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Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God to Assume
Introduction THIS BOOK contains a critical study of Aleister Crowley's system of sexual magick and its affmities with the ancient Tantric rites of Kali, the dark goddess of blood and dissolution represented in Crowley's Cult as the Scarlet Woman. It is an attempt to supply a key to the work of an Adept whose vast knowledge of occultism was unsurpassed by any previous Western authority. I have emphasized the similarity between Crowley's Cult of Thelema and Tantra because the present wave of interest in the Tantric System makes it probable that readers will be able to assess more fully the importance of Crowley's contribution to occultism in general and to the Magical Path in particular. As a result of many years' research into obscure phases of occultism I have evolved a method of dream control for contacting extra-terrestrial and non-human entities; this forms the substance of Chapters Six and Seven. This method is described in relation to the mysteries of Kundalini, the supreme magical power symbolized by the sleeping Fire Snake at the base of the spine which, after its awakening, activates the subtle power-zones in the human body. Aleister Crowley, Austin Spare, Dion Fortune and the German occultist Eugen Grosche were among the first Adepts in the West to teach the use of the psycho-sexual energies, the Ophidian Current that informed the most ancient arcana of Africa and the Far East. Although it was Crowley who first integrated this current with the Westem Esoteric Tradition, this was not achieved without some doubtful interpretations of oriental symbolism. -
The Changing Role of Leah Hirsig in Aleister Crowley's Thelema, 1919
Aries – Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 21 (2021) 69–93 ARIES brill.com/arie Proximal Authority The Changing Role of Leah Hirsig in Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, 1919–1930 Manon Hedenborg White Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] Abstract In 1920, the Swiss-American music teacher and occultist Leah Hirsig (1883–1975) was appointed ‘Scarlet Woman’ by the British occultist Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), founder of the religion Thelema. In this role, Hirsig was Crowley’s right-hand woman during a formative period in the Thelemic movement, but her position shifted when Crowley found a new Scarlet Woman in 1924. Hirsig’s importance in Thelema gradually declined, and she distanced herself from the movement in the late 1920s. The article analyses Hirsig’s changing status in Thelema 1919–1930, proposing the term proximal authority as an auxiliary category to MaxWeber’s tripartite typology.Proximal authority is defined as authority ascribed to or enacted by a person based on their real or per- ceived relational closeness to a leader. The article briefly draws on two parallel cases so as to demonstrate the broader applicability of the term in highlighting how relational closeness to a leadership figure can entail considerable yet precarious power. Keywords Aleister Crowley – Leah Hirsig – Max Weber – proximal authority – Thelema 1 Introduction During the reign of Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665–1714), Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1660–1744), was the second most powerful woman in the kingdom. As the queen’s favourite, the Duchess overcame many restrictions hampering women of the time. -
THE EQUINOX Vol. I No. 2
THE EQUINOX No. III. will contain in its 400 pages AN OFFICIAL NOTE of the Ordeals and Examinations to be passed by the Aspirant to the A∴ A∴ from Probationer to Adept. [A∴ A∴ publication in Class D.] With a Comment by G. H. Fra. O.S.V. LIBER 963. A collection of litanies whose use will enable the student to acquire the direct consciousness of God. [A∴ A∴ Publication in Class B.] : THE ELEMENTAL CALLS OR KEYS, WITH THE GREAT WATCH-TOWERS OF THE UNIVERSE and their explanation. A complete treatise, fully illustrated, upon the Spirits of the Elements, their names and offices, with the method of calling them forth and controlling them. From the MSS. of Dr. DEE and SIR EDWARD KELLY. THE CONTINUATION OF THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON THE KING. A full account of the reception of Fra. P. into the Rosicrucian Order, with illustrations; and of his operations in Ceremonial Magic, &c. [His Studies of Eastern Magic and Meditation, &c., to follow in Nos. IV. and V.] THE CONTINUATION OF THE HERB DANGEROUS “The Poem of Hashish,” translated from the French of CHARLES BAUDELAIRE by ALEISTER CROWLEY. THE SOUL-HUNTER, unpublished pages from the Diary of Dr. ARTHUR LEE, “The Montrouge Vampire.” AN ORIGIN, by VICTOR B. NEUBURG. MR. TODD: A Morality, by the author of “Rosa Mundi.” IN MANU DOMINAE: A Black Mass. THE DAUGHTER OF THE HORSELEECH, by ETHEL RAMSAY. &c. &c. &c THE EQUINOX The Editor will be glad to consider contributions and to return such as are unacceptable if stamps are enclosed for the purpose. -
