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The Enigmatic Darkness: Aleister Crowley's Sinister World of Magick and Occultism | Time Travels
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Apr 4, 2025
Hello Time Travellers! Prepare to embark on an extraordinary exploration of Aleister Crowley, the enigmatic occultist and master of magick. Delve into the mysterious depths of his life, where esoteric wisdom intertwines with controversy. Unveil the arcane rituals and transformative practices employed by this influential figure, known as "The Great Beast" and hailed as a prophet of Thelema. Encounter a captivating journey through the realms of mysticism, as Crowley's unorthodox philosophies, hermetic teachings, and provocative symbolism leave an indelible mark on the annals of the occult. Brace yourself for a mind-expanding encounter with Crowley's unyielding pursuit of enlightenment, his rebellious spirit challenging societal norms, and his enduring legacy that continues to captivate seekers of hidden knowledge and seekers of the extraordinary.
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The Victorian Age was a strange time, an era of properness and gallantry on the outside
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but deep down, a society obsessed with spirituality and the hidden, dark underworld
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Figures emerged that would dwell on the creepy and the mysterious, such as authors like Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft
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But few of the Victorian Age's dark figures could grip the imagination so much as Alistair Crowley
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A man shrouded in mystery and intrigue, an occultist, a writer, and a cult leader
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Despite being born into a deeply Christian family, throughout his life, Alistair shocked his contemporaries and polite Victorian society as a whole through his devotion to witchcraft and black magic
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He lived all over the world, climbed mountains, and held depraved, sexually charged group gatherings in his own private chapel
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eventually believing that he was in contact with a guardian angel and writing a book about what it had taught him
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Hello time travellers, I'm your friend Mike Brady, and this is the true story of one of Victorian Britain's true eccentric characters
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Alistair Crowley. Where did this unusual figure come from
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Well, it might surprise you to learn that he had a deeply religious background
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In 1875, Edward Alexander Crowley was born in Warwickshire into a family of Christian fundamentalists
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Though the Crowleys were the heir to a brewing fortune, his father Edward had converted into a religious sect
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that considered wealth a distraction from piety and faith. The family was part of a group called the Plymouth Brethren
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who believed that the very idea of an organized church was against the will of God
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What is written in the Bible is the only legitimate way to run a church. There should be no clergy and no structure beyond a group of worshippers
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Anything more than living humbly and with as little as possible was discouraged
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So Crowley's parents believed that the money they had inherited was ill-gotten and shouldn't be used
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Instead, his father was a preacher and encouraged Edward to study the Bible zealously
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Anything that might have brought enjoyment or happiness was discouraged as a distraction from duty
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and to desire anything at all was considered a sign of the devil's influence
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He was a content enough childhood while his father was alive, but in 1887 he died of tongue cancer, and Edward was devastated
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The boy soon became sick and was sent to live with his uncle in the countryside
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While living with his uncle, he developed many of the habits that would stick with him throughout his life
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He began mountain climbing and then even visiting prostitutes. And for the first time, he began to question what was written in the Bible
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pointing out inconsistencies that he thought he'd found in the narrative. Being away from his religious family for years was enough to break his faith completely When he finally returned to his mother she nicknamed him the Beast for his actions while he was away When he turned 20 he enrolled at Cambridge University studying natural science
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It was here that he abandoned the name Edward and took Alistair as his chosen name
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He began a relationship with another man named Herbert Pollitt, which lasted until 1898
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Once he was able to take control of his inheritance, however, he soon dropped out of university and began studying something very different
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Looking for ways to expand his spiritual knowledge and power, Alistair found himself drawn to a group of Victorian-era occultists
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known as the Order of the Golden Dawn. Occultism was growing in popularity at the time
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and many wealthy Britons found that participating in the rituals was a fun way to spend time
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They would try to summon the dead or pray to dark, otherworldly figures, but it was a trendy thing to do at the time
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Alistair wasn't just doing this for fun, however. He was a true believer. He went so far as to briefly take on another name, Frater Perderabo, a magical motto meaning I will endure to the end
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This was a way to deepen his connection with the sorcery and necromancy he was practising
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and while part of the Order, Alistair would engage in daily summoning rituals
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He became a student of Samuel Mathers, one of the Order's founders, and was taught a ritual for communicating with his guardian angel
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But presumably, the angel left him on red. At this time, Crowley bought a manor in Scotland called Balskin House
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which he used as a place to practice the ritual in peace. He was never successful in summoning his guardian angel
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and he left the Order in 1900 after his fellow members grew frustrated
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with his fanaticism. Crowley wandered the world for a few years, traveling through Mexico and Asia
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and he even attempted to summit K2, the world's second tallest mountain. In 1903, Crowley had returned to Britain, and it was here that he met a woman named Rose Kelly
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Kelly was the sister of a friend of Crowley, and was engaged to be married to a man
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she didn't exactly care for. She eloped with Crowley, and the two went on a honeymoon to Egypt
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a honeymoon that would have a profound impact on both of them, for it was there that Crowley finally succeeded
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in his mission to contact his guardian angel. In Egypt, Crowley never ceased with his attempts to summon a spirit
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and then one day he appeared to have succeeded. After performing a ritual
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Roe seemed to have been possessed by a spirit and began thrashing about
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When she came back to her senses, she claimed that an Egyptian god had spoken to her
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The two of them went to the Egyptian Museum, where she pointed out the statue of an ancient god that she said she had been in contact with
