The Caretaker
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Crowley - 11/dec/2024
🕑 Added 2024-12-11 18:10:38 +0000 UTCCROWLEY TIME
THESIS: If the Golden Dawn were trying to extract the “active ingredient” from religion, Crowley was the first to realize they were still beholden to the christian regime of signs.
YOUNG CROWLEY:
Edward Alexander Crowley was Born in 1875 in Warwickshire England to a family of wealthy and pious alcohol magnates. The Crowleys were members of the Plymouth Brethren, a low church known for being some of the strictest religious fundamentalists in England. Young Edward did not seem to mind this. It wasn’t until his father died in 1875, and his more religiously overbaring mother came into more control of his life, that he began to tack away from his religious upbringing.
In 1895, he began studying at the prestigious Trinity College, where he would develop a knack for the liberal arts, and irresponsible use of his family fortune. He would publish a book of poetry –at great personal expense– that received generally favorable reviews. This would make him a regular in england's avante-garde arts and cultural scene. A meeting with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn would be inevitable.
He would be initiated as a Neophyte at the Isis-Urania Temple in London in 1898. Here he would meet English Buddhist convert Allan Bennet, who would show him the ropes of ceremonial magic, and GD founder Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. It was around this time that Mathers would publish his translation of the Book of Abramelin the Mage, which would be a watershed text for Crowley.
The Book of Abramelin is one of those kitchen sink texts. It serves as a short overview of occult history up to the fifteenth century or so, but crucially in a narrative form. This type of text would prove to be Crowley’s specialty. Be it a consequence of his literary education, or a quirk of personality, Crowey had a genius for the narrative elements of magic. His ability to summarize a complex idea with an elegant term would carry him far.
He was initiated as a neophyte in the Isis-Urantia temple of the Golden Dawn, where he would quickly and enthusiastically climb the ranks. All the while, he would pay special attention to the Book of Abramelin. Many sources on Crowley will mention this obsession, but the details of why Crowley enjoyed this particular text so much is important to the development of his philosophy. (add this later)
KICKED OUT OF THE GOLDEN DAWN
The turn of the century would mark a tumultuous year for the Golden Dawn. An internal feud would pressure mathers to resign as leader of the organization. Crowley would eventually side with him, and the two would be expelled.
The result of this was a Crowley with a head full of ritual magic, a lot of money, and no obligations. It was time to travel. He would bring Bennet along for the first few legs of the journey, traveling to Mexico and then India to study buddhism and Yoga.
In 1902, he would indulge one of his other great passions: Mountaineering. He would attempt to summit K2.
In 1903 he would marry Rose Kelly, a medium and fellow diehard occult enthusiast. In the spring of 1904, the two would put Crowley in contact with Aiwass, his own personal guardian angel. (is aiwass his GA or is that something different) Who would dictate to him the Book of the Law. This would be the foundational text of Crowley’s new religion: Thelema.
1905 he travels across china, during this travel he performs the ritual of the Augoeides, which is a continuation, in another form, of the ritual of Abramelin for the attainment of the knowledge of his Holy Guardian Angel. Notably, this ritual takes place in an “imaginative” or “astral” form, meaning that as Crowley travelled, he was performing the ritual in his mind.
Upon his return from England, he publishes three works. A collection of his poetry, Collected Works. A collection of essays called Conx Om Pax, and a book on Golden Dawn correspondences, the Liber 777.
THE ABORTED ARGENTUM ASTRUM
1907ish he meets John Frederick Charles Fuller, who helps Crowley start his own esoteric order, the A∴A∴ (the initials are usually interpreted as “Astrum Argentinum”, or “Argenteum Astrum”, i.e. Silver Star).
Also in 1909, together with his disciple Victor B. Neuburg (1883-1940), he “explores” the magical system of → John Dee, through an important series of invocations and astral travels in the desert of Algeria. He publishes these experiences as a text called The Vision and The Voice
Crowley was never a quiet person, his constant desire to make enemies was the source of both fame and infamy. Back in england, his political enemies (who) made accusations of homosexuality in Crowley. This was true. The man was a prolific bisexual. Unfortunately these political attacks would continue to tarnish his reputation for the rest of his life, with expensive consequences.
Come 1910, WWI is brewing and Aleister Crowley had penises on the mind. His study of tantric practices in India led him to a novel conclusion: All the pageantry and theater of the Golden Dawn’s rituals could be shortcutted with sex. Bare with me a moment. Think about it. Everything about the Golden Dawn rituals, all the swords and robes and ritual altars were themselves based on the same basic ingredients: The four elements, the seven classical planets, the ten sephirot, the twelve signs of the zodiac, etc etc. History is rife with occultists who tie these elements to sections of the body. Kether already means crown, Agrippa writes that the stomach is ruled by the sun, the body is an alchemical microcosm of some greater divine whole, etc etc. The temple is not necessary, because the body is the temple.
