Who was Aleister Crowley?

On October 12th, 1875 in England, Aleister Crowley was born as Edward Alexander Crowley. As a child, Aleister rebelled against his wealthy and religious family (who were members of the most extreme wing of the Protestant sect known as the Exclusive Brethren) at every turn, and at one point, even renamed himself as 'Aleister' to avoid sharing the same first name as his father. His father was fond of fanatically preaching, and daily bible studies were necessary for Aleister, however, he remained skeptical. Aleister's constant rebellion even provoked his mother to don him as "The Beast", a label which Aleister later on adopts.

Once it was time to attend a university, Crowley chose to attend Cambridge University. During this time, he studied English literature, and explored his bisexuality. He as well, began to work in the Diplomatic Service, but wished to make a greater imprint on the world. Thus he began to search for more lasting pursuits and stumbled onto the journey toward magical enlightenment. In 1898, at age 23, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

The Golden Dawn involves a great deal of the Kabbalah, alchemy, tarot, astrology, divination, numerology, Masonic symbolism, and ritual magic. After joining, Crowley adopted the magical name Frater 'Perdurabo', Latin for "I will Endure", and advanced quickly through the ranks of the Golden Dawn. Once Crowley completed all studies necessary in order to obtain the rank of Adeptus Minor, the London controllers of the Order, disapproved of Crowley's homosexual dabblings, and refused to advance him. Thus Crowley traveled to Paris, where Mathers, one of his former teachers, performed the ceremony himself, which outraged the London members. An uproar ensued and caused several London members to resign, and Mathers was expelled from the Order, along with Aleister Crowley.

After being expelled, Crowely chose to travel the world. He visited Mexico, India, France, and Ceylon. In Ceylon, he married a woman named Rose Kelly, who traveled with Crowley to Egypt. In March of 1904 in Cairo, Crowley experienced an entity known as Aiwass, whom Crowley believed was his Holy Guardian Angel. His wife began to receive a psychic message from the Ancient Egyptian god Horus. Skeptical, Crowley asked his wife to answer a series of questions that his wife couldn't possibly have known, and every question was answered correctly. Still not convinced, Crowley took his wife to a museum, and she pointed across the room to a stele that could not be seen clearly from where they stood. Once close enough to examine, they discovered the stele was painted with the image of Horus and was labeled as item number 666 in the museum catalog. Crowley had adopted the number 666 as his personal moniker in rebellion to his religious upbringing many years before. After invoking Horus, Crowley took dictation from the entity identifying itself as Aiwass, for three days. This resulted into text known as Liber AL vel Legis, which is now known as The Book of the Law.

In 1907, Crowley formed the Argenteum Astrum, the Order of the Silver Star, a magical organization centered around his Book of the Law manuscript. In 1909 he began to publish the Equinox, a biannual publication. In 1909, Crowley divorced his wife. Afterwards, he plunged even deeper into his magical practices, drugs, and sexual experiences. In 1910, Crowley was contacted by the head of a German magical order known as the Ordo Templi Orientis, often known as the OTO. The OTO accused Crowley for publishing the secret of their IXth degree, which involved sex magick during rituals. Crowley denied this, but shortly joined the order, and in 1912, became the head of the English speaking branch of the Order.

After the war, Crowley had a daughter, Pupee, with Leah Hirsig, who was also known as The Scarlet Woman, and in 1920, he set up the Abbey of Thelema in Sicily. However, Crowley's addiction to both heroin and cocaine raged out of control. The Abbey was the setting for Diary of a Drug Fiend, Crowley's novel about a couple struggles to free themselves of their drug addiction. Students travelled to Sicily from around the world to "find their true wills". Crowley's training regimen involved breaking down all artificial and societal inhibitions to liberate the essential self, while simultaneously giving training in yoga, concentration, and self-analysis. However, once Raoul Loveday, Crowley's undergraduate, died of drinking unpure water, Loveday's wife went back to England and revealed all the secrets of the Abbey and Crowley. The papers were full of reports of black magic rituals among other scandalous acts performed at the Abbey. Crowley was quickly expelled from Sicily in 1923.

In 1925, he was elected World Head of O.T.O, and saw the publication of his seminal work Magick: In Theory and in Practice. In 1955, a documentary known as Thelema Abbey was shot at the Abbey, and exposed the whitewashed walls to reveal paintings and other evidence of Crowley's occult activities. Crowley's reputation as "The Wickedest Man In The World" was now more than ever, playing against him. He spent the rest of his life as a wanderer, still addicted to heroin. On December 1st, 1947, Aleister Crowley died at age 72.

To this day, Aleister Crowley's Thelema is still very much alive and practised by many. His published works, such as The Book of the Law, The Book of Lies, The Book of Thoth, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, The Equinox of the Gods, The Holy Books of Thelema, Magick Without Tears, and Moonchild, among many others, are still being sold and bought every day. Aleister Crowley was truly an interesting and eccentric character, and I encourage you to learn more about Crowley if desired.