Embodied Occultism

Keith Readdy

Contemporary Religiosity Represented in Aleister Crowleys Experiential Science

Deparment of Theology and Religious Studies Universiteit van Amsterdam M.A., Contested Knowledge II: Cosmotheism and Disenchantment

Embodied Occultism 1 Consciousness, says the materialist, axe

in hand, is a function of the brain. He has only re-formulated the old saying, Your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost.! Aleister Crowley, Energized Enthusiasm: A Note on Theurgy

Ever since he delivered his lecture, Science as a Vocation in 1918, saying the words, Entzauberung der Welt,1 Max Weber has remained a topic of discussion in the social sciences for quite some time now. We know that, since the century of the Enlightenment, religion has struggled for validation in the face of rationalism and secularism. The same can be said more recently about esoteric discourse in the academy. The modern occult2, for instance played a significant role in mediating religious and the scientific worldviews. This can be exemplified in the enigmatic figure of 20th-century occultism, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), who incorporated a scientific framework into his teachings, and who has undoubtedly influenced occultism and alternative spirituality3 ever since his death in 1947.4 Indeed, his system of magick,5 as well as the occult has only grown in popularity since the mid-20th-century.6 Why is this? Could it be due to the way occultism has dealt with, and to some degree overcome disenchantment?

The disenchantment of the world, Published as (1922), "Wissenschaft als Beruf," Gesammlte Aufsaetze zur Wissenschaftslehre (Tubingen), 524-55. Translation, H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (trans. And ed.) (1946), in Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (New York: Oxford University Press), 129-156. 2 By the term, modern occult, I am speaking on behalf a particular movement beginning in the 19 th-century, and first popularized by liphas Lev (Alphonse Louis-Constant, 1810-1875). For a discussion on occultism as it is referred to herein, see Marco Pasi (2005) Occultism, in Knochu von Stuckrad (ed.) Dictionary of Religion (Leiden: Brill), 3:1364-68. Also see Atoine Faivre (1994) Access to Western Esotericism (Albany: State University of New York), 86-90; and finally, Wouter J. Hanegraaff (2013) Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed (London/New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc), 36-42. 3 I use the terms alternative spirituality, New Age, and contemporary religiosity in a broad sens e within this essay to refer to 20th- and 21st-century currents that can be considered religious yet remain outside of traditional forms of orthodoxy. It may be best to direct the reader to the discussion of the New Age phenomenon in Western culture in Wouter Hanegraaff (1998) New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought (Albany: State University of New York Press). 4 For Crowleys influence on Western Esotericism, see Henrik Bogdan & Martin P. Starr (eds.) (2012) Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism (New York: Oxford University Press). 5 The growing popularity in magick as derived from Crowley for instance is discussed in J.R. Lewis (ed.) (1996) Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft (Albany: State University of New York Press). 6 The phenomenon of Occulture, or the fact that popular culture is permeated by the cultic milieu , has gained recent attention in scholarship. See Christopher Partridge (2004), The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture Vol. 1 (New York: T&T Clark International), 62-86.

Embodied Occultism 2 Aleister Crowley is an important figure to examine with regard to disenchantment, because his approach to occultism seems to have made such a lasting impression on certain forms of contemporary religiosity. His technique has been described as naturalistic, as he advocated a rational and scientific methodology to occult practice.7 Indeed, implementing scientific discourse into occultism has been a major legitimizing strategy in esotericism since the modern era.8 Still, this is only a means to an end. There is an implicit element in Crowleys work that may help to explain the vitality of occultism within a disenchanted society an emphasis placed upon personal experience. In this study, I will argue that personal experience has been a significant feature in 20th-century occultism. While efforts to make esotericism scientific have been characteristic of the occultist current, it does not fully explain the growing popularity of occultism and alternative spiritualities in Western culture today. I exemplify this claim in the work of Aleister Crowley, who attempted to rationalize occultism with science, and who also insisted upon the primacy of personal experience to achieve spiritual attainment. The importance of experience in occultism, and specifically in the case of Crowley, is probably connected to the desire for an embodied religiosity; that is, occultisms growth as an alternative spirituality in Western culture may be due not only to its scientific features, but also to claims that spirituality can be experienced in the body.

I. Disenchantment: An Epistemological Problem Religion in society has been forever changed by the forces of modernity.9 It is assumed that the reader has a general familiarity with secularization theory10 and the Weberian concept of disenchantment, however it is important to briefly discuss how the term will be understood in the present study. I will examine it within the contexts of specific strategic efforts that have been made in attempt to deal with disenchantment. This section then, will provide insight into the some of the proposed solutions to the problems that have been raised since the modern era.
Crowleys approach has been discussed as a naturalization of occultism. See Egil Asprem (2008) Magic Naturalized? Negotiating Science and Occult Experience in Aleister Crowleys Scientific Illuminism, Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, 8:2, 139-166. 8 This is discussed below, and has been fully outlined in Olav Hammer (2001) Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age (Leiden/Boston/Kln: Brill). 9 See Hanegraaff (1998). 10 Scholarship on this is vast. It may assist the uninformed reader to reference Bryan R. Wilson (1966) Religion in Secular Society (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books), and Steve Bruce (ed.) (1992) Religion and Modernizaton: Sociologists and Historians Debate the Secularization Thesis (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
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Embodied Occultism 3 As briefly mentioned above, the term disenchantment is commonly attributed to sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920), although he probably borrowed the term from Friedrich Schiller.11 Weber calls disenchantment a social process. It refers to the complex of historical developments associated with the effects of secularization and modernity. As scientific advancements were made, and rational and bureaucratic processes established law and government as secular entities, so too did religions influence upon the social sphere significantly decline. The epistemological torch of truth was handed over to scientific rationalism. It has recently been pointed out by Egil Asprem that describing disenchantment as a process over vast periods of history is problematic and leaves us with many unanswered questions concerning the development of human events.12 We can admit that something like disenchantment has been going on in the last two centuries, but calling it a process has historical limitations. Instead, Asprem proposes a problem-centered investigation. In order for us to understand the complexity of disenchantment in the West, we must concentrate on specific events in which individual actors are in some way confronted with a problem associated with the disenchanted world-view. Adopting this problem-centered approach towards disenchantment is important for the present study. If we approach disenchantment in this respect, we will notice that there are particular circumstances in which efforts were made to either work around the problem or to reinforce it. Finally, these attempts to solve the problem of disenchantment are found in several discursive strategies of legitimization, of which I will now briefly discuss.

