A few years back I spent a lot of time reading The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall and thought he was the smartest person I ever read. Well, lately I noticed some Black Sabbath being played on my car radio, and Ozzie was singing about Mr. Crowley. It took a long time to realize he was referring to Aleister Crowley who I was always led to believe was a Satanist. Then I got interested in his version of Tarot cards because I was drawn to the artwork of Lady Frida Harris who was directed by Aleister Crowley. Lastly, I noticed his book on the Tarot, The Book of Thoth. I've been reading it and it has been taking me a while.

Note: He's not a Satanist, but he is combining ideas from Egyptian and Mesopotamian and Pythagorean mysteries with Alchemy, Astrology, the Kabbalah, and I must be forgetting something. Anyway, I'm glad I read Manly P. Hall first, but I feel like I'm getting a post-graduate course in esoterica from Mr. Crowley. Thanks Ozzie and good luck. Adjunct Professor Gregg Webb (p.s. Looking for ptter and presentational materials)

P.s. Crowley also refers to legends from India, and also the I Ching which he calls the Yi King.

I really like the guitar on Mr. Crowley, and the whole composition.

I'm just now realizing the connection between the I Ching and at least the Court Cards of the Lower Arcana of the Tarot.

I'm just now realizing how old Astrology is. Also, how long ago that people were relatively smart. We think in terms of about 10.000 years since the last big Ice Age but it is much longer ago than that when people were already studying the sky, for one thing.

I keep hearing Mr. Crowley by Black Sabbath on my car radio and I really like Randy Rhodes' guitar work but today I managed to catch the keyboards into by Don Airey and I must say it is something else. The whole thing being because Ozzie found a Crowley Tarot deck in the studio. Again, the artwork in the deck is by Frida Harris but directed by Crowley. If nothing else, look up the artwork by Frida Harris online. Or listen to the song!

Writing about the Court cards of the lower arcana, Crowley is using mainly the I Ching but it is amazing how well he knows the I Ching. The 4 suits correspond to the 4 elements, and the I Ching does too. But the fluidity that he can use when writing about these things and also sprinkling in ideas from astrology and other sources such as very old myths and religions, is amazing. Even better than Manley P. Hall.

As Crowley writes about the small cards of the Lower Arcana, he made a reference to something I need to look up. He mentions the Enochian system, and I looked up John Dee and Edward Kelly. I want to try to find a PDF of The Book of Enoch. I have heard of the Watchers, but beyond that I don't know the Enochian System.