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143-511: The qlippoth are first mentioned in the Zohar , where they are described as being created by God to function as a nutshell for holiness. The text subsequently relays an esoteric interpretation of the text of Genesis creation narrative in Genesis 1:14, which describes God creating the moon and sun to act as "luminaries" in the sky. The verse "Let there be luminaries ( מְאֹרֹת məʾoroṯ )," uses

286-559: A defective spelling of the Hebrew word for "luminaries," resulting in a written form identical to the Hebrew word for "curses." In the context of the Zohar , interpreting the verse as calling the moon and sun "curses" is given mystic significance, personified by a description of the moon descending into the realm of Beri'ah , where it began to belittle itself and dim its light, both physically and spiritually. The resulting darkness gave birth to

429-593: A drug user , a bisexual , and an individualist social critic . Crowley has remained a highly influential figure over western esotericism and the counterculture of the 1960s , and he continues to be considered a prophet in Thelema. He is the subject of various biographies and academic studies. Crowley was born Edward Alexander Crowley at 30 Clarendon Square in Royal Leamington Spa , Warwickshire, on 12 October 1875. His father, Edward Crowley (1829–1887),

572-472: A "marriage of convenience" to prevent her from entering an arranged marriage ; the marriage appalled the Kelly family and damaged his friendship with Gerald. Heading on a honeymoon to Paris, Cairo, and then Ceylon, Crowley fell in love with Rose and worked to prove his affections. While on his honeymoon, he wrote her a series of love poems, published as Rosa Mundi and other Love Songs (1906), as well as authoring

715-601: A Thelemite. He also befriended the journalist Tom Driberg ; Driberg did not accept Thelema either. It was here that Crowley also published one of his most significant works, Magick in Theory and Practice , which received little attention at the time. In December 1928 Crowley met the Nicaraguan Maria Teresa Sanchez (Maria Teresa Ferrari de Miramar). Crowley was deported from France by the authorities, who disliked his reputation and feared that he

858-733: A bad reputation, and he developed feuds with some of the members, including W. B. Yeats . When the Golden Dawn's London lodge refused to initiate Crowley into the Second Order, he visited Mathers in Paris, who personally admitted him into the Adeptus Minor Grade. A schism had developed between Mathers and the London members of the Golden Dawn, who were unhappy with his autocratic rule. Acting under Mathers' orders, Crowley—with

1001-782: A conglomeration of "malignant globes" may have been inspired by the Qlippoth. This connection underscores the view that Qlippothic forces are integral to both ancient and contemporary esoteric thought. Grant's writings incorporate mythological and symbolic references, including Lovecraftian mythology and ancient Egyptian deities, to provide deeper insights into the Qlippothic entities. His works, such as Nightside of Eden and The Magical Revival , are essential for understanding his esoteric teachings and their implications for modern occult practice. Zohar The Zohar ( Hebrew : זֹהַר ‎ , Zōhar , lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance" )

1144-614: A daughter named Lilith, and Crowley wrote the pornographic Snowdrops from a Curate's Garden to entertain his recuperating wife. He also founded a publishing company through which to publish his poetry, naming it the Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth in parody of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge . Among its first publications were Crowley's Collected Works , edited by Ivor Back, an old friend of Crowley's who

1287-509: A different ancient mystical book in a cave near Toledo , which may have been de Leon's inspiration. Within fifty years of its appearance in Spain it was quoted by Kabbalists, including the Italian mystical writer Menahem Recanati and Todros ben Joseph Abulafia . However, Joseph ben Waqar harshly attacked the Zohar , which he considered inauthentic, and some Jewish communities, such as

1430-484: A diplomatic career in favour of pursuing an interest in the occult. In March 1898, he obtained A. E. Waite 's The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts , and then Karl von Eckartshausen 's The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary , furthering his occult interests. That same year, Leonard Smithers , a publisher who Crowley met through Pollitt, published 100 copies of Crowley's poem Aceldama: A Place to Bury Strangers In , but it

1573-429: A discourse on chiromancy by ben Yochai. h. Old Man (סבא) An elaborate narrative about a speech by an old Kabbalist. Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( / ˈ æ l ɪ s t ər ˈ k r oʊ l i / AL -ist-ər KROH -lee ; born Edward Alexander Crowley ; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist , ceremonial magician , poet, novelist, mountaineer , and painter. He founded

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1716-646: A group of female violinists led by Waddell, as they performed at London's Old Tivoli theatre. They subsequently performed in Moscow for six weeks, where Crowley had a sadomasochistic relationship with the Hungarian Anny Ringler. In Moscow, Crowley continued to write plays and poetry, including "Hymn to Pan ", and the Gnostic Mass , a Thelemic ritual that became a key part of O.T.O. liturgy. Churton suggested that Crowley had travelled to Moscow on

1859-1157: A kind of gnostic inclination within Kabbalah, and as a predecessor of the Sitra Ahra (the other, evil side) in the Zohar . The main text of the Castile circle, the Treatise on the Left Emanation , was written by Jacob ha-Cohen around 1265. Tikunei haZohar was first printed in Mantua in 1557. The main body of the Zohar was printed in Cremona in 1558 (a one-volume edition), in Mantua in 1558-1560 (a three-volume edition), and in Salonika in 1597 (a two-volume edition). Each of these editions included somewhat different texts. When they were printed there were many partial manuscripts in circulation that were not available to

2002-550: A local boy, Mohammad ben Brahim, as his servant, Crowley went with him on a retreat to Nefta , where they performed sex magic together. In January 1924, Crowley travelled to Nice , France, where he met with Frank Harris , underwent a series of nasal operations, and visited the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man and had a positive opinion of its founder, George Gurdjieff . Destitute, he took on

2145-403: A magazine edited by his friend Frank Harris . He also wrote Liber 777 , a book of magical and Qabalistic correspondences that borrowed from Mathers and Bennett. Into my loneliness comes— The sound of a flute in dim groves that haunt the uttermost hills. Even from the brave river they reach to the edge of the wilderness. And I behold Pan. The opening lines of Liber VII (1907),

2288-609: A medieval date. In the Ashkenazi community of Eastern Europe, religious authorities including Elijah of Vilna (d. 1797) and Shneur Zalman of Liadi (d. 1812) believed in the authenticity of the Zohar , while Ezekiel Landau (d. 1793), in his sefer Derushei HaTzlach (דרושי הצל"ח), argued that the Zohar is to be considered unreliable as it was made public many hundreds of years after Ben Yochai's death and lacks an unbroken tradition of authenticity, among other reasons. Isaac Satanow accepted Emden's arguments and referred to

2431-435: A nanny for the purpose. Crowley smoked opium throughout the journey, which took the family from Tengyueh through to Yungchang, Tali , Yunnanfu , and then Hanoi . On the way, he spent much time on spiritual and magical work, reciting the "Bornless Ritual", an invocation to his Holy Guardian Angel , on a daily basis. While Rose and Lilith returned to Europe, Crowley headed to Shanghai to meet old friend Elaine Simpson, who

2574-459: A prince and princess, they rented an apartment in which Crowley set up a temple room and began invoking ancient Egyptian deities, while studying Islamic mysticism and Arabic . According to Crowley's later account, Rose regularly became delirious and informed him "they are waiting for you." On 18 March, she explained that "they" were the god Horus , and on 20 March proclaimed that "the Equinox of

