The Secret Wisdom of 666

Book excerpt: In 1904 a new revelation was given to the world by Aiwaz. The Book of the Law was revealed to Aleister Crowley, esotericist and poet, as a result of his wife's mediumship in Cairo. Crowley resisted the Book for five years before accepting it and beginning to promulgate its contents. The hermeneutical problem, however, raises its ugly head. What does an inspired text mean? How are its sentences to be decoded? Crowley interpreted the Book in terms of contemporary events like the rise of fascism. He defended the Book's ethics, declaring that one must adopt those of the aggressor if one is to survive. This is one aspect of the prophetic dimension of the Book of the Law, but Aiwaz hints that it conceals a deeper meaning than even Crowley would understand. Crowley acknowledged this, but in his Comment on the Book he directs us to himself for its definitive interpretation, forbidding all others. The Secret Wisdom of 666 explores this problem. Also available in paper.