Sergey Borisov
Aleister Crowley.Demon in the flesh
Every century gives birth to its heroes... and its scoundrels. The past century is no exception. But who is the best? Not a hero, let's not talk about heroes? and the scoundrel? The choice is great. Someone will name Hitler, someone Stalin, someone Pol Pot, here are Himmler and Beria, there will be a place on this black list for the greedy American Bella Hannes, who killed 86 men, and for the maniac Chikatilo... A survey conducted by the British sociologists among Internet users in different countries, deprives the answer of subjectivity. The most vile and vile type, the most disgusting person, the true “devil in the flesh” is Aleister Crowley. He considered himself a great poet, a great magician and the Beast, whose number is 666. In fact, he was a swindler, a drug addict, a pervert and a sadist. With his own hands he did not kill a single person, but he disfigured the souls and minds of many, many. And although Crowley was born in 1875, he died in the 20th century! Didn't calculate the heroin dose... Chamber of Nightmares The large, bright house in Sicily was known to all occultists in Europe. It was called Theleme Abbey, and it was the lair of the Beast. Here the most mysterious, most daring rituals were performed, which narrow-minded newspapermen for some reason called disgusting and inhuman. There was a room in the house. The owner called it the Temple, the servants called it the Chamber of Nightmares. Mysteries were held here. In the corners, clouds of intoxicating smoke rose from the altars. In the center stood an altar. During the rituals, the naked wife of the Beast and the mother of his two children, Leah Herzig, lay on him. Sometimes she was replaced by the maid Ninetta Shumway, who also gave birth to a child for the Beast. Accompanied by the drawn-out singing of the magician, they were given over to either him or his adherents, but more often - to all participants in the mystery. Aleister Crowley was born in the town of Leamington, not far from Stratford-upon-Avon, where William Shakespeare was born. Nowadays people also go to Leamington “to pay their respects”, although, fortunately, there are much fewer followers of Crowley than admirers of Shakespeare. Crowley's father was a beer manufacturer, but one day he made a decision and retired in order to devote himself to promoting the views of the Christian sect "Plymouth Brethren." The essence of the sectarians’ teaching was that the Apocalypse is already very close, and therefore we must strictly observe all moral standards: this way you will be saved! Edward Crowley first of all turned his zeal to his son, in which Alistair's mother, Emily Burt, assisted him in every possible way. Much later, when Aleister Crowley became a convinced devil-worshipper and author of “Satanic” books, it was his ruthless Puritan upbringing that he would call main reason that he hated Christianity with all his soul. He recalled that his mother often called him the Beast from the Revelation of John the Theologian... and he liked it! “Before I reached adolescence, I already knew that I was the Beast, whose number is 666. Although I did not understand what this meant.” In 1887, Crowley Sr. died of cancer, and his widow devoted herself entirely to the affairs of the sect. She simply couldn’t get around to her son. However, by that time she had already despaired of setting the stubborn man on the right path, who preferred courtyard fun with the same tomboys to reading religious books. Alistair especially liked to hit church stained glass windows with stones... At the age of 20, Crowley was enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he soon found himself surrounded by spiritualists, mediums and occultists. In those years it was considered A year after entering the university, Crowley went to Stockholm, as he said, he was drawn there as if by a magnet. And there, on the shores of the Baltic, inspiration descended on him. “The knowledge awoke in me,” he wrote, “that I was involved in the magical intentions ... of my nature, which until that moment, essentially, was hidden from me. It was an experience of horror and pain, combined with a certain spiritual discomfort, and, at the same time, it represented the key to the purest and most holy spiritual ecstasy that is possible." Detractors, however, argued that the “insight” was just a consequence of the first homosexual experience, in which Crowley deliberately assigned himself a passive role. The choice was conscious and sober creative path . Crowley fancied himself a poet, borrowing his writing style from Swinburne and his themes and characters from De Sade. Moreover, in the latter, Aleister Crowley succeeded so much that the long-deceased Marquis, if given the opportunity, would be ashamed of his modesty. Indeed, in describing sexual orgies, Crowley was extremely inventive and convincing, which was primarily facilitated by his personal experience., and together with Jones, using spells, he began to summon the demon Buer, the ruler of 50 hellish legions. As Crowley said, he only partially succeeded. He and Jones must have not loved each other actively enough during the ceremony, but the demon Buer entered our world in a strange guise - in the guise of a lizard. Yes, yes, Crowley quite seriously asserted that the famous Loch Ness monster was the fruit of his magical efforts!(We note that many years later the Boleskine House estate was purchased by the guitarist of the rock band Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, who considered himself a follower of Aleister Crowley in the early 70s. However, the musician soon changed his mind, came to his senses and publicly renounced ideas of his “teacher.”) At the same time, in Scotland, Crowley announced that he was the new life incarnation of the sorcerer-Satanist Eliphas Levi, who died on his birthday, and also met local witches, all jaded aristocrats. But after several mysteries, the High Priestess drove him away for “sexual licentiousness and animal perversions.” First among unequals. Paris, Rome, India, Egypt... In Cairo, Crowley's wife very successfully acquires the ability to trance, and immediately receives news from the ancient spirit Aiwaz. The wife, naturally, shares what she heard with her husband, and a few days later the “Book of the Law” comes out from the pen of Aleister Crowley, which speaks of the advent of a new era - the era of Aquarius. The old laws by which humanity lived will give way to new ones; the doctrine of Thelema (from the Greek - “will”) will become a universal religion; the main slogan is “Do what you want, that’s the whole law.” In principle, Crowley did not tell the world anything new. Most of his conclusions were borrowed from Nietzsche and other philosophers. Only, unlike them, Aleister Crowley did not bother himself with calculations and evidence, instead generously flavoring the text with cabalism and calls for “free sex.” And he achieved his goal: the most “advanced” European intellectuals bought into this quackery. Aleister Crowley taught: “If Strength asks why, it becomes Weakness.” And one more thing: “Have no compassion for the fallen...” Having founded his own Order of the Silver Star in 1907, Crowley himself lived by these principles. In 1909, his wife began to show symptoms of aggressive insanity, and Crowley promptly divorced her, and when Rose Kelly-Crowley committed suicide two years later, he merely shrugged when told of the tragedy. 1. And a few years before this, the following story happened. When an English expedition tried to conquer the Tibetan peak of Kanchenjunga, one of the climbers was buried in an avalanche. Aleister Crowley refused to take part in his rescue... He also beat and humiliated the Sherpa porters in every possible way, considering them subhuman. This conviction of his superiority attracted the attention of Aleister Crowley to the head of the German Order of the Eastern Templars (O.T.O.), Theodor Reuss, one of the future ideologists of Nazism. He was also interested in the magical capabilities of Crowley, who constantly “improved” them with the help of various hallucinogens, primarily mescaline. The German mystic was especially delighted by the sexual side of the teaching - a mixture of tantric Hinduism and Masonic practices, because many of the mysteries conducted by Crowley ended in sexual sin and public masturbation.Reuss came to Crowley and invited him to join the O.T.O. The offer was gratefully accepted. At his initiation, Aleister Crowley took the name "Brother Baphomet", identifying himself with one of the main demons. )... After this, Aleister Crowley leaves omissions, and first in the “Book of Lies”, and then in the “Book of Heth” he sets out everything bluntly: “ 2. This is the secret of the Holy Grail, which is the sacred vessel of Our Lady Scarlet Toad 10. (Crowley's supporters prefer a different translation - the Scarlet Woman - 11. For if you do not do this according to your will... then we will do it against your will." Crowley claimed that from 1912 to 1921 during his rituals he killed 150 children annually. However, this was just, if I may say so, advertising a trick that attracted drug-addled aristocrats to him, who did not know what to do with their money. The fact that such words could push some psychopath to commit real murder did not bother the “brother of Baphomet” at all. This was contrary to his principles. To Moscow with ragtime and back Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Crowley came to Moscow with the Reggae Ragtime Girls choir. Alas, the new supporters of the teachings of Thelema in Orthodox