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La gran bestia
La Gran Bestia. Vida de Aleister Crowley es la biografía más completa de quien, posiblemente, fue el último mago de Occidente. Edward Alexander Crowley (1875-1947), más conocido como Aleister Crowley, fue poeta, alpinista, viajero y escritor, pero también pintor vanguardista, drogadicto, bisexual y practicante de técnicas mágicas, herederas de la Hermandad Hermética de la Golden Dawn, que le dieron la aureola de satanista y mago negro que le valió el epíteto de «el hombre más perverso de Inglaterra». Crowley, que se hacía llamar a sí mismo «la Gran Bestia 666», fusionaría la tradición mágica europea (de raíces egipcias, helenísticas, célticas y hebreas, tal y como se estudiaban en la Golden Dawn) con las enseñanzas de Oriente, como el yoga y el tantrismo ;a las que tendría acceso gracias a sus lecturas y viajes;, y con la magia sexual preconizada por la sociedad secreta conocida como O. T. O. (Ordo Templi Orientis), todo lo cual le permitiría fundar una orden de cuño propio, la de la Estrella de Plata. Creador de la ley «Haz lo que Quieras», y fundador en Cefalú de la abadía de Thelema, Crowley fue, en pleno siglo XX, uno de los más singulares avatares del no racionalismo en su vertiente operativa y mágica.
753 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1951
16 people are currently reading
318 people want to read
About the author
John Symonds
90 books5 followersNot to be mistaken for John Addington Symonds
John Symonds (12 March 1914, Battersea, London – 21 October 2006) was an English novelist, biographer, playwright and writer of children's books.
At the age of sixteen he moved to London and began educating himself by spending long hours in the reading room of the British Museum. A partial reconciliation with his father resulted in the latter funding research work that John Symonds would later mine for his own novels later in life.
His first job was at Hulton Press, working as a journalist on Picture Post and during this period he became friends with Dylan Thomas and Stephen Spender. Being exempted from military service, he edited 'Lilliput' magazine during which time he briefly married Hedwig Feuerstein.
In 1945 he married Renata Israel, and the following year (1946) he published his first novel, William Waste. This was followed in 1955 by The Lady in the Tower, and, in 1957, by another love story, A Girl Among Poets, which won praise from Sir John Betjeman, who wrote of the author's "gift for describing farcical situations".
Symonds met the infamous occultist and founder of the Thelemite religion, Aleister Crowley in 1946, the year before Crowley's death. Crowley's will left the copyright of his works to his unincorporated magical society, the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and made him Crowley's literary executor, though Crowley's legal status as an undischarged bankrupt meant that the copyrights actually ended up in receivership. At first fascinated by Crowley, Symonds became increasingly critical of his ideas and manners, in particular the use of drugs and sex. Along with one of Crowley's disciples, Kenneth Grant, Symonds edited and republished Crowley's autobiography and a number of his other works. Further to this, he authored four biographical works of his own: The Great Beast (1952), The Magic of Aleister Crowley (1958), The King of the Shadow Realm (1989) and The Beast 666 (1997). Due to his somewhat negative attitude to Crowley in these works, there were many involved in Thelema and ceremonial magic who were themselves critical of Symonds, including Israel Regardie, who called him "that most hostile biographer." Nonetheless, his significance in keeping Crowley's legacy alive has also been recognised, and it has been noted that "Regardless of his reception, it is no exagerration to state that without the publication efforts of Symonds (and Grant) Crowley could easily have been a forgotten figure by the 1970s."
He found his widest (largest) audience in the writing of children's books. In 'The Magic Currant Bun', (1953), a boy chases a magic bun, which came out of an oven, through the streets of Paris He enjoyed the bun very much when he caught it in his mouth. His feline magical fantasy, Isle of Cats (illustrated by Gerard Hoffnung), followed in 1955. Lottie (1957), is the story of a talking doll and dog. Edward Ardizzone was the illustrator for this book and Elfrida and the Pig (1959), a story about little girl who is not allowed to play with dolls until she finished her punishment which was to trim her parent's bushes.
After a period of writing children's books Symonds returned to biographies in 1959 with Madame Blavatsky, Medium and Magician, a life of the famous Theosophist. This was followed in 1961 with Thomas Brown and the Angels: A Study in Enthusiasm, about the life of a Methodist who becomes involved with the Shakers.
