Aleister Crowley wrote prodigiously. His works “The Book of the Law”, “Magick in Theory and Practice,” Diary of Drug Fiend and “The Book of Thoth” are almost de rigueur reading for occultists. His tarot deck, the Thoth Tarot, is nonpareil. It was created with Lady Frieda Harris and Israel Regardie, then his personal secretary and later president of the Golden Dawn. The trio is depicted on the deck’s Nine of Disks, that is titled Gain.
Crowley’s wrote Book of the Law via automatic handwriting (psychography) i.e. a method that psychics use to channel either their higher self or a spirit angels. For Crowley wrote while in the “flow” — an effortless and free experience where words and ideas seems to come together — but most importantly when he was receiving messages from a higher being called Aiwaz (or Aiwass). Aiwaz lived in Ancient Chaldea during the reign of Hammurabi (around 1750 BC) and unveiled magickal (Crowley’s spelling for the word magical ) phrases and truths. Aiwaz’s high vowel count is considered to have mystical significance, helped Alexander become Aleister while guiding him to the perfect philosophy — Thelema where souls are archetypes for the new Aeon. The Thelemapedia discusses this further.
Chart Highlights
Edward Alexander Crowley was born on October 12, 1875 at Royal Leamington Spa, England at 11:42 GMT. We are not rectifying Aleister’s chart. He gave himself the Ascendant of 08 Leo, via G.K. McClung’s Hyperion Symbols “Zeus’s thunderbolt,” an image that we think the Master Theiron would approve.
Crowley’s chart is heavily western-based — all choice and opportunity, but as an introverted thinker-author his Mercury is in its own Lord, Gemini in the 3rd house though natally in Scorpio. Mercury is also as far as one can get from his Sun and in a separate sign, showing his brilliance and concentrated thought: his maverick career supports these ideas.
His Leo ascendant would have made him tend to bing a large man with broad shoulders and a florid complexion. One Lion we know flushes so easily that is discernible even with their olive complexion. Leo rising also makes the natives, self-confident, ambitious and fond of power with a tendency towards the dramatic.
Of course in Crowley’s case, all of this is affected, by that mighty Grand Cross from the 10th to the 4th house and then from the 2nd to the 8th house showing how his life and creative thoughts were tinged with the impermanence of life and the eternalness of death.
Pluto at the Midheaven supports this, as his interest in archeology (digging up the dead) was so great, that he took his bride, Rose Kelly, on a honeymoon to the Egyptian tomb in 1904. There he first encountered his Holy Guardian Angel at the exhibit number #666.
When they returned, Rose entered trance states and insisted that the Egyptian God Horus, whose head is in the shape of a falcon and body that of a man, was trying to reach him.
Charting Aleister
As part of the Grand Cardinal Cross, his Saturn is square his Mercury in his Fourth House in Scorpio, conjunct Jupiter, showing how he was able to integrate his intellect to avoid becoming fragmented or detail bound but instead rise above the fray with a surprising light touch.
The final opposition to his Saturn is an exact opposition to his Uranus in the First House at 19.10 Leo. Here we see how Crowley tried to integrate his originality into a new Aeon starting with himself by being more articulate, more open and more expansive than anyone else at the time. This caused untold problems, first at home, then at school and then with the Golden Dawn that tossed him out for breaking their code of silence on their inner rites. He left, claim foul, and founded his own Mystery School. Years later his secretary, Regardie, opened up all of the Golden Dawn to the public following in his esoteric father’s footsteps.
Those lines say so much
Of Marc Edmund Jones’s four departments, only the Line of Efficiency <sup>1 </sup> is the most prominent. This square dominates Master Theron’s chart because it also the closest square aspect in his chart and so becomes his Dynamic Aptitude. This angle gives a “particular dramatization” to his affairs with a strong need to be “different” and striking. His early writing partner, Evangeline Adams, does not have this department and thus, this difference between the two suggests the real reason for their astrological writings to have such great success: a marriage of practicality and elan.
His Line of Vitality is trine, this is the angle between the two Luminaries, suggesting a creative tone of self-expression and supports the Line of Efficiency.
The Line of Culture, Neptune in relationship to Uranus lies in opposition. As the two oppose each other, this slanting, shows his awareness of his sensitivity to his surroundings. The most salient episode In Crowley’s life that this angle manifests itself is not only by his automatic writing (a method similar to free-writing) but also by his receptivity to the Egyptian god Thoth’s healing spirit in the Cairo Museum of Antiquities (now the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities at Cairo) during his honeymoon.
