Aleister Crowley--

Aleister Crowley was born October 12th 1875 in in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. Born into a deeply religious family of devout christians and loyal members of the Plymouth Brethren sect. Aleister was first named Edward Alexander Crowley, but later changed his name to keep from sharing the same name as his father who died when Aleister was eleven.

Aleister took his family fortune to the Trinity College Cambridge, where he wrote and studied poetry. And in 1898 he published his first book of poetry named "Aceldama, A Place to Bury Strangers In." It was during his time at Trinity he became interested in in the occult, and began to study whatever he could, along with Allan Bennett, his roommate. In November 18th 1898, Aleister and Bennett both joined the 'Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn', the elusive Great White Brotherhood.

The lodge leaders of the golden dawn seen Aleister as unfit to proceed to the second order. So in 1899, he went to Paris to see the head of the order, S.L. MacGregor Mathers, and demanded that he be initiated into the second order, Mathers seen an ally in Aleister, as Mathers growing dissension to his absolute rule from London, and he agreed to Aleisters demands. But their commitment was not easy, for both we competitive, and not long after, both were expelled from the order.

In 1903, Aleister married Rose Kelly and had a child. In april 1904 him and Rose went to egypt and took part in magickal rituals. It was here that Aleister claimed to have recieved messages from the god's. And there after, he began to write his most famous book, based on this communication.

In 1909 through to 1913, Aleister told the secret rituals of the Golden Dawn in serial order, in his magazine named "the Equinox." Mathers tried to stop Aleister, but ended up failing. Instead he only gained Aleister more publicity.

Aleister filled his life with drugs, alchole, and sexual magick, which he indulged in these acts with a series of 'Scarlet Women.' In 1929 he published his book entitled "Moonchild." In 1912 Aleister became involved with the Ordo Temple Orientis. And in 1920 he moved to sicily and it was there he established the notorious Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu. In 1922 be became the head of the O.T.O. But once again bad publicity followed him, and he was later expelled from Sicily. It was later realized that many of the accusations made against Aleister were false and were nothing more than luridness.

And in 1946 a mutual friend introduced Aleister to Gerald Gardner. Aleister and Gardner talked and compared ideas, and in 1954 Gardner released his first book with attracted so many people into the Wiccan religion. Later on December 1st 1947, Aliester passed away in his private hotel in Hastings. Aleister Crowley was one of the biggest influences that had lead to the modern day witchcraft.