I extremely consider just to open an opinion space, contributes and to reflection dedicated to the most important woman in the life of Aleister Crowley, Leah Hirsig. This for three known reasons, first, we remember that she was the only person witness of the ascent of Aleister to the degree of Ipsissimus in 1921. Second, during approximately six years Leah almost stayed at he himself level that Crowley in the abbey of Thelema, as the baboon of Toth took to Crowley to make all its adventures, and third as John Symmonds says, from all the women who surrounded the life by single Therion she arrived more near her heart…
Leah in addition incarnates all the force and subtility, all the humanity of the philosophy of Thelema, and the joys and sadnesses that the search of the true will means. He had a multiplicity of facets, because she was woman and magician, mother, prostitut, worker, soñadora, but at heart a unit, Leah, Alostrael, “the chalice of God”. As no incarnated the “Beam which you want” turning it the dwelling of its spirit, in spite of the duro price that was called on to him to suffer after the rejection of Crowley.
Its life is extremely fascinating, I would like that all those that they wanted could contribute with interesting data, reflections, anecdotes and thoughts on her.
Leah deserves our affection and quiet respect.
If the biography of somebody serious the one of this so remarkable and captivating woman could write. I would like to know how where she is buried and in short, to scatter flowers on his present memory between us. I hope collaborate.
Thank you very much.
Leah Alostrael.
93!
I am sure some day there will be a biography of this astounding woman - or so she seems already from the little we know, which is more than from most of the other of Crowley's Scarlet Women. I think she was a lot more to him than the current occupant of this important office. There are some wonderful love poems dedicated to her. I am a hopelessly romantic idiot sometimes so I will quote one, not in full, since I have no idea about copyrights:
THE SOFT SPOT
There is a soft place near my shoulder
Which seems to have been made on purpose
For Leah's head - all night I hold her,
While Aphrodite's sparrows chirp us
Their impudently merry chorus
Whose timeless twitters never bore us.
[...]
O soft plump spot below my clavicle!
'Clavicula Salomonis Regis'
Contains less magick. The fierce Slavic Hell
Is not so hot, nor Liber Legis
More savagely inflammatory
Than Leah's hair in sunset glory!
Her diaries as far as I know them (they are still out there on the web to my surprise) are some of the "best" records of magicians I have encountered - because they are so humane in all respects. I really admire her.
I hope this "scrapbook thread" works out, Leahalostrael.
Love=Law
Lutz
Wow!!!, wonderful poem. From where you obtained it? It is really a lightening to know that to joint parties he himself feeling towards Leah. I thought that its figure was despised in the Thelema world... Nevertheless, we are children of the same magick mother!!
Thanks! the_real_simon_iff
I share the same opinion about dyaries, but I have read very little of them...
affectionately
(somebody knows where I can obtain its dyaries and in that place of the world is buried?)
Leah is indeed fabulously interesting. If only I had five years to research a biography. I pray someone will write up her life and magical acts and techniques.
From what I could remember I think that she died in Switzerland as christian,
I saw some photos of her aged in Chicago in a private archive
the fact that he could bounce back like that and live till the 1970's is compelling.
When was she is CHigago?
no, I said only that I've seen photos of her in a private archive in Chicago not that she was in Chicago
Sorry. Thanks for the clarrification.
93, Hello.
Somebody knows details, or, can explain the famous episode on the attempt of copulación of Leah with a goat in the Abbey of Thelema.
What was tried to do?
Which was its meaning?
In which circumstances were made?
Thanks.
A=L
Commentaries of Gavin Baddeley Reverend of the Church of Satan
This was discussed on LAShTAL.COM's Forums in some detail back in November 2006, where I wrote:
According to Symonds' "The Beast 666" - the final, "director's cut" edition of "The Great Beast" - the incident occurred at "the end of the summer", 1921. Mary Butts, allegedly witness to the event, or rather non-event if the account is to be believed, arrived at Cefalu at the end of June 1921.
It's one of the most frequently quoted of the more extreme incidents in Crowley's life, but there seems to be little evidence for it. Keith Richmond, in his book on Frank Bennett, describes Mary Butts' account of "the goat incident" as "questionable".
But it begs the question why Symonds made such an issue of it. His and Grant's edition of the 1914-1920 diaries includes Crowley's admission to, frankly, even darker extremes that would be far more damaging to the man's public image than the almost comical account of the unwilling goat, complete with it's "I'd have a bath if I were you" punchline.
Did the event happen? Who knows? I'm not aware of a definitive answer. And until the definitive answer is known, I see no reason to revise the view I expressed then:
It's my personal opinion that such details are best discussed in a non-public forum which is what The Aleister Crowley Society seeks to achieve.
Paul
Owner & Editor
LAShTAL.COM
Owner and Editor
LAShTAL
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
I realize it sounds rather outrageous, but I did a magical working starting December of 1999, evoking Alostrael. A certain manifestation informed me that I was her magical child; of course I renounced the assertion, insisting she died in 1951 as the biographers said, yet the "epiphany" (or whatever it was) disagreed, stating she lived until the Year of Thoth (which I took to be the 71st Year, as instructed).
The amazing thing is, without my knowledge, my girlfriend somehow got into contact with a member of the Hirsig family, who informed her that the family was clarifying the matter by revealing that Leah lived until 1975. Incredibly, this was the 71st Year of the Aeon, counting from 1904 e.v.
Here's a link to where you can find more pics of me...check out the unfortunate resemblance...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/satanaiwaz/
"Love is the law, love under will."
fraternally,
Aleisterion
I can't see any resemblance, unfortunate or otherwise. How long do I have to wait before the Lord Jesus restores my sight? Answers on a postcard, please, to the usual address.
You don't have to be so rude and objectionable...so you don't see a resemblance, very good, my wife does.
Why do you have to mock though? It's much easier to act the fool and mock something than it is to address the facts as presented -- which I thought were slightly interesting anyway.
Do you not believe in the possibility of magical children?
That's okay it's all in good fun...thank you Michael and have a happy feast day.
Are you referring to the photo of the bloke on the main screen of your Yahoo group? The one in the armchair, pretending to be Crowley?
Owner and Editor
LAShTAL
Are you referring to the photo of the bloke on the main screen of your Yahoo group? The one in the armchair, pretending to be Crowley?
It certainly reminded me of someone not too far away right now...
Ah, Aleisterion, I see you've just swapped it in the last couple of minutes for the standard Levi Baphomet image. Never mind...
Owner and Editor
LAShTAL
Genius!
Ah, you're back again!
Owner and Editor
LAShTAL
Now gentlemen..be nice.. 😉
Aleisterion, You have to understand, every so often, TOO often, Lashtal gets these posters making their claims to be the reincarnation of so and so, the magickal child of 'fill in the blank' or the relative of a famous 'take your pick' so it's become a bit...amusing. Dont take it personally. It's really like the classic "i'm the reincarnation of Cleopatra". Nobody was a peasant, everybody was Ramses III. See what I mean?
Best Wishes,
Kym
93!
Pardon my ignorance on the subject of Ms. Hersig, I too find her interesting,
Algoul: when you said she died in "Switzerland as christian" are you referring to religion here?
😯
If I'm understanding correctly, where did you here this from? Quite confused really. . . Any insightful responses would be helpful.
Q.
93, 93/93
Leah (or "Lea") was born on 9 April 1883 - she died at 0615 on 22 February 1975 at in Meiringen.
The Hirsig family has posted details of the family tree online: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/jmaxit/hirsig/pafg06.htm
Owner and Editor
LAShTAL
Thanks for the explanation Lashtal! Freaked me out for a second there!
Q
Pardon my ignorance on the subject of Ms. Hersig, I too find her interesting,
Algoul: when you said she died in "Switzerland as christian" are you referring to religion here?
😯
If I'm understanding correctly, where did you here this from? Quite confused really. . . Any insightful responses would be helpful.
Q.
93, 93/93
Hi quest
well i think that it is known, maybe i'm wrong, that Leah had some detachment from her previous role during the years passed with the Beast;
as said i've seen photos of her as like you know an average 'grandmother' and the person which owns them was saying that she conversed herself to christian (do not tell me what kind of if catholic protestant or evangelical) faith, for question of privacy i could not refer the name of the owner;
but there i've seen also another curious photo of Leah at the time of the Abbey in Cefalù where she is lying on a bed smoking an opium pipe in front of huge balls of opium (bigger than a baseball ball), like twelve or more, and Russell wrote on the back of it "Our best hobby" or something like this 🙂
regards
I just performed an evocation of Betty Crocker who revealed to me that I am indeed her Magickal Chili. My coming has been prepared for aeons by the Secret Chefs.
I certainly hope that finally clears that up.
I certainly hope that finally clears that up.
Ha! another pretender. Betty's magical chili has appeared several times before, here's one such claimant (it even claims to be "her best" - beat that, subrosa!) -
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/Recipe.aspx?recipeId=35323
everybody - TEST THE SPIRITS
That means, for subrosa - send us your recipe (or the recipe of yourself), and we'll try it out. The proof's in the eatin'!
Bel Murru
Hi again... I think it is a wonderful poem. Many must know what
Lyric of Love to Leah.
Come, my darling, let us dance
To the moon that beckons us
To dissolve our soul in trance
Heedless of the hideous
Heat & hate of Sirius---
Shun his baneful brilliance!
