The Invocation Of Thoth

Book: The Invocation Of Thoth by Aleister Crowley

An Invocation of the Egyptian God Thoth. Classic invocation of Thoth. With the manifestation of this book, the invocation proves Extremely successful.

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Aleister Crowley - The Invocation Of Thoth

What Aleister Crowley Says About Ordinary Life

"Am I right in suggesting that ordinary life is a mean between these extremes, that the noble man devotes his material wealth to lofty ends, the advancement of science, or art, or some such true ideal; and that the base man does the opposite by concentrating all his abilities on the amassing of wealth?'

Exactly; that is the real distinction between the artist and the bourgeois, or, if you prefer it, between the gentleman and the cad. Money, and the things money can buy, have no value, for there is no question of creation, but only of exchange. Houses, lands, gold, jewels, even existing works of art, may be tossed about from one hand to another; they are so, constantly. But neither you nor I can write a sonnet; and what we have, our appreciation of art, we did not buy. We inherited the germ of it, and we developed it by the sweat of our brows. The possession of money helped us, but only by giving us time and opportunity and the means of travel. Anyhow, the principle is clear; one must sacrifice the lower to the higher, and, as the Greeks did with their oxen, one must fatten and bedeck the lower, so that it may be the worthier offering." — aleister crowley (Moonchild)

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Theory And Practice Of Abyss

The founder of Thelema, author Aleister Crowley, says of the Abyss in his Little Essays Toward Truth:

This doctrine is extremely difficult to explain; but it corresponds more or less to the gap in thought between the Real, which is ideal, and the Unreal, which is actual. In the Abyss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but are without any possible meaning; for they lack the substratum of spiritual Reality. They are appearances without Law. They are thus Insane Delusions.
Now the Abyss being thus the great storehouse of Phenomena, it is the source of all impressions.

On a practical level, Crowley's published instructions on the Abyss tell the reader to consider some philosophical problem without using magic or intuition, until the mind focuses on this problem of its own accord: "Then will all phenomena which present themselves to him appear meaningless and disconnected, and his own Ego will break up into a series of impressions having no relation one with the other, or with any other thing." This prepares the student for the mystical experience that Crowley elsewhere calls Shivadarshana.Crowley modeled these instructions on his own experiences in the year 1905. The Vision and the Voice describes two additional methods of entering the Abyss. The first of these "concerns things of which it (was) unlawful to speak openly under penalty of the most dreadful punishment," namely receptive homosexual intercourse under the desert sun that went against Crowley's social habits of conduct or his conscious self-image. The second involves Ceremonial Magic and focuses more on the theory behind the Abyss.

In the Qabalistic system of Crowley, the Abyss contains the 11th (hidden) sephira, Da'ath, which separates the lower sephiroth from the supernals. This account derives from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's view of Genesis, in which Da'ath represents the fall of man from a unified consciousness into a duality between ego and divine nature.[8] The Abyss is guarded by the demon Choronzon, who manifests during the third, ceremonial method of crossing this gulf. He represents those parts of one's consciousness and unconsciousness -- "a momentary unity capable of sensation and of expression," in Crowley's terms -- that are unwilling or unable to enter the Divine. According to Grant Morrison in the Richard Metzger Book of Lies, at least, Choronzon

is Existential Self at the last gasp...Beyond Choronzon we are no longer our Self. The "personality" on the brink of the Abyss will do anything, say anything and find any excuse to avoid taking this disintegrating step into "non-being."

"Crossing the Abyss" is regarded as a perilous operation, and the most important work of the magician's career. Success confers graduation into the degree of Magister Templi, or "Master of the Temple."