The fourth and final line is the Line of Personality, or Jupiter’s slanting to Saturn. In Crowley’s chart they are square but sextile in his mentor-writing partner, Evangeline Adams chart. His square suggests an offhand and careless attitude towards his work, while her sextile brings an almost obsessive concern with the work having to be perfect. It is this aspect that obviously caused the break in writing relationship as this would be hard to harmonize.
The Department issue
Crowley has all 4 departments in his chart; we have found in our studies that this creates a hard-headed obstinate person who is not open to criticism or critical input. His chart shows this with Asteroid Lilith conjunct the Sun in the 4th house, pushing him to greater and more dangerous acts of self-exhibitionism in a driving need to stand out from his peers. His high declination of Mars 22 Capricorn 53 in the sixth house, supports this driving personality that eventually caused a physical and mental exhaustion that led him to being totally dependent upon others for care.
In the fourth house we find his only stellium auguring his need to remove his energies from himself and instead transfer them into a professional activity. Clutter-bugs often have this stellium as well those interested in archaeology and history (evinced again by his visit to the Cairo Museum, that was obviously a touchstone in his life).
The Symbols aren’t silent either
In Crowley’s chart the two most important symbols are Mars & his ascendant. The former at 22 Capricorn 53 “two awards for bravery in war” symbolize his resourcefulness in developing new areas of self-expression that extolled the personal vision through his leadership.
His ascendant doubles upon that idea despite that Jones ignores this tradition talisman replacing this with his focal determinator theory. Nonetheless at Leo 8, (HS) Zeus’s Thunderbolt key is the need for “self correction.” In Master Theron’s case, he consistently refused such adjustment and missed his calling as probably the greatest 20th century occultist. Instead, he allowed his debauchery and notoriety to dominate his life that eventually left his health in ruin.
What’s his type?
Aleister is a see-saw, that according to Marc Edmund Jones is the most common type of Temperament Type, while we have found that “bowls” are everywhere & see-saws a distant second. in the see-saw case, the native goes through life trying to be an acrobat on a high wire act, balancing this way and that to get his equilibrium. Because there are oppositions in the chart, for his see-saw to work there always must be some mediating string or person that unites the tension between the two segments of the natives life to create a whole. For him that was the noble Lady Frieda Harris.
A Fixed Grand Cross
Another major feature of Aleister Crowley’s layout is the Grand Cross (see above) in fixed elements. One example that Marc Edmund Jones in How to learn astrology, is financier J. P. Morgan, founder of the major American bank that bears his name.
Dr. Jones writes that a Grand Fixed Cross gives the native a “special instinct for dealing with intangibles.” And if esoterica is not an “elusive” tangible, there is not much that is. “A fixed cross,” Jones continues, “irrevocably” links the native with the establishment of a pattern for beliefs or age.
Intercepted Houses
Crowley has no planets in his intercepted houses of Gemini-Sagittarius, but Pluto that is on the cusp. Pluto was discovered in 1930, and in that year “The Legend of Aleister Crowley” is compiled by Crowley though written by his secretary Israel Regardie, later the president and leader of the Golden Dawn, and his friend P. R. Stephenson. On September 23 1930 at 6:36pm AC fakes his own suicide at Boca de Inferno, Cascais Portugal: he is nothing if not theatrical.
Pessoa handed Crowley’s suicide note to newspapers, helpfully explaining the Thelemic symbols and translating the mangled Portuguese to police and media alike.
Crowley reappeared three weeks later at the opening of an exhibition of his works in a Berlin gallery, suggesting this whole affair was more publicity stunt than anything else as shown by the stellium in the 11th house of publicity and fans.
Footnotes
Marc Jones outline the four departments in the Guide to Horoscope Interpretation, page 151. They provide a shortcut for how a person interacts with his environment. Neither Pluto nor Mercury are in a department, thus Marc Jones called them “supernumeraries” or extras. Mercury, and the two luminaries, appear in his Mental Chemistry angle.
Footnotes:
- Crowley’s grandson is jazz pianist Eric Muhler. It’s uncanny how Mr. Muhler resembles the old sod.
- This site, Ghost Blooms, discusses Crowley’s Cambridge years complete with his poetry and lots of modern day pictures.
Bibliography:
- McClung, G. K. Hyperion Symbols. Barnes and Noble sells the eBook. It is far cheaper than the paperback edition; there is no hardcover available.
- Jones, Marc Edmund. How to learn Astrology. Stanwood, WA: Sabian Publishing Society. c. Mrs. Delphine Norwood/ Dromenon LLC., Chicago, Illinois. This book is rare and out of print.
- Jones, Marc. Edmund. The Guide to Horoscope Interpretation. Philadelphia: MacKay Publishing, 1941. Available for purchase here.
We constantly vet our essays for thoroughness and errors. This one was reviewed on September 27th, 2019.
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