The Magician and the Alchemist

On a biographical level we can see many interesting similarities between Crowley and Jung. Both of their fathers were intimately involved with the propagation of the Christian message. As a result Crowley and Jung had a firm background in Christianity and that tradition's endemic symbol system. For both individuals this symbol system was a major influence on their thought and in their own way each attempted to bring a new interpretation to Christianity. Jung attempted to give the central myths a psychological interpretation,⁽²⁶⁰⁾ questionably in accordance with Christian orthodoxy, while Crowley attempted to demonstrate that there was a social and spiritual shift in which the Christian paradigm (as a representative of the Aeon of Osiris) was outdated and violently oppressive. Crowley, and Jung to some degree, felt that Christianity needed to be replaced not revised.

As children both Crowley and Jung had difficulty socializing. Crowley always felt himself to be an outcast and would later embrace this attribute of his life.⁽²⁶¹⁾ Much of Crowley's life was spent in some form of isolation both self-induced and socially or politically enforced. Whether mountain climbing or trekking across Asia Crowley was comfortable with this sense of solitude.⁽²⁶²⁾

Jung also had difficulty fitting in during his early school years.⁽²⁶³⁾ When Jung was twelve (1887) he was shoved by another boy and struck his head on a curb, nearly knocking him unconscious. At the moment of the blow Jung recalls thinking "Now you won't have to go to school any more."⁽²⁶⁴⁾ For approximately six months following the initial trauma Jung would have fainting spells whenever he had to go to school and as a result he became more and more withdrawn. His parents and doctors did not know what malaise was causing the fainting spells, some doctors assumed it was epilepsy.

Jung's self-induced withdrawal from the "real world" was cut short when Jung overheard his father stating to a visitor that he, Jung Sr., was concerned that he may not be able to support his son should the condition continue indefinitely. This realization was highly transformative to the younger Jung. In all seriousness Jung declared "Why, then, I must work!"⁽²⁶⁵⁾ and recalls from that day on he became a "serious child." With that Jung confronted and defeated the fainting spells. We can also see Jung's tendencies towards solitude with his building of his Tower (Bollingen) which, in 1947, he began to frequent for greater and greater periods of time.

Despite their solitary natures neither of the men could be considered antisocial. Crowley, for example, thrived on attention. He would do or say anything which would fly directly in the face of socially acceptable behavior.⁽²⁶⁶⁾ While he denounced blind followers⁽²⁶⁷⁾, he also took great satisfaction at testing and trying the fortitude of many of his students, sometimes with a touch of malevolent glee. Jung too demonstrated active social interaction through his various lectures and travels throughout Europe, India, and Africa.

One major difference between Crowley and Jung, in regards to their travels, was their attitude toward foreign cultures. When Crowley traveled to India, Africa, Asia, or the United States, he would attempt, at some point throughout the trip, to "go native" by adopting the local attire, customs and if possible the language.⁽²⁶⁸⁾ In many ways Crowley's personality was highly malleable. However, Jung while appreciating other cultures, seemed to be wary, at least in his own case, that over identification with another culture's symbol system (take India for example) could pose a potential danger to his self identity. Jung fought to maintain an ego identity throughout his life.⁽²⁶⁹⁾ Jung was also concerned that aspects of "Eastern" religion could not easily be imported into the "West," though in many ways the "Eastern" traditions contained the very thing the "Western" traditions were missing, i.e., a direct experience of divinity (unconscious). Aside from these interesting personal anecdotes, the most striking biographical commonality between Crowley and Jung was their individual experience with what could be termed "paranormal" occurrences.

Early in his life Crowley recounts various premonitions including premonitions of the death of his father and mother. While in the Golden Dawn Crowley began to learn ritual techniques of invocation and evocation. Theses techniques and his own experimentation led, as mentioned before, to the reception of Liber Al Legis, the encounter of the Enochian Aethers⁽²⁷⁰⁾, and the direction to write Liber Aba to name only a small portion of paranormal occurrences he had experienced. For Crowley unusual appearances or synchronicities were simply a normal part of the Western Esoteric Tradition as he knew it.

Jung also had his share of strange occurrences. Recorded in MDR are references to a mysteriously shattered knife and split table⁽²⁷¹⁾ as well as a report ushered from a bookcase when he and Freud were discussing the validity of parapsychology.⁽²⁷²⁾ Aside from these "externalizations" Jung also had a very rich dream and fantasy life. Perhaps one of the most astounding examples of his fantasy life are the fantasies leading up to the writing of the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos (Seven Sermons to the Dead), an early piece of Gnostic poetry, in 1916.

