The occult (from Latin : occultus , lit. ' hidden ' or ' secret ' ) is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysticism . It can also refer to paranormal ideas such as extra-sensory perception and parapsychology .
174-463: Aleister Crowley ( / ˈ æ l ɪ s t ər ˈ k r oʊ l i / AL -ist-ər KROH -lee ; born Edward Alexander Crowley ; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist , ceremonial magician , poet, novelist, mountaineer , and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema , identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, he published widely over
348-639: A 'Royal' prefix , and 'Leamington Priors' was renamed 'Royal Leamington Spa'. Queen Victoria had visited the town as a Princess in 1830 and as Queen in 1858. In 1840 the Victoria Bridge was opened, connecting the old and new towns, replacing an old, narrow, and inconvenient bridge. Nine years earlier, the opening of Portobello Bridge , a three-arch bridge over the River Avon, reconnected the town to neighbouring Warwick—an earlier bridge nearby having been condemned and demolished in 1830. The growth of Leamington
522-578: A drug user , a bisexual , and an individualist social critic . Crowley has remained a highly influential figure over western esotericism and the counterculture of the 1960s , and he continues to be considered a prophet in Thelema. He is the subject of various biographies and academic studies. Crowley was born Edward Alexander Crowley at 30 Clarendon Square in Royal Leamington Spa , Warwickshire, on 12 October 1875. His father, Edward Crowley (1829–1887),
696-623: A ménage à trois by Ninette Shumway, and also (in living arrangement) by Leah's newborn daughter Anne "Poupée" Leah. Crowley had ideas of forming a community of Thelemites, which he called the Abbey of Thelema after the Abbaye de Thélème in François Rabelais ' satire Gargantua and Pantagruel . After consulting the I Ching , he chose Cefalù in Sicily as a location, and after arriving there, began renting
870-743: A "magical retirement" to a cabin by Lake Pasquaney owned by Evangeline Adams. There, he made heavy use of drugs and undertook a ritual after which he proclaimed himself "Master Therion". He also wrote several short stories based on James George Frazer 's The Golden Bough and a work of literary criticism, The Gospel According to Bernard Shaw . In December, he moved to New Orleans , his favourite US city, before spending February 1917 with evangelical Christian relatives in Titusville, Florida . Returning to New York City, he moved in with artist and A∴A∴ member Leon Engers Kennedy in May, learning of his mother's death. After
1044-468: A "marriage of convenience" to prevent her from entering an arranged marriage ; the marriage appalled the Kelly family and damaged his friendship with Gerald. Heading on a honeymoon to Paris, Cairo, and then Ceylon, Crowley fell in love with Rose and worked to prove his affections. While on his honeymoon, he wrote her a series of love poems, published as Rosa Mundi and other Love Songs (1906), as well as authoring
1218-551: A Bottle , Ubisoft Leamington , Unit 2, Electric Square, Full Fat , Kwalee , Pixel Toys, Playground Games , Red Chain Games, Stickman Studios, Supersonic Software and Midoki. Codemasters are based at Southam near Leamington and were the initial impetus behind the cluster, providing many of the staff for the companies in Leamington. In 2013, Sega 's mobile platform studio Hardlight Studio set up in Leamington, and Exient opened
1392-674: A Russian émigré living in the United States who founded the religion of Theosophy . The article was published in the American Spiritualist magazine, Spiritual Scientist . Various twentieth-century writers on the subject used the term occultism in different ways. Some writers, such as the German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno in his "Theses Against Occultism", employed the term as a broad synonym for irrationality . In his 1950 book L'occultisme , Robert Amadou [ fr ] used
1566-580: A Thelemite. He also befriended the journalist Tom Driberg ; Driberg did not accept Thelema either. It was here that Crowley also published one of his most significant works, Magick in Theory and Practice , which received little attention at the time. In December 1928 Crowley met the Nicaraguan Maria Teresa Sanchez (Maria Teresa Ferrari de Miramar). Crowley was deported from France by the authorities, who disliked his reputation and feared that he
1740-701: A bad reputation, and he developed feuds with some of the members, including W. B. Yeats . When the Golden Dawn's London lodge refused to initiate Crowley into the Second Order, he visited Mathers in Paris, who personally admitted him into the Adeptus Minor Grade. A schism had developed between Mathers and the London members of the Golden Dawn, who were unhappy with his autocratic rule. Acting under Mathers' orders, Crowley—with
1914-468: A co-educational school for pupils aged 3 to 18, and The Kingsley School , a school for girls. Myton School in Warwick, although located just outside Leamington, includes parts of Leamington as being within its priority area . As well as these schools, Leamington children can attend Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls , a state run selective school, Warwick School , an independent school for boys,
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#17328553779922088-495: A commentary on The Book of the Law , and revised the third part of Book 4 . He offered a libertine education for the children, allowing them to play all day and witness acts of sex magic. He occasionally travelled to Palermo to visit rent boys and buy supplies, including drugs; his heroin addiction came to dominate his life, and cocaine began to erode his nasal cavity. There was no cleaning rota, and wild dogs and cats wandered throughout
2262-597: A daughter named Lilith, and Crowley wrote the pornographic Snowdrops from a Curate's Garden to entertain his recuperating wife. He also founded a publishing company through which to publish his poetry, naming it the Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth in parody of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge . Among its first publications were Crowley's Collected Works , edited by Ivor Back, an old friend of Crowley's who
2436-461: A day, making it the largest of its kind in the UK. It is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs. There are a number of schools either located within Leamington, or which include Leamington in their priority (catchment) area. Those within Leamington include the state secondary schools of North Leamington School , Campion School , Trinity Catholic School , and the independent schools of Arnold Lodge School ,
2610-477: A diplomatic career in favour of pursuing an interest in the occult. In March 1898, he obtained A. E. Waite 's The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts , and then Karl von Eckartshausen 's The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary , furthering his occult interests. That same year, Leonard Smithers , a publisher who Crowley met through Pollitt, published 100 copies of Crowley's poem Aceldama: A Place to Bury Strangers In , but it
2784-461: A disenchanted world or, alternatively, by people in general to make sense of esotericism from the perspective of a disenchanted secular world". Hanegraaff noted that this etic usage of the term would be independent of emic usages of the term employed by occultists and other esotericists themselves. In this definition, occultism covers many esoteric currents that have developed from the mid-nineteenth century onward, including Spiritualism, Theosophy,
2958-606: A hobby, exhibiting his work at the Greenwich Village Liberal Club and attracting the attention of The Evening World . With the financial assistance of sympathetic Freemasons, Crowley revived The Equinox with the first issue of volume III, known as The Blue Equinox . He spent mid-1919 on a climbing holiday in Montauk before returning to London in December. Now destitute and back in London, Crowley came under attack from
3132-562: A leisure centre including swimming pool Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre , rugby grounds Leamington Rugby Union Football Club , Leamington Rugby Club – Youth Section and Old Leamingtonians Rugby Football Club , Leamington Cricket, Khalsa Leamington Hockey Club, Leamington Cycling club, Leamington Athletics club, Spa Striders Running Club, Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club, Leamington Chess Club , formed in 1851, and municipal tennis courts. The Royal Leamington Spa Bowling Club in Victoria Park hosts
3306-532: A local boy, Mohammad ben Brahim, as his servant, Crowley went with him on a retreat to Nefta , where they performed sex magic together. In January 1924, Crowley travelled to Nice , France, where he met with Frank Harris , underwent a series of nasal operations, and visited the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man and had a positive opinion of its founder, George Gurdjieff . Destitute, he took on
3480-401: A magazine edited by his friend Frank Harris . He also wrote Liber 777 , a book of magical and Qabalistic correspondences that borrowed from Mathers and Bennett. Into my loneliness comes— The sound of a flute in dim groves that haunt the uttermost hills. Even from the brave river they reach to the edge of the wilderness. And I behold Pan. The opening lines of Liber VII (1907),
3654-675: A much smaller scale. Karobes Limited , with its headquarters in Queensway, was one of Britain's major suppliers of accessories for cars between World War II and the 1970s. Commercial parks for service providers and light industry and offices are primarily located to the south of the town: Althorpe Street Industrial Estate, Queensway Trading Estate, Shires Gate Trading Estate and Sydenham Industrial Estate. In June 2014, Detroit Electric announced that they would be building their SP.01 all-electric roadster in Leamington Spa. Leamington Spa and
