Why Does everyone think Crowley was a Satanist

O.K. Occult 101: Crystals,mirrors,tarot cards ect. are used for skrying into invisible realms.Were on the outside looking in.Ouija boards and angelic tablets summon entities directly into our world.An energy is in direct contact with our consciousness.Crowley saw ouija boards and angelic tablets as operating on the same principle and experimented with it.The Book mentioned in the previous post details Crowleys writings about this relationship. I mentioned the book because Ravenest showed an interest.My original post about Dee and Kelly may have been a bit confusing to you.The herb I've been smoking has really been giving me a head ache latley.

tantricknite said:

O.K. Occult 101: Crystals,mirrors,tarot cards ect. are used for skrying into invisible realms.Were on the outside looking in.Ouija boards and angelic tablets summon entities directly into our world.An energy is in direct contact with our consciousness.Crowley saw ouija boards and angelic tablets as operating on the same principle and experimented with it.The Book mentioned in the previous post details Crowleys writings about this relationship. I mentioned the book because Ravenest showed an interest.My original post about Dee and Kelly may have been a bit confusing to you.The herb I've been smoking has really been giving me a head ache latley.

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Nice brief explanation... thanks.

Sorry about your headache.

Mac22

I find this post rather offensive, and as a Satanist (of the actual, devil-worshipping sort), I feel the need to defend our position.

Satanic philosophy and Thelema are extremely similar, or even exactly the same, depending on which Satanic group's theology you're going by. The connection is so strong that many of us are even Thelemites. The ideas behind Crowley's magical systems, unlike those of many Wiccan and neopagan ones, perfectly complement our philosophy and clearly come from the same Left-Hand Path foundation. While this doesn't make Crowley a Satanist as such, it DOES make him someone who believed and practiced exactly, or almost exactly, as we do, and so he is an important figure in our tradition.

Now, if there's a group out there claiming he was definitely a Satanist, I can tell you why they say this: Crowley wrote a lot of very Satanic things, from both a philosophical and aesthetic standpoint. For this reason - and that a lot of Crowley's spiritual experiences match our own - a lot of us feel that Crowley was a closet Satanist. He may very well have been, because people were still being imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain during his lifetime, and if he declared his Satanism openly rather than just using the symbols, he'd be in a world of trouble. This is certainly a possibility; however, we can't retroactively claim Crowley as a definite Satanist if he didn't call himself one.

That's basically why we Satanists have such a fondness for Aleister Crowley and some would argue he was a closet one himself.

Do you worship satan?

Or are you going to tell me (as others have dne before) that satanists do not worship satan, and the worship of satan is not indicative of actually being a satanist.

Cos I find that confusing.

Either satanists should worship satan, or they should find a new name for themselves.

Ah ha. Thanks, Goetian. What you say makes sense to me.

Lillie said:

Do you worship satan?

Or are you going to tell me (as others have dne before) that satanists do not worship satan, and the worship of satan is not indicative of actually being a satanist.

Cos I find that confusing.

Either satanists should worship satan, or they should find a new name for themselves.

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Yes, I do, and I specified "of the actual, devil-worshipping sort" in my last post to distinguish myself from the people you mentioned who call themselves Satanists and don't actually worship Satan.

I completely and totally agree with you that anyone who doesn't worship Satan and calls themselves a Satanist needs to find a new name, and I rant about this ALL THE TIME. Those people are simply atheists (by their own admission) who admire the figure of Satan as one would a character in a story, without actually believing in his existence. That no more makes them Satanists than atheists who admire the teachings of Christ are Christians.

Before anyone asks, though, even people who actually DO worship Satan don't go around killing people and sacrificing babies and all that. No one does those things, except lunatics, and they can be of any religion or none. Satanists see Satan as a Promethean sort of hero, fighting for free will and humanism in the face of oppressive, dogmatic religion.

Cheers.

Yup. I don't understand how Satanists can not worship satan.
Surely it's in the job description.

Anyhow, I was just curious as to wether 'devil worshipping' was to be taken literally or not.

Good on you for standing up and saying what you believe.

It's all part of the balance.

Thank you Goetian for your honesty and explaining how you have cut your path.

I admit that my visions can never mean to other men as much as they do to me. I do not regret this. All I ask is that my results should convince seekers after truth that there is beyond doubt something worth while seeking, attainable by methods more or less like mine. I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics, or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle.... (Crowley)

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Whilst I do not agree with the philosophy or way of life that Crowley espoused; the emphasized individualism, and the uniqueness of each person's Will as the driving force of mankind- I agree that Crowley, within the constraints of the society he lived in was a Satanist and was viewed as such. Today he would not be so considered. He would not also have had to be a 'closet' anything today. Nor would he have become a Prophet as many think he is.
I personally appreciate your post. ~Rosanne

Rosanne said:

Thank you Goetian for your honesty and explaining how you have cut your path.

Whilst I do not agree with the philosophy or way of life that Crowley espoused; the emphasized individualism, and the uniqueness of each person's Will as the driving force of mankind- I agree that Crowley, within the constraints of the society he lived in was a Satanist and was viewed as such. Today he would not be so considered. He would not also have had to be a 'closet' anything today. Nor would he have become a Prophet as many think he is.
I personally appreciate your post. ~Rosanne

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Crowley was very much a product of his time and his huge ego.

mac22

I agree that if a person is going to take the identity of Satanist they should give homage to the Devil one way or another. Crowley certainly played the Devil's game whether or not he took the Devil's name. The thing is though, not all Satanists agree on what or who the Devil is. Some honor the familiar anthropomorphic Devil while others honor a more abstract and dark power that isn't as easy to define. The latter seems to be Crowley's approach.