To begin with, and even his students would agree, Crowley was a pompous asshole. He wanted attention and his arrogance was shown in every which way possible. Ethnically Indian, Crowley would study esoteric works of the East, and on the same coin, talk significant shit about "Hindoos" for not being able to recognize the import of their own philosophies. Given the significance of Crowley's work, I simply ignored his melodramatic personality to pierce into deeper wisdom. One that I recognize now as a blend of esoteric Hermetic (Egyptian), Qabalist (Jewish), and Eastern mysticism. It is only in studying these different topics does Crowley's work begin to make sense, where he is known to write in a sexually-poetic cryptic fashion. Nonetheless, I too recently have felt the qualms that Crowley has felt when looking at the masses and thinking, "if you only understood the symbolism behind your rituals".
Now, I'm not defending Crowley's conduct. He may have committed heinous acts that I cannot presently understand or accept, and many stories may be false, but I hold high respect for any individual who goes against the collective-norm in search of Truth. Unlike many individuals that I've found in my pursuit, who seem to learn very little but act like a master, Crowley dived into it all and let the world know that "there are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in our philosophies". Yes he wanted to keep inflating his ego, but by far, Crowley was a sincere seeker of wisdom as shown through his efforts and encrypted in his writings. In contrast, I feel that sincerity among spiritual adepts is hard to find, where ego/power is what is sought after, not wisdom.
In a spiritual secret society, the primary relationship one is forming is with one's own Higher Self. -James Wasserman, The Mystery Traditions Crowley's axiom is often stated with that one line shown in the preceding paragraph. However, that statement is really two lines, which the anti-Occultists completely ignore. The second line is "Love Is The Law Love Under Will". Another words, Love and Will are intertwined. If one is acting (will) completely out of love, then where does evil fit? Crowley's axiom is essentially the meeting of the divine masculine (Will) with the divine feminine (Love), recognized by those with eyes to see and ears to hear. To conclude, I don't accept everything Crowley says and does, and only take what resonates with me. However, I find that as I age in growth, Crowley makes even more sense. I now attempt to look beyond a "teachers" ego-identity and look at the information, for the information is the real Gu-Ru (the destroyer of Ignorance) not the individual ego-identity vehicle giving the information that we often end up praising. I take what resonates and leave what doesn't. With Crowley, he's been a big aspect of my own growth and I have to recognize the catalyst he has been for my own spirituality. Needless to say, spending a few hours with the works of Crowley has been more enlightening and satisfying than thirteen (13) years (including Kindergarten) of Christian education, which I found the followers to be just as pompous and arrogant as Crowley, but simple-minded. Nonetheless, I know my path. Like Crowley, I am here to seek wisdom (Sophia), not follow blind-faith.
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AuthorOverly educated and continuously exploring and revealing more behind the veil. "It cannot be too highly emphasized that the mystic swims in the same waters in which the psychotic drowns."
-James Wasserman, The Mystery Traditions Archives
August 2019
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