"The Book of the Law was first published in 1909 as part of ΘΕΛΗΜΑ, a collection of the holy books of Thelema. ΘΕΛΗΜΑ was privately published in London by the A∴A∴ as a three volume set, with The Book of the Law appearing in Volume III.
"It was next published in 1913 as part of The Equinox, Volume I, Number X. In both of these early editions it is titled Liber L vel Legis. Subsequent published editions include:
- 1925 Tunis edition, only 11 copies printed
- Ordo Templi Orientis, London, 1938, privately issued (US edition 1942, although dated 1938)."
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Law#Editions
Okay, so that's the Wikipedia version. But the 1938/1942 edition itself presents a slightly different sequence of publications. Most of us have seen this, and probably have discussed it or at least read about it on one thread or another. On the Imprimatur page it describes how each (of four) publication of AL was followed by a major war, somewhere in the world.
Solar Lodge copied the 1938/1942 version exactly for its publication in '67. I sold my last remaining copy (#1 of 1,000, previously held by Soror Capricornus, aka Baphomet), and at that time, Hymenaeus [sic?] Beta informed me that they had #0 (Solar Lodge Temple copy) in their possession.
Later, I kicked myself for not at least copying the imprimatur page (I wanted to check those dates and wars). Last year somebody posted here regarding a deceased member and her copy of AL. He then sent me pics of her photo (young, as I knew her), the Imprimatur page, and the Baphomet Signature/Seal page.
I promptly filed in where I could not find it ... but today it was found ...
If you click on the pic, and then enlarge it, you can read it. Here's a Summary:
1. 1912. 9 months before outbreak of Balkan War.
2. 1914. 9 months before outbreak of WW1.
3. 1931. 9 months before outbreak of Sino-Japan War.
4.1938. 9 months before outbreak of WW2
(which will destroy civilization).
5. 1967. Solar Lodge copy. No war noted.
It looks like there were some publications that were not listed in relation to a war (9 months later), and that some of these years don't quite match between Wikipedia and the 1938/1942 edition.
So there are many details needed to answer the question. What question? Does publishing AL really cause wars to erupt nine months later?
There have now been many, many editions published by a variety of publishers. There are also many, many wars that have erupted and are still erupting. To cause world peace, do we need to stop all publishing of AL?
I don't think I have the capacity to chase down every publication and see what happened nine months later, but my next task will be to find the exact dates of the four wars mentioned.
In what month was the 1967 copy released?
https://www.lashtal.com/wiki/Aleister_Crowley_Timeline
In what month was the 1967 copy released?
As stated in the pic (above), it was May 21, 1967. This sounds about right to me, and since I typeset the Imprimatur page, I'm not worried about someone changing the style of a date.
I have previously (long ago) added 9 months to that date, but I didn't find any wars. If you look, and come up with something, that would be great.
My main concern was the veracity (truth) of the first four publications listed. I wonder if the 1909 edition started a war? (It got overlooked in the War-List).
So we're looking at February 1968.
The year 1968 remains one of the most tumultuous single years in history, marked by historic achievements, shocking assassinations, a much-hated war and a spirit of rebellion that swept through countries all over the world.
...but specifically February? I can't see anything.
https://www.lashtal.com/wiki/Aleister_Crowley_Timeline
Where the number of wars undoubtedly is greater than the number of editions of Liber Legis, it might be understood that the nine month gestation period could be relative, from months to weeks to seconds...when the recent announcement on Lashtal of new publication of the Holy Books of the A ' A ' on July 7, 2021 and Russian Foreign Minister telling NATO they can expect a punch in the nose relative to more provocations in the Black Sea per the HMS Defender...
https://www.rt.com/russia/528495-warship-incident-sea-borders/
Anyways July 7 is when the above article was released and Lashtal announced the new publication, so for this prophecy plaything, it looks like nine moths brings us to March 2022!
Those with astrological skills might find some interesting insight relative to this hypothesis, which frankly seemed to be originally just another publicity stunt from AC.
