The Book of the Law/Liber Al Vel Legis
by Aleister Crowley, Rose Edith Crowley
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Book Summary Information
Author: Aleister Crowley, Rose Edith CrowleyEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2004-03
ISBN: 1578633087
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Weiser Books
Book Reviews of The Book of the Law/Liber Al Vel Legis
Book Review: Inconsistent
Summary: 1 Stars
The heart of Crowley's thinking boils down to "Do what you will." This is coterminous with "we are god" and "the truth is in you" and "trust in your heart." Crowley was a bit of a megalomaniac and indulged in flights of ecstasy about being the originator of this phrase, even claiming to be a better poet than Yeats. Or is it Aiwas that is a better poet than Yeats? After all, Crowley claims that this book was dictated by an angel named Aiwas. In either case, Crowley and Aiwas must be lying since Rabelais is the author of the phrase "Do what you will." "Do what you will" or "fay ?e que vouldras" was the rule of the fictional Abbey of Th?l?me in the classic satire Gargantua by Rabelais. The many different origins of this book given by Crowley reminds me of the occultist Joseph Smith, who also made different accounts of the origin of the book of mormon. The writing is quite ridiculous. And its obsession over English 101 phrases mixed with nonsense gives credence to Crowley's caveat which can be rephrased a la Forrest Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does." Tell Nuit to put some clothes on: no wonder Crowley couldn't dictate any clear phrases. Alternatively, tell Aiwas to get some lessons on basic sentence structure and grammar. "Love" is supposed to underlie "do what you will," yet all religious, especially Christians, are condemned in this book. Hmmm, that sounds like Joseph Smith too when he was told "all of their creeds were an abomination in His sight, that those professors were all corrupt" (PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, JS2:17-19). It seems trashing all that went before and making up your own stuff and claiming spirit guides as the source was the trend of 19th century cultists. If "love" is so important, this book contradicts itself. And Crowley contradicts himself since his hatred of ethnics and Christians belies "love." Quite inconsistent. And why he hates juwes, I have no idea, since the source of all his occultism is the cabala. Compare the biblical inspiration. The Bible is inspired by men over several thousand years that are in complete agreement. The heart of the ten commandments, which "do what thou wilt" is an impoverished rival, is love God with your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. For, if we loved God perfectly, and loved our neighbor perfectly, we wouldn't lie, cheat, steal, murder, and so on. Jesus reaffirmed this to the juwes who held instead to the Babylonian code of Hammurabi "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth." Matthew 5:38-42. And the Apostle Paul reaffirmed this when he said that if we have no love, our faith and hope is nothing. 1 Corinthians 13. This is what St. Augustine meant when he said, "love and do as you please." (Sermon on the Epistle of St.. John, 7:8) However, due to sin, which is lawlessness, which is violating the commandments, which is violation of the love of God and love of man and "desiring to be like gods," mankind cannot "love and do as he pleases." We don't exercise such love and so fall short of the commandments and thus are condemned by the commandments. Instead, we need redemption from Jesus Christ who will transform our hearts to be more and more like him, delivering us from the penalty of sin, which is eternal damnation, delivering us from the affects of sin, as we grow in holiness, and delivering us from the presence of sin, at the final resurrection of the dead. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross. That's why it is called "substitutionary" atonment. The wonderful consistency of the Old to New Testaments was becuase it was a story told twice: the sacrifices and lambs blood and symbols and so on in the Old Testament were a shadow or type of things to come; namely, Christ's death on the cross. Believe on Jesus Christ and confess to Him your sins, and don't listen to Crowley. Trust me, where he is now, he probably wishes he could recant.
Summary of The Book of the Law/Liber Al Vel Legis
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." This oft-misunderstood phrase, which forms the basis for Crowley's practice of Magick, is found in The Book of the Law. Dictated to Crowley in Cairo between noon and 1 pm on three success days in April 1904, the Book of the Law is the source book and key for Crowley students and for the occult in general.For the first time the Book of the Law is offered in a deluxe, hardcover edition fittingly issued in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Liber AL vel Legis's transmission to Crowley.
The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading. Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire. Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence. All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt. Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.
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