Is the Setian philosophy/religion a "sect" of Thelema?

[1137]

To my understanding, one important aspect of the founding of the Temple of Set was predicted in Crowley's book of the Law. While I don't put much stock in numerology, the western tradition does in general, and Aquino found some solution to the riddle of chapter two which showed it to be a prophecy of him. That's a big deal.

On the other hand, the Typhonian Order believed that Awaiss was Set himself, and I know the Temple has written a bit on Set in the Book of the Law. Even the more obscure connections, such as Lovecraftian magic in both the ToS and TOTO, are rooted in the idea that Crowley and Lovecraft were connected.

Further, the idea of Thelema fits well with Xeper, the latte building on the former. From the perspective of Grant, there seems to be no escaping a connection with Thelema. It also seems to be that way with the Temple. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Adramelek]

To my understanding, one important aspect of the founding of the Temple of Set was predicted in Crowley's book of the Law.

This Secret was also known, at a divine level, by Ipsissimus Aleister Crowley, who predicted that the Aeon of Hrumachis (the dawning sun of the horizon i.e., Xepera) would surpass his own. However, their are those Setians who do work with the principle of Thelema= True Will, and just as many if not more who simply look upon it as merely a curiosity.

In the words of a Setian Ipsissimus VI* -- "The Word of the Aeon of HarWer was Thelema, the Will which enables each star to chart its own course through the cosmos."

"The Word of the Age of Satan was Indulgence, an orienting of the self on the highest and best things of life and being."

"The primary Word of the Aeon of Set is Xeper, Coming Into Being as an alert, oriented, balanced Magician capable of creating change in accord with the Will."

"The secondary Word of the Aeon of Set is Remanifestation";
An "Aeon Enhancing Word", which does just that; enhances, expands upon and furthers the originating principal and current of the Aeon. "Remanifest" is a renewal and rebirth of the self through deliberate use of all that has become manifest previously in order to bring about a Magician who Comes Into Being as a new and more fully faceted Being. Hence, the continual process of Xeper and Remanifest ad infinitum -- the key to immortality.

 

[EtuMalku]

The problem herein lies in that Thelema is a RHP while the ToS is strictly a western LHP

 

[1137]

The problem herein lies in that Thelema is a RHP while the ToS is strictly a western LHP

I disagree that Thelema is RHP. Crowleyanism is RHP, but Thelema is not.

 

[Adramelek]

The problem herein lies in that Thelema is a RHP while the ToS is strictly a western LHP

I don't see a problem with "Thelema" being either RHP or LHP. I found my True Will in music and composition, my forte in life, and it continues to enhance my life and being as I continue to Xeper and Remanifest in this aspect of my True Will. To me, Aleister Crowley was/is a Black Brother.

 

[crossfire]

I don't see a problem with "Thelema" being either RHP or LHP. I found my True Will in music and composition, my forte in life, and it continues to enhance my life and being as I continue to Xeper and Remanifest in this aspect of my True Will. To me, Aleister Crowley was/is a Black Brother.

Not according to Crowley:
http://hermetic.com/crowley/magick-without-tears/mwt_12.html

 

[EtuMalku]

I disagree that Thelema is RHP. Crowleyanism is RHP, but Thelema is not.

What do you believe the goal is in Thelema?

 

[1137]

What do you believe the goal is in Thelema?

To understand the path to one's best Self, the quest for True Will. If I am a doctor because my parents wanted it, but I wanted to be a dancer, there's a lost level of happiness I can no longer attain. This is Thelema.

 

[EtuMalku]

"Despite the fact that antinomianism is usually characteristic of the left-hand path, Crowley uses it to right-hand path ends. The core of Crowley’s magical philosophy is the willed dissolution of opposites - ‘Let there be no difference …between any one thing and any other thing’…"

To understand the path to one's best Self, the quest for True Will. If I am a doctor because my parents wanted it, but I wanted to be a dancer, there's a lost level of happiness I can no longer attain. This is Thelema.

How do you account for The Knowledge & Conversation of one's Guardian Angel and the Crossing of the Abyss?
Both involve the loss of Self / Ego / Ka . . . those who failed to cross the Abyss (becoming a Babe of the Abyss) were labeled Black Brothers of the Left Hand Path for they resisted the final step of Absolving into the All.

