Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley (born Edward Alexander Crowley; October 12, 1875 – December 1, 1947) is an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer.

He founds the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early twentieth century.

A prolific writer, he publishes widely over the course of his life.

Born to a wealthy family in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Crowley rejects his parents' fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith to pursue an interest in Western esotericism.

He is educated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, where he focuses his attentions on mountaineering and poetry, resulting in several publications.

Some biographers allege that here he was recruited into a British intelligence agency, further suggesting that he remained a spy throughout his life.

In 1898, he joins the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, where he is trained in ceremonial magic by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett.

Moving to Boleskine House by Loch Ness in Scotland, he goes mountaineering in Mexico with Oscar Eckenstein, before studying Hindu and Buddhist practices in India.

He marries Rose Edith Kelly and in 1904 they honeymoon in Cairo, Egypt, where Crowley claims to have been contacted by a supernatural entity named Aiwass, who provided him with The Book of the Law, a sacred text that serves as the basis for Thelema.

Announcing the start of the Æon of Horus, The Book declares that its followers should "Do what thou wilt" and seek to align themselves with their True Will through the practice of magick.

After an unsuccessful attempt to climb Kanchenjunga and a visit to India and China, Crowley returns to Britain, where he attracts attention as a prolific author of poetry, novels, and occult literature.

In 1907, he and George Cecil Jones co-found an esoteric order, the A∴A∴, through which they propagate Thelema.

After spending time in Algeria, in 1912 he is initiated into another esoteric order, the German-based Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), rising to become the leader of its British branch, which he reformulates in accordance with his Thelemite beliefs.

Through the O.T.O., Thelemite groups are established in Britain, Australia, and North America.

Crowley spends the First World War in the United States, where he took up painting and campaigns for the German war effort against Britain, later revealing that he had infiltrated the pro-German movement to assist the British intelligence services.

In 1920, he establishes the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily where he lives with various followers.

His libertine lifestyle leads to denunciations in the British press, and the Italian government evicts him in 1923.

He divides the following two decades between France, Germany, and England, and continues to promote Thelema until his death.

Crowley gains widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being a recreational drug user, bisexual, and an individualist social critic.

Crowley has remained a highly influential figure over Western esotericism and the counterculture and continues to be considered a prophet in Thelema.

He is the subject of various biographies and academic studies.

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