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Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Life of Aleister Crowley
A rigorously researched biography of the founder of modern magick, as well as a study of the occult, sexuality, Eastern religion, and more
The name “Aleister Crowley” instantly conjures visions of diabolic ceremonies and orgiastic indulgences—and while the sardonic Crowley would perhaps be the last to challenge such a view, he was also much more than “the Beast,” as this authoritative biography shows.
Perdurabo —entitled after the magical name Crowley chose when inducted into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn—traces Crowley’s remarkable journey from his birth as the only son of a wealthy lay preacher to his death in a boarding house as the world’s foremost authority on magick. Along the way, he rebels against his conservative religious upbringing; befriends famous artists, writers, and philosophers (and becomes a poet himself); is attacked for his practice of “the black arts”; and teaches that science and magick can work together. While seeking to spread his infamous philosophy of, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” Crowley becomes one of the most notorious figures of his day.
Based on Richard Kaczynski’s twenty years of research, and including previously unpublished biographical details, Perdurabo paints a memorable portrait of the man who inspired the counterculture and influenced generations of artists, punks, wiccans, and other denizens of the demimonde.
The name “Aleister Crowley” instantly conjures visions of diabolic ceremonies and orgiastic indulgences—and while the sardonic Crowley would perhaps be the last to challenge such a view, he was also much more than “the Beast,” as this authoritative biography shows.
Perdurabo —entitled after the magical name Crowley chose when inducted into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn—traces Crowley’s remarkable journey from his birth as the only son of a wealthy lay preacher to his death in a boarding house as the world’s foremost authority on magick. Along the way, he rebels against his conservative religious upbringing; befriends famous artists, writers, and philosophers (and becomes a poet himself); is attacked for his practice of “the black arts”; and teaches that science and magick can work together. While seeking to spread his infamous philosophy of, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” Crowley becomes one of the most notorious figures of his day.
Based on Richard Kaczynski’s twenty years of research, and including previously unpublished biographical details, Perdurabo paints a memorable portrait of the man who inspired the counterculture and influenced generations of artists, punks, wiccans, and other denizens of the demimonde.
720 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
189 people are currently reading
1748 people want to read
About the author
Richard Kaczynski
25 books80 followersRichard Kaczynski is an American writer, musician, research scientist, and lecturer in the fields of social psychology, metaphysical beliefs and new religious movements. He is known for his biography Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley (North Atlantic Books, 2010), acclaimed by the Times Literary Supplement as "the major biography to date" of the Edwardian enfant terrible, and regarded by the Norwegian daily Aftenposten as the best biography of Crowley.
He has lectured internationally since 1990, and over the years his writing has appeared in magazines ranging from High Times to the Lovecraftian role-playing journal Different Worlds. He has also appeared on television in the documentaries Secrets of the Occult and Aleister Crowley: The Beast 666.
Kaczynski has also played keyboards for the progressive rock bands House of Usher, Page, and Celestial Serenity.
Dr. Kaczynski earned his Ph.D. in social psychology, with a minor in measurement and statistics, in 1993 with a dissertation on metaphysical beliefs and experiences among occult practitioners in New Religious Movements. He works professionally as a research scientist and biostatistician on studies ranging from clinical trials of psychiatric medications to program evaluation of compensated work therapy.
He has lectured internationally since 1990, and over the years his writing has appeared in magazines ranging from High Times to the Lovecraftian role-playing journal Different Worlds. He has also appeared on television in the documentaries Secrets of the Occult and Aleister Crowley: The Beast 666.
Kaczynski has also played keyboards for the progressive rock bands House of Usher, Page, and Celestial Serenity.
Dr. Kaczynski earned his Ph.D. in social psychology, with a minor in measurement and statistics, in 1993 with a dissertation on metaphysical beliefs and experiences among occult practitioners in New Religious Movements. He works professionally as a research scientist and biostatistician on studies ranging from clinical trials of psychiatric medications to program evaluation of compensated work therapy.
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November 23, 2020Well, that was certainly a book which I read.
Massive bio of Crowley which deserves the epithet 'exhaustive/ing' if only for the potted biographies of literally everyone he ever met, usually including their parents' names, educational history, career etc. This for, eg, someone he had sex with twice. He had sex with a lot of people. This is a large part of what makes this book so unreasonably gigantic. Thank heaven for ereaders, my wrists can't take much more stress (the latter probably something Crowley said a lot).
So. It's an interesting story about a fundamentally horrible human being. Crowley was awarded the newspaper title of The Wickedest Man in the World in large part because of his one-man sexual revolution thing, plus his deliberate efforts to shock people which he then claimed he wasn't doing. (Calls himself 'The Great Beast 666' and then claims in court that the term should be taken to mean 'Little Sunshine'. Oh, sod off you child.) He comes across as, not so much a Great Beast, more a massive tool. Petulant, dishonest, whiny, self-centred to sociopathy. There is a point where you have to look at how many of a man's long-term lovers become alcoholics and think: ooh hey, common denominator.
The author attempts to present Crowley non judgementally. This includes taking a lot of his stuff at face value: the visions and automatic writing of entire books (I wish), the workings, the achievement of mysterious degrees of magical status, the 'sex magick rituals' (mm hmm), the claim that he invented the V for Victory sign in WW2 for Churchill as a mass magical working (no really). We never confront the question of whether Crowley actually believed the stuff he peddled--he may have done, he certainly blew a fortune and a lot of effort on it. Which is a pretty massive lacuna in the book tbh. Author also accepts his wholesale pilfering from a variety of mostly Eastern religions as 'syncretic'. I'm hearing cultural appropriation, but whatevs.
Why read about this ghastly man? Well, a) I'm doing it for work, what's your excuse. b) he was actually someone of real potential and talent. He was an incredibly talented mountain climber, the first to lead an expedition up K2. He was, at points, a *really* good poet. I read his early and eye-wateringly obscene collection White Stains (nice title) and amid the odes to bestiality and necrophilia and Lovecraftian ramblings are some strikingly, stop-in-your-tracks good love poems and a really impressive mastery of form. The man could use words. Also c) it's pretty interesting to see the counterculture at work long before the 60s, and he certainly met a lot of other extremely out-there people (if Gerald Hamilton and Betty May are names that ring a bell).
A comprehensive work on the facts; I doubt the world will need another bio of Aleister Crowley, and I mean that in every possible sense.
Massive bio of Crowley which deserves the epithet 'exhaustive/ing' if only for the potted biographies of literally everyone he ever met, usually including their parents' names, educational history, career etc. This for, eg, someone he had sex with twice. He had sex with a lot of people. This is a large part of what makes this book so unreasonably gigantic. Thank heaven for ereaders, my wrists can't take much more stress (the latter probably something Crowley said a lot).
So. It's an interesting story about a fundamentally horrible human being. Crowley was awarded the newspaper title of The Wickedest Man in the World in large part because of his one-man sexual revolution thing, plus his deliberate efforts to shock people which he then claimed he wasn't doing. (Calls himself 'The Great Beast 666' and then claims in court that the term should be taken to mean 'Little Sunshine'. Oh, sod off you child.) He comes across as, not so much a Great Beast, more a massive tool. Petulant, dishonest, whiny, self-centred to sociopathy. There is a point where you have to look at how many of a man's long-term lovers become alcoholics and think: ooh hey, common denominator.
The author attempts to present Crowley non judgementally. This includes taking a lot of his stuff at face value: the visions and automatic writing of entire books (I wish), the workings, the achievement of mysterious degrees of magical status, the 'sex magick rituals' (mm hmm), the claim that he invented the V for Victory sign in WW2 for Churchill as a mass magical working (no really). We never confront the question of whether Crowley actually believed the stuff he peddled--he may have done, he certainly blew a fortune and a lot of effort on it. Which is a pretty massive lacuna in the book tbh. Author also accepts his wholesale pilfering from a variety of mostly Eastern religions as 'syncretic'. I'm hearing cultural appropriation, but whatevs.
