The Use of Art in Thelemic Ritual

Figure i: Teth or Tau (2014), Reproduced by kind permission of the artist, A.Petersen

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 Abstract

This thesis explored and examined the use of art in Thelemic ritual, framed within a social

constructionist epistemology. Thelema is a new spiritual philosophy founded in the early 20th

century by the poet, mountaineer and ‘wickedest man in the world’ Aleister Crowley.

Using primary resources such as person to person and email interviews with practising Thelemites,

and secondary resources such as web-sites, forums, pod-casts and other documents, I investigated

the role of art (visual, musical and other) and the different methods in which it was employed in

ritual settings by practitioners of Thelema. The conceptual framework expanded outwards as

interviews and related research were conducted.

The qualitative data for this dissertation, from a sample of Thelemites, is the clearest indicator of

how Thelemites use art in their ritual practices, given that no quantitative data was available from

previous studies or collected during the data gathering process of this thesis. The conclusion is born

as a result of analysis of information collected from documents and interviews and through the

research/data gathering process within a social constructionist perspective. The several main

findings - that Thelemites do (and do not) use art in ritual settings; that when utilising art, there are

numerous end results sought; and that Thelemites utilise a diverse range of art when doing so and

that they do not appear limited by their beliefs in choosing art to work with - seek to ‘fill a gap’ in the

study of the Thelemic system and to contribute a significant addition to the existing body of

knowledge.

I argued that given the focus on the individual’s progress within the Thelemic framework, all

conclusions about the use of art will centre on the individual; certainly broader conclusions can be

established through emerging patterns gleaned from responses but these broader ideas will always

be based within the individual’s attitude to art use within Thelemic ritual.

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 Table of Contents:

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…P.2

List of Illustrations and Tables....………………………………………………………………………………………………..P.4

Chapter One – Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………..P.8

Chapter Two – Literature Review..……………………………………………………………………………………………P.17

Chapter Three – Methodology and Data….……………………………………………………………………………….P.27

Chapter Four – Analysis and Conclusions….………………………………………………………………………………P.31

Appendix – Interview Schedule…………………………………………………………………………………………………P.40

References/Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………….P.41

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 List of Illustrations and Tables:

Figure i (Page 1): Teth or Tau, A.Petersen – Reproduced by kind permission of the artist

Figure ii (Page 24): Sigil of Bune, reproduced from The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King
(Crowley, 2003, p.24)

Figure iii (Page 26): The Universe, reproduced from The Book of Thoth (Crowley, 2007, Front Cover)

Table I (Pages 29 - 30): Demographic Information of Interviewees

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 “Art is a God’s way of discovering his own mysteries.” Aleister Crowley, 1920

Chapter One: Introduction

So it must be around midnight – I’m guessing the time because I’m naked and
have no time-piece - I’m in the bush and I think the ‘sacrament’ that I consumed
about 40 minutes ago is starting to kick in; the world is starting to bend a little at the
edges and colours are beginning to get a little brighter. I wouldn’t say I’m afraid but I
am wary; I don’t really know these people and I don’t know what they’re planning to
do. There is a huge bonfire blazing in front of me – to my left, some kind of African
tribal fetish, and bizarrely to my right, a reproduction of one of Arcimboldo’s fruit
portraits. The whole area is decorated with copies of famous artworks, as well as
some original works by attendees. Weird organic sculptures loom out of the now
swirling haze and I note the reoccurring themes of nature, Mother Earth and genitalia
among many of the works. They all seem to be coming alive and moving. Perhaps
that’s just an effect from the flames but I do not discount that it could be due to the
possible presence of hallucinogens in the wine that I drank at the start of the ritual.
There is a row of drummers, pounding out rhythms that are somehow
simultaneously primitive yet complex. I’m digging their crazy bongo rhythms. The
drummers, like everyone else here, are naked and they look pretty damned good by
the light of the fire. There are people chanting and dancing; all naked. Naked, naked,
naked; and suddenly my mind returns to a question that is hardly original; why am I
here?

How would debates within the sociology of religion about definitions, rituals, practices and

beliefs make sense of this experience? What exactly is it that we are seeking? When we examine any

particular religion, or belief system, are we looking for the broadest reasons as to why an adherent

of any given faith does any given thing? Should we be attempting to discover and define what the

actual experience of communing with divinity is about, or should we focus our attention on the

methods employed to achieve that communion? As noted by Beckford and Demerath (2007, p.2)

“…sociology does not provide ultimate answers to ultimate questions.” so what is the purpose of my

research? In a stance similar to many within the sociology of religion, which considers how the social

affects the religious and how the religious affects the social, I see my research as one way of

exploring and explaining how art affects the religious and vice versa. In essence my research will be

exploring how Thelemites define and use “art” in their rituals.

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 The relevance and currency of my research rests on the recognition of the Thelemic path, as

a ‘new religion’(Cowan, 2008); if, over the coming years, it establishes itself as a mainstream faith

such as Christianity or Islam then my research will contribute to a better understanding of the

Thelemic system and its adherents. If it fades away then my research will serve as a contribution to

the better understanding of a failed system of religio-spirituality; an exploration of belief and art in a

dead faith. Either way, my research is both current and makes a valid contribution to the study of

new religions in general and a better understanding of Thelema in particular. As noted by Bromley:

“New Religious Studies (NRS) is emerging as a new interdisciplinary area of study in religion.” (p.83,

2004) and his definition of what constitutes a new religion, as quoted by Robbins & Lucas in

Beckford and Demerath (P.229, 2007), will serve us well:

These groups lack congruence with both dominant social institutions and
dominant cultural patterns. In Melton’s taxonomy, they stand outside dominant
religious ‘families,’ and in Barker’s terms, they are ‘new’ movement organizations.
Because these groups are often rejected by dominant religious and social institutions,
they tend to exist in a high degree of tension with the larger social order.

My theoretical framework is thus; I am interested in exploring how art is used by Thelemites

in a ritual setting. Within this theoretical framework there are several other questions posed

including what does the Thelemite consider as art and where does it fit within debates about art,

and its (Thelema’s) ritual uses of art? What is the ‘end result’ sought by the Thelemite who uses art

(or not, as the case may be) in his/her ritual? In this exploratory study it will be argued that because

the Thelemic path emphasises the progress of the individual, it is logical that each individual will use

art in his/her rituals in their own individualistic way.

The existing literature (Tupman, 2003; Thelema 101, n.d; Chappell, n.d) suggests that the

Thelemic philosophy means something different to each of its followers; one of its tenets is “Do

what thou wilt” – though this is not about satisfying egotistical desire – this Will is the Divine Will of

the individual’s inherent Godhead. The path of Thelema is unique for each person; each individual

must discover their true Will and execute it, thereby satisfying the purpose of their existence. The

article Thelema 101 succinctly sums Thelema as:

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 …every person is a divine projection of the Universal All and, as such, has
within him or her a True Will that is the expression of one’s deepest, most genuine
self. This genuine self acts in perfect accord with all of Nature – and so by labouring to
apprehend and manifest this Will, one is able to live a life of greater harmony,
fulfilment, and joy. (Thelema 101, n.d)

The term ‘Thelemic’, and later the belief system, can be traced back as “Thelema...a Greek

word meaning ‘will’ or ‘intention’. It is also the name of a new spiritual philosophy...” (Chappell n.d)

developed by the 19th century occultist and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley, although “one of

the earliest mentions of this philosophy occurs in...Gargantua and Pantagruel [author’s italics]

written by Francois Rabelais in 1532.” (ibid). The first ‘holy book’ to be received by Crowley occurred

“on three successive days, April 8th, 9th and 10th in the year 1904.” (Crowley 2006 , p.7), and is

entitled The Book of the Law. This is also where we find “Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if

he looks but close into the word.” (op cit, p.31). The Book of the Law was said to be dictated to

Crowley by the preternatural entity Aiwass (Crowley 2006) and as noted by the Ordo Templi Orientis

(the first organisation to accept the book) “The Law of Thelema can ultimately be fulfilled only

through the individual efforts of each person.” (About OTO n.d).

It could be argued that the relationship between the individual and his/her deity is not

dissimilar to the relationship between the individual and his/her art; it is deeply personal, and often

incomprehensible to the outsider. This will be explored in this research. If we look at Paul Waldo-

Schwartz’s (1975) Art and the Occult we can view his book as the formation of his ideas on what art

and the occult are – or perhaps it would be more accurate to suggest that it is an exploration of what

art and the occult mean to Waldo-Schwartz. It is a map of the connections that he has made – and

perhaps this is all art, the occult and religion are: an individual’s connections, a mental dot to dot

map of the universe.

