Carl Abrahamsson: ”Sexual-dynamic polarity as a magical formula – Aleister Crowley’s views on gender and transcendence.” You can watch this video lecture here:
Author Carl Abrahamsson takes a look at the dynamic of polarity in general, and within ritual magic and individuation in particular. Aleister Crowley’s concept of ”Babalon” as a sexually charged agent of change must always be looked at in context. Whatever is rebellious today will be ”old hat” tomorrow. One of the challenges of will-focused movements and philosophies like Crowley’s Thelema is to not become habitually enamored by a symbol or Gestalt that was radical and provocative one hundred years ago, but instead to look to a future that is much more rooted in individual psychologies, needs and contexts; it’s the difference between a religious entrapment of sorts and a healthy, solid encouragement to be truly rebellious in the pursuit of individuation.
”We all exist within individual contexts. Crowley’s Thelema philosophy is about individualism, about an enlightened egoism in which you assume responsibility for your own life and your own choices. All collective processes eventually lead to philosophical and moral stagnation. Unfortunately, it’s in the unenlightened human nature to proceed and advance at the cost of others. What could be easier than to hide behind a group or a collective ideal and become a spokesperson for other basically free individuals without asking for permission first? Regardless if you’re a man or a woman or something else, and no matter what you fight for, I think it’s important to remember that you are only you. That personal sphere in itself is an enormous responsibility.”
If you would like to read this lecture, it has been published in Carl Abrahamsson’s Occulture – The Unseen Forces That Drive Culture Forward (Inner Traditions, 2018):
