Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers

    A special meeting and practice for those who wish to participate in doing initiations will be held on the 7th. Minerval through IInd Degree rituals.Call ahead; limited to those who have already taken these initiations.

    The Magick Theatre Encampment will host a dramatic reading of Crowley's play: The Scorpion on the 17th.

    The Astronomical Association will make a trip to better viewing conditions for a telescopic campout on Mt. Diablo. Call for more information, cost and departure time (leaves from the Lodge on Friday evening of the 18th).

    A Feast and celebration for the Autumnal Equinox will be held at Thelema Lodge beginning at 7:00 PM on the 23rd. Bring offerings of food and drink. A rare Crowley ritual will be performed at 9:30 PM.

    Brother David will teach an introductory class in Enochian Magick on the 29th, covering basic aspects of its use and execution. An overview of the history of Enochian Magick will also be presented.

    Don't miss our other fine events and classes: Gnostic Masses, Egyptiana, Swordsmanship, Meditation and much more. (Teachers and presenters please note: If you send copy to the Thelema Lodge Calendar in time for publication, you don't get jammed down here with "other"! --- editor)

    Philip of France is on the march, and the shade of Jacques du Bourg-Molay rises like Hamlet's ghost. Just as Templar Guilt was created by the glitter of Templar gold in a king's eye, freedom has brought a starvling's hunger for revenge in the eyes of the lords of the last Aeon. The Templars had too little guilt, so "guilt" was generously provided 675 years ago. We have done no evil, so those who have an excess offer it on our heads. That final battle for freedom signaled in Minerval days is upon us. The battlefield is the civil courts. The armor is truth, and that we have. The weapon is a knowledge of the law of the land, and for that we must pay. If we delay, a battle will be lost; and future battles will drain the years away. Hamlet complained and pitied himself until an end was made to dreams. If we do nothing but laugh and cry we deserve to be downtrodden. Today the need is for money to pay entrance to the courts of equal justice. Tomorrow it might be a change of name and a membership in a fundamentalist church. Please send your tax-deductible donations to:

Q. "Sometimes I wonder if I want to be a slave.
    What does this mean?" -- from IL.

(I bit my lip, and answered with this.)

    Slavery and Service are two different things. A free person offers Service. A slave offers nothing, but simply obeys without choice. Service is noble; slavery is usually considered ignoble. If you choose to cooperate with, serve under or aid someone, you are offering Service. If someone makes you do those things, you are in a state of at least limited slavery. In fact, the deeds and setting of a well-treated slave may actually appear to be more free than the deeds and setting of a person offering repetitive or difficult service. The whole question is one of volition. The Slave obeys the purpose of another, without choice. The giver of Service has knowledge, trust and self motivation. Service is offered in accord with inner purpose. Altruism and duty are the most common marks of Service. Altruism means that good works are their own reward ("Lashtal" is the Hebrew word for this attitude in religious actions); and a Thelemite might say that sharing work is the purest form of "enlightened self interest". Duty is a direct expression of the inner sense of Thelemic Will in harmony with previous commitments. Management and leadership are relatively rare forms of service. Thus it is possible to mistake free service for involuntarily action. The key concept is volition. Service gives honor. Slavery is without personal honor. Brain-washing and habit can convert service into slavery, but vacations and retreats or "magical retirements" help restore perspective and freedom. Service may appear involuntary when the sense of duty is strong, but that is often simply a sign of commitment. Service is marked by happiness at accomplishment. Slavery offers happiness at the end of a day's labor, whether completed or not. Slavery also exhibits happiness at easy labor, whether the goal is known or not. Service can be stressful when no goal is clearly understood. Service is much more demanding than Slavery. Service is accompanied by respect for the self and for others. Slavery is mostly concerned with payment and perquisites, while Service takes a reasonable interest in necessities and providence for the future.
    In Thelema, any "slave" may be free by simply declaring for freedom and living under it. Both conditions are necessary. A person who demands freedom, but depends too much on the living wages of others, may loose freedom. Some families provide a positive situation for service and a common pool of assets. Some societies are too poor to enable many people to live as independent individuals -- in that case, work to aid the society.
    A Thelemite will often feel a duty to help others attain freedom. A Thelemite should also strive to understand the real needs of those who are not free, and wish to stay in bondage.
    A Slave wishes to enslave all free people, and to gain "protection" from the risks of responsibility.

Events Calendar for September 1987 e.v.

    The viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of OTO or its officers.

   Note to update: the addresses and phone numbers in these issues of the Thelema Lodge Calendars are obsolete since the closing of the Lodge. They are here for historic purposes only and should not be visited or called.