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The Writings of Aleister Crowley: The Book of Lies, The Book of the Law, Magick and Cocaine
Included in The Writings of Aleister Crowley are four of Crowley’s seminal works, The Book of Lies, The Book of the Law, Magick and Cocaine. Each title has been newly edited and revised based on the original manuscripts, restoring each work as it was intended to be read by Crowley.
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Published January 1, 2018
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About the author
Aleister Crowley
863 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 10, 2022
Read this out of curiosity more than anything, with little in the way of background knowledge of Alesteir Crowley, the occasional references dotted throughout Alan Moore’s works notwithstanding. These writings provide next-to-no insight into the man himself, but they to provide an illuminating glimpse into the fascinating Magickal rites and lore that Crowley devoted his life to.
August 12, 2024
Since starting to read Crowley my opinions have been changing on him constantly. Despite not enjoying the ‘Book of Lies’ the first time through, I have a pretty different perspective of it now on a reread. Many of the guidelines to Thelematic living are incredibly progressive considering the time Crowley was writing (even if he didn’t always practice what he preached). ‘Do what thou wilt’ has become tattooed on my brain since the first time I read it and it’s definitely a statement I can get behind.
Another reason I’ve kept on coming back to Crowley is he seems to have influenced almost everything I’ve enjoyed that’s come after him. I’ll be honest, I skipped most of ‘Magick’ as I’m not really a practicing magician surprisingly but the mention of Kether and Malkuth gave me a new appreciation for the depths of the songwriting on ‘Station to Station’. The Bowie piss jar story will always make me laugh too; without Crowley the world would never have been blessed with that.
Ignoring all the Hermetic garble in ‘The Book of Law’ I truly think it has some interesting ideas on how we should live and is much less hedonistic than most would expect.
‘Cocaine’ was probably the highlight of all the texts I hadn’t read before this collection. As an essay it raised some pretty similar points to all that medical journal stuff William S. Burroughs was releasing some decades later.
Overall I definitely think more people should look past the idea of Crowley and try to read his texts with a blank slate. He was pretty horrible and I’m not justifying all the stuff he did but his writings can be pretty interesting and an important antidote to the rising Christian theocracy in the West.
Another reason I’ve kept on coming back to Crowley is he seems to have influenced almost everything I’ve enjoyed that’s come after him. I’ll be honest, I skipped most of ‘Magick’ as I’m not really a practicing magician surprisingly but the mention of Kether and Malkuth gave me a new appreciation for the depths of the songwriting on ‘Station to Station’. The Bowie piss jar story will always make me laugh too; without Crowley the world would never have been blessed with that.
Ignoring all the Hermetic garble in ‘The Book of Law’ I truly think it has some interesting ideas on how we should live and is much less hedonistic than most would expect.
‘Cocaine’ was probably the highlight of all the texts I hadn’t read before this collection. As an essay it raised some pretty similar points to all that medical journal stuff William S. Burroughs was releasing some decades later.
Overall I definitely think more people should look past the idea of Crowley and try to read his texts with a blank slate. He was pretty horrible and I’m not justifying all the stuff he did but his writings can be pretty interesting and an important antidote to the rising Christian theocracy in the West.
February 8, 2022
I was curious to read the words of "the wickedest man in the world" not as a believer in the occult, but to learn a little bit more about a man who had such a profound effect on 20th century thought. I found the books in this volume to be tedious and self-indulgent, but not without a certain charm and cleverness. There are some interesting parables, maxims, and turns of phrase, but the text is a slog to get through. I'm glad I took the time to read it, but I can't see myself ever re-reading it, other than maybe to find a clever aphorism or comparison.
November 12, 2021
Book of Lies 1
Magick 2
Book of the Law 1
Cocaine 4
Although, it doesn’t make much sense to me.
Magick 2
Book of the Law 1
Cocaine 4
Although, it doesn’t make much sense to me.
September 2, 2022
This guy's a fuckin' WHACKADOOLE and I'm here for it!!! 😳😲😲🤣 Hours of endless entertainment. Just. WOW.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2024
Reads like the rants of an organized madman. The feel is very Lovecraft. His writings may have influenced characters like Dr Strange. Worth reading if you are a fan of the occult.
July 4, 2022
I would first off just like to mention that I gave a low star-rating to this for its publication quality (or lack thereof) and not as a reflection of Crowley’s writing (which I have come to appreciate quite a bit).
My first exposure to Aleister Crowley was reading his novel “Moonchild” (1917). Shortly after finishing it, I ordered this cheap collection of several of Crowley’s “important” texts. I knew when I bought it that it was yet another of these public-domain editions, which tend to be poorly edited, contain typos, or are incomplete. I accepted this and did it anyway. At the time, I had wanted a sampling of Crowley before I committed to something more authentic (but more expensive). What I got were the following texts: “The Book Of Lies” , “Magick” (*), “The Book Of The Law” , and “Cocaine.”
