"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is the central ethical principle of Thelema, from Liber AL vel Legis I:40. It does not mean "do whatever you want." It refers to the True Will: the deepest authentic purpose of the individual, their unique cosmic orbit. The phrase traces through Rabelais (1534) and Augustine, but Crowley gave it a specific Hermetic and initiatory meaning.
The Phrase and Its Source
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" appears in Liber AL vel Legis, Chapter I, verse 40. It was dictated to Aleister Crowley on April 8, 1904, in Cairo, as part of the text spoken by the goddess Nuit. In Thelemic practice, this phrase serves as a greeting (the response being "Love is the law, love under will," from I:57) and as the supreme ethical principle: the only law a Thelemite is bound to follow is the expression of their True Will.
The word Thelema is Greek (θέλημα) meaning "will" or "intention." Crowley did not coin the term; it appears throughout the Greek New Testament (as in the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done," genetheto to thelema sou) and in Rabelais's sixteenth-century fiction. What Crowley did was take a word with a long religious and literary history and give it a precise technical meaning within a new philosophical system.
The phrase functions on multiple levels. On the ethical level, it provides the foundation for all Thelemic morality. On the metaphysical level, it describes the nature of reality: the cosmos itself operates by will, and each being within it has a specific function to fulfill. On the practical level, it directs the Thelemite toward the single most important task: the discovery of True Will.
Rabelais and the Abbey of Theleme
Francois Rabelais (c. 1494 to 1553), a French Renaissance writer, physician, and former Franciscan friar, created the Abbey of Theleme in the final chapters of Gargantua and Pantagruel (1534). The Abbey was Rabelais's satirical inversion of the monastic life he had experienced: where real monasteries imposed strict rules, the Abbey of Theleme had only one rule: "Fay ce que vouldras" (Do what thou wilt).
Rabelais's argument was that free, well-born, well-educated people naturally incline toward virtue. It is the imposition of rules that produces resentment and transgression. Remove the rules, and people of quality will naturally do what is good, because "people who are free, well-born, well-bred, and conversant in honest companies have naturally an instinct and spur that prompts them to virtuous actions."
This is not the same argument Crowley makes, but it provides the seed. Rabelais trusted human nature in its cultivated form. Crowley went deeper: he argued that every individual has a specific nature (True Will) that, once discovered, guides them infallibly. Rabelais's utopian vision became Crowley's initiatory programme.
Augustine: "Love, and Do What You Will"
Augustine of Hippo (354 to 430 CE), in his Homilies on the First Epistle of John (Homily 7, section 8), wrote: "Dilige, et quod vis fac" (Love, and do what you will). Augustine's argument was that if one's heart is filled with genuine love (caritas, divine love), then one's actions will naturally be good, regardless of what those actions look like from the outside. Love purifies the will, so that a person acting from love cannot act wrongly.
Augustine's formulation is the closest theological precedent for Crowley's. Both argue that a correctly oriented inner state (love for Augustine, True Will for Crowley) automatically produces right action. Both reject external rule-keeping in favour of internal transformation. The difference is that Augustine's love is directed toward God (caritas), while Crowley's will is directed toward one's own cosmic function. Augustine would not have approved of Thelema, but the structural similarity between the two formulations is clear.
Crowley's Formulation: Liber AL vel Legis
Crowley received "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" as part of a dictated text, not as the product of philosophical reasoning. He later developed the theoretical framework to support and explain it, but the phrase itself arrived as revelation. This origin gives it a different character from Rabelais's literary conceit or Augustine's theological argument: for Thelemites, it carries the authority of a sacred text.
The verse in context reads: "Who calls us Thelemites will do no wrong, if he look but close into the word. For there are therein Three Grades, the Hermit, and the Lover, and the man of Earth. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (AL I:39 to 40). The three grades referenced (Hermit, Lover, Man of Earth) correspond to the three orders of the A.'.A.'. and the three types of Thelemic practitioner, suggesting that "Do what thou wilt" applies differently depending on one's level of spiritual development.
The complementary phrase, "Love is the law, love under will" (I:57), establishes that will is not exercised in a vacuum. The cosmos is not merely a collection of individual wills operating in isolation; it is a web of relationships governed by love (understood not as sentiment but as the force of attraction and union that holds the cosmos together). Will without love is cold mechanism; love without will is unfocused chaos. Thelema integrates both.
