Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
by
Brian Northmore
To Mega Therion
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To Mega Therion
The Great Beast 666
2010 version
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This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, photocopied or held in any retrieval
system or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any
form of binding or cover other than that in which this is published and without
a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.
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Contents
Preface ix
History 73
The Origin of the Cipher Manuscript 74
Giving Credulity to the Order 75
Progression of the Order 76
The Eventual Breakup of the Order 79
The Historic Lecture - Golden Dawn by Dr. William
Wynn Westcott 84
Structure and Grades of the Golden Dawn 88
In Summary 90
Some Prominent Members of the G.D. & their Magical
Mottos 91
Isis-Urania 91
Ahathoor / Alpha et Omega 92
Amen-Ra 92
Stella-Matutina 92
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History 97
Continuation of the Order 102
Grades within the Order 103
The Order of the S.S. 103
The Order of the R.C. 103
The Order of the G.D. 103
Liber LXI vel Causae 105
The Preliminary Lection 105
The History Lection 106
Useful Rituals 110
Some Prominent Members of the A A & their
Magical Mottos 112
History 117
Grades within the O.T.O. 126
Man of Earth Triad 126
Lover Triad 126
Hermit Triad 127
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica/Gnostic Catholic Church
(E.G.C.) 129
Membership of the E.G.C. 129
The Creed 130
Some Prominent Members of the O.T.O. & their
Magical Mottos 131
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Preface
The Internet site from which this book has been compiled
(http://www.tomegatherion.co.uk) took me a long time to prepare, and
is still relatively new having been uploaded as recently as April 2008.
As a consequence, I really would greatly appreciate any feedback
from you with suggestions of other topics for inclusion, or notification
of any errors you might notice as you browse the pages, through my
'Contact page' on the site itself. Only with your help can I possibly
hope to make the site one of the most interesting and comprehensive
to be found on the Internet covering the life and times of this complex
man.
The site was created to assist those who are curious to learn a little
more about Aleister Crowley, to enable them to make up their own
minds about this enigmatic character to whom I have now devoted
many years of research. Perhaps I should explain that it was only
after experiencing numerous unexplained profound psychic
phenomena that I got so deeply and seriously involved in all matters
to do with the occult.
I have studied the occult for a number of years now – too numerous
to mention – and find this particular personality of great interest. I
would have loved to have met him, but he died a few months after I
was born, which ought to convince my wife that I cannot possibly be
his reincarnation! Despite my being fascinated by Mr Crowley, all of
the pages to be found on the site, and thus in this publication, are
completely unbiased in any way, my own beliefs, experiments and
experiences remain as such, i.e. my own, and have not influenced
anything I have written, except where I have stated something along
the lines, “my own personal opinion is . . . . ”
This book, like its sister publication Links 2 the Occult, is dedicated to
my lovely, thoughtful and caring wife, Maureen, who has put up with
my researching Aleister Crowley and the subject of the occult in
general for hours on end day after day, month after month, year after
year, and who then desperately wanted to read both of my sites ‘To
Mega Therion’ and ‘Links 2 the Occult’ in their entirety, but due to
strenuous and I really mean very stressful work commitments, along
with those of running a home with three demanding teenage children,
could never find the time. Consequently, I extracted all the relevant
information and compiled it in this format, something she could pick
up and read at her leisure whenever those time constraints permitted.
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The book is presented in more or less the same manner as the site.
There are five chapters: Chapter 1 is a biography of the great man,
Chapter 2 describes the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,
Chapter 3 the Astrum Argentum A A , Chapter 4 the Ordo Templi
Orientis (O.T.O.), and Chapter 5 Crowley’s System of Thelema. In
addition there are six appendices: Appendix 1 lists the A A ’s
authorised publications of Aleister Crowley, Appendix 2 is The Book
of the Law, Appendix 3 reproduces the Gnostic Mass, Appendix 4
shows images of Crowley, his associates and his art, Appendix 5
describes Basic Hebrew, while Appendix 6 provides a Glossary of the
Terms used in Thelemic belief.
