, through my
'Contact page' on the site itself. Only with your help can I possibly
hope to make the site one of the most interesting and comprehensive
to be found on the Internet covering the life and times of this complex
man.

The site was created to assist those who are curious to learn a little
more about Aleister Crowley, to enable them to make up their own
minds about this enigmatic character to whom I have now devoted
many years of research. Perhaps I should explain that it was only
after experiencing numerous unexplained profound psychic
phenomena that I got so deeply and seriously involved in all matters
to do with the occult.

I have studied the occult for a number of years now – too numerous
to mention – and find this particular personality of great interest. I
would have loved to have met him, but he died a few months after I
was born, which ought to convince my wife that I cannot possibly be
his reincarnation! Despite my being fascinated by Mr Crowley, all of
the pages to be found on the site, and thus in this publication, are
completely unbiased in any way, my own beliefs, experiments and
experiences remain as such, i.e. my own, and have not influenced
anything I have written, except where I have stated something along
the lines, “my own personal opinion is . . . . ”

This book, like its sister publication Links 2 the Occult, is dedicated to
my lovely, thoughtful and caring wife, Maureen, who has put up with
my researching Aleister Crowley and the subject of the occult in
general for hours on end day after day, month after month, year after
year, and who then desperately wanted to read both of my sites ‘To
Mega Therion’ and ‘Links 2 the Occult’ in their entirety, but due to
strenuous and I really mean very stressful work commitments, along
with those of running a home with three demanding teenage children,
could never find the time. Consequently, I extracted all the relevant
information and compiled it in this format, something she could pick
up and read at her leisure whenever those time constraints permitted.

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The book is presented in more or less the same manner as the site.
There are five chapters: Chapter 1 is a biography of the great man,
Chapter 2 describes the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,
Chapter 3 the Astrum Argentum A A , Chapter 4 the Ordo Templi
Orientis (O.T.O.), and Chapter 5 Crowley’s System of Thelema. In
addition there are six appendices: Appendix 1 lists the A A ’s
authorised publications of Aleister Crowley, Appendix 2 is The Book
of the Law, Appendix 3 reproduces the Gnostic Mass, Appendix 4
shows images of Crowley, his associates and his art, Appendix 5
describes Basic Hebrew, while Appendix 6 provides a Glossary of the
Terms used in Thelemic belief.

_______________________________________________________

Aleister Crowley, like so many of the world's other outstanding men

who preceded him, was undoubtedly a man born before his time. He
was a man who did not suffer fools gladly living in Victorian and
Georgian societies that could neither understand him nor even begin
to appreciate his true genius. His extensive writings so shocked the
vast majority of the influential people of the time that he was most
likely robbed of the praise that many of them so richly deserved.
Fortunately the world today is a much more enlightened place, and
even more fortunately for those of us still living in it, his publications
live on. To see a list of these publications, in particular those relating
to the Astrum Argentum A A , the organisation he formed with
George Cecil Jones after the collapse of the Golden Dawn, see
Appendix I.

I would certainly recommend that you read his autohagiography titled

The Confessions of Aleister Crowley. Apart from being a tremendous
read, it may well alter any preconceived impression you have of the
man, irrespective of what your thoughts were originally, saint or
sinner. The cost of Crowley's publications has rocketed since his
death, so you may well consider the expense is not worth it. In this
case I would suggest you try the Public Library, which is from where I
obtained and read my first copy many years ago, but you really
should bear in mind that truly rare books can turn out to be a sound
investment. I consider myself very fortunate as I recently acquired a
copy of the 1989 reprint (in outstanding condition for its age) on eBay
for less than £23 including postage. Amazon is another web site you
can try with complete confidence. I was also very lucky when I
picked up an original First Edition of the 1969 print in hardback, also
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relatively cheaply and in wonderful condition. This was the first

complete airing of this great tome, as prior to this the first two parts
of the book only had ever been published! We should thank the
‘Secret Chiefs’. Shortly before Crowley's death, John Symonds, co-
editor of Confessions persuaded him to get the remainder of the
manuscripts typed, which he did. He sent a copy to Symonds and
The Confessions of Aleister Crowley is the subsequent result.

