
Aleister Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was a British occultist, mystic, writer, poet, astrologer, sexual revolutionary, drug addict, painter, mountain climber, and social critic. He was quite notorious during his life, and was dubbed "The Wickedest Man In the World." ==Biography== Edward Alexander Crowley was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, between 11:00pm and 12 midnight on 12 October 1875. His father, Edward Crowley, once maintained a lucrative family brewing business and was retired at the time of Aleister's birth. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop, drew roots from a Devon and Somerset family. Aleister grew up in a staunch Plymouth Brethren household. His father, after retiring from his daily duties as a brewer, took up the practice of preaching at a fanatical pace. Daily Bible studies and private tutoring were mainstays in young Aleister's childhood, however his parents' efforts at indoctrinating their son in the Christian faith only served to provoke Aleister's skepticism. As a child, young Aleister's constant rebelious behavior displeased his devout mother to such an extent she would chastize him by calling him "The Beast" (from the Book of Revelations), an epithet that Crowley would later happily adopt for himself. He objected to the labelling of what he saw as life's most worthwhile and enjoyable activities as "sinful". In response, Crowley created his own "philosophical system", ''Occult Sciences'' — a synthesis of various Eastern mysticism systems (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Tantra, the predecessor to Western sex magick, Zoroastrianism and the many systems of Yoga) fused with the Western occult sciences of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the many reformed rituals of Freemasonry he later reformulated within the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O). This system is founded in scientific skepticism. His undergraduate studies in chemistry helped forge the scientific skepticism which later culminated in the many-volumed and unparalleled occult publication, ''The Equinox''. Involved as a young adult in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he first studied mysticism and made enemies of William Butler Yeats and Arthur Edward Waite. 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. His friend and former Golden Dawn associate Allan Bennett introduced him to the ideas of Buddhism, while MacGregor_Mathers, acting leader of the Golden Dawn organization, acted as his early mentor in western magick 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. In a book of fiction entitled ''Moonchild'', Crowley 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 in ''Moonchild'' as the main character's wise mentor, Simon Iff. 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 succinctly and vividly in ''MAGICK Book IV'' (See egolessness). 1902 saw him writing the essay ''Berashith'' (the first word of Genesis (Old Testament)), in which he gave meditation (or restraint of the mind to a single object) as the means of attaining his goal. The essay describes ceremony magic 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 Buddhism'', Crowley urged an empirical approach to Buddhist teachings. He said that a mystical experience in April, 1904 while on vacation in Cairo, Egypt led to his founding of the philosophy of religion known as Thelema. On 8 April and for the following two days at exactly noon he heard a voice, dictating the words of the text, ''Liber AL vel Legis'', or ''The Book of the Law,'' which Crowley transcribed. 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, and announced through his chosen scribe "the prince-priest the Beast." Portions of the book are in numerical cipher, which Crowley claimed the inability to decode. This is in part due to the fact that within the ''Book of the Law'' it was forewarned 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 dogma position would arise. It was years after the original trance sessions in Cairo that Crowley accepted the writing of the ''Book of the Law'' and followed its doctrine. Only after countless attempts to falsify 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. Crowley was notorious in his lifetime — a frequent target of attacks in the tabloid press, which labeled him "The Wickedest Man in the World" to his evident amusement. The claims made about him by the press range from the certain (that he supported the Germans in World War I), to the claim that he was an avowed atheism when he was obviously agnostic, to the unproven (that he openly kept mistresses), to the apparently ridiculous (that he sacrificed hundreds of babies in black magic rituals). At one point, he was expelled from Italy after having established a sort of commune, the organization of which was based on his personal philosophies, the Abbey of Thelema, at Cefalu, Sicily. 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: :"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." Aleister Crowley died of a respiratory infection in a Hastings boarding house on December 1, 1947. According to some accounts he died on 5 December. He was penniless and addicted to heroin at the time. His last words have been reported as, "I am perplexed.", though he did not die alone and the only other person with him, Patricia MacAlpine, the mother of his son, denied this. According to MacAlpine, Crowley remained bedridden for the last few days of his life, but was in light spirits and conversational. She claims he died in silence next to an open window. 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 occurring again. ==Thelema== The religious or mystical system which Crowley founded, into which most of his nonfiction writings fall, he named Thelema. The word is the ancient Greek θελημα, "will", from the verb εθελειν, ''ethelein'', meaning "to will" or "to wish." Thelema combines a radical form of philosophical libertarianism, akin in some ways to Friedrich Nietzsche, with a mystical initiatory system derived in part from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Chief among the precepts of Thelema is the sovereignty of the individual will: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is, as it were, the system's first commandment. 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 the "Magick Will." Much of the initiatory system of Thelema is focused on discovering one's true will, true purpose, or higher self. Much else is devoted to an Eastern-inspired dissolution of the individual ego, as a means to that end (see Choronzon). The second commandment 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 "magick" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual. Thelema draws on numerous older sources and, like many other new religious movements of its time, combines "Western" and "Eastern" traditions. Its chief Western influences include the Golden Dawn, Kabbalah, and elements of Freemasonry; Eastern influences include aspects of yoga, Taoism, and Tantra. The word ''Thelema'' finds its origins in the Bible, but was first brought into common usage by Rabelais, who wrote of the Abbey of Theleme, and had the motto ''"Fay ce que vouldras"'' or "Do what you will." This theme echoed Augustine of Hippo's "Love and do what you will" and was a part of the emerging philosophy of humanism. Others who adopted this idea were Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron Le Despencer and the Monks of Medmenham (better known as The Hellfire Club) as well as Sir Walter Besant and James Rice in their novel ''The Monks of Thelema'' (1878). ==Science, Magick, 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 meaning. In this he may be considered to foreshadow Dr. Timothy Leary, who at one point sought to apply the same method to psychedelic drug experiences. Yet like Leary's, Crowley's method has received little "scientific" attention outside the circle of Thelema's practitioners. 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. 