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Aleister Crowley: The Nature of the Beast
Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0850305411 here.
Poet, Magician, Mountaineer, Polemicist & Pornographer, Aleister Crowley was the most famous, or infamous, name in 20th century occultism. The popular image of him as, in the words of Francis King, "an insatiable sexual athlete, a pimp who lived on the immoral earnings of his girl-friends, & a junkie who daily took enough heroin to kill a roomful of people", has a basis in fact; but there were other, less obnoxious & despicable aspects of this highly original character. Crowley's greatest legacy is his eclectic occult system. His Magick persists, a potent synthesis of Golden Dawn magic, oriental esoteric techniques, sexual magic & the all-encompassing Law of Thelema with its two fundamental principles, "Every man & woman is a star" & the notorious "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law". With his usual flair, Colin Wilson brings this complex enigmatic figure to life & provides an engrossing portrait of the self-styled Great Beast, the man whom the contemporary press dubbed The Wickedest Man in the World.
Poet, Magician, Mountaineer, Polemicist & Pornographer, Aleister Crowley was the most famous, or infamous, name in 20th century occultism. The popular image of him as, in the words of Francis King, "an insatiable sexual athlete, a pimp who lived on the immoral earnings of his girl-friends, & a junkie who daily took enough heroin to kill a roomful of people", has a basis in fact; but there were other, less obnoxious & despicable aspects of this highly original character. Crowley's greatest legacy is his eclectic occult system. His Magick persists, a potent synthesis of Golden Dawn magic, oriental esoteric techniques, sexual magic & the all-encompassing Law of Thelema with its two fundamental principles, "Every man & woman is a star" & the notorious "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law". With his usual flair, Colin Wilson brings this complex enigmatic figure to life & provides an engrossing portrait of the self-styled Great Beast, the man whom the contemporary press dubbed The Wickedest Man in the World.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Colin Wilson
403 books1,292 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.
Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.
Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.
Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 28, 2009
"There is a feeling that a man who deserts his wife and child and sacrifices a cat and forces his mistress to submit to intercourse with a goat is somehow creating his own bad luck".
October 17, 2025
If you are looking for a biography of Crowley, and you don't have the time or attention for one of the many doorstops, nor the desire to slog through endless footnotes or a polemic pro or con, and simply cannot acquire enough buckets of salt to swallow the Beast sainting himself, you could do far worse that this slim volume.
Wilson was rather the pop-culture occult expert, well qualified to produce this even-handed, slim version of the well-trodden story, along with a few bits that I don't recall having encountered elsewhere. No attempt is made to hide the warts of the "Prophet of the Aeon"—or "Wickedest Man in the World," if you prefer that tack—but neither is there any attempt to blow them out of proportion as did the contemporaneous yellow press. This is quite suitable coverage for those who are not interested in making a study of the man (yet?), but still want to know more or less what his deal was, really.
Having read more than a few over the last 40 years or so, this one I can recommend to a mass audience without reservation as a fairly breezy read, well sourced yet without academic pretensions.
Wilson was rather the pop-culture occult expert, well qualified to produce this even-handed, slim version of the well-trodden story, along with a few bits that I don't recall having encountered elsewhere. No attempt is made to hide the warts of the "Prophet of the Aeon"—or "Wickedest Man in the World," if you prefer that tack—but neither is there any attempt to blow them out of proportion as did the contemporaneous yellow press. This is quite suitable coverage for those who are not interested in making a study of the man (yet?), but still want to know more or less what his deal was, really.
Having read more than a few over the last 40 years or so, this one I can recommend to a mass audience without reservation as a fairly breezy read, well sourced yet without academic pretensions.
June 2, 2012
Rick Strong gave me a copy of The Confessions of Aleister Crowley years ago. I tried to read it, managed about a hundred pages, gave up. What I already knew about the man, some of it from Wilson's own The Occult, did not dispose me to expect much. I prefer biographies that are either inspiring or at least about world-historical individuals and their times. Crowley, it seemed, was neither.