city he failed to recruit, and therefore poorly hidden irritation shines through in his poem “The City of God” and the essay “The Heart of Holy Rus'”. Crowley calls the Kremlin “a hashish smoker’s dream come true,” admires the barbaric beauty of the bells, and speaks of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as “ bad church in the modern European spirit, where the height is so disproportionate to the width that one can imagine that one is in the torture chamber of a sadistic god... As a result, the building turns into a kind of magical mouth with gold teeth, which sucks out the soul until it disappears" The war found Aleister Crowley in Switzerland, from where he left for the USA, where he carried out pro-German propaganda, tore up his British passport at the foot of the Statue of Liberty and continued to perform magical rituals. In particular, in 1916, Crowley performed a ritual for the first time, which he repeated several times later: baptism. the toad by Jesus Christ and crucified it. Repeatedly with TV translator Victor Neuberg, he performs a ritual of invoking the gods - Jupiter and Mercury, which includes a homosexual act, however, does not prevent Crowley from marrying former schoolteacher Leah Herzig in 1918. was crazy about Crowley, who really had some kind of witchcraft influence on women. He easily subjugated them to his evil will, forcing them to crawl in sewage, bark, scratch like a dog and demonstrate their genitals to new supporters of the teachings of Thelema. Leah Herzig became the new Scarlet Toad (Wife) of Aleister Crowley. She had no idea what fate was in store for her... Expelled from Italy, Aleister Crowley went to Tunisia and then to Germany, where he became the head of the O.T.O. lodge. With such powerful support behind him as the growing strength of National Socialism, Aleister Crowley travels around Europe, trying to propagate the teachings of Thelema. However, no country wants to tolerate his antics for any long time, since this affects the reputation of the state. Finally, in France, Crowley ends up on trial. Moreover, he himself unwittingly provoked the proceedings by accusing his former friend Nina Hamnet of slander. But at the trial, the defendant provides irrefutable evidence that everything she told about the nightmarish rituals practiced by Aleister Crowley in Thelema Abbey is true. And then she filed a counterclaim... By that time, Crowley was very strapped for money. There were fewer and fewer wealthy students; the Nazis' attitude towards the Beast changed - now, in 1934, they themselves wanted to dictate the rules of the game of "occulitism"; Crowley and the dowry of his new wife, Nicaraguan Maria Ferrari de Miramar, did not last long. In short, after Crowley satisfied the financial claims of Nina Hamnet, he was forced to declare himself bankrupt. His only source of income is books, which he writes at feverish speed. But still last years Crowley spends his life in relative obscurity as an alcoholic client at the Netherwood nursing home in Hastings, England. December 1, 1947 Aleister Crowley dies. The official version was: “For chronic bronchitis.” It is believed that the owners of the boarding house insisted on this, because it was difficult for them to explain how a patient in their establishment obtained syringes with heroin... On December 5, Crowley was cremated in Brighton. During the ceremony, the pokonik was dressed in a white, red and gold robe, his hands clutching a sword and scepter. Over the grave, according to the will, selected passages from the Book of the Law and the Hymn to Pan, composed by Crowley on the eve of his death, were played. It contained these lines:. “And I am delirious; tirelessly and endlessly I rape, tear and tear this world apart...”. The beast died, but his work lives on... Unfortunately, in Russia too. Satanic sects are recruiting supporters. The Moscow government declares its determination to fight evil spirits. There is a program of action, but so far only the first steps are being taken. Representatives of law enforcement agencies draw up protocols on administrative offenses under Art. 6.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Propaganda of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances” and Aleister Crowley’s book “The Diary of a Drug Addict” is withdrawn from sale. And this is just the beginning.Crowley- demon of crossroads and right hand Lilith, and later the King of Hell. Becky Rosen is first mentioned, saying that the Colt was given not to Lilith, but to Crowley.
In the TV series Supernatural, the role of Crowley is played by an American actor (credited as Mark A. Sheppard).
Interesting facts about Crowley's demon
Unlike other demons, Crowley does not support Lucifer because he believes that Lucifer will kill them all after the people.
