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Conclusion

Marco Pasi
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
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Summary

One of the conclusions this study does not reach, and against which the reader must be warned, is the idea that Crowley's doctrine was inherently linked to an extreme right-wing or pro-Nazi political ideology. It is true that analogies and connections do exist between the doctrine of Thelema, as Crowley presented it, and certain elements of the radical politics of the interwar period. Nevertheless, the differences between the two are no less significant. First of all, Thelema presents itself as a universalistic message, despite its elitist component. It does not postulate intrinsic differences between people on the basis of their birth, sex or ethnicity. For all that Crowley may have had some idiosyncrasies in this regard, it appears that he more or less consistently endeavoured to keep these personal attitudes separated from the universal value of his religious message. It should therefore be emphasized that, even if it is not too difficult to find sexist or racist statements in Crowley's writings, there does not seem to be an intrinsic anti-Semitic or racist component in Thelema.

Certainly, there is a substantial difference between those who have discovered their True Will and those who remain “asleep”, not knowing their existential trajectory; but this is true for all doctrines of an initiatic or gnostic type, to which Thelema obviously appears to be related. Surely, the motto “Do what thou wilt” can be more easily interpreted by Thelemites today as the basis of an anarchist or libertarian doctrine than of a totalitarian one.

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Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2013

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

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