Why read about this ghastly man? Well, a) I'm doing it for work, what's your excuse. b) he was actually someone of real potential and talent. He was an incredibly talented mountain climber, the first to lead an expedition up K2. He was, at points, a *really* good poet. I read his early and eye-wateringly obscene collection White Stains (nice title) and amid the odes to bestiality and necrophilia and Lovecraftian ramblings are some strikingly, stop-in-your-tracks good love poems and a really impressive mastery of form. The man could use words. Also c) it's pretty interesting to see the counterculture at work long before the 60s, and he certainly met a lot of other extremely out-there people (if Gerald Hamilton and Betty May are names that ring a bell).
A comprehensive work on the facts; I doubt the world will need another bio of Aleister Crowley, and I mean that in every possible sense.
September 24, 2024
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." - Aleister Crowley
***********
Aleister Crowley, born in 1875, was the scion of a wealthy British family who made money in breweries, railroads and chemicals with international concerns. They were devout Christians from Quakers in the 1700's to Plymouth Brethren in the 1800's, strict sects of evangelical Protestants. Taught at various religious schools he was initially a sickly boy. In teenage years he began to question the faith of his family. He developed unusual talents for chess, poetry and mountain climbing, first scaling the chalk cliffs of Sussex and later solo summits in Scotland and the Alps. A fellow climber and chemist introduced him to alchemy and the occult in the years leading up to college.
On entering Trinity College Cambridge in 1895 he received two million from his father's estate and was free of family control. A first act of independence was refusal to attend Anglical church services. After an affair with a fellow student he became bisexual. He began to publish poetry in limited edition runs. Successful in studies he skipped final exams, following Byron, Shelley and Tennyson in not graduating. In the late 19th century there was great interest in the occult. Freemasons, Theosophists and Rosicrucians were wide spread and Crowley turned away from a career in favor of spiritual pursuits. W. B. Yeats was a member of the magical order that Crowley was to join.
Under elder practitioners Crowley called forth spirits with a wand inside a protecting circle. Astral projection was easy as morphine and opium enhanced paranormal powers. Magical, poetic and romantic rivalries with Yeats led to his ouster from the order. Clubs catered to dilettantes but real magic was the solitary study of ancient languages and arcane literature. In 1900 Crowley sailed to Mexico, climbed extinct volcanoes, and practiced invisibility. He went to China and India, studied Buddhism in Burma, and attempted K2 in Kashmir. In Paris he became a character in two Somerset Maugham novels. In Cairo an ancient diety dictated 'The Law' spelling an end to earlier faiths.
In 1905 Crowley was blamed for a deadly mountaineering accident. He lost a first child to typhoid and wife to alcohol. Despairing of climbing and poetry he turned to full time magic. Earlier decades were tales of adventure but later years are accounts of mystic hocus pocus. Wandering the Sahara desert he had fantastic visions and invented new religions. He published journals, initiated secret societies and hosted rituals where peyote was passed. In the years before WWI he was banned from Cambridge on claims of pederasty and vilified by the press. From sex magic to sheep sacrifice in Loch Ness it's hard to tell if he really believed or merely perpetrated a hoax.
As the Great War began Crowley moved to America. After a short stint as a freelance spy in New York he traveled west spreading occultism. He envisioned himself as 'The Great Beast 666' after a lineage from Laotze to Muhammad, based on the Kabbala and Revelations. He painted grotesque images and premiered art shows. Fortunes exhausted he returned to London. Criticized for working on German propaganda he relocated to Sicily in 1920 and founded a cultist abbey. Stocking his villa with heroin and cocaine he practiced an eclectic mix of I Ching, tarot, numerology and astrology. Two more children died as open marriages and adultery were given free reign.
Mussolini heard of his deeds and Crowley was deported. He moved to Paris and Berlin, and then London for most of the 1930's, living mainly off libel suits and contributions from followers. His offers of WWII espionage services were not surprisingly declined. During the German blitz advancing age and declining health took their toll as he tried to remain relevant. Crowley died in 1947 three months after the British empire in India expired, a prosaic end to a poetic life. Parts of this book are a 'Who's Who' of everyone Crowley met, with birth and death dates included. Forests are felled as rituals are recounted. I have the expanded edition; the shorter version may have sufficed.
Crowley struggled with Victorian religious and sexual mores and sought outrageous ways to trangress boundaries. He patterned himself after William Blake and Richard Francis Burton with less stellar results. He was perhaps more of a writer than a religious leader although his occult orders still survive today. His life may reflect the idle pursuits of wealth but a more critical view might suggest otherwise. If believed, his visions and voices of angels and demons could suggest some form of psychosis. In any case little analysis is offered and Crowley's claims are mostly recounted verbatim. The approach is puzzling, and maybe more so when you know the background of the author.
Richard Kaczynski holds a PhD in social psychology and is sometimes a professor at Wayne State University and Yale. He is also member of Thelema, Crowley's religion, and OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis), a group Crowley was a leader of. Although an occultist himself this book doesn't explain much about magic. It is well researched although far too painstaking in it's level of detail. Beyond these faults it gives a clear sense of Crowley's personality and life. It is also a unique portrait of upper class Europe from the late Victorian through WWII eras. It's tempting to see this as a work of fantasy but it is a true account of a modern people who lived in a make believe world.
***********
Aleister Crowley, born in 1875, was the scion of a wealthy British family who made money in breweries, railroads and chemicals with international concerns. They were devout Christians from Quakers in the 1700's to Plymouth Brethren in the 1800's, strict sects of evangelical Protestants. Taught at various religious schools he was initially a sickly boy. In teenage years he began to question the faith of his family. He developed unusual talents for chess, poetry and mountain climbing, first scaling the chalk cliffs of Sussex and later solo summits in Scotland and the Alps. A fellow climber and chemist introduced him to alchemy and the occult in the years leading up to college.
On entering Trinity College Cambridge in 1895 he received two million from his father's estate and was free of family control. A first act of independence was refusal to attend Anglical church services. After an affair with a fellow student he became bisexual. He began to publish poetry in limited edition runs. Successful in studies he skipped final exams, following Byron, Shelley and Tennyson in not graduating. In the late 19th century there was great interest in the occult. Freemasons, Theosophists and Rosicrucians were wide spread and Crowley turned away from a career in favor of spiritual pursuits. W. B. Yeats was a member of the magical order that Crowley was to join.
Under elder practitioners Crowley called forth spirits with a wand inside a protecting circle. Astral projection was easy as morphine and opium enhanced paranormal powers. Magical, poetic and romantic rivalries with Yeats led to his ouster from the order. Clubs catered to dilettantes but real magic was the solitary study of ancient languages and arcane literature. In 1900 Crowley sailed to Mexico, climbed extinct volcanoes, and practiced invisibility. He went to China and India, studied Buddhism in Burma, and attempted K2 in Kashmir. In Paris he became a character in two Somerset Maugham novels. In Cairo an ancient diety dictated 'The Law' spelling an end to earlier faiths.
In 1905 Crowley was blamed for a deadly mountaineering accident. He lost a first child to typhoid and wife to alcohol. Despairing of climbing and poetry he turned to full time magic. Earlier decades were tales of adventure but later years are accounts of mystic hocus pocus. Wandering the Sahara desert he had fantastic visions and invented new religions. He published journals, initiated secret societies and hosted rituals where peyote was passed. In the years before WWI he was banned from Cambridge on claims of pederasty and vilified by the press. From sex magic to sheep sacrifice in Loch Ness it's hard to tell if he really believed or merely perpetrated a hoax.
As the Great War began Crowley moved to America. After a short stint as a freelance spy in New York he traveled west spreading occultism. He envisioned himself as 'The Great Beast 666' after a lineage from Laotze to Muhammad, based on the Kabbala and Revelations. He painted grotesque images and premiered art shows. Fortunes exhausted he returned to London. Criticized for working on German propaganda he relocated to Sicily in 1920 and founded a cultist abbey. Stocking his villa with heroin and cocaine he practiced an eclectic mix of I Ching, tarot, numerology and astrology. Two more children died as open marriages and adultery were given free reign.
