Brother Curwen, Brother Crowley. A Correspondence

Today I finished reading my recently received copy of “Brother Curwen, Brother Crowley, A Correspondence.” Edited and with an introduction by Henrick Bogdan; with a forward by Tony Mathews (Curwen’s Grandson) 136 pages, hardcover. It is number 165 out of 777. It has a bookplate from Weiser

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Antiquarian signed by Bogden and Mathews. The book is from Teitan Press and includes some relevant photos. Curwen authored a book on alchemy later is his life, after Crowley’s death, and his letters never have the tone of a gushing chela addressing his guru. Sometimes the level of interpersonal friction between the correspondents rose to a surprising height. On the whole it is a rather interesting read. Not all of the letters survive, and where this is apparent it has been indicated by editorial footnotes. Many helpful explanatory footnotes have been added by the editor. There is so much discussion of the typing of copies of manuscripts and books, and sending them through the post, that one is strongly reminded of effects that technical changes have had on people’s lives and work since the 1940s (both for good and for ill). Topics touched on in the letters (sometimes very briefly) include: the systems of the O.T.O. and A:.A:., astrology, the Theosophical Society, the necessity for a regular program of practices, traveling on the astral plane, Adolf Hitler (and his exposure to Thelema), the importance (or lack thereof) of Liber AL, contemporary personalities such as Kenneth Grant and Louis Wilkinson, anti-Semitism, the Order of Krishna, Latent Light Culture.

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