Perhaps not what Agrippa or Moshe de Leon had in mind for their work, but one could say the same for the folks they were citing. But in Crowley’s case, it takes two to tango. He needed folks to help with experimentation. Enter singer and occultist Theodor Reuss, and his magnificent moustache. Mr. Reuss was of a similar practical and experimental bent as crowley; meaning, he was willing to get naked for wizard reasons. This made him and Crowley fast friends. Their main shared interest was starting yet another fringe para-masonic order to explore sexual magic. They called it the Ordo Templi Orientis, the Order of the Eastern Star. OTO for short.
In true Crowleyan fashion, the OTO almost immediately becomes a crucible for Thelema. Now with ample resources and disciples to experiment with, Crowley deepens his understanding of magic. He publishes Book 4, which would become a “core” crowlean text.
WWI breaks out, Crowley flees to the states. He has almost entirely burned through his family money, and seeks work writing propaganda for a german newspaper. An act that will get him criticized in the future. Times are suddenly a lot less certain, and membership in both the AA, and the OTO begin to flag, but his remaining followers are especially dedicated.
In 1920, he moves to Cefalù, Sicily, where he establishes the infamous Abbey of Thelema. While “abbey” is not an inappropriate term, commune is closer. This would be an experiment in living life according to Thelemic law. This would be an extremely productive period for Crowley. He publishes another novel, The Diary of a Drug Fiend, his “autohagiography” The Confessions, and his Magnum Opus, Magic in Theory and Practice. His experiments at the Abbey, full of lurid details you can read about elsewhere, lasts all of 3 years before he is expelled by the Italian Authorities.
He moves to Paris in 1923. Also in 1923, Reuss dies, and Crowley takes over as leader of the OTO. At the same time, there is a meeting in Germany between several rosicrucian organizations. They are debating who will get to lead this new German Rosicrucian movement. Crowley throws his hat in the ring, to little success. Only a few follow him, but one of them was a bookseller named Karl Germer who will financially support Crowley for a while, and will eventually succeed him as head of the OTO after he dies. Win win.
1926 to 1929 are comparatively uneventful years. Crowley is approached by a young Israel Regardie and Gerald Yorke, who collaborate with him until early 1930. Regardie, an influential occult author in his own right, would write until well into the 1960s, and would be instrumental to the rediscovery of Crowley’s work in the New Age. Yorke, for his own part, would become a bit of a hagiographer, and the biggest collector of Crowley paraphernalia in the world.
After some travelling around Spain and Portugal, 1932 rolls around and France is looking like a bad place to be. Crowley shoves off to England, where he will spend the rest of his life. In 1934, he was defeated in a Libel suit. He cannot pay the fees, and is declared bankrupt. He will largely be supported by allowances from his followers, especially the remaining Agape Lodge in California. Even while effectively couch surfing from friend’s place to boarding house, he writes extensively. This period would produce Equinox of the Gods, where he narrates the events related to the revelation of the Liber Legis. The Book of Thoth, in which he expounds his personal interpretation of the Tarot. This design is then implemented with artist Frieda Harris, which results in the publishing of the Thoth Deck, which is still popular to this day. The twilight of his life is spent in various boarding houses and friend’s couches. He died in a boarding house in 1947. Although, a strange thing about crowley. Almost every text written about him does not end with his death. The man dies, but his influence just keeps slouching along towards Bethlehem.
POSTHUMOUS ERA / SO WHAT WAS THIS GUY ACTUALLY WRITING ABOUT?
Before we can get into what Crowley actually was for occult history, we have to discuss what he wasn’t. Many people disregard the man for similar reasons they disregard Blavatsky. Where Blavatsky was both a brilliant religious mind, and a con woman, Crowley was a brilliant religious mind, and a big asshole.
Crowley was not a Satanist. He influenced satanists, but he was not a satanist. “His mythical and symbolical references went well beyond Christianity, and his aim was to propose a full-blown, original religious alternative to it.” (316pdf / 284 txt) His goal with Thelema was not to invert Christianity, it was to build something new. What exactly that “something else” might be, is the question of the day. There is some Abrahamic imagery in there, to be sure, but Crowley’s interests extend as far as Buddhism, Taoism, and the I Ching.
To understand what Crowley was talking about, there are two things we need to focus on: Thelema, and Magick.
CROWLEAN MAGICK:
When Crowley says “Magick” he means two things: One: A pragmatic method for achieving goals through means that cannot be explained scientifically, but can empirically tested, i.e. the classic examples like “suddenly learning mathematics overnight, coming into a large sum of money, gaining the affections of a young woman, or achieving favorable weather conditions for a trip. And Two: “Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will” (Magick in Theory and Practice, 1929-1930, xii).