Mussolini heard of his deeds and Crowley was deported. He moved to Paris and Berlin, and then London for most of the 1930's, living mainly off libel suits and contributions from followers. His offers of WWII espionage services were not surprisingly declined. During the German blitz advancing age and declining health took their toll as he tried to remain relevant. Crowley died in 1947 three months after the British empire in India expired, a prosaic end to a poetic life. Parts of this book are a 'Who's Who' of everyone Crowley met, with birth and death dates included. Forests are felled as rituals are recounted. I have the expanded edition; the shorter version may have sufficed.
Crowley struggled with Victorian religious and sexual mores and sought outrageous ways to trangress boundaries. He patterned himself after William Blake and Richard Francis Burton with less stellar results. He was perhaps more of a writer than a religious leader although his occult orders still survive today. His life may reflect the idle pursuits of wealth but a more critical view might suggest otherwise. If believed, his visions and voices of angels and demons could suggest some form of psychosis. In any case little analysis is offered and Crowley's claims are mostly recounted verbatim. The approach is puzzling, and maybe more so when you know the background of the author.
Richard Kaczynski holds a PhD in social psychology and is sometimes a professor at Wayne State University and Yale. He is also member of Thelema, Crowley's religion, and OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis), a group Crowley was a leader of. Although an occultist himself this book doesn't explain much about magic. It is well researched although far too painstaking in it's level of detail. Beyond these faults it gives a clear sense of Crowley's personality and life. It is also a unique portrait of upper class Europe from the late Victorian through WWII eras. It's tempting to see this as a work of fantasy but it is a true account of a modern people who lived in a make believe world.
February 14, 2009
Clown, con artist, spiritual explorer, drug addict, mountain climber, moral degenerate, poet, ritual magickian, religious prophet; the guy had a busy schedule. This is a thoroughly researched and well-written biography of a man that society didn't know what to do with.
May 13, 2018
The life of Aleister Crowley, or how to summon the devil.
Grow up in a strict puritan environment, severely sexually oppressed.
Add a traumatic event to the hormonal imbalance of puberty.
Channel your sexual frustration into rebelliousness.
But don't be stupid. Conveniently accept a financial trust too, become a rebel with a monthly income.
Finally, channel your sexual frustration into sex.
Keep going at it, write poetry about it, get obsessed with it.
Go to Cambridge, join an association of people fascinated with the occult and esotericism (W.B. Yeats was a member too!)
But have a bigger vision for yourself, fight and leave determined to discover your own path.
Try asceticism for 6 months but fail (too difficult for your undisciplined, sex-obsessed, already half-crazed mind).
Look for an easier path, discover drugs.
Meet girl and marry her the next day.
Have honeymoon in Egypt full of sex and hedonistic pleasures.
Do everything in excess, add more stimulation to your already unbalanced state.
Spend a night inside a pyramid to impress her.
Let this scary, sensory deprivation experience trigger her psychosis as she starts mumbling that you are the one, the one chosen by the Egyptian gods.
Be bothered that she got to insanity first, but don't worry, let this reinforce your calling (your time will come later).
Go to museum, have your wife find a Horus statue with exhibition Nr. 666 on it (in retrospect Nr. 1 could have been better for your megalomania).
That's Him she says, He came to her dream she says, and that's the clue that you've been waiting for.
Have your own psychosis triggered, go back to the hotel, let a voice dictate you a holy book.
From then on have the total conviction that you are the chosen, the master of black magic.
Fulfil your role, dress up like god, act like a god.
Try to find your place among the existing ones, rage against the Bible, Koran, Buddhism, society in general.
Be delirious, narcissist, egomaniac, why wouldn't you?
Take on climbing a high mountain, and when your comrades get annoyed by you, part with them and go alone.
See your comrades die, don't help them, watch them die like a good psychopath.
Abandon wife and kid, let them become mad and dead respectively.
Find English homosexual poet, go to dessert with him, do some drugs, have some S&M sessions, hallucinate, see white lights and spirits while climaxing.
That's it! See the connection between sex and magic, have a revelation! Yes! Invent your own unique philosophy, give it a catchy name, call it: Sex-magick!
Travel to New York, experiment with prostitutes. Deepen your religious practices my friend.
Be certain. Confident.
Project self-confidence like only a fool, a crazy man or a high-level executive can.
Have gullible people magnetized by you.
Develop a following, most of them weirdos coming for the sex.
Meet submissive girl, brainwash her further, go to Sicily, start an abbey.
Add more submissive girls, excited men, drugs, let them all naked and free, make a proper commune.
Zoophilia.
Sacrifices.
Drugs.
Blood drinking is not so healthy, people die, your little commune unravels, Mussolini deports you.
And then, finally, the devil hears you.
And you discover hell, living hell.
Your money dries out, your followers abandon you (they get mad themselves), you are wanted, you move from country to country, you live hand to mouth.
Drug addiction.
Sickness
Poverty.
And then, You, the Great Beast, the God of Sex, the Big Brute, who didn't have the fortune to die young as other messiahs before you, face the reality of old age. You write in your diary: weak erection.
...
Existential crisis.
Death.
What you leave behind is some wacky books, pornographic poetry, funny looking pics and a rather big cult following due to the media exaggeration and the hippie/rock and roll culture that followed.
But.
Well.
That was my take on him. I'd be damned (sic!) if I wouldn't admit that while reading the book I even grew sympathy for the devil, Aleister. Victim of the rumors and hyperboles myself ("Beast", "wickedest man in the world"!?) I was expecting descriptions of satanic rituals, sacrifices, orgies, crimes...but in reality the Great Beast was presented here as a rather intelligent, well educated spiritual guru who tried to leave his mark in the world preaching what he thought was crucial: Liberation from all moral or societal restrictions and the discovery and pursuit of one's own true calling ("Do What Thou Wilt").
And to achieve that he tried as hard as he could, poor Aleister. He followed his own calling but living in conservative times he had to sacrifice everything, his family life, fortune and reputation. He was certainly dragged away by his passions, ego and delusions but in the end I don't think he was a wicked man. Eventually he tried to help his alcoholic wife, and as he grew older he longed to become a father again and raise a child properly.
But!
Maybe that's how the author chose to portray him? Finishing the book I had second thoughts about this biography. I felt that the description of Aleister was too good to be true. He was presented as a quite sane and rational man, a fact which, when one thinks about it, is in complete contrast with the way he lived his life, his impulsive decisions or by what his rants and delirious writings (excerpts appear in the book) suggest: a manic (if not crazy), egoistic, obsessive person.
What is more, Aleister is presented in such a sympathetic way that two thirds in the book we read that his lover "was tired of his fits of anger", yet nowhere before we were given the indication of a short-tempered and aggressive Aleister in that or any of his previous relationships. Elsewhere we also read that "every student at one point or another would see Aleister as a horrible monster" yet we are equally at a loss understanding why. Was he violent? Was he abusive? Did he insist on extreme practices? The juicy details or any negative depiction of the beloved guru are nowhere to be found. The Great Beast appears more like a teddy bear in this book.
Another thing that bothered me is that the author seems eager to let one believe in Aleister's magical powers since all supernatural experiences (descriptions of demons appearing, lights, voices) are described as facts without the least questioning or suggestion that perhaps those visions were a result of mental illness or hallucinations from drugs. And for a person who regularly took heroin and other opiates for asthma attacks, that wouldn't be too surprising. Out of the blue we also read that the hallucinogen peyote was his drug of choice, a fact which implies regular use, yet there was no mention of it before nor any descriptions of Aleister's hallucinogenic experiences, and again no connection with the drug and his magical visions. I couldn't help but think what other details or events were likewise not presented or misrepresented.
In general, this lengthy book is full of details about Aleister's life and the numerous citations show that a good deal of research went into writing it. But writing a good biography is not only research and chronological descriptions of details and events, one also needs to touch on the psyche and traits of the subject. Perhaps the author didn't offer us a psychological portrait or drama on purpose in order to keep an objective distance, but for me the end result was a dry and boring description of Aleister's life with his true character still remaining unclear.
Was he a wicked man or was he not? Devil is in the details and although I read many, I felt that more were missing. Perhaps reading his diaries or autohagiography (what a title!) one could get a better feel for him and his experiences. And although I am still curious about the real nature of that strange man I decided to take his advice. To become liberated, to follow my own path and...choose to read another book.