It is my intention to explore the relationship between art and Thelemic ritual practices by

analysing information provided in interview settings with Thelemites, as well as examining writers,

such as Tolstoy, who wrote in the same period as Aleister Crowley. I will also examine a variety of

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web-sites and forums frequented by Thelemites in order to gain insight into how the Thelemite may

see the role of art in his/her ritual practices.

Initially I shall define how both the concepts of ‘art’ and ‘religion’ will be used in this thesis.

There are many debates around these apparently innocuous terms. Trying to define art (and indeed,

religion) is like trying to herd cats; much of the difficulty lies in achieving a general consensus from

everyone involved (and just who should be involved is another prickly question), how it should be

done, and then whether there is actually any discernible benefit in attempting to get said consensus.

As a background for this research – more specifically for art - I selected Tolstoy’s What is Art?

(Tolstoy 1984) in an attempt to find a suitable definition - I was quickly disavowed of the notion that

finding a ‘one size fits all’ definition would be easy. However, I found that these difficulties added to

the framework of my research.

Tolstoy’s essays and ideas of art, philosophy, beauty and religion were important dimensions

of the cultural context in which Crowley developed his tenets; a discussion of Tolstoy’s ideas follows;

it is interspersed with Crowley’s writings on similar themes as points of comparison and contrast.

In his introduction to What is Art? W.Gareth Jones observes that Tolstoy “sensed that there

must be something good and useful in art” (in Tolstoy 1984 p. vi), and it could be argued what could

be more ‘good’ and useful’ than throwing the mundane consciousness into a state of divinity (from

responses given during the interviews, this often appears to be one of the aims of the Thelemite in a

ritual setting)? Tolstoy’s starting position is that “the true object of art is ‘the purpose it may serve in

the life of man and humanity’. Art is not an isolated commodity but ‘one of the conditions of human

life’.” (op cit, p.xii) and Jones touches on Tolstoy’s use of the term ‘infection’ as a means of creating

union (or at the very least empathy) among humanity. Jones also observes that “True art is

inseparable from religious awareness.” (op cit, p.xii). It might be asked: what is more important than

unity among people? Based on the evidence from interviewees (see Chapter Four), a Thelemite

might argue that perhaps the answer is unity with Self or godhood.

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 The idea of ‘infection’ or the immediate communication of a feeling from the artist to the

observer is debatable. Simply by acknowledging the highly subjective nature of art may lead any

discussion down a metaphorical cul-de-sac. This debate will be discussed in the following chapter

especially in relation to sigil magick (It should be noted that I use the spelling of ‘magick’ with a k, as

introduced by Crowley, unless quoting where necessary). Jones dismisses the notion of subjectivity

by referring to a footnote in Tolstoy’s work where “it confesses to the reader that his main aim is not

to impose his own subjective taste…” (op cit, p.xiv); an apparent contradiction – or is it?

Tolstoy begins his essay on art by noting some of the differences between the art of the

common/peasant folk and the upper classes of his native country Russia. It could be argued that the

dichotomy of quality between the art of both classes which he raises is transcended in the Book of

the Law, where it is stated “Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing &

any other thing; for thereby cometh hurt.” (Crowley 2006, p.27-28).

According to Tolstoy art involves the senses, thus he brings in the notion of beauty. He asks

what beauty is before citing Baumgarten, Schasler, Knight and Kralik whom he describes as “learned

aesthetic writers” (Tolstoy 1984 p. 25). Yet still he is no nearer to defining beauty so he calls on the

work of Sulzer, Mendelssohn and Moritz (op cit, p. 29) for further clarity. These attempts are met by

the almost contradictory stances of each writer; they all have differing views on what beauty is.

Tolstoy is undeterred and calls upon Hutcheson, noting that “according to Hutcheson beauty does

not always correspond with goodness but separates from it and is sometimes contrary to it.” (op cit,

p. 31). But Tolstoy does not stop there; he brings in Hume, Burke and Andre (ibid), Kant and Schiller

and Fichte (op cit, p. 33) to assist with the search. On Schelling, Tolstoy observes “Beauty is the

perception of the infinite in the finite” (op cit, p. 35) and “Art is the uniting of the subjective with the

objective” (ibid) – these mystical sentiments conjure comparisons with Crowley’s own argument that

“There is a single main definition of the object of all magical ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm

with the Macrocosm…or, in the language of Mysticism, Union with God.” (Crowley 1997, p.144).

Regardless we may be no nearer to defining either art or beauty.

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 This research explores the Thelemite’s definitions of, and uses for art; particularly through

literature, web-sites and other direct sources - definitions supplied by respondents will be given later

in this thesis. Readers can decide for themselves whether respondents’ answers cloud or clarify the

issue further.

Tolstoy notes various philosophies (Tolstoy 1984 p. 28 to p. 46) on what beauty is, before he

distils it down to “that which pleases us without evoking in us desire.” (op cit, p. 49) – yet he still

cannot reconcile himself to a definition of absolute beauty (ibid), going further to posit that “There is

no objective definition of beauty.” (op cit, p. 50). He concludes that beauty is a personal (and

therefore subjective?) concept. He then moves away from beauty to that which provokes empathy

(op cit, p.59):

To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced and having evoked it
in oneself then by means of movements, lines, colours, sounds, or forms expressed in
words, so to transmit that feeling that others experience the same feeling – this is the
activity of art. Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously by
means of external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that
others are infected by these feelings and also experience them. [Author’s italics]

He attempts to clarify his position by stating that art “is a means of union among men, joining them

together in the same feelings, and [is] indispensable for the life and progress towards well-being of

individuals and humanity.” (ibid).

Tolstoy then reflects on the relationship between art and religion, an area central to this

thesis, and he savagely and systematically deconstructs the role of the church in Christianity,

proposes the falsity of modern Christianity (though not the tenets of the ‘original’ Christianity that

promoted equality and brotherhood), before moving on to aesthetic theory throughout the ages. He

identifies three feelings transmitted by the ‘false’ art of the upper/wealthy classes; these are pride,

sexual desire and weariness of life (Chapter IX) before speaking of the artist as creating for an elite

group: “…the artist was involuntarily drawn to express himself by allusions comprehensible only to

the initiated, and obscure to everyone else.” (op cit, p. 92). Tolstoy accords these three ‘false’

feelings as being felt almost exclusively by the upper classes and accuses artists of pandering to

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these ‘exclusive’ sensations which, he suggests, common folk are never likely to experience. Hence it

could be said that the upper classes are the ’initiated’ and these three feelings (which are also the

main subjects of the artists discussed by Tolstoy) are obscure to the average commoner. Again, this

idea of subjectivity is noted in the section on sigil magick.

Tolstoy, in his essay, chastises Wagner, Strauss, Brahms, Baudelaire, Peladan, Verlain and

Rodenbach for their obscurity; Kipling and Huysmans are in the cross-hairs, too. Tolstoy also

mentions his eldest daughter, Tatiana, who was unable to grasp the Symbolists, Impressionists or

Neo-Impressionists after a visit to an exhibition of their work. But it should be noted that Tolstoy’s

fury against the Symbolists and other art movements is formed solely on the opinion of Tatiana – he

admits to not attending the exhibition himself. Poets and visual artists are not the only ones that

Tolstoy criticises; he berates the plays of Ibsen, Maeterlinck and Hauptmann saying “It is said that

the very best works of art are such that they cannot be understood by the masses, but are accessible

only to the elect who are prepared to understand these great works.” (op cit, p. 112) - he then

refutes this statement but what if there is a truth to it? In the Thelemic ‘system’ explored in this

thesis the work of the neophyte involves dedicating him/herself to understanding his/her place in

the universe. This involves, according to Crowley, developing a new faculty (or perhaps, the

development and/or destruction of pre-existing perceptions). The reason for this is that the spiritual

path takes the aspirant ‘across the abyss’. This is not a physical journey; rather it is a meta-physical

crossing where the veil of routine perception is torn asunder. The aspirant’s mundane mind, which

has been developed over many years of egocentric behaviour, must be renounced and replaced by a

nobler faculty – that which is above the abyss. The issue that any neophyte faces is that the lower

mind (which is below the abyss) cannot grasp the magnitude of that which is above the abyss; one

cannot fit a pint in a half pint pot – hence a new faculty must be developed. These aims, for the

Thelemite practitioner, often involve the use of art to facilitate them, and are the background of this

inquiry.

