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,"