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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