“The Comment must be consistent with itself at all points;
it must exhibit the Book of the Law as of absolute authority on all
possible questions proper to Mankind, as offering the perfect solution of all problems philosophical and practice without exception.”
Aleister Crowley, July 30th, 1921 (1)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. –AL I:40

It is important for us to further review what we know about The Tunis Comment. In doing this we’ll show how our A.’.A.’. branch embraces this controversial subject. For starters it is a very complicated one page document. Aleister Crowley wrote it while he was in Tunis. Thus it became known as The Tunis Comment although it is also referred to as the ‘short’ Comment. It is included in most modern publications of Liber AL vel Legis and is considered to be the ‘true’ commentary on the behavior which Thelemites must follow regarding the book itself. After the appropriate Thelemic opening of “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”, The Tunis Comment begins by proclaiming very harshly, “The study of this Book is forbidden.” If that doesn’t shock you and get your attention then the next line should. “It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.” I personally know people who have done just that. Several have burned the book, one threw her copy into Long Island Sound and another buried it in his ‘sacred’ spot, obviously after reading too many Castaneda books. If you don’t follow that commandment The Tunis Comment continues by sternly warning, “Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.” Crowley ends ‘The Comment’ by telling Thelemites, “Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence. All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.”

The commandment seems very straight forward but, let’s be honest, Liber AL vel Legis is a complicated little book, containing more mysteries per line than most religious volumes and, due to its cryptic nature, it automatically cries out for study contrary to what The Tunis Comment demands. This of course implies, like any religious manuscript, that the text is liable to offer conflicting interpretations, an idea which Crowley detested. Anyone who has ever studied the Beast’s life is quick to realize that he was a ‘control freak’ on many levels, especially in regards to his students. He and he alone was ‘the authority’ to be consulted regarding Liber AL vel Legis. No one else had that right and although he preached the freedom behind the concept of Thelema, he often did not practice such on the lowest mundane level. At best Crowley accepted his student’s Thelemic findings, as with Frater Achad, as long as such proved his greatness regarding The Book of the Law rather than fulfilling theirs. If anyone dared to cross the line then a serious conflict quickly ensued. Some modern Thelemic leaders are plagued with this same problem.

The idea that others might inevitably interpret verses from The Book of the Law when Crowley acknowledged his own attempt, Extenuation of The Book of the Law (The Law is for All), as being “over a quarter of a million words of the most turgid and incomprehensible hogwash ever penned” (2) obviously rubbed him wrong. Still, regardless of his failed attempts, he knew The Book of the Law mentions “the work of the comment” (AL III:40) and he honestly believed, albeit possibly wrong, that this was something he was required to produce. So, what was a little Beastie to do? Toward the end of his life he explained why his early attempts were failures and how The Tunis Comment came about, stating that he, “mistook ‘Comment’ for ‘Commentary, a word-by-word exposition of every verse including Qabalistic interpretation, a task obviously endless.” (3) Crowley’s remarks are, of course, playing semantics and are open to personal interpretation. If nothing more, the above remark is simply an excuse for what he believed to be his earlier failures. However, The Book of the Law is very ambiguous when it states “the work of the comment.” The way it is written could imply a one page comment as Crowley came to think or the work of commenting upon each verse. It’s all open for interpretation and, in fact, both views may be acceptable depending upon how one reads it.

Furthermore, we know Aleister Crowley admitted that while in Tunis, in November of 1925, during “a mood of blank despair … out came the Comment.” (4) He continues, claiming “Easy, yes; inspired, yes; it is, as printed, the exact wording required. No further cavilling and quibbling, and controversy and casuistry.” He tells us that all “heresiarchs are smelt in advance for the rats they are … and they are accordingly nipped in the bud” and if anyone dares to comment upon verses in Liber AL vel Legis then “off with his head.” However, if this is his reasoning behind The Tunis Comment it’s little more than a travesty. The very nature of his rant is completely un-Thelemic and contrary to many of the commandments found throughout Liber AL vel Legis. This creates a serious dilemma for Thelemic thinkers. Are we to cling to every word Aleister Crowley, the man, has ever written or are we to follow the words found in Liber AL?