Gnosticism, Transformation, and the Role of the Feminine in the Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.) Ellen P
Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-13-2014 Gnosticism, Transformation, and the Role of the Feminine in the Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.) Ellen P. Randolph Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI14110766 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, New Religious Movements Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Randolph, Ellen P., "Gnosticism, Transformation, and the Role of the Feminine in the Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.)" (2014). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1686. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1686 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida GNOSTICISM, TRANSFORMATION, AND THE ROLE OF THE FEMININE IN THE GNOSTIC MASS OF THE ECCLESIA GNOSTICA CATHOLICA (E.G.C.) A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in RELIGIOUS STUDIES by Ellen P. Randolph 2014 To: Interim Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Ellen P. Randolph, and entitled Gnosticism, Transformation, and the Role of the Feminine in the Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. -
THE LOOKING GLASS 12 November 1910 an Amazing Sect.—No. 2. The
THE LOOKING GLASS 12 November 1910 An Amazing Sect.—no. 2. The origin of Their Rites and the Life-History of Mr. Aleister Crowley. A fortnight ago we published an article under the heading of “An Amazing Sect” in which we gave an account of a meeting or séance which we had attended of the Equinox Sect. of which Mr. Aleister Crowley is the presiding genius, and which we illus- trated by exclusive photographs. After describing in detail the performances of which we were an eye-witness, we promised, in conclusion, that in the near future we should have something more to say about Crowley’s history and antecedents. We now proceed to redeem that promise. The Ancient Rites of Eleusis. We propose in the first place to give a brief sketch of the ancient rites of Eleusis, from which presumably Mr. Crowley has derived the performances of which we gave an account in our previous article. The Rites of Eleusis take their name from Eleusis, a city of ancient Greece, and though little is known of their form by rea- son of the fact that the mysteries perished with the destruction of Eleusis in A.D. 396, yet tradition has handed down some data from which it is possible to reconstruct their general out- line. Demeter, so the legend runs, incensed at the rape of her daughter Persephone, betook herself to Eleusis and there dwelt for the space of a year, plunged in solitary mourning for her child, in a temple built for her by the pious natives. Her ad- vent, however, was in the nature of a calamity for those pious folk, as during her year of residence the Earth brought forth no increase, and the human race would have perished had not Zeus, on whom she had some sort of claim—possibly on the score of arrears of alimony, he being the father of the said Per- sephone—relented and ordained that Persephone should return from Hades. -
Vernal Equinox Go-Live / Stream the Invocation of Horus from the Libri of Aleister Crowley – the Equinox of the Gods – Chapter 6
Vernal Equinox go-live / stream The Invocation of Horus From The Libri of Aleister Crowley – The Equinox of the Gods – Chapter 6 The Arising of THE BEAST 666. 9○=2□ It has been judged best to reprint as it stands the account of these matters originally compiled for “The Temple of Solomon the King.” (Equinox Vol. I, No. VII, pp 357-386.) (The notes for this article were worked out in collaboration with Captain (now Major-General) J.F.C. Fuller. Every means of cross-examination was pressed to the utmost.) THE PRIEST In opening this the most important section of Frater P.'s career, we may be met by the unthinking with the criticism that since it deals rather with his relation to others than with his personal attainment, it has no place in this volume. (Projected by Fuller as no more than a record of the personal attainment of Aleister Crowley.) Such criticism is indeed shallow. True, the incidents which we are about to record took place on planes material or contiguous thereto; true, so obscure is the light by which we walk that much must be left in doubt; true, we have not as yet the supreme mystical attainment to record; but on the other hand it is our view that the Seal set upon Attainment may be itself fittingly recorded in the story of that Attainment, and that no step in progress is more important than that when it is said to the aspirant: “Now that you are able to walk alone, let it be your first care to use that strength to help others!” And so this great event which we are about to describe, an event which will lead, as time will show, to the establishment of a New Heaven and New Earth for all men, wore the simplest and humblest guise. -
