Diary Of A Drug Fiend

Book: Diary Of A Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley's first published novel was "Diary of a Drug Fiend." The book was originally published in London in 1922. Although written over seventy-five years ago, the book is still relevant for today's readers. The book paints a vivid picture of the mind of drug users. The drug user's highs, lows, and sometimes strange thought patterns are described in great detail in this interesting book.

Aleister Crowley is one of the great unheralded masters of the Enlgish language. Many aspects of his spiritual and philosophical views may leave some people in the dust, however. The mysticism can be perplexing to the average reader. Diary Of A Drug Fiend is successful because it is very easy to understand. The use of language is masterful. It is not a pretty story, to be sure, and many will disagree with the seemingly pro drug message but it is a great tale. Peter Pendragon and Unlimited Lou are presented as both sympathetic and contemptible characters. One feels empahty but it is tainted by the knowledge that they have created their own problems. They are weak. King Lamus almost seems to be like a zen master who patiently guides his pupils to higher heights. I can not say that I agree entirely with the philosophy espoused by King Lamus but it is exhilarating to follow this tale as it unfolds. I am sure many will be offended by Crowleys portrayal of King Lamus as a master who can use and not use drugs with ease. I do not suggest that mastery over heroin or cocaine is easy or even possible but this is just a work of fiction. It should not be taken literally. I do not know if this is meant as a self defense for Crowleys own drug use. It is irrelevent to me. Many great artists were alcoholics or drug addicts. It does not deter my admiration for this spectacularly well written book. aleister crowley could have been one of the great novelists had he chosen to pursue that path. This was one of the best reads I had in years.

The infamous aleister crowley invokes a reaction with some people. Some say he was strange and went off the deep-end with his involvement in Magick, the practice of using various techniques to exert control over the forces of nature. If one is too close-minded to read this book because of the author's reputation, he or she would be missing a great read.

This story is supposedly based on truth. False names were used to conceal the identities of the people in the book. For instance, aleister crowley is called Peter Pendragon in the book. Peter went to a pub and was socializing with some people he knew when he saw the woman that would change his life, Lou.

"Across the moaning body of the blackmailer, I was looking at the face of a girl that I had never seen before. And I said to myself, "Well, that's all right, I've known you all my life." And when I said to myself "my life," I didn't in the least mean my life as Peter Pendragon, I didn't even mean a life extending through the centuries, I meant a different kind of life --something with which centuries have nothing whatever to do (Crowley 11)."

This truly eloquent description of Peter's first glimpse of Lou reveals that Crowley was truly a master of language. The book is written in such a clever way that the reader continues to want more.

Basically, the story is of Peter falling madly in love with a woman named Lou. They run off to Paris and travel throughout Europe. Lou introduces Peter to cocaine and heroin and they quickly become dependent on the narcotics. When their supply of drugs runs out, the withdrawal troubles begin. Lou's father, King Lamus, helps the two overcome their addiction by the application of practical Magick. Both Peter and Lou find their true purpose in life and live happily ever after.

Diary Of A Drug Fiend appealed to me because I knew someone that was caught up in drug addiction and wanted to know more about it. I wanted to know what it felt like and how the drug user felt. This book totally met my expectations and more, it showed me exactly what I was looking for. In the first instance I began to dislike the book because it seems to glorify drugs but then I suppose that is what it feels like when you are using the drugs.

"Diary of a Drug Fiend" would be a beneficial source of information for professionals involved with the psychology of addiction. Doctors, lawyers, police, and the average person would gain insight into the thought patterns of a drug addict from the first high, to the constant effort to regain the effects of the first high. The craving for the drug, and how it is the only thing the user thinks about when he or she does not have the drug for a period of time is covered thoroughly. How selfish and careless one becomes when he or she needs a fix is also mentioned in the book. Peter lost his love for Lou because he could only think of the drugs. He quickly knew this was wrong and constantly tried to regain his love for Lou.

If people are open-minded and enjoy challenging their beliefs, then "Diary of a Drug Fiend" may be the book to read. At the time of reading this book, I found many useful insights that could dramatically change one's life contained within its pages. Overall, this book by Aleister Crowley is fantastic.

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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.

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Aleister Crowley Vs Neo Con Morality

When the work of Aleister Crowley, the most infamous Satanist of the 20th century, is the governing policy and spirit of a so-called "Christian" movement, you get what it is known as a Republican party. Here, now, the parallels between Neo-Con Christianity and Crowley's Book of the Law...
"You know what, I don't have any problem taking his head sticking it underwater and scaring the living daylights out of him and making him think we're drowning him, and I'm a Christian."

A lot of you thought I was kidding when I said there were parallels between Glen Beck's 9-12 Project and the principles embraced by Satanist Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law. Crowley, as you might recall, was a British Satanist who called himself the Beast of Revelation, and signed all of his letters with the number 666. What makes his claim credible enough for Britain's MI6 and the CIA, however, can be found below and in detail here.

I wasn't kidding about Glen Beck, as you'll soon see. But before we start I'd like to discuss the issue of the only unforgivable sin mentioned in the bible: blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. It is a sin that trumps murder itself, as even Paul, who persecuted and murdered Christians before his conversion to Christianity, found forgiveness and became one of the most important martyrs in the Bible.

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is to deliberately misrepresent good as evil, the very thing the Pharisees and and Sadducees engaged in when they called the miracles of Jesus evil and said that they were done through Satan. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is to imply Jesus approves of torture, when he committed no sin, and never struck a man in anger. It is the act of a television anchor, i.e. Sean Hannity, going on his show, calling himself a Christian, and telling his naive viewers that torture is compatible with Christianity; this when Jesus Himself was tortured to death. After all, isn't that what crucifixion is? death by the cruelest torture imaginable? And that's aside from the 39 lashings. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is the sin of every Klansman who burns a cross, the symbol of Christ's sacrifice to atone for the sins of humanity. Is it not obvious? They do it for hate. Christ never stood for hate, but for love and tolerance. For the forgiveness of enemies.

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is the hallmark of the Satanist. They encourage it in their followers to burn any bridges should they attempt to renounce Lucifer. They encourage it in people who know nothing about them, to make their paths towards Christianity impossible. If a major media or political figure, it is incited in millions of people at once. If you consider the following verse, you might see how it could easily apply to television and film...

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Revelation 13:15

We will discuss some individuals whose actions encourage the commission of the Only Unforgivable Sin. We will compare their life's work to the teachings and principles of Crowley's ode to Satan.

The following, in italics, are excerpts from Crowley's Book of the Law. For the full version, click here.

Crowley claimed to have channeled the Templar god Baphomet when writing this book. Much of it involves Egyptian mysticism and rituals.

