93

The following text is a draft of a paper I wrote as part of the work for my M.A. in Religion. At the time of writing I knew very little about the depth and beauty which is evident in much of Crowley's work. At the time my emphasis was on an "objective" approach to Crowley, which, I think in retrospect, was to hide me growing interest in To Mega Therion. The result of this objective approach was at times overly hostile and critical. However, I have left the paper the way it was originally written. Perhaps I will rewrite it sometime in the future.

93 93/93

L.V.X. and Thelema (Light and Will):

An Interpretation of the Mythology of Aleister Crowley

© Lloyd K. Keane, 1998.

This paper is an attempt to reveal Aleister Crowley's personal mythology or world-view. The paper is broken into two parts. The first part deals with Crowley the Magician and is called L.V.X. after the magical philosophy which posits that L.V.X. is the Divine Light of God which every magician must come to realize within his or her own self. The second part of the paper is called Thelema or Will and deals with Crowley's role as prophet of the New Aeon of Horus. This separation is not meant to be taken literally. These two areas in Crowley's life were in no way separate. In fact, like his poetry, mountain climbing, and his literature, magic and prophecy were inextricably bound together.

Having researched and studied various areas of Occultism for nearly ten years, the name Aleister Crowley has surfaced many times. However, it is only in the past two years that I have attempted any specific study of Crowley's writings, biography, or his magickal philosophy. It has been a difficult and trying two years since his writings tend to be intentionally obtuse and cryptic.

On one level Crowley's contribution to many Occult traditions is immeasurable. His influences can be found in the liturgy and philosophy of Ceremonial Magic, Wicca, even many Dianic women's groups or covens show distinct Crowley influence. On a more personal level, Crowley displays a lack of compassion and sensitivity.

Much of his poetry and writings on mysticism are based on personal experience of what could be termed his "interiority". In my opinion Crowley's experiences, while useful for the Occultist in many ways, lack the necessary transformative quality so fundamental to the Esoteric Tradition. Crowley was belligerent when he was young and he was to remain that way for his entire life. For a man who had copious opportunities to enter into deep personal transformations he lacked the patience to see any of them through unto the end. However, Crowley's chaotic personality and passionate lust for the Divine is what gives him his popularity today and may very well help others begin the quest for self realization.

Crowley's writings show how to enter altered states of consciousness through the use of various drivers (sex, drugs, asceticism etc.). They show that through a focused Will the plane of existence called "reality" can be manipulated but more importantly to the Occultist and to Humanity in general, his writings show the importance of freedom. Freedom not only from sacred and secular restrictions as reflected in his Liber AL vel Legis but from personal fetters both physical and mental. The teachings of Crowley are not only demonstrated through his writings but through his actions and inactions. His life is a testimony to the fact that the nigredo must be purified before the lapis can be realized.

• To Know
• To Dare
• To Will
• To be Silent




The magician must gain knowledge and dare to apply it to the Great Work. He or she must demonstrate will (not to be confused with Crowley's Thelema, although there are similarities) over those things in one's life which may distract them from the Great Work. Finally, and most importantly, the individual must remain silent about his or her accomplishments. ⁽⁴⁴⁾What transpires is between the individual and his or her God Within.

In Crowley's case he turned not inward in Silence but towards the entire world with a thunderous voice as the "priest of the princes"(I:36) ⁽⁴⁵⁾ He had forged his own link with the Secret Chiefs and he spent the rest of his life determined to follow their Will.

Omissions and Summary of Part I

Aleister Crowley was adept at many occult arts and invested a great deal of energy in exploring the limits of both his mind and his body. Some areas which have been omitted in this paper involve his experiments with this potential of the human mind and body. The omissions are due primarily to the fact that, and this is solely a personal opinion, these episodes in his life are not part of his mythology but are due to his mythology. That is they reflect who Aleister Crowley was they did not help shape whom he became. In the interest of a balanced biography a few of these issues will be mentioned but not explored any great detail.

From an early age Crowley began climbing the chalk hills around his home. He found great pleasure in figuring out the best assault on any given face and then set out to conquer the mountain. In his day Crowley set several mountaineering records in a time when there was neither Gore-tex^® nor universal satellite tracking systems. His climbs were between him, the mountains and the gods. Crowley also spent a great deal of time engaged in big game hunting. In the "manly" tradition of Hemingway, Crowley stalked, killed and mounted his trophies of conquest. Crowley also played a great deal of chess. There were many evenings where he would play four games of chess simultaneously while he was sitting with his back to the boards keeping each of the games firmly in his mind. In this area too, Crowley won a certain level of notoriety. Perhaps the most important and equally dark (in relation to Victorian/Post Victorian social norms) aspect of Crowley's life was his experiments with drugs and the power of sex.

Early in his life Crowley was given a dose of heroin by a doctor in order to help treat his debilitating asthma. In due course Crowley became addicted and was taking upwards of eleven grains of heroin (the standard dose is an eighth of a grain) a day up until the day of his death. He attempted to use ether and cocain in various combinations to rid himself of the addiction but to no avail. Instead of allowing this addiction to destroy him he tried to use it in his favour. Crowley experimented with the use of drugs in ritual in order to quickly facilitate altered states of consciousness. Each of his experiences and findings were recorded in his trademark scientific method for all to analyze. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ In some ways this practice is similar to Timothy Leary's work (Leary was influenced by Crowley in many ways) and the contemporary researches of Stanislav Grof. In 1922 Crowley published his first full length novel, The Diary of a Drug Fiend. ⁽⁴⁷⁾ Through the protagonists of the novel Crowley exposes many of his experiences and emotions involved with both cocain and heroin addiction. The mysterious King Lamus is a self-idealized portrait of Crowley as magician and as prophet. In the end of the book the two addict protagonists come to King Lamus' Abbey ⁽⁴⁸⁾ for treatment. On the final page of the work one of the protagonists (Peter Pendragon) states:

The pestilence of the past had immunized us against its poison. The devil had defeated himself. We had attained a higher stage of evolution. And this understanding of the past filled us with absolute faith in the future. ⁽⁴⁹⁾





In many ways this statement is the sum of Crowley's view of the world. No matter what pain, suffering, or "evil" is present in the world or in one's life that evil can be used against itself. This understanding is similar with the idea in the Tantra of Tibetan Buddhism that each of the five Dhyni Buddhas represent both the debilitating mental poison and the means to rid oneself of the poison. In the Alchemical tradition, Mercury is both the healing lapis and poison. For Crowley to write "A Hymn to Satan" ⁽⁵⁰⁾ was no different than the most beautiful hymn to the sanctity of Christ. As Liber AL vel Legis states: "Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby cometh hurt."(I,22).

The final omission from part one of this paper, is Crowley's preoccupation with sex and the sexual drive. As a bi-sexual Crowley pushed himself to the limit of both hetro and homosexual experiences. There is a traditional hypothesis that in 1912 Crowley came to the attention of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O) due to his writings on sex magic which was held as a vital secret and was only to be taught at the higher grades ( VIII- IX) of the Order. The head of the German Order, Theodore Reuss, came to Crowley and told him to cease and desist publishing the Order's material. Crowley stated that he had no idea what Reuss was talking about and responded that he had written the works on his own experimentation and came to the conclusion that the sexual drive is the most powerful means of magical power. ⁽⁵¹⁾ At that point the head of the O.T.O made Crowley "Baphomet, the Supreme and Holy King of Ireland, Iona, and all the Britains that are in the Sanctuary of the Gnosis, O.T.O." Whether or not this story is true the O.T.O. to this day holds Crowley as one of the most important figures in the Order's history.

The use of sex in ritual practice is not restricted to "Western" esoteric orders. The form of sex magick ⁽⁵²⁾ employed and taught by Crowley is similar to Hindu Tantric practices. In the "Left Hand Path" or "Actual Path" of Tantra the practitioner employs sensual tools and props in sexual practice to induce a state of bliss or ultimate union where as "Right Hand Tantra" involves intense individual meditation. Although in reality one path is not better than the other to attain the experience of divine union, the Left Hand Path has the possible risk of the practitioner becoming caught up in the sexual act thus losing sight of the reason for the ritual in the first place, i.e., union with God. Of course there are similarities between Tantric union and the conscept of a mystical marriage found in Christian and Jewish mystical traditions.

The five "M's" of Left Hand Tantra (mmsa (meat), matsya (fish), madhu (wine), milhun (sexual union), and mudr (seal-mediation)) are combined in ritual dedication to divinity. Through both the ritual and the sexual union the individuals are lifted to divine union of consciousness. These five M's were employed by Crowley in a rather loose manner but they were usually present in some form. Perhaps the best know recording of Crowley's sex magick operations was the "Paris Working" which took place between January and February 1914. For this XI working (i.e., homosexual) Crowley's partner was Victor Neuburg.

The Paris Working is the record of a series of invocations of Mercury [Hermes]. . . and of Jupiter for the usual purpose as taught in the Golden Dawn ⁽⁵³⁾, namely that of obtaining wisdom from the one and priestly power from the other; but because of the sexual rite between the two magicians, the results were expected to be much more powerful, and the by-products of considerable practicable use. In fact, Crowley had in mind that Jupiter would bring them gold, and Hermes would give them inspirations for the writing of a successful story or two, or at least an excellent poem. ⁽⁵⁴⁾





One thing which should be understood in regards to Crowley's acts of sex magick is that they were not hedonistic pleasure trips (although pleasure would certainly have been a central part of it.) The Paris Working rituals and all true rituals of sex magick are difficult and physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting. They take an enormous amount of Will and concentration as well as a knowledgeable guru. Crowley had the Will but lacked the teacher so in many cases his records and diaries ⁽⁵⁵⁾ are examples of random experimentation.

This brief review of various omissions is primarily to cover important aspects of Crowley's life which are reflections of but not contributing factors to his mythology. Crowley the magician was driven to experience and walk with God. He longed to dwell with the Secret Chiefs and as a result joined the Golden Dawn. The hierarchy and perceived restraints of the Order did not sit well with the young Crowley and as a result he split with the Order and spent a great deal of his life lusting for life experience, "Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us."(II,20). While this lust for experience may not be in and of itself a bad thing it is at odds with the discipline and focus needed in the Magical Tradition. ⁽⁵⁶⁾ That is not to say that the beauty of life is not acknowledged only that it is seen as a deeper understanding than the external world of the senses. Crowley the magician was soon to be overshadowed by Crowley the prophet. Between noon and 1p.m. On April 8^th, 9^th and 10^th , 1904, Aleister Crowley was the recipient of what would become known as Liber Al vel Legis sub Figura CCXX as deliverd by XCIII=418 to DCLXVI ⁽⁵⁷⁾ or simply The Book of the Law. Also, at this time he became the Logos of the Aeon of Horus.




Part II
: Do What Thou Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law




The Emergence of Aiwass




I am now inclined to believe that Aiwass is not only the God or Demon or Devil once held holy in Sumer, and mine own Guardian Angel, but also a man as I am, insofar as He uses a human body to make His magical link with Mankind, whom He loves, and that He is thus an Ipsissimus, the Head of the A . ^. . A . ^. .. -Liber Aba
There is no part of me that is not of the Gods-The Gnostic Mass

The role of Aiwass in Crowley's cosmology is complex. If we follow orthodox Golden Dawn teaching Aiwass would represent Crowley's Higher Genius or Divine Spark. In this context Aiwass would be Crowley's unique guide through the trials and tribulations of the Abyss (and life in general) until the time came when even this part of the Adept must be laid aside in a gesture of the Self Sacrifice of the Third Order. However, if we look at the rituals and dogma of contemporary Thelemites, Aiwass is used both in lieu of the name of their own personal Holy Guardian Angel (until such time as their own Angel's name is revealed) and Aiwass is also seen as a form of divine being or god. For Crowley, Aiwass was many different beings on many different levels. On one level Aiwass was an expression of Crowley's Divine nature, yet Crowley adamantly insists throughout his writings that Aiwass is a præter-human entity and not a product of his unconscious or conscious material. In light of the current UFO popularity some authors even interpret Crowley as suggesting that Aiwass is an entity from Sirius. ⁽⁵⁸⁾ Whatever the nature of Aiwass, whether anima ⁽⁵⁹⁾, alien or hallucination, the figure is best known as the dictator of the Book of the Law. As mentioned previously, the Book of the Law was dictated to Crowley over a period of three days. What is interesting is how Crowley had been lead to the incident in the first place.

Rose, the Stele and Aiwass

Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman all power is given. They shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men. (I,15)




The incidents which lead up to the reception of the Book of the Law are inextricably linked to Crowley's first wife, Rose Kelly. It was through her that Aiwass was brought to the light of consciousness. Shortly after their honeymoon, part of which was spent in the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid, Crowley and his newly wed wife rented a flat in Cairo where Crowley set aside a room to invoke IAO and Thoth. ⁽⁶⁰⁾ According to Symonds, Rose

was in a strange state of mind, like someone dazed. She was either drunk or hysterical from pregnancy, he [Crowley] said. She kept repeating dreamily, "They are waiting for you". On March 18, she came out with the astonishing statement that "He who was waiting was Horus", and that Aleister had offended him, and ought to invoke him and beg his pardon. ⁽⁶¹⁾





Crowley did not take kindly to his wife telling him that he had offended a powerful Egyptian deity but at the same time he was intrigued because Rose had never demonstrated any capacity for psychic phenomenon let alone any knowledge whatsoever about Egyptology. Appendix Four is a citation from Crowley's "The Book of Results" (beginning with "How W. (Rose) knew Ra Hoor Khuit (Horus)".) ⁽⁶²⁾ This citation is Crowley's recollection of certain guards or tests given to Rose in order for Crowley to ascertain the validity of his wife's claims that Horus had contacted her.

The next synchronistic incident, also recorded in Appendix Four (p. 412), occurred when Crowley took Rose to the nearby museum at Blq in order to have Rose pick out statues of Horus (in order to fulfill test 4 as listed in Appendix Four.) Crowley felt a sense of glee as Rose walked by and ignored several statues of Horus but was taken aback when Rose walked up a flight of stairs where she motioned towards "a glass case stood in the distance, too far off for its contents to be recognized. But W.(Rose) recognized it! 'There,' she cried 'there he is!'" ⁽⁶³⁾ What Rose had pointed to was a funeral stele which pictured the Goddess Nuit, Horus, and a priest (Ankh-f-n-khonsu-Crowley later came to identify this priest as himself in a past life). ⁽⁶⁴⁾ For Crowley the remarkable fact was not that Rose was brought to the museum under the will of Horus as Crowley had experience of such things in his own life and he had witnessed others behave in a similar manner when entranced. What was remarkable for Crowley was that the exhibit number of the stele was 666, a number he had always taken as his own. Before continuing, a very brief analysis of Crowley's use of the "Number of the Beast" is in order as this number is a summation of Crowley's view of himself.

While suing for libel damages in 1933, Crowley was being examined by the judge in order to establish a picture of Crowley's moral character. What follows is a brief selection from the proceedings:

"Have you, from the time of your adolescence, openly defied all moral conventions?"

"No."

"And proclaimed your contempt for all doctrines of Christianity?"

"Not all the doctrines. . ."

"Did you take to yourself the designation of "The Beast 666"?"

"Yes."

"Do you call yourself "The Master Therion"?"

"Yes."

"What does "Therion" mean?"

"Great Wild Beast."

"Do these titles convey a fair expression of your practice and outlook on life?"

"The Beast 666" only means "sunlight". You can call me "Little Sunshine"."

Laughter in court. ⁽⁶⁵⁾





Though Crowley lost the case, the citation reflects a great deal about his mythology. Taken one way 666 represents the counter-force of Christian doctrine. In this capacity Crowley went out of his way to destroy aspects of the tradition he felt were repressive to the Will of the individual. But, as he said, he did not reject all aspects of the tradition. He would have liked to see himself, in my opinion, as a form of cosmic trickster who must destroy the old in order to make way for the new. As the image of Lucifer the Light Bringer, 666 also refers to the "Solar Phallic Energy" which Crowley felt was the most powerful magickal force in the universe. The Number is also the number of Man [sic] and Crowley felt that "there is no God but man". That is to say one does not need to look beyond oneself to find divinity. And of course 666 also fulfilled Crowley's concept of the carnal "Great Beast" which he attempted to pattern his life after. There are many more Kabbalistic interpretations of this number but we need only be aware of the fact that for Crowley it had many different levels of meaning each of which in some way reflected his mythology.

Following the tests at the museum, Rose gave Crowley the order to invoke Horus by "breaking all the rules", i.e., use a different form of ritual. According to Crowley this invocation was successful. Sometime between March 23^rd and April 8^th,1904 Rose informed Crowley that the informant she was in contact with was not actually Horus but a messenger named Aiwass. Crowley was then ordered to spend one hour a day for three days (April 8^th -10^th , 1904 E.V. ⁽⁶⁶⁾) receiving dictation from Aiwass.

For three days Crowley went into a consecrated room and waited to hear the words of Aiwass. The dictation was auditory and Crowley was certain that there was a physical presence in the room with him.

Suddenly a voice began to speak; it came over his left shoulder, from the furthest corner of the room. "Had! The manifestation of Nuit." "The unveiling of the company of heaven." Perdurabo began at once to write as the voice, "deep in timbre, musical and expressive, its tones solemn, voluptuous, tender, fierce or aught else as suited the mood". . . Crowley wrote steadily for an hour. ⁽⁶⁷⁾





The pattern of frantic writing occurred again over the following two days. At one point Crowley looked over his shoulder and saw a dark man in his thirties standing behind him. This dark man was to change Crowley's life forever.

Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Khuit- The Cosmology of Liber AL vel Legis

Fear not at all; fear neither men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything. Money fear not, nor laughter of the folk folly, nor any other power heaven or upon the earth or under the earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the strength, force, vigour, of your arms. (III,17)





The Book of the Law in comprised of three chapters totaling 220 (CCXX) verses. Each chapter deals with one specific "person" in Crowley's cosmology. The first person of the book is the Egyptian Sky Goddess Nuit. ⁽⁶⁸⁾ Though Nuit (Nu, Nut) is traditionally perceived as the Egyptian Goddess she should not be thought of so in a literal sense. For Crowley Nuit represented the vastness of the universe, the ever presence of space. She also represents the passive qualities which are generally attributed to the energy of Yin found in the Tao. The whole first chapter revolves around Nuit as an energy of love and of beauty. ⁽⁶⁹⁾ Crowley found this emphasis on beauty and happiness very difficult for at the time of the reception of the Book he was deeply involved in the contemplation of Buddhist philosophical concept of dukkha (suffering/sorrow). With this emphasis on the sorrowful nature of life Crowley could not come to terms with the Book stating that life was, in fact, pure joy. This was one of the reasons he insisted that the Book could not have come from his unconscious or conscious self. Nuit is the Great Mother of Crowley's cosmology. In the rituals of Thelema, the office of the Scarlet Woman, to be discussed later, is a physical embodiment of the energy of Nuit.

Perhaps one of the most important verses for Crowley was I, 3-"Every man and every woman is a star". This verse is interpreted as meaning that every person has a unique being though all are part of the wholeness of Nuit. The goal of each star is to discover its True Will. Once one discovered his or her True Will (or orbit if we stick to the star analogy) then he or she must follow through without restricting the Will in any way-"The word of Sin is Restriction."(I, 42) This emphasis on Will permeated every aspect of Crowley's life. The famous greeting used by Crowley, and all Thelemites, then and now, is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." to which the reply is "Love is the Law, love under will" ⁽⁷⁰⁾ Though this greeting is far too complex to define in any detail it is important to understand that Will is not to be understood as a passing fancy. In this context the Will is the natural path of a spiritually realized person. ⁽⁷¹⁾ Liber Oz, as found in Appendix Six, gives Crowley's view of the importance of individual Will. ⁽⁷²⁾

The second chapter introduces Hadit (Had). Where Nuit represents the vastness of the universe, Hadit represents the ever present point within space. ⁽⁷³⁾ "In the sphere I am everywhere the center, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found"(II,3) Hadit is the Yang of the Tao, the active male principle. ⁽⁷⁴⁾ Hadit is also described as that mystical inner drive or force which energizes and pushes the individual along his or her orbit. Generally speaking, Nuit and Hadit should be taken as two parts of a unifying whole-"For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union"(I,29) Again, this is only a facile interpretation of Hadit. Crowley and his followers have written literally thousands of pages on the meaning of each of these figures, most of the interpretations involve deep knowledge of the complex Occult Kabbalah and are, unfortunately, beyond the scope of this paper.

In The Law is for All Crowley states that:

The theogony of our Law is entirely scientific. Nuit is Matter, Hadit Motion, in their full physical sense. They are the tao and the te of Chinese Philosophy; or, to put it very simply, the Noun and Verb of grammar. Our central Truth- beyond other philosophies-is that these two infinities cannot exist apart. ⁽⁷⁵⁾

The third figure of Crowley's trinity, Ra-Hoor-Khuit. ⁽⁷⁶⁾, is generally the most disturbing figure for first time Crowley readers. While Chapter One has a tone of reverence and beauty and Chapter Two has an overall feeling of spiritual agitation in the sense of stirring oneself towards spiritual realization, Chapter Three is filled with violence and destruction. This chapter describes the destruction of the Aeon of Osiris and the birth of the Aeon of Horus-"Now let it first be understood that I am a god of War and of Vengeance."(III,3) Ra-Hoor is the figure of retribution who will sweep aside the old Aeon.

In the commentary on (III, 3) in The Law is for All Crowley describes the relation between Ra-Hoor and himself:

The God of Vengeance is in Greek ' , Aleister. For some reason which I have not been able to trace, this God became Alastor, the Desert Dæmon of the Rabbins, then later the "Spirit of Solitude" of Shelly. The attribution is appropriate enough, the root apparently , "I wander." The idea of "Going" is dreadful to the bourgeois, so that the wanderer is "accursed." But, me judice, to settle down in life is to abandon the heroic attitude; it is to acquiesce in the stagnation of the brain. I do not want to be comfortable, or even to prolong life; I prefer to move constantly from galaxy to galaxy, from one incarnation to another. Such is my intimate individual will. It seems as thou[sic] this "god of war and Vengeance" is merely one who shall cause men to do their own Wills by Going as Gods do, instead of trying to check the irresistible course of Nature. ⁽⁷⁷⁾

Basically Ra-Hoor, as the destructive aspect of the Egyptian God Horus, is what stimulates or inflames the individual towards their True Will. Ra-Hoor destroys any social or spiritual fetters which might prevent the discovery and implication of one's True Will.

The most powerful verses which reflect the nature of Crowley's Horus are 51-55 (see Appendix 3). Here is a summary of Crowley's comment on the first three verses:

51.We must consider carefully the particular attack. . . against each of these "gods", or prophets. . .Thus it is the eyes of "Jesus"-his point of view-that must be destroyed; and this point of view is wrong because of his Magical Gesture of self-sacrifice.

One must not for a moment suppose the historicity of "Jesus". "Jesus" is not, and never was, a man; but he was a "god", just as a bundle of old rags and a kerosene tin on a bush may be "god". There is a man- made idea, built of ignorance, fear, and meaness, for the most part, which we call "Jesus". . .

52.Mohammed's point of view is wrong too; but he needs no such sharp correction as "Jesus". It is his face- his outward semblance- that is to be covered with His wings. . . The external creed is mere nonsense suited to the intelligence of the peoples among whom it was promulgated.

53. The religion of Hindustan, metaphysically and mystically comprehensive enough to assure itself the possession of much truth, is in practice almost as superstitious and false as Christianity, a faith of slaves, liars and dastards. The same remarks apply roughly to Buddhism.

"Mongol": presumably the reference is to Confucianism, whose metaphysical and ethical flawlessness has not saved its adherents from losing those ruder virtues which are proper to a Fighting Animal. . . ⁽⁷⁸⁾

As can be seen from the above citation the author of the Book of the Law had a great deal of anger and hostility directed towards the organized religions of the world. The third chapter is very militant and damning. According to the Book, Crowley is to be the priest and Logos of the new Aeon. He was charged with the duty of spreading the Word of the Aeon of Horus with Ra-Hoor as his source of power.

Before moving onto the final two figures mentioned in the Book of the Law one should note that the trinity of Nuit, Hadit and Ra Hoor Khuit is pictured in Crowley's Tarot deck on the Aeon (XX) card of the Major Arcana. Nuit is seen bending over the enthroned figure of Ra Hoor while Hadit is the Solar Wing under Nuit's hands and feet. The image of the Aeon of Horus is pictured as a child giving what is referred to as the "Sign of Silence of Harparcrats" which is used in ritual to seal a magical operation. At the child's feet is the Hebrew letter Shin - which holds manifold meanings in Occult Kabbalah but generally refers to spiritual creation in some form. Two figures from Crowley's cosmology who are not pictured on this card are the Beast and the Scarlet Woman.

During his life the man Aleister Crowley was the physical manifestation of the Solar Phallic Energy which encapsulates the "Beast". However, both the "Beast" and the "Scarlet Woman" are "titles which may be assumed refer to anyone who happens to hold either of those offices during the whole period of the Aeon- approximately 2000 years." ⁽⁷⁹⁾

The office of the Scarlet Woman is seen as the magickal counter part to the Beast. She is in essence the akti to the Beast (this union is pictured on card XI of Crowley's Tarot deck under the name "Lust") in that through her the Solar Phallic energy is manifest, without her the energy would remain only potential. She also represents "Universal Impersonal Life" ⁽⁸⁰⁾, she is at the same time a manifestation of Nuit (the Universal Mother) and the Whore of Babalon [Crowley's Kabbalistic spelling] (Sacred Prostitute). "Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men."(I,15) Crowley goes into great detail about the nature of the Scarlet Woman in his commentary on chapter III verse 55 ⁽⁸¹⁾:

The Book of the Law is the Charter of Woman; the Word Thelema has opened the lock of Her "girdle of chastity.". . . Yea, I , The Beast, my Scarlet Whore bestriding me, naked and crowned, drunk on Her golden Cup of Fornication, boasting Herself my bedfellow, have trodden Her in the Market place, and roared this Word that every woman is a star. And with that Word is uttered Woman's Freedom.. . . All this must follow as the Light the night as soon as Woman, true to Herself must hold Herself and Her Will in honour; and She must compel the world to accord it. ⁽⁸²⁾





For Crowley the Scarlet Woman must set the example for all women. She must break all secular and sacred taboos in the light of freedom of Will. In the period following the death of Queen Victoria these words would have rattled the bars of social boundaries involving sexuality, religion and the roll of women. The Scarlet Woman is described in Crowley's The Comment called D as "any Woman that receives and transmits My Solar Word and Being. . . for without Woman man hath no power." ⁽⁸³⁾ Crowley would be referring to both to a physical union as well as an "inner" union. In fact, it would impossible to separate the two as they are two aspects or approaches of the same process.

Summary of the Cosmology

To briefly summarize, Aiwass ⁽⁸⁴⁾ is the messenger or mediator of Horus, the Egyptian God of Vengeance. Aiwass communicated to Crowley (initially through his wife Rose) a text which reflects the means to establish a world-view which is based on discovering one's True Will. The text has three main figures. The first two are an inseparable dyad. Nuit (from the Egyptian Sky Goddess) is the vast cosmos. She is all Matter. Yet see can only be known through specific points which give perspective. Each point is Hadit (Had) who also represents Motion. Every person is perceived as a unique being who is also part of the universal Whole. Ra-Hoor (as an aspect of Horus) is the driving force which pushes the individual towards the discovery of the True Will. When the individual aligns him or herself with their Will then they are in essence aligned with the Will of God for "there is no god but man."

Thelema Today

Many of the nuances of Thelema or the Law of Will can be traced through influences in Crowley's life. The term "Thelema", for example comes from Crowley's adaptation of François Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. ⁽⁸⁵⁾ Much of the Thelemic world-view, which stems from the Book of the Law, can be traced to experiences in Crowley's life. Despite the fact that Thelema developed out of one person's experiences many people today follow Crowley's teachings. There are many Orders today who uphold Crowley's Word. Crowley's A.^..A.^.. is still functioning today and has influenced such Orders as: The Temple of Thelema (T.^..O.^..T.^..), The College of Thelema (C.O.T.), the Thelemic Golden Dawn (T.^..G.^..D.^..), even the O.T.O has adopted many Thelemic overtones though they are not technically Thelemic. On the Internet there are hundreds of Temples, Oases, Chapters, Camps, Pranoi, and web-pages dedicated to Crowley or his teaching of Love and Will. ⁽⁸⁶⁾ In the ever quickening search for meaning many people are turning towards Thelema and Liber AL vel Legis for direction.

In personal practice Nuit and Hadit are to be nurtured by each individual in their own manner. ⁽⁸⁷⁾ Each person must unify the Infinite Mother and the ever present Father through prayer and meditation. Through the meditation the individual first focuses on becoming Hadit then they enter a union with the Great Mother. After this is completed, the individual becomes Infinite Space then he or she unities with the manifest point of Hadit. The only figure which is to be worshiped publically is Ra-Hoor-Khuit as he is the symbol of the New Aeon. Another public ritual written and employed by Crowley and modern Thelemites is The Gnostic Mass. ⁽⁸⁸⁾ In this rite there is a symbolic (or actual) union of the Priest and Priestess (the Beast and the Scarlet Woman) representing the unity of all opposites. ⁽⁸⁹⁾





Omissions and Summary of Part II

The most notable omission from Part II was Crowley's establishment of the Abbey of Thelema in 1920 at Cefalù, Sicily. The Abbey was little more than a cement hut where living conditions bordered on ignominious but for Crowley the Abbey was the physical manifestation of the Law. The Abbey was to be an egalitarian commune ⁽⁹⁰⁾ were everyone was to discover and fulfill their Will (even children of four were encouraged to find their Will.) There were many stories in the press of people being murdered or going insane at the Abbey. None of these stories were founded in fact and were blatant propaganda against the "Wickedest man in the World" (though one person, Raoul Loveday, did die at the Abbey in 1923 but this was due to a suicide/accident.) The Abbey was in many ways an excuse for hedonistic pursuits of drug taking and sex. For this reason Regardie, who greatly respected Crowley, ends his interpretation of Crowley at the reception of Liber AL vel Legis. For Regardie Crowley's later life was but a pale shadow of his earlier days.

Two important incidents occurred at the Abbey. The first major incident was that Crowley's daughter, Poupée, died in 1920 due to an extended illness. Her death utterly devastated Crowley and the traumatic experience affected him deeply for many years. The second important occurrence at the Abbey was Crowley's ejection from Italy by Mussolini in 1923. The dictator was in the process of ridding Italy of secret societies and other such subversive threats (Crowley was also expelled from France in 1929) . This expulsion was followed by a renewed attack on Crowley from the press as well as a series of financial and personal setbacks and periods of acute depression and physical illness.

The second major omission from Part Two involves Crowley's list of Scarlet Women. Crowley's most notable Scarlet Woman and mother of Poupée, was Leah Hirsig (also know as Alostrael). There is a list of several women who took the office of the Scarlet Woman and Crowley's diaries from 1914-1920, as found in The Magical Record of the Beast 666, revolve around magickal workings to find a suitable Whore of Babalon (official title of the Scarlet Woman) in New York where he stayed from 1914 until 1919. Although there are some interesting works involving the Scarlet Women for the most part Crowley's relation with them (and theirs with each other) is sophomoric and at times resembles a bad soap opera.

In summary, Crowley the prophet was a scribe for the God Horus who dictated His New Aeon through Aiwass. Crowley understood Aiwass to be, simultaneously, his own Holy Guardian Angel (or Divine Self) and a being of præter-human origin who was a member of the Third Order of the A.^..A.^... The cosmology of the received Word involved three figures: Nuit-The Great Mother of Space, Hadit- the eternally burning point within the Great Mother and Ra-Hoor-Khuit who stands as the destroyer of the "black traditions". ⁽⁹¹⁾ Earthly representations of the Universal dynamic of Nuit and Hadit are found in the Beast 666 and the Scarlet Woman 667. Though Crowley was the first manifestation of the Law, every person is required to find and do their True Will. This True Will can be equated on many levels to the Holy Guardian Angel or Higher Genius of the Golden Dawn. Once the True Will is discovered, it can be fatal physically, mentally and spiritually to do other than the Will ⁽⁹²⁾. "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law-Love is the Law, Love under Will." ⁽⁹³⁾

Conclusion

Crowley was not only a practical joker at his own expense, but also a man of considerable intellect who could have been a poet of some stature if he'd had the patience. His career into the 'unconscious' is a voyage taken at roughly the same time as those other giants of inner space, Freud and Jung. While the latter two started as doctors and painstakingly staked out the 'new' area of psychology as their preserve, Crowley was less responsible.

-Introduction to "The Number of the Beast" by Snoo Wilson.





The figure of Aleister Crowley is a difficult one to understand. This paper only took a very small portion of his life in order to attempt to extrapolate his mythology or his world-view. From reading his poetry and mystical works there is absolutely no doubt that he experienced what could be termed "mystical consciousness". Many of his insights, not only in Occultism but also in the areas of psychology and sociology, are fascinating glimpses into the human potential. That said, Crowley stands as a prime example of what can go wrong when a person engages in a mystical or "trans-personal" discipline without fully dealing with the more elemental levels of the psyche. Crowley's lack of compassion and disdain for self-sacrifice is a clear example of his inability to feel for the pain of other human beings. Self-sacrifice is not a sign of weakness but of inner fortitude. Crowley assuredly had this inner fortitude but it was thwarted by his massive complexes. The question becomes then, does the validity of his writings and teachings depend on his biography? Should his character flaws nullify his experiences and his researches? The answer must be "No." Even though Crowley did not remain within the sanctions and structure of the Golden Dawn he still managed to cultivate a pragmatic system of spiritual introspection and evolution. If his writings hold no meaning for contemporary society, they would have died when he did.

Many modern followers of Crowley's teachings are open-minded people who are dedicated therapists, ecologists, doctors, basically anyone who believes in the sanctity of personal freedom and sees the potentially destructive nature of strict and blindly held orthodox views could be considered part of the New Aeon. However, even within modern Thelemites there is the tendency towards orthodoxy and spiritual posturing which just reinforces Crowley's insistence on every person finding their own personal Will and not blindly following dogma. In practice as a magician Crowley always insisted that his students not believe him, that they find out on their own the claims Crowley made. As a prophet he could do none other than say "you must believe me!" These two world views are the direct opposite of each other. An example of this is found in MacGregor Mathers, Crowley's one time mentor. This influential magician lived and died with little notice to the outside world. Even today Occultists are unsure of many aspects of his biography yet he translated many Occult texts, formed the most influential Magical Order of the 19^th and 20^th Centuries and helped systematize a process of spiritual and psychological progression. However, Mathers was a Hermeticist who was interested in the ultimate mystical union with the Higher Self not with prophecy.