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The name Aleister Crowley still instils revulsion and horror in the
hearts and minds of many, although these tend to be uninformed
bigots who know nothing whatsoever of the man except what they
have been told by other uninformed bigots. He gained much
notoriety during and after his time on this earth, and was (in)famously
dubbed The Wickedest Man in the World by the magazine John Bull,
a title of which he was indubitably proud. The same magazine ran
headlines such as 'THE KING OF DEPRAVITY', 'A HUMAN BEAST'
and 'A MAN WE'D LIKE TO HANG' after the scandal concerning the
Abbey of Thelema.
I sincerely hope you enjoy what you read and discover! You may well
change the opinion you hold of the world’s greatest magician.
Should you find this book of interest and decide you wish to read
and/or learn more (significantly much more) about magick and the
occult in general, while at the same time demystifying the myths and
taboos surrounding it, then why not visit my well-established partner
site Links 2 the Occult? This is probably/possibly the most
informative site on the internet explaining all you need to know about
the subject in layman's language. It is highly recommended to
anyone who wishes to broaden their outlook on magick and the
occult!
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Chapter 1
A Biography of
The Beast 666
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A man totally
misunderstood and
even feared by
many during his
lifetime, Aleister
Crowley channelled
his genius and
numerous talents
into magick in the
belief that he was
the reincarnation of one of the world's Eliphas Lévi
greatest magicians, Eliphas Lévi, who died
in the same year in which he was born. He also remembered past
1
incarnations as Alessandro Cagliostro and Pope Alexander VI
amongst others.
1
Pope Alexander VI (1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503), born Roderic Llançol (later
Roderic de Borja i Borja - Italian: Rodrigo Borgia) was Pope between 1492 and 1503. He
is probably the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance, and his
surname (Italianised as Borgia) became a byword for the debased standards of the
papacy of that era. Rodrigo assumed the family name of his mother (Borja) upon the
elevation of his maternal uncle, Alonso de Borja, to the papacy as Calixtus III in 1455.
Although supposedly celebate as the pope, Roderic suffered from syphilis
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2
a brewer, was a member of the Plymouth Brethren. The Crowleys
came from Alton (Hampshire), and ran a brewery in Croydon (Surrey)
for over 200 years. They were very successful at selling beer along
with what was described as ‘a first class sandwich’ in the Alton
Alehouses for 4d (four pence – four old pence that is). This could be
considered the forerunner of the modern-day ploughman's lunch. It
was after the brewery was sold in 1877 that they moved to
Leamington, and it is thought that Edward invested his money in the
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highly successful Amsterdam Water Works Company .
Although he was an only child, his parents did conceive and bear
another, Grace Mary Elizabeth, on 29 February 1880, who lived for
five hours. As a young boy, the only book he was allowed to read
was the Bible, but it seems he had no interest in the narrative with the
exception of that in Revelation. He was attracted to the opponents of
heaven such as the Dragon, the False Prophet, the Scarlet Woman,
and in particular, the Beast 'whose number is the number of a man,
six hundred and three score six', with whom he could identify.
2
The Plymouth Brethren are members of a fundamentalist Protestant Christian
Evangelical movement that began in Dublin in the late 1820s. The Brethren are
commonly considered to be divided into two branches, the Open Brethren and the
Exclusive Brethren, although this is perhaps an over-simplification and may not reflect the
many sub-branches existing within these two groups. They insist on the literal
interpretation of the Bible as being the exact words of the Holy Ghost.
3
Ever since 1851, the Dune-water company had provided the people of Amsterdam with
fresh drinking water from the dunes at Vogelenzang. Through 23 kilometres of cast iron
piping, it was pumped into the city where it could be bought for one cent per bucket
outside the Willemspoort.
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Chapter 2
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History
In was in 1888, that three Kabbalists, Freemasons,
and Rosicrucians founded the Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn (G.D.), to fill the gap that had been left
by the Theosophical Society, which had shifted to an
Eastern orientation. The founders intended the
Order to be the guardian of the Western Esoteric
Tradition, keeping its knowledge intact, while at the
same time preparing and teaching the mysteries to
those individuals who wished to learn.