True Will Defined: What It Is and What It Is Not
True Will (sometimes capitalised to distinguish it from ordinary willing) is the central concept of Thelemic philosophy. It is not desire, preference, ambition, or whim. It is the deepest authentic purpose of the individual, the cosmic function that each person exists to fulfill.
Crowley used the astronomical metaphor repeatedly. Every star (individual) has an orbit (True Will). When a star follows its orbit, it moves without friction, without collision, in harmony with every other star. When a star deviates from its orbit, it creates disruption: collision with other stars, waste of energy, suffering. The universe is designed so that when every being follows its True Will, all wills are harmonised. Conflict arises only from deviation.
This metaphor makes two claims that are worth separating. The first is that each individual has a specific, discoverable purpose. The second is that all True Wills are compatible. Both claims are articles of Thelemic faith rather than provable propositions. But both are operationally useful: the first directs the practitioner toward self-knowledge, and the second provides a framework for ethical relations with others.
True Will Is Not a Career Choice
True Will is sometimes misunderstood as a specific vocation or life plan. This is too narrow. True Will is the fundamental orientation of the individual's being, not a job description. A person whose True Will involves creative expression might fulfill it as a painter, a musician, a chef, or a parent. The specific form is less important than the underlying direction. True Will is more like a vector (direction and magnitude) than a destination.
Will vs. Desire: The Critical Distinction
The distinction between True Will and desire is the crux of Thelemic ethics. Surface desires (wanting comfort, wanting approval, wanting pleasure, wanting to avoid pain) are products of conditioning, biology, and circumstance. They shift constantly and often contradict each other. True Will is stable, deep, and consistent. It does not change with mood or circumstance; it is the constant beneath the variables.
Crowley illustrated this with a simple example. A man might desire a drink of whiskey. This is not his True Will; it is an appetite. His True Will might be to create a work of art, and the whiskey might either support that (if it loosens inhibitions that block creativity) or obstruct it (if it produces a hangover that prevents work). The question is not "Do I want this?" but "Does this serve my True Will?"
This distinction makes Thelema far more demanding than hedonism. The hedonist follows desire wherever it leads. The Thelemite must constantly examine desire against the standard of True Will, accepting desires that serve and rejecting those that obstruct. This requires self-knowledge of an extraordinary depth, which is why Crowley placed the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel (the achievement that reveals True Will) at the centre of his initiatory system.
Love Is the Law, Love Under Will
"Love is the law, love under will" (AL I:57) is the complement to "Do what thou wilt." If the first phrase establishes the primacy of individual will, the second establishes the context in which will operates: love. In Thelemic cosmology, love is not a sentiment but a cosmic force: the attraction between Nuit (infinite space) and Hadit (the individual point of consciousness) that produces all experience.
The phrase "love under will" means that love must be directed by will rather than left to wander. Indiscriminate love (loving everything equally, loving without discrimination) is not a Thelemic virtue. The Thelemite loves precisely, in accordance with True Will, directing love-energy toward those objects, people, and activities that align with their cosmic function.
Crowley was explicit that "love" in this context includes physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions. The union of any two things (the mixing of chemicals, the act of sex, the meeting of minds, the communion of the mystic with the divine) is an act of love in the Thelemic sense. All these acts are to be performed "under will," meaning consciously, purposefully, and in alignment with True Will.
Discovering True Will: The Great Work
The discovery of True Will is what Crowley called the Great Work (Opus Magnum, a term borrowed from alchemy). It is not a casual self-help exercise but a rigorous programme of magical and mystical practice that may take years or decades.
The primary method is the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel (K&C of the HGA), a term borrowed from the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, a fifteenth-century grimoire. The Abramelin operation (in its original form, a six-month retreat of prayer, purification, and invocation) culminates in direct communication with the HGA, a being understood as the practitioner's higher self, true nature, or divine component.
Crowley adapted the Abramelin operation and integrated it into the grade system of the A.'.A.'. (his magical order). The grade of Adeptus Minor corresponds to the achievement of K&C. Upon achieving this grade, the practitioner knows their True Will, not as an intellectual concept but as a lived certainty. Everything that follows is the expression and refinement of that Will.
Other methods for approaching True Will include meditation (particularly Vipassana and Dharana), divination (using the I Ching or tarot to clarify questions of direction), magical diary keeping (recording daily practice and noting patterns), and the systematic destruction of limiting beliefs through ordeals and initiatory experiences.
