Is Aleister Crowley an Evil Man?

I've been reading some resources pertaining to my new Thoth Tarot and one article says that Aleister Crowley who created it was actually the most evil man in the world. Is it true? And why was he called so.

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Alta said:

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Hi Alta,

Thanks. Could you please give me the link?

Ranzel

When I first started studying Crowley, I was a little shaken by some of the things he did in the name of magic. I started this thread about it in fact, and that was after I read a full biography, not just a couple of little rumours.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=39685

Since then I've learnt a lot more, and realize how silly and shortsighted my thinking was. Now everything anyone asks if there is something evil about Crowley, I'm reminded of the Monty Python line "He's not the Messiah, he's just a very naughty boy"

I'd suggest if you really want to learn more about the man, and how that relates to the deck, get one of the biographies and have a read. He was a fascinating and complicated character, and posts on a forum like this are useful, but never complete.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=89950
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=89371
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=81792
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=72104
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=45081
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=56606

Of course if you want a simple answer, then YES. Crowley was the wickedest man in the world! If you asked him, I'm sure he'd agree, then possibly break into a fit of giggles and tell all his mates about how much he enjoyed the look of horror on your face

Many thanks, Similia, I'll try to read it.

Ranzel

Ranzel said:

I've been reading some resources pertaining to my new Thoth Tarot and one article says that Aleister Crowley who created it was actually the most evil man in the world. Is it true? And why was he called so.

Click to expand...

The negative press about Crowley being the most evil person in the world was started early in the 20th century by tabloid journalists who didn't like him, and has persisted to this day. Did he have faults? Of course. I wouldn't have trusted him any farther than I could throw him, but the idea that he is single-handedly responsible for all the world's ills is laughable.

Why does he get a bad wrap?

Because as misunderstood as Tarot and the occult are today, imagine how much more magnified that way during his lifetime. He was an open supporter and practitioner of occult studies and beliefs, as well as a known habitual drug user and bisexual. In his lifetime, such things were widely considered to be evil and even rooted in the Devil himself.

Crowley was an attention-whore. He enjoyed attention, and I really don't think it mattered to him whether it was negative attention or positive attention; as long as it was attention, he was happy. When people began calling him evil and a product of Satanic influence, he lived it up.

He was a wicked man who did wicked things in the name of magic, but whether or not he was evil depends on your personal definition of evil. He's clearly controversial. Personally, I don't find him to be anywhere near as evil as, say, Hitler was, but again, it all comes back to what you define as evil.

Well, yah, Kircher Tree has also PM me about Crowley's brutality towards animals and humans. Very heartbreaking for me.

So, I'm afraid to ask this but is the Thoth Tarot deck a reflection of his inhumane personality?

Ranzel

Hard to reconcile someone who in their youth brutally and dispassionately killed a cat, with someone whose stated life mission was the spiritual emancipation of our entire race isn't it? The Thoth deck is an expression of Thelema and magick. I'd say it falls in the category of emancipation and not brutality.

I'm not suggesting Crowley was any kind of saint. He was frequently a right ******** and there are many things about him I find repugnant. There are a great many people who would have been better off not ever having met him. Then again, there are a great many who are better off for the work he left behind. He left copious records of his thoughts and deeds, and you can pick any few examples and make whatever argument you please from it.

Read it for yourself Ranzel, and read it in detail. Then decide for yourself. If the Thoth's not for you, then no one thinks any less of you. (Send it to me, I've always room for a spare ) Frankly there are decks I find discomforting and would not use. But do find out for yourself first.

I think the deck is much like the man. Complicated and interesting to study, but not something I'd want to sleep with

To me, if he were around today, nobody would even notice him. He just isn't that shocking compared to a lot of the freaks we've got these days.