2717-698: A series of surgical operations. He began short-lived romances with actress Vera "Lola" Neville (née Snepp) and author Ada Leverson , while Rose gave birth to Crowley's second daughter, Lola Zaza, in February 1907. With his old mentor George Cecil Jones, Crowley continued performing the Abramelin rituals at the Ashdown Park Hotel in Coulsdon , Surrey. Crowley believed that in doing so he attained samadhi , or union with Godhead, thereby marking

2860-707: A small amount of genuinely antique novel material. Later additions to the Zohar , including Tiqqune hazZohar and Ra'ya Meheimna , were composed by a 14th century imitator. According to Gershom Scholem and other modern scholars, Zoharic Aramaic is an artificial dialect largely based on a linguistic fusion of the Babylonian Talmud and Targum Onkelos , but confused by de León's simple and imperfect grammar, his limited vocabulary, and his reliance on loanwords, including from contemporaneous medieval languages. The author further confused his text with occasional strings of Aramaic-seeming gibberish , in order to give

3003-525: A speech is quoted in which he explains the previous section. e. Assembly of the Tabernacle (אדרא דמשכנא) This part has the same structure as c. but discusses instead the mysticism of prayer . f. Palaces (היכלות) Seven palaces of light are described, which are perceived by the devout in death. This description appears again in another passage, heavily embellished. g. Secretum Secretorum (רזא דרזין) An anonymous discourse on physiognomy and

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3146-586: A supporter of Irish independence from Great Britain, Crowley began to espouse support for Germany in their war against Britain. He became involved in New York's pro-German movement, and in January 1915 German spy George Sylvester Viereck employed him as a writer for his propagandist paper, The Fatherland , which was dedicated to keeping the US neutral in the conflict. In later years, detractors denounced Crowley as

3289-428: A third of his father's wealth, he began misbehaving at school and was harshly punished by Champney; Crowley's family removed him from the school when he developed albuminuria . He then attended Malvern College and Tonbridge School , both of which he despised and left after a few terms. He became increasingly sceptical of Christianity, pointing out Biblical inconsistencies to his religious teachers, and went against

3432-593: A traitor to Britain for this action. Crowley entered into a relationship with Jeanne Robert Foster , with whom he toured the West Coast. In Vancouver , headquarters of the North American O.T.O., he met with Charles Stansfeld Jones and Wilfred Talbot Smith to discuss the propagation of Thelema on the continent. In Detroit he experimented with Peyote at Parke-Davis , then visited Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Cruz , Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana , and

3575-426: A turning point in his life. Making heavy use of hashish during these rituals, he wrote an essay on "The Psychology of Hashish" (1909) in which he championed the drug as an aid to mysticism. He also said he had been contacted once again by Aiwass in late October and November 1907, adding that Aiwass dictated two further texts to him, "Liber VII" and "Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente", both of which were later classified in

3718-616: A visit to India and China, Crowley returned to Britain, where he attracted attention as a prolific author of poetry, novels, and occult literature. In 1907, he and George Cecil Jones co-founded an esoteric order—the A∴A∴ , through which they propagated Thelema. After spending time in Algeria, in 1912 he was initiated into another esoteric order—the German-based Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), in which he rose to become

3861-461: A wealthy student, Alexander Zu Zolar, before taking on another American follower, Dorothy Olsen. Crowley took Olsen back to Tunisia for a magical retreat in Nefta, where he also wrote To Man (1924), a declaration of his own status as a prophet entrusted with bringing Thelema to humanity. After spending the winter in Paris, in early 1925 Crowley and Olsen returned to Tunis, where he wrote The Heart of

4004-714: A work of literary criticism, The Gospel According to Bernard Shaw . In December, he moved to New Orleans , his favourite US city, before spending February 1917 with evangelical Christian relatives in Titusville, Florida . Returning to New York City, he moved in with artist and A∴A∴ member Leon Engers Kennedy in May, learning of his mother's death. After the collapse of The Fatherland , Crowley continued his association with Viereck, who appointed him contributing editor of arts journal The International . Crowley used it to promote Thelema, but it soon ceased publication. He then moved to

4147-620: Is "highly oracular and obscure," citing no authorities and explaining nothing. c. Greater Assembly (אדרא רבא) This part contains an explanation of the oracular hints in the previous section. Ben Yochai's friends gather together to discuss secrets of Kabbalah. After the opening of the discussion by ben Yochai, the sages rise, one after the other, and lecture on the secret of Divinity, while ben Yochai adds to and responds to their words. The sages become steadily more ecstatic until three of them die. Scholem calls this part "architecturally perfect." d. Lesser Assembly (אדרא זוטא) Ben Yochai dies and

4290-523: Is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature . It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism , mythical cosmogony , and mystical psychology . The Zohar contains discussions of the nature of God , the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of ego to darkness and "true self" to "the light of God". The Zohar

4433-545: Is not. Ovadia Yosef (d. 2013) held that Orthodox Jews should accept the Zohar 's antiquity in practice based on medieval precedent, but agreed that rejecting it is rational and religiously valid. Joseph Hertz (d. 1946) called the claim of ben Yochai's authorship "untenable", citing Gershom Scholem 's evidence. Samuel Belkin (d. 1976) argued that the Mystical Midrash section, specifically, predated de León. Joseph B. Soloveitchik (d. 1993) apparently dismissed

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4576-679: Is obvious they understood its nature. The manuscripts of the Zohar are from the 14th-16th centuries. By the 15th century, the Zohar 's authority in the Iberian Jewish community was such that Joseph ibn Shem-Tov drew arguments from it in his attacks against Maimonides , and even representatives of non-mystical Jewish thought began to assert its sacredness and invoke its authority in the decision of some ritual questions. In Jacobs' and Broyde's view, they were attracted by its glorification of man, its doctrine of immortality , and its ethical principles, which they saw as more in keeping with

4719-690: The Sefer Yetzirah and the Bahir and the medieval writings of the Hasidei Ashkenaz . Another influence that Scholem, and scholars like Yehudah Liebes and Ronit Meroz have identified was a circle of Spanish Kabbalists in Castile who dealt with the appearance of an evil side emanating from within the world of the sefirot . Scholem saw this dualism of good and evil within the Godhead as

4862-716: The Abbey of Thelema after the Abbaye de Thélème in François Rabelais ' satire Gargantua and Pantagruel . After consulting the I Ching , he chose Cefalù in Sicily as a location, and after arriving there, began renting the old Villa Santa Barbara as his Abbey on 2 April. Moving to the commune with Hirsig, Shumway, and their children Hansi, Howard, and Poupée, Crowley described the scenario as "perfectly happy ... my idea of heaven." They wore robes, and performed rituals to

5005-510: The Babylonian Talmud . "The Hebrew of the Midrash haNe'elam is similar in its overall form to the language of the early midrashim, but its specific vocabulary, idioms, and stylistic characteristics bear the imprint of medieval Hebrew , and its midrashic manner is clearly that of a later imitation." Authorship of the Zohar was questioned from the outset, due to the claim that it was discovered by one person and referred to historical events of

5148-636: The Bernese Alps , climbing the Eiger , Trift , Jungfrau , Mönch , and Wetterhorn . Having adopted the name of Aleister over Edward, in October 1895 Crowley began a three-year course at Trinity College, Cambridge , where he was entered for the Moral Science Tripos studying philosophy. With approval from his personal tutor, he changed to English literature, which was not then part of

5291-670: The Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 and wrote a novel, The Diary of a Drug Fiend , completed in July. On publication, it received mixed reviews; he was lambasted by the Sunday Express , which called for its burning and used its influence to prevent further reprints. Subsequently, a young Thelemite named Raoul Loveday moved to the Abbey with his wife Betty May ; while Loveday was devoted to Crowley, May detested him and life at