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Liber Al Vel Legis

Book: Liber Al Vel Legis by Aleister Crowley

Also: Liber L (Liber Legis), or The Book of the Law Facsimile pages of the actual manuscript of The Book of the Law. This book is the foundation of the New Aeon, and thus of the whole of our Work. Received April 8, 9 and 10, 1904 by aleister crowley and Rose Kelly.

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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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The Equinox Vol Iii No Ii The Gospel According To St Bernard Shaw

Book: The Equinox Vol Iii No Ii The Gospel According To St Bernard Shaw by Aleister Crowley

A fascinating study of Christianity by Crowley, built around a critique of Shaw's Androcles and the Lion. Published by Crowley's follower, Karl Germer.

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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.

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Duty

Book: Duty by Aleister Crowley

A note on the chief rules of practical conduct to be observed by those who accept the Law of Thelema.

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
"There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt."
"...thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect."
"Love is the law, love under will."
"Every man and every woman is a star."

Explore the nature and Powers of your own Being. This includes everything which is, or can be for you: and you must accept everything exactly as it is in itself, as one of the factors which go to make up your True Self. This True Self thus ultimately includes all things soever: its discovery is Initiation (the travelling inwards) and as its nature is to move continually, it must be understood not as static, but as dynamic, not as a Noun but as a Verb.

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Liber 811 Energised Enthusiasm

Book: Liber 811 Energised Enthusiasm by Aleister Crowley

An essay developing the idea of creativity - and genius - as a sexual phenomenon. Specially adapted to the task of Attainment of Control of the Body of Light, development of Intuition and Hatha yoga. See also: Equinox I ix, p. 17

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Liber 111 Aleph

Book: Liber 111 Aleph by Aleister Crowley

An extended and elaborate Commentary on "The Book of the Law", in the form of a letter from the Master Therion to the son of mankind. Contains some of the deepest secrets of Initiation, with a clear solution of many cosmic and ethical problems. This is Equinox III vi

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Babylon And Ishtar

Perhaps the earliest origin is the ancient city of Babylon, a major metropolis in Mesopotamia (modern Al Hillah in Iraq). Babylon is the Greek variant of Akkadian Babilu (bab-ilu), meaning "Gateway of the god". It was the "holy city" of Babylonia from around 2300 BC, and the seat of the Neo-Babylonian empire from 612 BC.

One of the goddesses associated with Babylonia was Ishtar, the most popular female deity of the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon and patron of the famous Ishtar Gate. She is the Akkadian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and the cognate to the northwest Semitic goddess Astarte. The Greeks associated her with Aphrodite (Latin Venus), and sometimes Hera. Ishtar was worshipped as a Great Goddess of fertility and sexuality, but also of war and death, and the guardian of prostitutes. She was Also Called the Great Whore and sacred prostitution formed part of her cult or those of cognate goddesses. Many have associated Ishtar with the figure in the Book of Revelation of Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and Abominations.

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Will In Thelema

Will is at once an exceedingly simple and amazingly complex subject. It took me years to get to the understanding I currently possess, and I am fairly certain I am not yet done with my learning on this matter. Suffice it is to say that this page will not be able to cover fully my Life's lessons regarding Will.

Will constitutes that which a person means to do. For example, if you feel you need to open a window, then, in a sense, it is your Will to do so.

However, Will is not some casual and flippant representation of every passing whim of the individual (See Brother R.B.'s thesis on the matter for a countering viewpoint). Understanding Will absolutely demands an understanding of respect for all things. To execute one's Will, one must actively seek to respect the Will of others.

The theory is that if every person were following their true Will, there would never be any unneccessary conflicts between persons, because the nature of the Universe, with all its complexity, includes these interworking Wills. Conflicts which do occur are generally caused by either someone straying from their True Will, or are conflicts which need to happen to further the evolution of humanity.

Will is not frivolous in nature. It represents a very serious commitment to understanding one's role in the Universe, and to acting on that commitment.

Some people seem to think it is their Will to force others to do as they demand. Though it is possible that their True Will includes such activities, I personally find it more likely that people who lean on this as justification for their actions are generating false rationalizations.

An example: A friend of mine was heavily involved with the local wiccan community, and hosts the ceremonies for the Sabbats. One year, she was caught in a public place discussing the upcoming ceremony in the presence of the head of a new Thelemic organization in town. He pointedly asked her if he would be invited to come to the event. It was a bit rude to ask like that, in a public place, because any answer other than in the affirmative would certainly be rude, given his status at the time. So she invited him to the Sabbat.

He showed up with several of his underlings, and during the preceremony gathering, they all proceeded to get drunk. During the ceremony, they began to urinate -- and I don't have all the details on this part, as to whether it was on the altar, or in the circle, or what have you -- and thought this was just the funniest thing that they'd ever seen happen.

My friend's mate was a fairly well grounded Thelemite, and, incidentally, a member of the O.T.O., and he approached these jerks. Their response? "Why, were just doing our will, brother. You should let us continue."

His response was "If you continue to dishonor and desecrate a ceremony that all these people", and he gestured to the crowd behind him, "hold sacred, then it'll be my Will to kick your asses out of here."

They were stunned. Descriptions of their stunnedness suggest that perhaps this condition was prolonged by their collective inebriated stupor. My friend's mate then leaned forward, gave a small half wave and said "93!". He turned his back on the jerks and returned to whatever function he was performing before the distraction.

After awhile, the drunkards wandered away.

I'm convinced that it wasn't really their True Will to pee in the circle, but of course I'll never know. I'm sure they were just using the Law of Thelema as a shield to hide behind, in a vague and immature attempt to justify their ascinine actions.

One of the clearest signs I have come to recognize that someone is falsely justifying their action as being in accord with their True Will is when they try to use that argument to other people in defense of their actions.

A Thelemite doesn't concern himself with justifying his actions to anyone. What does it matter what those other people think? The only thing that matters is that the action was in league with the Thelemite's understanding of his own True Will. Noone else dictates it, and it caters to noone else. Therefore, what they think of it is of no concern to the Thelemite.

So when I hear people defending their actions, presenting as their strongest, and frequently only, evidence the fact that they are doing their Will, all sorts of red flags go up.

Not that it matters what I think; in fact, spending any amount of time on the matter of the True Will of another being is pretty much wasted time anyway; the focus of a Thelemite is his own True Will. Period.

Ironically, after much time spent in pursuit of understanding Will and attempting to describe Will to others, I have discovered that I actually learned more about Will when I was focusing on the Will of others, rather than myself and my own Will; the difference was that I was trying to find ways to not infringe upon the Will of others, as opposed to trying to ascertain what it was. It was then, and only then, that I began to develop any sense of understanding my own Will, and understanding Thelema as a concept unto itself. And so, only by spending a lot of time looking into the Will of others was I able to see what a waste of time worrying about the Wills of others was, and yet, it was only by this means I could have come to the realization.

