Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley (pronounced /ˈkroʊli/), (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947), was a British occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, and yogi.^[1] He was an influential member in several occult organizations, including the Golden Dawn, the A∴A∴, and Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.),^[2] and is best known today for his occult writings, especially The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. He gained much notoriety during his lifetime, and was dubbed "The Wickedest Man In the World."^[3] Image File history File links Aleister_Crowley_4. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Pump Rooms and Baths Royal Leamington Spa, usually shortened to Leamington Spa or Leamington (pronounced Lemington) is a spa town in central Warwickshire, in England. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced // or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Hastings (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... An open crevasse. ... A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... A sculpture of a Hindu yogi in the Birla Mandir, Delhi A yogi (Sanskrit feminine: yogini) is a term for a male who practices various forms of the path of Yoga, maintaining a steadfast mind, the process of transcending the lower self. ... This article is about the historical organization of the late 19th century. ... The A∴A∴ (Arcanum Arcanorum)[1] is a magical order created by Aleister Crowley in 1907 after leaving the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ... This article is about the international organization incorporated in California. ... Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)—mystic, occultist, and mountaineer—was a highly prolific writer, not only on the topic of Thelema and magick, but on philosophy, politics, and culture. ... Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ... Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ...

Crowley was also a chess player, painter, astrologer, hedonist, bisexual,^[2] drug experimenter, and social critic. Crowley had claimed to be a Freemason, but the regularity of his initiations with the United Grand Lodge of England has been disputed.^[4] This article is about the Western board game. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. ... Hedonism is a word used to describe any way of thinking that gives pleasure a central role. ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... Social criticism analyzes (problematic) social structures and aims at practical solutions by specific measures, radical reform or even revolutionary change. ... American Square & Compasses Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. ... This article deals with organization in Craft or Blue Lodge Freemasonry. ... The United Grand Lodge of Englands Coat of Arms Headquarters of The UGLE. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the main governing body of Freemasonry within England, and certain jurisdictions overseas (normally ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries). ...

Early years

Aleister Crowley’s rendition of the Unicursal Hexagram designed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Edward Alexander Crowley was born at '36 Clarendon Square' in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, between 11:00pm and midnight on October 12, 1875.^[5] Image File history File links Crowley_unicursal_hexagram. ... Image File history File links Crowley_unicursal_hexagram. ... The Traditional Unicursal Hexagram The Unicursal Hexagram is a hexagram or six sided and six pointed star that is unique in that it can be traced or drawn as one complete symbol, rather than two overlaid triangles. ... This article is about the historical organization of the late 19th century. ... The Royal Pump Rooms and Baths Royal Leamington Spa, usually shortened to Leamington Spa or Leamington (pronounced Lemington) is a spa town in central Warwickshire, in England. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced // or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

His father, Edward Crowley, was trained as an engineer but according to Aleister, never worked as one^[6]. He did, however, own shares in a lucrative family brewery business, which allowed him to retire before Aleister Crowley was born. Through his father's business he had an acquaintance of Aubrey Beardsley. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop, drew roots from a Devon and Somerset family.^[6] Both of his parents were Exclusive Brethren, a radical wing of the Plymouth Brethren.^[7] Kettles in a modern Trappist brewery A brewery can be a building or place that produces beer, or a business (brewing company) whose trade is the production and sale of beer. ... Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (August 21, 1872 – March 16, 1898) was an influential English illustrator, and author, best known for his erotic illustrations. ... For other uses, see Devon (disambiguation). ... This article is about the county of Somerset in England. ... The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. ... The Brethren are a Christian Evangelical movement that began in Dublin, London, Plymouth, and the continent of Europe in the late 1820s. ...

Crowley grew up in a staunch Brethren household and was only allowed to play with children whose families followed the same faith. His father was a fanatical preacher, travelling around Britain and producing pamphlets. Daily Bible studies and private tutoring were mainstays in "Alick's" childhood. Preaching is the most important element in the protestant churches. ...

On February 29, 1880^[8], a sister, Grace Mary Elizabeth, was born but lived only five hours. Crowley was taken to see the body and in his own words (in the third person): February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The third-person narrative is narration in the third person. ...

"The incident made a curious impression on him. He did not see why he should be disturbed so uselessly. He couldn't do any good; the child was dead; it was none of his business. This attitude continued through his life. He has never attended any funeral but that of his father, which he did not mind doing, as he felt himself to be the real centre of interest."^[9]

On March 5, 1887, his father died of tongue cancer. This was a turning point in Crowley's life, after which he then began to describe his childhood in the first person in his 'Confessions'. This article is about the day. ... Year 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... First-person narrative is a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one character, who explicitly refers to him or herself in the first person, that is, I. the narrator is a fool putting his nose into the storytelling exercise. ...

After the death of his father to whom he was very close, he drifted from his religious upbringing, and his mother's efforts at keeping her son in the Christian faith only served to provoke his skepticism. When he was a child, his constant rebellious behaviour displeased his mother to such an extent she would chastise him by calling him "The Beast" (from the Book of Revelation), an epithet that Crowley would later adopt for himself. He objected to the labeling of what he saw as life's most worthwhile and enjoyable activities as "sinful". This article is about the psychological term. ... Beast. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

University

In 1895, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, after schooling at the public schools Malvern College and Tonbridge School, and originally had the intention of reading Moral Sciences (philosophy), but with approval from his personal tutor, he switched to English literature, which was not then a part of the curriculum offered.^[10] His three years at Cambridge were happy ones, due in part to coming into the considerable fortune left by his father. Aleister Crowley This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Aleister Crowley This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names King’s Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... Malvern College is a coeducational English public school, founded in 1865. ... Tonbridge School is a British independent all boys boarding school in Tonbridge, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde. ... Reading is the act of studying, particularly for an undergraduate degree at Oxford and Cambridge universities. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ...

Here he finally broke with the Church of England, internally if not externally:

"The Church of England [...] had seemed a narrow tyranny, as detestable as that of the Plymouth Brethren; less logical and more hypocritical."

"When I discovered that chapel was compulsory I immediately struck back. The junior dean halled me for not attending chapel, which I was certainly not going to do, because it involved early rising. I excused myself on the ground that I had been brought up among the Plymouth Brethren. The dean asked me to come and see him occasionally and discuss the matter, and I had the astonishing impudence to write to him that "The seed planted by my father, watered by my mother's tears, would prove too hardy a growth to be uprooted even by his eloquence and learning"."^[9]

In December of 1896, following an event that he describes in veiled terms, Crowley decided to pursue a path in occultism and mysticism. By the next year, he began reading books by alchemists and mystics, and books on magic.^[5] Biographer Sutin describes the pivotal New Year's event as a homo-erotic experience (Crowley's first) that brought him what he considered "an encounter with an immanent deity."^[11] During the year of 1897, Aleister further came to see worldly pursuits as useless. The section on chess below, describes one experience that helped him reach this conclusion. In October a brief illness triggered considerations of mortality and "the futility of all human endeavor," or at least of the diplomatic career that Crowley had previously considered.^[12] For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events, objects, people, and physical phenomena) through mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. ... Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere to remain within, refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind or the world. ... Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley (pronounced ), (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947), was a British occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, and yogi. ...

A year later, he published his first book of poetry (Aceldama), and left Cambridge, only to meet Julian L. Baker (Frater D. A.) who introduced him to Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This article is about the city in England. ... Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis in the rites of the Golden Dawn. ... This article is about the historical organization of the late 19th century. ...

Bisexuality

Throughout the period of 1895, he maintained a vigorous sex life, which was largely conducted with prostitutes and girls he picked up at local pubs and cigar shops, but eventually extended into homosexual activities in which he played the passive role.^[13] During the course of his life, Crowley practiced sexual magic rituals with both men and women. Biographer Sutin recounts Crowley's relationship^[14] with, and lasting feelings^[15] for, Herbert Charles Pollitt, whom he met while at Cambridge in 1897. Pollitt did not share his partner's mystical leanings, and Crowley had this to say about ending their relationship: Sex magic or sexual magic is a term for various types of sexual activity used in magical, theurgical, or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits. ...

I told him frankly that I had given my life to religion and that he did not fit into the scheme. I see now how imbecile I was, how hideously wrong and weak it is to reject any part of one's personality.^[16]

He would have made any public expressions of "distaste" at a time when British law officially forbade homosexuality. The arrest, conviction and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde took place in Crowley's first year at Cambridge. In the autobiographical preface to Crowley's drama The World's Tragedy, he included a section on "Sodomy" where he openly admitted his bisexuality and praised sex between men. However, someone removed these two pages from all copies of the book except those Crowley gave to close friends.^[17] Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. ...

