By Entelecheia

In my previous article, What is Consensus Thelema?, I explored Consensus Thelema as an informal belief system that tends to reduce Thelemic principles to thought-terminating clichés, stifling complex engagement. In this follow-up, I’d like to unpack how we got here. The roots of Consensus Thelema lie less in Thelema itself than in the cultural and spiritual currents that surged in the latter half of the 20th century. Understanding these currents can shed light on how Thelema evolved and why it now finds itself at a crossroads.

The Last Great Spiritual Awakening

The last significant spiritual awakening in the Western world occurred in the 1960s and ’70s, a time marked by a surge in interest in personal, direct spiritual experience over institutionalized religion. While previous spiritual revivals in the West also emphasized personal experience, this one was unique in its global reach. It arose in a post-World War II context that saw rapid globalization, cross-cultural exchange, and a general loosening of traditional structures. With the rise of civil rights movements, anti-war protests, and the countercultural ethos, people became increasingly focused on the need for inner transformation, self-exploration, and breaking free from social conventions.

This awakening took on an anti-establishment tone. The Western world’s traditional institutions of spiritual authority—churches, synagogues, and other longstanding religious structures—were largely bypassed as people looked to eastern philosophies, mystical practices, and alternative forms of self-expression. Figures like Ram Dass and Alan Watts exemplified this new way of thinking, encouraging spiritual seekers to draw from multiple sources and to value personal enlightenment above all.

How Thelema Was Swept Up in the Countercultural Wave

Thelema’s tenets—rooted in self-realization, the pursuit of one’s true will, and a rejection of societal norms—naturally resonated with this cultural awakening. However, Thelema’s place in this movement was distinct because it was still in its early institutional development when the countercultural wave hit. Crowley’s anti-bourgeois, anti-Christian stance already aligned with the values of a generation questioning authority and seeking alternative pathways to spirituality. This placed Thelema in a unique position: it was absorbed by the counterculture rather than standing against it.

Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), the primary organizational body for Thelema, was re-founded during this time by Grady McMurtry. But O.T.O. lacked the weight of a longstanding institution, so it didn’t carry the burdens of an authoritarian tradition. Instead, it was shaped by the counterculture, which infused it with an ethos of extreme individualism. This left O.T.O. facing the opposite problem encountered by most institutionalized religions. Where organizations like the Roman Catholic Church had to adapt and reform in response to increasing demands for individuality and personal autonomy, O.T.O. faced the challenge of trying to establish itself as a viable institution in the first place. Founded on the very notion of individual will and personal spiritual freedom, O.T.O. has had to walk a fine line between supporting its members’ individualism and creating an organized, codified structure.

As O.T.O. attempted to grow and solidify in the ’90s, efforts to implement a structured, coherent institution were met with internal resistance. This tension remains a core challenge for O.T.O., as the impulse for individualism, foundational to Thelema itself, often stands at odds with the organizational cohesion required of any stable institution. 

The relative weakness of institutional authority within Thelema created an open space where Thelemic ideas have been easily adaptable, and practices could be as eclectic as those of other alternative spiritual movements of the time. However, this loose structure has come with a downside. Thelema has been absorbed into a broader, individualistic spirituality in which each person’s subjective experience could trump a shared or structured understanding of what Thelema entails. A set of spiritual practices and beliefs intended to challenge societal norms and engage in meaningful self-transformation has become diluted, as its followers have been swept up in the larger currents of spiritual consumerism.

From Counterculture to Consensus

While Thelema once existed as a countercultural critique of mainstream values, it now finds itself operating in a landscape where those values have lost their foothold. In the latter half of the 20th century, the dominant culture—what we might call an “overculture”—began to erode. In its place rose a fragmented landscape defined by diverse “micro-cultures,” many of which are only loosely connected and shaped largely by the algorithms that serve as our modern gatekeepers of information.

In this fragmented cultural environment, the concept of an all-encompassing “system” to resist became obsolete. Cultural critique, previously a rallying cry for those aligned with Thelema, now feels out of place, even stale. Thelema, which was initially conceived as a break from moral and cultural conventions, has struggled to redefine its mission in a world where the concept of a shared moral or cultural convention barely exists. As a result, Consensus Thelema has evolved less as a rebellious response to an oppressive “overculture” and more as a stagnant acceptance of subjective personal truths that mirror the hyper-individualistic and consumer-oriented mentality of the age.

The Problem with “Spirituality as Personal Taste”

The result of this individualistic emphasis is what I call “Consensus Thelema”—a version of Thelema where each practitioner determines the validity of beliefs and practices based solely on personal preference. Here, the core teachings of Thelema often get reduced to platitudes reminiscent of 1980s corporate slogans: “Think Different,” “Just Do It,” “Be Yourself.” In this way, Thelema’s challenge to bourgeois morality has softened into a consumerist mentality, where the measure of a spiritual path is not how it transforms or challenges but simply how well it fits into one’s lifestyle.

This mentality has caused Thelema to stagnate. At a time when humanity faces enormous global challenges—from climate change to economic inequality to political polarization—the need for collective action has never been greater. And yet, Thelema remains stuck in the language of countercultural critique, as if the problems facing humanity today could still be solved by raising consciousness alone.

This isn’t to say that individual transformation or consciousness-raising have no value. They can be vital components of social change. However, the cultural conditions that shaped Consensus Thelema have made it increasingly difficult for Thelemites to engage with these issues in ways that go beyond “raising awareness” or critiquing the status quo. The consequence is a spirituality that feels outdated, a relic of a time when countercultural resistance was enough.

The Future of Thelema

For Thelema to remain relevant, it must evolve. This doesn’t mean abandoning the commitment to individual will or personal growth. But it does mean moving beyond a cultural critique limited to vague notions of “resistance” or “liberation.” The world no longer looks like it did in Crowley’s time, or even in the 1960s. The challenges we face today demand a more robust and integrated approach, one that can balance personal liberation with collective responsibility.

This is the opportunity for Thelema: to develop into a form of spirituality that can address the real conditions of today’s world. Can Thelema offer more than a values-based critique with an occult twist? Can it provide a structured pathway toward self-transformation that is also in service to the larger whole? Can it break free of the cultural residue of the 20th century and adapt to meet the needs of a world where individuals alone can’t solve the problems we face?

Whether or not Thelema can meet these challenges remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the era of Consensus Thelema, with its sloganized individualism, will have to come to an end for Thelema to truly fulfill its potential.

Further reading

• What is Consensus Thelema?
• Is the Gnostic Mass a IX° Magical Ritual?
• Thelema as a Path of Erotic Liberation