To: thelema93-l@hollyfeld.org (Thelema93-Listserv)
Subject: _Liber Agape'_
From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (nigris (333))
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 10:52:09 -0800 (PST)

49980221 aa2 Hail Satan!

By request of THE CELESTIAL MASTERS, known as the A.'.A.'.
Frater I Nigris (333) 666 


			   _LIBER AGAPE'_


0. Preface (To Mega Therion)

	The formula for... Agape' is as follows:

	A	Dionysus 
	g	The Virgin Earth 
	a 	The Babe in the Egg (image of the Father)
	p	The Massacre of the Innocents (wine-press)
	e'	The Draught of Ecstasy

	The student will find it well worthwhile to seek
	out these ideas in detail and develop ideas in
	their application.
	--------------------------------------------
	paraphrase of _Book Four_, Part Three, 
	 ed. Symonds/Grant, p. 178.
	___________________________


	"...Agape' - Love... indicates the nature of Will...."
	------------------------------------------------------
	Ibid, p. 183.
	_____________


I. Work Body

	'Love' is a mysterious word.  Like most words it has
	multiple meanings, yet unlike them it is so valuable
	to so many people, even with its complex meaning,
	that miscommunication regarding it and contention
	over it occur regularly and with good reason.

	This essay concerns the significant meanings of the
	term.  It proceeds from the gross, the most desirous,
	to the ephemeral, the most liberated.  It reflects
	on the nature of Thelema.


     Love as Absorption (Ignorance)
     ______________________________

	The love of consumption overtakes those who have been
	severely wounded.  One consumes food, time, people
	and other scarce commodities.  This love is desire
	in its most destructive form.  It is the love of
	any substance abuser for their 'drug', of the
	conversationalist for their audience, and of the
	person who would encompass and smother another for
	the object of their attention.  'I love you' means
	'I want to consume you.'


     Love as Confinement
     ___________________

	The love of ownership is used as security by the
	unstable.  One owns objects, pets, people and other
	valuable goods.  This love is desire in its most
	pervasive form.  It is the love of the materialist
	for treasures, of the collector for hir pieces,
	and of the person who requires exclusivity in their
	relationships.  'I love you' means 'I want to own you.'


     Love as Taking
     ______________

	The love of receiving is a reduced form of Love as
	Absorption.  It consists of latching on to sources
	of affection, support, or other pacifying attentions.
	This love is desire in its most blatant form.  It is
	the love of the patient for the counselor and of
	the person who is dependent upon others for strength.
	'I love you' means 'I want to live off of you.'


     Love as Holding
     _______________

	The love of security is a reduced form of Love as
	Confinement.  It consists of maintaining control
	over objects, people, or other sources of stability.
	This love is desire in its most oppressive form.  It
	is the love of the over-protective parent for the
	child, of the reminiscent for hir memorabilia, and
	of the pers who requires that others behave in a
	certaikn fashion.  'I love you' means 'I want to get
	my security through you.'


     Love as Caring
     ______________

	The love of concern is a reflection of Love as
	Holding, in that one attempts to restrain from
	hazard to become convinced of one's own humanity.  
	It consists of the repeated expression of concern 
	in regards to dangerous activities, relationships 
	with others, and unusual involvements generally, and 
	and can quickly become Love as Confinement.  This 
	love is desire in its most common form.  It is the 
	love of the person who is plagued by worries for 
	those around them.  'I love you' means 'I want to 
	keep you protected.'


     Love as Giving
     ______________

	The love of bestowal is a reflection of Love as 
	Taking, in that one receives the satisfaction of
	averted guilt through philanthropy.  It consists
	of the continual bestowal of goods, time, perhaps
	people, and other valuables, and can quickly 
	develop into Love as Absorption.  This love is
	desire in its most innocent form.  It is the love
	of the politician for hir constituents, of the
	overly-generous parent for the child, and of the
	person who inspires dependence in others in order
	to maintain self-esteem.  'I love you' means 'I
	want you to get your security through me.'


     Love as Knowing
     _______________

	The love of understanding is the exaltation of Love
	as Holding, such that one seeks to maintain a firm 
	idea of another and to become convinced of one's 
	own genuineness.  It consists of the repeated 
	observation of others so as to fully comprehend them, 
	and can quickly become Love as Confinement.  This 
	love is desire in its most harmless form.  It is the 
	love of the person who is disturbed by uncertainty
	in regards those around them.  'I love you' means 
	'I want to understand you.'


     Love as Enjoyment
     _________________

	The love of pleasure is the exaltation of Love as
	Taking, in that one associates the experience of
	pleasure with another.  It involves discovering
	sources of divinity and appreciating them.  This
	is desire in its weakest form.  It is the love of
	the person who realizes the sacredness of pleasure.  
	'I love you' means 'I am pleased with you.'


     Love as Being
     _____________

	The love of being is the exaltation of Love as
	Confinement, in that one identifies with another.
	It involves direct perception and the recognition
	of Self, the discovery of the divinity of oneself.
	This is the first spark of Agape'.  It is the love
	of one that realizes the sacredness of experience.
	'I love you' means 'I am you.'


     Love as Bliss (Agape')
     ______________________

	The love of all is the exaltation of Love as
	Absorption, in that one IS all.  It involves a
	dissolution into completion and the perfection
	of harmony, the discovery of the divinity of all.
	It is the attainment of Self and its unity with
	Other.  This is True Love, the Perfect Love,
	and the Summum Bonum.  It is the love of the
	divine.  'I love you' means 'I am'.


II. Afterglow

	Agape' relates to the integration of the Self, 
	the fulfillment of being in Bliss, and the
	release of Other through an acceptance in Unity.
	All particular instances of love between
	individuals involves ignorance.  All general
	instances of love as an experience include Agape.  

	Love is the substance of Thelema.  Any ignorance
	entered and retained transforms the love into a
	more desirous species.  The development of will
	and restrained to its truest form leads to the
	liberation from desirous forms of love.  Those
	who achieve Love as Bliss perfect themselves and
	so develop their will to perfection.

	Most experience a subtle form of Love as Being
	within their lifetimes if fortunate.  Some never
	reach beyond Love as Absorption.

	================================================

	"take your fill and will of love as yet will,
	 when, where and with whom ye will."
	---------------------------------------------
	_Liber Al vel Legis_, I:51.
	___________________________

	author's note: original material received when of -I'.
		       revised and edited for this publication.
	-------------------------------------------------------
	copyright 1998 nigris 333 (nagasiva@luckymojo.com)
	reproduce as you will as long as this copyright notice
	is maintained and no compensation is extracted in 
	association with such reproduction.

EOF