Liber OZ

"Liber OZ" (or "Book 77") is a single page by English author and occultist Aleister Crowley purporting to declare mankind's basic and intrinsic rights according to Crowley's philosophy of Thelema. Written in 1941,[1] the work consists of five succinct and concise paragraphs, being one of the latest and shortest of Crowley's many "libri," or books.[2]

Crowley wrote the piece for Louis Wilkinson[1] in order to convey as simply as possible the "O.T.O. plan in words of one syllable" broken down into "five sections: moral, bodily, mental, sexual, and the safeguard tyrannicide...".[3]

The document is written in very simple English. No word within Liber OZ has more than one syllable. This is to ensure that it will be understandable to anyone who reads it, no matter what their proficiency in English.

The last enumerated statement, "Man has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights",[4] often arouses anger in readers who would thwart those rights. 'Sabazius', the leader of the United States branch of Ordo Templi Orientis, redefines this controversial statement by saying that people should be punished for such tyrannicidal killing after all- punishments which include legal action, confinement, and potential execution.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sabazius X°. "Observations on Liber OZ".
  2. ↑ The Equinox: The Review of Scientific Illuminism, Samuel Weiser, 1990, page 144
  3. ↑ Crowley, Aleister; Desti, Mary & Waddell, Leila (2004) [1997]. "Editor's note to p. 689 Appendix VIII". In Hymenaeus Beta. Magick : Liber ABA, Book 4, parts I-IV (2nd. revised ed.). York Beach, Maine: S. Weiser. p. 788. ISBN 978-0-87728-919-7. OCLC 316894481. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  4. ↑ Crowley, Aleister. "Liber OZ".
  5. ↑ Sabazius X. "Observations on Liber OZ".

External links