Aleister Crowley by Charles Krafft
424 words
Aleister Crowley was an English poet, novelist, painter, and mountaineer who is most famous as an occultist, ceremonial magician, and founder of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. But ironically Crowley’s supposed Satanism and Black Magic are far less frightening to most people than his politics. For Aleister Crowley was also a man of the Right.
Robert Plant (left) and Jimmy Page (right), Chicago, 1977.
2,100 words
Someone told me there’s a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
— “Going to California”
Led Zeppelin’s back catalog already includes songs like “Ramble On” from the rocky Led Zeppelin II and the melancholic classic “Tangerine” from the flower-powered III. (more…)
1,507 words
Aleister Crowley’s essay “Cocaine” is not among his most-discussed works, being overshadowed by those more esoteric, salacious, or dense. Nonetheless, “Cocaine” is an entry worth noting in the Crowley catalog on account of its prophetic nature and as an insight into Crowley’s personal philosophy and mental state.
Crowley begins with a tantalizing weave spun about the seemingly supernatural powers of cocaine; referring to it as an “herb,” he describes its capacity to provide man with near-immediate self-satisfaction and thumos-imbued energy. (more…)
4,533 words
To say that Aleister Crowley was a very colorful individual would be an understatement. He was known for his many talents arising from his great intellect, as well as some disagreeable personality quirks. In his time, some called him the “world’s most wicked man,” which certainly was an overstatement. He was a favorite target for hordes of third-rate journalists. We understand!
He called himself “The Great Beast 666” and took it seriously. (more…)
Throbbing Gristle. From left: Sleazy, Genesis, Cosey, and Chris.
3,071 words
Visual artist, composer, singer, DJ, and general architect of chaos Genesis P-Orridge passed away on March 14, 2020. The Dissident Right shares a surprising amount of common ground with the counterculture icon — and owes some of its aesthetics and methods to them [1] as well.
Born February 22nd, 1950 in Manchester, Neil Andrew Megson adopted the name Genesis P-Orridge — a woo-ish corruption of the word “porridge” — while living in London. (more…)
Aleister Crowley by Charles Krafft
382 words
Aleister Crowley was an English poet, novelist, painter, and mountaineer who is most famous as an occultist, ceremonial magician, and founder of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. But ironically Crowley’s supposed Satanism and Black Magic are far less frightening to most people than his politics. For Aleister Crowley was also a man of the Right.
Aleister Crowley, presumably after having consumed his daily drug regimen.
4,286 words
Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 here)
“It’s when one gets to the parents that a bottomless pit opens. My dear, such a pair.”[1]
“Can we ever be certain that it was not our mother while darning our socks who began that subtle change in our minds? (more…)
Aleister Crowley by Charles Krafft
364 words
Aleister Crowley was an English poet, novelist, painter, and mountaineer who is most famous as an occultist, ceremonial magician, and founder of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. But ironically Crowley’s supposed Satanism and Black Magic are far less frightening to most people than his politics. For Aleister Crowley was also a man of the Right.
3,582 words
Introduction
It would be utter foolishness to underestimate the influence of spiritual and religious currents usually described as “occult”. While these concepts are not being displayed in mainstream society and most of the public is unaware of what they actually consist of, they have and always had the power to lure and change the worldview of those few individuals who dared to take the occult seriously. (more…)
4,321 words
Neville (Goddard)
At Your Command: The First Classic Work by the Visionary Mystic Neville
New York: Snellgrove Publications, 1939; Tarcher Cornerstone Editions, 2016 (includes Mitch Horowitz’s essay on Neville’s life and work, “Neville Goddard: A Cosmic Philosopher”)
“Can a man decree a thing and have it come to pass? Most assuredly he can!” — Neville Goddard, At Your Command (more…)
Aleister Crowley by Charles Krafft
252 words
Aleister Crowley was an English poet, novelist, painter, and mountaineer who is most famous as an occultist, ceremonial magician, and founder of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. But ironically Crowley’s supposed Satanism and Black Magic are far less frightening to most people than his politics. For Aleister Crowley was also a man of the Right.
