David Bowie Webdream

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.