Babalon Rising: Jack Parsons’ Witchcraft Prophecy
Babalon Rising: JaCk parsons’ WitChCraFt propheCy Erik Davis In the forty yearS or so following the death of John Whiteside Parsons in 1952, his name—Jack Parsons from here on out—circulated principally among magic folk, critics of Scientology, and historians of modern rock- etry. In the new century, however, the tale of the SoCal rocket scientist- cum-sex magician has proven a hot commodity, told and retold in a series of articles, biographies, graphic novels, movie scripts, and reality tv shows that have transformed Parsons into one of the most storied figures in the history of American occulture. The superficial reasons are easy to see: with its charismatic blend of sex, sorcery, technology and death, Parsons’ story haunts a dark crossroads of the Southern California mindscape, scrawling a prophetic glyph in the wet pavement of postwar America. Indeed, his tale is so outrageous that if it did not exist, it would need—as they say—to be invented. But if it were invented—that is, if his life were presented as the fiction it in so many ways resembles—it would be hard to believe, even as a fiction. The narrative would seem overly contrived, at once too pulp and too poetic, too rich with allegorical synchronicity to stage the necessary suspension of disbelief. In this essay, I want to explore an unremarked aspect of Jack Parsons’ life and thought, what I will call his magickal feminism. In his 1946 text Free- 165 166 Erik Davis dom is a Two-Edged Sword, Parsons issued a call for women to take up the spiritual, sexual, and political sword—a cry for female autonomy that also eerily anticipated the militant witchcraft that would find historical expres- sion in California over twenty years later. -
Biblical Assyria and Other Anxieties in the British Empire Steven W
James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Libraries Libraries & Educational Technologies 2001 Biblical Assyria and Other Anxieties in the British Empire Steven W. Holloway James Madison University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/letfspubs Part of the European Languages and Societies Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Library and Information Science Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons, and the Theory and Criticism Commons Recommended Citation “Biblical Assyria and Other Anxieties in the British Empire,” Journal of Religion & Society (http://moses.creighton.edu/jrs/2001/ 2001-12.pdf) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Libraries & Educational Technologies at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Libraries by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Journal of Religion & Society Volume 3 (2001) ISSN 1522-5658 Biblical Assyria and Other Anxieties in the British Empire Steven W. Holloway, American Theological Library Association and Saint Xavier University, Chicago Abstract The successful “invasion” of ancient Mesopotamia by explorers in the pay of the British Museum Trustees resulted in best-selling publications, a treasure-trove of Assyrian antiquities for display purposes and scholarly excavation, and a remarkable boost to the quest for confirmation of the literal truth of the Bible. The public registered its delight with the findings through the turnstyle- twirling appeal of the British Museum exhibits, and a series of appropriations of Assyrian art motifs and narratives in popular culture - jewelry, bookends, clocks, fine arts, theater productions, and a walk-through Assyrian palace among other period mansions at the Sydenham Crystal Palace. -
[Aleister] Crowley
A REEVALUATION OF TI-IE LITERARY WORKS OF EDWARD ALEXANDER [ALEISTER] CROWLEY A Thesis Presented to The School of Graduate Studies Drake University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Charles Nicholas Serra II April 1991 A REEVALUATION OF THE LITERARY WORKS OF EDWARD ALEXANDER [ALEISTER] CROWLEY by Charles Nicholas Serra Il Approved by Committee: ~~.;.,. Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Dedicated to four instrumental people: For Aleister Crowley, who quested after "the light that never shone on land or sea"; for B. H. who provided patronage and patience; for Grace Eckley, who managed to nurse me through; and for L. L., "my Gitana, my Saliya," who has all the answers I lack, now in the ineffable. Unpublished Copyright. all rights reserved. 1991 1 A REEVALVATION OF THE LITERARY WORKS OF EDWARD ALEXANDER [ALEISTER] CROWLEY Table of Contents Page Abstract ., . ............. ..... ... .......... u Section One: Yeats and the Golden Dawn . Section Two: Augoeides, Maturity and Mysticism. ...... .. ..... 17 Section Three: Literary Decline, the War Years 36 Works Consulted. ...... ...... .. ........................... 44 Notes. .......... ....... ............ 49 Textual Appendix. ......................................... IA 11 A REEVALVAnON OF THE LITERARY WORKS OF EDWARD ALEXANDER [ALEISTER] CROWLEY Abstract For the last fifty years the poetry and prose of Edward Alexander [Aleister] Crowley (1875-1947) has been systematically ignored by scholars and critics on the narrow grounds that it deals with the occult sciences, is pornographic, or simply because detractors did not agree with Crowley's personal philosophy or life. Since the mid 1970's, however, academics have become increasingly interested in the mystical and occult content of William Butler Yeats's poetry, praising it for the same characteristics which have always been labeled "defects" in Crowley's work. -
Contents from the Grand Master
Agapé is the Offi cial Organ Volume IX, Number 2 of the U. S. Grand Lodge of q ns E • R ns l • A IV: Ordo Templi Orientis A August 1, 2007 From the Grand Master Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Annual Report 5. To broaden the scope of initiator training as appropriate. One of the goals of the U.S.G.L. Strategic Plan was to increase 6. Coordinate when necessary with S.G.I.G.s, C.I.T.s, member knowledge of Grand Lodge activities by publishing the Grand Treasurer General and the Initiation an annual report. Our annual report for the 2006-2007 fi scal Secretary. year (Anno IVxiv) has been completed, and is now available at: These workshops (or personal training by an S.G.I.G. or C.I.T.) are now required for those who wish to apply for an initiation oto-usa.org/usgl_annual_report_IVxiv.pdf charter. They are also excellent for review, and I encourage all chartered initiators as well as aspiring initiators and local Initiator Training initiation team members (of III° and up) to a end these workshops whenever possible. Keep an eye on the U.S.G.L. We have formally created an offi ce of Initiator Training website for updates on the workshop schedule. Coordinator, and have appointed Sister Kim Knight to same. The duties of this offi ce are: Dispute Resolution 1. To coordinate and promote Initiator Training Book 194 states that the Grand Tribunal “decides all disputes Workshops. and complaints which have not been composed by the Chapters 2. -
Rev. AH Sayce and His Intellectual Approach
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2007 A non-traditional traditionalist: Rev. A. H. Sayce and his intellectual approach to biblical authenticity and biblical history in late-Victorian Britain Roshunda Lashae Belton Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Belton, Roshunda Lashae, "A non-traditional traditionalist: Rev. A. H. Sayce and his intellectual approach to biblical authenticity and biblical history in late-Victorian Britain" (2007). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1655. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1655 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. A NON-TRADITIONAL TRADITIONALIST: REV. A. H. SAYCE AND HIS INTELLECTUAL APPROACH TO BIBLICAL AUTHENTICITY AND BIBLICAL HISTORY IN LATE-VICTORIAN BRITAIN A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Roshunda Lashae Belton B.A., Louisiana Tech University, 1999 M.A., Louisiana Tech University, 2001 December 2007 For my father, the late Roosevelt Belton who encouraged me to dream big and for my mother, Velma Belton for being my cheerleader ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation could not have been achieved without the support and encouragement of my mentor and advisor Dr. -
Lon Milo Duquette
\n authuruuiivc exiimiriiitiiin <»f ike uurld’b iiu»st fast, in a cm tl and in^£icul turnc card V. r.Tirfi Stele op Rp.veaung^ gbvbise a>ju ftcviftsc. PART I Little Bits ofThings You Should Know Before Beginning to Study Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot CHAPTER ZERO THE BOOK OFTHOTH— AMAGICKBOOK? 7^ Tarot is apoA^se^^enty-^ght cards. Tfnrt artfoter suits, as tn fnadcrrt fi/ayirtg sards, ^sjhkh art dtrs%ssdfFOm it. Btts rha Court cards nutnbarfour instead >^dsret. In addition, thare are tvsenty^turo cards called 'Truw^ " each c^vJiUh is e symkoik puJure%Atha title to itse^ Atfirst sight one suould stifrpese this arrangement to he arbitrary, but it is not. Je IS necessitated, as vilfappear later, by the structsere ofthe unwerse, stnd inparikular the Sctlar System, as symMized by the Holy Qabaloi. This xotll be explained In due course.' These a« the brilliantly concise opening words of Aldster Crowley's Tbe Book of Tbotb. When I first read them, 1 vm filled with great o^ectations. Atkst, —I thouj^^ the great mysierics of the Thoth Tarot are going to be explained to me "in due course.” At the time, I considered myself a serious student of tarot, havij^ spent three years studying the marvelous works of Paul Foster Case and his Builders ofthe Adytumd tarot and Qabalah courses. As dictated in the B.O.T.A. currictilum, I painted my own deck oftrumps and dutifully followed the meditative exercises out- lined for each of the twenty two cards- Now, vdth Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot and The Book cfThoth in hand, I knew I was ready to take the next step toward tarot mastery and my own spiritual illuminaiion.