Snowdrops from a Curate’s Garden – Aleister Crowley Birchgrove Press – 2011 (First published 1904) Aleister Crowley was a mystic, a poet, an Irish Republican, a mountaineer, a propagandist, a dead-beat dad, a spy, a pilgrim, a preacher and a problem when he was stoned. He was also a bit of a pervert. This is … Continue reading Snowdrops from a Curate’s Garden – Aleister Crowley
Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley – Richard Kaczynski (Revised and Expanded Edition) North Atlantic Books – 2010 Aleister Crowley has appeared on this blog a fair few times at this stage. I’ve read books about him and several of his own works, and I thought I had a pretty good idea of what he was … Continue reading Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley – Richard Kaczynski
Only yesterday, I finished reading Richard Kaczynski’s Perdurabo, the monumental biography of Aleister Crowley. I had intended on publishing a review of that book today, but seeing as though it’s Saint Patrick’s day, I thought I should post something relating to my native Ireland. Last year, I posted Aleister Crowley’s poem “Saint Patrick’s Day, 1902”. … Continue reading Aleister Crowley on James Joyce
Last year, I wrote a post about Aleister Crowley in which I briefly discussed his strange fascination with Ireland. In the Book of Lies, he claims to be an Irishman, and his title within the O.T.O. was “Supreme and Holy King of Ireland, Iona and all the Britains within the Sanctuary of the Gnosis”. In … Continue reading Speaking as an Irishman: Aleister Crowley’s Saint Patrick’s Day Poem
The Aleister Crowley Scrapbook – Sandy Robertson Foulsham – 1988 + 2002 Although I don’t practice Magick or believe in most of his bullshit, I have written about Aleister Crowley several times. As full of shit as he clearly was, he led a peculiarly interesting life, and while there are countless books about his magickal … Continue reading A Chat with Sandy Robertson, Author of the Aleister Crowley Scrapbook
I’ve written about Aleister Crowley’s books before, but of the texts I reviewed, one was a novel and the other a translation. I thought it high time to look at some of Crowley’s mystical texts, the ones in which he propounds his deepest insights into magick, humanity and existence. To start, I decided to look … Continue reading Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head?
It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally gotten around to writing a post about Aleister Crowley. It’s hard to know what to believe about the man; some see him as a prophet, while many others see him as a charlatan. In this post I discuss three different portrayals of Crowley. The three accounts come from novels, … Continue reading Did Aleister Crowley Create Strange Lifeforms? Moonchild, The Magician and To the Devil – a Daughter
The Cannibal Within – Mark Mirabello Mandrake of Oxford – 2005 (first published 2001) A friend recommended this to me a few weeks back. I found an ebook version online, but after reading the fourth paragraph, I ordered a physical copy. This is one I knew I’d want on my shelf. We may think we … Continue reading Sex, Satanism and Cannibal Freaks: Mark Mirabello’s The Cannibal Within
The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui – Affleck Gray Impulse Books – 1970 In 1891, a hiker had a creepy experience while climbing Ben MacDhui, one of the highest mountains in Scotland. He was pottering alone when he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. When he turned around, there was nobody there. He didn’t … Continue reading The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui – Affleck Gray
Several years ago, as I was reading Sandy Robertson’s book about Aleister Crowley, I came across the following passage: I am a fan of both occult lore and biscuits, so I knew I had to find and read this promising book. When I looked it up, I found that the author had written 3 occult … Continue reading Eric Ericson’s Esoteric Occult Trilogy – The Sorcerer, Master of the Temple, and The Woman who Slept with Demons
Nocturnal Revelries 