Synopsis

A fully annotated, deluxe hardcover edition of one of Aleister Crowleys formative works Presents Crowleys preferred text, drawing on all existing draft manuscripts and margin notes from Crowleys personal copies Contains an introduction and explanatory notes by Crowley biographer Richard Kaczynski, helping to illuminate obscure passages and references Includes Crowleys mystical essays on his first forays into sex magic, his initial embrace of the legendary title of the Beast, and his encounters with the Golden Dawn, Buddhism, Agnosticism, and ChristianityToo inflammatory for English publishers, Aleister Crowley printed The Sword of Song, his first talismanic work, in Paris in 1904, releasing a mere one hundred copies. Deconstructing his encounters with the Golden Dawn, Buddhism, Agnosticism, and Christianity, the book explored Crowleys magic and spiritual philosophy before he experienced the revelation that led to The Book of the Law. The Sword of Song also contained Crowleys first manifesto, his first forays into sex magic, his initial embrace of the legendary title of “the Beast,” the occult poem “Ascension Day,” and mystical essays.Now in this fully annotated deluxe hardcover edition, renowned Crowley biographer Richard Kaczynski presents Crowleys preferred text for The Sword of Song, drawing on all existing draft manuscripts as well as unpublished margin notes from Crowleys personal copies of the book. Kaczynski clarifies all the significant changes and additions throughout the books various iterations and provides explanations for the many occult and popular culture references. He also includes a substantial scholarly introduction, reflecting an intimate knowledge of Crowley and the development of his magical practice.Kaczynski demonstrates how The Sword of Song was not only a prototype for Crowleys later works such as Konx Om Pax and The Book of Lies, but that The Sword of Song’s blend of poetry, allegory, fiction, and essay reveals the formative inner workings of one of the twentieth centurys most provocative thinkers just before he received the life-changing Book of the Law from the discarnate entity Aiwass.

About The Author

Aleister Crowley (18751947), English magician, poet, philosopher, and artist, is widely regarded as one of the most important occult figures of the twentieth century. His famous and oft-misunderstood maxim “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” stems from his received text The Book of the Law, which announced Thelema (Greek for “will”) as the philosophy for a new era of humankind.Richard Kaczynski is a lifelong student, international speaker, and writer on Western esotericism and an authority on the life and works of Aleister Crowley. The author of Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.