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Individual Scarlet Women

Aleister Crowley believed that many of his lovers and magical companions were playing a cosmic role, even to the point of fulfilling prophesy. The following is a list of women that he considered to have been (or might have been) Scarlet Women (quotes are from The Law is for All):

* Rose Edith Crowley , Crowley's first wife. —Put me in touch with Aiwas; see Equinox 1, 7, "The Temple of Solomon the King." Failed as elsewhere is on record.
* Mary d'Este Sturges . —Put me in touch with Abuldiz; hence helped with Book 4. Failed from personal jealousies.
* Jeanne Robert Foster . —Bore the "child" to whom this Book refers later. Failed from respectability.
* Roddie Minor —Brought me in touch with Amalantrah. Failed from indifference to the Work.
* Marie Rohling . —Helped to inspire Liber CXI. Failed from indecision.
* Bertha Almira Prykryl . —Delayed assumption of duties, hence made way for No. 7.
* Leah Hirsig —Assisted me in actual initiation; still at my side, An XVII, Sol in Sagittarius.
* Leila Waddell -- Laylah, Crowley's muse and inspiration during the writing of The Book of Lies and for years afterwards.

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The General Principles Of Astrology

Book: The General Principles Of Astrology by Aleister Crowley

This first full-scale reconstruction of his essential text has waited 85 years to appear as he originally intended it. This new tome from notorious occultist Crowley was originally two books with Evangeline Adams as its author. According to the introduction by H. Beta, Crowley was in New York for sometime and met with Adams whom they were to write a book on astrology together. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Adams took the material that Crowley wrote, reworked, omitted and added her own material and eventually became an authority on the subject. The two books by Adams, "Your Place in the Sun" and "Your Place Among the Stars" (written 1927 and 1930 respectively) are essentially the works of Aleister Crowley. This edition by Samuel Weiser brings back Crowley's original writings in their original form and in one book. In a similar format as magick Book 4, 'The General Principles of Astrology' is bound in a nice maroon hardcover cloth book with a sigil embossed on the cloth cover in metallic gold (looks like a modified Mercury symbol). Crowley's writing at many times is elusive even for the most astute occultist, however, as in Magick 4, he is making great efforts to be clear to a larger audience. The text was written in 1915 before the discovery of Pluto, so for some astrologers that may be your only set back.

In my opinion and from what I know of Crowley, the work is largely unfinished, however, what is presented is entirely a workable system. Crowley probably had the least amount of faith in astrology as a science among all the occult arts, but because he was so verse in many subjects, he is not one to let it be unexplored. Astrology seems as vast a subject as Kabbalah, as so much is written about it, that it seems that no one person can legitimately claim authority. My preference is Alan Leo's work even though much of his work is before Pluto as well. Crowley stands as a modern authority on much occult work that this was a book I could trust in giving a clear exposition on the subject.

The book is broken up similarly to the many astrology books out there on the market today. Beginning general aspects of the houses, different signs to be aware of and their meanings and a correspondence with his tarot deck. Then a discourse on the meanings of the planets, rising signs, sun signs with each of their attributes and characteristics. After a large section taken up by each planey in a sign, he ends with 100 or so famous people and their horoscopes. So in my opinion, Crowley could have easily enlarged this already big work (596 pages!). In sum, the book is well presented and will look sharp on any bookshelf, and for any serious astrologer to consider this excellent entry into the large world of the study of the astros.

Long before there was Linda Goodman, long before astrology bestsellers turned up in supermarkets, there was Aleister Crowley, the most important astrological scholar and authority of the early 20th century. Ghostwriting for Evangeline Adams, it was Crowley who wrote the vast majority of her classic textbooks, Astrology: Your Place in the Sun (1927) and Astrology: Your Place Among the Stars (1930). General Principles of Astrology finally acknowledges Crowley’s authorship.

Crowley’s goal was to abandon traditional assumptions, so he based his findings on actual charts and how they were expressed in people’s lives. In his characteristically clear and elegant prose, Crowley discusses each planet from a scientific and mythological point of view. He provides an exhaustive analysis of astrological types, drawing conclusions for over 180 astrological nativities of well-known artists, poets, musicians, philosophers, politicians, and business leaders from the 18th to the 20th century.

This new book is composed of painstakingly gathered work, primarily ghostwritten by Crowley, and published in various early twentieth-century texts. It is published here in one volume for the first time, in an undertaking endorsed by both the Adams and Crowley estates.

Buy Aleister Crowley's book: The General Principles Of Astrology

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Aleister Crowley And Ron Habbard

Hubbard had clear connections to the occult. Even in the first publication of dianetics in "Astounding Science Fiction", Hubbard in explaining how he did his "research" into what the mind was doing, says he used "automatic writing, speaking and clairvoyance" (1) to discover what the mind's memory banks were doing. Automatic writing is an occult method of communicating with the spirit world, although psychologists consider its products to arise from subconscious thoughts of the writer. Whichever is correct, it is hardly a method used by competent scientific researchers.

Hubbard's connection to the occultist aleister crowley is quite clear and noteworthy. Crowley called himself the Anti-Christ, the Beast of Revelations, and 666. Russell Miller has adequately chronicled Hubbard's connection in 1945 to John W. Parsons, who headed Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis chapter in Los Angeles. (2) Hubbard was an active member in this group for several months, and first met his second wife there. The Church of Scientology claims that Hubbard was actually infiltrating this group in order to break it up, but the following should suffice to dismiss this claim.

In the Philadelphia Doctorate Course lectures taped in 1952, Hubbard discusses occult magic of the middle ages, and recommends a current book - "it's fascinating work in itself, and that's work written by Aleister Crowley, the late Aleister Crowley, my very good friend." (3) The book recommended was The Master Therion, (published in London in 1929) later re-released as magick in Theory and Practise. L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. asserts that during the time when the Philadelphia course was given his father would read Crowley's works "in preparation for the next day's lecture..."

There are interesting similarities between Crowley's writings and the teachings of Hubbard. Dianetics' Time Track, in which every incident in a person's life is chronologically recorded in full in the mind, is quite similar to Crowley's Magical Memory. The Magical Memory is developed over time until "memories of childhood reawaken" which were previously forgotten, and memories of previous incarnations are recalled as well. Hubbard gives examples in the Philadelphia Doctorate Course of several people remembering lives earlier on earth, some up to a million years ago. The similarity between the Magical Memory and Time Track, then, is that they both can recall every past incident in a person's life, they both can recall incidents from past lives, and they both must be developed by certain techniques in order to make use of them.

Both Hubbard and Crowley consider it important to have the person recall his or her birth. "Having allowed the mind to return for some hundred times to the hour of birth, it should be encouraged to endeavour to penetrate beyond that period" (Crowley). "After twenty runs through birth, the patient experienced a recession of all somatics and 'unconsciousness' and aberrative content." "Thus there was no inhibition about looking earlier than birth for what Dianetics had begun to call basic-basic" (Hubbard).

Both Hubbard and Crowley are avowedly anti-psychiatry. "Official psychoanalysis is therefore committed to upholding a fraud... psychoanalysts have misinterpreted life, and announced the absurdity that every human being is essentially an anti-social, criminal, and insane animal" (Crowley). Hubbard considered that psychiatry controlled most of society and was struggling to create their own 1984 world.

Hubbard and Crowley both posit the ability of the person to leave his or her body at times. Crowley states that the way to learn to leave your body is to mock up a body like your own in front of your physical body. Eventually you will learn to leave your physical body with your "astral body" and travel and view at will without physical restrictions. Hubbard teaches the same, and his method of "exteriorization" is to tell the person to "have preclear mock up own body", which will send the person outside his body .Both Crowley and Hubbard use an equilateral triangle pointing up in a circle as one of their group's symbols. Both use Volume 0 instead of Volume 1 to begin enumerating their works. One could go on for quite some time listing the similarities between Crowley's and Hubbard's theories and writings, but for more the reader is encouraged to look for him or herself.

In Crowley's Organization are several grade levels. To reach the Grade of Adeptus Exemptus "The Adept must prepare and publish a thesis setting forth His knowledge of the Universe, and his proposals for its welfare and progress. He will thus be known as the leader of a school of thought." It is apparent that Hubbard has fulfilled this requirement.

