Difference between revisions of "Aleister Crowley"

Revision as of 23:31, 28 November 2006

Freeze frame of the picture of Aleister Crowley that hangs on Bree's wall.

Introduction

Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) (last name rhymes with "holy") was a figure in late 19th and early 20th century occultism. Bree has a picture of him on the wall of her bedroom (above her bookcase, to the left of her door), leading many to assume that her religion is affiliated in some way with Thelema.

Crowley grew up in a strict Plymouth Brethren family where his mother often referred to him as the "Beast of Revelation". This may have been the catalyst for him to pursue alternative spirituality.

Crowley and Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942) were rivals in the early days of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and after leaving to found rival organizations (Crowley first the Argenteum Astrum and then a faction of the Ordo Templi Orientis and Waite the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross), the men mocked each other in published works.

Crowley's life largely consisted of exploring the far reaches of the once great British Empire, studying various forms of Vajrayana Buddhism, theosophy, occultism, ceremonial magick, and ancient ritual. He incorporated these into his own comprehensive methodology called Magick in an extensive body of literature consisting of poetry, prose, essays, and syncretized occultism.

Dubbed the "Wickedest Man in the World" by the British yellow press, Crowley is perhaps best known for his seemingly contradictory but esoterically linked instructions, "Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and "Love is the law, Love under Will". He is also associated with the number 93, used by devotees as a shorthand for these sayings. These statements are pulled from Crowley's masterwork around which his entire life and body of literature attempted to extrapolate, The Book of the Law or Liber Al vel Legis.

In 1920 he and a small group of followers moved to Cefalu, in Sicily, where they established what would now be called a commune and devoted their time to sex, magic, and drugs. In one video Bree mentions living on a commune in New Zealand.

Alister Crowley has had an influence on Rock and Roll music although none of this music is used in the music of Lonelygirl15. There are many connections between Jimmy Page of the rock band Led Zeppelin and Aleister Crowley.

In the video Aleister Crowley, Daniel reads a story from an unspecified Arizona newspaper that associates Crowley with an abduction in 1943.

Crowley's birthday is October 12, which was the date of the fake ceremony that Lucy used to trick Daniel. The occasion is casually celebrated by modern Thelemites under the title of Crowleymas, typically with curry, orgia, and wine.

The Book of the Law

In "The Book of the Law" Crowley give a receipt for the Cakes of Light and one of the ingedients is the blood of a child.

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" "Love is the law, love under will"

The Book of the Dead

Crowley translated the Book of the Dead. The book was written in Egyptian. Books of the Dead constituted a collection of spells, charms, passwords, numbers and magical formulae for the use of the deceased in the afterlife. A text version of The Book of the Law is available on the internet. The book of the dead has been linked to the fictional work Necronomicon (see the next section).

Cake of Light

According to Wikipedia, Cake of Light is the name of the eucharistic host found within Thelema, the mystical system founded by Aleister Crowley in the early 20th century. It contains meal, honey, and oil for the base ingrediants, and is usually cooked in the shape of a small, flat wafer. It appears by name in two important Thelemic rituals: the Gnostic Mass and the Mass of the Phoenix. However, Crowley thought it was important for magicians to perform a eucharistic ritual of some kind daily (from Magick, Book 4, ch. 20):

Necronomicon

The Necronomicon is a dangerous book involving ways to open gates of hell. Many of the ways need virgins. Cthulhu is the Keeper for one of the gates of hell. By its mythology, the Necronomicon (meaning The Book of Dead Names) was written by Abdul Alhazrad over 1,000 years ago, after he witnessed a mysterious group of priests summoning demons in the Arabian desert. The mythology of the Necronomicon was popularized by H.P. Lovecraft in the early 20th century in a seriees of short stories taking place in Massachusetts and related to the fictional Miskatonic University.

More details on necronomicon.

People Crowley knew

Among the influential contemporary religious leader that Crowley knew are Israel Regardie Jack Parsons, Anton LaVey and L. Ron Hubbard

Speculation on a Moonchild

Based on the Crowley book Moonchild some people have speculated that Bree may have been impregnated at the ceremony.

Aleister Crowley and Baphomet

According to Wikipedia: 'The Baphomet of Lévi was to become an important figure within the cosmology of Thelema, the mystical system established by Aleister Crowley in the early 20th century.'

Geneology

Evidence points to the possibility that Aleister Crowley was the true father of Barbara Bush, the former First Lady and mother to George W. Bush who was a member of a secret organization called Skull and Bones at Yale University.

Outside links

• Aleister Crowley (Wikipedia Article)
• OTO page on Aleister Crowley. OTO is initiatory society continuing his work.
• Aleister Crowley Article at Sourceryforge,the Esoteric-Occult Wiki
• Aleister Crowley The Greatest Magician of the 20th Century?
• Aleister Crowley and the "Sirians"
• Aleisster Crowley and 1943
• Crowley
• Gerald del Campo “On the Use of Blood in Ritual” 1986
• Gerald Gardner
• Fact Sheet on Aleister Crowley
• Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
• Aleister Crowley
• Aleister Crowley Satanic Verses {1875-1947}
• The Confessions of Aleister Crowley
• Crowley Fact Sheet