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'''[[Necromancy]]''' is the practice of [[ritual magic|magic]] or [[black magic]] involving communication with the dead – either by summoning their spirits as apparitions, visions or raising them bodily – for the purpose of [[divination]], imparting the means to [[Clairvoyance|foretell future events]], discover hidden knowledge, to bring someone back from the dead, or to use the dead as a weapon.
'''[[Aleister Crowley]]''' 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. Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being a [[recreational drug]] user, bisexual, and an individualist social critic.


Early necromancy was related to – and most likely evolved from – [[shaman]]ism, which calls upon spirits such as the ghosts of ancestors. Classical necromancers addressed the dead in "a mixture of high-pitch squeaking and low droning," comparable to the trance-state mutterings of shamans. Necromancy was prevalent throughout antiquity with records of its practice in ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece and Rome. Though [[Judaism|Jewish]] Law prescribed the death penalty to practitioners of necromancy (Leviticus 20:27), this warning was not always heeded. One of the foremost examples is when King Saul had the [[Witch of Endor]] invoke the spirit of Samuel, a judge and [[prophet]], from Sheol using a ritual conjuring pit (1 Samuel 28:3–25).  
Several Western esoteric traditions other than Thelema were also influenced by Crowley, with Djurdjevic observing that "Crowley's influence on twentieth-century and contemporary esotericism has been enormous". [[Gerald Gardner]], founder of [[Gardnerian Wicca]], made use of much of Crowley's published material when composing the Gardnerian ritual liturgy. [[L. Ron Hubbard]], the American founder of [[Scientology]], was involved in Thelema in the early 1940s (with [[Jack Parsons]]), and it has been argued that Crowley's ideas influenced some of Hubbard's work.


'''([[Necromancy|Full Article...]])'''
'''([[Aleister Crowley|Full Article...]])'''

Latest revision as of 16:20, 13 December 2025

Aleister Crowley.jpg

Aleister Crowley 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. Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being a recreational drug user, bisexual, and an individualist social critic.

Several Western esoteric traditions other than Thelema were also influenced by Crowley, with Djurdjevic observing that "Crowley's influence on twentieth-century and contemporary esotericism has been enormous". Gerald Gardner, founder of Gardnerian Wicca, made use of much of Crowley's published material when composing the Gardnerian ritual liturgy. L. Ron Hubbard, the American founder of Scientology, was involved in Thelema in the early 1940s (with Jack Parsons), and it has been argued that Crowley's ideas influenced some of Hubbard's work.

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