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Liber 018 The Fountain Of Hyacinth

Book: Liber 018 The Fountain Of Hyacinth by Aleister Crowley

Liber Tzaddi Beth Aleph vel Nike A diary of the use of cocaine and heroin and the relations of the Magician therewith. See Liber Al vel Legis: Chapter Two, verse Twenty Two.

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Liber 018 The Fountain Of Hyacinth

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Triumph Of The Will Of Aleister Crowley

In Egypt, between intense sex sessions with Rose, Crowley practised more black-magic rituals to impress her. Deep within the king"s chamber in the Great Pyramid he recited the preliminary invocation of the occult ritual called Goetia. It had unexpected consequences.

Rose, who had previously known nothing of the occult, began to chant. In a trance, she repeated "They are waiting for you" over and over. Crowley was irritated and sceptical of his new wife and her previously hidden clairvoyant skills but she went on to tell him that he had offended the Egyptian god Horus by not finishing the Abra-Melin. Crowley quickly set about an invocation, and a strange voice identifying itself as Aiwass began to speak in their hotel room.

For three days, between the hour of midday and 1pm, Aiwass spoke and Crowley wrote. The result was The Book of Laws. Believing himself to be the messiah of a new epoch, Crowley swore that he would perform depraved acts and learn to love them. Christianity was dead, he declared. His new religion had one all-powerful doctrine: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." Free will, denied to Crowley as a child, had now become all powerful.

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Thelemic Holy Days

Part of the spiritual discipline of a Thelemite consists in the coordination of his personal, individual, terrestrial life with the great cosmic cycles that regulate the life of the earth and humanity. Accepting the Law of Thelema is itself such an act of coordination or alignment with the cosmic cycle known as the precession of the equinoxes. Crowley implies that the New Aeon of Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child, which began with the self-revelation of Aiwass at the Vernal Equinox, 1904 e.v., corresponds to the advent of the astrological Age of Aquarius. By aligning one's personal life with the universal life mediated by these cycles one becomes a vehicle of the manifestation of the universal life, thus making oneself a channel of higher spiritual forces which in turn accelerate one's natural spiritual evolution and affect the karma of the planet.

Other cycles with which the Thelemite aligns his life are the diurnal motion of the Sun, specifically, sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight; the diurnal rising of the star or constellation rising in his horoscope; the diurnal rising of the lunar orb; the monthly lunar cycle, especially the new and full moons; the monthly entry of the sun into the signs of the zodiac; the annual solar cycle of the equinoxes and solstices; and an annual calendar of holy days prescribed in the Book of the Law, as follows:

The First Night of the Prophet and His Bride, corresponding to the consummation of the marriage of Aleister Crowley and Rose Edith Crowley on August 12, 1903 e.v.;
The Writing of the Book of the Law, on April 8, 9, and 10, 1904 e.v.; and
The Supreme Ritual, commemorating the successful Invocation of Horus on March 20, 1904 e.v.

All these times are celebrated by means of rituals, in which energy is generated, and feasts, in which energy is both discharged and absorbed. In addition, Aiwass' directs that the birth, puberty, and death of Thelemites and their children are to be celebrated. Many Thelemites also observe the "quarter-days" of the wiccan religion, viz., Samhain (November 1 eve), Imbolc (February 1 eve), Beltaine (May 1 eve), and Lammas (August 1 eve). Finally, the Book of the Law alludes to a mysterious feast of Tahuti, which has never been satisfactorily explained.