And so Will is actually quite a complicated subject. To know what one's True Will is takes a lot of introspection, and to execute one's Will requires a great deal of patience and care.

The Law of Thelema is all about learning one's True Will and executing it.

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The Wickedest Man In The World

John Bull, March 24th 1923

The Wickedest Man In The World

In this article we reveal startling facts regarding the corruption of children in Aleister Crowley's "cesspool of vice" in Cefalu, and describe some of the blasphemous and bestial ceremonies - or orgies - which have taken place in the so-called "Abbey Of Thelema," for which he is now seeking new recruits from the young men and women of two English Universities.



In our last two issues we have published a series of charges against a man named Aleister Crowley, who from a safe retreat on the shores of Sicily spreads a contaminating influence that has already brought to ruin more than one young life. The more the activities of this degenerate Englishman are investigated, the more incredible becomes the tales of his villainies. It is understood that the Italian Government are resolved to put an end to Crowley's career of vice, and in this effort they will have the sympathy of decent-thinking people in every land.

Our past exposures of Crowley have been, to say the least of them, highly sensational, but they are as nothing compared to these we have yet to make concerning the amazing record of this degenerate poet and occultist, traitor, drug fiend, and Master of Black Magic, his knowledge and practise of which are amply proven by his writings and by the evidence of those who have come into contact with him. He may well be described as the Wickedest Man in the World.

We are impelled by the sheer horror and gravity of his recent devilries to make further exposures concerning what is going on in his Lust Temple at Cefalu, Sicily, to which he is seeking to lure a number of unsuspecting students from Oxford and Cambridge Universities - both men and women - under the pretence of studying occult science and the mysteries of the Cabbala. Already, one eminent Cambridge professor - whose identity is known to us - has arranged to join Crowley at Cefalu next month for this purpose, and is now working with a well-known titled scientist in South Africa, who is, we are informed, conducting a Lodge or "Study Circle" in Bloemfontien, of the Cabalistic Order, of which Crowley is the Past, if not the Present, Grand Master.

Our revelations of the sinister circumstances leading to the recent death of a brilliant young Oxford graduate at Crowley's so-called "Abbey," in Cefalu, first brought to light the existence there of little children, all between five and seven years of age, who are living there with the Beast and his abandoned acolytes under conditions that defy description.

These unhappy children - two boys and a girl - are said to be half starved and have already been taught by "The Beast" to indulge in the vilest practises, while they are made to witness sexual debaucheries that are too disgusting to describe. Tow are children of one of the female drug fiends who are living with Crowley in his "Abbey," one of them by her former husband, and the other by Crowley, who is the father also of the third child by some other of his countless women victims.

The main room of the "Abbey" - which is really a converted farmhouse - is windowless, with a flagged stone floor on which is painted a great orange circle, lined with pale yellow. Inside this "magical circle" are interlaced black triangles. This room is furnished as a sort of pagan, or Pantheistic, temple, in which are performed, not only Cabalistic ceremonies, but the most depraved forms of Dionysian rites. (Dionysus was the Greek God of Wine, in whose honour Bacchanalian revels and orgies were given.)

The nature of these can be barely hinted at, but one - to the facts of which we have two independent eye-witnesses of it's performance on two separate occasions - has to do with the violation of a naked woman in front of the "altar," and her subsequent slaying and "sacrifice" of a goat, which is made to play a principal part in these disgusting Dionysian rites.

The woman, who acts as the "Virgin Goddess" or priestess in this vile ceremony, is first given an aphrodisaical drug, such as hashish (known in the East as Vhang") or another similar drug distilled from Indian hemp, known in scientific circles as "Anhalonium Lewine."
This renders the debauchee capable of participating in practices which no normal person could conceive of, much less describe.

We understand that, aroused by our exposures, the Italian Government is determined to clean out this plague-spot of crime at Cefalu, and bring Crowley to justice for his illegal traffic in noxious drugs.

There are, however, other "activities" at the Abbey which admit of more detailed accusation. One of these is the method employed by Crowley of paying his numerous debts on the island, by sending out his women as "hostages" to those who are willing to accept this despicable method of payment.

Another, which has considerably hampered our enquiries and is even calculated to baffle the inquiries which have already been instituted by the Home Office and by Scotland Yard, is Crowley’s practise of getting certain prominent and highly-placed citizens of Cefalu and Palermo up to his "Abbey," where they are persuaded to take part in the sexual orgies which follow drug parties, and which even form a leading part in the Abbey’s "religious ceremonies."

We shall not hesitate to hand to the authorities the names of some of these distinguished visitors, together with further sworn testimony if, as we anticipate, a certain official on the Island endeavours to stifle Government investigations.

Suffice to say for the moment, that one of Crowley’s women in the "Abbey" is shortly expecting another child to be born, the father of which is known to be a prominent banker in Palermo, who is a friend of the British Consul.

We may mention that, up to the time of this article going to press - no death certificate has been received by the relatives of the young Oxford graduate who died under such suspicious circumstances at the Abbey four weeks ago, nor has any reply been received from the British Consul at Palermo to the anxious inquiries made by the young man’s mother and sister concerning his death.

Another of the women inmates of the Abbey has borne two children by Crowley, both of whom are now dead. This woman was living with him when he had his London Lust Temple in the Fulham Road, to which he enticed a number of young women whom he induced to indulge in various forms of unnatural vice while under the influence of drugs which he had administered first to them. Since our publication of the particulars of his abominable attack upon the life and sanity of one of our informants, we have received information which shows that he has deliberately driven other women mad who had come under his influence. One of these died on Holloway Jail while serving a term for being found in possession of the drugs with which Crowley had supplied her, while another - the Hon. Mrs. K., died in an asylum.

Unless the authorities act quickly Crowley will succeed in luring others to hi den of infamy. This must be prevented at all costs.

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The Birth Of The Thelema Religion

It was when this honeymoon was in Cairo that the young buddhist's wife wanted to see evidence of magick. Crowley decided to invoke the sylphs for his wife. She claimed she saw nothing. However, she began telling him "they're here" and mumbling something about a child. He couldn't imagine what she was talking about, so the next day when she continued, he invoked Thoth, the Egyptian god of knowledge, to make sense of it. There was no immediate result, but on the third day, Rose decides that the Egyptian god Horus is speaking through her. Crowley, in an attempt to prove her wrong, carries her to the Bulaq Museum in Cairo and she promptly points out a funerary tablet labeled Stele 666 and the figure of Horus as Ra-Hoor-Khuit.

For the next three weeks, Crowley had the stele translated by the assistant curator to the museum. At the end of that time, he invoked Horus and was told to enter the temple at exactly noon on April 8th, 9th, and 10th, writing down what was given to him. On each of the three days, he was given a new chapter to a book by Aiwass, whom Crowley began to consider his Holy Guardian Angel. The three chapters formed a book which became known as The Book of the Law. This became the foundation of a new philosophy called Thelema.

