Thelema Society
The Thelema Society is a spiritually working society that was founded in 1979 by Michael Dietmar Eschner . It sees itself as a thelemic community and is based in Bergen an der Dumme .
history
After it was founded in 1979, the Thelema Society was initially called the Institute for Applied Metaphysics , but was renamed Thelema (Abbey) in 1982 . From 1983 it was called Thelema Orden des Argentum Astrum eV The regulations of this time provided, among other things, that no member of the order had a property right, and there was also a strict hierarchical structure in which Eschner was considered the “boss”. Due to increased criticism from the judiciary and the media, the association was dissolved in 1985. That year, the Thelema Society began translating all of Aleister Crowley's English-language books into German, which lasted until 2001. The books were published by Kersken-Canbaz-Verlag. In addition, there were various magical books by members that were also published by Kersken-Canbaz-Verlag in the “Step by Step Series”. They renamed themselves Netzwerk Thelema and shortly afterwards they moved to Bergen an der Dumme. The group was reconstituted in 1989 under the name Live Unlimited Society of Thelema (LUST) and tried to set up self-organized working groups. Four years later, the Ethos Community Thelema (EGT) emerged. In 2001 the group was renamed to today's Thelema Society. With the transition to the “Thelema Society”, a new phase began. The classic (hierarchical) degree structure was replaced by parallel, thematically oriented core groups.
According to the association's statutes, Michael D. Eschner was considered the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley in the group .
structure
There are four organizational circles within the Thelema Society. In the 0th district are all members who mostly live directly in Bergen and use the full range of offers. In the 1st circle are members who were initiated in the Thelema Society, but are active in a branch of the Thelema Society. The 2nd circle is intended for "candidates" who might consider joining the 1st or 0th circle, but also for members who want to do more practical work on certain topics and receive advice from the TS. The 3rd circle is for all people who sympathize with the Thelema Society but are not interested in joining the other circles. According to the statutes of the Thelema Society, it is a democratic institution with the slogan "Freedom is the freedom of those who think differently". Experts estimate the number of members to be between 100 and 130.
Content and goals
The members of the Thelema Society develop and explore the New Aeon, teaching "thelemic" way of life, personal development and self-creation. To do this, they use literature and a. by Friedrich Nietzsche , Niklas Luhmann , Georg Hegel , Gotthard Günther or Immanuel Kant . Its goals include the development of the true will and Kundalini - Shakti . The Thelema Society recognizes the Liber AL vel Legis received from Aleister Crowley and regards as its core principles “Every man and woman is a star”, “Do what you want be the whole law”, “Love is the law, love under will "And" Death, O man, is forbidden to you. These sentences serve them as a basic work. According to her own statements, she distinguishes herself from Aleister Crowley and his magical traditions and degree systems and explores an alternative way of life and development.
criticism
In 1992 Michael Dietmar Eschner was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for dangerous bodily harm and rape of a group member. The members were exposed to various forms of ritual violence . According to Spiegel, "[enforced] the Thelema superiors [...] discipline through oath of obedience and sleep deprivation, and prescribed sexual intercourse and disgust training - from eating feces to self-mutilation". On the other hand, it was legally controversial whether Eschner made himself a criminal offense because he could refer to a "voluntary tolerance or compliance" of the members. The court also spoke of "forced sexual intercourse" and "unconditional obedience" to the leadership. These statements were justified by the fact that the order "strives to destroy the previous moral concepts, reorganize the socially recognized way of life and solve the previous social conditioning" and that those affected, sometimes with alcohol, overcome their natural inhibitions through disgust training. The group denies the allegations of the press and cult counseling against the Thelema Society, especially regarding violence.
Works
- Ethos Community Thelema (authorship), Thelema: A representation of the new aeon taking into account the teaching of Aleister Crowley , Kersken-Canbaz, 2000 ISBN 978-3894231200
- Thelema Society (Authorship), The Way of the Thelemite , Books on Demand, 2008 ISBN 978-3837054224
swell
- ↑ Step by step series ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Andreas Huettl, Peter-Robert König : Satan - disciples, hunters and justice. Kreuzfeuer Verlag, Augsburg 2006, ISBN 3-937611-01-0 , p. 46 f.
- ↑ a b Thelema Society Michael D. Eschner in relinfo.ch, accessed on August 10, 2020
- ^ Ritual violence in child trafficking rings and destructive cults. , German Bundestag : Printed matter 13/11275 of July 13, 1998, accessed on August 10, 2020
- ^ Oswald Eggenberger: Churches sects religions . Ed .: Georg Schmid and Georg Otto Schmid. 7th edition. Theological Publishing House Zurich, 2003, ISBN 978-3-290-17215-2 , pp. 451 .
- ^ Ingolf Christiansen: Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Department of the Interior - Occult and Satanism Scientology Working Group. P.68-69. December 2001, accessed August 10, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Bite into the nail bed. In: Der Spiegel 20/1985. May 13, 1985, accessed August 10, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Martin Teske: The devil celebrates resurrection (new Germany). August 3, 2001, accessed August 10, 2020 .