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#17328553779923828-433: A nanny for the purpose. Crowley smoked opium throughout the journey, which took the family from Tengyueh through to Yungchang, Tali , Yunnanfu , and then Hanoi . On the way, he spent much time on spiritual and magical work, reciting the "Bornless Ritual", an invocation to his Holy Guardian Angel , on a daily basis. While Rose and Lilith returned to Europe, Crowley headed to Shanghai to meet old friend Elaine Simpson, who
4002-565: A police station, the complex houses a magistrates' court , and the Crown Court , County Court , and other agencies such as the Probation Service and Victim Support . It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 4 March 2011. An oak tree just to the northeast of the town centre is marked by a plaque stating that it commemorates the Midland Oak , a tree that grew near the spot and
4176-534: A popular place for shopping. In 1832 the town's main hospital, Warneford Hospital , opened, named after philanthropist Samuel Wilson Warneford . At first a semi-private affair it was taken over by the National Health Service after the Second World War, before succumbing to budget cuts and closing in 1993. Leamington is closely associated with the founding of lawn tennis . The first tennis club in
4350-716: A preternatural entity named Lam. The relationship soon ended. In 1918, Crowley went on a magical retreat in the wilderness of Esopus Island on the Hudson River . Here, he began an adaptation of the Tao Te Ching , painted Thelemic slogans on the riverside cliffs, and—he later wrote—experienced past life memories of being Ge Xuan , Pope Alexander VI , Alessandro Cagliostro , and Éliphas Lévi . Back in New York City, he moved to Greenwich Village , where he took Leah Hirsig as his lover and next Scarlet Woman. He took up painting as
4524-453: A prince and princess, they rented an apartment in which Crowley set up a temple room and began invoking ancient Egyptian deities, while studying Islamic mysticism and Arabic . According to Crowley's later account, Rose regularly became delirious and informed him "they are waiting for you." On 18 March, she explained that "they" were the god Horus , and on 20 March proclaimed that "the Equinox of
4698-567: A sadomasochistic relationship with the Hungarian Anny Ringler. In Moscow, Crowley continued to write plays and poetry, including "Hymn to Pan ", and the Gnostic Mass , a Thelemic ritual that became a key part of O.T.O. liturgy. Churton suggested that Crowley had travelled to Moscow on the orders of British intelligence to spy on revolutionary elements in the city. In January 1914, Crowley and Neuburg settled into an apartment in Paris, where
4872-574: A satellite studio. Former companies were Blitz Games Studios , FreeStyleGames , Bigbig Studios and Titus Software UK Limited . Local hospitals include the Leamington Spa Hospital and the Warwickshire Nuffield Hospital . On 13 July 2021 a coronavirus "mega lab" was opened in the town. Named after English chemist Rosalind Franklin , the laboratory is intended to be capable of processing hundreds of thousands of samples
5046-671: A series of surgical operations. He began short-lived romances with actress Vera "Lola" Neville (née Snepp) and author Ada Leverson , while Rose gave birth to Crowley's second daughter, Lola Zaza, in February 1907. With his old mentor George Cecil Jones, Crowley continued performing the Abramelin rituals at the Ashdown Park Hotel in Coulsdon , Surrey. Crowley believed that in doing so he attained samadhi , or union with Godhead, thereby marking
5220-731: A small mosque and a Hindu temple. In 2009, the Sikh community built the Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick in Warwick which also serves Leamington. There are also Christadelphian and Jehovah's Witnesses meeting halls in the town. Eden Court in Lillington is a residential tower block and one of several tall landmarks. In December 2010, the Warwickshire Justice Centre was completed in Newbold Terrace. As well as
5394-508: A substantivized adjective as "the occult", a term that has been particularly widely used among journalists and sociologists . This term was popularised by the publication of Colin Wilson 's 1971 book The Occult . This term has been used as an "intellectual waste-basket" into which a wide array of beliefs and practices have been placed because they do not fit readily into the categories of religion or science. According to Hanegraaff, "the occult"
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5568-425: A third of his father's wealth, he began misbehaving at school and was harshly punished by Champney; Crowley's family removed him from the school when he developed albuminuria . He then attended Malvern College and Tonbridge School , both of which he despised and left after a few terms. He became increasingly sceptical of Christianity, pointing out Biblical inconsistencies to his religious teachers, and went against
5742-424: A turning point in his life. Making heavy use of hashish during these rituals, he wrote an essay on "The Psychology of Hashish" (1909) in which he championed the drug as an aid to mysticism. He also said he had been contacted once again by Aiwass in late October and November 1907, adding that Aiwass dictated two further texts to him, "Liber VII" and "Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente", both of which were later classified in
5916-598: 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 an esoteric order—the A∴A∴ , through which they propagated Thelema. After spending time in Algeria, in 1912 he was initiated into another esoteric order—the German-based Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), in which he rose to become
6090-455: A wealthy student, Alexander Zu Zolar, before taking on another American follower, Dorothy Olsen. Crowley took Olsen back to Tunisia for a magical retreat in Nefta, where he also wrote To Man (1924), a declaration of his own status as a prophet entrusted with bringing Thelema to humanity. After spending the winter in Paris, in early 1925 Crowley and Olsen returned to Tunis, where he wrote The Heart of
6264-598: A writer for his propagandist paper, The Fatherland , which was dedicated to keeping the US neutral in the conflict. In later years, detractors denounced Crowley as a traitor to Britain for this action. Crowley entered into a relationship with Jeanne Robert Foster , with whom he toured the West Coast. In Vancouver , headquarters of the North American O.T.O., he met with Charles Stansfeld Jones and Wilfred Talbot Smith to discuss
6438-480: Is a civil parish in the Warwick District , an administrative division of the county of Warwickshire , it thus falls under the jurisdiction of Warwickshire County Council , based in Warwick as the upper-tier authority. Between 1875 and 1974 Leamington was a municipal borough . As part of the 1974 local government reform it was merged with Warwick , Kenilworth and Whitnash , and surrounding rural areas into
6612-662: Is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire , England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors , it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities. In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It is named after the River Leam , which flows through the town. The town contains especially fine ensembles of Regency architecture , particularly in parts of
6786-459: Is a category into which gets placed a range of beliefs from "spirits or fairies to parapsychological experiments, from UFO-abductions to Oriental mysticism, from vampire legends to channelling, and so on". The neologism occulture used within the industrial music scene of the late twentieth century was probably coined by one of its central figures, the musician and occultist Genesis P-Orridge . The scholar of religion Christopher Partridge used
6960-461: Is adjoined to the north-east. Just outside the town lie the villages of Old Milverton to the north and Radford Semele 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east. Leamington has several suburbs; the town has encompassed the former village of Lillington , directly to the north of the town centre. Other suburbs include Milverton to the northwest, Campion Hills to the east, and Sydenham the east. The rapidly expanding Heathcote (or "Warwick Gates") district to
7134-657: Is also home to two national educational charities – The Smallpeice Trust and The Arkwright Scholarships Trust . They specialise in making young people aware of how STEM fields studied in school can lead to fulfilling and exciting careers in science and engineering sectors of industry. Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum is located in the Royal Pump Rooms, on the Parade. It holds a collection of over 12,000 objects, including fine and decorative arts, as well as items relating to local and social history. It provides exhibitions in
Aleister Crowley - Misplaced Pages Continue
7308-573: Is provided by local bands in a variety of venues. In December 2005 the band Nizlopi from Leamington, reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart with "JCB" . The Woodbine Street Recording Studios has been used by several well-known music acts such as Paul Weller , Ocean Colour Scene , Felt , The Specials , and local band The Shapes , whose single "Batman in the Launderette" charted first in 1979. Classical music concerts are organised throughout
7482-470: Is thus often used to categorise such esoteric traditions as Qabalah , Spiritualism , Theosophy , Anthroposophy , Wicca , the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , New Age , and the left-hand path and right-hand path . Use of the term as a nominalized adjective ('the occult') has developed especially since the late twentieth century. In that same period, occult and culture were combined to form
7656-628: The 2005 general election , where James Plaskitt won with a majority of just 266 votes. In the 2010 general election the seat returned to the Conservative Party, with Chris White winning the seat by 3,513 votes. White remained the MP until the 2017 general election , when the seat was won by Matt Western of the Labour Party with a narrow majority, he retained his seat at the 2019 general election with his majority reduced from 1,206 to 789, and again at
7830-566: The 2024 election with a greatly increased majority of 12,412. Buildings in the town include a variety of Georgian and early Victorian architecture , and listed buildings such as the Grade II listed Lansdowne Crescent in neo-classical style, designed by William Thomas between 1835 and 1838. Amongst the Anglican churches in Leamington is the Gothic parish church All Saints' Church , and St John
8004-727: The Bernese Alps , climbing the Eiger , Trift , Jungfrau , Mönch , and Wetterhorn . Having adopted the name of Aleister over Edward, in October 1895 Crowley began a three-year course at Trinity College, Cambridge , where he was entered for the Moral Science Tripos studying philosophy. With approval from his personal tutor, he changed to English literature, which was not then part of the curriculum offered. Crowley spent much of his time at university engaged in his pastimes, becoming president of
8178-645: The Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 and wrote a novel, The Diary of a Drug Fiend , completed in July. On publication, it received mixed reviews; he was lambasted by the Sunday Express , which called for its burning and used its influence to prevent further reprints. Subsequently, a young Thelemite named Raoul Loveday moved to the Abbey with his wife Betty May ; while Loveday was devoted to Crowley, May detested him and life at
8352-753: The German Empire , Austria-Hungary , and the Kingdom of Italy . Unlike older forms of esotericism, occultism does not necessarily reject "scientific progress or modernity". Lévi had stressed the need to solve the conflict between science and religion, something that he believed could be achieved by turning to what he thought was the ancient wisdom found in magic. The French scholar of Western esotericism Antoine Faivre noted that rather than outright accepting "the triumph of scientism", occultists sought "an alternative solution", trying to integrate "scientific progress or modernity" with "a global vision that will serve to make
8526-538: The Middle Ages , for example, magnetism was considered an occult quality. Aether is another such element. Newton 's contemporaries severely criticized his theory that gravity was effected through "action at a distance", as occult. In the English-speaking world, notable figures in the development of occultism included Helena Blavatsky and other figures associated with her Theosophical Society, senior figures in
8700-526: The Parade , Clarendon Square and Lansdowne Circus. The town also contains several large public parks, such as Jephson Gardens , the Royal Pump Room Gardens and Victoria Park . Although originally founded around its spa industry, Leamington today has developed into a centre for retail, and digital industries, which has gained it the moniker "silicon spa". In 2023 The Sunday Times named Leamington as
8874-524: The Spa Centre and the amateur The Loft , with outdoor summer productions in Jephson Gardens. Leamington also has two cinemas: the Spa Centre and a multiplex. There are a number of sports clubs and leisure facilities in Leamington Spa, including the oldest purpose built Real Tennis court in the world at Leamington Tennis Court Club, the football club Leamington F.C. , a disc golf course Quarry Park ,
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#17328553779929048-471: The neologism occulture . The occult (from the Latin word occultus ; lit. 'clandestine', 'hidden', 'secret') is "knowledge of the hidden". In common usage, occult refers to "knowledge of the paranormal ", as opposed to "knowledge of the measurable ", usually referred to as science. The terms esoteric and arcane can also be used to describe the occult, in addition to their meanings unrelated to
9222-490: The paranormal phenomenon as a means of distinguishing it from the stage magic of illusionists. In early 1912, Crowley published The Book of Lies , a work of mysticism that biographer Lawrence Sutin described as "his greatest success in merging his talents as poet, scholar, and magus". The German occultist Theodor Reuss later accused him of publishing some of the secrets of his own occult order, Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), within The Book . Crowley convinced Reuss that
9396-407: The parliamentary constituency of Warwick and Leamington . From the 1997 general election until the 2010 general election the constituency was represented in parliament by James Plaskitt of the Labour Party ; until then this had been a Conservative safe seat , counting former British prime minister Anthony Eden among its Members of Parliament (MPs). The seat became highly marginal at
9570-463: The "traditional esotericism" which accepted the premise of an "enchanted" world. According to the British historian of Western esotericism Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke , occultist groups typically seek "proofs and demonstrations by recourse to scientific tests or terminology". In his work about Lévi, the German historian of religion Julian Strube has argued that the occultist wish for a "synthesis" of religion, science, and philosophy directly resulted from
9744-442: The Alps to climb every year from 1894 to 1898, often with his friend Oscar Eckenstein , and in 1897 he made the first ascent of the Mönch without a guide. These feats led to his recognition in the Alpine mountaineering community. For many years I had loathed being called Alick, partly because of the unpleasant sound and sight of the word, partly because it was the name by which my mother called me. Edward did not seem to suit me and
9918-411: The Baptist's Church . St Mark's Church on Rugby Road was designed by George Gilbert Scott Jr. in 1879. It is a Gothic revival design, in red brick with stone dressings. It was endowed by the Carus-Wilson family, in memory of Frances Carus-Wilson (d.1872), wife of Sir Trevor Wheler . There is a Roman Catholic church, St Peter's Church , two United Reformed churches ( one being in Lillington ),
10092-468: The British intelligence services. In 1920, he established the Abbey of Thelema —a religious commune in Cefalù , Sicily, where he lived with various followers. His libertine lifestyle led to denunciations in the British press, and the Italian government evicted him in 1923. He divided the following two decades between France, Germany, and England, and continued to promote Thelema until his death. Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being
10266-459: The Christian morality of his upbringing by smoking, masturbating, and having sex with prostitutes from whom he contracted gonorrhea . Sent to live with a Brethren tutor in Eastbourne , he undertook chemistry courses at Eastbourne College . Crowley developed interests in chess , poetry, and mountain climbing , and in 1894 climbed Beachy Head before visiting the Alps and joining the Scottish Mountaineering Club . The following year he returned to
10440-514: The Crowleys moved to Redhill , Surrey. At the age of 8, Crowley was sent to H. T. Habershon's evangelical Christian boarding school in Hastings , and then to Ebor preparatory school in Cambridge , run by the Reverend Henry d'Arcy Champney, whom Crowley considered a sadist. In March 1887, when Crowley was 11, his father died of tongue cancer . Crowley described this as a turning point in his life, and he always maintained an admiration of his father, describing him as "my hero and my friend". Inheriting
10614-425: The English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky . Throughout the 20th century, the term 'occult' was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors. By the 21st century the term 'occultism' was commonly employed –including by academic scholars in the field of Western esotericism studies – to refer to a range of esoteric currents that developed in the mid-19th century and their descendants. Occultism
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#173285537799210788-453: The Gods has come". She led him to a nearby museum, where she showed him a seventh-century BCE mortuary stele known as the Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu ; Crowley thought it important that the exhibit's number was 666, the Number of the Beast in Christian belief, and in later years termed the artefact the "Stele of Revealing". According to Crowley's later statements, on 8 April he heard a disembodied voice identifying itself as that of Aiwass ,
10962-431: The Golden Dawn, but with an added Thelemic basis. Its earliest members included solicitor Richard Noel Warren, artist Austin Osman Spare , Horace Sheridan-Bickers, author George Raffalovich , Francis Henry Everard Joseph Feilding, engineer Herbert Edward Inman, Kenneth Ward, and Charles Stansfeld Jones . In March 1909, Crowley began production of a biannual periodical titled The Equinox . He billed this periodical, which
11136-454: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn like William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers , as well as other individuals such as Paschal Beverly Randolph , Emma Hardinge Britten , Arthur Edward Waite , and – in the early twentieth century – Aleister Crowley , Dion Fortune , and Israel Regardie . By the end of the nineteenth century, occultist ideas had also spread into other parts of Europe, such as
11310-402: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the New Age. Employing this etic understanding of "occultism", Hanegraaff argued that its development could begin to be seen in the work of the Swedish esotericist Emanuel Swedenborg and in the Mesmerist movement of the eighteenth century, although added that occultism only emerged in "fully-developed form" as Spiritualism, a movement that developed in
