Aleister Crowley: Prophet Or Kook?

Question

http://www.wintersteel.com/Aleister_Crowley.html

What do you think?

I think this wise man had the basic ideas right, he just was starved for guidance...a thing the internet has saved us solitares from these days....

Your Magickal Opinions would be appreciated!

Yes i know he went mad in the end... i am saying i think the lack of guidance in the craft is what tipped him over the edge..

Answer 1

The way of Crowley was more a culture outside culture than any kind of Religion. When he wanted to, he could write with tight discipline and an obvious erudition. When he wanted to tweak the nose of upstarts, culture, religions, and civilization in general, he wrote of truth with tales twisted at both begining and end. Yet, while Christians beat at his reputation and condemn him to Hell, when reminded that he existed. He wrote as a Christian of deep faith on occasion. . .I'll let you judge.

Hail Mary
1912

_Prologue_

Mother and maiden! on the natal night
Embowered in bliss of roses red and white,
Westward three Magi move to minister
To Him with gold and frankincense and myrhh.

Those Pagans gazing on the Heavenly Host
Were blest of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
And me, though I be as an heathen Mage,
Thou wilt accept in this my pious page.

_I_

The worlds were drunken as with wine
When shimmering from the throne divine,
The soul of Mary fixed its ray
Within that meek and maiden clay

The stars in mightier music rolled;
The sun acheived a gladder gold;
The moon lest pure acclaimed the morn;
-- Mary Immaculate is born.

Rejoice, O children of the earth,
At your salvation brought to birth!
This is the perfect period.
Mary is born that shall bear God.
_Amen_

Answer 2

ariel, i too cannot decide which theory to believe. so much has been written, both supporting and decrying him.
i found this on a website - http://www.popsubculture.com/pop/bio_project/aleister_crowley.html
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"Crowley's entire religion, (Crowleyanity as it sometimes referred to by some cynical authors) liberally mixes elements of Christianity, Gnosticism and the Masons into its magickal rituals. It's hard to conceive how mildly Crowley and his followers would have been received if they were judged according to our contemporary standards. Thelemites, those who follow the laws of Thelema, often greet one another with the shorthand "93", which is the numerical value of the phrase "Love Is The Law, Love Under Will", the proper response to the "Do As Thou Wilt..." phrase.

Subcultural Relevance

Aleister Crowley may seem, to the uninitiated, like an unmitigated egomaniac, a charlatan, a mad man, or worse. It can be argued, even by occultists, that this was indeed the case. However as occultist, Crowley remains unparalleled. How many contemporary practitioners can actually claim to have manifested a lasting change on the world. After all, changing the world around you is what magic is all about, and Aleister Crowley did it better than anyone. To say that Crowley was ahead of his time would be an understatement. Aside from the glamour of his "wickedness" which will always have a certain appeal, his greatest gift was perhaps his ability to reshape the theory of magic from a modern psychological standpoint, refashioning it into a tool for the New Aeon, a contribution that has yet to be matched or exceeded. "

it seems his huge ego and over-enthusiasm took over and his desire to shock the world over-ran his undoubted abilities and intelligence.

a lesson for all egos methinks!!

blessed be
)o(

Answer 3

I read this, this morning, and now in the afternoon, I think I'm ready to answer it.

I don't know. He brought a lot of attention to the plight of the 'older' religions. He also went a bit odd in the end. Why he got into a sort of satanic version of paganism I'll never understand, as satanism is a reaction to the Christian Religion and not a real pagan religion, as no real pagan religion believes in hell and heaven, devils and demons, quite the same way any Christian would. Usually pagans don't believe in the concepts.

I think he probably needed guidance and couldn't find it. And of course on not finding it, created his own way and beliefs.

Answer 4

I believe his story (the way it is told in the link you provided) is an almost perfect example of how the selfish nature of people can leave them penniless and without love.

So many times I have seen little glimmers of self-righteousness and attention-hogging by people who claim to be "spiritualists" and I just shake my head and hope the best for them but I know the outlook for such people is grim.

I think your link is a cautionary tale of Karma.

As a side note, I think that Led Zepplin took a genuine interest in Crowley and possibly even subscribed to his debauchery. But I think the Beatles were sort of being tongue in cheek about it (considering the reputation they had earned with American Fundamentalists for those famously ill-chosen words "We are more popular than Jesus".)

Answer 5

Personally, I don't think he was either. I do feel he was misguided and if he was alive today, I think he would not be the same man.

I think it had a lot to do with the century he was born in and the prejudices everyone had then.

I guess it is also possible that he was just rebelling against his fathers religion.

