The Aleister Crowley Manual by Marco Visconti

To many, this manifesto read as an attack on the OTO, and to a large extent it was. This is where the manifesto truly bothered swaths of the community, as a large percentage of the Thelemic community is part of an organization known as The Ordo Templi Orientis (henceforth referred to as “OTO”).

The final bit of this manifesto states that they will be continuing with many of the religious traditions of Thelema, but are desiring to move beyond hierarchical orders. Even in a ritual, there are pangs of philosophy and symbolism from Crowley. The vast majority of Thelemic writing was done by Alesiter Crowley, and his philosophic and religious ideas are built into every level of the paradigm. However, where I vary from this, is that the idea of removing Crowley from Thelema is a lost cause. I want nothing more than for the Thelemic community to move beyond roleplaying as Aleister Crowley, and towards a more mature developed religious perspective. I have seen too many Thelemites become slaves to this apsect of life.

I am strongly opposed to hedonism, which Crowley tended to lean into, as I find it can block people from their goals. I feel as if Crowley’s personal choices and lifestyle are rather unpleasant, and in many ways blocked him from achieving his True Will throughout his life. When this manifesto was released, this was the part of it that I connected the most to. Amongst younger Thelemites, particularly the progressive side of Thelemic youth, there has been a massive resurgence in interest in Grant and Nema, and I feel as if Post-Thelema may have spurred this revival.Īt this point, the manifesto states a desire to move beyond Crowley, and condemns Thelemites who are closely attached to the idea of Aleister Crowley. In fact, this take is probably the position held by Post-Thelemites that ended up spreading the most. Personally, I feel as if we are still in The Aeon Of Hours for a variety of reasons, but this alone is not the most unorthodox take. This theory, that we are no longer living in The Age Of Horus, is a theory held by a number of Thelemites, especially those interested in Nema or Kenneth Grant. The manifesto continues with arguing for a desire to move beyond The Aeon Of Horus and into The Aeon Ma’at. For those who are among the most liberal in the application of the title of “Thelemite”, they define being a Thelemite based on two criteria–the first being the desire and pursuit of True will, and the second being the acceptance of “The Book Of The Law” as a legitimately channeled holy text. This is a hot take, as accepting the reception of this text is seen as one of the key elements of being a Thelemite. The manifesto opens by casting doubt on the reception of “The Book Of The Law”, going so far as to say that it doesn't matter whether or not the Cairo channeling story is true.

The Aleister Crowley Manual by Marco Visconti