Weaving Threads

How does Crowley fit into The Oz Mix?



I have a slightly different take on his work than most Thelemites. For those who may not know, he called his system of spiritual development, Thelema, an ancient Greek word that means Will. Thelema adds up to 93 in Greek Qabalah. Another ancient Greek word, Agape, which means love, also adds up to 93 in Greek Qabalah. This indicates that Thelema and Agape, or Will and Love, have an equivalence expressed as "love under will." I think of this as directed, or intentional agape. My own term for this, High Velocity, is the name of the sound engineering company that I work for.

Aleister Crowley was a pioneer in the exploration and mapping of bardo spaces. He also presented extremely effective methods for getting into, functioning, and working in the bardo.

His most important book, the central document of Thelema, The Book of the Law, which he claimed was channeled to him by Higher Intelligence, is divided into 3 chapters. The first chapter relates to Nuit, an ancient Egyptian name for the archetypal Mother or Woman also known as Infinite Space. The second chapter is from Hadit, the archetypal Male also known as the infinitesimally small and concentrated Point of View. Ra Hoor Kuit, is the child, the androgynous union of Nuit and Hadit, or Manifested Existence. The 3rd chapter is Ra Hoor Kuit's.

From chapter 1, verse 26:
Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and what shall be the sign? So she answered him, bending down, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my body.
(emphasis mine)

The next step in human evolution is the conquering of death. When we get fully trained ( if such a thing is possible) in handling bardo conditions, in gaining the ability to stay conscious in the space immediately after the death of the physical body without blacking out, we will know and remember "the consciousness of the continuity of existence" as we journey from lifetime to lifetime.

From chapter 1 verse 56:

But thou hast all in the clear light, and some, though not all, in the dark

The Clear Light is how the space right after death is described in the Tibetan and American Books of the Dead.

Robert Anton Wilson was transmitting along a similar wavelength in his Cosmic Trigger Vol. 1 when he presented Timothy Leary's SMILE formula for the Next Step: Space Migration + Intelligence Increase + Life Extension. Wilson's mistake was in thinking that life extension meant extension of the physical body or brain beyond death. We now realize that life extension means the extension of life outside the physical body. Nuit says: "And the sign shall be my ecstacy..." Ecstacy = ex-stasis - outside the body.

Well this is what I postulate, anyway. Don't take my word for it. I've made experiments and observed things that, for myself, have indicated support of this hypothesis.

I was fortunate to be able to visit with my Father in the hospital the night before he died after an operation. I didn't know that he was going to die the next day but he did. He had been considered a fairly brilliant scientist and had invented a medical device that helped doctors to diagnose diabetes. He was a Physics Professor but also taught a class in Comparative Religion early on, and for several years had presented a class at the University of Calgary on Paranormal Activities. He had an off and on relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.

That night, at one point, he got very scared and started crying. I asked what was wrong and he said that he had nothing to believe in. "I don't believe in Science and I don't believe in Religion, I have nothing." I was witnessing someone very close to me who was completely unprepared to die. There was a great deal of fear. It was very shocking to see this. I tried to comfort him.

The night after Bob Wilson died I read for him from The American Book of the Dead and had one of the strongest contact experiences I ever had reading for someone. I had a clear vision of him looking like a beatific, illuminated Saint. Wherever he was, the Clear Light?, he seemed totally at home and doing just great. I'd never felt anything close to that degree of comfort from someone who had just died in my 20 years of reading for people. Maybe he felt relief about getting out of his pain wracked body for good. I saw the effect of all the magick and conscious work he'd done, in effect bardo training. Apparently it works!

After that reading, I felt waves of gratitude for both Bob Wilson and E. J. Gold for the technology and ability to give something back at a crucial moment. I had learned about bardo readings and its emphasis on the power of sound to aid, from Gold's Lazy Man's Guide to Death and Dying. The reason I bought the book in the first place is because it had an Introduction by Robert Anton Wilson.