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| Aleister Crowley 1875 - 1947 |
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| On October 12th, 1875 Edward Alexander Crowley was born to Edward and Emily Crowley in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. Edward and Emily were financially well off and they were also members of a strict Christian sect called The Plymouth Brethren. Edward Crowley Senior died when his son was 11 years old and young Edward and his mum went to live with realitives. Crowley was sent to Plymouth Brethren schools and, although he did well in most studies, he was not a strong child and he was picked on. He also |
| did not get along with family members they lived with, saying that they were cruel and bigoted. It was during his teen years that the young Crowley began to show signs of what was to come. He had a strong and rebellious personality. He rejected his mother's beliefs, going as far as to call the Plymouth Brethern a 'detestable crew'. He was found torturing a cat,saying that he was trying to test the 9 lives theory. When his mother caught him masterbating and called him "The Beast" for it, he adopted the name rather than feeling ashamed. He was later caught having sex with a maid on his mother's bed, some say to get even with her. He was 14 years old. In 1895 Edward Crowley entered Cambridge University and shortly after began going by the name Aleister Crowley. It is said that he changed his name to seperate himself from his father. Aleister enjoyed his time at Cambridge, traveling, rock climbing, playing chess and writing poetry. In 1898 he published his first book of poetry, 'Alceldama, A Place to Bury Strangers In' under the moniker "A Gentleman of the University of Cambridge." The book included 7 other poems including the mildly pornographic "White Stains". Aleister left Cambridge without obtaning his degree At the age of 23, 1898, Crowley joined The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn which was led by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. Other members included William Butler Yeats, Constance Wilde, Arthur Edward Waite and Moina Berson. Crowley quickly rose through the ranks under the guidance of Alan Bennett. Once Bennett left England in 1899 Crowley began to have trouble with other Golden Dawn members. Crowley's bisexuality, his 'strong personality' and hie magical methods were not approved by some other members, most notably, William Butler Yeats. When Crowley interrupted a ritual wearing a black hood the troubles really began. Crowley claimed that he was attacked by the other members on the astral plane. He said that a rubber raincoat that he was wearing spontaneously burst into flames. He said that they affected his mood so strongly that even animals could sense it. Crowley was expelled from the group 2 years after joining. After his expulsion Crowley took to travel again.During his travels he studied many religions. He visited Mexico, India, France and Ceylon where he practiced Yoga and was reunited for a while with Bennett. Crowley also spent time in Scottland where he purchased a house in order to perform a ritual. The ritual known as the Abra-Melin is an extreme one that takes 6 months to perform.Midway through the ritual Aleister met Rose Kelly and a day later they were married. The ritual was not completed. |
| In March of 1904, while traveling in Egypt, Rose began to receive messages from the Egyptian God Horus. Since before this time Rose had shown no iterest in the occult Crowley did not entirely believe her. He asked her numerous questions to test her. When she answered them correctly he tested her again. He took her to a museum and told her to point out Horus. She passed several images of the God (to Crowley's silent glee) and then pointed to a piece across the room. She had pointed to the Stele of Revealing which is painted with the image of Horus. To Crowley's delight it was numbered 666 by the museum. 666 is a number that Crowley identified himself with. Some say that Rose's communication came due to Crowley rciting the the preliminary invocation of the occult ritual clled the Goetia in the king's chamber of the Great Pyramid. Back at their room Rose told Aleister that he had insulted the God Horus by not finishing the Abra-Melin. Crowley performed a ritual invoking the God Horus. This brought to Crowley a break through. Aleister was contacted by Aiwass. For 3 days between the hour of mid day and 1 pm, Aiwass spoke to Aleister as he wrote. The Book of Laws ( Liber Al vel Legis) was the outcome. |
| The key philosophy outlined in the book are: Do What Thy Will Shall Be The Whole Of The Law. Love Is The Law, Love Under Will. Every Man And Woman Is A Star. The book was also to show the end of the Age of Osiris and the beginning of the Age of Horus. Crowley was named the Prophet of a New Age. Crowley contacted Mathers and told him of the meeting with Aiwass. Crowley also informed Mathers that he was now the supreme magical authority. This did not set well with Mathers. According to Crowley, Mathers sent a follower, a young, bewitching beauty that was a vampir, after him. Crowley said that he defeated this female. Crowley's bllodhounds fell dead and his servants became ill due to a current of evil sent by Mathers. Crowley, in retalitaion sent Beelzebub and his 49 attendants after Mathers. Mathers died years later from influenza, but many feel it was in part, at least, due to Crowley's magick. Crowley again traveled. He was part of an expedition to climb a Himalayan mountain peak in 1905, several of the members died. He spent 7 years traveling with and without his wife and child. Rose found out that she was pregnant in Egypt. She later gave birth to a daughter, Lola Zaza. Lola died of typhoid while Crowley was away from the family. Crowley blamed the death on Rose and her alcoholism. Rose decended into maddness and deeper into the bottle. In 1909 Crowley divorced Rose. Crowley formed the Argenteum Astrum, aka, the Order of the Silver Star, in 1907. The Argenteum Astrum was centered on his Book of the Law. In 1909 Crowley began publishing the biannual publication the Equinox. The majority of the writing was done by Aleister. Aleister Crowley was contacted by the head of the Ordo Templi Orientis, aka O.T.O , in 1910. Crowley was accused of publishing one of their secret writings. It was not until talking with the head of the OTO that Crowley found out that he had written a passage that was very close to their teachings. The OTO practiced a form of sex magick. Crowley soon joined the order and beacame the head of the English speaking branch in 1912. During the First World War Crowley lived in the United States. He wrote and published Anti- British propaganda, that he said was satire. By this time Crowley's public image was already festering, so the satire was taken at face value, further darkening his public image. |