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Summary: Accessible Crowley for everyone!
Review: Do what thou Will shall be the whole of the Law.
This book is an amazing compendium of letters from the pen of arguably the greatest Occultist of the 20th Century, written in the 1940's to various of his beginning and intermediate students. In them Crowley is the soul of brevity and wit, going straight to the point, time and time again, without the blinds, without the double meanings, without cryptic references, obscure Greek and Latin passages, written in plain English: the private letters of a great Teacher to his inquiring students. An amazing work, Crowley discusses the principles and practice of various magical disciplines in an easy to understand manner without becoming over-simplistic. This book, and the Book of Thoth give lie to the myth that Crowley was a confused and bitter old man in his dotage: these two works both illustrate that Crowley's mind was as sharp as it ever was, and that his grasp of the Mysteries had deepened as his admittedly acerbic character mellowed in his old age. It makes no matter if you are a student of the Golden Dawn, the O.T.O., the Servants of Light, the Builders of the Atydium, or the A.'.A.'., if Qabbalistic Hermeticism is your cup of tea, you'll find much to quench your thirst for knowledge with this volume. Love is the Law, Love under Will.
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Summary: Underappreciated collection of Crowley's correspondence.
Review: First things first: "Cara Soror" means "Dear Sister"; "Cara" is referred to in other reviews as a single individual student but this is a misinterpretation of the text.
Magick Without Tears is filled with gems of wisdom and philosophy, arranged very topically and with a useful index. Crowley uses plain language in the letters although the book does require concentration and more than one reading to absorb much of the content; this is not fluff reading for the beach! His writing style is informal, charming and humorous in some areas and vitriolic in others, especially when confronting lazy or muddled thinking in his students. Pomposity is kept to a minimum and the conversational tone makes The Great Beast seem almost approachable.
Crowley covers a host of topics, from vampires to overcoming one's fears of astral travel to geomancy, womanhood, false "teachers" and other subjects.
It's assumed that readers will have more than a passing familiarity with the points he discusses and occultism in general, and part of the book's appeal is that it answers questions that serious students will already have arrived at on their own. Crowley's insights are certainly illuminating since they spring from a lifetime of experience. To his credit, he advocates critical thinking and skepticism in his students and leaves some blanks for readers to fill in; practical information is freely given to a point, after which it's up to you! Much can be inferred from his silence on certain points also, which is why this book needs careful reading if you want to get the most out of it. Don't let the conversational tone fool you; this book is a serious work with plenty of information there for the taking.
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Summary: A tough read
Review: I love the work of Aleister Crowley and his followers. I am deeply interested in this man that was so influential, but it didn't make the book any easier to read, and so for me it was an unrewarding chore to find the smallest tidbits of useful expantion of consiousness. If you are new to Crowleys views or Magick then I wouldn't start here for then you would probably get the least amount of assistance to start on your path. This book seemed to be made in a way that it could have been condensed to about a 50 pages mostly being made of suggestions to read other books and there importance that Crowley has written then actually reading this one. Reading the third of this book that I pushed my way through.
First it had over 20 pages of Isreal Regardies forward that was interesting but didn't really say anything other then commend Crowley for his work.
Then this book is written of letters to a woman who is interested in joining the A'A' a magickal assiociation of crowleys.
I did enjoy Crowley's views, I am not a prior reader of crowley, so I found this book to exciting and moving. The problem was that no matter how much genious Crowley was, he did not seem to write this book for the readers benifit rather it seemed a to be a rant, or to long of an explanation on subjects that are only discussed in a very very small manor, before another incomplete discussion is brought in.
As many magick books this book might be best read a chapter and serious study at a time... but realistically that isn't going to happen... and realistically this book isn't a good book to get your feet on the ground to study Magick without tears as it claims. Unless you are looking for Magick with headaches and a lot of other Crowley books to referance.
Overall if you have the opertunity to look at this book then open it up to any chapter and see if you can follow it. Trust me there isn't that much continutity between chapters so you wouldn't be missing much. Then if you like it then go ahead and spend the 20 dollars it will cost you to buy it.
