Morality
Thelema teaches that morality is illusory, that it is simply an error to state that something is “good” whilst another thing is “bad”, an error which restricts the will by subjecting it to the imaginary preferences of the mind as to what is “right” or “proper”. An individual who thinks it is “morally right” to act in a particular way contrary to his real nature may either fail to follow his will because he rejects it, or he will torment himself with feelings of guilt and shame when he is true to his nature regardless of his moral beliefs. Thelema teaches that all “standards of conduct” are creations of the mind, that have no reality outside of that mind, and that therefore the real nature is the only valid and real guide to conduct.
The fact that Thelemites reject morality does not automatically mean that they will act in ways that would in today's society be described as “immoral”. Explicit moral codes are generally codifications of common practice. This means that people do not avoid torturing babies because it is considered “immoral”, for instance, but that it is considered “immoral” because the vast majority of people avoid doing it and have no desire to do it. In other words, people do not generally make “moral choices” by reference to an explicit external code of conduct, but by reference to their own natures, by reference to their natural preferences and values. The fact that a Thelemite does not consider murder to be “wrong”, for instance, does not mean he will suddenly start going out and murdering people, simply because it was not his moral conviction that was preventing him from murdering in the first place.
In fact, it is likely that adhering to an external moral code is more likely to lead to what would be described as “immoral behaviour” than abandoning that code. The moral belief, for instance, that homosexuality and witchcraft are sins, or the moral belief that it is “right” to exterminate Jews in order to benefit the rest of the population, has led to a great deal of suffering and “evil” that would probably not have occurred if the individuals responsible were not motivated by moral convictions. Moral beliefs provide a rationale for interfering in other people's lives on a random and arbitrary basis. Thelema teaches that if everybody acted in accordance with their real natures, and abandoned the inner conflicts and false beliefs that arise from the acceptance of the reality of morality, it is likely that there would be much less conflict.
