Amado Crowley (26 January 1930 – November 2010) was the pseudonym of an English

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

writer and magician who claimed to be the secret illegitimate son of occultist and mystic

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

(1875–1947). During a period of over thirty years, from the early 1970s through 2000s, he published and self-published many books and recordings.Evans (2007), pp. 230-231

Biographical details

Amado Crowley initially announced himself to the occult world via his adopted name in 1971, when he was past the age of forty, through a statement sent to the publishers of the

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

on the subject, '' Man, Myth & Magic''. However, it would later be inferred from his 1991 book, ''The Secrets of Aleister Crowley'', that his name was registered at birth as Andrew Standish, though this has not been confirmed. Like Aleister Crowley, Amado used and taught a syncretic mix of Western magical techniques along with Eastern methods including meditation and

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. However, he maintained that the cornerstone of Aleister's religion of

Thelema Thelema () is a Western esotericism, Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and a new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial ma ...

, '' The Book of the Law'', was a fraud and that ''The Book of Desolation'', a purported text given to him by Aleister, is the only true Crowleyan holy writ. The book has yet to be published and has only been seen by one other person other than Crowley, the writer, musician and filmmaker Jason Brett Serle. Crowley's biographers have found no documentary evidence regarding Amado's claim of descent from Aleister Crowley, and the claim is universally dismissed as bogus by Crowley scholars. Gerald Suster wrote: According to his website, he died in February 2010.

Publications

*''Liber Lucis: a new exposition of the Law of Thelema prepared according to the instructions of Master Therion 666, and by his son here proclaimed Master Amado 777'', privately published, 1972. *''Liber Alba'', 1975; online, 1999. *''The Neophyte Robe'', c. 1975; online, 1999. *''Rad Tungol (The Star Road) A Handbook of Ritual Magick'', privately published, 1975. *''The Secrets of Aleister Crowley'', Leatherhead, Diamond, 1991. *''The Riddles of Aleister Crowley'', Leatherhead, Diamond, 1992. *''The Wrath of Aleister Crowley'', Guildford, Diamond, 1994. *''Lewd Ghosts'', Guildford, Diamond, 1994. *''Quest Magic'', Guildford, Diamond, 1997. *''A Beginners Guide to Occultism'', online, 1999. *''Excalibur'' (electronic book), 2001. *''The Sacred Mountain''.

Notes

References

*Evans, Dave, Ph.D. (2007). ''The History of British Magick After Crowley''. Hidden Publishing. *Crowley, Amado (2002). ''Liber Alba: The Questions Most Often Asked of an Occult Master''. Twicen Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Amado English occult writers 1930 births 2010 deaths Place of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing Impostors Literary forgeries 20th-century pseudonymous writers