Aleister Crowley’s Liber III vel Jugorum is a practical instruction on increasing one’s power of self-control making use of a self-administered punishment to help break habits of speech, action or thought. The Liber advises inflicting a cut on one’s wrist or forearm with a razor. In recent times, many have opted to wear a thick rubber band on the arm and snap it as an alternative punishment. For those looking for more modern and stylish deterence there’s the Pavlok! A bracelet that gives the wearer a sharp electric shock! Much more sensible in the Summer time when you’re wearing short sleeves! Incidentally, this post is NOT an endorsement of the product in question – it’s provided purely for your diversion.
Read about it here: http://pavlok.com/
And here’s an account of someone using this to juice up her Lenten observance: http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/i-wore-an-electric-shock-bracelet-for-two-weeks-to-help-me-kick-my-bad-habits-666
and here’ the text of the original Liber.
Liber III vel Jugorum
0.
0. Behold the Yoke upon the neck of the Oxen! Is it not thereby that the Field shall be ploughed? The Yoke is heavy, but joineth together them that are separate — Glory to Nuit and to Hadit, and to Him that hath given us the Symbol of the Rosy Cross!
Glory unto the Lord of the Word Abrahadabra, and Glory unto Him that hath given us the Symbol of the Ankh, and of the Cross within the Circle!
1. Three are the Beasts wherewith thou must plough the Field; the Unicorn, the Horse, and the Ox. And these shalt thou yoke in a triple yoke that is governed by One Whip.
2. Now these Beasts run wildly upon the earths and are not easily obedient to the Man.
3. Nothing shall be said here of Cerberus, the great Beast of Hell that is every one of these and all of these, even as Athanasius hath foreshadowed. For this matter1 is not of Tiphereth without, but Tiphereth within.
I.
0. The Unicorn is speech. Man, rule thy Speech! How else shalt thou master the Son, and answer the Magician at the right hand gateway of the Crown?
1. Here are practices. Each may last for a week or more.
(a) Avoid using some common word, such as “and” or “the” or “but”; use a paraphrase.
(b) Avoid using some letter of the alphabet, such as “t”, or “s”. or “m”; use a paraphrase.
(c) Avoid using the pronouns and adjectives of the first person; use a paraphrase.
Of thine own ingenium devise others.
2. On each occasion that thou art betrayed into saying that thou art sworn to avoid, cut thyself sharply upon the writs or forearm with a razor; even as thou shouldst beat a disobedient dog. Feareth not the Unicorn the claws and teeth of the Lion?
3. Thine arm then serveth thee both for a warning and for a record. Thou shalt write down thy daily progress in these practices, until thou art perfectly vigilant at all times over the least word that slippeth from thy tongue.
Thus bind thyself, and thou shalt be for ever free.
II.
0. The Horse is Action. Man, rule thine Action. How else shalt thou master the Father, and answer the Fool at the Left Hand Gateway of the Crown?
1. Here are practices. Each may last for a week, or more.
(a) Avoiding lifting the left arm above the waist.
(b) Avoid crossing the legs.
Of thine own ingenium devise others.
2. On each occasion that thou art betrayed into doing that thou art sworn to avoid, cut thyself sharply upon the wrist or forearm with a razor; even as thou shouldst beat a disobedient dog. Feareth not the Horse the teeth of the Camel?
3. Thine arm then serveth thee both for a warning and for a record. Thou shalt write down thy daily progress in these practices, until thou art perfectly vigilant at all times over the least action that slippeth from the least of thy fingers.
Thus bind thyself, and thou shalt be for ever free.
III.
0. The Ox is Thought. Man, rule thy Thought! How else shalt thou master the Holy Spirit, and answer the High Priestess in the Middle Gateway of the Crown?
1. Here are practices. Each may last for a week or more.
(a) Avoid thinking of a definite subject and all things connected with it, and let that subject be one which commonly occupies much of thy thought, being frequently stimulated by sense-perceptions or the conversation of others.
(b) By some device, such as the changing of thy ring from one finger to another, create in thyself two personalities, the thoughts of one being within entirely different limits from that of the other, the common ground being the necessities of life.2
Of thine own Ingenium devise others.
2. On each occasion that thou art betrayed into thinking that thou art sworn to avoid, cut thyself sharply upon the wrist or forearm with a razor; even as thou shouldst beat a disobedient dog. Feareth not the Ox the Goad of the Ploughman?
3. Thine arm then serveth thee both for a warning and for a record. Thou shalt write down thy daily progress in these practices, until thou art perfectly vigilant at all times over the least thought that ariseth in thy brain.
Thus bind thyself, and thou shalt be for ever free.
1. (i.e. the matter of Cereberus).
2. For instance, let A be a man of strong passions, skilled in the Holy Qabalah, a vegetarian, and a keen “reactionary” politician. Let B be a bloodless and ascetic thinker, occupied with business and family cares, an eater of meat, and a keen progressive politician. Let no thought proper to “A” arise when the ring is on the “B” finger, and vice versa.
“deterency” is not a word 😉
Gentleman (and Gentleladies), get out your razors.
Liber III is not behaviorist conditioning and cannot be used to overcome thoughts, ideas and behaviors that are unwanted. It would be extremely foolish to use Jugorum to overcome unwanted behavior, since punishment would promote even more the behavior, and strengthen the sin complex.
The goal of Jugorum however is to cultivate discipline in action, thought, speech etc. Therefore what one needs to choose is not unwanted speech, action or thoughts, but rather as the Beast 666 himself advise, common occurrences of it. The trick is to automate ones focus so that one does not act, speak, or think unless it is in accordance with ones stated will, and not remove unwanted items of them.
It is very unfortunate that some Thelemites cultivate the illusion that Jugorum could be used to correct unwanted thoughts/behavior – it would strengthen the sin-complex and possibly condition it to become more prevalent.
(And yes, go old-school – use razors!)