The Divine Cactus and the Great Beast: Aleister Crowley’s relationship with peyote from 1900 to 1918 (ICPR, 2016) [VIDEO] (original) (raw)

Abstract

DELIVERED AT: The Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelics Research 2016 (www.icpr2016.nl), the third international scientific conference on research into psychedelics organised by the OPEN Foundation (http://www.stichtingopen.nl/en/). ABSTRACT: Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947) is one of the most colourful characters in the history of modern religion. Once an initiate of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he was also one of the first Westerners to study and practice Eastern yoga. Crowley advocated a scientific investigation into the processes that occasion mystical experiences, including meditation, ritual, sexual activity, and psychoactive drugs, which earned him a sinister reputation as a ‘black magician’. One of the drugs Crowley experimented with was peyote, the mescaline-containing ‘divine cactus’ of Mexico, at a time when almost nothing was understood about peyote’s dramatic effects. This presentation will outline the details of Crowley’s relationship with peyote, illustrate the important role peyote played in his own life and work, and highlight his place in the history of psychedelic research and psychedelic religion in the twentieth century.

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