Aleister Crowley, Secret Agent
It was in New York that Crowley really began to cement his reputation as an evil guy. In what he would later claim was an act of sabotage, Crowley wrote pro-German propaganda for a New York publisher which, he explained, was intended to hurt the Germans by making them look ridiculous for having such bad propaganda written for them. In one stroke, he turned his bad prose and treasonous leanings into a victory for freedom and democracy.
There is no proof as to whether Crowley was a) sincerely trying to sabotage the Germans and b) working for British intelligence in this effort, as he claimed. Crowley counted some fairly significant British military figures among his students. "It could have happened" is about as far as you can reasonably go.
Crowley's flirtation with Aryan supremacy didn't end with WW I, however. During World War II, a member of the OTO wrote to Adolf Hitler on behalf on Crowley, suggesting that Thelema would be a dandy choice as the national religion of the Third Reich. His German disciple tried to give Hitler a copy of the Book of the Law. It has never been proved that such a thing happened. We must resort once more to "It could have happened."
Conspiracy lovers enjoy few things more than a good Crowley-Nazi story, and there are plenty of them in circulation, but little evidence any of them actually ever happened. Claims of meetings between der Furher and der Beast and of Nazi black magic rituals appear to have been greatly exaggerated.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Crowley skeptical gospel
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
Aleister Crowley was a self-proclaimed drug and sex "fiend," a mostly self-published author of books on the occult and magick. a poet and mountaineer, and a leader of a group called Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) whose tenets are detailed in one of his many writings, The Book of the Law. The latter contains his version of the Law of Thelema, which Crowley claims he channeled for a "praeterhuman intelligence" called Aiwass. Thelema is now considered a religion.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law is his motto for OTO. In practice, for Crowley this meant rejecting traditional morality in favor of the life of a drug addict and womanizer. ("I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend" is a line from one of his poems. Diary of a Drug Fiend is the title of one of his books.) Other OTO folks consider the rule to mean something less sinister.
This "Law of Thelema", as it is called, is not to be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing whim, but rather as the divine mandate to discover one's True Will or true purpose in life, and to accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways.*
Crowley claimed to identify himself with the Great Beast 666 (from the Book of Revelation) and enjoyed the appellation of "wickedest man in the world." Crowley inherited a fortune and worked hard at being strange. He was especially alluring to dysfunctional women (Gardner 1992:198).
Crowley's Magick in Theory and Practice is a very popular book among occultists. Given his reputation, it is inevitable that he would appeal to certain rock musicians of the late 20th century. Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin guitarist and occultist, bought Crowley's mansion, Boleskine House, near Foyers, Scotland, and owns a large collection of Crowley memorabilia. And Crowley's face is one of many on the album cover of the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In a poll conducted by the BBC in 2002 to find "the 100 Greatest Britons," Crowley was voted number 73.
Aleister Crowley was a self-proclaimed drug and sex "fiend," a mostly self-published author of books on the occult and magick. a poet and mountaineer, and a leader of a group called Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) whose tenets are detailed in one of his many writings, The Book of the Law. The latter contains his version of the Law of Thelema, which Crowley claims he channeled for a "praeterhuman intelligence" called Aiwass. Thelema is now considered a religion.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law is his motto for OTO. In practice, for Crowley this meant rejecting traditional morality in favor of the life of a drug addict and womanizer. ("I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend" is a line from one of his poems. Diary of a Drug Fiend is the title of one of his books.) Other OTO folks consider the rule to mean something less sinister.
This "Law of Thelema", as it is called, is not to be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing whim, but rather as the divine mandate to discover one's True Will or true purpose in life, and to accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways.*
Crowley claimed to identify himself with the Great Beast 666 (from the Book of Revelation) and enjoyed the appellation of "wickedest man in the world." Crowley inherited a fortune and worked hard at being strange. He was especially alluring to dysfunctional women (Gardner 1992:198).
Crowley's Magick in Theory and Practice is a very popular book among occultists. Given his reputation, it is inevitable that he would appeal to certain rock musicians of the late 20th century. Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin guitarist and occultist, bought Crowley's mansion, Boleskine House, near Foyers, Scotland, and owns a large collection of Crowley memorabilia. And Crowley's face is one of many on the album cover of the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In a poll conducted by the BBC in 2002 to find "the 100 Greatest Britons," Crowley was voted number 73.
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