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Magick in Theory and Practice
1976 Reprint of 1929 Edition. Many consider this work by Crowley to be the foremost book on ceremonial magic written in the twentieth century. It was written especially for beginners as Part 3 of Book 4 (Liber ABA). The original was privately printed in 1929 after Crowley failed to find a publisher in London.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1929
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4672 people want to read
About the author
Aleister Crowley
1,005 books1,827 followersAleister Crowley was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, proclaiming himself as the prophet destined to guide humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, Crowley published extensively throughout his life.
Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, he was raised in a wealthy family adhering to the fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith. Crowley rejected his religious upbringing, developing an interest in Western esotericism. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, focusing on mountaineering and poetry, and published several works during this period. In 1898, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, receiving training in ceremonial magic from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. His travels took him to Mexico for mountaineering with Oscar Eckenstein and to India, where he studied Hindu and Buddhist practices.
In 1904, during a honeymoon in Cairo with his wife Rose Edith Kelly, Crowley claimed to have received "The Book of the Law" from a supernatural entity named Aiwass. This text became the foundation of Thelema, announcing the onset of the Æon of Horus and introducing the central tenet: "Do what thou wilt." Crowley emphasized that individuals should align with their True Will through ceremonial magic.
After an unsuccessful expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1905 and further travels in India and China, Crowley returned to Britain. There, he co-founded the esoteric order A∴A∴ with George Cecil Jones in 1907 to promote Thelema. In 1912, he joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), eventually leading its British branch and reformulating it according to Thelemic principles. Crowley spent World War I in the United States, engaging in painting and writing pro-German propaganda, which biographers later suggested was a cover for British intelligence activities.
In 1920, Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily. His libertine lifestyle attracted negative attention from the British press, leading to his expulsion by the Italian government in 1923. He spent subsequent years in France, Germany, and England, continuing to promote Thelema until his death in 1947.
Crowley's notoriety stemmed from his recreational drug use, bisexuality, and criticism of societal norms. Despite controversy, he significantly influenced Western esotericism and the 1960s counterculture, and remains a central figure in Thelema.
Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, he was raised in a wealthy family adhering to the fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith. Crowley rejected his religious upbringing, developing an interest in Western esotericism. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, focusing on mountaineering and poetry, and published several works during this period. In 1898, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, receiving training in ceremonial magic from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. His travels took him to Mexico for mountaineering with Oscar Eckenstein and to India, where he studied Hindu and Buddhist practices.
In 1904, during a honeymoon in Cairo with his wife Rose Edith Kelly, Crowley claimed to have received "The Book of the Law" from a supernatural entity named Aiwass. This text became the foundation of Thelema, announcing the onset of the Æon of Horus and introducing the central tenet: "Do what thou wilt." Crowley emphasized that individuals should align with their True Will through ceremonial magic.
After an unsuccessful expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1905 and further travels in India and China, Crowley returned to Britain. There, he co-founded the esoteric order A∴A∴ with George Cecil Jones in 1907 to promote Thelema. In 1912, he joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), eventually leading its British branch and reformulating it according to Thelemic principles. Crowley spent World War I in the United States, engaging in painting and writing pro-German propaganda, which biographers later suggested was a cover for British intelligence activities.
In 1920, Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily. His libertine lifestyle attracted negative attention from the British press, leading to his expulsion by the Italian government in 1923. He spent subsequent years in France, Germany, and England, continuing to promote Thelema until his death in 1947.
Crowley's notoriety stemmed from his recreational drug use, bisexuality, and criticism of societal norms. Despite controversy, he significantly influenced Western esotericism and the 1960s counterculture, and remains a central figure in Thelema.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
October 4, 2008
worshipping the devil shouldndt require this much reading.
August 23, 2007
Okay...this is an AMAZING book, but requires a cavaeat...as does everything when Crowley is involved. Be aware that he has laid karmic traps throughout for those who do not have sufficient ethics and discipline over their lower natures. Personally, I find the trap laying ethically problematic...but Crowley was an accomplished occultist and it nice to read someone who really understands the theory behind what is going on.
February 14, 2008
I read this book in highschool and I swear a fog hung in my brain that didn't left for months. Beware reading this book, it does something to one's mind that I cannot explain.
March 25, 2023
In Crowley's master work, he states that he is "The Most Wicked Man In The World!" and you need read no further than the introductory comments to see the proof of this. He sets down a list of precepts that by their own definition destroy man's ability to understand the world around him, stating explicitly that the concept of reason has no place in the world and is an illusion. He then follows by noting that with proper understanding and preparation, every magical sending will of course be successful... unless, of course, someone else heretofore unknown to you wills otherwise and interferes in your sending, or it is the will of the Universe that this not occur.
I picked up Crowley to learn something about the character and concepts of the Occult. I certainly got that. What I didn't get was the concept of "magical thinking" which insulated Crowley from understanding the fundamental flaws in his perceptions, the system of belief that says wishing makes it so (except for when it doesn't) so keep wishing because then things will change (or they won't). He likens magic to science, which is similar in principle to the quote that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, except bass-ackwards because he simply does not grasp the utility of reason and finds it an inconvenient obstacle... because with reason, everything he believes must be false, and everything he has done with his life makes no sense.
By trying to teach others to abandon reason and live in a perpetual fog, Crowley accomplishes his goal of proving himself to be a wicked man. Sadly, this is the only way in which I can see he has ever succeeded at this self-proclaimed objective; his other so-called sins are mostly things he just didn't go far *enough* with, too busy rebelling against the Judeo-Christian morality that dominated the world at the time to see a reasoned moral system absent the fundamental precepts of those religions. "Do As Thou Wilt Is The Whole Of The Law" is actually an excellent first step towards recognizing that people are different than the creatures presupposed by the guiding moralities of the time, but he fails to draw universal conclusions or apply these precepts externally to himself, too busy assuming he is a beautiful and unique snowflake to realize that the fulfillment of this human nature is a laudable goal and morality should be based on who we are and how to live on Earth.
I picked up Crowley to learn something about the character and concepts of the Occult. I certainly got that. What I didn't get was the concept of "magical thinking" which insulated Crowley from understanding the fundamental flaws in his perceptions, the system of belief that says wishing makes it so (except for when it doesn't) so keep wishing because then things will change (or they won't). He likens magic to science, which is similar in principle to the quote that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, except bass-ackwards because he simply does not grasp the utility of reason and finds it an inconvenient obstacle... because with reason, everything he believes must be false, and everything he has done with his life makes no sense.
By trying to teach others to abandon reason and live in a perpetual fog, Crowley accomplishes his goal of proving himself to be a wicked man. Sadly, this is the only way in which I can see he has ever succeeded at this self-proclaimed objective; his other so-called sins are mostly things he just didn't go far *enough* with, too busy rebelling against the Judeo-Christian morality that dominated the world at the time to see a reasoned moral system absent the fundamental precepts of those religions. "Do As Thou Wilt Is The Whole Of The Law" is actually an excellent first step towards recognizing that people are different than the creatures presupposed by the guiding moralities of the time, but he fails to draw universal conclusions or apply these precepts externally to himself, too busy assuming he is a beautiful and unique snowflake to realize that the fulfillment of this human nature is a laudable goal and morality should be based on who we are and how to live on Earth.
August 10, 2013
An indispensable and pivotal work.
March 16, 2016
This was one of the first books on Magick I ever read, I had to persevere with it at first as I read it as a teenager, but I really loved reading it. It opened up a lot of new lines of thought in my mind and I think everyone needs a copy.
January 27, 2008
At the time I read this was dabbling in dark magic. As preposterous a sentence as that is to write, it's even more preposterous in hindsight now that I'm an atheist zealot. If Crowley were alive today he'd be marketing his wacky wares on an informercial selling tarot cards, sacrificial doves, and a layman's guide to the major and minor demons. "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!" If Crowley weren't the secret poster boy for stringy acne-riddled Goth boys looking to score the book would just fade into an amusing chapter of mankind's exploration into resurrected religious beliefs that piss off the neighbors. Me? I was just looking in yet another dark corner of the world and found another belief system that was about humans trying to control their universe. (And get laid.)
October 6, 2015
Napravi mi sina.
Read
July 20, 2022next time I need to be an occultist devil worshiper I'll read this book.
December 19, 2015
This is a fashionable book, for fashionably soulful people to flip through. Crowley has expended considerable academic effort to create an Edwardian coffee table book.
As a coffee table book, it has all the necessary ingredients to provide distraction, much as if it were the textual equivalent of stage magic. If only the audience (reader) was suitably amused with a mummified rabbit being removed from a musty turban.
There are practices, rituals, operations, observances, and acts in full elaboration like the dead petals of a colorless rose pressed between the pages of an infrequently opened book.
This book by Crowley promises much, and yet of Crowley's vast written output, few titles are found outside of the mausoleum, and fewer yet offer any biographical scope of the author. That material is found in the scandalous headlines that dogged his reputation.
This is my second unimpressed examination of this doorstop in 45 years. It might get 5 stars for its research, but the article writers of encyclopedias write far better on this topic. As thus left with rating it as a read, it barely rises to 2 stars
Paul Christian's The History and Practice of Magic is vastly better in its coverage.
As a coffee table book, it has all the necessary ingredients to provide distraction, much as if it were the textual equivalent of stage magic. If only the audience (reader) was suitably amused with a mummified rabbit being removed from a musty turban.
There are practices, rituals, operations, observances, and acts in full elaboration like the dead petals of a colorless rose pressed between the pages of an infrequently opened book.
This book by Crowley promises much, and yet of Crowley's vast written output, few titles are found outside of the mausoleum, and fewer yet offer any biographical scope of the author. That material is found in the scandalous headlines that dogged his reputation.
This is my second unimpressed examination of this doorstop in 45 years. It might get 5 stars for its research, but the article writers of encyclopedias write far better on this topic. As thus left with rating it as a read, it barely rises to 2 stars
Paul Christian's The History and Practice of Magic is vastly better in its coverage.
January 4, 2009
Far more important in my youth than today, but I must still admit to a certain fondness for the Old Beast.
January 26, 2024
I can’t believe I started this book two years ago and finally actually finished it. I’ve flipped through this book and utilized the appendix many times throughout my research but I’ve never read it cover to cover and I figured I should do that. As with all Crowley, at times the book is vague, at others he drones on and on, and quite a few times do you find really beautiful poetry. What else can someone write for a review of one of the most famous books on magick other than their own thoughts? So yeah. Enjoy!
June 1, 2022
A seemingly thorough introduction to the concepts and practices of Magick.
I appreciate Crowley's logical deductions, though new readers should be warned.
Though a man in possession of a great mind, and no doubt nigh fathomable prowess, he was not without fallacy or malcontent. As was mentioned by another reviewer, Crowley has laid systematic traps (to borrow that reviewer's terminology) of a karmatic nature. EG, lending color to an idea of practice that would almost all too certainly come with insufferable blowback to the inept. I believe this stems from Crowley's tendency to demonstrate (rather blatantly) elitism in its most raw of forms. He cared little for the layman and therefore would only spread his knowledge to anyone he considered 'worthy'. With the digestible state this particular collection of essays is formed in (versus his many other writings on the same subject having labrynthean properties), he seems to lay such aforementioned traps to catch any overly zealous flies in an esoteric webb.
Lastly, I appreciated Crowley's forthright condemnation of sects, pacts, and cults of Magick. He recognizes them for the scourge they are, but needlessly falls short by only following such condemnations by asserting his own doctrines in their place. The Magus is little more than a Shaman you see. Despite Crowley's understanding of the necessity of a solo journey, he seems all too par for the course in trying to recruit people around his pulpit.
I would implore the novice magus to place particular attention on the usage and effects of magical weapons. Not so much for the usage, but for the sake of gaining a better understanding of such weapons and their applicability across various walks of Magick, particularly to that of the Tarot.
PS. On the subject of magical weapons, I disagree whole heartily with Crowley on the subject of producing one's own magical weapons versus obtaining it from a proper place. Crowley argues that making one's own is the most efficacious, while I argue that the proper weapon for the magus will reveal itself at the proper place and the proper time. Only the magus will know themselves when such conditions have been met. (I believe this adequately rules out purchasing a wand from Amazon and expecting to conjure spirits with it, though I would not rule out that augmentations can be performed on such marketed materials)
I appreciate Crowley's logical deductions, though new readers should be warned.
