AtDTDA: (8) 221 Agencies of the Angelic 1.
robinlandseadel at comcast.net
robinlandseadel at comcast.net
Mon May 7 09:28:50 CDT 2007
Before going any further, we slow down to get a closer look at this
strange, perhaps mystical, perhaps evil character Of Nicholas
Nookshaft/Aleister Crowley. Found this review of Lawrence Sutin's
DO WHAT THOU WILT, A Life of Aleister Crowley. This review, all
by itself, will give you more than a taste of what the "Great Beast"
is all about. Here are some notable excerpts:
Witnesses: Crowley trespassed in the Vault of
Christian Rosenkrantz - Golden Dawn won
damages and costs! Crowley blacklisted by the
Trades Protection Association for extremely bad
debts! 100 Rupees Reward for Information on
Mystery Calcutta Shooting! Crowley in 1910
injunction against Rosicrucian rivals! Crowley
refused to testify in 1911 Sodomite Libel Case!
Sinister Scandals of Aleister Crowley - Varsity
Lad's Death! A Cannibal at Large! A Bogus
Suicide! An Undischarged Bankrupt! Expelled
from Sicily! Deported from France as a Spy!
Crowley fined for feloniously receiving stolen
letters! Crowley sued Constable & Co in 1934
for libel and lost - notorious summing up -
On the screen a red-nosed and bewigged Mr.
Justice Swift purses his lips and shakes his jowls.
Swift: I have been over forty years engaged in the
administration of the Law . I thought I knew of
every conceivable form of wickedness...
wickedness... wicked...
The clip loops into jerks and stutters, then freezes.
The Witnesses continue to mouth noiselessly.
Crowley: The blaggard nobbled the jury. But outside t
he Old Bailey a young woman was so moved she
offered to bear me a magickal child. I availed myself
of the opportunity immediately and proceeded to -
Magister: Please assume a silent god-form, Mr. Crowley.
Mr Sutin, I must ask you to present your brief.
Sutin:
Your honour, I wish to establish certain key
concepts - that my client is not a crude Satanist
but a scientific illuminist, a dedicated explorer of
altered consciousness via his re-invention of
Western gnostic and qabalistic tradition, via his
exploration of Eastern mystical practice in the
field, via his pioneering experiments with
psychotropic drugs. My client has sought to
establish a magickal and libertarian religion,
the Law of Thelema, based on a central revelation
contained in a holy text, the Book of the Law.
Sutin: In his Autohagiography he tries to suggest
that the process of self-integration was
straighforward, a logical progression from his
discovery of magick at Cambridge to assuming
the role of Ipsissimus in 1920. But he has often
bluffed and bullied himself into god-hood to
conceal a profound abyss of self-doubt and
self-loathing. I can also show through close
examination of his writings and his actions
-in particular his relationship with Herbert
Pollitt and Victor Neuberg - that he was wary of
admitting his bisexuality, especially in a passive
role. He has also found it increasingly difficult to
reconcile his moments of visionary consciousness,
and the exalted status they appear to confer, with
all the chaos of his daily life and his apparent
inability to deal with mundane details of money
or the demands of ordinary relationships. Or
control his increasing intake of heroin.
Magister: We find it difficult to reconcile his
moments of visionary consciousness with
his anality.
Sutin: He appears to be telling a kind of truth.
Magister: Fascinating. Finally, Mr Sutin, can you
shed any new light on the matter of the Babalon
Working and Mr. Crowley's relationship with
Jack Parsons?
Sutin: Your honour, we can only speculate. I
have nothing more to add.
Magister: Then I will sum up. I have been
engaged in the study of Mr. Crowley for over
thirty years. I have read many accounts of his
life and work - Symonds, Cammell, Regardie,
Suster, Wilson, Jean Overton Fuller,D'Arch
Smith, the excellent Francis X. King, Booth,
Robertson et al. You have explored the
paradoxes of his career with great clarity
and balance. You have stared deep into the
Hole of the Beast, removed the encrustations
of myth, and allowed us to form an objective
judgement. Mr. Crowley, I sentence you to be
an icon of the New Aeon. What have you to say?
Crowley: Perdurabo.
Sutin: I advise you to accept the judgement,
Mr. Crowley. This is no time for cryptic mottoes...
Crowley: Perdurabo. "I will endure..."
http://www.culturecourt.com/Br.Paul/lit/CrowleyTrial.html
The "New Aeon" is the New Age, and the coming of the age of
Aquarius, the "carry water" half of the Buddhist creed. So remember,
as we wander through the halls of the Grand Cohen's headquarters
that we are also being given comment on their modern day
survivors and subsequent mutations. Pynchon's awareness of the
neo-pagan subculture extends well beyond a perusal of Margo
Adler's "Drawing Down the Moon". I'd say this is an inside job. . . .
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