Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary

Edited and Introduced by James WassermanThis book illustrates the theory and practice of the Magical Diary, and elaborates on its importance for the student of Scientific Illuminism (a term which Crowley designated for his teaching).The collection presented here includes Crowley's two most important instructional writings on the design and purpose of the magical diary. John St. John, first published in The Equinox in 1909, chronicles his moment-to-moment progress during a 13-day Great Magical Retirement undertaken earlier that year. Crowley referred to John St. John as "...a perfect model of what a magical record should be..." A Master of the Temple is taken from the magical diary of Frater Achad (Charles Stansfeld Jones). It was included in Equinox III, 1 in 1919. Crowley edited the diary for publication and added his invaluable commentary on Achad's magical work, at a time when he felt Achad was his most successful student.James Wasserman has been studying and practicing the Magical system of Aleister Crowley for over 20 years. Drawing on other primary Crowley texts as well as his own experience with the magical diary, he explores the purpose and necessity of the journal as an aid to the accomplishment of the Great Work.