Ep. 153: Do What Thou Wilt (Terms & Conditions Apply)- Aleister Crowley

What makes a dangerous idea irresistible? This week on Spirits with Crime, we follow Aleister Crowley: Victorian occultist, self-declared prophet, and the man a British tabloid called the wickedest man alive. We trace his rise from a suffocating religious upbringing through the secret society halls of the Golden Dawn, across the Mediterranean to a crumbling Sicilian commune, and into the psychology of why intelligent people hand their loyalty to dangerous leaders. This episode asks the question that feels more relevant every year: Are we following dark prophets because they possess truth, or because they offer permission? The ritual awaits. Cheers!Send Me a Story! @ [email protected] & Instagram: spiritswithcrimepodcastSources: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-39568-3www.britannica.com/topic/soma-Hinduismwww.rbth.com/blogs/stranger_than_fiction/2017/01/09/how-russian-scientists-cracked-the-secret-of-a-riga-veda-era-drink_676758en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowleyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowleyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Thelemasicilianmagpie.com/en/thelema-abbeywww.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/New-Book-Shares-True-Story-of-Arthur-Conan-Doyle-and-the-Paranormal-20160314www.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.htmlplato.stanford.edu/entries/weberen.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXIVMwww.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.htmlwww.doingsofdoyle.com/2024/05/global-conan-doyle-launching-edinburgh.htmlwww.simplypsychology.org/milgram.htmlwww.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html