Prior to the writing of the Septem Sermones Jung had a series of fantasies which involved three figures. Two of the figures, Salome and Elijah, were Biblical but the third figure was a large black snake. Soon after the initial fantasy was completed, another figure developed out of the Elijah character. Jung referred to this new figure as Philemon who "was a pagan and brought with him an Egypto-Hellenistic atmosphere with a Gnostic coloration."⁽²⁷³⁾ Philemon, a bearded, winged, and lame footed man, would prove to be an invaluable figure in Jung's life. For Jung he "represented a force which was not myself."⁽²⁷⁴⁾ It was Philemon who showed Jung psychic objectivity or the reality of the psyche:

Through him the distinction was clarified between myself and the object of my thought. He confronted me in an objective manner, and I understood that there is something in me which can say things that I do not know and do not intend, things which may even be directed against me . . . Psychologically, Philemon represented superior insight. He was a mysterious figure to me. At times he seemed quite real, as if he were a living personality. I went walking up and down the garden with him, and to me he was what the Indians call a guru.⁽²⁷⁵⁾

Eventually Philemon developed into another figure, Ka.⁽²⁷⁶⁾ Philemon represented Jung's spiritual self while Ka was the concretization or grounding of the abstract notions symbolized by Philemon.⁽²⁷⁷⁾ Eventually Jung was "compelled from within, as it were, to formulate and express what might have been said by Philemon. This was how the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos with its peculiar language came into being."⁽²⁷⁸⁾

The strange occurrences which preceded the actual writing of the Seven Sermons are recorded in MDR⁽²⁷⁹⁾. What is interesting in comparison with Crowley is that both the writing of Liber Al Legis and the Septem Sermones were accompanied be experiences of a "presence" in the room. In Crowley's case the presence was one figure, Aiwaz. In Jung's experience there were multiple "beings." He states "The whole house was filled as if there was a crowd present, crammed full of spirits. They were packed deep right up to the door, and the air was so thick it was scarcely possible to breath."⁽²⁸⁰⁾ Both Jung and Crowley wrote their respective works over a period of three days. The primary difference lay in the fact that Crowley would understand Liber AL vel Legis came from a præter-human intelligence while Jung viewed his experience as "an unconscious constellation whose peculiar atmosphere I recognized as the numen of an archetype."⁽²⁸¹⁾

One final similarity between Jung and Crowley was their interest in "Eastern" spiritual traditions. Much of Crowley's method involves Buddhist or Hindu concepts and aspects of their cosmology. Crowley was also deeply interested in Helena Blavatsky's (1831-1891) synthesis of "Eastern" and "Western" modes of esotericism in her Theosophy Movement.⁽²⁸²⁾ He also rendered his interpretation of the Shih I and the Tao Te Ching as well as essays on various aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism.⁽²⁸³⁾ By today's standards Crowley's scholarship is in some respect lacking. However, considering that at the time of his writings there was little authoritative work done on some of these subjects (like yoga) he still demonstrated some interesting insights.

Jung also exhibits a fascination with "Eastern" philosophy. His commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower (C.W. 12), and The Tibetan Book of the Dead/The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation (C.W. 11) as well as his forewords to Suzuki's Introduction To Zen Buddhism (C.W.11) and the I-Ching (C.W. 11) reveal a person who sees a great deal of meaning in "Eastern" tradition but who also is cautious in regards to the impact of "Eastern" philosophy on "Western" psyches.⁽²⁸⁴⁾Again, Jung felt that it would be more germane for "Western" traditions to recover meaning from their own neglected resources than look towards "Eastern" traditions.

Along with their similarities Jung and Crowley also demonstrate some major differences. For example, Jung distrusted the validity of so-called secret societies. In discussing the process of initiation Jung states that modern Western society has little to offer in way of initiation.

Modern men have absolutely nothing to compare with this [i.e., initiatory practices of so-called "primitive"cultures] . . . Freemasonry, l' Église gnostique de la France, legendary Rosicrucians, theosophy, and so forth are all feeble substitutes for something better marked up in red letters on the historical casualty list.⁽²⁸⁵⁾

The basis for this claim is that Jung felt that these approaches to initiation do not lead to psychological transformation. Yet Jung did feel that symbols had initiatory possibilities:

The point is not-I cannot be too emphatic about this-whether the initiation symbols are objective truths, but whether these unconscious contents are or are not the equivalents of initiation practices, and whether they do or do not influence the human psyche. Nor is it a question of whether they are desirable or not. It is enough that they exist and work.⁽²⁸⁶⁾

Jung is essentially stating that he felt that the Western initiatory traditions like Masonry carried no potential for psychological transformation. On average this may be a correct assumption in that most people will be looking towards these societies for some form of fraternal/maternal companionship. However, to assume that this is the case en masse seems to be excessive. The symbols of Masonry, the O.T.O. or any similar Order can be highly transformative if the symbols are active for that individual. There seems to be little evidence to show categorically that these symbols cannot be become active or begin to function in a new Cycle of Meaning.