The Book of the Law plainly and very clearly mentions others who will come after Crowley and who’ll discover certain keys to its meaning. The book further tells us that all prophets are true, each understanding another piece to the puzzle (i.e. New Aeon). All prophets implies that within Liber AL vel Legis there is an acceptance of individuals other than Crowley who’ll interpret the Law of Thelema, contrary to what the Beast may wish. So let’s be honest. According to The Tunis Comment and Crowley’s rantings, these Thelemites should be shunned like the plague. Charles Stansfeld Jones, also known as Frater Achad, is a classic example. Yet we know that Crowley often acknowledged the wonders this gentleman discovered by studying the Book. He cites Achad time and time again as proof of the authenticity of Liber AL vel Legis coming from beyond himself and is quick to state that he was oblivious of certain mysteries until Achad pointed them out. In fact, up to his dying day Crowley cites Achad’s discoveries even though he considered him to be a ‘centre of pestilence’. It is no secret that Achad was truly a remarkable Thelemic pathfinder and, yes, it could be argued that he went mad to a certain extent. His magickal theories are a bit hard to grasp unless one is flying high into the ozone. However, what Crowley and others fail to realize is that on the most mundane plane, being our own Earth, there have been many explorers who defied conventional beliefs and went off into the wilderness in quest of the unknown. Some believe these individuals were driven by a Will greater than their own for the sake of humanity. Yes, many of them tragically perished but others, using their predecessor’s records and maps, even in part, learned from their errors and went on to explore further. What each achieved, we call progress. As Thelemites we can not idly sit still, rely on the world being flat and then tell everyone not to dream otherwise.

Israel Regardie said it best in his biographical study of Aleister Crowley titled The Eye In The Triangle. Here he wrote that The Tunis Comment came about due to Crowley’s “disillusioning experiences with one Frater Achad in America, and Leah Hirzig and Norman Mudd having played around with and perverted the predictions implicit in this Book.” (5) We won’t get into the fact that Crowley himself perverted many of the predictions implicit in Liber AL nor fulfilled half of what the book told him to do. Am I opening up a can of worms by implying that Crowley too should be shunned? Anyway, according to Regardie, Crowley felt that many of his students “perverted the predictions” and “were flung into the outer darkness, as it were, for doing so.” As a future warning to protect his children Crowley “uttered the dictum (The Tunis Comment) to regard anyone who discussed the Book as a center of pestilence, and thus to be avoided.” I don’t think I need to point out the obvious contradiction as to what Crowley was really trying to protecthis students, his hold upon them, or was he simply yelling, “Don’t listen to anyone other than me!”

Yes, some fathers find it difficult to deal with their children growing up, becoming independent and having thoughts of their own. Maybe Crowley is correct with The Tunis Comment, albeit unconsciously. We know the Comment is the clearest description from his Higher Self, warning others who dare to traverse the path which he has chosen. When he received The Tunis Comment he had been recently expelled from Italy, he was flat broke, his life was in ruin and he was distraught by all those whom he felt had failed him over the years. He acknowledged he was “in a mood of blank despair.” Yes, like an angry father yelling at his children, the Comment came ‘through’ him. On the one hand he was responding both consciously and unconsciously with contempt and anger and on the other; unleashing powerful images from the depths of his psyche, something which magick had trained him to do. Anyone who has children can understand the frustration he must have felt. Yes, The Tunis Comment is truly a Class A document within Crowley’s magickal system. However, we must not lose sight of it being a reflection of his soul at a given point in his Life, and it was not one of the high points. It shows a man telling the world that he wished he had destroyed Liber AL vel Legis the first day he set his eyes on it and anyone who avoids destroying their own copy has a good chance of living their life as he has. One’s only hope, if one dares to continue, is to listen to him. In other words, in his own mind, who greater than Crowley could guide you? Obviously the Comment is a wish-fulfillment of a man who wanted the world to follow him as the greatest Prophet of the New Aeon but, by his own admission, few were. Soror RL said it best in regards to this period of his life when she wrote a student saying, “Crowley was way over the deep end when he wrote the Tunis Comment. He was firmly in the grasp of the Dark Night of the Soul. Perhaps the writing of the Comment was part of his self-cure, enabling him to drag himself back into the fight for Thelema. I tend to look at it as this type of extreme magick, a re-dedication so to speak, that enabled him to leave behind his failures and go on.” And finally, since Crowley admits he had failed miserably at producing an adequate commentary to Liber AL vel Legis the brief Tunis Comment, whether it be bad or good, took a massive burden off his shoulders. It unconsciously let him off the hook from producing anything further. Is there any wonder why he pushed it as the final solution?

