Description
Shoemaker, David
College of Thelema of Northern California, Sacramento, California, USA, 2008. Paperback. 210 pages. Brand New/Fine.
A fascinating look into the training undertaken by Jane Wolfe, a student of Aleister Crowley, at the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, Sicily. This book collects the bulk of Wolfe’s surviving diary entries from Cefalu, most of which were typed, complete with handwritten commentary from Crowley on many pages. The diary is presented in grayscale facsimile format. Compiled and introduced by David Shoemaker.
Sarah Jane Wolfe (March 21, 1875 – March 29, 1958) was an American silent film character actress who is considered an important female figure in Thelema. She was a friend and a colleague of Aleister Crowley and a founding member of Agape Lodge of Ordo Templi Orientis in Southern California. In October 1918, Wolfe ordered The Equinox, Vol. I, No. 1 and Book 4. She then tried Pranayama for some time, and had a yoga teacher for about three weeks but found this unsatisfactory. In early 1919, Wolfe began writing to Aleister Crowley. Until about 1920, Wolfe co-starred in more than 90 films, after which her acting career ended following her move to Cefalù where she resided with Crowley, studying Thelema and magick.
In 1918, at the age of 43, Jane Wolfe began corresponding with Aleister Crowley, and two years later she gave up her career in Hollywood to join Crowley at his Abbey of Thelema at Cefalù, Sicily, living there from 1920 until it closed in 1923. In Cefalu Wolfe was admitted to A∴A∴ by Crowley, taking the magickal name Soror Estai. She undertook various practises including yoga, dharana, and pranayama of which she kept a detailed record which which is now published here in this volume.
It was the custom at the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, where Wolfe came to stay, to allow Aspirants three days as a guest as an aid in general orientation. After that, they were required to work on their attainment or leave. Wolfe had come there to receive some training in yoga and in magick and to discover her True Will. This purpose pulled her through all of the shattering happenings. Wolfe discovered the little town of Cefalu which was only about half a mile from the “Villa Santa Barbara” which had become The Abbey of Thelema. It was on a slope of the mountains lying South of Cefalu and was situated in an olive grove. The path to the town offered endless variety as it wound down among rocks and trees. The Abbey residents spent many hours climbing it for exercise and meditation, observing its overall shape, lofty peak high in the sky and its large base. Crowley was especially fond of the South face of this outcropping and liked its steep and gently sloping sides. During her stay at Cefalu, Wolfe often went mountain climbing with Crowley who taught it. On December 4, 1921, Crowley gave Wolfe a certain talisman which had a seal of spirit Marbas engraved on it. Wolfe’s task was to meditate upon it.
In her diaries of that period, she records that after a few attempts she made a contact with the spirit of the talisman and spoke to him often. Her daily routine consisted of performance of Liber Resh which was said four times a day, with all occupants of the Abbey participating unless they were ill. The Abbey occupants were roused at 6 am every morning by the beating of the tom-tom. For a while, Wolfe found this very difficult as it seemed a shock to the system. The work she had been assigned usually took until after 10 pm, so she had only 6 hours of sleep. Her body demanded more than this, and many times she had to succumb or have a nap during the day. After waking up, Wolfe spent 20 minutes or so in her Asana and after that, she imagined the yellow square of the tattwas for another 20 minutes, with varying results. Following that came visualisation exercises and then breakfast. This same regimen was repeated after dinner about 7.30 pm, starting around 10 pm of the evening. The after-dinner discussions with Crowley sometimes aided Wolfe in understanding of the tasks of her degree. During her magical retirement on the beach near Cefalu which lasted for a month, Wolfe started Asana-meditation at 30 minutes each, the first week, increasing it to two hours during the last week. During the last week of her retreat, Wolfe added a number of new asanas to her yoga practise which she performed daily in the nude on the beach. Her other exercises consisted of going from the tent into the ocean for swims in order to relax. Wolfe worked with Crowley’s Thelemic system of training in Cefalu for three years, and emerged from those years with a degree of attainment, having survived Crowley’s ordeals. She later worked as Crowley’s personal representative in London and Paris.
Dr. David Shoemaker is a clinical psychologist in private practice, specializing in Jungian and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. David is the Chancellor and Prolocutor of the Temple of the Silver Star (totss.org), a Thelemic initiatory and educational organization. He is a long-standing member of O.T.O. and A.’.A.’. (onestarinsight.org), and has many years of experience training initiates in these traditions. His widely praised Living Thelema book was published in late 2013. His 2016 publication, The Winds of Wisdom, contains a full record of his scrying of the Thirty Enochian Aethyrs, and his latest work, co-edited with Lon Milo DuQuette, is Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Ceremonial Magick. David has co-edited many volumes of the writings of Thelemic luminaries such as Phyllis Seckler, Karl Germer, and Jane Wolfe.
In addition to his work in magick and psychology, David is a composer and musician.
