The Abbey of Thelema

Welcome!

2006-07-14T14:31:00.001Z

Welcome to The Abbey Today, a collection of photographs taken in July 2006 of the remains of the Abbey of Thelema, founded in 1920 by Aleister Crowley and Leah Hirsig in the small town of Cefalu, Sicily. The house, part of an old sicilian villa once called Santa Barbara, still stands -- but in really poor condition as the pictures attest.

All images by Luigi Santos-Hammarlund.

Cefalu

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Cefalu, Sicily, viewed from La Rocca. The town was mentioned for the first time in 396 BCE in an account by Diodorus Siculus, but Cefalu is more famous for its medieval monuments and, of course, for being the location of the Crowley's Abbey. Click to enlarge.

The Abbey and the stadium

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The Abbey today is overshadowed by a modern sports stadium. Here you can see the ruined roof of the house from the stadium car park. You can reach the Abbey through the trees and bushes. Click to enlarge.

General view

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General view of the main building of the Abbey of Thelema (the so called Whore's Cell), July 2006. Although the back of the house is crammed with dense vegetation and rubbish, the front side is reasonably clear. Click to enlarge.

Blocked doors

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Another general view of the Abbey. Note that the doors have been blocked. The location has become known as the haunt of druggy types and is regularly patrolled by police. Click to enlarge.

Right side

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One of the sides of the house. Notice the blocked door and window. Click to enlarge.

Come on in!

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That's the only unblocked entrance to the Abbey today: an open window. Click to enlarge.

Hall

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This room was the main entrance/hall when the Abbey was in use. Click to enlarge.

One of the rooms

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One of the rooms inside the Abbey. As in almost every space, the ceiling collapsed. Click to enlarge.

Hell's kitchen

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Where the Beast, the Scarlet Woman and their guests used to cook. Click to enlarge.

The loo

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The bathroom of the Abbey. Enough said. Click to enlarge.

The Chamber of Nightmares

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General view of the main ritual room, or La Chambre des Cauchemars (Chamber of Nightmares) as Crowley called it. The room had been completely decorated with huge murals painted by Crowley and Jane Wolfe -- unfortunately today just small parts of the frescoes are still visible. The walls were painted over later on by the subsequent tenants of the house. In 1955 filmmaker Kenneth Anger went to the Abbey and uncovered some of the works, which still lay beneath the whitewash. Click to enlarge.

More nightmares

2006-07-14T14:08:00.000Z

Another general view of La Chambre des Cauchemars. Surprisingly, the chamber ceiling is still intact, unlike the other rooms. The remaining frescoes have been photographed in detail below. Click to enlarge.

Mural of Hell

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Remaining visible frescoes of the so called Hell or La Nature Malade. An excerpt of Crowley's poem Leah Sublime, written in honor to his Scarlet Woman, can be seen: "Stab your demoniac smile to my brain! Soak me in cognac, cunt and cocaine...". Click to enlarge.

Degenerate I

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Detail of La Nature Malade. It depicts one of The Four Degenerates between Christian and Jew at Prayer. Click to enlarge.

Degenerate II

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Detail of another degenerate of La Nature Malade. Click to enlarge.

Mural of Heaven

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The Mural of Heaven, opposite La Nature Malade. Click to enlarge.

Heaven in detail

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Detail of Heaven. "Aiwass gave Will as a Law to Mankind through the mind of The Beast 666."

The Serpent of Heaven

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Detail of the right side of the Mural of Heaven. "The Serpent may find itself utterly neglected by all creation, unable to communicate the Knowledge which would make man as Gods". Click to enlarge.

Mural of Earth

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Remaining fresco on the so called Mural of Earth. Click to enlarge.

The lovers

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Detail of Earth. "Blonde Lady and Her Negro Lover: ease and delight are obtained by blending opposites." Click to enlarge.

Toad on the wall

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Remaining frescoes on the left side of La Nature Malade. "Toad watching Sam Weller imposing Silence on Oxonian; in front of these, a Dragon-Serpent begins to devour the Seven Hanged Wives in Bluebeard's Closet." Click to enlarge.

The Dragon Serpent

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The Dragon Serpent. Click to enlarge.

Smiley toad

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Toad watching Sam Weller. Click to enlarge.

Visitors & Vandals

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New additions. Courtesy from visitors and vandals. Click to enlarge. For more pictures, please click on "Older posts".

The author

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The author/photographer of this blog in front of the Abbey, 10th of July, 2006. Click to enlarge.

Copyright notice

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All photographs and texts by Luigi. Some posts contain excerpts from Cefalu, by Aleister Crowley, originally edited for Stellar Visions by Frater Meithras XI° from a manuscript in the Crowley collection at Syracuse University in New York. Reprinted by Thelema Lodge at Bill Heidrick dot com.

All photographs and texts are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.