Moonchild
by Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley, a prolific writer, wrote only a few novels in his lifetime. Moonchild is his most famous. First published in 1917, Moonchild appeals to the new generation of readers who recognise Crowley as one of the most unique thinkers of his era. The book deals with the endless battle between the Forces of Light and the Forces of Darkness. A young girl is drawn into a magical war between two men and is forced to choose between them. As the story unfolds, the reader is taken through an incredible series of magical intrigues involving a Black Lodge.
Writing from his own experiences, Crowley describes the methods and theories of modern magickal practices, writing persuasively that magick is a scientific reality – and that it works. Crowley’s own personality reveals itself in the characters of the Good Magickal Masters.
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Cover art courtesy of the Ordo Templi Orientis archives. Originally designed by Beresford Egan for the 1929 edition published by Mandrake Press, is has been modified for this edition.
Paperback Edition
336 pages. Printed card cover.
ISBN: 978-0-87728-147-4
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Press, reviews, endorsements
"How do we talk about this novel? It’s such a curate’s egg of a thing that it’s difficult to know where to start. On the one hand we have an occult thriller yet, on the other hand, we have a primer on magical thinking. On yet another hand we have a biting satire on the major occult figures of the day and, on another hand still, we have an alternate(?) history of the early 20th Century… Moonchild is at once a poorly written pot-boiler of an occult thriller and a possibly quite brilliant treatise on magical thinking with an emphasis on Taoist tenets. Either way, it’s a fascinating piece, synthesising the thoughts of one of the most important figures in 20th century occultism.”
Jason Lineham for When Churchyards Yawn - read the full review 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.