11484-408: The Hohenleuben Conference in Thuringia , Germany, which Crowley attended. There, prominent members like Karl Germer and Martha Küntzel championed Crowley's leadership, but other key figures like Albin Grau , Oskar Hopfer, and Henri Birven backed Tränker by opposing it, resulting in a split in O.T.O. Moving to Paris, where he broke with Olsen in 1926, Crowley went through a large number of lovers over
11658-438: The King's High School for Girls , Warwick's twin school and Princethorpe College , a mixed independent school in the nearby village of Princethorpe . Leamington is the location of the first of Warwickshire College 's six sites, and additionally another site is located just outside the town. The closest higher education institutions are the University of Warwick , in southwestern Coventry, and Coventry University . Leamington
11832-624: The Law was rediscovered at Boleskine, he developed the opinion that Thelema represented objective truth . Crowley's inheritance was running out. Trying to earn money, he was hired by George Montagu Bennett, the Earl of Tankerville , to help protect him from witchcraft ; recognising Bennett's paranoia as being based in his cocaine addiction, Crowley took him on holiday to France and Morocco to recuperate. In 1907, he also began taking in paying students, whom he instructed in occult and magical practice. Victor Neuburg , whom Crowley met in February 1907, became his sexual partner and closest disciple; in 1908
12006-404: The Law —a sacred text that serves as the basis for Thelema, which he said had been dictated to him by a supernatural entity named Aiwass . The Book announced the start of the Æon of Horus, and declared that its followers should "Do what thou wilt", and seek to align themselves with their True Will via the practice of ceremonial magic. After the unsuccessful 1905 Kanchenjunga expedition , and
12180-428: The Leamington Shopping Park (formerly The Shires Retail Park ), even though it sits within the boundaries of Warwick . It opened in 1989. Tourism was initially driven by the spring waters. The arrival of the Warwick and Napton Canal (later amalgamated into the Grand Union Canal ) officially opened in 1799 as the primary means of cargo transport and led to growth in other industries until rail gradually took over in
12354-426: The MMM for financial reasons, and in July he went mountaineering in the Swiss Alps. During this time the First World War broke out. After recuperating from a bout of phlebitis , Crowley set sail for the United States aboard the RMS Lusitania in October 1914. Arriving in New York City, he moved into a hotel and began earning money writing for the American edition of Vanity Fair and undertaking freelance work for
12528-518: The Master (1938) as an account of a vision he experienced in a trance. In March Olsen became pregnant, and Hirsig was called to take care of her; she miscarried, following which Crowley took Olsen back to France. Hirsig later distanced herself from Crowley, who then denounced her. According to Crowley, Reuss named him head of O.T.O. upon his death, but this was challenged by a leader of the German O.T.O., Heinrich Tränker [ de ] . Tränker called
12702-508: The Spirit , Appeal to the American Republic , and Jephthah in 1898–99; most gained mixed reviews from literary critics, although Jephthah was considered a particular critical success. Crowley soon progressed through the lower grades of the Golden Dawn, and was ready to enter the group's inner Second Order. He was unpopular in the group; his bisexuality and libertine lifestyle gained him
12876-494: The United States during the mid-nineteenth century. Marco Pasi suggested that the use of Hanegraaff's definition might cause confusion by presenting a group of nineteenth-century esotericists who called themselves "occultists" as just one part of a broader category of esotericists whom scholars would call "occultists". Following these discussions, Julian Strube argued that Lévi and other contemporary authors who would now be regarded as esotericists developed their ideas not against
13050-609: The United States, settling in Mexico City and starting a relationship with a local woman. Developing a love of the country, he continued experimenting with ceremonial magic, working with John Dee 's Enochian invocations. He later said he had been initiated into Freemasonry while there, and he wrote a play based on Richard Wagner 's Tannhäuser as well as a series of poems, published as Oracles (1905). Eckenstein joined him later in 1900, and together they climbed several mountains, including Iztaccihuatl , Popocatepetl , and Colima ,
13224-517: The Warwick District, which has its offices in Leamington. Since the 2023 elections , Warwick District Council has been run by a coalition of the Labour Party and Green Party , it was previously run by a Conservative -led minority administration. In 2002 Leamington Spa became a civil parish and gained a new Town (parish) Council , as the most local tier of government. Leamington is part of
13398-591: The annual National Lawn Bowls Championships . The town has several parks and gardens, including the Jephson Gardens , close to the Royal Pump Rooms and next to the River Leam. These were seriously damaged in the floods of 1998, but have been restored and improved with funding from the National Lottery . The other side of the River Leam, on Priory Terrace features the "Elephant Walk" 19th-century slipway down to
13572-468: The background of an esoteric tradition in the first place. Rather, Lévi's notion of occultism emerged in the context of highly influential radical socialist movements and widespread progressive, so-called neo-Catholic ideas. This further complicates Hanegraaff's characteristics of occultism, since, throughout the nineteenth century, they apply to these reformist movements rather than to a supposed group of esotericists. The term occult has also been used as
13746-579: The best place to live in the Midlands . In the 2021 census Leamington had a population of 50,923. Leamington is adjoined with the neighbouring towns of Warwick and Whitnash , and the village of Cubbington ; together these form a conurbation known as the "Royal Leamington Spa Built-up area" which in 2011 had a population of 95,172. Leamington lies around 9 miles (14 km) south of Coventry , 20 miles (32 km) south-east of Birmingham , and 81 miles (130 km) north-west of London . Leamington
13920-482: The building, which soon became unsanitary. Poupée died in October 1920, and Ninette gave birth to a daughter, Astarte Lulu Panthea, soon afterwards. New followers continued to arrive at the Abbey to be taught by Crowley. Among them was film star Jane Wolfe , who arrived in July 1920, where she was initiated into the A∴A∴ and became Crowley's secretary. Another was Cecil Frederick Russell, who often argued with Crowley, disliking
14094-426: The chess club and practising the game for two hours a day; he briefly considered a professional career as a chess player. Crowley also embraced his love of literature and poetry, particularly the works of Richard Francis Burton and Percy Bysshe Shelley . Many of his own poems appeared in student publications such as The Granta , Cambridge Magazine , and Cantab . He continued his mountaineering, going on holiday to
14268-434: The collapse of The Fatherland , Crowley continued his association with Viereck, who appointed him contributing editor of arts journal The International . Crowley used it to promote Thelema, but it soon ceased publication. He then moved to the studio apartment of Roddie Minor, who became his partner and Scarlet Woman . Through their rituals, which Crowley called "The Amalantrah Workings", he believed that they were contacted by
14442-411: The commune. She later said that Loveday was made to drink the blood of a sacrificed cat, and that they were required to cut themselves with razors every time they used the pronoun "I". Loveday drank from a local polluted stream, soon developing a liver infection resulting in his death in February 1923. Returning to London, May told her story to the press. John Bull proclaimed Crowley "the wickedest man in
14616-440: The concept of science. From that point on, use of "occult science(s)" implied a conscious polemic against mainstream science. Nevertheless, the philosopher and card game historian Michael Dummett , whose analysis of the historical evidence suggested that fortune-telling and occult interpretations using cards were unknown before the 18th century, said that the term occult science was not misplaced because "people who believe in
14790-401: The context of contemporary socialism and progressive Catholicism . Similar to spiritualism, but in declared opposition to it, the emergence of occultism should thus be seen within the context of radical social reform, which was often concerned with establishing new forms of "scientific religion" while at the same time propagating the revival of an ancient tradition of "true religion". Indeed,
14964-449: The context of theoretical frameworks that relied heavily on a belief in occult qualities, virtues or forces." Although there are areas of overlap between these different occult sciences, they are separate and in some cases practitioners of one would reject the others as being illegitimate. During the Age of Enlightenment , occultism increasingly came to be seen as intrinsically incompatible with
15138-456: The corpus of The Holy Books of Thelema . Crowley wrote down more Thelemic Holy Books during the last two months of the year, including "Liber LXVI", "Liber Arcanorum", "Liber Porta Lucis, Sub Figura X", "Liber Tau", " Liber Trigrammaton " and "Liber DCCCXIII vel Ararita", which he again said he had received from a preternatural source. Crowley stated that in June 1909, when the manuscript of The Book of
15312-529: The course of his life. Born to a wealthy family in Royal Leamington Spa , Warwickshire, Crowley rejected his parents' fundamentalist Christian Plymouth Brethren faith to pursue an interest in Western esotericism . He was educated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge , where he focused his attention upon mountaineering and poetry, resulting in several publications. Some biographers allege that here he
