#1. THELEMA: WIZARDRY OF WILL

PERIOD: Modern.

SOURCES: Crowley’s The Book of the Law.

REAL-WORLD ABOUT: Thelema, founded by Aleister Crowley, emphasizes “True Will” and relation to one’s Higher Self. These two beliefs refer to following one’s Calling, not simply carnal pursuits. An initiate of Hermetics, supposed Freemason, and self-proclaimed “Prophet of the New Aeon“, Crowley chronicled the beliefs of Thelema in The Book of the Law. Thelema promotes two core tenets: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”, and “Love is the law, love under Will”.

Like many other Occult tendencies, Thelemites believe in a “Body of Light“, an Astral Body to develop in tandem with one’s physical form. Thelema also incorporates Ancient Egyptian deities and symbolism, including such figures as Aiwass (the Holy Guardian Angel), as well as Nuit (Our Lady of the Stars), Hadit (the Solar God), and Ra-Hoor-Khuit (the Crowned and Conquering Child).

Crowley founded two organizations to advance his doctrine: the strangely-named “A:.A:.”, and “Ordo Templi Orientis”. Thelema features many methods of mysticism and mastering oneself. Like Freemasonry and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it uses Esoteric instruction, initiation, and ritualism, adding Ceremonial Magick and “sex magick”. Thelema emphasizes subjectivity but results, transmission but skepticism. This culminates in the drive toward finding one’s own protective daimon, or, “Holy Guardian Angel“, to commune with.

Thelema’s ritualism includes the full gamut of purifying oneself, one’s implements, and one’s location, to devoting oneself toward or calling forth or sympathizing with a deity. Conjuring and transmuting, consecrating and divining. With the help of one’s Holy Guardian Angel, one can purportedly cross “the Abyss“, and overcome the beguiling figure of Choronzon to dissolve one’s ego into the real, ideal world, a sort of Promised Land of Enlightenment and Oneness. A chosen few can become “Magus“, essentially messiahs, with the final level being “Ipsissimus“, a type of self-deification.

HOW IT IMPACTED D&D: Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock aesthetics.

WHY ADD IT TO YOUR CAMPAIGN: Thelema invokes divine forces, from the smaller level of the personal protector to the greater level of deities, a scale that offers significant flexibility for you as a DM and worldbuilder. As Thelema relies on borrowed religious symbolism, you can use the archetypes to weave it into an existing fantasy pantheon, making it very accessible. If you want to get more obscure, you can use the Astral forms aspects and build out plot structures around Thelema’s “Abyss“. And the workings of prophets and self-deification can instigate tremendous Plot Incitement.

For players, themes of a Calling fit with 5e’s focus on Paths, allowing them to work with DM’s to bake plot into the class development. Likewise, Thelema’s simple code could work for a Paladin Oath for players. Not just that, but Thelema can also inform Wizard, Warlock, and Cleric ritualism too.