Tolstoy, in his essay (op cit, p.114), further gathers that:

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 People talk about incomprehensibility; but if art is the transmission of feelings
flowing from man’s religious perception, how can a feeling be incomprehensible
which is founded on religion, that is, on man’s relation to God? Such art should be,
and has actually always been, comprehensible to everybody, because every man’s
relation to God is one and the same.

This, to my mind, suggests Tolstoy saw all religious experience as essentially the same. I

would disagree but it is not within the scope of my thesis to argue this point; however, I would argue

that, if anything, the relationship between an individual and his/her chosen deity, and indeed the

relationship between an individual and any given artwork, is deeply personal.

Tolstoy finally settles on art as a “feeling experienced by the artist.” (op cit, p. 125). But we

cannot rest here, for Tolstoy then turns his critical sights on art critics and the nature of their

criticisms, stating (op cit, p.130) that

An artist’s work cannot be interpreted. Had it been possible to explain

[author’s italics] in words what he wished to convey, the artist would have expressed
himself in words. He expressed it by his art because the feeling he experienced could
not otherwise be transmitted.

He berates the critics before delivering an attack on the later works of Beethoven, which he

condemns as “artistic ravings” (op cit, p. 133). After this blistering tongue-lashing he reiterates that

“art is the transmission to others of a special feeling experienced by the artist.” (op cit, p. 134).

But Tolstoy has not finished yet. He moves on to art schools, observing that “Professional

schools produce an hypocrisy of art precisely akin to that of religion which is produced by theological

colleges for training priests,” (op cit, p. 137). By now, it seems apparent to the reader that Tolstoy

prefers the work of the primitives, peasants or naïve painters over the classically trained artists of his

day. Like a curmudgeonly old man, he spends the entirety of Chapter XIII dissecting Wagner’s

Nibelungen Ring where he concludes that “This investigation has brought me to the conviction that

almost all that our society considers to be art, good art, and the whole of art, far from being real and

good art and the whole of art, is not even art at all but only a counterfeit of it.” (op cit, p. 154). It is

interesting to note that Wagner is considered a saint in Crowley’s Gnostic Mass (Crowley 1997

p.591).

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 Tolstoy again returns to his idea on the transmission of feelings from the artist to the

observer, further clarifying that “If a man without exercising effort and without altering his

standpoint, on reading, hearing, or seeing another man’s work experiences a mental condition which

unites him with that man and with others who are also affected by that work, then the object

evoking that condition is a work of art.” (Tolstoy 1984 p. 163). He adds that “A real work of art

destroys in the consciousness of the recipient the separation between himself and the artist…” (op

cit, p. 164) and “Art like speech is a means of communication and therefore of progress, that is, of

the movement of humanity forward towards perfection.” (op cit, p. 167).

Tolstoy moves on to ideas on ‘religious perception’ which he defines as the religious urge of

any given era. He observes that “If it appears to us that there is no religious perception in our

society, this is not because there really is none, but only because we do not wish to see it. And we

often wish not to see it because it exposes the fact that our life is inconsistent with that religious

perception.” (op cit, p. 168).

He puts forth an interesting proposition that each religion of each previous age approved of

art that corresponded to the religious perceptions of that particular time, while art which was

contrary to that dominant religious perception was denied. He illustrates this by citing the

pantheism of ancient Greece where beauty, strength and courage were highly regarded, hence the

work of Homer was popularised while art which proclaimed sensuality and effeminacy was denied.

He then remarks on the Jews with their devotion/submission to Yahweh when the epics of Genesis

were raised high while idolatry and the worship of false idols (the tale of the Golden Calf is cited as

an example) was discouraged.

Tolstoy warms to the idea, and speaking on the application of religious perception says that

it “lies in the growth of brotherhood among men – in their loving harmony with one another.” (ibid

p. 171), and that it is vital in the process of “establishing the principles common to all men which can

and should unite them in one universal brotherhood.” (op cit, p. 171).

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He finds praise for artists whose work aims for the transmission of feelings of brotherhood: Dickens;

Victor Hugo; George Eliot; Kramskoy and Walter Langley are lauded as creators of ‘good’ art that

produces this feeling of universal brotherhood (and fair play to Tolstoy; he includes most of his own

work in the ‘bad’ class of art) and he again insists that “our welfare lies only in the union and

brotherhood of man.” (op cit, p. 200).

Tolstoy envisions a world where only ‘true’ and ‘good’ art exists (Chapter XIX) and in the

future “all will learn music and graphic art…” (op cit, p. 205) and he observes that “In our age the

common religious perception of men is the consciousness of the brotherhood of man – we know

that the well-being of man lies in union with his fellow-men.” (op cit, p. 222).

We have, therefore, Tolstoy’s definition of art, which I would sum up as essentially that

which creates empathy between man, woman and artist. Are we any the wiser? I think not,

however, given that Tolstoy was writing at the same time as Crowley (as well partaking of the

philosophical and cultural discourses of the era) I believe that Tolstoy’s writings on art are pertinent

to this thesis. To throw another spanner in the works, I quote Michael Karwowski, who paraphrasing

Professor John Carey, says that “whether we like it or not, no objective criterion for judging a work

of art, any work of art, whether it belong to one of the plastic arts, to literature, music, or dance,

actually exists.” (Karwowski 2005 p. 152). In an attempt to level the playing field (and in an almost

revolutionary fashion) Karwowski goes on to surmise “It follows that the only possible definition of a

work of art, according to Professor Carey, is that it is anything that anyone has ever considered a

work of art, even if it is only a work of art for that one person.” (ibid). This contrast between

Tolstoy’s definition of art, which involves all manner of empathy and connection and infection, and

Carey’s definition are matters for the purpose of this thesis in the thorny problem of defining

‘religion’.

An immediate problem is the division among Thelemites as to whether their belief system

should be defined (and therefore limited) as a ‘religion’. Arguments abound in chat-rooms and

forums on the internet. The Ordo Templi Orientis, an “international religious fraternity” (OTO 2012

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Fiscal Report p. 2) and “the first of the traditional esoteric fraternities to accept the Law of Thelema”

(ibid) states that the Law of Thelema is “the religious revelation obtained by Aleister Crowley in

1904” (ibid). In his article Defining religion: a practical response, Bruce mentions “Emile Durkheim’s

functional definition of religion makes its capacity to unite all people in a common consciousness the

definitive feature.” (Bruce 2011 p. 111), which is strikingly similar to what Tolstoy is driving at in his

attempts to define art. Bruce himself applies a more substantive definition which is that religion

“consists of beliefs, actions and institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities with

powers of action, or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose.” [author’s italics]

(op cit, p. 112). Beckford and Demerath would refute the simplicity of this definition, and go further

to suggest “…a better approach is to regard the definition of religion as an open-ended, often

contested and on-going social process.” (Beckford & Demerath 2007 p. 2). However, returning to

Bruce’s definition, I would perhaps question the idea of ‘moral purpose’ when dealing with the

Thelemite canon of deities (the notion of ‘conditioned morality’ is abhorrent to the Thelemic system)

but on the whole this definition is useful and appropriate, and thus will serve for the remainder of

this thesis. To summarise then: art is whatever we chose to make it thus and religion involves

acknowledging ‘supernatural entities’ (be these gods, goddesses, demons, angels or elemental

spirits – or even ourselves!).

For the purpose of this thesis, I shall identify Thelema as a religious movement, though

Crowley would possibly refute this; speaking to a pupil of Thelema in Magick Without Tears, Crowley

says “Call it a new religion, then, if it so please your Gracious Majesty; but I confess that I fail to see

what you would have gained by so doing, and I feel bound to add that you might easily cause a great

deal of misunderstanding, and work a rather stupid kind of mischief.” (Crowley n.d p. 147). Luckily

Crowley is not here to berate me for doing so. I also noted a rather divided debate on a Facebook

(June, 2014) page between a large group of Thelemites on the topic of whether Thelema was a

religion or not. Naturally there was no single, decisive answer; discussion appeared to focus on

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Thelema as a religion, a philosophy and/or a path of mysticism – though the topic was fiercely

discussed by all concerned – in this particular forum.