5,274 words
A Constant Reader has called my attention (keep those cards and letters coming in, folks!) to some critical commentary on the magical writings of Baron Evola[1] by none other than John Michael Greer, who is Past Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America and current head of the Druidical Order of the Golden Dawn. (more…)
6,156 words
Oswald Spengler’s radical contribution to the philosophy of history was to observe that different Cultures and Civilizations are discrete life forms and that they all have a certain life-expectancy. The linear progression of history, from the Stone Age to the prevailing Western liberalism, is a myth. There is no single line of history running through all of humanity. Instead, Cultures are born, they grow to maturity, they age, and they die. (more…)
2,434 words
Marco Pasi
Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics
Translated by Ariel Godwin
Durham, UK: Acumen Publishing, 2013
Well, no sooner had I completed a rather lukewarm review of one book on Aleister Crowley,[1] another, far more simpatico one pops up. (more…)
Aleister Crowley by Charles Krafft
177 words
Aleister Crowley was an English poet, novelist, painter, and mountaineer who is most famous as an occultist, ceremonial magician, and founder of the religion and philosophy of Thelema. But ironically Crowley’s supposed Satanism and Black Magic are far less frightening to most people than his politics. For Aleister Crowley was also a man of the Right, whose work inspired such important 20th-century Rightists as novelist and essayist P. R. Stephensen and military strategist and historian J. F. C. Fuller. (more…)
4,640 words
English original here and here
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), samozwańcza „Wielka Bestia 666” stał się postacią na trwale obecną zarówno w środowiskach okultystycznych jak i we współczesnej kulturze popularnej. Jedni wychwalają go jako filozofa, maga i proroka. Przez innych jest potępiany jako zdeprawowany egomaniak. W większości wypadków postrzega się go przez pryzmat jego ekscentrycznych, nierzadko szokujących zachowań. (more…)
5,169 words
Richard B. Spence
Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult
Port Townsend, Wash.: Feral House, 2008
“The great scientists, the artists, the philosophers, the religious leaders — all maniacs. What else but a blind singleness of purpose could have given focus to their purpose? Mania, my dear Mister Bond, is as priceless as genius. (more…)
3,047 words
The Weiser Book of Horror and the Occult: Hidden Magic, Occult Truths, and the Stories That Started It All
Edited and Introduced by Lon Milo DuQuette
San Francisco: Weiser Books, 2014
“What would your feelings be, seriously, if your cat or your dog began to talk to you, and to dispute with you in human accents? You would be overwhelmed with horror. I am sure of it. And if the roses in your garden sang a weird song, you would go mad.” — Arthur Machen, “The White People” (more…)
2,630 words
“Rome is the boundary between East and West. South of Rome, the East starts, and north of Rome, the West starts. This border-line now, runs exactly over the Forum Romanum. There’s my house, this explains my life and my music.” — Giacinto Scelsi
The music of Giacinto Scelsi is still relatively obscure, which is in keeping with the reclusive and esoteric character of the composer himself. (more…)
9,954 words
Abstract
Lovecraft’s horror stories have become not just a literary cult like many others, but a tangible cult of the occult. The Cthulhu Mythos of the Old Gods with Unspeakable names are evoked and worshiped, and respected practitioners of the esoteric use the symbolism and mythos as the basis of a magical system. (more…)
Percy Reginald Stephensen, painted by Robert Grothey, 1943
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Editor’s Note:
This is a much-expanded version of our previously-published essay on P. R. Stephensen.
Percy Reginald “Inky” Stephensen (1901–1965), was one of Australia’s pre-eminent “men of letters,” or “Australia’s wild man of letters” as one biographer referred to him.[1] (more…)
Aleister Crowley, October 12, 1875–December 1, 1947
781 words
“I have been accused of being a ‘black magician.’ No more foolish statement was ever made about me . . .”
—Aleister Crowley
I do not care too much for what other people say, and I do not care too much for what other people think of what some people say. Which is, I suppose, a rather roundabout manner of explaining why I have great admiration for Aleister Crowley as a poet despite what is said and what is thought about him, about his works, about his legacy, and about his life. (more…)
2,682 words
Wulf Grimsson
Loki’s Way: The Path of the Sorcerer in the Age of Iron
Second Edition
Lulu.com, 2011
A few weeks ago I was privileged to receive this unsolicited manuscript, “the result of over 30 years of research, study and practice,” by Wulf Grimsson. (more…)
1,011 words
Wyndham Lewis’ novel Tarr
Percy Reginald Stephensen (1901–1965), by Edward Quicke, 1945
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Editor’s Note:
We are publishing this essay and the two that follow in commemoration of the birth of P. R. “Inky” Stephensen on November 20, 1901.
Percy Reginald Stephensen was one of Australia’s pre-eminent “men of letters” whose work includes biographies and short stories. (more…)
Aleister Crowley, 1875–1947
2,949 words
Part 2 of 2. Read Part 1 here.
The Thelemic State
The form of Thelemic government is vaguely outlined in Liber Legis, suggesting the type of corporatism: “Let it be the state of manyhood bound and loathing: thou has no right but to do what thou will.”[1] Contrary to the anarchistic or nihilistic interpretation often given Thelema’s “do what thou wilt,” Crowley defined the Thelemic state as a free association for the common good. (more…)
No, it is not Winston Churchill. It is somebody far less evil.
2,602 words
Part 1 of 2. Read Part 2 here.
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), who styled himself the “Great Beast 666,” is an enduring presence both in the occult subculture and contemporary popular culture. He is hailed by some as a philosopher, magician, and prophet. He is condemned by others as a depraved egomaniac. But, for the most part, he is merely consumed for his shock value and diverting eccentricities.
Aleister Crowley, 1875–1947
1,952 words
Translated by Cologero Salvo
From Chapter IX, “Il Satanismo” (“Satanism”) of Maschera e volto dello spiritualismo contemporaneo (“Mask and Face of Contemporary Spiritualism”)
Crowley was a character whose personality overpowers certain of the figures already considered. If we associate him with Satanism, it is because he himself invites us to do so. (more…)
