The Moonchild (Paperback)

~ Aleister Crowley (Author) "LONDON, in England, the capital city of the British Empire, is situated upon the banks of the Thames..." (more)
Key Phrases: young magician, old mystic, Cyril Grey, Simon Iff, Brother Onofrio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is a novel by Crowley about a magical war between a white lodge ( led by Iff ) and a black lodge ( led by Douglas ) over an unborn child, the "moonchild" of the title, with the action moving between London, Paris and a villa in Naples. It was written in 1917 in New Orleans.

-Chapter I: A Chinese God
-Chapter II: A Philosophical Disquisition Upon The Nature Of The Soul
-Chapter III: Telekinesis: Being The Art Of Moving Objects At A Distance
-Chapter IV: Lunch, After All; And A Luminous Account Of The Fourth Dimension
-Chapter V: Of The Thing In The Garden; And Of The Way Of The Tao
-Chapter VI: Of A Dinner, With The Talk Of Divers Guests
-Chapter VII: Of The Oath Of Lisa La Giuffria; And Of Her Vigil In The Chapel Of Abominations
-Chapter VIII: Of The Homunculus; Conclusion Of The Former Argument Concerning The Nature Of The Soul
-Chapter IX: How They Brought The Bad News From Arago To Quincampoix: And What Action Was Taken Thereupon
-Chapter X: How They Gathered The Silk For The Weaving Of The Butterfly-Net
-Chapter XI: Of The Moon Of Honey, And Its Events; With Sundry Remarks On Magick; The Whole Adorned With Moral Reflections
-Chapter XII: Of Brother Onofrio, His Stoutness And Valiance; And Of The Misadventures That Came Thereby To The Black Lodge
-Chapter XIII: Of The Progress Of The Great Experiment; Not Forgetting Our Friends Last Seen In Paris
-Chapter XIV: An Informative Discourse Upon The Occult Character Of The Moon, Her Threefold Nature, Her Fourfold Phases
-Chapter XV: Of Dr. Vesquit And His Companions, How They Fared In Their Work Of Necromancy; And Of A Council Of War Of
-Chapter XVI: Of The Spreading Of The Butterfly-Net; With A Delectable Discourse Concerning Divers Orders Of Being; And Of
-Chapter XVII: Of The Report Which Edwin Arthwait Made To His Chief, And Of The Deliberations Of The Black Lodge Thereupon
-Chapter XVIII: The Dark Side Of The Moon
-Chapter XIX: The Grand Bewitchment
-Chapter XX: Walpurgis-Night
-Chapter XXI: Of The Renewal Of The Great Attack; And How It Fared
-Chapter XXII: Of A Certain Dawn Upon Our Old Friend The Boulevard Arago; And Of The Loves Of Lisa La Giuffria
-Chapter XXIII: Of The Arrival Of A Chinese God Upon The Field Of Battle; Of His Success With His Superiors And Of A Sight

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Weiser Books (June 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877281475
• ISBN-13: 978-0877281474
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,581 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man Beyond The Moon, April 9, 2003

By	Author Brian Wallace (Mind Transmission, Inc.) (Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Moonchild is a visionary, metaphysical novel of the highest order. Crowley provides an elegant and mysterious exploration of the realms of magick, love and psychology. Reading Crowley's book is like getting equal doses of poetry, academia and enlightenment.

In the days long before The Celestine Prophecy and others, metaphysical fiction was raw and edgy but also beautiful and wondrously haunting.

Crowley was many men wrapped up into one and certainly a writer of fiction worthy of the highest praise.

Wherever you are you crazy shining diamond, we thank you for this book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Wickedest Man in the World's classic novel, May 17, 2007

By	Alan Draven "Author of Bitternest, www.alandr... (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

Crowley was an occultist and a practitioner of Magick (no, the "K" is not a typo) and was often dubbed a Satanist. I think maybe people labeled him as such because it's human nature to fear what we do not comprehend. He was wise and this book proves it; he knew about the "Law of Attraction" which is now gathering a lot of attention with the release of The Secret DVD and book. He himself, wrote a book titled "The Book of the Law" while under trance.

Moonchild is certainly not light reading; it's a bit disjointed and reads more like a handbook on magick, featuring many insights into this fascinating secret world (dare I say secret society?). If I had to classify it, I'd say this book belongs in the Dark Fantasy genre. It chronicles the adventures of a young magician named Cyril Grey and his mentor Simon Iff, along with Lisa La Giuffria. She will be drawn to both the good and dark sides of a magickal war. We follow Grey as he initiates Lisa into the mysterious practices of Magick and we witness Lisa's anguish grow in reaction to the lack of reciprocal feelings from Grey and watch her stand by Douglas's side, the leader of the Black Lodge, Grey and Iff's sworn enemies.

I enjoyed much of the various lessons on Magick and the parody of the higher class, society's rich and self-important folks who think themselves the centre of the universe. I did find it a bit distracting from the overall story; the book's main plot often gets lost in all the characters' discussions and gossiping. Although most of the distractions are surprisingly interesting (this says a lot about Crowely's ability to spin an engaging yarn), I wish he would've stuck closer to the central intrigue. Nonetheless, it makes for an entertaining and educational read. The only thing that really left to be desired was the third act, again, a blurry part of the book since it's hard to tell where it begins. It was a tad too anti-climactic for my taste and the whole part on the First World War was not the best direction he could've chosen, in my humble opinion. Still, we have to keep in mind that this novel was written in 1917, right in the middle of WWI. In the end, you have to remember that in a book, as well as in life, it's the journey that counts, not the destination. On that basis, it proved to be a very satisfying journey.

Fellow occultists and fans of Crowley should have a jolly old time with this one. Crowley has a very engaging writing style and the book doesn't feel too dated for a book that's 90 years old.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality Reading, July 31, 2004

By	Joseph Adams "Paladin" (Superior, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This is a novel of quality. I read this as a student at a technical college. It is a novel by the notorious Aleister Crowley about magick and the struggles between light and darkness. Once you can differentiate between fantasy magick like Dungeons & Dragons and real life magick like Wicca you should be fine. You won't find any fireballs or lightning bolts, but good, real life magickal theory. I warn you, this a novel for adults as it contains disturbing content.