Having defined the main key ideas of ‘art’ and ‘religion’ within this introductory chapter, the

next section will look at the diverse sources of research utilised for the literature review. This

includes academic papers, journal articles, websites and forums.

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 “Literature reviews are critical compilations of previous research…” (Cuba 1993, p. 26)

Chapter Two: Literature Review

Extensive searches have failed to uncover any academic work specifically concerned with the

use of art in Thelemic ritual – though I have been able to locate several related papers which have

proved invaluable to my research. Tupman’s Theatre Magick: Aleister Crowley and the Rites of

Eleusis (2003), in which she attempts to recreate Crowley’s original work as accurately as possible,

has proved particularly useful. The function of this review (as noted by Cuba) is to highlight and

critique those publications which are concerned with both Thelema and its use of art, regardless of

the medium of the art. I will also examine selected scholarly papers and literature which is

concerned with the study of religion from a sociological perspective which frames this inquiry, and

outline the framework within which this research has been conducted. A wide variety of websites

and fora were also viewed in order to expand my understanding of the topic.

Thelema:

As a relatively “unbiased” account of the life and times of Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie’s

The Eye In The Triangle (1989) has been invaluable for this research, as has Tracey Tupman’s Theatre

Magick. Both works provide seemingly non-sensationalist accounts of Crowley, and provide the

reader with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of Crowley’s Thelema and basic theories of

magick. Francis King’s Modern Ritual Magic (1989) considers a wider and more detailed account of

Western occultism across the last two centuries, while J.F Brown’s “Aleister Crowley’s Rites of

Eleusis” (1978) has also assisted in the understanding of both Thelema and how art (in this instance,

theatrical arts) is utilised in a Thelemic context.

Crowley’s extensive writings were also examined; these writings consist of poems, essays

and ‘Libers’ (instructions written by Crowley for adherents of the Thelemic system) and include such

works as Crowley’s sex magick rituals (such as Liber A’ash vel Caprcorni, Liber Cheth, Liber LXVI:

Stellae Rubeae and Liber DCCCXI: Energized Enthusiasm), as well as Liber Samekh, Liber XXXVI: The

Star Sapphire and Liber III vel Jugorum. This is not an exhaustive list of reviewed Libers but indicates

17
the diverse range of literature available to those wishing to conduct further research into Crowley’s

writings.

The Book of Thoth (2007), written by Crowley under the nom de plume of Frater Perdurabo

(one of his magickal names) was extensively consulted as this publication, and the corresponding

deck of tarot cards, was mentioned many times throughout the interview process. The images for

the tarot pack were painted by Lady Frieda Harris, an associate of Crowley’s, and an initiate into

Crowley’s magickal order (Working Magically with the Tarot, n.d). One of the issues of dealing with

Crowley and art is summed up by Robert Buratti: “Crowley’s artistic theory was in complete

alignment with his magical view of the universe. This is one of the reasons why it’s difficult to place

him within any existing artist movement, as he looked at the world very differently to many artists of

his era.” (Interview with Robert Buratti, n.d) but by a thorough examination of his works (both

written and visual) some conclusions may be tentatively put forth.

Tupman’s Theatre Magick:

Tupman in her introduction argues that the Rites of Eleusis (a ritual performed by Crowley and

company for public consumption)“…illustrate one of the first attempts in the twentieth century to

consciously create a psychological connection between theatrical and religious practice within the

western hegemonic society.” (Tupman 2003, p.ii to p.iii). She notes that “…time after time it is

spirituality that gives birth to the drama, rather than spirituality evolving from a performative

context.” (ibid p.iii). Tupman here outlines a theme that will be considered and analysed in my

research; that the ritual may often precedes the art. She also observes that during the execution of

Rites “Care was taken to present the audience with an atmosphere conducive to not only a theatrical

event, but also, hopefully, a consciousness-altering experience through sensory stimulation.” (op cit,

p.20 – p.21). There was also advice that audience wear colours corresponding to invocation: “This

color coordination was another method whereby the audience members were to become not mere

spectators but actively involved in the ritual experience. Their choice of clothing became their

costumes, making them not passive observers but cast members, the theory being that the color of

18
their clothing would subconsciously influence their brain activity.” (op cit, p.21). She makes the

salient point that this idea, of colour influencing psychology, has been readily adopted by interior

and product designers.

Sociology of Religion:

In his introduction to Durkheim’s classic The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, Robert

Nisbet notes that “It is not in search of new truths about universe and self that the communicant

turns to his god; it is, rather, in the quest of the spiritual strength that only one’s god can give him,

Durkheim argues, that accounts for religious experience.” (Nisbet in Durkheim 1976 , p.ix). I would

argue that many Thelemites would heartily disagree with this assertion, but this will be explored and

tested in the data analysis, for the Thelemite, it is said, constantly seeks new truths, new pleasures

and new experiences. Durkheim’s classic work has had its share of critics. Anne Warfield Rawls

however, would refute this, as she states in her text “Classical texts don’t reflect “dead men’s ideas,”

as it has become popular to say, rather they reflect the birth pains and continuing trauma of the

world we live in.” (Warfield Rawls 2004 , p.ix). Rawls’ argument was quite persuasive; Durkheim’s

influential text was therefore considered in order to broaden my understanding of the study of

religion within sociology. For Durkheim the distinction of the profane and the sacred was “the

greatest single distinction the mind is capable of; greater than distinction between good and bad,

right and wrong, the logical and illogical, or any other.” (ibid). I would argue that most Thelemites, as

described in the literature, would reject Durkheim’s sharp distinction between religion and magic

where “the latter does not produce communal ties…” (Durkheim 1976 , p.xi). It should also be noted

that this particular distinction of Durkheim’s was also debated by numerous ethnographers (ibid). I

would draw particular attention to Nisbet’s observation that “It has been said that use of one

people, however intensively it may be studied, as “confirmation” of any theory of the nature of

religion is an abuse of scientific method.” (Nisbet in Durkheim 1976 , p.xii). Of course, many others

have studied this phenomenon in diverse places and times from Durkheim’s starting point.

19
 Regardless of the time and place from where Durkheim wrote, he made observations that

are still relevant today. When comparing Australian First Peoples to Christians, he notes that “…this

latter religion proceeds from the same mentality as the former, that it is made up of the same

superstitions and rests upon the same errors?” (Durkheim 1976 , p.2) and that “In reality, then,

there are no religions which are false. All are true in their own fashion; all answer, though in

different ways, to the given conditions of human existence.” (Durkheim 1976 , p.3). Durkheim, it

should be noted, also stated that some are more superior to others, which apparently can be gauged

by the level of higher mental functions required (ibid). This is not dissimilar to Tolstoy’s theories on

the value of art where he alleges that some forms of art have more value than others, from certain

viewpoints. Of particular importance to this study is Durkheim’s argument that “If it is useful to

know what a particular religion consists in, it is still more important to know what religion in general

is.” (ibid). ( Cf Bruce, 2011.)

I am also indebted to the Anthropology of Folk Religion (1960) edited by Charles Leslie,

which gave me a greater understanding of both anthropology and sociology when I compared this

book, which was written in 1960, with more contemporary publications. I felt a particular affinity

with E.E Evans-Pritchard’s difficulties with language when researching the Nuer religion, where he

noted that “If I speak of “spear” or “cow,” everybody will have pretty much the same idea of what I

speak of, but this is not so when I speak of “Spirit,” “soul,” “sin,” and so forth.” (Evans-Pritchard in

Leslie 1960 , p.55); this statement was hauntingly similar to circumstances I regularly found myself in

during the interview process.

Art:

Tolstoy’s What Is Art? (discussed extensively in the Introduction) provided a useful introduction to

debates about art and its uses. I also was deeply inspired by Paul Waldo-Schwartz’s Art and the

Occult, particularly by the statement: “There is hope and life and light and vision, but there is no

reality, in the easy sense.” [Authors italics] (Waldo-Schwartz 1975). Waldo-Schwartz draws upon a

wealth of art-work from renaissance paintings to photography to illustrate his vision of the nexus of

20
art and the occult. At one point, he likens a photograph by Theodor Schwenk (an image of a stream

of liquid flowing into a still body of water) to a totem, a fertilized egg, a mandala, a phallus, a pelvic

joint and an Easter Island head. He likens the pattern to an ‘endless circuit’ on the Tree of Life, a

Wheel of Buddha, and the circular dance of Shiva (op cit, p.5-6). He saw the occult (and art) in

everything, and he saw their union as a rebellious outpouring against the rationalist and cold,

unfeeling attitude of science. For him, he kept an invisible fire alive, reflecting that:

…even through the long reign of rationalist illusion, the artist-magician and
certain allies have kept a lucid consciousness alive, have perpetuated a wholeness of
symbols, have preserved a vision possible only along a frequency of truly occult
perception, and have seen to it that the converging dignities of art and magic remain
unite (ibid, p.3-4).

