Saying Will

(Revision as of 08:42, 17 Oct 2004)

Saying Will is a short ritual practiced by many Thelemites before meals, serving a similar purpose as saying Grace does for many Christians. Its earliest appearance in print is in Aleister Crowley's novel Moonchild.

There are several variant forms of this ritual. The simplest and most common of them goes as follows, with a leader taking one role and all others present the other.

Leader: (knocks 3-5-3) Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

All: What is thy will?

Leader: It is my will to eat and to drink.

All: To what end?

Leader: That I may fortify my body thereby.

All: To what end?

Leader: That I may accomplish the Great Work.

All: Love is the law, love under will.

Leader: (knocks once) Fall to!

The type of knock used and wording may be varied according to local custom or particular purposes.

The ritual of Saying Will is intended to maintain the focus of those who practice it on The Great Work by reminding them that even so mundane an act as eating a meal is an essential part of that Work. In this reminding function, it is similar to the four daily solar adorations of Liber Resh.

On a more esoteric level, comparison may be made to a tenet of the Creed of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica: "And forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the miracle of the Mass."

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