Later, in a January 1929 letter, he wrote

There have been about four men in my life that I could say I have loved... Call me a bugger if you like, but I don't feel the same way about women. One can always replace a woman in a few days.^[18] Look up buggery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

While that claim about women conflicts with other statements and actions of Crowley's,^[19] it accurately describes his relationships with Pollitt and various working class women during his college years.^[20]

Name change

Crowley described his decision to change his name as follows:

"For many years I had loathed being called Alick, partly because of the unpleasant sound and sight of the word, partly because it was the name by which my mother called me. Edward did not seem to suit me and the diminutives Ted or Ned were even less appropriate. Alexander was too long and Sandy suggested tow hair and freckles. I had read in some book or other that the most favourable name for becoming famous was one consisting of a dactyl followed by a spondee, as at the end of a hexameter: like "Jeremy Taylor". Aleister Crowley fulfilled these conditions and Aleister is the Gaelic form of Alexander. To adopt it would satisfy my romantic ideals. The atrocious spelling A-L-E-I-S-T-E-R was suggested as the correct form by Cousin Gregor, who ought to have known better. In any case, A-L-A-I-S-D-A-I-R makes a very bad dactyl. For these reasons I saddled myself with my present nom-de-guerre --- I can't say that I feel sure that I facilitated the process of becoming famous. I should doubtless have done so, whatever name I had chosen."^[21]

A diminutive is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment. ... A dactyl (Gr. ... Look up Spondee in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hexameter is a literary and poetic form, consisting of six metrical feet per line as in the Iliad. ... The Goidelic languages (also sometimes called, particularly in colloquial situations, the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) have historically been part of a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland, the Isle of Man, to the north of Scotland. ... A pseudonym or allonym is a name (sometimes legally adopted, sometimes purely fictitious) used by an individual as an alternative to their birth name. ...

The Golden Dawn

Main article: Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Involved as a young adult in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he first studied mysticism with and made enemies of William Butler Yeats and Arthur Edward Waite.^{[citation needed]} Like many in occult circles of the time, Crowley voiced the view that Waite was a pretentious bore through searing critiques of Waite's writings and editorials of other authors' writings. In his periodical The Equinox, Crowley titled one diatribe, "Wisdom While You Waite", and his note on the passing of Waite bore the title, "Dead Waite". This article is about the historical organization of the late 19th century. ... Yeats redirects here. ... Arthur Edward Waite in the early 1880s Arthur Edward Waite (October 2, 1857 - May 19, 1942) was an occultist and co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. ... The Equinox was a large bi-annual periodical published by Aleister Crowley that served as the official organ of the A∴A∴ and later the O.T.O. It was subtitled The Review of Scientific Illuminism. ...

His friend and former Golden Dawn associate, Allan Bennett, introduced him to the ideas of Buddhism,^[22] while Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, acting leader of the Golden Dawn organization, acted as his early mentor in western magic but would later become his enemy. Several decades after Crowley's participation in the Golden Dawn, Mathers claimed copyright protection over a particular ritual and sued Crowley for infringement after Crowley's public display of the ritual. While the public trial continued, both Mathers and Crowley claimed to call forth armies of demons and angels to fight on behalf of their summoner. Both also developed and carried complex Seal of Solomon amulets and talismans. Allan Bennett, friend and associate of Aleister Crowley, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ... Buddhism, a Dharmic faith, is usually considered one of the worlds major religions, with between 230 to 500 million followers. ... Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, in Egyptian costume, performs a ritual of Isis in the rites of the Golden Dawn. ... In Medieval Jewish, Islamic and Christian legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon (or Sulayman in the Islamic version), which variously gave him the power to command demons (or jinni), or to speak with animals. ...

In a book of fiction, entitled Moonchild, Crowley later portrayed Mathers as the primary villain, including him as a character named SRMD, using the abbreviation of Mathers' magical name. Arthur Edward Waite also appeared in Moonchild as a villain named Arthwaite, while Bennett appeared as the silent, monkish Mahathera Phang.

While he did not officially break with Mathers until 1904, Crowley lost faith in this teacher's abilities soon after the 1900 schism in the Golden Dawn (if not before).^[23] Later in the year of that schism, Crowley travelled to Mexico and continued his magical studies in isolation. Crowley's writings suggest that he discovered the word Abrahadabra during this time. Abrahadabra is a word that first appears in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ...

In October of 1901, after practising Raja Yoga for some time, he said he had reached a state he called dhyana—one of many states of unification in thoughts that are described in Magick (Liber ABA) (See Crowley on egolessness).^[24] 1902 saw him writing the essay Berashith (the first word of Genesis), in which he gave meditation (or restraint of the mind to a single object) as the means of attaining his goal. The essay describes ceremonial magick as a means of training the will, and of constantly directing one's thoughts to a given object through ritual. In his 1903 essay, Science and Matter, Crowley urged an empirical approach to Buddhist teachings. Raja Yoga (lit. ... Dhyāna is a term in Sanskrit which refers to a type or aspect of meditation. ... Cover of Magick, Liber ABA, Book 4 by Aleister Crowley. ... Egolessness is a concept sometimes studied in psychology, for a emotional state where one feels no ego (or self); of having no distinct being apart from the world around oneself. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... Part of the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard in Whitehall, London. ... This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ... A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses. ...

In 1903 he married Rose Edith Kelly. This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

1904 and after

Crowley said that a mystical experience in 1904, while on holiday in Cairo, Egypt, led to his founding of the religious philosophy known as Thelema. Aleister's wife Rose started to behave in an odd way, and this led Aleister to think that some entity had made contact with her. At her instructions, he performed an invocation of the Egyptian god Horus on March 20 with (he wrote) "great success." According to Crowley, the god told him that a new magical Aeon had begun, and that Crowley would serve as its prophet. Rose continued to give information, telling Crowley in detailed terms to await a further revelation. On 8 April and for the following two days at exactly noon he allegedly heard a voice, dictating the words of the text, Liber AL vel Legis, or The Book of the Law, which Crowley wrote down. The voice claimed to be that of Aiwass (or Aiwaz) "the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat", or Horus, the god of force and fire, child of Isis and Osiris and self-appointed conquering lord of the New Aeon, announced through his chosen scribe "the prince-priest the Beast" (For citations, see main article The Book of the Law). For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation). ... Philosophy of religion is the rational study of the meaning and justification ( or rebuttal) of fundamental religious claims, particularly about the nature and existence of God (or gods, or the divine). ... Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Ihy redirects here. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Within the system of Thelema, history is taken and broken down into a series of Aeons, each with its own dominant concept of divinity and its own formula of redemption and advancement. ... is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ... Aiwass is the figure who is said to have dictated The Book of the Law to Aleister Crowley on April 8th, 9th, and 10th in 1904. ... This article is about the god. ... Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ...

Portions of the book are in numerical cipher, which Crowley claimed the inability to decode. Thelemic dogma explains this by pointing to a warning within the Book of the Law — the speaker supposedly warned that the scribe, Ankh-af-na-khonsu (Aleister Crowley), was never to attempt to decode the ciphers, for to do so would end only in folly. The later-written The Law is For All sees Crowley warning everyone not to discuss the writing amongst fellow critics, for fear that a dogmatic position would arise. While he declared a "new Equinox of the Gods" in early 1904, supposedly passing on the revelation of March 20 to the occult community, it took years for Crowley to fully accept the writing of the Book of the Law and follow its doctrine.^[25] Only after countless attempts to test its writings did he come to embrace them as the official doctrine of the New Aeon of Horus. The remainder of his professional and personal careers were spent expanding the new frontiers of scientific illuminism. This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other senses of this word, see dogma (disambiguation). ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Illuminism is a belief system whereby a believer makes a claim that he has been illuminated or experienced enlightenment of a spiritual nature. ...

Rose and Aleister had a daughter, whom Crowley named Nicole Ma Ahathoor Hecate Sappho Jezebel Lilith Crowley, in July of 1904. This child died in 1906, during the two and a half months when Crowley had left her with Rose (after a family trip through China). They had another daughter, Lola Zaza, in the summer of that year, and Crowley devised a special ritual of thanksgiving for her birth.^[26]

He performed a thanksgiving ritual before his first claimed success in what he called the "Abramelin operation", on 9 October 1906.^[27] This was his implementation of a magical work described in The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. The events of that year gave the Abramelin book a central role in Crowley's system. He described the primary goal of the "Great Work" using a term from this book: "the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel". An essay in the first number of The Equinox^[28] gives several reasons for this choice of names: is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Cover of a 1975 paperback reprint of Mathers 1897 English translation of The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage ; the art is an etching by Rembrandt titled Dr. Faustus and has nothing to do with the story of Abramelin. ... The philosophers stone, a longtime Holy Grail of Western alchemy, is a mythical substance that supposedly could turn inexpensive metals into gold and/or create an elixir that would make humans immortal. ... Within the system of Thelema founded by Aleister Crowley in 1904, the Holy Guardian Angel is the Silent Self, representative of ones truest divine nature. ...

