The Revival of Magick and Other Essays


Book Description

This text looks at Aleister Crowley as an essayist and also includes some of his best essays.




Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism


Book Description

Henrik Bogdan and Martin P. Starr offer the first comprehensive examination of one of the twentieth century's most distinctive occult iconoclasts, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), one of the most influential thinkers in contemporary western esotericism.




Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition


Book Description

A rigorously researched biography of the founder of modern magick, as well as a study of the occult, sexuality, Eastern religion, and more The name “Aleister Crowley” instantly conjures visions of diabolic ceremonies and orgiastic indulgences—and while the sardonic Crowley would perhaps be the last to challenge such a view, he was also much more than “the Beast,” as this authoritative biography shows. Perdurabo—entitled after the magical name Crowley chose when inducted into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn—traces Crowley’s remarkable journey from his birth as the only son of a wealthy lay preacher to his death in a boarding house as the world’s foremost authority on magick. Along the way, he rebels against his conservative religious upbringing; befriends famous artists, writers, and philosophers (and becomes a poet himself); is attacked for his practice of “the black arts”; and teaches that science and magick can work together. While seeking to spread his infamous philosophy of, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” Crowley becomes one of the most notorious figures of his day. Based on Richard Kaczynski’s twenty years of research, and including previously unpublished biographical details, Perdurabo paints a memorable portrait of the man who inspired the counterculture and influenced generations of artists, punks, wiccans, and other denizens of the demimonde.




Mathematics in Popular Culture


Book Description

Mathematics has maintained a surprising presence in popular media for over a century. In recent years, the movies Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, and Stand and Deliver, the stage plays Breaking the Code and Proof, the novella Flatland and the hugely successful television crime series NUMB3RS all weave mathematics prominently into their storylines. Less obvious but pivotal references to the subject appear in the blockbuster TV show Lost, the cult movie The Princess Bride, and even Tolstoy's War and Peace. In this collection of new essays, contributors consider the role of math in everything from films, baseball, crossword puzzles, fantasy role-playing games, and television shows to science fiction tales, award-winning plays and classic works of literature. Revealing the broad range of intersections between mathematics and mainstream culture, this collection demonstrates that even "mass entertainment" can have a hidden depth.




Overthrowing the Old Gods


Book Description

New commentaries on Aleister Crowley’s Book of the Law reveal how it is connected to both Right- and Left-Hand Paths • Examines each line of the Book of the Law in the light of modern psychology, Egyptology, Gurdjieff’s teachings, and contemporary Left-Hand Path thought • Explores Crowley’s identification with the First Beast of Revelations as well as his adoption of the Loki archetype for becoming a vessel of love for all humanity • Recasts the Cairo Working as a text of personal sovereignty and a relevant tool for personal transformation • Includes commentary on the Book of the Law by Dr. Michael A. Aquino, who served as High Priest of the Temple of Set from 1975 to 1996 Received by Aleister Crowley in April 1904 in Cairo, Egypt, the Book of the Law is the most provocative record of magical working in several hundred years, affecting not only organizations directly associated with Crowley such as the Ordo Templi Orientis but also modern Wicca, Chaos Magic, and the Temple of Set. Boldly defying Crowley’s warning not to comment on the Book of the Law, Ipsissimus Don Webb provides in-depth interpretation from both Black and White Magical perspectives, including commentary from Dr. Michael A. Aquino, who served as High Priest of the Temple of Set from 1975 to 1996. Webb examines each line of the Book in the light of modern psychology, Egyptology, existentialism, and competing occult systems such as the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff and contemporary Left-Hand Path thought. Discarding the common image of Crowley formulated in a spiritually unsophisticated time when the devotee of the Left-Hand Path was dismissed as a selfish evil doer, Webb unveils a new side of Crowley based on his adoption of the Loki archetype and his aim to become a vessel of love for all humanity. In so doing, he shows how the Book of the Law is connected to both Right- and Left-Hand Paths and reveals how Crowley’s magical path of mastery over the self and Cosmos overthrew the gods of old religion, which had kept humanity asleep to dream the nightmare of history. Providing in-depth analysis of Crowley’s sources and his self-identification with the First Beast of Revelation from a profound esoteric perspective, Webb takes his views out of the Golden Dawn matrix within which he received the Book of the Law and radically recasts the Cairo Working as a text of personal sovereignty and a relevant tool for personal transformation.




The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley


Book Description

Shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding, Aleister Crowley is one of the 20th century’s most revered occult figures. With The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley, readers are given a careful, comprehensive overview of Crowley’s life from poet to practicing magician as well as his life’s work, including the basic principles and rituals of his magical practices. Set aside your preconceptions and dismiss the rumors. Crowley was certainly a complex, controversial, and colorful man, but the truth is far more interesting than the legend.




The Angel & The Abyss


Book Description

In this companion to Initiation in the Aeon of the Child, now available in paperback, author J. Daniel Gunther provides detailed and cohesive analysis of the two major spiritual crises in the career of the aspirant in the Aeon of the Child—the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Crossing the Abyss between the divine realms and the human. Expounding on the sublime Formulas of Initiation confronting those who would aspire to these Mysteries, the author draws deeply from Jungian psychology, world mythology and religion, and the doctrines of the classic Mystery traditions, explaining how the revelations of Thelema apply to the individual. The Angel & The Abyss is written in clear, precise language that will aid those students who seek to navigate the difficult terrain of this advanced stage of the Spiritual quest. More knowledgeable students will find tantalizing clues to serve as guideposts and eventual confirmations of their direct experience. The book offers copious illustrations including some in full color and numerous diagrams. It features detailed references that encompass ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, the Old and New Testaments, the Apocrypha, Greek philosophy, alchemy, hermetic qabalah, and tarot, as well as the writings of Carl Jung, Eric Neumann and Aleister Crowley.




The Book of the Law


Book Description

For the first time the Book of the Law is offered in a deluxe, hardcover edition fittingly issued in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Liber AL vel Legis's transmission to Crowley.




Magick: Liber Aba


Book Description

This profusely illustrated new edition brings together the complete texts of all four parts of Liber ABA (Book 4) in one volume under the overall title 'magick' This edition incorporates Crowley's own additions, corrections and annotations, and restores dozen of passages omitted from the first editions.'Magick' is the fundamental textbool of modern magick in the New Eon. Ita also has invalualble teachings for studentes of Yoga and meditation.Crowley mastered the practices of Yoga during his studies in the East and writes about them lucidly, without recourse to the imprecise language of mysticism. Beginning with a discussion of the universal origin of world religions in mysticalrevelation, 'Magick' then explores the theory and practice of mysticism and magick in the light of modern scientific thought.




Llewellyn's Complete Book of Ceremonial Magick


Book Description

A Comprehensive Collection of Magical Wisdom in One Indispensable Book Llewellyn's Complete Book of Ceremonial Magick brings together the myriad occult philosophies and techniques necessary for a thorough understanding of the esoteric arts. This magnificent treasury is filled with fascinating insights from today's most esteemed working practitioners, developing the rich details of a dozen topics that together comprise the Western Mystery Tradition. Within these pages, you will explore the rituals and ideas that have shaped the history and modern practice of magick. Edited by virtuoso occultists Lon Milo DuQuette and David Shoemaker, this brilliant collection of new writings is the preeminent reference work on the occult arts and sciences. Foundations of Western Magic (Sam Webster) • Qabalah (Anita Kraft & Randall Bowyer) • Planetary Magic (David Rankine) • Alchemy (Dennis William Hauck) • Demonology & Spirit Evocation (Dr. Stephen Skinner) • The Magick of Abra-Melin (Marcus Katz) • Enochian Magick & Mysticism (Aaron Leitch) • The Golden Dawn (Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero) • Thelema & Aleister Crowley (David Shoemaker) • Polytheistic Ceremonial Magic (John Michael Greer) • Magician's Tables (David Allen Hulse) • The Future of Ceremonial Magick (Brandy Williams)