Clearing Aleister Crowley's name..

There is a lot of negative press and rumors regarding Aleister Crowley. I do believe it is time that some of these are addressed as it is sad to see so many intelligent people on here holding on to false knowledge and stigma against him. He himself added to many rumors about him as a method to get publicity and money as well as keep from having a sense of idol worship amongst the public. A lot of the Revelations and "Satanic" imagery he uses is either code words for initiates or used as devices to keep the profane at bay. Only those on the path to the great work would be gifted the sublime knowledge at hand. It is true that Crowley had many negative attributes and did drugs, was bi-sexual, etc. What most people ignore is how he helped spread yoga to the West, his achievements in Mountain Climbing, he was a poet, an extraordinary chess player, an avid historian, magickian, philosopher, and vagabond. I will post a link that has a great FAQ on Uncle Al.

altreligion.net...

Aleister Crowley was a genius, simple as that. He was way before his time. If he was alive now and done the same things, no one would batter an eylid.

reply to post by Jay-morris


I agree with you. He would have a love/hate relationship with "Reality" television.

Originally posted by ANSPHAR

It is true that Crowley had many negative attributes and did drugs, was bi-sexual, etc

Wow, what an EeEeEeEeEevil man.

Also, how's being a bisexual a negative attribute? Hoo lawdy, I had to take a jab at that.

Ye ofc, id say anyone sacrificing animals in sexual rituals is a good man. Hell, why didnt i do that? I want to become a hero aswell! You know what? I will go ahead and study the Goetia, and start that 6 month ritual, were crowley failed, i will succeed! That makes me the baddest man on the planet id say!

Will you guys please send me some of your pets for my rituals? I will ofcourse brutally sacrifice all of them, don't worry about that. Crowley for president!

reply to post by ANSPHAR


Thanks for the link, interesting info

Crowley has become somewhat of an enigma over time, much like Vlad the Impaler eventually becomes the evil, blood sucking Dracula, Crowley has become a dark, powerful Satanist bogey-man.

As the article points out Crowley was an extraordinary person in a very uniformed and ordinary world, anyone who is in revolt against the moral and religious values of his time can quite easily be associated with negativity. Which is why the media of his day called him "the wickedest man in the world."

It also doesn't help his cause that he so often wrote in riddles and symbolism - allowing others to derive their own meaning, usually to negative effect. Not that it would have bothered him at all. The perfect example of this 'collision of reality and fantasy' can be seen in the preface of his first novel 'Diary of a Drug Fiend' which states: "This is a true story. It has been rewritten only so far as was necessary to conceal personalities.". Leaving the reader in limbo as to what is 'real' and what is 'unreal'.

It was so easy (in retrospect) to be a rebel in the stuffy, rigid Victorian era. Crowley just made it look easier than most

Fascinating individual. I'm off to read more!

And even here we have trolls........study the things the man discovered, use his knowledge to further yourself. Have you never done something someone else may disagree with? Crowley was a great innovator in several movements that helped bring about change in several areas. Funny he never sought power from others as a form of recognition, and gave freely of his thoughts and ideas.....something not done these days often. Maybe a little more study, and a little less flippance might help. LVX

I don't see his bisexuality as a negative attribute.

Other than that, I think you make a lot of really good points.

For me he's vindicated by his Wikiquote page.

Admittedly I don't really get some of the esoteric magic stuff, but much of what he says is just philosophy (especially toward the bottom of the page) and it is so spot-on and exudes an understanding of things not common to your average person. I'm with the guy who said he was a genius.

The truth about Crowley: he was a devil with the girls.

Everything else followed from that.

Cant have Mr. Crowley cleared that easily...mind you Im arguring not out of hatred for the man or anything, but would like your clear and logical responses to these practices. Mind you, one does not have to worship a being to follow his practices. For instance, people may or may not worship a particular strength and fitness trainer, but following his practices could give you credence and insult another practitioner (such as happens in Chinese master's camps and the older days of martial arts training). Much is the same of, lets say ultimate worship or inadvertant disgrace of a being or deity.

Taken from the site you have listed about Crowley's sexual practices, of which fit in to his "self mastery," tantric practices.

The sacrifice of the elixir is the sacrifice of a living child on the magical plane; but the child is one and the same as the magicians' own highest selves or pure will, and even part of their bodies. Thus, for the male magician, it is the sacrifice of "all that he is and all that he has" into the "Cup of Babalon", a Satanic symbol from the book of Revelation in the Bible, which is held by the Scarlet Woman of Babylon and in which the blood of the saints is said to be mingled.

While discussing sacrifice in the aforementioned Magick in Theory and Practice, Crowley says:


For the highest spiritual working one must accordingly choose that victim which contains the greatest and purest force. A male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most satisfactory and suitable victim.
He further quotes Soror I. W. E.:


It is the sacrifice of oneself spiritually. And the intelligence and innocence of that male child are the perfect understanding of the magician, his one aim, without lust of result. And male he must be, because what he sacrifices is not the material blood, but his creative power.

This mixes in a sacrafice, to whom I am not sure (i Guess any sort of "power" out there greater than your own, and again, doesnt have to be praising but is asking for help and sacrificing your child on that astral plane for increased help etc on this plane). This is after about 10 mins reading his site, will continue to read, but looks like he is in allegiance with the people of the Book's God's enemies and askiing them for power in the act which that God has strictly forbidden (sex only as use for procreation).

