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Rites of Eleusis

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Aleister Wilson (talk | contribs) at 11:36, 23 October 2009 (condensed data on the sublimal performance at the London gallery.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Leila Waddell, assistant to Crowley in performing the Rites. Photo from 1910.

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

Beginning in 2000, Seattle based Eleusyve Productionshas been composing original musical arrangements for each of the plays comprising The Rites of Eleusis. Completed productions include The Rite of Luna in 2005 and The Rite of Venus in 2007, with The Rite of Mercury currently in production.

On March 7, 2008 experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon presented a three channel video performance of Aleister Crowleys Rites of Eleusis at Horse Hospital Gallery London, UK, by recontextualizing Crowley's Rites into seven abstract films containing all of the original content as subliminal content hidden within each film.

References

  1. ^ 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
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