Rating: 
Summary: The best of those which are not Holy Books
Review: Of all of the books by Aleister Crowley, this is perhaps the single most complicated, most challenging. Certainly, this is true for those not included as Holy Books. It reads very much like those other 13 texts.This, however, is not a Holy Book. Rather, it is a series of poems and prose written in a highly obscure and intricate fashion. To understand what really is a simple concept (and which forms the intellectual basis of the book) you would have to read Crowley's essay "The Soldier and the Hunchback". Even the number of chapters (93) has an important symbolism: "93" is the numerological equivalent of the Greek word "thelema" ('will') and "agape" ('love')--the meaning of this is a doctrine of the religion Thelema. The basic concept of the book deals with a kind of moral relativism. Truth, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist outside the realm of consciousness of the individual. This book attempts to make as large a jump between the gap of truth for one and falsehood for another, as possible. It was originally designed for those who have reached a great height of spiritual attainment (Magister Templi 8=3, to be precise). However, this was the first book by Crowley that I ever read. Those of you who are students out there might want to familiarize yourself with the book anyway. It provides a great introduction to the style and character of the man, and most of its mysteries can be understood with enough patience and thought (some require esoteric knowledge which is not supposed to be known outside the A.'. A.'. or OTO). This was also the passage for Crowley to enter IX degree of the OTO (see the introduction). There have been references to this book in pop culture (see the album called Psalm 69 by the industrial band Ministry--the title is derived from the 69th chapter, entitled "The Way to Succeed-And the Way to Suck Eggs!", and the title track contains several references to this chapter, including its title). In short, this little gem is a masterwork of poetry and intellect. Even if the words make absolutely NO sense to you whatsoever, it should be read simply for the value of the poetry. It's money well spent.
| 
