A Brief Introduction

Hi!  I'm Brian Northmore.  Despite the fact that I have tried to explain to my wife that I cannot possibly be a reincarnation of Aleister because I was born in the year BEFORE he died, she remains unconvinced!  So, welcome to my site dedicated solely to the life and works of probably the greatest magician of the 20th century, Edward Alexander Crowley, known to one and all as Aleister Crowley, The Beast 666.  You might be interested to know that you are visitor number     since the site was originally uploaded to my server in April 2008.  Although it may seem at first glance that it does not attract many visitors, perhaps I should explain that it does have a disadvantage in the fact that a search on either 'to mega therion' or 'tomegatherion' tends to display details of the second album of a Swiss extreme metal band going by the name of Celtic Frost.  In additon to this handicap, unlike the vast majority of other sites specialising in the occult (and probably millions relating to other themes), this counter is genuine, i.e. it started at zero and registers only once per unique IP address as opposed to once (or however many times it has been set to increment) for every visit.  I do like to know how many individuals have visited my site, and the only way to get this information is to set the counter accordingly.

If you are a regular visitor you will certainly have noticed how the site has grown since it was originally uploaded, and, as time constraints permit (work really does interfere with leisure time), it will be developed further and eventually (hopefully) become the best site on the internet covering all aspects of this enigmatic character.  From what I have seen, it can't be far off that now.  As a result, it could be worth your while to Bookmark this site if you wish to see these further developments!

Should you be unable to find whatever you might be looking for, I have incorporated a comprehensive Site Search engine dedicated to this site only.  If after having used the search facilty you still cannot find anything relating to your keyword(s) please Contact Me.  It is probably worth mentioning that each highlighted link within the pages on this site perform one of three functions:

1. Clicking on it takes you to a description of the highlighted word in the Glossary .........., or
2. hovering over it displays further details relating to the higlighted word .........., or
3. clicking on it takes you to a completely new page relating to the highlighted word (in some cases this may be one of the main menu items).

For example, several paragraphs further down on this page you will see four highlighted links within that paragraph, these being Magus, publications, The Book of the Law and Thelema.  Of these, two are links to main menu items (publications and Thelema), one (Magus) takes you to the Glossary, while the other (The Book of the Law) will take you to a new page.  On the home page, there is no example of a link displaying further details relating to a highlighted word, so I have created one to give you an example of how it works.  Hover HERE for the example.

Aleister Crowley, like so many of the world's other outstanding men who preceded him, was definitely a man born before his time.  He was also a man who did not suffer fools gladly living in Victorian and Georgian societies that could neither understand him nor even begin to appreciate his true genius.  His extensive writings so shocked the vast majority of the influential people of the time that he was most likely robbed of the praise that many of them so richly deserved.  Fortunately the world today is a much more enlightened place, and even more fortunately for those of us still living in it, his publications live on.  To see a list of these publications, in particular those relating to the Astrum Argentum AA, the organisation he formed with George Cecil Jones after the collapse of the Golden Dawn, click HERE.  Crowley only ever referred to his organisation as the AA.  What the letters actually stood for was supposedly known by members only.  Israel Regardie, his one-time secretary, in Gems from the Equinox suggests it should be Astrum Argentinum, while others call it Argenteum Astrum, Arcanum Arcanorum, Argentinum Astrum, Argentinium Astrum and Astron Argon, although C.R. Cammell in his biography Aleister Crowley The Black Magician tells us it is Atlantean Adepts.  However, the concensus of opinion seems to be Astrum Argentum, which is the name I am using throughout this site.  Liber LXI vel Causae is Crowley’s own account of the G.D., its breakup and how the AA came to be formed.

The name Aleister Crowley still instils revulsion and horror in the hearts and minds of many, although these tend to be uninformed bigots who know nothing whatsoever of the man except what they have been told by other uninformed bigots.  He gained much notoriety during and after his time on this earth, and was (in)famously dubbed The Wickedest Man in the World by the magazine John Bull, a title of which he was indubitably proud.  The same magazine ran headlines such as 'THE KING OF DEPRAVITY', 'A HUMAN BEAST' and 'A MAN WE'D LIKE TO HANG' after the scandal concerning the Abbey of Thelema.  Before you judge Crowley, I feel this snippet of information is of vital importance to balance what has been written about him since his death.  Israel Regardie in his Introduction to P.R. Stephenson’s The Legend of Aleister Crowley (1970) throws some interesting light on John Symonds (another biographer):

“Crowley died in 1947.  Why he appointed John Symonds as one of his literary executors is a mystery that will never be divined.  It is perhaps another example of Crowley’s poor judgement about people.  Symonds wrote a disgusting book over a decade ago entitled ‘The Great Beast’.  It is a malicious contemptible piece of work crammed with deliberate misinterpretation and ignorant understanding of what Crowley stood for. This wretched work was followed by another, ‘The Magick of Aleister Crowley’.  In this second book, Symonds has extrapolated from the diaries and other works by Crowley in such a contemptible manner as to make ‘the old man’ look like a complete idiot. Not content with this insolence, Symonds has steadfastly refused permission to me and several other writers to use any of Crowley’s published material.  Evidently he has assumed that his literary executorship, instituted on behalf of and for the Ordo Templi Orientis, should be for his own personal gain.”

His interests and accomplishments were wide-ranging.  Apart from being a Magus, he was a chess master, an expert mountaineer and rock climber, an adventurer, and a truly prolific poet and writer as can be seen from his comprehensive list of publications which I am still researching.  In addition to these talents, he wrote and spoke several languages.  He was also a painter, astrologer, drug experimenter, and social critic.  His experiments with hallucinatory drugs quite clearly developed his growing addiction for heroin, a habit from which he suffered for the remainder of his life.  He is perhaps best known today for his extensive occult writings, in particular The Book of the Law, which became the central sacred text of the religion and philosophy of Thelema.

I would certainly recommend that you read his autohagiography titled The Confessions of Aleister Crowley.  Apart from being a tremendous read, it may well alter any preconceived impression you have of the man, irrespective of what your thoughts were originally, saint or sinner.  The cost of Crowley's publications has rocketed since his death, so you may well consider the expense is not worth it.  In this case I would suggest you try the Public Library, which is from where I obtained and read my first copy many years ago, but you really should bear in mind that truly rare books can turn out to be a sound investment.  I consider myself very fortunate as I recently acquired a copy of the 1989 reprint (in outstanding condition for its age) on eBay for less than £23 including postage.  I was also very lucky when I picked up an original First Edition of the 1969 print in hardback, also relatively cheaply and in wonderful condition - see the image to the right.  This was the first complete airing of this great tome, because prior to this only the first two parts of the book had ever been published!  Amazon is another web site you can try with complete confidence.  Second-hand bookshops used to be an excellent source, but, unfortunately for you and I, the owners of such premises have now realised the potential value of these books.  Shortly before Crowley's death, John Symonds, co-editor of Confessions, paid a visit to Aleister Crowley and persuaded him to get the remainder of the manuscripts typed, which he did.  The Master sent a copy to Symonds, complaining about the forty pounds cost, and the rest is history - The Confessions of Aleister Crowley is the subsequent result.  It is unbelievable to think that this incredible book recording the life and works of the world's greatest magician could have been lost forever!

Should you find this site of interest and decide you wish to read and/or learn more (significantly much more) about magick and the occult in general, while at the same time demystifying the myths and taboos surrounding it, then why not visit my well-established partner site Links 2 the Occult?  This is probably/possibly the most informative site on the internet explaining all you need to know about the subject in layman's language.  It is highly recommended to anyone who wishes to broaden their outlook on magick and the occult!