15486-505: The demon Choronzon involving blood sacrifice , and considered the results to be a watershed in his magical career. Returning to London in January 1910, Crowley found that Mathers was suing him for publishing Golden Dawn secrets in The Equinox ; the court found in favour of Crowley. The case was widely reported in the press, with Crowley gaining wider fame. Crowley enjoyed this, and played up to
15660-517: The desert from El Arba to Aumale , Bou Saâda , and then Dā'leh Addin, with Crowley reciting the Quran to fortify himself against growing feelings of awe and dread. During the trip he invoked the thirty aethyrs of Enochian magic , with Neuburg recording the results, later published in The Equinox as The Vision and the Voice . Following a mountaintop sex magic ritual, Crowley also performed an evocation to
15834-814: The diminutives Ted or Ned were even less appropriate. Alexander was too long and Sandy suggested tow hair and freckles. I had read in some book or other that the most favourable name for becoming famous was one consisting of a dactyl followed by a spondee , as at the end of a hexameter : like Jeremy Taylor . Aleister Crowley fulfilled these conditions and Aleister is the Gaelic form of Alexander. To adopt it would satisfy my romantic ideals. Aleister Crowley, on his name change. Crowley had his first significant mystical experience while on holiday in Stockholm in December 1896. Several biographers, including Lawrence Sutin , Richard Kaczynski , and Tobias Churton , believed that this
16008-504: The early modern Lutheran thinker Jakob Bohme , and seeking to integrate ideas from Bohmian theosophy and occultism. It has been noted, however, that this distancing from the Theosophical Society should be understood in the light of polemical identity formations among esotericists towards the end of the nineteenth century. In the mid-1990s, a new definition of "occultism" was put forth by Wouter Hanegraaff. According to Hanegraaff,
16182-713: The emergence of both modern esotericism and socialism in July Monarchy France have been inherently intertwined. Another feature of occultists is that – unlike earlier esotericists – they often openly distanced themselves from Christianity, in some cases (like that of Crowley) even adopting explicitly anti-Christian stances. This reflected how pervasive the influence of secularisation had been on all areas of European society. In rejecting Christianity, these occultists sometimes turned towards pre-Christian belief systems and embraced forms of Modern Paganism , while others instead took influence from
16356-597: The famed astrologer Evangeline Adams . In the city, he continued experimenting with sex magic, through the use of masturbation, female prostitutes, and male clients of a Turkish bathhouse; all of these encounters were documented in his diaries. Professing to be of Irish ancestry and a supporter of Irish independence from Great Britain, Crowley began to espouse support for Germany in their war against Britain. He became involved in New York's pro-German movement, and in January 1915 German spy George Sylvester Viereck employed him as
16530-412: The first railway station at the current location was opened. As the popularity of spa resorts declined towards the end of the 19th century, the focus of Leamington's economy shifted towards becoming a popular place of residence for retired people and for members of the middle class , many of whom relocated from Coventry and Birmingham . Its well off residents led to the development of Leamington as
16704-536: The first of the Holy Books of Thelema to be revealed to Crowley after The Book of the Law . In November 1907, Crowley and Jones decided to found an occult order to act as a successor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, being aided in doing so by Fuller. The result was the A∴A∴ . The group's headquarters and temple were situated at 124 Victoria Street in central London, and their rites borrowed much from those of
16878-408: The following years, with whom he experimented in sex magic. Throughout, he was dogged by poor health, largely caused by his heroin and cocaine addictions. In 1928, Crowley was introduced to Israel Regardie , a young Englishman, who embraced Thelema and became Crowley's secretary for the next three years. That year, Crowley also met Gerald Yorke , who began organising Crowley's finances but never became
17052-419: The former was involved in the controversy surrounding Jacob Epstein 's new monument to Oscar Wilde . Together Crowley and Neuburg performed the six-week "Paris Working", a period of intense ritual involving strong drug use in which they invoked the gods Mercury and Jupiter . As part of the ritual, the couple performed acts of sex magic together, at times being joined by journalist Walter Duranty . Inspired by
17226-490: The greatest ever written. Crowley decided to climb Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas of Nepal, widely recognised as the world's most treacherous mountain. The collaboration between Jacot-Guillarmod , Charles Adolphe Reymond, Alexis Pache, and Alcesti C. Rigo de Righi, the expedition was marred by much argument between Crowley and the others, who thought that he was reckless. They eventually mutinied against Crowley's control, with
17400-513: The group's leader, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers . The ceremony took place in the Golden Dawn's Isis-Urania Temple held at London's Mark Masons Hall, where Crowley took the magical motto and name "Frater Perdurabo", which he interpreted as "Brother I shall endure to the end". Crowley moved into his own luxury flat at 67–69 Chancery Lane and soon invited a senior Golden Dawn member, Allan Bennett , to live with him as his personal magical tutor. Bennett taught Crowley more about ceremonial magic and
17574-511: The group. Fascinated by O.T.O's emphasis on sex magic , Crowley devised a magical working based on anal sex and incorporated it into the syllabus for those O.T.O. members who were initiated into the eleventh degree . In March 1913, Crowley acted as producer for The Ragged Ragtime Girls , a group of female violinists led by Waddell, as they performed at London's Old Tivoli theatre. They subsequently performed in Moscow for six weeks, where Crowley had
17748-613: The help of his mistress and fellow initiate Elaine Simpson —attempted to seize the Vault of the Adepts, a temple space at 36 Blythe Road in West Kensington , from the London lodge members. When the case was taken to court, the judge ruled in favour of the London lodge, as they had paid for the space's rent, leaving both Crowley and Mathers isolated from the group. In 1900, Crowley travelled to Mexico via
17922-576: The latter of which they had to abandon owing to a volcanic eruption. Leaving Mexico, Crowley headed to San Francisco before sailing for Hawaii aboard the Nippon Maru . On the ship, he had a brief affair with a married woman named Mary Alice Rogers; saying he fell in love with her, he wrote a series of poems about the romance, published as Alice: An Adultery (1903). Briefly stopping in Japan and Hong Kong, Crowley reached Ceylon, where he met with Allan Bennett, who
18096-528: The leader of its British branch, which he reformulated in accordance with his Thelemite beliefs. Through O.T.O., Thelemite groups were established in Britain, Australia, 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 Britain. His biographers later revealed that he had infiltrated the pro-German movement to assist
18270-413: The media coverage surrounding him. Occult The term occult sciences was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology , alchemy , and natural magic . The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France , among figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin . It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus , and in 1875 was introduced into
18444-416: The messenger of Horus, or Hoor-Paar-Kraat . Crowley said that he wrote down everything the voice told him over the course of the next three days, and titled it Liber AL vel Legis or The Book of the Law . The book proclaimed that humanity was entering a new Aeon , and that Crowley would serve as its prophet . It stated that a supreme moral law was to be introduced in this Aeon, "Do what thou wilt shall be
18618-490: The mid 19th century, The canal supplied coal to the gasworks on Tachbrook Road, providing gas to light the town from 1835. Pig iron , coke and limestone were delivered by canal, allowing a number of foundries to be established in Leamington, specialising in cast iron stoves . Today the Eagle Foundry, dating from at least 1851, continues to manufacture Rangemaster Aga stoves. The Imperial Foundry, dating from around 1925,
18792-534: The mid-19th century and their descendants. Occultism is thus often used to categorise such esoteric traditions as Spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and New Age. A different division was used by the Traditionalist author René Guénon , who used esotericism to describe what he believed was the Traditionalist, inner teaching at the heart of most religions, while occultism
18966-881: The most blasphemous and cold-blooded villains of modern times". Fenton's articles suggested that Crowley and Jones were involved in homosexual activity; Crowley did not mind, but Jones unsuccessfully sued for libel. Fuller broke off his friendship and involvement with Crowley over the scandal, and Crowley and Neuburg returned to Algeria for further magical workings. The Equinox continued publishing, and various books of literature and poetry were also published under its imprint, like Crowley's Ambergris , The Winged Beetle , and The Scented Garden , as well as Neuburg's The Triumph of Pan and Ethel Archer's The Whirlpool . In 1911, Crowley and Waddell holidayed in Montigny-sur-Loing , where he wrote prolifically, producing poems, short stories, plays, and 19 works on magic and mysticism, including
