For the first time the Book of the Law is offered in a deluxe, hardcover edition fittingly issued in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Liber AL vel Legis's transmission to Crowley.

If you aren't familiar with this book and you are curious I recommend first taking a look at it online and then purchasing "The Law Is for All : The Authorized Popular Commentary of Liber Al Vel Legis, the Book of the Law". The book of the law was kind of hard for me to read the first few times. "The Law is for All" is the Book of the Law with a Commentary by Aleister Crowleys. Parts of the commentary can really help out in studying the book of the law. Also I recommend visiting some of the thelemic websites out there (search "thelema"). Terms like Thelema, Nuit, Hadit, Khabs, Khu, Ankh-af-na-Khonsu, and Hoor Paar Kraat don't make much sense and are a little intimidating without a little outside commentary. There is also a very short paper called "Duty" by Aleister Crowley available on the internet which I think explains the major concepts of Thelema quite well. Highly recommended.


Interesting Occult Artifact, Not Much More   July 8, 2000
 52 out of 85 found this review helpful

I've known so-called "Thelemites" who treat this book as their "Bible," and Aleister Crowley as their prophet. If all you read of Crowleys work is this book, it will be very hard to see why. Indeed, it will probably be hard to see why even if you read more.

This book was supposedly dictated to Crowley on his honeymoon, by a spirit called Aiwaz. It details a "religion" that can only be called hateful--Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims...all condemned! "This is the law of the strong," Aiwaz declares. In other words, might makes right. When Crowley/Aiwaz writes, "Love is the law, love under will," what are we to believe? There is nothing in here, really, about love--Crowley was notorious for his smorgasbord of depraved sexual practices...perhaps this line is what he used to justify them. The most memorable line from "Liber AL," as it is frequently called, is the infamous, "Do What Thou Wilt..." which, contrary to Crowley's wild self-promotion, was plagiarized from Rabelais.

Most of what is here is barely intelligible, and lacks an iota of literary merit by any widely-accepted aesthetic standard. Crowley was a third-rate writer who (believe it or not) honestly believed he was a greater poet than his magical arch-rival, Wm. Butler Yeats, who once referred to Crowley as "that man of unspeakable life." Any reasonable person who reads Crowley's opinions of Jews and blacks (and the frequent ethnic slurs he deploys while talking about them) will be inclined to agree. Some of this is apparent in Liber AL; it is pretty hard to take.

Nevertheless, for anyone interested in Victorian esotericism, this may be an interesting read, as a cultural artifact, if nothing else.


Destroy This Book...   February 22, 2000
 33 out of 46 found this review helpful

... Well not really :) Liber Al vel Legis can be viewed as an essay on the relationship of Man and "god". This book, "received" by Aleister Crowley on his honeymoon in 1904 is a powerfull work that can break through people's preconceptions (misconceptions?) of reality, religion and Man's place in the cosmos.

I have read this book more times than I can count, and always come away with new insights... not so much insights into the text, but insights into my own self. Reading this book is an agent of change, one cannot help being changed by reading this...be it for the better or the worse.

(Such is the reason for Crowley's famous Comment appended to the end of the text, and the joke in the title of this review.)

A previous reviewer blasts this book and paradigm for "borrowing" from other religions and beliefs, but to me this is the sublime beauty of it. Crowley or Aiwass (whomever you choose to think the author is), did steal and borrow from all religions, finding the common threads, and weaving a wonderfull web out of the best, and disposing of the rest.

Overall, even if one is not interested in Thelema, magick, or anything out of the "ordinary", I would recommend this short book just to challenge what you believe and what you hold to be true


Holy Book of The New Aeon -- "received" by Aleister Crowley   June 8, 2003
 30 out of 45 found this review helpful

This Holy Book of The New Aeon -- "received" by Aleister Crowley, circa 1904 (ev: "era vulgara"--commonly known as "ce"), was created by Aleister Crowley under circumstances which may have been "automatic writing," "channeling" or direct communication from an entity named "Aiwas" (presumably Crowley's "Holy Guardian Angel" or a "Praeterhuman" entity).

There are many inconsistencies in the various telling and retelling of the story of the formation of this "Holy Book," yet this is the case with ALL "Holy Books" --so, each person is encouraged to investigate (think) for themselves and delve into the Mysteries of The Book of The Law, of their own Free Will and Accord.

The following books will clear things up a bit and allow an individual to research "The Book of The Law." I highly recommend these books:

"The Law Is for All : The Authorized Popular Commentary of Liber Al Vel Legis Sub Figura Ccxx, the Book of the Law," by Aleister Crowley, et al--which explains "The Book of The Law" (ISBN: 1561840904). See my review and other reviews for more information.

"The Holy Books of Thelema" by Aleister Crowley--a collection of "Inspired" writings about the Religion of Thelema. (ISBN: 0877286868). See my review and other reviews for more information.

"The Equinox of the Gods" by Aleister Crowley--the Creation and Evolution of the religion of Thelema. (ISBN: 1561840289). This book has also been republished in "Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4" (ISBN: 0877289190)--See my review and other reviews for more information.

Also, this one is handy for Thelemic Qabbalists:

"The Complete Concordance to Aleister Crowley's The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis)" by Wolfgang Gregory Zeuner (ISBN: 1890109509). See my review and other reviews for more information.

Note: "Magick: Liber Aba: Book 4" (ISBN: 0877289190) and "The Holy Books of Thelema" (ISBN: 0877286868) would be a great starting point to comprehending "The Book of The Law" & "Thelema" --yet, I strongly suggest "The Law is for All"
(ISBN: 1561840904), as well.

"The Law is for All" is a great book to recommend to those who are scratching their heads about "The Book of The Law."


Try before you buy   December 28, 2004
 27 out of 50 found this review helpful

Scarcely have I ever seen a book (or should I say pamphlet, since it can be read in less than an hour) that has such widely divided opinions on it.

Is it dictation from an extraterrestrial being? Is it a rare glimpse into the uneditted subconscious? Or is it the rantings of a madman?

Do yourself a favor and read a copy of the text online before you buy the book. Then at least you know what you're getting yourself into.

It says something about mankind that we constantly search for "secrets" to success, when most of them are posted in plain view, but are just too unpalatable for 99% of people to handle.

Or you can ignore my advice and "Do what thou wilt". ;)