5434-529: The Dor Daim from Yemen, Andalusian (Western Sefardic or Spanish and Portuguese Jews ), and some Italian communities, never accepted it as authentic. Other early Kabbalists, such as David b. Judah the Pious (fl. c. 1300), Abraham b. Isaac of Granada , (fl. c. 1300), and David b. Amram of Aden (fl. c. 1350), so readily imitate its pseudepigraphy by ascribing contemporaries' statements to Zoharic sages that it

5577-659: The Grand Canyon , before returning to New York. There he befriended Ananda Coomaraswamy and his wife Alice Richardson; Crowley and Richardson performed sex magic in April 1916, following which she became pregnant and then miscarried. Later that year he took a "magical retirement" to a cabin by Lake Pasquaney owned by Evangeline Adams. There, he made heavy use of drugs and undertook a ritual after which he proclaimed himself "Master Therion". He also wrote several short stories based on James George Frazer 's The Golden Bough and

5720-670: The RMS Lusitania in October 1914. Arriving in New York City, he moved into a hotel and began earning money writing for the American edition of Vanity Fair and undertaking freelance work for the famed astrologer Evangeline Adams . In the city, he continued experimenting with sex magic, through the use of masturbation, female prostitutes, and male clients of a Turkish bathhouse; all of these encounters were documented in his diaries. Professing to be of Irish ancestry and

5863-574: The Zohar as a forgery, also offering new evidence. By 1813 Samuel David Luzzatto had concluded that "these books [the Zohar and the Tiqqunei Zohar] are utter forgeries," in part because they repeatedly discuss the Hebrew cantillation marks, which were not invented until the 9th century. In 1817 Luzzatto published these arguments, and in 1825 he penned a fuller treatise, giving many reasons why

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6006-580: The Zohar clarifies that each sefira and qlippa is 1:1, even with equivalent partzufim , it does not give all their names. Christian Knorr von Rosenroth 's Latin Kabbala denudata (1684) (translated The Kabbalah Unveiled by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers ) equates these forces with the Kings of Edom and also offers the suggestion they are the result of an imbalance towards Gedulah, the Pillar of Mercy or

6149-400: The Zohar could not be ancient. However, he did not publish this until 1852, when he felt it justified by the rise of Hasidism . Moses Landau (d. 1852), Ezekiel's grandson, published the same conclusion in 1822. Isaac Haver (d. 1852) admits the vast majority of content comes from the 13th century but argues that there was a genuine core. Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (d. 1867) spoke against

6292-519: The Zohar could not be attributed to Simeon ben Yochai, by a number of arguments. He claims that if it were his work, the Zohar would have been mentioned by the Talmud , as has been the case with other works of the Talmudic period; he claims that had ben Yochai known by divine revelation the hidden meaning of the precepts, his decisions on Jewish law from the Talmudic period would have been adopted by

6435-534: The Zohar include Yehuda Liebes (who wrote his doctorate thesis for Scholem on the subject, Dictionary of the Vocabulary of the Zohar in 1976), and Daniel C. Matt , a student of Scholem's who has published a critical edition of the Zohar . Academic studies of the Zohar show that many of its ideas are based in the Talmud, various works of midrash , and earlier Jewish mystical works. Scholem writes: At

6578-457: The Zohar includes a translation of a poem by Solomon ibn Gabirol (d. 1058) and that it includes a mystical explanation of a mezuzah style only introduced in the 13th century. Adolf Neubauer and Samuel Rolles Driver were convinced by these arguments, but Edward Bouverie Pusey held to a Tannaitic date. By 1913, the critical view had apparently lost some support: Israel Abrahams recalls that "Zunz, like Graetz, had little patience with

6721-471: The Zohar only when it does not conflict with any other source and records that "You asked me about scribes modifying torah scrolls to accord with the Zohar ... and I was shocked, for how can they consider the Zohar better than the Talmud Bavli, which has come down to us? ... So I went myself to the house of the scribe and I found three scrolls which he had edited, and I fixed them, and I restored

6864-524: The Zohar to de Leon's Hebrew works, were accepted by every other major scholar in the field, including Heinrich Graetz ( History of the Jews , vol. 7), Moritz Steinschneider , Bernhard Beer , Leopold Zunz , and Christian David Ginsburg . Ginsburg summarized Jellinek's, Graetz's, and other scholars' proofs for the English-reading world in 1865, also introducing several novel proofs, including that

7007-687: The Zohar was accepted by such 16th century Jewish luminaries as Joseph Karo (d. 1575), and Solomon Luria (d. 1574), who wrote nonetheless that Jewish law does not follow the Zohar when it is contradicted by the Babylonian Talmud. Luria writes that the Zohar cannot even override a minhag . Moses Isserles (d. 1572) writes that he "heard" that the author of the Zohar is ben Yochai. Elijah Levita (d. 1559) did not believe in its antiquity, nor did Joseph Scaliger (d. 1609) or Louis Cappel (d. 1658) or Johannes Drusius (d. 1616). David ibn abi Zimra (d. 1573) held that one can follow

7150-672: The Zohar 's antiquity. Eliakim ha-Milzahgi (d. 1854) accepted Emden's arguments. The influence of the Zohar in Yemen contributed to the formation of the Dor Deah movement, led by Yiḥyah Qafiḥ in the later part of the 19th century. Among its objects was the opposition of the influence of the Zohar , as presented in Qafiḥ's Milhamoth Hashem (Wars of the Lord) and Da'at Elohim . Shlomo Zalman Geiger (d. 1878), in his book Divrei Kehilot on

7293-440: The Zohar 's antiquity. Moses Gaster (d. 1939) wrote that the claim of ben Yochai's authorship was "untenable" but that Moses de León had compiled earlier material. Meir Mazuz (alive) accepts Emden's arguments. Yeshayahu Leibowitz wrote (1990) that "Moses de León composed the Zohar in the 1270s as certainly as Theodor Herzl composed Der Judenstaat in the 1890s ... the Zohar was influential because in every generation

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7436-492: The paranormal phenomenon as a means of distinguishing it from the stage magic of illusionists. In early 1912, Crowley published The Book of Lies , a work of mysticism that biographer Lawrence Sutin described as "his greatest success in merging his talents as poet, scholar, and magus". The German occultist Theodor Reuss later accused him of publishing some of the secrets of his own occult order, Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), within The Book . Crowley convinced Reuss that

7579-406: The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet . According to Aleister Crowley , the three evil forms (before Samael), are said to be Qemetial, Belial , and Othiel. Crowley (who calls them "Orders of Qliphoth") and Israel Regardie list the qlippoth and their associated sephiroth on the tree of life as: Kenneth Grant , founder of the Typhonian Order , provided extensive teachings on the Qlippoth,

7722-443: The Alps to climb every year from 1894 to 1898, often with his friend Oscar Eckenstein , and in 1897 he made the first ascent of the Mönch without a guide. These feats led to his recognition in the Alpine mountaineering community. For many years I had loathed being called Alick, partly because of the unpleasant sound and sight of the word, partly because it was the name by which my mother called me. Edward did not seem to suit me and

7865-403: The Book of the Zohar was found, which Simeon ben Yochai and his son Elazar had made in the cave . . . and some say that [de Leon] forged it among his forgeries, but [Isaac] said that the Palestinian Aramaic sections were genuinly written by Simeon b. Yochai . . . And [Isaac] wrote: Isaac goes on to say that he obtained mixed evidence of Zohar's authenticity from other Spanish Kabbalists, but