One reason Jung may have insisted that these traditions had little potential for psychological transformation could be due to the fact that at the time of writing (1928) many Occult Orders were surfacing, due, in part, to Crowley's notoriety, which claimed all sorts of fantastical abilities. Jung would have wanted to distance himself and his theories from the claims of such Orders as much as possible.⁽²⁸⁷⁾ Even in today's Occult literature some authors will use Jung's theories but many times they will be taken out of context in order to fit an "ontological" fact which the author/Order hold. However, since Jung was not involved in these Orders it seems unlikely that he would be in a position to comment on the validity of their initiatory potential.

Crowley attempted, through reorganizing the O.T.O. and founding the A.^..A.^.., to address the very issues which concerned Jung.⁽²⁸⁸⁾ Crowley felt that most Occult Orders depended too heavily on superstition and unprovable assumptions. Crowley understood that the processes of the Western Esoteric Tradition were highly effective approaches toward psychological transformation and he attempted to bring the "mysteries" under the aegis of "Science".⁽²⁸⁹⁾ However, in some ways Crowley lacked the very objectivity which he expected others to demonstrate.

In MDR Jung remarks that the only thing which helped him maintain a connection with the "real world" was his work and his family.⁽²⁹⁰⁾ The demands of family, friends, and profession gave Jung a focus which acted as a balance to his other world of archetypal images. Jung uses the example of Nietzsche as someone who had no such point of reference:

Nietzsche had lost the ground under his feet because he possessed nothing more than the inner world of his thoughts- which incidently possessed him more than he it. He was uprooted and hovered above the earth, and therefore he succumbed to exaggeration and irreality. For me, such irreality was the quintessence of horror, for I aimed, after all, at this world and this life.⁽²⁹¹⁾

One could argue that Crowley paralleled Nietzsche in this lack of grounding.⁽²⁹²⁾ Crowley lived very deeply in his interiority and had little connection to the concrete world around him. Arguably, what kept Crowley grounded at all was what his detractors condemned him for, i.e., his peculiar, and bawdy sense of humour and his emphasis on the sanctity of sexuality (and by extension the bodily aspect of spirituality). Without these factors in his life Crowley could well have ended his life as Nietzsche had. Jung was concerned that any person who lives in the grip of unconscious energies lives with the constant danger of one day succumbing to those energies thus losing all contact with the "real world." Of course Crowley would argue that it is a mistake to assume that the "real world" is anything but a creation of an imprecise understanding of its true nature.⁽²⁹³⁾ In many ways Crowley wanted what Jung had, scientific and "empirical" training. Jung, while maintaining an "objective" foot in reality, was drawn to the mystical and esoteric aspect of spirituality which Crowley lived in on a daily basis.⁽²⁹⁴⁾

Aside from the curious similarities (and differences) between Crowley and Jung as individuals there are also equally interesting connections between their two proposed methods of psychological and spiritual development. In many ways these two men, while hailing from two very different philosophical backgrounds (Crowley from the poetic and mystical and Jung from the empirical and scientific) formed similar notions of the development of the human potential.

Magick and Analytical Psychology: A Comparison.
The Ontological Assumption of Wholeness

One major ontological assumption made by both Jung and Crowley is that the human was at one point a self-contained whole and became fragmented due to the process of becoming conscious. Thus, the motion towards psychological and spiritual maturity is return to a state of unity but now at the conscious, not the pre-conscious, level. There are many philosophical arguments which can be raised in regards to this a priori assumption.

Jung's defense of his theories would be that he noted, through his own experiences and observations and those of his patients, that there is a definite teleology to life with the self (as an archetype of wholeness) realized in consciousness as its goal.⁽²⁹⁵⁾ These experiences lead to a model which supported the assumption that the human psyche is fragmented and that one must attempt to bring those fragments together through the life long process of individuation.

In Crowley's case he would be following the Qabalistic assumption that the Tree of Life not only represents the creation of the universe, and thus the separation of an original unity⁽²⁹⁶⁾, but also the key to the return to wholeness. In the Western Esoteric Tradition the return can follow the "Path of the Serpent"⁽²⁹⁷⁾ (Path of Initiation) which winds its way up the Tree integrating the attributes of the sefira as one negotiates their way or one can follow the "Path of the Arrow" (Path of Mystical Union) which gives one a glimpse of the unity.⁽²⁹⁸⁾ The two approaches are not mutually exclusive but one path would generally have precedence over the other in practice. If taken literally the return to Kether would be equated to the reacquisition of one's divine essence. However, if taken as a psychological process Kether can be seen as a representation of a unity of opposites (the Left and Right pillars) in much the same way as Jung would see the self functioning.⁽²⁹⁹⁾ For both Crowley and Jung the undertaking of the "Great Work" was an attempt, through various techniques, to expand one's gnosis or state of consciousness beyond the limited boundaries of ego-consciousness and into a more inclusive rapport with the unconscious or trans-personal.

