In the Shadow of the B

Spring 05-10-2014, Department of Religious Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

THESYS: In the Shadow of the B: (The Impact of AC on New Religious Movements and Contemporary Culture), Robert Jones 

ABSTRACT
0 PROLOGUE: RECONSIDERATION OF THE BEAST
1 MAGIC(K), MYSTERY, AND MEANING
2 WEAVING THE WEB
3 SEX, DRUGS, ROCK N’ ROLL
4 THE SEASON OF THE WITCH
EPILOGUE: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
BIBLIOGRAPHY

                                 1 MAGIC(K), MYSTERY, AND MEANING
                                                     Robert Jones 

         “Magic leads us to exhilaration and ecstasy; into insight and understanding; into changing ourselves and
           the world in which we participate. Through magic we may come to explore the possibilities of freedom.”                                                                                                                           Phil Hine (Condensed Chaos, 1995) 

Much of the controversy surrounding Aleister Crowley involves his application of magical ritual technique and the cosmology that supported these practices. Not only does the cultural context of the time in question warrant consideration, but so does the context that Crowley created, as well as his more personal views on magic. If the range of influences and the goals of his practices are examined in their particular context, then perhaps some of his actions and ideas may be viewed more sympathetically. However, my intent is not to propose justification for some of Crowley’s more notorious deeds (real or imagined), but simply to present a fair and balanced assessment of his notable contributions to contemporary Western culture, particularly in the areas of spirituality, sexuality and occultism. 

The term religion does not contain an inherent meaning that lends itself to universal application, nor does the term magic. These terms are employed as general categories that may be useful analytical tools when looking into elements of diverse ritual practices and cosmologies that appear to have certain family resemblances. Crowley has probably had a more profound influence on the way that modern magic is imagined, represented, and practiced than any other single 20th century figure, he even provides us with a distinct spelling of the word, magick. This spelling was used by Crowley to distinguish his practices from “stage magic,” and “the ‘Magic’ that attracted ‘dilettanti and eccentrics’ who sought an escape from reality.”8 His own working definition of magick was this: “The Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.”9 Always striving for concrete results, he used methods ancient and modern, sacred and profane. This approach led to experimentation that far exceeded the previous limits of his own already expansive personal boundaries and carnal preoccupations. Crowley is perhaps best known for two phrases that have been grossly misinterpreted by those who have never examined the passages in their contexts: “Do What Thou Wilt”10; and “Every Man and Woman is a Star.” By the turn of the century, Crowley was unavowedly bisexual, used psychotropic drugs, and explored Eastern esoteric traditions such as Hindu Tantrism, Yoga, Buddhism, and Taoism (he traveled to India and China in the first decade of the 20th century). When considering the 1960’s revival of interest in Crowley’s life and legend, his renewed status as a countercultural icon should come as no surprise. 

Who was Aleister Crowley? What did he accomplish? Whom did he influence? What is the significance of his work and image? Edward Alexander Crowley (1875-1947) was born in Warwickshire, England. As the son of a Plymouth Brethren preacher and heir to a thriving family-owned ale company, Crowley was the product of a upper middle class Christian upbringing in Victorian England. Early on, he displayed a very curious and bold nature. His mother had referred to him as the “Beast” already when he was thirteen years old; this happened after Crowley was caught having sexual intercourse with one of the house maids.11 He later  attended Cambridge University, where he was a member of the Chess Club, Freethought Association, and the debate team.12 He was also heavily influenced by James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, the work of the “Cambridge Ritualists,” (Frances Cornford, Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray) and Egyptologist Margaret Murray. Even before attending university, Crowley had studied Latin and Greek. During this time, he also changed his first name to Aleister (a variant of the Gaelic name for Alexander), as he felt that his given name did not properly suit him.13 Upon receiving his inheritance, Crowley dropped out and left Cambridge without receiving a degree. 

“Spiritualism” (communication with the dead and other spiritual entities through seances) had become popular in England and France, and as previously noted an occult revival was underway in England. While the Theosophical Society had been formed in the year of Crowley’s birth (a fact that Crowley saw as significant), the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn opened its first temple in 1888. The magical practices, secrecy, initiatory rites, ancient Egyptian and Greek imagery seemed more appealing to Crowley than did the Theosophists’ methods, though, Crowley was heavily influenced by Indian and Chinese philosophies and imagery, as were the Theosophists.14 It must be noted that many esoteric groups were formed during this period, due to a growing popularity of forms of spirituality and occult knowledge. When referring to this period, Alison Butler states that, 

In an era of immense occult and esoteric activity such an establishment was scarcely remarkable on the surface. The Order of the Golden Dawn, however, proved to be truly unique in that it appeared to have no precedent for its focus on practical and ceremonial magic. Emerging in a society accustomed to the hierarchical and secretive nature of Freemasonry,  the ghostly realm of the Spiritualists, and the mysticism and mythology of the Theosophists, the Order of the Golden Dawn stood out for its emphasis on ceremonial magic. It was an esoteric society for practicing magicians.15 

This was a persistent cultural feature in London during most of Crowley’s lifetime. And, due to his newfound wealth, Crowley was able to indulge his interests fully, even to the extent of traveling to exotic locales to have first-hand contact with practitioners of various esoteric religious methodologies. 