Novels followed, beginning with William Waste (1947), The Lady in the Tower (1955), A girl among poets (1957), then a gothic fantasy, Bezill (1962), then Light Over Water (1963), in which a journalist researches into the world of the occult. The subject of With a View on the Palace (1966) is a Russian film director who becomes obsessed with the Royal Family to the point of hiring an apartment near Buckingham Palace
John Symonds (12 March 1914, Battersea, London – 21 October 2006) was an English novelist, biographer, playwright and writer of children's books.
At the age of sixteen he moved to London and began educating himself by spending long hours in the reading room of the British Museum. A partial reconciliation with his father resulted in the latter funding research work that John Symonds would later mine for his own novels later in life.
His first job was at Hulton Press, working as a journalist on Picture Post and during this period he became friends with Dylan Thomas and Stephen Spender. Being exempted from military service, he edited 'Lilliput' magazine during which time he briefly married Hedwig Feuerstein.
In 1945 he married Renata Israel, and the following year (1946) he published his first novel, William Waste. This was followed in 1955 by The Lady in the Tower, and, in 1957, by another love story, A Girl Among Poets, which won praise from Sir John Betjeman, who wrote of the author's "gift for describing farcical situations".
Symonds met the infamous occultist and founder of the Thelemite religion, Aleister Crowley in 1946, the year before Crowley's death. Crowley's will left the copyright of his works to his unincorporated magical society, the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and made him Crowley's literary executor, though Crowley's legal status as an undischarged bankrupt meant that the copyrights actually ended up in receivership. At first fascinated by Crowley, Symonds became increasingly critical of his ideas and manners, in particular the use of drugs and sex. Along with one of Crowley's disciples, Kenneth Grant, Symonds edited and republished Crowley's autobiography and a number of his other works. Further to this, he authored four biographical works of his own: The Great Beast (1952), The Magic of Aleister Crowley (1958), The King of the Shadow Realm (1989) and The Beast 666 (1997). Due to his somewhat negative attitude to Crowley in these works, there were many involved in Thelema and ceremonial magic who were themselves critical of Symonds, including Israel Regardie, who called him "that most hostile biographer." Nonetheless, his significance in keeping Crowley's legacy alive has also been recognised, and it has been noted that "Regardless of his reception, it is no exagerration to state that without the publication efforts of Symonds (and Grant) Crowley could easily have been a forgotten figure by the 1970s."
He found his widest (largest) audience in the writing of children's books. In 'The Magic Currant Bun', (1953), a boy chases a magic bun, which came out of an oven, through the streets of Paris He enjoyed the bun very much when he caught it in his mouth. His feline magical fantasy, Isle of Cats (illustrated by Gerard Hoffnung), followed in 1955. Lottie (1957), is the story of a talking doll and dog. Edward Ardizzone was the illustrator for this book and Elfrida and the Pig (1959), a story about little girl who is not allowed to play with dolls until she finished her punishment which was to trim her parent's bushes.
After a period of writing children's books Symonds returned to biographies in 1959 with Madame Blavatsky, Medium and Magician, a life of the famous Theosophist. This was followed in 1961 with Thomas Brown and the Angels: A Study in Enthusiasm, about the life of a Methodist who becomes involved with the Shakers.
Novels followed, beginning with William Waste (1947), The Lady in the Tower (1955), A girl among poets (1957), then a gothic fantasy, Bezill (1962), then Light Over Water (1963), in which a journalist researches into the world of the occult. The subject of With a View on the Palace (1966) is a Russian film director who becomes obsessed with the Royal Family to the point of hiring an apartment near Buckingham Palace
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 11, 2014
Don't believe the naysayers or stony faced modern-day 'Thelemites' who dismiss Symonds as a hack and his book a hodge-podge of sensationalism. This is a rollicking, ripping yarn of a biography! A damn good laugh yes, but also crucially a book about Crowley by someone who actually knew and met the man.
It's certainly not a reverent look at Crowley's life, but one imagines that that's exactly the way The Beast would've wanted it. The book runs to around 400 pages but moves along in the main at such a clip that you'll be through it in no time.
Well, almost - there is one section towards the middle of the narrative where things get a bit bogged down in the details of some rather tedious and esoteric 'magickal' ceremonies which will be of little interest to anyone who doesn't regularly draw out magic circles and invoke Beelzebub in their living room. But that blip aside, the book is a riot. Symonds' sly wit and dry sarcasm enliven things no end and the gallery of grotesques who peopled Crowley's life come alive on the page.
