Always excited to have a new topic and new this one is. Our guest William Ramsey will discuss his new book, Prophet of Evil covering questions such as “How did Aleister Crowley influence the events of 9/11, considering the fact that he died in 1947?”, “How did Aleister Crowley inspire the doctrines of the New… Continue reading Aleister Crowley, 9/11 and the New World Order
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was a man of many parts. He was brought up in the West of England as a member of a wealthy and fanatically religious brewing family. An outstanding mountaineer, he crossed the Alps, climbed in Mexico and North America. In his early adulthood, he travelled far and wide in search of spiritual enlightenment. He studied with various gurus and Indian mystics, before settling in Egypt in 1904. There he held nightly conversations with Aiwass, an entity who directed him to write a book called The Book of the Law. The Book of the Law formed the basis for his religious philosophy known as Thelema. This philosophy centred on the idea that humankind is entering into a new era. One governed by a different moral code. It’s motto, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” explains a lot of it. Crowley’s way of living focused on continual experimentation in all areas of life. He wrote about yoga, magic, alchemy, astrology and tarot. His writings weren’t always popular when they were first published. But, over time they have become more influential.
Aleister Crowley was born on October 12th, 1875 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. His father was a wealthy brewer and his mother was by all accounts devoutly religious. She encouraged her son’s education but had no tolerance for atheism. Edward Crowley died when Aleister was four years old. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop remarried when he was five years old. Alster and his mother moved to London where they lived with her new husband, George Cecil Jones.
In his early adulthood that he travelled in search of spiritual enlightenment. He studied with various gurus and Indian mystics then settled in Egypt in 1904. There he held nightly conversations with Aiwass, an entity who directed him to write a book called The Book of the Law, which formed the basis for his religious philosophy known as Thelema.
Aleister Crowley on Radio Wasteland
In the year 1904 I wrote this book by direct command of my Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass. It is thus a sacred work; but I have made no effort to make it appear so; it is not even correct English (I am not an English scholar). It was dictated through me on one level. That level may be called “the astral” or “the mental”, but it is not limited to these dimensions alone – call it what you will – there must be others also – perhaps many other dimensions – but these are those which concern us now – and we are concerned only with our own selves at present anyhow!
Thelema is a philosophy which sees humanity on the brink of attaining a new age of spiritual enlightenment. One governed by a different set of rules. The main rule is “Do what thou wilt.”
It is also a religion (founded in 1904 by Crowley ). The religion believes you can experience divinity directly through The Book of Law. This book was dictated to Aleister Crowley by an extraterrestrial intelligence named Aiwass.
He found that there were few limitations to human experience and pleasure… or at least very few that could not be overcome with enough effort. Any given limitation could be transcended through the use of magic and ritual, including the practice of sexual magic. Sex was an important aspect for Crowley because he believed that “sex is one of the most powerful creative forces on earth.” For him, sex was not a physical act but also a magical act.
One example of this is his favorite quote from Oscar Wilde: “There is no sin except stupidity.”
Crowley was a prolific writer. He wrote many books on religion and philosophy, including The Book of Lies. He also wrote several volumes of poetry.
While his writings were not always popular, they have become influential over time. In particular, Thelema has been embraced by many art movements such as surrealism, dadaism and punk rock.