To hell with it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Lvh...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2012
Hmm... OK, the rating is certainly for the book and the writing rather than the man or the author's affinity for him.
While I'd been interested in magic (in the form of what I thought magic was, you know, cauldrons and witches and evil warlocks) since I was a kid, it was in my late 20's when I first heard of Crowley. I bought 'Magick in Theory and Practice' from an occult shop in Oakland, CA and immediately went WTF??? when I started reading it. For whatever reason - and though almost every other possession of mine has disappeared through the years - I still have this book. Along the way, I've also picked up a number of other occult books (by Mathers, Waite and Crowley, among others), but 'Magick' has remained the one least understood by me.
Outside 'Magick', I was introduced to Crowley like most people in my generation: through Ozzy Osbourne. His song "Mr Crowley" made me go back to the 'Magick', again say WTF? and then start reading other accounts of AC. Most was fantastically exaggerated or complete fiction. None addressed the seedier side of the man.
When I picked up 'Perdurabo', I wasn't sure what to expect. I hoped an accounting of his magic and to dispel or confirm some of the more absurd stories I'd read. But no. What it did was entirely different.
Here was a guy who, in his 20's, became one of the foremost mountain climbers. One of the first men, ever, to attempt K2. He was on the very first expedition to the mountain and spent three months on the attempt which killed members of his team. He went on to set MANY records for climbing some of which stand even today. He did much of this without guides, choosing routes on his own. If he did nothing else in his life, he should be remembered for his climbing skills and accomplishments alone.
But there's more - before the mountain climbing, there's the history of his family, which is amazing in itself. The religious aspects, the history of Crowley ale and the families invention (literally) of the sandwich and ale lunch counter. The fact that AC was left with a (near) fortune, which he squandered. How he traveled and learned at least five languages.
Then there was the climbing, then being recognized (off and on) as a world-class poet and aspiring novelist. Then came the magic(k). While it's what he's famous for, it also seems to be the road to his undoing. Financially, he was a fool - it didn't take magic to do that. But the rest of his problems were directly or indirectly related to his interest in and promotion of magic and the occult.
The other aspect of his notoriety is his sexuality - both homo and hetero. Seems like he had an almost unlimited libido. And the ability to convince many, women and men, to join him. He wrote about this (especially early on) and that was the other part of his fame.
Most of the positive aspects of his accomplishments and personality are not remembered by the public (when they know of him at all). Few know of the ale history, of his poetry and writing (outside the occult books), of his mountain climbing skills and firsts. That is because history has certainly white...er...blackwashed him.
From the early poetry and writings which contained thinly veiled references to his sexuality, to the later ones which combined that with his occult beliefs, he ensured history would remember him as "the wickedest man alive" - and he relished that title.
For me, personally, the book took an idea of the man, and like most bios on famous (or infamous) men, made him into just a man who did famous (or infamous) things. The way he would treat his women and children, the things he did at the Abbey, the way he spent his money, his absolute obsession with women (until he'd had them), his belief that he was a Master Magician - more than that, a Master of the Temple, one who comes along only every few hundred years (plus the hints that he went beyond that to some greater level) - while sending his women out to whore for money or enticing "students" to his various lairs to "instruct" them while bleeding them dry make it hard to admire the man.
There's two kinds when it comes to people like Crowley: there's the Jim Jones' who actually succeed (if you want to call it that) at being a cult leader, attracting hundreds and becoming rich. I guess we could include modern religions in that group, too, to be fair. And those like Crowley, who manage a few students here and there, but never attain real 'success' in cult leadership.
I'll qualify that - there is a large following now. Many lodges and temples are devoted to Crowley's teachings. I'm guessing the students have NOT read this book.
And I've not even talked about the spying in WWI and II. Read the book.
It's hard to admire the guy with the exploits the book lays out, but the author certainly seems to. I guess if you spend 20 years of your life researching someone, it's not cause you're indifferent. So when he refers to him as 'Beast' because others at the time of the story do, it seems like reverence. Not story-telling. The book took Crowley, in my mind, from this mysterious magick man, to being a man who was consumed by ego and sex. A guy who was rich once, had a good deal of money a couple times, and yet died poor and lived poor much of his life. It stripped away the robes and magic and made him human and flawed and ultimately, not that admirable or interesting except as a sideshow kind of guy. Which is a bummer since Ozzy made him sound so cool. I bet Ozzy never read this book, either.
Ultimately, the review should be about the book, which is good enough that I read 700+ pages on my Kindle. Paid nearly hardback price for it, too. I do wish the author had remained a bit more objective and had sounded a bit less in love with the guy, but I can overlook that. I really enjoyed the beginning where he talked about his upbringing and the family history. And really, I enjoyed the whole book - even if it destroyed the image of the magician I had built up over the years.
If you have any interest in Crowley - read the book. Outside that, I'm not sure there's an audience. Perhaps those that like bios of famous or infamous people. The subject is not broad enough for the general history buff, IMHO. Still, I give it four stars cause I enjoyed it completely. Mostly.
While I'd been interested in magic (in the form of what I thought magic was, you know, cauldrons and witches and evil warlocks) since I was a kid, it was in my late 20's when I first heard of Crowley. I bought 'Magick in Theory and Practice' from an occult shop in Oakland, CA and immediately went WTF??? when I started reading it. For whatever reason - and though almost every other possession of mine has disappeared through the years - I still have this book. Along the way, I've also picked up a number of other occult books (by Mathers, Waite and Crowley, among others), but 'Magick' has remained the one least understood by me.
Outside 'Magick', I was introduced to Crowley like most people in my generation: through Ozzy Osbourne. His song "Mr Crowley" made me go back to the 'Magick', again say WTF? and then start reading other accounts of AC. Most was fantastically exaggerated or complete fiction. None addressed the seedier side of the man.
When I picked up 'Perdurabo', I wasn't sure what to expect. I hoped an accounting of his magic and to dispel or confirm some of the more absurd stories I'd read. But no. What it did was entirely different.
Here was a guy who, in his 20's, became one of the foremost mountain climbers. One of the first men, ever, to attempt K2. He was on the very first expedition to the mountain and spent three months on the attempt which killed members of his team. He went on to set MANY records for climbing some of which stand even today. He did much of this without guides, choosing routes on his own. If he did nothing else in his life, he should be remembered for his climbing skills and accomplishments alone.
But there's more - before the mountain climbing, there's the history of his family, which is amazing in itself. The religious aspects, the history of Crowley ale and the families invention (literally) of the sandwich and ale lunch counter. The fact that AC was left with a (near) fortune, which he squandered. How he traveled and learned at least five languages.
Then there was the climbing, then being recognized (off and on) as a world-class poet and aspiring novelist. Then came the magic(k). While it's what he's famous for, it also seems to be the road to his undoing. Financially, he was a fool - it didn't take magic to do that. But the rest of his problems were directly or indirectly related to his interest in and promotion of magic and the occult.
The other aspect of his notoriety is his sexuality - both homo and hetero. Seems like he had an almost unlimited libido. And the ability to convince many, women and men, to join him. He wrote about this (especially early on) and that was the other part of his fame.
Most of the positive aspects of his accomplishments and personality are not remembered by the public (when they know of him at all). Few know of the ale history, of his poetry and writing (outside the occult books), of his mountain climbing skills and firsts. That is because history has certainly white...er...blackwashed him.
From the early poetry and writings which contained thinly veiled references to his sexuality, to the later ones which combined that with his occult beliefs, he ensured history would remember him as "the wickedest man alive" - and he relished that title.
For me, personally, the book took an idea of the man, and like most bios on famous (or infamous) men, made him into just a man who did famous (or infamous) things. The way he would treat his women and children, the things he did at the Abbey, the way he spent his money, his absolute obsession with women (until he'd had them), his belief that he was a Master Magician - more than that, a Master of the Temple, one who comes along only every few hundred years (plus the hints that he went beyond that to some greater level) - while sending his women out to whore for money or enticing "students" to his various lairs to "instruct" them while bleeding them dry make it hard to admire the man.
