Constitutions of the Order of Thelemites

The Constitution of the Order of Thelemites

Aleister Crowley

(Written at Cefalu circa 1923)

"The Word of the Law is Thelema".

"Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into the word. For there are therein three grades, the Hermit and the Lover and the Man of Earth. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

1. (a) We, TO MEGA ΘPHION, 666. 9º=2^o A∴A∴ (93) hereby ordain, constitute and appoint Magne Honoratum Fra ∴ A∴A∴ ( ) as sole and supreme authority in the Order of Thelemites, responsible to Us only.

(b) Any member of the Order shall have the right of direct appeal to Us against any of his decisions; and Our Fiat and Our Veto shall be absolute.

(c) M.H. Fra ∴ shall use his own discretions as to the formation of any Legislative, Administrative, Executive or other bodies; but no delegation of his authority to other persons shall relieve him of his direct responsibility to Us; nor of his direct responsibility to each member of the Order severally.

(d) "Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the sword, these shall he learn; but he may make severe the ordeals".

He shall in fact regard himself as the Alter Ego of TO MEGA ΘPHION; that is, as an utterance of the Word of the Aeon transmitted by Aiwass through Us, and thence through him, to the whole world. There shall thus be no limit of any kind, to his word, save only insofar as Our Wisdom may govern his Power.

(e) As a matter of administrative convenience, We may issue similar charters under these constitutions to persons in other countries; but such persons shall be directly responsible to M∴H∴ Fra∴ __________ in the same way as he is to Us ultimately.

(f) M∴H∴ Fra∴ __________ shall be entitled to issue Provisional Constitutions of the Order secondary to these presents the which he may keep secret, as political convenience may demand. He shall regard himself as bound to these Presents in the spirit, while maintaining his own Provisional Constitutions in the letter.

2. (a) There shall be three Grades in the Order; the Hermit, the Lover, and the Man of Earth.

"The man of earth is the adherent. The lover giveth his life unto the work among men. The hermit goeth solitary, and giveth light only of his light unto men".

(In all official documents these Grades shall be known respectively as Magister, Adeptus and Zelator.)

(b) It shall be open for any Zelator to aspire to the Grade of Adeptus. The qualification for this shall be the regular training of the A∴A∴ and an Adeptus shall be at least a Lord of the Path in the Portal of the Vault of the Adepts M.H. Fra ∴ __________ shall be empowered, notwithstanding the above, to grant certificate to persons suitable in his judgement to exercise the function of an Adeptus to assist him governing and directing the activities of the Order during the period of their training.

(1) Eleven years of service as an Adeptus;

(2) the attainment of the Grade of Babe of the Abyss in the A∴A∴

(3) retirement from al active work in the Order involving personal contact with groups.

3. (a) Membership shall be granted by certificate from M.H. Fra ∴ __________ or his duly appointed delegate. The qualification shall be the signature of the Pledge-Form following:— I, __________, being in possession of a copy of the Book of the Law and the Comment thereon by 666, and having studied the same for Eleven Days, do Solemnly Declare that I accept the Law of Thelema, that I would devote myself to discover my True Will, and to do it.

(b) The Pledge-Form of an Adeptus, or Acting Adeptus, shall contain this additional clause:—

I further pledge myself to devote myself to the extension of the Law of Thelema, to study and to expound the same, until such time as, if it be my Will, I may aspire to the Grade of Magister.

I pledge myself to retire from personal association with men or women, to devote myself to the attainment of the Grade of Magister Templi in the A∴A∴, and to promulgate the Law of Thelema by such means other than those involving the personal association aforementioned unless by special dispensation from the Head of the Order.

4. (a) The Initiation of a Zelator shall take place under Four Eyes. It shall be administered in the form given in Schedule A, as attached to these Constitutions.*

(b) The form of initiation of an Adeptus shall be as laid down in Schedule B attached to these Constitutions.

5. (a) All Zelators shall use the daily invocation given in Liber CC, the Rituals of Liber XXV, Liber XXXVI and Liber XLIV, and the Will before Meat, as taught them in their Initiation.

They shall attend to the instructions given in Liber CCC.

(b) All Adepti shall add to these properties that given in Liber Samekh.

(This shall be optional for Zelators.)

6. (a) "For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered free from the lust of result, is every perfect".

The Zelator shall be assisted to discover his True Will by the personal advice of S.H. Fra ∴ T.M.T., or such other Magistri as may be appointed by Him. Under His directions Adepti may give general assistance of a more elementary kind to groups, as by lectures, and

The conditions precedent to applying for such assistance are set forth in Schedule C, par: (1) attached to these Constitutions.