The first chapter is written as if spoken by Nuit, the goddess of space. It describes worship directed towards the infinite. The second chapter is written as if spoken by Hadit, the infinitesimal point and the consort of Nuit. It sets up timed religious observances as well as further codes of conduct. The third chapter is spoken as if by Horus, the crowned and conquering child, the synthesis of the two. This chapter takes on a war-like tone and finishes up the instructions on conduct as well as giving tasks for the future.

At first, since it clashed with Crowley's Buddhist leanings, he rejected the Book of the Law, primarily because of the wording of the third chapter. However, he eventually began to see the sense of it and started the first thelemic order, the order of the silver star or Argentum Astrum (A.: A.:) in 1907. He also, per the instructions in the book, began working on commentaries to the Book of the Law, setting himself up as the prophet of the New Aeon or age. He began devoting himself to the promulgation of the Law of Thelema by writing many poems and books as well as other activities.

It was one of these writings that caused him to be contacted by a man named Theodor Reuss in 1913. Reuss claimed that Crowley had published the secret of the pseudo-masonic order called the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) and demanded he be initiated into it, taking oaths to protect the secret. After proof of his publishing of the secret, Crowley relented and was initiated. The very next year he advanced to tenth degree in that order and became head of Great Britian and Ireland for the order.

The next year, Crowley traveled to Moscow and, after attending a Orthodox mass, sat down to write the Gnostic Mass, a Mass incorporating not only the ideals of Thelema, but also the secret of the OTO. It was his goal to provide a religion for the new aeon, incorporating the philosophy in symbol suitable for public performance. Through the use of theater and song, it would proclaim the Law for all.

In 1922, Crowley became the head of the OTO, the first old aeon organization to accept the Law of Thelema and its precepts. He spent the rest of his life traveling and sharing this Law with the world, not only through his own association, but with numerous books, poems, and articles. At the age of 71, Aleister Crowley, with his son Ataturk at his side, succumbed to his Greater Feast and died. His ashes were buried near a tree on the property of Karl Germer, a holocaust survivor, and his successor to the OTO.

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Scientology Revealed For The First Time The Odd Beginning Of Ron Hubbard Career

Above: "In 1946 Aleister Crowley (left), the sorcerer and mystic whose dabblings in black magic earned him the title The Wickedest Man in the World, found a new disciple and welcomed him to one of his occult communities in California. The extraordinary activities of this new and enthusiastic disciple are described in a vast collection of papers owned by a former admirer of Crowley which we have examined. The man in question is Lafayette Ron Hubbard (right), head of the now notorius Church of Scientology."

JOHN WHITESIDE Parsons, a brilliant rocket fuel scientist, joined the American branch of Crowley's cult in 1939. He struck up earnest correspondence with "The Beast 666," as Crowley was known by his followers, and soon became his outstanding protege in the United States. By January, 1946, Parsons was impatient to break new frontiers in the occult world. He decided to take the spirit of Babalon, the "whore of Babylon," and invest it in a human being.

But to carry out this intricate mission Parsons needed a female sexual partner to create his child in the astral (spiritual) world. If this part of the fixture went successfully Parsons would be able to call down the spiritual baby and direct it to a human womb. When born, this child would incarnate the forces of Babalon. During his magical preparations for this incarnation Parsons found himself overwhelmed with assistance from a young novitiate named Ron Hubbard.

Parsons write to Crowley at the beginning of 1946. "He (Hubbard) is a gentleman, red hair, green eyes, honest and intelligent and we have become great friends. Although he has no formal training in magic he has an extraordinary amount of experience and understanding in the field. Ron appears to have some sort of highly developed astral vision. He describes his angel as a beautiful winged woman with red hair whom he calls the Empress and who has guided him through his life and saved him many times." He concluded almost ecstatically, "He is in complete accord with our own principles. I have found a staunch companion and comrade in Ron."

But within two months the bonds of friendship were under some strain: Ron claimed Parsons girlfriend, Betty. With admirable restraint Parsons wrote to Crowley, "She has transferred her sexual affection to Ron. I cared for her rather deeply but I have no desire to control her emotions." As if to cement their loyalties Parsons, Hubbard and Betty decided to pool their finances and form a business partnership.

Meanwhile preparations for the mystical mission were well under way. From January 4 to 15, 1946, Parsons and Hubbard engaged in a nightly ritual of incantation, talisman-waving and other Black Magic faithfully described in Parsons diary as Conjuration of Air, Invocation of Wand and Consecration of Air Dagger. With a Prokofiev violin concerto blaring away the two of them pleaded with the spirits for "an elemental mate" -- a girl willing to go through sexual rites to incarnate Babalon in the spirit world.

Parson mentions that windstorms occurred on a couple of nights and one night the power supply failed. But nothing seriously responsive until January 14, when Ron was struck on the right shoulder and had a candle knocked out of his hand. "He called me," Parsons wrote, "and we observed a brownish yellow light about seven feet high. I brandished a magical sword and it disappeared. Ron's right arm was paralyzed for the rest of the night.

The following night was even more portentious. Hubbard apparently saw a vision of one of Parsons' enemies. Parsons wrote, "He attacked the figure and pinned it to the door with four big throwing knives with which he is expert." For four days Parsons and Hubbard were in a state of tension. Then, on January 18, Parsons turned to Ron and said, "It is done." He added, "I returned home and found a young woman answering the requirements waiting for me."

The incarnation ritual set out in Parsons' manuscript, The Book of Babalon, is difficult reading for the unconfirmed spiritualist. Broadly interpreted, Parsons and Hubbard constructed an altar and Hubbard acted as high priest during a series of ceremonies in which Parsons and the girl shared sex. The owner of the documents, who is an expert on Crowley's magic, says that Parsons at this stage was completely under Hubbard's domination. How else can one explain Hubbard's role as High priest in the rites after only a few weeks in the trade?

For the first of the birth ceremonies which began on March 1 Hubbard wore white and carried a lamp while Parsons

Jack PARSONS, the AntiChrist

above: PARSONS, the AntiChrist

was cloaked in a black, hooded garment carrying a cup and dagger. At Hubbard's suggestion they played Rachmaninoff's Isle of the dead as background music.

Parsons account of the start of the birth ritual is as follows: "The Scribe (Hubbard) said, 'The year of babalon is 4063. She is the flame of life, power of darkness, she destroys with a glance, she may take thy soul. She feeds upon the death of mean. beautiful -- horrible.' The scribe, now pale and sweating rested awhile, then continued." There are two possible reasons why Hubbard showed anxiety at this stage of the ceremony, the owner of the papers says. He was either deeply moved by the spiritual depth of the ceremony or he couldnt think what to say next.

