Stuff You Missed in History Class

SYMHC Classics: Aleister Crowley (Original Air Date: October 4, 2021 / Rebroadcast: October 25, 2025)

Hosts: Tracy B. Wilson and Holly Frey
Theme: The controversial life, influence, and enduring legacy of Aleister Crowley—occultist, writer, “The Beast 666,” and cultural lightning rod.

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the life and mythos of Aleister Crowley, a figure often associated with the occult, ritual magic, and cultural rebellion. Tracy and Holly provide a nuanced look at Crowley’s upbringing, spiritual journey, scandals, creative output, and the lasting impact of his ideas on everything from modern religious movements to pop culture. The discussion is rich with details and places Crowley in the context of late Victorian and early modern esoteric revivals, while also not shying away from the wild (sometimes scandalous) stories that shaped—and often distorted—his reputation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Crowley’s Early Life and Religious Context

• Birth and Upbringing
  • Born Edward Alexander Crowley in England, 1875—the same year that French occultist Eliphas Levi died and the Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Blavatsky (06:00-06:35).
  • Raised in a strict Plymouth Brethren household during the height of the "Satanic Panic" (04:25).
• Impact of Religion on Young Crowley
  • Fascinated by biblical figures like "the Beast" and the imagery of Revelation (07:08).
  • Father’s death at age 11 was traumatic; Crowley rebelled against school, Christianity, and family expectations (07:29-08:03).

2. Education and First Steps into the Occult

• Cambridge Years
  • Entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1895; did not complete a degree.
    • Immersed himself in studies of medieval magic and Rosicrucian mysticism (08:03-09:05).
• Name Change
  • Adopted the name “Aleister” after Shelley’s poem Alastor and the Gaelic Alexander (08:28).
• First Mystical Experiences
  • Crowley described his experiences as soul-altering, writing:

    “My animal nature stood rebuked and kept silent in the presence of the imminent divinity of the Holy Ghost...”
    —Aleister Crowley [11:06]

3. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

• Initiation and Progression
  • Joined 1898; quickly ascended through its esoteric ranks using the motto “Perdurabo” (“I will endure”) (12:17-13:37).
  • His rapid advancement caused friction with other members (14:19).
• Controversy and Schism
  • Crowley was controversially inducted into the Inner Order by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers in Paris after being blocked in London (19:18-19:49).
  • Dramatic showdown at the Isis-Urania temple (“Battle of Blyth Road”); Crowley was removed—possibly physically—by the likes of William Butler Yeats, who thought him “indescribably mad” (20:41-21:42).
    • Quote:

      “It is said that Samuel McGregor Mathers died in 1918 as a result of a magical duel with Aleister Crowley.”
      —Tracy quoting Richard Ellmann’s Partisan Review [22:15]

  • Ultimately expelled (or withdrew) from the Order; the group itself later dissolved (23:34).

4. Developing His Own Traditions: Ritual, Thelema, and Controversy

• Magical Experiments and Writings
  • Lived at Boleskine House on Loch Ness conducting rituals; attempted difficult Himalayan climbs including K2 (24:23-25:33).
• The Birth of Thelema
  • 1904: Key mystical experience in Cairo with wife Rose Edith Kelly, who, in trance, received “the Book of the Law” through the entity Aiwass (25:33-27:06).
    • Rose is the first “Scarlet Woman,” believed to channel higher powers (27:06).
    • The book became the core of Thelema:

      “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” [28:24]

• Embracing the ‘Beast’
  • Began identifying with the number 666 and biblical Beasts, eventually penning additional “holy books” under spirit influence [29:09].

5. Sex Magic, Rituals, and Ongoing Scandal

• Argentum Astrum (AA) and Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO)

  • Founded AA in 1909; published The Equinox (30:03).
  • Inducted into OTO; instrumental in its development of sexual magic rites, authoring the Gnostic Mass [31:13].
    • Quote:

      “When you have proved that God is merely a name for the sex instinct, it appears to me not far to the perception that the sex instinct is God.”
      —Crowley [31:13]

• Personal Life and Substance Use

  • Maintained open relationships of varying gender and identity; used drugs as part of rituals (39:06-39:45).
  • Wrote Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922), Magick in Theory and Practice (1929), with “magick” intentionally spelled with a ‘k’ to distinguish his work (39:45-40:48).

6. Later Years, Spying, and Legacy

• World War I Era
  • Lived in the US, wrote pro-German/pro-Irish sentiment, claiming to be an undercover agent for the British Secret Service—though his true motivations remain disputed (35:44-37:21).
• Abbey of Thelema and Further Exile
  • Founded the Abbey of Thelema in Sicily (1920); expelled after the death of follower Raoul Loveday under mysterious circumstances (38:16-38:39).
• Final Years and Death
  • Broke, addicted, and largely obscure by the end, Crowley died in 1947 in a boarding house (42:24).
  • His notoriety revived during the 1960s counterculture, as his ideas resonated with movements of “free love,” drug use, and New Age spirituality (43:01-43:30).

7. Enduring Influence on Religion and Pop Culture

• Roots of Modern Witchcraft and Satanism
  • Influenced Gerald Gardner (Gardnerian Wicca) and Anton LaVey (modern Satanism), though Crowley was not a Satanist himself (44:25-44:45).
  • His “Baphomet” rituals and imagery were later adopted by Satanic groups [44:45].
• Scientology Links
  • Possible indirect influence on L. Ron Hubbard and the Babylon Working rituals with Jack Parsons; Crowley himself apparently disapproved (“I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these goats.” —Crowley, 46:31).
• Cultural References and Tributes
  • Fictionalized as cultists and villains (e.g., Somerset Maugham’s The Magician, Bond’s Blofeld).
  • Referenced by Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper cover), and David Bowie.
  • Inspiration for characters such as Crowley in Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens (47:40-48:32).
• Evolving Scholarship
  • Crowley’s life oscillates in interpretation between “egomaniacal charlatan” and profound occultist; recent scholarship seeks a more balanced context (48:32-end).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On otherworldly October themes:
  “Crowley does seem particularly suited for a more seasonal October episode, which on this show has become traditionally associated with things that are otherworldly in some way.”
  —Tracy [04:20]

• On mystical experience:
  “My animal nature stood rebuked and kept silent in the presence of the imminent divinity of the Holy Ghost...”
  —Aleister Crowley [11:06]

• On Golden Dawn controversy:
  “Yates described him as indescribably mad and also thought Crowley’s poetry... was terrible.”
  —Tracy [21:12]

• On Thelema’s central tenet:
  “Do what you will shall be the whole of the law.”
  —Crowley [28:24]

• On sex and the divine:
  “When you have proved that God is merely a name for the sex instinct, it appears to me not far to the perception that the sex instinct is God.”
  —Crowley [31:13]

• Crowley’s self-aware spelling:
  “I swore to rehabilitate magic, to identify it with my own career.”
  —Crowley, on “magick” [40:48]

• Crowley's dismissal of Parsons and Hubbard’s “Moonchild” efforts:
  “I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these goats.”
  —Crowley [46:31]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction and context: [02:25-05:54]
• Early life and education: [05:57-09:05]
• Cambridge and mystical awakening: [09:05-11:45]
• Golden Dawn involvement and schism: [12:17-23:34]
• Rise of Thelema: [25:33-29:09]
• Crowley’s occult movements and sex magic: [30:03-31:48]
• WWI, espionage rumors: [35:44-37:21]
• Abbey of Thelema, addiction, personal identity: [38:16-40:48]
• Death, rediscovery, and modern legacies: [42:24-47:40]
• Pop culture and modern influences: [47:40-48:32]

Final Thoughts

Tracy and Holly close the episode by reflecting on Crowley’s complicated legacy: once the “wickedest man in the world,” now a subject of both occult fascination and responsible academic study. Today, Crowley’s blend of libertinism, mysticism, and countercultural protest continues to echo in everything from neopaganism and Satanism to modern witchcraft and popular entertainment—his legend as strange and varied as the stories that once surrounded him.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking a comprehensive, lively review of Crowley and his continued influence on culture, magic, and myth.