A basic understanding of the cultural context from which Crowley emerged is necessary for an assessment of his innovative contributions. First of all, this was the Victorian Era, which to this day is thought of as a period of significant sexual repression. However, there was a Romantic undercurrent that produced attractive reinterpretations of the “virtues” of hedonistic sinfulness as evidenced in Oscar Wilde’s promotion of a “New Hellenism” and his admonition to “be thyself.” Likewise, Aubrey Beardsley’s renderings of the Greek God, Pan, inspired those who wished to move beyond the standard Christian moral framework in the search for amorality.16 

In the 1890’s, as the subculture of Victorian decadence gained momentum, feminism was also on the rise. Feminism and decadence were connected through a climate of repressive sexual politics, and a mutual attraction to the occult groups such as the Theosophical Society and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. According to Alex Owens, “Occultism was itself bound up with a spiritualized vision of social change that called upon those ideals of regeneration and self-fulfillment that were deeply attractive to feminists of the period, and offered a ‘new’ religiosity capable of outstripping the conventional Victorian association of femininity with a  Romantic notions of Oriental “mysticism” were also woven into the fabric of English colonial culture.18 The prospect of adopting “exotic” religious practices became appealing to those wishing to escape the clutches of Christian moral conservatism. This led several occult groups to begin offering access to so-called secret knowledge of the East. With this also came a rise of interest in the “Paganism” of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the British Isles, which some groups found attractive due to a more local cultural connection. Crowley eventually blended such diverse elements as the I-Ching, Kabbalah, Gnosticism, Hindu Tantra, Buddhism, Rosicrucianism, Egyptian mythology, and the Greco-Roman Pantheon as the basis for his own religion. Among the variety of esoteric groups that existed in England at the end of the nineteenth century, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was unique due to “its emphasis on ceremonial magic.”19 

The group’s membership included notables such as Mina Bergson (wife of the founder Samuel MacGregor-Mathers, and sister of Henri Bergson), poet W.B. Yeats, Allan Bennett (one of the first Westerners to become ordained as a Buddhist monk), Sarah Allgood (stage and film actress), Sax Rohmer (novelist), and Bram Stoker (author of “Dracula”). Though Crowley, after his departure from the group, did retain much of their ritual theory, he decided to focus on what he considered to be practical, results-based magick. Thus, he adopted and developed ritual activity that was much more comprehensive and quite controversial when compared to other spiritual groups of his time. 

The psychological aspects of magical ‘reality’ were not overlooked by Crowley.20 The Will was seen as the ultimate source of magical phenomena, with instrumental entities (angels, demons, spirits) being projections within the mind.21 Yet, if the Will is not enlightened, efforts to engage it in the use of magick may prove not only futile, but detrimental. “We postulate the existence of intelligences, either within or without the diviner, of which he is not immediately conscious. It does not matter to the theory whether the communicating spirit so-called is an objective entity or a concealed portion of the diviner’s mind.”22 Much of the controversy surrounding Crowley came through an association with ritual sex magick and the Enochian (or Goetic) magick that had been practiced by John Dee (1527-1608), an astrologer and alchemist who had been a consultant to Queen Elizabeth. Dee used a grimoire23 called the Goetia (or the Lesser Key of Solomon) for conjuring angels and demons. Crowley considered himself to be reincarnation of Dee’s assistant, necromancer and interpreter of angelic language, Edward Kelly (1555-1597).24 What may be classified as “magic” can vary according to time and context. In England, there was a long history of magic being perceived as demonic, as was any ritual activity that was not sanctioned by the Church. 

In the Middle Ages, the Jewish mystical teachings of the Kabbalah were reapplied by Pico della Mirandola (1463-94) when occultists of the late fifteenth century saw the mythic Hermes Trismegistus as the archetype for the Renaissance Magus. Pico believed that, “mastery of the Kabbalah can give a person unimagined magical skill, though a dabbler who uses the Kabbalah carelessly can be destroyed by demons...[and that] magic grounded in the Kabbalah is the only effective magic.”25 The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn reintroduced the use of the Kabbalah into occult practice some four-hundred years later. Crowley also incorporated it as the basis for many of his teachings. Crowley’s flamboyance and penchant for ritual taboo caused eventual dissension with other members. W.B. Yeats while acknowledging Crowley’s talent as a poet, also considered him dangerous and perhaps even insane.26

It is also important to note that Crowley’s association with the number 666 came about after leaving the order. In 1904, while in Cairo, his wife Rose Kelly began to have revelations that led to the reception of the Book of the Law from the supernatural entity known as Aiwass, whom Crowley believed to be his long sought after Holy Guardian Angel.27 Crowley tested Rose (who had no knowledge of Egyptian deities) by having her identify the god Horus in a museum. She pointed out the stelae that she felt most drawn to, and its display number just happened to be 666. Crowley then began to identify as the Beast 666, alluding to Revelation 13:18, further reinterpretations of the biblical images of the Beast, the Whore of Babylon, and Lucifer were to follow. It should also be noted that Crowley identified Aiwass with Satan and with Horus’ brother Seth, who is considered the ancient Egyptian equivalent to the Christian Devil.28 Such claims increased his infamy and diabolical reputation, which many of the tenets of his new religion, Thelema, seem to contradict.29 

Within movements that may be considered spiritual and/or religious there are notable figures who come to the forefront. These individuals often embody the combined elements of their sphere of activity to a greater extent than their predecessors, while also introducing innovations and reinterpretations that actually change the practice and the reception of the given discipline. In terms of ritual and cosmological aspects of magic and the occult, Aleister Crowley appears to be the most influential and iconoclastic figure of early 20th century. His work has since been subject to a variety of reinterpretations, with the exhaustive range of Crowley’s work leading to the exhaustive range of its applications. Thus having led to both uncredited influence and unfounded claims of personal connection to Crowley. Next, I will examine the process of the promotion of his persona and the development of his new religion.