Looking for books beyond the pale, beyond those already in my own library and within the ambit of my usual reading, I asked a friend for a recommendation, was given several and picked this biography and a couple of Iain Banks novels to read over holiday. Wilson's Crowley seemed a safe, short introduction to subject. Whatever Crowley's flaws I'd enjoy a reminder of Wilson's grand optimism.
And that is what this book delivered. Wilson, a specialist on the matter of flawed genius in the cases of criminals of various sorts, presents what may be the most generous portrayal of Crowley possible. Even then, it was hardly an inspiring vision. Wilson allows that his subject was accomplished in several regards, among them some of his writing, his yoga, his (often manipulative) "charm", but also admits to his very many flaws, treating Crowley like an arrested adolescent locked into perpetual rebellion against authority and incapable of real care for others.
Still, in Wilson's opinion, there was something there: Crowley was on to something. Naturally, what Crowley apprehended was what Wilson has been pushing throughout his career, namely that humans have great potentials which are rarely realized. This is framed in reference to neo-Kantians like Schopenhauer and Fichte and in terms of modern existentialism in the concluding chapter.
Choosing Aleister Crowley as a case study for arguments in favor of Abraham Maslow's psychology of health would seems a contradiction, and one is suspicious that the author took him as his subject because his contemporary popularity would lead to sales, but there is certainly reason to consider the interaction of exceptional persons with their social environments--to reconsider what Wilson terms "outsiders" seriously. What characterizes them? What creates them? How have they been regarded by those around them? What causes some to become exceptional criminals, others failures incapable of survival? As ever, Wilson's treatment of Crowley is written with some mind to persons with the potential to become like him. As ever, Wilson diagnoses the disease as in part the result of circumstance, as in greater part the result of bad decisions.
This is not a great book. One gets the impression that Wilson has simply summarized his subject's life without any original research, working entirely from Crowley's publications and from secondary sources, interspersing the narrative with occasional asides representing his own opinions and interpretations, ending with a summary epilogue of such interpretation. The editing is terrible, mistakes appearing throughout, the whole book giving the impression of being a rush job.
Looking for books beyond the pale, beyond those already in my own library and within the ambit of my usual reading, I asked a friend for a recommendation, was given several and picked this biography and a couple of Iain Banks novels to read over holiday. Wilson's Crowley seemed a safe, short introduction to subject. Whatever Crowley's flaws I'd enjoy a reminder of Wilson's grand optimism.
And that is what this book delivered. Wilson, a specialist on the matter of flawed genius in the cases of criminals of various sorts, presents what may be the most generous portrayal of Crowley possible. Even then, it was hardly an inspiring vision. Wilson allows that his subject was accomplished in several regards, among them some of his writing, his yoga, his (often manipulative) "charm", but also admits to his very many flaws, treating Crowley like an arrested adolescent locked into perpetual rebellion against authority and incapable of real care for others.
Still, in Wilson's opinion, there was something there: Crowley was on to something. Naturally, what Crowley apprehended was what Wilson has been pushing throughout his career, namely that humans have great potentials which are rarely realized. This is framed in reference to neo-Kantians like Schopenhauer and Fichte and in terms of modern existentialism in the concluding chapter.
Choosing Aleister Crowley as a case study for arguments in favor of Abraham Maslow's psychology of health would seems a contradiction, and one is suspicious that the author took him as his subject because his contemporary popularity would lead to sales, but there is certainly reason to consider the interaction of exceptional persons with their social environments--to reconsider what Wilson terms "outsiders" seriously. What characterizes them? What creates them? How have they been regarded by those around them? What causes some to become exceptional criminals, others failures incapable of survival? As ever, Wilson's treatment of Crowley is written with some mind to persons with the potential to become like him. As ever, Wilson diagnoses the disease as in part the result of circumstance, as in greater part the result of bad decisions.
This is not a great book. One gets the impression that Wilson has simply summarized his subject's life without any original research, working entirely from Crowley's publications and from secondary sources, interspersing the narrative with occasional asides representing his own opinions and interpretations, ending with a summary epilogue of such interpretation. The editing is terrible, mistakes appearing throughout, the whole book giving the impression of being a rush job.
September 11, 2021
A short biography of Aleister Crowley that covers his life and thought. As usual Colin Wilson writes an interesting read that gives an excellent overview of the subject.
May 12, 2020
Quite interesting account of the life of a man whom, for better or worse, earned himself the label ``the wickedest man in the world". Colin Wilson does a good job of demystifying Aleister Crowley, portraying him as a human being more than anything else, who had his own strengths and short-comings.
I found the book fascinating to read, although it can hardly be called an original work. Most of the material is taken from Crowley's Confessions and other biographies such as Symond's The Great Beast. It is also quite hastened and confusing in narrating Crowley's life.
The epilogue is perhaps the most authentic chapter of the book and quite useful in my opinion.
I found the book fascinating to read, although it can hardly be called an original work. Most of the material is taken from Crowley's Confessions and other biographies such as Symond's The Great Beast. It is also quite hastened and confusing in narrating Crowley's life.
The epilogue is perhaps the most authentic chapter of the book and quite useful in my opinion.
January 16, 2008
The ultimate angry 'outsider' man writing about the ultra inside 'outsider' figure in British aesthetic and social culture. What makes this book interesting is Colin Wilson who by the way is a classic pop culture historian as well as true crime fanatic. This book seems to be the ultimate match-up - the only thing missing is Kenneth Anger and Jimmy Page sitting on one's shoulder while reading this smallish volume.
The book itself is a good introduction to the master magik figure, yet it has that rush to finish on the deadline feel as well. Nevertheless this is a good match up with writer and subject.
The book itself is a good introduction to the master magik figure, yet it has that rush to finish on the deadline feel as well. Nevertheless this is a good match up with writer and subject.
September 11, 2010
Crowley was a certifiable Blakean eccentric who live a life wholly alien to the received social norms of his time, or this time. Worth a look if only for the wonderful courage and foolish displayed by Aleister Crowley and his sympathetic biographer.
August 20, 2023
This version of the book is either a production error or a scam.
It is a copy of the novel MoonChild by Aleister Crowley and nothing else.
The novel is moderately entertaining but that is not what I was led to believe I was buying.
It is a copy of the novel MoonChild by Aleister Crowley and nothing else.
The novel is moderately entertaining but that is not what I was led to believe I was buying.
May 10, 2024
Hilariously written
do-not-read
June 15, 2019I've only read one of Wilson's books (G.I. Gurdjieff: The War Against Sleep), and that was many years ago. Having learnt more about Wilson since then, I'm not motivated to familiarize myself with his other publications. Substantial criticisms of Wilson have been made by others with far stronger claims to competence in this area. A good summary has been published in a recent blog post by independent writer, Kevin R. D. Shepherd, who has been writing critically about Wilson, and related figures, since the late 1970s. See Colin Wilson (posted January 2018).
April 26, 2012
This is not a bad book by any stretch, but it is a very short one. It really does not do justice to a person as complex as Crowley was. That said, it does have valuable insights and a good chronology of the high (and low) points in the Master Therion's life. I do not agree with every single conclusion the author arrived at, but then again, everyone is entitled to their opinion and at least the facts were stated and available for each to form his own.
If you are going to read just one book on Crowley, though, this isn't the one. There are far better. If you plan on reading more than one, then this one isn't the worst, either, and should probably be in your To Read list.
If you are going to read just one book on Crowley, though, this isn't the one. There are far better. If you plan on reading more than one, then this one isn't the worst, either, and should probably be in your To Read list.
November 21, 2011
Aleister Crowley was one messed up dude who loved sex, drugs and conjuring demons. Sure, he was a crazy asshole most of the time, but the world needs a few crazy assholes to accent the droves of mundane assholes that plague this planet. I would have liked to shake his hand...then promptly soak my palm in antibacterial liquid because...well... who know where his hand has been?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews