Creepy Crowley

Aleister Crowley: Magick, Rock and Roll, and the Wickedest Man in the World
Gary Lachman
Tarcher, 2014
N0n-fiction 387 pages

In my youth I briefly dabbled in occult musings. I blame Hermann Hesse for introducing me to the god Abraxas in his book, “Demian”. On a visit to an occult bookstore I purchased, and subsequently read, Aleister Crowley’s novel, “Moonchild”. Hesse’s novel impressed me more favorably and I didn’t give Mr. Crowley much thought over the years.

Not until I encountered his name on a plaque along the shore in Cascais. His name was the only two words I understood on the plaque. All the other words were in Portuguese. I was intrigued. In 1930, Crowley faked his suicide in 1930 at the nearby Hell’s Mouth (Boca do Inferno) aided by the poet Fernando Pessoa.

The following day I visited the Quinta da Regaleira. The garden’s buildings were constructed between 1904 and 1910.

It is believed that Templar initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with candidates entering one of the Initiation Wells blindfolded. Holding a sword close to their heart, they would descend nine flights of stairs – a number that represents the nine founders of the Templar order.

Was it coincidence that I encountered Aleister Crowley a day prior to descending the Initiation Well? Do I detect Crowley’s influence? No. António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro who owned the well died in 1920, ten years before Crowley arrived in nearby Cascais.

Gary Lachman also encountered Crowley in his youth. His bandmates were also intrigued with occult and mystical topics, “ Debbie, the singer, was interested in UFOs, and after rehearsals she often consulted the I Ching about the next band move. Lachman subsequently quit Blondie and began writing full time.

Aleister Crowley is a prickly subject and the more I read about him the less I liked him. His titles, “Beast 666”, and “Wickedest man in the world” were self-conferred, as were some of the mystical degrees he claimed. Whether he was actually as wicked as he claimed to be can be debated. Sodomy is no longer illegal as it was during his day. But I draw the line at eating feces. It’s may not be wicked, but it’s certainly repellant.

Crowley began his magical career as an initiate in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. W. B. Yeats was also a member, though Crowley considered himself the greater poet.

Ultimately, Crowley’s thirst for power helped fuel the schisms which ended the Golden Dawn. In later years, Crowley created his own magical practices and beliefs. Who can say if those practices were effective, but Crowley did manage to cultivate many zealous followers and many hefty unpaid debts.

Lachman comments on Crowley’s driving principal:

To side with the devil for the sake of the spiritual seems odd. But Crowley’s spirituality is of the antinomian school; it embraces the idea that the spiritually awakened person is no longer subject to laws, is, indeed, “beyond good and evil.”

I consider this belief erroneous. Spiritually advanced people have no need to show that they are beyond conventional morality. Much of Crowley’s wickedness was showmanship and braggadocio. His accomplishments? Hard to evaluate. Yet he has not gone away. Many rock and rap performers have cultivated Crowleyisms, but that’s only natural. Showmanship and braggadocio are tools pop performers frequently wield.

A naughty child runs amok

Since beginning his second term, Donald Trump crossed the line into unacceptable legal and behavioral territory on multiple occasions. But his supporters weren’t watching that border. Instead they moved the line.

That has to stop. The line can’t move any further.

On January 18, Trump texted Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre:

“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”

Consider:

1. 1 Norway’s government does not select Nobel winners.
2. 2 Trump desires Greenland which belongs to Denmark, not Norway.
3. 3 Trump admits he wasn’t thinking solely about the good of the United States while coveting the Nobel Prize.

Trump’s thoughts were for himself. He thought of peace because he wanted a prize. He acted like a naughty child feigning goodness to avoid being put on Santa’s shit list. Just as the child becomes naughty again once Christmas passes, Trump feels no, “obligation to think purely of Peace.” after not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. These words alone reveal Trump’s character. A leader who puts his own interests before his country’s is unfit to lead. He’s crossed one line too many and now lawmakers need to restrain him from acting harmfully or remove him from office. So far, most members of the majority party have been unwilling to hold him accountable for his actions and international threats.

A few days later, Trump spoke about Greenland at Davos:

So, we want a piece of ice for world protection. And they won't give it. We've never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn't. So,they have a choice. You can say ‘yes ‘and we will be very appreciative, or you can say ‘no’ and we will remember. A strong and secure America means a strong NATO, and that's one reason why I'm working every day to ensure our military is very powerful.

He’s mistaken. Greenland was never ours to keep. The oil in Venezuela never belonged to us either, but Trump’s claiming that it did helped him justify illegal attacks on that country and its citizens. Some legal experts consider those attacks murder, and therefore the president is a murderer.

When NATO was formed in 1949 its mission was to protect the national sovereignty of its members. If one member country were attacked, other member countries would help defend it. The United States already has a military presence in Greenland and can enlarge that presence should need arise. We don’t need to own Greenland to defend it, nor do Greenlanders wish to be governed by the United States. Denmark, which owns Greenland, won’t sell it to us. Trump’s tough stance caused consternation among Davos meeting attendees and European leaders. By day’s end, Trump had backed off saying he’d achieved a concept of an agreement. But this didn’t erase the damage he’d done. European leaders mobilized both to oppose and mollify Trump. His position convinces many Europeans that their long-standing ally is no longer trustworthy.

But Trump hasn’t just damaged our international relations. Here in the USA, ICE agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Administration spokespeople and other ICE fans claimed that Good brought her death upon herself. After ICE killed Alex Pretti the administration was quick to label him a domestic terrorist, claiming the ICE agents who killed him were merely defending themselves. Camera and phone video show the administration’s story is false. As Chico Marx once said, “Well, who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” I believe my eyes.

Although over two dozen Republican law makers expressed their displeasure with ICE, far too few have done so. There are 218 Republicans in the House of Representatives alone. More need to speak up to offset President Trump’s bad behavior.

President Trump made 30,573 misleading or false statements during his first term the Washington Post reported. That’s a lot of lies. Since then, lying has gone viral. Many politicians lie frequently now. Lying in the service of power is replacing power in the service of the public good.

Recent journalism shows that Homeland Security uses neo-Nazi dog whistles to recruit ICE agents. Are we becoming a racist nation? Just the other day Donald Trump said that the upcoming mid-term election should be placed under federal control in at least 15 states. The Constitution allows the states primary authority in conducting elections, while Congress may make secondary modifications such as choosing a national election day for all states. The president has no authority here. But the Constitution hasn’t stopped Trump from usurping Congressional authority in other instances. Federalizing elections under Republican supervision is a sure fire way to rig them. It would invalidate the Constitution, just as invading Greenland would invalidate NATO. Does our nation no longer respect its agreements and laws?

I believe Donald Trump should either be restrained from acting outside norms or removed from office. This would be best for the country, but it is not an easy thing to do. It would require a change of heart from a majority of Republicans. They would need to realize that cooperation excels rivalry in solving problems, and this goes against their competitive nature.

It’s a shame our country has political parties at all, but the two who hold the majority have ceased to function cooperatively. Without cooperation little gets done as much gets destroyed. Something – an invasion from space – or something else needs to jar us into cooperating. What’s going on now isn’t working.