[jahsonic.com] - [Next >>]

Aleister Crowley (1875 - 1947)

Profile

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) was a British occultist, mystic, poet, mountain climber, sexual revolutionary, and social critic.

Born Edward Alexander Crowley on October 12, 1875 in Leamington, Warwickshire, England, he was the son of a Plymouth Brethren preacher and heir to a small fortune. Crowley spent most of his adult life seeking out, writing about, and teaching a syncretic form of mysticism. Aleister Crowley died in Hastings, England on December 1, 1947.

[...]

Crowley and Rock & Roll

A number of rock musicians have been fascinated by the persona and ideas of Aleister Crowley, and several have made reference to him or his work in their own. Perhaps the first were the Beatles, who placed Crowley among dozens of other influential figures on the cover of their concept album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Led Zeppelin member Jimmy Page owned Crowley's Loch Ness estate, Boleskine House, from 1971 through 1992. Numerous heavy metal rockers, including Ozzy Osbourne and Ministry, have referred to Crowley in lyrics, though their interpretations more often follow the tabloid "Satanist" image of Crowley and not his actual writings. German pop group Alphaville, noted for mystical references of various sorts, penned a song about Crowley's wife Rose, entitled "Red Rose", which makes coded reference to a number of Thelemic and otherwise occult ideas. British music group Current 93 have drawn extensive inspiration from Crowley's writings and works.

Crowley also tried to mint a number of new terms instead of the established ones he felt inadequate. For example he spelled magic "magick" and renamed theurgy "high magick" and thaumaturgy "low magick". Many of his terms are still used by some practitioners.

Crowley remains a popular icon of libertines and those interested in the theory and practice of magic. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

Donald Cammell [...]

your Amazon recommendations - Jahsonic - early adopter products

Managed Hosting by NG Communications