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105-659: It was first climbed by Oscar Eckenstein and Matthias Zurbriggen on 8 August 1887. The Stecknadelhorn is part of the Mischabel range, which culminates at the Dom (4,546 m). This article about a mountain, mountain range, or peak located in Valais is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Oscar Eckenstein Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein (9 September 1859 – 8 April 1921)

210-593: 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),

315-472: 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

420-601: 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

525-733: 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

630-614: 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

735-484: 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

840-646: 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

945-550: 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

1050-403: 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),

1155-435: 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

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1260-459: 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

1365-713: A prominent member of the Alpine Club . Eckenstein is also credited with designing the modern crampon as well as analysing both knots and nail patterns for climbing boots. He was an advocate of guideless climbing in a period when conventional thinking in the Alpine Club called for gentlemen climbers to be led to the top of peaks by paid professional guides. He assisted Geoffrey Winthrop Young with his classic mountaineering manual, Mountain Craft . John Percy Farrar and J. Norman Collie also contributed to this book. When

1470-698: 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

1575-586: 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

1680-428: 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

1785-593: 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

1890-426: 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

1995-616: 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

2100-461: 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

2205-714: 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

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2310-716: 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

2415-636: 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

2520-491: The Confessions , he mentions that they first met at Wasdale Head in 1898. Crowley dedicated the Confessions to six men, including "OSCAR ECKENSTEIN – who trained me to follow the trail" and he praises Eckenstein in several passages of the book, mentioning his gymnastic strength, including his ability to do one-arm chin ups. In 1900 Eckenstein travelled to Mexico to climb there with Crowley, they also climbed together on

2625-670: 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

2730-659: 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

2835-670: 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

2940-701: The Royal Asiatic Society before his death. In 1918 O.E. married Margery Edwards. There were no children. Eckenstein climbed in the English Lake District with George and Ashley Abraham , though their relationship was not always smooth, and in North Wales with Geoffrey Winthrop Young and J. M. Archer Thomson . An early advocate of bouldering , on the Eckenstein Boulder at Llanberis Pass he taught Archer Thomson

3045-547: 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

3150-598: 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

3255-629: 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

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3360-707: 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

3465-749: 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

3570-660: 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 ,

3675-493: 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

3780-591: 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

3885-727: 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

3990-404: 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

4095-500: 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 ,

4200-577: 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

4305-522: 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

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4410-678: 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 ,

4515-564: The art of balance climbing, according to Winthrop Young. Together with Matthias Zurbriggen he made the first ascent of the Stecknadelhorn (4,241 m) in the Pennine Alps on 8 August 1887; on 10 July 1906, together with Karl Blodig and Alexis Brocherel, he made the first ascent of Mont Brouillard . Eckenstein was one of the few people who readily climbed with mystic and magician Aleister Crowley . In Crowley's autobiography,

4620-508: The book was published in 1920, Farrar wrote to Winthrop Young: "The book is magnificent ... It will be standard for so long as mankind is interested in mountaineering. The profound amount of work put into it staggers me." He was a railway engineer for most of his life – well educated, and insufferably arrogant (some said). He was not one to mince words, and a long feud with the Alpine Club caused many of its members to denigrate him. Eckenstein married Margery Edwards in February 1918, when he

4725-412: 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

4830-462: 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

4935-546: 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

5040-463: 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

5145-423: 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

5250-716: 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

5355-464: The expedition after six months. In Kashmir, he conducted bouldering contests for the natives – possibly the first such "formal" competitions ever. Eckenstein collected his letters and diary notes from this expedition into a book published under the title 'The Karakorams and Kashmir'. Eckenstein was the leader of the first serious attempt to climb K2 in 1902. The attempt was on the Northeast Ridge, Aleister Crowley and Guy Knowles were also members of

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5460-429: The expedition led by Eckenstein to attempt K2 in 1902. Eckenstein was a member of an expedition led by Sir Martin Conway to the Baltoro Muztagh region in 1892. The expedition was sponsored by the Royal Society , the Royal Geographical Society and the British Association , and included a young C.G.Bruce on his first major trek. Conway and Eckenstein had a deep personality conflict, and Eckenstein withdrew from

5565-470: The expedition. Upon arrival in India, Eckenstein was detained by British authorities for three weeks on suspicion of being a spy, and not allowed to enter Kashmir. He and Crowley were convinced that Martin Conway was responsible for trying to interfere with their attempt on K2, and only when they threatened to take the matter to the newspapers was Eckenstein released. In the early 1900s, modern transportation did not exist: It took "fourteen days just to reach

5670-510: 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

5775-427: 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

5880-411: 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

5985-415: The foot of the mountain". After five serious and costly attempts, the team reached 6,525 metres (21,407 ft) – although considering the difficulty of the challenge, and the lack of modern climbing equipment or weatherproof fabrics, Crowley's statement that "neither man nor beast was injured" highlights the pioneering spirit and bravery of the attempt. The failures were also attributed to sickness (Crowley

6090-407: 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

6195-439: 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

6300-514: 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

6405-413: 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

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6510-477: 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

6615-421: 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

6720-417: 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

6825-826: 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

6930-439: 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,

7035-409: 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

7140-654: 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

7245-561: 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

7350-538: 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 ,

7455-416: 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

7560-591: 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

7665-680: 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

7770-518: 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

7875-595: 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

7980-593: 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

8085-563: 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

8190-682: 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

8295-616: 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

8400-519: 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

8505-477: 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

8610-475: 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

8715-418: Was 58. They lived in the small town of Oving . His health soon declined and he died of consumption in 1921. 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

8820-639: 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

8925-674: Was English. His sisters were Lina Eckenstein , the polymath feminist, and Amelia who was to marry Julius Cyriax. He was a railway engineer and worked for the International Railway Congress Association founded in Brussels in 1885. He was an early and active member of the National Liberal Club . Interested in the life of explorer Richard Burton , he collected an extensive collection of documents about his life, which he donated to

9030-676: 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

9135-471: Was abandoned, and Pfannl was evacuated to lower elevations and survived. In the late 19th century, the typical ice axe shaft measured 120–130 cm in length. Eckenstein started the trend toward shorter ice axes with a lighter model measuring 85–86 cm, which could be used single handed. Initially, this innovation was criticised by well-known climbers of the era, including his nemesis Martin Conway ,

9240-472: Was an English rock climber and mountaineer , and a pioneer in the sport of bouldering . Inventor of the modern crampon , he was an innovator in climbing technique and mountaineering equipment , and the leader of the first serious expedition to attempt K2 . Eckenstein's father was a Jewish socialist from Bonn who had fled the Kingdom of Prussia following the failed revolution of 1848 . His mother

9345-615: 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

9450-474: 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

9555-885: 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

9660-552: 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

9765-556: 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

9870-561: 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

9975-609: 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

10080-526: 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

10185-434: 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

10290-452: 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

10395-796: 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

10500-463: 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

10605-404: Was suffering the residual effects of malaria), a combination of questionable physical training, personality conflicts, and poor weather conditions – of 68 days spent on K2 (at the time, the record for the longest time spent at such an altitude) only eight provided clear weather. An Austrian climber named Pfannl became sick with pulmonary edema at the high point, which Crowley diagnosed. The climb

10710-558: 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

10815-734: 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

10920-546: 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

11025-482: 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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