The name Aleister Crowley still instils revulsion and horror in the
hearts and minds of many, although these tend to be uninformed
bigots who know nothing whatsoever of the man except what they
have been told by other uninformed bigots. He gained much
notoriety during and after his time on this earth, and was (in)famously
dubbed The Wickedest Man in the World by the magazine John Bull,
a title of which he was indubitably proud. The same magazine ran
headlines such as 'THE KING OF DEPRAVITY', 'A HUMAN BEAST'
and 'A MAN WE'D LIKE TO HANG' after the scandal concerning the
Abbey of Thelema.

His interests and accomplishments were wide-ranging. Apart from

being a Magus, he was a chess master, an expert mountaineer and
rock climber, an adventurer, and a truly prolific poet and writer as can
be seen from his list of publications. In addition to these talents, he
wrote and spoke several languages. He was also a painter,
astrologer, drug experimenter, and social critic. His experiments with
hallucinatory drugs quite clearly developed his growing addiction for
heroin, a habit from which he suffered for the remainder of his life.
He is perhaps best known today for his extensive occult writings, in
particular The Book of the Law, which became the central sacred text
of the religion and philosophy of Thelema.

I sincerely hope you enjoy what you read and discover! You may well
change the opinion you hold of the world’s greatest magician.

Should you find this book of interest and decide you wish to read
and/or learn more (significantly much more) about magick and the
occult in general, while at the same time demystifying the myths and
taboos surrounding it, then why not visit my well-established partner
site Links 2 the Occult? This is probably/possibly the most
informative site on the internet explaining all you need to know about
the subject in layman's language. It is highly recommended to
anyone who wishes to broaden their outlook on magick and the
occult!

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Chapter 1

A Biography of
The Beast 666

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Aleister Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December

1947)

A man totally
misunderstood and
even feared by
many during his
lifetime, Aleister
Crowley channelled
his genius and
numerous talents
into magick in the
belief that he was
the reincarnation of one of the world's Eliphas Lévi
greatest magicians, Eliphas Lévi, who died
in the same year in which he was born. He also remembered past
1
incarnations as Alessandro Cagliostro and Pope Alexander VI
amongst others.

The spelling of magick in this manner, now in common practice, had

been used centuries before Crowley came into being in his latest
existence but had gone out of fashion. It was revived by him to
distinguish the true science of the Magi from its 'counterfeits', such as
stage magic, legerdemain and illusion. It could ‘possibly’ be
coincidence, but ‘k’ also has an esoteric meaning in that kteis in
Greek means vagina.

And now - a Biography of The Beast

666
Edward Alexander Crowley (his surname being pronounced as one
would pronounce the word ‘holy’) was born on 12 October 1875 at 30
Clarendon Square, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, into a wealthy
and strictly religious Victorian family. His father, despite having been

1
Pope Alexander VI (1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503), born Roderic Llançol (later
Roderic de Borja i Borja - Italian: Rodrigo Borgia) was Pope between 1492 and 1503. He
is probably the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance, and his
surname (Italianised as Borgia) became a byword for the debased standards of the
papacy of that era. Rodrigo assumed the family name of his mother (Borja) upon the
elevation of his maternal uncle, Alonso de Borja, to the papacy as Calixtus III in 1455.
Although supposedly celebate as the pope, Roderic suffered from syphilis
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2
a brewer, was a member of the Plymouth Brethren. The Crowleys
came from Alton (Hampshire), and ran a brewery in Croydon (Surrey)
for over 200 years. They were very successful at selling beer along
with what was described as ‘a first class sandwich’ in the Alton
Alehouses for 4d (four pence – four old pence that is). This could be
considered the forerunner of the modern-day ploughman's lunch. It
was after the brewery was sold in 1877 that they moved to
Leamington, and it is thought that Edward invested his money in the
3
highly successful Amsterdam Water Works Company .

Although he was an only child, his parents did conceive and bear
another, Grace Mary Elizabeth, on 29 February 1880, who lived for
five hours. As a young boy, the only book he was allowed to read
was the Bible, but it seems he had no interest in the narrative with the
exception of that in Revelation. He was attracted to the opponents of
heaven such as the Dragon, the False Prophet, the Scarlet Woman,
and in particular, the Beast 'whose number is the number of a man,
six hundred and three score six', with whom he could identify.