II. Legitimization: Some Epistemological Solutions The proposed solutions to disenchantment are characterized by attempts at legitimizing religious and esoteric thought. Three methods have been identified in esoteric discourse: (a) the appeal to tradition, (b) science and (c) personal experience.13 The present study focuses primarily on (c) as being the principle characteristic of contemporary religiosity, however since I exemplify this in the case of Aleister Crowley, it will be beneficial to discuss (b) as well. While Crowleys work may have some elements of (a), I will only have time to briefly hint upon it.
11

Richard Jenkins (2000), Disenchantment, Enchantment, and Re -enchantment, Max Weber Studies, vol. 1, no. 1 (2000): 12. 12 Egil Asprem (2013) The Problem of Disenchantment: (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Amsterdam). 13 See Hammer (2001).

Embodied Occultism 4 a) The Authority of Tradition and the Ancient Wisdom The appeal to tradition is certainly a relevant topic with regard to the problem of disenchantment, but it less important for the focus of this study. It is worth noting, however that the appeal to tradition is characteristic of many New Age movements, in that they attempt to construct historical narratives in effort to legitimize their claims.14 For many new religious movements, tradition is commonly suggested to have originated outside of Western orthodoxy at sacred and remote, sometimes imagined or even non-terrestrial locations. Whether arising out of Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, ancient Egypt, Native American shamanic traditions, Atlantis, or in another galaxy far away, the appeal to tradition in esoteric and New Age movements claim to have recovered a once-lost ancient wisdom from the distant past . This is what has been understood in religious scholarship as the philosophia perennis, or the perennial philosophy.15 This, however has become increasingly problematic since it has gained the attention of critical scholarship on the subject.16 b) Making Religion Scientific While movements that emphasize tradition may try to eschew, if not ignore such critical analyses, their implicit perennialism is nonetheless problematic. Indeed, the environment since the modern era demands that any epistemological claim must submit to empirical verification. After all, scientific rationalism may be one of the biggest challenges that religion has had to face since the Enlightenment. Consequentially, scientific models have been used to legitimize religious and esoteric practices since at least the 19th-century.17 Various esoteric movements
14

These narratives are often presented by religious leaders as historical facts, regardless of empirical evidence to support them. An ambiguous chronology often links ancient traditions to contemporary religion, tracing the tradition to significant geographical locations and particular figures who are responsible for the spiritual evolution of humankind. Hammer (2001), 89. 15 The term was coined by Agostino Steuco in 1540, and often confused with the prisca theologia (ancient theology) also originating in Renaissance discourse by Marcilio Ficino. The two terms refer to the nature of the so-called ancient wisdom. Ficino considered this supreme knowledge to have declined, or degraded throughout history with hope that it would one day be recovered. The philosophia perennis of Steuco, however proposed the preservation and universality of core essences of such wisdom. See Hanegraaff (2012) Esotercism in the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 7-12. 16 Contrast with perennialism is the etic historical contexualist approach. In this, universalist perspectives about the trans-historical and unchanging nature of knowledge is generally questioned and remains open to empirical inquiry. Again, see Hanegraaf (2012). 17 One may see traces of this happening slightly prior to the 19 th-century, for instance in Emanuel Swendenborg and Franz Anton Mesmer, however esotericism becomes qualitatively scientific in the modernist occult. See Hanegraaff, (2013), 36-42.

Embodied Occultism 5 have incorporated science in some way from the 20th-century to present day. Examples of this can be found in the experiments conducted in psychical research, the millenarian Mayan calendar prophecies, the fringe astronomers and ufologists that proselytize the truth of alien visitation, and the quatum metaphysists who attempt to merge mysticism and physics.18 These strains of 20thcentury esotericism, however are not within the scope of this study. The concern here, is the relationship between science and occultism, which has its roots in the 19th-century. Fin-de-sicle occultism is particularly characteristic of an effort to reconcile science and religion.19 There have been some claims that occultism has been a reaction to modernity, manifesting as a deviant and meager attempt to legitimize non-rational thought as rational.20 However, recent scholarship has pointed out that it can be understood as one of the many products of modernity.21 For example, English fin-de-sicle occultism was comprised of members that belonged to the educated avante-garde bourgeoisie intellectual elite.22 In the 16thand 17th-centuries, science began to dispel the belief in the existence of angels, demons, and spirits,23 and so new models that attempted to explain occult phenomena began to emerge. In his essay entitled, How Magic Survived the Disenchantment of the World, Wouter Hanegraaff notes that the modern occult psychologized magical practices in effort to eschew the criticism of rationalist circles.24 The strange and mysterious forces that had been dispelled by scientific rationalism could now be explained with regard to human brain activity and psychological states.
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Examples of each include, for a history on psychical research, see Alan Gauld (1968) The Founders of Psychical Research, (London: Routledge); for Mayan calendar prophecies, Jos Argelles (1987) The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology (Santa Fe: Bear); for ancient astronaut lore, see Barbara Hand Clow (1995) Pleiadian Agenda: A New Cosmology for the Age of Light (Santa Fe: Bear); and finally quantum metaphysics, one could hardly argue that a classic example of this is found in Fritjof Capra (1975) The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism (London: Fontana/Collins), and more recently Amit Goswami and Maggie Goswami (1998) Science and Spirituality: A Quantum Integration (Delhi: Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture). 19 Faivre (1994), 88. 20 Scholarship within the discipline of sociology in the 1970s, for instance labeled occultism little more than an occurrence of social deviance. This was, of course at a time when the theory of secularization was still very prominent in the social sciences. See for example, George Steiner (2004), Nostalgia for the Absolute (CBC Massey Lectures) rev. ed. (Toronto:House of Anansi Press Inc.). 21 Esotercism from the 18th-century forward has been characteristic of Enlightenment ideology and values. See Joscelyn Godwin (1994) The Theosophical Enlightenment, (Albany: State University of New York Press). 22 I am referring here to the so-called Hermetic Reaction movements such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the late 19th-century. Please see Alex Owen (2004) The Place of Enchantment: British Occultism and the Culture of the Modern, (Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press). In the context above, Owen seems to be specifically referring to members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. 23 This argument has been put forward by Keith Thomas (1978) Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England (Harmondsworth: Peguin). 24 Hannegraaff (2003).

