![]() |
![]() |
Liber AL vel Legis sub figura CCXX |
![]() |
Chapter I
1. Had ! The manifestation of Nuit.
2. The unveiling of the company of heaven.
3. Every man and every woman is a star.
4. Every number is infinite; there is no difference.
5. Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men!
6. Be thou Hadit, my secret centre, my heart & my tongue!
7. Behold! it is revealed by Aiwass the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat.
8. The Khabs is in the Khu, not the Khu in the Khabs.
9. Worship then the Khabs, and behold my light shed over you!
10. Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known.
11. These are fools that men adore; both their Gods & their men are fools.
12. Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love!
13. I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy.
14. Above, the gemmed azure is
15. Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite
space is the
prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman
is all power given.
They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the
glory of the stars into the
hearts of men.
16. For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret
flame, and to
her the stooping starlight.
17. But ye are not so chosen.
18. Burn upon their brows, o splendrous serpent!
19. O azure-lidded woman, bend upon them!
20. The key of the rituals is in the secret word which I have given unto him.
21. With the God & the Adorer I am nothing: they do not see me.
They are as upon the
earth; I am Heaven, and there is no other God than me, and my lord
Hadit.
22. Now, therefore, I am known to ye by my name Nuit, and to him by
a secret name
which I will give him when at last he knoweth me. Since I am Infinite
Space, and the
Infinite Stars thereof, do ye also thus. Bind nothing! Let there be
no difference made
among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby
there cometh hurt.
23. But whoso availeth in this, let him be the chief of all!
24. I am Nuit, and my word is six and fifty.
25. Divide, add, multiply, and understand.
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.
27. Then the priest answered & said unto the Queen of Space, kissing
her lovely brows,
and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling
perfume of sweat: O
Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be ever thus; that men speak
not of Thee as One
but as None; and let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art
continuous!
28. None, breathed the light, faint & faery, of the stars, and two.
29. For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union.
30. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is
as nothing, and the joy of
dissolution all.
31. For these fools of men and their woes care not thou at all! They
feel little; what is, is
balanced by weak joys; but ye are my chosen ones.
32. Obey my prophet! follow out the ordeals of my knowledge! seek me
only! Then the
joys of my love will redeem ye from all pain. This is so: I swear it
by the vault of my body;
by my sacred heart and tongue; by all I can give, by all I desire of
ye all.
33. Then the priest fell into a deep trance or swoon, & said unto
the Queen of Heaven;
Write unto us the ordeals; write unto us the rituals; write unto us
the law!
34. But she said: the ordeals I write not: the rituals shall be half
known and half
concealed: the Law is for all.
35. This that thou writest is the threefold book of Law.
36. My scribe Ankh-af-na-khonsu, the priest of the princes, shall not
in one letter change
this book; but lest there be folly, he shall comment thereupon by the
wisdom of
Ra-Hoor-Khuit.
37. Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of
the wand and the
work of the sword; these he shall learn and teach.
38. He must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals.
39. The word of the Law is THELEMA.
40. Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into
the word. For
there are therein Three Grades, the Hermit, and the Lover, and the
man of Earth. Do
what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
41. The word of Sin is Restriction. O man! refuse not thy wife, if she
will! O lover, if thou
wilt, depart! There is no bond that can unite the divided but love:
all else is a curse.
Accursed! Accursed be it to the aeons! Hell.
42. Let it be that state of manyhood bound and loathing. So with thy
all; thou hast no right
but to do thy will.
43. Do that, and no other shall say nay.
44. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of
result, is every way
perfect.
45. The Perfect and the Perfect are one Perfect and not two; nay, are none!
46. Nothing is a secret key of this law. Sixty-one the Jews call it;
I call it eight, eighty, four
hundred & eighteen.
47. But they have the half: unite by thine art so that all disappear.
48. My prophet is a fool with his one, one, one; are not they the Ox,
and none by the
Book?
49. Abrogate are all rituals, all ordeals, all words and signs. Ra-Hoor-Khuit
hath taken
his seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods; and let Asar be with
Isa, who also are
one. But they are not of me. Let Asar be the adorant, Isa the sufferer;
Hoor in his secret
name and splendour is the Lord initiating.
