Greg Stanton
Sorry, I assumed everyone knew that I WAS giving my opinion.
I didn't mean to start a flame war, and I'm not going to respond to any of the assaults on my character -- so if you feel the urge to call me more names, I recommend you re-read the forum rules, "Respect our Members". Enough said.
Many years ago, in my OTO days, I attended a screening at a man's house -- he'd made a few films back in the '50s, and had quite a bit of knowledge about Crowley as well as a staggering amount of memorabilia. This included letters (a number of them were exchanges between Crowley and Victor Neuburg), photos, first editions, films, etc. He told me about the animal sacrifices performed at the Abbey of Thelema. He was not there, but had gathered from his research that a number of sacrifices were performed there and that the place was "awash in blood" (exact words). He showed me 5-6 photographs of Crowley killing a cat. It was, literally, gutted alive.
I have never seen these photographs reproduced anywhere, but I know what I saw with my own eyes, and it sickened me. This is when I started questioning my "magickal" (as opposed to magical) pursuits.
It doesn't matter whether this man sacrificed many, or "only a cat and a goat." Any person that willfully causes a creature to suffer needlessly is monstrous. So, in my mind, in my opinion, knowing what I do about Crowley, he cannot be appreciated. Or perhaps he can only be appreciated by others like himself.
Regarding the books, "Magick Without Tears" is his most practical endeavor (though I disagree with much of what he says). 777 is useful if you find Kabbalah/correspondences useful -- I don't -- though "The Complete Magician's Tables" by Stephen Skinner has now surpassed this volume in quality. 777 did not contain any original research by Crowley, but was part of the stash of manuscripts he stole from Mathers (which also included the translation of the first book of the Goetia, which is now correctly attributed to Mathers). It is interesting to compare "The Book of Thoth", "Liber T" and "The Magical Images of the Decans" to see the extent of Crowley's indiscretions -- he never questioned the absurdity of aligning the pips 2-10 with the astrological decans in Picatrix (which pre-dated Tarot by centuries -- there is no relation between the two). The rest of what I have read from the man is more concerned with impressing rather than teaching the reader. Very little of what Crowley wrote is practical information. You have to do a lot of work for little reward. Again, this is my opinion after 20 years of study.
And yes, in my opinion, Crowley was a failure. A magician, by definition, is in control of his life, his body, and his environment. Crowley couldn't control any of these. He was addicted to drugs and had to beg money from his friends and followers. His head was in the clouds while his world fell apart. Which brings me to my next point...
After 20 years of immersion in the current standard of Western Occultism, I had little to show for my efforts -- except a storehouse of esoteric knowledge, some cool tools, an awesome library, and a collection of interesting friends (most of whom, like myself, have moved on in our thinking). I was living in a fantasy world, deluding myself that this type of "Magick" was effective and giving me what I wanted. In all honesty, I was getting more tangible results from Hoodoo spells than from my GD studies.
Ultimately, I ditched everything (except my friends). I returned to the actual texts (Agrippa, deAlbano, Bruno, etc) to see where I (actually Crowley and the Golden Dawn) had gone wrong. Authentic magical practice (without the k) has very little to do with how the Art is practiced today. No, I don't perform the LBRP anymore, nor do I invoke the Watchtowers -- these are futile gestures invented by Westcott/Mathers to satisfy the need to deliver "secrets" to their subscribers. All the shortcuts we've been taught are wrong. The Circle of Art must be physically drawn on the ground, as given in the authentic souces, not drawn in the air as you have been led to believe. Talismans must be forged out of metal, not written on paper. The Abramelin operation actually takes 18 months, not 6 (please trouble yourself to read the original German MS, not the incomplete French MS that Mathers translated and which contains many errors -- and no I haven't done it yet). I could go on, but I won't. In other words, you can trash just about every book in your library that has that little half moon on the spine (though I think the Tyson Agrippa is excellent).
I'm out of words, for now. Sorry if I offended anyone with my opinions, but they are mine and I stick by them. If you find any of my facts to be off base, please correct me -- the truth is more important than my ego. Thank you.
I didn't mean to start a flame war, and I'm not going to respond to any of the assaults on my character -- so if you feel the urge to call me more names, I recommend you re-read the forum rules, "Respect our Members". Enough said.
Many years ago, in my OTO days, I attended a screening at a man's house -- he'd made a few films back in the '50s, and had quite a bit of knowledge about Crowley as well as a staggering amount of memorabilia. This included letters (a number of them were exchanges between Crowley and Victor Neuburg), photos, first editions, films, etc. He told me about the animal sacrifices performed at the Abbey of Thelema. He was not there, but had gathered from his research that a number of sacrifices were performed there and that the place was "awash in blood" (exact words). He showed me 5-6 photographs of Crowley killing a cat. It was, literally, gutted alive.
I have never seen these photographs reproduced anywhere, but I know what I saw with my own eyes, and it sickened me. This is when I started questioning my "magickal" (as opposed to magical) pursuits.
It doesn't matter whether this man sacrificed many, or "only a cat and a goat." Any person that willfully causes a creature to suffer needlessly is monstrous. So, in my mind, in my opinion, knowing what I do about Crowley, he cannot be appreciated. Or perhaps he can only be appreciated by others like himself.
Regarding the books, "Magick Without Tears" is his most practical endeavor (though I disagree with much of what he says). 777 is useful if you find Kabbalah/correspondences useful -- I don't -- though "The Complete Magician's Tables" by Stephen Skinner has now surpassed this volume in quality. 777 did not contain any original research by Crowley, but was part of the stash of manuscripts he stole from Mathers (which also included the translation of the first book of the Goetia, which is now correctly attributed to Mathers). It is interesting to compare "The Book of Thoth", "Liber T" and "The Magical Images of the Decans" to see the extent of Crowley's indiscretions -- he never questioned the absurdity of aligning the pips 2-10 with the astrological decans in Picatrix (which pre-dated Tarot by centuries -- there is no relation between the two). The rest of what I have read from the man is more concerned with impressing rather than teaching the reader. Very little of what Crowley wrote is practical information. You have to do a lot of work for little reward. Again, this is my opinion after 20 years of study.
And yes, in my opinion, Crowley was a failure. A magician, by definition, is in control of his life, his body, and his environment. Crowley couldn't control any of these. He was addicted to drugs and had to beg money from his friends and followers. His head was in the clouds while his world fell apart. Which brings me to my next point...
After 20 years of immersion in the current standard of Western Occultism, I had little to show for my efforts -- except a storehouse of esoteric knowledge, some cool tools, an awesome library, and a collection of interesting friends (most of whom, like myself, have moved on in our thinking). I was living in a fantasy world, deluding myself that this type of "Magick" was effective and giving me what I wanted. In all honesty, I was getting more tangible results from Hoodoo spells than from my GD studies.
Ultimately, I ditched everything (except my friends). I returned to the actual texts (Agrippa, deAlbano, Bruno, etc) to see where I (actually Crowley and the Golden Dawn) had gone wrong. Authentic magical practice (without the k) has very little to do with how the Art is practiced today. No, I don't perform the LBRP anymore, nor do I invoke the Watchtowers -- these are futile gestures invented by Westcott/Mathers to satisfy the need to deliver "secrets" to their subscribers. All the shortcuts we've been taught are wrong. The Circle of Art must be physically drawn on the ground, as given in the authentic souces, not drawn in the air as you have been led to believe. Talismans must be forged out of metal, not written on paper. The Abramelin operation actually takes 18 months, not 6 (please trouble yourself to read the original German MS, not the incomplete French MS that Mathers translated and which contains many errors -- and no I haven't done it yet). I could go on, but I won't. In other words, you can trash just about every book in your library that has that little half moon on the spine (though I think the Tyson Agrippa is excellent).
I'm out of words, for now. Sorry if I offended anyone with my opinions, but they are mine and I stick by them. If you find any of my facts to be off base, please correct me -- the truth is more important than my ego. Thank you.