It is no secret The Tunis Comment initially perplexed Crowley. He would not be able to rationalize its meaning for years. Then the ‘excuses’ slowly began which were fostered by a budding mythos of reasoning rather than facing the phantoms which initially spawned the Comment. One such rationalization appeared in Eight Lectures on Yoga in 1939. Here he claims, “Those of you who possess a copy of The Equinox of the Gods may have been very much surprised at the extraordinary injunction in the Comment: the prohibition of all discussion of the Book. I myself did not fully understand that injunction; I do so now.” (6) What he is referring to is the concept that we must adhere to the practice of going quietly about the world, not talking about our studies or the results. We must be silent, arguing not, converting not, otherwise we stand the chance of falling into the pit of Because, and there to perish with the dogs of reason. We must transcend all forms of logic. In one respect he is completely correct, in another he fails to fulfill the above statement by his insistent reasoning and looking for a meaning behind The Tunis Comment. His comments also acknowledge that issue No. 8 of Red Flame might be guilty of just such a folly by questioning and then reasoning out possible solutions to verses in Liber AL vel Legis.

However, we must be honest, Crowley’s remarks are actually illogical and only reflect one line and not the over-all intent of the Comment itself. In fact, a single line taken from any manuscript can be construed to mean something totally different than what it might imply in its original context. What Crowley fails to realize is that in Eight Lectures on Yoga he admits that St.Paul “was a learned Rabbi.” Such a remark implies that Paul had actively studied somewhere before he became silent to rely on his own faith in quest of his God. On the other hand, The Tunis Comment not only forbids us from discussing the contents of Liber AL vel Legis but also forbids us from even studying it in the first place. So where are we, who are Thelemites, to get our faith so we can keep quiet about it? In other words, The Tunis Comment hardly reflects the spiritual practice which Crowley is implying in Eight Lectures on Yoga even though it does sound like a fair excuse. Sadly, am I the only poor sap in this world who thinks The Tunis Comment has too many damn loopholes, or rooms where one can walk in and seemingly find a door on the other side where you can sneak back out? I think it’s easy to rationalize its meaning but its over-all message would be better suited for itself rather than Liber AL vel Legis. In other words, don’t study The Tunis Comment—destroy it!

Furthermore, there are other problems with The Tunis Comment, especially where it states, “All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.” First of all, if The Tunis Comment says you can’t study the book then obviously you shouldn’t have any questions. It’s an obvious contradiction. To have a question implies you’re in need of a solution which requires further information or, dare I say, study. So the bottom line is, should you study the book? Crowley flops like a fish out of water with this topic by saying ‘No’ in some places and ‘Yes’ in others. As an example, in Magick Without Tears, where he lambastes The Tunis Comment as being correct, he offers the following advice, “… make The Book of the Law your constant study. Such value as my own work may possess for you should amount to no more than an aid to the interpretation of this book.” (7) Are you confused yet? The only plausible solution which makes any sense is to simply study the damn book and acknowledge that you’re in dire peril by disregarding Crowley’s warnings and, to possibly alleviate any peril, accept that any and all questions which pop into your mind will be decided only by appeal to Crowley’s writings. In other words, don’t think for yourself nor look elsewhere for solutions. This is most likely what Crowley intended when he wrote The Tunis Comment.

However, there is a major problem with this approach. If Crowley claims that everyone must refer ‘only’ to his writings, then what happens if we discover amongst his papers that he interprets one particular verse from Liber AL vel Legis to imply that all his students should jump off a cliff? Should we all do such if it is construed it to be the solution to one of our questions regarding the Law? That might be an extreme example so let us ask a lesser question to show what I’m implying. What is the woman’s position within a Thelemic Community? Ah, yes, let me decide “only by appeal to (Crowley’s) writings.” But which writings? The Tunis Comment doesn’t say and unfortunately Crowley himself never tells us which writings are best to use and which ones aren’t. There is so much to muddle through when attempting to find the answer to my question about the Law. I know Crowley once wrote, “Practically all women ought to be chloroformed at 35” (8) but he gives no indication before nor after in his diaries as to what inspired this remark. According to some, The Tunis Comment gives me the license to take him verbatim ‘wherever’ I find an answer to my question. What I’m trying to point out is that The Tunis Comment is too ‘generic’ and obviously leaves room for misuse if taken literally by the mentally unstable, especially if one has access to chloroform.

