The Book of the Law is the central sacred text of
Thelema, written (or received) by
Aleister Crowley in
Cairo,
Egypt in the year 1904. It contains three chapters, each of which was written down in one hour, beginning at noon, on
April 8,
April 9, and
April 10. Crowley claims that the author was an entity named
Aiwass, whom he later referred to as his personal
Holy Guardian Angel (or "Secret Self"). Biographer Lawrence Sutin quotes private diaries that fit this story, and writes that "if ever Crowley uttered the truth of his relation to the Book," his public account accurately describes what he remembered on this point. The teachings within this small book are expressed as the Law of Thelema, usually encapsulated by these two phrases:
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" (AL I:40) and
"Love is the law, love under will" (AL I:57)
Its full title is Liber AL vel Legis, sub figura CCXX, The Book of the Law, as delivered by XCIII=418 to DCLXVI. It is often abbreviated as Liber Legis, Liber AL, or even just AL.