So we're looking at February 1968.
Yes, that would be correct.
The year 1968 remains one of the most tumultuous single years in history ...
This is also correct. The feds had just cracked down on LSD (in '67), so The Age of Aquarius versus The Establishment via multidimensional libation, might be considered a war, but not in the conventional, physical way.
But I think that's a s t r e t c h - what with the "4th" publication hailed as "destroying civilization," I have personally figured that any subsequent editions would merely add fuel to the fire of the cultural phoenix.
I have never tracked the dates of the so-called "first four" editions and measured them against the dates of the outbreaks of the cited wars.
My own min-set or mind-pattern has always looked at the 20th century in terms of the beginning of The World War. Not WW1 or WW2 (looking forward to WW3). Germany (the primary culture of my ancestors) started a World War on 28 July 1914; they lost but tried it again ...
World War II is generally considered to have begun on
1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany,
under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. -Wikipedia
They lost again, but the "Cold War" between the US & Russia continued the struggle (through proxy wars), and it has never stopped since then. Different players and proxies come and go.
Having been born in Sept of 1939, I am familiar with that part of the war. If AL was published in London in 1938, we should or could expect its publication date to be in December of '38, but I don't know if that's true.
So I just looked it up. It was published ...
An Ixii Sol In Aries March 21, 1938 E.V.
Oops! I guess Crowley figured WW2 actually started in December of '38. Maybe it's a version of the Crowley QBL, as applied to dates, whereby things can be fiddled.
My concern is that the first four cited publications are merely approximations. If the claims (of war startings) were astrologically, or at least calendar-wise, precise - then it would give more credence to the power of AL. But if they are fiddled approximations, then the whole concept gets a bit more murky.
I would propose that EVERY Liber AL publication ever is on the safe side of the 9-month prophecy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_wars_in_the_20th_century
On the other hand, WWI began in August 1914 so any 1914 publication was too late for that.
Love=Law
Lutz
1. 1912. 9 months before outbreak of Balkan War.
2. 1914. 9 months before outbreak of WW1.
3. 1931. 9 months before outbreak of Sino-Japan War.
4.1938. 9 months before outbreak of WW2
(which will destroy civilization).
I would propose that EVERY Liber AL publication ever is on the safe side of the 9-month prophecy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_wars_in_the_20th_century
Thank you for this List of Wars link. At a first glance, it seems there are enough wars to make (almost) any connection possible. However, sticking to the "Official Order Line," the following can be derived ...
1. 1912. 9 months before outbreak of Balkan War.
1. "The First Balkan War (Bulgarian: [It] lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro) against the Ottoman Empire."
2. 1914. 9 months before outbreak of WW1.
2. "World War I ... was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously known as the Great War or "the war to end all wars",[7] it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel."
As noted by R.S. Iff, Any publication in 1914 will miss the 9-month window of opportunity to have caused ww1.
3(A). "The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on 18 September 1931, when ... the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria. At war’s end in February of 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the success of the Soviet Union and Mongolia with the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation in mid-August of 1945."
"7 July 1937, is sometimes cited as an alternative starting date for World War II, in contrast with the more commonly accepted one of September 1939."
3(B). "The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Theater of the Second World War.
This one is very tricky. I cannot find a First Sino-Japanese War, except for The Manchuria deal (1931).
4. "World War II was a global war that lasted from [Sept 1] 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries.
Okay, this one (Publication in Dec '38) fits closely.
Now, what happened after The Equinox of the Gods was published in
SEPTEMBER MCMXXXVI E.V. (1936)?
Aha! "The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) was a military conflict that was ... conventionally dated to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937
Although this could be counted as a ten-month gestation, it can also be calculated at nine months. Crowley was obviosly referring to what is called the Second Sino-Japanese War.
So we see some wars do indeed match the 9-month "prediction," while other seem to miss the mark, but with enough fiddling they could (sort of) be counted. The List of Wars is so long, with so many entries, it would/will not be hard to correlate any publication with some war, somewhere.