I was not content to believe in a personal devil and serve him, in the ordinary sense of the word. I wanted to get hold of him personally and become his chief of staff.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire to not only acknowledge the existence of evil but to actively engage with it and understand its nature.
Aleister Crowley's quote reflects a deep curiosity and fascination with the darker aspects of existence, challenging the conventional understanding of good and evil. Rather than simply accepting the notion of a personal devil as a metaphorical concept, Crowley seeks to personify and comprehend the essence of evil, suggesting that true understanding requires direct interaction with it rather than passive belief. This perspective invites discussion on the complexities of morality and the human condition.
In practice
In a college debate on morality, this quote can highlight the pursuit of knowledge in understanding evil.
People think that talking is a sign of thinking. It isn't, for the most part' on the contrary, it's a mechanical dodge of the body to relieve oneself of the strain of thinking, just as exercising the muscles helps the body to become temporarily unconscious of its weight, its pain, its weariness, and the foreknowledge of its doom.
There is a single main definition of the object of all magical Ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm. The Supreme and Complete Ritual is therefore the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel; or, in the language of Mysticism, Union with God.
Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is the Art of applying that understanding in action.
I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle.
It will be seen that the formula - 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law' has nothing to do with 'Do as you please.' It is much more difficult to comply with the Law of Thelema than to follow out slavishly a set of dead regulations.
The essence of independence has been to think and act according to standards from within, not without.
If you hear a "prominent" economist using the word 'equilibrium,' or 'normal distribution,' do not argue with him; just ignore him, or try to put a rat down his shirt.
For a lot of white people, just suggesting that being white has meaning will trigger a deep, defensive response. And that defensiveness serves to maintain both our comfort and our positions in a racially inequitable society from which we benefit.
I often thought my gravestone would say, 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out,'
Sin, also for those who don't have faith, exists when one goes against one's conscience. To listen to and obey it means, in fact, to decide in face of what is perceived as good or evil. And on this decision pivots the goodness or malice of our action.
In human beings pure masculinity or femininity is not to be found either in a psychological or biological sense.
I've always been keenly aware of the passing of time. I've always thought that I was old. Even when I was twelve, I thought it was awful to be thirty. I felt that something was lost. At the same time, I was aware of what I could gain, and certain periods of my life have taught me a great deal. But, in spite of everything, I've always been haunted by the passing of time and by the fact that death keeps closing in on us.
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