Embodied Occultism 6 Israel Regardie, for instance presented various visualization techniques and relaxation exercises in his teachings of the Golden Dawn.25 Such methods aimed at altering the consciousness of the practitioner so as to bring him or her to an exalted state of awareness. Aleister Crowley seems to have suggested a psychological approach in his description of goetic demonology, claiming that goetic spirits were merely recesses of the human brain.26 Psychological models such as these are still used today in contemporary occultism.27 As we will see later, Aleister Crowley would go further in attempting to implement the scientific method to legitimize occult practices. Before examining this, we must first look at the third strategy of legitimization in contemporary occultism personal experience. c) Experience In his discussion regarding science as a method of legitimization, Olav Hammer concludes, New Age science constitutes a kind of epistemological circle. A specific view of the world is clothed in scientific terminology and expressed by means of carefully selected bits and pieces of science in what is essentially a scientistic bricolage.28 In other words, esotericists may go to great lengths to make their writings appeal to science, but the end result leaves only an epistemological gap to satisfactorily justify their claims as truly scientific. Hammer continues in the next section that, There is no real need to believe in any particular doctrines, nor is one obliged to trust their antiquity or their scientific basis. The ultimate litmus test is whether you can experience their veracity for yourself.29 The third strategy of legitimization then, prioritizes individual, personal experience. Defining the nature of experience has been problematic since the modern era.30 In the 20th-century, a systematic philosophical study of experience known as phenomenology emerged,

25 26

Israel Regardie (1989). Aleister Crowley (1997), The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the Kin,. trans. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, 2nd ed. (Boston: Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.). 27 See for instance proponents of Chaos Magick in Peter J. Carroll (1987) and Phil Hine (2010) . 28 Hammer (2001), 329-330. 29 Ibid., 331. 30 In modern philosophy, this was characterized by an epistemological problem, and was approached through rationalism, empiricism, and transcendentalism. With regard to religious experience, Imannuel Kant is worth mentioning simply because he illustrated the difficulty on apprehending any transcendent reality. For Kant, the faculties available to human perception is necessarily limited by how the senses receive information from the phenomenal world and then must be constructed into categories. For instance, time and space are merely constructs formed by our sensory apparatus. In this sense, we can never truly perceive a transcendent reality beyond the phenomenal world of sensible things. For a recent English translation, see Kant (2011).

Embodied Occultism 7 which sought to lay out a systematic method of studying the nature of consciousness.31 In the 20th-century, phenomenology of religion has been criticized as being associated with perennialism,32 but to go into the complicated history of the scholarship concerning the nature of experience would be too exhaustive for this essay. What is most important for the reader to understand here is not necessarily what constitutes experience and how we can define it; rather, why is experience so important in 20th-century esotercism? Wouter Hanegraaff has noted that movements which emphasize the significance of experience rely heavily on the channeled messages or revelations of a small group of experts; that is, authority rests not on the experiences of adherents, but of the adept few.33 While this may be true for many movements, individual experience remains a large part of contemporary religiosity. Indeed, the emphasis on experience may be what characterizes alternative spirituality in Western culture the most. Christopher Partridge claims that, while adherents to New Age movements may seek outside guidance, the immediacy of personal experience is understood as epistemologically crucial.34 Any advice on behalf of a spiritual guide should only be followed if it resonates with ones own inner self. This, Partridge argues is characteristic of much contemporary religiosity, and that [a]lthough an individual may turn to channeling, to a guru, to a sacred text, or to astrology, these it is argued, are not to be understood as external authorities rather, detraditionalized, they should be understood as aids to assist us on our experiential journey within.35 This point may connect occultism, New Age, and other alternative spiritualities to a fundamental aspect of Western culture: individualism. It is agreeable that individualism and self-sufficiency are values reflective of Western culture. In the secular world, work eligibility is often measured by the type of training and experience we have acquired
31

Beginning with Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and later expounded by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), HansGeorg Gadamer (1900-2002), and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), the phenomenological method sought to suspend scientific biases concerning the nature of objects in the world in an attempt to describe how such objects in the world appear to consciousness. In this sense, the aboutness of an object as it appears may reveal some detail that would otherwise be taken for granted. For a general introduction on the topic see Dermot Moran and Timothy Mooney (2000), The Phenomenology Reader (Amherst: Humanity Books). 32 The perennialist, or essentialist school of religious experience, claims there to be a fundamental experience at which all religious tradition aims. Much like the perennial philosophy discussed earlier, perennial phenomenology of religion looks for core elements that transcends cultural contexts. See Rudolph Otto (1923) and Mircea Eliade (1958). More recent scholarship that approaches perennialism within a psychological model is in Robert Forman (1998). In contrast to perrenialism, contextualist argue that religious experience must be first grounded in the cultural and environmental conditions, which will in turn inform the experience. See Steven Katz (1992), and Wayne Proudfoot, (1985). 33 Hanegraaff (1998), 27. 34 Partridge (2004), 76. 35 Ibid., 77