19140-437: The museum, fortifying his own island, and translating the book into all the world's languages. According to his account, he instead sent typescripts of the work to several occultists he knew, putting the manuscript away and ignoring it. Returning to Boleskine, Crowley came to believe that Mathers was using magic against him, and the relationship between the two broke down. On 28 July 1905, Rose gave birth to Crowley's first child,
19314-737: The nineteenth century and their twentieth-century derivations. In a descriptive sense, it has been used to describe forms of esotericism which developed in nineteenth-century France, especially in the Neo-Martinist environment. According to the historian of esotericism Antoine Faivre , it is with the esotericist Éliphas Lévi that "the occultist current properly so-called" first appears. Other prominent French esotericists involved in developing occultism included Papus , Stanislas de Guaita , Joséphin Péladan , Georges-Albert Puyou de Pouvourville , and Jean Bricaud . The idea of occult sciences developed in
19488-549: The old Villa Santa Barbara as his Abbey on 2 April. Moving to the commune with Hirsig, Shumway, and their children Hansi, Howard, and Poupée, Crowley described the scenario as "perfectly happy ... my idea of heaven." They wore robes, and performed rituals to the sun god Ra at set times during the day, also occasionally performing the Gnostic Mass; the rest of the day they were left to follow their own interests. Undertaking widespread correspondences, Crowley continued to paint, wrote
19662-519: The older term occult , much as the term esotericism derives from the older term esoteric . However, the historian of esotericism Wouter Hanegraaff stated that it was important to distinguish between the meanings of the term occult and occultism . Occultism is not a homogenous movement and is widely diverse. Over the course of its history, the term occultism has been used in various different ways. However, in contemporary uses, occultism commonly refers to forms of esotericism that developed in
19836-802: The other climbers heading back down the mountain as nightfall approached despite Crowley's warnings that it was too dangerous. Subsequently, Pache and several porters were killed in an accident, something for which Crowley was widely blamed by the mountaineering community. Spending time in Moharbhanj , where he took part in big-game hunting and wrote the homoerotic work The Scented Garden , Crowley met up with Rose and Lilith in Calcutta before being forced to leave India after non-lethally shooting two men who tried to mug him. Briefly visiting Bennett in Burma, Crowley and his family decided to tour Southern China, hiring porters and
20010-705: The painter Gerald Kelly , and through him became a fixture of the Parisian arts scene. Whilst there, Crowley wrote a series of poems on the work of an acquaintance, the sculptor Auguste Rodin . These poems were later published as Rodin in Rime (1907). One of those frequenting this milieu was W. Somerset Maugham , who after briefly meeting Crowley later used him as a model for the character of Oliver Haddo in his novel The Magician (1908). He returned to Boleskine in April 1903. In August, Crowley wed Gerald Kelly's sister Rose Edith Kelly in
20184-585: The pair toured northern Spain before heading to Tangier , Morocco. The following year Neuburg stayed at Boleskine, where he and Crowley engaged in sadomasochism . Crowley continued to write prolifically, producing such works of poetry as Ambergris , Clouds Without Water , and Konx Om Pax , as well as his first attempt at an autobiography, The World's Tragedy . Recognizing the popularity of short horror stories, Crowley wrote his own, some of which were published, and he also published several articles in Vanity Fair ,
20358-466: The perspective of cybernetics and information technologies. Philosopher Eugene Thacker discusses Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa 's Three Books of Occult Philosophy in his book In The Dust Of This Planet , where he shows how the horror genre utilizes occult themes to reveal hidden realities. Royal Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa , commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington ( / ˈ l ɛ m ɪ ŋ t ən / ),
20532-469: The possibility of unveiling the future or of exercising supernormal powers do so because the efficacy of the methods they employ coheres with some systematic conception which they hold of the way the universe functions...however flimsy its empirical basis." In his 1871 book Primitive Culture , the anthropologist Edward Tylor used the term "occult science" as a synonym for magic . Occult qualities are properties that have no known rational explanation; in
20706-509: The propagation of Thelema on the continent. In Detroit he experimented with Peyote at Parke-Davis , then visited Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Cruz , Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana , and the Grand Canyon , before returning to New York. There he befriended Ananda Coomaraswamy and his wife Alice Richardson; Crowley and Richardson performed sex magic in April 1916, following which she became pregnant and then miscarried. Later that year he took
20880-417: The recent socialist teachings of Charles Fourier . The French esotericist Éliphas Lévi then used the term in his influential book on ritual magic , Dogme et rituel de la haute magie , first published in 1856. Lévi was familiar with that work and might have borrowed the term from there. In any case, Lévi also claimed to be a representative of an older tradition of occult science or occult philosophy. It
21054-632: The rediscovery of spa waters, which had been known in Roman times, and their rediscovery in 1784 by William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell led to their commercialisation, with invalids beginning to resort here in 1786. Six of the seven wells were drilled for; only the original spring at the site of the Aylesford Well, adjacent to the Parish Church, occurred naturally. The old village of Leamington Priors
21228-470: The religions of Asia, such as Hinduism and Buddhism . In various cases, certain occultists did both. Another characteristic of these occultists was the emphasis that they placed on "the spiritual realization of the individual", an idea that would strongly influence the twentieth-century New Age and Human Potential Movement . This spiritual realization was encouraged both through traditional Western 'occult sciences' like alchemy and ceremonial magic , but by
21402-436: The religious or philosophical belief systems on which such practices are based. This division was initially adopted by the early academic scholar of esotericism, Antoine Faivre, although he later abandoned it; it has been rejected by most scholars who study esotericism. By the 21st century the term was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of esoteric currents that developed in
21576-574: The religious satire Why Jesus Wept (1904). Had! The manifestation of Nuit . The unveiling of the company of heaven. Every man and every woman is a star. Every number is infinite; there is no difference. Help me, o warrior lord of Thebes, in my unveiling before the Children of men! The opening lines of The Book of the Law In February 1904, Crowley and Rose arrived in Cairo . Pretending to be
21750-512: The results of the Working, Crowley wrote Liber Agapé , a treatise on sex magic. Following the Paris Working, Neuburg began to distance himself from Crowley, resulting in an argument in which Crowley cursed him. By 1914, Crowley was living a hand-to-mouth existence, relying largely on donations from A∴A∴ members and dues payments made to O.T.O. In May, he transferred ownership of Boleskine House to
21924-664: The ritual use of drugs, and together they performed the rituals of the Goetia , until Bennett left for South Asia to study Buddhism . In November 1899, Crowley purchased Boleskine House in Foyers on the shore of Loch Ness in Scotland. He developed a love of Scottish culture, describing himself as the " Laird of Boleskine", and took to wearing traditional highland dress, even during visits to London. He continued writing poetry, publishing Jezebel and Other Tragic Poems , Tales of Archais , Songs of
22098-490: The river located near the suspension bridge in Jephson Gardens. It was specifically constructed so that circus elephants in winter quarters in Leamington could be watered. Other parks are the Mill Gardens on the opposite bank of the river to Jephson Gardens, Victoria Park , the Royal Pump Room Gardens , The Dell and Newbold Comyn which includes the nature reserves Welches Meadow and Leam Valley. The Leamington Observer
22272-544: The same-sex sexual magic that he was required to perform, and left after a year. More conducive was the Australian Thelemite Frank Bennett, who also spent several months at the Abbey. In February 1922, Crowley returned to Paris for a retreat in an unsuccessful attempt to kick his heroin addiction. He then went to London in search of money, where he published articles in The English Review criticising
22446-542: The sensationalist stereotype of being a Satanist and advocate of human sacrifice, despite being neither. The publicity attracted new members to the A∴A∴, among them Frank Bennett, James Bayley, Herbert Close, and James Windram. The Australian violinist Leila Waddell soon became Crowley's lover. Deciding to expand his teachings to a wider audience, Crowley developed the Rites of Artemis, a public performance of magic and symbolism featuring A∴A∴ members personifying various deities. It
22620-772: The similarities were coincidental, and the two became friends. Reuss appointed Crowley as head of O.T.O's British branch, the Mysteria Mystica Maxima (MMM), and at a ceremony in Berlin Crowley adopted the magical name of Baphomet and was proclaimed "X° Supreme Rex and Sovereign Grand Master General of Ireland, Iona, and all the Britons". With Reuss' permission, Crowley set about advertising the MMM and re-writing many O.T.O. rituals, which were then based largely on Freemasonry ; his incorporation of Thelemite elements proved controversial in