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Chapter 3
Astrum Argentum A A
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History
George Cecil Jones was the man
responsible for introducing Aleister
Crowley to the Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn (G.D.) in 1898. Shortly
after returning from China with his wife
Rose, Crowley became ill and went to
stay with Jones. With Jones' assistance,
and as a result of his own travels and
experiences, plus the small matter of his
expulsion from the original Order, Crowley decided to form his own
replacement Order with the intention that it would not only supersede
the remnants of the G.D., but would actively promote his own
Religion/Philosophy of Thelema (see Chapter 5). They wrote Liber
LXI vel Causae (Crowley’s own account of the G.D., its breakup and
how the A A came to be formed), and in 1907 founded a new
Order, the Astrum Argentum A A based on the Book of the Law.
Discover for himself his own True Will, and then do it, and do
nothing else.
Accept the Book of the Law as the sole Rule of Life.
Acknowledge that 'The word of the Law is Thelema' and that
'Love is the law, love under will'.
Acknowledge the authority of the offices of the Beast 666 and
that of the Scarlet Woman.
Accept Ra-Hoor-Khuit as the Lord of the Aeon, and work to
establish His reign upon Earth.
Work to attain the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy
Guardian Angel.
After attaining the Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy
Guardian Angel, to enter into the Abyss, and to emerge again
therefrom.
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Appendix 1
Official A A Publications,
Poetry, Novels, Essays &
Other Miscellany
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Part I - Mysticism
Part II - Magick (Elementary Theory)
Part III - Magick in Theory and Practice (referred to as MTP)
Part IV - Thelema - The Law
Volume I
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Volume II
Volume III
After the publication of The Blue Equinox, Crowley’s money ran out
and it never appeared again as a regular journal although the O.T.O.
continued to issue it in book format, these later publications being
known by a number:
Volume IV
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Appendix 6
Glossary of Terms
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A Glossary of Thelema
A
Abracadabra The word 'abracadabra' is generally known as that used
by stage conjurers to ensure their 'trick' worked.
However, it is a word of true ancient origin, used by real
magicians from around the third century AD. It appears
frequently in Kabbalistic and Gnostic texts, and derives
from an Aramaic phrase (Avarah K'Davarah), which
means 'I will create as I speak'. Aramaic is a northwest
Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew, dating
from the ninth century BC. Its 'square' script replaced
the archaic Hebrew script, which by the time of Jesus
had become the normal script for writing in Hebrew. It
was widely used in Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia,
the Persians extending its use to India, central Asia, and
Asia Minor.
Abrahadabra Aleister Crowley believed the word Abracadabra was
associated with the Gnostic God Abraxas. He altered
the spelling to 'Abrahadabra' to achieve a specific value
gematrically (418), when it first appeared in public in
The Book of the Law (Chapter 3, paragraphs 1, 47, 75),
the central sacred text of Thelema. The number 418
equates to the number of Crowley’s Holy Guardian
Angel, Aiwass (Book of the Law, Chapter 1, paragraph
46), and his castle Boleskine (Book of the Law, Chapter
2, paragraph 46). When the word is chanted, or when
its letters are arranged in an inverted pyramid and worn
around the neck as a talisman for nine days, it is
reputed to possess a magical power which will ward off
illness and cure fevers.
Abra Melin Abra Melin was known as Abramelin the Mage, a
(Abramelin the wandering Eastern sage whose magick is supposedly
Mage) enshrined in the fourteenth century book, The Sacred
Magick of Abramelin the Mage. Probably the most
practically used of old grimoires, it contains a detailed
and precise system of Ritual Magick, its authorship
being attributed to Abraham the Jew. Oil of Abramelin
(so named by Aleister Crowley who adapted his own
recipe from that found in The Sacred Magick of
Abramelin the Mage) is used in Thelemic and other
rituals.
Abraxas Abraxas is a Gnostic solar deity associated with
Yahweh, Mithras and the Celtic Belenus, as well as
Yeshu (Jesus). Amulets (see below) and seals bearing
the figure of Abraxas were commonplace in the second
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