Alright. This thread here, was meant just to talk about Aleister Crowley for educational purposes, because I just want to get a clear idea on who he was. I'm not one-hundred perfcent positive, but wasn't he the one whom brought the Wicca religion into our modern-day cultures? What we're some of his other attributes to our history in magic(k), as well? I know many people have their own opinions on this man, but, I just want to know who he was. Thanks for any info.
Re: Who Was Aleister Crowley? By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 2 Dec 25, 2013
Crowley has nothing to do with Wicca. The person you might be thinking about who brought Wicca into the public eye was Gerald Gardner.
Crowley was a very complex character. While arguably one of the great ceremonial magicians and a member of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templii Orientis orders. He was also a social deviant and a drug user (heroin). He was once labelled as the "wickedess man in the world." Still, he has written and published several books on ceremonial magic that are considered classics in the field. You can read more on him and find other resources at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley#The_Golden_Dawn:_1898.E2.80.9399
Re: Who Was Aleister Crowley? By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 6 Dec 25, 2013
Nope, he was never a Satanist and he never put forth that he was the anti-Christ. Yet he often delighted in tweaking the noses of those who were appalled by his behaviors.
I have read quite a few of his books, and he is just very bold and straight forward with what he believes. But anti-Christ, no not all. Try reading some of his works.
I would also like to point out that Crowley was all for drugs for a very long time, he was on pretty much everything. Shortly after being kicked out of Cefalu his opinion changed. Of course people could do as they wished, yet for himself he no longer needed the drugs (which were often to induce a mystical state). He got off a lot of drugs by will alone.
However he could never kick in the heroin, partly because of its abhorrent effects when coming off it and partly because that is what they prescribed for asthma in those days, and he suffered form asthma quite badly. He was on Heroin until the day he died, but it was prescribed by a doctor.
He also did not die alone and penniless, he had money from the O.T.O under his bed, quite a lot, which he used to publish his books and reimbursed the order, he had many visitors, including a few from Gerald Gardner, Kenneth Grant and other friends such as Lady Harris and the mother of his child (whose name I forget). He also had his own nurses and paid for his own accomodation.
The thing with Crowley and Satanism is that Satanism take on his teachings, sometimes missing the point, and also the inherent hatred which Crowley expresses towards christianity in its orthodox form. However the lines in Liber Legis are debateable, he saw Horus and Christ as the same solar being-yet Horus was replacing Jesus.....he never practiced black magick, nor did he work with Satan, his system utilised judaeo-chrisian deity forms. He also didn't view the world as good and evil, just as existing....duality as just an illusion.
I could speak for a long time about Crowley. His life choices are nothing to do with his magickal practice, he lived as he wanted to live and if we are honest he is nowhere near as bad as most celebrities these days. A lot of the rumours aren't even true. Yet, I believe he brought a phenonemal amount of attention to high magick and genuinely wished to help humanity achieve spiritual success and break down the adherance to restrictive religious dogma and values.
His last words are often reported as being "I am perplexed", however it has been discovered that the person who was actually present at the time of his death, and the most likely words were "Sometimes I hate myself". The prior are more desirable last words, yet I find the latter rather humbling.