There must be a hidden agenda in the wording of The Tunis Comment. If not, it’s definitely the worst advice ever given by the old man. Isn’t it ironic that the world’s most restrictive religions allow the study of their scriptures when Thelemites, who are practitioners of Universal Freedom, are told by their Prophet that they can’t study their own? What’s wrong with this picture? I tend to partially agree with the assessment made by Grady McMurtry. He often said we should not be ignorant in believing that Crowley spoke so literally in telling humanity that even after years, possibly hundreds of years, that we must sit still and deny ourselves by not studying or commenting upon the book. This, in itself, is blasphemous and in some respects anti-Thelemic. Restriction is a Sin! (AL I:41).

Yes, it could be argued that The Tunis Comment is a Class A document within our noble fraternity and is considered sacred, being received ‘through’ Crowley and because of such not one single letter can be changed. I definitely agree. However, I do not agree that we must blindly follow it to the letter. Class A simply implies that we must accept it as a perfect reflection of Crowley’s soul crying out, especially in relationship to his life in 1925. To blindly follow The Tunis Comment without that understanding is pure folly. The bottom line is that it is a complicated one page statement, filled with Thelemic contradictions of which only a few have been addressed here. Its beauty lies in the fact that you must carefully think about it before blindly following its message or any one’s interpretation of it.

Still, knowing these Truths, there will always be those restrictive old-Aeonic souls masquerading as Thelemites who are unconsciously terrified with the principles found in Liber AL vel Legis. They’ll fall back on The Tunis Comment as if it were the gospel in a feeble attempt to protect their own inability to discuss the manuscript and, yes, they might even condemn issue No.8 of Red Flame. It will be their belief that people must be told not to study Liber AL vel Legis otherwise they may have to acknowledge why they don’t! Yea, verily, it is easier to run away from the Light and pull The Tunis Comment over oneself as if it were a comfy blanket rather than face one’s own shadows. Crowley said it best, “People who avoid facing facts are bounded by phantoms.” (9) My own personal view is that The Tunis Comment is one of our most sacred Holy Thelemic Banners. For the Weak it contains the perfect excuse to crawl under a rock and never study Liber AL vel Legis, to simply leave it on their Gnostic Altar to collect dust until the next Mass. But, for the Strong it gives you the license to study it at Will. It all depends upon the point of view which you take. I reiterate its ending, “There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.” Yes, The Tunis Comment clearly separates the nuts from the tree, those who are and who are not Thelemites. Ours is a Law of the Strong.

Still, when all the controversies are said and done, it all boils down to one simple thing. The Tunis Comment clearly states, and I quote, “All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.” Let’s say, for the sake of an argument, that Aleister Crowley is 100% completely right and that we must follow this Comment to the letter. If so, The Tunis Comment is signed by “The priest of the princes, Ankh-F-N-Khonsu.” At Cefalu, in 1921, when Crowley first began hacking out his intent in regards to a comment (not necessarily The Tunis Comment) he wrote, “It is ‘my scribe Ankh-af-na-khonsu (CCXX,I,36) who ‘shall comment’ on ‘this book’ ‘by the wisdom of Ra-Hoor-Khuit’, that is, Aleister Crowley shall write the comment from the point of view of the manifested positive Lord of the Aeon, in plain terms of the finite & not in those of the infinite.” (10) I know all this might seem like common knowledge but let’s examine what Crowley wrote a bit closer.

First, let’s look at the reference in The Tunis Comment to “my writings.” This could imply that we are to seek our answers in those Crowley writings which were done while he was assuming the persona of Ankh-F-N-Khonsu. Possibly, even right down to the specific spelling of the name as used in the Comment itself. Let’s see, what else did Crowley write using this particular name, spelled in this fashion, that I might refer to as a source for my questions about Liber AL vel Legis? Oh, yes, I found a couple. After writing The Tunis Comment he released another piece using the exact same alias. It’s called The World Teacher to the Theosophical Society (1925) Also, when he published the handwritten manuscript of Liber AL vel Legis in The Equinox of the Gods (1936) he used the name Ankh-f-n-khonsu to specify the persona who had received the book from Aiwass. However, it could be argued that since Ankh-f-n-khonsu was only a scribe, the latter is not one of his “writings” but the words of Aiwass. Unfortunately these are the ONLY pieces other than The Tunis Comment where Crowley uses this particular alias, spelt this specific way. It can thus be construed that the first is the only place where we’re allowed to look for answers according to Ankh-F-N-Khonsu! [OK, since writing this article I concede that Aleister Crowley used another spelling of the name as Ankh-Af-Na-Khonsu when he wrote a two page piece titled The Summons which first appeared in the Tunis Edition of Liber AL vel Legis (1926). It was later edited and included in The Equinox of the Gods. This is, after all, the correct spelling of the name according to Liber AL vel Legis. It has been argued, by some, that you can also use this piece as a source for your questions. I’m not sure but if it is your Will, so be it.]

Since Aleister Crowley’s piece entitled The World Teacher to the Theosophical Society is considered by some to be the ONLY REAL SOURCE for the answers regarding any question which we might have regarding Liber AL vel Legis I’d like to quote it in full. It begins:

The World-Teacher sayeth:

Find, each of you, your own true Way in the Universe,
and follow it with eager joy!
There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt!
Do that, and no other shall say nay.
Greeting and Peace!
Ankh-F-N-Khonsu, the Priest of the Princes.

I guess when all is ‘really’ said and done Grady McMurtry wasn’t that far off when he pointed out that one of the last lines in The Tunis Comment clearly tells us, “There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.” Except, if I had my way, I might add:

“Do that, and no other shall say nay.”

It is important at this point to understand that it was not my intention to become confrontational with this article. I simply wanted to address some of the more obvious questions regarding The Tunis Comment, holding tidbits of controversy up and letting you hack out where you feel I’m right and wrong. I want you to think for yourself. As a Thelemite that is the one true noble aspiration. Your final conclusions are your own business, as long as you own them as part of your Universe and not the divine Truth for all to follow. Within the AA we’re supposed to learn the method of science, the aim of religion. Each one of us should desire certainty, not faith, while in life. (AL I:58) We should approach each and every subject from the point of view of a scientist who desires to unravel its hidden mysteries. We diligently study what is before us and we leave no stone unturned in our quest. In regards to The Tunis Comment common sense dictates that there are definite problems with the document which Crowley and others fail to acknowledge or to which they have lame excuses. Their comments about these quirks fail to fulfill any serious understanding of the problems and often their excuses are controlling and patronizing rather than informative. Yes, there is little doubt that The Tunis Comment is an extremely controversial document. By addressing a few of its problems I hope that some of you might stop taking everything at face value, being yes-men and women to Old-Aeonic authority figures who are only spoon feeding you with what they believe you should know regarding the Laws of Thelema and the New Aeon. However, if you blindly accept the spoon being fed of bitter tasting information and you question not, then bleat loudly little sheep, for the slaves shall serve.

Love is the law, love under will. –AL I:57

NOTES:

1. Aleister Crowley’s private diaries, July 30th, 1921, p. 58. (Eq.of the Gods, p. 130)
2. Magick, Liber ABA , Book Four, Parts I-IV (ME: Samuel Weiser Inc., 1994) p. lxxiv.
3. Aleister Crowley, Magick Without Tears (MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1973) p. 316.
4. Ibid.
5. Israel Regardie, The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley (MN:
Llewellyn Publications, 1970) p. 479.
6. Aleister Crowley, Eight Lectures on Yoga (London: OTO, 1939) p. 70.
7. Magick Without Tears, p. 2.
8. Unpublished diaries, January 3rd, 1931, p. 1.
9. Unpublished diaries, October 25th, 1939, p. 27.
10. Aleister Crowley’s private diaries, July 30th, 1921 p. 57 (Eq.of the Gods, p. 126)

Editorial note: This article, “The Study of this Book is Forbidden,” is edited from the unpublished commentary on Liber AL vel Legis by Frater AO583. It has previously been published in a slightly different format in a series of Epistles distributed in our branch of the A.’.A.’. titled Of Causes Why: Understanding the New Aeon through the Teachings of the Great Beast. New material has been added to this article.