There's two kinds when it comes to people like Crowley: there's the Jim Jones' who actually succeed (if you want to call it that) at being a cult leader, attracting hundreds and becoming rich. I guess we could include modern religions in that group, too, to be fair. And those like Crowley, who manage a few students here and there, but never attain real 'success' in cult leadership.
I'll qualify that - there is a large following now. Many lodges and temples are devoted to Crowley's teachings. I'm guessing the students have NOT read this book.
And I've not even talked about the spying in WWI and II. Read the book.
It's hard to admire the guy with the exploits the book lays out, but the author certainly seems to. I guess if you spend 20 years of your life researching someone, it's not cause you're indifferent. So when he refers to him as 'Beast' because others at the time of the story do, it seems like reverence. Not story-telling. The book took Crowley, in my mind, from this mysterious magick man, to being a man who was consumed by ego and sex. A guy who was rich once, had a good deal of money a couple times, and yet died poor and lived poor much of his life. It stripped away the robes and magic and made him human and flawed and ultimately, not that admirable or interesting except as a sideshow kind of guy. Which is a bummer since Ozzy made him sound so cool. I bet Ozzy never read this book, either.
Ultimately, the review should be about the book, which is good enough that I read 700+ pages on my Kindle. Paid nearly hardback price for it, too. I do wish the author had remained a bit more objective and had sounded a bit less in love with the guy, but I can overlook that. I really enjoyed the beginning where he talked about his upbringing and the family history. And really, I enjoyed the whole book - even if it destroyed the image of the magician I had built up over the years.
If you have any interest in Crowley - read the book. Outside that, I'm not sure there's an audience. Perhaps those that like bios of famous or infamous people. The subject is not broad enough for the general history buff, IMHO. Still, I give it four stars cause I enjoyed it completely. Mostly.
March 24, 2016
Comprehensive, objective, Crowley's life in complete, beginning to end. In addition to being well written and interesting to read, it also became clear to me through reading how much the author devoted to his research. The last 100 pages or so actually contain the footnotes and indexes - I have the feeling that blood, sweat and tears are contained in this book. You will meet nearly every person Crowley ever met, and every Scarlet Woman, too. (Oh, the women!) STILL left me wanting a bit more, though. Despite the fact that I learned the story behind every Crowley publication, every mountaineering adventure, and every legal drama - I wanted to know more mundane details. For example, in the cover photo, who made the hat he is wearing? What did he eat for breakfast in 1899? How much heroin was he injecting throughout the day? Things like that. Or is it that I just want to know simply EVERYTHING? Overall, I found the book meticulously researched, well arranged, and a nice addition for the reference shelf. Thank you, Richard Kaczynski!
February 11, 2025
Aleister Crowley, one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern occult history, was a British mystic, ceremonial magician, poet, and mountaineer, whose life rebelled against conventional boundaries in the Victorian and Edwardian era. Richard Kaczynski’s "Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley" is a meticulous exploration of Crowley’s existence, diving into both his contributions to western Esotericism and the often-overlooked aspects of his personal life. Crowley’s legacy not only lies in his development of Thelema, a religion and philosophy centered on the axiom “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” but also through his art, literature, rebellion from religious oppression, spiritual and sexual exploration, and rebellion against the restrictive moral values of his time. What I appreciated most about Kaczynski's presentation is not only how thorough this biography is, but that it is fact based rather than a superfluous story with the aim to make Crowley more interesting. The reader is encouraged to make up their own mind on this controversial figure and decide for themselves... was he wicked, misunderstood, or both?
May 30, 2020
This is a long, intermittently fascinating, enlightening book about a character who continues to pervade western culture. I learned a lot from it but then I started from a position of great ignorance, basically knowing Crowley for "do what thou wilt", Led Zeppelin, Sgt Pepper's and a vague understanding that he was a black magician.
Kaczynski has an idiosyncratic way of telling Crowley's story which can be frustrating (not really explaining some of the terms and ideas Crowley was advocating or playing with, long potted bios introducing every new character) but which does, ultimately work. By the end of the book you have the picture of a driven, original man - rich and strange and against all the mores, morals and values of his class and people - who is remarkable because he really did live "his" life.
His circle of admirers and lovers reminded me of the modern cult-types, middle and upper class people of artistic bent, looking for "something" and into sex and danger until it causes them pain and misery. Although he seemed to be zooming about on the astral plane every few nights and reaching higher states and invoking spirits it didn't seem to make him or anyone else very happy, which is odd, I thought, too. You'd think nirvana on a Wednesday would be enough for anyone. Weird, too, that each of his "wives" drank themselves stupid and left him - seems very coincidental that all of them were or became alcoholics after getting involved with him.
I never knew about his rock-climbing or his role in Winston Churchill's V-sign, both of which were head-noddingly interesting revelations and I've just bought The Magician by Somerset Maugham to see what he made of Crowley in his early pomp. But for now, a rest.
Perdurabo, if nothing else, is a loooong book.
Kaczynski has an idiosyncratic way of telling Crowley's story which can be frustrating (not really explaining some of the terms and ideas Crowley was advocating or playing with, long potted bios introducing every new character) but which does, ultimately work. By the end of the book you have the picture of a driven, original man - rich and strange and against all the mores, morals and values of his class and people - who is remarkable because he really did live "his" life.
His circle of admirers and lovers reminded me of the modern cult-types, middle and upper class people of artistic bent, looking for "something" and into sex and danger until it causes them pain and misery. Although he seemed to be zooming about on the astral plane every few nights and reaching higher states and invoking spirits it didn't seem to make him or anyone else very happy, which is odd, I thought, too. You'd think nirvana on a Wednesday would be enough for anyone. Weird, too, that each of his "wives" drank themselves stupid and left him - seems very coincidental that all of them were or became alcoholics after getting involved with him.
I never knew about his rock-climbing or his role in Winston Churchill's V-sign, both of which were head-noddingly interesting revelations and I've just bought The Magician by Somerset Maugham to see what he made of Crowley in his early pomp. But for now, a rest.
Perdurabo, if nothing else, is a loooong book.
July 23, 2010
This book is a compendium of Aleister Crowley’s life, from birth to death, and an overview of his following up till today. As far as I know, it is very detailed and thorough. It does not go very deeply into any one part of his life; it covers the breadth of it. I would have liked more depth in some places, but it is great for what it is.
It gives short biographies of almost everyone that comes into Crowley’s life; while their religious histories may be relevant, a lot of it seems unnecessary.
I would have like to see descriptions of the books he read and wrote, especially those on ‘magick’. It never really explained his religious beliefs, either. Aside from magick, he seems to have believed in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah, along with many other religions. This book never explains how exactly that works. It does explain a few aspects of it, but not enough, in my opinion.
It is well researched, and it thoroughly lists its sources, so one could read more into it if one was so inclined. It remains pretty unbiased throughout, and seems to rely solely on facts with minimal speculating. That is exactly what I look for in a nonfiction book.
It gives short biographies of almost everyone that comes into Crowley’s life; while their religious histories may be relevant, a lot of it seems unnecessary.
I would have like to see descriptions of the books he read and wrote, especially those on ‘magick’. It never really explained his religious beliefs, either. Aside from magick, he seems to have believed in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah, along with many other religions. This book never explains how exactly that works. It does explain a few aspects of it, but not enough, in my opinion.
It is well researched, and it thoroughly lists its sources, so one could read more into it if one was so inclined. It remains pretty unbiased throughout, and seems to rely solely on facts with minimal speculating. That is exactly what I look for in a nonfiction book.
February 10, 2018
This is a weighty tome from an author who clearly cared about the subject. Sometimes one feels he might have cared too much... at least one might feel that while drowning among the minutia of Crowley's life.
The density works against it, but its greatest sin (at least in my eyes), is that it uncritically accepts Crowley's magickal claims. The existence of occult realms is presupposed, as is Crowley's interactions therein. Whether or not one personally believes in such things, I don't generally feel that a biography is the place to uncritically present them. Presenting that Crowley claimed these things is fine; simply presuming the truth of them less so.
That aside, Crowley was a fascinating character worth reading about, and while there are better texts to do so with there are also far worse.
