AHA

About Author

“Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), also known as The Great Beast and the Wickedest Man in the World, was one of the most profound students of Magick, Qabalah and yoga psychology. His vast influence reaches through all modern occultism. He is widely recognized as the first Western investigator to give initiation a truly scientific method. In reconciling occultism to physical science, mathematics and philosophy, Crowley achieved a lasting synthesis that remains unsurpassed for depth of insight and comprehensiveness.

Frater Achad, Charles Stansfeld Jones (1886 1950), admitted as a Probationer in 1909. Crowley at one point considered Achad his magical son before their estrangement. Jones magical diary was published with Crowley s comments in The Equinox III, 1, and republished in Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary. His most popular books were Q.B.L. or the Bride s Reception; The Egyptian Revival; The Anatomy of the Body of God; and his magnificent XXXI Hymns to the Star Goddess.

Israel Regardie (1907 1985) joined Crowley as his personal secretary in Paris in 1928. They had a falling out in 1932, but Regardie remained a loyal and devoted publicist of his teacher s work. Regardie wrote one of the first studies of Crowley s system in The Tree of Life (1932). He dedicated that book to Crowley as Marsyas. He later published a number of important books on Magick, Qabalah, and Healing including: The Middle Pillar; The Garden of Pomegranates; The Golden Dawn; and Healing Energy, Prayer, and Relaxation. Regardie was instrumental in arranging for the publication of Crowley s works and keeping his legacy alive, well before he became a household name. Regardie was also responsible for the reissue of AHA! in 1969 and his commentary herein is taken from that edition.

J. Daniel Gunther has long been identified with the work of A. . A. . . He is a well-known international teacher and lecturer on Aleister Crowley and the Great Work. He is the author of the Inward Journey series including: Initiation in the Aeon of the Child and The Angel and the Abyss; and the creator of a volume of alchemical drawings, Opus Alchymicum. He has also contributed to many other works in the esoteric field.

James Wasserman, a longtime Thelemite and member of O.T.O., is the author of In the Center of the Fire: A Memoir of the Occult. He edited and introduced Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary; and is the co-author of To Perfect This Feast: A Performance Commentary on the Gnostic Mass. He is responsible for restoring The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Book of Going Forth by Day.”