Abbey of Thelema

The Abbey of Thelema (also: Abbey of Thelema Abbey of Thelema engl. ) Was a rural commune, which was founded by the occultist Aleister Crowley in 1920 near the Sicilian town of Cefalu. The name is borrowed from the novel Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais ( 1494-1553 ). Rabelais describes it, among other things, such as the giant Gargantua the abbey can build Thélème, which is the counterpart of an ordinary monastery: In you men and women live together only according to their will by the only rule is to have no rules. By everything is allowed, anyone can do at any time and leave what he wants. Crowley's motto of the new age was analogous: "Do what thou wilt". Also the name for the view expressed by Crowley Thelema new religious movement derived from it.

Crowley taught along with some followers his " Abbey of Thelema " in a farmhouse one that was in the hills near the small port town of Cefalù. In this place, a spiritual center to be built, a Collegium ad spiritum sanctum. Three years lived Crowley and his followers here by self-imposed rules. During this time the community was visited by many guests who were interested in Crowley's magical and ritual practices. However, the financing of the project and co-existence in the country were difficult. In addition, the rituals and the use of drugs aroused the suspicion of the locals and eventually the authorities. When in 1923 the British student Raoul Loveday, one of the guests of the " abbey ", died, Aleister Crowley was expelled from the Italian government of the country. The municipality was still carried on by a few " Thelemites " for a while, but led the absence Crowley soon to abandon the project.

Some prepared by Crowley murals are obtained in the vacant house or in part.