Body of light

Within the system of magick, the Body of light—often referred to as the subtle body—is the part of a person that can leave the corporeal body and carry one's senses and consciousness during astral travels. Aleister Crowley writes of it in Book 4 ("Notes for an Astral Atlas"):

Lastly, Magick is a Pyramid, built layer by layer. The work of the Body of Light—with the technique of Yoga—is the foundation of the whole. One's apprehension of the Astral Plane must be accurate, for Angels, Archangels, and Gods are derived therefrom by analysis. One must have pure materials if one wishes to brew pure beer.

In the same book (ch. 21):

The technique of Magick is just as important as that of mysticism, but here we have a very much more difficult problem, because the original unit of Magick, the Body of Light, is already something unfamiliar to the ordinary person. Nevertheless, this body must be developed and trained with exactly the same rigid discipline as the brain in the case of mysticism. The essence of the technique of Magick is the development of the Body of Light, which must be extended to include all members of the organism, and indeed of the cosmos [...] The object is to possess a Body which is capable of doing easily any particular task that may lie before it. There must be no selection of special experience which appeals to one's immediate desire. One must go steadily through all possible pylons.

Crowley explains that the most important practices for developing the Body of Light are:

1. The fortification of the Body of Light by the constant use of rituals, by the assumption of god-forms, and by the right use of the Eucharist.
2. The purification and consecration and exaltation of that Body by the use of rituals of invocation.
3. The education of that Body by experience. It must learn to travel on every plane; to break down every obstacle which may confront it.

According to Crowley, the Body of Light is more important than simply for astral travel—it is the storehouse of all experiences. From Magick Without Tears (Ch. 81):

In Magick, on the contrary, one passes through the veil of the exterior world (which, as in Yoga, but in another sense, becomes "unreal" by comparison as one passes beyond) one creates a subtle body (instrument is a better term) called the body of Light; this one develops and controls; it gains new powers as one progresses, usually by means of what is called "initiation:" finally, one carries on almost one's whole life in this Body of Light, and achieves in its own way the mastery of the Universe.

See also

• Thelemic mysticism

References

• Crowley, Aleister. (1997). Magick: Book 4. 2nd ed. York Beach, Me. : S. Weiser.
• ____. (1982). Magick Without Tears. Phoenix, AZ : Falcon Press
• Thelemapedia. (2004). Body of Light. Retrieved April 16, 2006.