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Thelema (/ θ ə ˈ l iː m ə /) is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy [1] and a new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. [2]
Crowley states that he and Victor Benjamin Neuburg evoked Choronzon in Bou Saâda, Algeria in December 1909. [6] In Crowley's account, it is unclear whether Choronzon was evoked into an empty Solomonic triangle while Crowley sat elsewhere, or whether Crowley himself was the medium into which the demon was invoked.
This declaration comports with Crowley's belief in the supremacy of True Will, challenging traditional religious beliefs. [17] By placing humanity at the center of spiritual experience, Crowley underscores his belief in the importance of self-determination and personal freedom, setting the stage for the rights and freedoms outlined in OZ. [18]
Crowley's theological beliefs were not clear. The historian Ronald Hutton noted that some of Crowley's writings could be used to argue that he was an atheist, [231] while some support the idea that he was a polytheist, [240] and others would bolster the idea that he was a mystical monotheist. [247]
Aleister Crowley's writings are the primary sources for understanding the Abyss in Thelemic thought. Key texts include: The Vision and the Voice: [27] This work documents Crowley's exploration of the Enochian Aethyrs and his encounter with Choronzon, offering a detailed account of the symbolic and practical aspects of the Abyss. [4]
Crowley first described the rite in a tract titled Eroto-Comatose Lucidity. [7] The ritual as described by Crowley involves one "ritualist-seer" and several aides. [1] [8] Donald Michael Kraig advises that the more sexually experienced the aides are, the better the ritual works, [1] and that the aides be members of the opposite sex. [1]
Jane Wolfe worked with Crowley's Thelemic system of training in Cefalù for three years, and emerged from those years with a degree of attainment, having survived Crowley’s ordeals. Whilst a resident at the Abbey of Thelema, Wolfe was admitted to the A∴A∴ by Crowley, taking the magickal name Soror Estai.
Several modern Ordo Templi Orientis groups regularly perform the Rites of Eleusis as written by Crowley. There is an additional "Rite of Earth" not written by Crowley which was penned by Lon Milo Duquette and others as a logical extension of the Rites to complete the sequence from Saturn (Binah) to Earth (Malkuth).