Über den Autor
ALEISTER CROWLEY, born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 Octo-ber 1875 - 1 December 1947, was an English occultist, ceremonial magi-cian, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He was the founder of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding hu-manity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life.
Born to a wealthy Plymouth Brethren family in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Crowley rejected his fundamentalist Christian faith to pur-sue an interest in Western esotericism. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, where some biographers allege he was recruited into the British intelligence agency. In 1898 he joined the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and was trained in ceremonial magic by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett. After 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. He married Rose Edith Kelly, and in 1904 they honey-mooned 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. Announcing the start of the Æon of Horus, The Book declared that its followers should adhere to the code of "Do what thou wilt" and seek to align themselves with their Will through the practice of magick.
After 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. In 1907, he and George Cecil Jones co-founded a Thelemite order, the A¿A¿, through which they propagated their religion. After spending time in Algeria, in 1912 he was initiated into another esoteric order, the German-based Or-do Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), rising to become the leader of its British branch, which he reformulated in accordance with his Thelemite beliefs. Through the O.T.O., Thelemite groups were established in Britain, Aus-tralia, and North America.
Crowley spent the First World War in the United States, where he took up painting and campaigned for the German war effort against Brit-ain, later revealing that he had infiltrated the pro-German movement to assist the British intelligence services. In 1920, he established the Abbey of Thelema, a religious commune in Cefalù, Sicily where he lived with var-ious followers. His libertine lifestyle led to denunciations in the British press, and expulsion by the Mussolini in 1923. He divided the following two decades between France, Germany, and England, and continued to promote Thelema until his death in 1947.
Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being a recre-ational drug experimenter, bisexual and an individualist social critic. He was denounced in the popular press as "the wickedest man in the world" and a Satanist. Crowley has remained a highly influential figure over West-ern esotericism and the counter-culture, and continues to be considered a prophet in Thelema.
Klappentext
2010 Reprint of 1903 Edition. The Book of Goetia, or the Lesser Key of Solomon the King [Clavicula Salomonis]. Introductory essay by Aleister Crowley.nThe Lesser Key of Solomon or, Clavicula Salomonis, is an anonymous 17th-century grimoire, and one of the most popular books of demonology. It has also long been widely known as the Lemegeton. It appeared in the 17th century, but much was taken from texts of the 16th century and late-medieval grimoires. It is likely that books by Jewish kabbalists and Muslim mystics were also inspirations. Some of the material in the first section, concerning the summoning of demons, dates to the 14th century or earlier. The book claims that it was originally written by King Solomon, although this is certainly incorrect. The Lesser Key of Solomon contains detailed deillegalscriptions of spirits and the conjurations needed to invoke and oblige them to do the will of the conjurer (referred to as the "exorcist"). It details the protective signs and rituals to be performed, the actions necessary to prevent the spirits from gaining control, the preparations prior to the invocations, and instructions on how to make the necessary instruments for the execution of these rituals.
