AOH :: BOOKLAW.TXT
Al Liber Legis: The Book of the Law
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AL
LIBER LEGIS
THE BOOK OF THE LAW
sub figura ccxx
as delivered by
XCIII=418
TO
DCLXVI
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PART 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.
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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
The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit.
The winged globe, the starry blue,
Are mine, O Ankh-af-na-khonsu!
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
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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 ever be thus; that
men speak not of the 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-Khu-it.
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].(* NOTE THIS WORD IS IN
GREEK*)
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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
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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.(* NOTE THIS LETTER IS IN HEBREW*)
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 and 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 a secret
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
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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 splendour & 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.
PART 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.
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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 the knowledge 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!
The sorrows of pain and regret
Are left to the dead and the dying,
The folk that not know me as yet.
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
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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 a 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.
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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 feast for the three days of the writing of 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.
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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.
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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: whoso seeth 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, and 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!
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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!
PART 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;
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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 worshipers: last of
some beast, no matter what.
25. This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also
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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 awake the 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 --
I am the Lord of Thebes, and I
The inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;
For me unveils the veiled sky,
The self-slain Ankh-af-na-khonsu
Whose words are truth. I invoke, I greet
Thy presence, O Ra-Hoor-Khuit!
Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
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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 it is in
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 overmuch! Them that seek to entrap thee, to
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Liber AL vel Legis The Book of the Law
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 with 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.
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Liber AL vel Legis The Book of the Law
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
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Liber AL vel Legis The Book of the Law
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.
FINI
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