Let us dance beneath the palm
Moving in the moonlight, frond
Wooing frond above the calm
Of the ocean diamond
Sparkling to the sky beyond
The enchantment of our psalm.
Let us dance, my mirror of
Perfect passion won to peace
Let us dance, my treasure trove,
On the marble terraces
Carven in pallid embroideries.
For the vestal veil of Love.
Heaven awakes to encompass us,
Hell awakes its jubilance
In our hearts mysterious
Marriage of the azure expanse,
With the scarlet brilliance
Of the Moon with Sirius.
Velvet swathes our lissome limbs
Languid lapped by sky & sea
Soul through sense & spirit swims
Through the pregnant porphyry
Dome of lapis-lazuli:---
Heart of silence, hush our hymns.
Come my darling; let us dance
Through the golden galaxies
Rhythmic swell of circumstance
Beaming passion's argosies:
Ecstasy entwined with ease,
Terrene joy transcending trance!
Thou my scarlet concubine
Draining heart's blood to the lees
To empurple those divine
Lips with living luxuries
Life importunate to appease
Drought insatiable of wine!
Tunis in the tremendous trance
Rests from day's incestuous
Traffic with the radiance
Of her sire---& over us
Gleams the intoxicating glance
Of the Moon & Sirius.
Take the ardour of my impearled
Essence that thy shoulders seek
To intensify the curled
Candour of the eyes oblique,
Eyes that see the seraphic sleek
Lust bewitch the wanton world.
Come, my love, my dove, & pour
From thy cup the serpent wine
Brimmed & breathless---secret store
Of my crimson concubine
Surfeit spirit in the shrine---
Devil--Goddess--Virgin--Whore.
Afric sands ensorcel us,
Afric seas & skies entrance
Velvet, lewd & luminous
Night surveys our soul askance!
Come my love, & let us dance
To the Moon & Sirius!
Written by Aleister Crowley, (A . ' . A . ' .), Tunis, 8th. of August, 1923. e.v.
Have any of you read this rather bizarre and sensationalist pulp work by Alma Hirsig (Leah's older sister), writing in 1928 under the pseudonym Marilyn Dockerill,
"My Life in a Love Cult: A Warning to Young Girls"?!?
http://omnipotentoom.com/archives/838
If one can take anything it says as some hallucinatory twist on reality, it does give some background information on Leah's family. (Marilyn/Alma claims to be an escapee from Pierra aka
Omnipotent Oom Barnard's tantric cult after being hyponotized by a doctor in New York, and laments that she has taken her sister to meet Crowley in Greenwich village. Much of
what she says is verifiably untrue--for instance her sister is probably not a virgin if she has a son named "Hansie"--but other parts very superficially criss-cross dates and places mentioned
by both Crowley and Richard Spence in his recent espionage work on Crowley. She purports to tell about tantric magic in Germany -- one wonders how or if she witnessed or
partook in it-- at about the same time as when Richard Spence, in his "Agent 666" book, has Crowley and Leah taking a trip to Thuringia. (Getting this far into the read, of course, means
tolerating her constant references to "Satanic" this and "devil worship" that. )
FWIW... wondered what anyone else thought of this.
93!
Just wanted to share a new pic of (allegedly) Leah that I didn't know of and her son Hansi. Enjoy.
Love=Law
Lutz
P.S. I hadn't seen the previous post about My life in a love cult. Thanks for that. Have missed it two years back.
Thank you, Lutz! Could you please name the source?
Markus
Markus
93, Markus!
Sure. It's from the Springfield Republican newspaper from December 7, 1924. By good old Marian Dockerill. Enjoy...
Love=Law
Lutz
P.S. PM me for a HiRes scan...
This is absolutely spectacular! I was not aware of this article until now. Thank You!
Some folk would say that that young man might have been in sore need of having his bottom smacked (however not me though - I wouldn't be quite so judgemental!)
I wonder, if there would happen to be a more legible write-up/ larger pdf of this in parts fascinating newspaper article available?
Also does anyone know what happened to this scamp in later life? Hansi(e)/ “Dionysos” could conceivably be in his ninety-sixth year now – one’s hoping that he didn’t die young of emphysema. I also wonder did he ever live up to the mantle of becoming The Beast Numero #2 in later life, & was he numbered 667? (no, hang on, I think that’s the number of The Scarlet Woman...)
Yours not-so-numerically
Norma N Joy Conquest
93!
Seven years later, in 1931, our good old Bruce Grant digs up Hansi again in the Miami News from February 8, 1931.
Love=Law
Lutz
So Leah Hirsig returned to teaching in the USA?
Imagine the job interview with the headmaster/mistress haha. What did she teach?
Anyone seen the Cameron Diaz movieBad Teacher?
https://www.lashtal.com/wiki/Aleister_Crowley_Timeline