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Difference between revisions of "Aleister Crowley"
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[[File:Aleister Crowley.jpg|350px|thumb|Aleister Crowley]] | [[File:Aleister Crowley.jpg|350px|thumb|Aleister Crowley]] | ||
'''Aleister Crowley''', born '''Edward Alexander Crowley''' (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English [[occultist]], [[magician]], poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of [[Thelema]], identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. | '''Aleister Crowley''', born '''Edward Alexander Crowley''' (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English [[occultist]], [[magician]], poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of [[Thelema]], identifying himself as the [[prophet]] entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. | ||
A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life. | A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life. | ||
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In February 1904, Crowley and Rose arrived in Cairo. Claiming to be a prince and princess, they rented an apartment in which Crowley set up a temple room and began invoking ancient [[Egyptian religion|Egyptian deities]], while studying Islamic mysticism and Arabic. According to Crowley's later account, Rose regularly became delirious and informed him "they are waiting for you." On 18 March, she explained that "they" were the god [[Horus]], and on 20 March proclaimed that "the Equinox of the Gods has come". She led him to a nearby museum, where she showed him a seventh-century BCE mortuary stele known as the [[Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu]]; Crowley thought it important that the exhibit's number was [[666]], the Number of the Beast in [[Christianity|Christian]] belief, and in later years termed the artefact the "Stele of Revealing." | In February 1904, Crowley and Rose arrived in Cairo. Claiming to be a prince and princess, they rented an apartment in which Crowley set up a temple room and began invoking ancient [[Egyptian religion|Egyptian deities]], while studying Islamic mysticism and Arabic. According to Crowley's later account, Rose regularly became delirious and informed him "they are waiting for you." On 18 March, she explained that "they" were the god [[Horus]], and on 20 March proclaimed that "the Equinox of the Gods has come". She led him to a nearby museum, where she showed him a seventh-century BCE mortuary stele known as the [[Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu]]; Crowley thought it important that the exhibit's number was [[666]], the Number of the Beast in [[Christianity|Christian]] belief, and in later years termed the artefact the "Stele of Revealing." | ||
According to Crowley's later statements, on 8 April he heard a disembodied voice that claimed to be that of [[Aiwass]], the messenger of Horus, or Hoor-Paar-Kraat. Crowley said that he wrote down everything the voice told him over the course of the next three days, and titled it ''Liber AL vel Legis'' or ''[[The Book of the Law]]''. The book proclaimed that humanity was entering a new Aeon, and that Crowley would serve as its prophet. It stated that a supreme moral law was to be introduced in this Aeon, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," and that people should learn to live in tune with their Will. This book, and the philosophy that it espoused, became the cornerstone of Crowley's religion, [[Thelema]]. Crowley said that at the time he had been unsure what to do with ''The Book of the Law''. Often resenting it, he said that he ignored the instructions which the text commanded him to perform, which included taking the Stele of Revealing from the museum, fortifying his own island, and translating the book into all the world's languages. According to his account, he instead sent typescripts of the work to several [[occultist]]s he knew, putting the manuscript away and ignoring it. | According to Crowley's later statements, on 8 April he heard a disembodied voice that claimed to be that of [[Aiwass]], the messenger of Horus, or Hoor-Paar-Kraat. Crowley said that he wrote down everything the voice told him over the course of the next three days, and titled it ''Liber AL vel Legis'' or ''[[The Book of the Law]]''. The book proclaimed that humanity was entering a new Aeon, and that Crowley would serve as its [[prophet]]. It stated that a supreme moral law was to be introduced in this Aeon, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," and that people should learn to live in tune with their Will. This book, and the philosophy that it espoused, became the cornerstone of Crowley's religion, [[Thelema]]. Crowley said that at the time he had been unsure what to do with ''The Book of the Law''. Often resenting it, he said that he ignored the instructions which the text commanded him to perform, which included taking the Stele of Revealing from the museum, fortifying his own island, and translating the book into all the world's languages. According to his account, he instead sent typescripts of the work to several [[occultist]]s he knew, putting the manuscript away and ignoring it. | ||
===The A∴A∴ and The Holy Books of Thelema: 1907–1909=== | ===The A∴A∴ and The Holy Books of Thelema: 1907–1909=== | ||