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Comment by dmbche | Hacker News Reader

For anyone insterested in reading Crowley, I was told Liber four is the most straightforward writing of his.

His collection of poems "White Stains" is just amazing as well - mostly speaking about human secretions of all kinds and ingesting them.

Edit:"White Stains, a collection of Crowley's poetry praised by W.B. Yeats, published in paperback for the first time, has been called 'the filthiest book of verse ever written' and of the first edition of 100 numbered copies, 83 were pulped and burned by Her Majesty's Customs in 1924."

https://books.google.ca/books/about/White_Stains.html?id=b4N...

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Book 4 isn't a bad place, but Magick in Theory and Practice is more approachable as a first read. It was written as a series of letters to a female student, and Crowley's Victorian attitudes about the intellect of women made it so it was basically an ELI5.

I'll be sure to go and check that out!

Somewhat unrelated, I'm going through Liber Null, from Pter J Caroll and I find it pretty solid, did you ever read it? It's not Thelema but it's prett close.

Magick in Theory and Practice is 'part 3' to the 'Parts 1 & 2' of Book 4, and it is dense and hard to read. I wouldn't recommend MiTaP to most people. The compilation of letters you're thinking of is 'Magick Without Tears'[1].

Personally, I think Book 4, Part 1[2] is one of the best explanations of what Crowley was about. It's essentially an argument for meditation, and will be very familiar to anyone who has read Swami Vivekananda's Raja Yoga. It helps a lot that it was a collaboration between him and Mary d'Este Sturges rather than a solely 'Crowley' writing.

[1] https://hermetic.com/crowley/magick-without-tears/index

[2] https://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/aba/aba1.htm

Your description makes me think it's a little gross. Is there something I'm missing as to why such poetry is worth reading?

No, I'm amazed by it's existence at all, I don't find it good - but I'm not a fan of poetry in general.

I think his other writing is more interesting to read, but White Stains is special in how foul it is. The fact it was written at all blows my mind.

Edit: I will add though, Crowley does have a peculiar and breathless way of writing that is noteworthy, but you'll find it in any of his works. And it's neat that he wrote White Stains both in english and in french and they are considered separate works!

To me, to not make up your own rituals is to not really understand any of this.

A good modern Crowley ritual based on the Absinthe book is to get some wine and other substances of choice, get quite inebriated over many hours and listen to Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion. Even better with a lover involved.

To just copy Crowley is to not understand that every man and woman is a star.

To treat Crowley as just some author of text is pure blasphemy.

Ha - I think you should get back to basics - do what thou wilt is the whole of the law

Uh, no fxcking thanks!

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