50. There is a word to say about the Hierophantic task. Behold! there
are three ordeals
in one, and it may be given in three ways. The gross must pass through
fire; let the fine
be tried in intellect, and the lofty chosen ones in the highest. Thus
ye have star & star,
system & system; let not one know well the other!
51. There are four gates to one palace; the floor of that palace is
of silver and gold; lapis
lazuli & jasper are there; and all rare scents; jasmine & rose,
and the emblems of death.
Let him enter in turn or at once the four gates; let him stand on the
floor of the palace.
Will he not sink? Amn. Ho! warrior, if thy servant sink? But there
are means and means.
Be goodly therefore: dress ye all in fine apparel; eat rich foods and
drink sweet wines
and wines that foam! Also, take your fill and will of love as ye will,
when, where and with
whom ye will! But always unto me.
52. If this be not aright; if ye confound the space-marks, saying: They
are one; or saying,
They are many; if the ritual be not ever unto me: then expect the direful
judgments of Ra
Hoor Khuit!
53. This shall regenerate the world, the little world my sister, my
heart & my tongue, unto
whom I send this kiss. Also, o scribe and prophet, though thou be of
the princes, it shall
not assuage thee nor absolve thee. But ecstasy be thine and joy of
earth: ever To me!
To me!
54. Change not as much as the style of a letter; for behold! thou, o
prophet, shalt not
behold all these mysteries hidden therein.
55. The child of thy bowels, he shall behold them.
56. Expect him not from the East, nor from the West; for from no expected
house cometh
that child. Aum! All words are sacred and all prophets true; save only
that they
understand a little; solve the first half of the equation, leave the
second unattacked. But
thou hast all in the clear light, and some, though not all, in the
dark.
57. Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor
let the fools mistake
love; for there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is
the serpent. Choose ye
well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress,
and the great mystery
of the House of God.
All these old letters of my Book are aright; but [Tzaddi] is not the
Star. This also is
secret: my prophet shall reveal it to the wise.
58. I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in
life, upon death; peace
unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice.
59. My incense is of resinous woods & gums; and there is no blood
therein: because of
my hair the trees of Eternity.
60. My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us. The Five Pointed
Star, with a
Circle in the Middle, & the circle is Red. My colour is black to
the blind, but the blue &
gold are seen of the seeing. Also I have asecret glory for them that
love me.
61. But to love me is better than all things: if under the night stars
in the desert thou
presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure heart,
and the
Serpent flame therein, thou shalt come a little to lie in my bosom.
For one kiss wilt thou
then be willing to give all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall
lose all in that hour.
Ye shall gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear
rich jewels; ye shall
exceed the nations of the earth in spendour & pride; but always
in the love of me, and so
shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me in
a single robe, and
covered with a rich headdress. I love you! I yearn to you! Pale or
purple, veiled or
voluptuous, I who am all pleasure and purple, and drunkenness of the
innermost sense,
desire you. Put on the wings, and arouse the coiled splendour within
you: come unto me!
62. At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say -- and her eyes
shall burn with
desire as she stands bare and rejoicing in my secret temple -- To me!
To me! calling
forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.
63. Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear
to me jewels!
Drink to me, for I love you! I love you!
64. I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance
of the voluptuous
night-sky.
65. To me! To me!
66. The Manifestation of Nuit is at an end.
Chapter II
1. Nu! the hiding of Hadit.
2. Come! all ye, and learn the secret that hath not yet been revealed.
I, Hadit, am the
complement of Nu, my bride. I am not extended, and Khabs is the name
of my House.
3. In the sphere I am everywhere the centre, as she, the circumference,
is nowhere
found.
4. Yet she shall be known & I never.
5. Behold! the rituals of the old time are black. Let the evil ones
be cast away; let the
good ones be purged by the prophet! Then shall this Knowledge go aright.
6. I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core
of every star. I am Life,
and the giver of Life, yet therefore is theknowledge of me the knowledge
of death.
7. I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and
the cube in the
circle. "Come unto me" is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
8. Who worshipped Heru-pa-kraath have worshipped me; ill, for I am the worshipper.
9. Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows
are but as shadows;
they pass & are done; but there is that which remains.
10. O prophet! thou hast ill will to learn this writing.
11. I see thee hate the hand & the pen; but I am stronger.
12. Because of me in Thee which thou knewest not.
13. for why? Because thou wast the knower, and me.
