Chapter III A Verse 55
173
woman’s nature as seen by the clear eyes of those who 
would lose money if they misjudged her; and they are 
loathsomely revolting to read. Her mental and moral 
characteristics are those of the parrot and the monkey. 
Her physiology and pathology are hideously disgusting, 
a sickening slime of uncleanliness. Her virgin life is a 
sick ape’s, her sexual life a drunken sow’s, her mother 
life all bulging filmy eyes and sagging udders.
These are the facts about “innocence;” to this has man’s Chris­
tian Endeavour dragged her when he should rather have made her 
his comrade, frank, trusty, and gay, the tenderer self of himself, 
his consubstantial complement even as Earth is to the Sun.
We of Thelema say that “Every man and every woman is a 1:3 
star.” We do not fool and flatter women; we do not despise and 
abuse them. To us a woman is Herself, absolute, original, inde­
pendent, free, self-justified, exactly as a man is.
We dare not thwart Her Going, Goddess she! We arrogate no 
right upon Her will; we claim not to deflect Her development, to 
dispose of Her desires, or to determine Her destiny. She is Her 
own sole arbiter; we ask no more than to supply our strength to 
Her, whose natural weakness else were prey to the world’s pres­
sure. Nay more, it were too zealous even to guard Her in Her 
Going; for She were best by Her own self-reliance to win Her own 
way forth!
We do not want Her as a slave; we want Her free and royal, 
whether Her love fight death in our arms by night, or Her loyalty 
ride by day beside us in the Charge of the Battle of Life.
“Let the woman be girt with a sword before me”! 
ni:ll
So sayeth this our Book of the Law. We respect Woman in the 
self of Her own nature; we do not arrogate the right to criticize 
her. We welcome her as our ally, come to our camp as her Will, 
free-flashing, sword-swinging, hath told Her, Welcome, thou 
Woman, we hail thee, star shouting to Star! Welcome to rout and 
to revel! Welcome to fray and to feast! Welcome to vigil and 
victory! Welcome to war with its wounds! Welcome to peace with 
its pageants! Welcome to lust and to laughter! Welcome to board 
and to bed! Welcome to trumpet and triumph; welcome to dirge 
and death!