A Peek at History The word “thelema” originates from the Greek language (in Modern Greek “thelima”) and means “will” and “intention”. Thelema as a religious — philosophic term is first mentioned in Francois Rabelais’ Gargantua & Pantagruel (1532), an adventure story where the main characters of the book visit “Abbey of Th�l�me”. This abbey concentrated on refining human virtues on the principal of “do what you will”, which Rabelais described as being the opposite of the Christian decency of his time. In Rabelais’ Th�l�me the basis of philosophy is laughter, which makes life both enjoyable and mock — able at the same time, resulting in “otherness” without asceticism. Even though some of the ideas presented in Rabelais’ book were approached every now and then during the centuries after the book’s publication, it wasn’t until the 20th century before a religious — philosophic path called Thelema was born. Thelema was founded in 1904 by Aleister Crowley, who is considered the prophet of the religion. Even before this, Crowley was known for his skills as a mage and he was initiated to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In addition to Western magico — mystical and ceremonial magick, Crowley familiarised himself with many Eastern esoteric systems during his many journeys. The magickal systems he studied, influenced his world view and through him, Thelema. A turning point in the birth of Thelema is Crowley’s and his wife Rose’s trip to Egypt in 1904. According to accounts, Rose — buy prescription drugs without a prescription who had been