 

[1137]

"Despite the fact that antinomianism is usually characteristic of the left-hand path, Crowley uses it to right-hand path ends. The core of Crowley’s magical philosophy is the willed dissolution of opposites - ‘Let there be no difference …between any one thing and any other thing’…"



How do you account for The Knowledge & Conversation of one's Guardian Angel and the Crossing of the Abyss?
Both involve the loss of Self / Ego / Ka . . . those who failed to cross the Abyss (becoming a Babe of the Abyss) were labeled Black Brothers of the Left Hand Path for they resisted the final step of Absolving into the All.

I account for it because Crowleyanism is not Thelema. Crowley was a radio, something to funnel ideas through and then pervert it, as with most such experience. The only reason Crowley was stuck in the RHP was because of the time period, where the LHP was seen as evil and dark still. The crossing of the abyss is the taming of the ego, which needs to be accomplished for the LHP magician. Further, the crossing of the abyss includes the Tunnels of Set. But all this is irrelevant. Thelema is the acceptance of the Law of Thelema, a morality which carries over into the Setian tradition, centered around finding ones proper path through life. Crowley's path was simply RHP, but he confused his path for some sort of objective blueprint.

 

[EtuMalku]

I account for it because Crowleyanism is not Thelema. Crowley was a radio, something to funnel ideas through and then pervert it, as with most such experience. The only reason Crowley was stuck in the RHP was because of the time period, where the LHP was seen as evil and dark still. The crossing of the abyss is the taming of the ego, which needs to be accomplished for the LHP magician. Further, the crossing of the abyss includes the Tunnels of Set. But all this is irrelevant. Thelema is the acceptance of the Law of Thelema, a morality which carries over into the Setian tradition, centered around finding ones proper path through life. Crowley's path was simply RHP, but he confused his path for some sort of objective blueprint.

Fair enough . . . Crowleyism is not Thelema
I am sure you are aware that Ipsissimus Flowers stated in his book 'Lords of the LHP' that Thelema was not a LHP
I find that Crowley defined Thelema as "true will" as in "the will of one's divine self" implying that one's true will is divine. Crowley also suggested that one's true will is ultimately the unification of the primary of "opposites" - one's individual self and the Absolute (or universe).
Any union between Self and the Absolute is considered a RHP.

 

[EtuMalku]

"The ego is the center of consciousness, whereas the Self is the center of the total personality, which includes consciousness, the unconscious, and the ego. The Self is both the whole and the center. While the ego is a self-contained little circle off the center contained within the whole, the Self can be understood as the greater circle"
- Carl Jung

Ego, in and of itself is the balance between Id (reptilian/animal/instinctual) Self and the Superego (inflated, megalomania, delusion of grandeur) Self. A balanced, contained Ego is desired. Where the Ego can fail is when it is not Individuated. It then becomes the reflection of our false Self and not our true Self, a projection of our desires and our shadows. The LHP is not to give up on or surrender the Ego, also not to overly focus on Ego, but to synchronize, synthesize, and expand Ego to reflect our Higher Self.

"The “worship” of Set is thus the “worship” of individualism. In the old Church of Satan this was taken to mean indulgence in all [legal] desires of the body and ego. Since many such desires are impulsive and destructive, the Church found itself in the unexpected and awkward position of de facto endorsing many practices which were degrading rather than exalting, and which simply accelerated the tensions resulting in the eventual crisis of 1975."

"The Temple of Set determined to preserve the principle of individualism, but to add to it the evolutionary “higher self” aspirations of Aleister Crowley’s pre-O.T.O. philosophy of Thelema. Glorification of the ego is not enough; it is the complete psyche - the entire self or soul – which must be recognized, appreciated, and actualized. The process by which this exaltation of the psyche is sought is called by the name Xeper [pronounced “kheffer”; it is the Egyptian hieroglyphic term for “to become” or “to come into being”]. - Dr. Aquino

 

[1137]

The core of The Book of the Law is the axiom "do what thou wilt." Becoming, as in Xeper, can be one's True Will, or at least an aspect of it.

