THE STATE OF THELEMA IN 2024
The Rise, Fall, and Return to Old Patterns
In 2024, we find ourselves witnessing a curious, though not unexpected, return to the status quo within Thelemic circles. After a brief surge in interest during the late 2010s, amplified further by the lockdown years when many found themselves with unexpected free time and a yearning for meaning, the buzz around Thelema has quieted down.
What remains are the same patterns that have characterized the movement for decades, drawing distinct lines between the factions that call themselves Thelemites. As someone who has observed this ebb and flow since the late 90s, it’s clear that not much has changed.
The Conservative Wing: A Return to Familiar Delusions
On one side, we have the ultra-conservative and reactionary wing of Thelema, a faction that clings tightly to a rigid vision of the philosophy. This wing has been losing some of its more prominent figures in recent years, with the deaths of James Wasserman and J. Daniel Gunther, but their legacy of ideological purity lives on.
Many within this camp continue to align themselves with far-right politics, openly defending or at least excusing the likes of Austin Gillespie (Augustus Sol Invictus), a figure notorious for his alt-right and neo-Nazi associations.
Despite their declining influence, the ultra-conservatives are still trying to push for a vision of Thelema that resembles an all-white Orthodox Thelemic Church — a fantasy that has more to do with their personal prejudices than with anything Crowley envisioned. Even the seemingly less extremist figures in this camp spend most of their time lamenting that “no one really wants to study Crowley” and complaining about the abundance of beginner-friendly books. Ironically, these complaints are usually voiced by those who have contributed nothing of substance themselves.
This is nothing new for those of us who’ve been around long enough. I remember well the “monarchist Thelemites” of Portland airing the same grievances on Livejournal back in the day, blaming everyone else for the movement’s lack of depth while offering little to change it. It’s all noise and no signal, a pattern that repeats itself every few years, as predictable as the tides.
The Liberal Wing: Stuck in the Shallows
On the other side of the spectrum, the more liberal or progressive wing of Thelema hasn’t fared much better. While this group seized control of social media in the late 2000s and 2010s, they have done little to leverage that influence meaningfully. Instead, they are responsible for the “memefication” of Thelema — reducing Crowley’s work to out-of-context quotes and digestible, shallow soundbites that strip the philosophy of its depth.
Their attempts to build a following through YouTube channels, podcasts, and articles often fizzle out, leading nowhere but back into the echo chamber of O.T.O. groupthink.
In recent years, we’ve even seen a peculiar and somewhat puzzling trend emerge among this group: an attempt to divorce Thelema from “occultism” altogether. These people seem intent on reframing Thelema as a kind of New Thought movement, stripping away the necessity of learning magick and its rituals in favour of a feel-good, watered-down spirituality.
They offer coaching sessions and Patreon subscriptions to help followers discover their “Finite Will,” all while conveniently forgetting that they once criticized others for doing the same. It’s a move that reeks of hypocrisy, driven more by economic necessity than by any genuine spiritual evolution. The cost of living crisis hits, and suddenly, even the staunchest anti-grifters are setting up Patreon accounts.
The O.T.O.: A Hollowed Institution
The O.T.O., or at least its current, copyrighted incarnation, continues to drift further into irrelevance. Over the past several years, it has become little more than a cult of personality, with true believers unaware of their expendability as rank-and-file members. It’s no secret that the organization has no real plan to initiate people beyond the Man of Earth Triad, as confirmed in conversations with high-ranking members who resigned at the same time as I did in 2018.
But the truth is, most members don’t care about true initiation or spiritual evolution; they simply want a sense of belonging.
In that regard, the O.T.O. serves a purpose, albeit a shallow one — it’s cheaper than therapy, after all.
This isn’t surprising, considering the current O.T.O. is little more than a reconstruction of the organization Crowley founded. Whatever the group’s original intention or spark once was, it has long been buried under bureaucracy and petty internal politics. Those seeking something deeper will find themselves disillusioned and discarded, but those content with surface-level involvement will be right at home.
A Glimmer of Hope: The True Seekers
The good news is that this grim landscape largely pertains to those already entrenched in Thelemic circles. Beyond the factionalism and stagnation, there remains a steady and genuine interest in Thelema from the wider public. The spike of curiosity that emerged during the pandemic may have come and gone, but there is still a growing number of individuals eager to explore Thelema on their own terms — without the baggage of cult-like organizations or divisive online discourse.
What is perhaps most heartening is that many of these new seekers are uninterested in joining groups like the O.T.O. or participating in the toxic tribalism that often plagues Thelemic communities. Instead, they are exploring Crowley’s works for themselves, genuinely engaging with his ideas, and embarking on their own spiritual journeys. In a world where spirituality often comes prepackaged and commodified, these seekers are bypassing the gatekeepers and rediscovering the essence of Thelema in its raw, unfiltered form.
With this year celebrating the 120th anniversary of the reception of Liber AL vel Legis, I sense that the Vault of the Adepts may finally be opening to those who seek truth, rather than those who seek power or validation. While the loudest voices in Thelema continue to bicker and posture, there is a quiet but significant shift happening beneath the surface — one that gives me hope for the future of this movement.
In the end, Thelema has always been about individual exploration and self-knowledge, and in that sense, it is thriving more than ever. The institutions may crumble, the factions may argue, but the true seekers remain undeterred.
The Great Work continues, as it always has, for those with the Will to pursue it.