14. Now let there be a veiling of this shrine: now let the light devour
men and eat them up
with blindness!
15. For I am perfect, being Not; and my number is nine by the fools;
but with the just I am
eight, and one in eight: Which is vital, for I am none indeed. The
Empress and the King
are not of me; for there is a further secret.
16. I am The Empress & the Hierophant. Thus eleven, as my bride is eleven.
17. Hear me, ye people of sighing!
18. These are dead, these fellows; they feel not. We are not for the
poor and sad: the
lords of the earth are our kinsfolk.
19. Is a God to live in a dog? No! but the highest are of us. They shall
rejoice, our
chosen: who sorroweth is not of us.
20. Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.
21. We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit: let them die in
their misery. For they
feel not. Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched
& the weak: this is
the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world. Think
not, o king, upon that
lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let
it be understood: If the
body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever.
Nuit! Hadit!
Ra-Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; these are for
the servants of the Star &
the Snake.
22. I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory,
and stir the hearts
of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs
whereof I will tell
my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all.
It is a lie, this folly against
self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy
all things of sense
and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this.
23. I am alone: there is no God where I am.
24. Behold! these be grave mysteries; for there are also of my friends
who be hermits.
Now think not to find them in the forest or on the mountain; but in
beds of purple,
caressed by magnificent beasts of women with large limbs, and fire
and light in their
eyes, and masses of flaming hair about them; there shall ye find them.
Ye shall see them
at rule, at victorious armies, at all the joy; and there shall be in
them a joy a million times
greater than this. Beware lest any force another, King against King!
Love one another
with burning hearts; on the low men trample in the fierce lust of your
pride, in the day of
your wrath.
25. Ye are against the people, O my chosen!
26. I am the secret Serpent coiled about to spring: in my coiling there
is joy. If I lift up my
head, I and my Nuit are one. If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth
venom, then is
rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one.
27. There is great danger in me; for who doth not understand these runes
shall make a
great miss. He shall fall down into the pit called Because, and there
he shall perish with
the dogs of Reason.
28. Now a curse upon Because and his kin!
29. May Because be accursed for ever!
30. If Will stops and cries Why, invoking Because, then Will stops & does nought.
31. If Power asks why, then is Power weakness.
32. Also reason is a lie; for there is a factor infinite & unknown;
& all their words are
skew-wise.
33. Enough of Because! Be he damned for a dog!
34. But ye, o my people, rise up & awake!
35. Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty!
36. There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times.
37. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride!
38. A feasy for the three days of the writingof the Book of the Law.
39. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet--secret, O Prophet!
40. A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods.
41. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!
42. A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture!
43. A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!
44. Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution,
and eternal
ecstasy in the kisses of Nu.
45. There is death for the dogs.
46. Dost thou fail? Art thou sorry? Is fear in thine heart?
47. Where I am these are not.
48. Pity not the fallen! I never knew them. I am not for them. I console
not: I hate the
consoled & the consoler.
49. I am unique & conqueror. I am not of the slaves that perish.
Be they damned & dead!
Amen. (This is of the 4: there is a fifth who is invisible, & therein
am I as a babe in an
egg. )
50. Blue am I and gold in the light of my bride: but the red gleam is
in my eyes; & my
spangles are purple & green.
51. Purple beyond purple: it is the light higher than eyesight.
52. There is a veil: that veil is black. It is the veil of the modest
woman; it is the veil of
sorrow, & the pall of death: this is none of me. Tear down that
lying spectre of the
centuries: veil not your vices in virtuous words: these vices are my
service; ye do well, & I
will reward you here and hereafter.
53. Fear not, o prophet, when these words are said, thou shalt not be
sorry. Thou art
emphatically my chosen; and blessed are the eyes that thou shalt look
upon with
gladness. But I will hide thee in a mask of sorrow: they that see thee
shall fear thou art
fallen: but I lift thee up.
54. Nor shall they who cry aloud their folly that thou meanest nought
avail; thou shall
reveal it: thou availest: they are the slaves of because: They are
not of me. The stops as
thou wilt; the letters? change them not in style or value!
55. Thou shalt obtain the order & value of the English Alphabet;
thou shalt find new
symbols to attribute them unto.