Though a man in possession of a great mind, and no doubt nigh fathomable prowess, he was not without fallacy or malcontent. As was mentioned by another reviewer, Crowley has laid systematic traps (to borrow that reviewer's terminology) of a karmatic nature. EG, lending color to an idea of practice that would almost all too certainly come with insufferable blowback to the inept. I believe this stems from Crowley's tendency to demonstrate (rather blatantly) elitism in its most raw of forms. He cared little for the layman and therefore would only spread his knowledge to anyone he considered 'worthy'. With the digestible state this particular collection of essays is formed in (versus his many other writings on the same subject having labrynthean properties), he seems to lay such aforementioned traps to catch any overly zealous flies in an esoteric webb.
Lastly, I appreciated Crowley's forthright condemnation of sects, pacts, and cults of Magick. He recognizes them for the scourge they are, but needlessly falls short by only following such condemnations by asserting his own doctrines in their place. The Magus is little more than a Shaman you see. Despite Crowley's understanding of the necessity of a solo journey, he seems all too par for the course in trying to recruit people around his pulpit.
I would implore the novice magus to place particular attention on the usage and effects of magical weapons. Not so much for the usage, but for the sake of gaining a better understanding of such weapons and their applicability across various walks of Magick, particularly to that of the Tarot.
PS. On the subject of magical weapons, I disagree whole heartily with Crowley on the subject of producing one's own magical weapons versus obtaining it from a proper place. Crowley argues that making one's own is the most efficacious, while I argue that the proper weapon for the magus will reveal itself at the proper place and the proper time. Only the magus will know themselves when such conditions have been met. (I believe this adequately rules out purchasing a wand from Amazon and expecting to conjure spirits with it, though I would not rule out that augmentations can be performed on such marketed materials)
November 30, 2014
There are numerous things...
dear Magi,
... that make this a great book, starting with his outline in the beginning of the book, defining magic, its theory and the postulates and theorems thereof. There is also a very useful section later in the book of magical correspondences (we have referenced this section for years). But what really makes this book great is the seriousness with which Crowley approaches his subject; he makes the magic real. If you are a young magician and still hounded with the doubts instilled in you about magic from a society that uses the word "science" to denounce magic (like some people use crosses to ward off vampires) without even understanding the methodology that science truly is, this book is the cure. It is comprehensive, clearly written (although that can't be said of everything Crowley wrote but then some of his works are actually mystical in nature) and while you may not agree with everything he says, it is inspiring. This book is a vital part of every magician's library.
kyela,
the silver elves
Goodreads authors of The Book of Elven Magick: The Philosophy and Enchantments of the Seelie Elves, volume 1, and of The Book of Elven Magick: The Philosophy and Enchantments of the Seelie Elves, Volume 2, volume 2.
dear Magi,
... that make this a great book, starting with his outline in the beginning of the book, defining magic, its theory and the postulates and theorems thereof. There is also a very useful section later in the book of magical correspondences (we have referenced this section for years). But what really makes this book great is the seriousness with which Crowley approaches his subject; he makes the magic real. If you are a young magician and still hounded with the doubts instilled in you about magic from a society that uses the word "science" to denounce magic (like some people use crosses to ward off vampires) without even understanding the methodology that science truly is, this book is the cure. It is comprehensive, clearly written (although that can't be said of everything Crowley wrote but then some of his works are actually mystical in nature) and while you may not agree with everything he says, it is inspiring. This book is a vital part of every magician's library.
kyela,
the silver elves
Goodreads authors of The Book of Elven Magick: The Philosophy and Enchantments of the Seelie Elves, volume 1, and of The Book of Elven Magick: The Philosophy and Enchantments of the Seelie Elves, Volume 2, volume 2.
May 5, 2021
Although I call myself a Thelemite, I don't agree with Crowley on a lot of things. Still, I do consider him a brilliant man, and an interesting figure. His writings might make me cringe at times, but they also challenge my thinking and that is what I primarily look for in the books I read. This one definitely did that.
September 5, 2020
Basic worthwhile; personally, as I read Crowley I came to the decision that his Brand of magick - Thelema, etc. - was not my path ... But, he is Aleister Crowley and if one decides to read a [single] Crowley book; I would choose "Magick In Theory & Practice".
July 10, 2020
Crowley can often be difficult to understand. Even in this book, its true meanings are sometimes muddled. However this is overall the most clear guide to the principles of magick as Crowley viewed it and is a great resource for those interested in the occult.
October 8, 2022
rly weird self help book
June 12, 2022
I will be the first Fool to admit that I cried more than once reading this book. I had a vividly real kundalini awakening in the year of our Lord 2018 that pulled me kicking and screaming from the chains of slavery and out of the Matrix, or Plato’s Cave, if you please. A devout atheist and recovering Mormon most of my adult life had left me empty and boring with a yuge false front of what one lady in San Diego labeled me a “phony, people pleasing, funny boy.” Everyone else still probably thinks I went insane, for the first time in my life I knew whatever was happening to me was spiritually more real than anything I had ever experienced before. The first TRUTH that downloaded on me (which I am only beginning to understand four years later) was MAGIC IS REAL. Shortly after was the realization that, “I have been wrong about everything my entire life, including God.” Many years later I learned the latter insight is essentially the first degree of Freemasonry. Why I cried so much reading this book is even I still believe some of what I was downloading from the ether was delusion. Apparently it was not and I always cry when faced with divinity and inspired Truth. I will not bore the reader with the near endless examples at my disposal, but will offer only one. For reasons unknown to me at the time I made meditative circles every night, at sunset, for 95 sunsets in a row. In those circles, among other things, I often put blood from my fingers after a small poke and went into trances while downloading more information I am only now beginning to understand. So four years later when I read this from Aleister C. there seemed nothing left for me to do but weep.
“This is used in the mass of the Phoenix mixed with the blood of the Magus. This mass should be performed daily at sunset by every magician.”
I will forever be humbled and grateful beyond measure that Hermes Trismegistus and Sophia chose little old me pull from the walking dead into the realm of the preternatural. Mayhap the most important insight given to me during those 95 sunsets was, “A storm is coming, spiritual warfare like nothing you could ever imagine and Now is the time to prepare.” How innocent we all were back in 2018. We had no idea years of psy-ops, propaganda, medical tyranny, COMplete censorship of the Truth, global genocide under the guise of mandatory mRNA spike protein gene therapies and the rise and unveiling of the Serpent Cults and Dark Lodges was about to commence. Hermes and Sophia did though, “Ya heard me?”
“This is used in the mass of the Phoenix mixed with the blood of the Magus. This mass should be performed daily at sunset by every magician.”
I will forever be humbled and grateful beyond measure that Hermes Trismegistus and Sophia chose little old me pull from the walking dead into the realm of the preternatural. Mayhap the most important insight given to me during those 95 sunsets was, “A storm is coming, spiritual warfare like nothing you could ever imagine and Now is the time to prepare.” How innocent we all were back in 2018. We had no idea years of psy-ops, propaganda, medical tyranny, COMplete censorship of the Truth, global genocide under the guise of mandatory mRNA spike protein gene therapies and the rise and unveiling of the Serpent Cults and Dark Lodges was about to commence. Hermes and Sophia did though, “Ya heard me?”
September 4, 2024
Ok, just finished and it was really difficult. I am not really a fan of the writing style. The writing style is flat and disengaging. Although lots of information on rituals, practice, challenges are there, the organization of data is boring.
It seems they mixed Egyptian, Hindu and Talmud elements in a shaker and then threw the shake everywhere. Too many references also make the book dependent on other resources. However, some very interesting philosophical comments are there.
It seems they mixed Egyptian, Hindu and Talmud elements in a shaker and then threw the shake everywhere. Too many references also make the book dependent on other resources. However, some very interesting philosophical comments are there.
April 6, 2020
Very confusing -
March 3, 2021
I had this edition in high school, the Castle edition in the 90s, and now reference it as part of the Weiser edition of Liber ABA. It's a brilliant work, but should be compared with a translation of Eliphas Levi's "Dogma & Ritual of High Magick" (such as Waite's "Transcendental Magic", but there's a newer translation with which I'm not familiar). Crowley believed himself to be the reincarnation of Eliphas Levi, and based the structure of this work on the "Dogma & Ritual". Of particular note is that they both order the chapters to follow the sequence & symbolism of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.
August 23, 2013
A huge influence on the young man I was... and yes, I still open it up from time to time. For many this inexpensive Dover edition is our first exposure to Crowley. You can usually find it at any Chapters or Black Bond Books.
By his own admission Crowley left nasty little ethical/spiritual traps throughout his works. So if you are a selfish asshole who is out for power and control... well, you are going to be in for one hell of a ride my friend. I have seen first hand what the deliberate abuse of Crowley's teachings can do to a man.
I still see him from time to time around my town; the man who abused Crowley's teachings. He is like a human ghost now, paranoid and near homeless.
By his own admission Crowley left nasty little ethical/spiritual traps throughout his works. So if you are a selfish asshole who is out for power and control... well, you are going to be in for one hell of a ride my friend. I have seen first hand what the deliberate abuse of Crowley's teachings can do to a man.
I still see him from time to time around my town; the man who abused Crowley's teachings. He is like a human ghost now, paranoid and near homeless.
March 2, 2021
Concise exercises and detailed study information.
January 5, 2009
Regardless of whether you believe in Aleister Crowley as a practitioner of real Magick, his authoritative treatise on the subject is worth a read for anyone interested in the Occult. Crowley is credited with having actually defined magic as it is understood in today's circles. His interpretations of the symbolism and practice of magic are insightful regardless of whether they hold any truly practical application. This work explores ritual symbolism and the interconnectedness of all things.
April 19, 2016
Although this book contains some advanced rituals and it can omit necessary parts of some rituals, it also contains some pretty good basic ones and quite a bit of theory. MTP is generally considered one of the most important modern books about Magick. I particularly recommend Libers O and E to those seeking to begin their career in ritual magick. 93!
November 4, 2018
Great book, but like all of Crowley, Victorian AF. (He'd hate that description.)
Great info, the only downside is the writing style. Otherwise, a great read. Can probably get the same info written more clearly, but not likely in one place.
Great info, the only downside is the writing style. Otherwise, a great read. Can probably get the same info written more clearly, but not likely in one place.
June 7, 2013
Excellently written but full of traps for the unwary. Under no circumstances attempt to construct a consistent magickal practice from this book
July 18, 2022
What is magick? Can conjuring demons harm you? Is there power in magick and is it real? Is there such thing as a dangerous grimoire? Can a book hold too much power for one mere mortal to control?
The answer to this is that reality is fragile - this is the underlying framework of reality behind magickal practice. The greatest danger with magick is wasting your time by practicing the wrong approach and thinking it is real (i.e. falling for the illusion which both meditation and magickal practice strive to liberate you from). In magick everything is, quite literally, in your mind - the only problem is that most people are unaware that their minds are infinite and remarkably powerful despite being contained in a cranium made of bone roughly 145mm wide. Crowley teaches me that, with its use of wands and spells and colors and incense and robes and spirits and talismans, that magick is fun, cool, useful, practical, and exciting if you have a proper understanding of the Nature of Mind. MAGICK IS REAL AND MANIFESTS THE RESULTS YOU WANT. Then it makes you stop and ask, "Wait was that real or was it just a bizarre coincidence?" And then that question bleeds into the rest of your life and you ask, "Hold up, is any of this real?" And then Strawberry Fields Forever.
Life is a painting and the paint is still wet, despite what the rulers of this world tell you. If you think the paint is dry, it is purely because you have believed the illusion set by the capitalists, religious leaders, communists, liberals, authoritarians, fascists, and atheists - to think magickally is to realize that the stories aren't actually true and, when you take this to its logical conclusion, will practically mean that you will play with, fuck with, mold, melt, and stretch the painting of life. In this foundational text of Western Occultism and Hermeticism, Rabbi Crowley will teach you how a magickian puts order where there is chaos, because human beings, like the ringing-clay they are made from, are infinitely creative - the painting of reality is much more malleable and wet than you ever thought. Your Will is All that Is.
