The Holy Books of Thelema is a collection of 15 works byAleister Crowley, the founder ofThelema, originally published in 1909 by Crowley under the titleΘελημα, and later republished in 1983, together with a number of additional texts, under the new title,The Holy Books of Thelema, byOrdo Templi Orientis under the direction ofHymenaeus Alpha.[1]
The Holy Books of Thelema consists of the wholly class Alibri of Aleister Crowley, which indicates that they that are not to be changed, even to the letter. According to Crowley, they were not so much writtenby him asthrough him, and are therefore referred to asinspired works. Additionally,Liber LXI, a class D text, is included as an introduction after a preface byHymenaeus Alpha and synopsis compiled from Crowley's writings.[1]Liber LXI was originally class A, then changed to class B, indicating works of scholarship, then changed to class D, indicating official rituals and instructions.Liber I was originally a Class B document but was reclassified as class A in 1913, and so it is included inThe Holy Books of Thelema. The majority of these texts were written between the years 1907 and 1911. They are listed in numerical order, following their designation inRoman numerals, with the exception ofLiber XXXI which immediately followsLiber CCXX.[1]
Liber AL vel Legis, also known asThe Book of the Law, is the foundational text forThelema. It is included as bothLiber CCXX andLiber XXXI. The latter is the handwritten original, whileLiber CCXX was transcribed from the original and was given the number 220 because it is composed of 220 verses. It is the onlyHoly Book thatAleister Crowley denied authoring in the usual sense of the word.[a]
Grady McMurtry, writing asHymenaeus Alpha, provided an overview of the contents of the original and expanded editions in the preface to the 1983 edition,[2] and they have also been discussed by Colin Campbell,[3] who has also produced a concordance.[4]
Three libricontaining class A material (but which are not wholly class A) are excluded from the collection, namely:Liber CDXV — Opus Lutetianum (commonly calledthe Paris Working);Liber XXXÆrum vel Sæculi sub figurâ CDXVIII (commonly calledThe Vision and the Voice); andLiberΘεσαυρου Ἐιδολον sub figurâ DCCCCLXIII (commonly calledthe Treasurehouse of Images).[5]
Despite its significance to Thelema, theStele of Revealing is not listed as one ofThe Holy Books of Thelema; however, its English translation is included inAppendix A alongside supplementary materials.[1] Crowley purports to have authored the text ina past incarnation as the ancient Egyptian priestAnkh-ef-en-Khonsu i.[citation needed]
Note, moreover, with what greedy vanity I claim authorship even of all the otherA∴A∴ Books in Class A, though I wrote them inspired beyond all I know to be I. Yet in these Books did Aleister Crowley, the master of English both in prose and in verse, partake insofar as he was That. Compare those Books with The Book of the Law! The style [of the former] is simple and sublime; the imagery is gorgeous and faultless; the rhythm is subtle and intoxicating; the theme is interpreted in faultless symphony. There are no errors of grammar, no infelicities of phrase. Each Book is perfect in its kind.
I, daring to snatch credit for these [...] dared nowise to lay claim to have touched The Book of the Law, not with my littlest finger-tip.
