A.'.A.'.

(Revision as of 04:06, 29 Sep 2004)

The A.'.A.'., or "Great White Brotherhood," is an organized fraternity of men and women dedicated to the spiritual advancement of humanity. The current structure of the organization was designed by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones in 1906 from the ashes of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The A.'.A.'. revealed Liber AL vel Legis to the world through the Prophet Aleister Crowley, as well as the other Holy Books of Thelema.

In An Accont of A.'.A.'., Aleister Crowley writes,

This community possesses a School, in which all who thirst for knowledge are instructed by the Spirit of Wisdom itself; and all the mysteries of nature are preserved in this school for the children of light. Perfect knowledge of nature and of humanity is taught in this school. It is from her that all truths penetrate into the world; she is the school of all who search for wisdom, and it is in this community alone that truth and the explantation of all mystery are to be found.

In "The System of the O.T.O", which originally appeared in Magick Without Tears, Crowley says,

The A.'.A.'. concerns the individual, his development, his intitiation, his passage from "Student" to "Ipsissimus"; he has no contact of any kind with any other person except the Neophyte who introduces him, and any Student or Students whom he may, after becoming a Neophyte, introduce.

Initiatory structure

The A.'.A.'. consists of eleven grades devided into three groups:

The Order of the S. S.

Ipsissimus (10°=1#): Beyond the comprehension of the lower degrees. An Ipsissimus is free from limitations and necessity and lives in perfect balance with Nature. Essentially, the highest mode of attainment.

Magus (9°=2#): Attains to wisdom, declares his law and is a Master of all Magick in its greatest and highest sense. His will is entirely free from internal diversion or external opposition; His work is to create a new Universe in accordance with his Will.

Magister Templi, or Master of the Temple (8°=3#): His principal business is to obtain a perfect understanding of the Universe. The essential Attainment is the perfect annihilation of that personality which limits and oppresses his true self. The Magister Templi is pre-eminently the Master of Mysticism, that is, His Understanding is entirely free from internal contradiction or external obscurity; His word is to comprehend the existing Universe in accordance with His own Mind.

The Order of the R. C.

(Babe of the Abyss)—the link: The Grade of the Babe of the Abyss is not a Grade in the proper sense, being rather a passage between the two Orders. It is an annihilation of all the bonds that compose the self or constitute the Cosmos, a resolution of all complexities into their elements, and these thereby cease to manifest, since things are only knowable in respect of their relation to, and reaction on, other things.

Adeptus Exemptus (7°=4#): The Adept must prepare and publish a thesis setting forth His knowledge of the Universe, and his proposals for its welfare and progress. He will thus be known as the leader of a school of thought. He will have attained all but the supreme summits of meditation, and should be already prepared to perceive that the only possible course for him is to devote himself utterly to helping his fellow creatures.

Adeptus Major (6°=5#): His work is to use Magical Powers to support the authority of the Exempt Adept his superior. He achieves self-reliance, the proper use of Force, and the authority to govern the lower grades.

Adeptus Minor (5°=6#): The Grade of Adeptus Minor is the main theme of the instructions of the A.'. A.'. It is characterised by the Attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. His work is to manifest the Beauty of the Order to the world, in the way that his superiors enjoin, and his genius dictates.

The Order of the G. D.

Dominus Liminis—the link.

Philosophus (4°=7#): Is expected to complete his moral training. He is tested in Devotion to the Order.

Practicus (3°=8#): Is expected to complete his intellectual training, and in particular to study the Qabalah.

Zelator (2°=9#): His main work is to achieve complete success in Asana and Pranayama. He also begins to study the formula of the Rosy Cross.

Neophyte (1°=10#): Has to acquire perfect control of the Astral Plane.

Probationer (0°=0#): His principal business is to begin such practices as he my prefer, and to write a careful record of the same for one year.

Student: His business is to acquire a general intellectual knowledge of all systems of attainment, as declared in the prescribed books.

Links of interest

Outer College Curriculum Resources (http://www.outercol.org/)
Liber LXI vel Causae A.'.A.'. (http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib61.html)
Liber XXXIII, An Account of A.'.A.'. (http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib33.html)
A Syllabus of the Official Instructions of A.'.A.'. (http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib207.html)
One Star in Sight (http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/aba/app2.html)

References

Crowley, Aleister. (1990). "An Account of A.'.A.'." The Equinox, I(1). York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser
Crowley, Aleister. (1997). "One Star in Sight". Magick: Book Four. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser
Crowley, Aleister. (1982). "The System of O.T.O." Magick Without Tears. Phoenix, AZ : Falcon Press

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