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To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.thelema,alt.magick.order
From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (nigris (333))
Subject: Vehicles of the Law (HA comment)
Date: 24 Jul 1999 01:57:21 -0700

49990617 IVom

Do what thou wilt is the whole of the Law.

herein please find a quote from Hymenaeus Alpha (HA/Grady McMurtry)
on the Law of Thelema and its promulgation, recently included in
the June 1999 "e.v." of "Thelema Lodge Newsletter" with my comments
in [brackets]. I've left the capitalization as I found it.
----------------------------------------------------------------

[some removed at the beginning. 333]
	...
	B. The Law of Thelema -- it is necessary to present
	the Law of Thelema so that people of all types may
	appreciate that particular part which they can
	understand. In this manner those who can Understand
	the Law will be given an opportunity to do so by
	calling their attention to it and providing them
	with the material for study, while at the same time
	providing a guide for those whose understanding is
	incomplete. 

[was the differential between "understand" and "Understand"
 intentional? HA appears to be placing an emphasis on the
 intellectual, philosophy, and understanding by placing
 it in this major heading paragraph. 333]

                    In order to facilitate this several
	vehicles of instruction must be set up:

	1. The Law -- the OTO is now presented. An order of
	initiates studying the philosophy of life and
	aspiring to the Great Work.

[note that the OTO is described as a body of initiates
 studying the PHILOSOPHY of life, not 'practicing the
 religion of life'. OTO members are presumed to be
 intellectuals here.]

	2. The Law -- presented as philosophy for the
	intellectual. (The philosophical concepts of "Do
	what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and
	"Love is the law, love under will" provide material
	for much discussion for those who wish to
	differentiate upon the philosophies of Man. A study
	must be made available showing the difference
	between doing as one wishes and doing one's Will.
	The subject that Love is the Law but only under Will
	must also be fully explained in this work. This to
	be publicized in articles written by prominent men
	and reports on discussion groups of same.)

[here HA appears to mean the rough equivalent of what others
 have called in T93-L "doctrine" or "dogma". that is, he
 appears to have definite interpretations of the Evul Book's
 terms and wishes to promote them to the intellectuals as at
 least subjects of discussion. what "differentiate upon the
 philosophies of Man" might mean is difficult for me to parse. 
 I like that he emphasizes discussion groups. T93-L constitutes
 such a discussion group and functions for the promulgation of
 the Law by such a measure. 333]
  
	3. The Law -- presented as a "Church of Light, Life,
	Love and Liberty" for the devout. 

[this is truly a lovely polarity: philosophy/religion based
 on the nature of the individual (philosophy for the 
 intellectuals, religion for the emotionals/devout). 333]

                                          (There are a great
	many very admirable people whose Understanding 
	has not developed sufficiently for them to be able
	to fully appreciate the Law as counseled in the High
	Lodge of the OTO. They are the people who attend
	Church on Sunday and devote the rest of the week
	to the problem of ordinary life. These are the people
	who need religion as a faith -- and we must give it
	to them with Liber Legis as their bible and a
	supplement thereto explaining its place in the scheme
	of the Aeons as a text. "In the beginning there was
	Ptath [sic], the Shining one" -- or Shiva, or Jahveh
	or whatever -- 

[here HA places into context the role and importance of
 religion-as-crutch where the Law of Thelema is concerned.
 the ordinary and nonintellectuals (i.e. those whose
 number will contain the majority of Slaves) need the
 support and vehicle of religion because they cannot
 apprehend the 'philosophy of the adepts'. 333]
 
                        the philosophy of the early adepts,
	how this became degraded by those who were not full
	initiates, 

[who were these "early adepts", do you think? people before
 Crowley? what caused them to "become degraded"? and can we
 be sure that "full initiates" can be presumed to equate to
 the initiatic status of the (c)OTO? what was this earliest
 of philosophies and how can we separate it from the chaff
 of the partial initiates? 333]

                   the meanings of the Aeons in succession,
	the meaning of the present Aeon and how it affects
	us, 

[what I would describe as the mythology and religion of the
 Crowleyite cult. discussion groups can isolate these
 religious aspects of the vehicles and relegate them to the
 status of religion which Crowley either could not for some
 reason achieve or wanted to plant to carry the Law into the
 popular mind using religious memes so as to be later weeded
 by the new adepti using the Method of Science (if indeed
 this last could be identified and isolated for use -- I 
 think I and others have so identified it, what remains is
 to utilize it for our purposes without being tripped up by
 the illusions of the religious). 333]

             how this Cosmic Plan for the liberation of
	mankind from the chains of ignorance and superstition
	embraces past, present and future. 

[I'd like to see this Cosmic Plan fleshed out to a greater
 degree than is presently contained in "Equinox III:10". 333]

                                           The Law of Thelema
	cannot become the popular religion of the majority
	of people until it is presented in a form which
	appeals to their understanding.)

[better to have the Law of Thelema integrated into the popular
 religion (note that HA *identifies* the Law as 'a religion'
 here, very strange) than not to have any reference to it at
 all. better to educate the religious so as not to need the
 crutch and operate by the Law instead. 333]

	a. Ceremony -- a Mass suitable for performance
	before large congregations. This does not limit
	the private performance of the Mass in the Lodge.

[this and "i." below are elaborations of "3.", which is
 for the devout. it appears that the Mass is a tool of
 the religious vehicle of the (c)OTO in promulgating the
 Law of Thelema for those who are insufficiently developed
 so as to apprehend the philosophy of the adepts. therefore
 it would be understandable if these adepti abandoned the
 religious vehicle in favor of the philosophic if they saw
 that the religious was corrupting the philosophic. 333]

	i. Part of the teachings of the High Church will
	be devoted to instruction of the individual in
	the performance of the rites of ceremonial magick.
	__________________________________________________
	 "Clear Crowley's Name Campaign", McMurtry, 
	  Thelema Lodge Newsletter, 6/99; p. 7.	
	------------------------------------------------- 

[this is also reassuring, along with Brother Rodney's
 contention that the Law is seen as a philosophic principle.
 magick (even though only ceremonial magick is instructed)
 typically leads to self-development and individualism,
 especially when undertaken for the purposes described by
 many "Thelemites" (to identify and enact one's true will
 and to obtain the Knowledge and Conversation of one's 
 Holy Guardian Angel). 333]

Love is the law.

333
nagasiva@luckymojo.com 
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