 

[Adramelek]

In some Setian circles it has been suggested that Horus or HarWer is humanities collective "sub-conscious" mind. The resulting synthesis of infusing the Gift of Set that is the heightened sense of Self and Intelligence within the Earthly creature which has become humanity. HarWer, created by Set, to buffer Set against becoming the new Order of the Cosmos, so that Set wouldn't have to take full responsibility for the re-creation of the Universe, that he would remain Set the One and not become Set the All. HarWer has been called a "strange and fitful presence" by Set in the "Book of Coming Forth by Night". HarWer, a being that is confusing, unpredictable, contradictory, illogical, irrational, and chaotic at times = mankind? Even the "Book of the Law" is rather cryptic and I wouldn't be surprised if Crowley transcribed it while under the influence of both HarWer/(Aiwass) and opium, lol.

 

[Adramelek]

"Despite the fact that antinomianism is usually characteristic of the left-hand path.

How do you account for The Knowledge & Conversation of one's Guardian Angel and the Crossing of the Abyss?
Both involve the loss of Self / Ego / Ka . . . those who failed to cross the Abyss (becoming a Babe of the Abyss) were labeled Black Brothers of the Left Hand Path for they resisted the final step of Absolving into the All.

I would account for it, from a Setian perspective, as being a fault in Aleister Crowley's understanding. I would think that the "Crossing of the Abyss" is the result of all the accumulated Work of the Magickian from Adept to Magi to Ipsissimi which involves the Magickian becoming his/her True, Higher Self. Also, upon entering the Fourth Degree (IV*) of Magister Templi/Master of the Temple, the Initiate has symbolically entered the "City of the Pyramids" in Black Magickal Initiation.

As for the question of the original post -- "is Setian philosophy a "sect" of Thelema"? That is a question only the individual Setian can answer, not for you but for themselves. My answer would be a resounding no!

 

[1137]

I would account for it, from a Setian perspective, as being a fault in Aleister Crowley's understanding. I would think that the "Crossing of the Abyss" is the result of all the accumulated Work of the Magickian from Adept to Magi to Ipsissimi which involves the Magickian becoming his/her True, Higher Self. Also, upon entering the Fourth Degree (IV*) of Magister Templi/Master of the Temple, the Initiate has symbolically entered the "City of the Pyramids" in Black Magickal Initiation.

As for the question of the original post -- "is Setian philosophy a "sect" of Thelema"? That is a question only the individual Setian can answer, not for you but for themselves. My answer would be a resounding no! Rather the opposite.

What, then, is your opinion of the Order of Horus?

 

[Adramelek]

What, then, is your opinion of the Order of Horus?

To be honest I never really looked into the "Order of Horus" of the ToS so I don't know much about it. I was more interested in the "Order of the Trapezoid" and was a member of the "Order of Leviathan" for a time.

 

[1137]

In some Setian circles it has been suggested that Horus or HarWer is humanities collective "sub-conscious" mind. The resulting synthesis of infusing the Gift of Set that is the heightened sense of Self and Intelligence within the Earthly creature which has become humanity. HarWer, created by Set, to buffer Set against becoming the new Order of the Cosmos, so that Set wouldn't have to take full responsibility for the re-creation of the Universe, that he would remain Set the One and not become Set the All. HarWer has been called a "strange and fitful presence" by Set in the "Book of Coming Forth by Night". HarWer, a being that is confusing, unpredictable, contradictory, illogical, irrational, and chaotic at times = mankind? Even the "Book of the Law" is rather cryptic and I wouldn't be surprised if Crowley transcribed it while under the influence of both HarWer/(Aiwass) and opium, lol.

I don't know if I personally think Set created Horus. That just seems to open all the cans of worms other sole creator god's have to face. When my chronic pain acts up I don't blame Set for instance, Set us what helps manage it. That chronic physical illness is Horus, mindless and physical and deterministic.

 

[Adramelek]

I don't know if I personally think Set created Horus. That just seems to open all the cans of worms other sole creator god's have to face. When my chronic pain acts up I don't blame Set for instance, Set us what helps manage it. That chronic physical illness is Horus, mindless and physical and deterministic.

In my present understanding the being and personality of Horus/HarWer is the synthesis of the combining/infusing of the Essence of the Black Flame with our human instincts. Horus is the collective subconscious or unconscious mind of that which is the Set-Created human psyche.

 

[1137]

In my present understanding the being and personality of Horus/HarWer is the synthesis of the combining/infusing of the Essence of the Black Flame with our human instincts. Horus is the collective subconscious or unconscious mind of that which is the Set-Created human psyche.

Interesting. I always saw Horus as the objective, external world in it's entirety.