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 this, Crowley was inspired by Paschal Beverly Randolph, an American author writing in the 1870s who wrote (in his book ''Eulis!'') of using the "nuptive moment" (orgasm) as the time to make a "prayer" for events to occur. While Randolph was interested in both the male and female partners, Crowley's version of sex magick was a male-centered activity and the female partner played a passive role. ==Women as inspiration== During March 1899 Crowley met, at one of the semi-public performances of MacGregor Mathers' Rites of Isis, an American soprano by the name of Susan Strong (3 August, 1870 - 11 March, 1946). Susan was the daughter of Dennis Strong, an American Congressman and mayor of Brooklyn. She had gone to the UK at the age of 21 and had enrolled in the Royal College of Music, London under the tutelage of the famous Hungarian musician Francis Korbay. Crowley met up with her again in London when she sang the part of Venus in Tannhauser on 22 June 1899. A torrid romance followed during which Susan swore to divorce her American husband and devote herself to Crowley. However on her return to the US, around October 1899, she apparently cooled in ardour. Crowley followed her to New York in June of the following year, but by then she was already on her way back to the UK to appear in perfomances of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. During 1900, while in Mexico City, Crowley experienced an epiphany, during which he transcribed his play, titled ''Tannhauser''. He attributed the inspiration of this play to his romance with Susan Strong. ==Writings== Within the subject of occultism Crowley wrote widely, penning commentaries on the Tarot ''(The Book of Thoth)'', yoga ''(Book Four)'', the Kabbalah ''(Sepher Sephiroth)'', astrology ''(The General Principles of Astrology)'', and numerous other subjects. He also wrote a Thelemic "translation" 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. He self-published many of his books, expending the majority of his inheritance to disseminate his views. Many of his fiction works, such as the "Simon Iff" detective stories and ''Moonchild'' have not received significant notice outside of occult circles. However his fictional work ''Diary Of A Drug Fiend'' has received acclaim from those involved in the field of substance-abuse rehabilitation. Crowley's most grandiose work is ''The Equinox'', a large bi-annual periodical that served as the official organ of the A.'.A.'., and, later, the O.T.O. It was subtitled "The Review of Scientific Illuminism" and remains one of the definitive works on occultism. Crowley's other major works include: * ''The Book of Lies'' * ''The Holy Books of Thelema'' * ''Konx om Pax'' Crowley had a peculiar sense of humour. In his ''Book Four'' 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. Many Crowley biographies relate the story of L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons and their attempt to create a "moonchild" (from Crowley's novel of that name). In Crowley's own words, "Apparently Parsons and Hubbard or somebody is producing a moonchild. I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts." Clearly the admiration Hubbard had for Crowley was not reciprocated. More famously still, he baited Christianity by naming himself To Mega Therion, or "The Great Beast" of the Book of Revelation. ==Crowley and Rock & Roll== A number of rock musicians have been fascinated by the persona and ideas of Aleister Crowley, and several have made reference to him or his work in their own. Popular music groups who have made passing references to Crowley include: *The Beatles, who placed him among dozens of other influential figures on the cover of their concept album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' *Iconic pop star ''Michael Jackson'', whose 1991 album ''Dangerous (album)'' featured a drawing of Crowley on the cover. *David Bowie, whose song "Quicksand", featured on his album ''Hunky Dory'', makes the reference "I'm closer to the Golden Dawn, immersed in Crowley's uniform of imagery..." *Numerous heavy metal music rockers, including Ozzy Osbourne and Ministry (band), who have referred to Crowley in lyrics, though their interpretations more often follow the tabloid "Satanist" image of Crowley and not his actual writings. Such lyrics dwell on Crowley's sometime use of Christian eschatological imagery such as the number 666 (number). *Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson (person), who once stated that Crowley was one of his favourite authors. On his album ''Antichrist Superstar'', the sentence "When you are suffering, know that I have betrayed you" supposedly rephrases a line from ''Liber AL vel Legis'': "Begone! ye mocker; even though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh not long: then when you are sad know that I have forsaken you." The line from ''Disposable Teens'' "I never really hated a one true god but the god of the people I hated" is believed to be a refrased version of the line from ''Confessions'' "I did not hate God or Christ, but merely the God and Christ of the people whom I hated." Also, in the song ''Misery Machine'' the chorus goes, 'We've gotta ride to the Abbey of Thelema.' *British music Current 93, fronted by a former member of the OTO, takes their name from a mystical term referring to Thelema itself, and has drawn extensive inspiration from Crowley's writings and works. *Polish death metal band Behemoth (band): a record of theirs is entitled Thelema.6. *The British gothic rock band Fields of the Nephilim, who make numerous indirect references to Crowley and to Thelema in their works, with the songs "Moonchild" and "Love Under Will" being more obvious examples. *German pop group Alphaville (group), noted for mystical references of various sorts, who penned a song about Crowley's wife Rose, entitled "Red Rose", which makes coded reference to a number of Thelemic and otherwise occult ideas. *The San Francisco-based Folk-Rock band Annwn, who have performed a similarly themed song, "The Scarlet Muse", about Leila Waddell, one of Crowley's mistresses. Some of the same performers, under the band name Nuit, have produced an album, ''Mother Night'', based in part on Thelemic mystical concepts. *There is a reference to the Diaries of Crowley in the song "Liezah" by The Coral. *The American nu metal quartet Mudvayne references one of Crowley's books in their song "Mercy, Severity". On their album The End of All Things to Come, the sentence "Pain of division is nothing, joy of dissolution is everything." rephrases a line from the Liber AL vel Legis: "This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all." Also, several bands have used samples of Crowley reading his own works, including British band Paradise Lost (band), Costa Rican band Dreams of Decadence and Finnish band Babylon Whores. Perhaps most curiously, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page owned Crowley's Loch Ness estate, Boleskine House, from 1971 to 1992. It is also said that on some pressings of the Led Zeppelin III album, one or more Aleister Crowley quotes are inscribed into the runoff matrix of the vinyl (the space between the last groove and the label.) == Mountaineering == In May 1905, he was approached by Dr Jules Jacot-Guillarmod (1868 - 1925) to accompany him on an expedition to Kanchenjunga. 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. Meawhile 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 coolies who had been sent ahead on July 24 and July 25, who were carrying food rations for the team. == Miscellany == Crowley also tried to mint a number of new terms instead of the established ones he felt inadequate. For example he spelled magic (paranormal) "magick" and renamed theurgy "high magick" and thaumaturgy "low magick". Many of his terms are still used by some practitioners. Crowley remains a popular icon of libertines and those interested in the theory and practice of magic. In the World of Darkness role-playing game metaverse, the Mage: The Ascension faction known as the Cult of Ecstasy claims Crowley as one of its own, though holding him up as an example of what ''not'' to do. Crowley has been attributed as selecting the "V for Victory" sign during World War II as used by Sir Winston Churchill. "In World War I Aleister Crowley ingratiated himself with a Hermetic sect in order to reveal to the Americans that its head was a highly dangerous German agent. In World War II it was well known in British Intelligence that many leading Nazis were interested in the occult and especially in astrology. Crowley did some work for MI5, but his project for dropping occult information by leaflet on the enemy was rejected by the authorities." - Richard Deacon, Spyclopaedia == See also == * The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn * Argenteum Astrum (A.A.) * Ordo Templi Orientis * The Equinox * Thoth Tarot * Thelemapedia ==References== * Carroll, Robert Todd (2004). "[http://skepdic.com/crowley.html Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)]". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 30 December 2004. *Crowley, Aleister(1990) "[http://deoxy.org/taowley.htm The Tao Teh King, Liber CLVII: THE EQUINOX Vol. III. No. VIII. ASCII VERSION]". Retrieved 30 December 2004. * [http://www.egnu.org/thelema/ Free Encyclopedia of Thelema] (2005). [http://www.egnu.org/thelema/index.php/The_Equinox The Equinox]. Retreived 24 March 2005. * In the novels of Robert Rankin, the character of Hugo Rune is partially inspired by Crowley. ==External links== *http://www.aleistercrowley.com/ *[http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Aleister_Crowley Aleister Crowley on Thelemapedia] *[http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/aleister-crowley/ Aleister Crowley - The Rotten Library] *[http://www.rinf.com/e-books/aleister-Crowley.html Aleister Crowley Ebooks] English occultists Satanism English astrologers English mountain climbers Gay, lesbian or bisexual people Thelema 1875 births 1947 deaths
