The Book of the Law is the central sacred text of the OTO,
written (or received) by Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in
1904. It contains three chapters, each of which was transcribed
in one hour, beginning at noon, on April 8th, 9th, and 10th.
Crowley claims that the author was an entity named Aiwass, whom
he 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) often represented by
these two phrases:
"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 own absolutely unique passage through Infinite
Space.
To download a PDF version of Liber Al
Legis, click here. |