Difference between revisions of "Aleister Crowley"

'''Aleister Crowley''', born '''Edward Alexander Crowley''' (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English [[occultist]], [[ceremonial magic]]ian, 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]], [[ceremonial magic]]ian, 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.

===The Golden Dawn: 1898–99===

===The Golden Dawn: 1898–99===

In August 1898, Crowley was in Zermatt, Switzerland, where he met the chemist Julian L. Baker, and the two began discussing their common interest in alchemy. Back in London, Baker introduced Crowley to George Cecil Jones, Baker's brother-in-law and a fellow member of the occult society known as the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], which had been founded in 1888. Crowley was initiated into the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn on 18 November 1898 by the group's leader, [[Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers]]. The ceremony took place in the Golden Dawn's Isis-Urania Temple held at London's Mark Masons Hall, where Crowley took the magical motto and name ''Frater Perdurabo'', which he interpreted as "I shall endure to the end".

In August 1898, Crowley was in Zermatt, Switzerland, where he met the chemist Julian L. Baker, and the two began discussing their common interest in alchemy. Back in London, Baker introduced Crowley to George Cecil Jones, Baker's brother-in-law and a fellow member of the occult society known as the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], which had been founded in 1888. Crowley was initiated into the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn on 18 November 1898 by the group's leader, [[Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers]]. The ceremony took place in the Golden Dawn's Isis-Urania Temple held at London's Mark Masons Hall, where Crowley took the magical motto and name ''Frater Perdurabo'', which he interpreted as "I shall endure to the end".

==Abbey of Thelema: 1920–1923==

==Abbey of Thelema: 1920–1923==

Now destitute and back in London, Crowley came under attack from the tabloid ''John Bull'', which labelled him traitorous "scum" for his work with the German war effort; several friends aware of his intelligence work urged him to sue, but he decided not to. When he was suffering from asthma, a doctor prescribed him heroin, to which he soon became addicted. In January 1920, he moved to Paris, renting a house in Fontainebleau with Leah Hirsig; they were soon joined in a ''ménage à trois'' by Ninette Shumway, and also (in living arrangement) by Leah's newborn daughter Anne "Poupée" Leah.  Crowley had ideas of forming a community of Thelemites, which he called the [[Abbey of Thelema]] after the Abbaye de Thélème in François Rabelais' satire Gargantua and Pantagruel. After consulting the [[I Ching]], he chose Cefalù (on Sicily, Italy) as a location, and after arriving there, began renting the old Villa Santa Barbara as his Abbey on 2 April.

Now destitute and back in London, Crowley came under attack from the tabloid ''John Bull'', which labelled him traitorous "scum" for his work with the German war effort; several friends aware of his intelligence work urged him to sue, but he decided not to. When he was suffering from asthma, a doctor prescribed him heroin, to which he soon became addicted. In January 1920, he moved to Paris, renting a house in Fontainebleau with Leah Hirsig; they were soon joined in a ''ménage à trois'' by Ninette Shumway, and also (in living arrangement) by Leah's newborn daughter Anne "Poupée" Leah.  Crowley had ideas of forming a community of Thelemites, which he called the [[Abbey of Thelema]] after the Abbaye de Thélème in François Rabelais' satire Gargantua and Pantagruel. After consulting the [[I Ching]], he chose Cefalù (on Sicily, Italy) as a location, and after arriving there, began renting the old Villa Santa Barbara as his Abbey on 2 April.

Crowley has remained an influential figure, both amongst [[occultist]]s and in popular culture, particularly that of Britain, but also of other parts of the world. In 2002, a BBC poll placed Crowley seventy-third in a list of the 100 Greatest Britons. Richard Cavendish has written of him that "In native talent, penetrating intelligence and determination, Aleister Crowley was the best-equipped magician to emerge since the seventeenth century." The scholar of esotericism Egil Asprem described him as "one of the most well-known figures in modern occultism".

Crowley has remained an influential figure, both amongst [[occultist]]s and in popular culture, particularly that of Britain, but also of other parts of the world. In 2002, a BBC poll placed Crowley seventy-third in a list of the 100 Greatest Britons. Richard Cavendish has written of him that "In native talent, penetrating intelligence and determination, Aleister Crowley was the best-equipped magician to emerge since the seventeenth century." The scholar of esotericism Egil Asprem described him as "one of the most well-known figures in modern occultism".

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. The scholars of religion Asbjørn Dyrendel, James R. Lewis, and Jesper Petersen noted that despite the fact that Crowley was not a [[LaVeyan Satanism|Satanist]], he "in many ways embodies the pre-Satanist esoteric discourse on [[Satan]] and Satanism through his lifestyle and his philosophy", with his "image and ought" becoming an "important influence" on the later development of religious Satanism. For instance, two prominent figures in religious Satanism, [[Anton LaVey]] and Michael Aquino, were influenced by Crowley's work.

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. The scholars of religion Asbjørn Dyrendel, James R. Lewis, and Jesper Petersen noted that despite the fact that Crowley was not a [[LaVeyan Satanism|Satanist]], he "in many ways embodies the pre-Satanist esoteric discourse on [[Satan]] and Satanism through his lifestyle and his philosophy", with his "image and ought" becoming an "important influence" on the later development of religious Satanism. For instance, two prominent figures in religious Satanism, [[Anton LaVey]] and Michael Aquino, were influenced by Crowley's work.