Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. With these words "To Mega Therion" (The Great Beast), as he called himself, Aleister Crowley started most of his writings. He claimed to be the Beast 666, otherwise known as "The Antichrist" and earned the title of "The Wickedest Man in the World." He revealed various forms of magic, witchcraft and a new religion called Thelema (Will in Greek). For some he is known as a Satanist, prophet, and poet; for others as a drug addict and a charlatan.
His father was a Christian pastor who young Aleister adored. Something broke inside him when he passed away. He didn't get along with his mother and as soon as he got the chance he left home to a University. During his school years he got acquired with magic and religious dogmas which turned him to the notorious figure he's known for today. It didn't take him long to see the hypocrisy of Christianity, from his point of view, and turn to the occult. He came to the conclusion that in order for the world to achieve happiness the old taboos had to be smashed and a new philosophy should arise. The motto that I mentioned in the beginning became his battle cry.
He traveled all over the world, climbed few of the highest mountains in various exhibitions and managed to get banned from Italy and his own country, England. He was also accused for the death of one of his disciples when after a goat-sacrifice he made him drink the blood of the animal. In the following days the disciple died. Post mortem showed that the cause of death wasn't by blood consumption but malaria. He was also held responsible for the death of a fellow climber at one of the exhibitions; no charges were brought against him though because the witnesses weren't sure what had exactly occurred. The most bizarre story surrounding his name was two days after his death when his doctor was found dead as well. Aleister Crowley had asthma; for health reasons he was subscribed quite often to a heroin treatment. His doctor refused to give him the last dose as part of a rehabilitation therapy, which is believed by many that it cost his life. Close friends and people associated with him were also discovered dead shortly after by unknown causes. Critical thinking will lead all this to simple coincidences or an over exaggeration to obscure even more the name of Aleister Crowley.
His books are based on Ceremonial Magic and the philosophy is very close to Nietzsche. He also wrote few novels of which two are mostly known and popular, Diary of a Drug Fiend and Moonchild. Both books are associated with magic and will Power. Many musicians from Ozzy Osbourne to Celtic Frost have written songs and many others have paid tribute to this man, unfortunately not having the slightest idea of what he was representing. Another notorious figure, Anton Lavey, founder of the Church of Satan, mentioned Aleister Crowley occasionally in his books.
Aleister Crowley took his teachings to such an extreme level as to claim that he was in direct communication with a spirit that he believed to be a messenger from Satan; even though he didn't put it clearly in these words. He proclaimed a new Aeon and a better life which will come after a terrible devastation. Six months after his infamous book, "The book of the Law", was republished the Second World War begun. His last words before he passed away were "I am perplexed."
Magic wands, pentagrams, hexagrams, ritual robes, cap, swords, recitations and invocations were only few of his main religious instruments and techniques to summon deities. His philosophy and his way of presenting his believes weren't much different than any other religion. There's something very similar within all the religions that are out there; they all do seem alike. Christians and Muslims pray asking for health, better life, and spiritual gratification. Aleister Crowley's magic, which is inspired by King Solomon and the Necronomicon, doesn't ask for favors or mercy; instead, it commands spirits to do the magician's will. In an endeavor to define religion it is necessary to say that it's a world of symbols and a way of following ceremonial patterns in a quest of spiritual fulfillment. Aleister Crowley used symbols and various systems to satisfy his thirst of curiosity.
Before Christianity there was Judaism, before Judaism there were the Canaanites and so on. Before Aleister Crowley there were the Sumerians who their geographical base, if they had survived, would have been around Kuwait; not to say that the current residents of that area have anything in common or maybe they are even aware of the Sumerians. Aleister Crowley based his philosophy on that religion but instead of hiding it, like many other religions, he openly admitted the fact that he wasn't the founder of a particular religion but a messenger who had the knowledge of uncovering sacred doctrines of forgotten times.
Aleister Crowley took his first wife for honeymoon to Egypt. As in many religions, the prophet, just as Moses or John, goes into a trance and he either sees the end of the world or he receives instructions that he is responsible to pass on. Aleister Crowley got a taste of what was coming to him during the honeymoon. When practicing astral meditation with his wife she went into a trance and said things that didn't make any sense, such as "It's all about the child" and "They're waiting for you." The following days The Book of the Law was dictated to him. A voice recited the verses but there was no one in the room. The voice identified itself as Aiwazz and kept narrating. Aleister Crowley tried hard to resist writing what was being dictated to him but in vain. When they returned from the honeymoon he and his wife went to an art museum where she recognized the vision she had when she was in trance at Cairo. The picture was of the crow looking Egyptian God Horus. In Egyptian religion there is a myth about Osiris (Horus's father) being murdered by his brother, Seth. Horus avenges his father's death and he becomes the new king over Egypt. Having that in mind, Aleister Crowley saw it as the sign of the new Aeon. He called Christianity the Aeon of the Dying God (representing Osiris) and he proclaimed the Aeon of Horus.
Just like other religions have done for centuries, he needed to have a temple to mark a beginning. The name of his movement was OTO (Order Templi Orientis). The OTO is still active and distributing material about Kabala and other various subjects regarding the occult. The OTO's motto states "The method of science, the aim of religion." This is another twisted fact about Aleister Crowley which confuses things even more. Was Aleister Crowley a magician or a religious person at all? Could he been just a misunderstood fellow who had a deep understanding, first of himself as a human being and then of human nature and way of thinking? Just as the rest of the enlightened individuals such as Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha etc?
In Ancient Greece at Delphi, the prophet, who was a female, was going into trance, speaking on the behalf of the Gods and predicting the future. Greek anthropologists believe that the priestess had eaten fruits which were believed to cause hallucinations. Aleister Crowley was known as a person encouraging drug use in some magical ceremonies. But is there, regardless if we agree or disagree with the method, a truth to it? Can the drugs bring a person to a higher level of perceiving and perhaps uncovering things which can't be noticed sober? If we substitute the effect of the drug with faith can we justify the believer's persistence on a specific religion? Jesus said "Amen," Mohamed said "Allah knows best," Buddha said "Everything is sorrow." Aleister Crowley simply stated Love is the law, love under will.