Embodied Occultism 8 according to the description of the prospective job. This being so, our personal experiences are directly responsible for our ability to maintain individual, self-sufficient, happy lives. Could it be that personal experience in ones religious life is so important because it provides an avenue for self-discovery and autonomy in the spiritual domain? It would only make sense that the more individualized our secular lives become, so too do our spiritual ideologies reflect these same cultural values. III. Individual Experience: Making the Ontological Distinction While the importance of personal experience in contemporary religiosity may be connected to individuality and autonomy, there is an even more fundamental element implied here regarding the self.. Recent research in philosophical phenomenology has shown how perception is constructed not only by cultural objects within the environment, but that experience at its root is first and foremost grounded in an embodied state of being-in-the-world.36 The human body is responsible for shaping human experiences, and it exists in the world as a socially, culturally, and historically situated object. The human person, or what is generally referred to as the self, is the collection of experiences over time that is always culturally situated in the body. Therefore, what is understood as the self is first and foremost an embodied self.37 What does this have to do with esotericism, or for that matter disenchantment? Could the emphasis on experience imply another dimension to disenchantment? Perhaps there is an ontological significance the problem. Personal experience gives precedence to the fact that people in Western culture, with all the fast-paced daily demands and time constraints, desire to live spiritual lives and have spiritual experiences in their sensible embodied state of being. This, I believe is an important characteristic of contemporary religiosity. Healing practices, dietary awareness, Yoga studios, books on sacred sexuality, and the growing interest on the spiritual use of drugs, are all examples of this shift towards embodied spirituality.38
36

This phrase was first introduced by Martin Heidegger, who seems to have used it to describe the existential immediacy of human experience. See (1962) Being and Time, trans. J. Macquarrie and E. Robinson (Oxford: Basil Blackwell). This concept has been extended in recent anthropological studies concerning the bodily factors involved how a person is situated and oriented within their cultural ccontexts. See introduction in Thomas Csoras (ed.) (1994), Embodiement and Experience: The Existential Ground of Culture and Self (New York: Cambridge University Press), 1-20. In other words, the phrase directly references ontology. 37 Embodied cognition and how it shapes the experience of self has gained much attention in contemporary philosophy. See Shaun Gallagher (2005), How the Body Shapes the Mind (New York: Oxford University Press). 38 Some examples of how the body responds to religious experience can be found in Robert C. Fuller (2008), Spirituality in the Flesh: Bodily Sources of Religious Experience (New York: Oxford University Press).

Embodied Occultism 9 I would now like to illustrate the above argument with a discussion on the methods and teachings expounded by Aleister Crowley. Crowley serves as a good example, as his writings seem to be the embodiment (no pun intended) of the aforementioned characteristics of much contemporary religiosity, especially occultism. He is, after all quite a well-known personality in history, and links the 19th-century occultist current with the 20th-century.39 While his methodology works within a scientific framework, his aim seems to be that of achieving illumination through an embodied existence. This may be why, as I mentioned previously, his philosophy on spirituality has been extremely influential on 20th- and 21st-century religiosity.

IV. The Occultism of Aleister Crowley: Magick40 and Yoga Aleister Crowley is popularly known as a controversial figure in history because of his deviant behavior and libertine attitudes towards drugs and sexuality.41 More importantly to the study of western esotericism, his methodological approach to occultism illustrates just how significant his place is in the on-going struggle with modernity. Indeed, Crowley went to great lengths to reconcile two seemingly contentious paradigms of thoughtscience and religion. He was trained in ceremonial magic under the auspices of the well-known 19th -century occult organization, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; later he was influenced by the Eastern techniques of traditional Yoga. Crowleys approach to occultism is characteristic of a unique blend of systematic procedures in an attempt to legitimize his religious philosophy. What distinguishes Crowley from earlier occultists is the range of techniques that he employed with regard to magical practice.42 The majority of his methodological development happened prior to 1912, after which he would then place his efforts towards establishing his religious philosophy of

Several biographies have been written about Crowley, and it has been difficult to find ones that arent biased in one way or another. For a discussion about this, reference Marco Pasi, The Neverendingly Told Story: Recent Biographies of Aleister Corlwey, Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, 3:2 (2003), 224-245. The present study will use the following for references: Lawrence Sutin (2000) Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley (New York: St. Martins Press), and Richard Kaczynski (2002) Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley (Temple: New Falcon Publications). 40 Crowley added the k to distinguish the ceremonial magick he taught from its common misunderstandings. See Aleister Crowley (1997), Magick: Liber ABA, 47. Coincidentally, this spelling has remained in use in occultist literature in the 20th- and 21st-centuries. 41 This depiction of Crowley can be found by simply typing his name into youtube or any internet search engine. 42 This is explored in detail in Marco Pasi (2012).
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Embodied Occultism 10 Thelema.43 The complexity of Crowleys life cannot be examined in any depth here, but I would like to point out three significant instances which highlight the development of his methodology. This developmental period of Crowleys life begins with his entrance into Trinity College in Cambridge in 1895.44 Here, he studied literature and gained a classical education in philosophy, mathematics, and science. Although he only spent three years there, and never achieved a formal degree, the academic world made a great impact on his way of thinking. It was here that he was most likely exposed to a fertile intellectual environment of free-thinking and rationalism.45 It was in this environment that he was exposed to many intellectual circles, one of which was the Society for Psychical Research.46 It is also possible that Crowley met anthropologist James Frazer, whose work The Gold Bough made a significant impact on his interpretation of magic.47 In short, Crowleys exposure to the scientific community and the intellectual environment in academia would instill a disposition towards rationalism and skepticism, both aspects that, as we will see, are replete in his approach to magick. Next, Crowleys earliest developments in occultism were formed during his association with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn48 beginning in 1898.49 This period of his magical education would impact him greatly, and influence his writings for the remainder of his life. It was here that he met his magical teacher, Allan Bennett.50 In return for Crowleys hospitality in providing him living arrangements, Bennett would instruct Crowley in the Golden Dawns system of ceremonial magic. Under his tutelage, Crowley was taught rituals that were instructed even into the Second Order grades, and his understanding of ceremonial magic grew

Marco Pasi notes that there are two distinct periods in Crowleys magical career; his development as a magician beginning from 1895 up to the year 1912, and from 1912 on when he met with Theodore Reuss and was subsequently given authority in the Ordo Templi Orientis. Crowley eventually assumed complete authority over this fringe Masonic fraternal order after Reuss death in 1923. This organization would serve as the primary vehicle by which Crowley would promulgate his newly established religion of Thelema. See Pasi, Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics (Bristol: Acumen Publishing Limited, 2014), 25-27. 44 Kaczynski (2002), 30. 45 Pasi (2012), 54-55. 46 This is a significant organization with regard to the problem of disenchantment, discussed thoroughly in Asprem (2013), 292-319. Crowleys connection to the SPR is discussed in Aprem (2008). 47 Pasi, (2012), 131. 48 A general history of the organization can be found in Ellic Howe (1972) The Magicians of the Golden Dawn: A Documentary History of a Magical Order, 1887-1923 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul). 49 Kaczynski (2002), 47-68. 50 Ibid., 53. Bennett was a highly respected and even feared member of the Golden Dawn due to his knowledge of ceremonial magic. He is also responsible for bringing awareness of Buddhism to the Western world. For a biographical account of Bennett, see John L. Crow (2009) The White Knight in the Yellow Robe: Allan Bennetts Search for Truth, research masters thesis, University of Amsterdam.
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Embodied Occultism 11 exponentially fast.51 Later, when he visited Paris, Crowley would also befriend the head of the order, Samuel MacGregor Mathers. The two would form a close friendship, and Crowley would continue advancing through the grades of the Golden Dawn.52 It was also during this time that tensions grew within the order, and a schism arose questioning Mathers leadership. This dispute ended in Mathers expulsion in 1900, and subsequently the Golden Dawn ceased to exist in its original form. The last instance of Crowleys methodological development took place shortly after the schism. Thoroughly upset by his experience with the political quagmire in the Golden Dawn, Crowley set out for travels in Mexico, where he would meet his mountaineering mentor, Oscar Eckenstein in January of 1901.53 It was Eckenstein that taught Crowley techniques of visualization and mental concentration. This would be later understood by Crowley as Raja Yoga.54 Crowley would continue with these exercises upon his arrival in Ceylon in August of 1901, meeting his friend Allan Bennett. The two men would practice the techniques of Raja Yoga as outlined in the sutras of Patajali.55 Such practices included mastery of the body in asana (posture), pranayama (breathing), and manta (vocal repetition); this would continue in exercises to master the mind in dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), leading the practitioner finally into a profound state called samadhi. This is described as a state in which subject and object are unified, and all dualistic perception is annihilated. a) Scientific Illuminism: The Epistemological Legitimization These practices were systematized and outlined in The Equinox, published in 1909.56 It is here that we can begin analyzing Crowleys unique approach to occultism. The Scientific Illuminism that Crowley advocated in The Equinox was an attempt to make occultism a scientific endeavor.57 For instance, in his essay entitled, The Soldier and the Hunchback, he emphasizes the importance of adopting a skeptical attitude while addressing the limitations to
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Kaczynski (2002), 52-53. Sutin (2000), 70. 53 Ibid., 85. 54 Discussions on this topic are replete through A.C.s works, particularly (1997), Magick: Liber ABA, 15-44 and Aleister Crowley (1991) Eight Lectures on Yoga, 2nd ed. (Scottsdale: New Falcon Publications). 55 See Chip Hartranft (trans.) (2003), The Yoga-Sutra of Patajali (Boston: Shambala Publications, Inc.). 56 This publication signaled the proclamation of the existence of Crowleys magical teaching order, the AA, whose motto was, The Method of Science, The Aim of Religion. Crowley would term this methodlogy as Scientific Illuminism. See Aleister Crowley, (1909 and 1913). 57 Asprem (2008).
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Embodied Occultism 12 extreme rationalism. Crowley writes, I picture the true sceptic [sic] as a man eager and alert, his deep eyes glittering like sharp swords, his hands tense with effort as he asks, What does it matter? I picture the false sceptic [sic] as a dude or popinjay, yawning, with dull eyes, his muscles limp, his purpose in asking the question but the expression of his slackness and stupidity.58 Crowleys point in this essay is to show the constructiveness of skepticism in leading the inquirer to self-discovery. There is, however a pitfall to circular logic in extreme cases. For Crowley, skepticism is only a logical means to a mystical end. The mind should ultimately arrive at the conclusion that any idea in relation to its opposite creates a logical fallacy, thus the realization that logical thinking is inevitably circular should push the mind through a mystical threshold, arriving at the non-dualistic state of samadhi: So that after all I keep my scepticism [sic] intactand I keep my Samadhi intact. The one balances the other; I care nothing for the vulgar brawling of these two varlets of my mind!59 Skepticism then, must be balanced with an inspired sense of enthusiasm towards magical practice. Another example of Crowleys scientific approach can be illustrated in Liber E Exercitiorum, or the Book of Exercises.60 Here, a detailed explanation is given on how the magical diary is to be written. This is not a normal diary; rather its style should be written in a manner of rigidly and concisely documented scientific experimentation.61 The duration of practice, time of day, weather conditions, mental and emotional states, and physical conditions are to be recorded as experiments. The exercises suggested range from practices in clairvoyance, Yoga, and testing ones physical limitations. Egil Asprem argues that Liber Exercitiorum is intended to expel any vagueness in what he considers to be the case in the general appeal to personal experience. Asprem claims that, in Liber E, the precise procedure of the operation or experiment must be recorded so that it may be replicated and tested by others, and that immediate experiences can be misleading, and that a scientific epistemology must go beyond such personal experiences.62 Asprems argument is noteworthy with regard to Crowleys attempt at making his system scientific. After all, his instructional document entitled, Liber O vel

