Mirror of the Soul

The whole of Crowleys work was based upon his original, childhood desire to shock his Mother.

And that meant gong against everything they believed.
Which is why he 'became' The Beast 666.
Why Babylon is good.
Why he had to start his whole new 'religion' to counteract theirs.

And I don't really think he ever stopped.
Teenage rebellion taken to the extreem.

So, really, yeah. It's all based on christianity, and the hatred there of.
No religious maniacs for parents, no Crowley the Beast, no Thelema.
Funny, really, isn't it.

I wonder if he ever saw that himself.
Probably not.

Anyhow.
I got the Suster book.
Don't mind speaking his mind, does he?

Yes. Although I cant agree that this was the MAIN influence it was deffinatly a major one. Others were the posative people he met not long after this rebellion (like the guy that taught him about pool, cigars and women). Also the Egyptian influence was a thing of the times, yet lets forget he DID DO the Preliminary invocation to the Goetica (I think it was) - air section in the Kings Chamber of The Great Pyramid (no wonder things ended up with an Egyptian 'flavour!)

But one of AC's main points in teaching that to understand where we are now, and to how best get where we are going (or may will to go) we have to understand what made us, and influenced us (even to the point of understanding 'trends' in past incarnations).

Thelema without AC's Christian upbringing hangups and imbalances, I feel, would have been v.different! And we need to understand this to extract our own understanding of Thelema and constuct our own 'Magical Theory of the Universe.'

Oh yeah. I agree.
Thelema is (or should not be) set in stone.

And what Crowleys influences were or were not hardly matters.

But I would say that his earliest influences, in his childhood, were (as it is for most of us) his parents.
And as his parents main thing was their religion, that becomes fundamental to him as well. Even though he rejected it. Still that rejection is a vital part of his psyche.

And of course, pool (really? pool? not snooker or billiards?) cigars and women would have similarly been attractive to him as his parents would have hated it.

It's no big deal.
He was what he was.
The whole religion thing was just a part of the hand he was dealt, along with the money and the education.
They all contributed to making him what he was.

Lillie said:

along with the money and the education.
They all contributed to making him what he was.

Click to expand...

Oh YEAH! Ever tried to follow one of those magick scripts? Stick a few jewels on here and there, gold this and silver that. Chuck in an Abramelin retreat (oh, by the way you'll need a servent to wash and cook for you and stop you being disturbed).

Off for a quick trip to Mexico to check out those magic mushroom then back to Egypt before Easter.

Need a special magical robe made? Oh I have a 'lady' that does those sort of things.

The only 'disaster' about the experimental Thelemic Corfu commune is that by then things started to get a little more 'real' for Uncle Al. - welcome to the real world - where most of the rest of us live!

Too right.

But one of his greatest talents always seemed to be getting someone else to pay for his extravagent lifestyle.

Lucky sod.
I wish I knew how he did it.

Would anyone like to buy me two cases of champagne and a great big emerald for the top of my magic staff?
Oh yeah, and a bag of drugs. A big one, please.
And a goat.
And a cat, but I'm afraid the cat will need replacing, soon.

I promise I'll seduce you, tell you the secrets of the universe, and leave you when you're broke.

Any takers?

Serious applicants need only reply eh?

Serious and rich!

I know a person who was actually quite high up and influential in the OTO who has done exactly that with his life. He was born to money and lost it all, and is good at seducing others and getting them to pay for him.

Goddamit.

Why do other people get all the good breaks?

That was the life I wanted.

Wouldn't it just be so great to blow millions on hard drugs and high living?

Champagne and a Brompton Cocktail, Jeeves.

Yes, Mi Lady.

Can I book that for my next life?

I was going to be a crow, but I might be a rich degenerate instead.

Diary of a Drug Fiend.

Alright Lillie, I'll take you up on it. As long as you dont mind me chasing you around the castle grounds with a shotgun while I'm off my face on cocaine psychosis.