Crowley, what is so bad?

ok i know this is kinda a stupid question but What exactly did Crowley do that was soo bad?

i ask only because i dont really know much about him.

I know he was a member of Golden Dawn, a number of witch covens, a clandestine mason, and a big sexual deviant, however...what kind of sexual things made him so bad? was he a child molester or something?

what kind of sex magic did he get involved in?

[edited to correct title -nygdan]

[edit on 29-6-2006 by Nygdan]

came up with some info if u intrested

Aleister Crowley was a self-proclaimed drug and sex "fiend," a mostly self-published author of books on the occult and magick. a poet and mountaineer, and a leader of a group called Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) whose tenets are detailed in one of his many writings, The Book of the Law.

Crowley claimed to identify himself with the Great Beast 666 (from the Book of Revelation) and enjoyed the appellation of "wickedest man in the world." Crowley inherited a fortune and worked hard at being strange. He was especially alluring to dysfunctional women (Gardner 1992:198).

As a child, his constant rebellious behaviour displeased his devout mother to such an extent she would chastise him by calling him "The Beast" (from the Book of Revelation), an epithet that Crowley would later happily adopt for himself. He objected to the labelling of what he saw as life's most worthwhile and enjoyable activities as "sinful

His three years at Cambridge were happy ones, due in part to coming into the considerable fortune left by his father. Throughout this period he maintained a vigorous sex life, which was largely conducted with prostitutes and girls he picked up at local pubs and cigar shops, but extending into homosexual activities in which he played a passive role

Crowley's magical and initiatory system has amongst its innermost reaches a set of teachings on sex "magick." He frequently expressed views about sex that were radical for his time, and published numerous poems and tracts combining pagan religious themes with sexual imagery both heterosexual and homosexual, as well as pederastic. One of his most notorious poetry collections, entitled White Stains (1898), was published in Amsterdam in 1898 and dealt specifically with sexually explicit subject matter. However, most of the hundred copies printed for the initial release were later seized and destroyed by British customs

through time he has been considered a racist and habitual drug user as well. he has achieved alot in the time he was alive, and wasnt really considered as normal by some people.
just do a search on the name and on Thelema there is a lot of info out there.


Source
Source

I figure the people invoved with so ccalled cult things that are that much in the public doing what he did are more a romance of occult than true to occult.

I guess one think bad is when he went mountain climbing and a mate needed help he didn't go to his aid and that mate did fall and die.

From an occult stand point I guess if you promote the true knowledge of good and evil could be very negative for spiritual evolution.

Originally posted by umwolves123
ok i know this is kinda a stupid question but What exactly did Crowley do that was soo bad?

He challenged people to think for themselves and to deny ignorance. Most people, of course, have a deathly fear of actually having to think for themselves, which made Crowley an easy target.

I know he was a member of Golden Dawn, a number of witch covens,

Golden Dawn yes, witch covens no. Although he certainly had a large influence on Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca.

a clandestine mason, and a big sexual deviant, however...what kind of sexual things made him so bad? was he a child molester or something?

Crowley's writings often contain some rather bizarre themes. The problem with people who call Crowley a "deviant" is that they always want to take him too seriously. Personally, I find him refreshing. Most occult writers throughout history (Agrippa, Barrett, Pike, Waite, etc.) are rather stodgy and scholastic, while Crowley had a wild sense of humor. Anton Szandor LaVey pointed out that Crowley spent most of his writing career with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek (although, of course, the same could be said of LaVey).

An example of Crowley's "deviant wit" can be found in his commentaries to Liber AL, when he describes the inherent divinity of sex. He informs us that the act, if in accordance with True Will, is always holy, whether it's the Spirit and Mary or "the Pennsylvanian with his pig". Obviously, Crowley is not advocating bestiality, but is simply cracking a ridiculous joke.

what kind of sex magic did he get involved in?

The big secret of the O.T.O. is found in its IX°, technically styled the "Sanctuary of the Gnosis". This O.T.O. degree contains the primary instructions for their sex magical techniques. If you'd like more information about it, send me a U2U. It may be of interest to note that this big "secret" is plainly hinted at in the O.T.O.'s public religious celebration, the Gnostic Mass.

Crowely was declared "Wickedest man alive" by English Tabloids, so that title is meaningless.

He promoted himself as the Great Beast 666, but that title is just ego, and meaningless.

His ideals about sexuality, drugs, and occultism all violate the anal retentive religious ideals of society, and thus if they even know or hear of him, they think he's awful.

He wrote/published some 800 books,he liked to hear himself talk basically.

He was instrumental in reviving interest in the occult and is a central figure of modern occultism, obviously not something mainstream society digs.

Supposedly he drove one of his lackies to suicide "with magick", but that is rubbish, his buddy was of a weak mind and would have found a good reason to off himself anyway.

Beyond all that Crowley and his supposed evilness is very much a romanticized fiction.
He was just a man, a well educated and literate man.

There were plenty of truly evil men in his lifetime, Hitler and his gang, Stalin, Franco, the Walker/Bush Family, Harry Anslinger, the Duponts, Randolph Hearst, the Rockfellers, etc.

Who can compare Aleister Crowley's introduction of revisionist occultism with Oppeheimer's Bombs? Certainly Crowley's magick never killed tens of thousands in a flash.


He had some very valid predictions, like the increase of bisexuality/homosexuality worldwide in this past century. Some other stuff too, he's not easy reading, Being british and full of himself.

Good old Uncle Al. He was an interesting character but certainly low on the list of "Wickedest men alive".


[edit on 29-6-2006 by Legalizer]

Originally posted by ronishia
through time he has been considered a racist

Basically during his lifetime, Racism, Classism, Nationalism and Sexism were the absolute norms of society.

Remember that if you went around promoting inter-racial sex and marriage,
you would have been dragged out and burned or swung from a tree by your neck in
those days.

Imagine trying to promote Black voting rights in those days?
How about equal opportunity employment for anyone other than white men?

Remember it was racist propaganda against mexicans and blacks that
was the glue that sealed the decision to make cannabis illegal.

Plenty of racist propaganda against chinse that made opium illegal, there
were riots against the Asians in vancouver, burning of businesses etc.
Probably other murderous acts in many other places that history has covered up to hide the savage crimes of white men who control the press.

Such were the "good old days".

Originally posted by chemlabco
I guess one think bad is when he went mountain climbing and a mate needed help he didn't go to his aid and that mate did fall and die.

This is a good place to jump in as any. Much of the "bad" info about Crowley stems from the press. Well press is stretching it as they had the journalistic integrity of our weekly world news. The popular account of this story has Crowley ignoring their cries of help while sipping tea in his tent and that is really exaggerating the truth more than a bit.

What happened during his attempt of climbing Kangchenjunga (the third highest mountain) in 1905 was one of his team wanted to go back, but Crowley told him it was not safe and to wait till morning, and that "he would be dead in 10 minutes" if he tried. Well he tried and a half hour later they heard some screams. By this time it was dark and it was unsafe to attempt any sort of rescue. They set off at first light and discovered the bodies and ended the expedition.

A few years before in 1902 when Crowley attempted to climb K2 (the second highest) Crowley basically saved the life of a man suffering from pulmonary edema, but no one talks about that.

BTW while double checking the years I ran across this page about K2.
www.k2climb.net...
Like many reports on Crowley they just had to add a bit of fiction to make him seem more evil/weird.

At one point he became convinced his wife was a bat, Crowley forced her to sleep tied upside down in a closet at nights.

I mean come on!

Didn't Crowley used to sodomise young children and then kill them?

Originally posted by Communication_Burger
Didn't Crowley used to sodomise young children and then kill them?

No

Why do you think he would?

Originally posted by Cug
No

Why do you think he would?

I read that somewhere, a book, I think. I can't remember where.

Do I think he would have done something like that? Who knows? I don't know a great deal about the man.

Crowley isi considered an evil deviant becuase thats what he told people he was.

Originally posted by Nygdan
Crowley isi considered an evil deviant becuase thats what he told people he was.

You know, that's not too far from the truth.

Crowley's personal motto, apart from Perdurabo, was "all publicity is good publicity", and for whatever reason, he not only enjoyed all the yellow journalism about himself, but relished in it. It has been said that if he took the ridiculous title "Wickedest Man Alive" as a huge compliment (probably because he considered those who bestowed that title to be the most moronic alive).

On a side note, I remember reading something (I think it was by Robert Anton Wilson, but don't remember for sure), where the author mentions he attended a lecture given by Grady McMurtry, a/k/a " Caliph Hymeaneus Alpha 777", the late head of the O.T.O., and a friend of Crowley's. The author states that McMurtry, during the oration, was "so pie-eyed drunk as to be nearly incomprehensible". He closes by saying "Crowley would have been proud of him".



[edit on 29-6-2006 by Masonic Light]

Originally posted by Masonic Light
Crowley's personal motto, apart from Perdurabo, was "all publicity is good publicity", and for whatever reason, he not only enjoyed all the yellow journalism about himself, but relished in it.

I can't agree with that. From all accounts that I have read, Crowley seemed pretty much indifferent to the yellow press stories it was you must be a fool to believe that, and who cares what fools think kinda thing. Unfortunately it seems to me that Crowley often overestimated the intelligence of the average Joe.

He certainly didn't relish it when he was kicked out of Sicily, or when he had problems getting books published/marketed because of the reputation these stories gave him. Or when he unsuccessfully sued Constable & Co. in 1933 (publishers of Nina Hamnett's book Laughing torso) because of the events mentioned.

And you also have to remember that he was also probably concerned about rebutting any articles that called him a sexual deviant, because under the Buggery Act he was!

[edit on 6/29/2006 by Cug]

Originally posted by Legalizer

He wrote/published some 800 books,he liked to hear himself talk basically.

Are you sure he wrote 800 books Legalizer? Thats a book a month roughfly for 62 years. If he did I sure would like to see a list of all his works.

Originally posted by Cug


I can't agree with that. From all accounts that I have read, Crowley seemed pretty much indifferent to the yellow press stories it was you must be a fool to believe that, and who cares what fools think kinda thing. Unfortunately it seems to me that Crowley often overestimated the intelligence of the average Joe.

What you say is true. Nevertheless, Crowley provoked it all himself, and did so continuously. I think it was McMurtry who wrote something to the effect that it was a waste of time for him trying to whitewash Crowley's reputation, while Crowley spent most of his life systematically blackening it.

He certainly didn't relish it when he was kicked out of Sicily, or when he had problems getting books published/marketed because of the reputation these stories gave him. Or when he unsuccessfully sued Constable & Co. in 1933 (publishers of Nina Hamnett's book Laughing torso) because of the events mentioned.

Yet he continued the public diabolical image purposefully. Everyone who has seriously studied his works are in unison that he was an expert on the occult sciences, and definitely has something to say for the modern student. But he was a PR nightmare!

Wake up!!!

Federal Reserve

...Crowley considered the modern incarnation of the Christian Church to be one of the great deceivers of mankind. He derived a lot of entertainment out of twisting Christian’s panties into a major knot.

Sorry; Meant this to be a u2u.



[edit on 1-7-2006 by Naphtalite]

Originally posted by Amon_Ra
Wake up!!!

Federal Reserve

What does this have to do with the post?

People think crowley was bad because he freely delved into the darker side of both human nature and spirituality.

I personally have alot of respect and admiration for crowley. Its perhaps from a Christian Mindset he is believed to be evil.