8008-468: The British intelligence services. In 1920, he established the Abbey of Thelema —a religious commune in Cefalù , Sicily, where he lived with various followers. His libertine lifestyle led to denunciations in the British press, and the Italian government evicted him in 1923. He divided the following two decades between France, Germany, and England, and continued to promote Thelema until his death. Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being

8151-460: The Christian morality of his upbringing by smoking, masturbating, and having sex with prostitutes from whom he contracted gonorrhea . Sent to live with a Brethren tutor in Eastbourne , he undertook chemistry courses at Eastbourne College . Crowley developed interests in chess , poetry, and mountain climbing , and in 1894 climbed Beachy Head before visiting the Alps and joining the Scottish Mountaineering Club . The following year he returned to

8294-518: The Crowleys moved to Redhill , Surrey. At the age of 8, Crowley was sent to H. T. Habershon's evangelical Christian boarding school in Hastings , and then to Ebor preparatory school in Cambridge , run by the Reverend Henry d'Arcy Champney, whom Crowley considered a sadist. In March 1887, when Crowley was 11, his father died of tongue cancer . Crowley described this as a turning point in his life, and he always maintained an admiration of his father, describing him as "my hero and my friend". Inheriting

8437-454: The Gods has come". She led him to a nearby museum, where she showed him a seventh-century BCE mortuary stele known as the Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu ; Crowley thought it important that the exhibit's number was 666, the Number of the Beast in Christian belief, and in later years termed the artefact the "Stele of Revealing". According to Crowley's later statements, on 8 April he heard a disembodied voice identifying itself as that of Aiwass ,

8580-433: The Golden Dawn, but with an added Thelemic basis. Its earliest members included solicitor Richard Noel Warren, artist Austin Osman Spare , Horace Sheridan-Bickers, author George Raffalovich , Francis Henry Everard Joseph Feilding, engineer Herbert Edward Inman, Kenneth Ward, and Charles Stansfeld Jones . In March 1909, Crowley began production of a biannual periodical titled The Equinox . He billed this periodical, which

8723-409: The Hohenleuben Conference in Thuringia , Germany, which Crowley attended. There, prominent members like Karl Germer and Martha Küntzel championed Crowley's leadership, but other key figures like Albin Grau , Oskar Hopfer, and Henri Birven backed Tränker by opposing it, resulting in a split in O.T.O. Moving to Paris, where he broke with Olsen in 1926, Crowley went through a large number of lovers over

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8866-628: The Law was rediscovered at Boleskine, he developed the opinion that Thelema represented objective truth . Crowley's inheritance was running out. Trying to earn money, he was hired by George Montagu Bennett, the Earl of Tankerville , to help protect him from witchcraft ; recognising Bennett's paranoia as being based in his cocaine addiction, Crowley took him on holiday to France and Morocco to recuperate. In 1907, he also began taking in paying students, whom he instructed in occult and magical practice. Victor Neuburg , whom Crowley met in February 1907, became his sexual partner and closest disciple; in 1908

9009-404: The Law —a sacred text that serves as the basis for Thelema, which he said had been dictated to him by a supernatural entity named Aiwass . The Book announced the start of the Æon of Horus, and declared that its followers should "Do what thou wilt", and seek to align themselves with their True Will via the practice of ceremonial magic. After the unsuccessful 1905 Kanchenjunga expedition , and

9152-451: The MMM and re-writing many O.T.O. rituals, which were then based largely on Freemasonry ; his incorporation of Thelemite elements proved controversial in the group. Fascinated by O.T.O's emphasis on sex magic , Crowley devised a magical working based on anal sex and incorporated it into the syllabus for those O.T.O. members who were initiated into the eleventh degree . In March 1913, Crowley acted as producer for The Ragged Ragtime Girls ,

9295-471: The Master (1938) as an account of a vision he experienced in a trance. In March Olsen became pregnant, and Hirsig was called to take care of her; she miscarried, following which Crowley took Olsen back to France. Hirsig later distanced herself from Crowley, who then denounced her. According to Crowley, Reuss named him head of O.T.O. upon his death, but this was challenged by a leader of the German O.T.O., Heinrich Tränker  [ de ] . Tränker called

9438-401: The Spirit , Appeal to the American Republic , and Jephthah in 1898–99; most gained mixed reviews from literary critics, although Jephthah was considered a particular critical success. Crowley soon progressed through the lower grades of the Golden Dawn, and was ready to enter the group's inner Second Order. He was unpopular in the group; his bisexuality and libertine lifestyle gained him

9581-409: The Talmud, that it would not contain the names of rabbis who lived at a later period than that of ben Yochai; he claims that if the Kabbalah were a revealed doctrine, there would have been no divergence of opinion among the Kabbalists concerning the mystic interpretation of the precepts. Believers in the authenticity of the Zohar countered that the lack of references to the work in Jewish literature

9724-402: The Torah to its proper glory." Debate continued over the generations; del Medigo's arguments were echoed by Leon of Modena (d. 1648) in his Ari Nohem , by Jean Morin (d. 1659), and by Jacob Emden (d. 1776). Emden—who may have been familiar with Modena through Morin's arguments —devoted a book to the criticism of the Zohar , called Mitpachas Sefarim (מטפחת ספרים), in an effort against

9867-556: The United States, settling in Mexico City and starting a relationship with a local woman. Developing a love of the country, he continued experimenting with ceremonial magic, working with John Dee 's Enochian invocations. He later said he had been initiated into Freemasonry while there, and he wrote a play based on Richard Wagner 's Tannhäuser as well as a series of poems, published as Oracles (1905). Eckenstein joined him later in 1900, and together they climbed several mountains, including Iztaccihuatl , Popocatepetl , and Colima ,

10010-418: The Zohar . . . at this date we are much more inclined to treat the Kabbalah with respect." Gershom Scholem , who was to found modern academic study of Kabbalah , began his career at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1925 with a lecture in which he promised to refute Graetz and Jellinek. However, after years of research, he came to conclusions similar to theirs by 1938, when he argued again that de León

10153-416: The authenticity of the Zohar , as did Menachem Mendel Kasher (d. 1983), Aryeh Kaplan (d. 1983), David Luria (d. 1855), and Chaim Kanievsky (d. 2022). Aryeh Carmell (d. 2006) did not, and Eliyahu Dessler (d. 1953) accepted the possibility that it was composed in the 13th century. Gedaliah Nadel (d. 2004) was unsure if the Zohar were genuine but was sure that it is acceptable to believe that it

10296-678: The book of the Zohar had been printed (in Mantua and in Cremona, in the Jewish years 5318–5320 or 1558–1560? CE), many more manuscripts were found that included paragraphs pertaining to the Zohar which had not been included in printed editions. The manuscripts pertained also to all parts of the Zohar ; some were similar to Zohar on the Torah, some were similar to the inner parts of the Zohar ( Midrash haNe'elam, Sitrei Otiyot and more), and some pertained to Tikunei haZohar . Some thirty years after

10439-412: The commune. She later said that Loveday was made to drink the blood of a sacrificed cat, and that they were required to cut themselves with razors every time they used the pronoun "I". Loveday drank from a local polluted stream, soon developing a liver infection resulting in his death in February 1923. Returning to London, May told her story to the press. John Bull proclaimed Crowley "the wickedest man in

10582-462: The corpus of The Holy Books of Thelema . Crowley wrote down more Thelemic Holy Books during the last two months of the year, including "Liber LXVI", "Liber Arcanorum", "Liber Porta Lucis, Sub Figura X", "Liber Tau", " Liber Trigrammaton " and "Liber DCCCXIII vel Ararita", which he again said he had received from a preternatural source. Crowley stated that in June 1909, when the manuscript of The Book of

