Magician Aleister Crowley was born on October 12, 1875, in Warwickshire, England, and died on December 1, 1947. He was raised in a wealthy, strict Christian family that ran a brewery. He inherited a large fortune upon his father's death in 1887. Crowley attended a boarding school run by the Exclusive Brethren, a Christian sect, but dropped out due to his resistance to religious education. He subsequently moved from school to school, eventually transferring to Cambridge University. While there, he came into contact with members of the Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical society. He joined in 1998. However, after being expelled due to internal conflict within the organization, Crowley embarked on a round-the-world journey. After returning to Japan, he attempted to summit K2 in the Himalayas in 2002 and the first summit of Kangchenjunga in 2005. Meanwhile, in 2003, Crowley married Rose Kelly and embarked on a round-the-world honeymoon. During his honeymoon, he stopped in Cairo, Egypt, where he encountered a spiritual being named Aiwass. Based on this experience, he wrote "The Book of the Law," which would later become the holy scripture of the Thelema cult.
In 1907, Crowley founded the magical society "Silver Star." In 1909, he began publishing the magical magazine "Equinox," marking his public debut. The following year, he performed "The Rites of Eleusinia" in a theater, generating significant media buzz. Crowley's activities attracted the attention of the religious organization, the Knights Templi of the East, who appointed him Grand Master. In 2012, the British branch of the Order of the Monks, the MMM, was founded, and Crowley became a member of the order.
Later, in 1920, Crowley traveled to Sicily, Italy, and founded a Thelema monastery. He repeatedly performed large-scale sexual magic rituals there. However, when one of his disciples died of illness in 1823, Crowley was ordered to leave the country by the Italian government. He became the head of the Order of the Eastern Templi in 1825 and published numerous magical works, including the "Tarot of Thoth."
However, while running his magical society, Crowley was constantly surrounded by scandalous topics. He was married and divorced repeatedly, filed lawsuits for libel, and eventually lost his fortune. He died in 1847 at the age of 72.
His influence was profound; Somerset Maugham modeled his work "The Magician" after him. Ozzy Osbourne wrote a song called "Mr. Crowley." He also appeared on the cover of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."