Crowley began as a Magician and excelled in many ways. His contributions to the philosophy and theology of magic are vast. Yet Crowley felt driven towards undertaking the roll of a prophet. He willfully abandoned the fourth "law" of magic-"to be Silent" as a result he stands as an anomaly of sorts since both magic and Thelema were central factors in his life up until the minute he died. ⁽⁹⁴⁾ Frater Perdurabo Neophyte 0= 0 ,the magician, swore in 1898 he would "endure" and he has done precisely that as the Logos of the Third Aeon.

To sum up, here is a citation from Israel Regardie's The Eye in the Triangle:

That flame burned in him at all times, regardless of the seeming perversity of the more human, frail part of him. Despite the excesses of his picturesque life, and what I have assumed to be psychopathology, his devotion and love persisted throughout all vicissitudes. We must take him seriously and literally when he cried:

O my God, but the love in Me bursts over the bonds of Space and Time;

The love in me is spilt among them that love not love. . . Thou hast fastened the fangs of Eternity in my soul, and the Poison of the Infinite hath consumed me utterly. ⁽⁹⁵⁾





Finally, on Dec.1, 1947 Crowley died at a Hastings retirement home. "He did not want to die, and as he passed into a coma, the tears flowed down his white cheeks. Sister Tzaba was with him; she held his twitching hand and caught his last words, 'I am perplexed . . . '". ⁽⁹⁶⁾

On the day of his funeral his literary executer and friend, Louis Wilkinson, read out loud Crowley's Hymn to Pan (see Appendix Eight) and selections from Liber AL vel Legis. The chairman of the Brighton Council swore "We shall take the necessary steps to prevent such an incident occurring again." Even in death Crowley managed to retain his sense of humor and his innate ability to make "the powers that be" squirm in their socially acceptable paradigms.

Ah! Ah! Death! Death! thou shalt long for death. Death is forbidden, o man, unto thee.

The length of thy longing shall be the strength of its glory. He that lives long and desires death much is ever the King among the Kings.(II, 73-74)




Bibliography

Works by Aleister Crowley:





Crowley, Aleister. Magick: Book 4 Parts I-IV(Liber ABA). ME: Weiser. 1997.

-----------------------. The Revival of Magick and Other Essays. Las Vegas: New Falcon/O.T.O, 1998.





-----------------------. The Law is for All: The Authorized Popular Commentary to the Book of the Law. (Louis Wilkinson and Hymenaeus Beta eds.). Arizona: New Falcon. 1996.





-----------------------. Gems From the Equinox. (Israel Regardie ed.) Las Vegas: Falcon. 1988.





-----------------------. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley. Great Britain: Arkana. 1989.





-----------------------. 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley. (Ed. Israel Regardie) ME: Weiser. 1986.





-----------------------. Magick Without Tears. Arizona: New Falcon Publications. 1994.





-----------------------. The Magical Record of the Beast 666: The Diaries of Aleister Crowley: 1914-1920. London: Duckworth. (John Symonds & Kenneth Grant eds.)Third impression. 1993.





-----------------------. Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley: Tunisia 1923. ME: Weiser. (Ed. Stephen Skinner.) 1997.





-----------------------. The Equinox (Vol.i No.i-x) ME: Weiser. (Deluxe facsimile limited edition-second impression), 1993.

-----------------------. The Equinox. ("The Blue Equinox" Vol.iii no.i) ME: Weiser. 1997.





-----------------------. The Equinox of the Gods (Equinox Vol.iii no.iii). Arizona: Ordo.Templi.Orientis & New Falcon. 1991.





-----------------------. The Book of Thoth (Equinox Vol.iii: no.v). Maine: Weiser. 1989.





-----------------------. Liber Aleph (The Book of Wisdom or Folly being Equinox Vol.iii, n vi). Maine: Weiser. 1997.





-----------------------. The Book of Lies. ME: Weiser. 1989.





-----------------------. Little Essays Toward Truth. Arizona: New Falcon, 1996.





-----------------------. The Heart of the Master & Other Papers. Arizona: New Falcon, 1997.





Works about or involving Aleister Crowley:

Regardie, Israel. The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley.

Las Vegas: Falcon. 1986.

Symonds, John. The Great Beast: The Life and Magick of Aleister Crowley. London: Macdonald. 1971.





Wilson, Snoo. The Number of the Beast.





Wilson, Robert Anton. The Cosmic Trigger Vol.1, Arizona: New Falcon, 1996.





The Magickal Link. The Newsletter of the Ordo Templi Orientis International.





Other Related Sources





Bloom, William. The Sacred Magician: A Ceremonial Diary. Glastonbury: Gothic Image, 1992.





Howe, Ellic. The Magicians of the Golden Dawn. Maine: Weiser. 1984.





King, Francis (ed.) Ritual Magic of the Golden Dawn. VT: Destiny Books. 1997.





Mathers, S. Liddell MacGregor (trans.&ed.) The Key of Solomon the King. Maine: Weiser. 1989.





-----------------. The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage. GB: Aquarian. 1976.





Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn. Mn: Llewellyn. 1988.





---------------------. The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic. New York: Weiser. 1972.





Suster, Gerald. Crowley's Apprentice. Maine: Weiser. 1990.





Waite, Arthur Edward. The Book of Ceremonial Magic: A Complete Grimoire. NJ: Citadel Press. 1961.





Zalewski, Pat. Golden Dawn Enochian Magic. MN: Llewellyn. 1990.

Table of Contents




Personal Note/ Foreword

A Crowley Biography/Chronology

Part I: L.V.X.

The Young Aleister Crowley 2

The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary 6

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 8

The Abramelin Operation 11

Omissions and Summary of Part I 19

Part II:

The Emergence of Aiwass 24

Rose, the Stele and Aiwass 25

Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Khuit:

The Cosmology of Liber AL vel Legis 29





Summary of the Cosmology 37





Thelema Today 34





Omissions and Summary for Part II 35





Conclusion 38





Appendices





Bibliography

1. "The man Aleister Crowley is the organizer for pagan orgies. He engaged in pro-German propaganda during the war. He published obscene attacks on the King. He made dramatic renunciations of his British birthright. He proclaimed himself "King of Ireland"[actually a "Masonic" title of the O.T.O.: "Baphomet, the Supreme and Holy King of Ireland, Iona, and all the Britains that are in the Sanctuary of the Gnosis"]. He stole money from a woman . . . this is a man who's latest work [The Diary of a Drug Fiend] is a deliberate symposium of obscenity, blasphemy, and indecency." Aleister Crowley's Orgies in Sicily From: The Sunday Express Nov.26, 1922. Squared brackets mine.

2. Chela (cheta)= Student/ spiritual seeker.

3. "The portly and voluminous poet, mystic, magician, explorer, scholar, and publicist, Aleister Crowley, here has his Legend given to the world before the trifling formality of his death [Reference to the publication of his auto biography: Confessions] . It is at once the strength and weakness of this decorously-tempered panegyric that is the work of an advocate rather than an impartial judge. In considering, criticizing and appraising this unique and bulky figure we have to bear in mind- and it is only fair that we should thus bear in mind- the character, or rather the characteristics, of his countrymen [the English]." The Legend of Aleister Crowley . By Victor B. Neuburg, From: The Freethinker. Aug. 24, 1930. Square brackets mine.

