 aleister crowley, the founder of thelema, designated his works as belonging to one of several classes. not all of his work was placed in a class by him. :class a consists of works that are not to be changed, even to the letter. the holy books fall in this category. :class b consists of works of scholarship and enlightenment. :class c consists of material that suggests things other than the obvious. :class d consists of official rituals and instructions. :class e consists of manifestos, broadsides, epistles and other public statements. == the books ==  liber al vel legis, also known as the book of the law, is the foundational text for thelema. it is the only holy book that aleister crowley claimed to have had no part in the authorship of. its primacy is indicated in chapter iii, verse 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. the remaining texts were written between the years 1907 and 1911. according to crowley, they were not so much written by him as through him, and are therefore referred to as inspired works. === publication history === some of these works were originally published by crowley in 1909 under the title "ÎÎÎÎÎÎ". in 1983 these original texts, together with a number of additional texts, were published under the new title the holy books of thelema by ordo templi orientis under the direction of hymenaeus alpha. ==== original contents of ÎÎÎÎÎÎ ==== *volume i **liber lxi vel causÃ¦âexplains the actual history and origin of the present movement. this text, being in class d, is not technically a holy book, but was included in "ÎÎÎÎÎÎ" as an introduction, and is thus listed here. **liber lxv: liber cordis cincti serpenteâan account of the relations of the aspirant and his holy guardian angel. *volume ii **liber vii: liber liberi vel lapidis lazuliâthese are the birth words of a master of the temple. its 7 chapters are referred to the 7 planets in the following order: mars, saturn, jupiter, sol, mercury, luna, venus. *volume iii **liber xxvii: liber trigrammaton sub figura xxviiâbeing a book of trigrams of the mutations of the tao with the yin and yang. an account of the cosmic process. **liber ccxx: liber al vel legis sub figura ccxx: the book of the lawâamong the holy books of thelema, the chief is the book of the law. every thelemite is expected to interpret the book, "each for himself". **liber dcccxiii vel araritaâan account of the hexagram and the method of reducing it to the unity and beyond. this book describes in magical language a very secret process of initiation. ==== additional texts
Thelemite_texts