Hubbard further instructed Parsons: "display thyself to our lady; dedicate thy organs to her; display thy mind to her; dedicate thy soul to her, for she shall sbsorb thee. Retire from human contact until noon tommarro. Speak not of this ritual. Discuss nothing of it. Consult no book but thine own mind. Thou art a god. Behave at this alter as one before another."

On the third day the ritual began four hours before dawn. Ron tells his companion, "lay out a white sheet. Place upon it blood of birth. Envision her approaching thee. Think upon the lewd, lascivious things thou coulds't do. All is good to Babalon. All. Preserve the material basis. Thus lust is hers, the passion yours. Consider thou the Beast raping." These invocations along with other passages in the ritual indicates that Parsons had collected specimens of his own sperm and the girls menstrual fluid.

The climax of the ceremony occurred the following day with Ron at he altar working his two subjects into a sexual frenzy. Over Rachmaninoff he intoned such gems as:

Her mouth is red and her breasts are fair and her loins are full of fire,

And her lust is strong as a man is strong in the heat of her desire.

An exalted Parsons wrote the next day, "Babalon is incarnate upon the earth today awaiting the proper hour of her manifestation. And in that day my work will be accomplished and I shall be blown away upon the breath of the father even as it is prophecied." (In fact, Parsons was "blown away" in a rocket experiment laboratory in Pasadena in 1952.)

Unable to contain his joy, Parsons decided to tell Crowley what had happened. On March 6 he wrote, "I can hardly tell you or decide ho much to write I am under command of extreme secrecy. I have had the most important, devastating experience of my life." Crowley was dumbfounded by the news of the incarnation ceremony. He wrote back, "You have me completely puzzled by your remarks. I thought I had the most morbid imagination but it seems I have not. I cannot form the slightest idea what you can possibly mean>"

With a distinct note of concern he dashed off a letter on the same day to the head of his American cult saying, "Apparently Parsons or Hubbard or somebody is producing a Moonchild. I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts." (This acid rebuke comes from a man whose activities were once summed up by a judge like this: "I have never heard such dreadful, horrible, blasphemous and abominable stuff as that which has been produced by the man who describes himself as the greatest living poet.")

By May that same year Crowley was not only concerned about Parsons spiritual well-being. There was a smaller matter of certain moneys. When the trio formed their business enterprise, Parsons is believed to have put in 17,000 dollars, Hubbard about 1,000 dollars, and Betty nothing. Using about 10,000 dollars of he money, Hubbard and his newly acquired girlfriend, Betty, bought a yacht. A report to the head of the American branch by another cult member says, "Ron and Betty have their boat at Miami, Florida, and are living the life of Riley, while Brother John (Parsons) is living at rock bottom and I mean rock bottom.

In a more sinister way, the report added: "Let is consider this matter of the magical child which Jack Parsons is supposed to turn loose on the world in nine months (now seven). Ron, the Seer, was the guy who laid down the main ideas, technic (sic), etc., of said operation."

On reading Parson's accounts of the ceremony and the reports from branch headquarters in America, Crowley cabled his U S office on May 22: "Suspect Ron playing confidence trick -- Jack Parsons weak fool -- obvious victim prowling swindlers." In a letter a few days later he said, "It seems to me on the information of our brethren in California that Parsons has got an illumination in which he lost all his personal independence. From our brother's account, he has given away both his girl and his money . Apparently it is the ordinary confidence trick."

A much-chastened Parsons wrote to Crowley on July 5, "Here I am in Miami pursuing the children of my folly. I have them well tied up. They cannot move without going to jail. However, I am afraid that most of the money has already been spent. I will be lucky to salvage 3,000 to 5,000 dollars." Just how Parsons managed to capture the errant lovers is in keeping with the other extraordinary chapters of this story. "Hubbard attempted to escapeme," Parsons wrote, "by sailing at 5 p.m. and performed a full invocation to the Bartzabel within the circle at 8 p.m. (a curse). At the same time, however, his ship was struck by a sudden squall off the coast which ripped off his sails and forced him back to port where I took the boat in custody."

Parsons recovered financially and possibly as a backlash to his experience with Hubbard, he took the Oath of the AntiChrist in 1948 and changed his name to Belarion Armiluss Al Dajjal AntiChrist. In his scientology publications Hubbard says of the period, "Crippled and blinded at the end of the war I resumed studies of philosophy and by my discoveries recovered so fully that I was reclassified in 1949 for full combat duty."

Hubbard claims that more than two dozen thinkers, prophets and psychologists influenced scientology (which he launched in 1951); everyone from Plato, Jesus of Nazareth to Sigmund Freud whom he says he studied under in Vienna. The record can now be righted with the inclusion of Aleister Crowley, the Beast, 666.

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Rioghal Mo Dhream

One of the most obscure entries on the A A reading list of "suggestive materials" is a book with a seemingly familiar title. But James Grant's The Adventures of Rob Roy (1864) is different from the well-known novel Rob Roy (1818) by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), despite the fact that another Scott novel, Redgauntlet (1824), confusingly appears on the list immediately preceding this entry. Walter Scott, who made such a great success with his invention of the historical novel in the "Waverley" series of heroic stories from the British past, remained enormously popular throughout the nineteenth century. In his wake, especially in the many periodical magazines in which most Victorian fiction originally appeared, there was a huge publishing market for historically instructive adventure romances. The Scottish writer James Grant (1822-1887), who knew how to spice his storytelling with Gaelic phrases and tales from folklore, and to provide a maximum of violence and excitement for his (presumably young) readers, has nearly faded from the reference books by now. Publishers in his own time considered him a significant and substantial novelist, and over a long mid-Victorian career Grant produced dozens of "knock-off" books inspired by Sir Walter Scott, for readers who somehow couldn't seem to get enough of these tales.
Grant's The Adventures of Rob Roy is a very readable blood-and-thunder romance of the Scottish Highlands in the early eighteenth century, and might easily have been a boyhood favorite of Crowley's. He might have thought of it again later during his association with the Golden Dawn (mid-1898 to early 1900), and while working with the leader and principal magical theorist of that group. Born Samuel Liddell Mathers on 8 January 1854, this seminal occult figure had grown up fatherless, fascinated by mysticism, indulging in fantasies of a secret heritage, and at an early age became an active freemason, scholar, and qaballist. Even in 1878, while still living with his mother, he was calling himself the Comte de Glenstrae when he could get away with it, or sometimes the Comte MacGregor, and claiming a suppressed Jacobite ancestry from the outlawed Highland clan of the MacGregors of Glenstrae. Crowley might even have included Grant's novel on the A A list partially out of spite, because Mathers had obviously studied the book, and may even have derived a substantial portion of his personal mythology from it. Edward Alexander Crowley had also changed his name as a teenager, however, and the unusual spelling of his adopted forename likewise figures prominently in Grant's book. Like Mathers and many others, Aleister Crowley was an Englishman unable to resist the "Celtic Revival" styles of the late nineteenth century, and he enjoyed representing himself at various times as Irish or Scottish.
Join Caitlin and the Section Two Reading Group at Oz House on Monday evening 19th January at 8:00 for a discussion of this book, illustrated with readings of selected passages. We begin by following the MacAleister and the MacGregor as they scrutinize the landscape for omens in their journey over the heath in search of vengeance for the outrages suffered by their outlawed clan. The MacGregor finds frequent occasion to call out their motto "'S Rioghal mo dhream!" to remind them of their secret royal blood, even as they are forced to pass themselves off as common folk. . . .

