10 unverified claims of the eccentric mystic and the most famous marginal of the 20th century Aleister Crowley

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Aleister Crowley is called by someone a philosopher and occultist, someone is a great black magician, a follower of Edgar Poe and a predecessor of Burroughs. But the fact remains - without this person, the counterculture of the 20th century would have lost its most original features - devotion and marginality. He left behind controversial literary works - from a guide to magic to extreme erotic novels, as well as many myths and legends that surround his persona. In our review, there are 10 claims of Crowley that today are impossible to prove or disprove.

1. Using the "V" as a symbol of victory - Crowley's idea

During World War II, Crowley was friends with spy Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond novels. Some said that Crowley was himself a spy, while others claim that he was campaigning to persuade the Americans to join the war on the side of the British. Aleister Crowley also claimed that Winston Churchill himself listened to him, and when it came time to develop a symbol that would rally the allied troops, it was allegedly at the suggestion of Crowley that the "V" sign appeared. Presumably, it was a magical mystical sign that invoked the power of Apophis and Typhon and directed destructive power against the one using the sign.

2. Crowley and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

After Crowley became a prominent figure in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, just a few years after his initiation in 1898, he fell out with the secret society. According to Crowley, he became disillusioned with the organization when he realized that people who are being initiated often have no idea about mysticism, rituals and rituals. He stated that while the Order's founder, MacGregor Mathers had some mystical powers, he essentially "bit off more than he could chew" and Mathers' actions destroyed the order.

3. Crowley's invisibility

After breaking with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Crowley first went to Paris and then jumped across the ocean. During his stay in Mexico, he founded his own Order of the Lamp of Invisible Light. According to Crowley, his practice in the Order of the Golden Dawn was just a warm-up, and in Mexico he learned many ancient secret knowledge. At the same time, he allegedly discovered how to make himself invisible. In fact, Crowley made it clear that this had nothing to do with true invisibility. His secret knowledge allowed him to control the environment, falling out of the attention of others.

4. Aywass

The concept of aiwass has been interpreted in different ways throughout the evolution of Crowley's beliefs. In 1904, Crowley wrote The Book of the Law, allegedly under the guidance of the otherworldly entity Aiwass. The book was to become the foundation of a new religion called Thelema, which, according to Crowley, would change the world. Aiwass then figured in the role of a certain envoy. By 1929, Crowley had created a more formulaic technique for magic, writing Magic in Theory and Practice. Aiwass has become something of a Satan or demonic guardian angel. Also, by this time, Crowley had declared that he was a prophet of the new teaching.

5. Crowley's Eucharist

The Eucharist is a symbolic act or sacrament in Christianity and also one of the most secret rituals of Crowley. Crowley developed the so-called "Mass of the Phoenix" - the ritual of the Eucharist (communion), which should be performed at sunset. This ritual was first published in The Book of Lies in 1913 and later in Magic in Theory and Practice. Crowley believed that the Mass of the Phoenix was one of the most important Thelemic (his new religion) rituals and should be performed daily.

6. Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard

In the 1940s, the United States worked on some fairly innovative projects, including missile development. Jack Parsons is a researcher at California Institute of Technology who laid the foundation for further research in rocketry and NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs. However, then Parsons with Aleister Crowley (who was already well known) and L. Ron Hubbard (at that time - a minor science fiction writer). Parsons did not see fit to hide his connection with Crowley, and the US government fired him. After that, he continued to correspond with Crowley and became the head of his Order of the Eastern Templars in America. Parsons eventually befriended Hubbard, which was very displeasing to Crowley, who called Hubbard a complete charlatan.

7. Crowley and yoga

Yoga has become a fashionable trend today. It is practiced by people all over the world. Aleister Crowley, on the other hand, argued that everything in the world is interconnected, and yoga is a way of connecting the mind and subconsciousness to the world around a person. He said that only through yoga can a person really experience anything.

8. Fundamentals of Thelema

A similar concept has existed for a long time, but it was Aleister Crowley who created a mixture of Western ideals and Eastern mysticism, which he called "Thelema". It's kind of a weird philosophy that can be applied in a wide variety of forms and is interpreted in different ways by different people. The most famous of the general principles is "Do what you want and it will be the Law." Thelema also states that "Love is the law, love in accordance with the will." It is through the act of love that people lose their sense of loneliness and begin to go towards what they intended to achieve on Earth. Crowley also stated that there is no such thing as original sin and that everyone is a divine being. Also, the real virtues are Christian modesty and mercy, and things like courage and honor.

9. Erotic-comatose clarity

Anyone who knows even the most general basics about Crowley has probably heard that he was involved with sex magic. His writings on the subject are incredibly profound and full of rituals officially called "eroto-comatose clarity." A person who is preparing to go through the spiritual path goes through some kind of physical and sports training. Then, during the ritual, a pair of servants (the more experienced, the better) "exhaust all the forces of a person through sexual contact." The goal is to stop the person halfway between sleep and arousal. According to Crowley, in this state, the spirit of a person is free, then he is ready to contact with other spirits.

10. Rationality of magic

It is not known who wrote "Goetia" (part of "The Small Key of King Solomon"), and, in particular, the description of 72 various demons. But the final version of the book was collected and published by Aleister Crowley in 1904 (the same year he contacted Aiwass and wrote Knugu of the Law). Along with instructions on how to summon demons and descriptions of the forms they take, Crowley also included a rather fascinating rational explanation of why summons work in the book.

According to Crowley, magical phenomena are made up of six things: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing, and mind. The first five, depending on how you stimulate them, cause changes in the brain, which then manifest as magical results. After the mind processes the information it receives from the senses, it sends the results back to the physical world, which means that all demons and devils come from the human mind.

Mysticism is always an attractive topic for creative people. Shamanic paintings by the Japanese painter Sohei Takasaki - the same mystery as the mood behind his paintings.