Crowley (1909), The Soldier and the Hunchback, 113. Ibid., 124. 60 In The Equinox I:1(1909), 25-36. Also in Crowley (1997), 604-612. 61 Examples of a well-written diary according to Crowley is in John St. John. The Equinox I:1 (special supplement) and in Aleister Crowley (1919), Liber CLXV: A Master of the Temple, The Equinox III:1 (Detroit: universal Publishing Company), 129-170. 62 Asprem (2008), 152.
58 59

Embodied Occultism 13 Manus et Saggit stated, [b]y doing certain things, certain results will follow.63 However, Asprems assumption may be brought into question in the following passages of Liber E. Passage 6 in part I of Liber E states, The experimenter is encouraged to use his own intelligence, and not to rely upon any other person or persons, however distinguished, even among ourselves. Furthermore in passage 7 of part VII, He must rely entirely upon himself, and credit nothing whatever but that which lies within his own knowledge and experience.64 This seems to imply that the scientific approach that Crowley advocates in occult practice is a means to an experiential end. As we will see in the next section, experience is a principle element in Crowleys philosophy.

b) Ontological Significance: Thelema and the Embodied Experience of Illumination Recent scholarship on Crowley has noted the difficulty in nailing down his thought into a completely coherent whole.65 Indeed, Crowleys ideas went through continuous evolution throughout his life. This being said, we may look at the aforementioned practices outlined in The Equinox as one stage of thought in his intellectual and spiritual development. Marco Pasi illustrates that after 1912, as an aspiring student, Crowley would spend the remainder of his life answering to his calling as a prophet of a new religion.66 The foundation to his religion of Thelema comes from the inspired text known as The Book of the Law written in 1904.67 This text was considered by Crowley to establish, not merely a new religion, but a new cosmology, a new philosophy, a new ethics.68 Crowley came to regard the tenets of The Book of the Law to be of paramount importance. In order to put Crowleys methodological approach towards occultism into perspective, it is appropriate to briefly discuss the metaphysical framework of his religion of Thelema. In a later publication of The Book of the Law, Crowley wrote in an introduction, Every event is a uniting of some one monad with one of the experiences possible to it. Every man and every woman is a star, that is, an aggregate of such experiences, constantly changing with each
63 64

See Appendix (1997), 613. Ibid., 604, 612. 65 See for instance Pasi (2013), 24. 66 Ibid., 25. 67 For details on these events, refer to Kaczynski (2002), 98-105. 68 Aleister Crowley (1989), The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography, John Symonds and Kenneth Grant (eds.) (London: Arkana), 398.

Embodied Occultism 14 fresh event, which affects him or her either consciously or subconsciously.69 The reference to likening the human being to a star comes directly from The Book of the Law. In a commentary on this verse, Crowley writes, each star is the Centre of the Universe to itself, and that a star simple, original, absolute, can add to its omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence without ceasing to be itself; that its one way to do this is to gain experience, and that therefore it enters into combinations in which its true Nature is for awhile disguised, even from itself.70 Thelema asserts the individual as the fundamental unit of society. Just as a star has a its own course throughout the universe, so too does an individual have their own true and unique purpose. According to Crowley, the aim of this worldly existence we call life is to gain experience, broaden the perspective of our star, and discover our true purpose, or True Will. The amount of references that are given to experience in his commentaries to The Book of the Law are too numerous to discuss here. Suffice it to say, that experience remains as a core element to the philosophy of Thelema. As we will see, experience in this regard is that of lived, bodily experience. How is Crowleys occultism embodied? This question may be answered in looking at some of the techniques Crowley was known to have employed. Let us first consider the aforementioned practices of Yoga, which are outlined in the previously explored text, Liber E. The beginning exercises in Yoga require the student to master asana (posture). In this practice, one must sit motionless for extended periods of time, building awareness of subtle movements of the physical body. This is described in Eight Lectures on Yoga, Now it is necessary, in order to hold a position, to pay attention to it. That is to say: you are going to become conscious of your body in ways of which you are not conscious if you are engaged in some absorbing mental pursuit, or even in some purely physical activity, such as running. It sounds paradoxical at first sight, but violent exercise, so far from concentrating attention on the body, takes it away.71

69

From the Introduction to The Book of the Law written later by Crowley. Since he quotes in it from his essay, The Scientific Solution to the Problem of Government written in 1937, this is most likely from the privately published edition in London by the O.T.O., 1938. 70 Aleister Crowley (2002), The Law is for All:The Authorized Popular Commentary on Liber Al vel Legis sub figura CCXX: The Book of the Law, L. Wilkinson and Hymenaeus Beta (eds.), (Temple: New Falcon), new comment on AL I:3. 71 Aleister Crowley (1991), Eight Lecture on Yoga (rev. ed.) (Scottsdale: New Falcon Publications), 54.

Embodied Occultism 15 Upon mastering this, the practice of pranayama (breath) is recommended next. Like asana, the student eventually becomes more aware of their body through the control of breath. Crowley notes that intense practice in this produces very noticeable physiological results. For example, the body is said to suddenly perspire heavily, and become intensely rigid.72 The practices of asana and pranayama clearly demonstrate an embodied element to Crowleys methodology. Before drawing conclusions, it is worth mentioning one final aspect regarding Crowleys embodied occultism. The practices in Yoga mentioned above are inhibitory techniques aimed at bringing about exalted states of consciousness. It is no secret that Crowley also employed excitatory methods as well, such as the use of sex and drugs.73 In his essay entitled, Energized Enthusiasm, he describes how music, sex, and alcohol are used as a means to generate divine genius, or as he calls it enthusiasm: By the use of the three methods in one the whole being of man may thus be stimulated. The music will create a general harmony of the brain, leading it in its own paths; the wine affords a general stimulus of its animal nature; and the sexexcitement elevates the moral nature of the man by its close analogy with the highest ecstasy. It remains, however, always for him to make the final transmutation.74 The application of sexual magic was of particular importance to Crowley, and there is scholarship to support this.75 The link to sex and embodied spirituality should be obvious to the reader,76 however it may be of interest to know that connections have been made between Crowley and the general understanding of sexual spirituality in Western culture. Indeed, the popular literature that emphasizes the sexual elements of Indian Tantra and floods the New Age section of ones local bookstore, derives directly from the propagation of spiritual sexuality in the Ordo Templi Orientis.77 Crowley assumed authority of the Ordo Templi Orientis after the

Ibid., 59. See Kaczynski (2002) and Sutin (2000). 74 In Crowley (1913), The Equinox, vol. I, no. 9 (London: Various Publishers), 17-46. 75 See Hugh Urban (2006) Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism (Berkeley: University of California Press), 109-139. 76 The connection to religion, sex, and the body can be found in Fuller (2008), 99-130. 77 O.T.O. began as a fringe Masonic organization that used much of the sexual elements of Indian Tantra to expound a form of sexual magic. Its history and how it has directly influenced the Western understanding of Tantra has been discussed in Hugh Urban (2011), The Yoga of Sex: Tantra, Orientalism, and Sex Magic in the Ordo Templi Orientis, in Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism (New York: Fordham University Press), 401-443.
73

72

Embodied Occultism 16 death of Theodore Reuss in 1923.78 This organization would serve as the primary vehicle for promulgating his religion of Thelema, and its membership continues to grow today, numbering over 3,000 members.79

V. Conclusion and Suggestions for Further Discussion Throughout this study, we have explored topics that provide some insight into the nature of disenchantment and its connection with contemporary religiosity. Since the century of Enlightenment, scientific rationalism has undoubtedly changed the way in which we view the world. Despite this, religion in society has persisted, albeit has changed in form. The modernist occult, for example is characterized by attempts to reconcile religious and scientific thought. This is particularly the case in Aleister Crowleys Scientific Illuminism. As Olav Hammer has pointed out, this may be understood as a legitimizing strategy in effort to gain epistemological ground in a disenchanted world. Yet, a more fundamental aspect to occultism which continues today even into 21st-century spirituality is that of personal experience. This feature illustrates an ontological significance to contemporary esotericism. Alternative religiosities are characterized by people wanting to experience religion directly, individually, and in ways which they are informed through their embodied state of being. Again, Crowley has served as a good example for reasons which should now be clear to the reader. This brings me to the first question I would like to raise, which concerns Crowley specifically. Could it be that Crowleys influence on Western esotericism and alternative spirituality in the 20th-century is so significant because (a) his scientific methodology holds a general appeal to the disenchanted Western mind, and (b) it aimed at achieving an embodied experience of spirituality that is fundamentally individualistic and therefore reflective of the Western experience? This of course would require further research, but it may explain in more depth why, as religious studies scholar Jeffery Kripal has noted, the guy just never goes away.80 There is yet another question that remains and is intended for a broader audience. As I have discussed in this essay, and what has been thoroughly argued by Egil Asprem,
78

The history of sexual magic in the O.T.O. is discussed in Hugh Urban (2011), The Yoga of Sex: Tantra, Orientalism, and Sex Magic in the Ordo Templi Orientis, in Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism (New York: Fordham University Press), 401-443. 79 Kaczynski (2002), 461. 80 Jeffery Kripal (2011), Mutants & Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 17.

Embodied Occultism 17 disenchantment has presented an epistemological problem in esoteric discourse. Various esoteric spokespersons, Crowley only being one of many, have made attempts to legitimize their claims in a number of ways, be it through tradition, science, or placing priority on experience. If contemporary religiosity is characterized by the precedence of embodied religious experience as I have argued here, could this bring into question the very nature of disenchantment as it exist today? In other words, is disenchantment, or for that matter re-enchantment an attitude or disposition toward ones being-in-the-world? Answering this will require more research on religion in society and how it is affected through embodied experience. This may provide some understanding into the way religion operates and functions in contemporary society.

Embodied Occultism 18 Bibliography

Works by Aleister Crowley:

Aleister Crowley (1909) The Equinox: The Review of Scientific Illuminism. Volume I, Number 1. London: Various Publishers. ______________ (1913) The Equinox: The Review of Scientific Illuminism. Volume I, Number 9. London: Various Publishers. ______________ (1919) Liber CLXV: A Master of the Temple. In The Equinox: The Review of Scientific Illuminism. Volume III, Number1. Detroit: Universal Publishing Company. 129-170. ______________ (1938) The Book of the Law. London: O.T.O. ______________ (1989) The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography. Edited by John Symonds and Kenneth Grant. London: Arkana. ______________ (1991) Eight Lectures on Yoga. 2nd ed. Scottsdale: New Falcon Publications. ______________ (1997) Magick: Liber ABA, Book Four, Part I-IV. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Red Wheel Weiser. ______________ (1997) (Editor) The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King. Translation Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. 2nd Edition. Boston: Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. ______________ (1998) The Scientific Solution to the Problem of Government. In The Revival of Magick. Temple: New Falcon Publications. 208-210. ______________ (2002) The Law is for All: The Authorized Popular Commentary on Liber Al vel Legis sub figura CCXX: The Book of the Law. Edited by L. Wilkinson and Hymenaeus Beta. Temple: New Falcon Publications.

Secondary Works: Argelles, Jos (1987) The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology. Santa Fe: Bear 1987. Asprem, Egil (2008) Magic Naturalized? Negotiating Science and Occult Experience in Aleister Crowleys Scientific Illuminism. Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism Volume 8. 139-165.

Embodied Occultism 19 Asprem, Egil (2013) The Problem of Disenchantment. Universiteit Van Amsterdam. Bogdan, Henrik & Starr, Martin P. (Editors) (2012) Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism. New York: Oxford University Press. Bruce, Steve (Editor) (1992) Religion and Modernizaton: Sociologists and Historians Debate the Secularization Thesis. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Capra, Fritjof (1975) The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. London: Fontana/Collins. Carroll, Peter J. (1989) Liber Null & Psychonaut: An Introduction to Chaos Magic. York Beach: Samuel Weiser, Inc. Crow, John L. (2009) The White Knight in the Yellow Robe: Allan Bennetts Search for Truth. Research Masters Thesis, University of Amsterdam. Csoras, Thomas (Editor) (1994) Embodiement and Experience: The Existential Ground of Culture and Self. New York: Cambridge University Press. Eliade, Mircea (1958) Patterns in Comparative Religion. New York: Sheed & Ward. Faivre, Antoine (1994) Access to Western Esotericism. Albany: Sate University of New York Press. Forman, Robert (Editor) (1998) The Innate Capacity: Mysticism, Psychology, and Philosophy Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Fuller, Robert C. (2008) Spirituality in the Flesh: Bodily Sources of Religious Experience. New York: Oxford University Press. Gallagher, Shaun (2005) How the Body Shapes the Mind. New York: Oxford University Press. Gauld, Alan (1968) The Founders of Psychical Research. London: Routledge. Godwin, Joscelyn (1994) The Theosophical Enlightenment. Albany: State University of New York Press. Goswami, Amit and Maggie (1998) Science and Spirituality: A Quantum Integration. Delhi: Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture. Hammer, Olav (2001).Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Hand Clow, Barbara (1995) Pleiadian Agenda: A New Cosmology for the Age of Light. Santa Fe: Bear.

Embodied Occultism 20 Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (1998) New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Albany: State University of New York Press. __________________ (2003) How Magic Survived the Disenchantment of the World. Religion. 33. 357-380. __________________ (2012) Esotercism in the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. __________________ (2013) Western Esotercism: A Guide for the Perplexed. London/New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Hartranft, Chip (Translator) (2003) The Yoga-Sutra of Patajali (Boston: Shambala Publications, Inc. Heidegger, Martin (1962) Being and Time. Translated by J. Macquarrie and E. Robinson. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. (First published in 1927). Hine, Phil (2010) Prime Chaos: Adventures in Chaos Magic. 3rd edition (First Publication 1993). Temple: The Original New Falcon Press. Howe, Ellic (1972) The Magicians of the Golden Dawn: A Documentary History of a Magical Order, 1887-1923. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Jenkins, Richard (2000) Disenchantment, Enchantment, and Re-enchantment. Max Weber Studies, Volume 1, Number 1. 11-32. Kaczynski, Richard (2002) Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. Temple: New Falcon Publications. Kant, Immanuel (2011) The Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by J.M.D. Meiklejohn. Seattle: Pacific Publishing Studio. Katz, Steven (1992) Mystical Speech and Mystical Meaning In Katz, Steven (Editor) mysticism and Language. New York: Oxford University Press. Kripal, Jeffery (2011) Mutants & Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lewis, J.R. (Editor) (1996) Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft. Albany: State University of New York Press. Moran, Dermot and Mooney, Timothy (2000) The Phenomenology Reader. Amherst: Humanity Books. Otto, Rudolph (1923) The Idea of the Holy. Translated by J.W. Harvey. New York: Oxford University Press.

Embodied Occultism 21 Owen, Alex (2004) The Place of Enchantment: British Occultism and the Culture of the Modern. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Partridge, Christopher (2004) The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture Vol. 1. New York: T&T Clark International. Pasi, Marco (2003) The Neverendingly Told Story: Recent Biographies of Aleister Crowley, Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, Volume 3, Number 2. 224-245 _________ (2005) Occultism. In Dictionary of Religion. Edited by Knochu von Stuckrad. Leiden: Brill. 3:1364-68. _________ (2014) Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics. Bristol: Acumen. _________ (2012) Varieties of Magical Experience. In Aleister Crowley and the Western Esoteric Tradition, Edited by Henrik Bogdan & Martin P. Starr. New York: Oxford University Press. Proudfoot, Wayne (1985) Religious Experience. Berkeley: University of California Press. Regardie, Israel (2002) The Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Practical Ceremonial Magic. 6th Edition. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications. Steiner, George (2004) Nostalgia for the Absolute (CBC Massey Lectures). Revised Edition. Toronto:House of Anansi Press Inc. Sutin, Lawrence (2000) Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley. New York: St. Matins Press. Symonds, John (1973) The Great Beast: The Life and Magick of Aleister Crowley. 2nd ed. Frogmore, St Albans, Herts: Mayflower Books Ltd. Taves, Ann (2009) Religious Experience Reconsidered: A Building Block Approach to the Study of Religion and Other Special Things. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Thomas, Keith (1978) Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England. Harmondsworth: Peguin. Urban, Hugh (2006) Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism. Berkeley: University of California Press. Urban, Hugh (2011) The Yoga of Sex: Tantra, Orientalism, and Sex Magic in the Ordo Templi Orientis. In Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism. Edited by Jeffery Kripal and Wouter J. Hanegraaff. New York: Fordham University Press. 401443.

Embodied Occultism 22 Weber, Max (1922) "Wissenschaft als Beruf." In Gesammlte Aufsaetze zur Wissenschaftslehre. Tubingen. 524-55 Weber, Max (1946) Science as a Vocation. In Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Translated and Edited by H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. New York: Oxford University Press. 129-156. Wilson, Bryan R. (1966) Religion in Secular Society. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.