There are a number of issues with Aleister Crowley trying to marry the concept of Satan with Thelema. The first is the absence of the name in the Book of the Law. With the author of the text being so bold as to name the Beast and the Scarlet Woman as prominent figures in it, there is no reason to not name Satan as the speaker of the text if that were the case.
The idea that Aiwass is Satan originates with Samuel Aiwaz Jacobs, who read of one Crowley's articles in The International and responded to it through the editor. When Crowley saw the name Aiwaz, he asked Jacobs about it, and was told it means Satan; this can be verified through a Life Magazine interview of Jacobs in which he states as much. In looking for an etymological basis for the word Aiwaz meaning Satan, the closest I came is Waswas, or Waswasa, which means "whispers of Shaitan."
The spelling AIWASS is unique to the Book of the Law and equals 418 when enumerated using Greek gematria, as noted by Crowley. The chances of Aiwass equaling 418 at random are approximately 1/1500, which adds to the suspicion the spelling was devised around the value 418, and is probably a modification of an existing word, with letters added or removed to produce the value. By removing the letter I from Aiwaz, the result is Awaz, which in Arabic and Urdu means sound or speech, but most importantly means, voice of the speaker, a definition so precise in describing the function of Aiwass during The Cairo Working, that it suggests Crowley was incorrect in concluding Aiwass is Satan.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/awaz
Yes Awaz is correct!
... prominent figures in it, there is no reason to not name Satan as the speaker of the text if that were the case.
Oh, he figured (fiddled) that out at a later date than 1904.
His throwing Satan into the Aiwass Curriculum Vitae didn't set too well with me for quite a while, along with the Sumerian Demon-God (Anunnaki) description ... it was only in the past couple of years (or so it seems) that I put these discrepancies to rest (in my mind, not in any peer-reviewed journals or books or anywhere. I did make a post about it, here, but so what?
This Satan thing has to do with AC clearing the decks of all opposites. If one studies the demi-urge, one sees what he is up to (I forget the details).
The idea that Aiwass is Satan originates with Samuel Aiwaz Jacobs
Yes, this is the first I've seen in AC's writings. He capitalized on it and "declared" that Aiwass (Aiwaz? Refer to the QBL Society) was Satan in Book 4 - Part 3, and that gave license to more Satanic Thelemites than Aiwassian Thelemites.
But Satan also represents transgression against the self and the other
and indulgence, as a way of power or entrapment
and also, Satan is the Adversary, the force the opposes and tests
Beyond simple antinomianism, I can see Satan's appeal for Crowley, and these things also play important roles in my own practice.
concluding
The spelling AIWASS is unique to the Book of the Law and equals 418 when enumerated using Greek gematria, as noted by Crowley. The chances of Aiwass equaling 418 at random are approximately 1/1500, which adds to the suspicion the spelling was devised around the value 418, and is probably a modification of an existing word, with letters added or removed to produce the value. By removing the letter I from Aiwaz, the result is Awaz, which in Arabic and Urdu means sound or speech, but most importantly means, voice of the speaker, a definition so precise in describing the function of Aiwass during The Cairo Working, that it suggests Crowley was incorrect in concluding Aiwass is Satan.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/awaz
According the wikitionary, Aiwaz means, Voice, Sound, Tune. From the Persian (possibly) Avaz. How do you get "Satan" out of that? Also can you give a reference to the Life Magazine article you cited? Year, Volume, pagination..
How do you get "Satan" out of that?
You listen to the voice of a middle-eastern guy with the middle name or Aiwaz, and it says, "I am Satan."
Oh, Lord, give us a break from this mental sorting and mixing of letters from differing lingos. Amen.
can you give a reference to the Life Magazine article you cited? Year, Volume, pagination..
The Librarian requests paying one's dues (in advance) by delivering digital data. Take care. Beware. This may be the beginning of a Pact with Him, the Satan figure.
You listen to the voice of a middle-eastern guy with the middle name or Aiwaz, and it says, "I am Satan."
I realize there are different dialects in the Arabic language. (Farsi being the most common) But as far as I know, the word Satan in Arabic is "Alshaytan" not Aiwaz.
Yes to your librarian comment. If you going to refer to a magazine or journal article, include the year, month, edition, page numbers, and if possible, the author(s) So far no such info has been forthcoming, leading me to think that there is no such article.
I realize there are different dialects
What if Aiwaz was just putting him on? I mean, who names their kid, or self-adopts, the name of "Satan" (translated) in a Moslem culture?
@shiva Well, Mr. Heru. is right. I found a blog entitled The Secret Door: Thoughts on Thelema entitled; Who was Aiwaz? The Strange Story of Samuel Jacobs and Aleister Crowley. It's an interesting story.
It's an interesting story.
Great. But you offer no synopsis, bottom-line conclusion, proof of something interesting, or a link to your source.
You describe a gem, but give it no color, form, or brilliance ... and no way to know if it's interesting ... or the other.
@shiva I have had bad luck in giving links, but here goes: https://bethelkhem.wordpress.com The article is pretty much what Herupakraath said in his comment. G.S. Viereck, the editor and publisher of The International magazine, a fair play for Germany publication, received a letter from a Samuel Aiwaz Jacobs. He passed the letter on to Crowley who was much impressed with the author of the letter in giving a proper Hebrew translation of some Thelema-related term I quote: Crowley was already intrigued when he read the Americanized signature of the writer: Samuel Aiwaz Jacobs (Shmuel (Samuel) ben Aiwaz, "Son of Aiwaz" Samuel Aiwaz Jacobs was an American typesetter from Assyria. This letter came in 1915, 12 years after the Cairo Working and the transcription of The Book of the Law. The rest I leave for you to read. It is an amazing story.
I have had bad luck in giving links
Stinginess is no excuse (of the Law).
You did fine. Next time, try to put the link on its own line (so it stands out from vulgar text.
When I got to the link's terminus, the first line read ...
"Aleister Crowley was reborn as a goat in China."
At which point I recognized the uselessness of proceeding.
It mifgt be noteworthy to note that the accompanying pic shows red robes,thus identifying the author/editor/illustrator as a non-initiate ... maybe a Roman C.
The rest I leave for you to read.
Thank you.
"And so it went, year after year, until one day, the goat simply vanished."
"Aleister Crowley was reborn as a goat in China."
A Koan, a riddle? I read it also after actually highlighting my link. It was not the article I expected (Aiwas) Crowley was and is a living Bodhisatva.
Crowley was and is a living Bodhisatva.
I will now go meditate on moon magic and other nostalgias. You have led me, and possibly others, down the Rabbit Hole of No Return.
Being a Metal-Rabbit in heathen Chines astro, this is no problem for me ... but if you mislead any other (say a Horse or a Snake) reader down here, there will be eternal karma involved.
[sigh]
Being a Metal-Rabbit in heathen Chines astro, this is no problem for me ... but if you mislead any other (say a Horse or a Snake) reader down here, there will be eternal karma involved.
Ying (Snake) Yang (Horse) Clever. The Goat is Yin. Consult your I-Ching if you feel like it.