This book, published in the nineteen nineties by New Falcon, is the 'authorized' edition of the commentary on Liber AL vel Legis, edited, as Crowley wished, by his friend Louis Wilkinson. Two previous editions of the commentary were published before this, by Symonds and Grant and another by Israel Regardie, and though they were far more extensive, Hymenaeus Beta claims they were edited down from rough typescripts and battled with editorial inconsistencies.

Though it is possible that something is lost for the serious student of Magick in this edition, I appreciate that, having been edited by a poet rather than a Magician, it is geared toward the layman, for the most part avoiding long passages of indecipherable Magickal exposition, as Crowley does have a tendency to fully expound upon ideas that only high grade practitioners, or maybe only Crowley himself, could be able to fully grasp. However, he does not omit too much as to cheapen the value of the commentary, retaining a good amount of explication on Qabalisitc values and the many layers of symbolism present in the work.

Liber AL is, in my eyes at least, more philosophical than mystical, espousing the practically Nietzschean framework of the system of Thelema. Crowley elucidates verses with impassioned arguments for self liberation and sex positive feminism, though he is sometimes betrayed in these monologues by flashes of his inherent misogyny and arrogance. The commentary might hold even more to reveal about Crowley himself than the text, as we are given great insights into his views of humanity, as well as his struggles in accepting this work that, in part, evades even him. Whether the Book of the Law was transmitted to Crowley by mystical forces or was birthed by his pen as a sort of subconcious Jungian automation, I couldn't say. Regardless, this commentary offers a wide window into Crowley's thought, and illuminates the complexities of language and symbolism found within the text that is the cornerstone of his output. ( )