Aleister Crowley Diary Entry

Thursday, 27 September 1923

An XIX in 3° , in 26°

27 Sept. [19)23 E. V. Die Jupiter

The events since the Equinox of Autumn whose Word is [IHI AUD] will be recorded later, owing to various circumstances which have prevented my doing so at the time. I introduce them by the Oath which has been made necessary by some of them.

[In pencil:] "This drivelling love is like a great natural [?], that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole".

[Notes pasted into front of notebook:]

61 + 61 + . . . whom XXI [World] (post) with

     (End of Note.]

An XIX in 3° , in 0° Die Jupiter

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

     

I, Omnia Pro Veritate [Norman Mudd] a Probationer of A∴A∴ hereby call the Lords of Initiation to witness this mine Oath, which I subscribe in the presence of The Beast 666, 9º = 2^o, A∴A∴ and of the Scarlet Woman Alostrael [Leah Hirsig] 8º = 3^o, A∴A∴

     

I call upon them by the Power of the Act of Truth done by me shortly after the Winter Solstice of the Eighteenth Year of the Aeon, when I renounced my career and my material possessions without reservation, that I might devote my energies wholly to the Great Work, that is, to the Establishment of the Law of Thelema as given by Aiwass through The Beast 666 (the man Aleister Crowley) in the Book of the Law (Liber AI s[ub] f[igura] XXXI ) as in the MS. which I have seen, and which I here declare to command by allegiance, in loyal cooperation with The Beast its Prophet.

     

I hereby acknowledge that most if not all men when in the condition known as 'being in love' become temporarily unable to use their normal judgment.

    

The Beast and Alostrael have told me that I, being by my own admission 'in love' with Alostrael, have become, and am now unable to reason correctly, and to devote my energies to the Great Work.

     

The Beast furthermore officially lays it upon me as a Probationer of A∴A∴ to take this present Oath, by virtue of the clause in my Obligation pertinent to the matter.

     

Albeit unable to admit the justice of their view, I am resolved to adhere to the letter of my Oath, and to trust their statement that I am at present in­ capable of deciding rightly for myself in this matter.

     

I hereby solemnly pledge myself to extirpate once and for all the consciousness of the tendency to perceive the sensation of my being 'in love' with Alostrael.

     

And I conjure the Lords of Initiation by the Password of the present Equinox, the Word [IHI AUD] that this Oath be of power to establish in me the Magical Light and to make me wholly master of my animal and emotional impulses.

     

Wherein if I fail, may the light of my body be darkened, and the virtue of manhood abide no more with me.

     

Love is the law, love under will. Witness my hand:

 

[signed] Omnia Pro Veritate.

 

Done in the presence of these:

 

[signed] Το Μεγα Θηριου 9º = 2^o A∴A∴ 666.

[signed] Alostrael 31-666-31, 8º = 3^o A∴A∴

[signed] E.H. Sayyman [Eddy Saayman].

[The following text appears on the pages facing the text of the Oath:]

Witnessed and approved.

The Oath opposite will be presented to OPV [Norman Mudd] in presence of witnesses at 9.00 p.m. Its terms will not be discussed: the notes in pencil have been written to avoid any such need. At 9.15 p.m. O.P.V. will either sign or not. If he does, I proceed to instruction A: if not, to B.6

Το Μεγα Θηριου 9º = 2^o A∴A∴

Alostrael 31-666-31, 8º = 3^o A∴A∴

Explanatory note [in pencil]. See further as to your status: but you possess the P[ass] W[ord] of XIX , in any case.

 Remember that in early grades of A∴A∴ the main dangers are (a) treachery to Order (b) abandonment of G.W. [Great Work]—whether meaning to or not—for the sake of a woman.

Explanatory notes.

The Act of Truth—especially in view of the long obstinate resistance-is so powerful that any act tending to cancel it would necessarily fail &also create so critical a conflict that the moral insanity would be complete & irremediable [sic].

The results of this are so fatal—as universal Magical Tradition and my own long experiences agree—that I refuse to waste any time on a man who cannot prove his mastery (of course, if under 30, I am willing to train them for a reasonable time).

This judgment cannot be criticised by O.P.V. since it asserts his incapacity to do so. He is free to refuse assent, but no more.

Your failure to send in your record did not break your Oath. Read text of Oath; the 'Task' is a separate document. I lay this present Task on you as test of your fitness (on that point) to pass to Neophyte.

If you can't trust 666 on such points—when he denies your right to judge for yourself—you can't trust CCXX which insists on his authority.

Should you have already seen your error—as I most earnestly hope-cancel this paragraph, and note in the margin that you now understand; but would have signed the Oath, as it stood, had you failed to do so.

[In Norman Mudd's hand in the margin:] Cancelled as superfluous. I would have signed this in any case. [Crowley's hand:] T. μ. θ. [End margin note.]

Reference to Mahasatipatthana. It is not enough to suppress the symptoms: the complex must be broken up for good & all. If not, it grows again in a worse form in a more vital spot, like other forms of new-growth. (It is a complex, since it involves two elements, each themselves complex & transitory.)

O.P.V. needs this Aud all round. Its lack is the cause of his present darkness. Note that he accepts CCXX, yet relies solely on reason to criticise 666 about his interpretation of the Text. (I have been amused by his repeated remarks that I fail to 'understand'. He not being an 8º = 3^o cannot know even the meaning of the word.

Penalties, as success, correspond naturally to elements of Oath.

If mind lacks Light, body will sympathise; if body masters True Will (Chokmah) creative power of body is mastered by disruptive ‘αβουλια & is lost [End pencil note].

Instruction A.

After signing this Oath, Frater O.P.V. is to leave this work in the hands of Alostrael, & take the MS of The Spirit of Solitude to a convenient village near Tunis, and make a Magical Retirement for Eight Days, communicating with men only in case of strict necessity; he shall there execute his Oath, and prepare the MS for recopying as best he may in that period.

If the extirpation be not perfect, he shall prolong his Retirement until further instructions from me, I interpreting his failure to return as implying his need of further Effort.

Instruction B.

Frater O.P.V. will on refusing to sign the oath be suspended from active connection with the A∴A∴ for 31 days. He will hand over all MSS, authority to act on my behalf, &c, &c, to me personally, and leave this Hotel without further communication with us, until that period has expired. He may then apply for reinstatement, one condition being willingness to take the Oath. If he do not so apply within 3 days the suspension will be made permanent, & irrevocable, save on my own initiative.

6.20 p.m. O.P.V. shows signs of improvement; I am much less anxious as to the issue than I was when I wrote the Act of Truth for him.

6.35. Bar 1/2 h[our] this p.m. I have slept only 5 or 6 hours since about 11 a.m. on the 22nd [Saturday-Sunday] no sleep [Sunday-Monday] sleep from 5-9 & 10-11 1/2 circa [Monday-Tuesday] no sleep. [6.35 entry scored out to this point in MS.)

This all wrong-it has been a nightmare of work &c.

[Facing pages scored out letter drafts.]

10.50 p.m. All passed well: O.P.V. had seen the Light already more or less.

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