Waldo-Schwartz also noted the link between art (in this case, the tarot deck) and existence,

suggesting that “the twenty-two major arcanas, keys or cards, express in symbolic language the

entirety of human existence.” (op cit, p.10).

I found his discussions on the tarot to be of immense help when conducting interviews (see

Chapters Three and Four), particularly with those Thelemites who have an inclination use tarot

decks (or art derived from the tarot) in their rituals. To be able to discuss the cards in terms that

were grasped more fully by both myself and the interviewee allowed communication to flow easily

and clearly – a rare thing when discussing occult practices. From my work as a journalist in this area,

I have encountered a great deal of misunderstanding (on both mine and the interviewee’s part)

when discussing such topics. Waldo-Schwartz provides an excellent example of this when writing on

The Fool tarot card:

Misdirected commentators take the fool for a symbol of distraction, oblivion. On the
contrary, he is the figure of a sublime and aloof consciousness beyond the human
state, oblivious to the lynx, the crocodile, the precipice about him. He is a perfect
equation of spirit. He is in the state of divine unity symbolised by Oneness. [authors
italics] (op cit, p.10).

Waldo-Schwartz compares the nautilus shell to galaxies and links both to the Fibonacci Curve (op cit,

p.20) as he attempts to illustrate the intimate relationship between the higher and lower aspects of

human existence, finally summing up the artist’s (and the magician’s?) work with the statement that

21
“The artist must deal with a concentric universe where to seek the heights means simultaneously to

explore the depths.” (op cit, p.33).

Karl Stone’s The Moonchild of Yesod – A Grimoire of Occult Hyperchemistry (Stone 2012) has

proved invaluable as a source of material concerning the merging of sigil magick with sex magick.

While Stone’s work can, at times, prove difficult to comprehend, it has the potential to provide the

researcher with a wide range of insights into the use of art (namely sigils) in ritual. Having discussed

Stone’s book with numerous Thelemites, it has become apparent that his work is often a touchstone

of inspiration within certain Thelemite circles. In order to better grasp key contemporary theories on

art, I must note Art: key contemporary thinkers (Costello & Vickery 2007) as a valuable source of

information and inspiration. This text was particularly useful in stimulating debate and discussion on

the topic of what constitutes art during interviews. I would also like to acknowledge the chapter on

Theory and Philosophy of Culture, which prompted me to further explore the works of Georges

Bataille, Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault. Bataille’s theories on the interplay between love and

death (both important topics in the Thelemic tradition) stimulated some very relevant conversations

during the data gathering period; as did Roland Barthes ideas on both the ‘punctum’; the private

meaning of an image upon the viewer, and the ‘studium’; an image’s range of available meanings

(Shawcross in Costello & Vickery 2007 , p.151). It becomes more apparent in the data section how

both terms assisted interviewees (both in cases where the interviewee was aware of these terms,

and when the terms were explained to the interviewee) in clarifying what they were attempting to

convey.

Sigil Magick:

A brief explanation of sigil magick is included as the use of such devices was raised in most of

the interviews conducted. It can be put no more simply than “In general terms, a sigil is any glyph or

symbol with mystical or magical significance.” (Max, n.d). The use of such symbols appears to be of

particular importance within Thelemic ritual; the sigils of spirits being invoked, planetary sigils for

celestial influences and sigils for the manifestation of desired changes were all mentioned in the

22
interview settings. The history of sigil use can be traced back across many centuries. Speaking of Dr

Dee, an Elizabethan mystic and magician to the court of (naturally enough) Queen Elizabeth I, Stone

observes “Dee has shown that it is important to meditate upon the artistic configuration of

hieroglyphs (symbols) and sigils found within the magickal traditions. Very similar techniques have

been used by the eastern Tantras i.e. the Sri Yantra or the Kalachakra Mandala, where pathworkings

and visualisations are used as hieroglyphical engines to open gates to supersensual experience i.e.

the magickal radiations from that Star of Initiation.” (Stone 2012, pp. 100-101). Stone continues

“Through the use of automatic drawing and sigilization, mandalic astral doorways are constructed,

acting like initiatory currents, which connect the Adept with traffick from outer realms of cosmic

consciousness…” (op cit, p. 57) before he summarises that “A ‘Word’ or ‘Sigil’ i.e. of an angel, demon

or loa, is the outer garment of a magickal radiation the Adept chooses to connect with. ‘Words’ or

‘Sigils’ act like ‘Keys’ of access to the magickal radiations by the sonorous placement of their letters,

vibrations and sensations which they induce within the body-mind.” (op cit, p. 38). We can see that a

sigil is a visual representation of a spirit, much like a mobile phone number; the magician ‘dials up’

the spirit through the employment of the appropriate sigil. Stone also notes that music is an equally

effective medium: “the induced, liberated rhythmic effects of poetry, prose and magickal ritual are

powerful keys, providing the link to distil the auric impressions of the cosmic archetypal

memory.[authors italics]” (op cit, p. 51). The issue of subjectivity in dealing with sigils should be

apparent to the reader, as the meaning of glyph is usually inherently subjective and/or without

meaning for the profane.

23
Figure ii: Sigil of Bune reproduced from Alesiter Crowley’s The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the

King (2003, p.20)

Framework:

I have taken the position of the social constructivist, as outlined by Burr’s Social

Constructionism (2003), because I argue that the theories of the social constructivist ‘map on’ in a

manner which is quite relevant and appropriate to this inquiry of the belief system (whatever that

may be) of the Thelemite tradition. As Burr (2003 , p.3) notes “Social constructivism cautions us to

be ever suspicious of our assumptions about how the world appears.” and she further warns that

“we construct our versions of reality between us.” (ibid , p.7). As noted by Crotty (1998 , p.67) “The

interpretivist approach…looks for culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of the

social life-world.” [author’s italics] and this approach is reinforced by Flyvbjerg’s ideas that

“Cognitivism, functionalism, structuralism, and neopositivism have so far failed to produce epistemic

theory, as have other objectivist strands of social science.” (Flyvbjerg 2001 , p.48). By taking an

epistemological stance that is Interpretivist, it follows that my ontological stance will be one of anti-

foundationalism. While I would agree with Furlong and Marsh’s premise that “there is a real world

which exists independent of our knowledge of it.” (Furlong & Marsh 2010, p. 190), I reject in this

research the notion that it is a world which can be ‘known’ (whatever that may entail). Burr claims

that constructivists “see the person as actively engaged in the creation of their own phenomenal

24
world.” (Burr 2003 , p. 19). This would, I presume, extend to the world/s created by the

Foundationalist, the Realist and the Objectivist. Objective reality may well be ‘out there’ but it is

always viewed through a subjective eye (unless, of course, the ego; the root of the subjective,

happens to be blotted out for whatever reason/s).

25
Figure iii: The Universe, reproduced from Aleister Crowley’s The Book of Thoth

(2007, Front Cover)

26
 Chapter Three: Methodology and Data

Research/Data Gathering:

In The Research Process the Bouma and Ling make the observation that “Knowledge does not

hang in space; it is a product of social processes.” (2004 , p.3). Although it has been my experience

through this research that the magician/occultist (which many Thelemites also identify themselves

as) are often working outside of some established social processes – though obviously there are

those that are also working within them too. It is interesting to observe that after discussing the

process for the production of knowledge the authors state that “knowledge is both a product and

the property of social groups.” (Bouma & Ling 2004 , p.4) which, it could be argued, is diametrically

opposed to the highly personal nature of an individual’s relationship with his/her divinities. Bouma

and Ling (2004) give a very comprehensive overview of the different phases of qualitative research;

these involve clarifying issues for research and research methods to be employed; data

collection/evidence; and analysis and interpretation. The Research Process raises many issues and

questions including: how does the data relate to the research question; given the data, what would

you conclude; what are the limitations of the study and proposals for further research to clarify

questions raised by the limitations of the original study.

