Magick Without Tears

PREFACE XXlll considerable magical training in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Whatever knowledge Allan had obtained about pharmacology was passed on to the disciple, Aleister Crowley, when he came under the tutelage of Allan. The result was that, long before he in turn developed asthma, he conducted experiments with a wide variety of drugs in order to determine whether by their means a door could be opened, or held open, to higher mystical states. But Crowley came to insist that these drugs be left severely alone until or unless you knew what you were doing. Experiment, yes-but with care. Again and again, this caution is insisted upon in no uncertain terms in dozens of different writings. In fact, I wish these works on drugs were better known to the contemporary scene, for what he had to say could serve as a guide into the unknown and immeasurable regions of the mind and spirit. For a reprint of his essays about hashish with an acute analysis of mystical states in terms of the Buddhist skandhas, the reader should consult Roll A way the Stone (St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1968). Some of the letters in Magick without Tears are particularly pertinent to this theme, where these topics are handled simply and directly and intelligently. For example, in letter 78 entitled "Sore Spots," he makes some priceless contributions to the triad of drugs, sex and religion which no one can afford to leave unread. There are many such references. I was profoundly impressed by this particular letter. (3) He was no "flower-child" dedicated to peace at any price. Though squeamish in all sorts of ways, he was yet capable of lashing out, shooting someone, or poking them in the nose. Violence, for him, was as much a part of life as peace and quiet. Modern pacifism would have repelled him altogether. He had made it a rule of life to expose himself to all sorts of dangerous situations in which violence was implicit" and in which he revelled. Read "The Smoking Dog,"