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White Stains
Variations of sodomy, pederasty, bestiality, and necrophilia are interwoven with gleeful blasphemy in this seminal collection of poetry by Aleister Crowley. Inspired by Krafft-Ebing's study of sexual perversity, Psychopathia Sexualis, it purports to be "the literary remains of George Archibald Bishop, a neuropath of the Second Empire." Crowley's infamous first book, White Stains was clandestinely printed in 1898 by Leonard Smithers. Of the one hundred numbered copies that were originally printed, only a handful were spared destruction by Her Majesty's Customs; an outcome which speaks against Crowley's decision to invoke the blessing of the Virgin Mary in his prefatory sonnet. Crowley would go on to establish himself as a leading figure in the Western occult tradition. A drug addict, bisexual, and proponent of sex magick, Crowley's flamboyantly impious lifestyle would lead the tabloid press to crown him "The Wickedest Man in the World."
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1898
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513 people want to read
About the author
Aleister Crowley
864 books1,870 followersAleister Crowley was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, proclaiming himself as the prophet destined to guide humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, Crowley published extensively throughout his life.
Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, he was raised in a wealthy family adhering to the fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith. Crowley rejected his religious upbringing, developing an interest in Western esotericism. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, focusing on mountaineering and poetry, and published several works during this period. In 1898, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, receiving training in ceremonial magic from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. His travels took him to Mexico for mountaineering with Oscar Eckenstein and to India, where he studied Hindu and Buddhist practices.
In 1904, during a honeymoon in Cairo with his wife Rose Edith Kelly, Crowley claimed to have received "The Book of the Law" from a supernatural entity named Aiwass. This text became the foundation of Thelema, announcing the onset of the Æon of Horus and introducing the central tenet: "Do what thou wilt." Crowley emphasized that individuals should align with their True Will through ceremonial magic.
After an unsuccessful expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1905 and further travels in India and China, Crowley returned to Britain. There, he co-founded the esoteric order A∴A∴ with George Cecil Jones in 1907 to promote Thelema. In 1912, he joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), eventually leading its British branch and reformulating it according to Thelemic principles. Crowley spent World War I in the United States, engaging in painting and writing pro-German propaganda, which biographers later suggested was a cover for British intelligence activities.
In 1920, Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily. His libertine lifestyle attracted negative attention from the British press, leading to his expulsion by the Italian government in 1923. He spent subsequent years in France, Germany, and England, continuing to promote Thelema until his death in 1947.
Crowley's notoriety stemmed from his recreational drug use, bisexuality, and criticism of societal norms. Despite controversy, he significantly influenced Western esotericism and the 1960s counterculture, and remains a central figure in Thelema.
Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, he was raised in a wealthy family adhering to the fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith. Crowley rejected his religious upbringing, developing an interest in Western esotericism. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, focusing on mountaineering and poetry, and published several works during this period. In 1898, he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, receiving training in ceremonial magic from Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. His travels took him to Mexico for mountaineering with Oscar Eckenstein and to India, where he studied Hindu and Buddhist practices.
In 1904, during a honeymoon in Cairo with his wife Rose Edith Kelly, Crowley claimed to have received "The Book of the Law" from a supernatural entity named Aiwass. This text became the foundation of Thelema, announcing the onset of the Æon of Horus and introducing the central tenet: "Do what thou wilt." Crowley emphasized that individuals should align with their True Will through ceremonial magic.
After an unsuccessful expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1905 and further travels in India and China, Crowley returned to Britain. There, he co-founded the esoteric order A∴A∴ with George Cecil Jones in 1907 to promote Thelema. In 1912, he joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), eventually leading its British branch and reformulating it according to Thelemic principles. Crowley spent World War I in the United States, engaging in painting and writing pro-German propaganda, which biographers later suggested was a cover for British intelligence activities.
In 1920, Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily. His libertine lifestyle attracted negative attention from the British press, leading to his expulsion by the Italian government in 1923. He spent subsequent years in France, Germany, and England, continuing to promote Thelema until his death in 1947.
Crowley's notoriety stemmed from his recreational drug use, bisexuality, and criticism of societal norms. Despite controversy, he significantly influenced Western esotericism and the 1960s counterculture, and remains a central figure in Thelema.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 5, 2022
I blame Subtle Blood by K.J. Charles for making me aware of this book's existence. That being said though, why did I have such a good time with it😂? I started reading it as a gag but the more I read, the more I genuinely enjoyed it. Horny as hell, blasphemous, old timey poetry is a vibe I guess.
PS: Kim was right though...don't read the dog one. Just don't do it. 😳
PS: Kim was right though...don't read the dog one. Just don't do it. 😳
July 18, 2021
Divination poems
More like a compilation of poems in terms of author's understanding of divination. Well, like the other books by the same author, the style was mysterious and more like psalms of gnostic.
More like a compilation of poems in terms of author's understanding of divination. Well, like the other books by the same author, the style was mysterious and more like psalms of gnostic.
August 9, 2011
Degradation, depravity and odes to fellatio. Yes, the folks of the late 1800's-early 1900's new how to get down/ (go down) heh heh
March 20, 2015
Hilariously bad--like a fifteen year old JUST deciding to be naughty
September 29, 2011
The description on here makes this sound absolutely shocking, dissgusting even, it isn't it's really quite beautiful, even in its most gross moments, to some extent i am dissapointed by that, that is not to say that the poetry itself dissapoints me, nor that the themes (as stated in the goodreads description) are not obvious, but i was hoping for something extremely poetically explicit, but then crowley did not write to shock, provoke perhaps, but not shock.
