One of the central concepts of post-modern magick is that of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, who appears in ancient times as the Greek Daimon or Roman Genius. In the West the first description of the process appears in a Grimoire called The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melim the Mage, and this has been greatly expanded upon by Aleister Crowley and others. At the root of Crowley's understanding is the True Will unique to every individual and the visionary quest to discover it.

The Holy Guardian Angel is considered to be equivalent to the Genius of the Golden Dawn, and the Augoeides of Iamblichus. Even though the HGA is, in a sense, the “higher self”, it is often experienced as a separate being, independent from the adept. In the system of Thelema, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one’s HGA, a process termed “Knowledge and Conversation.” By doing so, the magician becomes fully aware of his own True Will.

For Aleister Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any adept:

It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step—crossing of the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple. (Magick Without Tears, Ch.83)

Encyclopedia of Thelema

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