Bouma and Ling also advise that the research question should be limited in scope, narrowed in

focus and confined to a certain place and set of conditions. Therefore researchers are strongly

advised against making claims beyond the scope of the data and that conclusions are kept within the

level of the data. This has influenced both data collection and analysis in this thesis. As the authors

note “A theory asserts a relationship between concepts. It states that some ‘things’ are related in a

particular way. It is a statement of how things are thought to be. A theory is an idea, a mental

picture of how the world might be.” (Bouma & Ling 2004 , p.19).

The work of O’Reilly and Parker (2012), Tracy (2010), and Mason (2010) have proved

immeasurably valuable in solidifying my understanding of qualitative research and the debates

within the research community. The practice of reflexivity during the research process was greatly

27
clarified by Linda Finlay’s Negotiating The Swamp (2002). This practice of reflexivity proved to be

very helpful during the interview process as it enabled me to be aware of the potential for ‘leading’

the interviewees to make statements that were in line with my own hypothesis about this research.

By reflecting on the possibility of my own influence, I was able, to the best of my

abilities/perceptions, to limit this influence on participants, thereby ensuring (relatively) untainted

data- gathering. Coupled with my experience as a journalist, where one is constantly trying to draw

out ‘untainted’ information from interviewees, the concept of reflexivity cemented practices that I

had already employed.

As my research is of an exploratory nature, Stebbins’ Exploratory Research in the Social Sciences

(2001) proved to be of great assistance; his warning not “to minimize the importance of the original

ideas that have just been brought to light.” (2001, p. 5) has been at the forefront of my mind during

the research gathering process and conclusion. I have endeavoured to be careful to be aware of

concerns over decisions on sampling sizes, validity/selectivity of responses or the generalisations

gathered from these responses. I have attempted therefore to focus on the original ideas that the

research has uncovered from the research and the researched.

Rationale for qualitative research:

Coming from a background of journalism, I am deeply interested in the individual’s story yet I also

recognise the inherent subjectivity of the responses gathered during the qualitative research

interviews that were conducted throughout this study. Where patterns and similarities arose within

the responses of interviewees, I noted them for future analysis but I do not claim that my conclusion

proves some previously unrecognised nomothetic law. My research remains wholly exploratory, and

indeed, my research is most certainly of an ideographic nature and I make no apologies for this. In

essence, qualitative research presents the most appropriate methodology for gathering information

pertinent to the research question, which is interested in the ‘how’ rather than the ‘how many’. As

noted by Higgs (1997) “Qualitative research [as opposed to quantitative research]…is a more

appropriate method to explore how people think, talk, feel and interact.” (p.23). This is backed up by

28
Minichiello, Aroni and Hays (2008, p.8)who say that qualitative research attempts to capture a

person’s meanings, definitions and descriptions of events. Spickard (in Beckford and Demeranth

2007) quotes the work of Khan (2005) as an example of how the “research labels” of a purely

quantitative method would have missed the subtle intricacies of Trinidadian religious life. Spickard

goes on to note that survey research “captures elements of people’s self-identities” (op cit, p.123)

which I would suggest as being integral to my work. The fact that Thelemites wholly identify

themselves as Thelemites is central to the research being conducted.

Sampling/Recruitment for Interviews:

I already had an existing network of contacts within the Thelemic community because I have written

BA pieces on Thelema in the past. I re-established contact with interviewees from previous work and

also contacted artists from the Collective 777 website, a group of both Thelemic and non-Thelemic

artists. From the few initial interviewees I used the technique of ‘snowballing’; which involved

encouraging interviewees to provide my contact details to other Thelemites who could get in touch

if they felt that they wanted to be involved. As noted by Browne (2005, p. 48) the snowball

technique is particularly useful for recruitment within ‘transgressive’ groups within society.

Overall I conducted two telephone interviews (one respondent was in Australia, one in the

United States of America) and one face to face interview (in Australia) and seven email interviews

(for full details on interviewees, see Table 1). Given the fact that the Thelemic community is rather

close-knit, and that I offered confidentiality, all interviewee names have been replaced with

pseudonyms.

Interviewee/Pseudonym Age Sex Location Occupation

Frater Cobbler No Response Male USA Psychiatrist

Frater Leaf 47 Male Netherlands Marketing Staff

Frater Bat No Response Male Australia Trainer

29
 Soror Moon No Response Female Australia Artist

Frater Shamrock 29 Male Ireland Unemployed

Frater Blender 27 Male No Response No Response

Soror Meow 38 Female USA Artist

Frater Love 53 Male USA Salesman

Soror Love 45 Female USA Health Worker

Frater Sirius 62 Male USA Writer

Table i – Demographic Information of interviewees

Research Limitations:

In addition to the documents, web-sites and literature analysis, this research is limited to a

preliminary investigation of Thelemites who use art in their ritual work; naturally the size of the data

sample could be expanded in future research. There is also the limited scope of the actual interview

structure to consider (see Appendix); as interviews progressed I often found the discussions veering

into unforeseen, yet extremely compelling, territory – areas that are fruitful for further (and deeper)

research. The number of interviews conducted was also limited by the time available to me to

complete the research. Perhaps in the future, I would be able to expand the interview group to a

greater number and possibly achieve a greater gender balance. While my research is not overly

concerned with gender specific responses, I am sure this is an area that would yield great insight.

Given the limited number of respondents, the research on which this thesis is based can only be

taken as impressionistic and exploratory; future research may involve more specific exploration of

gender, ethnicity, sexuality or age – though some broad conclusions are drawn from the age of

respondents in this chapter.

The ten Thelemites interviewed have provided responses that have allowed me to identify

patterns within their narratives; these narratives form the skeleton on which the flesh of discussion

and analysis will be hung in Chapter Four.

30
 Chapter Four: Analysis and Conclusions

Thelema is NOT a religion. Thelema is a means of coming to an understanding of

religion and freeing oneself from the ego-centric and childish sense of need for a
religion (and this includes atheism, the negative of the positive, essentially the same
in essence), as well as a means of understanding existence and one’s place in the
scheme of things. (Frater Sirius, 2014)

One of Crowley’s earliest uses of art in ritual can be seen in The Rites of Eleusis (n.d), a series

of staged dramatic rituals for public consumption that combined poetry recital, violin solos and

dancing. Van Kleek (n.d) notes “The Rites consist of seven rituals…following Crowley’s new method

of ritual composition. This method, he explains, was based on the ancient custom of invoking gods

“by a dramatic presentation or commemoration of their legends”…”. Crowley developed these

rituals within the conceptual framework of ‘correspondences’; an idea that is prominent in

sympathetic magick. The Witchipedia webpage (http://www.witchipedia.com/correspondence-

tables) entitled Magical Correspondences explains that “Magical correspondence tables are like a

witch's cheat sheet. They list energetic and metaphysical connections between objects, beings or

concepts…” (Magical Correspondences n.d). In The Rites of Eleusis: Their Origin and Meaning

Crowley explains this further as

Take, for example, the first ritual, that of Saturn. Working on tradition, just
as Wagner did when he took the old Norse Saga for his world drama, we find Saturn
as a black, melancholy God, the devourer of his children. Ideas of Night, Death, Black
hellebore, Lead, Cypress, Tombs, Deadly Nightshade. All these things have a necessary
connection with Saturn in the mind of anyone who has read the classics. The first
condition of this rite is, then, to make the temple a kind of symbolic representation of
the sphere of Saturn. So the representative of Saturn wears the Black Robe. The time
is declared to be midnight (though, as a matter of fact, it is only twenty minutes past
eight -- this is an ordinary theatrical convention; and masons will think of certain
analogies in their own "Orgies"). If the brethren are fed, it is "on the corpses of their
children" as Saturn fed on his. If they drink, it is "Poppyheads infused in blood" --
symbols of sleep and death. Saturn further represents the earth, the plane of matter,
humanity bounded by old age and death, humanity blindly groping after illumination
and failing to get it (Crowley n.d).

In his auto-hagiography The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, he notes of Victor Neuburg (the

dancer in these rites) “The idea of his dance was, as a rule, to exhaust him completely. The climax

was his flopping on the floor unconscious. Sometimes he failed to lose himself, in which case, of

31
course, nothing happened; but when he succeeded the effect was superb. It was astounding to see

his body suddenly collapse and shoot across the polished floor like a curling-stone.” (Crowley n.d).

