Newsflash - Crowley is not God

It's a bit like Lady Di being the Queen of hearts...

The H of J

Funny.

Old Al can be the Queen of my heart any day.

Did I ever tell you all, I named my dog after him? (dog = god in reverse)

Then I gave the mutt to my ultra religious parents.
So, for years they had a dog named after Crowley, and a cat named Leah after Leah Hersig.

I never told them. I said I liked the names.

Does your dog and cat have 5 = 6 names? No! hang on ..... let me guess ...

Sadly they are both dead now (the dog and cat, not my parents)

But that's animals for you, they just don't last...

Aeon418 said:

Crowley chose that motto himself, just like every single other Golden Dawn member did. No one was ever given a name.
The name is recorded in Crowley's personal diary. I'm sure you're going to say it must be false though. *sigh*

Crowley's 5 = 6 motto is revealed in Richard Kaczynski's, PERDURABO, chp.3, p.60. Unlike Regardie, Kaczynski had complete access to the Crowley archives. He didn't have to make guesses.

On page 173 of The Eye in the Triangle, Regardie plainly states that his guess at Crowley's motto is just an assumption. I suppose the author of A History of the Occult Tarot chose to ignore that part.
But still, when have facts ever got in the way of a good bit of axe grinding. lol

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No, I'm not going to say it must be false. What I am going to say that Crowley assuming the title of an annointed one is probably even more funny than being H of J. That is one heavy title and certainly worthy of a god or an angel. I was looking up some biblical references where god him/herself is referred to as the light of the world, morning star, etc.

Let's remember that after he assumed this VERY exalted title he bounced off to do battle with the London GD-er's on Mathers' behalf. Didn't do too well. Then he went on to lead the ill-fated Himilayan expedition. Wonder whether the members of his party appreciated his position as an annointed lightbringer.

wizzle said:

What I am going to say that Crowley assuming the title of an annointed one is probably even more funny than being H of J. That is one heavy title and certainly worthy of a god or an angel. I was looking up some biblical references where god him/herself is referred to as the light of the world, morning star, etc.

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It's no more heavy or funny than other Golden Dawn mottos.

Israel Regardie ~ Ad Majoram Adonai Gloriam
W.B. Yeats ~ Daemon est Deus Inversus
S.L.Mathers ~ Deo Duce Comite Ferro

wizzle said:

Let's remember that after he assumed this VERY exalted title he bounced off to do battle with the London GD-er's on Mathers' behalf. Didn't do too well. Then he went on to lead the ill-fated Himilayan expedition. Wonder whether the members of his party appreciated his position as an annointed lightbringer.

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What's the difference between a King, a President and a normal Joe in the street. At the end of the day nothing. They are all human.
Unlike a lot people Crowley realised that deity is within everyone, not outside in the shape of some mythical phantom in the sky. His taking of an exalted title is a recognition of this fact, just like all the other Golden Dawn members who reached the grade of Adeptus Minor.

God and Beast

One of the things (amongst many) I admire A.C. for is his constant reminder that we all are a manifestation of the spirit (highest aspirations and functions) but also an animal or beast. As a student of both Divinity and Antropology, I see this as a very healthy viewpoint.

A.C. was often attacked for both of these viewpoints (and probably for having both at the same time). Those that think him 'nasty' find it difficult to accept his divinity. Those that accepted (or were curious) about his divinity ofetn became shocked about his self revelations of his humanity and failings. In any case its all out in the open. A more popular viewpoint with me than the "guru' or teacher who masquerades as perfect or 'holier-than-thou', only to have his faults (and hence his hypocracies) revealed later.

I completely agree with you, ravenest.

In a way it's reminiscent of the time when the first Zen masters arrived in America. Many of their American pupils projected their own naive preconceptions of what a perfect spiritual master should be, onto those poor guys from Japan. Later on when many of these same masters became embroiled in sex scandals, became violent, or were found to have drinking problems, their pupils were absolutely shocked. But who's fault was that? It certainly wasn't the Zen masters fault. It was the pupils fault for having unrealistic expectations of perfection about another human being. All human beings are flawed, no matter how enlightened they may be. Crowley was no different.

hmmm, a bit like many relationships going around. We meet someone, we become enchanted, we expect them to fulfill our shortcomings (instead of realising thats our own task) and when we realise they too are not what we expected all sorts of silly difficulties arise.

One of AC's statements was that he assumed people already knew what he was on about and maybe he could be interesting by explaining it in a new and novel way. That assumes an equality. Also it explains his dislike of those who pretend different.

James Wasserman sums it nicely thus:

Reading through Crowley's diaries, I am struck by his self-effacing honesty. He did not engage in hypocritical fictions and myth-making regarding some sanctimonious, special holiness, or chosen status conveyed on his person by his spiritual office as Prophet. In fact, he insisted on minutely describing his reveling, even wallowing, in his humanity. He openly and honestly shares his failings, weakness, poverty, confusion, despair, and cravings. His approach is completely unique among spiritual teachers. His promise seems to be that as a demonstrated, self-proclaimed, fellow human being, he attained. And our common humanity is the seal of the availability of attainment to us all.

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yes, very nicely put!
Finally, a realistic "Lightbringer."