Aleister Crowley in America

by Tobias Churton

  What his mind had done was to place him back into the state whence he drew his confidence: solitary detachment, objectivity. That he identified this condition with “Pure Love” is instructive.

  Perhaps one also senses the unearthly euphoria that might greet one who deep down knew he had done things of extreme stupidity, thought of which might have been abysmally embarrassing, one whose only escape from a pang of incipient responsibility was either shame (which Crowley routinely dismissed as part of the “sin-complex”), or a blissful assumption to godlike elevation from the action-reaction universe in which, Buddhistically speaking, man is normally embedded and driven by. For Crowley, mysticism “cleared” him. He would in due course come to see the entire drama of Helen and Hilarion as a necessary “ordeal”: a testing by the gods of his fitness to stand apart from humanity and declare a Word humanity did not recognize and whose results might only manifest on the spiritual plane, far from “mere” human passion.

  There’s only one problem with the vision of pure love as recorded in the Confessions—its date. In the long considered lost, but now recovered, Rex de Arte Regia diaries (unproofed copy from William Breeze) covering June 27, 1915, to February 9, 1916, the entire diamondlike cube “Pure Love” trance is given as the “Result” of Opus XCVI, August 24, 1915, 1:35 a.m., undertaken with Helen Westley, whose Object was “Thanks to God for Hilarion,” qualified as follows: “The idea was this: suppose H[ilarion] as is possible has befooled and betrayed me, has taken my heart for her sport, torn it out, mangled it, and trampled on it. Then, still, thank God for Hilarion.” Crowley compared the trance to his 1906 experience of “holding” the complete vision of the “Holy Guardian Angel,” or “Glittering One”: the culmination of Abra-Melin. The 1915 diary entry reads, “This is one of the great experiences of my life. Curious that the 1906 success also came through a magical Thanksgiving under stress of passion.”

  Furthermore, the recovered diary also shows that Crowley’s extreme anxiety over Hilarion’s leaving New York without warning took place not on July 13 (Crowley and Jeanne actually made love on July 14) but on August 23. Why Crowley should have transposed the vision to that of the twelve-hour operation with Helen, July 13, 1915, cannot be answered with certainty, though it might have suggested dramatically that his resorting to Helen Westley’s embrace was caused by apparent indifference to his feelings on Hilarion’s part. It all has the whiff of special pleading. One suspects that he slept with Helen Westley because he found her irresistible. Crowley’s line “I knew myself innocent in a sense more sublime than any imagination can conceive” is, I’m sure, his perverse idea of a joke. It means that he was guilty as hell, and perverse enough to put the blame on Mame (or “Mamé”!); that is, femme fatale. Did Crowley ever say no? Rarely. In the recovered diary entry for July 13, 12:09 a.m., Crowley wrote that he had no love or desire for Helen Westley “but was disappointed in not hearing from Hilarion as arranged, and suspected an attempt to deprive me of the Champion’s Belt of the World’s Leg-Pulling Association which I have worn with modesty and distinction for over five years”—that is, that Hilarion was “having him on,” toying with him. Crowley added, “My real doubt is whether I should not have kept to Hilarion at whatever cost to my self-respect. These two Helens [referring to Helen Sullivan] are lunar women, and I want the Sun. At least I kept her in mind as the Object.”

  So much for the Great Ordeal!

  The day of Crowley’s alleged amorous frenzy—July 13—happened also to be the day the New York Times put Crowley’s Liberty stunt on its front page, an event not without results of its own, severe and lasting, for Crowley took “liberty” for all it was worth.

  IRISH REPUBLIC BORN IN NEW YORK HARBOR

  Ten Patriots at Daybreak Renounce Allegiance to England Near Statue of Liberty

  Independence is Declared

  Sympathy with Germany, They Say, a Matter of Expediency—Then They Breakfast at Jack’s

  As dawn was slowly spreading over the city on the morning of July 3, a thirty-foot launch slipped from the recreation pier at the foot of West 50th Street and glided down the Hudson. On board were ten persons, silent and serious with the consciousness of what was to them a profoundly solemn and significant ceremony.

  In the prow of the boat was Aleister Crowley, Irishman-poet, philosopher, explorer, a man of mystic mind—the leader of an Irish hope. Of nearly middle age and mild in manner, with the intellectual point of view colored with cabalistic interpretation, Crowley is an unusual man, capably so to those who believe and feel in common with him. He has spent years exploring in Persia, India, and Tibet, and he is the author of several volumes of translations of the early writings of those countries. He is said to be a close friend of William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet, and he has written several Irish poems himself [!].

  In the boat also was Miss Leilah Waddell, whose mother was an Irish refugee of the last generation and who believes herself an Irish patriot. She is a violinist and has appeared publicly on several occasions since her recent coming to America. And among those in the exotic party were one J. Dorr, an Irish editor who has published papers in both Ireland and England, and Patrick Gilroy, an Irish agitator. All of those in the launch were Irish. Most of them have come to this country since the beginning of the war.