In the lower orders of the O.T.O.'s upper triad, there are instructions to worship an artifical phallus as a god, creating through long practice a reservoir of power which may readily be tapped for further working. This breaks one of God's commandments to not worship any other God's besides "Me."

So far, not yet proven Satan worshipper, but in league with him (from my perspective)

Originally posted by cyberjedi
Ye ofc, id say anyone sacrificing animals in sexual rituals is a good man. Hell, why didnt i do that? I want to become a hero aswell! You know what? I will go ahead and study the Goetia, and start that 6 month ritual, were crowley failed, i will succeed! That makes me the baddest man on the planet id say!

Will you guys please send me some of your pets for my rituals? I will ofcourse brutally sacrifice all of them, don't worry about that. Crowley for president!

Oh dear

Why don't you read up on him before you join the stereo types.

are you serious? being a poet, good chess player and a philosopher do not make you a good person. Careful observation of his beliefs, people with whom he associated, and "rituals" he was part of will clue you in on how twisted and immoral this dude was.

reply to post by Jay-morris


Ye i read up about him. I don't recall people sacrificing young boys as good people. Let's say you are the boy about to be sacrificed, would you still appreciate his teachings? Then If you still do respect his teachings, congratulations, you are now a mental retard.

Aleister Crowley? He has failed the kings test.

reply to post by cyberjedi


The point is he didn't sacrifice anyone......it was a euphamism for semen. He was talking about masterbation, not actual human sarifice. Don't you think he would have been jailed if that was the case? Do a little before reading before passing judgement.

reply to post by frozenspark


I think Crowley was socio-pathological case. He destroyed almost everything he touched (and it is not necessarily a bad thing) including himself. Sure he was clever and all, had some bad habits according the lore, but what kind of person does this make him? We easily label him evil for pursuing knowledge in unorthodox way. Besides sometimes our cultures may need characters like him - and Nietzsche (and there are more) who hammer down our theological/philosophical ivory towers.

I don't blame Crowley for his deeds, he was - like us all are - product of our culture and time. I can only blame myself for my acts, others are not really my business.

-v

That link in the OP sure does answer all these clueless questions!

Here's a relevant quote -

Did Crowley really sacrifice children?

No. Most of the rumors concerning “child sacrifice” stem from disingenuous misquoting of a passage from his book Magick in Theory and Practice: “For the highest spiritual working one must accordingly choose that victim which contains the greatest and purest force. A male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most satisfactory and suitable victim. ” Even though he is quoting someone else, taken out of context, this seems pretty damning. However, Crowley was in fact discussing, in a semi-humorous way, the practice of ritual masturbation, which he believed constituted a form of “sacrifice,” according to the old biblical idea of preventing contraception by “spilling seed.” As he explains in his footnote on the same page,

“… ‘It is the sacrifice of oneself spiritually. And the intelligence and innocence of that male child are the perfect understanding of the Magician, his one aim, without lust of result. And male he must be, because what he sacrifices is not the material blood, but his creative power.’ …”

In reality, Crowley considered even abortion to be a crime and certainly never advocated child murder, which is quite evident if one delves into his writings. Human sacrifice would also be against Crowley’s “Law of Thelema,” which considers it a grave sin to interfere with the will of another person. This of course takes all the fun out of it for the hysterics, who continue to gleefully recount this passage as a literal truth. For more on this topic, see: Crowley and Tantric Magick :The Beast Demystified

Nice Thread, I've always wanted to know more about him!

reply to post by Whine Flu


I apologize. I forgot to put quotes around evil as in "Evil" I have no problem with anyone based on sexual persuasion and meant no offense. My best friend is Gay actually.It was about 5 in the morning when I posted and I was a bit tired.

reply to post by JonInMichigan


I don't see it as negative either and I really should have reviewed mt statement before I posted it as without quotes around negative it makes me look bigoted. It is sad that there is still a lot of discrimination sole based on the fact that he was open sexually. This is in 2010 too, not 1898 when it was even more taboo.

It is sad to see that many of the people that responded to this did not really actually read the link. Like I have stated to others on here before the "Satanic" or "Evil" aspects were for a.Shock Value, b.Publicity,which leads to money,c.To keep the profane away,d. To serve as code for the initiate. Most of the work he was advocating was living life for you and for love of life. Love of your true will, which is love. I did not say that Crowley was a great man. I said he needed his name cleared of false accusations by people who have a fear that is left over from the inquisition and cleared from the ignorant masses who believe hearsay without doing research. I do agreed that he damaged and soiled his reputation more then anyone else.I also agree that the death of the cat in Cefalu was not a good mark on his life and I do not advocate murder by saying he needed his name cleared. Not one of us alive is perfect.It is the great work achieved when you turn inwards and find mastery and balance of mind,soul,and body in accordance to your true will. In the tarot he would represent The Tower half the time and The Chariot the rest of the time. He did more then many men in his life and traveled the world learning and spreading knowledge that has been to benefit of many.He wrote some of the best books at the time that are still valid on Yoga,Tarot, Qabala, etc.Crowley also DID NOT believe in "Satan" nor advocate the use of "Black "magick. There really is no such thing. Thank you to those that read with an open mind and I hope I have clarified myself from earlier about my misuse of negative.