Path: shell.portal.com!svc.portal.com!sdd.hp.com!news1.best.com!news.exodus.net!imci4!newsfeed.internetmci.com!newsxfer2.itd.umich.edu!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!dispatch.news.demon.net!demon!mbha.demon.co.uk!sv From: sv@mbha.demon.co.uk (sv) Newsgroups: alt.magick Subject: Re: Crowley as a Christian Beast Date: Sun, 25 Feb 96 11:16:56 GMT Lines: 61 Message-ID: <825333416_OASIS_@mbha.demon.co.uk> Reply-To: sv X-NNTP-Posting-Host: mbha.demon.co.uk Organisation: mbha X-Newsreader: OASIS Daily Net (Atari) v1.35E In article Paul_Hume@f235.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Hume) said:- >One thought I'd toss in is that "John" who wrote Revelation perceived >an aspect of reality, call it the Beast, which he interpreted as a bad thing - >but the signatures of this aspect, the Therion symbolism and the >Solar power of the 666 numerology, are accurate. Crowley interpreted then in a >different light, however. >Another hypothesis - John foresaw the change of Aeons, but from his >perspective, these forces, individuals, and officers - Beast, Babalon, et al - >who arose to lead humanity into a new view of life seemed quite evil indeed - >as one would expect when the visionary has dedicated his own life to the >message, good in its time, which the figures in his vision are >superseding/amending/etc. at the end of its lifetime. >These are all personal musings I've come up with on the same theme. There are other conculsions that can be reached. One of these is that Crowley carefully crafted his symbolism to reflect similarities with other symbol systems. One of the problems with 'new' proposals like the precession of the aeons is that one cannot be sure to what extent the vision or perception of the proposal has been influenced by the teaching that the proposer has already been exposed to. This must undermine the 'newness' of the proposal. For what it is worth, there must be a considerable suspicion that Crowley could not contemplate that his life was not the herald of something momentous. Such was his psychology that he needed to think this to counteract the low esteem in which he was held with all except his own acolytes and followers. In order to do demonstrate this, he did two things; firstly he presented himself as the prophet or herald of the new age, thereby exalting himself to a status which befitted his self-image. So that the new age should be nothing as humdrum or conventional as the dawn of Aquarius which conventional astrology would propose (the timing of this in relation to his life would also have been inconvenient for him I imagine), it was also necessary to present a completely new system of cosmology in order to demonstrate the true cosmic significance of the fact of his birth. The man had serious problems. I am frankly sceptical of the usefulness of the whole thelemic proposal. I see nothing of benefit in it except perhaps the restating of the concept of the Higher Will in different terms, and even that had been done better before. I am not trying to demean Crowleyites or Thelemites, I would be happy to see any comment which might demonstrate something innately new or different about Crowley and his teaching. So far as I can see there is nothing new or particularly amazing in it. I think the whole OTO/93 thing has been expanded well beyond the limits of it's merit or potential. __ sv ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- olc -----------------------------------------------------------------------------