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Summary: ALEISTER CROWLEY - MAGICK'S DENNIS MILLER
Review: Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but am I the only one who has a hard time gleaning anything useful from Crowley's books? I have read almost every book of his and I really TRY to find something useful, but it seems like he is more concerned with impressing his readers with obscure references and arcane, cryptic knowledge than providing pragmatic instructions of magical concepts. This book is a collection of letters on various subjects which seem to hold the promise of elucidating essential magical paradigms, but delivers only theory and personal philosophies. I kept thinking of the quote from the great cinematic film "Dude, Where's My Car?" as I read this book: AND THEN? AND THEN? AND THEN? AND THEN...nothing.
I can't help but believe that a man's life discloses the true power of his magic. Intellectually, Crowley was certainly a genius. But his fame and fortune seems to be entirely post mortem. His life was filled with scandal. He had questionable morals. He had addictions which certainly hastened his demise. His "friends" were more often than not crushed beneath his heal. His health was bad in his latter years. And he died lonely and poor. Is this the legacy of a true "Ipsissmus?
Personally, I would rather follow someone with a track record of true success. Whether or not he could conjure demons or write really bad poetry is irrelevant. Crowley's ramblings seem to simply feed his over sized ego and confuse his readers into thinking that the more obscure and furtive his words, the greater the magician he must be.
Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
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Summary: Crowley Without Tears
Review: Perhaps the most difficult aspect of Crowley's writings until the early 1930s is that he -- in a word -- can be pompous as hell. Pompousity looks great in major works of philosophy but it's impossible to read. By the time he got to writing this work and The Book of Thoth he had mellowed tremendously. This gives both volumes a much more readable style than magni opi such as Liber 418.
Magick Without Tears contains a number of gems to augment the student's study of more serious works. You won't learn everything you need to know about how to practice Thelemic magick from this book. What you will learn is explanations on issues from the difference between white, black and grey magick; what the formula "0=2" means and how we get there; and how in the world one is supposed to study magick and hold down a job at the same time.
This is a suppliment for the student, not a primary text. Take this approach and you'll be rewarded.
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Summary: don't believe the hype
Review: This book has even less meat in it that most of Crowley's other drivel, although at least it's not nearly as arcane. As a result, this one lets you judge for yourself whether there's anything to this guy or not, without needing anyone to interpret it for you. That's the value of the book. And what you'll find is that when he's stripped of all the occult jargon that he usually hides behind, that Crowley has very little to say. Because Crowley has modern-day shills like R. A. Wilson claiming there is something "scientific" about his brand of pseudo-mysticism, a lot of people are duped into thinking there's greater depth to his works that is actually there. Scientific? Give me a break. Among other things, Crowley was a believer in astrology and that a supernatural entity possessed him and made him into an avatar for all mankind. His biographers have given ample evidence as to how advanced a mystic he was. Crowley is not about real mysticism or higher consciousness; he's about self-indulgence and a phony blending of dope, psychoanalysis and occult hokum, which are the weaknesses of all his well-known supporters as well, many of whom are professional quack psychologists (Israel Regardie, who writes the introduction to this book, was a disciple of Mr. Orgone Energy himself, W. Reich, if that tells you anything.) Buy this book if you want to see what mediocre, vague, useless advice Crowley gives to an earnest seeker. If you're honest with yourself at what you find here, you'll be done with this...and all those quacks who support him once and for all.
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Summary: Overrated
Review: This book is an excellent introduction to Crowley and his thought, but it is not very profound or informative. We get an interchange of letters between Crowley and one of his followers, who is seeking advice. Written near the end of Crowley's life, it is proof that his struggles with heroin addiction and alcoholism did not seem to affect his intellectual capacities (nor his illusions of grandeur) at all. Although some of his speculations are amusing, most never rise above pseudo-philosophy. i.e., he comes to the conclusion that racism is ridiculous and that crowd mentality rarely rises above the level of its stupidest member, etc. Save your money; it's just a man trying desperately to prove he is somebody by attracting a group of weaklings as his followers. When you fifnish with this tome, you will know no more than when you began.
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Summary: Completely Destroyed my Preconceived views of A. Crowley
Review: This book proves, to me, that most of what I have read about Crowley, previously, was filtered through the Lens of Prejudice.I did not start reading Crowley's works, until recently, due to his reputation and the fact that I had read much negative information about him, from the time I was a child (my Grandfather owned "An Index of Possibilities: Energy and Power," which I inherited). Most of my Opinions and Views of Crowley were created by reading the works of Colin Wilson, Nevill Drury, etc. However, when I started reading Crowley's own words....I saw a different man. In fact, I can no longer believe the accusations of him being mentally unstable at the end of his life. "Magick Without Tears" was written in the last years of Crowley's life, when other writers say A.C. was nuttier than a fruitcake. Yet, if you read this book, you will quickly realize he was completely Sound of Mind, Educated, Well-Spoken (or written, I should say) and quite Articulate. He obviously retained an enormous wealth of Knowledge in his own mind--only referencing books when necessary. There is no doubt that his mental faculties were still in Prime Condition. In fact, even his crankiness was tinted with a Humorous Quality that made him rather endearing. He writes the way the old guys I hang-out with Act....cranky, yet always suppressing a Mischievous grin playing on their lips & their eyes dancing with boyish light. Yes, he was a bit Eccentric...but, he seems to wish he had not been quite so Erratic--so that people would-have taken him a bit more seriously. His introversion was displaced by Forced Extroversion, leading him to act over the top many times when, perhaps, it would have been best for him to remain a Poet, instead of a "Beast." The Contents of "Magick without Tears" prove that the Contents of his mind were a Storehouse of Hidden Knowledge and highly sophisticated schooling--enough-so, to challenge any Professor. The thing I find most Interesting and Amazing about this book is Crowley's Anthropological Insight into Humanity! I am a student of Anthropology and I never imagined I would find such a wealth of Anthropological Research in the works of Crowley--a man accused of being a Scoundrel and worse, by other writers. I must say, I have seen more common-sense in the writings of Crowley, than I have in most of the Text books and religious books I have read. I think, perhaps, the reason he was so Ostracized is because he told the Blatant Truth about humanity and people's wishes, desires, behavior, et al. The rest of Society wanted to sweep their "faults" under the carpet and hide them in the closet--but, Crowley wanted to be Honest and Celebrate these truly Human and NORMAL desires. I believe someone should bestow an Honorary Anthropology Phd on Aleister Crowley. He makes more sense than most supposedly "educated" men on the subject of the Human Condition. I could not put this book down--literally...I carried it around the house, reading whenever I got a chance. I strongly suggest this collection of Crowley's writings to anyone interested in the subjects of Crowley, Magick, Anthropology, Psychology, History or Religion. This book taught me a lesson: "Do your Own Research."
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Summary: Crowleys answers to Cara Soror
Review: This book was based on the letters from Cara Soror to Aleister Crowley. Of course he did not add any of her letters but he added his. He explains a lot about magick, Thelema, and spirituality. Its more a book on very good information than a ritual instruction book. You wont find out how to do the Middle Pillar or how to properly evoke a goetic spirit, but if you are looking for a book that gives good info on the subject of Magick then this is a good book to get. This one is pretty easy to understand, some of Crowleys works can be confusing to some. When my copy of this book fell apart I purchased a new copy, its that good. If you are interested in the works of Crowley or Thelema or if you are an initiate of the OTO you may really want to read this book. May it never ever go out of print.
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Summary: Letters
Review: To attempt some originality here, this is a book consisting entirely of non sexual oriented letters exchanged between an againg Aleister Crowley and a student Cara Soror. All things magickal are discussed and black magic is delt with as being non productive. Black magic is blasphemous to the Thelemite. Necromancy is not considered black magic, but the satanic rituals of Anton LaVey are. A Thelemite can freely practice magic associated with the Druidistic/Wicca/Neo-pagan faiths freely as it does not harm others. This book certainly did shed any last sympathies I had with Anton LaVey and his intellectual and magical philosophies. I do not mean LaVey or his followers harm, this is something I grew out of with maturity in both the intellect and magickal theory. I would not want to hex anyone right now nor in the last, I don't know, maybe couple of years. Thelema is a self betterment philosophy, not a bitter philosophy.
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