4. For example, Wiccans who are influenced by either Gerald Gardner or Alex Sanders will be hard pressed to deny the influence Crowley had on these two "founding fathers" of the Craft.

5. Symonds, John. The Great Beast. London: Macdonald, 1971.

6. Founded by John Nelson Darby around 1830. "The Brethren believed that they were the only true Christians; they considered the idea of ordained ministers contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures; the Bible is literally true; Christ's Second Coming was imminent; the elect would inherit the Kingdom of God." Confessions. P.14

7. Magick:Liber Aba, Maine: Weiser, 1997, p.432.

8. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, England: Arkana, 1979, p.36.

9. In the early chapters of his autobiography Crowley refers to himself in the third person as he felt the person who was the Crowley of his youth was a separate person whom he could not relate to.

10. Confessions, p.44.

11. Ibid. p.44,

12. Ibid. p.67.

13. "I am a blind man on a helmless ship

Without a compass on a stormy sea.

I cannot sink, for God will hold me up, etc." (Confessions, p.73)

14. Confessions, p.73.

15. Confessions, p.126.

16. The author of the book was A.E.Waite. Crowley utterly despised Waite, his ostentatious writing style and his "holy than thou" approach to magic. I cannot resist citing these examples: "The author was a pompous, ignorant and affected dipsomaniac from America, and he treated his subject with the vulgarity of . . . the beery, leering frivolity of a red-nosed music hall comedian making jokes about mothers-in-law and lodges" and "The compiler of The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts is not only the most ponderously platitudinous and priggishly prosaic of the pretentiously pompous pork butchers of the language, but the most voluminously voluble."

17. False in the sense that the exoteric Church is seen as but a pale shadow of the "true" esoteric Church.

18. Confessions, p.146.

19. The three dots signify, among other things, "the principle of balance between the Three Pillars, three points of the Compass or Square, three points of the heart . . . They could equally, of course, stand for Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or any Triad intended." Gray, William. The Inner Traditions of Magic. Maine: Weiser, 99. Essentially they represent a process of spiritual evolution following the pattern of spiritual initiation, i.e., life, death, and rebirth.

20. The founders of the G.^..D.^.. were; Samuel Liddell Mathers, Dr. William Wynn Westcott and Dr. W.R. Woodman. All three were Freemasons with Mathers and Woodman having an equal interest in the occult in general.

21. The circle and square following the grade number have symbolic meaning. The circle represents divine nature while the square represents mundane or human nature. Thus, the grade of Neophyte is symbolized as

0=0 indicating the initiate's fledgling status. The next grade, Zelator 1=10 , shows the initiate has one "part" divinity while he or she has ten "parts" human nature (the grade also corresponds to Malkut the lowest sefira on the Tree of Life.) The second grade of the G.^..D.^.. , the Theoricus 2= 9 shows that the initiate has progressed towards the goal of the grade Ipsissimus 10=1 which corresponds to the highest sefira- Kether. This grading is meant as a means of monitoring spiritual evolution but it also tends to lead to problems with power struggles. William Gray brings up another interesting implication with this system:

It should be obvious that the Degree Scale described is more of an ideal to be achieved than an actuality to be encountered much in our faulty world. Who could imagine a 10=1 type of being? Ten parts divine and only one degree human! Short of an incarnate God, none of such a nature could possibly manifest through a human body, yet it must be possible for a being of that degree to exist, or the extremities of humanity and Divinity would not be what they are. Inner Traditions, p.98

22. Confessions, p.176.

23. The Order was actually divided into three distinct orders. The First Order was the Golden Dawn and held the grades from Neophyte 0=0 to Philosophus 4=7 . This order was dedicated to practicing esoteric ceremony and general education but practiced no magic. The Second Order (Roseas Rubeae et Aureae Crucis)) was made up of the grades from Adeptus Minor 5=6 to Adeptus Exemptus 7=4 . The Second Order was concerned with learning and practicing magic. The third and highest order was called the A.^..A.^.. (Argenteum Astrum- Silver Star: this is not the same as Crolwey's Order). Only those who were personally chosen by the Secret Chiefs (those beings who help the evolution of human consciousness) could claim membership in this Order which held the grades; Magister Templi, Magus, and Ipsissumus.

24. Regardie, Israel. The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley. Arizona: Falcon Press, 1986, p.139. Brackets are mine.

25. Some of Crowley's other mottos were:6=5 - Ol Sonuf Vaorsagi(O.S.V-I reign over you.) 7=4 - Ou Mh (O.M.-No, definitely no! or Not Yet!) 8=3 - Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici (V.V.V.V.V.-In my lifetime I have conquered the universe by the force of truth.) 9=2 - To Mega Therion (The Master Therion and/or The Great Beast.)

26. The original text is thought to be from the 14^th C.

27. This particular spelling of "magic" will be dealt with later.

28. From An Abramelin Ramble. ©Bill Heidrick, 1994 &1995.

29. Mather, S.L. MacGregor (trans.) The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage. G.B.: Aquarian, 1976, p.65.

30. Ibid., p.84.

31. See Appendix 3.

32. This house, located at 5714'N., 428'W, is the kiblah or direction of prayer for all Thelemites (devotees of Crowley's Law). Each of their temples are directed towards Boleskine.

33. More thorough (and objective?) documentation of the events can be found in: Ellic Howe's The Magicians of the Golden Dawn, Symond's The Great Beast, and Regardie's The Eye in the Triangle.

34. Regardie, Eye in the Triangle, p.93.

35. Crowley genuinely disliked Yeats. He felt that Yeats was jealous of his poetic skills. In Confessions Crowley states: "There was one literary light [in the Order], W. B. Yeats, a lank disheveled demonologist who might have taken more pains with his personal appearance without incurring the reproach of dandyism." p.177. As was the habit with Crowley many of his projections were due to his own limitations and fears.

36. Though this degree is recorded there are some Masons who do not acknowledge Crowley's attainment of said degree. Crowley's version of the story is covered in chapter 72 of Confessions.

37. Scrying traditionally involves gazing into a shiny surface of a stone or crystal in order to receive images. In fact the technique is better understood as shutting down the conscious mind in order to enter into a ritually guided creative visualization where the magician maintains control of his/her surroundings but enters into a fantasy which is archetypally, for want of a better word, defined through his/her training.

38. Oscar Eckenstein (b.1858) was a well know mountaineer whom Crowley had met in 1897. Though Eckenstein felt that Crowley's preoccupation with magic and mysticism was a waste of time he did train Crowley in advanced forms of mental concentration which he, Eckenstein, used in climbing in order to stay focused at the task at hand. Eckenstein marks one of the few people who Crowley had a sincere fondness for throughout his life. Both Eckenstein and Crowley attempted to climb Chogo Ri in 1902 at a time when the peaks of the Himalayas were rarely attempted.

39. ^{Confessions, p.224.}

40. Ibid., p.529-532.

41. Ibid., p.532.

42. Though the text does presuppose that one is part of some organized tradition like Judaism or Christianity.

43. Despite Crowley's feeling toward Christianity he does say "In true religion there is no sect, therefore take heed that thou blaspheme not the name by which another knoweth his God; for if thou do this thing in Jupiter thou wilt blaspheme and in Osiris ." Equinox, Vol.I num.I, p.21.

44. This silence is similar in many respects to the idea of "containment" in psychology.

45. Citations from the Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis) are given in standard chapter and verse format.

46. The motto of The Equinox, which is the main expression of Crowley's teachings, was "The Method of Science . . . The Aim of Religion."

47. Maine: Weiser, 1997.

48. This abbey is a stylized pattern of Crowley's own Abbey of Thelema.

49. Crowley, Aleister. Diary of a Drug Fiend. Maine: Weiser, 1997, p.368.

50. I adore Thee, King of Evil,

By the body Thou hast fashioned

In the likeness of a devil.

By its purity impassioned

I adore Thee, King of Evil!. . . (Equinox, Vol.I, num,X, p.206)

51. For this reason Crowley found great affiliates in the writings of Freud.

52. Crowley used the Old English spelling with the "k" to distinguish ritual magic from the popular stage variety. The "k" is also the first letter in kteis (Grk: vulva) thus referring to sexual union.

53. It should be mentioned that the Golden Dawn was not a "sex magic" Order. However, recent publications have demonstrated that the concept was not entirely foreign to their teachings.

54. The Great Beast, p.149.

55. Crowley's diary from 1914-1920 is full of various workings of magick. See: The Magical Record of the Beast 666. John Symonds and Kenneth Grant eds., London: Duckworth, 1993.

56. This focus on disciplined Will is covered in the Flying Rolls (magical lectures or essays) of the Golden Dawn, specifically Flying Roll XIX: "The habit of doing two or three things at once is fatal to the Occultist. The Will which is necessary is an undivided Will and its cultivation must be continued at all times"- Ritual Magic of the Golden Dawn. Francis King ed., Vermont: Destiny, 1997, p.121.

57. "In the first edition this Book was called L [i.e., Liber L vel Legis] L is the sacred letter in the Holy Twelve-fold Table which forms the triangle which stabilizes the Universe. L is the letter of Libra, Balance, and "Justice" in the Tarot. This title should probably be AL, "El," as the "L" was heard by the voice of Aiwaz, not seen. AL is the true name of the Book, for these letters, and their number 31, form the Master Key to its Mysteries." - The Law is for All, 1996, p.21. Square brackets are mine.

58. The first volume of Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger the author attempts to demonstrates that much of Leary's latter work involving the "Starseed" and Crowley's writings on Aiwass have a common thread...this interpretation is not without validity but it does not reflect the generally accepted understanding of the nature of Aiwass.

59. Although Aiwass is technically male, the concept of the Holy Guardian Angel is generally thought of as androgynous.

60. IAO is a gnostic deity name but in this case it can refer either to the creative or active principle of ("Yahweh"-Tetragrammaton) or the initials of Isis, Apophis, Osiris (birth, death, resurrection). Thoth is the Egyptian equivalent to Hermes/Mercury and rules operations of divination and communication.

61. The Great Beast, p.61.

62. From: Liber Aba, p.411-12. Please Note: In the citation "Fra.P" refers to Frater Perdurabo, i.e., Crowley.

63. Liber Aba, p.412.

64. See Appendix Five.

65. The Great Beast, p.382-83.

66. Era Vulgarus- a term used by Thelemites to denote mundane dates.

67. The Great Beast, p.63.

68. She is the arched blue figure on the Stele in Appendix Five.

69. Two verses which stand out are 26 and 61.

70. Those who follow Crowley's teachings will shorten this reply with: 93 93/93. According to Occult Kabbalah, Love, Law and Will add to 93.

71. The Will also plays a essential role in Crowley's definition of Magick: "Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will."

72. The symbol which forms the "O" in Oz is comprised of the Sevenfold Star of Babalon and the Mark of the Beast. The Mark of the Beast is formed with an image of the Sun, the Moon (Hadit and Nuit) and the two semicircles represent testes (666-The Beast & 156-Babalon.) Thus, the whole Mark is a representation of the Solar Phallic Power.

73. Hadit is symbolized by the Solar or winged disk on the Stele.

74. These interpretations are found throughout Crowley's writings but primarily in his commentaries found in "The Law is for All".

75. The Law is for All, p.23.

76. Ra Hoor Khut is a destructive form of the god Horus.

77. The Law is for All, p.155.

78. Ibid., p.168-70.

79. Magick Without Tears. Arizona: New Falcon, 1994, p.302.

80. Confessions, p.795.

81. "Let Mary inviolate be torn upon wheels: for her sake let all chaste women be utterly despised among you."

82. The Law is for All, pp.174-77.

83. From: The Magical Link. Quarterly News Letter of the Ordor Templi Orientis International. Combined issue Vol. IX, No.4-Vol. 10, No.2. Winter 1995-Summer 1996 E.V., p.4.

84. In my opinion Aiwass is unique to Crowley. He revealed or communicated the Third Aeon but does not play an essential roll in the cosmology. Every person would have to discover his or her own Aiwass before the True Will could be realized.

85. Rabelais is listed as a saint of the gnosis in the Gnostic Mass. See Appendix Seven (p.430).

86. Of course there are some who interpret Crowley in a completely facile manner which emphasizes only the "dark side" of Crowley's teachings. On the whole, the Thelemites I have been in contact with are extremely intelligent people who look more towards Crowley's big picture of individual freedom than his misogynistic, racist (this comes up from time to time in his writings but can be seen as a contemporary cultural bias), classist, "satanic" personality. In fact in an issue of the Magical Link a review was given of an O.T.O. Conference on Women where there was a discussion on the role of women in Thelema and how women should help to rewrite some of the O.T.O. liturgy in order to help women find the power which is implied in the figures of Nuit and Babalon.

87. Two works, Liber NU and Liber HAD, give a basic framework for the personal cultivation of these "energies" or psychological archetypes.

88. The Gnosis in this case refers to the union of opposites as found in Magick.

89. I have included The Gnostic Mass in Appendix Seven simply because it unifies the principles of Crowley the Magician and Crowley the Prophet.

90. Many authors point to the fact that Crowley was the prototype for the "Hippy" movement of the Sixties. While in many ways this is an accurate assumption, Crowley would not have taken kindly to the pacifist overtones of the "flower" children.

91. According to some Thelemic theology the Whore of Babalon and Nuit are actually two aspects of the same deity. That is to say "Babalon" is the "Secret name of Nuit."

92. Crowley's description of the dire results of refusing the Will is very similar to Jung's insistence that to ignore the unconscious' need to become conscious could result in physical death.

93. In several places in his works (see esp. The Revival of Magick,) Crowley recognizes the influences of Augustine and Rabelais in the sacred words of Thelema.

94. When Crowley died in his pocket was found a magic square from the Abramelin operation which was to cause books on magic to brought to the person who kept it on his or her person.

95. Eye in the Triangle, p.505.

96. The Great Beast, p.400. There is some dissension in regards to how Crowley died and who was witness to his death.