# Thelema and the Abbey of Thelema · The Cult Dossier · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

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The Cult Dossier · No. 033 · Occult / Esoteric / Satanic
Thelema and the Abbey of Thelema
A∴A∴; Ordo Templi Orientis under Crowley
1904 – 1947 (OTO continues) · Cairo; London; Cefalù, Sicily
IV. THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY
Fully religious — Crowley insisted Thelema was a religion
### Who led it
### What it worshipped and taught
### Who was in it
### How it ended, or where it stands
### The dead
### Of note
### Its timeline
- 8–10 April 1904 The Cairo Working; Liber AL vel Legis received.
- 1907 A∴A∴ founded.
- 1920 Abbey of Thelema established at Cefalù, Sicily.
- 16 February 1923 Raoul Loveday dies at the abbey, officially of acute enteric fever from drinking stream water; the tabloid press blames a ritual involving cat's blood.
- April 1923 Mussolini expels Crowley from Italy.
- 1934 Crowley bankrupted after losing a libel action he brought against Nina Hamnett.
- 1946 Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard perform the Babalon Working in the Mojave; Hubbard leaves with Parsons' money and his girlfriend.
- 1 December 1947 Crowley dies at Hastings, a heroin addict, aged 72.
### Its people
### Aleister Crowley
To Mega Therion; the Great Beast 666; Frater Perdurabo
Prophet of Thelema; founder of the A∴A∴; head of the OTO · 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947 · active 1904–1947
Before the law. Never convicted of anything. Lost a libel action he himself brought in 1934, which bankrupted him.
Where things stand. Deceased 1947. The OTO survives as a legally recognised religious body.
- 8–10 April 1904 The Cairo Working; receives Liber AL vel Legis.
- 1907 Founds the A∴A∴.
- 1920 Establishes the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalù.
- 16 February 1923 Raoul Loveday dies at the abbey; the press storm follows.
- April 1923 Expelled from Italy by Mussolini.
- 1934 Bankrupted by a failed libel action.
- 1 December 1947 Dies at Hastings aged 72.
Checked
### L. Ron Hubbard
LRH; the Commodore; the Source
Founder, Dianetics and the Church of Scientology · 13 March 1911 – 24 January 1986 · active 1950–1986
Before the law. Convicted in absentia of fraud in France, 1978. Named an unindicted co-conspirator in Operation Snow White. A fugitive from US process at his death.
Where things stand. Deceased 1986.
- May 1950 Dianetics published; bestseller.
- December 1953 Founds the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey.
- 1966–67 Founds the Sea Organization; writes OT III.
- 1967 Issues the Fair Game policy.
- 1973–77 Operation Snow White — the largest infiltration of the US government by a private body on record.
- 1979 His wife Mary Sue and ten others convicted; he is named an unindicted co-conspirator.
- 24 January 1986 Dies at Creston, California.
Checked 2026-08-24
### Raoul Loveday
Frederick Charles Loveday
Died at Crowley's Abbey of Thelema · 1900 – 16 February 1923 · active 1922–1923
Before the law. No charges. No inquest finding of foul play.
Where things stand. Deceased 1923, aged 22. The only death at the Abbey, and the one that ended it.
- 1922 Travels to the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalù with his wife Betty May.
- 16 FEBRUARY 1923 Dies, aged 22. The attending doctor records acute enteric fever.
- 1923 Betty May's account in John Bull causes a sensation in Britain.
- April 1923 Mussolini expels Crowley from Italy; the Abbey closes.
Checked
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