For me, being pagan and studying the occult should not be about rebellion, but about personal knowledge and spiritual growth.
BB

Answer 6

Honestly, I think Crowley had an image of himself that was larger than any sort of reality. He liked to convince himself and his friends that he was truly on the edge of something great, he liked to fascinate and control, he liked to scare people.

Ultimately he ended up living his life as a leech off of other people. Some people project power and then take hold of it. They make use of it for themselves and others. Crowley had no such personal success. He died broken. His power projection was simple smoke and mirrors with hallucinogen inspired ranting thrown in for flavor.

All the best,

Lazarus

Answer 7

Blessings Ari!

Personally, I have only read a bit here and there on A.Crowley. I am not to sure what to make of him. I cannot exactly say i believe him to be a prophet, while he did have some valid claims, however, I think that alot of what Lazarus referred to was pretty much on time.
Perhaps I will do some studying and get back to you on this one.

Blessed Be
)o(
Trinity

Answer 8

I would almost have to say a bit of both. He was a very intelligent and I find enlightened man. I can't really say starved for guidance because he guided many other people in many things, including a unique form of spirituality, Thelema. Most of what people know or have heard about him is mostly speculation and rumor having little do with the actual man. He may not have been the best of people, he made mistakes, and he did not things that were not very good, but greatness does not always mean being a good person.

I find his writings to be very inspired, and many of the are the basis for modern paganism. Some of Wicca is based on the writings of Crowley, and most of the correspondences we use today for spells, times, deities, herbs, stones, etc were published by him.

He may have been a drug addict for part of his life, but not all of his life. He did not die a drug addict, he eventually was able to detox himself from herion. He was not a devil worshipper. Crowley followed the religion of Thelema, and he believed Thelema was the end of various orthodox faiths. At the time of his death, he had many friends and comrads, including his long time companion Leah Hersing, who at the time of his death was away visiting someone I believe, but she still lived with him. Some of his best work was written in the final years of his life. Crowley lived to the age of 74, which is quite old for someone at that time period, and not likely to be the age of someone who did not take care of his health. He was also not broke at his death, he had many published works, and was renting a flat in London.

Most of his image and rumors about him were cultivated by Crowley to basicly keep stupid people away from him. He was a very sexual person, but not the pervert some places make him out to be. A great deal of the information on that website is simply untrue.

In his time at Cambridge there is not record not has there ever been anything about him having sex with people of both genders, and really, so what if he did. He was bisexual, and in college.

Crowley was expelled from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn for publishing what they felt was secret information in the book Knox Om Pax. There was never a "magickal dual" between Mathers and Crowley, and as far as I remember he never claimed there was one. There was a court battle which Crowley won, because the Golden Dawn never copyrighted the material that Crowley published. Mathers and two cohorts later attacked Crowley in an alley and beat him up over it.

His second wife did not exactly go mad, as she was still with him when he died. She was simply not at the flat at the time. There is no record of any of his concubines committing suicide, or even of that many people he was involved with. Heck, I have probobly had sex with as many people as Crowley, it really was not as many as tales say.

Probobly the biggest thing I can put here is that "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is not an excuse to do as he pleased or live a life of debauchery. The law of Thelema is exactly the opposite of that. It speaks of a personal and magickal responsability for our own actions. "Every Man and Woman is a Star" is another line from the Book of the Law. The Law of Thelema is basicly the right of each individual to their own will, and how no individual has the right to oppose that. According to the Law of Thelema, to harm another person is to harm their will, and thus to loose your own will. By stealing from someone, you are robbing them of their will to own their posessions they worked to get, so thus your will to possess is also harmed. A very similar view to karma, but on a more metaphysical and magickal level.

Crowley was the prophet of the religion of Thelema, he may have been a great writer, and in some ways a great man, but this does not mean he was a good person. He made some bad choices, which he regretted later in life, and he did some things that were not exactly nice, but he did not do half the things people say that he did. Truly, he was a kook sometimes, and pretty nuts at other times, and also sometimes he was also a very enlightened man. Quite a unique character. I really think before people make judgements about him, they should read some of his work. Particularly Magick in Theory and Practice, The Holy Books of Thelema, Gems from the Equinox, Liber Astarte, Magick without Tears, and Eight Lectures on Yoga. These are some of his best works, and especially useful for any serious ceremonial magician.

Answer 9

Definitely not a prophet. . . in my opinion. Too "dark" to have any influence in my spiritual evolution, except to say I've steered clear of his writings/teachings. His Tarot deck is the one deck I will not use--I just don't resonate with it at all; again, too "dark."

Answer 10

Too much dark not enough light. Didnt keep his magick and energy balanced