The Young Aleister Crowley

Before engaging in Crowley as magician a brief note about his childhood is necessary in order to lay the foundation of his "mythology". Crowley was born on October 12^th,1875 at Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. His father was a lay preacher for the ultra-conservative Plymouth Brethren ⁽⁶⁾ as well as the owner of Crowley Breweries. Generally speaking, Crowley had a positive relation with his father though in some ways Crowley would come to pity him and his dedication to Christianity. Crowley's father died on March 5^th 1887 when Crowley was twelve years old. His father's death had a major impact on him both physically and mentally: "After his death I was tortured with insensate persistency, till I said: Evil, be thou my good!" ⁽⁷⁾ In many ways Crowley's later life of pronouncing and spreading the Word of the Aeon of Horus can be seen as mirroring his father's calling towards preaching for the Aeon of Osiris.

Crowley divided history into three stages. The first was the Aeon of Isis which corresponded to the early periods of Matriarchal society (Feminine). The second stage was the aeon of Osiris in which the dying and resurrecting gods gained control over the Matri-focal societies. Included in this Aeon would be Tammuz, Osiris, Mithras, Christ, etc. (Masculine). The third aeon, which we are in presently, is symbolized by the "Crowned and reigning Child" Horus. The Aeon of Horus transcends the sexual discrimination of the previous aeon and thus symbolized by the androgynous Child.

Crowley's relation with his mother is another matter entirely:

The important points about the woman are that her schoolmates called her

"the little Chinese girl", that she painted in water colour with admirable taste

destroyed by academic training, and that her powerful natural instincts were

suppressed by religion to the point that she became, after her husband's death,

a brainless bigot of the most narrow, logical and inhumane type. Yet there

was always a struggle; she was really distressed, almost daily, at finding herself

obliged by her religion to perform acts of the most senseless atrocity. ⁽⁸⁾

The apparent anti-Christian tone in the above passage (as well as in many of Crowley's other writings) has lead most "authorities," including Symonds, to level the inevitable charge of Satanism on Crowley. That Crowley had problems with the way the general populous interpreted the Christian tradition cannot be disputed. However, the Christian tradition was not a simple issue for the young member of the Plymouth Brethren. Here are a few citations from Crowley on the subject of his early feelings towards Christianity:

The Bible was his ⁽⁹⁾ only book at this period; but neither the narrative nor

the poetry made any deep impression on him. He was fascinated by the mysterious prophetic passages, especially those in Revelation. The Christianity in his home was entirely pleasant to him, and yet his sympathies were with the opponents of heaven . . . He preferred the Dragon, the False Prophet, the Beast, and the Scarlet Woman, as being more exciting. ⁽¹⁰⁾

I had been perfectly genuine in my ambition to lead a life of holiness; the idea of intimate communion with 'Jesus' was constantly present to my mind. . .I asked one of the masters one day how it was that Jesus was three days and three nights in the grave, although crucified on a Friday and risen again on Sunday morning. He could not explain and said that it had never been explained. So I formulated the ambition to become a shining light in Christianity by doing this thing which had never yet been done. ⁽¹¹⁾

Eventually Crowley turned his keen interest and knowledge of Scripture towards an attempt to define and carry out the Ultimate Sin which was sympathetic to those images of the Bible towards which he felt drawn.

Crowley came to the conclusion, through the intensity and logic of a child, that this Ultimate Sin was, in fact, the sexual act. For the young Crowley this sexual sacrilege became, for Crowley, a new frontier to conquer. The figure of the Biblical Satan was this new frontier's figurehead. However, despite his satanism, Crowley still felt that the Brethren was the true way towards salvation: "Indeed , my falling away from grace was not occasioned by any intellectual qualms; I accepted the theology of the Plymouth Brethren. In fact, I could hardly conceive of the existence of people who might doubt it. I simply went over to Satan's side; and to this hour I cannot tell why." ⁽¹²⁾

One cannot help but notice the similarities between Jung and Crowley on this issue. In Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Jung finds himself in the awful grip of the blasphemous "turd dream". Here Jung becomes obsessed with the exploration of the "Ultimate Sin" while Crowley reasoned that the evils of sexuality, which both the Brethren and late Victorian society attempted to suppress and repress. In both cases a sort of cathartic release was reached once the initial fear and dread subsided.

Crowley states that as late as 1894 he was still engaged in writing hymns and poems of Christian piety which demonstrates that the tradition still held some meaning for him. ⁽¹³⁾ The following citation sums up Crowley's relation with Christianity which would follow him through the rest of his life:

It seems as if I possessed a theology of my own which was to all intents and purposes, Christianity. My satanism did not interfere with it at all; I was trying to take the view that the Christianity of hypocrisy and cruelty was not true Christianity. I did not hate God or Christ, but merely the God and Christ of the people whom I hated. It was only when the development of my logical faculties supplied the demonstration that the Scriptures support the theology and practice of professing Christians that I was compelled to set myself in opposition to the Bible itself. It does not matter that the literature is sometimes magnificent and that in isolated passages the philosophy and ethics are admirable. The sum of the matter is that Judaism is a savage, and Christianity a fiendish, superstition. ⁽¹⁴⁾

The purpose of these citations is to demonstrate that from a very young age Crowley was enveloped in a quest to find God. This drive coupled with a traumatic childhood as well as his inability to maintain relationships with friends, especially with women, helped to lay the foundations of his later life. These incidents and traits aid us in our ability to account for many of his controversial views.

The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary

When he wasn't in school Crowley spent his time climbing the local chalk hills, playing chess, reading, blowing himself up with home made fire crackers (he was in a comma for three months), mutilating a cat in the name of science (he wanted to find out if cats actually did have nine lives to which he concluded they did not- see Appendix One for a contemporary rendition of this occurence) and pursuing his spiritual quest for God. While at Cambridge Crowley became acquainted with the Celtic Church, a movement which incorporated Romanticism and the Grail myths coupled with "Druidic" overtones.

Crowley found little of worth in Cambridge and spent a great deal of his time in theological and mystical contemplation. Crowley reasoned that if there was to be a separation between "ultimate good" and "ultimate evil" the split would have to be equal. That is to say that good and evil must hold equal power otherwise the separation has no meaning. Following this reasoning Crowley came to the conclusion that:

since I must take sides with one party or the other it was not difficult to make up my mind. The forces of good were those which had constantly oppressed me. I saw them, daily destroying the happiness of my fellow-men. Since, therefore, it was my business to explore the spiritual world, my first step must be to get into personal communication with the devil. I heard a good deal about this operation in a vague way; but what I wanted was a manual of technical instruction. I devoted myself to black magic; and the booksellers-Deighton Bell, God bless'em, immediately obliged with The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, which, judging by the title was exactly what I needed. ⁽¹⁵⁾

Though disappointed with both the contents of the book and its author, ⁽¹⁶⁾ A.E.Waite, one point stood out for Crowley and that was the idea of a Hidden Church which existed behind the "false church" ⁽¹⁷⁾ of the exoteric Christian tradition. Crowley found the idea of a secret sanctuary which guided Humanity towards enlightenment quite appealing and wrote to the author, for more information. Waite wrote back and suggested that he, Crowley, should read The Cloud upon the Sanctuary by Councillor von Echartshausen.

The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary revealed that there was a group of Initiates who watched over the spiritual progression of an elect few. These elect ones had as their charge the spiritual progression of all Humanity. Here, in Crowley's own words, is a description of this influential text:

The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary told me of a secret community of saints in possession of every spiritual grace, of keys to the treasures of nature, and of moral emancipation such as there was no intolerance or unkindness. The members of this Church lived their secret life of sanctity in the world, radiating light and love upon all that came within their scope, yet they were free from spiritual pride. They enjoyed intimate communion with the immanent divine soul of nature. Inheritors of innocence and illumination, they were not self seekers; and their one passion was to bring mankind [sic] into the sphere of their own sublimity, dealing with each individual as his [sic] circumstances required. To them the members of the Trinity were nearer and more real than anything else in the universe. But they were pure ideas of incorruptible integrity. The incarnation was a mystical or magical operation which took place in every man. Each was himself the Son of God who had assumed a body of flesh and blood in order to perform the work of redemption. The in-dwelling of the Holy Ghost was a sanctification resulting from the completion of the great work when the self had been crucified to itself and raised again in incorruptible immorality. ⁽¹⁸⁾

