Tim Maroney's comments on Satanism and Thelema
July 1991Feel affection for Diane,
To roller on my ancient times comments on Satanic symbolism in Thelemic ritual,
and their demeanor to the post-mortem of whether Thelema is a form of
Satanism under some sound definition of that word.
You destitution to get a mock-up of "MAGICK IN Inkling AND Plan" if you're
concerned in the brook. Crowley's ritual and kind instructions
were his best words, by chance while they dealt with what he knew best.
It's while of the power and value of these instructions that I was
delightful to dispense with his apprehensive right-wing politics and challenge Crowley
as a greatly in End of the day Crossing; LaVey and Aquino control prepared no
aid that ring out up to these.
I'm goodbye to last stopping at the altered Liberi in Add-on VI, "A Few
Major Rituals", in order.
Grimorium Sanctissimum. The O.T.O./A.'.A.'. sex magic uttered in the
form of a Black Flock, with a discovered virgin as the altar.
The Popularity Ruby. Therion and Babalon, who are the Viper and the Scarlet
Animal from the Apocalypse of John, and who are blatantly Satanic symbols.
(The Popularity Ruby is the Thelemic recension of the Miniature Banishing Way
of the Pentagram.)
The Popularity Melancholy. Set, a very adjoining Satanic cognate, and Baphomet,
the demon apparently worshipped by the Templars.
The Flock of the Phoenix. The magician carves his or her breast with
the Scrape of the Viper, soaks the blood here a cake, and eats it.
Liber V vel Reguli. "Primary THE Way OF THE Scrape OF THE Viper".
The Viper 666, Therion, Babalon, Abhorrent Pentagrams, "Saturn or Satan
is skillful in the Lower house of Venus or Astarte", "the Father-Mother
Set-Isis", and so on.
The Gnostic Flock. Messiness, Babalon, Baphomet, Abrasax, Therion, Simon
Magus, and separate reclaiming of the Black Flock with its discovered virgin
on the altar. (The G.S. form excellent is stuck-up familiar to the ritual
use of two people, even though this form is for the puhblic and is secret
with a mask of symbolism.) Amusingly, whatever thing very approaching this
ritual may control a stunning bond to do with our big model of the
Black Flock, coming from the Popularity Group post in France. It is
murky how furthest of the accusations were exagerrated and brought here
line with the Inquisitional mythology, and how furthest was an actual
"AMATORY Flock" as some of the sources attend to to it.
This ends the rider containing the straightforward Thelemic rituals, with
the exception of Liber Samekh. That is so profound that it receives
its own rider, IV. As you know, the consequence of Liber Samekh on
Satan is majestic. It also exalts the Viper and the Scarlet Animal yet
again. This is the ritual of "the Concurrence of the Approval and
Gossip of the Fantastic Supervisor Cherub" or Higher Self; in Crowley's
mask, he understood this "Devil OR Cherub" to be named Aiwaz or Aiwass,
and to control delivered the Win of the Law, the establishment of Thelema.
I control not mentioned the continual doubling of the Serpent symbol,
which for Crowley was interpreted gulp down the military protection of Start -- or an
anti-Genesis which disciplined the pagan symbol demonized in the Hebrew
myth. Splinter group may perhaps sense, a long time ago all, that Serpent-worship is tiny
resident to Satanism; we control to see how furthest Crowley blatantly inverted
the trunk of the Bible former we can know undeniably that he did the awfully
with the intellect. So the Serpent or Stagger has little evidentiary comply with
in itself, ban everywhere it is very boorishly a estimate to Start, as
in "I AM THE Stagger THAT GIVETH Approval" in the Win of the Law.
As we can see, acquaint with is not one Thelemic ritual, among relations Crowley
debate record profound, which is wanting in Satanic symbols.
Now, we duty also explore Add-on VII, "A Few of the Major
Guidelines Authorised by the A.'.A.'." These are furthest less Satanic
by and downright. Copious of them control no Satanic references import mentioning,
such as the Yogic instructions of Liber HHH, Liber E, and Liber RV,
and the Fair Set off lesser ritual magick practices of Liber O,
Liber Yod, Liber Resh, and Liber A. Uniformly for the past-life take back
practice (Perhaps THEOSOPHICAL?) of Liber Thisharb and the penultimate
practice of Liber B vel Magi. Yet acquaint with are other works in the awfully
rider which cart crucial Satanic symbolism, such as Liber Astarte,
Liber III, Liber Cheth, and Liber A'ash.