Selected on Template:March 20 selected anniversaries (may be in HTML comment) --------- Interesting stuff here. A typical Wikipedia editing question: it seems to me that the one sentence regarding Crowley's death (listed under "Miscellany" in the article) should be part of the "Biography" section instead. His condition at the time of death seems like an interesting and important part of his life story. However the transition from the current last paragraph in that article to this one sentence on the end of his life seems like it would be rather abrupt. Any suggestions on joining these? Question for any experts watching: this article (currently) contains the Crowley quote "Apparently Parsons and Hubbard or somebody is producing a moonchild. I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts." Just before this quote the article relates it to Crowley's previously mentioned book of fiction, "Moonchild," but fails to actually define the term "moonchild." Does it perhaps have something to do with Babalon Working? --User:Jarsyl 07:12, 2004 Sep 16 (UTC) ---- Okay, writing NPOV about Crowley is extraordinarily hard. I have read and been interested in Crowley's ideas on and off for some years, though I am not a Thelemite or occult practitioner (or any other sort of religionist for that matter). I have left out of this extensive rewrite a lot of information about his life because I'm not sure I know how to write it neutrally. On the one hand he seems to have been a very interesting person with a very interesting story to tell; on the other hand he seems to have frequently been a scoundrel -- if not a borderline sociopath who for all his ethical philosophy did not know how to treat others very well. It seems to me that the three Non-Neutral Points of View that writing on Crowley risks falling into are as follows. I'm not going to be very sympathetic to any of them: * The Tabloid-Christian view, as espoused by the press during Crowley's career in Britain and by certain fundamentalists since then: "Crowley was a Satanist who sacrificed babies and did perverted things with goats!" * The Gushing-OTO-Cultist view, as espoused by some Thelemites today: "Crowley was a Saint and a Prophet of the New Aeon! See, it says here in Liber Q vel Schnipp-Schnapp that ...." * The Beyond-Skeptic-to-Cynic view, as espoused by far too many of my fellow atheists: "Crowley was nothing but a crazy con-man who wasted all his money publishing crazy poetry and seducing crazy women." Thank you, and have a nice fishie. --FOo ---- One more random sidenote: "Aiwas" or "Aivas" is Etruscan for the Greek name "Ajax", the name of two of the heroes of the Trojan War. --FOo ---- Fubar, I like most of what you've done on this page, but I see a problem with the line, "Yet like Leary's, Crowley's method had many evident failings". I suggest citing someone's critique of his method instead, or describing what you call its evident failings without comment. (The evident doesn't need comment, after all.) As you say, writing NPOV about Crowley presents difficulties. I think one of these modifications would improve the situation. Oh, and kudos on Liber Schnipp-Schnapp. ^_^ :Looks better. However, I think it may contradict the facts, at least in regard to Leary. I feel confident I could give some objective evidence for some of his hypotheses (notice the stress on the word 'some'.) We can say, for example, that his experiments produced zero suicides, zero psychoses, zero bad trips. We can say that researchers found a certain percentage of former prison volunteers still out of jail x years after an experiment in rehabilitation, and compare these numbers with national statistics. In other words, I think we could and would have tested some of Dr. Leary's psychological theories in an objective fashion, if not for Prohibition. --Dan ---- Removed from the page: ''(This idea of foreshadowing Dr. Tim seems to have come from an interview Dr. Tim did with Robert Anton Wilson http://www.rawilson.com in which he was asked if he felt he was continuing the work of Mr. Crowley.)'' Actually, none other than Israel Regardie commented on Leary, Aldous Huxley, and others in the mid-20th-c. seeming to continue Crowley's work -- in the introduction to Crowley's ''The Law is For All'', the annotated ''Liber Legis''. That was written in 1970. When was the Wilson interview? ---- Writing NPOV about Crowley is hard. That has got to be an understatement. I'd suggest sticking to the documented, undisputed facts of his life. I think you included everything that is undisputed by all sides. Maybe adding a section: Crowely: Legends and putting in some/all of the stories that are told of him. ------------ So..it is also just a "story" that he "invented" the V-sign? ..and it is also just a "story" that he was the archetype of the witch doctor in "Rosemary´s baby"? ..and it is also a "story" (just half-told) that he was claimed by Charles Manson as a teacher, predecessor etc.? ..and then we have the cycle: Charles Manson kills Sharon Tate and John Lennon was killed by another Crowley believer..in front of the same building where the movie was shot. Perhaps laughing is even possible in a coffin. So: watch your words! Eulenspiegel. ----- Removed section: ''==OTO and the Hellfire Club=='' '' Alister Crowley is well know as a satanist, sorcerer, and black magician and for saying "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.", which was originally coined by Sir Francis Dashwood of the Hellfire Club. There are many incidences of the Hellfire Club, which are all surrounded with rumours of sexual orgies and satanism. He was the founder of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), which is recognised as some the unoffical ranks above Freemasonry. Crowley was one of the most prominent members of the secret society netowrk, also a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and 33rd degre Freemason.'' :It's difficult to say what isn't inaccurate here. Crowley was not a Satanist. The phrase "Do what thou wilt thall be the whole of the Law" is from Rabelais. Crowley did not found OTO; indeed, one of ''today's'' OTO sects (Hermetic OTO) does not accept Crowley's "reforms" of that organization. Crowley was apparently involved with Masonry for a while, but not in a particularly regular fashion. [http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/Writings/AleisterCrowley.html] OTO is not an appendant branch of Masonry; if it were (as, say the Shriners are) that would mean that one must be a Mason to join OTO, which is not the case. --User:Fubar Obfusco 03:45, 11 May 2004 (UTC) He made the list of Hundred Greatest Britons which was done by the BBC. Is this interesting enough for me to try and find out how high he polled? I'm guessing it was a bit like the Jedi campaign in the census but I may be wrong. User:Secretlondon 22:26, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC) : It's here [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2208671.stm BBC list]. It was voted for by the public - they only published the top 10 which he didn't make. User:Secretlondon 22:34, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC) We seem to have a copy of the list at 100 Greatest Britons User:Morwen - User_talk:Morwen 23:37, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC) ---- I removed the distracting opening tag urging a mergefrom with the Crowley sections of egolessness since the article itself was referenced just below and there is no reason Crowley shouldn't be discussed there as well as here. User:Ortolan88 05:36, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ''Criticism:'' There should be ''some'' criticism of Crowley on any text on him. I personally think some of his writings are important, but there are issues in such a controversial figure that have to be criticised: ''Crowley and Satanism:'' He wrote a letter (or wanted to write - I saw both versions) to Trotzky asking him to eliminate Christianity. (Source John Symonds: The Great Beast) ''Crowley and Sexism:'' Crowley was (often) a sexist and wrote for example that women were soulless beings. (New Comment on Liber 220: Note that a woman, having no soul of her own, can be used always as a 'Form' for any Being. This explains why Nuit can incarnate at will in successive women, careless of the physical limits of life. {WEH NOTE: Crowley's opinion regarding the soul-less state of women refers to a matter of expression. He believed it more generally, but probably based it on Victorian male conceptions of "unliberated women". The Comment to this and the previous verse may say more about the defensive insecurity of Crowley the man than the verses of Liber AL. In Chapter I Comment, remember that all this is a male mind trying to contemplate the revelations of a goddess. Square peg and round hole problems may arise.}) He did beat some of his women.