ABSTRACT

This thesis is a comparison of the works of two seemingly dichotomous individuals. The first work, Magick/Liber Aba, is by Western Esotericist (Occultist) Aleister Crowley [1875-1947]. Magick/Liber Aba sets out the major thrust of this prolific author's theories concerning Magick as a process towards spiritual attainment. The second work, Mysterium Coniunctionis, presents psychologist C.G. Jung's [1875-1961] interpretation of the alchemical tradition as a method toward individuation. These two men were individuals who were dissatisfied with the predominantly monophasic world-view of "Western" culture. Both Crowley and Jung can be seen as pioneers who attempted to foster a polyphasic world-view in which various states of consciousness such as dreams, fantasies, visions, and drug-induced experiences were not only valid but essential for the completion of the Great Work and the acquisition of ever deepening and widening gnosis in the quest to become fully human. Lama Anagarika Govinda's theory of Multidimensional Consciousness and anthropology's Cycle of Meaning are used throughout the present work in order to facilitate a more in-depth understanding of these two diverse traditions; Magick and alchemy. Included in the appendices of this thesis are five figures, a comparative chronology of Crowley and Jung and a text copy of Crowley's "channeled" work: Liber AL vel Legis.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank several people who helped me through the course of researching and writing this thesis. First I would like to thank my parents (Fintan and Donna) and my wife Beth for their unending support not only in regards to this thesis but to my choice of academic discipline (sorry about the Business degree dad!). Second, I would like to thank my close friends (Catherine, Ariel, Nalini, and Sandeep) for helping me keep grounded in "the real world." Thirdly, I would like to thank Martin P. Starr (Secretary to the Chancellor of the A...A...) and William Heidrick and Hymenaeus Beta X of the Caliphate O.T.O for their excellent editorial and academic work on Crowley (and for Bill's prompt answers to my e-mail questions!). Finally, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor John Dourley, for his indespensable encouragement, editorial wizardry, and assistance in elucidating the nuances of Jung's theories.

Introduction

In the past twenty years there has been a noticeable increase in the popularity of the ideas and works of both Aleister Crowley and C.G. Jung. The reasons for this interest are as varied as the types of people who read them. One reason for this interest could be that both Crowley and Jung represent individuals who were not satisfied with our culture's dominant view of consciousness. This view has been termed "monophasic" in the sense that it only acknowledges or emphasizes two states of consciousness, waking and sleeping, with no interpenetration between the two. Any form of consciousness which occurs that is antithetical to the monophasic view is usually viewed with scorn or controlled through legislation.⁽¹⁾ According to Laughlin (et al.):

The experience of North Americans . . . typically tends toward monophasic consciousness; namely, ego identification with experience derived from a single range of phases that excludes other alternative phases. For North American culture, the only "real world" experienced is that unfolding in the sensorium during the "normal' waking phase (which includes many subsidiary phases like "high," "sleepy," "drunk," and the like), and is thus the only phase appropriate to the accrual of information about self and the world.⁽²⁾

Polyphasic consciousness is a view which acknowledges the validity of various levels of consciousness (such as dreams and altered states of consciousness (ASC) which may be brought about through various means) as valid and endemic to the human condition. By adopting a more polyphasic model of consciousness we allow ourselves to explore consciousness more deeply and more safely than if we remain in a strictly monophasic paradigm.⁽³⁾ Both Crowley and Jung were concerned with approaching consciousness from the perspective that ego-identification was only one small interpretation of reality and that human consciousness was far more complex than generally understood.

Crowley and Jung were concerned with moving toward a polyphasic world-view which placed value on dreams, visions, and so-called paranormal and transpersonal experiences. As a result of this attempt at moving away from the monophasic world-view both Crowley and Jung have been heavily criticized in some circles as being too eccentric in their views. While this may be true in some small portion of their work on the whole both Crowley and Jung can be seen as individuals who were not satisfied with the predominant world-view and each man, in his own way, set out to question and change that world-view.

There are two primary purposes for undertaking the present work. The first purpose is to allow those who are already familiar with the Western Esoteric Tradition and Crowley's work but who lack a grounding in Jung's biography and psychological model an opportunity to enter into a psychological rapport with Crowley's theories. This grounding in Jung is important primarily due to the fact that a number of modern authors within the Western Esoteric Tradition (or those claiming to be familiar with its premises) employ Jung's terminology and models (such as archetype, shadow, and self) without fully comprehending or elucidating their specific meaning as found within Jung's thought. Similarly, one who is interested in Jung's writings, especially those works involving the more esoteric subjects such as alchemy, may find that many of his theories and interpretations resonate with the Western Esoteric Tradition in general and with Aleister Crowley's writings in particular.

The second purpose of this work is to enter into a comparison of the biographies of Crowley and Jung. Both Crowley and Jung have interesting parallels and contrasts throughout their biographies which could explain why these two men chose very different approaches towards the same goal, i.e., the study of the nature of human consciousness and the potential of human development. This comparison is undertaken in the hope that the reader may come to appreciate the motivating factors which drove both Crowley and Jung to explore the psychological and spiritual levels of human consciousness. Also, it is hoped that this work may foster more academic study from within or involving the Western Esoteric Tradition and help to eliminate or lessen the apparent unfamiliarity of the subject within the discipline of Religion.

Many religious traditions are concerned with psychology and the exploration of the limits of human consciousness. One need only consider the main branches of Buddhism and Hinduism as well as the various philosophical and mystical branches of Christianity, Judaism and Islam to find suitable examples. Similarly, many contemporary psychologists have dealt with the importance of spiritual development in the course of their researches. William James⁽⁴⁾, Carl Jung, James Hillman⁽⁵⁾, and Stanislav Grof⁽⁶⁾ are examples of psychologists who refused to accept the limitations of the reductionistic medical materialist model of the human being⁽⁷⁾. Each person attempted to reconcile the seemingly dichotomous realms of psychology and religion. One tradition which also attempts to bridge the apparent gap between spirituality and psychology, and which has tended to be ignored by serious academic research, is what has been termed by Dion Fortune⁽⁸⁾ as the "Yoga of the West" namely, the Western Esoteric Tradition.

The purpose of this work, as mentioned above, is to take two works both from prominent individuals, one from the Western Esoteric Tradition and one from psychology and compare them for similarities as well as differences in an attempt to facilitate an enriched understanding of each tradition. From the Western Esoteric tradition we will examine Magick/Liber Aba⁽⁹⁾ by Aleister Crowley which contains the major thrust of this prolific author's understanding of the Western Esoteric Tradition. From psychology we will review Carl Gustav Jung's Mysterium Coniunctionis, specifically the last chapter entitled "The Conjunction."

Initially it may seem unusual to the reader that the present paper is a comparison of two seemingly unrelated works, one from the occultist Aleister Crowley [1875-1947] and the other from the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung [1875-1961]. Though one might be tempted to think that there are formidable differences between these two individuals, pioneers in their own right, there are in fact many similarities in both their writings and their lives. Perhaps the most meaningful similarity between them is that both Crowley and Jung approached the problem of spirituality and psychology as an individual progression towards wholeness.

Aleister Crowley's path led him to the heights and depths of his own mind and body and to the limits and fringes of the Western Esoteric Tradition⁽¹⁰⁾. Crowley's often arcane writing style and the fact that many of his writings are highly subjective have led many scholars to ignore his copious works which include very diverse areas of study. Some examples of areas which Crowley studied included the effects of various drugs and somatic techniques (including sex and yoga) in bringing about altered states of consciousness, contributions of philosophical and cosmological theories relevant to the Western Esoteric Tradition and Qabalah⁽¹¹⁾ not to mention his many poems, critical essays, and novels which range from the erotic to the mystical.

Crowley insisted that his students and anyone following his teachings must apply the "scientific method"⁽¹²⁾ which involves the intricate recording of all thoughts and experiences related to that individual's spiritual progress within the Western Esoteric Tradition. Each experience encountered by the student was to be thoroughly examined with the strictest scrutiny. In some ways this study of experience is similar to current understandings of phenomenology, especially from within traditions like anthropology. Crowley would refer to this "objective" approach to the Western Esoteric Tradition as "Scientific Illuminism"⁽¹³⁾ or, more commonly, Magick⁽¹⁴⁾. One work which reveals the most complete and thorough reflection of Crowley's understanding of Magick is Liber Aba(Book 4) or simply, Magick⁽¹⁵⁾. For Crowley this book was to represent a straightforward guide which could be employed by anyone to discover their True Will and realize the eventual goal of spiritual wholeness.⁽¹⁶⁾ This was no small claim in a period of the Western Esoteric Tradition which was composed of many "secret" Orders which professed to hold the keys to the universe for those who were lucky, and in some cases rich, enough to be part of the elect. Though Magick/Liber Aba cannot possibly encapsulate the entirety of Crowley's thought, it does represent the core of his teachings and will be used in the present comparison.

Where Crowley was a Western Esotericist who followed the "scientific method" Jung claimed to be a scientist who had a deep interest in esoteric matters in general but it was the occult art of alchemy which warranted his special attention.

Of Jung's collected writings two works arguably standout as summaries of his methodology and the substance of his psychology. The first work is The Answer to Job(1957)⁽¹⁷⁾ and the second is chapter VI (The Conjunction) of C.W. 14 Mysterium Coniunctionis.⁽¹⁸⁾ The latter of the two works will be dealt with in this thesis as it involves the arcane language of symbols with which both Jung and Crowley were thoroughly familiar.

One may be inclined to disregard Jung's fascination with alchemy as inconsequential to his understanding of the psyche and its intrinsic drive towards wholeness. This inclination would be a grievous error. For Jung the alchemical writers, especially Gerhard Dorn (16^th c), represented a form of historical validation for his, Jung's, understanding and model of the psyche. The alchemical tradition also gave Jung a new language through which he could describe the depth of the human progression towards wholeness in highly rich and symbolic images. For Dorn and many of the latter alchemists the quest was no longer for the literal transmutation of base metals into gold but rather the transformation of the individual from the prima materia of the gross human being to the purified and sanctified being who dwells in the unus mundus or the "One World", in other words the divine realm experienced on earth.

This work will be divided into four chapters. In Chapter One we will review two models on the nature and function of symbols. The first model, Multi-Dimensional Consciousness, is taken from the writings of Lama Anagarika Govinda. This model is important because it reflects a central assumption made in Esoteric traditions that symbols have an intrinsic power which cannot be reduced to any one person's application. That is to say the symbol functions in a way which is not limited to the medium through which the symbol is made manifest whether that is a physical representation through art or through the use of visualization as in some forms of Tantric meditation. The second model, the Cycle of Meaning, is from the discipline of Anthropology (specifically the writings of Charles Laughlin and J. Ian Prattis). The second model offers a very useful method in understanding how symbols are culturally created and reenforced. These two models will help us to understand the highly complex and rich symbol system which is attached to both Jung's interpretation of alchemy and Crowley's understanding of the Western Esoteric Tradition.

Chapter Two will begin with an introduction to the Western Esoteric Tradition and the magical Order, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Following this introduction a brief biography of Crowley will be given followed by his understanding of spiritual transformation as found in Magick/Liber Aba.

Chapter Three will give a brief outline of the major premises of Analytical Psychology followed by a short biography of Jung and an examination of his understanding of psychological/spiritual transformation through the alchemical process of the Conjunction.

The fourth and final chapter will be a comparison of the two individuals and their models. The similarities and differences will be noted and summarized. To aid in the comparison there is a chronology at the end of the paper.⁽¹⁹⁾

Finally, I would like to inform the reader that the undertaking of this thesis was instigated by my personal studies (at an academic and personal level) and experiences involving the Western Esoteric Tradition spanning the past eleven years. As a result of these experiences and assumptions some of my personal "phenominological data" has been incorporated into my understanding of said Tradition and will inevitably be reflected in the present thesis.

Endnotes

1. We need only to look at the excessive regulation of so-called "mind-altering" substances such as LSD, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), even marijuana. There may be legitimate arguments made as to why the general populace may be prevented from using the more potent substances but it seems unreasonable to prevent academic research on the effect of these substances on human consciousness.

2. Laughlin, Charles (et al.). Brain, Symbol, & Experience, New York: Columbia University Press, 1992, p.155.

3. Ibid.

4. See: James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: Penguin, 1982, pp. 379-429.

5. See: Hillman, James. Insearch: Psychology and Religion, Dallas: Spring, 1979.

6. See: Grof, Stanislav. The Adventure of Self-Discovery, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988 and Beyond the Brain, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985.

7. See: James: Varieties, footnote 1, pp.10-12.

8. Fortune, Dion. The Mystical Qabalah, Maine: Weiser, 1991, pp.1-5.

9. Also known as Liber Aba and Book 4.

10. The term "Western Esoteric Tradition" will be used in place of the vague and often misunderstood term "Occult Tradition" and will refer specifically to those traditions beginning in the early 1800's. More will be said about this issue in Chapter Two.

11. The use of the term "Qabalah" with a "Q" will be used throughout this paper to refer specifically to the Western Esoteric Tradition. The spelling "Kabbalah" will refer to the mystical tradition of Judaism.

12. "Remember always that we have no use for piety, for vague chatter, for guess work; we are as strictly scientific as biologists and chemists. We ban emotion from the start; we demand perception; and even perception is not acceptable until we have made sure of its bases by a study of what we call the [mental] 'tendencies'." Crowley, Magick Without Tears, AZ: New Falcon, 1994, p.492. Brackets are mine.

13. The banner-head for Crowley's occult bi-annual magazine The Equinox was: "The Method of Science; the Aim of Religion."

14. This particular spelling of Magic will be dealt with in Chapter Two.

15. Posthumously published in one volume as Magick: Book 4(Liber Aba)Parts I-IV, Maine: Weiser, 1997. Second Revised Edition. Introduction, annotation and editing by Hymenaeus Beta (Outer Head of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)

16. "I have written this book to help the Banker, the Pugilist, the Biologist, the Poet, the Navvy, the Grocer, the Factory Girl, the Mathematician, the Stenographer, the Golfer, the Wife, the Consul-and all the rest-to fulfill themselves perfectly, each in his or her own proper function." Ibid., p.125.

17. Jung, C.G. Collected Works. Vol. 11. (R.F.C. Hull-translator) N.J.:Princeton University Press, 1970. any subsequent citations will be referred to as "C.W." followed by volume and page number.

18. Jung, C.W. 14, pp.457-556.

19. See Appendix One.

On to Chapter One