Abbey of Thelema
The Abbey of Thelema is a small house which was used as a temple and spiritual centre, founded by Aleister Crowley and Leah Hirsig in Cefalù (Sicily, Italy) in 1920.
Mission of the Abbey
The Abbey of Thelema was intended as an idealistic utopia where the tenants of Thelema spirituality could be practiced without interference from authorities. It also served as a type of magical school, giving it the designationCollegium ad Spiritum Sanctum ("A College towards the Holy Spirit").
The object of the Abbey was for students to devote themselves to the Great Work of discovering and manifesting their True Will. This program was in line with the A∴A∴ course of training and included:
- Daily adorations to the sun
- Study of Crowley's writings
- Regular yogic and ritual practices
- General domestic labor.
Crowley had planned to transform the small house into a global center of magical devotion and perhaps to gain tuition fees paid by acolytes seeking training in the Magical Arts; these fees would further assist him in his efforts to promulgate Thelema and publish his manuscripts.
Activities at the Abbey
At the Abbey, Aleister Crowley began imbibing copious amounts of recreational drugs, primarily heroin and cocaine. Everyone in the house was encouraged to practice sex magic with one another, do multiple drugs, and spend a few hours per day in quiet meditation.
Their sacred rites included the sacrifice of animals (goats and cats) and ritualistic orgies centered around Aleister and his muse, the Scarlet Woman, Leah Faesi. In one of the most sensational rituals, everyone sat around Leah in a circle while she copulated with a goat, which was sacrificed shortly after climaxing.
The children living at the Abbey witnessed most of these activities and became drug addicts themselves. A visitor reported her horror at discovering Crowley's five-year-old son had become addicted to cocaine, but was even more taken aback when the child screamed, “You must leave me alone! I am Beast number two, and I can shatter you."
Despite the heavy drug use and sexual activity, Crowley seemed to flourish at the Abbey of Thelema. The events inspired him to write his first novel, The Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922). This book lays out many of the tenants of Thelema while telling stories of drug use and addiction.
Dissolution of the Abbey
Negative attention from the press and visitors' rumors about the Abbey's sanitary and moral conditions reached a tipping point when Abbey member Raoul Loveday died from an infection (either from drinking tainted water or the blood of a cat). After this, the Italian government finally intervened and asked Crowley and his followers to leave the country as quickly as possible.
Legacy
The villa still stands today, but in poor condition. Filmmaker Kenneth Anger, himself a devotee of Crowley, later uncovered and filmed some of its murals in his film Thelema Abbey (1955), now considered a lost film.