1. Because Abramelin's system is so simple and effective.
2. Because since all theories of the universe are absurd it is better to talk in the language of one which is patently absurd, so as to mortify the metaphysical man.
3. Because a child can understand it.

Crowley was notorious in his lifetime — a frequent target of attacks in the tabloid press, which labelled him "The Wickedest Man in the World" to his evident amusement. At one point, he was expelled from Italy after having established a commune, the organization of which was based on his personal philosophies, the Abbey of Thelema, at Cefalù, Sicily. A tabloid is a newspaper — especially in the United Kingdom — that uses the tabloid format, which is roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches per spread. ... A Commune is a kind of intentional community where most resources are shared and there is little or no personal property. ... The Abbey of Thelema was a temple founded by Aleister Crowley in a rented villa at Cefalu, Sicily in 1920. ... The Cathedral of Cefalù by night Lungomare Boardwalk beach in Cefalù Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cefalù Cefalù is an ancient city in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ...

Aleister and Rose were divorced in 1909.

A∴A∴ and Ordo Templi Orientis

Main articles: A∴A∴ and Ordo Templi Orientis

In 1907, Crowley's interest took off once again, with two important events. The first was the creation of the Silver Star (A∴A∴), and the second was the composition of the Holy books of Thelema.^[29] The A∴A∴ (Arcanum Arcanorum)[1] is a magical order created by Aleister Crowley in 1907 after leaving the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ... This article is about the international organization incorporated in California. ... Argenteum Astrum, also known as Argentinum Astrum, Argentinium Astrum (Latin for silver star), Astron Argon (Greek for shining star), or simply A∴A∴(According to the Thelema Website, A..A.. stands for Arcanum Arcanorum; Latin for Secret of Secrets or Mystery of Mysteries), is a magical order created by Aleister... The A∴A∴ (Arcanum Arcanorum)[1] is a magical order created by Aleister Crowley in 1907 after leaving the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ...

In 1910, Crowley performed with members of the A∴A∴ his series of dramatic rites, the Rites of Eleusis. The A∴A∴ (Arcanum Arcanorum)[1] is a magical order created by Aleister Crowley in 1907 after leaving the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

According to Crowley, in 1912, Theodor Reuss had called on him to address accusations of publishing O.T.O. secrets, which Crowley dismissed, for having never attained the grade in which these secrets were given (9th degree). Reuss opened up the Book of Lies and showed Crowley the passage. This sparked a long conversation which led to the opening of the British section of O.T.O. called Mysteria Mystica Maxima.^[30] Theodor Reuss (1855 - 1923) Theodor Reuss (1855 - 1923 e. ... This article is about the international organization incorporated in California. ...

Years in America, 1914-1918

R.B. Spence writes in the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence that Crowley worked for the British intelligence while residing in America from 1914-1918, under a cover of being a German propaganda agent and a supporter of Irish independence, Crowley's mission was to gather intelligence about the German intelligence network, the Irish independent activists and produce aberrant propaganda, aiming at compromising the German and Irish ideals.^[31]

Abbey of Thelema

Main article: Abbey of Thelema

Crowley, along with Leah Hirsig, founded the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalù, Sicily in 1920.^[32] The name was borrowed from Rabelais's satire Gargantua,^[33] where the "Abbey of Theleme" is described as a sort of anti-monastery where the lives of the inhabitants were "spent not in laws, statutes, or rules, but according to their own free will and pleasure".^[34] This idealistic utopia was to be the model of Crowley's commune, while also being a type of magical school, giving it the designation "Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum", The College of the Holy Spirit. The general programme was in line with the A∴A∴ course of training, and included daily adorations to the Sun, a study of Crowley's writings, regular yogic and ritual practices (which were to be recorded), as well as general domestic labor. The object, naturally, was for students to devote themselves to the Great Work of discovering and manifesting their True Wills. Mussolini's Fascist government expelled Crowley from the country at the end of April 1923. The Abbey of Thelema was a temple founded by Aleister Crowley in a rented villa at Cefalu, Sicily in 1920. ... Lea (Leah) Hirsig was born into a family of nine siblings on April 9th, 1883 in Switzerland. ... The Cathedral of Cefalù by night Lungomare Boardwalk beach in Cefalù Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cefalù Cefalù is an ancient city in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... François Rabelais (ca. ... Gargantua and Pantagruel is a connected series of five books written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. ... The philosophers stone, a longtime Holy Grail of Western alchemy, is a mythical substance that supposedly could turn inexpensive metals into gold and/or create an elixir that would make humans immortal. ... The phrase True Will does not appear in the Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ... Mussolini redirects here. ...

After the Abbey

In February 1924, Crowley visited Gurdjieff's Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. He did not meet the founder on that occasion, but called Gurdjieff a "tip-top man" in his diary.^[35] Crowley privately criticized some of the Institute's practices and teachings, but doubted that what he heard from disciple Pindar reflected the master's true position. Some claim that on a later visit he met Gurdjieff -who firmly repudiated Crowley.^[36] Biographer Sutin expresses skepticism,^[37] and Gurdjieff's student C.S. Nott tells a different version. Nott perceives Crowley as a black or at least ignorant magician and says his teacher "kept a sharp watch" on the visitor, but mentions no open confrontation.^[38] George Ivanovich Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13 / January 14, 1866? - October 29, 1949), the Greek-Armenian mystic and teacher of dancing born in Alexandropol, Armenia (then of the Russian Empire, now Gumri, Armenia), traveled to many parts of the world (i. ...

On August 16, 1929 Crowley married Maria de Miramar, from Nicaragua, while in Leipzig. They separated by 1930 but they were never divorced.^[39] is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1934, Crowley was declared bankrupt after losing a court case in which he sued the artist Nina Hamnett for calling him a black magician in her 1932 book, Laughing Torso. In addressing the jury, Mr Justice Swift said: Nina Hamnett (February 14, 1890 - December 16, 1956) was an artist and writer, known as the Queen of Bohemia. ...

I have been over forty years engaged in the administration of the law in one capacity or another. I thought that I knew of every conceivable form of wickedness. I thought that everything which was vicious and bad had been produced at one time or another before me. I have learnt in this case that we can always learn something more if we live long enough. I have never heard such dreadful, horrible, blasphemous and abominable stuff as that which has been produced by the man (Crowley) who describes himself to you as the greatest living poet.

—Mr Justice Swift

However, Patricia "Deirdre" MacAlpine approached Crowley on the day of the verdict and offered to bear him a child, whom he named Aleister Ataturk. She sought no mystical or religious role in Crowley's life and rarely saw him after the birth, "an arrangement that suited them both".^[40]

During World War II, Ian Fleming and others proposed a disinformation plot in which Crowley would have helped an MI5 agent supply Nazi official Rudolf Hess with faked horoscopes. They could then pass along false information about an alleged pro-German circle in Britain. The government abandoned this plan when Hess flew to Scotland, crashing his plane on the moors near Eaglesham, and was captured. Fleming then suggested using Crowley as an interrogator to determine the influence of astrology on other Nazi leaders, but his superiors rejected this plan. At some point, Fleming also suggested that Britain could use Enochian as a code in order to plant evidence.^[41] This article is about the author. ... MI-5 redirects here. ... Not to be confused with Rudolf Hoess. ... This article is about the Angelical Language recorded in the journals of Dr. John Dee. ...

Death

Aleister Crowley died of a respiratory infection in a Hastings boarding house on 1 December 1947 at the age of 72.^[42] He had been addicted to heroin after being prescribed morphine for his asthma and bronchitis many years prior.^[43] He and his last doctor died within twenty-four hours of each other; newspapers would claim, in differing accounts, that Dr. Thomson had refused to continue his opiate prescription and that Crowley had put a curse on him.^[44] For other uses, see Hastings (disambiguation). ... Boarding House is a privately owned house,in which individuals or families on vaccation, holidays, deputition,transfered on temporary duties, on some particular training,short&mediun tenure visitors,working professionals & lodgers,rent one or more rooms sets for one or more nights,sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi and may specifically refer to: Acute bronchitis, caused by viruses or bacteria and lasting several days or weeks Chronic bronchitis, a persistent, productive cough lasting at least three months in two consecutive years. ...