In order to get rid of Lucifer, Crowley collaborates with the Winchesters and helps them get the horsemen's rings, which are the key to Lucifer's cage. After the apocalypse was stopped, Crowley rose to the top of the hellish hierarchy and became the King of Hell. Next, Crowley desired to receive the souls of purgatory in order to become even stronger and more powerful. To do this, he enters into an alliance with, under the terms of which Crowley would receive half the souls. After being tricked by Castiel, the demon hid in a trailer, completely relinquished from ruling Hell. Castiel again invites him to take the post of King of Hell. When the Leviathans were released, he tried to make an agreement with Dick Roman, but failed. Realizing the threat of the leviathans, he helped the brothers kill Dick Roman by giving them the blood they needed to kill him. With Castiel and Dean missing, Crowley kidnaps the prophet Kevin to translate the demonic tablet for him. But in the end, Crowley was captured by the Winchesters, who are being tested to close Hell, and Crowley is the last component.
During his lifetime, Crowley was named Fergus Roderick Macleod and lived in Scotland in the 17th century. At least the events of his life in 1661 are mentioned. He worked as a tailor and sold his soul to a demon for an extra three inches below his belt. He also had a son named Gavin, who died in a shipwreck and whom Crowley hated. Crowley himself mentioned that his mother was a witch and “taught him a thing or two.”
The 10 Best Supernatural Characters
Actors and characters of episode 10.23 Brother's Keeper
Mysticism and magic... Probably everyone who has ever approached this mysterious sphere has heard the name of Aleister Crowley. The ignorant snatched lines from the yellow press and branded him with unflattering epithets, more advanced practitioners studied his works, but everyone determined for himself who this same Crowley Edward Aleister was?..
Crowley's legacy is, first of all, his teachings, clothed in book bindings. The master, capturing the very essence of mystical practices, transmitted the processed quintessence of knowledge accessible to common man tongue. For seekers, the practical magic offered by this man, sometimes in the form of documentary literature with shades of artistic plots, such as his manuscript “Magic without Tears,” served as a kind of guide to a world, the veil before which is not opened to everyone.
The modern idea of magic was woven from thousands of judgments of practitioners, but, nevertheless, a more fundamental idea of this difficult subject was found in the textbook “Mysticism and Magic”. The author offers his students precise recommendations to study areas such as:
Moreover, these recommendations resonate not only with those who are already walking along the magical path or are just groping their paths in it. Many historians and religious scholars, as well as people interested in psychology and philosophy, find on the pages of his reasoning valuable advice mysticism-practice.
The boy's parents raised him in the spirit of Protestantism, and while still a child, he studied the Bible every day. However, this did not leave its mark on future fate baby Crowley. The death of his father freed him from the obligation to participate, as he grew up, in the life of the Plymouth Brethren movement, of which both parents of the future mystic and magician were ardent admirers. Witnesses of his childhood, spent in the imposed service of God, would hardly have been able to imagine that in the future Alistair would write a book about this, “Moon Child,” playfully portraying himself in its central character and thereby giving food to various gossip.
Aleister Crowley's horoscope says that his zodiac sign is Libra. This man truly reflected the element of Air. After all, Libra men, guided in their lives, as a rule, by calculation and logic, often do not take seriously such a trifle as individual characteristics of people. And the motto of Crowley’s entire life, picked up from the French satirist Francois Rabelais, subsequently reflected the main idea driving this man: “Do what you will, so be the whole Law.”
The semantic portrait of the nature of Satanist Aleister Crowley consists of many details, but his appearance most clearly conveys the inner strength of this mystic man. His mother, as a child, dubbed him “Beast 666,” as in the future he called himself “according to his mother’s behest.” And although many years have passed since his death, in all portraits and photographs he is truly distinguished by this special mystical gaze of the Great Beast. And, of course, he had no shortage of attention from women, because this man had a certain masculinity, as well as regular and beautiful facial features.