56. Begone! ye mockers; even though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh
not long: then
when ye are sad know that I have forsaken you.
57. He that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is filthy shall be filthy still.
58. Yea! deem not of change: ye shall be as ye are, & not other.
Therefore the kings of
the earth shall be Kings for ever: the slaves shall serve. There is
none that shall be cast
down or lifted up: all is ever as it was. Yet there are masked ones
my servants: it may be
that yonder beggar is a King. A King may choose his garment as he will:
there is no
certain test: but a beggar cannot hide his poverty.
59. Beware therefore! Love all, lest perchance is a King concealed!
Say you so? Fool! If
he be a King, thou canst not hurt him.
60. Therefore strike hard & low, and to hell with them, master!
61. There is a light before thine eyes, o prophet, a light undesired, most desirable.
62. I am uplifted in thine heart; and the kisses of the stars rain hard upon thy body.
63. Thou art exhaust in the voluptuous fullness of the inspiration;
the expiration is
sweeter than death, more rapid and laughterful than a caress of Hell's
own worm.
64. Oh! thou art overcome: we are upon thee; our delight is all over
thee: hail! hail:
prophet of Nu! prophet of Had! prophet of Ra-Hoor-Khu! Now rejoice!
now come in our
splendour & rapture! Come in our passionate peace, & write
sweet words for the Kings.
65. I am the Master: thou art the Holy Chosen One.
66. Write, & find ecstasy in writing! Work, & be our bed in
working! Thrill with the joy of
life & death! Ah! thy death shall be lovely: whososeeth it shall
be glad. Thy death shall be
the seal of the promise of our agelong love. Come! lift up thine heart
& rejoice! We are
one; we are none.
67. Hold! Hold! Bear up in thy rapture; fall not in swoon of the excellent kisses!
68. Harder! Hold up thyself! Lift thine head! breathe not so deep -- die!
69. Ah! Ah! What do I feel? Is the word exhausted?
70. There is help & hope in other spells. Wisdom says: be strong!
Then canst thou bear
more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by
the eight and ninety
rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou do aught
joyous, let there be
subtlety therein!
71. But exceed! exceed!
72. Strive ever to more! and if thou art truly mine -- and doubt it
not, an if thou art ever
joyous! -- death is the crown of all.
73. Ah! Ah! Death! Death! thou shalt long for death. Death is forbidden,
o man, unto
thee.
74. The length of thy longing shall be the strength of its glory. He
that lives long & desires
death much is ever the King among the Kings.
75. Aye! listen to the numbers & the words:
76. 4 6 3 8 A B K 2 4 A L G M O R 3 Y X 24 89 R P S T O V A L. What
meaneth this, o
prophet? Thou knowest not; nor shalt thou know ever. There cometh one
to follow thee:
he shall expound it. But remember, o chosen one, to be me; to follow
the love of Nu in
the star-lit heaven; to look forth upon men, to tell them this glad
word.
77. O be thou proud and mighty among men!
78. Lift up thyself! for there is none like unto thee among men or among
Gods! Lift up
thyself, o my prophet, thy stature shall surpass the stars. They shall
worship thy name,
foursquare, mystic, wonderful, the number of the man; and the name
of thy house 418.
79. The end of the hiding of Hadit; and blessing & worship to the
prophet of the lovely
Star!
Chapter III
1. Abrahadabra; the reward of Ra Hoor Khut.
2. There is division hither homeward; there is a word not known. Spelling
is defunct; all is
not aught. Beware! Hold! Raise the spell of Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
3. Now let it be first understood that I am a god of War and of Vengeance.
I shall deal
hardly with them.
4. Choose ye an island!
5. Fortify it!
6. Dung it about with enginery of war!
7. I will give you a war-engine.
8. With it ye shall smite the peoples; and none shall stand before you.
9. Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them! this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest:
thus shall my
worship be about my secret house.
10: Get the stele of revealing itself; set it in thy secret temple-and
that temple is
already aright disposed-& it shall be your Kiblah for ever. It
shall not fade, but miraculous
colour shall come back to it day after day. Close it in locked glass
for a proof to the
world.