  Ready to War on England

  The members of the party consider themselves members of the secret Revolutionary Committee of Public Safety of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, and their early morning mission of July 3 was to declare the independence of the Irish Republic, which included a declaration of war against England, and to pledge their allegiance to the government of their vision.

  The little launch passed from the river into the bay and stopped off Bedloe’s Island, under the Statue of Liberty. The time and place chosen for the ceremony were considered brightly propitious. There was the poetic significance of the dawn, the great figure of Liberty enlightening the world was symbolic of the dreamed-of republic, the season was the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. And the leader of the party, Crowley, in whose mysticism there is something of astrology, had read the heavens and found that the conjunction of certain stars was auspicious for Ireland at exactly 4:32 o’clock on the morning of July 3.

  So, with the launch a few feet off Bedloe’s Island, at the moment of 4:32 o’clock, Crowley rose to begin the ceremony. He said:

  “I have not asked any great human audience to listen to these words; I had rather address them to the unconquerable ocean that surrounds the world, and to the free four winds of heaven. Facing the sunrise, I lift up my hands and my soul herewith to this giant figure of Liberty, the ethical counterpart of the Light, Life, and Love which are our spiritual heritage. In this symbolical and most awful act of religion I invoke the one true God of whom the sun himself is but a shadow that he may strengthen me in heart and hand to uphold that freedom for the land of my sires, which I am come hither to proclaim.

  “In this dark moment, before the father orb of our system kindles with his kiss the sea, I swear the great oath of the Revolution. I tear with my hands this token of slavery, this safe conduct from the enslaver of my people, and I renounce forever all allegiance to every alien tyrant. I swear to fight to the last drop of my blood to liberate the men and women of Ireland, and I call upon the free people of this country, on whose hospitable shores I stand an exile, to give me countenance and assistance to my task of breaking those bonds which they broke for themselves 138 years ago.

  Unfurl Irish Flag

  “I unfurl the Irish flag. I proclaim the Irish Republic. Erin go Bragh. God save Ireland.”

  As the bits of the torn English passport scattered over the surface of the water the Irish flag, a green field supporting a golden harp, flapped free in the breeze from a mast in the bow of the boat.

  Solemnly then the Declaration of Independence of Ireland was read. It is:

  We, the secret Revolutionary Committee of Public Safety
of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, hereby authorize our spokesman and delegate, Brother Aleister Crowley, No. 418,*100 in our name and in our behalf, to promulgate the proclamation following:

  In so grave a circumstance of human affairs as the declaration of war or revolution, it is customary that those whose conscience and free-will alike impel them to take up arms against other men, should state openly the causes of their resorting to so dread efficacy of protest.

  Peace and good-will are the ruling passions of the better sort among mankind; and for these to turn therefrom argues the existence of a state intolerable to free men. We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men and women are created unequal; and our justice wills that this prejudice of nature be redressed, so far as is possible to human effort, by assuring to each and every one of them equality of rights before the law, and the right to make, alter, or repeal that law itself; and, by assuring to each and every one of them freedom to develop the powers of the soul, spiritual, moral, mental, or physical without interference from any other person or persons, so far as that development may prove compatible with the equal rights of others.

  Right to Rebel

  To obtain these advantages of security and freedom is the object of all proper government; and it is not only the right of every man for himself, but his duty to his neighbor, to refuse obedience to any authority which does not serve its people to this end with loyalty and fidelity. What then must be the right and duty of every member of a nation not only misgoverned, but governed for the purpose of exploitation by an alien, usurping, and inferior race?

  For many centuries this particular wrong has been suffered with a patience and gentleness not unworthy of the Saviour of Mankind, by the Irish people; but as to endure oppression with meekness is the pride and prerogative of God, it is not for man to usurp it. The free and independent spirit of the people of Ireland is weary of the continued crimes of the English tyrants; and, seeing no end possible but the success of the oppressors in their systematic annihilation of the people, dares the desperate alternative of revolt.

  For, as is notorious in every country of the inhabited globe, the deliberate policy of England from the first conquest of Ireland has been endowed with that admirable virtue of consistency which is the spine of good intention, but in this case props the determination to destroy a people.

  The land of Ireland has been stolen from the people of Ireland, both by armed aggression and by the chicaneries of unjust law.

  The labor of Ireland has been sterilized and thwarted by the envy of British industries.

  The people of Ireland have been enslaved by a ferocious constabulary, militia, and soldiery, enforcing laws intended to weaken the people directly by coercion or indirectly by impoverishment. The right of political action has been denied to them, and the sacrilegious hand of atheistic oligarchy has been lifted even against the freedom of religious thought.

  The means of private assassination and of public massacre have been freely employed against the people, and when even the soldier turned with disgust from the task of a butcher, famine and pestilence were deliberately brought upon the land by the calculating craft of the robbers, tyrants, and murderers that bear rule over them.

  So comprehensive, so infamous, and so continuous a conspiracy is unparalleled in the annals of humanity; and were we to precise and to detail the crimes against our people which already overload the scroll of the recording angel, and now bare the sword of the avenging angel of God, we think that not even earth itself could contain the document of their mere enumeration.