The density works against it, but its greatest sin (at least in my eyes), is that it uncritically accepts Crowley's magickal claims. The existence of occult realms is presupposed, as is Crowley's interactions therein. Whether or not one personally believes in such things, I don't generally feel that a biography is the place to uncritically present them. Presenting that Crowley claimed these things is fine; simply presuming the truth of them less so.
That aside, Crowley was a fascinating character worth reading about, and while there are better texts to do so with there are also far worse.
October 5, 2010
More than you could ever want to know about this vile, vile man. Interesting read, to be taken with a dram of salt.
December 25, 2013
What to say about this humongous book- one of the best biographies written about Aleister Crowley (and there are a few on the market). First the good- the author has done tremendous amounts of research and footnotes hundreds of points and source documents in each of the chapters. Crowley's early life history is well written and would be novel for most readers. Personally, I enjoyed the first half of the book probably more than the later (more famous) half in which Crowley was known for his infamous public, private and occult exploits. Much of Crowley's idealism and enthusiasm as well as his sense of humour and brilliant wit, is laid out in style. The bad- the author has his own views and allegiances in regards to Crowley, related organisations such as the OTO & AA, and also with the whole philosophy and theory of Thelema. The rubs off to a certain extent in the book, with certain quips here and there taken as fact (which are far from it), and which could easily be science fiction (such as Crowley's occult workings in the desert, his whole "mission" of saving the universe given by the "Secret Chiefs", and Crowley's abilities which the author ramps up, in general. For example, "Crowley basked in the trance of samadhi, his own identity dissolved into the cosmic dance..", which of course is completely subjective and known to AC himself only. Finally, the ugly: One is constantly astounded by the man Crowley himself, who appears to be a combination of genius and literary wiz on the one hand, and complete immature idiot on the other. The contradictions occur ever two pages. On one page he is "magus on the aeon" and saviour of the world ushering in a new age of enlightenment, then a few pages later he's repeatedly asking anything walking on two legs with a skirt to marry (or have intercourse) with him. On one hand he's advising people on spiritual discipline, yoga, and esoteric philosophy, while on the other he's bitterly caught up in legal cases (and usually losing), time wasting 'get-rich-quick' schemes, and generally leaving a trail of destruction in the lives of all and sundry who come in contact.
Although this book took me months to complete (due to the size and heady material), I recommend this to those thinking of embarking on the Western Esoteric Tradition, and those thinking of taking up Crowley type practices or related group memberships.
Although this book took me months to complete (due to the size and heady material), I recommend this to those thinking of embarking on the Western Esoteric Tradition, and those thinking of taking up Crowley type practices or related group memberships.
February 24, 2016
For everyone seriously interested in Crowley a must-read. Often entertaining and always interesting, does his membership in the O.T.O. Kaczynski not prevent from a serious and academically trustworthy approach to the many complicated subjects of this complicated man. His approach is neutral but sympathetic, what lacks here is a more direct engaging with the critique of Crowley and analysis of his character traits. He provides maybe the biggest amount of sheer data about the life of the inventor of “magick” in a work about him which makes for a goldmine for research about Crowley but is also the stumbling-stone of this 500page volume, since Kaczynski's writing cannot always handle the flux of information. Granted you are that attentive, you will be able to follow almost every month or even week of the Master Therion, but it seems to me, that the work could have benefitted by a more structured and distinct approach in highlighting the years we’re in, putting all these beautiful biographies of major and minor acquaintances of Crowleys into an expanded appendix and, speaking of appendices, adding a timeline and an overview about the cryptic history of the published and unpublished work might had been great, too. All in all a most recommendable read.
September 8, 2010
Without a doubt the most complete 3rd party view on the Master's life. There are so many biographies out there, and some of them are way too biased to be anything but necessary references to have in the library just in case. The best is still the Master's autobiography, but Perdurabo is the next best thing. Very well researched, loads of pictures in it, and as balanced as it is thorough. To Mega Therion had his faults as a person, and the author does not gloss over these, but neither does he hide the many wonderful and magickal things that 666 did in his lifetime and continues doing today through his Work, published and otherwise.
As a follower, I also refreshed my memory on some of the details of practical work with the idea of undertaking some of them in the near future, as well as being directed towards other sources for further research. This is a 5 star book for so many reasons...
As a follower, I also refreshed my memory on some of the details of practical work with the idea of undertaking some of them in the near future, as well as being directed towards other sources for further research. This is a 5 star book for so many reasons...
September 29, 2017
Pretty intensely detailed! After the Cefalu abbey stuff, it kind of keeps going on and on with a depressing regularity and banality--mostly centered on AC psychologically destroying his most recent sex magic partner, suing people for defamation, pursuing extravagant publishing projects, cashing in on Scene Cred, or all four--which is impressively researched, but which is really a downer. I read this in conjunction with Eye in the Triangle, which I think was a good choice: Kaczynski sort of plays it coy about the purpose and nature of a lot of the menacing rituals, focusing instead on practical matters of lodgings/relationships/publication history (although he gets the correct answer to the question of AC's 5=6 adept motto, which Regardie doesn't.) It's the "Some Sort of Epic Grandeur" of Crowley biographies, which is good praise I think
February 27, 2015
Aleister Crowley seemed to be quite the busy boy. Judging from the quality and breadth of this biography the author was quite busy as well. I especially appreciated the summary biographies of those surrounding Crowley as a way to ground the telling of his life. One addition that might make this complicated life more approachable is two pages devoted to time lines laying out when he was were he was, when he met who he met, and so on. As a starting point for study, a mostly unbiased addition to an existing collection, or as satisfaction for people curious why they recognize the name Aleister Crowley, this text is most recommended.
I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
August 13, 2016
A brilliant biography of 'The Wickedest Man in the World', tracing his life from rise to fall to rise again, and disproving the majority of the scandalous anecdotes, accusations and sensational tabloid headlines that were a constant feature of his later life.
The irony, of course, is that the truth is stranger than fiction, and it's a surprise that anyone needed to make anything up or exaggerate facts to discuss this extraordinary, extraordinary genius.
The irony, of course, is that the truth is stranger than fiction, and it's a surprise that anyone needed to make anything up or exaggerate facts to discuss this extraordinary, extraordinary genius.
abandoned
June 23, 2016Out of print, hard to find, expensive, and now superseded by a much revised and expanded edition.
January 18, 2018
Exhaustive in detail, at times painful to read for the clarity of the picture of this noteworthy man. Again, he’s a mighty connecting node to some of the other major people and processes of the last century, primarily in the arts/literature and religion/philosophy. Recommended.
November 23, 2024
Perdurabo is a massive book—over 600 pages devoted to a detailed biography of "The Most Evil Man," "The Great Beast 666," Aleister Crowley. For those unfamiliar with him, this book may not be the best starting point. There’s plenty of literature about Crowley, and I’m sure something more digestible would be easier to tackle.
But for the sake of completeness—who was Crowley? He was a poet (not a particularly good one), writer, climber, magician, occultist, and quite possibly the most annoying man to ever walk the earth. A friend once described him as a “fuckboy” - son of millionaire wandering aimlessly through life, doing whatever he pleased. Despite this, he left behind a legacy of new philosophy, countless books on magic, and an undeniable influence on pop culture. His impact can be seen in Scientology (via L. Ron Hubbard) and the Church of Satan (founded by Anton LaVey). Crowley encouraged nonconformity and a free lifestyle long before the hippie movement, and his influence continued long after his death, inspiring many artists—check out Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley."
That said, Crowley wasn’t exactly a good person. Almost all his partners—whom he referred to as "Scarlet Women"—ended up either insane or dead from alcohol abuse. He also had no grasp of financial responsibility, living in extremes—from opulent luxury to decrepit farms without water or heating. He squandered his fortune quickly and spent most of his life barely scraping by, relying on his occult teachings and writings to make ends meet.
The author, Richard Kaczynski, has done a remarkable job of collecting and presenting an enormous amount of information about Crowley’s life. For me, personally, the occult sections were a bit boring. What I found most intriguing was Crowley’s perpetual cycle of falling in love with a new Scarlet Woman, becoming bored, and then watching the relationship spiral into chaos as his partners succumbed to alcoholism or drug-induced hallucinations stemming from their participation in his "sex magick."