(b) All Zelators shall the right to a period of training at any Abbey of Thelema. The procedure precedent to making application for such is set forth in Schedule C, par: (2) aforementioned.

(c) The conditions of Schedule C are subject to additions and alterations from time to time. Such additions and alterations shall be made under the hand and seal of S.H. Fra ∴ T.M.T.

7. "I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life and the giver of Live; yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of Death."

The general plan of the O.T.O. shall be put before all members of the Order so that they may be brought to an understanding of the sublime principles of that Order, which seek

(1) to instruct the individual by allegory and symbol in the profound mysteries of birth, life, and death, and thereby to assist him to discover the true nature of his purpose in life; and

(2) to train the community in the most enlightened institutions, wherein the True Will of the Individual and the Community will be developed and held inviolate.

8. "Dost thou fail? Art thou sorry? Is fear in thy heart? Where I am these art not".

The Order of Thelemites is not a mystical, magical, or occult Order in the ordinary sense of these words. Its purpose is to enable its members to succeed in life by teaching them the correct attitude towards life and how to avoid wasting time in lines of effort for which they are unsuited.

9. "Every man and every woman is a star."

Zelators who have their own satisfaction and that of M.H. Fra ∴ __________ , discovered their True Wills are to be granted a distinctive badge, and M.H. Fra ∴ __________ shall endorse their certificates with the words "Success is your proof", and a brief statement of the circumstances of their case.

10. (a) "The ordeals I write not: the rituals shall be half known and half concealed: the law is for all.

"Argue not, convert not, talk not overmuch".

The general rites of the Order shall be Liber XV; and the form of daily service at present in use at the Abbey of Thelema as given in Schedule D attached to these Constitutions.

Lectures, lections, debates, etc., may be an additional activity of the Order.

(b) With the sanction of M.H. Fra ∴ __________ non-members may be admitted to meetings at which candidates are not being initiated. It is a duty incumbent on all members of the Order to instruct visitors and others concerning the Law of Thelema, especially in respect of its practical value as applied to personal, social, economic and political problems.

Care should be taken to avoid the Order of Thelemites being classed as an occult or even a religious body; its ceremonial and psychological features shall be explained by insistence on the fact that they are necessary to the primary purpose of the Order, and the discovery of the True Will (as opposed to his conscious ideals or wishes) by each individual member.

11. Consonant with the principles of the Order, propaganda may be undertaken with a view to the removal of arbitrary restrictions on the Will of the individual, and to co-ordinate the laws of every country to the Law of Thelema; that is, the Order of Thelemites, shall strive to establish a code, the sole object of which shall be to prevent any man or body of men, from interfering with the True Will of another, as in the case of murder, robbery, rape, etc. It shall similarly strive to create a Public Opinion in favour of social tolerance of all opinions and practices which do not interfere with the True Will of the Individual and the Community.

12. The Order of Thelemites is categorically opposed to:—

(a) All superstitious religions, as obstacles to the establishment of scientific religion;

(b) All codes of morality which fail to conform with "Love under Will".

(d) All forms of education which fail to assist the biological aim of the pupil;

(e) All ordinances which tend to obstruct the course of nature in eliminating the unfit; and

(f) generally, all things which conflict with the text of Liber AL CCXX, "The Book of the Law".

13. "Establish at thy Kaaba a clerk house, all must be done well and with business way".

(a) The objects for which the Order of Thelemites had been constituted had no concern with money per se, nevertheless, as no work can be carried on successfully in the outer without money M.H. Fra ∴ __________ is authorised and empowered to make, from time to time, such rules and regulations with regard to Initiation Fees, Annual Subscriptions, and any other matter relating to the material welfare of the Order as may seem in his discretion necessary or expedient.

Members are charged to support the Order and its activities according to their ability and True Will.

(b) The financial relations subsisting from time to time between the Chancellor of the A∴A∴ and M.H. Fra ∴ __________ shall be by agreement duly recorded in Schedule E attached to these Constitutions.

14. In the event of Our death or disability, a General Council of the Order shall be summoned within a year and a day of that event, by S.H. Fra∴ Saturnus [Karl Germer], M. H. O.I.V.V.I.O. 8º=3^o [Charles Stansfeld Jones]. S. H. Soror. Alostrael, 8º=3^o, 156 [Leah Hirsig], M. H. Semper Paratus, 6º=5^o [James Windram], or such persons as We may by subsequent appointment designate. This Council shall discuss the existing conditions of the Order freely for 11 days; after hearing the same the members of the A∴A∴ highest in rank (and then in seniority) shall assume Our present functions, and govern the Order in Our place.

15. These Constitutions are subject to amendment by Us from time to time at discretion.

* NOTE: The Schedules referred to are not published.

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