10725-546: The curriculum offered. Crowley spent much of his time at university engaged in his pastimes, becoming president of the chess club and practising the game for two hours a day; he briefly considered a professional career as a chess player. Crowley also embraced his love of literature and poetry, particularly the works of Richard Francis Burton and Percy Bysshe Shelley . Many of his own poems appeared in student publications such as The Granta , Cambridge Magazine , and Cantab . He continued his mountaineering, going on holiday to

10868-463: The demon Choronzon involving blood sacrifice , and considered the results to be a watershed in his magical career. Returning to London in January 1910, Crowley found that Mathers was suing him for publishing Golden Dawn secrets in The Equinox ; the court found in favour of Crowley. The case was widely reported in the press, with Crowley gaining wider fame. Crowley enjoyed this, and played up to

11011-526: The desert from El Arba to Aumale , Bou Saâda , and then Dā'leh Addin, with Crowley reciting the Quran to fortify himself against growing feelings of awe and dread. During the trip he invoked the thirty aethyrs of Enochian magic , with Neuburg recording the results, later published in The Equinox as The Vision and the Voice . Following a mountaintop sex magic ritual, Crowley also performed an evocation to

11154-881: The diminutives Ted or Ned were even less appropriate. Alexander was too long and Sandy suggested tow hair and freckles. I had read in some book or other that the most favourable name for becoming famous was one consisting of a dactyl followed by a spondee , as at the end of a hexameter : like Jeremy Taylor . Aleister Crowley fulfilled these conditions and Aleister is the Gaelic form of Alexander. To adopt it would satisfy my romantic ideals. Aleister Crowley, on his name change. Crowley had his first significant mystical experience while on holiday in Stockholm in December 1896. Several biographers, including Lawrence Sutin , Richard Kaczynski , and Tobias Churton , believed that this

11297-506: The entire Zohar and Tikunim. Citations referring to the Zohar conventionally follow the volume and page numbers of the Mantua edition, while citations referring to Tikkunei haZohar follow the edition of Ortakoy (Constantinople) 1719 whose text and pagination became the basis for most subsequent editions. Volumes II and III begin their numbering anew, so citation can be made by parashah and page number (e.g. Zohar: Nasso 127a), or by volume and page number (e.g. Zohar III:127a). After

11440-617: The financial assistance of sympathetic Freemasons, Crowley revived The Equinox with the first issue of volume III, known as The Blue Equinox . He spent mid-1919 on a climbing holiday in Montauk before returning to London in December. Now destitute and back in London, Crowley came under attack from the tabloid John Bull , which labelled him traitorous "scum" for his work with the German war effort; several friends aware of his intelligence work urged him to sue, but he decided not to. When he

11583-418: The first 18 (a.–s.) are the work of the original author (probably de Leon) and the final 3 (t.–v.) are the work of a later imitator. a. Untitled Torah commentary A "bulky part" which is "wholly composed of discursive commentaries on various passages from the Torah". b. Book of Concealment (ספרא דצניעותא) A short part of only six pages, containing a commentary to the first six chapters of Genesis . It

11726-616: The first edition of the Zohar was printed, the manuscripts were gathered and arranged according to the parashiyot of the Torah and the megillot (apparently the arrangement was done by the Kabbalist, Avraham haLevi of Tsfat ), and were printed first in Salonika in Jewish year 5357 (1587? CE), and then in Kraków (5363), and afterwards in various editions. According to Scholem, the Zohar can be divided into 21 types of content, of which

11869-599: The first of the Holy Books of Thelema to be revealed to Crowley after The Book of the Law . In November 1907, Crowley and Jones decided to found an occult order to act as a successor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, being aided in doing so by Fuller. The result was the A∴A∴ . The group's headquarters and temple were situated at 124 Victoria Street in central London, and their rites borrowed much from those of

12012-436: The first printers. These were later printed as Zohar Chadash (lit. "New Radiance"), but Zohar Chadash actually contains parts that pertain to the Zohar , as well as Tikunim (plural of Tikun , "Repair", see also Tikkun olam ) that are akin to Tikunei haZohar , as described below. The term Zohar , in usage, may refer to just the first Zohar collection, with or without the applicable sections of Zohar Chadash , or to

12155-411: The following years, with whom he experimented in sex magic. Throughout, he was dogged by poor health, largely caused by his heroin and cocaine addictions. In 1928, Crowley was introduced to Israel Regardie , a young Englishman, who embraced Thelema and became Crowley's secretary for the next three years. That year, Crowley also met Gerald Yorke , who began organising Crowley's finances but never became

12298-400: The fragment ends abruptly, mid-sentence, without any conclusion. Though Isaac is willing to quote it in his Otzar haChayyim and his Meirat Einayim , he does so rarely. Isaac's testimony was censored from the second edition (1580) and remained absent from all editions thereafter until its restoration nearly 300 years later in the 1857 edition. In 1243 a different Jew had reportedly found

12441-525: The gods Mercury and Jupiter . As part of the ritual, the couple performed acts of sex magic together, at times being joined by journalist Walter Duranty . Inspired by the results of the Working, Crowley wrote Liber Agapé , a treatise on sex magic. Following the Paris Working, Neuburg began to distance himself from Crowley, resulting in an argument in which Crowley cursed him. By 1914, Crowley

12584-496: The greatest ever written. Crowley decided to climb Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas of Nepal, widely recognised as the world's most treacherous mountain. The collaboration between Jacot-Guillarmod , Charles Adolphe Reymond, Alexis Pache, and Alcesti C. Rigo de Righi, the expedition was marred by much argument between Crowley and the others, who thought that he was reckless. They eventually mutinied against Crowley's control, with

12727-514: The group's leader, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers . The ceremony took place in the Golden Dawn's Isis-Urania Temple held at London's Mark Masons Hall, where Crowley took the magical motto and name "Frater Perdurabo", which he interpreted as "Brother I shall endure to the end". Crowley moved into his own luxury flat at 67–69 Chancery Lane and soon invited a senior Golden Dawn member, Allan Bennett , to live with him as his personal magical tutor. Bennett taught Crowley more about ceremonial magic and

12870-633: The help of his mistress and fellow initiate Elaine Simpson —attempted to seize the Vault of the Adepts, a temple space at 36 Blythe Road in West Kensington , from the London lodge members. When the case was taken to court, the judge ruled in favour of the London lodge, as they had paid for the space's rent, leaving both Crowley and Mathers isolated from the group. In 1900, Crowley travelled to Mexico via

13013-699: The idolatrous influence outpowers the true faith". Early attempts included M. H. Landauer 's Vorläufiger Bericht über meine Entdeckung in Ansehung des Sohar (1845), which fingered Abraham Abulafia as the author, and Samuel David Luzzatto 's ויכוח על חכמת הקבלה (1852), but the first systematic and critical academic proof for the authorship of Moses de León was given by Adolf Jellinek in his 1851 monograph "Moses ben Shem-tob de León und sein Verhältnis zum Sohar". Jellinek's proofs, which combined previous analyses with Isaac of Acre 's testimony and comparison of

13156-522: The impression of obscure knowledge. The original text of the Zohar , as cited by various early Kabbalists beginning around the 14th century (e.g. Isaac b. Samuel of Acre , David b. Judah the Pious, Israel Alnaqua , Alfonso de Zamora ) was partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic. By the time of the first edition (1558) the text was entirely in Aramaic, with the exception of the Midrash haNe'elam , where Hebrew words and phrases are often employed as in

