The Great Work
(Revision as of 14:47, 23 Sep 2004)
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Overview
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The Great Work (latin: Magnum Opus) refers in general to the principal goal of the Kabbalistic or Ceremonial Magician and specifically to the Thelemic Magician in the practice of Magick. Like many other concepts in Thelema, The Great Work is not easily defined. Some basics are clear, however.
The concept is based on the idea that the Universe as we know it was created in perfection but became imperfect through the actions of humanity. It is, therefore, the duty of humans to perfect themselves to restore that perfection in the Universe.
To the Kabbalist, the purpose of Magick is to perfect each individual adept and his or her knowledge of the Universe. As this happens he or she will bring the Universe one step closer to the state of perfection from which it was originally created.
To the Ceremonialist and Thelemic Magician, the Great Work is to attain the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel; then to follow the Holy Guardian Angel's guidance in carrying out one's True Will. Because doing one's True Will is the ultimate goal of each individual, this is the Thelemic Magician's fulfillment of the Great Work.
History
Kabbalah
The term "great work" does not exist in classic Kabbalistic texts such as the Zohar or Sepher Yetzirah. However, the concept appears in the writings of Kabbalists throughout the Rennaisance:
"Do not pray for your own needs, for your prayer will not then be accepted. But when you want to pray, do so for the heaviness of the Head. For whatever you lack, the Divine Presence also lacks.
"This is because man is a "portion of God from on high." Whatever any part lacks, also exists in the Whole, and the Whole feels the lack of the part, You should therefore pray for the needs of the Whole." -- from a disciple of the Kabbalist R. Israel Baal Shem Tov
The classic Jewish Kabbalist is less concerned about the Great Work as a manifestation of "True Will" than he or she is as a part of bringing the world back to the state which the Creator intended. Thus one finds current Jewish Kabbalistic movements such as the Kabbalah Center in Jerusalem recruiting new "converts" to Kabbalah (such as Madonna) in an attempt to bring each new Kabbalist into their concept of the Great Work. As more individuals come into the Kabbalistic system, the closer the world comes to perfection as was originally conceived in the Kabbalistic scheme.
Eliphas Levi and the Golden Dawn
Eliphas Levi, the first of the modern "ceremonial magicians" and predecessor to the "Order of the Golden Dawn" defined the Great Work thus:
"The magnum opus is pre-eminently the creation of man by himself, that is, the full and complete conquest which he can make of his faculties and his future; it is pre-eminently the perfect emancipation of his will"
The modern incarnation of the Order of the Golden Dawn, the "Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (r), defines the Great Work as "a term borrowed from achemy's magnum opus. Refers to the path of human spiritual evolution, growth and illumination, which is the goal of ceremonial magic."
Crowley's Interpretation in the New Aeon
It was the practice of Thelemites at the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, after saying "Will before Meat," to add the question, "What is the Great Work?" (MTP, ch. 13).
Sources
Levi, Eliphas. Dogme et rituel de la haute magie, published in English as Transcendental Magic. A.E. Waite, trans. Crowley, Aleister. Magick in Theory and Practice. Crowley, Aleister.
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