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The
Book
of the Law is the central, sacred text of the OTO, written (or
received) by Aleister Crowley in 1904. It contains three chapters, each
transcribed in one hour, beginning at noon, on April 8th, 9th, and
10th. Crowley asserts the text to have been dictated to him by an
entity named Aiwass, whom later identified as his own Holy Guardian
Angel (or "Secret Self").
The
teachings
within
this small book have come to be known as the Law of
Thelema (a Greek word meaning, Will), distilled into two of its most
touted clauses:
"Do
what
thou
wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (AL I:40) and
"Love is the law, love under will." (AL I:57)
According to Crowley, the discovery and manifestation of one's unique
True Will is the central task of every "Thelemite", which may be taken
to mean the identification with one's own True Self, or Holy Guardian
Angel.
Crowley likens the True Will to the orbit of a star. Theoretically, no
two True Wills will contradict each other as each one has its unique
passage through Infinite Space.
Click on the
images below to download the Book of the Law (left) or link to the the Facsimile
(right)
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