13299-588: The latter of which they had to abandon owing to a volcanic eruption. Leaving Mexico, Crowley headed to San Francisco before sailing for Hawaii aboard the Nippon Maru . On the ship, he had a brief affair with a married woman named Mary Alice Rogers; saying he fell in love with her, he wrote a series of poems about the romance, published as Alice: An Adultery (1903). Briefly stopping in Japan and Hong Kong, Crowley reached Ceylon, where he met with Allan Bennett, who

13442-603: The leader of its British branch, which he reformulated in accordance with his Thelemite beliefs. Through O.T.O., Thelemite groups were established in Britain, Australia, and North America. Crowley spent the First World War in the United States, where he took up painting, and campaigned for the German war effort against Britain. His biographers later revealed that he had infiltrated the pro-German movement to assist

13585-553: The liturgical practice of Frankfurt am Main , records that "We do not say brikh shmei in Frankfurt, because its source is in the Zohar , and the sages of Frankfurt refused to accept Qabbalah." In 1892, Adolf Neubauer called on the Orthodox rabbinate to reject the Zohar as a forgery and to remove Zoharic prayers from the liturgy. However, Yechiel Michel Epstein (d. 1908) and Yisrael Meir Kagan (d. 1933) both believed in

13728-1029: The merciful aspect of God, and have since been destroyed. In subsequent Hermetic teachings, the qlippoth have tended, much like the sefiroth, to be interpreted as mystical worlds or entities , and merged with ideas derived from demonology . In most descriptions, there are seven divisions of Hell ; Sheol or Tehom ; Abaddon or Tzoah Rotachat ; Be'er Shachat Hebrew: בְּאֵר שַׁחַת , lit.   'pit of corruption' or Mashchit ; Bor Shaon (Hebrew: בּוֹר שָׁאוֹן , lit.   'cistern of sound') or Tit ha-Yaven (Hebrew: טִיט הַיָוֵן , lit.   'clinging mud'); Dumah or Sha'are Mavet (Hebrew: שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת , lit.   'gates of death'); Neshiyyah (Hebrew: נְשִׁיָּה , lit.   'oblivion, " Limbo "') or Tzalmavet ; and Eretz Tachtit (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית , lit.   'lowest earth, Gehenna '), twelve qlippothic orders of demons, three powers before Satan , and twenty-two demons which correspond to

13871-417: The messenger of Horus, or Hoor-Paar-Kraat . Crowley said that he wrote down everything the voice told him over the course of the next three days, and titled it Liber AL vel Legis or The Book of the Law . The book proclaimed that humanity was entering a new Aeon , and that Crowley would serve as its prophet . It stated that a supreme moral law was to be introduced in this Aeon, "Do what thou wilt shall be

14014-894: The most blasphemous and cold-blooded villains of modern times". Fenton's articles suggested that Crowley and Jones were involved in homosexual activity; Crowley did not mind, but Jones unsuccessfully sued for libel. Fuller broke off his friendship and involvement with Crowley over the scandal, and Crowley and Neuburg returned to Algeria for further magical workings. The Equinox continued publishing, and various books of literature and poetry were also published under its imprint, like Crowley's Ambergris , The Winged Beetle , and The Scented Garden , as well as Neuburg's The Triumph of Pan and Ethel Archer's The Whirlpool . In 1911, Crowley and Waddell holidayed in Montigny-sur-Loing , where he wrote prolifically, producing poems, short stories, plays, and 19 works on magic and mysticism, including

14157-439: The museum, fortifying his own island, and translating the book into all the world's languages. According to his account, he instead sent typescripts of the work to several occultists he knew, putting the manuscript away and ignoring it. Returning to Boleskine, Crowley came to believe that Mathers was using magic against him, and the relationship between the two broke down. On 28 July 1905, Rose gave birth to Crowley's first child,

14300-409: The orders of British intelligence to spy on revolutionary elements in the city. In January 1914, Crowley and Neuburg settled into an apartment in Paris, where the former was involved in the controversy surrounding Jacob Epstein 's new monument to Oscar Wilde . Together Crowley and Neuburg performed the six-week "Paris Working", a period of intense ritual involving strong drug use in which they invoked

14443-819: The other climbers heading back down the mountain as nightfall approached despite Crowley's warnings that it was too dangerous. Subsequently, Pache and several porters were killed in an accident, something for which Crowley was widely blamed by the mountaineering community. Spending time in Moharbhanj , where he took part in big-game hunting and wrote the homoerotic work The Scented Garden , Crowley met up with Rose and Lilith in Calcutta before being forced to leave India after non-lethally shooting two men who tried to mug him. Briefly visiting Bennett in Burma, Crowley and his family decided to tour Southern China, hiring porters and

14586-668: The painter Gerald Kelly , and through him became a fixture of the Parisian arts scene. Whilst there, Crowley wrote a series of poems on the work of an acquaintance, the sculptor Auguste Rodin . These poems were later published as Rodin in Rime (1907). One of those frequenting this milieu was W. Somerset Maugham , who after briefly meeting Crowley later used him as a model for the character of Oliver Haddo in his novel The Magician (1908). He returned to Boleskine in April 1903. In August, Crowley wed Gerald Kelly's sister Rose Edith Kelly in

14729-596: The pair toured northern Spain before heading to Tangier , Morocco. The following year Neuburg stayed at Boleskine, where he and Crowley engaged in sadomasochism . Crowley continued to write prolifically, producing such works of poetry as Ambergris , Clouds Without Water , and Konx Om Pax , as well as his first attempt at an autobiography, The World's Tragedy . Recognizing the popularity of short horror stories, Crowley wrote his own, some of which were published, and he also published several articles in Vanity Fair ,

14872-547: The post- Talmudic period while purporting to be from an earlier date. Abraham Zacuto 's 1504 work Sefer Yuhasin (first printed 1566) quotes from the Kabbalist Isaac ben Samuel of Acre 's 13th century memoir Divre hayYamim (lost), which claims that the widow and daughter of de León revealed that he had written it himself and only ascribed the authorship to Simeon ben Yochai for personal profit: And [Isaac] went to Spain, to investigate how it happened in his time that

15015-1078: The qlippoth. Reflecting this, they are thenceforth generally synonymous with "darkness" itself. Later, the Zohar gives specific names to some of the qlippoth, relaying them as counterparts to certain sephirot: Mashchith (Hebrew: מַשְׁחִית , romanized:  mašḥīṯ , lit.   'destroyer') to Chesed , Aph (Hebrew: אַף , romanized:  ʾap̄ , lit.   'anger') to Gevurah , and Hema (Hebrew: חֵמָה , romanized:  ḥēmā , lit.   'wrath') to Tiferet . It also names Avon (Hebrew: עָוֹן , romanized:  ʿāvōn , lit.   'iniquity'), Tohu (Hebrew: תֹהוּ , romanized:  tohū , lit.   'formless'), Bohu (Hebrew: בֹהוּ , romanized:  bohū , lit.   'void'), Esh (Hebrew: אֵשׁ , romanized:  ʿēš , lit.   'fire'), and Tehom (Hebrew: תְּהוֹם , romanized:  təhōm , lit.   'deep'), but does not relate them to any corresponding sefira. Though

15158-470: The religion of Thelema , identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life. Born to a wealthy family in Royal Leamington Spa , Warwickshire, Crowley rejected his parents' fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith to pursue an interest in Western esotericism . He

