In The Temple of Solomon The King Aleister Crowley sets the scene for the Reception of Liber AL: “I shall make what I may call an inventory of the furniture of the Temple, the circumstances of the case. I shall… Continue Reading
I have been excited to start reading some of Manon Hedenborg-White’s analysis of gender within Thelema and O.T.O. as it comes into official publication. Hedenborg-White is a scholar from Sweden who has done extensive ethnographic fieldwork in the United States on… Continue Reading
The new Journal of Thelemic Studies is out, with an issue containing a wealth of essays on the Gnostic Mass from a number of luminaries within O.T.O. and featuring as beautiful cover art a painting of the Gnostic Saints by… Continue Reading
While many Thelemites celebrate the image of Mary Magdalene as Scarlet Woman, rarely is this honor given to Mary, mother of Jesus. Mary seems most easily understood as an object of ridicule and scorn to Crowley himself, as in his… Continue Reading
Among recent publications from esotheric publisher Scarlet Imprint is Lucifer: Princeps, a seminal study on the origins of the Lucifer mythos by Peter Grey. It is the first in a two volume work; the companion volume, Praxis, being an exposition of… Continue Reading
On the latest episode of Thelema, NOW fraters Puck and IAO131 discuss the book Fresh Fever From the Skys and Thelema entering its second century – and what that means to Thelemites. Give a listen here: http://oto-usa.org/main/podcast/
Considered an outlaw saga, the Gisla Saga survives in thirty-three manuscripts, first written in the 13th century. It is notable for its psychological treatment of characters and its blatant contradiction of Icelandic family values. Gisli Sursson is considered a man… Continue Reading
Nowruz, known as the Persian new year, is one of the most ancient celebrations in history and has been celebrated for around 4000 years in what is now Iran and in the extended cultural area known as Greater Iran. It… Continue Reading
Continuing our survey of institutions holding significant collections pertaining to Thelema, OTO, A.’.A.’., Aleister Crowley and the like, we turn to Rutgers University’s Archibald Stevens Alexander Library in New Brunswick, NJ. It’s Special Collections includes the archives of Major-General John Frederick Charles… Continue Reading
Sumer, or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of elaborate language and writing, architecture and arts, astronomy and mathematics. Their religious system was… Continue Reading