Aleister Crowley
97 quotes
Biography
Aleister Crowley was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He identified as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century, founding the religion of Thelema.
"I'm a poet, and I like my lies the way my mother used to make them."
"One would go mad if one took the Bible seriously; but to take it seriously one must be already mad."
"Science is always discovering odd scraps of magical wisdom and making a tremendous fuss about its cleverness."
"I've often thought that there isn't any "I"at all; that we are simply the means of expression of something else; that when we think we are ourselves, we are simply the victims of a delusion."
"Some men are born sodomites, some achieve sodomy, and some have sodomy thrust upon them..."
"Indubitably, Magick is one of the subtlest and most difficult of the sciences and arts. There is more opportunity for errors of comprehension, judgement and practice than in any other branch of physics."
"Further, an excess of legislation defeats its own ends. It makes the whole population criminals, and turns them all into police and police spies. The moral health of such a people is ruined for ever; only revolution can save it."
"I was in the death struggle with self: God and Satan fought for my soul those three long hours. God conquered — now I have only one doubt left — which of the twain was God?"
"I am certainly of opinion that genius can be acquired, or, in the alternative, that it is an almost universal possession. Its rarity may be attributed to the crushing influence of a corrupted society. It is rare to meet a youth without high ideals, generous thoughts, a sense of holiness, of his own importance, which, being interpreted, is, of his own identity with God. Three years in the world, and he is a bank clerk or even a government official. Only those who intuitively understand from early boyhood that they must stand out, and who have the incredible courage and endurance to do so in the face of all that tyranny, callousness, and the scorn of inferiors can do; only these arrive at manhood uncontaminated."
"Religion in life is either an amusement and a soporific, or a sham and a swindle."
"I am inclined to agree with the Head Master of Eton that pæderastic passions among schoolboys 'do no harm'; further, I think them the only redeeming feature of sexual life at public schools."
"There seems to be much misunderstanding about True Will ... The fact of a person being a gentleman is as much an ineluctable factor as any possible spiritual experience; in fact, it is possible, even probable, that a man may be misled by the enthusiasm of an illumination, and if he should find apparent conflict between his spiritual duty and his duty to honour, it is almost sure evidence that a trap is being laid for him and he should unhesitatingly stick to the course which ordinary decency indicates ... I wish to say definitely, once and for all, that people who do not understand and accept this position have utterly failed to grasp the fundamental principles of the Law of Thelema."
"The best models of English writing are Shakespeare and the Old Testament, especially the book of Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. ... In writing English the most important quality that you can acquire is style. It makes all the difference to anyone who reads what you write, whether you use the best phrases in the best way."
"Every man and every woman is a star."
"These are fools that men adore; both their Gods & their men are fools. This verse establishes uncompromisingly that all Gods — G capital, that is to say, 'true Gods' — and all men deified by legend or deceit — that is to say, false gods' — are fools. How come? It is a key. Distinction is clearly made between the two types: one are Gods; the other is men."
"I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy."
"Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and what shall be the sign? So she answered him, bending down, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my body."
"I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union."
"Love is the law, love under will."
"Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you!"
"I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky."
"The Manifestation of Nuit is at an end."
"I am alone. There is no God where I am."
"Now a curse upon Because and his kin!"
"May Because be accursed for ever!"