The Problem of Aleister Crowley's Reputation:

Many criticisms of the Law of Thelema are based on a moral critique of the personal character and conduct of Aleister Crowley. These accusations generally resolve themselves into seven basic assertions: that he was a pornographer, traitor, sexual deviant, sado-masochist, womanizer, drug addict/alcoholic, or even psychotic. Each of these accusations can be discussed in the context of the evidence. It is certainly true that Crowley published or wrote pornographic poems and stories, and was extremely interested in extreme sexual experimentation; that he wrote apparently pro-German propaganda in America during the First World War;

that he engaged in sexual relationships with both men and women; that he engaged in physically and psychologically abusive sexual relationships; that he professed contempt for women; that he drank heavily and became severely addicted to heroin in middle-age; and that he experienced ASCs, generally induced rather than spontaneous.

Strictly speaking, however, the truth or falsehood of any of these claims is unrelated to the truth or falsehood of the Law of Thelema, just as the truth or falsehood of the Tractatus Philosophicus is unrelated to the fact that Wittgenstein was an homosexual. As every first year philosophy student learns, truth or falsehood is not a moral quality or a function of the personal psyche, and it is quite possible for a morally mean or even psychologically dysfunctional person to experience and express insights that are both beautiful and true.

The history of Western civilization provides numerous examples, many of whom are studied in universities. Crowley himself regards the pursuit of spiritual realization as a science, in which moral considerations are either secondary or entirely irrelevant. Crowley himself writes, "Since the ultimate truth of teleology is unknown, all codes of morality are arbitrary. Therefore the student has no concern with ethics as such." Philosophically, then, aleister crowley is an amoralist.

Nevertheless, the Law of Thelema does imply an ethical teaching. The doctrine of the Black Brothers itself implies a kind of moral judgement. The essential ethical teaching of the Law of Thelema is that each and every individual has an absolute and inalienable right to pursue his own True Will without restriction by others, and that no one has the ethical or moral right or duty to compel another to pursue any other path, or even the capacity to criticize them. A Thelemite who knows his True Will can however guide others in accordance with universal principles, but the relationship should not be one of imitation. If Aleister Crowley violated his own or any other individual's True Will at any time, he simply violated his own law and paid the karmic price, but this does not invalidate the Law itself.

Great art and true philosophies are both created by scoundrels, but we balk when a scoundrel creates a true religion. The imitative tendency, which Crowley despised, is deep. Since imitating the moral example of a founder is not the ethical teaching of the Law of Thelema, every Thelemite is free to imitate Aleister Crowley's personal lifestyle or not as they choose, although Crowley himself advises against it, warning that those who try to do so will be possessed or obsessed by the "vision of the demon Crowley" (Crowley, who was an amateur artist, even drew a sketch of this particular demon). Unfortunately, as the history of the Law of Thelema shows with great clarity, Crowley's advice was accurate, and numerous heedless Thelemites have been devoured as a result.

The True Will represents the inertia of the universe, and is irresistible (if not, that simply proves that it is not the True Will). However, no one may restrict the True Will of another, unless another chooses, without coercion, to be so restricted.

Aleister Crowley should be understood as a natural phenomenon, without moral judgement. A prophet is himself merely a symptom of the zeitgeist. A storm is not "evil." Aleister Crowley was a storm, which may yet sink the ship of the Judaeo-Christian civilization that he despised.

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Thelemic Holidays

"There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride! A feast for the three days of the writing of The Book of the Law. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet-secret, O Prophet! A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death! A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture! A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight! Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu." (AL II:36-44)

The rituals of the elements and feasts of the times are celebrated at the equinoxes and solstices. Some Thelemites go one step farther and divide the year into cross-quarters as well, creating eight holidays not dissimilar to the "wheel of the year" often seen in other Neo-pagan traditions. While the equinoxes and solstices naturally fall on the same day as they do for other Neo-pagan traditions, the cross-quarter holidays are all shifted slightly, for example, Samhain (ritual of water) falls at 15 degrees Scorpio which is closer to November 7th than October 31st.

The Feast for the First Night of the Prophet and his Bride is celebrated on August 12th. There is no formal celebration that I am aware of. One O.T.O. body with which I am affiliated has an ice cream social on that date.

The Feast for the Three Days of the Writing of The Book of the Law is celebrated on April 8, 9 and 10, the three days that Crowley wrote Liber AL. Each day, beginning at noon, celebrants read aloud one of the three chapters of the Book of the Law.

