Moonchild. Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) was an English mystic and poet, occultist and ceremonial magician, creator of the religious and philosophical doctrine of Thelema, who was awarded the title of “the worst man in the world” in the press of that time, author of many magical treatises, the most famous of which is “The Book of the Law”, for some time he was an influential member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, as well as the founder and leader of many other occult and magical societies.

Aleister Crowley, who is also often called the most famous occultist of all time, had many talents and eccentric hobbies, among which was literature. “Moon Child” is one of two novels in Crowley’s extensive bibliography, which also includes poetry, drama, sacred texts, epigrams, scientific explorations, practical manuals, textbooks, etc. Crowley's creativity, as well as his life itself, which often resembled his literary, artistic and magical pursuits, greatly influenced and continues to influence various areas of culture and art today - references to Crowley's legacy can be found in many famous musicians, writers, film directors, esotericists and even scientists, including such famous personalities as Jimmy Page, Kenneth Grant, Kenneth Anger, Timothy Leary, Jack Parsons, Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Alfred Kinsey, Anton LaVey, Gerald Gardner and others.

The plot of "Moon Child" is based on the story of a young magician who, having mastered occult knowledge, dares to undertake a daring, never-before-seen experiment and at the same time enters into confrontation with the order of the "Dark Lodge", whose members use forbidden magical practices, risking thereby destroying the already fragile balance in the world. It is interesting that the prototype of the main character is Aleister Crowley himself, and in the novel he describes his real experience of being in magical orders, in particular in the famous Order of the Golden Dawn, whose members also included such famous writers as Arthur Macken, Abraham Merritt and Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats.