A Complete Aleister Crowley Study Programme

Crowley wrote and published a great deal during his lifetime. Often the sheer quantity of Crowley's output baffles the beginner, resulting in a random and haphazard approach to Crowley's writings. Consequently, many students miss the subtlety and nuance of Crowley's philosophy, which can only be appreciated after a thorough comparison and collation of all of his terms. The chronological listing which follows includes all of Crowley's works which are worthy of study (if you think we've missed anything or made an error kindly e-mail us at shri@globalserve.net), and are recommended to form the foundation of a Thelemic library. It is the intent of the Thelema Kaaba to publish these works in fully searchable CD-ROM format after Aleister Crowley's works go into the public domain on January 1, 1998. In order to assist the student each work is classified in terms of seven thematic classifications, as follows:

* Class I: Poetry and Literary Works

* Class II: Diaries and Magical Records (Autobiographical)

* Class III: Magical Works (General)

* Class IV: Practical Mystical and Magical Instructions (Scientific Illuminism)

* Class V: Mystical and Philosophical Works (General or Theoretical)

* Class VI: The Law of Thelema

* Class VII: Sex Magickal Works (O.T.O.)

Many works pertain to more than one classification, but for convenience we have classified each work in terms of the major or most comprehensive classification which applies to that work. In the future this page will link to another page in which all of these works wll be broken down into their component articles, and listed under these seven headings, to provide a detailed and comprehensive course of reading in Thelemic esotericism. Titles preceded by an asterisk (*) may be regarded as Crowley's most important works.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1898. White Stains: The Literary Remains of George Archibald Bishop, a Neuropath of the Second Empire . (I)

A poetic exploration of the philosophical and psychological nuances of the problem of desire which is the central theme of all of Aleister Crowley's early poetic writing.

1905-7. *The Works of Aleister Crowley. 3 vols. (I)

Literary critic Charles Richard Cammell has stated that "for variety, versatility, range of mood, matter and manner [these Works] had absolutely no peer or counterpart in the literature of our time."

1906-7. Diaries. (II)

These diaries cover the period during which Crowley "crossed the Abyss" and started his own Order of the A.'. A.'.

1907. Konx Om Pax: Essays in Light. (III)

A riot of mixed mystical, magical, political, and polemical expression.

1907? Liber DCLXXI vel Pyramidos. (IV)

The basic Ritual of Intitiation of Crowley's A.'.A.'., composed during his John St. John Retirement.

1909. *777 vel Prolegomena Symbolica ad Systemam Sceptico-Mysticae Viae Explicandae Fundamentum Hieroglyphicum Sanctissimorum Scientiae Summae. (III)

Crowley considered this symbolic dictionary of comparative religions cross-referenced to the Qabalistic Tree of Life and his collation of the Western and Chinese cosmos' his major contributions to scholarship.

1909-13. *The Equinox. 10 vols. (III)

Written largely by himself, this biannual periodical summarizes the research of Crowley's "scientific illuminist" period which led to the Cairo Working and his personal attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple of the A.'.A.'., documented in J. F. C. Fuller's serial biography, "The Temple of Solomon the King."

1909. Clouds without Water. (I)

Crowley considered this work to be his lyrical high water mark.

1909? Liber Collegii Sancti. (IV)

This official syllabus of tasks for the Outer Order of the A.'.A.'. is deceptively simple but actually conceals a profound understanding of the Qabalistic Tree of Life and the Path of the Wise which gives the lie to Ellic Howe's assertion that the Golden Dawn's attributions to the Tree are"arbitrary."

1910. The Winged Beetle. (I)

More Crowley poetry.

1910. Ambergris: A Selection from the Poems of Aleister Crowley. (I)

A popular compendium of Crowley's best poems.

1910. The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz. (VII)

A profound treatise on the mystical path of Sufism under the guise of homoerotic enthusiasm.

1910. The World's Tragedy. (I)

This poetic polemic against Yahwism includes Crowley's important autobiographical essay on Christian fundamentalist vice, "A Boyhood in Hell."

1910. *Thelema. 3 vols. (VI)

These inspired holy books, written in a state of high trance, constitute Crowley's superlative achievement and constitute the sacred canon of the Thelemic Order, which may not be studied or discussed but which may only be appreciated and understood by direct realization.

1912. Hail Mary! (I)

Crowley published this book of Christian poems, originally written to the Egyptian goddess Isis, to prove that all religions share one universal ground. It was highly reviewed by the official Roman Catholic Press--until it was discovered that it was written by Aleister Crowley !

1912? The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. (VII)

This compilation of official rites and instructions of Crowley's section of the Ordo Templi Orientis--the modern Knights Templar--was edited by the late Francis King, and are not otherwise available. Contrary to popular opinion the central secret of the O.T.O. was not Sex Magick per se, but coitus reservatus, or the secret of achieving orgasm without physical ejaculation (see Liber CCCLXX).

1913. *The Book of Lies which Is also Falsely Called Breaks: The Wanderings or Falsifications of the One Thought of Frater Perdurabo, which Thought Is Itself Untrue. (VI)

Crowley considered his book of conundrums to be his most profound and complete commentary on the Book of the Law. The writing of the book was an experiment in "energized enthusiasm," but is not considered to be canonical.

1913. The Lost Continent. (VII)

Modelled on the myth of Atlantis--which Crowley had the good sense not to take literally--this book is both a political treatise and an allegorical study of the Supreme Secret of the O.T.O., as Kenneth Anger recognized.

