350 Quotes by Aleister Crowley

The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting ofthe soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the femalewith the male, of the ego with the non-ego—or what not.

Remember in any case, that not only the Adept, but anyone with the smallest capacity for Adeptship, is fundamentally an Artist; he will certainly not possess any of those bourgeois "virtues" which are just so many reactions to Blue Funk.

The so-called poet with his vague dreams and ideals is indeed no better than a harmless lunatic; the true poet is the worker, who grips life's throat and wrings out its secret, who selects austerely and composes concisely, whose work is as true and clean as razor-steel, albeit its sweep is vaster and swifter than the sun's!

No recorded vision is perfect, of high visions, for the seer must keep either his physical organs or his memory in working order. And neither is capable. There is no bridge. One can only be conscious of one thing at a time, and as the consciousness moves nearer to the vision, it loses control of the physical and mental.

Cynicism is a great cure for over-study. There is a great deal of cynicism in this book, in one place and another. It should be regarded as Angostura Bitters, to brighten the flavour of a discourse which were else too sweet. It prevents one from slopping over into sentimentality.

Must not understanding lie open unto wisdom as the pyramids lie open to the stars? (6:2)

The seal of Reason, made impregnable:_ The seal of Truth, immeasurably splendid:The seal of Brotherhood, man's miracle:_ The seal of Peace, and Wisdom heaven-descended:The seal of Bitterness, cast down to Hell:_ The seal of Love, secure, not-to-be-rended:The seventh seal, Equality: that, broken,God sets His thunder and earthquake for a token.

This is th' abyss. Behold wherein I lurkThe lazar-house my mind, wherein do workThe horrid charnel-priests, whose loathly songSickens my soul, and quells the spirit strong.

...in the absence of will power, the most complete collection of virtues and talents is wholly worthless.