Aleister Crowley’s Four Books of Magick
Book 4, Liber ABA
by Aleister Crowley
Edited by Stephen Skinner
This is the masterpiece of occultist, magician and philosopher Aleister Crowley, introduced for the first time by one of the world's leading experts on Western esoteric traditions, Stephen Skinner.
"Do what thou wilt."
Written in the early twentieth century, the four books contained within this collection make up one of the most complete and groundbreaking works on the practice of magick ever written. They are considered to be the masterpiece of occultist, magician and philosopher Aleister Crowley and the core texts for the religion of Thelema. Their influence on alternative western thought and philosophy cannot be exaggerated.
Also known as Book Four, or Liber ABA, the four parts bring together many rituals, received texts, theorems and unequalled insights into the practice of magick, culminating in The Book of the Law, the central, sacred text dictated to Crowley by a preternatural entity. Anyone interested in yoga, ceremonial magic, esoteric thought, invocation, divination and beyond, or those looking to delve into the fascinating, playful and illuminating writings of a unique man, will find inspiration.
For the first time, one of the world's leading experts on Western esoteric traditions and magic, Dr. Stephen Skinner, introduces the text, sharing his insights into Crowley's take on yoga, ceremonial magick and Thelema. His long involvement with magick, both as an academic and as a practitioner, enabled Dr. Skinner to highlight the differences between the psychological and the spirit-orientated approaches to magick, and to show how that dilemma shaped Crowley's practice and his founding of Thelema, enlightening the reader to many previously unknown connections.
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Table of Contents (abridged)
Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
A Crowley Chronology
PART I - MEDITATION (YOGA)
PART II - MAGICK
PART III - MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
PART IV - THE BOOK OF THE LAW
Bibliography
Index
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Hardcover Edition
748 pages. Hardbound, textured printed cover, back and spine. Coloured endpapers. Black and white frontispiece and illustrated throughout.
ISBN: 978-1-7867-8519-0
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Press, reviews, endorsements
Editor Talk by Stephen Skinner at Watkins Bookstore, London - watch on YouTube here
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About the Author
The late Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was an occultist, ceremonial magician, prolific writer, philosopher and mountaineer. In his youth, Crowley joined the occult organisation The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887-1903), where he received much of his training in theurgy and ceremonial magic. In 1904, Crowley established his own religion, Thelema (Greek for "the will”), for which he had reportedly received a divine revelation from an angel. Crowley believed that humans should strive to overcome both their desires and their socially-instilled inhibitions in order to find out the true purpose of their respective lives. Crowley had been dubbed “the wickedest man in the world” and “a man we’d like to hang” by the British press during the first half of the 20th century. A controversial figure, nevertheless, his influence on Western occultism cannot be easily overstated.
About the Editor
Dr Stephen Skinner is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer, and an expert in 15th and 16th-century manuscripts, having completed his Ph.D in Classics at the University of Newcastle with a thesis on the transmission of magical methods and implements from the Graeco-Egyptian world to the grimoires. He has written more than 40 books on Western esoteric traditions, as well as academic studies of medieval grimoires and Graeco-Egyptian papyri. He has published many works by Aleister Crowley and has unparalleled knowledge and insight into Crowley, Thelema and practical magick.
