Aleister Crowley: the last polymath? Crowley was an expert mountaineer, sexual libertine, poet, artist, and the foremost occultist, arguably in history. His synthesis of scientific empiricism, philosophies of east & west, and the phenomenology of religious/mystical devotion is a revolution that foreruns the 'use it if it works, discard it if it doesn't' angle that would be adopted by the rising cult of Chaos a century after his birth.
Crowley was perhaps the first rock star of the 20th century (as evidenced by his inclusion on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's) and smashed through so many of the taboos of Victorian England.
Richard Kaczynski's biography of this most remarkable and often confronting man is the definitive picture of his life & exploits. A new edition has been released to much acclaim.
For those who find the idea of magic(k) too rooted in fantasy, one should realise that Crowley's revolution is one of discarding any intrinsic reality to things like demons, etc. Rather, ritual and its incantations & entities are simply tools used to execute ones will. Confused yet? Seek on....
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