15301-591: The religious satire Why Jesus Wept (1904). Had! The manifestation of Nuit . The unveiling of the company of heaven. Every man and every woman is a star. Every number is infinite; there is no difference. Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men! The opening lines of The Book of the Law In February 1904, Crowley and Rose arrived in Cairo . Pretending to be

15444-473: The remaining adherents of the Sabbatean movement (in which Sabbatai Zevi , a Jewish apostate , cited Messianic prophecies from the Zohar as proof of his legitimacy). Emden argued that the book on which Zevi based his doctrines was a forgery, arguing that the Zohar : Saul Berlin (d. 1794) argued that the presence of an introduction in the Zohar , unknown to the Talmudic literary genre, itself indicates

15587-680: The ritual use of drugs, and together they performed the rituals of the Goetia , until Bennett left for South Asia to study Buddhism . In November 1899, Crowley purchased Boleskine House in Foyers on the shore of Loch Ness in Scotland. He developed a love of Scottish culture, describing himself as the " Laird of Boleskine", and took to wearing traditional highland dress, even during visits to London. He continued writing poetry, publishing Jezebel and Other Tragic Poems , Tales of Archais , Songs of

15730-518: The riverside cliffs, and—he later wrote—experienced past life memories of being Ge Xuan , Pope Alexander VI , Alessandro Cagliostro , and Éliphas Lévi . Back in New York City, he moved to Greenwich Village , where he took Leah Hirsig as his lover and next Scarlet Woman. He took up painting as a hobby, exhibiting his work at the Greenwich Village Liberal Club and attracting the attention of The Evening World . With

15873-700: The same time, Scholem says, the author "invent[ed] a number of fictitious works that the Zohar supposedly quotes, e.g. , the Sifra de-Adam, the Sifra de-Hanokh, the Sifra di-Shelomo Malka, the Sifra de-Rav Hamnuna Sava, the Sifra de-Rav Yeiva Sava, the Sifra de-Aggadeta, the Raza de-Razin and many others." The Zohar also draws from the Bible commentaries written by medieval rabbis, including Rashi , Abraham ibn Ezra , David Kimhi and even authorities as late as Nachmanides and Maimonides , and earlier mystical texts such as

16016-595: The sensationalist stereotype of being a Satanist and advocate of human sacrifice, despite being neither. The publicity attracted new members to the A∴A∴, among them Frank Bennett, James Bayley, Herbert Close, and James Windram. The Australian violinist Leila Waddell soon became Crowley's lover. Deciding to expand his teachings to a wider audience, Crowley developed the Rites of Artemis, a public performance of magic and symbolism featuring A∴A∴ members personifying various deities. It

16159-622: The shadow side of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life , which represent the chaotic, negative counterparts to the ten sefirot . Grant emphasized the importance of understanding and integrating these darker aspects for a holistic spiritual perspective. In Nightside of Eden , Grant explores the Tunnels of Set, pathways corresponding to the Qlippothic Tree. These tunnels symbolize hidden paths filled with transformative energies beneath

16302-593: The similarities were coincidental, and the two became friends. Reuss appointed Crowley as head of O.T.O's British branch, the Mysteria Mystica Maxima (MMM), and at a ceremony in Berlin Crowley adopted the magical name of Baphomet and was proclaimed "X° Supreme Rex and Sovereign Grand Master General of Ireland, Iona, and all the Britons". With Reuss' permission, Crowley set about advertising

16445-535: The spirit of Talmudic Judaism than are those taught by the philosophers , and which was held in contrast to the view of Maimonides and his followers, who regarded man as a fragment of the universe whose immortality is dependent upon the degree of development of his active intellect. The Zohar instead declared Man to be the lord of creation , whose immortality is solely dependent upon his morality. Conversely, Elia del Medigo ( c.  1458  – c.  1493 ), in his Beḥinat ha-Dat , endeavored to show that

16588-563: The studio apartment of Roddie Minor, who became his partner and Scarlet Woman . Through their rituals, which Crowley called "The Amalantrah Workings", he believed that they were contacted by a preternatural entity named Lam. The relationship soon ended. In 1918, Crowley went on a magical retreat in the wilderness of Esopus Island on the Hudson River . Here, he began an adaptation of the Tao Te Ching , painted Thelemic slogans on

16731-682: The sun god Ra at set times during the day, also occasionally performing the Gnostic Mass; the rest of the day they were left to follow their own interests. Undertaking widespread correspondences, Crowley continued to paint, wrote a commentary on The Book of the Law , and revised the third part of Book 4 . He offered a libertine education for the children, allowing them to play all day and witness acts of sex magic. He occasionally travelled to Palermo to visit rent boys and buy supplies, including drugs; his heroin addiction came to dominate his life, and cocaine began to erode his nasal cavity. There

16874-568: The surface of consciousness. Traversing these tunnels involves confronting and integrating darker aspects of the psyche and the universe, which Grant views as crucial for spiritual development. Grant advocated for balancing light and dark forces, believing that engaging with Qlippothic energies can lead to significant spiritual growth. He often linked the Qlippoth to sexual magic and Tantric practices, suggesting these could harness primal energies for transformation. Additionally, Grant suggested that H. P. Lovecraft 's description of Yog-Sothoth as

17017-616: The two entered into a relationship. They broke apart because Pollitt did not share Crowley's increasing interest in Western esotericism, a break-up that Crowley regretted for many years. In 1897, Crowley travelled to Saint Petersburg in Russia, later saying that he was trying to learn Russian as he was considering a future diplomatic career there. In October 1897, a brief illness triggered considerations of mortality and "the futility of all human endeavour", and Crowley abandoned all thoughts of

17160-519: The two final Holy Books of Thelema. In Paris, he met Mary Desti, who became his next " Scarlet Woman ", with the two undertaking magical workings in St. Moritz ; Crowley believed that one of the Secret Chiefs , Ab-ul-Diz, was speaking through her. Based on Desti's statements when in trance, Crowley wrote the two-volume Book 4 (1912–13) and at the time developed the spelling "magick" in reference to

17303-477: The whole of the Law," and that people should learn to live in tune with their Will. This book, and the philosophy that it espoused, became the cornerstone of Crowley's religion, Thelema . Crowley said that at the time he was unsure what to do with The Book of the Law . Often resenting it, he said that he ignored the instructions which the text commanded him to perform, which included taking the Stele of Revealing from

17446-475: The world" and "a man we'd like to hang", and although Crowley deemed many of their accusations against him to be slanderous, he was unable to afford the legal fees to sue them. As a result, John Bull continued its attack, with its stories being repeated in newspapers throughout Europe and in North America. The Fascist government of Benito Mussolini learned of Crowley's activities, and in April 1923 he

17589-639: Was Cecil Frederick Russell, who often argued with Crowley, disliking the same-sex sexual magic that he was required to perform, and left after a year. More conducive was the Australian Thelemite Frank Bennett, who also spent several months at the Abbey. In February 1922, Crowley returned to Paris for a retreat in an unsuccessful attempt to kick his heroin addiction. He then went to London in search of money, where he published articles in The English Review criticising

17732-621: Was a German agent. So that she could join him in Britain, Crowley married Sanchez in August 1929. Now based in London, Mandrake Press agreed to publish his autobiography in a limited edition six-volume set, also publishing his novel Moonchild and book of short stories The Stratagem . Mandrake went into liquidation in November 1930, before the entirety of Crowley's Confessions could be published. Mandrake's owner P. R. Stephensen meanwhile wrote The Legend of Aleister Crowley , an analysis of