Kaczynski’s work is impressive, but this book is really only suited for readers who are already interested in Crowley.
But for the sake of completeness—who was Crowley? He was a poet (not a particularly good one), writer, climber, magician, occultist, and quite possibly the most annoying man to ever walk the earth. A friend once described him as a “fuckboy” - son of millionaire wandering aimlessly through life, doing whatever he pleased. Despite this, he left behind a legacy of new philosophy, countless books on magic, and an undeniable influence on pop culture. His impact can be seen in Scientology (via L. Ron Hubbard) and the Church of Satan (founded by Anton LaVey). Crowley encouraged nonconformity and a free lifestyle long before the hippie movement, and his influence continued long after his death, inspiring many artists—check out Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley."
That said, Crowley wasn’t exactly a good person. Almost all his partners—whom he referred to as "Scarlet Women"—ended up either insane or dead from alcohol abuse. He also had no grasp of financial responsibility, living in extremes—from opulent luxury to decrepit farms without water or heating. He squandered his fortune quickly and spent most of his life barely scraping by, relying on his occult teachings and writings to make ends meet.
The author, Richard Kaczynski, has done a remarkable job of collecting and presenting an enormous amount of information about Crowley’s life. For me, personally, the occult sections were a bit boring. What I found most intriguing was Crowley’s perpetual cycle of falling in love with a new Scarlet Woman, becoming bored, and then watching the relationship spiral into chaos as his partners succumbed to alcoholism or drug-induced hallucinations stemming from their participation in his "sex magick."
Kaczynski’s work is impressive, but this book is really only suited for readers who are already interested in Crowley.
January 29, 2013
as much as I enjoyed reading..Perdurabo..I don't really buy into the Crowley myth, the man spent a life-time chasing smoke & shadows, just another Edwardian rich loony-tune,too much money in the sky-rocket,old bean.. an ego & a libdio the size of K2, proved the devil has work for idle hands..hahaHa..did he need the laws of Thelema to get laid,or was your man just a sex-freak, how much of what he claimed is truly, true..?? You will never know.
If god's look after their own, they let poor Aleister down badly, the man died alone with a monkey on his back, in a 'down-on your luck' rooming house on England's South Coast..remind's ya of three-card monte, now ya see it, now ya don't_
If god's look after their own, they let poor Aleister down badly, the man died alone with a monkey on his back, in a 'down-on your luck' rooming house on England's South Coast..remind's ya of three-card monte, now ya see it, now ya don't_
August 7, 2016
Having read several biographies of Aleister Crowley's life this one ranks as the most non-sensational, objective and sober view of an extraordinary life, pioneer of the inner self and outrageous forward thinker whose thoughts while alive are just now beginning to become mainstream.
This is a very accessible book to a pioneer of the fringe who applied the scientific method as far as it would take in search of the range and scope we call the human psyche: Magick Without Tears.
This is a very accessible book to a pioneer of the fringe who applied the scientific method as far as it would take in search of the range and scope we call the human psyche: Magick Without Tears.
June 13, 2015
Crowley was a complex man, maybe not your first entry book, a little dry, but fascinating nonetheless
April 29, 2022
I had a number of questions about Crowley for which I wanted answers: Was he really utterly evil, or just misunderstood? And was he a genuine wise man steeped in ancient mystical traditions, or a charlatan?
On the first question, I was surprised to find that at least in Crowley’s eyes calling himself ‘The Great Beast’ did NOT mean he was evil, but rather, a force for good. I must admit this rather startled me. According to Crowley, 666 is a sacred number attributed to the Sun, and the book of Revelation is a Gnostic text describing how Christianity will be succeeded by a new religion based on truth and light. The Beast of Revelation is therefore the prophet of this solar deity, and hence a good translation of “The Great Beast” would be “Little Sunshine.” This is certainly entertaining, possibly insane, and definitely amusing, but not, on the face of it, “evil.”
Having said that, I still think he was a vile human being. Even though this book is by no means a hatchet job, and tries to be scrupulously fair, the case for the prosecution is pretty damning. Crowley betrayed everyone who befriended him, probably committed bestiality with a goat, and certainly crucified a toad; and he must bear a large measure of responsibility for the fact that one of his wives died insane, and the other of alcoholic dementia.
On the question of whether he was a great Mystical Adept, or a consummate fraud, I think things are more nuanced. Certainly, I am in no doubt that most of his beliefs were risibly absurd, but I think he may well have believed his own propaganda, and he was certainly learned in ancient lore. So I hesitate to call him a charlatan.
He was not without humour and talent. The depth of his knowledge and studies was, I think, genuine, although the line between ancient mystical tradition and foolish nonsense is not one he could easily distinguish. Curiously, his most significant achievements were as a mountain climber. He had an extraordinary number of lovers – or perhaps one should say he had sex with an incredible number – and, despite his own unprepossessing appearance, they included lots of young and beautiful women. His poetry was execrable – in the words of a contemporary reviewer – “blasphemy, filth, and nonsense…incomprehensible or disgusting – generally both…language of a pervert, ideas negligible.” I agree.
Of his own paintings, he said “they look more beautiful if you look at them with your eyes closed.” This is actually quite funny. He tried to live his life as a work of art – something which Nietzsche recommended and which in a way I try to do myself. But, on the whole, he marred it, and does not deserve the seriousness with which he has been taken. This is an excellent book, which gives a very fair and thorough flavour of the man and his times. Now please excuse me, I have a powerful urge to wash.
On the first question, I was surprised to find that at least in Crowley’s eyes calling himself ‘The Great Beast’ did NOT mean he was evil, but rather, a force for good. I must admit this rather startled me. According to Crowley, 666 is a sacred number attributed to the Sun, and the book of Revelation is a Gnostic text describing how Christianity will be succeeded by a new religion based on truth and light. The Beast of Revelation is therefore the prophet of this solar deity, and hence a good translation of “The Great Beast” would be “Little Sunshine.” This is certainly entertaining, possibly insane, and definitely amusing, but not, on the face of it, “evil.”
Having said that, I still think he was a vile human being. Even though this book is by no means a hatchet job, and tries to be scrupulously fair, the case for the prosecution is pretty damning. Crowley betrayed everyone who befriended him, probably committed bestiality with a goat, and certainly crucified a toad; and he must bear a large measure of responsibility for the fact that one of his wives died insane, and the other of alcoholic dementia.
On the question of whether he was a great Mystical Adept, or a consummate fraud, I think things are more nuanced. Certainly, I am in no doubt that most of his beliefs were risibly absurd, but I think he may well have believed his own propaganda, and he was certainly learned in ancient lore. So I hesitate to call him a charlatan.
He was not without humour and talent. The depth of his knowledge and studies was, I think, genuine, although the line between ancient mystical tradition and foolish nonsense is not one he could easily distinguish. Curiously, his most significant achievements were as a mountain climber. He had an extraordinary number of lovers – or perhaps one should say he had sex with an incredible number – and, despite his own unprepossessing appearance, they included lots of young and beautiful women. His poetry was execrable – in the words of a contemporary reviewer – “blasphemy, filth, and nonsense…incomprehensible or disgusting – generally both…language of a pervert, ideas negligible.” I agree.
Of his own paintings, he said “they look more beautiful if you look at them with your eyes closed.” This is actually quite funny. He tried to live his life as a work of art – something which Nietzsche recommended and which in a way I try to do myself. But, on the whole, he marred it, and does not deserve the seriousness with which he has been taken. This is an excellent book, which gives a very fair and thorough flavour of the man and his times. Now please excuse me, I have a powerful urge to wash.
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October 19, 2024Do what you wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Metų pradžioj skaičiau knygą apie magiją, kurioj Aleister Crowley (AC) buvo minimas kaip blogiausias pasaulio žmogus, be paaiškinimo kodėl. Pagooglinau kitų knygų apie jį ir radau 720psl veikalą “Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley”. Skambėjo pakankamai keistai, kad būtų verta skaityti. Kovą pradėjau šią knygą ir šiandien pagaliau užbaigiau.