22794-503: The sixteenth century. The term usually encompassed three practices – astrology, alchemy, and natural magic – although sometimes various forms of divination were also included rather than being subsumed under natural magic. These were grouped together because, according to the Dutch scholar of hermeticism Wouter Hanegraaff , "each one of them engaged in a systematic investigation of nature and natural processes, in
22968-512: The southwest, though often referred to as part of Leamington, actually lies mainly within the boundaries of Warwick, with parts in Whitnash and the parish of Bishop's Tachbrook. The main road running through the town centre is the Parade (called Lillington Lane until 1860). This shopping street contains high street chains and The Royal Priors shopping mall. Leamington Spa falls under three tiers of local government, county, district and parish: it
23142-411: The start of the twentieth century had also begun to include practices drawn from non-Western contexts, such as yoga . Although occultism is distinguished from earlier forms of esotericism, many occultists have also been involved in older esoteric currents. For instance, occultists like François-Charles Barlet [ fr ] and Rudolf Steiner were also theosophers , adhering to the ideas of
23316-553: The supernatural. The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology , alchemy , and natural magic . The earliest known usage of the term occultism is in the French language, as l'occultisme . In this form it appears in A. de Lestrange's article that was published in Dictionnaire des mots nouveaux ("Dictionary of new words") by Jean-Baptiste Richard de Radonvilliers [ fr ] in 1842. However, it
23490-461: The surrounding area, known as Silicon Spa, is a significant global centre for the video game industry , with a higher than average proportion of digital media companies involved in games development, digital design and publishing, and over a thousand employed directly in game development. Companies based in or around the town include Third Kind Games, Super Spline Studios, Lab42, Sumo Leamington, Caperfly, Widgit Software, DNA Interactive, Fish in
23664-464: The tabloid John Bull , which labelled him traitorous "scum" for his work with the German war effort; several friends aware of his intelligence work urged him to sue, but he decided not to. When he was suffering from asthma, a doctor prescribed him heroin, to which he soon became addicted. In January 1920, he moved to Paris, renting a house in Fontainebleau with Leah Hirsig ; they were soon joined in
23838-461: The term occultism can be used not only for the nineteenth-century groups which openly self-described using that term but can also be used in reference to "the type of esotericism that they represent". Seeking to define occultism so that the term would be suitable "as an etic category" for scholars, Hanegraaff devised the following definition: "a category in the study of religions, which comprises "all attempts by esotericists to come to terms with
24012-427: The term as a synonym for esotericism, an approach that the later scholar of esotericism Marco Pasi suggested left the term superfluous. Unlike Amadou, other writers saw occultism and esotericism as different, albeit related, phenomena. In the 1970s, the sociologist Edward A. Tiryakian distinguished between occultism, which he used in reference to practices, techniques, and procedures, and esotericism, which he defined as
24186-719: The term in an academic sense, stating that occulture was "the new spiritual environment in the West; the reservoir feeding new spiritual springs; the soil in which new spiritualities are growing". Recently scholars have offered perspectives on the occult as intertwined with media and technology. Examples include the work of film and media theorist Jeffrey Sconce and religious studies scholar John Durham Peters , both of whom suggest that occult movements historically utilize media and apparatuses as tools to reveal hidden aspects of reality or laws of nature. Erik Davis in his book Techgnosis gives an overview of occultism both ancient and modern from
24360-411: The town's waters in the 19th century led to the town's initial growth, making tourism Leamington's primary industry in the 19th century. In the 1950s, a lights festival held in Jephson Gardens drew large crowds. In the town centre there are a variety of shops from high street chains to independent retailers, plus an indoor shopping centre, The Royal Priors . There is an out of town retail park called
24534-453: The town. Spa water can still be sampled outside the building. Leamington became a popular spa resort attracting the wealthy and famous, with numerous Georgian townhouses to accommodate visitors. Construction of what is now the Parade began in sections from 1808, the Regent Hotel in 1818, a town hall in 1830. and the Jephson Gardens in 1834. In 1838 Queen Victoria granted the town
24708-605: The two entered into a relationship. They broke apart because Pollitt did not share Crowley's increasing interest in Western esotericism, a break-up that Crowley regretted for many years. In 1897, Crowley travelled to Saint Petersburg in Russia, later saying that he was trying to learn Russian as he was considering a future diplomatic career there. In October 1897, a brief illness triggered considerations of mortality and "the futility of all human endeavour", and Crowley abandoned all thoughts of
24882-507: The two final Holy Books of Thelema. In Paris, he met Mary Desti, who became his next " Scarlet Woman ", with the two undertaking magical workings in St. Moritz ; Crowley believed that one of the Secret Chiefs , Ab-ul-Diz, was speaking through her. Based on Desti's statements when in trance, Crowley wrote the two-volume Book 4 (1912–13) and at the time developed the spelling "magick" in reference to
25056-401: The vacuousness of materialism more apparent". The Dutch scholar of hermeticism Wouter Hanegraaff remarked that occultism was "essentially an attempt to adapt esotericism" to the " disenchanted world ", a post-Enlightenment society in which growing scientific discovery had eradicated the "dimension of irreducible mystery" previously present. In doing so, he noted, occultism distanced itself from
25230-565: The visual arts and about the history of the town, supported by workshops, talks and other events. There are several local community centres. Since 1978, the annual free festival and celebration of alternative culture called the Peace Festival has been held in the Pump Room Gardens, however the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and not been held since 2019. Live music
25404-462: The west of Leamington, on the opposite bank of the Avon, with parts of Warwick (Myton and Heathcote) extending to the southwest and south of Leamington. Also contiguous with Leamington, directly to the south, with no natural border, is the smaller town of Whitnash . Whitnash and Warwick are themselves contiguous with new housing developments within the parish of Bishop's Tachbrook . The village of Cubbington
25578-472: The whole of the Law," and that people should learn to live in tune with their Will. This book, and the philosophy that it espoused, became the cornerstone of Crowley's religion, Thelema . Crowley said that at the time he was unsure what to do with The Book of the Law . Often resenting it, he said that he ignored the instructions which the text commanded him to perform, which included taking the Stele of Revealing from
25752-569: The world was formed in 1872 by Major Henry Gem and Augurio Pereira who had started playing tennis in the garden of Pereira. It was located just behind the former Manor House Hotel and the modern rules of lawn tennis were drawn up in 1874 in Leamington Tennis Club. During the Second World War , Leamington was bombed a number of times during The Blitz ; although this caused substantial damage it caused relatively few casualties. The town
25926-467: The world" and "a man we'd like to hang", and although Crowley deemed many of their accusations against him to be slanderous, he was unable to afford the legal fees to sue them. As a result, John Bull continued its attack, with its stories being repeated in newspapers throughout Europe and in North America. The Fascist government of Benito Mussolini learned of Crowley's activities, and in April 1923 he
26100-678: The year in the Leamington and Warwick area, including the International String Quartet series at the Royal Pump Rooms. The Assembly , is a 1,000 capacity music venue attracting national and international artists, and was awarded 'Live Music Venue of the Year' at the 2010 Music Week Awards. and the Leamington Spa Competitive Festival for Music Dance and Drama is staged annually. Two theatres are located in Leamington:
26274-609: Was a German agent. So that she could join him in Britain, Crowley married Sanchez in August 1929. Now based in London, Mandrake Press agreed to publish his autobiography in a limited edition six-volume set, also publishing his novel Moonchild and book of short stories The Stratagem . Mandrake went into liquidation in November 1930, before the entirety of Crowley's Confessions could be published. Mandrake's owner P. R. Stephensen meanwhile wrote The Legend of Aleister Crowley , an analysis of
26448-591: Was also home to the Free Czechoslovak Army; a memorial in the Jephson Gardens commemorates the bravery of Czechoslovak parachutists from Warwickshire. Leamington is divided by the River Leam running east to west, which is susceptible to flooding in extreme weather, with especially heavy floods in 1998 and 2007 . The Leam is a tributary of the River Avon , which it joins just to the west of Leamington. The ancient town of Warwick lies adjoined directly to
26622-594: Was born a Quaker , but converted to the Exclusive Brethren , a faction of a Christian fundamentalist group known as the Plymouth Brethren ; Emily likewise converted upon marriage. Crowley's father was particularly devout, spending his time as a travelling preacher for the sect and reading a chapter from the Bible to his wife and son after breakfast every day. Following the death of their baby daughter in 1880, in 1881
