The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves
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The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
2007
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392818598 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu13928185982021-08-03T06:22:23Z The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves Marino, Joseph A. Comparative Entrenched in Victorian England and raised in a puritanical Christian family, Aleister Crowley delved into Western Esotericism and the study of ritual magic as a means to subvert the stifling environment into which he was born. Among his chief acts of subversion were his many displays of a very fluid and malleable identity. He played with “selves” like they were merely wardrobes for a day and found himself developing more fully for the breadth of experience that he achieved from such practices. In the wake of Friedrich Nietszche, Crowley looked to the strength of each individual will to deny being identified by traditional systems such as Christianity or “Modernity,” pushing instead for a chaotic presentation of the self that is both wholly opposed to external authority and wholly enthusiastic about play, contradiction and experimentation. Through the lens of Michel Foucault’s “Technologies of the Self” and Judith Butler’s notion of performativity, one can come to see Crowley’s performances (through dress, pseudonyms, literary license and more) as operations that he performs on himself to knowingly affect a change in his identity.What is most interesting about this property of Crowley is the way it survives into Neo-Paganism from the 1950s through today. Both the influence of Nietzsche and Crowley are clear in Wicca, the Discordians, the Church of Satan and Peter Carroll’s lineage of Chaos magicians, and such a survival suggests the usefulness of Crowley’s practices not only in the “modem” world of Victorian England, but even, and perhaps more fully, in the “post-modernity” of the late 21st century. 2007 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392818598 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392818598 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
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NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Comparative |
| spellingShingle |
Comparative Marino, Joseph A. The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves |
| author |
Marino, Joseph A. |
| author_facet |
Marino, Joseph A. |
| author_sort |
Marino, Joseph A. |
| title |
The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves |
| title_short |
The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves |
| title_full |
The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves |
| title_fullStr |
The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Will to Chaos and a Dancing Star: Aleister Crowley, Neo-Paganism and the Technologies of the Selves |
| title_sort |
will to chaos and a dancing star: aleister crowley, neo-paganism and the technologies of the selves |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2007 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392818598 |
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AT marinojosepha thewilltochaosandadancingstaraleistercrowleyneopaganismandthetechnologiesoftheselves AT marinojosepha willtochaosandadancingstaraleistercrowleyneopaganismandthetechnologiesoftheselves |
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