His attitude towards his parents is probably one

of the stranger facets of his early life, eventually
leading to his contempt for Christianity. His
father was undoubtedly his hero and friend, a
natural ‘born leader’ of men who influenced
thousands through his
expressiveness, but he
tells us he despised
his mother and treated
Crowley’s Father, her like one would a
Edward servant, although he
always appeared to have a ‘soft spot’ for her
when we actually read between the lines.
He maintained frequent contact throughout
her life and often stayed with her when he
needed to convalesce. Crowley’s Mother, Emily
Bertha, née Bishop

2
The Plymouth Brethren are members of a fundamentalist Protestant Christian
Evangelical movement that began in Dublin in the late 1820s. The Brethren are
commonly considered to be divided into two branches, the Open Brethren and the
Exclusive Brethren, although this is perhaps an over-simplification and may not reflect the
many sub-branches existing within these two groups. They insist on the literal
interpretation of the Bible as being the exact words of the Holy Ghost.
3
Ever since 1851, the Dune-water company had provided the people of Amsterdam with
fresh drinking water from the dunes at Vogelenzang. Through 23 kilometres of cast iron
piping, it was pumped into the city where it could be bought for one cent per bucket
outside the Willemspoort.

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Chapter 2

The Hermetic Order of

the Golden Dawn

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The Hermetic Order of the Golden

Dawn

History
In was in 1888, that three Kabbalists, Freemasons,
and Rosicrucians founded the Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn (G.D.), to fill the gap that had been left
by the Theosophical Society, which had shifted to an
Eastern orientation. The founders intended the
Order to be the guardian of the Western Esoteric
Tradition, keeping its knowledge intact, while at the
same time preparing and teaching the mysteries to
those individuals who wished to learn.

The primary creator of the G.D.,

whose brainchild it actually was,
was Dr. William Wynn Westcott
(1848 – 1925), a physician and
London coroner interested in
occultism. Westcott was a
Master Mason and the
Secretary General of the
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
(SRIA). His associates were Dr.
Dr William Dr William
Wynn Westcott Robert Woodman
William Robert Woodman (1828
– 1891) and Samuel Liddell
MacGregor Mathers (1854 – 1918). A different account of the
foundation of the Order tells us that it was initially founded by
Westcott and Woodman, with Mathers being asked to join them later.

Dr. Woodman was a retired physician, and a

member of the SRIA. He was also an excellent
Kabbalist, and probably played a leading role in
developing the Kabbalistic studies of the Order.
The magician of the G.D. was without doubt
Mathers. Of the three founding members, he
was the one most responsible for turning the
G.D. into a truly magical, initiatory Order.

To fully understand how the G.D. came about,

some reference to the Cipher Manuscript, the Samuel Liddell
MacGregor Mathers
document upon which the Rituals and
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Knowledge Lectures of the Order are based, is necessary. One story

tells us that sometime during the 1870s or 1880s, the cipher
manuscript was discovered on a bookstall by Dr. Woodman, but
another, the one most favoured, is that in 1887 Westcott was given
some sixty pages of a manuscript, written in cipher, by a Reverend
A.F.A. Woodford, an elderly Mason who, it was claimed, got the
manuscript from ‘a dealer in curios’. The manuscript, which certainly
appeared to be old, was deciphered by Westcott using the cipher
found in Abbot Johann Trithemius’ book Polygraphiae. It proved to
be a series of five ritual outlines of an occult Order, which Westcott
expanded into full working grade rituals from Neophyte (0°=0°)
through to Philosophus (4°=7°). In addition to the five rituals, the
manuscript contained details of the true attribution of the Tarot
trumps, something which had been sought for centuries and which
cleared up a host of Kabbalistic difficulties. Upon completion of this
task, Westcott asked Mathers and Woodman to join him as chiefs of
his new Order.

Yet another tale relating to the cipher manuscript is that it proved

beyond the combined powers of the two eminent doctors to decipher,
although it is reputed that Florence Farr (1860-1917), also known as
Mrs Emery, said that a child could have done it. The two doctors
called on the assistance of Mathers, not only a scholar, but a Mason
and magician of considerable distinction who successfully
‘deciphered’ the manuscript, after which he was invited to join the
Order.