The mystic Crowley was a versatile man. In his collection of hobbies, in addition to the zealous study of all kinds of magical practices and poetry, there was a place for drawing and music. His interests also included a penchant for spending time at the chessboard and being on the slopes of mountains: Crowley loved mountaineering. His passion for mystical culture spilled over not only into the pages of his manuscripts, but also into the paintings he painted. Aleister Crowley's paintings are filled with motifs of the teachings that he followed throughout his life.
Alistair's mystical practice combined not only the ability to penetrate secret knowledge himself, but also the ability to clearly express its essence, as well as the ability to conduct carefully arranged rituals. And all this made him a real Master and teacher for many followers.
There is even an opinion that towards the end of his life, Crowley passed through and described the entire system of Wicca: a special religion of ancient witchcraft that existed secretly for many centuries and had its roots in pre-Christian European paganism.
In 1898, Crowley joined the ranks of the Order of the Golden Dawn. There he found like-minded people, but soon, through diligent practice, he outgrew his comrades. Possessing a subtle sense of humorous sarcasm, in his novel “Moon Child” he described in every detail negative traits colleagues in the shop. And in 1904, having alienated several influential opponents, he left the order.
But in 1907, Aleister Crowley announced the creation of his own Order of the Silver Star and published his magical work “The Code of Sacred Books of Thelema” for initiates. And after some time he becomes the head of the Order of the Eastern Templars.
After leaving this world, the wizard and magician left a layer of his great teaching to his descendants. The philosophy of A. Crowley still settles in many thematic works and musical interpretations of individual authors. His motto “do what you want...” is also reflected in the lyrics of Moonchild’s song. Scripts and literary works are written based on Crowley's teachings.
The century in which the significant mystic lived was filled with the arrival of people into this world, whose philosophy is still perceived with trepidation by the ordinary man in the street. This bygone era, among other things, united its two great representatives: Crowley and Freud. They walked along the same conceptual road, tying together the theory of the influence of sexual desire on the everyday hustle and bustle of everyday life... - but they never met. Although, who knows how their possible collaboration would have ended...
The year Crowley left the Golden Dawn, he went on a meditative journey to Cairo, where he spent his honeymoon. There he began to write one of his classic works, namely Crowley's Thelema. This work is devoted to religious teachings and a system of values developed by the mystic himself. Excerpts from this book have long excited the minds of followers. Although a deep study of the master’s works shows that a diligent practitioner can train his will in this way (in Greek - telema), which is capable of as a result causing in himself certain personal changes he needs.
Diligently polishing his flaunted immoral appearance, Crowley founded Thelema Abbey in 1920, while in Sicily. According to rumors, the morals of free love were present there, the use of potent psychotropic drugs was not prohibited, and the practice of magic was encouraged. After one of the students, unable to withstand the ritual, went to the forefathers, his relatives raised a fuss, and the Italian police were forced to expel Crowley and his followers from the country.
Reflecting on the life of the mystic after the abbey, one can assume that, while staying there and, apparently, giving plenty of his inner essence, as well as fully enjoying carnal love and the vicissitudes of human passions, Crowley received a new charge of energy, and in 8 years he created four of his fundamental works. One of them is “Eight Lectures on Yoga”. Aleister Crowley's Grimoire Library was also conceived there.
Although many bibliographers try to draw a deep parallel between Nazi concepts and the mystic Crowley, he himself was far from their ideas, especially since his friend fell victim to fascist persecution. The mystic mentioned Hitler in passing, and only that this dictator turned out to be a failed magician.
Having spent many hours and days under the influence of drugs, the great magician reflects his transcendental experiences in two books: “The Diary of a Drug Addict” and “Cocaine.”
Having written these works at home, in the UK, he draws the reader into his travels with a vivid artistic language, and the reader, covered in his subtle humor, unexpectedly finds himself in the realities of life of a person capable of crossing to the other side of consciousness. This, of course, could not but arouse interest among the idle reading public.
The Great Satanist or the Great Beast?.. – Who this person was, and whether he was a real person is unknown exactly. But his teaching is still alive, and glory is given to him in the Orders that are still alive and founded by Crowley. Works such as Gematria and the unexpected book “The Heart of Holy Rus'” are replete with aphorisms and sayings of a magnificent mystic.
However, not all of them are endowed with a certain charisma that the demon Crowley from the popular American mystical television series “Supernatural” possesses. And although the authors of the project initially conceived the King of Hell as a minor character, the audience liked him so much that they decided to leave him and include him in the main storyline. So who is this colorful hero? What's so special about it? And why doesn’t he cause negativity like other demons?
So, meet Crowley - a demon with an attractive appearance and a capricious character. He has a wonderful sense of humor and also skillfully uses sarcasm. Loves luxury beautiful women, good alcohol and gambling. He never does anything for nothing.
In his own words, any actions must be carried out for the exclusive benefit of oneself. Therefore, he rarely compromises and prefers to keep a few trump cards up his sleeve.
The demon Crowley, played by the unsurpassed Mark Sheppard, simply loves to achieve his goals. Moreover, he does this at any cost, often using very sophisticated torture.
Initially, Crowley occupies the position of an ordinary crossroads demon. Let us remember that his duties included searching for desperate people and pushing them to sign a contract. Moreover, the entire procedure for concluding a deal took place at a crossroads, and also included signing a magical document with the client’s blood and the voluntary sale of his soul in exchange for some benefits.
A little later, Crowley (the demon of the crossroads received a promotion) became the right hand of a certain Lilith. It was she who was the first supernatural creature of the night, which Lucifer created immediately after his expulsion from heaven.
Even later, Crowley goes to hell and becomes its king. In this position, he quickly masters and develops own rules, fighting the conspiracies and intrigues of his charges, as well as increasing the number of sold human souls.
The demon Crowley is first described by a certain Becky Rosen (according to the script, she is an ardent fan of the series of books of the same name about the adventures of the Winchester brothers) in season 5 of the TV series Supernatural. At the request of the prophet, she tells the main positive characters Sam and Dean about the fate of the Colt they are looking for. According to her, instead of the demoness Lilith already known to us, the cherished weapon against evil forces was given to Crowley.
Despite the fact that Crowley is a demon (Supernatural is one of the series that raises the topic of otherworldly forces), he is not alien to the manifestation of some human qualities. For example, we're talking about about a certain feeling of rivalry and envy of the more successful fallen angel Lucifer, with whom they periodically fight for power and the position of King of Hell.
In one season, Crowley helps defeat Lucifer and imprison him in a cage. Later, he will be cruelly deceived and humiliated by himself, because of which he is forced to run away, leaving the crown and leaving the kingdom of hell.
Lucifer, in turn, could have gotten rid of his eternal opponent long ago. However, he plays with him and mocks him. But the demon Crowley does not give up and periodically hatches long-term plans to seize power.
Hatred for his opponent leads our negative character to an unusual collaboration with the Winchester hunters, whose task is to destroy all possible undead and save humanity from the next Armageddon. Having done a favor for his brothers, he helps get rid of Lucifer and returns power to his own hands.
However, this is just one example of the partnership between the King of Hell and the monster hunters. From time to time their destinies intertwine. And despite the complete opposites of the parties, the Winchesters and Crowleys often help each other out. For example, they repeatedly bring a demon out of depression, helping in the fight against drug addiction to human blood. He also helps the brothers get rid of the leviathans and the ruthless Hell Knight Abbadon.
There were some negative aspects, after all, Crowley is a creature of evil. Therefore, from time to time he secretly harms his allies. For example, he helps Dean in finding the First Blade (with his help, Cain killed Abel). However, during its use (the fight with Abbadon) and because of his own selfish motives, he turns one of the brothers into a demon. And the Winchesters themselves often lure Crowley into devilish traps, kidnap him and carry him around in the trunk, trick him around his finger.
But in general, hunters and the King of Hell can easily exist peacefully, periodically clashing in small battles. He affectionately calls them “boys” and sometimes calls just to chat about life.
It is believed that our negative character became the prototype of one of the English poets born in 1875, who was a Kabbalist, occultist and tarot reader. His name is Aleister Crowley. Demon in in this case learned from him an interest in otherworldly forces and a penchant for black magic (after all, his mother was a powerful witch).