The Diary as Tool of Will
Crowley required all students of the A.'.A.'. to keep a detailed magical diary recording every practice, every experience, every dream, and every significant event. Over time, patterns emerge from the diary that reveal the direction of True Will. The diary is not merely a record; it is a tool of self-knowledge, and Crowley considered it the single most important practice for any aspiring magician.
Why Thelema Is Not Hedonism
The most common misreading of "Do what thou wilt" equates it with hedonism: the philosophy that pleasure is the highest good. This misreading collapses True Will into desire and ignores the entire structure of Thelemic practice designed to distinguish between the two.
Hedonism asks: "What do I want?" Thelema asks: "What is my purpose?" These are different questions with different answers. A hedonist who wants to sleep late follows that desire. A Thelemite whose True Will requires rising at dawn to practice meditation rejects the desire to sleep in, not because sleep is sinful but because it obstructs their Will.
Crowley's own life, for all its notoriety, illustrates the distinction. He endured extraordinary hardship in pursuit of his magical and literary work: dangerous mountain climbing, financial ruin, social ostracism, chronic illness, and decades of single-minded dedication to a vocation that brought more suffering than pleasure. This is not the biography of a hedonist. It is the biography of a man who identified his True Will (to be the Prophet of the New Aeon) and pursued it regardless of personal comfort.
The Thelemic criticism of Christianity is not that Christianity demands too much (as hedonism would argue) but that it demands the wrong thing: the subordination of individual will to an external authority. Thelema replaces obedience with authenticity, not obedience with indulgence.
Thelemic Ethics in Practice
Thelemic ethics derive entirely from the True Will principle. An act is ethical if it expresses True Will and does not obstruct another's True Will. An act is unethical if it deviates from True Will or interferes with the True Will of others.
This produces an ethical system that is simple in principle but demanding in practice. It requires, first, that the practitioner knows their True Will (which may take years to discover). It requires, second, that the practitioner can distinguish between actions that serve True Will and actions that serve surface desire (which requires ongoing self-examination). And it requires, third, respect for the True Will of others (which requires the ability to recognise and honour another person's authentic path).
Thelema does not prohibit specific acts (there is no list of commandments). It does not require specific acts (there is no required ritual or liturgy for lay Thelemites). It provides a single standard against which all acts are measured: does this serve True Will? The simplicity of the standard is deceptive; applying it honestly is among the most difficult things a human being can attempt.
Parallel Concepts: Dharma, Wu Wei, Eudaimonia
The True Will doctrine has parallels in other philosophical and spiritual traditions, suggesting that Crowley was articulating something that other systems have recognised under different names.
Dharma (Sanskrit: "that which upholds"): In Hindu and Buddhist tradition, dharma refers to one's duty, righteous path, or cosmic role. The Bhagavad Gita teaches that it is better to perform one's own dharma imperfectly than another's dharma perfectly. This is structurally identical to the Thelemic teaching that each individual has a unique function and must express it regardless of how it compares to others' paths.
Wu wei (Chinese: "non-action" or "effortless action"): In Daoist philosophy, wu wei is the state of acting in perfect alignment with the Tao (the Way), so that effort is unnecessary and friction disappears. A person in wu wei does exactly what the situation requires, no more and no less. This corresponds to the Thelemic experience of acting from True Will: when Will is aligned, action becomes effortless and precise.
Eudaimonia (Greek: "good spirit" or "flourishing"): Aristotle's concept of the highest human good, achieved by living in accordance with one's essential nature (virtue) and fulfilling one's function (ergon) as a rational being. Aristotle argued that eudaimonia is not pleasure but the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. This closely parallels Crowley's distinction between True Will and desire.
The Hermetic Roots of True Will
The True Will doctrine is, at its foundation, a reformulation of the Hermetic teaching that the fully realized human being acts in harmony with cosmic order. The Corpus Hermeticum, particularly the Poimandres (Tractate I), describes the human nous (divine mind) as a fragment of the cosmic nous that has descended into matter and forgotten its origin. The task of the Hermetic initiate is to remember (anamnesis) their divine nature and realign their actions with the cosmic whole.