(Source John Symonds: The Great Beast) There are many sexist and antifeminist statements in his writings, and I don't have the time to search them all. To be fair, he did write some sentences that could be labelled as pro-feminist. But on the whole, I have the impression that he was rather antifeminist. ''Crowley and Totalitarianism:'' Crowley favored a monarchist and aristocratic society. He was against democracy. Or at least his writings can be interpreted in this way. (Confessions of A.C. There is no need for the fraud of divine right or the cant of democracy.) ''Crowley and Racism:'' He wrote for example: "..,we always somehow instinctively think of the Italian as a nigger. We don't call them "dagos" and "wops" as they do in the United States, with the invariable epithet of "dirty"; but we have the same feeling." (Source: Diary of a Drug Fiend, BookI-Chapter 9) ::You could probably write off 80% of Europeans as racist on similar grounds. Moreover, this is written in character, and I'm not sure that this Diary is necessarily of Crowley himself (despite the introduction claiming this is a true story). It seems like any late 1800s early 1900s writer has post-mortem racism charges piling upUser:Yeago 18:48, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC) There's a lot more to tell, about the accuracy and correctness of some of his writings, his influences, his megalomaniac nature, etc. --User:Lcmwda 22:57, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC) :I agree with you in some impressions. For instance, Crowley varies all over the place in his regard for women -- in one moment praising Woman as equivalent to the goddess Nuit and thus the infinite universe; at the next ascribing to women very little active role in his rituals. :I can't agree with you on the "Satanism" charge. A person can be opposed to Christianity without being a Satanist -- except in the fervid imaginations of certain fanatics who believe that every Hindu and Muslim and Neopagan is a secret Satanist. If you contrast Crowley's writings with (say) Anton Szandor LaVey's, you will find that Crowley does not use the image or ''ikon'' of Satan. He ''does'' use the image of Antichrist or Beast 666 (which even in Christian eschatology is distinct from Satan) -- if you dig into Crowleyana you will find that this stems from his own mother (a shriekingly pious member of the Puritan sect of the day) calling young Ed Alex Crowley "The Beast" for his mischief as a child. It is a metaphor. Crowley certainly does frequently invoke Pan (mythology), whose classical Greek goatish image was perverted into Satan's by later Christians -- but here Crowley reflects the Neopagan Pan much more than the Christian Satan. Satanism is basically a Christian heresy; and Crowley is no Christian, neither orthodox nor heretical. ::What about his "Hymn to Satan" in The Equinox (Vol. I., No. 10)? What about his commentary on the barbarous names of ''Liber Samekh''? There really must be a section on why he is regarded by some as a Satanist, even if he did not actively promote Satanism as such himself. User:Adityanath 02:09, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC) :On "totalitarianism", it is difficult indeed to see how the man who penned [http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib77.html Liber OZ], and that "every man and every woman is a star," can be called "totalitarian". Anarchist, if anything! :As for your "racism" quote, my copy of the novel ''Diary of a Drug Fiend'' seems to be missing at the moment, so I can't confirm it. I wonder if you would mind quoting to me the context -- say, the surrounding couple of paragraphs? Is this quote in the narrator's voice, or that of a character? --User:Fubar Obfusco 00:07, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC) == User:LinkBot/suggestions/Aleister_Crowley == An User:LinkBot has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Aleister_Crowley article, and they have been placed on User:LinkBot/suggestions/Aleister_Crowley for your convenience.
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::It's a possibility. But my main point is that 'visceral' and 'frigid' as descriptors don't really have a place in a Wikipedia article, given that they have emotional baggage. The author also needs to say what exactly the bigotry concerns. And, also, Victorian England - if meant literally - is incorrect, if meant figuratively is NPOV. User:Matthew Platts 02:31, 9 Mar 2005 (UTC) It isn't just an NPOV problem. It is incoherent and insulting language, and has no place in a Wikipedia article. --User:Fubar Obfusco 03:38, 9 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==To do (not necesarily by me)== * A few paragrphs on Thoth Tarot - a deck widely used today - he not only wrote about it, he designed the deck with Lady Frieda Harris * Disjointed - among other things the ''Moonchild'' references are scattered about. So is info about the 1904 Cairo experience. (I've moved the Cairo info) * The bankruptcy and death stuff probably belongs in the biography section. (I've now moved this) * Rock and roll references could be an article or list unto itself --User:Sparkit 21:17, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * Wife(s) and children? --User:Sparkit 22:44, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * Brothers and sisters? --User:Sparkit 23:36, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * How did he come to be called Aleister? --User:Sparkit 23:40, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * Did she deny these were his last words or that he died alone? "His last words were supposed to have been: "I am perplexed.", though he did not die alone and the only other person with him (Patricia MacAlpine, the mother of Crowley's son) denied this." --User:Sparkit 00:06, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Satanism? == Does Crowley belong in :category:Satanism? I'm adding him, but those who know him better are free to remove him if appropriate. Cheers, -User:Willmcw 08:38, Apr 1, 2005 (UTC) :I would say that he does belong. At the very least it is very clear that modern day satanists tend to have a lot of interest on his works. Also, the attitudes match very well indeed - both camps (Thelemites and Satanists, as well as AC himself) tend to love misdirection and self-centered, manipulative goals and strategies. One side effect is that it is very hard to acquire reliable detailed info about them. But for the purposes of wikipedia categories I would say there it fits well. User:Luis Dantas 11:51, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Sentence Ambiguity == The following sentence is ambiguous and I do not have enough knowledge of the subject matter to correct it: "His father, after retiring from his daily duties as a brewer, took up the practice of preaching at a fanatical pace." Does this sentence mean his father, after his normal day's work, began preaching? If so, what and to whom? Or does it mean after he retired from the profession of brewer went on to another career as a minister? Also, I would remove the word "practice" unless he was actually rehearsing to preach. Further, the last phrase could be simplified to "preaching fanatically." == Crowley and MI5 == I added this a few days ago without mentioning it to the list. Just getting started here and I wasn't yet aware of the community customs. Though I'm certain this claim is arguable (I've heard it in several different forms myself) it is rumored that Crowley had some involvement with MI5 during WWII. A quote I found from Spyclopaedia by Richard Deacon. "In World War I Aleister Crowley ingratiated himself with an Hermetic sect in order to reveal to the Americans that is head was a highly dangerous German agent. In World War II it was well known in British Intelligence that many leading Nazis were interested in the occult and especially in astrology. Crowley did some work for MI5, but his project for dropping occult information by leaflet on the enemy was rejected by the authorities." On a side note, an earlier poster contested that Crowley's interest in Freemasonry was fleeting, I tend to disagree. After having obtained clear-text copies of the initiation rituals of the O.T.O. I found that only small changes had been made to differentiate itself from the first three degrees of Freemasonry (the Blue Lodge). Even the officers, their respective duties, and positions are the strikingly similar. The O.T.O., along with nearly every other faction with which Crowley has been involved, are declared "clandestine" by Grand Lodges around the world. In many respects (w/ the O.T.O. at least) Crowley was "incorporating" the rituals and organization of Freemasonry into his "Black Lodges". He however maintained many of the respective symbols, phrases, and mysteries from the original source. This provoked much ire from the Freemasons of his time and even those of today. Note: I feel it is an important obsevation, but I don't think I could add anything to the Wiki entry on this because I have no ability to cite sources readily available to the casual reader. :( Mister E.
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Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was a British occultist, mystic, writer, poet, astrologer, sexual revolutionary, drug addict, painter, mountain climber, and social critic. He was quite notorious during his life, and was dubbed "The Wickedest Man In the World." ==Biography== Edward Alexander Crowley was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, between 11:00pm and 12 midnight on 12 October 1875. His father, Edward Crowley, once maintained a lucrative family brewing business and was retired at the time of Aleister's birth. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop, drew roots from a Devon and Somerset family. Aleister grew up in a staunch Plymouth Brethren household. His father, after retiring from his daily duties as a brewer, took up the practice of preaching at a fanatical pace. Daily Bible studies and private tutoring were mainstays in young Aleister's childhood, however his parents' efforts at indoctrinating their son in the Christian faith only served to provoke Aleister's skepticism. As a child, young Aleister's constant rebelious behavior displeased his devout mother to such an extent she would chastize him by calling him "The Beast" (from the Book of Revelations), an epithet that Crowley would later happily adopt for himself. He objected to the labelling of what he saw as life's most worthwhile and enjoyable activities as "sinful". In response, Crowley created his own "philosophical system", ''Occult Sciences'' — a synthesis of various Eastern mysticism systems (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Tantra, the predecessor to Western sex magick, Zoroastrianism and the many systems of Yoga) fused with the Western occult sciences of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the many reformed rituals of Freemasonry he later reformulated within the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O). This system is founded in scientific skepticism. His undergraduate studies in chemistry helped forge the scientific skepticism which later culminated in the many-volumed and unparalleled occult publication, ''The Equinox''. Involved as a young adult in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he first studied mysticism and made enemies of William Butler Yeats and Arthur Edward Waite. 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. His friend and former Golden Dawn associate Allan Bennett introduced him to the ideas of Buddhism, while MacGregor_Mathers, acting leader of the Golden Dawn organization, acted as his early mentor in western magick 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. In a book of fiction entitled ''Moonchild'', Crowley 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 in ''Moonchild'' as the main character's wise mentor, Simon Iff. 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 succinctly and vividly in ''MAGICK Book IV'' (See egolessness). 1902 saw him writing the essay ''Berashith'' (the first word of Genesis (Old Testament)), in which he gave meditation (or restraint of the mind to a single object) as the means of attaining his goal. The essay describes ceremony magic 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 Buddhism'', Crowley urged an empirical approach to Buddhist teachings. He said that a mystical experience in April, 1904 while on vacation in Cairo, Egypt led to his founding of the philosophy of religion known as Thelema. On 8 April and for the following two days at exactly noon he heard a voice, dictating the words of the text, ''Liber AL vel Legis'', or ''The Book of the Law,'' which Crowley transcribed. 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, and announced through his chosen scribe "the prince-priest the Beast." Portions of the book are in numerical cipher, which Crowley claimed the inability to decode. This is in part due to the fact that within the ''Book of the Law'' it was forewarned 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 dogma position would arise. It was years after the original trance sessions in Cairo that Crowley accepted the writing of the ''Book of the Law'' and followed its doctrine. Only after countless attempts to falsify 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. Crowley was notorious in his lifetime — a frequent target of attacks in the tabloid press, which labeled him "The Wickedest Man in the World" to his evident amusement. The claims made about him by the press range from the certain (that he supported the Germans in World War I), to the claim that he was an avowed atheism when he was obviously agnostic, to the unproven (that he openly kept mistresses), to the apparently ridiculous (that he sacrificed hundreds of babies in black magic rituals). At one point, he was expelled from Italy after having established a sort of commune, the organization of which was based on his personal philosophies, the Abbey of Thelema, at Cefalu, Sicily. 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: :"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." Aleister Crowley died of a respiratory infection in a Hastings boarding house on December 1, 1947. According to some accounts he died on 5 December. He was penniless and addicted to heroin at the time. His last words have been reported as, "I am perplexed.", though he did not die alone and the only other person with him, Patricia MacAlpine, the mother of his son, denied this. According to MacAlpine, Crowley remained bedridden for the last few days of his life, but was in light spirits and conversational. She claims he died in silence next to an open window. 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 occurring again. ==Thelema== The religious or mystical system which Crowley founded, into which most of his nonfiction writings fall, he named Thelema. The word is the ancient Greek θελημα, "will", from the verb εθελειν, ''ethelein'', meaning "to will" or "to wish." Thelema combines a radical form of philosophical libertarianism, akin in some ways to Friedrich Nietzsche, with a mystical initiatory system derived in part from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Chief among the precepts of Thelema is the sovereignty of the individual will: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is, as it were, the system's first commandment. 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 the "Magick Will." Much of the initiatory system of Thelema is focused on discovering one's true will, true purpose, or higher self. Much else is devoted to an Eastern-inspired dissolution of the individual ego, as a means to that end (see Choronzon). The second commandment 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 "magick" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual. Thelema draws on numerous older sources and, like many other new religious movements of its time, combines "Western" and "Eastern" traditions. Its chief Western influences include the Golden Dawn, Kabbalah, and elements of Freemasonry; Eastern influences include aspects of yoga, Taoism, and Tantra. The word ''Thelema'' finds its origins in the Bible, but was first brought into common usage by Rabelais, who wrote of the Abbey of Theleme, and had the motto ''"Fay ce que vouldras"'' or "Do what you will." This theme echoed Augustine of Hippo's "Love and do what you will" and was a part of the emerging philosophy of humanism. Others who adopted this idea were Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron Le Despencer and the Monks of Medmenham (better known as The Hellfire Club) as well as Sir Walter Besant and James Rice in their novel ''The Monks of Thelema'' (1878). ==Science, Magick, 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 meaning. In this he may be considered to foreshadow Dr. Timothy Leary, who at one point sought to apply the same method to psychedelic drug experiences. Yet like Leary's, Crowley's method has received little "scientific" attention outside the circle of Thelema's practitioners. 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. 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 this, Crowley was inspired by Paschal Beverly Randolph, an American author writing in the 1870s who wrote (in his book ''Eulis!'') of using the "nuptive moment" (orgasm) as the time to make a "prayer" for events to occur. While Randolph was interested in both the male and female partners, Crowley's version of sex magick was a male-centered activity and the female partner played a passive role. ==Women as inspiration== During March 1899 Crowley met, at one of the semi-public performances of MacGregor Mathers' Rites of Isis, an American soprano by the name of Susan Strong (3 August, 1870 - 11 March, 1946). Susan was the daughter of Dennis Strong, an American Congressman and mayor of Brooklyn. She had gone to the UK at the age of 21 and had enrolled in the Royal College of Music, London under the tutelage of the famous Hungarian musician Francis Korbay. Crowley met up with her again in London when she sang the part of Venus in Tannhauser on 22 June 1899. A torrid romance followed during which Susan swore to divorce her American husband and devote herself to Crowley. However on her return to the US, around October 1899, she apparently cooled in ardour. Crowley followed her to New York in June of the following year, but by then she was already on her way back to the UK to appear in perfomances of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. During 1900, while in Mexico City, Crowley experienced an epiphany, during which he transcribed his play, titled ''Tannhauser''. He attributed the inspiration of this play to his romance with Susan Strong. ==Writings== Within the subject of occultism Crowley wrote widely, penning commentaries on the Tarot ''(The Book of Thoth)'', yoga ''(Book Four)'', the Kabbalah ''(Sepher Sephiroth)'', astrology ''(The General Principles of Astrology)'', and numerous other subjects. He also wrote a Thelemic "translation" 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. He self-published many of his books, expending the majority of his inheritance to disseminate his views. Many of his fiction works, such as the "Simon Iff" detective stories and ''Moonchild'' have not received significant notice outside of occult circles. However his fictional work ''Diary Of A Drug Fiend'' has received acclaim from those involved in the field of substance-abuse rehabilitation. Crowley's most grandiose work is ''The Equinox'', a large bi-annual periodical that served as the official organ of the A.'.A.'., and, later, the O.T.O. It was subtitled "The Review of Scientific Illuminism" and remains one of the definitive works on occultism. Crowley's other major works include: * ''The Book of Lies'' * ''The Holy Books of Thelema'' * ''Konx om Pax'' Crowley had a peculiar sense of humour. In his ''Book Four'' 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. Many Crowley biographies relate the story of L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons and their attempt to create a "moonchild" (from Crowley's novel of that name). In Crowley's own words, "Apparently Parsons and Hubbard or somebody is producing a moonchild. I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts." Clearly the admiration Hubbard had for Crowley was not reciprocated. More famously still, he baited Christianity by naming himself To Mega Therion, or "The Great Beast" of the Book of Revelation. ==Crowley and Rock & Roll== A number of rock musicians have been fascinated by the persona and ideas of Aleister Crowley, and several have made reference to him or his work in their own. Popular music groups who have made passing references to Crowley include: *The Beatles, who placed him among dozens of other influential figures on the cover of their concept album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' *Iconic pop star ''Michael Jackson'', whose 1991 album ''Dangerous (album)'' featured a drawing of Crowley on the cover. *David Bowie, whose song "Quicksand", featured on his album ''Hunky Dory'', makes the reference "I'm closer to the Golden Dawn, immersed in Crowley's uniform of imagery..." *Numerous heavy metal music rockers, including Ozzy Osbourne and Ministry (band), who have referred to Crowley in lyrics, though their interpretations more often follow the tabloid "Satanist" image of Crowley and not his actual writings. Such lyrics dwell on Crowley's sometime use of Christian eschatological imagery such as the number 666 (number). *Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson (person), who once stated that Crowley was one of his favourite authors. On his album ''Antichrist Superstar'', the sentence "When you are suffering, know that I have betrayed you" supposedly rephrases a line from ''Liber AL vel Legis'': "Begone! ye mocker; even though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh not long: then when you are sad know that I have forsaken you." The line from ''Disposable Teens'' "I never really hated a one true god but the god of the people I hated" is believed to be a refrased version of the line from ''Confessions'' "I did not hate God or Christ, but merely the God and Christ of the people whom I hated." Also, in the song ''Misery Machine'' the chorus goes, 'We've gotta ride to the Abbey of Thelema.' *British music Current 93, fronted by a former member of the OTO, takes their name from a mystical term referring to Thelema itself, and has drawn extensive inspiration from Crowley's writings and works. *Polish death metal band Behemoth (band): a record of theirs is entitled Thelema.6. *The British gothic rock band Fields of the Nephilim, who make numerous indirect references to Crowley and to Thelema in their works, with the songs "Moonchild" and "Love Under Will" being more obvious examples. *German pop group Alphaville (group), noted for mystical references of various sorts, who penned a song about Crowley's wife Rose, entitled "Red Rose", which makes coded reference to a number of Thelemic and otherwise occult ideas. *The San Francisco-based Folk-Rock band Annwn, who have performed a similarly themed song, "The Scarlet Muse", about Leila Waddell, one of Crowley's mistresses. Some of the same performers, under the band name Nuit, have produced an album, ''Mother Night'', based in part on Thelemic mystical concepts. *There is a reference to the Diaries of Crowley in the song "Liezah" by The Coral. *The American nu metal quartet Mudvayne references one of Crowley's books in their song "Mercy, Severity". On their album The End of All Things to Come, the sentence "Pain of division is nothing, joy of dissolution is everything." rephrases a line from the Liber AL vel Legis: "This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all." Also, several bands have used samples of Crowley reading his own works, including British band Paradise Lost (band), Costa Rican band Dreams of Decadence and Finnish band Babylon Whores. Perhaps most curiously, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page owned Crowley's Loch Ness estate, Boleskine House, from 1971 to 1992. It is also said that on some pressings of the Led Zeppelin III album, one or more Aleister Crowley quotes are inscribed into the runoff matrix of the vinyl (the space between the last groove and the label.) == Mountaineering == In May 1905, he was approached by Dr Jules Jacot-Guillarmod (1868 - 1925) to accompany him on an expedition to Kanchenjunga. 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. Meawhile 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 coolies who had been sent ahead on July 24 and July 25, who were carrying food rations for the team. == Miscellany == Crowley also tried to mint a number of new terms instead of the established ones he felt inadequate. For example he spelled magic (paranormal) "magick" and renamed theurgy "high magick" and thaumaturgy "low magick". Many of his terms are still used by some practitioners. Crowley remains a popular icon of libertines and those interested in the theory and practice of magic. In the World of Darkness role-playing game metaverse, the Mage: The Ascension faction known as the Cult of Ecstasy claims Crowley as one of its own, though holding him up as an example of what ''not'' to do. Crowley has been attributed as selecting the "V for Victory" sign during World War II as used by Sir Winston Churchill. "In World War I Aleister Crowley ingratiated himself with a Hermetic sect in order to reveal to the Americans that its head was a highly dangerous German agent. In World War II it was well known in British Intelligence that many leading Nazis were interested in the occult and especially in astrology. Crowley did some work for MI5, but his project for dropping occult information by leaflet on the enemy was rejected by the authorities." - Richard Deacon, Spyclopaedia == See also == * The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn * Argenteum Astrum (A.A.) * Ordo Templi Orientis * The Equinox * Thoth Tarot * Thelemapedia ==References== * Carroll, Robert Todd (2004). "[http://skepdic.com/crowley.html Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)]". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 30 December 2004. *Crowley, Aleister(1990) "[http://deoxy.org/taowley.htm The Tao Teh King, Liber CLVII: THE EQUINOX Vol. III. No. VIII. ASCII VERSION]". Retrieved 30 December 2004. * [http://www.egnu.org/thelema/ Free Encyclopedia of Thelema] (2005). [http://www.egnu.org/thelema/index.php/The_Equinox The Equinox]. Retreived 24 March 2005. * In the novels of Robert Rankin, the character of Hugo Rune is partially inspired by Crowley. ==External links== *http://www.aleistercrowley.com/ *[http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Aleister_Crowley Aleister Crowley on Thelemapedia] *[http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/aleister-crowley/ Aleister Crowley - The Rotten Library] *[http://www.rinf.com/e-books/aleister-Crowley.html Aleister Crowley Ebooks] English occultists Satanism English astrologers English mountain climbers Gay, lesbian or bisexual people Thelema 1875 births 1947 deaths
Aleister Crowley
Selected on Template:March 20 selected anniversaries (may be in HTML comment) --------- Interesting stuff here. A typical Wikipedia editing question: it seems to me that the one sentence regarding Crowley's death (listed under "Miscellany" in the article) should be part of the "Biography" section instead. His condition at the time of death seems like an interesting and important part of his life story. However the transition from the current last paragraph in that article to this one sentence on the end of his life seems like it would be rather abrupt. Any suggestions on joining these? Question for any experts watching: this article (currently) contains the Crowley quote "Apparently Parsons and Hubbard or somebody is producing a moonchild. I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts." Just before this quote the article relates it to Crowley's previously mentioned book of fiction, "Moonchild," but fails to actually define the term "moonchild." Does it perhaps have something to do with Babalon Working? --User:Jarsyl 07:12, 2004 Sep 16 (UTC) ---- Okay, writing NPOV about Crowley is extraordinarily hard. I have read and been interested in Crowley's ideas on and off for some years, though I am not a Thelemite or occult practitioner (or any other sort of religionist for that matter). I have left out of this extensive rewrite a lot of information about his life because I'm not sure I know how to write it neutrally. On the one hand he seems to have been a very interesting person with a very interesting story to tell; on the other hand he seems to have frequently been a scoundrel -- if not a borderline sociopath who for all his ethical philosophy did not know how to treat others very well. It seems to me that the three Non-Neutral Points of View that writing on Crowley risks falling into are as follows. I'm not going to be very sympathetic to any of them: * The Tabloid-Christian view, as espoused by the press during Crowley's career in Britain and by certain fundamentalists since then: "Crowley was a Satanist who sacrificed babies and did perverted things with goats!" * The Gushing-OTO-Cultist view, as espoused by some Thelemites today: "Crowley was a Saint and a Prophet of the New Aeon! See, it says here in Liber Q vel Schnipp-Schnapp that ...." * The Beyond-Skeptic-to-Cynic view, as espoused by far too many of my fellow atheists: "Crowley was nothing but a crazy con-man who wasted all his money publishing crazy poetry and seducing crazy women." Thank you, and have a nice fishie. --FOo ---- One more random sidenote: "Aiwas" or "Aivas" is Etruscan for the Greek name "Ajax", the name of two of the heroes of the Trojan War. --FOo ---- Fubar, I like most of what you've done on this page, but I see a problem with the line, "Yet like Leary's, Crowley's method had many evident failings". I suggest citing someone's critique of his method instead, or describing what you call its evident failings without comment. (The evident doesn't need comment, after all.) As you say, writing NPOV about Crowley presents difficulties. I think one of these modifications would improve the situation. Oh, and kudos on Liber Schnipp-Schnapp. ^_^ :Looks better. However, I think it may contradict the facts, at least in regard to Leary. I feel confident I could give some objective evidence for some of his hypotheses (notice the stress on the word 'some'.) We can say, for example, that his experiments produced zero suicides, zero psychoses, zero bad trips. We can say that researchers found a certain percentage of former prison volunteers still out of jail x years after an experiment in rehabilitation, and compare these numbers with national statistics. In other words, I think we could and would have tested some of Dr. Leary's psychological theories in an objective fashion, if not for Prohibition. --Dan ---- Removed from the page: ''(This idea of foreshadowing Dr. Tim seems to have come from an interview Dr. Tim did with Robert Anton Wilson http://www.rawilson.com in which he was asked if he felt he was continuing the work of Mr. Crowley.)'' Actually, none other than Israel Regardie commented on Leary, Aldous Huxley, and others in the mid-20th-c. seeming to continue Crowley's work -- in the introduction to Crowley's ''The Law is For All'', the annotated ''Liber Legis''. That was written in 1970. When was the Wilson interview? ---- Writing NPOV about Crowley is hard. That has got to be an understatement. I'd suggest sticking to the documented, undisputed facts of his life. I think you included everything that is undisputed by all sides. Maybe adding a section: Crowely: Legends and putting in some/all of the stories that are told of him. ------------ So..it is also just a "story" that he "invented" the V-sign? ..and it is also just a "story" that he was the archetype of the witch doctor in "Rosemary´s baby"? ..and it is also a "story" (just half-told) that he was claimed by Charles Manson as a teacher, predecessor etc.? ..and then we have the cycle: Charles Manson kills Sharon Tate and John Lennon was killed by another Crowley believer..in front of the same building where the movie was shot. Perhaps laughing is even possible in a coffin. So: watch your words! Eulenspiegel. ----- Removed section: ''==OTO and the Hellfire Club=='' '' Alister Crowley is well know as a satanist, sorcerer, and black magician and for saying "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.", which was originally coined by Sir Francis Dashwood of the Hellfire Club. There are many incidences of the Hellfire Club, which are all surrounded with rumours of sexual orgies and satanism. He was the founder of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), which is recognised as some the unoffical ranks above Freemasonry. Crowley was one of the most prominent members of the secret society netowrk, also a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and 33rd degre Freemason.'' :It's difficult to say what isn't inaccurate here. Crowley was not a Satanist. The phrase "Do what thou wilt thall be the whole of the Law" is from Rabelais. Crowley did not found OTO; indeed, one of ''today's'' OTO sects (Hermetic OTO) does not accept Crowley's "reforms" of that organization. Crowley was apparently involved with Masonry for a while, but not in a particularly regular fashion. [http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/Writings/AleisterCrowley.html] OTO is not an appendant branch of Masonry; if it were (as, say the Shriners are) that would mean that one must be a Mason to join OTO, which is not the case. --User:Fubar Obfusco 03:45, 11 May 2004 (UTC) He made the list of Hundred Greatest Britons which was done by the BBC. Is this interesting enough for me to try and find out how high he polled? I'm guessing it was a bit like the Jedi campaign in the census but I may be wrong. User:Secretlondon 22:26, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC) : It's here [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2208671.stm BBC list]. It was voted for by the public - they only published the top 10 which he didn't make. User:Secretlondon 22:34, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC) We seem to have a copy of the list at 100 Greatest Britons User:Morwen - User_talk:Morwen 23:37, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC) ---- I removed the distracting opening tag urging a mergefrom with the Crowley sections of egolessness since the article itself was referenced just below and there is no reason Crowley shouldn't be discussed there as well as here. User:Ortolan88 05:36, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ''Criticism:'' There should be ''some'' criticism of Crowley on any text on him. I personally think some of his writings are important, but there are issues in such a controversial figure that have to be criticised: ''Crowley and Satanism:'' He wrote a letter (or wanted to write - I saw both versions) to Trotzky asking him to eliminate Christianity. (Source John Symonds: The Great Beast) ''Crowley and Sexism:'' Crowley was (often) a sexist and wrote for example that women were soulless beings. (New Comment on Liber 220: Note that a woman, having no soul of her own, can be used always as a 'Form' for any Being. This explains why Nuit can incarnate at will in successive women, careless of the physical limits of life. {WEH NOTE: Crowley's opinion regarding the soul-less state of women refers to a matter of expression. He believed it more generally, but probably based it on Victorian male conceptions of "unliberated women". The Comment to this and the previous verse may say more about the defensive insecurity of Crowley the man than the verses of Liber AL. In Chapter I Comment, remember that all this is a male mind trying to contemplate the revelations of a goddess. Square peg and round hole problems may arise.}) He did beat some of his women.(Source John Symonds: The Great Beast) There are many sexist and antifeminist statements in his writings, and I don't have the time to search them all. To be fair, he did write some sentences that could be labelled as pro-feminist. But on the whole, I have the impression that he was rather antifeminist. ''Crowley and Totalitarianism:'' Crowley favored a monarchist and aristocratic society. He was against democracy. Or at least his writings can be interpreted in this way. (Confessions of A.C. There is no need for the fraud of divine right or the cant of democracy.) ''Crowley and Racism:'' He wrote for example: "..,we always somehow instinctively think of the Italian as a nigger. We don't call them "dagos" and "wops" as they do in the United States, with the invariable epithet of "dirty"; but we have the same feeling." (Source: Diary of a Drug Fiend, BookI-Chapter 9) ::You could probably write off 80% of Europeans as racist on similar grounds. Moreover, this is written in character, and I'm not sure that this Diary is necessarily of Crowley himself (despite the introduction claiming this is a true story). It seems like any late 1800s early 1900s writer has post-mortem racism charges piling upUser:Yeago 18:48, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC) There's a lot more to tell, about the accuracy and correctness of some of his writings, his influences, his megalomaniac nature, etc. --User:Lcmwda 22:57, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC) :I agree with you in some impressions. For instance, Crowley varies all over the place in his regard for women -- in one moment praising Woman as equivalent to the goddess Nuit and thus the infinite universe; at the next ascribing to women very little active role in his rituals. :I can't agree with you on the "Satanism" charge. A person can be opposed to Christianity without being a Satanist -- except in the fervid imaginations of certain fanatics who believe that every Hindu and Muslim and Neopagan is a secret Satanist. If you contrast Crowley's writings with (say) Anton Szandor LaVey's, you will find that Crowley does not use the image or ''ikon'' of Satan. He ''does'' use the image of Antichrist or Beast 666 (which even in Christian eschatology is distinct from Satan) -- if you dig into Crowleyana you will find that this stems from his own mother (a shriekingly pious member of the Puritan sect of the day) calling young Ed Alex Crowley "The Beast" for his mischief as a child. It is a metaphor. Crowley certainly does frequently invoke Pan (mythology), whose classical Greek goatish image was perverted into Satan's by later Christians -- but here Crowley reflects the Neopagan Pan much more than the Christian Satan. Satanism is basically a Christian heresy; and Crowley is no Christian, neither orthodox nor heretical. ::What about his "Hymn to Satan" in The Equinox (Vol. I., No. 10)? What about his commentary on the barbarous names of ''Liber Samekh''? There really must be a section on why he is regarded by some as a Satanist, even if he did not actively promote Satanism as such himself. User:Adityanath 02:09, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC) :On "totalitarianism", it is difficult indeed to see how the man who penned [http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib77.html Liber OZ], and that "every man and every woman is a star," can be called "totalitarian". Anarchist, if anything! :As for your "racism" quote, my copy of the novel ''Diary of a Drug Fiend'' seems to be missing at the moment, so I can't confirm it. I wonder if you would mind quoting to me the context -- say, the surrounding couple of paragraphs? Is this quote in the narrator's voice, or that of a character? --User:Fubar Obfusco 00:07, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC) == User:LinkBot/suggestions/Aleister_Crowley == An User:LinkBot has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Aleister_Crowley article, and they have been placed on User:LinkBot/suggestions/Aleister_Crowley for your convenience.
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::It's a possibility. But my main point is that 'visceral' and 'frigid' as descriptors don't really have a place in a Wikipedia article, given that they have emotional baggage. The author also needs to say what exactly the bigotry concerns. And, also, Victorian England - if meant literally - is incorrect, if meant figuratively is NPOV. User:Matthew Platts 02:31, 9 Mar 2005 (UTC) It isn't just an NPOV problem. It is incoherent and insulting language, and has no place in a Wikipedia article. --User:Fubar Obfusco 03:38, 9 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==To do (not necesarily by me)== * A few paragrphs on Thoth Tarot - a deck widely used today - he not only wrote about it, he designed the deck with Lady Frieda Harris * Disjointed - among other things the ''Moonchild'' references are scattered about. So is info about the 1904 Cairo experience. (I've moved the Cairo info) * The bankruptcy and death stuff probably belongs in the biography section. (I've now moved this) * Rock and roll references could be an article or list unto itself --User:Sparkit 21:17, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * Wife(s) and children? --User:Sparkit 22:44, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * Brothers and sisters? --User:Sparkit 23:36, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * How did he come to be called Aleister? --User:Sparkit 23:40, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) * Did she deny these were his last words or that he died alone? "His last words were supposed to have been: "I am perplexed.", though he did not die alone and the only other person with him (Patricia MacAlpine, the mother of Crowley's son) denied this." --User:Sparkit 00:06, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Satanism? == Does Crowley belong in :category:Satanism? I'm adding him, but those who know him better are free to remove him if appropriate. Cheers, -User:Willmcw 08:38, Apr 1, 2005 (UTC) :I would say that he does belong. At the very least it is very clear that modern day satanists tend to have a lot of interest on his works. Also, the attitudes match very well indeed - both camps (Thelemites and Satanists, as well as AC himself) tend to love misdirection and self-centered, manipulative goals and strategies. One side effect is that it is very hard to acquire reliable detailed info about them. But for the purposes of wikipedia categories I would say there it fits well. User:Luis Dantas 11:51, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Sentence Ambiguity == The following sentence is ambiguous and I do not have enough knowledge of the subject matter to correct it: "His father, after retiring from his daily duties as a brewer, took up the practice of preaching at a fanatical pace." Does this sentence mean his father, after his normal day's work, began preaching? If so, what and to whom? Or does it mean after he retired from the profession of brewer went on to another career as a minister? Also, I would remove the word "practice" unless he was actually rehearsing to preach. Further, the last phrase could be simplified to "preaching fanatically." == Crowley and MI5 == I added this a few days ago without mentioning it to the list. Just getting started here and I wasn't yet aware of the community customs. Though I'm certain this claim is arguable (I've heard it in several different forms myself) it is rumored that Crowley had some involvement with MI5 during WWII. A quote I found from Spyclopaedia by Richard Deacon. "In World War I Aleister Crowley ingratiated himself with an Hermetic sect in order to reveal to the Americans that is head was a highly dangerous German agent. In World War II it was well known in British Intelligence that many leading Nazis were interested in the occult and especially in astrology. Crowley did some work for MI5, but his project for dropping occult information by leaflet on the enemy was rejected by the authorities." On a side note, an earlier poster contested that Crowley's interest in Freemasonry was fleeting, I tend to disagree. After having obtained clear-text copies of the initiation rituals of the O.T.O. I found that only small changes had been made to differentiate itself from the first three degrees of Freemasonry (the Blue Lodge). Even the officers, their respective duties, and positions are the strikingly similar. The O.T.O., along with nearly every other faction with which Crowley has been involved, are declared "clandestine" by Grand Lodges around the world. In many respects (w/ the O.T.O. at least) Crowley was "incorporating" the rituals and organization of Freemasonry into his "Black Lodges". He however maintained many of the respective symbols, phrases, and mysteries from the original source. This provoked much ire from the Freemasons of his time and even those of today. Note: I feel it is an important obsevation, but I don't think I could add anything to the Wiki entry on this because I have no ability to cite sources readily available to the casual reader. :( Mister E.
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