By the way, in the series “Supernatural” there is another demon, but this time bearing the name Alistair. According to the plot in one of the seasons, he held the position of the chief executioner of hell, specializing in horrific torture of people and supernatural beings. He was particularly cruel and cunning.
Crowley is a demon who appears as a reddish cloud of smoke. It cannot exist on its own in such a state. Therefore, I am forced to look for a vessel - a human shell capable of withstanding the demonic essence. In terms of his chosen medium, during his lifetime he was Fergus Roderick MacLeod, born in Scotland in 1661.
This man, as the demon himself says in one of the episodes, was a very weak and pitiful creature. As a child, he was abandoned by his mother, the witch Rowena. He was not satisfied with the average family and low income. Subsequently, Fergus turned to the demon of crossroads and made a deal in order to dilute his boring life with brighter moments.
Based on his demonic nature, Crowley has the following abilities:
In addition, he knows how to bend reality the way he needs. This demon is also capable of possessing other people if necessary.
Despite the fact that he is a negative character (Crowley is a demon), quotes from the character sell like hot cakes among fans of the series. And although they are vulgar in places and not without sarcasm, they are often pronounced to the point and in a timely manner. For example, look at his phrase, uttered after a long journey in the trunk of the Winchesters’ car.
Quotes in which the demon describes his attitude towards angels, hunters, reapers and ordinary people. Almost all of them have become popular and are happily used by fans of the television series Supernatural.
Aleister Crowley is an English poet and writer, occultist and mystic. Founder of the doctrine of Thelema and author of many occult works, including The Book of the Law. He is the creator of the Thoth Tarot deck.
Aleister Crowley was born in Warwickshire, in the city of Leamington Spa. At birth, the boy received the name Edward Alexander Crowley. His father Edward Crowley was an engineer by profession, but never worked a day by profession. He owned a share in the family business, the Crowley Beer brewery. He received considerable profit from this business, so soon after his marriage he joined the ranks of the Christian sect “Plymouth Brethren”, and later became their preacher.
Alistair's mother, Emily Bishop, was a housewife and was also a member of the Plymouth Brethren sect. Of course, the boy spent his childhood reading religious literature and listening to sermons. Every day, after breakfast, my father read one Bible chapter to them and their mother.
When the boy was 11 years old, his father died of tongue cancer, leaving his son an inheritance. As Alistair grew older, he began to notice inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the Bible, so he did not find a common language with his mother, who continued to be a member of the sect and forced the boy to study Christian treatises. They often argued, once Emily Bishop called her son a beast, meaning the messenger of Satan; later he signed some of his works “Beast 666.”
Crowley studied at private school Plymouth Brethren in Cambridge. But he was expelled for bad behavior. After several years he studied at Tonbridge School, Malvern Boarding College and Eastbourne.
At first he became interested in economics and psychology, later he became interested in English literature. But essentially, he didn’t find himself in any area; Alistair was great at squandering his inheritance and enjoying life. But already in 1896, Aleister Crowley began to study in detail the occult, mysticism and alchemy.
The man was also interested in mountaineering, chess and poetry. By the way, he began writing poetry at the age of 10. Every year he became more and more disillusioned with religion. He began to talk about this to his mentors, and the main manifestation of “disobedience” to Christianity was his sexual relationships, and not only with girls he knew, but also with women of easy virtue.
In 1898, the man met Julian Baker. The man was a chemist, so they found mutual language based on alchemy. Baker brought Crowley into the Order of the Golden Dawn, an occult organization dedicated to magic, alchemy and theurgy. In the same year he was ordained to the degree of Neophyte of the Golden Dawn. At the same time, Crowley bought himself a luxurious apartment - he dedicated one room for practicing white magic, and the other for black magic. A fellow member of the order, Alan Bennett, lived with him and became his mentor in ceremonial magic.
