{"id":450,"date":"2021-03-28T15:59:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T15:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysteriumacademy.com\/?p=450"},"modified":"2023-05-09T17:02:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T17:02:27","slug":"aleister-crowley-and-rasputin-comparing-the-two-mystics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysteriumacademy.com\/aleister-crowley-and-rasputin-comparing-the-two-mystics\/","title":{"rendered":"Aleister Crowley and Rasputin: Comparing the Two Mystics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While Aleister Crowley and Rasputin appeared to have never met, nor share any sort of ties with one and other, there are many similarities between the two men, as well as marked differences. In this article we are going to compare and contrast the two legendary mystics of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n
Aleister Crowley and Rasputin, born 6 years apart in the late 1800\u2019s, are both legendary mystics of the 20th<\/sup> century who continue to fascinate. They both practiced a personalized form of spirituality that was characterized by a connection to the supernatural, excessive hedonism sexuality. Crowley was known as The Great Beast, while Rasputin is Russian for \u201cdebauched one\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The Early Years of the Two Mystics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
While Crowley was born into a wealthy family and educated at Cambridge, Rasputin was born to peasant farmers, and received no formal education. They both grew up in highly-religious environments, though while Crowley rejected the religion of his parents, Rasputin embraced it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>Crowley was born into a wealthy and very strict Christian family in 1875. His father was an engineer who had inherited vast wealth and chose to retire young, dedicating his time to being a travelling preacher. As a young man, Aleister Crowley was educated at the University of Cambridge, while also pursuing his passions of poetry and mountaineering.<\/p>\n
Rasputin\u2019s beginnings were in sharp contrast to Crowley\u2019s. He was born in a small village in Siberia to a peasant family in 1869. His father was a farmer and church elder. Rasputin\u2019s parents had 7 other children, all of whom died in early childhood. Like other Siberian children of the time, he received no formal education, and was not literate until early adulthood. Some evidence suggests that as a youngster he caused a lot of trouble, including drinking, small theft, and general disrespect for authorities. His psychic abilities were evident from a young age, at one point identifying a horse thief while laying sick in bed.<\/p>\n
The Role of Christianity in their Lives<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When Crowley\u2019s father died when he was 12, he turned away from religion, eventually finding his interest in western esotericism. In the case of Rasputin on the other hand, the Eastern Orthodox Church was central to his entire life story. In 1987 he had a religious conversion experience, becoming a devout Christian. Later, it was through contacts he made in the church that enabled him to make connections with the tsar and his family and gain his power and influence.<\/p>\n
Comparing the Travels of Crowley and Rasputin<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Both of their lives were marked by travels which were important to their spiritual understandings, as well as networking with important figures that allowed them to become who they were. Crowley\u2019s travelled spanned the globe, while Rasputin\u2019s were mostly confined to Russia, with a couple trips just outside the country. Crowley even travelled to St. Petersburg in 1897, expressing an interest in learning Russian and becoming a diplomat, although the two mystic\u2019s paths never crossed.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Crowley\u2019s Travels to Mexico, the Far East, and Egypt<\/strong><\/h2>\n
In 1900 Crowley travelled to Mexico, where he continued to perform magic as well as write plays and poems. He had a series of romances in Mexico, as well as climbed several of Mexico\u2019s largest mountains during his stay there.<\/p>\n
In 1902 Crowley travelled to India to study Hinduism and Buddhism. He devoted himself to Raja yoga, and studied at the Meenakshi Templin in Madura. During this time, he contracted and recovered from malaria. He then attempted to ascend the legendary mountain peak K2, which had never been climbed at the time. After suffering more illness during the climb, they were forced to turn back at 20 000 feet.<\/p>\n