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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Introduction/Handbook of "Thelema" & Thelemic Rituals, March 29, 2003
This practical Handbook of Thelemic Rituals is a perfect Introductory guide, or quick-reference guide for Thelemites and other Crowley Enthusiasts. "The Magick of Thelema" --a collection of Aleister Crowley's Rituals, with commentary-- is perfect for the beginning Thelemite, Working Magickian (ritual scripts / instructions), Researchers of various occult schools, and others-especially, those who do not have the time to devote to doing this research on their own, yet....or for people who are just curious about Thelema, and do not have the inclination to spend a lot of money the subject, until they determine if their money would be well-spent (Crowley was a very Prolific writer). Basically, this is a "Thelemic Primer" which explains everything from the concept of "Aeons" to the reason Duquette saves the best Ritual for last: "The Gnostic Mass."Anyone who has ever read Crowley is painfully aware of his rambling, self-aggrandizing (dare I say, babbling?) style, which is not conducive to the beginning researcher or Thelemite's comprehension of the subjects Crowley attempts to teach. Crowley's style is rather humorous and endearing to those of us who have devoted endless hours to reading his works, and those of us who have ingested "Magick Without Tears," but to the average reader, Crowley is almost incomprehensible (I think he enjoyed "teaching" in this manner). However, Duquette has the wonderful ability to teach Thelema and Thelemic Ritual with a more rational, easy to comprehend method. Instead of rambling for numerous pages, then saying something of relevance, he cuts to the chase, and gives the reader the goodies, without all the extraneous verbiage (and rarely pats himself on the back, for his good work). As one reviewer noted, "Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4" is the Ultimate resource book for Thelemites--and, yes, it contains many of the important books Crowley contributed to the field of Magick. However, it is not a good book to recommend to the Beginner and it is not a good reference book to pack-around in the Temple, due to it's size. Yet, Duquette's Handbook is amazingly concise, and portable (unlike the hefty "Big Blue Brick" -which, if dropped on your foot, will probably ruin your ritual with a broken toe!). I know for a fact that it sometimes takes an essay just to explain to someone the convoluted history of "Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4" (ISBN: 0877289190)--and the book contains hundreds and hundreds of footnotes to explain Crowley's thinking process (not exactly a "Beginner's" introduction to Thelema). "Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4" is the perfect book to purchase after a person decides that they are interested in pursuing Crowley's Magickal teachings-but, personally, I will always recommend Duquette's books as an Introduction to "Thelema," instead of throwing them into the Deep End, with Crowley. Duquette is one of the greatest personalities to become associated with Thelema and the works of Crowley. I have a lot of respect for Duquette and his writing style--he gets to the point, and doesn't waste my time congratulating himself with endless tangents. His humor is infectious and his Magickal endeavors are renown, without shameless self-promotion and exaggeration (as in Crowley's own writings). Due to the complicated nature of the study of "Thelema," I recently created a "How to guide" which is a synopsis of a battle plan to tackle Uncle Al's legacy of Magickal Teachings--yet I believe Duquette's works are, truly, the best introduction to the study of Crowley / Thelema, because of Crowley's eccentric writing style. Duquette, thankfully, warns prospective Thelemites of the various pitfalls involved in the study of Thelema and teaches Common Sense approaches to the subject and Rituals. I would not suggest throwing The Big Blue Brick ("Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4") at a New Student, until the Individual has read Introductory material such as "The Magick of Thelema." Duquette's concise, comprehensive exposition of the subject will save the beginner a lot of trouble and give the reader a great (and Safe) start along the Thelemic Path of Magick.
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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ALEISTER CROWLEY TOO INTENSE FOR YOU? START WITH DUQUETTE., February 10, 1997
By A Customer
Would you like to study the works of the most important magician of the 20th Century but don't know where to begin? Are you ashamed to admit that you've tried to read Crowley and found it impossible understand a word he wrote? Then take heart! Lon Milo DuQuette's THE MAGICK OF THELEMA, A Handbook of the Rituals of Aleister Crowley is without question the most unintimidating, amusing and user-friendly guide to the works of Aleister Crowley ever written. Drawing on the insights of a quarter century of magical practice, DuQuette discusses the fundamental theories of Crowley's thought and analyzes the central rituals of his Ceremonial Magick work. DuQuette's Thelemic Magick credentials are impressive; 22 years as an international officer of Crowley's own magical order, Ordo Templi Orientis; creator of TAROT OF CEREMONIAL MAGICK (Deck by U.S. Games, book by Samuel Weiser); and co-author with Christopher S. Hyatt of ENOCHIAN WORLD OF ALEISTER CROWLEY, TABOO, SEX MAGICK, TANTRA AND TAROT, and ALEISTER CROWLEY'S ILLUSTRATED GOETIA. His delirious sense of humor is to be found winking around the corners of words, in the midst of serious, deep, metaphysical considerations. THE MAGICK OF THELEMA is an invaluable introduction to any aspiring magician who could use help getting started in the practice of ritual magick. It also provides a wonderful summary for those of us who have forgotten most of what they know or thought they ever knew
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3 1/2 stars to be precise, October 14, 2002
Have you ever read Aleister Crowley? Did you understand a word he said? For those of us who have experience in Crowley literature, I can say he's not really as difficult as he seems at first...the bane of Crowley's style was an overestimation of the sophistication of his readers. He simply assumed everyone would understand Thelema, him, and Magick with a few amusing and friendly essays. For those who are new at Crowley, it might be a wise idea to--guardedly--take a gander at this book. I say "guardedly" because there are a number of pitfalls throughout. The most egregious error in the book, although it is a benign one, is DuQuette's attempt at classifying Our pantheon in terms of the Qabalah. While the Qabalah is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in magick of any type, it is a mistake to try to describe to others your own interpretation of Thelemic exegesis, as the Comment and the theory of True Will forbid such things. DuQuette's open warning against taking any of what he says regarding Thelemic theology as definite fact notwithstanding, it is too easy for beginners to be far too influenced by what he says, when the task of this definition should be the goal of the practitioner him or herself, and applicable only to him or herself. Furthermore, in his commentary regarding the Mass of the Phoenix, DuQuette makes a critical error. The part about drawing one's blood for the Mass, which DuQuette rightfully points out does not mean self-mutilation, also does not mean drawing blood at all! I would suggest beginners read the chapter of Crowley's "Magick in Theory and Practice" (Part III of Liber ABA, Book 4) entitled "Of Our Lady Babalon and the Bloody Sacrifice". This is the infamous book in which Crowley refers in a footnote to his supposed sacrifice of 150 male children every year. And as DuQuette points out in his book, anyone who carefully reads this chapter will immediately realize it is about sex-magick so-called, and this "sacrifice" refers to 150 sessions of sex magick without getting his partner pregnant. My point is, in another footnote, Crowley refers the reader to the Mass of the Phoenix for one such ritual of "blood sacrifice". Therefore it can be reasoned that the "blood" in the Mass is the Blood of Life, semen (this is what is meant by Crowley's Biblical reference in the first part of said chapter: "Blood is the life"). In short: DO NOT CUT YOURSELF. The principal value of DuQuette's book is his correlation of the major Thelemic rituals, and their bases (i.e., the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram as the basis for the Star Ruby, and the Hexagram Ritual as the basis of the Star Sapphire). One major plus in the book's favour is DuQuette's full inclusion of the beautiful Gnostic Mass. If any Thelemite has the opportunity, I would greatly advise that he or she try as hard as possible to be able to witness the weekly performance of the Mass by the Ecclesiastica Gnostic Catholica, the Gnostic Catholic Church, a wing of the OTO. The second best thing is to read it. DuQuette's book is invaluable as a reference to Thelemic ritual. His commentaries thereon, however, are not necessarily the best available. He seems, in the beginning, to take "will" to refer to an action freely chosen. Will, however, is not Free, it is True. Free Will exists but it is trumped by True Will. Therefore, when Crowley refers to magick being the "Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", he is not referring to an act of Free Will as DuQuette's examples suggest, but an act that reconciles the environment with the spiritual imperative of one's life, True Will. Thus an act of Magick is an act which verifies, reinforces, and conforms with, the True Will of the aspirant. It is a method of adapting Self to circumstance, by bringing Will and environment into harmony, equilibriating the Microcosm with the Macrocosm, in other words. Buy this book for a compendium of Thelemic ritual. Do not buy this book if you are hoping for much useful insight to Thelema (although some gems, such as DuQuette's description of the Precession of the Equinoxes, DO exist) or Crowley.
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