17875-463: Was because ben Yochai did not commit his teachings to writing but transmitted them orally to his disciples over generations until finally the doctrines were embodied in the Zohar . They found it unsurprising that ben Yochai should have foretold future happenings or made references to historical events of the post-Talmudic period. By the late 16th century, the Zohar was present in one-tenth of all private Jewish libraries in Mantua. The authenticity of

18018-615: Was born a Quaker , but converted to the Exclusive Brethren , a faction of a Christian fundamentalist group known as the Plymouth Brethren ; Emily likewise converted upon marriage. Crowley's father was particularly devout, spending his time as a travelling preacher for the sect and reading a chapter from the Bible to his wife and son after breakfast every day. Following the death of their baby daughter in 1880, in 1881

18161-474: Was both a practicing surgeon and an enthusiast of literature. His poetry often received strong reviews (either positive or negative), but never sold well. In an attempt to gain more publicity, he issued a reward of £100 for the best essay on his work. The winner of this was J. F. C. Fuller , a British Army officer and military historian, whose essay, The Star in the West (1907), heralded Crowley's poetry as some of

18304-885: Was educated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge , where he focused his attention upon mountaineering and poetry, resulting in several publications. Some biographers allege that here he was recruited into a British intelligence agency , further suggesting that he remained a spy throughout his life. In 1898, he joined the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , where he was trained in ceremonial magic by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett . He went mountaineering in Mexico with Oscar Eckenstein , before studying Hindu and Buddhist practices in India. In 1904, he married Rose Edith Kelly , and they honeymooned in Cairo , Egypt, where Crowley wrote down The Book of

18447-552: Was fascinated by The Book of the Law ; together they performed rituals in an attempt to contact Aiwass. Crowley then sailed to Japan and Canada, before continuing to New York City, where he unsuccessfully solicited support for a second expedition up Kanchenjunga. Upon arrival in Britain, Crowley learned that his daughter Lilith had died of typhoid in Rangoon , something he later blamed on Rose's increasing alcoholism. Under emotional distress, his health began to suffer, and he underwent

18590-556: Was first performed at the A∴A∴ headquarters, with attendees given a fruit punch containing peyote to enhance their experience. Various members of the press attended, and reported largely positively on it. In October and November 1910, Crowley decided to stage something similar, the Rites of Eleusis , at Caxton Hall , Westminster ; this time press reviews were mixed. Crowley came under particular criticism from West de Wend Fenton, editor of The Looking Glass newspaper, who called him "one of

18733-442: Was first publicized by Moses de León (c. 1240 – 1305 CE), who claimed it was a Tannaitic work recording the teachings of Simeon ben Yochai ( c.  100 CE ). This claim is universally rejected by modern scholars, most of whom believe de León, also an infamous forger of Geonic material, wrote the book himself between 1280 and 1286. Some scholars argue that the Zohar is the work of multiple medieval authors and/or contains

18876-561: Was given a deportation notice forcing him to leave Italy; without him, the Abbey closed. Crowley and Hirsig went to Tunis , where, dogged by continuing poor health, he unsuccessfully tried again to give up heroin, and began writing what he termed his " autohagiography ", The Confessions of Aleister Crowley . They were joined in Tunis by the Thelemite Norman Mudd, who became Crowley's public relations consultant. Employing

19019-609: Was in Zermatt , Switzerland, where he met the chemist Julian L. Baker, and the two began discussing their common interest in alchemy . Back in London, Baker introduced Crowley to George Cecil Jones , Baker's brother-in-law and a fellow member of the occult society known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , which was founded in 1888. Crowley was initiated into the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn on 18 November 1898 by

19162-511: Was living a hand-to-mouth existence, relying largely on donations from A∴A∴ members and dues payments made to O.T.O. In May, he transferred ownership of Boleskine House to the MMM for financial reasons, and in July he went mountaineering in the Swiss Alps. During this time the First World War broke out. After recuperating from a bout of phlebitis , Crowley set sail for the United States aboard

19305-434: Was no cleaning rota, and wild dogs and cats wandered throughout the building, which soon became unsanitary. Poupée died in October 1920, and Ninette gave birth to a daughter, Astarte Lulu Panthea, soon afterwards. New followers continued to arrive at the Abbey to be taught by Crowley. Among them was film star Jane Wolfe , who arrived in July 1920, where she was initiated into the A∴A∴ and became Crowley's secretary. Another

19448-507: Was not a particular success. That same year, Crowley published a string of other poems, including White Stains , a Decadent collection of erotic poetry that was printed abroad lest its publication be prohibited by the British authorities. In July 1898, he left Cambridge, not having taken any degree at all despite a " first class " showing in his 1897 exams and consistent "second class honours" results before that. In August 1898, Crowley

19591-796: Was published as The Sword of Song (1904). He contracted malaria , and had to recuperate from the disease in Calcutta and Rangoon. In 1902, he was joined in India by Eckenstein and several other mountaineers: Guy Knowles , H. Pfannl, V. Wesseley, and Jules Jacot-Guillarmod . Together, the Eckenstein-Crowley expedition attempted K2 , which was never climbed before. On the journey, Crowley was afflicted with influenza , malaria, and snow blindness , and other expedition members were also struck with illness. They reached an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) before turning back. Having arrived in Paris in November 1902, he socialized with his friend

19734-463: Was suffering from asthma, a doctor prescribed him heroin, to which he soon became addicted. In January 1920, he moved to Paris, renting a house in Fontainebleau with Leah Hirsig ; they were soon joined in a ménage à trois by Ninette Shumway, and also (in living arrangement) by Leah's newborn daughter Anne "Poupée" Leah. Crowley had ideas of forming a community of Thelemites, which he called

19877-458: Was the most likely author. Scholem noted the Zohar's frequent errors in Aramaic grammar, its suspicious traces of Arabic and Spanish words and sentence patterns, and its lack of knowledge of the Land of Israel , among other proofs. Scholem's views are widely held as accurate among historians of Kabbalah, but they are not uncritically accepted. Scholars who continue to research the background of

20020-558: Was the result of Crowley's first same-sex sexual experience, which enabled him to recognize his bisexuality . At Cambridge, Crowley maintained a vigorous sex life with women—largely with female prostitutes, from one of whom he caught syphilis —but eventually he took part in same-sex activities, despite their illegality . In October 1897, Crowley met Herbert Charles Pollitt , president of the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club , and

20163-734: Was there studying Shaivism . The pair spent some time in Kandy before Bennett decided to become a Buddhist monk in the Theravada tradition, travelling to Burma to do so. Crowley decided to tour India, devoting himself to the Hindu practice of Rāja yoga , by which means he believed he had achieved the spiritual state of dhyana . He spent much of this time studying at the Meenakshi Temple in Madura . At this time he also wrote poetry which

20306-489: Was to become the "Official Organ" of the A∴A∴, as "The Review of Scientific Illuminism". Crowley became increasingly frustrated with Rose's alcoholism, and in November 1909 he divorced her on the grounds of his own adultery. Lola was entrusted to Rose's care; the couple remained friends and Rose continued to live at Boleskine. Her alcoholism worsened, and as a result she was institutionalized in September 1911. In November 1909, Crowley and Neuburg travelled to Algeria, touring

20449-482: Was trained as an engineer, but his share in a lucrative family brewing business, Crowley's Alton Ales, allowed him to retire before his son was born. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop (1848–1917), came from a Devonshire-Somerset family and had a strained relationship with her son; she described him as "the Beast", a name that he revelled in. The couple had been married at London's Kensington Registry Office in November 1874, and were evangelical Christians. Crowley's father

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