He indulged in drugs, the only one he got addicted to was heroin, in truth, that was first prescribed to him for asthma, and he tried to get off it. It nearly killed him.
Furthermore, if one actually read Crowley's entire corpus, one would know that he later took a stance of "Do what you want, but using drugs for spiritual purposes isn't the best training." I am of course paraphrasing.
As for sexual activities, I have encountered individuals with far more sordid tales in my age bracket (18-24) than Crowley had in his entire lifetime. The difference between Crowley and the rest of us, is that he didn't care what people knew about him. I will say he had some out-there interests, however, some of these were again part of a spiritual practice in order to desire everything, I believe people describe it as a tantric practice, however, I am not versed in Eastern mysticism.
He enjoyed sex, I do myself. If I could continue well up into my 70s, I'll be a very happy man! Crowley had a lot of partners, I can tell you that after attending university for three years that sort of thing really isn't shocking, along with drug use!
I'm not saying I agree with it, it's not for me, however, if he wanted to live his life that way, so be it. He believed women could look after themselves, that is what most feminists would say these days. I personally have no time for women who expect to be kept, he never promised them that, they merely expected it. Each individual for themselves.
Megalomaniac? He certainly wrote in an egotistical manner, but truthfully he had no power at all. Certainly he headed two occult orders, one brought him nothing but a respective title and authority, the other brought him money, a small amount, to publish his works. Again, as one reads an older Crowley, not the young wreckless magician, but the wiser Magus, you see less ego, more humility and much less desire for respected social status (he wasn't getting it anytime soon anyway!)
I love seeing people's opinions about the man, it's like reading the Daily Mail! Some facts littered with opinionated nonsense.
If you also read the accounts of people that knew him, particularly later, he was also quite respectable so long as you didn't get on his bad side. The issue is people only know of the biased biographies written to make money, false facts derived from those, and don't bother to read a scholarly work such as Regardies "Eye in the Triangle" or Kacyzinski's "Perdurabo".
You heard him speak on the radio? If people just read his work, bothered to mull things over instead of take things at face value (which most modern occultists do, because they are lazy) they would see a coherent system. I am tired of the absolute nonsense promulgated about the man on this site and elsewhere.
Did he look out for himself and indulge in what he wanted? Yes. Why should he not? It is the very epitome of "YOLO" (You Only Live Once) which is a colloquialism which many modern folk live by these days.
Crowley was shocking in the Victorian days, but celebrities these days are on a completely other level. Are we going to argue that Amy Winehouse was not a talented musician due to her drug problem? Or that Coleridge was a terrible poet because he liked to take drugs?
One's personal activities, behind closed doors, which are separate from one's professional activities don't change the fact that the latter are a great contribution to the larger world, the latter are contributions to the personal sphere.
His personal life has absolutely nothing to do with his occult contributions. Gerald Gardner was a pervert, lots of women complained about him, lots fell out with him, and many people found him arrogant and rude, does that mean Wicca is an abomination too?
He also used drugs, had ritual sex, and was involved with some shady characters. He also wanted power and wanted to be an occult leader in his own right. He took secrets from others and published them as his own or for his own benefit, just as Crowley did, yet no-one ever mentions this.
I'm a Thelemite. I am in a monogamous relationship and I'm very happy. I don't take drugs, drink to my limit, and try and eat healthy whilst exercising. Just because Crowley lived to the excess, it doesn't mean his teachings state to do so, nor does it mean those who follow him will be effected by his personal life.
What a brilliant example of what is known as the "Scarecrow argument".
Re: Aleister Crowley, By: Brysing Moderator / Adept
Post # 15 Feb 16, 2016
All I am saying is that those who follow Crowley should be aware of what he was. He did not only use Heroin, he used any drug he could get hold of! He didn't only have sex with women. As for obtaining money; he was a very wealthy man, from inheritance.
Yes, I did hear him speak on radio; but also live in person. And that was not in Victorian times, but in the 1940s, when Crowley was an old man! My father took me to hear, The Most Evil Man In The World. As I was only about 12 years old, I didn't understand what he was taling about. Sounded like rubbish to me. In fact there was quite a lot of laughter in the audience.
In any case I didn't say "follow Gardner" so why mention him?
I will say it again, be aware!
Gardner was just a cheap imitation of Crowley
The man pretty much has no respect in The occult community
His name never comes up in talks of who the best Magician was or who was your greatest influence, His religion is thriving but it thrives on names and ideas of those who came after him.
"All I am saying is that those who follow Crowley should be aware of what he was."
