Master Therion -- Foreword
BY ALPER ÖZKAN (MSN/PhDII)
It is not too difficult to found a cult. Ron L. Hubbard has recently done so in such a spectacular and far-reaching manner that he is now an internet celebrity of sorts (the doctrines of Scientology read more like an Edgar Rice Burroughs book than any sort of religious scripture, much to the amusement of many), but back in the day it was quite a common occurrence for one group or another to claim that they had discovered some profound secret of the universe and were willing to share -- so long as their pupils were apt and eager (or, preferably, rich and influential). With the advent of the Romantic period, a fondness for and curiosity about the religious traditions of other cultures developed throughout Europe, especially regarding the Indian and Egyptian belief systems, which only served to further encourage those endeavors: since the practices associated with the religions of far-off times and places were by no means well known to Europeans, and the spread of knowledge about them was facilitated mostly by rumor and hearsay, this was the cue for any mystic hopeful to combine every bit of information he could gather into an unreligion that usually had little to do with what it was derived from. This was a time for foreign demons and gods to walk the earth once more, served by well-intentioned but hopelessly misguided apostles. Into such a world was born a certain Edward Alexander Crowley, whom I will call Alick because that was his nickname and he absolutely loathed it.
Young Alick quickly became disillusioned with Christianity, the religion he was brought up in, possibly because of internal errors in logic that he noticed in its teachings, or else due to being afflicted with that peculiar yet ubiquitous condition that ails all teenagers and forces them to oppose the ways of their elders -- though his life was nonetheless quite ordinary for an educated young man of his age, which meant that he spent his time reading, writing poetry and engaging in outdoor sports (since computers weren't around yet, he couldn't spend any time on Halo or Call of Duty). But since this is about his occult inclinations, let us just say that his discontent with Christian teachings caused him to look for other faiths, which led him to the Esoteric Order of Golden Dawn. Apart from having a perfect name for an evil organization (in fact it has appeared as an enigmatic group of villains in at least one fictional series), the Order had a structure partially derived from Masonic lodges and apparently taught a highly abstract, theory-intensive form of magic -- so advanced was the instruction that moving up through the ranks required written examinations (but if you're thinking about getting your degree in magic, do note that you have been beaten by Phillip Bonewits, who earned a bachelor of arts in magic from the prestigious University of California, Berkeley). By the time of Alick's initiation, the Order had already gained quite a bit of power and fame, counting among its numbers several highly influential figures of the time -- which proved to be its undoing, as members were not pleased with the administration, and this eventually caused a schism (too many pawns spoil the cult, apparently).
What followed was essentially an internal war involving many bitter words and resignations, though I rather prefer my own version, where packs of magical gangsters roam the streets in search of the elder magi hiding in their sancta (the situation is somewhat akin to the Great Hacker War, which was by no means the grandiose conflict it was described as in the media and actually involved a bunch of hackers playing pranks on each other to show off their skills). Alick chose this time to leave England on a journey to find himself, and instead came to find himself not quite himself. Led by Horus, the Egyptian falcon god, he wrote the Book of the Law, which formed the basis of his later teachings, and a few years later named his firstborn daughter Nuit Ma Ahathoor Hecate Sappho Jezebel Lilith, the most conclusive evidence I can offer that he had gone raving mad by this point (Nut is the Egyptian sky goddess, Ma is probably derived from the fact that many languages utilize the syllable for the word "mother," Ahathoor is Hathor, an Egyptian mother goddess, Hecate is the three-headed goddess of witches probably derived from the Egyptian frog goddess Heqet, Sappho is a talented Greek poet most of whose work is unfortunately ignored in favor of other considerations, Jezebel is a Biblical figure associated with Baal worship and Lilith, as mentioned almost a month prior, is the infamous mother of all demons and also an owl).
He then went on to create a curious cult, calling himself the Great Beast (which comes off about as mature as using 666_I_AM_SATAN_666 as your nickname in chatrooms, except with all the added benefits brought by claiming to be the Devil himself in early 20th-century England) and advocating equally curious codes. But that will be left to the next column, wherein I will try to detail the sort of Qabbalistic checkers magi are supposed to play (keep in mind, however, that the truth shall be revealed to you immediately if you join my cult -- please contact the nearest Brother of the Yellow Sign for details).