Rites of Eleusis
The Rites of Eleusis were a series of seven public invocations or rites written by British occultist Aleister Crowley, each centered on one of the seven classical planets of antiquity. They were dramatically performed by Aleister Crowley, Leila Waddell, and Victor Neuburg in October and November 1910 at Caxton Hall, London. This act brought Crowley's occult organization the A∴A∴ into the public eye.[1].
History
In print
Rites of Eleusis: As Performed at Caxton Hall Illustrated by Dwina Murphy-Gibb. Edited by Keith Richmond. UK: Mandrake, 1990 (limited edition of 1000 copies). Contains the complete scripts of all the rites, with intro by Richmond and explanatory essays by Richmond and Terence DuQuesne. Also includes a series of adorations, "The Treasure House of Images" by Capt J.F.C. Fuller, and Crowley's "Liber O".
Crowley claimed that the Rites were designed to inspire the audience with 'religious ecstasy', and that merely reading them would help people 'cultivate their highest faculties'. The popular press thought otherwise, and considered them an immoral display, riddled with 'blasphemy and erotic suggestion.'
Contemporary Performances
On March 7th 2008 experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon presented a 3 channel video performance of Aleister Crowleys Rites of Eleusis at Horse Hospital Gallery London, UK. Recontextualizing Crowley's Rites into 7 abstract films containing all of the original content of Crowley's Rites of Eleusis as subliminal content hidden within each film.
References
- ^ King, p.115
Sources
- Crowley, Aleister - Rites of Eleusis: As Performed at Caxton Hall (ISBN 1-872736-02-5)
- King, Francis - The Rise of Western Occultism
External links
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