Moving Past Crowleyism: Reevaluating Jane Wolfe's Discipleship in Thelema
Aleister Crowley is one of the most famous esotericists of the twentieth century. His religion, Thelema, is still practiced today. His acolytes, however, have not been given equal or equitable historical representation. When they are included, they are generally secondary - regarded as followers of...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
University of Californiarnia Press
2022
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In: |
Nova religio
Year: 2022, Volume: 26, Issue: 1, Pages: 83-101 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Wolfe, Jane 1875-1958
/ Crowley, Aleister 1875-1947
/ Thelemites
/ Adherents
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IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion AZ New religious movements |
Further subjects: | B
Agency
B Esotericism B Cefalú B Jane Wolfe B Aleister Crowley B Thelema |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Aleister Crowley is one of the most famous esotericists of the twentieth century. His religion, Thelema, is still practiced today. His acolytes, however, have not been given equal or equitable historical representation. When they are included, they are generally secondary - regarded as followers of Crowley, rather than of Crowley's religion. This article argues that acolytes were more important in the development and organization of Thelema than they have been portrayed. Through the story of Hollywood actress turned Thelemite Jane Wolfe, based on her diaries written at Cefalù, Italy, Crowley is shown to be dreamy and distracted, while Wolfe was focused and expressed agency within the structure of Crowley's religion. Wolfe's discipleship provides a new and different lens through which to study Thelema, and demonstrates that Thelema can and does exist separately from Crowley. |
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ISSN: | 1541-8480 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Nova religio
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1525/nr.2022.26.1.83 |