On the Thelemic Concept of True Will.

It is the goal of this essay to adequately describe True Will as it relates to the morality of the spiritual path of Thelema.  Often this concept gets muddied as uninformed and spiritually unaware people approach the dictum “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law” as a call to hedonism, chaos, and forcing one’s will on another.  It is viewed as a call to “do what you want.”  Instead, Thelema is a highly moral religious system, more so than any of the Abrahamic religions.  It is about spiritual discipline and has the potential to be the premiere religion of the Pagan revival of the West.

               In “The Book of the Law” dictated to Aleister Crowley in Cairo in 1904, the Daimon Aiwass provides a code of conduct for the individual.  It is a call to discover one’s Higher Self in union with the Divine.  “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law” is a call to follow one’s True Will.  Aiwass’ attendant commands “Love is the Law,” and “Love Under Will” dictate how this Law is to be carried out by the individual.  “Do What Thou Wilt” is a reference to True Will.  Again, “Wilt” is not “want.”  Wants and Will are two separate things.  A “want” is a mundane Ego-driven impulse.  Often these things involve drugs and sex.  Often Thelemites make the mistake of delving into hedonism with disastrous results.  One’s Will should be in alignment with the Universe and should be a struggle for something Higher.  This True Will occurs in Union with the Daimon or Holy Guardian Angel.  This is arduous work, and requires a strong, balanced person to achieve it.

               There are many people who are caught up in Abrahamic ways of thinking regarding Original Sin even if they leave Christian religion.  Often, they accept many different, incorrect theories of human nature and are filled with anxiety and Self-Disgust, with the Foreign Installation of “Original Sin” fixed in their tarnished minds.   They forget the actual Truth of human nature:  mankind is a beast of prey.  He is a conqueror.  Through art and spiritual attainment, he channels these impulses into something higher that maintains civilization, that keeps alive his inner divine star, his eternal soul.   “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law” is a call to find one’s passion in life, what one’s talents are, and put this into action.  Because there are no Abrahamic commands, such as “do not kill,” many of lesser intellect think that “Do What Thou Wilt” is a call to “do what you want” including murder if “it is your will.”  Rather, True Will is in alignment with the Higher Self.   Once one makes contact with one’s Guardian Angel/Daimon, one moves through life following one’s calling in life.  The True Will is always in alignment with the Universe.  Any conflict with others, any forcing of one’s will on another is a clear indication that one is off the Path. 

               “Love Under Law” is a reference to the Greek Agape.  This is a “unconditional love” of Life practiced in the following of one’s True Will.  This can also be “romantic love” in the case of sexual magick done to manifest one’s Will in the material plane.  “Love Under Will” is a command to follow one’s True Will in this fashion.   Again, this is not a call for hedonism, though Thelema doesn’t have the excessive moral restrictions on sexuality that the Abrahamic religions have, though of course rape and other sexual deviations such as the assault of a minor are immoral and forbidden as they are an affront to the True Will of another, not to mention evil and disgusting.   In Thelema, every action taken in life is in union with the Divine. 

               The True Will is often difficult to attain and requires Initiation and detailed Self-Analysis.  The strictures the world puts on the individual along with all the social expectations, takes him from his True Self.  Often one’s True Will is something one had not considered, a path different but more in line with one’s true passion in life.  Sometimes the thing we hate or fear the most is actually the thing that is the core of our True Will.   

               The achievement of True Will should be accomplished in the essence of the Greek Arete, or “excellence.”  This is associated with virtue and the full realization of one’s innate talents and strong personality.   Once one achieves union with their Daimon, one lives in a state of eudaimonia, the Greek conception of the “good life,” which is a life of achievement and creativity.  One has a sense of Union with the Universe, which goes beyond pleasure, happiness, and contentment.  This is achieved through the practice of sophrosyne, which is the essence of wisdom and moderation.  One must lead a path of action, contemplation, and temperance in order to achieve one’s Will. 

               The concept of True Will is reconciled in the godforms Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit.  Nuit is the Egyptian sky-goddess, whose stars represent all the possibilities of life in the Universe.  The Chaldean Hadit is the winged-globe, the force and fury of the Waters of Nu.  He is associated with Samael, the serpent in the Garden of Eden and the Egyptian god Set.  Hadit is also Hoor-Paar-Kraat or Harpocrates, the child Horus, crippled and silent sitting upon the lotus, symbolizing spiritual attainment.  This godform represents all the possibilities of the Universe of Nuit concentrated into a single point of action.  Hadit is the consolidation of forces that provide the motion of True Will once the Adept achieves Union with the Daimon.  He signifies the Khu or Astral Body.  Ra-Hoor-Khuit is the Lion-Serpent and active warrior Horus.  He is the star or Khabs, the Inmost Light in the Khu or Astral Body of the Adept.  This godform symbolizes magickal power and union with the Divine.

The Trinity of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit symbolize the concept of 0 = 2.  In order to attain the union of Duality, one must understand that 1, the Monad, cannot exist in waking consciousness on the material plane where everything manifests as duality.  The only way to achieve Union of Subject and Object to fully understand the Kantian concept of the Thing in Itself, one must find union in the Void signified by “0.”  This is achieved in the state of Samadhi after practicing yogic meditation.  This is the concept of “No Thought” or “No Mind.”  Again, temperance and stillness through mediation along with spiritual work ridding oneself of bad habits are the best ways to achieve union with one’s Daimon.

True Will is following one’s passion in life while at the same time achieving Union in mystical attainment.  It is not a path for the fainthearted or foolhardy.  It is a Nietzschean Will to Power for the strong men and women of the West.  These Thelemites will be the leaders of the cultural revival of our civilization.  This spiritual attainment is the essence of the Great Work