The Curse of Aleister Crowley: Descent into Lies and Madness [Paperback]

Joshua Seraphim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2006

Crowley's Curse by Joshua J. Seraphim is a look at the breeches between psychology and the occult, a voyeuristic peer into the minds of individuals suffering from his curse. Joshua Seraphim shows the reader and dilettante of the occult Arts what they do not want to read. Readers are about to peer into minds and spirits stricken with a metaphysical pain: an absence of agapæ. The Latins called it poena damni, the pain of damnation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joshua Seraphim holds a B.A. in Religious Studies and is a member of the American Academy of Religion, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the National Scholars Honor Society. Mr. Seraphim has traveled to Egypt extensively to study ancient Egyptian religion & culture. The author resides in Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Leilah Publications, LLC; 1st edition (December 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419654047
• ISBN-13: 978-1419654046
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,851,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joshua Seraphim holds a B.A. in Religious Studies, and is a member of the American Academy of Religion, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the National Scholars Honor Society. Mr. Seraphim traveled to Egypt extensively to study ancient Egyptian religion & culture. He is an avid hiker in the Arizona desert, and enjoys listening to Rock, Classical, and Operatic music. When Mr. Seraphim is not working or writing, he enjoys investing, politics, stand-up comedy, & classic movies. An initiate of the Rosy Cross Fraternity, the author resides in Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh, please, June 3, 2007

By 

C. Feldman (Austin TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curse of Aleister Crowley: Descent into Lies and Madness (Paperback)

This book is a joke. Even a brief look at the author's supposed CV (He's actually got the gall to put that he was a National Merit Scholar -- why not put his High School diploma on here as well?), and even more telling, the excerpt printed above:

"Cults, such as Crowley's 'Thelema' are communal totalistic in their organisation."

"Communal totalistic" -- what language is that? Surely not any English you learned in school.

"Cultic attitudes subsist amongst Initiates in 'Thelema' whom fail to see the unity between the 'Method of Science,' and the 'Aim of Religion.'"

"Whom fail to see" -- Oh, I get it, he's channeling Waite. No, I take that back: Waite at least wrote grammatically, for all his turgid prose.

"Love is more than a Light, while swimming in the Crystalline sea of agapæ, the language of both sanity and insanity ignites the stars. Forever and forever and forever."

Good gods... did he steal this from the soundtrack for some anime?

Trust me, you don't want to waste your time on this drivel.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Worst, May 24, 2007

By 

Soror IED - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curse of Aleister Crowley: Descent into Lies and Madness (Paperback)

I bought this book based on the other three reviews listed and boy was I diappointed. This is one of the worst books I have ever read. The author is far too much into himself and his opinion. Instead of seeking the truth of a situation he lists his speculations as fact. Overall the book was not very well researched, nor were it's points very well presented.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Classic Pathography, August 20, 2010

By 

Doctor S. "MD" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curse of Aleister Crowley: Descent into Lies and Madness (Paperback)

Although assuming the appearance of a biography, a pathography can be easily identified by the author's tone- they tend to 'dig for dirt', give whatever negative examples they can which back-up their attitude toward their subject, and lose all objectivity in the process. Painting a negative literary picture of a notorious character is so incredibly easy, it's something I would assume most writers of any self-respect would avoid. The fact is, Crowley was an incredibly complex person, and his character flaws are of the sort which could be attached to almost any public figure- drugs, promiscuous sex, outrageous behaviour etc.. A far superior study of Crowley has already been accomplished by John Symonds, while this hack-job pathography is just an obvious and pitiful attempt by a writer with limited skills to cash-in on the 'Wickedest Man in the World' persona which was a complete invention of the tabloid press. Crowley was no saint, but he was far from a one-dimensional monster. Trash.