The Feast for the Supreme ritual is the Thelemic New Year. This holiday, falling on March 20th, commemorates an invocation of Horus.

The Feast for the Equinox of the Gods is celebrated at the Spring Equinox to honor the founding of Thelema in 1904.

The Feast for Life (also called the lesser feast) is a celebration of a new birth. A person's birthday is sometimes referred to as the "lesser feast" as well. The Feast for Fire is the celebration of a boy's reaching puberty and the Feast for Water is the celebration of a girl's reaching puberty. The Greater Feast for Death (often just called the greater feast) is the commemoration of an individual's death.

Some Thelemites also celebrate "Crowleymas" which is the anniversary of Crowley's birth (October 12th).

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Thelema A Modern Religion For Modern Times

Thelema is a modern religion, started in 1904, by the much-maligned Aleister Crowley. As a result of his association to Thelema, it is also much-maligned and misunderstood by many. This is my attempt to give a basic rundown of Thelema as well as some starting points for more information.

Since Thelema values the individual's free will and choices, this is not an attempt to convert, which would be useless. It is instead an attempt to explain a misunderstood religion and to offer the individual access to information to gain further information, if they so desire. Also, Thelema is open to personal interpretation, so my interpretation of Thelema will vary from another thelemite's interpretation. So, I have attempted to keep this very basic so as to not run too much into controversial areas.

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The Law Of Thelema

The Law of Thelema was revealed to the world by a praeterhuman Intelligence calling himself Aiwass in Cairo, Egypt in March and April, 1904 e.v. Aiwass appeared first to Rose Edith Kelly nee Crowley, in an altered state of consciousness (ASC), and subsequently to the British poet and magical adept, Aleister Crowley (born in Leamington, England on October 12, 1875 e.v.).

Aiwass proceeded to demonstrate his objective existence independently of the psyches of both Crowley and Rose, by leading them to the stele of Ankh-af-na-khonsu, a Theban Egyptian priest of the 8th century B.C.E., in the Boulak Museum, where they had never been. He then dictated a sacred text to Crowley called the Book of the Law. For five years thereafter Crowley resisted the Law of Thelema and the mission of Thelemic prophet laid upon him by Aiwass, regarding the Cairo Working, as it is called, as an "astral vision" (i.e., a purely imaginative - but not "imaginary" - experience).

However, Crowley's subsequent attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple in the Supreme College of the Great White Brotherhood resulted in his acceptance of the Law of Thelema and of his own prophetic role as described in the Book of the Law. Crowley proclaimed himself as the prophet of a new eon for humanity for the first time in his long mystical poem, Aha! (1909), which has been compared in beauty and profundity to the Bhagavad-Gita. Thereafter he signed his correspondence and formal instructions with the two main slogans of the Book of the Law, ;Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and ;Love is the law, love under will."

Crowley founded a magical society, the A. ..A. .., took over the leadership of another, the O.T.O., and wrote a series of formal instructions promulgating the Law of Thelema, as well as teaching Scientific Illuminism and Magick. Many of these formal instructions were published during his lifetime in his Equinox periodical and elsewhere. Crowley believes that the Law of Thelema resolves all spiritual quandaries, harmonizes science and religion, and supersedes all historical dispensations, establishing a new cultural epoch for humanity, which he calls the New Aeon of Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child. According to Crowley, the New Aeon will endure for at least several hundred years, possibly for as long as two thousand years.

During his lifetime Crowley succeeded in attracting a small following, mainly in Germany and America, of no more than one or perhaps two hundred souls (counting all those who adhered to Crowley at any time, for any length of time; a much smaller number remained faithful to Crowley at the end of his life). Crowley lost many followers due to his troublesome personality and libertine lifestyle, especially after he came to the attention of the British tabloid press following the First World War. After his death, Crowley left behind him a disorganized and demoralized O.T.O. movement which has since split up into several competing factions, notably the American Caliphate founded by McMurtry, the Swiss O.T.O. founded by Metzger, the English O.T.O. under the leadership of Kenneth Grant, and a Brazilian O.T.O. founded by Marcelo Ramos Motta. A very few members of the original A. ..A. .. also carried on the work in a very limited way, but the A. ..A. .. organization qua organization did not survive Crowley, at least not openly.