This is precisely what True Will accomplishes. The Thelemite who discovers their True Will has, in Hermetic terms, remembered their cosmic function. Their individual will is no longer in conflict with the universe because it is recognized as a part of the universe's own self-expression. "As above, so below": the individual will, when authentic, is the cosmic will expressing itself through a specific point of consciousness.
The Hermetic synthesis of macrocosm and microcosm is the philosophical backbone of the entire Thelemic system. Without the Hermetic framework, "Do what thou wilt" would be mere individualism. With it, True Will becomes a cosmic principle: the way the universe expresses its own nature through each of its components.
From Hermes to Horus
The path from Hermetic philosophy to Thelemic practice runs through two millennia of Western esotericism: from the Corpus Hermeticum through the Neoplatonists, the Renaissance magi, the Rosicrucians, the Golden Dawn, and finally to Crowley's Cairo reception. At each stage, the core teaching remained the same: know yourself, align with the cosmos, and act from that alignment. Thelema is the latest formulation of the oldest Western spiritual teaching. "Do what thou wilt" is the Delphic Oracle's "Know Thyself" given teeth.
Key Takeaways
- "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" refers to the True Will, the deepest authentic purpose of the individual, not to arbitrary desire; the phrase traces through Rabelais (1534) and Augustine but was given specific Thelemic meaning in Liber AL vel Legis (1904).
- True Will is the cosmic function of the individual, compared by Crowley to the orbit of a star: each person has a unique path, and following it produces harmony with all other beings; deviation produces friction and suffering.
- The distinction between True Will and desire is the crux of Thelemic ethics: desire is conditioned and variable, while True Will is stable and authentic; discovering the difference requires the rigorous self-knowledge achieved through the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.
- Thelema is not hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure) but the pursuit of authentic purpose, which may demand discipline, hardship, and the rejection of surface desires that obstruct the Will; Crowley's own life of hardship in service to his perceived mission illustrates this distinction.
- The True Will doctrine reformulates the Hermetic teaching that the individual, when aligned with cosmic order (as above, so below), acts as an expression of the divine will itself, making personal authenticity and cosmic harmony the same achievement.
The Pentagrammage: Do What Thou Wilt with this journal for your sacred thoughts. by Boyle III, Sir Edward James
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does "Do what thou wilt" mean?
The phrase "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (from Liber AL vel Legis I:40) is the central ethical principle of Thelema. It does not mean "do whatever you want." It refers to the True Will, the deepest authentic purpose of the individual, their unique cosmic function. To do one's True Will is to act in alignment with one's essential nature.
Where did the phrase "Do what thou wilt" originate?
The phrase has a long history. Francois Rabelais used "Fay ce que vouldras" (Do what thou wilt) as the motto of the Abbey of Theleme in Gargantua and Pantagruel (1534). Augustine of Hippo wrote "Dilige, et quod vis fac" (Love, and do what you will). Crowley's formulation in Liber AL vel Legis (1904) draws on this lineage while giving it a specifically Thelemic meaning.
What is True Will?
True Will is the Thelemic concept of one's deepest authentic purpose, the unique orbit or cosmic function of the individual. Crowley compared it to the orbit of a planet: not something chosen but something discovered through the stripping away of false desires, social conditioning, and ego-driven ambition. The central task of Thelemic practice is the discovery and expression of True Will.
Is Thelema just hedonism?
No. Hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure. Thelema is the pursuit of True Will, which may or may not involve pleasure. True Will often demands discipline, sacrifice, and the rejection of easy gratification. A Thelemite whose True Will requires years of study, physical hardship, or social isolation will pursue that path regardless of its pleasantness.
What does "Love is the law, love under will" mean?
This complementary phrase (AL I:57) establishes that love (the union of subject and object, the fundamental cosmic force) is the law governing existence, but this love must be directed by will rather than sentiment. Love without will is indiscriminate and chaotic. Will without love is cold and disconnected. The Thelemic ideal integrates both.
How do you discover your True Will?
Thelemic practice centres on the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, a ritual and mystical process through which the practitioner makes conscious contact with their deepest self. This achievement reveals the True Will. Methods include the Abramelin operation, sustained meditation, and the grade work of the A.'.A.'. system.
What is the difference between True Will and desire?
Desire is surface-level wanting, often driven by social conditioning, ego, fear, or momentary impulse. True Will is the fundamental purpose of the individual, which may conflict with surface desires. A person might desire comfort and security while their True Will demands risk and creative expression. Thelemic practice involves learning to distinguish between the two.
