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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Intellectual Apology for The Great Beast, August 14, 2006
In the introduction to the Book of Lies, Crowley makes a statement to the effect that -to the uninitiated- his work is intended to be infuriating nonsense. Anyone hoping to glean anything from it needs either an incredible amount of free time or an excellent interpreter. I, for one, hate riddles. I would never have taken the time to "figure Crowley out," so I was glad to have Regardie as an interpreter.
Regardie's personal relationship with Crowley and his insight into Crowley's practice make this book truly exceptional. In life, Crowley actively sought to sensationalize himself and biographers have generally followed his lead. Regardie refuses to do so, and this book is perhaps even fairer to Crowley than Crowley deserves.
There are, however, some things for the prospective buyer to be aware of. First, this book is more an apology for Crowley than a comprehensive biography. The author assumes that the reader has some familiarity with the other books on Crowley, and addresses only those points that he believes other biographers (primarily Symonds) have gotten wrong or missed entirely. The author only covers the years 1898-1914 and entire episodes of Crowley's life are missing (e.g. there is no discussion of his life in Sicily).
Similarly, the author presumes a high-level of literacy in the occult, and digresses at-length into its minutiae. He fails to define most of the arcane terms used, so the casual reader (like me) will often be lost and sometimes bored (I found myself skipping pages here and there).
But even without this contextual knowledge, I enjoyed the book immensely. The author clearly understands Crowley's thought, right down to the bedrock, and the portrait of him that emerges from this book is unexpected. As a general matter, I have no interest in ritual magick. But the author brings Crowley's mindbending and unique insights into religion, psychology, philosophy and (especially) yoga into sharp focus. Open-minded readers in each of these disciplines will find this book relevant and rewarding.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Analysis of Aleister Crowley, August 30, 2003
To say that Aleister Crowley was a confusing and sometimes contradictary character is an understatement. His biographers have all come away with different pictures of the man, and even his own autobiography does little to clear the air. In "The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley", Israel Regardie, a student under the old magician, slices through the perplexities of his character with a shrewd, psychoanalytically based eye. Regardie does more than address the neurosis and flaws in Crowley's character structure, however- as a student of mysticism, he dives into an investigation of Crowley's system of "Thelemic Magick", it's basis in the esoterica of the Golden Dawn, India, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and the Sacred Magic of Abramelin, and how this influenced his character and development. Regardie discusses philosophy, yoga, several schools of psychoanalytic thought (including that of the controversial Wilhelm Reich), and western ceremonial magic, all with a very readable style. The book is more than an analysis of Crowley- it is an analysis of how Crowley's investigations give us insight into the entire structure of the character of western man and the changes we're experiencing in the postmodern world. I highly recommend this book- it should be on the bookshelf of every student of Transpersonal psychology.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classy,enlightened,illuminating..., November 28, 1999
A great Magus discussing his mentor...Israel Regardie writes authoritatively about Aleister Crowley,the man he knew better than any other.However,this is no simple biographical endeavor:the book is rich in information about the inceptive years of the Golden Dawn and the tremenduous formative influence that this magical order exerted upon Crowley.Practising magicians or the simply curious about the controversial figure of Crowley will not only find their misconceptions shattered,but they will also get an education in High Magic and its relevance for our time.Spicy and humorous at times,Regardie makes a strong case for Crowley as a great mystic,pioneer,and Adeptus of the highest order.Written with a great economy and sense of balance,this is the only work available that correctly contextualizes Aleister Crowley while avoiding the ludicrous tabloid trash that provided so much fodder for mediocre biographers of the past...A great introduction to Crowley and the Magical Path.Light in extension!
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