I agree, it isn't any secret, however, I urge them to be wary of their sources. Anyone who embraces Thelema really shouldn't care what another individual gets/got up to in their spare time.
"He did not only use Heroin, he used any drug he could get hold of!"
I already addressed this, he gave everything up, however, other than the heroin. He actually gave everything up in Germany when there was some form of medicine available for his asthma which was not allowed over in the UK. He was certainly experimenting with hardcore drugs until the age of 60, however, he was well in his rights to do so. He did, however, discourage the prolonged use of drugs, and dependence on any substance was not considered desirable, hence his efforts to get off heroin.
"He didn't only have sex with women."
I know this, however, his homosexual relationships were brief with the exception of two, both of which were certainly loving in their own right and ended due to the strain of the times on both men. Again, if people embrace Thelema they don't care what people get up to in the bedroom, so long as both parties are of age and are giving consent.
"As for obtaining money; he was a very wealthy man, from inheritance."
Again true, however, not as much as he claimed and is claimed, and it certainly did not last. In his later days he was funded by Karl Germer. He did not have all that much money to begin with, certainly wealthy, but not by the standard which is portrayed. He also admits since money was no issue he went through it foolishly. In his later days, when he needed it, he relied on donations from Germer. The funds of the OTO went into publishing, and the A.'.A.'. charged nothing. He lost money on most of his books. He never made a profit from his works on occultism.
I brought up Gardner because Wicca is thought of as a love and light religion with all who founded and follow it being more or less brilliant people and saints. Whereas anything related to Crowley is seen as dark and twisted. Even though Gardner had his roots in Thelema and could also have personal attacks levelled against him.
My point is, a person's personal life does not effect anything other than sphere of their existence. Oscar Wilde was a brilliant writer, however, what he got up to behind closed doors was much worse than anything Crowley did! Nevertheless he is still a brilliant writer. The difference is he tried to hide his personal life, Crowley didn't care.
This has all been a very interesting read. Now, let's examine some facts.
Crowley was a very intelligent man. He had an ego complex. He dropped out of Cambridge because he felt he was smarter than his professors. He did have some money for a time, but it ran out with his travels all over the world. He was an avid mountain climber and studied a viraety of subjects.
Crowley studied from Allen Bennet before joining the Golden Dawn. From Bennet he was opened to many occult writings and teachings such as Eliphas Levi. When he joined the Golden Dawn, he conned Mathers with his knowledge of magic and was promoted through the outer order and to adepthood in about 18 months, which was unheard of. Obviously he did not have time to properly go through all the training and work of the order, and his magic and psyche suffered because of that. His rapid promotion also sparked an uprising in the G.D. which eventually lead to the collapse of the order in its original form.
Having conned his way to adepthood, he now thought he was ready for deeper and more powerful work. He began working with the Enochian system, and this is where he got into trouble. Because he was not properly prepared to handle the more vast amounts of energy and psychological strain that this system can produce, he snapped. While in Algeria with Victor Neuberg he journeyed through the Enochian Airs and, upon reaching the 10th, was set upon bu an entity known as Choronzon and attempted to kill Nuenberg. He was subdued and eventually calmed down, but was not quite right afterwards.
Crowley did have a meglomania complex. This can be seen with his setting himself up as the Christ figure in the Book of the Law. He did not create Thelema, but did reorganize it into its present form. He did use heroin, and did state that spiritual development through drug use is not the best way to go. He was bisexual in a time that believed that anything other than hertrosexuality was a huge sin, and he lived with the stigma of that. Surely that contributed to his psychological issues.
Crowley's life is a great example of the risk of having knowledge without preparing yourself for it. He was very intelligent and his books on magic and kabbalah are incredible. But, the way that he lived his life and the things he did show how bad things can be if you follow it blindly. His often misunderstood quote "Do what Thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the Law, Love under Will" is the best example of what you should do. Notice that "Thou" and "Will" are capitalized. This is referring to the higher will, that the magician is supposed to embody. Not, as many believe, the lower will of the conscious mind. All-in-all, he is probably the most misunderstood of all occult personalities.
Well if you are wrong. Atleast he is more or less... ok with it???.. Kinda makes you think ^^. I saw this documentary about him. He's interesting to be honest. And i also like the whispering chants in the beginning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsm6WI5i7p0
That documentary is awful. The fact it has the word "Satanist" in the title already shows it is full of misinformation. Crowley was most certainly not a Satanist. Most of these documentaries are full of lies and are simply made to entertain and thrill, not to shed the truth, which whilst still interesting, is much more boring!
