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2 - Magical politics

Marco Pasi
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
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Summary

… my curse is

No sooner in an iron word

I formulate my thought than I

Perceive the same to be absurd.

(Aleister Crowley, “The Sword of Song”)

Crowley was a wanderer not only in the physical sense, as a traveller and explorer, but also – perhaps above all – in the intellectual and spiritual sense. In him we find, for example, the influence of several Oriental mystical and religious traditions, particularly yoga and Buddhism. We find the influence of the Decadent movement and of positivism, or, more correctly, scientific naturalism, coming in both cases from his Cambridge days. Through the curriculum of the Golden Dawn, he familiarized himself with various currents or aspects of Western esotericism, including ceremonial magic, alchemy, astrology, Rosicrucianism, Kabbalah, the Tarot. All this contributed to forming a highly complex and perhaps not always consistent whole. We should also consider the fact that, although Crowley was generally interested in politics, this interest remained always subordinate to his magical and metaphysical preoccupations. He was undoubtedly a man who lived in the present and had his own opinions about the social and political situation of his era, but for the most part he could not separate these aspects from the transcendent framework postulated by his world view. Crowley always interpreted his ideas and behaviour in the light of metaphysical considerations.

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Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2013

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  • Magical politics
  • Marco Pasi, University of Amsterdam
  • Book: Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics
  • Online publication: 05 March 2014
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  • Magical politics
  • Marco Pasi, University of Amsterdam
  • Book: Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics
  • Online publication: 05 March 2014
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Magical politics
  • Marco Pasi, University of Amsterdam
  • Book: Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics
  • Online publication: 05 March 2014
Available formats
×