This technique, which involves pushing the aspirant to a point of exhaustion thus creating a space

within the mind/body for the deity to indwell, can be seen as being diametrically opposite to that of

The Order of the Whirling Dervishes, a branch of the Sufi tradition of Islam, which regards that

“Contrary to popular belief, the semazen's goal is not to lose consciousness or to fall into a state of

ecstasy. Instead, by revolving in harmony with all things in nature -- with the smallest cells and with

the stars in the firmament -- the semazen testifies to the existence and the majesty of the Creator…”

(The Fundamental Meaning of Sema [author’s italics] n.d). This exertion can be likened to a mantra

for the body, as Israel Regardie observes “So long as one can inflame [authors italics] oneself in

praying, working up as it were an inner frenzy of enthusiasm, that emotional intensity can be

counted on to hurl the soul over the precipice of everyday compulsive “normality” into a purely

noetic spiritual area, above the conflict-laden mind.” (Regardie 1989 , p. 153).

Moving from dance to visual arts, William Breeze, current international leader of the Ordo

Templi Orientis, observes that the American painter Robert Winthrop Chanler (who was also an

acquaintance of Crowley) held a similar artistic theory to Crowley, and Breeze quotes journalist and

promoter Ivan Narodny as saying

According to Chanler, the origin of decorative art – and portrait painting – lies
in the magic of the days before primitive man built a temple and created his gods. It
was the idea of sorcery and spirits which inspired our barbaric ancestors to invent
symbols, sacred designs, amulets, talismans, ikons and vestments for the occult or
religious ceremonies. The idea of the spirit was intangible and could not be expressed
in articulate words; therefore symbols were created and images drawn or carved. Out
of those symbols and images evolved the folk arts. The caves of sorcerers were the
forerunners of modern art studio (Breeze 2013 , p. 45).

We are confronted with one of the great problems that we face - our attempts to make the

unformulated into the formulated; the intangible into the tangible; the unknown into the known. In

April 1920, Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, Italy, where he promptly decorated

the walls of the villa with murals designed, from his perspective, to unshackle visitors from their

32
established moral foundations. He did this not for shock value or to excite the mind but, through

extended exposure and familiarity to the images, render the mind indifferent. Speaking of the mind

in Book 4, Crowley suggests

That image is that of a lake into which five glaciers move. These glaciers are
the senses. While ice (the impressions) is breaking off constantly into the lake, the
waters are troubled. If the glaciers are stopped the surface becomes calm; and then,
and only then, can it reflect the unbroken disk of the sun. This sun is the “soul” or
“God” (Crowley 1980 , p. 37).

Further, He urges “Let the Student practise observation of those things which normally would cause

him emotion…” suggesting that dancing girls and surgical procedures are “fruitful fields for the

beginner.” (op cit, p. 95).

While limited by space, the selected examples indicate that the use of dancing, music and

art-works are all important tools within the Thelemite’s ritual – although as demonstrated, they are

employed to serve two distinct ends. However, the two ‘end-results’ demonstrated should not be

taken as the only results sought by Thelemites employing art in a ritual setting.

It could be argued that there are as many rituals as there are Thelemites, and with as many rituals it

could be expected that there would be as many diverse results sought. Naturally one could assume

that there are Thelemites who do not use art in their rituals but from the interviews, most did. For

now I return to the two examples covered previously: dance (performance art) and art (visual art).

In the first instance, the dance (or to be more specific, the performance art) is used to

inflame the practitioner, as in the example of Victor Neuburg’s dancing, to a point of exhaustion. At

this point, the aspirant’s ego is blotted out and the chosen (or perhaps, if ill-prepared, unchosen)

deity or spirit is allowed to take up residence in the body. There are a wide variety of reasons why a

Thelemite might require a disincarnate being to ‘take possession’ of the practitioner; these are

explored more fully in the interview findings and analysis. The second instance, as shown by

Crowley’s ‘obscene’ murals (visual art), shows the employment of often sexual or graphic images to

bring the viewer to a state of familiarity, with a view to achieving an eventual attitude of

indifference. It is argued by practitioners that the longer the viewer is exposed to the images, the

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less effect the images have on the mind. This in turn means that the less movement there is in the

mind, the more likely that a state of exalted consciousness can occur. As a result of this research

into printed accounts, I was expecting respondents to confirm the particular uses of art as outlined

above. It may come as no surprise that I was swiftly disavowed of this notion.

The data gleaned from this qualitative research remains exploratory; it is not intended to

make any claims of nomothetic absolutism; if anything can be deduced from it, it is that, of the

Thelemites interviewed, some use art in such a way within their rituals, others use art in other ways

within their rituals, and that some do not use art at all in a ritual context.

One theme that arose in all interviews was that of self-discovery; all recipients expressed

Thelema as a way of discovering their true identity and purpose within the universe; Frater Cobbler

summed it as “…someone aspires to live a life in harmony with their true Will; to discover their true

Will and live it out, and if they’re doing that consciously and intentionally, I say they’re a Thelemite

and it doesn’t matter whether they label themselves that, it doesn’t matter, to me.” Frater Bat took

this idea one step further, adding that “It’s responsibility, I think. Self-responsibility and self-reliance.

That’s a big one, man! There’s no real answer to that one.” When attempting to clarify his position, I

asked if everyone has their own interpretation of what Thelema means to them. He clarified with

“You could waffle on forever but I think, as far as self-reliance goes, there’s self-harmony as well

which probably hasn’t been expressed that much; the conscious ability to work on that as well – not

just that material interpretation that people tend to fall back on.” Essentially each Thelemite has

their own interpretation of what it means to be a Thelemite, and this is one thing that defines the

Thelemite; as Frater Leaf sums it up: “It means being an individual that is responsible for his own

choices and actions.”

Soror Meow, a visual artist living in the USA, said “Ultimately the most important concept in

Thelema for me is that of Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel. For me, this

encompasses or relates to every goal in every religion, as I understand it: uniting with God,

becoming Enlightened, etc. For me this is the Love part (“Love is the law”) and it is the foundation or

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underpinning, to the best of my ability, for how I manifest that divine Love in my daily life (“love

under will.”) Thus “Do what thou thou wilt” for me, means the Work that I do to manifest divine Will

every day in my life to the best of my ability.”

Other interviewees put it as simply as “…the art of honest living.” or “…being a Thelemite

means abiding by no laws except your own. To find your True will or path in life as you see fit and

letting no other obstruct your choices. This also goes with letting everyone around you live in the

way they see fit as well, to not constrict another’s will.”.

This is certainly one of the challenges of writing on Thelema and interviewing Thelemites; it

is a very individual path and therefore all responses are of a highly individual nature, this makes it

very difficult to establish any patterns within interviewee responses. Thelema means something

different to each Thelemite. It is interesting to note the comment “…letting everyone around you

live in the way they see fit…” because during interviews the conversation would often move on to

the subject of other person/s Will. The majority of respondents indicated that it was important not

to interfere with the Will of another although one particular interviewee made a rather intriguing

comment that

There is the genuine Thelemite and there are what I call the pseudo-
Thelemites who pretend to be Thelemites or actually believe that they are Thelemites,
but think and act in ways that are decidedly un-Thelemic; catering to the petty ego,
contrary to Thelemic philosophy and its direction, using Thelemic phrases and terms
incorrectly to justify satisfying the petty, personal desires of their ego while trying to
appear better than those who are of the religion, usually some form of Christianity of
Judaism, in which their parents raised them, childishly rebelling well past adolescence.

I am struck by the similarity between this comment and Tolstoy’s notion of the two types of

art created by the peasant and the upper classes. But the above comment reiterates the slightly

obvious point that there are those on the Thelemite path that do not recognise others, simply by

their admission to being a Thelemite, as ‘true’ followers of Thelema. This raises another interesting

question; at what level of spiritual advancement does one have the authority to dictate to another

the nature of Will? There is a grade/degree system within the OTO (and many other magickal

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fraternities) so it could be (dangerously) presumed that those in the lower grades naturally

acquiesce to those in higher grades; the apprentice yielding to the master so to speak. Yet it does

not appear so clear cut as the rankings of an army regiment within the Thelemic system. According

to a page of the US branch of the OTO website(http://oto-usa.org/oto/initiation/), entitled Initiation

(2014) “There are a total of 21 initiate degrees in O.T.O., including thirteen numbered degrees and

eight un-numbered, intermediate degrees or sub-degrees. The degrees of O.T.O. are divided into

three Grades or “Triads”: the Hermit, the Lover, and the Man of Earth” – further research in this area

is definitely suggested.