In “The Book Of Lies” Crowley writes mostly in an erratic and aphoristic style, and much of it seemed nonsense to me. Apparently, he later wrote a commentary on it, but this is not included here (which is a shame, it probably would’ve helped a lot). Similarly, “The Book Of The Law” (which was the beginning of the Thelema religion) is also aphoristic, but reads much more like poetry and I found more beautiful (even if much still didn’t make sense to me). Again, a commentary does exist but is not included here.
* “Magick” was by far my favorite. It was a pleasure to read and I found myself underlining and highlighting extensively. BUT ALAS! This section piqued my interest so much that I delved further into it online, and discovered that what my copy labelled as “Magick” was misleading – you see, there is a book by Crowley called “MAGICK: Book 4 – Liber ABA” and it is MASSIVE. A hardcover that’s over 800 pages long, from what I could gather. And the section contained in THIS print-on-demand edition of Crowley, is in fact ONLY ONE section of that larger work (It is actually called “Magick – Elementary Theory” and is pt. 2 within that larger book). It was disappointing because the text will mention footnotes (which are not included) or other parts of the original book not found in this small volume; and often, Crowley will describe the accompanying illustrations that are supposed to be beside the text, but these do not appear in this edition, either. Quite frustrating. Once I even tried to draw a diagram on my own based only on Crowley’s description of it (it was not so good, hahhh). But on a positive note, this section is full of detail on the tools used in ceremonial magick and their symbolism. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the Wand, Cup, Sword, and Pentacle, which correspond to the Tarot Suits (and also much more), and also the chapter regarding the keeping of a magick Book, which I liked so much I’ll quote it:
“The writing on the Book goes on eternally; there is no way of closing the record until the goal of all has been attained. Let every page of this Book be filled with song – for it is a Book of incantation!”
And as for Crowley’s brief essay titled “Cocaine” ….no comment, lol
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My first exposure to Aleister Crowley was reading his novel “Moonchild” (1917). Shortly after finishing it, I ordered this cheap collection of several of Crowley’s “important” texts. I knew when I bought it that it was yet another of these public-domain editions, which tend to be poorly edited, contain typos, or are incomplete. I accepted this and did it anyway. At the time, I had wanted a sampling of Crowley before I committed to something more authentic (but more expensive). What I got were the following texts: “The Book Of Lies” , “Magick” (*), “The Book Of The Law” , and “Cocaine.”
In “The Book Of Lies” Crowley writes mostly in an erratic and aphoristic style, and much of it seemed nonsense to me. Apparently, he later wrote a commentary on it, but this is not included here (which is a shame, it probably would’ve helped a lot). Similarly, “The Book Of The Law” (which was the beginning of the Thelema religion) is also aphoristic, but reads much more like poetry and I found more beautiful (even if much still didn’t make sense to me). Again, a commentary does exist but is not included here.
* “Magick” was by far my favorite. It was a pleasure to read and I found myself underlining and highlighting extensively. BUT ALAS! This section piqued my interest so much that I delved further into it online, and discovered that what my copy labelled as “Magick” was misleading – you see, there is a book by Crowley called “MAGICK: Book 4 – Liber ABA” and it is MASSIVE. A hardcover that’s over 800 pages long, from what I could gather. And the section contained in THIS print-on-demand edition of Crowley, is in fact ONLY ONE section of that larger work (It is actually called “Magick – Elementary Theory” and is pt. 2 within that larger book). It was disappointing because the text will mention footnotes (which are not included) or other parts of the original book not found in this small volume; and often, Crowley will describe the accompanying illustrations that are supposed to be beside the text, but these do not appear in this edition, either. Quite frustrating. Once I even tried to draw a diagram on my own based only on Crowley’s description of it (it was not so good, hahhh). But on a positive note, this section is full of detail on the tools used in ceremonial magick and their symbolism. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the Wand, Cup, Sword, and Pentacle, which correspond to the Tarot Suits (and also much more), and also the chapter regarding the keeping of a magick Book, which I liked so much I’ll quote it:
“The writing on the Book goes on eternally; there is no way of closing the record until the goal of all has been attained. Let every page of this Book be filled with song – for it is a Book of incantation!”
And as for Crowley’s brief essay titled “Cocaine” ….no comment, lol
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August 3, 2019
This compilation contains some of Crowley’s most influential work. It provides a great overview of the core ideals of Thelema. The only drawbacks are the order (The Book of the Law is a foundational text but placed third in the compilation after the Book of Lies and Magick, both of which cite it at various points) and the fact Cocaine feels rather out of place. The Book of Lies also takes more effort to understand than the other three. Overall, though, it’s a fascinating work by a very interesting man with strange yet compelling ideas.
June 8, 2021
A wonderful collection
This gives a great introduction to the writings of the master therion and a broad insight into his mind .loved it
This gives a great introduction to the writings of the master therion and a broad insight into his mind .loved it
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews