Dr Richard Kaczynski, author of the wonderful Perdurabo biography of Aleister Crowley, will present a seminar talk at Treadwells Bookshop, London, on Saturday 14 August 2004, “to consider in depth the magical women whom Crowley worked. Their lives, their workings and their magical careers are examined. The ‘Scarlet Women’ obviously receive much attention, in particular Leah Hirsig (Crowley’s longstanding companion and co-founder of his Abbey of Thelema), but Kaczynski will also discuss Leila Waddell and others less well-known…” THE SCARLET WOMEN AND THEIR ROLE IN CROWLEY’S MAGIC
14 August (Saturday)
Dr Richard Kaczynski, author of Perdurabo
Treadwell’s Bookshop
34 Tavistock Street
Covent Garden
7.15 for 7.30 pm – £5.00
In this seminar talk, Richard Kaczynski considers in depth the magical women whom Crowley worked. Their lives, their workings and their magical careers are examined. The ‘Scarlet Women’ obviously receive much attention, in particular Leah Hirsig (Crowley’s longstanding companion and co-founder of his Abbey of Thelema), but Kaczynski will also discuss Leila Waddell and others less well-known. On the more theoretical level, questions may be asked about how the identity of a ‘Scarlet Woman’ was constructed variously by different women. Moreover, we can ask how these women contributed to his project of trying to bring about the Aeon of Horus – which for Crowley involved the destruction of the puritanical, bourgeois social norms. The final section of the talks examines the magical and artistic career of Frieda, Lady Harris, who is best known for having painted the Thoth Tarot deck under Crowley’s guidance. Her own spiritual, artistic and thelemic work outside this project is little known, and tonight’s speaker will draw on his unique access to unpublished papers to tell us more about this extraordinary woman.
Richard Kaczynski, PhD, is the author of the most recent biography of Aleister Crowley, Perdurabo, which has made a substantial scholarly contribution, as he gained access to documents unseen by previous Crowley biographers, and obtained interviews with normally-reclusive acquaintances of his subject. He lives in America and is visiting the UK briefly this summer. Signed limited editions of Perdurabo will be available on the night.