True Will

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True Will is a term found within the mystical system of Thelema, a religion founded in 1904 with Aleister Crowley's writing of The Book of the Law.[1][2] It is defined at times as a person's grand destiny in life, and at other times as a moment to moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony with Nature. This Will does not spring from conscious intent, but from the interplay between the deepest Self and the entire Universe. Thelemites in touch with their True Will are said to have eliminated or bypassed their false desires, conflicts, and habits, and accessed their connection with the divine. Theoretically, at this point, the Thelemite acts in alignment with Nature, just as a stream flows downhill, with neither resistance nor "lust of result."

Contents

1 Thelema 2 Writings 3 See also 4 References

Thelema
Thelema roughly means "will" in Greek. The phrase True Will does not appear in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. Nevertheless, Aleister Crowley's various commentaries on the Book routinely postulate that each individual has a unique and incommensurable True Will that determines his or her proper course in life. This invention of Crowley's appears to be an attempt to explain how some actions may be wrong (or "false") when "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt."[3] Actions that conform to True Will are thus considered to be correct, while willed actions that deviate from True Will may nevertheless be wrong. In The Book of the Law Crowley wrote "Do What Thou Wilt". "DO WHAT THOU WILT" can often be misunderstood to mean "do what you want". When one says "do what thou wilt", this means that the origin of will directs the path. To understand and act upon one's True Will is a sort of "enlightenment" to Thelemites. The ultimate goal of a Thelema would be to understand and perform their True Will. True will directs the individual towards destiny and forces them into the joy of accomplishing what they were meant to accomplish without "lust of result"[4] (outside motivations).

Writings
In Crowley's essay The Secret Conference (written under the pseudonym "Gerald Aumont", and prefaced to The Heart of the Master), he suggests that a technique must

be devised by which a child's True Will may be discovered at birth, or as early as possible in life, in order to permit the correct ordering of society. In Crowley's ethical treatise Duty, he identifies True Will with the Nature of the individual. This capitalized "Nature" may be compared with the "Perfect Nature" of earlier Gnostic systems, which was another term for the personal daimon or augoeides, usually referenced by Crowley as the Holy Guardian Angel. The Message of the Master Therion (Liber II) is a document that attempts to delineate the doctrine of True Will. By reference to Liber Thisharb, Liber II suggests a theory of metempsychosis, whereby the individual True Will is the resultant of a person's prior incarnations. But here as elsewhere, Crowley stops short of asserting objective validity for memories of past lives. He recommends developing "the magical memory" as a means to an end, and connecting the aspirant's abilities and remembered past with some purpose. By definition, the aspirant's True Will must fit the aspirant's nature. In De Lege Libellum (Liber CL), Crowley defines True Will as the will which "does not rest content with things partial and transitory, but ... proceed[s] firmly to the End," and in the same passage he identifies that "End" as the destruction of oneself in Love.

See also

Thelema The Great Work Thelemic mysticism Holy Guardian Angel Free Will Agency (philosophy)

References
1. ^ Skinner, Stephen (ed). The Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley: Tunisia 1923, p. 79, n. 8. Weiser, 1996. ISBN 0-87728-856-9 2. ^ IAO131. Thelema & Buddhism in Journal of Thelemic Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2007, pp. 24 3. ^ Liber AL III:60 4. ^ Crowley, Aleister (1904). Liber AL vel Legis. http://www.sacredtexts.com/oto/engccxx.htm.

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Thelema
Important elements

The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis) Aleister Crowley Thelemic mysticism

True Will The Great Work Holy Guardian Angel Abrahadabra Stele of Revealing 93 Aeon of Horus Abyss Magick The Gnostic Mass Holy Books of Thelema Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Nuit Hadit Ra-Hoor-Khuit Aiwass Babalon Baphomet Chaos Ma'at Choronzon Ankh-af-na-khonsu AA Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Ordo Templi Orientis Typhonian Order The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn Kenneth Anger Allan Bennett Emile Brugsch Mary Butts Marjorie Cameron Aleister Crowley Lon Milo DuQuette J.F.C. Fuller Karl Germer Kenneth Grant Allen Greenfield Lady Frieda Harris Leah Hirsig Christopher Hyatt Hymenaeus Beta Charles Stansfeld Jones George Cecil Jones

Thelema and religion

Godforms

Organizations

Personalities

Carl Kellner Rose Edith Kelly Grady McMurtry Marcelo Ramos Motta Victor Benjamin Neuburg Jack Parsons Israel Regardie Theodor Reuss Leila Waddell (Laylah) James Wasserman Jane Wolfe Works of Aleister Crowley Libri of Aleister Crowley The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis) The Equinox Liber 777 Magick (Book 4) Confessions The Book of Lies Liber OZ (Liber 77) The Equinox of the Gods The Law is for All Konx om Pax The Book of Thoth The Vision and the Voice Little Essays Toward Truth Eight Lectures on Yoga Magick Without Tears The Blue Equinox Liber Aleph Moonchild Diary of a Drug Fiend White Stains Clouds without Water Collected Works of Aleister Crowley 1905-1907 The Stratagem and other Stories Magick Oil of Abramelin Cake of Light Bornless Ritual Eroto-comatose lucidity Gematria Thoth tarot deck Mass of the Phoenix Hermetic Qabalah Sex magic Astrology

Thelemite texts

Magick and ritual

Yoga Obeah and Wanga Babalon Working Ceremonial magic Unicursal hexagram Body of Light Night of Pan City of the Pyramids Boleskine House Abbey of Thelema Rites of Eleusis Magical formula Thelema Thelemites Thelemite texts

Other topics

Categories

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Thelema
Category:Thelema

Core topics The Book of the Law Aleister Crowley True Will 93 Magick Mysticism Thelemic mysticism The Great Work Holy Guardian Angel The Gnostic Mass Thelemic texts Works of Crowley The Holy Books Thelemite texts Organizations AA EGC OTO OSOGD TO Deities Nuit Hadit Horus Babalon Chaos Baphomet Choronzon Ankh-f-n-khonsu Aiwass Ma'at Other topics Stele of Revealing Abrahadabra Unicursal Hexagram Abramelin oil Thoth tarot deck

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