Biographer Lawrence Sutin passes on various stories about Crowley's death and last words. Frieda Harris supposedly reported him saying, "I am perplexed", though she did not see him at the very end. According to John Symonds, a Mr Rowe witnessed Crowley's death along with a nurse, and reported his last words as "Sometimes I hate myself". Biographer Gerald Suster accepted the version of events he received from a "Mr W.H." who worked at the house, in which Crowley dies pacing in his living-room.^[42] Supposedly Mr W.H. heard a crash while polishing furniture on the floor below, and entered Crowley's rooms to find him dead on the floor. Patricia "Deirdre" MacAlpine, who visited Crowley with their son and her three other children, denied all this and reports a sudden gust of wind and peal of thunder at the (otherwise quiet) moment of his death. According to MacAlpine, Crowley remained bedridden for the last few days of his life, but was in light spirits and conversational. Readings at the cremation service in nearby Brighton included one of his own works, Hymn to Pan, and newspapers referred to the service as a black mass. Brighton council subsequently resolved to take all necessary steps to prevent such an incident from occurring again.^[42] John Addington Symonds was the name of a father and son, both English writers. ... Gerald Suster (1951-3 February 2001) was a British historian, occult writer, and novelist. ... // the people of hte black mass religion should ill go worship god insted. ... For other places with the same name, see Brighton (disambiguation). ...

Thelema

Main articles: Thelema and Thelemic mysticism

Thelema is the mystical cosmology Crowley announced in 1904 and expanded upon for the remainder of his life. The diversity of his writings illustrate his difficulty in classifying Thelema from any one vantage. It can be considered a form of religious traditionalism, humanistic positivism, and/or a meritocracy based upon libertarian elitism. Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... Within the modern system of Thelema, developed by Aleister Crowley in the first half of the 20th century, is a complex mystical path designed to do two interrelated things: to learn ones unique True Will and to achieve union with the All. ... A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... Positivism is a philosophy that states that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Meritocracy is a system of a government or another organization wherein appointments are made *who* makes the appointments - ultimately, it is the people (all members of the group). ...

The chief precept of Thelema, derived from the works of François Rabelais, is the sovereignty of Will: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." Crowley's idea of will, however, is not simply the individual's desires or wishes, but also incorporates a sense of the person's destiny or greater purpose: what he termed "True Will". François Rabelais François Rabelais (c. ... The phrase True Will does not appear in the Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ...

The second precept of Thelema is "Love is the law, love under will" — and Crowley's meaning of "Love" is as complex as that of "Will". It is frequently sexual: Crowley's system, like elements of the Golden Dawn before him, sees the dichotomy and tension between the male and female as fundamental to existence, and sexual "magic" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual. However, Love is also discussed as the Union of Opposites, which Crowley thought was the key to enlightenment. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Science, magic, and sexuality

Crowley claimed to use a scientific method to study what people at the time called spiritual experiences, making "The Method of Science, the Aim of Religion" the catchphrase of his magazine The Equinox. By this he meant that mystical experiences should not be taken at face value, but critiqued and experimented with in order to arrive at their underlying religious or neurological meaning.-1... Face Value is the title of Phil Collins debut solo album, released in February of 1981. ...

In this connection there was also the point that I was anxious to prove that spiritual progress did not depend on religious or moral codes, but was like any other science. Magick would yield its secrets to the infidel and the libertine, just as one does not have to be a churchwarden in order to discover a new kind of orchid. There are, of course, certain virtues necessary to the Magician; but they are of the same order as those which make a successful chemist.^[45]

Crowley's magical and initiatory system has amongst its innermost reaches a set of teachings on sex magick. He frequently expressed views about sex that were radical for his time, and published numerous poems and tracts combining pagan religious themes with sexual imagery both heterosexual and homosexual, as well as pederastic. One of his most notorious poetry collections, entitled White Stains (1898), was published in Amsterdam in 1898 and dealt specifically with sexually explicit subject matter. However, most of the hundred copies printed for the initial release were later seized and destroyed by British customs. [4] Pederastic courtship scene Athenian black-figure amphora, 5th c. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ...

Sex magick is the use of the sex act—or the energies, passions or arousal states it evokes—as a point upon which to focus the will or magical desire for effects in the non-sexual world. In the view of Allen Greenfield,^[46] Crowley was inspired by Paschal Beverly Randolph, an American Abolitionist, Spiritualist medium, and author of the mid-19th century who wrote (in Eulis!, 1874) of using the "nuptive moment" (orgasm) as the time to make a "prayer" for events to occur. Sex magic is the use of sex for the purpose of magic. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Paschal Beverly Randolph (October 8, 1825 - July 29, 1875) was born according to conflicting sources in New York or Virginia, a free man of mixed-race ancestry. ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ... Spiritualism is a religion in which contact with the spirits of the dead through a medium is central. ... An orgasm (sexual climax) is the conclusion of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, and may be experienced by both males and females. ... For other uses, see Prayer (disambiguation). ...

Crowley often introduced new terminology for spiritual and magical practices and theory. For example, he termed theurgy "high magick" and thaumaturgy "low magick". In The Book of the Law and The Vision and the Voice, the Aramaic magical formula Abracadabra was changed to Abrahadabra, which he called the new formula of the Aeon. He also famously spelled magic in the archaic manner, as magick, to differentiate "the true science of the Magi from all its counterfeits."^[47] Theurgy (from Greek: θεουργία) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action of one or more gods, especially with the goal of uniting with the divine, achieving henosis, and perfecting oneself. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ... Cover of The Vision and the Voice by Aleister Crowley. ... Abracadabra (sometimes spelled Abrakadabra) is a word used as an incantation. ... Abrahadabra is a word that first appears in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. ... Within the system of Thelema, history is taken and broken down into a series of Aeons, each with its own dominant concept of divinity and its own formula of redemption and advancement. ... The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events, objects, people, and physical phenomena) through mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. ... This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ...

He urged his students to learn to control their own mental and behavioral habits, to the point of switching political views and personalities at will. For control of speech (symbolised as the unicorn) he recommended to choose a commonly-used word, letter, or pronouns and adjectives of the first person, and avoid using it for a week or more. Should they say the word he instructed them to cut themselves with a blade on each occasion to serve as warning or reminder. Later the student could move on to the "Horse" of action and the "Ox" of thought.^[48] (These symbols derive from the cabala of Crowley's book 777.) The gentle and pensive maiden has the power to tame the unicorn, in this fresco in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenichino, ca 1602 For other uses, see Unicorn (disambiguation). ...

Chess

Crowley maintained that he learned chess from books by the age of six, and first competed on the Eastbourne College chess team (where he was taking classes in 1892). He says that he showed immediate competence, beating the handicapped local champion and later editing a chess column for the local newspaper, the Eastbourne Gazette,^[49] through which he criticised the Eastbourne team. This article is about the Western board game. ... Eastbourne College is a British co-educational independent day/boarding school for children aged 13-18, situated on the south coast of England. ...

He later joined the university chess club at Cambridge, where, he says, he beat the president in his first year and practised two hours a day towards becoming a champion — "My one serious worldly ambition had been to become the champion of the world at chess".^[50] His writings make it clear that he and his supporters thought he would achieve this goal: Chess clubs are clubs with the intent of getting together and playing chess with others. ... This article is about the city in England. ...

I had snatched a game from Blackburne in simultaneous play some years before. I was being beaten in the Sicilian defence. The only chance was the sacrifice of a rook. I remember the grand old master coming round to my board and cocking his alcoholized eye cunningly at me. 'Hullo,' said he. 'Morphy come to town again!' I am not coxcomb enough to think that he could not have won the game, even after my brilliancy. I believe that his colossal generosity let me win to encourage a promising youngster. Joseph Henry Blackburne. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 - July 10, 1884), The Pride and Sorrow of Chess, was an American chess player. ...

I had frequently beaten Bird at Simpson's and when I got to Cambridge I made a savagely intense study of the game. In my second year I was president of the university and had beaten such first-rate amateurs as Gunston and Cole. Outside the master class, Atkins was my only acknowledged superior. I made mincemeat of the man who was champion of Scotland a few years later, even after I had given up the game. I spent over two hours a day in study and more than that in practice. I was assured on all hands that another year would see me a master myself.^[51] Henry Edward Bird (1830 – 1908) was an English chess player. ... Henry Ernest Atkins (20 August 1872–31 January 1955) was a British chess player. ...

