Learn about the fascinating connection between François Rabelais’ Gargantua and Aleister Crowley’s Thelema. In Gargantua, Rabelais introduces the Abbey of Thélème, a utopian society governed by the motto ‘Fay ce que vouldras’ (‘Do what you will’). This principle would later inspire Crowley’s central Thelemic tenet, ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.’ Learn how Rabelais’ Renaissance humanism, satire, and vision of personal freedom profoundly influenced Crowley’s esoteric philosophy, bridging the gap between literature and occult spirituality.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowen, Barbara C., 1966. Rabelais and the Abbey of Thélème. Studies in Philology, 63(2), pp.136-150.
Churton, Tobias, 2011. Aleister Crowley: The Biography. London: Watkins Publishing.
Crowley, Aleister, 1929. Magick in Theory and Practice. New York: Castle Books.
Crowley, Aleister, 1938. Liber AL vel Legis (The Book of the Law). California: Ordo Templi Orientis.
Crowley, Aleister, 1989. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography. Edited by John Symonds and Kenneth Grant. London: Arkana.
Crowley, Aleister, 1991. Magick Without Tears. Edited by Israel Regardie. Arizona: New Falcon Publications.
Crowley, Aleister, 1996. The Law Is for All: The Authorized Popular Commentary on Liber AL vel Legis sub figura CCXX, The Book of the Law. Edited by Louis Wilkinson and Hymenaeus Beta. Arizona: New Falcon Publications.
Duval, Edwin M., 1992. Rabelais’s Utopian Thélème and the ‘Scientia Divina’ of Evangelical Humanists. Renaissance Quarterly, 45(4), pp.774-795.
King, M.M., 2024. Aleister Crowley’s Egypt: The Stele of Revealing. In: B.J.L. van den Bercken, ed. Alternative Egyptology. London: Allard Pierson, pp.43-55.
Kinser, Samuel, 1989. The Utopian Social Imagery of Rabelais’s Abbey of Thélème. Pacific Coast Philology, 24(1/2), pp.51-58.
Marrache-Gouraud, Myriam, 2019. ‘Fay ce que vouldras’: On Freedom in Rabelais’ Work. Renaissance and Reformation, 42(4), pp.91-110.
Orpheus, Rodney, 2005. Abrahadabra: Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thelemic Magick. San Francisco: Weiser Books.
Rabelais, François, 2006. Gargantua and Pantagruel. Translated by M. A. Screech. London: Penguin Classics.
Schwartz, Jerome, 1977. Scatology and Eschatology in Gargantua’s Androgyne Device. Études Rabelaisiennes, 14, pp.265-275.
Urban, Hugh B., 2003. Unleashing the Beast: Aleister Crowley, Tantra, and Sex Magic in Late Victorian England. Esoterica, 5, pp.138-192.
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00:00 Support Angela’s Symposium
02:14 Introduction: From Thélème to Thelema
03:18 François Rabelais – Renaissance humanist philosopher
04:01 Gargantua and the Abbaye de Thélème
05:02 Aleister Crowley and Thelema
05:56 Rabelais’ Abbey of Thélème
06:04 Gargantua in Context of the Series of Books
07:52 The Plot of Gargantua and Pantagruel
08:18 Book I Gargantua
10:30 Book II Pantagruel
11:05 Book III – IV Panurge’s Indecision and a Fantastic Journey
11:48 The Oracle at the Temple of the Divine Bottle
12:28 The Abbey of Thélème in Rabelais’ Gargantua
16:20 Rabelais’ Notion of the Inherent Goodness of Mankind
17:11 Rabelais’ Influence on Crowley’s Theology
20:15 From “Fay ce que vouldras” to “Do what thou wilt”
21:57 A Shared Utopian Vision of a New Social Order
24:44 Crowley’s differences & Reinterpretations from Rabelais
27:04 Humanism and Individual Autonomy
28:00 Expansion of the Thelemic Motto
31:08 Conclusion: The Ongoing Influence of Rabelais through Crowley
34:59 Bibliography
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Published on September 29, 2024
