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Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

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Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#51

Post by b800h »

themodelplumber wrote: post #34
b800h wrote: post #25

Crowley, and his forebear Eliphas Levi, are responsible for the stupid air of sulphur which hangs around a lot of modern esoterica. AC has his apologists, and he was obviously clever, but he was unquestionably a complete turd, and created a religious system which was fundamentally Satanic, wrapped in enough layers of obfuscation that it can fascinate intelligent people, especially those who have received a substandar…

> There are better ways of squaring the circle, but they're less sexy. Don't tell me: You learned of these ways from the one True Scotsman.

Well they don't involve sex and drugs, or questionable attitudes towards women.

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#52

Post by b800h »

fsloth wrote: post #32
b800h wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've not heard of him - I'll have a look. This may not apply to him, but what I'm wary of is anything that makes the practice a personal improvement exercise - it has to reach for the heavens and encourage empathic love for other people, or it'll end up in the wrong place, IMO.

That’s quite demanding. If one is in a dark place then one surely must first light one’s own path before reaching out? Augh, sorry about the horrible poetics. What I meant to say there is IMO nothing wrong in utilizing meditative practice for mental self-help and relaxation. Just trying to survive in a bleak world without going insane is not evil, even though the level of - um, “enlightenment” you remain at is “not d…

Fair enough. But there's a lot to be said for finding meaning in helping other people.

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#53

Post by WJW »

Krustopolis wrote: post #41
themodelplumber wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are better ways of squaring the circle, but they're less sexy. Don't tell me: You learned of these ways from the one True Scotsman.

Doubtful. Sean Connery has been dead for several years now.

Surely that doesn't really matter to any skilled occultist.

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#54

Post by b800h »

msla wrote: post #44
b800h wrote: post #25

Crowley, and his forebear Eliphas Levi, are responsible for the stupid air of sulphur which hangs around a lot of modern esoterica. AC has his apologists, and he was obviously clever, but he was unquestionably a complete turd, and created a religious system which was fundamentally Satanic, wrapped in enough layers of obfuscation that it can fascinate intelligent people, especially those who have received a substandar…

So you say he fooled all the people with magic, and he waited on Satan's call? > Someone asked why Crowley is perennially popular on HN. Because people are waiting for a Marvel to take them to space.

He certainly didn't fool all the people. And those he did fool were largely fooled by sophistry, not magic.

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#55

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

b800h wrote: post #51
themodelplumber wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are better ways of squaring the circle, but they're less sexy. Don't tell me: You learned of these ways from the one True Scotsman.

Well they don't involve sex and drugs, or questionable attitudes towards women.

What's wrong with exploring one's spirituality and self through drugs and sex? Questionable attitudes I understand, but 2 out of 3 seem fine to me.

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#56

Post by 3astofw3st__ »

b800h wrote: post #50
Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...substandard education in theology. Isn't most of theology just folks getting red faced arguing over things which are ultimately just made up, and are unknowable anyway in the first place? It's only a step away from a couple of guys shouting at each other about how the warp nacelles work in Star Trek.

There's a substantive difference between a religious argument on Twitter and proper theological argument which leans into philosophy. The problem is that people aren't typically exposed to the good stuff because teachers and the media don't know it either. Sadly even local religious leaders; that's a serious issue.

Do you have any theological reading recommendations? Preferably not oriented (at least not wholly) around Christianity.

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#58

Post by cykros »

themodelplumber wrote: post #34
b800h wrote: post #25

Crowley, and his forebear Eliphas Levi, are responsible for the stupid air of sulphur which hangs around a lot of modern esoterica. AC has his apologists, and he was obviously clever, but he was unquestionably a complete turd, and created a religious system which was fundamentally Satanic, wrapped in enough layers of obfuscation that it can fascinate intelligent people, especially those who have received a substandar…

> There are better ways of squaring the circle, but they're less sexy. Don't tell me: You learned of these ways from the one True Scotsman.

As opposed to the guy that moved there to a house on Loch Ness...

Re: Aleister Crowley and William Butler Yeats get into an occult battle (2016)

#59

Post by cykros »

dmbche wrote: post #9

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 writt…

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.
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