—Aleister Crowley

However, he explained that he gave up his chess aspirations in 1897 at the age of 22, when attending a chess conference in Berlin:

But I had hardly entered the room where the masters were playing when I was seized with what may justly be described as a mystical experience. I seemed to be looking on at the tournament from outside myself. I saw the masters — one, shabby, snuffy and blear-eyed; another, in badly fitting would-be respectable shoddy; a third, a mere parody of humanity, and so on for the rest. These were the people to whose ranks I was seeking admission. "There, but for the grace of God, goes Aleister Crowley", I exclaimed to myself with disgust, and there and then I registered a vow never to play another serious game of chess. I perceived with preternatural lucidity that I had not alighted on this planet with the object of playing chess.^[51]

—Aleister Crowley

Mountaineering

Crowley was obsessed with mountain climbing, which he used as a tool to combat his chronic asthma.^{[citation needed]} He taught himself by scrambling up Cumberland Fells and Beachy Head, after which, he started spending every holiday by switching between the Alps and Bernese Oberland.^[52] Scrambling on Crib Goch, Snowdonia, Wales Scrambling is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges. ... How the Beachy Head Lighthouse was built. ...

In March of 1902, Oscar Eckenstein and Crowley undertook the first attempt to scale Chogo Ri (known in the west as K2), located in Pakistan, and Eckenstein had set out to teach Crowley about the techniques of climbing.^[52] The Eckenstein-Crowley Expedition consisted of Eckenstein, Crowley, Guy Knowles, H. Pfannl, V. Wesseley, and Dr Jules Jacot-Guillarmod. They ascended June 8, and after eight days, weather conditions were taking their toll. Two months in, they found themselves back down on the plain, which made this Crowley's first recorded defeat.^[53] Oscar Eckenstein (9th September 1859 - 1921) was an Anglo-German rock-climber and mountaineer. ... For other uses, see K2 (disambiguation). ...

In May 1905, he was approached by Dr Jules Jacot-Guillarmod (1868 - 1925) to accompany him on the first expedition to Kangchenjunga in Nepal, the third largest mountain in the world. Guillarmod was left to organise the personnel while Crowley left to get things ready in Darjeeling. On July 31 Guillarmod joined Crowley in Darjeeling, bringing with him two countrymen, Charles-Adolphe Reymond and Alexis Pache. Meanwhile, Crowley had recruited a local man, Alcesti C. Rigo de Righi, to act as Transport Manager. The team left Darjeeling on August 8, 1905, and used the Singalila Ridge approach to Kangchenjunga. At Chabanjong they ran into the rear of the 135 Indians/ Central Asians who had been sent ahead on July 24 and July 25, who were carrying food rations for the team. The trek was led by Aleister Crowley, but four members of that party were killed in an avalanche. Crowley's autobiography states they reached about 25,000 feet. For other uses, see Kangchenjunga (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Darjeeling (disambiguation). ... is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... The Singalila Ridge The Singalila Ridge is a North - South running mountain ridge in Northwestern West Bengal, India. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Crowley was sometimes famously scathing about other climbers, in particular Owen Glynne Jones, whom he considered a risk-taking self-publicist, and his 'two photographers' (George and Ashley Abraham). Owen Glynne Jones (1867–1899) was a British rock-climber and mountaineer. ... George and Ashley Abraham were two climber-photographers, who lived in Keswick, in the Lake District; they made a photographic record of many of the climbing pioneers, such as O G Jones, and their climbs, including themselves on their own routes. ...

Controversy

Author and Crowley biographer Lon Milo Duquette wrote in his 1993 work The Magick of Aleister Crowley that: Lon Milo DuQuette Lon Milo DuQuette (Born July 11, 1948), AKA Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford, American writer, lecturer, and occultist best known as an author who applies humor in the field of Western Hermeticism. ...

"Crowley clothed many of his teachings in the thin veil of sensational titillation. By doing so he assured himself that one, his works would only be appreciated by the few individuals capable of doing so, and two, his works would continue to generate interest and be published by and for the benefit of both his admirers and his enemies long after death. He did not - I repeat not - perform or advocate human sacrifice. He was often guilty, however, of the crime of poor judgment. Like all of us, Crowley had many flaws and shortcomings. The greatest of those, in my opinion, was his inability to understand that everyone else in the world was not as educated and clever as he. It is clear, even in his earliest works, he often took fiendish delight in terrifying those who were either too lazy, too bigoted, or too slow-witted to understand him." DuQuette, Lon Milo. The Magick of Aleister Crowley. Weiser Books. ISBN 1-57863-299-4.  Red Wheel Weiser Conari, also known as RedWheel/Weiser, LLC and Samuel Weiser, Inc. ...

In this vein many of Crowley's more audacious and outright shocking writings were often thinly veiled attempts to communicate methods of sexual magick, often using words like "blood", "death" and "kill" to replace "semen", "ecstacy" and "ejaculation" in the yet puritanical sexual environment of late 19th/early 20th century England. It would seem that Mr.Crowley can certainly be accused of having a sick sense of humour.^[54] Take for instance the highly repeated quote from his thickly veiled Book Four: "It would be unwise to condemn as irrational the practice of devouring the heart and liver of an adversary while yet warm. For the highest spiritual working one must choose that victim which contains the greatest and purest force; a male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most satisfactory."^[55] Robert Anton Wilson in The Final Secret of the Illuminati (aka Cosmic Trigger Volume One) interpreted the child as a reference to genes in sperm. Crowley added in a footnote to the text on sacrifice, "the intelligence and innocence of that male child are the perfect understanding of the Magician, his one aim, without lust of result." Look up spiritual in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... Cover of a recent New Falcon Publications edition of Robert Anton Wilsons Cosmic Trigger I Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of The Illuminati (ISBN 1-56184-003-3) is the first book in the Cosmic Trigger series, first published in 1977 and the first volume of a three...

In the "New Comment" to the Book of the Law, "the Beast 666 adviseth that all children shall be accustomed from infancy to witness every type of sexual act, as also the process of birth, lest falsehood fog, and mystery stupefy, their minds...Politeness has forbidden any direct reference to the subject of sex to secure no happier result than to allow Sigmund Freud and others to prove that our every thought, speech, and gesture, conscious or unconscious, is an indirect reference!" And indeed, according to Freudian Steven Marcus, men in Victorian England had a common sexual fetish for thinly veiled descriptions of men spanking boys.^[56] (In their reformatory institutions for children, men "were allowed to birch their inmates across the bare buttocks until the early 1920s, when under government pressure the cane or tawse over trousers became standard."^[57]) Many have cited one or both of these quotes from Crowley, without context, as proof of immorality and sometimes of a vast child-abusing conspiracy.^[58] Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ...

Drugs

Crowley was a habitual drug user and also maintained a meticulous record of his drug-induced experiences with laudanum, opium, cocaine, hashish, alcohol, ether, mescaline and heroin.^[59] Allan Bennett, Crowley's mentor, was said to have "instructed Crowley in the magical use of drugs."^[60] The Cairo revelation from Aiwass/Aiwaz specifically recommended indulgence in "strange drugs." While in Paris during the 1920s, Crowley experimented with psychedelic substances, specifically Anhalonium lewinii, an obsolete scientific name for the mescaline-bearing cactus peyote.^[61] In October of 1930, Crowley dined with Aldous Huxley in Berlin, and to this day rumours persist that he introduced Huxley to peyote on that occasion.^[62] This article is about the medicine. ... This article is about the drug. ... For other uses, see Cocaine (disambiguation). ... Hashish Hashish (from Arabic: , lit. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the chemical compound. ... Not to be confused with mesclun. ... Heroin (INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. ... Allan Bennett, friend and associate of Aleister Crowley, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. ... Binomial name Lophophora williamsii (Lem. ... Not to be confused with mesclun. ... Binomial name (Lem. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ...

Crowley first developed a drug addiction after a London doctor prescribed heroin for his asthma and bronchitis.^[63] His life as an addict influenced his 1922 novel, Diary of a Drug Fiend, but the fiction presented a hopeful outcome of rehabilitation and recovery by means of Magickal techniques and the exercise of True Will. At the time of his death he was addicted to heroin, his narcotic of choice.^[64] Drug addiction, or dependency is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. ... Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922) (ISBN 0-87728-146-7), was Aleister Crowleys first published novel. ...

