Aleister Crowley
Biography of Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (10 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema and authored numerous influential esoteric works.
Early life and education
Crowley was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, into a strict Plymouth Brethren family. He attended Tonbridge School but left early, later studying at Trinity College, Cambridge. Even as a youth, he exhibited a fascination with mysticism and poetry.
Occult career and Thelema
- Joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1898
- Declared himself the prophet of a new spiritual law, Thelema, after claiming to receive a text called The Book of the Law in 1904
- Founded several magical orders, including the A∴A∴ and restructured the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)
Major works
- The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis, 1904)
- Magick in Theory and Practice (1929—1930)
- The Book of Lies (1912/1913)
- The Equinox (series of publications, 1909—1913)
“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”
Mountaineering and other pursuits
- Led the first expedition to climb K2 in 1902
- Published travelogues and essays on yoga, Eastern religions, and esotericism
- Composed poetry, plays, and novels reflecting his mystical philosophy
Personal life and legacy
Crowley’s flamboyant lifestyle, drug use, and open bisexuality made him a controversial figure—dubbed “the wickedest man in the world” by the British press. He spent his later years in Cefalu, Sicily, writing and painting. He died of chronic bronchitis in Hastings in 1947.
His ideas influenced modern occultism, the counterculture of the 1960s, and contemporary magic practitioners. Thelema remains an active spiritual movement worldwide.
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