A larger number of revivals of the O.T.O., A. ..A. .., and other self-professed Thelemic groups, without any clear historical link to Crowley, with various, sometimes divergent points of view, have also come into existence since a revival of interest in Crowley's work associated with the counterculture revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Today the Law of Thelema has attracted several thousand adherents worldwide, as well as a larger following of curiosity seekers, including several prominent rock stars. The Law of Thelema has a strong presence on the Internet, and many of Crowley's writings are available online. Crowley first editions are in demand, and fetch high prices in the rare book market.

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Starting Path Of Thelema

In April of 1904 an astonishing event changed the life of Aleister Crowley: poet, mystic and Golden Dawn occultist. While he and his wife, Rose, were vacationing in Egypt a mysterious entity initiated contact with the couple. First the voice moved Rose to lead Crowley to the funerary stele of an ancient Egyptian priest named Ankh-af-na-Khonsu. Later Crowley heard the voice over the course of three days. The voice, which belonged to a divine entity, commanded Crowley to transcribe his words, culminating in a piece of writing called Liber AL vel Legis, sub figura CCXX, or The Book of the Law.

Although Crowley resisted much of the teaching of The Book of the Law for many years, ultimately he accepted the role it assigned to him as Prophet of the New Aeon. The entire process is described in detail in Crowley's Equinox of the Gods and Book 4, Part 4. The Book of the Law is short - only 220 verses in length - but packed full of poetic, cryptic passages filled with Egyptian and apocalyptic Christian symbolism as well as strings of letters and numbers which appear to be an unsolved code.

Like many esoteric scriptures, there are several potential meanings to the verses in Liber AL, often apparently contradictory meanings. Crowley later wrote a short comment which included the line, "All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself." This line is generally interpreted to mean that each person must interpret Liber AL for themselves and none other.

In 1922, Crowley became the Outer Head of Order of the group known as Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Eastern Templars). Under Crowley's leadership, the O.T.O. adopted The Book of the Law as its holy book and Crowley revised the order's rituals to bring them in line with the teachings of the path of Thelema.

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Death And Legacy Of Aleister Crowley

On December 1, 1947, Crowley died. His will specified that his funeral service was to be based on his writings, and that he was to be cremated and his ashes distributed among his American followers.

Several of Crowley’s biographers aver that his writings and motives have been misunderstood. Certainly he was a man of strong intellect – one might even say genius. Certainly he influenced the practice of magic, although whether for good or bad depends on the individual’s perception. However his sadistic bent, lack of discipline, and determination to possess power at all costs resulted in his dying a broken and lonely man, linked forever with the disturbing and bizarre aspects of his lifestyle.

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Crowley Treason And Depravity

Crowley went on to become the world head of the Ordo Templi Orientis, or Order of the Eastern Temple, and he further defined his own religion, Thelema.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Crowley was rejected by the British intelligence service and " in a huff " turned to the Germans, supporting them by writing anti-British propaganda. This made him an outcast in Britain and in 1920, two years after the war ended, he went to Cefalu in northern Sicily and created a temple in an old farmhouse with his new mistress Leah Hirsig. They had a child together, and under the influence of opium and cocaine they founded a new religious cult.

Stories of depraved sexual acts at the abbey quickly began to circulate, one of the most notorious involving Leah. A goat was sacrificed while penetrating her. She, and many others, were becoming severely unbalanced and addicted to drugs, and Crowley himself was increasingly dependent on heroin and cocaine. In this environment, Crowley and Hirsig' child died. She had a nervous breakdown.

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Crowley Today

Others had a more serious interest in Aleister Crowley and admired his dictum that everyone should be an individual and follow their "True Will." Today his writings continue to be popular and the OTO is flourishing world-wide. Crowley’s name is still dragged into tabloid exposes of so-called "black magic" or Satanism and even after 50 years, the media continues to regard him as "The Wickedest man In The World."

Silly stories are also published which claim he was a cannibal who sacrificed a thousand children every year.In many ways, Crowley was a victim of his own dark publicity. He involved himself in several sensational libel cases and toward the end of his life was forced to earn money by staging so-called "Black Masses" for the titillation of wealthy old ladies.

When Maxwell Knight, the deputy director of MI5, was introduced to Crowley by the occult thriller writer Dennis Wheatley, he was surprised to meet a well-dressed man with the voice and manners of an Oxbridge don. Knight was at a loss to understand how such wild legends could have grown up around such a seemingly harmless and eccentric person.

Before Crowley is dismissed as a failure, both as a human being and as an occultist, it must be recognised that his occult knowledge, mystical insights and understanding of human nature were tremendous. Although it is certainly true that he was a flawed personality, his contribution to Occultism in this century cannot be denied.

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Aliester Crowley The Great Beast

He rebelled against Christian morality in many ways. He employed male and female prostitutes. He joined the occult Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and similar secret societies. Crowley believed he was the Anti-Christ and called his first wife, Rose Kelly, "The Whore of Babylon." They had two children whom he sexually abused.

Rose was unstable, went insane and spent the rest of her life in an insane asylum. Crowley found a replacement, Leah Hirsig. They moved to Sicily where he founded the Abbey of Thelema. He wrote The Book of the Law, which included his version of the Law of Thelema: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

The creed was to do what one wanted without regard for the impact it could have on others, including all forms of sex perversions, drinking animals’ blood and sacrifices. Invoking demons and activities practiced in ancient Roman orgies were part of the rituals. When Mussolini expelled him from Sicily, Crowley moved to France and was later asked to leave because of his heroin dealings.


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Aliester Crowley Legacy

Crowley could have been successful. He was born into a wealthy family, attended private schools and took some college courses. He showed some promise as a writer and might have become a great one had he focused and honed his talents. Many of his occult writings are bizarre. Many surmise that he chose the way of the sociopath. He was charming and ingratiating toward others so he could exploit them, then treated them like trash when he got what he wanted, driving some to ruin or suicide.

Crowley was grandiose and had a strong sense of entitlement, hallmarks of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He still has followers, some of whom admit that he wasn’t a benevolent person. Was he a sociopath, schizophrenic or both, with a touch of narcissism? This is a subject of ongoing debate. At best, Crowley is an interesting psychological study.

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Aleister Crowley Is Beastly Child

Baptised Edward Alexander but known as Aleister, the young Crowley was born into a family of staunch Plymouth Brethren, a puritanical Christian sect. He was taught that God was all powerful and that the sins of the flesh would be punished in the fires of hell. For the young Crowley, free will was not an option.

When Aleister was 11, his father died and the boy's feelings towards the church, and his family, turned to hate. He labelled the Plymouth Brethren a 'detestable crew', and it became clear that Crowley was not growing up to be the son his mother had dreamt of when he was caught torturing a cat to test if it had nine lives.

In his early teens, Crowley's mother caught him masturbating and in disgust called him 'the beast'. Far from being ashamed, however, Crowley adopted the name. At 14, as a way of punishing her, he had sex with a maid on her bed. This marked the beginning of Crowley's sexual life and he was forced to leave many schools, on one occasion because he had caught gonorrhoea from a prostitute.

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Appeal To The American Republic 1899

Book: Appeal To The American Republic 1899 by Aleister Crowley

Taken from the Works of aleister crowley Volume 1. This poem was Written shortly after the Spanish war. Facsimile edition of a work originally published in 1899.

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Appeal To The American Republic 1899

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Aleister Crowley - Appeal To The American Republic 1899