The true story of Aleister Crowley's own experience with drugs.

Dubbed "the wickedest man in the world" by the popular press and self-styled "the Great Beast 666", Aleister Crowley was an English occultist, drug addict and alcoholic, secret agent, explorer, bankrupt, poet, painter, magician, and mountaineer as well as the inventor of the religion of Thelema. He also had a genius for causing scandal wherever he went. This collection of his work consists of the novels Diary of a Drug Fiend and Moonchild; The Book of Lies and The Book of the Law (both cryptic expositions of his esoteric philosophy); the play Household Gods; and some of his early poems from White Stains. If you want insight into the occult, the arcane, or even the terrible highs and lows of drug addiction, then this is the book for you.

This new edition of Diary of a Drug Fiend is from the original, 1922 edition. It has been lightly edited with footnotes and original illustrations. "This is a true story. It has been rewritten only so far as was necessary to conceal personalities." Diary of a Drug Fiend, published in 1922, was the first novel by occultist and mystic Aleister Crowley. Despite being written as fiction, the story is believed to be based on Crowley's own experiences with drugs, especially with heroin. The plot concerns Sir Peter Pendragon, veteran pilot of World War One, who has recently come into a large inheritance, following the death of his uncle. During a night out he meets Lou Laleham, a devotee of occultist Basil, King Lamus. Pendragon and Laleham fall in love and begin a wild trip on cocaine and heroin during which they marry and travel throughout Europe, becoming seriously addicted to their drugs and indulging in decadence and destructive behavior. Diary of a Drug Fiend is the earliest known reference to the famous Abbey of Thelema. It contains much of Crowley's philosophy concerning Thelema and his conception of True Will.

Aleister Crowley's 'The Diary of a Drug Fiend' is a provocative and controversial exploration of addiction, spirituality, and the occult. Written in a lyrical and captivating style, the book follows the journey of an unconventional couple who becomes entangled in a world of drug use and debauchery. The novel is filled with vivid imagery and poetic language, drawing readers into a dark and dangerous underworld where reality and illusion blur together. Crowley's unique blend of fiction and autobiography creates a compelling narrative that challenges societal norms and explores the depths of human experience. Set against the backdrop of early 20th century Europe, the book reflects Crowley's own fascination with mysticism and the darker aspects of human nature, making it a thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating read. 'The Diary of a Drug Fiend' is a must-read for those interested in exploring the intersection of addiction, spirituality, and the supernatural, offering a unique perspective on the human condition and the pursuit of enlightenment.

The Writings of Aleister Crowley 2 presents three essential texts by the black magick master: White Stains, The Psychology of Hashish and The Blue Equinox. Each work has been updated for the digital age with new formatting and punctuation, along with original footnotes and illustrations.

Edited, with an Introduction, by William Breeze. Foreword by David Tibet. This volume brings together the uncollected short fiction of the poet, writer and religious philosopher Aleister Crowley (1875 - 1947). Crowley was a successful critic, editor and author of fiction from 1908 to 1922, and his short stories are long overdue for discovery. Of the fifty-two stories in the present volume, only thirty were published in his lifetime. Most of the rest appear here for the first time. Like their author, Crowley's stories are fun, smart, witty, thought-provoking and sometimes unsettling. They are set in places he had lived and knew well: Belle Epoque Paris, Edwardian London, pre-revolutionary Russia and America during the first World War. The title story The Drug stands as one of the first - if not the first - accounts of a psychedelic experience. His Black and Silver is a knowing early noir discovery that anticipates an entire genre. Atlantis is a masterpiece of occult fantasy, a dark satire that can stand with Samuel Butler's Erewhon. Frank Harris considered The Testament of Magdalen Blair the most terrifying tale ever written. Extensive editorial end-notes give full details about the stories.

Written after his expulsion by Mussolini from the abbey of Thelema in Cefalu, Sicily, these records consolidate the work that Crowley began in Cefalu and explore more deeply the various techniques of cabalistic and sexual magic, as well as his contact with the Arab magic of North Africa.

This is Volume One of a three-volume set, comprising much of Crowley's early material, written mostly between 1898-1902. His earliest works, written between 1887-1897, were almost entirely destroyed by authorities due to their offensive nature. In writing the material that appears in this volume, Crowley toned things down a notch and moved away from the more lurid and graphic sexual themes he had been primarily focused on. He concentrates almost entirely on religion and mythology in this collection. This reflects a time in his life when he was awakening to an important mystical and spiritual level. It can be seen by the reader how Crowley continues to grow and mature into more advanced ideas in the two remaining volumes, as well. It is hard to think of Crowley as a poet, but his style and advanced mystical vocabulary are unique and go beyond that of everyday poets. His plays are also interesting. Crowley once said that the last play, "Tanhauser: The Story of All Time," contained the theory of special relativity, which Einstein clarified more fully and scientifically three years later, in 1905. This volume contains four poems, five plays, four sections of shorter poems, an Epilogue, and an interesting Appendix on Qabalistic Dogma.

2013 Reprint of 1923 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "Diary of a Drug Fiend," published in 1922, was occult writer and mystic Aleister Crowley's first published novel, and is also reportedly the earliest known reference to the Abbey of Thelema in Sicily. The story is widely thought to be based upon Crowley's own drug experiences, despite being written as a fiction. This seems almost conclusively confirmed by Crowley's statement in the novel's preface: "This is a true story. It has been rewritten only so far as was necessary to conceal personalities." Crowley's own recreational drug use and also his personal struggle with drug addiction, particularly heroin, is well documented.