The Origin of the Cipher Manuscript

Whatever the truth relating to its
translation, the debate continues as to
the origin of the Cipher Manuscript.
Some scholars are of the opinion that
Westcott created it, while others think it
was either written by Lord Edward
Bulwer-Lytton (1803 – 1873), the author
of an occult novel called Zanoni, A
Strange Story, or else by Frederick
Hockley (1809 - 1885), a famous
Rosicrucian seer and transcriber of
occult manuscripts. Several other
theories have been proposed as possible
sources of the Cipher Manuscript, including a Masonic Lodge in
Frankfurt called the Loge zur aufgehenden Morgenrothe, and a

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Chapter 3

Astrum Argentum A A

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The Astrum Argentum A A

History
George Cecil Jones was the man
responsible for introducing Aleister
Crowley to the Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn (G.D.) in 1898. Shortly
after returning from China with his wife
Rose, Crowley became ill and went to
stay with Jones. With Jones' assistance,
and as a result of his own travels and
experiences, plus the small matter of his
expulsion from the original Order, Crowley decided to form his own
replacement Order with the intention that it would not only supersede
the remnants of the G.D., but would actively promote his own
Religion/Philosophy of Thelema (see Chapter 5). They wrote Liber
LXI vel Causae (Crowley’s own account of the G.D., its breakup and
how the A A came to be formed), and in 1907 founded a new
Order, the Astrum Argentum A A based on the Book of the Law.

Crowley only ever referred to the organisation as the A A ; what

the letters stood for was supposedly known by members only. Israel
Regardie in Gems from the Equinox suggests it should be Astrum
Argentinum, while others call it Argenteum Astrum, Arcanum
Arcanorum, Argentinum Astrum, Argentinium Astrum and Astron
Argon, although C.R. Cammell in his biography Aleister Crowley The
Black Magician tells us it is Atlantean Adepts. However, the
concensus of opinion seems to be Astrum Argentum.

Unlike the A A , the G.D. was primarily a teaching order, preparing

people to do magick in its Inner Order. The A A , on the other
hand, assumed that its members were either already trained in the
arts or were undergoing the necessary training from their immediate
superior.

This new Order was considered to be remarkable for the originality of

its structure, for unlike previous Orders, which tended to follow a
lodge system, members were supposed to know only their immediate
superior, plus, of course, anyone they introduced to the organisation.
While the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) has received the majority of
the publicity as the Order which actively follows and promotes the
teachings of the religion of Thelema, it was primarily designed to be a
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fraternal organisation (until a member reached the highest degrees)

while the A A was to be the major mode of transmitting Crowley’s
magical and mystical techniques and beliefs. See Liber XXXIII - An
Account of the A A . This publication was based on a part of Karl
von Eckhartshausen's Cloud upon the Sanctuary which Crowley
rewrote and edited to further describe his new Order.

There were no regular group rituals, although measures were taken

to ensure the identity of the Officers were hidden during the few
Temple initiation rituals, and members were expected to work alone,
consulting as and when required with their superior in the Order. In
this way it was hoped to avoid the many social complications and ego
problems that led to the downfall of its predecessor, the G.D.

The A A was a spiritual organisation focussing on enlightening an

individual, with an emphasis on maintaining the chain of initiates from
teacher to student. A member of the A A would strive to do the
following:

 Discover for himself his own True Will, and then do it, and do
nothing else.
 Accept the Book of the Law as the sole Rule of Life.
 Acknowledge that 'The word of the Law is Thelema' and that
'Love is the law, love under will'.
 Acknowledge the authority of the offices of the Beast 666 and
that of the Scarlet Woman.
 Accept Ra-Hoor-Khuit as the Lord of the Aeon, and work to
establish His reign upon Earth.
 Work to attain the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy
Guardian Angel.
 After attaining the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy
Guardian Angel, to enter into the Abyss, and to emerge again
therefrom.

