I'm thinking about reading some of his stuff. Any suggestions, comments, whatever? I know that he's been discussed on here before, but I thought I'd make a new thread just for the hell of it.
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I'm thinking about reading some of his stuff. Any suggestions, comments, whatever? I know that he's been discussed on here before, but I thought I'd make a new thread just for the hell of it.
that is an interesting question. with all the things I have researched, i've never really learned about him and his philosophies.
I concurQuote:
Originally Posted by karyn
I don't know anything about him really I have a few friends that know a little, and from what they told me it's pretty dark stuff. some satanists I know LOVE him..... let us know what you find out. I'd be interested.
Haven't read Crowley in awhile. I would recommend Book of Law. It's a lot more straightforward than his other stuff. I don't bother with occult stuff these days. I don't believe any of it. Crowley is a fun read though.
didn't he write the book of thoth as well?Quote:
Originally Posted by One Eyed Cat
Yah. Book of Lies was interesting too. He wrote a lot of books. I only read a few.Quote:
Originally Posted by VoltaireBlue
hey do you know what the emerald tablets of thoth are? is it crowley, or something else? I've seen them mentioned in refference lists, but never knew what they were.Quote:
Originally Posted by One Eyed Cat
Dunno. Sounds familiar. You might a check a site on thelema for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by VoltaireBlue
thanks dude.
Read it while listening to a band called Yelworc. Bet ya it'll be crazy times.
read his eight lectures on yoga, one of the few books he wrote without swamping the reader in all his symbolistic crap. Diary of a drugfiend is a good book too for his fiction, I read a couple of shortstories of his with this detective character called simon iff,....... yeah his fiction is quite alright.
His books have a lot of really good information, that's spot on, but............well, if you like wading through that sort of stuff then, it's all good
Morning Glory- I'd say it depends on why you want to read Crowley.
Are you interested in the occult in general, looking for something interesting, and intellectually challenging, or just want to be culturally informed?
If you're looking for nuggets of occulty wisdom to actually use, and apply I might suggest that Franz Bardon's Initiation into Hermetics is a far more practical, and worthwhile use of your time.
If you're up for an intellectual challenge, then go right ahead and dive in to Crowley, the books OEC mentioned are a great place to start. Although Crowley was a leading occultist of his day he was way more interested in founding his own religion, and basking in his mystical awesomeness than helping n00bs figure out what the hell he was talking about. The religion he created was called Thelema, and you can find out plenty about that online, just ask any Thelemite. (Hey, some of my best friends are Thelemites.)
If you just want a fun read I'd suggest his novel "Moonchild" it's a fairly heavily fictionalized account of the kind of highjinks he, and the various factions of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn used to get up to. It is also by far the most entertaining thing I've ever read by him. "Diary of a Drugfiend" didn't keep my interest for as long.
Voltaire- The Emerald Tablets of Thoth are supposedly a work of occult knowlege left by the god/magician Thoth/Hermes, and are most likely legendary. Supposedly they were written on over sized emeralds, and contain the secrets of hermetic magic on them. There are several books claiming to be derived from them, the best one of these that I've read was "The Kybalion." by The Three Initiates.
As for Crowley being all dark, and spooky... um... yeah that's what he liked people to think, but uh, no. He was just very anti-christian, and liked to make people whig out. Most stories you'll hear about him are silly. :D
yeah, I was looking more about psychological models and less supernatural mumbo jumbo.
thanks for the suggestions all.
if you get into Crowley and the OTO, look out for the Jiz cookies they serve at mass. Ick.
I second the Franz Bardon books, IIH is one of the most, usable, practical books in the Occult. Although intellectually stimulating and entertaining, Crowley's could take years of head scratching to wade through in order to extract truly useful practices, while wondering if he is purposely leading the reader towards a dead end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buster Friendly
I'm not a Thelemite myself, but my fiance is and has been for a very long time. We probably own every book on Crowley ever made, at least any book worth its salt.
That being said, I would recommend reading Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley by Richard Kaczynski. It's not in print anymore, so you can't buy a new one of it (and the used copies all seem to go at about $100 a pop), but I'm certain it's easily found at your local library.
Every time someone mentions Crowley, my fiance recommends that book. It explains a lot about why Crowley was the way he was, and debunks a lot of the ridiculous rumors made about him (of course, some of the rumors Crowley started himself...he had a penchant for shocking people).
One thing I will say about Crowley is that he was NOT evil in any way. Philosophically, I'd actually go so far as to say he was pretty genius. Personally, however, he was a complete asshole -- just not evil. It's completely amazing how such a sexist, egotistical, crotchety old man could write such insightful and enlightening things, but that's just what Crowley did. He was a complete anomaly.
If I remember correctly, they make cookies with menstrual blood for certain ceremonies as well. Of course, I might be getting it wrong. You'd think living with a member of the OTO for as long as I have would mean I know everything about Thelema, but it still confuses me a lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murk1
Okay, I just asked him (he was asleep when I first posted this...otherwise I would've gone back and edited instead of making a new reply). He said what they do is put the semen or blood (doesn't have to be menstrual) on top of the cookies, then burn them to ash. Then they put the ash into the mix and make more cookies, which is how they're supposed to be made but also, obviously, helps to not spread disease.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magdalene
oh, crowley was evil..............he was just one of the few to do it properly