PREFACE 
XXI 
illuminating, to say nothing of being provocative, that I have 
ever seen anywhere at any time. 
I cannot help but feel that the beginner in these studies as 
well as the advanced student will discover in these letters a 
veritable mine of important information and an encyclopedia 
of occult learning not to be found elsewhere. Though the 
title of the book may be amusing, the contents are far from 
being so. Crowley's reputation as a writer and teacher of the 
greatest magnitude must be enhanced by these letters, which 
are thus strongly recommended to all who seek the Light. 
There are some magnificent flashes of profundity in this 
book as when Crowley examines the necessity of keeping a 
diary, a personal record of all practices undertaken. A great 
deal of what we know about him is due to the fact that he 
kept a diary throughout his life. Most of these are intact and 
have been preserved, thanks to the scrupulousness and care of 
Mr. Gerald Yorke, to whom posterity will have much to be 
thankful for. Only a few sections have been lost due to 
Crowley's constant moving from pillar to post, and the 
carelessness of those around him. 
Anyway, he offers some meaningful suggestions when he 
considers the diary in relationship to the magical memory. He 
is far clearer and more provocative on this subject than he has 
ever been before. Again, these insights are confined to no one 
particular letter but are scattered through all of them. 
The interested student could keep several notebooks, each 
devoted to some particular subject, such as the magical 
memory. 
In this way, he could prepare several very 
interesting notebooks on specific magical topics based on this 
particular work. 
Some reviewers in this country of The Confessions of 
Aleister Crowley have likened him to a Victorian hippy. 
Because he was unconventional in his sex life, experimented 
freely with drugs and dressed exotically at times, he has been 
pictured as the prototype of the modem hippy. There 
appears 
at first 
to be some justification 
for this 
identification-provided one does not examine the thesis too