This seems like a pretty broad definition. Indeed, by this definition, pretty much any action could be considered a magical one. The key word here is “Will.” When Crowley says “Will” he is referring to a precise set of concepts based in traditional ceremonial magic. If you harken back to our section on Plotinus, this is the level of specificity that Crowley is working with. Not will as in the casual conception of one’s will to do something, but Will as in an active principle of capital-B Being. Something on the same level as ideas like The Soul. This is one of those circumstances where the term “Will” ought to be left untranslated. Leave it as θέλημα.
Here is the part where I have to summarize Thelema. This is a problem for several reasons. Crowley’s ideas are infamously difficult to rephrase. He writes with a level of specificity that feels designed to bounce off the uncommitted. What’s more, Thelema is highly individualistic, explicitly built to encourage multiple interpretations and experiences that will be in conversation with each other.
The idea being that if magic can be used to practically attain things like money, companionship, and favorable rates for bank loans, etc, it follows that magic can be applied to every aspect of one’s life. Crowley, correctly in my opinion, supposes that if magic has any practical application whatsoever, it will eventually lose its instrumentality and become both a worldview and a practice. Simply put; if you do it every day, it becomes something kinda like a religion. Crowley calls his interpretation of this Thelema.
The chief goal of Thelema is personal spiritual attainment. What that means is intentionally up to interpretation by the individual Thelemite. The path to this attainment is the initiatic path of the A.’. A.’. and OTO. But, they are not the only path to attainment. And more important is the constant interpretation and re-interpretation of that path. Every Thelemite is constantly in training to be their own rabbi.
A central pivot of this whole system is the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA for short.) The problem with discussing the HGA, is that Crowley’s understanding of the term changed over time. Initially it referred to Aiwass, the being which gave him the Book of the Law. But Aiwass was entirely separate from Crowely, a guide that did not originate from within him. As time went on, Aiwass assumed a role more akin to Blavatsky’s Ascended Masters. By the end of his career, the HGA was similar to a higher self, similar to an augoides. Is this Higher Self constructed over time, or a pre-existing part of the self that is simply trained up through ritual means? I asked several Thelemites, and received cagey and conflicting answers. The HGA is you, the HGA is your personal God, the HGA is a personal manifestation of every God, etc etc. The answers were different depending on who was answering. Which, as I understand, is the point. It is a mystery to be discovered yourself.
285
NOTES
Lets see what Hanegraaf has to say about Crowley.
Starts on 281
Massive literary output
Born 1875 to a family of wealthy brewers. They were Plymouth brethren, some of the most hardcore evangelicals in england
“Though he would repudiate christianity, he would always remain bound to the legacy of symbols and images in the bible”
Basically didn’t mind christianity, or his parents, until his dad died in 1887. His mother, who he accused of “sheer bigotry” was suddenly in more control of his life
1985 he enters the prestigious Trinity College
Publishes a book of poetry, at great personal expense, that gets decent reviews
1898 he meets two members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
He is initiated as a Neophyte in the Isis-Urania Temple of the GD, in London, in the autumn of that year.
Enthusiastically climbs the ranks, especially dedicates himself to the Book of Abramelin the Mage, which was published by Mathers, the order’s then-leader
Then he meets two really influential people
Then he meets Allan Bennet, who would later convert to Buddhism, he would teach Crowley the basics of Ceremonial Magic
And Mathers.
In 1900, Crowley gets directly involved in the internal feud against Mathers. He sides with Mathers and the two get expelled.
The GD system would be foundational for Crowley
After he’s kicked out of the GD, he fucks around until about 1906
Travels with Bennet to Mexico and India and learns about buddhism and yoga
In 1902 he engages in the infamous K2 expedition
1903 he marries Rose Kelly
In Cairo, in the Spring of 1904, he is reportedly put in contact, through the mediumship of his wife, with a præter-human entity named Aiwass. He receives from him the text of the Book of the Law (Liber Legis, also called AL), which he would later consider the sacred text of a new religion called “Thelema” (ancient Greek for “will”).
1905 he travels across china,
during this travel he performs the ritual of the Augoeides, which is a continuation, in another form, of the ritual of Abramelin for the attainment of the knowledge of his Holy Guardian Angel.
The ritual lasts thirty-two weeks, and has the peculiarity of being performed only in an imaginative – or rather “astral” – form.
Upon his return to England, he publishes three works:
A collection of his youthful poetry, Collected Works
A collection of essays, Conx Om Pax
A book on GD correspondences, the Liber 777
1907ish he meets John Frederick Charles Fuller, who helps Crowley start his own esoteric order
the A∴A∴ (the initials are usually interpreted as “Astrum Argentinum”, or “Argenteum Astrum”, i.e. Silver Star).