1913. *Book Four. 2 parts. (V)

Originally contemplated in four parts, the first two parts consist respectively of an introduction to the classical raja-yoga of Patanjali, based on his Yoga Sutras, and a treatise on the symbolism of the Magical Temple, mystically interpreted as a projection of the unconscious of the Magician.

1914. The Soul of the Desert. (V)

This lovely little book on the virtue of Magical Silence approaches the sublime simplicity of Zen.

1914. De Arte Magica. (VII)

A technical treatise on various considerations pertaining to the Supreme Secretof the O.T.O.

1914. The Paris Working. (VII)

A detailed practical example of a Magical Working based on the Supreme Secret of the O.T.O. This book reveals many fundamental secrets including Crowley as the daemon-logos of the Aeon.

1914-20. The Magical Record of the Beast 666: The Diaries of Aleister Crowley.(II)

This record includes an extensive series of experiments utilzing the Supreme Secret of the O.T.O., and adumbrates the Supreme Ordeal of Crowley's attainment of the grade of Ipsissimus of the A.'.A.'.

1916. Liber LXX. (VI)

The ritual whereby Crowley formally annulled the "shadow" of the Aeon of the Dying God, the "Great Sorcery," thereby clearing the way for the advent of the kingdom of Horus the Child.

1916. The Gospel According to St. George Bernard Shaw. (V)

Crowley's study of the origins and symbolic significance of the Christian cult.

1918. The Amalantrah Working (Liber XCVII). (VI)

This Working constitutes Crowley's best evidence for his basic scientific claim to be in communication with objectively real praeterhuman intelligences.

1918. *Liber Aleph vel CXI:The Book of Wisdom or Folly. (VI)

A profound summary of the Law of Thelema written in an altered state of consciousness, but not considered to be a holy book.

1919. The Equinox. Vol. III, No. 1. (VI)

This is the first and only number of a proposed second series of The Equinox to be published, before Crowley finally ran out of money. Number II reached galleys but has never been released. This book includes a number of major constitutional documents of Crowley's O.T.O.

1922 (ca.). *The Law Is for All. (VI)

Crowley's long commentary on the Book of the Law collates the prophecies of the Book with current events and provides a foundation for its esoteric interpretation.

1922 (ca.). *Preliminary Analysis of Liber LXV. (VI)

This extraordinary work on the Attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel is Crowley's most comprehensive and profound commentary on a Thelemic Holy Book.

1922. The Diary of a Drug Fiend. (VI)

A popularization of Crowley's Abbey of Thelema, which he described as a social experiment in life, love, liberty, and light, and the theory of "True Will therapy," which anticipates modern day "insight psychotherapy."

1923. The Magical Diaries of To Mega Therion, the Beast 666, Aleister Crowley, Logos Aionos Thelema, 93. (II)

More Crowley diaries.

1929. *The Spirit of Solitude: An Autohagiography, Subsequently Re-Antichristened the Confessions of Aleister Crowley. 6 vols. (II)

This extensive and penetrating self-study of the first 54 years of Crowley's life thoroughly documents his painstaking search, psychic and paranormal experiences, the Cairo Working, and his attainment of the grade of Magus of the A.'.A.'. and completely demystifies the mystical Quest.

1929. Moonchild: A Prologue. (VII)

A fictional presentation of the Supreme Secret of the O.T.O. in the context of the universal struggle between the White and the Black Brotherhoods.

1929. *Magick in Theory and Practice. (III)

Part III of Book Four was described by Crowley as a city within a city.

1936. The Scientific Solution of the Problem of Government. (VI)

This important pamphlet provides a rare insight into the practical application of the Law of Thelema to politics, especially jurisprudence, potentially eliminating both common and statutory law and replacing them with a profound philosophical theory of the True Will, as well as overcoming the antithesis of state and man.

1936. *The Equinox of the Gods. (VI)

Part IV of Book Four finally complied with 'Iwaz' publication instructions, including an intensive analysis of Crowley's exegetical methodology and some unique insight into Crowley's relations with his "holy guardian angel."

1938. The Heart of the Master. (VI)

An essay on Thelemic aeonology as well as a brilliant summary of the Tarot Atus in the light of the Great Work.

1938. *Little Essays toward Truth. (V)

An enraptured summary of the most important technical results of the Great Work constituting the universal ground of human spirituality. This book is Crowley's major contribution to the literature of the "perennial philosophy."

1942. Liber LXXVII. (VI)

The Thelemic statement of the Rights of Man in the New Kingdom of Horus regarding the right to liberty as equally absolute as the right to life provides the foundation for a Thelemic constutution of the future.

1943. The City of God. (I)

A poetic celebration of the Russian genius.

1943 (ca.). *Magick without Tears. (III)

This volume of correspondence includes important essays on the White, Black, and Yellow Schools of Magick, metaphysics, and Crowley's mature conclusions concerning the ontological status of the Holy Guardian Angel.

1944. *The Book of Thoth. (VI)

This profound treatise on the Path of the Wise under the guise of a book about Tarot divination disproves the fatuous assertion that at the end of his life Crowley's brain had "gone soft."

1944. *The Thoth Tarot. (VI)

Generally regarded as the finest modern rendition of the Tarot deck, depicting in graphic form the symbolic expression of Crowley's "magical personality."