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Crowleyisms

Words, phrases, concepts or symbols coined by, associated with, or reminiscent of Crowley that occur in the text:

i) o­n p. 28 of the BAM, next to a descripton of the blessing of cakes and wine, are a collection of symbols that could possibly be an ornate form of “O.T.O.”; however, I can see several possible interpretations of these symbols, at least o­ne of which (relating to a wiccan mystery) I find more plausible than “O.T.O.”.

The wine blessing ritual these symbols accompany would be very familar to any Gardnerian initiate, and bears no particular resemblance to any of Crowley’s published rituals beyond that of containing a cup, wine, and Freudian symbolism. Indeed, the most similar ritual I have been able to find is a point in the Golden Dawn initiation ceremony of the Grade of Adeptus Minor, where o­ne of the three initiators holds a cup of wine and another dips a dagger into it and then uses it to bless the person being initiated (with a cross sign). This can be found o­n p. 215 of Volume 2 of Israel Regardie’s monumental The Golden Dawn (Chicago, 1938). However, the Freudian symbolism of this is not made explicit in the Golden Dawn ritual, and it is o­ne small element in an extremely long and elaborate ritual. This ritual was first published in a summarised form by Alister Crowley in The Temple of Solomon the King, Part 2 in The Equinox Volume I Number III (London, 1910): in this account of it, the cup and the dagger are held by the same person, and Crowley’s comments upon the ritual view the dagger as symbolizing the Cross or Death, while the cup symbolises the Lotus or Resurrection, which in the context of the rest of the (heavily Christian) symbolism of this ritual makes much more sense than a Freudian interpretation. A detailed version of this ritual was later published by Israel Regardie in Vol. 2 of The Golden Dawn (1938), as mentioned above, but with no commentary o­n the symbolism. This has different people holding the cup and the dagger as described above: this may be an inaccuracy in Crowley’s version, or may simply reflect a change in Golden Dawn ceremonial practice between the time of Crowley’s Adeptus Minor initation by Mathers of the Golden Dawn in Paris in 1900, and Regardie’s initiation in the early 1930’s into the Stella Matutina, a Golden Dawn daughter group.

ii) o­n p. 37 of the BAM, accompanying the text of Blessed be... are some symbols that could conceivably be intended to symbolise Crowley’s phrase “love under will”, though I can again see other possible interpretations of them, at least o­ne of which I find more plausible.

iii) The symbols “V,V,V,V,V.” (or “v,v,v,v,v.”) occur in several places in the BAM, including pp. 37, 98 or 99 (the original pagination of my transcript is unclear at this point), and 226. From the context this is used in, it seems always to be written in place of some secret deity name(s) where these occur in the text of a Wiccan ritual. In some places the name(s) have been added nearby (later, o­ne assumes) in Theban script. At first sight this is rather disturbing, since o­ne of Crowley’s many magickal names was normally written “V.V.V.V.V.” (this stands for “Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici”, i.e. “By force of Truth I have conquered the Universe while living”, and he took this name in 1909). However, I suspect that the composer was unaware of this, and was not intending to imply the Crowley was (both of) the God(s) of the Witches, but that they had merely seen the symbol in Crowley’s writings and they thought this was a suitable symbol for implying the presence of a name while not spelling it out. This form of Crowley’s name occurs in many places in his published works, including Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente, Curriculum of the A.'.A.'., Liber LXI vel Causae, A Syllabus of the Official Instructions of A.'. A.'. Hitherto Published, The Vision and the Voice, Liber Liberi vel Lapis Lazuli, Liber Porta Lucis, Liber NV, the Abuldiz Working, The Book of Lies, The Book of Thoth and the Introduction to Magick in Theory and Practice. The first three of these were published in The Equinox Volume III Number 1 (The Blue Equinox, Detroit, Michigan, 1919). In most of these it is fairly clear that "V.V.V.V.V." is the name of a person, but in almost all it is (at least until o­ne is familiar with Crowley’s habit of talking about himself in the third person under various pseudonyms) extremely inobvious that it is Crowley, and o­nly in The Vision and the Voice is it explained what it is short for (though “Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici” also occurs without “V.V.V.V.V.” in The book of Thoth and The Herb Dangerous).

iv) o­n p. 47 of the BAM the phrase “P.L. and P.T.” occurs twice. In context, this clearly means “Perfect Love and Perfect Trust”. As has been suggested out by Doreen Valiente, this may derive from the sentence “Perfect love, perfect faith, perfect trust, and you are unassailable.” which occurs in Part 1 of Aleister Crowley’s The Revival of Magick, which was published in The International in August 1917. However, The International was a pro-German literary magazine published in a small circulation in New York during the First World War (which Crowley had just taken over the editorship of). It will thus have been extremely hard to obtain in England. The o­nly library in Britain that has a collection is the British Library, and even their collection is missing a few issues (though they have the August 1917 issue). The phrases “perfect love” and “perfect trust” also occur in various Christian contexts, such as in the “The words, “Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God,” require perfect obedience, perfect fear, perfect trust, and perfect love.” in Commentary o­n the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther (1535) as translated by Theodore Graebner (Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1949). It is also possible that both Crowley and the BAM were drawing o­n some unknown common source (the phrases would not sound out of place in a Masonic context). They are also short enough that their simply being reinvented is not implausible: I have found them together in both amateur poetry and BDSM erotica that were not obviously Wiccan in origin.

v) o­n p. 47 of the BAM “position of Enterer” is mentioned twice, and o­n p. 94 the “position of enterer” is mentioned. This presumably derives from the Golden Dawn’s “Sign of the Enterer” (which is more a position or a stance than what o­ne would normally think of as a “sign”). This could be taken from the Golden Dawn, either directly or via Volume 3 of Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn (Chicago, 1939), or it could come via the writings of Aleister Crowley. Crowley o­nly uses the expression “position of the Enterer” o­nce, at o­ne of the points where this stance is mentioned in his extracts from the Z.2 papers of the Golden Dawn in Part 2 of his autobiographical column The Temple of Solomon the King in The Equinox Volume I Number III (London, 1910). However, in this article it is never actually explained how it is done or what it looks like. The sign is mentioned by various other names in quite a lot of places in Crowley’s works: he mostly calls it either the “sign of the Enterer” (in Liber Pyramidos, The Mass of the Phoenix, Liber V vel Reguli, Liber Samekh and The Book of Thoth), or else the “sign of Horus” (in The Star Ruby and Liber V vel Reguli). However, the o­nly place where he actually explains how to do it is Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae, where it is refered to o­nly as “the typical position of the God Horus”. It thus seems unlikely that Crowley’s published works are the source that this was taken from. Another possibility is that it derives from Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn, which does contain Golden Dawn instructions explaining how to do it (though here also it is almost always refered to as the “Sign of the Enterer”, except in o­ne place in the Z.2 papers), but in view of the lack of other evidence of material in the BAM derived from Regardie’s The Golden Dawn, this also seems implausible. The most likely candidate for a source, in my opinion, is an earlier book by Israel Regardie, The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic, from which a couple of other passages in the BAM clearly derive, and which o­n pp. 142–143 also explains (in terms clearly derived from Crowley’s Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae) how to do the Sign of the Enterer.

vi) o­n p. 98 or p. 99 of the BAM (as mentioned, the original pagination of my transcript is unclear at this point) the use of cords to bind magical objects is mentioned. From the specific terminology used, this seems to derive originally from the Z papers of the Golden Dawn. The relevant extracts from these were first published by Crowley, in his magazine The Equinox Volume I Number III (London, 1910) in Part Z.2 of his autobiographical column The Temple of Solomon the King, and were later published in full by Israel Regardie in Volume 3 of his monumental work The Golden Dawn (Chicago, 1939). Since there is very little material from this in the BAM, and most prominent overlap (see 3) ii) below) is evidently via Crowley and another book of Regardie’s, rather than direct from the Golden Dawn, I suspect that the composer of the BAM had not read Regardie’s The Golden Dawn, and thus that the source from which this was drawn was Crowley rather than The Golden Dawn, but the latter cannot be ruled out.

vii) o­ne well-known Crowleyism that is not in the BAM is the spelling of the word “magick”: throughout the BAM (even in the passages quoted from Crowley’s works mentioned above), the spellings “magic”, “magician”, and “magical” are used, rather than Crowley’s “magick”, “magickian”, and “magickal”. This alone is enough to suggest to me that the composer(s) of the material in Ye Bok of ye Art Magical were not O.T.O. initiates at the time. If Crowley himself had written it, he would surely have titled it something like “The Art of Magick, vel Liber XL” (or De Arte Magica), not Ye Bok of ye Art Magical!

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The Bhikkhu And The Magus Exploring Allan Bennett Influence On Aleister Crowley

Book: The Bhikkhu And The Magus Exploring Allan Bennett Influence On Aleister Crowley by John Crow

The Bhikkhu and the Magus: Exploring Allan Bennett's Influence on aleister crowley By John L. Crow University of Amsterdam. With a title like "Exploring Allan Bennett's Influence on Aleister Crowley" I could take this paper in any number of directions. This is because Allan Bennett was a significant person in the early years of Aleister Crowley's magical career. Crowley met Bennett in 1898 while in the Golden Dawn and almost immediately afterwards had Bennett move in with him and become his magical teacher. A couple of years later Bennett traveled to Southeast Asia due to a number of reasons, primarily health concerns and Crowley visited him there three times over the next four years; the last time being in November 1905. Over these seven years Bennett introduced Crowley to a number of magical
practices, Philosophical ideas, and yoga techniques. To cover all these subjects would take more time than I have allotted, thus I will concentrate on an important aspect of Crowley's magical system introduced to Crowley by Bennett that gets very little attention: the Magical Memory.

Download John Crow's eBook: The Bhikkhu And The Magus Exploring Allan Bennett Influence On Aleister Crowley

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

John Frederick Charles Fuller - The Star In The West A Critical Essay On The Works Of Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley - Ambergris A Selection From The Poems Of Aleister Crowley
John Crow - The Bhikkhu And The Magus Exploring Allan Bennett Influence On Aleister Crowley

Crowley Ordo Temple Orientis And Thelema

He practiced satanism and identified with the number of the anti-Christ, 666. Crowley kept a series of Scarlet Women. Leah Hirsig, the Ape of Thoth, was the most notorious. They overindulged in drinking, drugs and sexual magic.

Crowley became involved with the O.T.O., Ordo Temple Orientis and moved to Sicily where he established his Abbey of Thelema. The press called him the “The Wickedest Man in the World.” Crowley relished this appellation. There was talk of alleged orgies, blood sacrifices and other perversions at the abbey. Mussolini expelled him from Sicily. Crowley moved to France and was later asked to leave because of his heroin dealings.

He wrote The Book of the Law, in which he included his version of the Law of Thelema, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” He interpreted it as rejecting conventional morality for the life of drug addiction and womanizing. A line from one of his poems sums this up. "I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend."

Crowley sued author and sculptress Nina Hamnett for libel because he said she wrote he practiced black magic. Her evidence of Crowley’s bizarre life-style and scandalous writings was so great that it horrified people. He lost the case and was forced to declare bankruptcy, which pleased the press.

A heroin addict, he died from a respiratory infection in a Hastings, England boarding house in 1947. He and his doctor died within 24 hours of each other. Newspapers claimed Crowley put a death curse on Dr. Thomson because he refused to continue his opiate prescription.


Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - The Star And The Garter
Aleister Crowley - The Zodiac And The Tarot
Aleister Crowley - Liber 101 Ordo Templi Orientis An Open Letter

Buddhist Influence On Aleister Crowley

“Do what thou wilt is the whole of the Law, there is no Law beyond do what thou wilt.”

In examining the doctrines and teachings of the majority of modern occult traditions one finds themes relating to Aleister Crowley recurring quite frequently. These schools of Western esoteric practice bear very little in common with each other except for their common ties to Crowley. The wiccan Rede “Do what thou wilt, but harm none” is an adaptation of Crowley’s law of Thelema “Do what thou wilt. Love is the law, love under will.” (Crowley, 1976, pg. 50) Dr. Michael Aquino’s Temple of Set (an offshoot of Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan) also has strong roots in the works of Crowley. Crowley’s principle ‘revelatory’ text, The Book of the Law, proclaimed the dawning of a new world age (The Aeon of Horus) in which Crowley was the Magus of this new age. Aquino drew upon this idea when he formed the Temple of Set. The world age of Crowley, in the Setian worldview, lasted until the Equinox of the common year 1966, when HarWer and Set were fused as one composite being. And so commenced the time of Set-HarWer - known as the Age of Satan - which was to bridge the expiring Aeon of HarWer and the forthcoming Aeon of Xeper. (Aquino) Thus, we can clearly see that Crowley’s work has had a very wide range of influence of both left and right hand paths.

