the NachtKabarett

All Writing & Content © Nick Kushner Unless Noted Otherwise

Aleister Crowley has been referred to by many (including in his own obituary) as 'the most wicked man who had ever lived'. He was one of the most prolific poets/writers/philosophers of the Twentieth Century and developed his own system of magick. Even the popular term 'magick' was coined by Aleister Crowley as to differentiate fake stage "magic" from true "magick", when one uses his or her will to effect and cause change in the world. He still remains one of the most misunderstand and enigmatic figures in history (in some ways much like Manson). Because his philosophy didn't exist in the two dimensional, good-evil, black-white, God-Satan belief system he was and is demonized as a Satanist, which isn't true but something he would have never lived down. As stated above, Crowley became head of the O.T.O. in the early Twentieth Century and the magick and philosophy practiced by them is Hermetic Kabbalah, mysticism combined with Alchemy, Egyptian mythology and, most notoriously, Sex Magick.

Manson has always been connected in different capacities to Aleister Crowley ever since Portrait Of An American Family. 'The Abbey Of Thelema' sung in the song Misery Machine is a reference to Crowley's headquarters where he taught his magick to adepts, which was at one time located in Italy and England and in both locations he was a tabloid favourite for the alleged debauchery and perversity which went on there, and was eventually requested by the Italian government to leave the country. Thelema though is the cornerstone of Crowley's philosophy and magickal system, The Law Of Thelema as it's known.Thelema is a Greek word which dually means Love and Will. The Law Of Thelema thusly is "Do What Thou Wilt Is The Whole Of The Law. Love Is The Law, Love Under Will" which means one lives by the code of enacting one's True Will; what one was set here on this Earth to accomplish, unique to each individual. Anyone interested in Crowley, Thelema, the OTO, one's True Will and Magick would benefit and be greatly informed by reading Crowley's 1922 novel, Diary Of A Drug Fiend. It's a beautifully poetic book which outlines Crowley's philosophy and how one is intended to use his or her True Will to overcome the obstacles of life, metaphorically in the novel which are cocaine and heroin. And this book also brings us to another parallel between Manson and Crowley which is the title of the song Diary Of A Dope Fiend, which is a play on words and corruption of the title of Crowley's novel, Diary Of A Drug Fiend.

Other references and parallels to Aleister Crowley also exist and are much more powerful than these. During the performance of The Death Song during the Ozzfest portion of the Guns, God & Government tour, among the faces which were flashed on the screen behind Manson such as V. I. Lenin, Martin Luther King, Hitler, James Dean and John Lennon was Crowley's most famous and insidious portrait shown above.

Crowley's most famous book is The Book Of The Law which outlines The Law Of Thelema and heralds the coming of the new aeon, The Age Of Horus, which Manson has quoted on a message on the Official site. The line which both opens and closes the album 'Antichrist Svperstar':

is an adaptation of a line from The Book Of The Law, Line 56 of Chapter 2:

The most signature line sung by Manson in 'Disposable Teens', the first single release from 'Holy Wood' on 2000:

is actually a direct reference to a quote Crowley made in his autiobiography (or autohagiography, which the autobiography of a saint), 'The Confessions Of Aleister Crowley', :

It was written in reference to a point in Crowley's life where despite his disillusionment with Christianity that hatred shouldn't be at odds with his own spirituality; where he can appreciate "god"and spirituality in his own way, not how those who pervert religion do. This is very similar to the standpoint Manson was coming from in writing Holy Wood where just because the majority of people have perverted and bastardized religion and spirituality through the plague known as Christianity, it shouldn't affect Manson or anyone else's take on it.

1995 'Smells Like Children' era tour t-shirt

'Diary of a Drug Fiend' by Aleister Crowley. 1922.

Though it was not by any means the sole reason for the title of the album, the term 'Holy Wood' was written in a poem by Aleister Crowley named 'Aha' which appears printed in the book 'The Tree Of Life' by Israel Regardie, which is about his communication with his "Holy Guardian Angel", something considered the most divine and advanced pursuits in magick,

As a resurgence of Manson's occult fascination, the audio which has been the introduction to MarilynManson.com from 2006 to 2008 is one of the few existing audio recordings of Aleister Crowley, in particular Crowley's recitation of the 'The Call of the First Aethyr (Enochian Version)'.

A fitting allusion as references to Crowley and specifically Enochian magick date to the back cover of 'Holy Wood' where a jawless Manson is depicted in front of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, as stated previously on The NACHTKABARETT within this section, a symbol delivered to Edward Kelly and Dr. John Dee in the Sixteenth century, both of whom working together laid the foundation, through divine guidance, of the present system of Enochian Magick which is considered to be one of the most powerful forms of magick by many Occultists.

Click above to view the MarilynManson.com splash introduction which contained audio of Crowley's occult incantations.

All writings, images and content © 2004-2008 Nick Kushner
Any unauthorized reproduction without prior written consent from the author, other than a brief excerpt for review or linking purposes, is a violation of copyright.