It is noteworthy that in the ranks of the Golden Dawn there were people in whom Crowley found enemies and rivals. Alistair did not hide his attitude towards his fellow members of the order - he openly criticized William Yates and Arthur Waite. Their personalities were reflected in his works of those years; he described them in an extremely impartial and humiliating manner. But they didn’t skimp on either negative reviews on his books.
He soon began to become disillusioned with both his mentor and the order itself. Crowley officially left the Golden Dawn only in 1904. In 1900, he went to Mexico, where he independently continued to study magic. His fellow climber Oscar Eckenstein is traveling with him. He practices meditation and raja yoga, which he teaches to Alistair.
He later visited Hawaii, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Japan and Ceylon. My general ledger he wrote during a trip to Egypt. As Crowley himself claimed, the Book of the Law was written by him under the dictation of the holy spirit Aiwas. In the book, he described the basics of the religious doctrine known in the world as thelema. Translated from ancient Greek it means “will”. But some historians still believed that this teaching was directly borrowed from the ancient “Left Hand Path” faith. Of course, Crowley denied any accusations of plagiarism.
In 1907, Aleister Crowley created his own order, which he gave the name “Silver Star”.
In 1920, he moved to Sicily, where he organized the Abbey of Thelema, which is a commune where Crowley is the leader. He leads an extremely immoral lifestyle. His followers fulfill all his demands. They organize orgies and use drugs. The end of the abbey came after one of Crowley's followers died.
There was a lot of fuss about this, and the newspapers reported the most different reasons his death, for example, that he was poisoned by cat’s blood, which the mystic ordered the deceased to drink. After all, he often said to do things that defied logic either then or now. For example, Crowley argued that anyone who wants to become a great magician must have syphilis. He explained this by saying that this way they would gain “valuable experience.” Of course, in the end the mystic and his commune were ordered to leave Sicily.
But this didn’t upset him at all. He went on travels again. Traveled to Tunisia, North Africa, France and Germany. During this period of time, he published several books: “Magic in Theory and Practice”, “Equinox of the Gods”, “Magic Without Tears”, “Diary of a Drug Addict” and others. True, it was at this time that he gained a reputation as a Satanist, sectarian and black magician.
Fame came to Crowley after he created Tarot cards. The deck was called the “Tarot of Thoth” and is still popular among esotericists. The maps are full of symbolism; Egyptologist artist Frieda Harris helped him draw them. Alistair also published a book of the same name, in which the mystic gives an explanation of each card.
A follower of Crowley from Germany claimed that the mystic's works greatly influenced his personality and life. True, historians were able to quickly dispel these speculations. But still, after the death of Aleister Crowley, this topic was extremely popular in the occult environment for a long time.
Despite the odiousness of Crowley's figure, some of his books are not without meaning and logic. Many of his works have been analyzed into quotes.
In 1903, Aleister Crowley married his friend Gerald Kelly's sister, Rose Edith Kelly. Initially, the marriage was of convenience, but soon after the wedding the man realized that he had fallen in love. The woman shared his love for the occult and mysticism and supported her husband in his endeavors.
Aleister Crowley and his first wife Rose Edith Kelly with their daughter Lola In 1904, the couple had a daughter, they gave her an unusual name - Nuit Ma Ahator Hecate Sappho Jezebel Lilith Crowley. But the girl did not live to be three years old; she died. Some time later, their second daughter, Lola Zaza Crowley, was born.
One day Gerald Kelly introduced Crowley to a writer, who later wrote the novel The Magician, and main character Oliver Haddo is the inspiration for Aleister Crowley. Later, the feature film “Chemical Wedding” was shot, where Oliver Haddo also became the hero.
In 1929, in Germany, he met Maria Ferrari de Miramar. She was originally from Nicaragua. Soon they got married.
In the last years of his life, the popular mystic fell into financial straits. He had to move from one hotel to another, trying to earn a living. Some biographers believe that during this period he began to use heroin. As a result, Crowley died on December 1, 1947 from asthma. He was 72 years old.
Even after death, he remained true to himself: the funeral ceremony was gloomy and strange, during which the poem “Hymn to Pan” was read. Crowley asked for this in his will.