The ideas brought to light in this small book had influenced Crowley very deeply. After his falling out with the Golden Dawn, to be discussed below, Crowley sought to forge his own relation with the Secret Chiefs. Having, in his opinion, secured this quest Crowley spent the rest of his days attempting to do the work of the secret Church through his order the Argenteum Astrum (Silver Star) or the A . ^. . A . ^. . ⁽¹⁹⁾. To this day his Order maintains the claim to have connection to the Secret Chiefs through which the Order receives its mandate towards the universal realization of the divine source within each individual. Another equally formative influence for Crowley was the previously mentioned magical order, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (G.^..D.^..) was an esoteric Order which existed from 1887 to 1923 though there are many Orders today which claim direct lineage. The G.^..D.^.. is best described as a Masonic/Rosicrucian hybrid with Egyptian pantheistic and Kabbalistic overtones. Despite this seemingly absurd hodgepodge of traditions and symbols the founders of the G.^..D.^.. ⁽²⁰⁾ managed to create a potent system of spiritual initiation.

In 1898 Crowley was introduced to a member of the G.^..D.^.., one George Cecil Jones. Through Jones Crowley met the leader of the G.^..D.^..; Samuel Liddell (MacGregor) Mathers and was eventually initiated to the Neophyte 0= 0 ⁽²¹⁾ (See Appendix Two for list of all of the G.^..D.^.. Grades) Grade of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn on Nov.18, 1898.

I took the Order with absolute seriousness. I was not even put off by the fact that its ceremonies were taking place at Mark Mason's Hall. I remember asking whether people often died during the ceremony. I had no idea that it was a flat formality and that the members were for the most part muddled middle-class mediocrities. I saw myself as entering the Hidden Church of the Holy Grail. This state of my soul served me well. My initiation was in fact a sacrament. ⁽²²⁾

Crowley quickly rose through the outer grades of the Order. ⁽²³⁾ In December 1898 Crowley took the Zelator 1= 10 grade and the grades of Theoricus 2= 9 and Practicus 3= 8 in the following two months. After another three month period Crowley took the grade of Philosophus 4 = 7 .

It should be mentioned that the first four grades involved little more than memorization of terms and concepts coupled with exoteric ritual. The early lessons also contain essential preliminary meditations and practices. The first four grades also correspond with the four elements of the Western Esoteric Tradition: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire which represent psychological and spiritual traits to be cultivated and balanced. Israel Regardie, one time secretary and confidante of Crowley's, has this to say about Crowley's experience of these grades:

The five grades that follow hard on upon the Neophyte ceremony to which he [Crowley] had just been admitted are of an entirely different order [than the higher grades]. The basic theme of the Neophyte ritual is being "brought to the Light". In other words its thesis is illumination, the mystical experience. Right at the start of his career in the Golden Dawn, this was the message vouchsafed to him.

In between, however, were the elemental grades relating to Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Their object is the awakening of the unconscious archetypes, the elemental bases of what must develop into the instrument of the higher. Awakened, and integrated into the circle of the Self, they are to be consecrated to the Great Work that they become worthy vehicles for the indwelling of the light. ⁽²⁴⁾

As part of the Initiation process in the G.^..D.^.. the individual was to take a magical motto which, generally speaking, was to reflect a spiritual goal towards which he or she was to strive. At the time of his Neophyte initiation Crowley took the motto Perdurabo (I will endure unto the end.) This motto would follow him through his entire life. Through the treacherous heights of various mountain ranges, illness, addiction, despair, legal cases, poverty, and social ostracization Crowley did endure and has continued to endure well beyond his death. ⁽²⁵⁾

The Abramelin Operation

One of the important contributions made by the cofounder of the G.^..D.^.. , Samuel Liddell (MacGregor) Mathers, was the translation (from French) of The Book of Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage in 1896. ⁽²⁶⁾ The text is broken down into three distinct sections.

There is a narrative part, probably fictitious: a story about where this Magick ⁽²⁷⁾ originated, why it is important, and why it was written down. There is a portion of the book with strange squares and notes about their significance written below them. The middle part of the book has a rather interesting description of how to go about learning to work Magick. The Abramelin approach is almost unique in that it's written to enable students to pick their own method. ⁽²⁸⁾

The Abramelin operation begins with simple prayer or oration which is to take place in a specific house (or room) which is specially furnished and consecrated for the purpose of the operation. The text itself gives no dogmatic prayers but states:

Know ye well that although in the beginning your prayer be but feeble, it will suffice . . . it should be absolutely necessary that your prayer should issue from the midst of your heart, because simply setting down prayers in writing, the hearing of them will in no way explain unto you how really to pray. This is the reason why I have not wished to give unto you any special form of prayers and orations, so that ye yourselves may learn from and of yourselves how to pray . . . ⁽²⁹⁾

The process begins with a few minutes a day set aside for prayer, meditation and study. The person undertaking the operation is also warned against casual contact with people as this is a distraction. They are also told to moderate food consumption (i.e., fasting). Gradually the time spent in prayer is increased and the contact with people is eliminated until eventually the practitioner spends the entire day in prayer and meditation. Following this six month process

the practitioner contacts his "Guardian Angel" who will

never abandon you, he will lead you in the Way of the Lord, and he will watch carefully over you to assist you, and consent unto the present Operation of the Sacred Magic, so that you may be able to constrain the Spirits accursed of God, unto the honour of Your Creator, and for your own good and that of your neighbor. ⁽³⁰⁾

The practitioner is to stay in contact with his/her Guardian Angel for the period of the day. During this contact, information will be given to the practitioner about his (the practitioner's) errors, strengths exhibited during the Operation, as well as necessary instructions on how to "constrain the Spirits accursed of God". As we shall see later, Crowley's initial experience with his H.G.A amounted to one hour a day over three days the result of which was the dictation of Liber AL vel Legis. ⁽³¹⁾

Following this initial Consecration there is a period of three days in which the practitioner, aided by his Guardian Angel, undertakes the "Three Days of the Convocation of the Good and Holy Spirits." The order of spirits found in the book is identical in many ways with the hierarchical organization of angels and demons found in many grimoires ("grammars" or books of magical instruction) around the late Middle Ages (circa., 1400's.) After the contact and petition of the "Good and Holy Spirits" the practitioner begins the "Three other Days of the Convocation of the Evil Spirits". These three days begin with the practitioner evoking, through the names of his Guardian Angel, the Good Spirits and God, the Four Princes (Lucifer, Leviatan, Satan, Belial) and Superior Spirts. Once the practitioner has control of these Four Princes, he or she has control of the several hundred spirits who are under the command of the Princes. Once the final three days are completed, the practitioner is now able to employ the lesser "demons" into servitude in accordance to the practitioner's Will. The third part of the text deals exclusively with this indenturing aspect of the Operation but it is not directly relevant to Crowley's mythology so it will not be dealt with any further. One should simply bear in mind that the Operation involves the practitioner calling upon his/her Guardian Angel (or Higher Genius), through ascetic practices, so as to converse with the "Good Spirits" and through them control the "Evil Spirits".

In 1899 Crowley purchased Boleskine House ⁽³²⁾ on the shores of Lock Ness in order to begin the Abramelin Operation. However, this first attempt at the Operation was cut short due to a schism within the G.^..D.^... In 1900 Crowley left Scotland to come to the aid of his G.^..D.^.. mentor, MacGregor Mathers. Here is a cursory summary of the events. ⁽³³⁾

By the time Crowley had taken his Portal grade, a preliminary to the Adept degree, the Revolt was already in full swing. The wisdom and authority of Mathers was doubted, challenged and repudiated. Crowley was barred from further advancement in the London group despite the deliberate warning contained in Mathers' manifesto: "What I discountenance and will check and punish whenever I find it in the order is the attempt to criticize and interfere with the private life of members of the Order . . . . The private life of a person is a matter between himself or herself and his or her God." ⁽³⁴⁾

The schism was by no means caused by Crowley since problems with the validity of certain key documents on which the Order was founded were in question. However, Crowley's less than subtle personality and constant confrontation with high-ranking members like W.B. Yeats ⁽³⁵⁾ did add fuel to an already volatile situation. The mention of private life in the above citation refers to the fact that many in the "Yeats" camp (those who questioned Mathers' authority) felt that Crowley's sexual practices (both magically and personally) and personality traits were less than acceptable and refused his application to the Adeptus Minor Grade. Personal opinion may not be the only reason for Crowley's refusal. In the Golden Dawn the Second Order, which Yeats was a member, had the duty to accept or refuse individuals who apply for membership into the Second Order based on their careful scrutiny of the applicant. Although Crowley did complete the rudimentary training of the previous Grades, the Second Order may not have felt that Crowley had developed the spiritual, emotional, psychological traits which would help him through the various ordeals which are encountered in the Second Order. If the Chiefs of the Second Order passed Crowley before he was ready then, according to the tradition, they (the Chiefs of the Second Order) would be "karmically" responsible for any harm which would have befallen him. In other words, Crowley's view that the Second Order refused his application due to personal agendas is in all likeliness only one aspect of the incident.

In 1900 Mathers initiated Crowley into the Adeptus Minor (5= 6 corresponds to Tiferet on the Tree of Life) and the Second Order- Roseas Rubeae et Aureae Crucis under oaths of loyalty to Mathers and the Secret Chiefs he represented. Eventually Crowley would complete the Abramelin Operation though not in the traditional manner, as we shall see.

To distance himself from the juvenile drama of power and posturing within the Order Crowley left for Mexico in 1900. While in Mexico Crowley did a great deal of fraternizing, carousing and mountain climbing- Ixtaccihuatl & Popocatapetl (breaking several local records). He became a 33 Mason ⁽³⁶⁾ in Mexico City and did a great deal of work in the art of scrying ⁽³⁷⁾ , Enochian magic and produced a ritual of self-initiation through which he claimed the Adeptus Major Grade 6= 5 (1901). The most meaningful experience in regards to Crowley's mythology to take place in Mexico was his return to the "Great Work":

On May 1^st I find in my diary the following words: "I solemnly began anew the operations of the 'Great Work." I had mapped out for myself a definite programme [sic] which was to combine what I had learnt from Eckenstein ⁽³⁸⁾ with the methods of the Order. For instance: I had extracted the Magical Formula of the Ritual of the Neophyte and applied it to a Ceremony of Self- Initiation. I now simplified this and got rid of the necessity of the physical temple by expressing it in a series of seven mental operations. ⁽³⁹⁾

An important contribution made by Crowley to the Western Esoteric Tradition was the understanding that through such mental operations the necessity of the temple and ritual implements were not needed providing, of course, the magician had developed control of his/her concentration and imagination. On the surface this discovery may not seem noteworthy but if the Golden Dawn was based on communications from the Secret Chiefs and the Grades are seen as a means of progress towards communication with them (this is the goal of the Third Order) then an individual could enact the rituals and ceremonies without the Order. At the same time, the individual could also develop their own link with the Secret Chiefs outside of the hierarchy of the Order.

Crowley did not actually complete the Abramelin Operation until 1906. He has this to say about the climax of the Operation:

I do not wish to represent the Operation of Abra-Melin which I was now performing as a retrogression; but I had to undertake it in order to fulfil completely the formula of adeptship. It was necessary to complete the work of the Second Order before I could adequately take up my work in the Third. . . .On the ninth [Oct.1906], having prepared a full invocation and ritual, I performed it. I had no expectation, I think, of attaining any special success; but it came. I had performed the Operation of the Sacred Magick of Abra-Melin the Mage. ⁽⁴⁰⁾

From his diary Crowley recounts:

Oct.9 Tested new ritual and behold it was very good! Thanked gods

and sacrificed for- In the 'thanksgiving and sacrifices for. . .'[reference to Abramelin text citation] I did get rid of everything but the Holy Exalted One, and must have held Him for a minute or two. I did. I am sure I did. ⁽⁴¹⁾

Three aspects of Crowley's completion of the Operation are anomalous in relation to the way the Golden Dawn taught the ritual. The first anomaly is that Crowley completed the Operation outside of a structured framework of checks and balances which would have been present in an Order like the Golden Dawn. For the Western Esoteric Traditions this is unusual but not unheard of. A magical Order helps and guides the individual through its various teachings, rituals and initiations. However, the Order does not have the ability to make the individual something he or she is not. The individual is the one who must practice, meditate and learn.

The Operation is an intensely personal and private undertaking. ⁽⁴²⁾ In the case of the Golden Dawn, the Order would be there as support for the individual and as a form of external validation. However, one could as easily read works on mysticism, psychology and philosophy to find external validation to the experiences of the Operation. In the book The Sacred Magician, William Bloom records his feelings and experiences when he undertook the Abramelin Operation in 1972. He had no Order as a backdrop (he did have a loose Christian leaning) and he felt no particular kinship with Crowley or his writings. Though there are differences between Bloom's and Crowley's experiences there are many similarities as well indicating, possibly, that the Operation can be done outside a tradition as long as the individual has the ability to view objectively (as much as this is possible) his or her experiences. This is one of the vital roles of the "magical diary" which provides a written record which can be analyzed when one is not so close to the initial experience.

The second anomaly is that it took him seven years to accomplish what should have taken six months. Aside from the trouble with the Order, Crowley spent an intensive period of yogic study in Ceylon with his mentor Allan Bennett, he was married to Rose Kelly, who will be covered in more detail in the second part of the paper, received the Book of the Law, and published several literary and mystical works. Instead of completing the powerful psychological and spiritual ritual in a focused and highly concentrated period, Crowley diluted the effects of the experience with his inability to remain focused on what was supposed to be the quintessential experience of the Second Order.

In some ways Crowley completed the Operation with more Occult knowledge than someone of the Adeptus Exemptus 7= 4 grade. His control of Will and mind could hardly be surpassed. Yet in other ways he missed the fundamental teaching of the First Order i.e., inner harmony. The first four grades (0= 0 is technically a "pre-grade") are elemental grades where Earth represents the material or mundane life, Air represents the intellectual and psychological aspect of the individual, Water the spiritual, and Fire the emotional facet of the individual. The member of the First Order is obligated to attempt to balance these aspects of life in order to have a firm foundation for the later work. Personally, I feel that in many ways Crowley is lacking this harmony. He could not handle his inheritance from his father's estate and lived in impoverished conditions until support would come from one source or another. He was extremely intelligent yet he would attack anyone who he felt threatened or challenged his various personas. He was sincerely driven towards mystical and spiritual goals yet his contention with orthodox Christianity and other religions at times sullied what could have been otherwise remarkable and transformative experiences. ⁽⁴³⁾ For such a devoted and learned individual he most certainly did not have a deep understanding of his own emotions despite the constant yogic and meditative training.

This lack of introspection is also leveled by many critics at his autobiography. The truth of the matter is there is little of Crowley's depth revealed in the 900+ pages. An interesting comparison is between Confessions and Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Nearly every page of MDR is touched by Jung's analysis of his life. Confessions tends to simply state fact after fact with little repose for reflection. (Then again, Crowley dictated the work while under the influence of Ether.)

The third anomaly of Crowley's experience lay in his reception of the Book of the Law. For a member of the Order to undergo the Operation meant an unsurpassed dive into the depths of one's being. Following the experience, the individual would look towards the Abyss and the Third Order which is wholly beyond the lower two Orders. In the Third Order all that was meticulously developed through the lower Grades is left behind in an act of self sacrifice in the same way that in Buddhist metaphor the raft must be left at the shore and not needlessly clung to. The H.G.A., the lessons of the lower Orders, the magical personality, even the entity called "I" is to be left behind. Whether or not this transformation ever actually manifests in the individual's lifetime, may not be as important as striving for the goal of the perfection of Self.

The magician is bound by four important rules:

• 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 paga