To Perfect This Feast

Aleister Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass in 1913. He described it as the central ritual, public and private, of the O.T.O., the first of the ancient orders of antiquity to embrace the teachings of the Book of the Law. Received in 1904, the Book of the Law proclaims a new set of spiritual directives for the modern era.

Crowley envisioned the Gnostic Mass as a celebration of the wedding of scientific truth and religious aspiration. The message of the Mass, as a symbolic template of the teaching of the Book of the Law, eschews the irrationality, superstition, and restrictive dogma characteristic of previous revelations. The Mass is designed to lead celebrants to an appreciation of the glorious nature of reality.

Crowley anticipated that the Mass would be a regular part of the activity of O.T.O. groups worldwide (before becoming even more widespread). Today it is regularly celebrated by a fraternal order that flourishes in over fifty countries.

Drawing on nearly half a century between them of performing the ritual—and the countless classes and training sessions they have conducted during their O.T.O. careers—James and Nancy Wasserman offer a detailed examination of the mechanics of the Mass. Their purpose is to outline a means to perform the ritual according to Crowley’s instructions. And they provide missing keys to its geometrical intricacies.

Their point by point instructions will be of interest to ritualists, congregants, and students of Crowley, as well as those interested in Gnosticism and the activities of modern spiritual movements. The authors have striven to understand the meaning of Crowley’s text—penned in the white-hot fury of his inspiration—and to extract the relevant spiritual teachings and performance keys embedded within.

In addition to a detailed commentary, they offer a corrected, uninterrupted Mass Missal suitable for use by individuals and groups interested in working with the ritual, along with valuable insights into magical ceremonies in general, and the Gnostic Mass in particular.

James Wasserman is the author of the bestselling study of the Crusades, The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven, A longtime student of the occult sciences, he has a played a key role in the publication of many seminal works by Aleister Crowley and is responsible for the widely acclaimed restoration of the Papyrus of Ani, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day.

Nancy Wasserman is the author of The Weiser Concise Guide to Yoga for Magicians.