Mr. Crowley, what went down in your head?
February 12, 2011 11:38 AM   Subscribe

Recommendations for books about Aleister Crowley himself or his influence.

I've read Book of Lies but, well, it makes no sense without lots of extra information (if even then). I'm still fascinated by the guy, though and I'd like to know more about him.

Not required, but if there exists writing specifically about his influence on The Beatles that would be cool to know about too.
posted by cmoj to Media & Arts (16 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
Look up Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard. Both were OTO devotees, who wanted to open a US branch of the OTO but Crowley refused (probably because there was no money in it for him).

The phrase "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" was definitely embraced by 60's/70s counter culture but not in any deep way. I think for a lot of 60's rock stars, Crowley was an affectation, something they could pretend to study, to give the appearance of depth without actually having to achieve any degree of mastery. Some of them were undoubtedly fooling themselves, too, but I think for most it was an interesting and dramatic metafiction that allowed them to play an interesting part, with a nicely vague supernatural background. Very similar to the early blues men trading their souls to the devil in exchange for talent. Implying that your talent is beyond natural lends your music a psychological power over people who, to whatever degree, believe in the supernatural.
posted by doctor_negative at 12:48 PM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]


I just read the most recent biography of Somerset Maugham which mentions him, sort of in passing, but Maugham knew him and wrote a novel pretty much obviously based on him, so that might be an interesting avenue to pursue.

P.S. You know he was George Bush's real father, right?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 2:04 PM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]


This recent book by Nick Redfern goes way into the connection between Jack Parson's and Crowley + how Crowley's work influenced some US Top Secret projects.

I listened to an amazing interview with Redfern about the book at the end of this summer, I think on Mysterious Universe, but I can't find the link! It goes into a lot of what you want to know. Damn, I'll keep looking and post the link to the podcast if I find it.
posted by jbenben at 2:06 PM on February 12, 2011


Found it!

I believe the full interview can be heard (an extra hour) if you become a Plus Member of MU ($10 per month?) and is so worth the money because the production value is high and it's just a really smart + fun podcast. It's hard not to get hooked on the Plus content.

Enjoy.

PS. - My fav story about Crowley, and I can't remember where I read it, was an anecdote told by someone who kinda knew him (maybe in his later years?) when he lived in NYC... The story goes that the narrator and Crowley were walking down the street, the narrator was quizzing Crowley about his abilities with magic and his nefarious reputation, etc.. As a bit of demonstration, Crowley focused on a stranger walking up ahead of them and within seconds the stranger tripped and fell. I think the story goes that Crowley shrugged and was something like, "Yeah. I did that. No big deal."
posted by jbenben at 2:18 PM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]


Richard Kaczynski's Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley is probably the best biography. Timothy d'Arch Smith's The Books of the Beast is also worth reading. Both of them stick fairly closely to the documented facts of Crowley's life; d'Arch Smith also retains a sense of humour, a rare thing among Crowley's admirers. I haven't read Nick Redfern's book but it appears to be the usual conspiracy-theory craziness; definitely one to avoid.
posted by verstegan at 3:15 PM on February 12, 2011 [1 favorite]


I think there's some about Crowley in Margot Adler's history of modern witchcraft, Drawing Down the Moon.
posted by Sublimity at 3:17 PM on February 12, 2011


Actually, the Nick Redfern book is expressly NOT the usual "conspiracy theory craziness" and it was fascinating to find out how seriously certain factions of the government intelligence community regarded Crowley and his work, considering that Crowley himself can def be considered a nut-job.
posted by jbenben at 4:00 PM on February 12, 2011


This book is just what the title says, concise, but it's a good introduction, or so I hear.
posted by prior at 5:17 PM on February 12, 2011


Response by poster: Looks like a great start.

I'm sure it's pretty late to throw this on the pile, but what about writings (or interviews of or something) by Crowley that aren't quasi-schizoid poetry?
posted by cmoj at 11:58 PM on February 12, 2011


Little Essays Towards Truth isn't too "IA IA BABALON WOOO." You can get a whole pile of Crowley, ranging from the occultist freakouts to the slightly more sober, at Hermetic.com.

(If you're going to tackle Liber AL vel Legis, I suggest Sam Webster's commentary. Webster is well-known in pagan circles for his thorough scholarship and meticulous approach, and he gives good podcast interviews and so on.)
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 1:18 AM on February 13, 2011


Seconding the Kaczynski biography recommended by verstegan.
The Maugham novel based on Crowley is The Magician. It's a bit corny, but I enjoyed it.
posted by Paris Elk at 1:52 AM on February 13, 2011


Here are some articles on Crowley and his influence on new religious movements, contemporary paganism and performance:

Djurdjevic, G. 2010. Solve et Coagula: Attitudes Toward the Ambrosial Aspects of Human Seed in Certain Yogic Traditions and in the Sexual Magick of Aleister Crowley. Aries, 10(1), 85–106.

Djurdjevic, G. 2008. "The Birth of the New Aeon: Magick and Mysticism of Thelema from the perspective of Postmodern A/Theology." Proceedings of the 2008 Center for Studies on New Religions Conference.

Goodrick-Clarke, N. 2008. "The Western Esoteric Traditions." Oxford University Press.

Granholm, K. 2009. Embracing Others than Satan: The Multiple Princes of Darkness in the Left-Hand Path Milieu. Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology, 85–101.

Laubach, M. n.d. The Epistemology of Esoteric Culture: Spiritual Claim-Making within the American Neopagan Community. Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 3, 45.

Lingan, E. B. 2006. Contemporary Forms of Occult Theatre. PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, 28(3), 23–38.

Mayer, G. 2009. Magicians of the Twenty-First Century: An Attempt at Dimensioning the Magician's Personality. Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, 4(2), 176–206.

Owen, A. 1997. The Sorcerer and His Apprentice: Aleister Crowley and the Magical Exploration of Edwardian Subjectivity. Journal of British Studies, 99–133.  
posted by jardinier at 10:46 AM on February 13, 2011


I found much of Crowley's mystical writing obscure and hard to follow, but the exception is his book on tarot, The Book of Thoth, which is fairly coherent.

His personal memoirs, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography is pretty entertaining, and of course best taken with a massive grain of salt.

I don't think Crowley was a particularly profound influence on The Beatles, but you might want to look into his effect on Jimmy Page and Kenneth Anger.

Crowley himself was influenced by the brilliant Renaissance humanist François Rabelais, whom I would definitely recommend as worth further study.
posted by ovvl at 11:55 AM on February 13, 2011


Another book by Crowley that is somewhere between fictionalized auto-biography and philosophy and just fucking-about-ery is 'Diary of a Drug Fiend', which is a pretty solid read. Book of Lies is actually one of the more approachable writings, if you get the edition with his commentary about each psalm. Granted, there are still a ton of psalms that are completely inscrutable unless you're well versed with early 1900s masonic imagery and the qabbalah, but many of the main philosophical gists are pretty easy to approach.
posted by FatherDagon at 1:15 PM on February 14, 2011


Although you may not have the patience to read the whole thing, this is a good intro to how Crowley saw himself. (I guess I am seconding this.)


The scrutinies of simon iff are also worth reading, perhaps.
posted by wittgenstein at 4:39 PM on February 14, 2011


Response by poster: Thank you, everyone. Let the sifting begin.
posted by cmoj at 9:08 AM on February 17, 2011


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