Racism

Crowley was a product of his age in some senses more than others. Biographer Lawrence Sutin stated that "blatant bigotry is a persistent minor element in Crowley's writings."^[65] The book's introduction calls Crowley "a spoiled scion of a wealthy Victorian family who embodied many of the worst John Bull racial and social prejudices of his upper-class contemporaries,"^[66] Sutin also writes, "Crowley embodied the contradiction that writhed within many Western intellectuals of the time: deeply held racist viewpoints courtesy of their culture, coupled with a fascination with people of colour."^[67] World War I recruiting poster An earlier John Bull in which he is depicted as an actual bull. ...

Crowley defended the use of violence against the Chinese, specifically the lower classes.^[68] He applied the term "nigger" to Italians (in Diary of a Drug Fiend Book I, Chapter 9) and Indians,^[69] and called the Indian theosophist Jiddu Krishnamurti "negroid." // Nigger is a racial slur used to refer to dark-skinned people, especially those of African ancestry. ... Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... Jiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti, (May 12, 1895–February 17, 1986) was a popular writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. ...

Crowley, according to his biographer, Lawrence Sutin, used racial epithets to bully Victor Neuburg during a sadomasochistic magical working: "Crowley leveled numerous brutal verbal attacks on Neuburg's family and Jewish ancestry...".^[70] The two became lovers by the end of that year if not before, but "[w]hether or not Crowley and Neuburg had sexual relations during this magical retirement is unclear," according to Sutin. Victor Benjamin Neuburg (May 6, 1883 - 1940) was an English poet and writer, particularly on theosophy, remembered for his early association with Aleister Crowley, and his publication of the early Dylan Thomas. ...

Crowley's published expressions of antisemitism were disturbing enough to later editors of his works that one of them, Israel Regardie, attempted to suppress them. In 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley (Samuel Weiser, 1975), Regardie, a Jew, explained his complete excision of Crowley's antisemitic commentary on the Kabbalah in the 6th unnumbered page of his editorial introduction: "I am ... omitting Crowley's Preface to the book. It is a nasty, malicious piece of writing, and does not do justice to the system with which he is dealing."^[71] Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism, also known as judeophobia) is prejudice and hostility toward Jews as a religious, racial, or ethnic group. ... Israel Regardie (Francis Israel Regudy) was born on November 17, 1907 in London, England to poor Jewish immigrant parents. ... Excision means to remove as if by cutting. It can be a euphemism for Female circumcision. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ...

What Regardie had removed was Crowley's "Preface to Sepher Sephiroth", originally published in Equinox 1:8. Written in 1911,^[72] at the same time that Menahem Mendel Beilis was accused of ritual cannibalism in Kiev, Russia, it contained a clear statement of Crowley's belief in the blood libel against the Jews:^[73] Menahem Mendel Beilis (Russian: ; 1874-1934) was a Ukrainian Jew accused of blood libel and ritual murder in a notorious 1913 trial, known as the Beilis trial or Beilis affair. The process sparked international criticism of the anti-Semitic policies of the Russian Empire. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: , Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587 ft) Population (2006)  - City 4,450,968  - Density 3,299/km² (8,544. ... Blood libels are the accusations that Jews use human blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals. ...

Human sacrifices are today still practised by the Jews of Eastern Europe, as is set forth at length by the late Sir Richard Burton in the MS. which the wealthy Jews of England have compassed heaven and earth to suppress,^[74] and evidenced by the ever-recurring Pogroms against which so senseless an outcry is made by those who live among those degenerate Jews who are at least not cannibals.^[73] Richard Burton, portrait by Frederic Leighton, National Portrait Gallery, London Sir Richard Francis Burton (March 19, 1821 - October 19, 1890), British consul, explorer, translator, and Orientalist, was born at Barham House, Hertfordshire, England. ... Pogrom (from Russian: ; from громить IPA: - to wreak havoc, to demolish violently) is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious or other, and characterized by destruction of their homes, businesses and religious centres. ...

Having thus implicitly defended the recent antisemitic pogroms in Kishinev Russia and elsewhere, on the grounds that the murder of thousands of Jews was a rational response to the implied danger of Jewish ritual cannibalism, Crowley rhetorically asked how a system of value such as Qabala could come from what "the general position of the ethnologist" called "an entirely barbarous race, devoid of any spiritual pursuit," and "polytheists" to boot.^[73] As Crowley himself practiced polytheism, some read these remarks as irony.^[54] Herman S. Shapiro. ...

Crowley repeated his claim that Jews in Eastern Europe practice ritual child-murder in at least one later work as well, namely the section on mysticism in Book Four or Magick. Here he uses quotation marks for "ritual murder" and for "Christian" children.^[75]

An article at The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum makes the following claim while speaking of the previously mentioned remark^[55] elsewhere in Magick:

At first glance Crowley seems to be advocating an atrocity, the sacrifice of a child, the bugaboo of witchhunters and anti-Semites everywhere. But in fact he is claiming that the historical legend of child sacrifice, used to persecute so many "witches" and Jews, veils a sexual formula of self-sacrifice. In a secret document of the IX*, the "blood libel" against the Jews -- the story that they celebrate covert rituals employing the blood of sacrificed children -- is taken as a statement that certain sects of the Hassidim possess this secret. The early Christians were accused of such practices by the Roman establishment, and the Gnostic Catholic Church considers this to be evidence of a continuity of the sexual secret from the Gnostics.^[76] Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (Order of the Temple of the East, or the Order of Oriental Templars) is an international fraternal and religious organization. ... This article is about the Hasidic movement originating in Poland and Russia. ... Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (EGC), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema. ...

Crowley studied and promoted the mystical and magical teachings of some of the same ethnic groups he attacked, in particular Indian yoga, Jewish Kabbalah and goetia, and the Chinese I Ching. Also, in Confessions Chapter 86[5], as well as a private diary which Lawrence Sutin quotes in Do What Thou Wilt chapter 7, Crowley recorded a memory of a "past life" as the Chinese Taoist writer Ko Hsuan. In another remembered life, Crowley said, he took part in a "Council of Masters" that included many from Asia. He has this to say about the virtues of "Eurasians" and then Jews: For other uses such as Yoga postures, see Yoga (disambiguation) Statue of Shiva performing Yogic meditation Yoga (Sanskrit: योग Yog, IPA: ) is a group of ancient spiritual practices designed for the purpose of cultivating a steady mind. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Buer, the 10th spirit, who teaches Moral and Natural Philosophy (from the Mathers and Liddell 1995 edition). ... Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin y jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ...

I do not believe that their universally admitted baseness is due to a mixture of blood or the presumable peculiarity of their parents; but that they are forced into vileness by the attitude of both their white and coloured neighbours. A similar case is presented by the Jew, who really does only too often possess the bad qualities for which he is disliked; but they are not proper to his race. No people can show finer specimens of humanity. The Hebrew poets and prophets are sublime. The Jewish soldier is courageous, the Jewish rich man generous. The race possesses imagination, romance, loyalty, probity and humanity in an exceptional degree.
But the Jew has been persecuted so relentlessly that his survival has depended on the development of his worst qualities; avarice, servility, falseness, cunning and the rest. Even the highest-class Eurasians such as Ananda Koomaraswamy suffer acutely from the shame of being considered outcast. The irrationality and injustice of their neighbours heightens the feeling and it breeds the very abominations which the snobbish inhumanity of their fellow-men expects of them.^[77] Dr. A.K. Coomaraswamy // Life of Dr. A.K. Coomaraswamy Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (22 August 1877 Colombo - 9 September 1947 Needham, Massachusetts) was the son of the famous Sri Lankan legislator and philosopher Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy and his English wife Elizabeth Beeby. ...

All these remarks must necessarily be contrasted or reconciled with Crowley's explicit philosophical instructions in Magick Without Tears. Chapter 73, which is entitled "'Monsters', Niggers, Jews, etc," states his essentially individualistic and anti-racialist views, citing relevant verses from The Book of the Law: "Ye are against the people, o my chosen!" (Liber Al II:25), "Every man and every woman is a star" (Liber Al I:3). Here Crowley emphasizes by way of commentary upon these verses the instant debasement and un-Thelemic viewpoint which any notion of human beings as "classes" or "races" -whether belonged-to or feared- instead of as individuals, is likely to bring. The "Thelemic" philosophical position which he taught in this volume (which is a series of letters of direct personal instruction to various disciples) is clearly an anti-racialistic one. Even in private comments on Mein Kampf, Crowley said that his own preferred "master class" was above all distinctions of race.^[78] Mein Kampf (English: My Struggle/My Battle) is a book by the Austrian-born leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. ...