The answer to this is that reality is fragile - this is the underlying framework of reality behind magickal practice. The greatest danger with magick is wasting your time by practicing the wrong approach and thinking it is real (i.e. falling for the illusion which both meditation and magickal practice strive to liberate you from). In magick everything is, quite literally, in your mind - the only problem is that most people are unaware that their minds are infinite and remarkably powerful despite being contained in a cranium made of bone roughly 145mm wide. Crowley teaches me that, with its use of wands and spells and colors and incense and robes and spirits and talismans, that magick is fun, cool, useful, practical, and exciting if you have a proper understanding of the Nature of Mind. MAGICK IS REAL AND MANIFESTS THE RESULTS YOU WANT. Then it makes you stop and ask, "Wait was that real or was it just a bizarre coincidence?" And then that question bleeds into the rest of your life and you ask, "Hold up, is any of this real?" And then Strawberry Fields Forever.
Life is a painting and the paint is still wet, despite what the rulers of this world tell you. If you think the paint is dry, it is purely because you have believed the illusion set by the capitalists, religious leaders, communists, liberals, authoritarians, fascists, and atheists - to think magickally is to realize that the stories aren't actually true and, when you take this to its logical conclusion, will practically mean that you will play with, fuck with, mold, melt, and stretch the painting of life. In this foundational text of Western Occultism and Hermeticism, Rabbi Crowley will teach you how a magickian puts order where there is chaos, because human beings, like the ringing-clay they are made from, are infinitely creative - the painting of reality is much more malleable and wet than you ever thought. Your Will is All that Is.
February 12, 2019
What I read was only part of this, I think. Just titled "Magick" and talked about the symbolism of the ritual tools, with tons of literary and Qabbalistic references. So it's less of an intro or informative work than a reference book on the ritual tools and their symbolism, something you can now just look up online but which they didn't have back then. Still, it was an interesting window into Thelema, Crowley's religion, and new age mysticism in general. I suppose it serves its purpose but artwork accompaniment would've improved it.
Favorite quotes:
"These nine lamps were originally candles made of human fat, the fat of enemies slain by the Magician; they thus served as warnings to any hostile force of what might be expected if it caused trouble. To-day such candles are difficult to procure; and it is perhaps simpler to use beeswax."
"All phenomena are sacraments. Every fact, and even every falsehood, must enter into the pantacle; it is the great storehouse from which the storehouse draws... Do not refuse anything merely because you know that it is the cup of Poison offered by your enemy; drink it with confidence; it is he that will fall dead!"
"But the worst of all phantasms are the moral ideas and the religious ideas. Sanity consists in the faculty of adjusting ideas in proper proportion. Any one who accepts a moral or religious truth without understanding it is only kept out of the asylum because he does not follow it out logically. If one really believed in Christianity, if one really thought that the majority of mankind was doomed to eternal punishment, one would go raving about the world trying to 'save' people. Sleep would not be possible until the horror of the mind left the body exhausted. Otherwise, one must be morally insane."
Favorite quotes:
"These nine lamps were originally candles made of human fat, the fat of enemies slain by the Magician; they thus served as warnings to any hostile force of what might be expected if it caused trouble. To-day such candles are difficult to procure; and it is perhaps simpler to use beeswax."
"All phenomena are sacraments. Every fact, and even every falsehood, must enter into the pantacle; it is the great storehouse from which the storehouse draws... Do not refuse anything merely because you know that it is the cup of Poison offered by your enemy; drink it with confidence; it is he that will fall dead!"
"But the worst of all phantasms are the moral ideas and the religious ideas. Sanity consists in the faculty of adjusting ideas in proper proportion. Any one who accepts a moral or religious truth without understanding it is only kept out of the asylum because he does not follow it out logically. If one really believed in Christianity, if one really thought that the majority of mankind was doomed to eternal punishment, one would go raving about the world trying to 'save' people. Sleep would not be possible until the horror of the mind left the body exhausted. Otherwise, one must be morally insane."
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