THE INFLUENCE OF ALEISTER CROWLEY ON GERALD

GARDNER AND THE EARLY WITCHCRAFT MOVEMENT*

Henrik Bogdan

Magic, Sex and Contemporary Paganism

Although magic is an intrinsic part of contemporary paganism there

is no consensus as to how magic is believed to function, or how it is to
be defined.1 The absence of a definition of magic that all pagans can
agree upon is, on the one hand, reflective of the multifaceted nature of
paganism: the term paganism as an -ism, implying a coherent system
of beliefs and practices, is misleading since paganism is not a coherent
and unified movement. On the contrary, paganism is characterised by a
wide diversity that not only includes major currents such as Witchcraft,
neo-shamanism, Heathenism, Asatru, Druidry, Goddess Spirituality, etc.,
but these currents in their turn show rich variety in beliefs, practices
and organisational structures.2 The modern witchcraft movement, for
instance, consists of Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Celtic, Dianic, and Faery
Wicca, to name but a few of the more well-known variants. On the other
hand, the lack of an agreed upon definition of magic is symptomatic
of wider trends in western spirituality that, somewhat simplistically,
can be described as the ongoing struggle between disenchanted and re-
enchanted worldviews. Are the gods and goddesses invoked in magical
rituals actual objective entities, or are they symbols of different aspects
of man’s unconscious? This basic question lies at the root of emic defi-
nitions of magic, but to some pagans this is not a particularly relevant
question since the only thing that matters is that the magic “works” for
them. In this they reiterate what the occultist3 Aleister Crowley wrote

* An earlier version of this chapter was published as “Challenging the Morals of

Western Society: The Use of Ritualised Sex in Contemporary Occultism” in The
Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies Vol. 8. 2 (2006), 211–246.
1
For a discussion of magic in paganism, see Joanne Pearson, Wicca and the Christian
Heritage: Ritual, Sex and Magic (2007), 94–111; Barbara Jane Davy, Introduction to Pagan
Studies (2007) 29–30; Graham Harvey, Contemporary Paganism (1997) 87–106; Graham
Harvey, What Do Pagans Believe? (2007) 44–53.
2
Graham Harvey, Contemporary Paganism (1997).
3
Occultism, which for our present purpose can be described as a secularised form
82 henrik bogdan

in a short tract called “Liber O vel Manus et Sagittae”, first published

in his magnum opus Magick in Theory and Practice (1929):
In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths, of Spirits and
Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which
may or may not exist.
It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things cer-
tain results follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing
objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.4
It is, however, not only Crowley’s focus on the results of magic that is
being echoed in contemporary paganism, but as has been pointed out
by numerous scholars one of the most common definitions of magic to
be found in the modern witchcraft movement derives from Crowley.5 In
discussing definitions of magic in paganism in What Do Pagans Believe?
Graham Harvey states:
Two definitions of magic are current among Pagans: some say that magic
is the art of causing change according to the will, others that magic is
the art of changing consciousness according to will. The first asserts that
magic can change the world; it can heal a sick relative or make someone
fall in love. The second suggest that magic can change one’s self at the
deep level of one’s consciousness.6
It is usually acknowledged that while the first definition derives from
Crowley, the second is supposed to have been formulated by the occult-
ist Dion Fortune (pseudo. of Violet Mary Firth, 1890–1946). Crowley’s
well-known definition of magic (or Magick as he chose to spell it)
appeared in print for the first time in Magick in Theory and Practice:
Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in
conformity with Will. (Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World
of certain facts within my knowledge. I therefore take “magical weap-
ons”, pen, ink, and paper; I write “incantations—these sentences—in the
“magical language” i.e. that which is understood by the people I wish to
instruct; I call forth “spirits”, such as printers, publishers, booksellers, and

of Western esotericism, is characterised, among other things, by a heavy focus on the

experiential aspect of religion; that is, teachings and dogmas often come second to
the performance of rituals and various forms of meditation. For a discussion on how
occultism (as a form of secularised esotericism) differs from traditional, or Renaissance,
esotericism, see Wouter J. Hanegraaff “The Study of Western Esotericism” (2004),
497–499.
4
Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice (1929), 375.
5
E.g. Graham Harvey, Contemporary Paganism (1997), 88.
6
Graham Harvey, What Do Pagans Believe? (2007), 45.