Sexism

Biographer Lawrence Sutin stated that Crowley "largely accepted the notion, implicitly embodied in Victorian sexology, of women as secondary social beings in terms of intellect and sensibility."^[79] Occult scholar Tim Maroney compares him to other figures and movements of the time and suggests that some others might have shown more respect for women.^[80]

Crowley stated that women, except "a few rare individuals," care most about having children and will conspire against their husbands if they lack children to whom to devote themselves.^[81] In Confessions, Crowley says he learned this from his first marriage.^[82] He claimed that their intentions were to force a man to abandon his life's work for their interests. He only found women "tolerable", he wrote, when they served the role of solely helping a man in his life's work. However, he said that they were incapable of actually understanding the work. He also claimed that women did not have individuality and were solely guided by their habits or impulses.^[83] For other uses, see Impulse (disambiguation). ...

Nevertheless, when he sought what he called the supreme magical-mystical attainment, Crowley asked Leah Hirsig to direct his ordeals, marking the first time since the schism in the Golden Dawn that another person verifiably took charge of his initiation.^[84] In the Hierophant section of the Book of Thoth, he interprets a verse from the Book of the Law that speaks of "the woman girt with a sword; she represents the Scarlet Woman in the hierarchy of the new Aeon.(...)This woman represents Venus as she now is in this new aeon; no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterpart, but armed and militant." Lea (Leah) Hirsig was born into a family of nine siblings on April 9th, 1883 in Switzerland. ... Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ...

Writings

Main article: Works of Aleister Crowley

Crowley was a highly prolific writer, not only on the topic of Thelema and magick, but on philosophy, politics, and culture. The poems and plays written in his twenties and found in his Collected Works of Aleister Crowley 1905-1907 were alone enough to substantiate a common writer's career.^{[citation needed]} He left behind a countless number of personal letters and daily journal entries. He self-published many of his books, expending the majority of his inheritance to disseminate his views. Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)—mystic, occultist, and mountaineer—was a highly prolific writer, not only on the topic of Thelema and magick, but on philosophy, politics, and culture. ... The Collected Works of Aleister Crowley 1905-1907 was originally a trilogy of books published by the occultist, magician, and self-proclaimed prophet of Thelema Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) during his early career as student of magick, and is now considered among his very numerous rarities. ...

Within the subject of occultism Crowley wrote widely, penning commentaries on magick, divinatory tarot, Yoga, Qabalah, astrology, and numerous other subjects. He also wrote a Thelemic interpolation of the Tao Te Ching, based on earlier English translations since he knew little or no Chinese. Like the Golden Dawn mystics before him, Crowley evidently sought to comprehend the entire human religious and mystical experience in a single philosophy. This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ... This article is about the card reading uses of Tarot cards. ... For other uses such as Yoga postures, see Yoga (disambiguation) Statue of Shiva performing Yogic meditation Yoga (Sanskrit: योग Yog, IPA: ) is a group of ancient spiritual practices designed for the purpose of cultivating a steady mind. ... This article is about the western esoteric mystical tradition. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... The Tao Te Ching (道德經, Pinyin: D Jīng, thus sometimes rendered in recent works as Dao De Jing; archaic pre-Wade-Giles rendering: Tao Teh Ching; roughly translated as The Book of the Way and its Virtue (see dedicated chapter below on translating the title)) is an ancient Chinese scripture...

Some of his most influential books include:

• The Book of the Law
• Magick (Book 4)
• The Book of Lies
• The Vision and the Voice
• 777 and other Qabalistic writings
• The Confessions of Aleister Crowley
• Magick Without Tears
• Little Essays Toward Truth
• The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (translation of original text)
• The General Principles of Astrology (with Evangeline Adams, Hymenaeus Beta, and others)

He also edited and produced a series of publications in book form called The Equinox (subtitled "The Review of Scientific Illuminism"), which served as the voice of his magical order, the A∴A∴. Although the entire set is influential and remains one of the definitive works on occultism, some of the more notable issues are: Cover of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley (Weiser 2004 Centennial Edition) 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. ... Cover of Magick, Liber ABA, Book 4 by Aleister Crowley. ... Cover of The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley. ... Cover of The Vision and the Voice by Aleister Crowley. ... Cover of 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley by Aleister Crowley. ... Cover of The Confessions of Aleister Crowley by Aleister Crowley. ... Magick without tears ( ISBN 1561840181 ) is a book of letters by Aleister Crowley, to Cara Soror first published in 1973. ... Cover of the 1991 edition of Little Essays Toward Truth by Aleister Crowley. ... The General Principles of Astrology (ISBN 0-87728-908-5) is a compilation of two books written by Aleister Crowley and Evangeline Adams but later published just under Adams name. ... Evangeline Adams, born on 8 February 1868 at 8:30 am in Jersey City, New Jersey, was perhaps the best known American astrologer of her day. ... William Breeze was born in Paris, France on 12 August 1955. ... The Equinox was a large bi-annual periodical published by Aleister Crowley that served as the official organ of the A∴A∴ and later the O.T.O. It was subtitled The Review of Scientific Illuminism. ... Argenteum Astrum, also known as Argentinum Astrum, Argentinium Astrum (Latin for silver star), Astron Argon (Greek for shining star), or simply A∴A∴(According to the Thelema Website, A..A.. stands for Arcanum Arcanorum; Latin for Secret of Secrets or Mystery of Mysteries), is a magical order created by Aleister... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ...

• III:1, "The Blue Equinox" (largely regarding the structure of OTO)
• III:2, The Gospel According to St. Bernard Shaw and other papers (proof copy only)
• III:3, The Equinox of the Gods (covering the events leading up to the writing of Liber Legis)
• III:4, Eight Lectures on Yoga
• III:5, The Book of Thoth (a full treatise on his Thoth Tarot)
• III:6, Liber Aleph (An extended and elaborate commentary on Liber Legis in the form of short letters)
• III:7, The Shih I (allegedly. An unfinished/published translation of the I Ching)
• III:8, The Tao Te Ching (a translation of the Chinese classic)
• III:9, The Holy Books of Thelema (the "received" works of Crowley)
• III:10, An issue with mostly O.T.O constitutional papers
• IV:1, Commentary on the Holy Books, and other papers (mainly Liber 65 and Madame Blavatsky's The Voice of the Silence)
• IV:2, The Vision and the Voice with Commentary and other papers

Crowley also wrote fiction, including plays and later novels, most of which have not received significant notice outside of occult circles. Some of these fictional works include: This article is about the international organization incorporated in California. ... Cover of The Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley. ... The Thoth Tarot is a Tarot deck painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley. ... Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin y jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ... The Tao Te Ching (道德經, Pinyin: D Jīng, thus sometimes rendered in recent works as Dao De Jing; archaic pre-Wade-Giles rendering: Tao Teh Ching; roughly translated as The Book of the Way and its Virtue (see dedicated chapter below on translating the title)) is an ancient Chinese scripture... Aleister Crowley, the founder of the religion of Thelema, designated his works as belonging to one of several classes. ... Cover of The Vision and the Voice by Aleister Crowley. ...

• Moonchild
• The Scrutinies of Simon Iff
• Golden Twigs
• Diary of a Drug Fiend
• The Fish (unfinished)
• Simon Iff Abroad (unpublished)
• Simon Iff in America (unpublished)
• Simon Iff, Psychoanalyst (unpublished)
• The Stratagem and other Stories
• The Testament of Magdalen Blair

Crowley also had a peculiar sense of humour, which he often utilised as a teaching instrument. He wrote a polemic arguing against George Bernard Shaw's interpretation of the Gospels in his preface to Androcles and the Lion, which was edited by Francis King and published as Crowley on Christ. In his Magick, Book 4 he includes a chapter purporting to illuminate the Qabalistic significance of Mother Goose nursery rhymes. In re Humpty Dumpty, for instance, he recommends the occult authority "Ludovicus Carolus" -- better known as Lewis Carroll. In a footnote to the chapter he admits that he had invented the alleged meanings, to show that one can find occult "Truth" in everything. His "8 Lectures On Yoga" are written under the name Guru Sri Pramahansa Shivaji (which translates into something along the lines of "Great Exalted Guru of Shiva") and are divided into "Yoga for Yahoos" and "Yoga for Yellowbellies". In The Book of Lies, the title to chapter 69 is given as "The Way to Succeed - and the Way to Suck Eggs!" a pun, as the chapter concerns the 69 sex position as a mystical act. Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922) (ISBN 0-87728-146-7), was Aleister Crowleys first published novel. ... The Stratagem and other Stories was a small book of short stories written by Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), occult magician, poet and self-proclaimed prophet of a new anti-Christian era going under the name of The Beast 666. ... Look up Polemic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856–2 November 1950) was a world-renowned Irish author. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... Androcles and the Lion is a 1912 play written by George Bernard Shaw. ... Francis Henry King (born 1923) is a British novelist and short story writer, and a poet. ... For other uses, see Mother Goose (disambiguation). ... A nursery rhyme is a traditional song or poem taught to young children, originally in the nursery. ... This article is about the nursery rhyme. ... The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (IPA: ) (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll (), was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer. ... Engraving by Félicien Rops for Le Diable au Corps, 1865 69 Sex Position The 69 position, also known by its French name soixante-neuf, is one of the most commonly known sexual positions. ...

Crowley was also a published, if minor, poet. He wrote the 1929 Hymn to Pan,^[85] perhaps his most widely read and anthologised poem.^{[citation needed]} Three pieces by Crowley, "The Quest",^[86] "The Neophyte",^[87] and "The Rose and the Cross",^[88] appear in the 1917 collection The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse. Crowley's unusual sense of humour is on display in White Stains,^[89] an 1898 collection of pornographic verse pretended to be "the literary remains of George Archibald Bishop, a neuropath of the Second Empire;" the volume is prefaced with a notice that says that " The Editor hopes that Mental Pathologists, for whose eyes alone this treatise is destined, will spare no precaution to prevent it falling into other hands." Several anthologies of religious poetry have been published by Oxford University Press. ... Porn redirects here. ...

Some of his published poetry includes:

• White Stains (1898).
• Alice, an Adultery (1903).
• The Sword of Song (1904).
• The Star and the Garter. (1904).
• Orpheus, a Lyrical Legend (two volumes, 1905).
• Snowdrops From a Curate’s Garden. (1904).
• Clouds without Water ("by the Reverend C. Verey", 1909)
• The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz. ( "translated by Major Lutiy", 1910).
• Aha ! (1910)
• Ambergris: the Selected Poems of Aleister Crowley (1910)
• The Winged Beetle. (1912).
• Olla, an Anthology of Sixty years of Song (1946, his last published work)

The Greek scholar Dionysios Psilopoulos has written on Crowley as a poet (Ph.D., Edinburgh). Clouds without Water is a poetry collection by Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), occult magician, mountaineer and self-proclaimed prophet of Thelema. ...

Cultural references

• The Italian historian of esotericism Giordano Berti, in his book Tarocchi Aleister Crowley (1998) quotes a number of literary works and films inspired by Crowley's life and legends. Some of the films are The Magician (1926) by Rex Ingram, based upon the eponymous book written by William Somerset Maugham (1908); Night of the Demon (1957) by Jacques Tourneur, based on the story "Casting the Runes" by M. R. James; and The Devils Rides Out (1968) by Terence Fisher, from the eponymous thriller by Dennis Wheatley.

• In the 1990 novel "Good Omens" (a quasi-parody of the 1976 film "The Omen") by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, the serpent in the Garden of Eden is called Crawley, but he changes it to Crowley to better fit in with the modern world.

• Polish blackened-death metal bands Behemoth and Vesania frequently deal with Aleister Crowley and Thelemic themes in their song lyrics.

• The Beatles featured Crowley on the front cover of their eighth album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He's the second cut-out on the first row.

• Ozzy Osbourne released a song titled "Mr. Crowley" on his solo album Blizzard of Ozz. A comparison between Crowley and Osbourne in the context of their media portrayals can be found in the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture.^[90]

• Queen Quotes Crowley is a track on Porcupine Tree's first album, On The Sunday Of Life.

• Iron Maiden has recorded tracks that refer to Crowley including "Moonchild" from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, "Revelations" from Piece of Mind and "Powerslave" from Powerslave.

• D.Gray-man A character sharing the same/similar name (depends on translation) of a similar background.

• Ernest Hemingway references Crowley in his memoir "A Moveable Feast". In it, Ford Maddox Ford claims to have "cut" a man he thinks was Hilaire Belloc, but which in fact turns out to be "Alestair Crowley, the diabolist"^[91] .

• Marilyn Manson has a song by the name "Diary of a Drug Fiend" and also refers to the Abbey of Thelema in the song "Misery Machine."

• Crowley himself, albeit with a slightly different fact that he was the greatest magician in magic history and a renowned scientist, appears as the master of the Academy city, the capital of psychic characters in the light novel series To Aru Majutsu no Index.

• Chemical Wedding is a movie from 2008 where an old lecturer at Cambridge becomes Aleister Crowley. Written by Bruce Dickinson and Julian Doyle.

W. Somerset Maugham as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten. ... Night Of The Demon is a 1980 low-budget horror movie directed by James C. Wasson and written by Mike Williams, presenting a gory and occasionally quite unsettling take on the Bigfoot legend. ... Jacques Tourneur, born November 12, 1904 – died December 19, 1977, was a French film director. ... Terence Fisher (February 23, 1904 - June 18, 1980), was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. ... Dennis Wheatley (8 January 1897-10 November 1977) was a British writer born in London. ... Blackened death metal also called death/black metal or black/death metal (depending on which styles is dominant) is a fusion genre of extreme metal utilising elements of death metal and black metal with bands usually hailing from Europe. ... Behemoth ( ) is a Polish death metal band. ... Vesania is a Polish blackened death metal band. ... Thelema is the English transliteration of the Ancient Greek noun : will, from the verb θέλω: to will, wish, purpose. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... For other uses, see Sgt. ... Ozzy redirects here. ... Mr. ... Blizzard of Ozz is a heavy metal album by Ozzy Osbourne, recorded in Surrey, U.K. and released on September 20, 1980 (see 1980 in music) in the UK and on January 15, 1981 (see 1981 in music) in the US. This is Osbournes first solo album and one... Porcupine Tree is an English progressive rock band formed in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England by Steven Wilson. ... On The Sunday Of Life. ... Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in the East End of London. ... This article is about the folklore concept. ... Revelations is the second track from Iron Maidens fourth studio album Piece of Mind. ... Piece of Mind is the name of several albums, including: 1983 Piece of Mind by Iron Maiden 1996 Piece of Mind by Tela 1999 Piece of Mind by David McMurray 2003 Piece of Mind by Robin Lane This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... Powerslave is a studio album by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 1984. ... Demographic Shōnen Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump Original run May 31, 2004 – Ongoing Volumes 14 (as of March 2008) TV anime Director Nabeshima Osamu Studio TMS Entertainment Network TV Tokyo Original run October 3, 2006 – Ongoing Episodes 83 (as of May 13, 2008) Game: Developer Konami Genre Action... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 — July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ... Ford Madox Ford (December 17, 1873 - June 26, 1939) was an English novelist and publisher. ... Photograph of Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (27 July 1870 – 16 July 1953) was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. ... This article is about the person. ... Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922) (ISBN 0-87728-146-7), was Aleister Crowleys first published novel. ... The Abbey of Thelema was a temple founded by Aleister Crowley in a rented villa at Cefalu, Sicily in 1920. ... The Haruhi Suzumiya series is one of the most popular light novel series in Japan. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... For the record producer in the Saturday Night Live skit, see More Cowbell. ...

See also

• List of Thelemites
• List of Occultists

. ... List of notable occultists and mystics. ...

Notes

Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Martin Booth (September 7, 1944, Lancashire - February 12, 2004, Devon) was a British writer and poet. ... Lea (Leah) Hirsig was born into a family of nine siblings on April 9th, 1883 in Switzerland. ... Red Wheel Weiser Conari, also known as RedWheel/Weiser, LLC and Samuel Weiser, Inc. ... Red Wheel Weiser Conari, also known as RedWheel/Weiser, LLC and Samuel Weiser, Inc. ...

References

Martin Booth (September 7, 1944, Lancashire - February 12, 2004, Devon) was a British writer and poet. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the British occultist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Frank G. Rubio (Madrid, 1956) is the pseudonym of Francisco de Asís González Rubio, a famous Spanish writer and investigator. ... For other uses, see Colin Wilson (disambiguation). ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Aleister Crowley

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

Aleister Crowley

• Works by Aleister Crowley at Project Gutenberg
• Poems by Aleister Crowley A collection of Crowley's early poetry
• Crowley Controversy FAQ
• Aleister Crowley: A Legacy of Racism and Nationalism
• Aleister Crowley - The Rotten Library
• Aleister Crowley and the Green Goddess
• Entry for Aleister Crowley at the GLBTQ encyclopedia
• Aleister Crowley Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin