Aleister Crowley
Magick

There was a time when I was interested in occultism.

I was about seventeen years old and attracted by the names of some characters mentioned by dark and mephistophelic metal bands.

People like the "Satanic Pope" Anton Lavey, the shamanic serial killer Charles Manson, and, indeed, the legendary and inimitable Aleister Crowley. For those who don't know, Alexander Crowley, who later celticized his name to Aleister, was born in 1875 in England and developed a deep interest in magic and Eastern doctrines from a young age. He entered the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at a young age but was expelled due to some excesses related to sexual magic. Crowley then founded his own esoteric current, the Astro Argentinum. Eventually, he joined the Ordo Templi Orientis, a para-masonic organization dedicated to ceremonial magic and founded in 1895 by the German Karl Kellner.

Crowley was the creator of a magical-philosophical doctrine known to most as "Thelema." A doctrine with the motto: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." At first glance, it may seem like an invitation to pure, unrestrained libertinism. In reality, behind this simple phrase lies a much deeper concept: to realize one's True Will. The capital letters are obligatory because it does not refer to an ephemeral or fleeting will: in this case, it refers to the deepest and most genuine Will of the human being. Crowley's doctrine was absolutely anthropocentric. According to Master Therion, the name that made him famous among his followers, man was God unto himself. Outside of him existed undefined entities but, most likely, connected to the individual and collective unconscious.

The only entity Crowley recognized as having a personality was Aiwass, an ancestral entity which he, according to his testimonies, encountered in Egypt.

This lengthy preamble is to help you understand whom we are talking about.

Sure, one could mention the subject's sexomania or the unrestrained abuse of psychotropic substances, but I don't find it essential to engage in gossip.

As stated at the beginning of the chapter, I was only seventeen years old. I was very young and intended to flee from the stifling religious dogmas imposed on me since childhood by the family environment. I wanted to discover what others denied or feared and, of course, wanted to gain material advantages through the study of esotericism.

I bought this enigmatic work in a bookstore, now sadly defunct. As soon as I held my copy of "Magick" in my hands, I rushed to the nearest park and began to read it voraciously: it was the beginning of the end!

"Magick" is a very complex book that requires a minimum of esoteric background, a certain knowledge of Hebrew Kabbalah, and specific Eastern doctrines. To all this, a certain mastery of ancient Greek should be added. "Magick," especially in the early chapters, explains how to enter the unknown world. It does not claim, at least initially, to be a book for the few but, on the contrary, extends a hand to everyone.

It begins with a highly detailed description of meditation, leading to the illustration of the ritual "weapons": sword, wand, cup, scourge, and a few other instruments I don't remember now. After this long but basic introduction, it moves on to the explanation of the concepts of evocation and invocation. It talks about creating mental images, dedicating altars to the deities or entities you wish to summon. The book continues for several chapters covering such topics. Then, alas, the most challenging part arrives. Lunar phases, numerology, Kabbalah, Enochian language, and a whole series of inhuman exercises, at least for those who expected some picturesque ritual against the evil eye. In short: though presenting itself as a book for everyone, "Magick" eventually sheds its reassuring mask, making us realize that the main path will be arduous and challenging.

Topics like the dialogue with the Holy Guardian Angel or the invocation of Babalon appear incomprehensible to a layperson.

I will tell you the truth: I read the whole book and found it very fascinating. The problem, however, is that I was not and am not at all cut out for entering this mysterious dimension.

But Mr. Crowley has not only fascinated me or some "flipped" metalhead. People like Aldous Huxley, Ron Hubbard, and Gerald Gardner, for some years, were literally enthralled by the vast culture and strong charisma of the English magician. Not only Satanist metal bands were interested in Thelema, but also unsuspecting musicians like Jimmy Page and Sting have studied the works of Master Therion. Even filmmaker Kenneth Anger, who later became one of the founders of the Church Of Satan, was an avid "thelemite." These people found in "Magick" something certainly extraordinary, and perhaps they managed to grasp the key to entering other worlds or to dialogue with certain entities. Anything is possible!

However, there is a point to clarify. Many, wrongly, consider Aleister Crowley a Satanist and this work of his a diabolical text. However, things are not exactly so. Crowley, as previously written, was fundamentally an anthropocentric atheist. He, therefore, could not believe in the real existence of the biblical Satan. Certainly, among the many spirits invoked, the name Shaytan also appears in "Magick." The demon of monotheistic religions. However, this Satan must be understood as a "phallic-solar" symbol. Male and sexual principle. A rather cryptic concept but which certainly has nothing to do with the lord of evil.

Crowley died in 1947, destroyed by a life of all kinds of abuse. Yet, he was one of those histrionic characters, as well as terribly ambiguous, capable of arousing today interest and admiration. But also hate and fear.

With "Magick," I grew up. I never had the courage to engage in rituals or occult practices. What is certain is that if I had not had it in my hands today, I might be a slightly different person.

PS: I apologize to Mr. Crowley's followers. I have tried to describe succinctly and understandably the content of the text as it relates to my youthful experience.