The Temple and headquarters were situated in a rented flat at 124

Victoria Street, less than a quarter of a mile from Buckinhgam Palace.
The rituals and teachings of the Order were originally borrowed from
the G.D., but rewritten in a less esoteric form, with Yoga and other
oriental practices added, which Crowley had studied and learnt during
his travels. He realised that all religions and traditions were
interwoven, all having similar historic traditions and fables such as the
Great Flood, and integrated those teachings and philosophies with
the Western traditions. To begin with the only members were the two
founders, Crowley and Jones (who did not take an active role), but it
wasn’t long before people were flocking to join. Among the first were

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Appendix 1

Official A A Publications,
Poetry, Novels, Essays &
Other Miscellany

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Understanding Crowley’s Works

Aleister Crowley was probably the most renowned and influential
occultist of the 20th century, often for entirely the wrong reasons.
Fortunately he was also a prolific writer and has left us numerous
books relating not only to his system of magick, but also to poetry,
fiction and drama, but unfortunately for Crowley, who self-financed
the vast majority of his publications, these books are in much greater
demand since his demise than they ever were when he was alive.

Trying to understand the ideas of this complex man is extremely

difficult to say the least - many of his publications seem 'out of
context'. It is only when they are categorised that they actually begin
to make any sense whatsoever, but a reading of The Confessions of
Aleister Crowley (his auto-hagiography - his own autobiography of a
saint - known as the 'Hag' for short) will give you some idea of his
lifestyle, the way he thought, and the reasons for writing some of the
material.

Many of his individual works (shown below) became part of greater

volumes, upon which I shall try to shed some light thanks to other
websites which have helped in my research. For instance, what is
referred to as Book IV (Liber ABA) actually comprises four different
works:

 Part I - Mysticism
 Part II - Magick (Elementary Theory)
 Part III - Magick in Theory and Practice (referred to as MTP)
 Part IV - Thelema - The Law

Book 4 was a tremendous achievement taking years of laborious

writing and rewriting, but The Equinox was probably Crowley's
greatest undertaking. There are 'technically' four volumes of The
Equinox each containing ten 'issues', each issue being a book in its
own right. Unfortunately, Crowley did not live long enough to see the
completion of this work, passing away halfway through Volume III, all
issues after this being made by the new owners of Crowley's literary
works, Ordo Templi Orientis.

 Volume I

o Issues 1 - 10 - This was the original which includes the first

issue of Volume III (see below), The Book of The Law,
serialised versions of The Temple of Solomon the King*,

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various instructional material relating to the A A , poetry,

excerpts from his diaries and reviews of books and profiles.

* The Temple of Solomon the King is basically a serialised biography

of Crowley’s rise through the grades, and has since been superseded
by not only his own autohagiography, but other biographies.

 Volume II

o A Volume of Silence. So named by Crowley as a joke, since

he never published a Volume II due to spending the next five
years in America (during World War I), as well as financial
constraints.

 Volume III

o Issue 1 - The Blue Equinox.

After the publication of The Blue Equinox, Crowley’s money ran out
and it never appeared again as a regular journal although the O.T.O.
continued to issue it in book format, these later publications being
known by a number:

o Number 2 - Not published, although the main content was

supposedly Jesus (Liber 888) since published as The
Gospel According to St. Bernard Shaw.
o Number 3 - The Equinox of the Gods.
o Number 4 - Eight Lectures on Yoga.
o Number 5 - The Book of Thoth.
o Number 6 - Liber Aleph.
o Number 7 - The Shih Yi.
o Number 8 - Tao Teh King.
o Number 9 - Holy Books of Thelema. These are Class A
texts in which not so much as a letter can be changed (see
below for classes of texts).
o Number 10 - Referred to as 'Three-Ten'. This contains a
great deal of material relating to the O.T.O.

 Volume IV

o Number 1 - Commentaries on the Holy Books.

o Number 2 - The Vision and the Voice.
o Number 3 - The Urn and Other Papers.

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Appendix 6

Glossary of Terms

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A Glossary of Thelema
A
Abracadabra The word 'abracadabra' is generally known as that used
by stage conjurers to ensure their 'trick' worked.
However, it is a word of true ancient origin, used by real
magicians from around the third century AD. It appears
frequently in Kabbalistic and Gnostic texts, and derives
from an Aramaic phrase (Avarah K'Davarah), which
means 'I will create as I speak'. Aramaic is a northwest
Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew, dating
from the ninth century BC. Its 'square' script replaced
the archaic Hebrew script, which by the time of Jesus
had become the normal script for writing in Hebrew. It
was widely used in Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia,
the Persians extending its use to India, central Asia, and
Asia Minor.
Abrahadabra Aleister Crowley believed the word Abracadabra was
associated with the Gnostic God Abraxas. He altered
the spelling to 'Abrahadabra' to achieve a specific value
gematrically (418), when it first appeared in public in
The Book of the Law (Chapter 3, paragraphs 1, 47, 75),
the central sacred text of Thelema. The number 418
equates to the number of Crowley’s Holy Guardian
Angel, Aiwass (Book of the Law, Chapter 1, paragraph
46), and his castle Boleskine (Book of the Law, Chapter
2, paragraph 46). When the word is chanted, or when
its letters are arranged in an inverted pyramid and worn
around the neck as a talisman for nine days, it is
reputed to possess a magical power which will ward off
illness and cure fevers.
Abra Melin Abra Melin was known as Abramelin the Mage, a
(Abramelin the wandering Eastern sage whose magick is supposedly
Mage) enshrined in the fourteenth century book, The Sacred
Magick of Abramelin the Mage. Probably the most
practically used of old grimoires, it contains a detailed
and precise system of Ritual Magick, its authorship
being attributed to Abraham the Jew. Oil of Abramelin
(so named by Aleister Crowley who adapted his own
recipe from that found in The Sacred Magick of
Abramelin the Mage) is used in Thelemic and other
rituals.
Abraxas Abraxas is a Gnostic solar deity associated with
Yahweh, Mithras and the Celtic Belenus, as well as
Yeshu (Jesus). Amulets (see below) and seals bearing
the figure of Abraxas were commonplace in the second

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 To Mega Therion

century, and were used as recently as the thirteenth

century in the seals of the Knights Templar.
Gematrically, the letters in Abraxas total 365 (the
number of days in a solar year, and the number of
Aeons, or emanations, in Gnostic cosmology), while
each of the seven letters represents one of the seven
planetary powers.
Abulafia, Abraham Abraham Abulafia was a thirteenth century Jewish
mystic most notable for transcribing Jewish oral
Kabbalah, which up until this time had been very
jealously guarded, into written form.
Abyss In Ritual Magick and Kabbalah, the Abyss is the divide
between individual ego-consciousness and Cosmic
consciousness (enlightenment). In Kabbalah, it is the
divide between the Supernal and the lower Sephiroth,
i.e. the divide between the higher and lower states of
existence. The serpent Choronzon is the 'dweller' in the
abyss, the final great obstacle between the magician
and true enlightenment.
Acolyte An Acolyte assists the ordained and licensed ministers
at worship services. Their responsibilities include
lighting altar candles, carrying the candles in
procession, preparing the wine and water for the Mass
and assisting the Sacred Ministers in Mass. Acolytes
include the Banner Bearer, Flag Bearer, Clergy Crucifer,
Torch Bearer, Thurifer, Servers, Altar Boys and Altar
Girls. (See Appendix 3 – The Gnostic Mass).
Adam Kadmon Some Kabbalists are of the opinion that the first form
shaped, etched or produced by the ray of light which
emanated from Ain-Soph was not the Sephiroth, but the
body of Adam Kadmon, from which the Sephiroth then
flared out. It is in Lurianic Kabbalism where we find this
theory of the Ain-Soph’s original emanation resulting in
the body of Adam Kadmon. According to some
Kabbalists’ points of view he is actually the first God
capable of being comprehended by man because man
is made in his image.
Adept Someone who is highly experienced and extremely
proficient in a particular magical art, having passed
through various grades. See also Magus.
Adytum The inner sanctum of a Temple.
Aeon Within Aleister Crowley's System of Thelema, history is
broken down into a series of Aeons, each with its own
dominant concept of divinity and its own 'formula' of
redemption and advancement. According to Crowley,
the last three Aeons have been:

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