11. This shall be your only proof. I forbid argument. Conquer! That
is enough. I will make
easy to you the abstruction from the ill-ordered house in the Victorious
City. Thou shalt
thyself convey it with worship, o prophet, though thou likest it not.
Thou shalt have danger
& trouble. Ra-Hoor-Khu is with thee. Worship me with fire &
blood; worship me with
swords & with spears. Let the woman be girt with a sword before
me: let blood flow to
my name. Trample down the Heathen; be upon them, o warrior, I will
give you of their
flesh to eat!
12. Sacrifice cattle, little and big: after a child.
13. But not now.
14. Ye shall see that hour, o blessed Beast, and thou the Scarlet Concubine
of his
desire!
15. Ye shall be sad thereof.
16. Deem not too eagerly to catch the promises; fear not to undergo
the curses. Ye,
even ye, know not this meaning all.
17. Fear not at all; fear neither men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything.
Money fear not,
nor laughter of the folk folly, nor any other power in heaven or upon
the earth or under the
earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the strength,
force, vigour, of your
arms.
18. Mercy let be off; damn them who pity! Kill and torture; spare not; be upon them!
19. That stele they shall call the Abomination of Desolation; count
well its name, & it shall
be to you as 718.
20. Why? Because of the fall of Because, that he is not there again.
21. Set up my image in the East: thou shalt buy thee an image which
I will show thee,
especial, not unlike the one thou knowest. And it shall be suddenly
easy for thee to do
this.
22. The other images group around me to support me: let all be worshipped,
for they
shall cluster to exalt me. I am the visible object of worship; the
others are secret; for the
Beast & his Bride are they: and for the winners of the Ordeal x.
What is this? Thou shalt
know.
23. For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine:
then oil of Abramelin
and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh
blood.
24. The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of
a child, or dropping
from the host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of
the worshippers: last of
some beast, no matter what.
25. This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also
another use; let it be laid
before me, and kept thick with perfumes of your orison: it shall become
full of beetles as
it were and creeping things sacred unto me.
26. These slay, naming your enemies; & they shall fall before you.
27. Also these shall breed lust & power of lust in you at the eating thereof.
28. Also ye shall be strong in war.
29. Moreover, be they long kept, it is better; for they swell with my force. All before me.
30. My altar is of open brass work: burn thereon in silver or gold!
31. There cometh a rich man from the West who shall pour his gold upon thee.
32. From gold forge steel!
33. Be ready to fly or to smite!
34. But your holy place shall be untouched throughout the centuries:
though with fire and
sword it be burnt down & shattered, yet an invisible house there
standeth, and shall
stand until the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise
and the
double-wanded one assume my throne and place. Another prophet shall
arise, and bring
fresh fever from the skies; another woman shall awakethe lust &
worship of the Snake;
another soul of God and beast shall mingle in the globed priest; another
sacrifice shall
stain the tomb; another king shall reign; and blessing no longer be
poured To the
Hawk-headed mystical Lord!
35. The half of the word of Heru-ra-ha, called Hoor-pa-kraat and Ra-Hoor-Khut.
36. Then said the prophet unto the God:
37. I adore thee in the song --
Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
Supreme and terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee: --
I, I adore thee!
Appear on the throne of Ra!
Open the ways of the Khu!
Lighten the ways of the Ka!
The ways of the Khabs run through
To stir me or still me!
Aum! let it fill me!
38. So that thy light is in me; & its red flame is as a sword in
my hand to push thy order.
There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all
the quarters, (these are
the adorations, as thou hast written), as it is said:
The light is mine; its rays consume
Me: I have made a secret door
Into the House of Ra and Tum,
Of Khephra and of Ahathoor.
I am thy Theban, O Mentu,
The prophet Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat;
By wise Ta-Nech I weave my spell.
Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!
Bid me within thine House to dwell,
O winged snake of light, Hadit!
Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
39. All this and a book to say how thou didst come hither and a reproduction
of this ink
and paper for ever -- for in it is the word secret & not only in
the English -- and thy
comment upon this the Book of the Law shall be printed beautifully
in red ink and black
upon beautiful paper made by hand; and to each man and woman that thou
meetest,
were it but to dine or to drink at them, it is the Law to give. Then
they shall chance to
abide in this bliss or no; it is no odds. Do this quickly!
