I've always wondered who this man really was. I've heard his name in songs, TV shows, and even movies. I've heard he was a Satanist or a big occult leader. I decided to find out what the history is behind this man and why he seems to be so famous today. Many of the articles I found appeared to be very biased, offering little proof to his behaviors. Since he is depicted as an evil man, I feel some of the articles chose to put their own ideals of who he was into their writings. If anyone can offer some additional information about him to back up the claims some authors wrote into their articles, let me know in the comments section. I apologize if there are some inaccuracies with this article, I will update as I continue to do research on this topic.
Aleister Crowley was born Edward Alexander Crowley in Warwickshire, England on October 12th 1875. His father was a brewer and part time preacher at the Plymouth Brethren. His father felt that his religion was the only true form of Christianity. Some articles claim Aleister was constantly rebelling against his parents, while others claim he was devoted to the faith out of respect for his father. Aleister Crowley's father died when he was eleven years old. At this point he began to deny his Christian belief. He would point out inconsistencies in the teachings "of the Bible during study groups in school, and would outright defy all Christian morals by smoking, masturbating, and having sex with prostitutes. For his behavior, his mother referred to him as “the Beast,” a title which he reveled in" (Serena, 2018).
Crowley changes his name to Aleister in 1895 when he reached the age of 20. He changed his name because he didn't like it, he felt Edward and Alexander did not suit him. Aleister explained in his biography that he couldn't stand the shortened versions of either name and decided to change it to something that suited him best. Shortly after he changed his name he attended Trinity College in Cambridge. While at Trinity College "he wrote poetry, publishing his first book, Aceldama, a Place to Bury Strangers In. A Philosophical Poem. By a Gentleman of the University of Cambridge. His academic pursuits, however, did not fully interest him. He left before receiving his degree, opting instead to devote himself to mastery of the occult" (Encyclopedia, 2004).
After he joined the London chapter of the Golden Dawn on November 18, 1989; Aleister called himself Count Vladimir and started moving up within the order. Eventually he graduated from the first order and sought entry into the second order the Order of the Rose. Due to jealousy from other members, he was prevented advancement. At one point Crowley was attacked by several members, which caused him to leave England and study independently along his travels. Crowley eventually made it to Asia in 1900. During his time in Asia "he disciplined his approach to mysticism through studying the physical and mental aspects of Tantric yoga and gained an appreciation for other religions of the Far East, he returned to London, determined to expand the vision of the Order of the Great White Brotherhood. However, not surprisingly, there was resistance on the part of the existing leadership, and Crowley still found his efforts to move up the ranks thwarted" (Encyclopedia, 2004). He tried to stage a coup at a Second Order meeting by wearing a black mask and carrying a dagger.
Aleister married a woman named Rose Kelly in 1903, she wasn't originally interested in the occult, but supposedly had visions and entered trance-like states shortly after their honeymoon in Egypt. Once such vision involved Horus and his need to speak with Aleister. Crowley believed her and on April 1904 he went into retreat for three days. During those three days, Aleister was writing a book called The Book of the Law which is a three part poem. "The central tenet of The Book of the Law is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." While some have interpreted this to justify a life of self-indulgence, Crowley placed a different interpretation on the words, seeing in the term "will" the ability to control the actions of others or create a change in one's surroundings through one's psychic powers" (Encyclopedia, 2004).
Crowley believed he was the prophet of Horus and the age of Horus was upon mankind bringing in the era of Thelema, which is a Greek term for will. "Allegations that Thelema is Satanism or that Satanism is a (perverted) form of "Crowleyanity" are mainly presented in passing, as accusations and/or as snide,derogatory remarks. They are rarely founded in any serious understanding of either Thelema or Satanism. Sometimes, however, we find that the latter allegation that Satanism is but a poor man's Thelema, perhaps combined with inverted Christianity may be used as a defense of Crowley" (Dyrendal, 2012). There is a divide between whether Aleister Crowley was a Satanist or not. Some believe he was because of his practice in the occult, while others feel he was more pagan than Satanist.
According to some Pagans, feel that Crowley's magical teachings were a mix between ceremonial and nature based magic. These systems are a part of neo-paganism. Many pagans do not believe he was a Satanist because of his tradition of Thelema. "Crowley's founded the tradition of Thelema (The Crowleian pronunciation is Theh-LEE-mah, the accent on the vowel of the second syllable, ThEH-lee-mah). Today some pronounce the word Thel-ma, which is said to lose the 'lee' referring to [free] Will" (The Pagans Path, 2008).
There are many myths surrounding Aleister Crowley and I have a feeling some of the answers lie within his books. I believe he didn't like the strictness of Christianity and wanted to live life the way he wanted without worrying about sinning or going to hell. There is a freedom many find in Paganism because there are no laws, sins, hell or demons. The only law is to not harm yourself or others, which I think is a good law. Plus Pagans believe in consequences based on Karma, but if you take out the word aren't all of our actions punished or rewarded? I can understand his draw to the occult if this were the reasons behind his actions. I feel we should all live the lives that make us happy without worrying about Heaven or Hell. Love who you want, be yourself, don't hurt those around you to make yourself happy, and enjoy life to the fullest. We are only here once on this planet. Unless you believe in reincarnation, then we are only who we are today once.
Resources:
Encyclopedia (2004). Aleister Crowley
Knowles, G. (2003). Aleister Crowley
Serena, K. (2018). How Aleister Crowley Inspired Led Zepplin - and Terrified Most Everyone Else
Pagan Path (2008). Aleister Crowley
Dyrendal, A. (2012). Satan and the Beast. The Influence of Aleister Crowley on Modern Satanism
Janda, S. (2019). 22 Insane Facts About Aleister Crowley, Perhaps the Most Unique Person Ever
Aleister Crowley 2012 (2012) Ten Crowley Myths Busted by AC2012
Comentarios