Customer Reviews

Book of Lies

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"The Book of Lies," by Aleister Crowley, is a masterpiece of modern occult literature. The book consists of 93 short chapters (two of which are not numbered), together with Crowley's own commentaries on the chapters. It is marvelous that we thus get to hear Crowley's unique voice speaking in two complementary modes: the revelatory and the analytical.

The 93 chapters take a number of forms: poetry, parable, aphorism, vision, joke, and pun. There are numerous intriguing references: to the Tarot, the Qabala, astrology, Egyptian mythology, the "Left Hand Path," Masonry, the Beast of Revelation, sacred geometry, etc.

Crowley's writing is often cryptic, often witty, often elegant. The book is also full of memorable quotes. One of my favorites: "I slept with Faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with Doubt, and found her a virgin in the morning."

Like the most enduring of occult and freethinking writers, Crowley challenges us to refocus our dulled organs of perception, and to rethink our stale mental conventions. "The Book of Lies" belongs on the shelf with my favorite "alternative scriptures": William Blake's "Marriage of Heaven and Hell," the poetry of Stephen Crane, the feminist satires of Luisa Valenzuela, the dark testaments of Anton Szandor LaVey, Ambrose Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary," the savagely satirical writings of Virgilio Pinera, and more. But even in this company, Crowley is in a class of his own.

For The Mystic, this collection of Poetic Insights is very difficult to put-down. Once you start reading, it is almost impossible to do anything but ingest the complex blocks of text before your eyes. Be sure you have some reading time set-aside, before you tackle this one. I read it in two sittings, but I would-have finished it in one, if I only had the time!
Only Mystics will fully appreciate this Work of amazing verbal, Qabalistic Conundrums.
Any student of Crowley should have this text on-hand, because he refers the reader to this Poetic treatise, more often than not. Regardless of whether you are reading his "Confessions" (Autohagiography) or his Qabalistic masterpiece, "777," you will casually be referred back to the good ol' "Book of Lies."
I never imagined this book of Crowley's whimsical jottings would prove so intriguing or helpful in pursuit of mystical knowledge. Crowley often refers to this book as his most-important work. However, don't expect to "get it" right-away. This is more of a Text-book, than a casual Poetry book.
I am surprised he didn't put a Test in the back!
However, this book is all-about testing yourself, not being tested by others. Luckily, the Commentaries were added for us common folk. Enjoy !

THE BOOK OF LIES, WHICH IS ALSO FALSELY CALLED BREAKS, THE WANDERINGS OR FALSIFICATION OF THE THOUGHT OF FRATER PERDURABO WHICH THOUGHT ITSELF IS UNTRUE... Within the 93 "chapters" of this enigmatic little book lie the deepest and most profound "truths". Ranging from a single symbol to nearly two pages in length, the subject of each chapter/poem is determined by the Qabalistic significance of its number. The often outrageous and entertaining commentaries accompanying each chapter explain just enough, but not too much, to assist the reader in their own Qabalistic understanding of these words and numbers. Concerning this wonderful collection of gems, Crowley himself writes: "At first sight the book is a jumble of nonsense intended to insult the reader. It requires infinite study, sympathy, intuition and initiation. Given these, I do not hesitate to claim that in none other of my writings have I given so profound and comprehensive an exposition of my philosophy on every plane..." Need we say more?

Crowley's "Book of Lies" is not for the faint-of-heart, and certainly not for the bound-in-faith. Whereas so many Philosophical and Religious works stress the borders of their realities (think: the bible's use of good/bad, punishment, reward, etc.), the Book of Lies left me with only a desire to expand my knowledge of the uncertain aspects of my life. Faith, the book stresses, is a poison to reason. That which cannot be directly reasoned should not be paid attention. In many ways, Thelema, and the works of Thelema, including this book, are the antithesis of Western Religion.

Anyway, this is getting away from the book, which requires a fair degree of patience before even the simplest riddles unravel. By reading and re-reading, subtler and deeper-woven themes emerge and morph, re-actualizing your vision and cementing reason or casting away doubt. A truly beautiful work of man.

Don't listen to those that call Crowley and his works "demented", "harmful", or "meaningless". And please, try to cast away the negative connotations that the Catholic church (among others) have given to Ritual Magick and Occultism. Ritual Magick is nothing but the pursuit of meditative and intellectual maturation aimed at better understanding and greater levels of awareness. Occultism is an organized group means of Ritual Magick. If you believe that any true Occultist has ever drank blood, worn masks, or sacrificed a living being, then you are already lost.

Buy this book.

Possibly not fully recognised for his sense of humour in his day, this book is one of The Great Beast's best. It contains the beautifully constructed "ONION-PEELINGS", which I can honestly say makes me cry with laughter every time I read it, and even thinking about it causes me to guffaw uncontrollably. If you're a tight-wad and don't want to buy the book just yet, just do a google search on "Onion Peelings" to see what I mean - oh how we laughed outwardly, yet cried inwardly...

Further book, film and music reviews, plus general shenanigans can be found at: www.mindcrash.co.uk and http://blog.myspace.com/mindcrash

In one little book, Uncle Al has hidden the secrets of the Universe, albeit obscured in riddle, pun, and a healthy dash of sarcasm.

This is Crowley's poetry at its best. Even if you are not a Thelemite, or share Crowley's beliefs, this book should be read just for its linguistic gymnastics.

If you are a Thelemite, or a follower of any "esoteric" path, then the koan-like poems herein are a must have, period. Within each of the 93 poems, gold is hidden for he or she who has the desire and patience to find it

This book is a source of mystical and magical insight. It also contains a good laugh here and there. It is designed to be a change agent. It is meant to help the readers break out of their little reality boxes and to explore new paradigms. For the bold, knowing, or deluded it contains the key to mysteries. Hooray for Uncle Al!

I'm profoundly disappointed. This Kindle edition is just a "converted to eBook" version of the text transcriptions which have been on the internet since the '90s. Who authorized this? The current version at hermetic.com has been improved over the years to the point where this Kindle version is just a sad relic. The Book of Lies deserves a high quality Kindle version. Avoid this one.

When I bought this little book (very aptly referred to by the editors as crowley's little masterwork) it was really on a whim. When I got it I looked over it and read a few of its modest chapters - modest, in reference to their size only - and put it away on the shelf for some months. I recently came full circle and picked it up again, through the impetus of my researches and I must say I'm glad I put it down the first time, because now I was really able to fully appreciate it's profundity, able to grasp subtleties I would have surely missed before. In this way the book has (like any other of subtance can) served as a measuring stick of my own progress. Crowley tells the truth when he says that this small book is the most complete exposition of his magical philosophy on every plane. Bottom line: buy it, it will greatly repay years of study.

After having studied Occult Philosophy for almost 10 years of my life, I can honestly say I have read many books on the subject. Some of them remain implanted in the head of the reader, some unfortunately do not. This is one of the jewels which has remained firmly implanted in my head and heart- I never go anywhere without it, and often find myself referring back to it and even quoting it. The Book of Lies is poetic and insightful, an imaginative materpiece. I recommend it to everybody, whether theologist, Thelemite, or just the average Joe searching for the meaning in life.