From his birth as the only son of a wealthy lay preacher to his death in a boarding house as the world’s foremost authority on magick, Aleister Crowley was reviled for his practice of what some called “the black arts.” In death, Crowley quickly became one of the most notorious figures in England, his myth overshadowing the man.
One of the 3 men who had a profound influence on Crowley’s life, allowing him to become the cautionary tale that later became legend was Dr. John Norman (aka Collie). Collie was the one who initially proposed Crowley for membership to the Alpine Club (for climbers), with Sir Martin Conway. Even though that application was later rejected, it wasn’t hard to see the ongoing influence that Collie had over him. Below, Crowley biographer Richard Kaczynski discusses Collie’s beliefs and influence on the man of magick in this excerpt from his book, Perdurabo.
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Another of Collie’s interests was the occult. Whether it was mysticism, magic, alchemy, or folklore, the unexplainable fascinated him. He believed in the Loch Ness Monster and reported being followed on Scotland’s highest summit, Ben Macdui (4,295 feet), on Easter of 1891—whether by a ghost or by the legendary Am Fear Lias Mòr (Scotland’s Sasquatch, the Big Grey Man) he did not speculate, but he remarked that “No power on earth will ever take me up Ben Macdui again.” This, along with tales of old Gaelic mountain gods and goddesses, he would often relate to friends around campfires or in his den, according to his biographer Christine Mill, “no one quite knowing how much he was believing himself.” As Crowley recalled, “Norman Collie, of all people, by the way, was very keen on alchemy in the days when we climbed rocks together.” That Collie was also a scientist—an organic chemist at University College, later department chair and, after his 1928 retirement, professor emeritus— no doubt made a great impression on Crowley, who would many years later define magick as an art and science, coining the phrase “the method of science, the aim of religion” and dubbing his methodology “scientific illuminism.” Not long after meeting Collie, Crowley would begin to consider himself a young authority on alchemy, expounding the subject to anyone who would listen. Most remarkably, Collie was but the first of three highly influential climber-chemists that Crowley would meet in as many years.
For more information on this book and others by Richard Kaczynski click here.
To check out the Perdaurabo Facbook page click here.
“Although there have been several authoritative (and relatively impartial) bios of the occultist Aleister Crowley published in the last decade, in my opinion there is one that is definitely a cut above the rest. This would be Perdurabo by Richard Kaczynski, PhD. As “The definitive biography of the founder of modern magick,” Kaczynski’s revised and expanded edition of his 2002 offering is tirelessly researched (20 years!), highly detailed and loaded with photos, many of which are quite rare.”
–Toolband.com, official website of rock band TOOL
“This is not only the most carefully-researched, detailed, and informative biography of Crowley yet written but also a remarkable insight into the nature of magic itself.”
–Ronald Hutton, author of The Triumph of the Moon and Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain
