Crowley

Esotericism Esotericists

Thelema Golden Dawn Ceremonial Magic

Ordo Templi Orientis Astrum Argentum


I am certainly of opinion that genius can be acquired, or, in the alternative, that it is an almost universal possession. Its rarity may be attributed to the crushing influence of a corrupted society. It is rare to meet a youth without high ideals, generous thoughts, a sense of holiness, of his own importance, which, being interpreted, is, of his own identity with God. Three years in the world, and he is a bank clerk or even a government official. Only those who intuitively understand from early boyhood that they must stand out, and who have the incredible courage and endurance to do so in the face of all that tyranny, callousness, and the scorn of inferiors can do; only these arrive at manhood uncontaminated.

Black magic is not a myth. It is a totally unscientific and emotional form of magic, but it does get results — of an extremely temporary nature. The recoil upon those who practice it is terrific. It is like looking for an escape of gas with a lighted candle. As far as the search goes, there is little fear of failure! To practice black magic you have to violate every principle of science, decency, and intelligence. You must be obsessed with an insane idea of the importance of the petty object of your wretched and selfish desires. I have been accused of being a "black magician." No more foolish statement was ever made about me. I despise the thing to such an extent that I can hardly believe in the existence of people so debased and idiotic as to practice it.

Arguably the most influential occultist of the twentieth century, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was a study in contradictions. Born into a fundamentalist Christian family and educated at Cambridge, he was vilified as a traitor, drug addict, and debaucher, yet revered as perhaps the most influential thinker in contemporary esotericism. Moving beyond the influence of contemporary psychology and the modernist understanding of the occult, Crowley declared himself the revelator of a new age of individualism. Crowley's occult bricolage, Magick, was an eclectic combination of spiritual exercises drawn from Western European magical ceremonies and Indic sources for meditation and yoga. This journey of self-liberation culminated in a "sacralization of the self" as practiced in Crowley's mixed masonic group, the Ordo Templi Orientis. The religion Crowley created, Thelema, legitimated his role as a charismatic revelator and herald of a new age of freedom. Aleister Crowley's lasting influence can be seen in the counter-culture movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s and in many forms of alternative spirituality and popular culture.

Crowley was initiated as a Neophyte in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn on 18 November 1898. He passed quickly through the introductory grades of the Order and then sought initiation into the spiritual rebirth ritual that would admit him to the Inner, or Second Order. Following his initiation into this Order in France in January 1900, Crowley returned to England, where he challenged the authority of William Butler Yeats, hoping to displace him as head of the Golden Dawn in England. Crowley was unsuccessful in his bid to dislodge Yeats and then suddenly switched course, withdrawing from the Golden Dawn and embarking upon a series of travels through Mexico, the United States, Ceylon, and India before finally arriving in Cairo. It was here, in 1904, that he received a mediumistic revelation from a metaphysical entity called Aiwass (transcribed as a text later known as The Book of the Law) that would lead to the establishment of his magical cult of Thelema.

Crowley left behind an enormous outpouring of magical writing, much of it related to his central magical dictum: “Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the Law.” Among the most enduring aspects of Crowley’s esoteric perspective are his systematic approach to magical consciousness and his emphasis on self-empowerment. Crowley celebrated the cause of the individual throughout his life, despite the controversy he attracted through his own, unique approach to ritual magic.


https://oto-usa.org/thelema/crowley/


https://web.archive.org/web/20110707173252/http://www.ashami.com/eidolons/Aleisterianism


https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-british-studies/article/abs/sorcerer-and-his-apprentice-aleister-crowley-and-the-magical-exploration-of-edwardian-subjectivity/A32FB6313921CBEC79D267D85A7710C3 The Sorcerer and His Apprentice: Aleister Crowley and the Magical Exploration of Edwardian Subjectivity - Alex Owen. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/386129


https://www.academia.edu/44694949/Aleister_Crowley_Francois_Rabelais_and_the_Herb_of_Thelema


https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/6-places-aleister-crowley-performed-his-particular-brand-of-magick


https://frater273.com/2023/01/11/some-rare-and-interesting-photos-of-aleister-crowley-co-places-and-objects/


https://bethelkhem.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/crowley-admits-he-wrote-the-book-of-the-law-and-that-its-literal-meaning-is-false/

https://bethelkhem.wordpress.com/2023/03/18/aiwaz-a-convincing-case-for-praeterhuman-intelligence-in-the-book-of-the-law/


https://hermetic.com/crowley/index

https://hermetic.com/hermeneuticon/aleister-crowley

https://archive.org/details/Libers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libri_of_Aleister_Crowley


https://keepsilence.org/the-equinox/ Scans from Aleister Crowley's The Equinox


https://hermetic.com/crowley/eight-lectures-on-yoga/index Eight Lectures On Yoga

https://hermetic.com/crowley/little-essays-towards-truth/index Little Essays Towards Truth

https://www.taoistic.com/taoteching/taoteching-aleistercrowley.htm Tao Te Ching translated by Aleister Crowley

http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib777 Liber 777

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/aba/default.htm Magick in Theory and Practice

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/mwt/mwt_contents.htm Magick Without Tears

https://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/engccxx.htm The Book Of The Law

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/lies/index.htm The Book Of Lies

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/libro_thoth.htm The Book Of Thoth

https://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib500 Sepher Sephiroth


https://hermetic.com/waddell/book-of-lies Selections from The Book of Lies


https://hermetic.com/legis/index

https://hermetic.com/pestilence/index


https://www.tarrdaniel.com/documents/Thelemagick/Liber_Scriptum_English.html Essays and Writings by authors of the A∴A∴ and O.T.O.


https://sacred-texts.com/oto Thelema Texts

http://lib.oto-usa.org/libri/bynumber.html O.T.O. and A∴A∴ Libri by Number

https://darkbooks.org/collection/Aleister-Crowley.html

https://iao131.com/

https://z.lvxnox.com/start

https://www.rahoorkhuit.net/library/crowley/index.html

https://billheidrick.com/genidx.htm Articles, Poetry and Drama by Aleister Crowley


https://centreofpestilence.wordpress.com/ Commentary on the Book of the Law


https://hellopoetry.com/poets/aleister-crowley/


https://archive.org/details/CollectedPdfsByAleisterCrowley/


https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Crowley%2C%20Aleister%2C%201875%2D1947


http://www.palikanon.com/english/wtb/n_r/nirodha_samaapatti.htm nirodha-samāpatti 'attainment of extinction'


Henrik Bogdan, Martin P. Starr (Editors) - Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism

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

Dave Evans - Aleister Crowley and the 20th Century Synthesis of Magick

See Also

The Book of the Law

Israel Regardie

Lon Milo Duquette

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