40. But the work of the comment? That is easy; and Hadit burning in
thy heart shall make
swift and secure thy pen.
41. Establish at thy Kaaba a clerk-house: all must be done well and with business way.
42. The ordeals thou shalt oversee thyself, save only the blind ones.
Refuse none, but
thou shalt know & destroy the traitors. I am Ra-Hoor-Khuit; and
I am powerful to protect
my servant. Success is thy proof: argue not; convert not; talk not
over much! Them that
seek to entrap thee, to overthrow thee, them attack without pity or
quarter; & destroy
them utterly. Swift as a trodden serpent turn and strike! Be thou yet
deadlier than he!
Drag down their souls to awful torment: laugh at their fear: spit upon
them!
43. Let the Scarlet Woman beware! If pity and compassion and tenderness
visit her
heart; if she leave my work to toy with old sweetnesses; then shall
my vengeance be
known. I will slay me her child: I will alienate her heart: I will
cast her out from men: as a
shrinking and despised harlot shall she crawl through dusk wet streets,
and die cold and
an-hungered.
44. But let her raise herself in pride! Let her follow me in my way!
Let her work the work
of wickedness! Let her kill her heart! Let her be loud and adulterous!
Let her be covered
with jewels, and rich garments, and let her be shameless before all
men!
45. Then will I lift her to pinnacles of power: then will I breed from
her a child mightier than
all the kings of the earth. I will fill her with joy: with my force
shall she see & strike at the
worship of Nu: she shall achieve Hadit.
46. I am the warrior Lord of the Forties: the Eighties cower before
me, & are abased. I
will bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle
& ye shall delight to slay.
Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my
strength; & ye shall
turn not back for any!
47. This book shall be translated into all tongues: but always with
the original in the
writing of the Beast; for in the chance shape of the letters and their
position to one
another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine. Let him
not seek to try: but one
cometh after him, whence I say not, who shall discover the Key of it
all. Then this line
drawn is a key: then this circle squared in its failure is a key also.
And Abrahadabra. It
shall be his child & that strangely. Let him not seek after this;
for thereby alone can he fall
from it.
48. Now this mystery of the letters is done, and I want to go on to the holier place.
49. I am in a secret fourfold word, the blasphemy against all gods of men.
50. Curse them! Curse them! Curse them!
51. With my Hawk's head I peck at the eyes of Jesus as he hangs upon the cross.
52. I flap my wings in the face of Mohammed & blind him.
53. With my claws I tear out the flesh of the Indian and the Buddhist, Mongol and Din.
54. Bahlasti! Ompehda! I spit on your crapulous creeds.
55. Let Mary inviolate be torn upon wheels: for her sake let all chaste
women be utterly
despised among you!
56. Also for beauty's sake and love's!
57. Despise also all cowards; professional soldiers who dare not fight,
but play; all fools
despise!
58. But the keen and the proud, the royal and the lofty; ye are brothers!
59. As brothers fight ye!
60. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.
61. There is an end of the word of the God enthroned in Ra's seat, lightening
the girders
of the soul.
62. To Me do ye reverence! to me come ye through tribulation of ordeal, which is bliss.
63. The fool readeth this Book of the Law, and its comment; & he understandeth it not.
64. Let him come through the first ordeal, & it will be to him as silver.
65. Through the second, gold.
66. Through the third, stones of precious water.
67. Through the fourth, ultimate sparks of the intimate fire.
68. Yet to all it shall seem beautiful. Its enemies who say not so, are mere liars.
69. There is success.
70. I am the Hawk-Headed Lord of Silence & of Strength; my nemyss
shrouds the
night-blue sky.
71. Hail! ye twin warriors about the pillars of the world! for your time is nigh at hand.
72. I am the Lord of the Double Wand of Power; the wand of the Force
of Coph Nia--but
my left hand is empty, for I have crushed an Universe; & nought
remains.
73. Paste the sheets from right to left and from top to bottom: then behold!
74. There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious, as the sun
of midnight is ever
the son.
75. The ending of the words is the Word Abrahadabra.
The Book of the Law is Written and Concealed.
Aum. Ha.
THE COMMENT.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The public 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.
Love is the law, love under will.
The priest of the princes,
Ankh-f-n-khonsu
PREVIOUS | TEACHING | NEXT |