Aleister Crowley

Posted by Moonage | Filed under The World Of David Bowie

Before I get started, start the mood music:

I will be mentioning a common theme among Bowie songs as I delve into his lyrics more. From about 1971 until 1976 or so, Aleister Crowley is a recurring theme with Bowie’s music. Starting with 1971’s Quicksand to 1976’s Station to Station, Crowley is referred to probably more often than any other one person Bowie references. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but for me, this was his creative peak as well. It would probably do better to understand some of the lyrics if one had an idea of what Crowley was about.

First and foremost, he was an occultist. Probably the first and most famous person to basically claim to be an “occultist”.

Secondly, he was a showman. He was flamboyant and basically put on a show no matter what he was doing or who he was with. In a lot of ways, a rock star of the early 20th century.
Thirdly, he was a prolific writer. He wrote MANY books on the occult and his own special version of it.
Fourthly, he was a world traveler. He went to the Orient to further his knowledge of the occult.
Above all, he was a con-man. He used his dabbling in the occult to scam people out of money and spent much of his life destitute.

But, people still discuss him to this day. A lot of the symbolism used today by occultists and occult wannabees were actually created BY Crowley. A lot of symbolism of today’s occultism is reputed to be from his works. ( This link even claims Jabba the Hut is a Crowley reference and has evidence to “prove” it. ) IMO, Ozzy Osborne’s best song is a tribute to Crowley.

My own interpretation of why Crowley appealed to Bowie ( and others ) for so long is that Crowley reminded Bowie of himself. He was yet another man who sold the world on a product he dreamt up himself. It also didn’t hurt that they both apparently had very deep curiosities about religion and the many aspects of it. Plus, it’s very obvious they both have incredible imaginations. For a short time Bowie did follow some of Crowley’s directions. However, he wrote about Crowley before and after his “participation”. I don’t know if that was just show or Bowie did get in that deep. But, take away the bizarre occult, and all you had left was someone who never ceased to shock and amaze society with the things he did and said, and made a living doing that exclusively for a short while. Now, do you think I’m talking about Bowie or Crowley at this point?

The Laughing Gnostic does a FANTASTIC job explaining Crowleyism and Bowie’s fascination with it. I really felt no need to go into the details, just go to that site. It’s a fabulous read.

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Permalink | June 11th, 2006

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  • Quicksand

    • 7 Squawks to “Aleister Crowley”

    1. Londonboy Squawked:
      June 16th, 2006 at 8:53 am

      This is fascinating stuff. I juist came across the following site that poses questions to so called experts. In this case a Jewish Bowie fan has asked about Bowies’ flirtation with fascism in the 70’s. The answer by the ‘expert’ covers Bowies quest for truth and meaning and his dabblings with Buddism, Crowley. Magik, Kabala etc. It makes great reading. Covers alot of what you have been posting regarding Silly Boy Blue, Quicksand and Crowley.

    2. Londonboy Squawked:
      June 16th, 2006 at 8:55 am

      Sorry I forgot to add the link I was talking about. It’s: http://experts.about.com/q/Bowie-David-403/DAVID-BOWIE-JEWS.htm

    3. Moonage Squawked:
      June 16th, 2006 at 10:24 am

      That is a MUST READ! It’s long, and Jamie goes probably into a lot more detail than needed, but she definitely answers the question. I kind of glossed over the Himmler reference because I addressed the song itself as opposed to the larger issue of fascism, which was the question in that article. The simple answer to the question was Himmler and Bowie had a common curiosity and respect for the occult. Bowie never acknowledged the racist aspects of Himmler, and, being as he is married to a black lady, and has multi-cultural children, I can’t see that any form of intolerence has ever occupied his mind. That’s one of the things that has always appealed to me about Bowie, his mind is like asponge, just soaking up anything that it can. In his cocaine days, it sometimes came back out muddled.

      Excellent comment, thanks!

    4. Londonboy Squawked:
      June 23rd, 2006 at 1:28 pm

      Moonage. I quite agree with you that Bowie is a ’sponge’ and uses bits he likes and incorporates them into his music and even personality at times. Tho not nowadays. I have found myself doiong things like that myself. he did make some vert silly comments but its hard to see how anyone could believe he was racist or antisemitic.

    5. Moonage Squawked:
      June 23rd, 2006 at 2:13 pm

      Considering his women have been black for 20 years now, it’s a hard argument to make that he’s in any way racist. And, I can imagine most people out there said and did things when they were young they regret now. I doubt he even regrets those comments tho. At the time, he was pushing social buttons all over the place. He said he was gay when it wasn’t cool. When everyone else said they were gay too, he changed his mind and became asexual. That didn’t last too long and he became bisexual. That didn’t last too long before he became heterosexual. In essence, he dissed every side of the gender debate mad. He’s tackled religion pretty much the same way, testing the waters with about religion there is. And, he’s taken on social issues the same way. He doesn’t talk about something, he becomes it, if just for one day. How good or bad it is is totally irrelevent. You can’t understand it unless you become it. So, I don’t doubt that when he made the comment, he may have actually been racist. But, as with everything else, once he was racist, he tossed it to the side and became The Thin White Duke on Soul Train.

    6. Londonboy Squawked:
      June 24th, 2006 at 10:54 am

      ‘But, as with evreything else, once he was racist, he tossed it to the side and became the Thin White Duke on Soul train’

      That made me laugh out loud. Have yu seen his performance on Soul Train. I just discovered it on You Tube. Some excellent rare vids. on there. Bowie is well out of it. He talks to the audience. It is so surreal seeing him with the all black audience. He actaully comes across as being very shy almost.

      Bowie also said that Hitler/Nazis were the first rock’n'roll concerts. He was right in a way. The Nuremberg rallies are ‘glamorous’. The Nazi unfiform are chic ( Night Porter - that famous scene in the Nazi Hat), It’s a very seductive look, the Sweet knew that as well as Suise Sioux.

      Liked your bit about Heroes. I will get back to you on that. These days I prefer the live versions

      Hope the housebuilding is going well.

      Summer is hazy here in London at the moment. It’s great.

    7. Moonage Squawked:
      June 24th, 2006 at 11:04 am

      I definitely prefer the live performances as well ( probably kind of obvious huh? ). Bowie tended to overproduce in the studio. Live, you got the real essence of the song at that particular point in time. He tended to morph the songs as his mood swung.

      Wrapping up the Crowley thread, I’m getting ready to do a piece on Station to Station, which will feature his performance from Christine F ( it’s already on Youtube ).

      I have the Soul Train performances at home, have for a while. I was going to get to them in a bit, but his lyrics then were a lot less fun to toy with. I really enjoy the hippy-glam lyrics the most.

      Homebuilding’s moving in lurches, a lot gets done, then nothing for a few days. I’ll just be glad when it’s over. You’ll have to drop in when it’s done :)
      Summer has been hot and stormy here, nothing in between. Pretty typical for here.

    Squawk like a pink monkey bird!