What is the Abbey of Theleme?
The Abbey of Theleme is a fictional monastery in Francois Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel (1534). Unlike real monasteries with strict rules, the Abbey's sole rule is "Fay ce que vouldras" (Do what thou wilt). Rabelais argued that free, well-educated people naturally incline toward virtue. Crowley took the word Thelema from this source and transformed it into a philosophical and spiritual system.
How does Thelema differ from Satanism?
Thelema and Satanism are distinct systems with different histories, philosophies, and goals. Thelema derives from Crowley's reception of Liber AL in 1904 and centres on the discovery of True Will through the Hermetic and ceremonial magic traditions. LaVeyan Satanism (founded 1966) centres on individualism, self-interest, and the rejection of Christianity. While both value individual sovereignty, their methods, cosmologies, and sources are entirely different.
How does "Do what thou wilt" relate to the Hermetic tradition?
The True Will doctrine reformulates the Hermetic concept of alignment with cosmic order. The Corpus Hermeticum teaches that the fully realized human acts in harmony with the divine mind. Thelema translates this into practical terms: discover your True Will (your alignment with cosmic order) and express it without deviation. The Hermetic principle of correspondence ensures that individual will, when authentic, is simultaneously cosmic will.
What does 'Do what thou wilt' mean?
The phrase 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law' (from Liber AL vel Legis I:40) is the central ethical principle of Thelema. It does not mean 'do whatever you want.' It refers to the True Will, the deepest authentic purpose of the individual, their unique cosmic function. To do one's True Will is to act in alignment with one's essential nature.
Where did the phrase 'Do what thou wilt' originate?
The phrase has a long history. Francois Rabelais used 'Fay ce que vouldras' (Do what thou wilt) as the motto of the Abbey of Theleme in Gargantua and Pantagruel (1534). Augustine of Hippo wrote 'Dilige, et quod vis fac' (Love, and do what you will). Crowley's formulation in Liber AL vel Legis (1904) draws on this lineage while giving it a specifically Thelemic meaning.
What does 'Love is the law, love under will' mean?
This complementary phrase (AL I:57) establishes that love (the union of subject and object, the fundamental cosmic force) is the law governing existence, but this love must be directed by will rather than sentiment. Love without will is indiscriminate and chaotic. Will without love is cold and disconnected. The Thelemic ideal integrates both.
What are the Thelemic organizations?
The two primary Thelemic organizations are the A.'.A.'. (Astrum Argenteum, the Silver Star), a magical order focused on individual spiritual development through a graded system, and the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a fraternal organization that administers the Gnostic Mass and confers initiatory degrees. Both were reorganized by Crowley to serve as vehicles for Thelemic teachings.
How does 'Do what thou wilt' relate to the Hermetic tradition?
The True Will doctrine reformulates the Hermetic concept of alignment with cosmic order. The Corpus Hermeticum teaches that the fully realized human acts in harmony with the divine mind. Thelema translates this into practical terms: discover your True Will (your alignment with cosmic order) and express it without deviation. The Hermetic principle of correspondence ensures that individual will, when authentic, is simultaneously cosmic will.
Sources
- Crowley, Aleister. Liber AL vel Legis (The Book of the Law). Cairo, 1904. The primary source of the Thelemic law.
- Rabelais, Francois. Gargantua and Pantagruel. Lyon, 1534. Contains the Abbey of Theleme and the original "Fay ce que vouldras."
- Crowley, Aleister. Magick in Theory and Practice. Paris: Lecram Press, 1929. Crowley's most comprehensive statement of Thelemic magical philosophy.
- DuQuette, Lon Milo. The Magick of Aleister Crowley. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 2003. Accessible introduction to Thelemic practice and True Will.
- Kaczynski, Richard. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2010. Definitive biography providing context for the development of Thelemic philosophy.
- Augustine of Hippo. Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Homily 7. c. 407 CE. Source of "Dilige, et quod vis fac."
"Do what thou wilt" is the simplest statement in Thelema and the hardest to fulfill. It asks nothing less than that you know yourself completely, strip away everything false, and act from what remains. Most people never attempt this. Those who do find that the phrase is not a permission slip but a challenge: can you discover what you actually are, beneath the layers of conditioning and desire, and can you have the courage to express it? The Law is simple. Living it is the work of a lifetime.