One could easily devote one’s life to tracing Crowley’s influence on various different magical lodges and other organizations, but that is not my intent here. A more interesting, and perhaps more valuable task would be to flush out what it was that influenced Crowley himself. A quick look at any of his material soon shows that Crowley was quite an eclectic fellow and borrowed ideas and imagery from many different traditions. Crowley’s title of Ankh-F-N-Khonsu, and use of the Gods Horus, Hadit, and Nuit within The Book of the Law show his use of Egyptian mythology and religion. The title of the Beast that he also uses for himself within The Book of the Law shows the impact that Christian apocalyptic ideology has had on him.

Of the many different forms of religion that have influenced Crowley, Buddhism would probably be one of the last of which most people would think of. The Book of the Law does not speak very kindly of Buddhism: “With my [the Egyptian God Horus] claws I tear out the flesh of the Indian and the Buddhist, Mongol and Din.” (Crowley, 1976, pg. 47) I intend to show, however, that this statement is quite misleading and that Crowley did indeed have a fair amount of Buddhist influence in his work. Unfortunately Crowley was quite prolific in his writing and a close, scrutinizing exegesis of his works is certainly out of the question for an essay of such a small size. Instead we shall examine some of his more obscure writings which seem to have been swept under the rug, and examining his most important book: The Book of the Law. If we can show that The Book of the Law had significant Buddhist influence then one can confidently say that all of Crowley’s work has at least some Buddhist influence since The Book of the Law provides the groundwork for the majority of the rest of his writing.

Most of Crowley’s views on Buddhism are laid out for us clearly in his essay Science and Buddhism. The goal of Crowley’s essay is to compare modern scientific conceptions with Buddhism and show that Buddhism is a ‘scientific religion’. The fact that Crowley chose such a goal for his paper is not surprising at all considering the era in which he lived in. A large momentum of movements comparing science and religion had been built by the time that Crowley had written this essay (1903). Key to this scientific religion movement was Paul Carus (b. 1852). Carus’ goal was to propound, develop, and establish the Religion of Science... In order to establish the Religion of Science it is by no means necessary to abolish the old religions, but only to purify them and develop their higher possibilities, so that their mythologies shall be changed into strictly scientific conceptions. It is intended to preserve of the old religions all that is true and good, but to purify their faith by rejecting superstitions and irrational elements, and to discard, unrelentingly, their errors. (Sharf, pg. 14)

Crowley considers this response of Buddhism to be inadequate and instead wants to “assert the absoluteness of the Qabalistic zero.” (Crowley, 1906, pg. 236) If we consider space to be infinite, as the physicists do, then we are left with two possibilities as to the nature of matter and the universe. Either matter fills space completely and thus is infinitely great, or if not then we must say that matter is infinitely small. Whether the universe is one billion light years across or is only three meters in diameter is irrelevant since either way it is infinitely small and in effect nothing. If on the other hand matter is infinite then either God is crowded out of the picture or this infinite matter is God Her/Himself. If God is infinite matter itself then we are presented with the problem of “why should an infinite Ego fill a nonexistent body with imaginary food cooked in thought over an illusionary fire by a cook that is not there?”

Thus, Crowley chose to claim that matter is finite, then investigates whether or not we can claim that the universe began with nothing. He defines ‘zero’ as being the absence of extension in any of the categories, and no positive proposition is valid regarding nothingness. If we were to suppose that time, space, being, heaviness, and hunger are the only categories then we could express a man x as x t + s + b + h + h. If this man eats then he is longer extended into the category of hunger. If you isolate this poor man and cut him off from time and gravity then you’d be left with x s + b. Should this man cease to occupy space and to exist then the result would be x0 which equals 1. Thus, whatever x is if it can be raised to the power of zero then the result is unity and the x factor itself is eliminated. If there was a zero before the existence of things then the zero could not have been extended in any of the categories because there would not have existed any categories for it to be extended into.

Crowley believes that the goal of the majority of religions is the annihilation of the self by dissolving one’s self into an infinite deity. Buddhism, however, aims at extinction period. Thus, the Hindu goal of merging into Brahman is illusionary, but the practices to arrive there may be useful at least in the early stages. Crowley summarizes the task of the Buddhist as

He must plunge every particle of his being into one idea: right views, aspirations, word, deed, life, willpower, meditation, rapture, such are the stages of his liberation, which resolves itself into a struggle against the laws of causality. He cannot prevent past causes from taking effect, but he can prevent present causes from having any future result. (Crowley, 1906, pg. 240)

To still present causes from having future results Crowley advocates meditation which he defines as the absolute restraint of the mind to the contemplation of a single object. To Crowley mindfulness must be achieved prior to meditation. For a person to become mindful she or he must first have iron willpower. Crowley perceives magical ceremony to have entirely identical ends as meditation, and is a magnificent rocket ship to Nirvana. Through sensation, action, and though the magician indicates the single goal of the ritual.

Although The Book of the Law may talk about ripping the flesh off of the Buddhist, it does contain in it another reference to Buddhism that is not negative at all. In the third chapter of The Book of the Law Crowley says, “Choose ye an island! Fortify it!” (Crowley, 1976, pg. 39) This seems to be a reference to the section of the Dhammapada that Crowley translates as, “Let the wise man an island build against the fatal current strong.” (Crowley, 1976, pg. 46) Juan Mascaro translates the same passage as, “The wise man who by watchfulness conquers thoughtlessness is as one free from sorrows ascends the palace of wisdom and there, from its high terrace, sees those in sorrow below; even as a wise strong man on the holy mountain might behold the many unwise far down below on the plain.” (Mascaro, pgs. 38-39) It is clear that Crowley has departed from regular translations of the Dhammapada with this one particular line, and I believe The Book of the Law is referring to this line of the Dhammapada. Normally this statement is interpreted as one of paranoia and violence which it is commonly interpreted as - especially with the description of Horus as a “god of War and Vengeance.” (Crowley, 1906, pg. 39) just above the line regarding the island. However, if one interprets this ‘island’ as one’s own mind, and protecting it to mean meditating and keeping out false thoughts then this would indeed be a very Buddhist concept. This combined with the prevalent theme of nothingness (as represented by Nuit) makes The Book of the Law a book that is very compatible with Buddhist philosophy. Crowley’s statement of tearing the flesh of the Buddhist is no less anti-Buddhist than the Ch’an monk who claims that the Buddha is a stick of dung.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Aleister Crowley - The Works Of Aleister Crowley Vol Iii Part 3
Thomas Voxfire - What Was Aleister Crowley
John Crow - The Bhikkhu And The Magus Exploring Allan Bennett Influence On Aleister Crowley