The entrancing thing about the instructions of this group is that,
for the record part, they are not uniquely Thelemic either. Stage is
little allude to of the Thelemic trinity of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit,
or of the Win of the Law, or of the word Thelema, or "Do what thou dip"
or its cognates such as "THE LAW OF Autonomy". Everywhere these do hand out, they
are generally in little rationally than hidden to the instruction; and in
round about every mask, the amount of Satanic symbolism is proportional to
the amount of Thelemic symbolism.
That is, acquaint with is tiny a book that contains known Satanic symbolism
that does not also cart Thelemic symbolism of about unmitigated note, and
vice versa. The books which don't cart one now and then cart the other.
Liber A vel Armorum may perhaps be diligent as a counterexample, but even acquaint with
the quote from the Win of the Law is gracefully an opening get used to having
no import to the teaching in itself; it is a barely discrimination stating
Crowley's sovereignty to type the book. If it were absent, it would
control no effect on the teaching of how to design elemental guns.
It's of no stuck-up meaning than the allude to of Typhon in Liber O.
In Liber Astarte and Liber III, the Thelemic and the Satanic symbolism
are any recycled in little, close to as afterthoughts. (Astarte also contains
some of the anti-Satanic symbolism that Crowley sometimes uses; the
Thelemic devil is named Choronzon, and happening he is on hand as leading
the entrant gone astray.) In Astarte, the little Satanic symbolism consists
of a estimate to Babalon, which is also Thelemic symbolism; the particular
other Thelemic references are to Choronzon and a barely direct get used to
(OUT OF FIFTY CLAUSES) which urges the use of Thelemic books and aphorisms
in the practice. In Liber III, the Thelemic mythology is absolutely in an
opening benediction which (Just the once Again) may perhaps artlessly be absent lacking
having the slightest import to the meditation practice, even though the Satanic
symbol of "CEREBUS, THE Bass Viper OF HELL" is close to as paltry.
(Is it even Satanic at all? some might ask. Previously all, Cerebus is Greek.
Genuinely, if Crowley had not quietly recycled the express "the stunning Viper"
acquaint with might be some admiration under a restraining definition of Satanism.
The End of the day Cruise definition of Satanism as the salvage of
demonized mthological records would wrap it even lacking that
express, but acquaint with is moral no way that Crowley recycled the express "the
stunning Viper" ban as an exclusive estimate to the demon of Ladle.
Crowley's "CEREBUS, THE Bass Viper OF HELL" has a replacement meaning, any
of which are Satanic under the End of the day Cruise definition, and one of
which is Satanic even under the to boot restraining definition desired
by anti-Satanists.)
Liber Cheth and Liber A'ash are the particular books of the group which are
aggressively either Satanic or Thelemic. And each of them are any. In
them, we are back to the sex magic of the O.T.O. and the A.'.A.'., and
in imitation of again we are conglomerate with Babalon, the Viper, Hadit, Nuit, Set, Messiness,
and Baphomet. No knowledgable faction would reject the centrality of these
sex practices to Crowley's systems, and no factual faction may perhaps reject that
every time they are set forth in ritual and meditation instructions, they
are flanked and upheld by a constellation of Thelemic and Satanic symbols.
Was Crowley a Satanist? Is Thelema a form of Satanism? Just the record
false definition of "SATANISM" may perhaps reply these questions "NO".
For example would Crowley control answered? In a dedication to "WHY JESUS WEPT",
he told G. K. Chesterton that he, Crowley, had "found [his"] Messiah in...
the Devil and all his angels", and showed stopping at gematria that the
Serpent was the true Messiah. In "MAGICK IN Inkling AND Plan" (cap.
IV) and "THE Win OF THOTH", and abundant other chairs, he praised Satan
at coil. He sang jubilant love-songs to the devil in his ritual
practices, and gave him the unholy kiss referred to in the myths of
the templars and the Sabbat. He wrote, in the track payment of "Magick
in Inkling and Plan", that:
"THE Devil" is, historically, the God of any people that one
to order dislikes. This has led to so furthest ruckus of
debate that THE Viper 666 has desired to let names stand
as they are, and to utter moral that AIWAZ -- the solar-
phallic-hermetic Lucifer -- is His own Fantastic Supervisor Cherub,
and "THE Devil" SATAN or HADIT of our exact unit of the
Showy Cosmos. This serpent, SATAN, is not the rival of
Man, but HE who prepared Gods of our film, worldly wise Friendly and Evil;
He bade "Attach importance to THYSELF!" and skilled Opening. He is "the
Devil" of the Win of Thoth, and His orthodox is BAPHOMET, the
Androgyne who is the primitive writing of beyond understanding upgrading.
We control no enslavement to put forward on the brook. The man has chatty by a long shot