White stains is more than a simple collection of poetry, infact it is....if we are to believe crowleys fictional introduction, not a collection at all, but a sequence telling a story, certainly there is a cohesive theme and concept to it, a sense of momentum, and continuity of character and to a lesser extent narrative, the story none the less does not jump out, and announce itself to you,atleast not as it is in the introduction, or so it seems to me, but this does not sully the wonderful poetry, which is in itself stronger than either story or concept.
White stains is more than a simple collection of poetry, infact it is....if we are to believe crowleys fictional introduction, not a collection at all, but a sequence telling a story, certainly there is a cohesive theme and concept to it, a sense of momentum, and continuity of character and to a lesser extent narrative, the story none the less does not jump out, and announce itself to you,atleast not as it is in the introduction, or so it seems to me, but this does not sully the wonderful poetry, which is in itself stronger than either story or concept.
February 24, 2013
I googled this in search of the full text, and got this helpful snippet:
White Stains [Aleister Crowley] on Amazon.com. *FREE* super saver shipping on qualifying offers. Variations of sodomy, pederasty, bestiality, and necrophilia ...Yep.
November 28, 2023
I never would've thought Crowley would be such a great poet.
I really enjoyed these dirty, blasphemous, sensual, hypersexual, dirty little pieces.
Within these pages in its core lay a bold, yet forgiving sense of being human, of transcending through facing our inner selves, not turning away from them.
Reminded me of that one scene from Rosemary's Baby ("This is not a dream, this is really happening!"), which is pretty obvious.
I need somebody in my life to read these to. With a soft, gravely voice while there's candles burning and a deep, vast darkness outside, trying to sneak in with its skeletal fingers, tapping on the windowpane.
I really enjoyed these dirty, blasphemous, sensual, hypersexual, dirty little pieces.
Within these pages in its core lay a bold, yet forgiving sense of being human, of transcending through facing our inner selves, not turning away from them.
Reminded me of that one scene from Rosemary's Baby ("This is not a dream, this is really happening!"), which is pretty obvious.
I need somebody in my life to read these to. With a soft, gravely voice while there's candles burning and a deep, vast darkness outside, trying to sneak in with its skeletal fingers, tapping on the windowpane.
August 14, 2021
Sexual fantasies, love and deep resentment towards Christianity. Btw: read Crowleys Wikipedia page, it's insane!
Read
May 12, 2022Coomer poetry
June 2, 2022
Hehehe- I know why I read this in the first place 👀 only some of it disappointed. But not really. Only necrophelia
September 24, 2022
Positively filthy.
Read
February 22, 2024The name speaks for itself. That's all I've got to say ;)
May 29, 2024
Reading a book called White Stains and listening to an album called Sex Style recorded 99 years later.
November 23, 2013
“Variations of sodomy, pederasty, bestiality, and necrophilia are interwoven with gleeful blasphemy in this seminal collection of poetry by Aleister Crowley. Inspired by Krafft-Ebing's study of sexual perversity, Psychopathia Sexualis, it purports to be "the literary remains of George Archibald Bishop, a neuropath of the Second Empire." Crowley's infamous first book, White Stains was clandestinely printed in 1898 by Leonard Smithers. Of the one hundred numbered copies that were originally printed, only a handful were spared destruction by Her Majesty's Customs; an outcome which speaks against Crowley's decision to invoke the blessing of the Virgin Mary in his prefatory sonnet. Crowley would go on to establish himself as a leading figure in the Western occult tradition. A drug addict, bisexual, and proponent of sex magick, Crowley's flamboyantly impious lifestyle would lead the tabloid press to crown him "The Wickedest Man in the World."”
To be honest … the only reason I read this at all was because of the Bowie lyrics in “Station to Station”. It was vaguely interesting, but not particularly enjoyable. I just found it obnoxious and badly written in the main. I did, however, come across a couple of stanzas which began: “Strange Fascination …” and wondered if Bowie picked up that phrase from Crowley, too?
To be honest … the only reason I read this at all was because of the Bowie lyrics in “Station to Station”. It was vaguely interesting, but not particularly enjoyable. I just found it obnoxious and badly written in the main. I did, however, come across a couple of stanzas which began: “Strange Fascination …” and wondered if Bowie picked up that phrase from Crowley, too?
October 6, 2013
I'd best describe this book as "Baudelaire, only more so". Baudelaire wrote about decadence, sex, death, and all that. Crowley got more and more depraved and perverted as the book went on until he got to bestiality, necrophilia, and the drinking of menstrual blood.
It is, strangely enough, one of the best books I've read in a long while. The composition of the poems themselves are lovely, and I loved the premise (they're in chronological order, written by this guy who slipped more and more into depravity).
It is, strangely enough, one of the best books I've read in a long while. The composition of the poems themselves are lovely, and I loved the premise (they're in chronological order, written by this guy who slipped more and more into depravity).
February 2, 2014
Crowley was no more talented at poetry than your average angst-ridden teenager. But, at least, those teens don't call themselves the Beast 666 (well, at least most of them don't).
June 4, 2021
As pure as white but as crude as black: the most ambivalent poetry there may be.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews