Through the O.T.O., Thelemite groups were established in Britain, Australia, and North America. After spending time in Algeria, in 1912 he was initiated into another esoteric order, the German-based Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), rising to become the leader of its British branch, which he reformulated in accordance with his Thelemite beliefs.

In 1907, he and George Cecil Jones co-founded an esoteric order, the A∴A∴, through which they propagated Thelema. Announcing the start of the Æon of Horus, The Book declared that its followers should 'Do what thou wilt' and seek to align themselves with their True Will through the practice of magick.Īfter an unsuccessful attempt to climb Kanchenjunga and a visit to India and China, Crowley returned to Britain, where he attracted attention as a prolific author of poetry, novels, and occult literature. He married Rose Edith Kelly and in 1904 they honeymooned in Cairo, Egypt, where Crowley claimed to have been contacted by a supernatural entity named Aiwass, who provided him with The Book of the Law, a sacred text that served as the basis for Thelema. Moving to Boleskine House by Loch Ness in Scotland, he went mountaineering in Mexico with Oscar Eckenstein, before studying Hindu and Buddhist practices in India.

In 1898, he joined the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, where he was trained in ceremonial magic by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. Some biographers allege that here he was recruited into a British intelligence agency, further suggesting that he remained a spy throughout his life. He was educated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, where he focused his attentions on mountaineering and poetry, resulting in several publications. A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life.īorn to a wealthy family in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Crowley rejected his parents' fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith to pursue an interest in Western esotericism. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. William Bernard Crow (Mar Basilius Abdullah III) (Gnostic Lineage)Īleister Crowley ( / ˈ æ l eɪ s t ər ˈ k r oʊ l i/ born Edward Alexander Crowley 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. People consecrated to the episcopate by Aleister Crowley

Enochian chess pieces sons of horus