In relation to this project, Crowley also starts the publication of a biannual periodical, The Equinox (1909-1913, 1919), which is presented as the official organ of his Order.
Also in 1909, together with his disciple Victor B. Neuburg (1883-1940), he “explores” the magical system of → John Dee, through an important series of invocations and astral travels in the desert of Algeria. NEUBERG SWEEP
He publishes these experiences as a text called The Vision and The Voice
Around 1910, rumours begin to find an echo in the press about Crowley’s homosexuality and the alleged immorality of his Order’s activities. It is the beginning of a campaign of vilification which will continue practically for the rest of Crowley’s life, and will reach its climax after World War I.
In the same period Crowley meets the journalist and occultist Theodor Reuss (1855-1923), a figure very active in the European fringe-masonic and occultist scene. Reuss wishes to launch a new fringe-masonic Order, whose main purpose is the teaching and practice of sexual magic: the → Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO).
At this point, he clearly wants to use the OTO to spread Thelema
WWI breaks out, he moves to america. Financially destitute, he works for a german newspaper publishing pro-german propaganda.
Membership in the A:.A:. is flagging
Publishes his novel Moonchild
Moves to Sicily in 1920 and establishes the Abbey of Thelema
Publishes Diary of a Drug Fiend
Confessions
The third part of Book 4. Intended to be his magnum Opus, as Magick in Theory and Practice
1923 he gets kicked out of Italy
1926-1929 hes operating in Paris
Meets Israel Regardie (1907-1985)
and Gerald Yorke
In 1932, at the eve of the nazi seizure of power in Germany, Crowley moves back to England. He will not leave the country again.
In 1934 he is defeated in a libel suit against a publisher. Unable to pay the costs, he is declared bankrupt. He now lives almost entirely on the allowances sent to him by his disciples, especially the members of the only surviving body of the OTO at the time, the Agape lodge in California.
This does not stop our boy from publishing up a storm
The Equinox of the Gods (1936), in which he narrates the events related to the revelation of the Liber Legis in 1904, and
The Book of Thoth (1944), in which he expounds his personal
interpretation of the Tarot.
This is also implemented by the design, made jointly with the artist
Frieda Harris (1877-1962) of the Thoth Deck, published posthumously in 1971 to widespread popularity.
He would drift around boarding houses in London until his death in 1947. Several works would be published posthumously
Magick without Tears, his intro to magic
Liber Aleph, a large compendium of teachings
Crowley was often disregarded out of hand.
He certainly wasn’t a satanist by any means, but he influenced Satanism
His goal was to produce a fully-formed alternative to christianity.
Understanding his doctrine requires careful and meticulous study. Its very complex.
As a result, he drew ideas and inspiration from many disparate sources, both Western and Eastern, and blended them into his own peculiar system. His Western sources include ceremonial magic, astrology, the Tarot, Kabbalah, Egyptian lore, John Dee’s Enochian system, and → alchemy; his Eastern ones include yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and the I-Ching. Two aspects stand out as fundamental in his work: magic (which, for various reasons, he chose to spell “Magick”) and Thelema.
Crowley basically has two definitions of Magic:
1) A technique for achieving goals by methods unexplainable by science, but can be tested empirically. Gaining considerable sums of money or the effortless acquisition of extensive knowledge in a particular field could be mentioned as classic examples
2) More Famously: Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will” (Magick in Theory and Practice, 1929-1930, xii).
That second definition is a tricky one, by that definition, anything you do on purpose is magic. But Crowley means something HIGHLY precise based on a stack of ideas from contemporary ceremonial occult practices.
It also went through two big changes: Theres his understanding of magic BEFORE OTO sex magic, and AFTER OTO sex magic.
Both of these definitions of magic work in tandem, aimed towards what Crowley considers to be the ultimate goal of life, a sort-of spiritual attainment or apotheosis.
But he also loves initiatic paths
There are two big differences between the OTO and the GD systems:
One is obviously the addition of eastern magic doctrines
Also, the OTO had more of a master/student organization. Where the GD would regularly meet for upgrade rituals, the OTO was less social
Lol crowley was basically the only guy who actually tried to do the rituals in the Abramelin
Riley’s notes:
I think the places to start understanding the doctrines/innovations/cosmology/ethics/rituals he came up with would be
Book 4 (aka liber ABA/Magick), (riley says this one is important)
liber Aleph,
the vision and the voice commentaries,
the commentaries on the holy books,
magick without tears,
eight lectures on yoga
There’s a lot in the equinox but that would be like individual essays im telling you you to read which is hairier
Comments
Gustav Larsson
Year of father’s demise wrong in first part of running text. great read.
