Thelema

Thelema, from the Greek word for will, is the religious and magical system that Aleister Crowley built after writing The Book of the Law in Cairo in 1904. Its central maxim is do what thou wilt, which Crowley read as following one's true will, not doing as one pleases. The Thoth deck, designed by Crowley and painted by Frieda Harris between 1938 and 1943, was made to express Thelema: it renames several trumps, such as Lust for Strength and Art for Temperance, and draws on Crowley's Golden Dawn training. Readers can use the Thoth deck without adopting Thelema. See Aleister Crowley and the Thoth tarot.