When asked about the circumstances that led respondents to the Thelemic path, most

respondents (bar three) spoke of a diverse range of previous spiritual paths and experiences leading

up to their ‘conversion’ to Thelema. Some interviewees spoke of being raised in a traditional

Christian environment while others had dabbled in Brahmanism, Druidism and Buddhism prior to

discovering Thelema. One of those who did not have previous ‘spiritual miles’ was Frater Cobbler,

now a practising psychologist. He was reading Carl Jung while maintaining a position of atheism.

Jung’s writings spoke to him of “the mystery of the inner life” – as Frater Cobbler says “His [Jung’s]

theories were speaking to me about the truth and the way that things work, and I realised I was

missing an inner journey of some kind, which eventually I came to realise was a spiritual journey,

how it was explained by Jung, so somehow I found Israel Regardie’s writings and that bridged well

with the psychology I was already studying, and once I found Regardie, it was very soon after that

that I started reading Crowley, and immediately I knew what I wanted to do.”

The other two respondents (Frater Love & Soror Love) who were not involved in a spiritual

path prior to Thelema noted that they came to the path as a result of “Discovering an intuitive

connection with many elements in its philosophical outlook.” and “Saw an ad for a Thelemic group,

wrote to them and liked what they said, and started my path.” respectively. Others cited an interest

in Wicca and witchcraft, a Catholic upbringing and a love of folklore and mythology as their personal

backgrounds prior to the discovery of Thelema. It is worth highlighting the fact the majority of

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respondents clearly expressed a pre-existing religious stance and/or an interest in occult and/or

familiarity with spiritual literature before becoming Thelemites.

The question of the use of art in ritual – the crux of this thesis - provided widely differing

views among respondents; eight out of ten (80%) of interviewees said that they did employ some

form of art in a ritual setting. Of the two people that said ‘no’ to the use of art, one elaborated and

admitted to the use of tarot card imagery, which for the purpose of this study has been included

under the broad umbrella of ‘art’ while the other stated that “I starve myself of influences… I starve

myself in a heavily filtering way and then, whatever happens, I know has a higher chance of being

meaningful and from myself.” It is interesting to note that this response came from a Thelemite who

had been practising for twenty plus years and was aged 44. The preference to ‘strip back’ the ritual

as one’s ‘length of service’ increases (and perhaps one’s age may also be a contributing influence) is

definitely an area which requires further research.

The positive responses to the use of art in ritual included Frater Cobbler, who clarified the
issue with
There really are two sides to that for me; one is the art that is included in
formal rituals that might be part of the instruction, for example esoteric diagrams
sometimes, representative art that is teaching a lesson which is not purely abstract
design – that might be a card from the tarot, or it might be from the traditional
Golden Dawn where you might have the Mythic Seals, or the Major Line of a certain
planet or something. Essentially it’s a certain type of visual art that is used to instruct
but then there’s a whole other level where, if we can broaden the term art to include
– for me personally – things like music; when I’m composing music, but most
especially when I’m improvising music, for me, that is a form of ritual, it’s certainly a
form of meditation, but it’s also a devotional practice essentially because I feel like
I’m opening up to the influence of spirit in much the same way as if I were doing some
sort of formal ritual.

This response is a good example of the practitioner incorporating music as well as visual art

in their ritual – a reoccurring theme throughout the interview. Frater Leaf expands on this, giving a

reason and a definite example of circumstances in which the art is used: “Visuals and art can be

valuable additions to incorporate into ritual as it helps to personalise and make clearer what the

ceremony is about. During funerals I use the projection of pictures, art and such that show aspects of

the diseased. It makes it into a more personal tribute than standard funerals where a few words are

37
spoken and some music is played. And yes, music can also be an important attribute in ritual. In my

opinion there is so much one can use in rituals and that is why a good ritual is never boring!” Aside

from tributes such as funerals, art is regularly used in ritual practices such as meditation. Frater

Blender clarifies this with

“[An] example would be a basic yogic exercise. Where you take a photo or
draw one of the seven lotus flowers, place the image at eye-level in a straight
position aligning your spine straight with the middle pillar. And concentrate upon the
image until it’s burned into your brain, close your eyes and let this mental image now
be placed on the appropriate chakra and let all the energy of this image flow through
your body. Record the results and move on to the others. You can do this with any
image really. Everything in this universe is infused with energy and it can be directed,
contained & absorbed.”

Soror Meow (who is also a visual artist) gives a slightly different perspective to other

responses, saying that “I almost exclusively use depictions of Deities. In practices like Golden Dawn

Initiations or Resh [a Thelemic ritual performed four times throughout the course of a day], for

example, one uses a technique called Godform Assumption, and a visual depiction of the God can

help one to assume, or visualize oneself, in the form of that God. This is also the case for Buddhist

tantric invocations - which is why that tradition makes use of thangka art. Similarly, if one is not

visualizing oneself as the Deity but instead is visualizing the Deity before oneself, the art helps to

make that visualization much more vivid and present. Also, I should add, since I paint Deities myself,

when I’m working on painting a depiction of a particular God or Goddess, I often perform rituals of

or for that Deity before and at the beginning of starting the painting, partially so that I can get a

good visualization myself that I can then apply to canvas, and also in order to connect with that Deity

and draw their presence or energies into the painting. Therefore, the visualization and art works

both ways; one strengthens the other.” Frater Shamrock added to this with “Personally I work with

intentionally created spaces through altars exhibiting specially chosen objects, including both bought

objects and findings that have important symbolic and aesthetic significance. Installations are a

significant aspect of any ritual space which is very much what good altars are. I also love chalk

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mandalas and circles, working with similar cosmological elements, but with very diverse expressions

each time. We have spiralling 6-7 foot quarter banners…which incorporate visual art.”

This exploratory enquiry into the use of art in Thelemic ritual had made a contribution to the

literature and helps broaden the understanding of the use of art in Thelemic rituals. From the

responses given, it can be concluded that not only is a wide range of art employed, the forms of art

utilised are also diverse. The use of visual art such as tarot card imagery, as well as sigils, mandalas

and yantras (often from other belief systems), are used to catapult the adherent’s consciousness

into a heightened state of awareness. Other forms of art such as poetry and drumming are also

utilised to the same effect. The use of another religion’s iconography is a recurrent theme with

respondents quoting the imagery of Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity as being prevalent in

ritual settings. Occult symbolism such as pentagrams, hexagrams and protective circles are also used

widely to assist and maintain the Thelemite’s focus during the course of the ritual. This suggests that

the Thelemite is not hampered by ideas of dogma attached to any given image, be this religious or

otherwise; it is more a case of the Thelemite using whatever art (in whatever form) suits their

purpose best.

The final word will be left with Crowley who says “Domine noster, audi tuo servo! Kyrie

Christe! O Christe!” (Crowley 1997 , p.231), which we are assured, according to the author, is Latin

for “O our Lord, hear thy servant! O Lord Christ! O Christ!” (ibid).

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 Appendix

Interview Schedule

Biographical Information:

1. Age
2. Marital Status
3. Occupation
4. Education
5. Children/Age
Research/Quantative Information:

1. How long have you been a practising Thelemite?

2. What led you to choose the Thelemic path?
3. What does being a Thelemite mean to you?
4. What types of ritual do you perform? Why?
5. Group work/alone?
6. Who with?
7. What form do these rituals take?
8. How are the mechanics of ritual agreed upon/worked out?
9. Where do you usually perform ritual work?
10. When do you usually perform ritual work?
11. Do you incorporate visual art into rituals?
12. Why/Why not?
13. What form does this take? What art do you use?
14. How do you select art work for ritual use?
15. What are the benefits of utilising art in ritual/why do you use art in ritual?
16. Do you have an interest in art outside of your practices? What kind? What form?
17. Are there particular works of art that you find more ‘helpful’ than others?
18. As a result of using art in ritual work, have you found you have begun to dislike/like certain
works less/more?
19. What are some of the end results of your ritual work?
20. What are some of the negative/positive outcomes? Successes/failures?
21. What are some of the negatives/positives of using art in ritual?
22. Use of other forms of art in ritual? Eg – singing, dancing, poetry, drumming etc
23. Are these used in combination with visual art?
24. Effective use singularly or in combination?
25. Anyone else you can recommend I speak to?

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