Austin Osman Spare (December 30, 1886 - May 15, 1956) was an English artist and magician. Image File history File links Austin_Osman_Spare. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1844–1926). ... The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic and sorcery are the influencing of events, objects, people and physical phenomena by mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. ...

Biography

Dressing the Wounded During a Gas Attack, one of Spare's images done while serving as a war artist.

He was the son of a London policeman. As a child, he showed an affinity for art, and he briefly attended evening classes at Lambeth Art School. At the age of 13, he left school to become an apprentice to a stained glass maker, Powell's of Whitefriars Street. During his teen years, his fascination for the occult grew apace, heavily influencing the work he produced. In May 1904 one of his drawings was exhibited at the annual Royal Academy exhibition in London, generating a storm of publicity for the young artist. Image File history File links AOSpare-Dressing_the_Wounded_during_a_Gas_Attack_1918. ... Image File history File links AOSpare-Dressing_the_Wounded_during_a_Gas_Attack_1918. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For the band, see The Police. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden.[1] In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... List of years in Art // Georges Braque leaves the Academie Humbert. ... This article refers to an art institution in London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

In October 1907 Spare exhibited his drawings at the Bruton Gallery in London. Critics likened his work to that of Aubrey Beardsley, but Spare's images were full of grotesque, sexualized human figures and magical symbols. These elements appealed to avant-garde London intellectuals, and brought him to the attention of Aleister Crowley. He became a Probationer of Crowley's order Argenteum Astrum ("Of the Silver Star") in July 1909, but was not initiated as a member, although he contributed four small drawings to Crowley's publication The Equinox. Crowley later characterized Spare as a "Black Brother", meaning that he did not approve of the goals of Spare's magical philosophy. His magical motto was Yihoveaum.^[1] See also: 1906 in art, other events of 1907, 1908 in art, list of years in art. ... Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (August 21, 1872 – March 16, 1898) was an influential English illustrator, and author, best known for his erotic illustrations. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947; the surname is pronounced // i. ... 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... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 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. ... A Black Brother, as characterized by Crowley and others, is a renegade occultist, who does not contribute to or who opposes the liberation or exaltation of humankind. ...

His iconoclasm, distaste for the props and symbolism of ceremonial magic and his aversion to moralism as well as his innovative use of sigilization served to distinguish his personal style of magic which his friend and associate Kenneth Grant called Zos Kia Cultus. Spare would later say that he learned much from a Mrs. Paterson, an elderly descendant of witches from Salem Village. His work text The Focus of Life includes a pencil drawing of her. He also spoke of and drew portraits of a spirit guide named Black Eagle who often appeared in the form of an Amerindian man. Statues in the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, attacked in Reformation iconoclasm in the 16th century. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The term sigil may refer to: A seal (device) or signet ring. ... This article is about the British occultist. ... Zos Kia Cultus is a form, style, or school of magic developed by Austin Osman Spare. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Danvers is a town located in Essex County, Massachusetts. ... ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ...

In 1917, during World War I, Spare was conscripted into the British army, serving as a medical orderly of the Royal Army Medical Corps in London hospitals. He did not see active service, and was commissioned as an official War Artist in 1919. He visited the battlefields of France to record the work of the RAMC. Several of his works presently hang in the Imperial War Museum. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. ... Vasily Vereshchagin. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Imperial War Museum is a museum in London featuring military vehicles, weapons, war memorabilia, a library, a photographic archive, and an art collection of 20th century and later conflicts, especially those involving Britain, and the British Empire. ...

Although regarded as an artist of considerable talent and good prospects, Spare lived a rather secluded life from the mid 1920s onwards, falling out of step with changing trends and influences in the broader art scene. He sold his unique work for low prices at irregular exhibitions held in his home studio and in South London pubs. Spare expressed contempt at the idea of selling his works at higher prices - an option he could easily have had available to him. He worked very quickly and often finished drawings in minutes. The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... South London area South London (known colloquially as South of the River) is the area of London south of the River Thames. ...

Publications

Privately printed by Spare during his life time

• Earth Inferno 1905
• A Book of Satyrs 1907 (reissued by John Lane 1909)
• The Book of Pleasure 1913
• The Focus of Life 1921 (issued by The Morland Press)
• Anathema of Zos 1927

Books illustrated by Spare

• Behind The Veil issued by David Nutt, 1906
• Songs From The Classics published by David Nutt, 1907
• The Equinox published by Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd. 1909
• On the Oxford Circuit published by Smith, Elder & Co. 1909
• The Starlit Mire published by John Lane 1911
• Eight Poems published by Form at The Morland Press Ltd. 1916
• Twelve Poems published by The Morland Press Ltd. 1916
• The Gold Tree published by Martin Secker 1917
• The Shadow of the Ragged Stone published by Elkin Matthews 1919
• The Youth and the Sage privately printed, 1927

Magazines edited by Spare

• Form - A Quarterly Of The Arts 1916-1922
• Golden Hind 1922-1924

The majority of the books listed above are available as modern reprints. For a more complete listing see Clive Harper's Revised Notes Towards A Bibliography of Austin Osman Spare.

Significant titles published since Spare's death include Poems and Masks, A Book of Automatic Drawings, The Collected Works of Austin Osman Spare, Axiomata & The Witches' Sabbath, From The Inferno To Zos (3 Vol. Set), The Book of Ugly Ecstasy, and Zos Speaks.

Quotations

• "At no time in my life have I been a person to hold myself polluted by the touch, habits or approach of any creature other than those who were human shape." Austin Osman Spare, c.1945

See also

• Chaos magic

The chaos star (called a chaosphere, or black hole sun,[citations needed] by some practitioners) is the most popular symbol of chaos magic. ...

Notes

1. ^ Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley, page 237

References

• Barker, Phil (March 2001). "Stroke of Genius". Fortean Times (144). Retrieved on 2007-05-11. 
• Pinkerton, Mark (March 2001). "From Atavism to Zos: Spare's Philopsophy and Magic". Fortean Times (144). Retrieved on 2007-05-11. 

March 2001 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December March 3 - A U.S. Air Force Materials Command C-23 Sherpa transport crashes during stormy weather in the U.S. state of Georgia, killing 21. ... Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... March 2001 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December March 3 - A U.S. Air Force Materials Command C-23 Sherpa transport crashes during stormy weather in the U.S. state of Georgia, killing 21. ... Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• AustinSpare.co.uk: Articles, Genealogy, and Bibliography
• Introduction to The Book of Pleasure by Kenneth Grant
• Spare's illustrations for The Starlit Mire by James Bertram and F. Russell
• Artist and Familiar by Joseph Nechvatal