The Stages of the Great Work

The processes of transformation found in Magick/Liber Aba and "The Conjunction" both begin with an investigation of the individual's mental processes. For Crowley this exploration was accomplished through standard yogic practices such as sana, prnyma, etc. In effect the individual who engages in these practices regulates the bodily processes in order to look more deeply into the nature of his or her mental composition.⁽³⁰⁰⁾ For Jung this mental investigation also corresponds to the first stage of the alchemical conjunction (unio mentalis) and preliminary practice of introspection so crucial to the analytical process. Both Jung and Crowley insist that this preliminary, and on going, work is essential if any true and lasting progress is to be made. The yoga of Magick/Liber Aba and the unio mentalis of "The Conjunction", both imply a form of asceticism, a temporary control or denial of the bodily and unconscious drives. The primary purpose of the initial focus on the mind is to "redirect"⁽³⁰¹⁾ the body and previously unconscious material toward spirit (or the "higher" functions) as opposed to allowing the body and unconscious factors to have dominance over the "soul". The mental asceticism is only the first stage of the Great Work. Neither Jung nor Crowley suggests a permanent segregation from the body. In fact both men put an important emphasis on the need to be in touch with the bodily. The importance of the bodily is reflected in what Jung calls the "missing fourth."

The missing fourth refers to the qualities which Jung felt were absent from the mythology of the Christian Trinity and thus also absent from "Western" culture in general.⁽³⁰²⁾ The qualities symbolized by the Missing Fourth are the body/Nature, the feminine and the demonic. Both Jung and Crowley understood that these elements of the human condition had to be addressed should there be any potential for spiritual growth.

In Crowley's cosmology, as revealed in Magick/Liber Aba, each of these missing factors is present in some form. For example, the feminine is represented through the Star goddess Nuit as well as her counterpart the dark mother Babalon⁽³⁰³⁾. The figure of Hadit is connected with "Sad, Set, Satan, sat (equals "Being" in Sanskrit), the South".⁽³⁰⁴⁾ Crowley's definition of the "Devil" is different from the common use of the term. For Crowley the "Devil" is called Satan or Shaitan, and is regarded with horror by people who are ignorant of his formula, and, imagining themselves to be evil , accuse Nature herself of their own phantasmal crime. Satan is Saturn, Set, Abrasax, Adad, Adonis, Attis, Adam, Adonai, etc. The most serious charge against him is only that he is the Sun in the South.⁽³⁰⁵⁾

The only true evil for Crowley is that which prevents the individual from discovering and actuating one's True Will.⁽³⁰⁶⁾ The figure of Heru-Ra-Ha represents the merging of not only Nuit (infinite) and Hadit (finite) but also the Feminine and the Masculine, the Natural and the Demonic, and elimination of all opposites whatsoever. In this way Crowley's "Trinity" of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit (who is also one with his twin [Haar-paar-kraat]) can be seen as an attempt to reconcile the missing qualities of the Christian Trinity.⁽³⁰⁷⁾

The second stage of the Great Work involves a reintegration of the body and the mind. However, in the process of the initial separation the mind and body are now directed towards the "spirit" as opposed to continuing to dwell in the original state of the unio naturalis. In Magick/Liber Aba the practitioner is introduced to the philosophy of the Western Esoteric Tradition which has as its primary goal the reestablishment of the individual's divine nature to eventually become, for all intents and purposes, a god on earth.⁽³⁰⁸⁾ Though Jung does not literally argue that human beings must become gods he does argue a very similar point. For example, if we look to Jung's interpretation of Christian theology Jung will state that the Christ figure is not the exclusive way to unite the human and the divine and that, in fact, it is the union of the human and the divine which is endemic to the process of individuation itself.⁽³⁰⁹⁾ Similarly, the alchemical tradition, and Jung's interpretation of the tradition, point to the perfecting or deifying of oneself. From Jung's psychological perspective when the self directs the ego or the ego comes under its suasion the self is, in fact, God. In this case the individual is no longer under the rule of the unconscious. Of course this could never be completed entirely as the unconscious can never be fully exhausted but the goal of bringing the conscious and unconscious under the aegis of the self is essential for psychological maturation.

For Crowley, every ritual, meditation, or practice must be dedicated to the discovery and fulfillment of the True Will (Yesod), the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel (Tiferet), and eventually the complete transcendence of subject/object rationality which is symbolized by the crossing of the Abyss to enter Kether.⁽³¹⁰⁾ As mentioned above some individuals in the Golden Dawn and similar Orders with Christian influence felt that only through death could the individual transcend the Abyss. For Crowley it was not only possible to transcend the Abyss while living, it was essential should one wish to attain true Adepthood.

Jung also felt that it was essential to undertake the process of individuation in order for an individual to reach psychological maturity. For Jung that maturity meant psychological wholeness wherein one's unconscious material is brought to consciousness to be integrated and not repressed. With theories such as synchronicity⁽³¹¹⁾ Jung also demonstrated that the unconscious can take an influential role in an individual's life to the point that it can force a particular interpretation of reality which may have no external causal connection. Should the unconscious be ignored the individual risks further intrusion on consciousness which can vary in magnitude until the issue, whatever it may be, is resolved.

The Role of Sexuality in the Great Work

Crowley felt that one of the most powerful obstacles to the fulfilment of one's True Will was unconscious material. Perhaps the most important of these factors for Crowley, living in post-Victorian England, was sexual repression. On this issue Crowley most often sided with Freud's theories of libido.⁽³¹²⁾ However, for Crowley sexuality was not only a powerful unconscious or conscious motivating factor, it was also the crux to his spiritual theories. The alchemical hierosgamos was not to be taken figuratively. Sulfur (male) and Salt (female) would conjoin to give life to Mercury who was a product of but unique to the original dyad. For Crowley the secrets of the universe could be revealed through the sexual act in much the same way as vmchra tantric practitioners would understand sexuality. The following passage summarizes Crowley's view on the importance of sexuality:

There is nothing unclean or degrading in any manifestation soever of the sexual instinct, because without exception, every act is an impulsively projected image of the Will of the individual who, whether man or woman, is a star . . . The one thing needful, the all-perfect means of purification, consecration, and sanctification-independent of the physical and moral accidents circumstantial of the particular incident- is the realization of love as a sacrament. The use of physical means as a Magical Operation-whose formula is that by uniting two opposites, by dissolving both, annihilating both (to create a third thing which transcends that opposition), the phase of duality which constitutes the consciousness of imperfection is perceived as the absolute negative whose apprehension is identical with that duality-is the accomplishment of the Great Work.⁽³¹³⁾

Jung also understood the importance of sexuality but did not put the same emphasis on it as did Crowley. In MDR Jung states:

The problem still remains: how to overcome or escape our anxiety, bad conscience, guilt, compulsion, unconsciousness, and instinctuality. If we cannot do this from the bright, idealistic side, then perhaps we shall have better luck by approaching the problem from the dark, biological side.⁽³¹⁴⁾

The dark, biological side mentioned by Jung is equated with the notion of sexuality:

[Sexuality] plays a large part in my psychology as an essential- though not the sole- expression of psychological wholeness . . . Sexuality is of the greatest importance as the expression of the chthonic spirit. That spirit is the "other face of God," the dark side of the God-image. The question of the chthonic spirit has occupied me ever since I began to delve into the world of alchemy.⁽³¹⁵⁾

The third and final stage of the Great Work is where we find the greatest difference between Crowley and Jung. In Crowley's method the pinnacle of attainment was a complete destruction of the illusion of ego, of "I". Only by crossing the Abyss and attaining the grades of the Supernal Triad (Binah, Chokmah, Kether)⁽³¹⁶⁾ could one claim to be spiritually and psychologically whole.

Jung would, however, disagree with this assumption. The ego is not something which is to be eliminated. The elimination of the ego would mean the elimination of the individual's connection with the "real world"and one's identity in that world. Without the ego one would be lost in his or her interiority, possibly in some form of psychosis. What Jung was attempting to demonstrate through the alchemical tradition (as an example of a path toward individuation) was that maturation must take place in consciousness, in the embodied ego with no one factor being dominant. The ego does not have ultimate reign any more than the unconscious does. The self, as a symbol of wholeness, integrates all the opposing factions (in the Christian world-view this would equate to Jesus and Satan shaking hands) and functions as the new and complete personality of an individual.

For Jung the third stage of the Great Work is synonymous with the whole process of individuation which is a process that never truly ends. Jung's concern was not for establishing a literal and permanent interpretation of the unus mundus. He was not attempting to transform the earth into the Divine Kingdom. He looked instead to the symbolism of alchemy as representing the psychic process of every individual. By transforming an individual's psychological nature he or she actually changes their universe from one of controlling unconscious factors to one of unity (One World) between all opposing factors.

The Quest for Gnosis and the Path Towards Wholeness: Conclusion

This work has attempted to compare two figures, Aleister Crowley and Carl Jung, who can be seen as individuals who attempted to break down the socially accepted views of the psyche, religion, spirituality, and, perhaps most importantly, the nature of reality. Neither Crowley nor Jung were satisfied with a monophasic model of reality. Each attempted to incorporate the realization of the necessity and validity of an expanded sense of gnosis into a model of reality which could be called, in the words of Lama Govinda, "multi-dimensional." The success of these two figures in elucidating their model is completely subjective. Psychologically Crowley could be viewed as a failure in that with all that he experienced and preached it did not make him a better person.⁽³¹⁷⁾ Crowley demonstrates that the Western Esoteric Tradition can be a very effective tool in spiritual and psychological progression but he also stands as an example of an individual who, through the ever present danger of inflation, had difficulty functioning in the "real world." The greatest danger in working through the methods laid out in Magick/Liber Aba is that they are steeped in archetypal symbols and as a result can pose a threat to any individual who has not completed the preliminary work of the unio mentalis.

While Crowley's method of self-introspection and "scientific" methodology can help the individual maintain some form of objectivity ultimately the solitary practitioner faces many difficulties. This is the main reason for having an Order as a guide (assuming the Order is not corrupt). In the Cycle of Meaning we see that the shaman or guru plays an important role not only in propagating and reenforcing the world-view but also acting as a support for the initiate or chela. In many ways the Order acts as the guru to help guide and tend to the student. Crowley did not want only initiates to benefit from his teachings, he wanted all people to "Do what thou wilt"and as a result nearly all of Crowley's major works are published or in preparation and are heavily annotated to facilitate deeper comprehension.

The O.T.O., the A.^..A.^.., and other Thelemic Orders are attempting to take Crowley's teachings and make them more accessible to people who may have been unaware of Crowley and his model of spiritual and psychological wholeness. The validity of Crowley's system should be judged not by his biography but by looking at those who follow his teachings today.⁽³¹⁸⁾

Jung was initially concerned with alleviating psychological malaise through psychoanalysis. However, Jung soon began to realize that the reductionistic nature of Freud's theories did not conform to his own findings. As a result Jung began to appreciate world mythology and religion as their symbols appeared in his and his client's material. Finally Jung began to develop a model which included factors which were not limited to the individual and his or her interpretation of reality. Jung's theories such as the collective unconscious opened new interpretations of not only the human psyche but of art, culture, and religion. Jung's interest in alchemy moves his models from the domain of clinical psychology to that of the Great Work for which there is no higher purpose.

Taken individually both Crowley and Jung made significant contributions to their own areas of expertise. Many of Crowley's theories have worked their way into most divisions of the Western Esoteric Tradition including Ceremonial Magic, Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Chaos Magick and many others. For Jung we see many of the Analytical Psychology Institutes (primarily in the United States) focus more on Jung's clinical and medical writings while in other Institutes (such as in Zürich) there is more of an emphasis on Jung's understanding of the importance of myth and symbol for psychological health.

Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Crowley and Jung is that they demonstrated that the human condition is far more complicated and deeper than we generally suspect. Both men encouraged every person to delve deeply into their depths and examine, at length and with courage, what rose from those depths. Each man also insisted that the true goal of human development was to become fully human, to transcend the limitations imposed by collective consciousness and its constrictive epistemologies toward a union with inner powers universal in their embrace. By attempting to become more human in this sense we begin to break down the boundaries which prevent us from gaining more insight, more gnosis not only about ourselves as individuals, but our relation to others and the universe at large. Neither Crowley nor Jung represents the only way (or perhaps even the best way) to increase our gnosis but they do represent two very similar and effective methods for the completion of the Great Work and the eventual discovery of the path toward wholeness wherein each person can strive for their fullest potential, realized in greater personal integration and wider, indeed, universal sympathy.

Endnotes

260. This is perhaps most evident in Jung's Answer to Job, Edinger's The Christian Archetype: A Jungian Commentary on the Life of Christ, Toronto: Inner City, 1991 , and John P. Dourley's The Illness That We Are, Toronto: Inner City, 1984.

261. Crowley was notorious for encouraging social ostracization. The English paper John Bull published many inflammatory and, by and large, slanderous articles. The most notable articles claim Crowley is the "Wickedest Man in the World." This title was to follow him beyond the grave to this day. Many sensationalist authors drop Crowley's name in the hopes that his distorted (though not entirely inaccurate) reputation will sell books.

262. The first two volumes of Crowley's autobiography (1929) were originally published under the title: The Spirit of Solitude: An Autohagiography Subsequently re-Antichristened The Confessions of Aleister Crowley.

263. See Jung, MDR, chapter II and chapter III.

264. Ibid., p.30.

265. Ibid., p.31.

266. One incident which reflects this can be found in Confessions, p.688f. Crowley describes a story he wrote called The Testament of Magdalen Blair (Equinox Vol. I, no. ix.). The story revolves around the following question: "Since thoughts are accompaniments of modifications of the cerebral tissues, what thoughts must be concomitants of its putrefaction?" Crowley recounts "I managed to make the story sound fairly plausible and let myself go magnificently in the matter of horror. I read it aloud to a house party on Christmas Eve; in the morning they all looked as if they had not recovered from a long and dangerous illness. I found myself extremely disliked!"

267. "I admit my visions can never mean to other men as much as they do to me. I do not regret this. All I ask is that my results should convince seekers after truth that there is beyond doubt something worth while seeking, attainable by methods more or less like mine. I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics, or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle." Crowley: Confessions, p.618.

268. There is a famous story (Confessions, p.625-626) where Crowley enters into an Arab coffee house where a fight is in progress. Crowley, dressed in turban and robes recalls "I walked into the scrimmage and drew sigils in the air with the [star sapphire] ring while intoning a chapter of the Koran. The fuss stopped instantly, and a few minutes later the original parties to the dispute came to me and begged me to decide between them, for they saw that I was a saint." Brackets are mine.

269. This is notable even in early childhood with Jung's development of the two "personalities." See MDR, Chapters I and II.

270. Recorded in The Equinox, Vol. I, no. v & Vol. IV, no. ii.

271. Jung, MDR, p.105f.

272. Ibid., p.155f.

273. Ibid., p.182.

274. Ibid., p.183.

275. Ibid.

276. The "Ka" is an Egyptian concept of an embodied soul.

277. Ibid., p.185

278. Ibid., p.191. Apparently Jung considered the Seven Sermons as a sin of his youth (Ibid., p.378) but in fact they are highly expressive of Jung's thought at the time (1913-17) and give a unique insight into the foundations of his latter interest with alchemy.

279. Ibid., p.190-1.

280. Ibid., p.190.

281. Ibid., p.191.

282. See: Crowley, Commentaries on the Holy Books (The Equinox Vol. IV, no. i, pp.224-336 for his commentary on Blavatsky's The Voice of Silence, IL: Quest, 1992.

283. See for example "Science and Buddhism" in Crowley, Collected Works, Vol. II, pp.244-260.

284. In MDR, pp.274-284, Jung reveals some of these concerns as he gives his impressions of his trip to India in 1938.

285. Jung, C.W. 7, p.231. Brackets are mine.

286. Ibid. These sentiments are comparable to those expounded by Lama Govinda in Chapter One.

287. Jung may also have been concerned with the fact that between the Wars many individuals were jumping from one religious fad to another (many Western Esoteric and related Orders flourished during this period). He may have questioned the commitment of these types of initiations and what would be the aftermath on the individual's psyche.

288. An example of some of the changes Crowley brought to the O.T.O. can be found in The Equinox, Vol. III, no. i. Especially Liber CXCIV (pp.241-46) and The Equinox, Vol.III, no.x.

289. "There is only one method to adopt in such circumstances as those of the Aspirant to Magick and Yoga: the method of Science. Trial and error. You must observe. That implies, first of all, that you must learn to observe. And you must record your observations." Crowley, Magick Without Tears, p. 142. Emphasis is Crowley's.

290. Jung, MDR, p.189.

291. Ibid. Emphasis is Jung's

292. Crowley had a great deal of respect for Nietzsche as can be seen from Crowley's use of Nietzsche as one of the Saints in Liber XV- Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae (Gnostic Mass). See: The Equinox Vol. III, no.i, p.261.

293. We see a similar approach in Ngrjuna's "Two Truths." Relative Truth (samvrti satya) dictates, for example, that a table exists. We can see it and feel it so obviously it exists. However, Absolute Truth (paramrtha satya) shows us that a "table" is only an organizing of various independent aggregates. So in actuality there is no thing called table. (See: Schumann, Buddhism: An outline of its Teachings and Schools, Ill: Quest, 1989, pp.142-148). Crowley addresses this theme in many of his works and it can be found in Chapter I verse 22 of Liber Al Legis: "Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt."

294. To fully grasp the extent of Crowley's dedication to his spiritual ideals the reader is directed toward the following diaries: Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley, (Stephen Skinner, ed.) Maine: Weiser, 1997; The Magical Record of the Beast 666, John Symonds & Kenneth, Grant eds.) London: Duckworth, 1993; The Temple of Solomon the King (The Babe), in The Equinox, Vol. I, no. viii, pp. 7-47; The Vision and the Voice with Commentary and Other Papers (The Equinox, Vol. IV, no.ii, pp. 411-422. The diaries are interesting because they where written, on the whole, with no intention of public consumption and thus tend to reflect Crowley in a more honest light.

295. For an overview of this issue and Jung's philosophical influences in general see: Nagy, Marilyn. Philosophical Issues in the Psychology of C.G. Jung, New York: SUNY, 1991 (pp. 209-219). See also: Jung, C.W. 8, The Soul and Death, p. 406, "Life is teleology par excellence; it is the intrinsic striving towards a goal, and the living organism is a system of directed aims which seek to fulfill themselves."

296. See Figure Six (a).

297. See Figure Six (b).

298. See Figure Six (c).

299. This unifying of opposites or rather the "solution of complexes" is one of Crowley's definitions of the Great Work. See: Crowley: The Law is for All, p.32.

300. The yogic forms of meditation implied here are considerably different from some meditation practices found in Buddhist practices such as satipatthna (mindfulness). In the latter case the practice is passive and unintrusive whereas the former requires a deliberate control of mental processes.

301. We could also use the term "retune" if we consider the neurological effect of these practices on the automatic nervous system (ANS). See: Laughlin et al.: Brain, Symbol, Experience, specifically

Chapter 5.

302. See Jung, C.W. 11, pars.243-295. Dourley, The Illness that We Are, pp.51-69 & "Humanity, the Trinity's Missing Fourth: The Psycho-Spiritual Implications of Jung's Quaternitarian Psyche" in Pastoral Sciences, 14, 1995, pp.34-64.

303. The figure of Babalon (Crowley's spelling ) is similar in many respects to the Hindu deity Kl. On the Tree of Life (see Figure Two) she corresponds to the sefira Binah. She is the Dark Mother portrayed in Crowley's The Vision and the Voice and Other Papers (The Equinox Vol.IV no.ii) especially the 12^th Æthyr (pp.148-153).

304. Crowley, The Law is for All, p.24.

305. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.163.

306. "The word of Sin is Restriction." Liber Al Legis, I, 41.

307. In The Equinox Vol. I, no. vii, Crowley gives two ritual practices, Liber Nu & Liber Had which the practitioner can use to realize or actualize the qualities of Nuit and Hadit through various techniques. Jung has a similar understanding of the Nuit/Hadit connection: "In knowing ourselves to be unique in our personal combination [Hadit]-that is, ultimately limited- we possess also the capacity for becoming conscious of the infinite [Nuit]. But only then!" Jung, MDR, p.325. Brackets are mine.

308. Crowley states in Liber Oz: "There is no god but man" (Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.689. Italics are Crowley's).

309. "The Anthropos [which Christ is an example] is a symbol that argues in favour of the personal nature of the "totality," i.e., the self." Jung, C.W. 11, p.185. Brackets are mine.

310. Each of these changes occurs along the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life (Fig. 6 (a-c)). However, the results are brought about through the Path of the Serpent (Fig. 6b). That is to say the experiences are not transient, as would be the case with the mystical experience of the Path of the Arrow (Fig.6c), but a permanent restructuring of the Initiate's cosmology.

311. See Jung, C.W. 8, pp. 417-531.

312. Crowley cites Freud throughout his works but felt that he, Freud, and other psychologists were simply appropriating something the esotericists had known for centuries: ". . . interior struggle is at the base of nearly all neuroses, as Freud recently "discovered"- as if this had not been taught, and taught without his massed errors, by the great Teachers of the past!" Crowley, Magick Without Tears, p.40. The errors referred to by Crowley are the tendencies of Freud to reduce sexuality to a psychological process. Crowley would view sexuality as the ultimate expression of spirituality. For Freud's theory of libido see: Freud, Sigmund. On Sexuality, New York: Penguin, 1981.

313. Crowley, The Law is for All, p.63.

314. Jung, MDR, p.152.

315. Ibid., p. 168. Brackets are mine.

316. Crowley equates the Ipsissimus Grade (Symbolized by the sefira Kether) with the Buddhist notion of nirodha-sampatti which is the attainment of the state of extinction in which every mental activity is temporarily eliminated. See: Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.654.

317. In his biographies of Crowley John Symonds incessantly points out that Crowley had an abusive personality, had few positive relations with people, and died a lonely, impoverished man. While this may or may not be the case Crowley did nothing in an ordinary manner. To assume that he should have followed socially accepted norms when he was attempting to demonstrate that those very norms were, in his opinion, the cause of much repression and atrocity is erroneous.

318. The same could also be said for Jung. Authors like Richard Noll (The Jung Cult, NJ: Princeton, 1994) focus on Jung's biography in order to extrapolate information which would discredit the use of his theories by contemporary scholars. However, if Jung's theories, and they are just that, theories, are encouraging investigations into ASC, Depth Psychology, mythology and symbolism then what Jung may or may not have said or done fifty years ago is irrelevant. No one would ask the scientist who might find a cure for AIDS if he has a questionable past. However, equally important is that scholars understand that what Crowley and Jung wrote should not be dogmatized. Sometimes this point is ignored which makes the work of people like Noll and Symonds important to give a more balanced and human picture of two people who tend to be deified in their respective circles. (One should also consult Sonu Shamdasani's Cult Fictions, New York: Routledge, 1998 for a solid case against Noll's claims about Jung.)

Bibliography