Ar knyga paaiškino, kodėl AC buvo laikomas blogiausiu žmogum? Nelabai. Pasirodo knygos autorius pats yra AC kadaise sukurtos Thelemos religijos (pasaulėžiūros? kulto?) narys ir knyga yra parašyta AC vardui apginti. Anot jos AC etiketes klijavo žiniasklaida, vaikydamasi sensacijos. O minimalus pagrindas tiem skandalam dalinai buvo tai, kad žmonės nesuprato jo naudojamos simbolikos ir siejo ją su juodąją magija; dalinai - AC buvo perdaug seksualiai išsilaisvinęs savo laikmečiui.
Tiesa autorius AC nevaizduoja ir perdėm teigiamoj šviesoj. Knygoj jaučiasi AC egoizmas, nesiskaitymas su artimiausiais žmonėm ir naudojimasis jais finansuoti “The Great Work”, kas man skambėjo, kaip AC kelionės po pasaulį, poezijos rašymas ir gyvenimas su 80 skirtingų moterų.
Čia turbūt buvo keisčiausia mano skaityta knyga, bet ne tiek dėl AC gyvenimo, kiek autoriaus dėmesio detalėm. Jei knygoj paminimas koks žmogus, tai būtinai bus pastraipa apie tai kada gimė ir kuo užsiėmė jo tėvai, o gal net seneliai. AC buvo pasižymėjęs alpinistas. Jo lipimai į kalnus ir net pačios viršukalnės buvo aprašyti taip detaliai, kad vienu metu pasinešiau Youtube žiūrėti video apie alpinizmą. Atsisakius visų šitų tiesiogiai su AC nesusijusių detalių knyga būtų 200-300 psl trumpesnė.
Tiesa tas detalumas turėjo keistą teigiamą efektą - jis padėjo labai įsijausti į AC gyvenimą ir net savotiškai prie jo prisirišti.
Keletas įdomių atradimų:
Mano jaunystėj klausytų grupių A Place to Bury Strangers ir Therion grupių vardai iš tiesų yra kilę iš AC kūrybos ir religijos.
Lietuvių grupė McLoud dainoje DEAL mini AC.
Vinted galima rasti AC knygų, jo taro kortas ir netgi originalų jo Equinox leidimą.
Svarstau ar nerti dar giliau į šitą “triušio duobę” (ang. Rabbit hole).
Love is the law, love under will
Metų pradžioj skaičiau knygą apie magiją, kurioj Aleister Crowley (AC) buvo minimas kaip blogiausias pasaulio žmogus, be paaiškinimo kodėl. Pagooglinau kitų knygų apie jį ir radau 720psl veikalą “Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley”. Skambėjo pakankamai keistai, kad būtų verta skaityti. Kovą pradėjau šią knygą ir šiandien pagaliau užbaigiau.
Ar knyga paaiškino, kodėl AC buvo laikomas blogiausiu žmogum? Nelabai. Pasirodo knygos autorius pats yra AC kadaise sukurtos Thelemos religijos (pasaulėžiūros? kulto?) narys ir knyga yra parašyta AC vardui apginti. Anot jos AC etiketes klijavo žiniasklaida, vaikydamasi sensacijos. O minimalus pagrindas tiem skandalam dalinai buvo tai, kad žmonės nesuprato jo naudojamos simbolikos ir siejo ją su juodąją magija; dalinai - AC buvo perdaug seksualiai išsilaisvinęs savo laikmečiui.
Tiesa autorius AC nevaizduoja ir perdėm teigiamoj šviesoj. Knygoj jaučiasi AC egoizmas, nesiskaitymas su artimiausiais žmonėm ir naudojimasis jais finansuoti “The Great Work”, kas man skambėjo, kaip AC kelionės po pasaulį, poezijos rašymas ir gyvenimas su 80 skirtingų moterų.
Čia turbūt buvo keisčiausia mano skaityta knyga, bet ne tiek dėl AC gyvenimo, kiek autoriaus dėmesio detalėm. Jei knygoj paminimas koks žmogus, tai būtinai bus pastraipa apie tai kada gimė ir kuo užsiėmė jo tėvai, o gal net seneliai. AC buvo pasižymėjęs alpinistas. Jo lipimai į kalnus ir net pačios viršukalnės buvo aprašyti taip detaliai, kad vienu metu pasinešiau Youtube žiūrėti video apie alpinizmą. Atsisakius visų šitų tiesiogiai su AC nesusijusių detalių knyga būtų 200-300 psl trumpesnė.
Tiesa tas detalumas turėjo keistą teigiamą efektą - jis padėjo labai įsijausti į AC gyvenimą ir net savotiškai prie jo prisirišti.
Keletas įdomių atradimų:
Mano jaunystėj klausytų grupių A Place to Bury Strangers ir Therion grupių vardai iš tiesų yra kilę iš AC kūrybos ir religijos.
Lietuvių grupė McLoud dainoje DEAL mini AC.
Vinted galima rasti AC knygų, jo taro kortas ir netgi originalų jo Equinox leidimą.
Svarstau ar nerti dar giliau į šitą “triušio duobę” (ang. Rabbit hole).
Love is the law, love under will
December 18, 2012
A detailed biography that dispels many myths about the man. I have not read Crowleys actual work and the author almost assumes some familiarity with it. This is a very well done book for it's purposes, however it is so detailed that it is hard to enjoy at parts. Even very minor characters in Crowleys life have tangential biographies about them and their family. While scholastically acurrate this can prove burdensome. Though the web of influence and aqcuantences Crowley amassed is quite impressive. He is not nearly as bad a man as legend makes him out to be. Most that actually met him would agree that he is very intelligent even if they disagree with his practices and beliefs. So again, very well done. Not terribly enjoyable though I am glad that I read it. 3.5 stars if I could.
March 2, 2021
An exhaustive look into the life of The Great Beast 666. Is it worth reading? Kinda. There are fascinating elements to the life of Crowley, but overall he is privileged and annoying and unhealthy. He is a contrarian at all costs, and always a prolific writer attempting to score his next book deal. Sure, he's a magician who practiced endless sex magick with any person he fancied, but it was in the service of opening peoples minds, man. Or was it? After reading this book I don't much care for Crowley, and the book makes a case that the people around him were much more fascinating, considering much of the page count is dedicated to the biographies of everyone in his orbit. The author did an amazing job putting together this tome.
November 22, 2018
An excellent account of one of the world’s most controversial and misunderstood geniuses of the last 200 years. Objective and well-researched, written with an excited and concise style that makes this a very readable book worthy of rereading. The many nicknames, both given and self-proclaimed, gave him many guises through his many endeavors in life in both the material and spiritual worlds. His poetry wasn’t as original as Yeats, but his sense of language and style were ornate and musical despite it clinging to an antiquated nature that was vanishing as the 20th Century emerged. Crowley is a millennial template and a prophet for our current modern age. Love is the law - Love under will.
May 28, 2014
A well-written academic biography of 'Uncle Al'. It's strange reading something that is written about him in a non-sensational manner. He was certainly a complex character. A lot of his more 'scandalous' behavior just had me shaking my head. What can you do when the literal magick is gone from a partnership.
He lived large. He dared. He had big ideas. He did BIG things. He had not a single f*ck to give and he was hated for it. Pretty much the best trust fun kid ever. Well done, To Mega Therion.
He lived large. He dared. He had big ideas. He did BIG things. He had not a single f*ck to give and he was hated for it. Pretty much the best trust fun kid ever. Well done, To Mega Therion.
October 27, 2015
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
what a wild ride. exemplary in every way
"Ah, you realize that magick is something we do to ourselves. But it is more convienent to assume the objective existence of an angel who gives us new knowledge than to allege that our invocation has awakened a supernatural power in ourselves." - 'little sunshine' to james laver, 27mar1947. (542).
the Great Beast is dead!
long live the Prophet of the lovely Star!
Love is the law, love under will.
what a wild ride. exemplary in every way
"Ah, you realize that magick is something we do to ourselves. But it is more convienent to assume the objective existence of an angel who gives us new knowledge than to allege that our invocation has awakened a supernatural power in ourselves." - 'little sunshine' to james laver, 27mar1947. (542).
the Great Beast is dead!
long live the Prophet of the lovely Star!
Love is the law, love under will.
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