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It was the Egyptian god Horus and it was supposedly listed as catalogue item number 666 the biblical mark of the beast Crowley saw this as proof that Rose really was in communication with the occult world She gave Crowley the instructions that she had received from the god for contacting the
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spirit world and armed with this new knowledge, Crowley performed a new ritual and supposedly
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came into contact with his own guardian angel, Iwas. While in contact with Iwas, Crowley learned many new philosophies
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when Ayahuas told him to do what thou will, be the only law
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Using what Ayahuas had told him, Crowley transcribed a new book, the Book of the Law
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The book stated that the Christian world was on the verge of giving way to a new spiritual movement
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one that Crowley was destined to lead. Ayahuas had also claimed to have brought a message
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from an ancient Egyptian priest, and Crowley became convinced that he was a reincarnation
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of the ancient holy man. After this adventure in Egypt, Rose and Alistair continued their wanderings, with Rose giving birth to two children and Alistair
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taking little part in their upbringing. It's hard to imagine a creepier household to be raised in
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In India, Crowley attempted to conduct a Himalayan expedition to summit what was then
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considered to be the world's most dangerous mountain. Crowley was expedition leader
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but his bizarre behavior and rudeness when dealing with his companions quickly led to
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arguments breaking out within the expedition. After one particularly vicious disagreement, several members of the expedition mutinied and tried to climb back down the mountain
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just as an avalanche was approaching. It's not clear exactly what happened next
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but survivors claim that Crowley chose to sit in his tent and summon a demon
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ignoring the cries for help for those that had survived the avalanche. Several of those porters died, and Crowley was blamed for it
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Shortly after this disastrous expedition, Crowley's first daughter, Lilith, died of typhoid while in Burma
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Crowley blamed Rose for this, and the relationship between the two did not recover
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Now, throughout his travels through Asia, Crowley was smoking opium and taking hashish
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which he claimed increased his connections with the spirit world. He also engaged in affairs basically wherever he went
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even taking his family on a journey through China just so that he could meet up with an old mistress
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Eventually, in 1909, Crowley wrote another book of the occult, Liber 777
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and formed his own secret society, the Argentium Astrum. Much of what the group practiced
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was taken from what Crowley had learned as a member of the Golden Dawn
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but with his own rituals added in based on what Iwis had supposedly told him
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It was also at this time that he abandoned Rose, filing for a divorce on grounds of her alcoholism
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and his own adultery. Rose would enter an asylum two years later
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In 1914, the First World War broke out and Crowley fled to the United States. While there, he wrote for the pro-German newspaper
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The Fatherland, though his works were so ridiculous that it's been speculated he was a plant from
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British intelligence to discredit the German cause After the war he travelled to Sicily and founded the cult of Thelema with the Book of Law being the foundational text of their religion He established himself in an Italian church which he named the Abbey of Thelema and attracted followers from all across Europe
9:15
who were interested in the occult. Now, while occult rituals occurred daily
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there was a sordid affair with drug use and group sex taking place among the followers
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basically trying to break down any sense of societal decency in the name of spiritual enlightenment
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Now, this was unthinkable at the time, and took place decades before the social revolution and free love of the 1960s
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it must have been scandalous and newspaper columns wildly conjectured about what was going on within the group
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In 1923, one of Crowley's followers, Rourke Loveday, died of a liver infection after being forced to drink the blood of a cat
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and then drinking from a polluted stream. Loveday's wife returned to London afterwards and spread the word of what was happening in the alley
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The British tabloid John Bull declared Crowley to be, quote, the wickedest man in the world
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The Italian government forced the abbey to close after only three years of operation
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Afterwards, Crowley travelled to the United States to spread his word, attracting followers like L. Ron Hubbard
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who had later found his own cult, Scientology. He also expressed interest in trying to tempt Adolf Hitler to the cult of Thelema
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but after the German occult societies were banned under the Nazis, he gave up on the plan
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In 1936, his wild spending caught up with him. His fortune had run dry and his income was non-existent
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He became addicted to heroin and Crowley was forced to declare bankruptcy and would spend the rest of his life in England
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He would later marry another follower of his and have a third child named Ataturk
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In 1947, Alastair Crowley died of bronchitis while living with his new family in Cornwall
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All in all, Alistair Crowley's life was spent on the fringes of society
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doing whatever he could to shock and dismantle the societal norms that he existed within
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He was protected by his inherited wealth and seemed to destroy the lives of all the people he came into contact with
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Despite this, he experienced a revival in popularity in the 1960s, 20 years after his death
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The counterculture movement in Britain was taken by his refusal to conform to the world around him
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and he has since become something of an icon. He was put on the cover of the Beatles album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
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and the lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, bought Crowley's old home of Boleskine House
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Despite being a societal reject all his life and horrifying virtually everyone he came to contact with
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Alistair Crowley had cemented his place in pop culture as a dark magician with a guardian angel watching over him
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Until next time, remember, history doesn't repeat, but it certainly echoes
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