The Great Beast is also, to the modern-day reader accustomed to much fawning uncritical praise directed at Crowley, a much-needed dose of smelling salts and a reminder that dabbling in magic or giving oneself over to gurus can be rather risky (the case of Crowley's disciple Norman Mudd, whose sorry life is dissected at length in the pages of The Great Beast, should dissuade anyone from seeking answers to their emotional problems in the occult).
All in all, a rip-roaring read and one which does much to remind modern-day types that, far from the sanctified figure Crowley is painted as now, he really was an abominable little s**t. But a very funny one at that.
It's certainly not a reverent look at Crowley's life, but one imagines that that's exactly the way The Beast would've wanted it. The book runs to around 400 pages but moves along in the main at such a clip that you'll be through it in no time.
Well, almost - there is one section towards the middle of the narrative where things get a bit bogged down in the details of some rather tedious and esoteric 'magickal' ceremonies which will be of little interest to anyone who doesn't regularly draw out magic circles and invoke Beelzebub in their living room. But that blip aside, the book is a riot. Symonds' sly wit and dry sarcasm enliven things no end and the gallery of grotesques who peopled Crowley's life come alive on the page.
The Great Beast is also, to the modern-day reader accustomed to much fawning uncritical praise directed at Crowley, a much-needed dose of smelling salts and a reminder that dabbling in magic or giving oneself over to gurus can be rather risky (the case of Crowley's disciple Norman Mudd, whose sorry life is dissected at length in the pages of The Great Beast, should dissuade anyone from seeking answers to their emotional problems in the occult).
All in all, a rip-roaring read and one which does much to remind modern-day types that, far from the sanctified figure Crowley is painted as now, he really was an abominable little s**t. But a very funny one at that.
May 20, 2012
A highly enjoyable biography of one of the last great 'characters' of the nineteenth century. He seems to have lived without ever being able to tell his own bullshit from reality. He's always able to justify some beastly self-ish act with reference to the birth of the New Aeon, be it defrauding his freinds and followers, picking up and discarding women and men, or simply lazing about and indulging his taste for drink and drugs.
He's without doubt an unappealing guy, but the sheer audacity of it makes his life an amazing thing to read about. I'm not certain that this biography is entirely impartial or accurate, but the occasional dry aside makes it clear that Syomnds doesn't quite take all Crowley's self-myhtologising seriously.
Crowley's had a huge influence on pop culture, one way or another, and this book certainly puts his thought and ideas into perspective. There's probably a bit more detail on his magical working than is really called for, but students of the occult might want that detail, I guess.
He's without doubt an unappealing guy, but the sheer audacity of it makes his life an amazing thing to read about. I'm not certain that this biography is entirely impartial or accurate, but the occasional dry aside makes it clear that Syomnds doesn't quite take all Crowley's self-myhtologising seriously.
Crowley's had a huge influence on pop culture, one way or another, and this book certainly puts his thought and ideas into perspective. There's probably a bit more detail on his magical working than is really called for, but students of the occult might want that detail, I guess.
September 9, 2017
This is the book to really review Crowley's life since the very beginning to his last days. I really wanted to read since a long time ago so when I had the opportunity I was very excited and it did not disappointed me at all.
I really recommend this book as a start if you are into learning about A Crowley.
I really recommend this book as a start if you are into learning about A Crowley.
July 28, 2011
Interesting but not terribly critical account of good old Perdurabo himself. Quite a lot of the stuff is taken directly from The Confessions, and not questioned or elaborated upon at all. Even so, a very readable and engaging account of one of the most interesting men who ever lived.
Read
April 2, 2022John Symonds is a queer duck. A minor novelist, playwright, and writer of children's stories, Symonds befriended Crowley in 1946, a year before the latter's death, and declared his admiration for Crowley's unpublished book, Magick Without Tears. Symonds allowed Crowley to appoint him Assistant Grand Treasurer General of the O.T.O., a position which implies that Symonds accepted Crowley's "Law of Thelema," and Crowley in his last will and testament appointed him as his literary executor on behalf of the O.T.O. Symonds also acquired a number of Crowley artifacts and mss. after Crowley's death. However, five years after Crowley's death, Symonds began to publish a series of four biographies of Crowley, the present book being the last, all of which are notable for their highly personal, opinionated, biased, dismissive, disparaging, and vituperative treatment of Crowley's life and personality, including the repetition of doubtful stories based on hearsay, and, according to Crowley expert Gerald Yorke, a large number of factual inaccuracies. Symonds also published several of Crowley's works, along with Kenneth Grant, who Symonds recognized as the Outer Head of the O.T.O., on highly suspect grounds, for his own and Grant's financial benefit and personal advantage. The Beast 666: The Life of Aleister Crowley is the final revision of Symonds's biography of Crowley. Symonds's entertaining and well written biography is mainly interested in exposing Crowley's many failings as a writer, political activist, lover, husband, and human being, going into great detail concerning his many misadventures, personal failings, misogyny, duplicity, hypocrisy, and multiple drug addictions, but Symonds has very little interest in understanding Crowley's mystical and magical accomplishments, which were the raison d'etre of his life. As a result, the book comes across as rather petty and mean spirited. In particular, Symond's treatment of the Cairo Working (1904), during which Crowley channelled his famous prophecy of the 2oth century, and the Vision and the Voice (1909), his visions in the Sahara desert, is very cursory and superficial. He doesn't even mention Samuel Aiwaz Jacobs (1918)! Nevertheless, at 600 pages, The Beast 666 is an interesting treatment of a man who has become far more famous and successful after his death than Symonds himself - a fact which I suspect is what led Symonds to befriend Crowley in the first place. Although Tobias Churton's five volume biography of Crowley is far more balanced and thorough, Symond's book is still an important contribution to the expanding field of study of the life and works of Aleister Crowley.
February 7, 2015
The best and most objective biography of A.C. to this day . If you intend to read only one biography of Crowley this should be it. If you really want to get a handle on him, then read his Autobiography(or Autohagiography as he called it) 'The Confessions of Aleister Crowley' and 'The eye in the triangle by Israel Regardie.'
July 26, 2020
Resta, dopo la lettura, tanta pietà per tutti i personaggi di questa vicenda, desiderosi di superare i limiti assegnati loro dalla nascita e di raggiungere una pienezza di vita che certamente non avevano molto chiara.
(Il voto basso è dovuto alla narrazione confusa e all’inelegante disprezzo ostentato in ogni pagina.)
(Il voto basso è dovuto alla narrazione confusa e all’inelegante disprezzo ostentato in ogni pagina.)
May 4, 2020
This is a very involved book, but on the face of it Crowley had a very complex and eventful life. Found it a challenge to get through but the the tales of falling out of friends in deserts or the violence inflicted in the Abbey of Thelema made me look at the Occult in different perspective.
September 15, 2019
Biografía de ese pésimo personaje tan inmerecidamente famoso sólo por inventar una especie de satanismo, con rituales y magias diversas (sobre todo de índole sexual), y por su palpable egocentrismo, locura, depravación y estulticia.
February 18, 2025
I've long been fascinated by the curious influence of this man on British culture, and beyond. He seems to have attracted many and various followers, not just here, but across the world, so I was interested to learn a little about the life on the man once dubbed by the British press "the wickedest man in the world".
Based on this well written and researched book, which I must confess I mainly skim read as the subject is so incredibly dull, Crowley was indeed a very bad man. He became deeply involved with 'new age' religion and magic (sometimes spelt magick for reasons I cannot be bothered to understand), and left a trail of misery in his wake as the poor deluded fools who fell for his lies, or married him, ended up dead by suicide, or drank themselves to death. I counted at least three such post-Crowley deaths of despair.
Possibly the most damning thing is a believable description quite early on of his fatal cruelty to an animal (I wish I hadn't read it, and wont share the details here) so it's quite likely he went beyond mere narcissism and was a full blown psychopath.
The author makes a wonderfully astute observation early on. People such as Crowley don't just lack empathy, they lack imagination. That is why they need to act out things that would merely pass fleetingly through the minds of less disordered people, and be discarded based on their likely consequences. People such as Crowley cannot understand the consequences of their actions, because they cannot imagine the impact they have on others (beyond immediate manipulation or exploitation, they understand those well enough!).
Crowley's famous creed: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." does seem to capture the spirit of the age we live in, so perhaps that explains the appeal to many. "Do what you want and to hell with the consequences, don't worry about being accountable, or taking responsibility, just do it". And in this post ethical and post morality age, that is exactly how many people live, especially those in positions of power. So in many respects, Crowley was a visionary; he saw the new world being ushered in as the influence of Christianity waned.
I think it comes down to what Hannah Arendt famously called "the banality of evil". We're looking for something that's present to explain people who routinely inflict pain and cruelty, but really these people have an absence. And to say they have an absence of imagination is as good an explanation as any.
Based on this well written and researched book, which I must confess I mainly skim read as the subject is so incredibly dull, Crowley was indeed a very bad man. He became deeply involved with 'new age' religion and magic (sometimes spelt magick for reasons I cannot be bothered to understand), and left a trail of misery in his wake as the poor deluded fools who fell for his lies, or married him, ended up dead by suicide, or drank themselves to death. I counted at least three such post-Crowley deaths of despair.
Possibly the most damning thing is a believable description quite early on of his fatal cruelty to an animal (I wish I hadn't read it, and wont share the details here) so it's quite likely he went beyond mere narcissism and was a full blown psychopath.
The author makes a wonderfully astute observation early on. People such as Crowley don't just lack empathy, they lack imagination. That is why they need to act out things that would merely pass fleetingly through the minds of less disordered people, and be discarded based on their likely consequences. People such as Crowley cannot understand the consequences of their actions, because they cannot imagine the impact they have on others (beyond immediate manipulation or exploitation, they understand those well enough!).
Crowley's famous creed: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." does seem to capture the spirit of the age we live in, so perhaps that explains the appeal to many. "Do what you want and to hell with the consequences, don't worry about being accountable, or taking responsibility, just do it". And in this post ethical and post morality age, that is exactly how many people live, especially those in positions of power. So in many respects, Crowley was a visionary; he saw the new world being ushered in as the influence of Christianity waned.
I think it comes down to what Hannah Arendt famously called "the banality of evil". We're looking for something that's present to explain people who routinely inflict pain and cruelty, but really these people have an absence. And to say they have an absence of imagination is as good an explanation as any.
December 12, 2024
Gran y explicito libro, resume el día a día en gran parte del tiempo de la vida de Crowley,entre lo bueno y lo malo,lo relevante e irrelevante. Despues de leerlo la imagen popular que tienen del "malo" ,"pervertido" de Crowley cambiará totalmente . Asimismo del "genio" y "mago" que podría hacer de todo.El no estaba en posibilidades ni de solventar sus necesidades más básicas,vivía de ayudas de fans y admiradores.Aun así su colaboración a la sabiduría del mundo es sorprendente,gran pensador,mago blanco y filósofo.
May 15, 2025
Interesting book about a fascinating man. Horrible addition that I read unfortunately. Love the persona of The Beast as he is referred to. How could I not read a book about the wickedest man in the world. A difficult read at times, but engrossing enough to finish. I like Mr Crowley’s art and poetry. “Do what thou wilt,” is an excellent but somewhat compromised creed.
January 27, 2022
If you want the dirty secrets and harsh reality of Crowley, this will do the trick. Symonds is a bit of a parasitic grump himself, but he did have access to his diaries, so he got straight dope. I am left with ambivalence and happy I finally finished.
September 30, 2023
For "The Wickedest man in the World" Aleister Crowley was uninteresting. This biography makes me see him as a bum, a drug addict, a swindler, and a woman abuser. His self proclaimed greatness was a sham and I expected something much better from someone so notorious.
August 19, 2023
No creo que J. Symonds entienda a la Bestia... Sí creo que a la Bestia le haría mucha gracia las cosas que J. Symonds escribió sobre él...
October 29, 2025
Exhaustive account of the Beast’s life. Probably more Crowley than I needed as someone with only a casual interest. Nearly gave up on it but then started to enjoy it more.
Well written and detailed account, much of it sourced from diary entries, some of which I found darkly funny.
Symonds despite knowing Crowley personally is no sycophant and it’s this aspect of the book with his often withering comments and observations that keep the book feeling grounded and authentic.
A rigorous biography.
Recommended.
Well written and detailed account, much of it sourced from diary entries, some of which I found darkly funny.
Symonds despite knowing Crowley personally is no sycophant and it’s this aspect of the book with his often withering comments and observations that keep the book feeling grounded and authentic.
A rigorous biography.
Recommended.
July 10, 2019
Quite a sympathetic account of the life and works of Aleister Crowley.
May 17, 2016
I'm loving every line of this book. Totally recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews