Aleister Crowley was an English mystic whose teachings were the foundation of the Thelema religion. He was often referred to as "the most evil man in the world."
Biography[]
While in Egypt, Crowley claimed to receive religious tenets from a higher power, incorporating them into the religion of Thelema. In the process, he supposedly restored knowledge of alchemy, an art lost to the centuries.[1]
Crowley also visited Tibet, becoming the first Westerner to study with the lamas.[1]
In 1923, Crowley published Moonchild in which two groups of magicians fought over an unborn child who was potentially the Antichrist. Crowley himself tried to summon the supposed Moonchild, to no success.[1]
After Jack Parsons became leader of the Pasadena Thelema lodge, Crowley sent him a letter concerning the "Hell Gate," one of seven such gates he believed to exist in the world. He encouraged Parsons to "make use of" this information.[1]
Crowley was a rampant drug user and died in 1944 at the age of 72.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Aleister Crowley (October 12, 1875 – December 1, 1947) was an English occultist and magician who founded Thelema, a religion he developed after supposedly being visited by an entity named Aiwass.
