Demeter's Kore

Aleister (Alexander Edward) Crowley was born on the 12th of October 1875 in Leamington Spa, England, into a family of Plymouth Brethren, a strict Christian sect. The Bible was the only book Crowley was permitted to read .The Plymouth Brethren were a sect that believed even Christians of other denominations were going to hell. Hmmmmm, not too much unlike the many denominations around now. Anyway, his father was the only person that kept Aleister from being abused completely by his mother, who called him the Beast, and his uncle. He was enrolled in many schools that were run by men in the Plymouth Brethren, they would find every reason they could to "discipline" Crowley as well as the other students.In time, the young Crowley rebelled against the bigoted atmosphere in his home. His first gesture of defiance was to masturbate, a grave sin for Christians in Victorian times.In 1895, Crowley went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, and a year later, at the age of 21, came into a subs...

The first thing to be understood is what ego is. A child is born. A child is born without any knowledge, any consciousness of his own self. And when a child is born the first thing he becomes aware of is not himself; the first thing he becomes aware of is the other. It is natural, because the eyes open outwards, the hands touch others, the ears listen to others, the tongue tastes food and the nose smells the outside. All these senses open outwards. That is what birth means. Birth means coming into this world, the world of the outside. So when a child is born, he is born into this world. He opens his eyes, sees others. 'Other' means the thou. He becomes aware of the mother first. Then, by and by, he becomes aware of his own body. That too is the other, that too belongs to the world. He is hungry and he feels the body; his need is satisfied, he forgets the body. This is how a child grows. First he becomes aware of you, thou, other, and then by and by, in contrast to you, thou, he...