Aleister Crowley trapped in a painting
| “ | Do what thou wilt. | „ |
| ~ Crowley's motto from Thelema. |
Aleister Crowley, also known as The Wickedest Man in the World or the Beast 666, was an influential occultist, mystic, alchemist, writer, poet, painter, mountaineer, and ceremony magician.
Description[]
A flamboyant figure who loved flaunting his disrespect for authority and convention, Crowley was condemned in his native country for his libertine lifestyle, which included recreational drug use and casual sex with both men and women. Crowley went on to establish his own religion, Thelema, and declared himself a prophet, while joining several other esoteric orders as he traveled around the world.
Overview[]
At some point in his life, Crowley studied human and alien magic, invoking the names of God, angels, demons and pagan deities. He became an occultist, mystic, alchemist, writer, poet, painter, mountaineer, and ceremony magician. One of his pivotal encounters with the unnatural was when he was met with an entity named Aiwass, who instructed him to write down occult teachings which would be known as the The Book of the Law, the founding text of Thelema.
However, Crowley's incessant meddling with the supernatural led him to be marked by the forces of Hell. While the exact circumstances were never detailed, John Constantine had apparently learned of Crowley's predicament and trapped the old mage in a series of magic circles that kept him hidden from Hell's forces and other magicians, but which would set off the magical equivalent of a signal flare if he ever left the circles. This left Crowley living off whatever fish he could catch from the lake for the better part of seven years, waiting for Constantine to return. But during those seven years, he began to grew mad from the isolation to where he was willing to trade his soul to be released from the circle. And when John tricked him, he was taken and dragged to Hell.
Years later, John Constantine summoned Crowley's soul and trapped him on Earth in a painting that Constantine stored in the attic of his house. Constantine kept one of Aleister's book about alien magic and Gary Greene enjoyed reading it, taking it from the bookshelf in the house's library and holding it in his room.
Trivia[]
- He was often referenced by musicians and bands like Ozzy Osbourne, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie.
- According to conspiracy theorists, he might also be the grandfather of American president George W. Bush and the perverse saint of the Illuminati and New World Order.
- Constantine considers Crowley as nothing but a kook rather than a powerful wizard.