26796-422: Was both a practicing surgeon and an enthusiast of literature. His poetry often received strong reviews (either positive or negative), but never sold well. In an attempt to gain more publicity, he issued a reward of £100 for the best essay on his work. The winner of this was J. F. C. Fuller , a British Army officer and military historian, whose essay, The Star in the West (1907), heralded Crowley's poetry as some of
26970-497: Was fascinated by The Book of the Law ; together they performed rituals in an attempt to contact Aiwass. Crowley then sailed to Japan and Canada, before continuing to New York City, where he unsuccessfully solicited support for a second expedition up Kanchenjunga. Upon arrival in Britain, Crowley learned that his daughter Lilith had died of typhoid in Rangoon , something he later blamed on Rose's increasing alcoholism. Under emotional distress, his health began to suffer, and he underwent
27144-504: Was first performed at the A∴A∴ headquarters, with attendees given a fruit punch containing peyote to enhance their experience. Various members of the press attended, and reported largely positively on it. In October and November 1910, Crowley decided to stage something similar, the Rites of Eleusis , at Caxton Hall , Westminster ; this time press reviews were mixed. Crowley came under particular criticism from West de Wend Fenton, editor of The Looking Glass newspaper, who called him "one of
27318-406: Was formed to build a new bath house north of the River Leam. A new saline spring was found on land close to the river, belonging to Bertie Greatheed , a wealthy plantation owner and landowner from Guy's Cliffe , and a member of the syndicate. In 1814, the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened on the site, designed by C.S. Smith, who also designed The Regent Hotel and the Upper Assembly Rooms in
27492-503: Was from his usage of the term occultisme that it gained wider usage; according to Faivre, Lévi was "the principal exponent of esotericism in Europe and the United States" at that time. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus , The earliest use of the term occultism in the English language appears to be in "A Few Questions to 'Hiraf'", an 1875 article by Helena Blavatsky ,
27666-432: Was given a deportation notice forcing him to leave Italy; without him, the Abbey closed. Crowley and Hirsig went to Tunis , where, dogged by continuing poor health, he unsuccessfully tried again to give up heroin, and began writing what he termed his " autohagiography ", The Confessions of Aleister Crowley . They were joined in Tunis by the Thelemite Norman Mudd, who became Crowley's public relations consultant. Employing
27840-430: Was in Zermatt , Switzerland, where he met the chemist Julian L. Baker, and the two began discussing their common interest in alchemy . Back in London, Baker introduced Crowley to George Cecil Jones , Baker's brother-in-law and a fellow member of the occult society known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , which was founded in 1888. Crowley was initiated into the Outer Order of the Golden Dawn on 18 November 1898 by
28014-449: Was not a particular success. That same year, Crowley published a string of other poems, including White Stains , a Decadent collection of erotic poetry that was printed abroad lest its publication be prohibited by the British authorities. In July 1898, he left Cambridge, not having taken any degree at all despite a " first class " showing in his 1897 exams and consistent "second class honours" results before that. In August 1898, Crowley
28188-472: Was not related, at this point, to the notion of Ésotérisme chrétien , as has been claimed by Hanegraaff, but to describe a political "system of occulticity" that was directed against priests and aristocrats. In 1853, the Freemasonic author Jean-Marie Ragon had already used occultisme in his popular work Maçonnerie occulte , relating it to earlier practices that, since the Renaissance , had been termed "occult sciences" or "occult philosophy", but also to
28362-403: Was on the southern bank of the River Leam, and early development was based around this. During the early 19th century, developers began concentrating the town's expansion on the land north of the river. This resulted in the Georgian centre of New Town with the Leam flowing between the two. By 1810, the town's existing bath houses could not cope with the increasing visitor numbers, and a syndicate
28536-416: Was originally a small village known as Leamington Priors . Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Leman-tūn or Lemen-tūn = "farm on the River Leam ". It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lamintone . For 400 years, the settlement was under the control of Kenilworth Priory , from which the older suffix derived. Leamington began to develop as a town at the start of the 19th century, due to
28710-669: Was published as The Sword of Song (1904). He contracted malaria , and had to recuperate from the disease in Calcutta and Rangoon. In 1902, he was joined in India by Eckenstein and several other mountaineers: Guy Knowles , H. Pfannl, V. Wesseley, and Jules Jacot-Guillarmod . Together, the Eckenstein-Crowley expedition attempted K2 , which was never climbed before. On the journey, Crowley was afflicted with influenza , malaria, and snow blindness , and other expedition members were also struck with illness. They reached an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) before turning back. Having arrived in Paris in November 1902, he socialized with his friend
28884-482: Was rapid; at the time of the first national census in 1801, Leamington had a population of just 315, by 1851 this had grown to 15,724, and by 1901, the population had reached 26,888. The London and North Western Railway opened the first railway line into Leamington; a branch line from Coventry in 1844, followed by a branch to Rugby in 1851. In 1852 the Great Western Railway 's main line between Birmingham, Oxford and London opened through Leamington, upon which
29058-519: Was recruited into a British intelligence agency , further suggesting that he remained a spy throughout his life. In 1898, he joined the esoteric Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , where he was trained in ceremonial magic by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Allan Bennett . He went mountaineering in Mexico with Oscar Eckenstein , before studying Hindu and Buddhist practices in India. In 1904, he married Rose Edith Kelly , and they honeymooned in Cairo , Egypt, where Crowley wrote down The Book of
29232-515: Was reputed to be at the centre of England . At the 2011 census , there were 49,491 residents in Leamington in 22,098 households, and the median age of Leamington residents was 34. In terms of ethnicity: In terms of religion, 51.5% of Leamington residents identified as Christian , 32.1% said they had no religion , 7.5% did not state any religion, 5.1% were Sikh , 1.5% were Hindu , 1.3% were Muslim , 0.4% were Buddhists , 0.3% were Jewish and 0.5% were from another religion. The popularity of
29406-416: Was subsequently taken over by Ford , casting engine blocks until its closure in 2008. The prominent car parts manufacturer Automotive Products based in the south of the town grew from a small garage to occupy a large site. Throughout the 20th century, while tourism took a downturn, Automotive Products expanded and built a factory in the South of the town in 1928 that is still operative in 2009, although on
29580-452: Was the result of Crowley's first same-sex sexual experience, which enabled him to recognize his bisexuality . At Cambridge, Crowley maintained a vigorous sex life with women—largely with female prostitutes, from one of whom he caught syphilis —but eventually he took part in same-sex activities, despite their illegality . In October 1897, Crowley met Herbert Charles Pollitt , president of the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club , and
29754-456: Was there studying Shaivism . The pair spent some time in Kandy before Bennett decided to become a Buddhist monk in the Theravada tradition, travelling to Burma to do so. Crowley decided to tour India, devoting himself to the Hindu practice of Rāja yoga , by which means he believed he had achieved the spiritual state of dhyana . He spent much of this time studying at the Meenakshi Temple in Madura . At this time he also wrote poetry which
29928-487: Was to become the "Official Organ" of the A∴A∴, as "The Review of Scientific Illuminism". Crowley became increasingly frustrated with Rose's alcoholism, and in November 1909 he divorced her on the grounds of his own adultery. Lola was entrusted to Rose's care; the couple remained friends and Rose continued to live at Boleskine. Her alcoholism worsened, and as a result she was institutionalized in September 1911. In November 1909, Crowley and Neuburg travelled to Algeria, touring
30102-479: Was trained as an engineer, but his share in a lucrative family brewing business, Crowley's Alton Ales, allowed him to retire before his son was born. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop (1848–1917), came from a Devonshire-Somerset family and had a strained relationship with her son; she described him as "the Beast", a name that he revelled in. The couple had been married at London's Kensington Registry Office in November 1874, and were evangelical Christians. Crowley's father
30276-427: Was used pejoratively to describe new religions and movements that he disapproved of, such as Spiritualism, Theosophy, and various secret societies . Guénon's use of this terminology was adopted by later writers like Serge Hutin and Luc Benoist . As noted by Hanegraaff, Guénon's use of these terms are rooted in his Traditionalist beliefs and "cannot be accepted as scholarly valid". The term occultism derives from
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