  Hatred of Their Tyrant

  Nor have the Irish people been inactive in measures directed to appease the unnatural hatred of their tyrant. They have sought by every lawful means to obtain some alleviation of our sempiternal suffering. They have made political overtures only to be rejected, or nullified by the adroitness of the lawyer. They have sacrificed freely their best blood, for their sons have been the best soldiers of the usurper; and England has answered by their deliberate massacre in battle.

  We believe that earth itself revolts at the recital of these tyrannies and treasons; we believe that God Himself is weary of beholding these intolerable evils; and we believe in consequence that the hour is come when desperation should be transformed into resolution, patience inflamed to wrath, and Peace, folding her wings upon her face, mournfully beckon war.

  We, therefore, the secret Revolutionary Committee of Public Safety of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, by the mouth of our trusty and well-beloved delegate and spokesman, Brother Aleister Crowley, No. 418, do decree and proclaim:

  That, we put our trust and confidence in the Judge of the whole world, appealing to Him to witness the righteousness of our intent.

  That, declaring England the enemy of civilization, justice, equality, and freedom, and therefore of the human race, we do hereby lawfully establish the Republic of the Men and Women of the Irish People, free and independent by right human and divine, having full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliance, establish commerce, and to do all other things which independent States may of right do.

  Repudiate England

  3. That we do hereby dissolve all political connection between that Republic and the usurper, absolving of their allegiance to England (a) all free people of good will that are of Irish blood, (b) all free people of good will born in Ireland, (c) all free people of good will who may hereafter desire to partake of the benefits of the Irish Republic, and effectually acquire these rights by the forms provided.

  4. That, we do hereby declare war upon England until such time as our demands being granted, our rights recognized, and our power firmly established in our own country, from which we are now exiled, we may see fit to restore to her the blessings of peace, and to extend to her the privileges of friendship.

  And for the support of this declaration, with a firm and hearty reliance upon the protection of God, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

  Long Live the Irish Republic

  The official copy of this declaration of independence is “signed by order and on behalf of the committee” by “Aleister Crowley, 418,” and “attested” by “L. Bathurst, 11.”

  With the conclusion of the reading of the declaration, the launch headed up the Hudson River, proceeding near the western shore, Miss Waddell playing patriotic Irish airs on her violin. The music and the large Irish flag, now plainly visible in the increasing light, identified the boat to the seamen on the German ships interned at the Hoboken waterfront, and they cheered the small company of Irishmen lustily. The Captain of the Hamburg-American line tug which happened to be standing off with steam up near the Vaterland, turned out into the river and escorted the launch to its landing at Fiftieth Street. Incidentally it was noted by those in the launch that as they passed by the French and English ships at the piers on the eastern side of the river the sailors on them cheered as loudly as the Germans had.

  Breakfast at Jack’s

  The party left the launch and went to Jack’s restaurant for breakfast, where a number of late revelers did not seem to disturb the spirit of their gathering.

  Legendary New York restaurant on Sixth Ave and 46th Street across from the Hippodrome Theater, Jack’s, named after popular personality Jack Dunston, armed with an all night liquor license, attracted colorful characters, from chorus girls, poets, and journalists to professional sports-men, playwrights, and financial wheeler-dealers. Served quality food and drink by Irish waiters, the hottest names in town could be seen at Jack’s after a night’s entertainment, either in its four dining rooms—the Battling Nelson Grill, the White Room, the Rosemary for Remembrance Room, and the Blue Room—or in the long bar and Oyster Bar in the back.

  Born in 1853 in Moneyvollahan, Cork, IRA supporter Jack Dunston sent money to the cause from New York. In 1915 he moved his shared Manhattan Oyster Bar business from Sixth Aveue between 43rd and 44th Streets to the site of Burn’s
Restaurant, from which he had once been fired as a waiter, vowing he’d return to buy the place—a feat made possible perhaps through his formidable poker skills! Known as “the Earl of Dunston” for his polite manners, he liked to discuss Irish culture long into the nights.

  Famous for its 4 a.m. scrambled eggs and Irish bacon, Jack’s was a happy resort for people who liked character; one can see its interest for Crowley! Writers such as Booth Tarkington, Benjamin Decasseres, Frank Ward O’Malley, Damon Runyon, and O Henry frequented Jack’s, as did Theodore Roosevelt and many Tammany Hall leaders. Jack’s accommo-dated political intrigue, and gambling and would have been an obvious place for Crowley to acquire the constituents of his “revolutionary committee.”27

  Overall, the New York Times treated the declaration seriously, though a hint of farce did not escape the report: A touch of comedy to the ceremonies over which Crowley and his companions laughed themselves the next day was that the party had intended to go through their ritual on the steps at the base of the Statue of Liberty, but, giving more mind to the vision of the Irish Republic than to practical details, those who arranged the journey neglected to obtain governmental permission to land on Bedloe’s Island. When the launch stopped at the dock, therefore, a stolid watchman who displayed neither Irish nor English sympathies, but who had fluent command of New York’s most emphatic language, refused to let the patriots set foot on the “land of liberty.” So the ceremonies were held in the boat while it drifted near the island.