Book Review-The Sword of Song, Called by the Christians The Book of the Beast by Aleister Crowley, edited and annotated by Richard Kaczynski

Book Review

The Sword of Song, Called by the Christians The Book of the Beast

By Aleister Crowley, edited & annotated by Richard Kaczynski

Publisher: Inner Traditions

407 Page E-Book

Release Date: April 8th, 2025

I am so excited to present this particular book review to you. I often don’t announce it, not out of shame, but rather because his influence is so immense in my magickal and spiritual, even philosophical beliefs and practices, that I often neglect to recognize just where those views came from. To clear up any confusion, as I myself am feeling rather Crowley-esque today, I am a huge fan of Aleister Crowley’s work, in all of its contexts. I’ve heard some say one must be mad, drunk, or a poet to understand Crowley; to them I say, aren’t all magi those three at once?! Crowley is enigmatic, controversial, and has massively influenced not only our modern occult world as we know it today, including Wicca, LaVeyan Satanism, and multiple offshoots of his philosophy including the A?A? and O.T.O., as well as similar influenced minds such as the G?B?G?, of which Carl Llewellyn Weschcke was a member. This specific book is The Beast 666‘s first published work, as far as I am aware.

Moving on to the book at hand, this was Crowley’s first published attempt at literature, poetry and general occult discourse in his now-infamously enigmatic style. The text starts off with a piece that seems at once an invocation of powers Crowley was working with and influenced by during his years studying Buddhism in Tibet, and his utter rejection of Christianity, which he saw as a system meant to control, not enlighten. Crowley’s points are made clear numerous times. Responses to literary criticisms are present in this edition, as are the critiques themselves, and Crowley doesn’t disappoint to be a complete savage in his responses. It’s somewhat hard to review a text that presents such abstract thought without giving away the real gems hidden within its pages. Anyone who’s read, or attempted to read Crowley, will know what I’m talking about.

Luckily, Richard Kaczynski, a well known and respected Occult scholar and author, provides helpful annotations of the text, its meanings, and what Uncle Al was referring to. Those annotations will be a lifesaver for those who haven’t studied Crowley as in-depth as others. While I don’t believe this is the first book one should pick up when wanting to study Crowley, I do think that Kaczynski’s notes and annotations do add value in fully understanding the material with helpful insight. Crowley students will of course recognize Kaczynski as one of the premier experts on Crowley. I personally walked away with a few different interpretations of the book. Back to what I said earlier, some say one must be drunk, mad or a poet to understand Crowley. I’ve put this to the test many times, and I will honestly say, your state of mind is most important in understanding any occult text, and of course, anything Uncle Al has writ. I’ve come away with bombshell revelations from reading Crowley and applying it to any current understandings I have, and The Sword of Song: Known by the Christians as The Book of the Beast definitely delivered in that realm. I have zero critiques, as the original text itself is presented with helpful annotations from Kaczynski, and as such, I give it a 666/666 Unicursal Hexagram rating!

Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was an English Occultist, Author, Poet and founder and prophet of his own Magicko-Religion, Thelema, Greek for will and used to refer to one’s true will. Dubbed “The Wickedest Man in the World” and calling himself The Beast 666, he garnered a reputation of drugs, sex, and occultism that influenced Wicca, LaVeyan Satanism, and numerous Occult orders and societies present today, as well as many magickal & spiritual beliefs, and was an influential figure on the rock n’ roll movement, influencing the likes of Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Kenneth Anger, occult filmmaker and friend of Anton Szandor LaVey.

Richard Kaczynski is a lifelong student, international speaker, and writer in Western Esotericism, and one of the foremost authorities on the life and works of Aleister Crowley. The author of Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

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Author Bio:

The Modern Merlin is a Polytheist, Pagan, Animist, Witch, Sorcerer, Necromancer and Occultist. He embarked on his spiritual and magickal journey over 15 years ago! As such, he has extensive knowledge of The Occult, Ceremonial Magick, Witchcraft, Sorcery, and both modern and ancient world religions and folklore. He is a practicing Sorcerer, blending ceremonial high magick and witchcraft, as well as plant medicine, poisonous plants and entheogens, shamanic techniques, and mysticism. He believes that magick can be as simple or as complex as one needs it to be, and rejects dogma, instead trusting his intuition, and encourages other magickal and spiritual folks to do the same! He venerates and casts magick with a wide array of spirits and deities, and works with both the Left and Right Hand Paths, having experience in both. He is an Astrologer and Tarot reader with 15 years’ experience in both, and actively studies and practices many other forms of divination including Runes, Ogham, Palmistry and Scrying. An animal lover, he sees divinity in nature-the trees, plants, animals and sky.  Also an avid reader, you’re hard pressed to not find him nose deep in a book, most likely on an occult, mystical, religious or magickal subject. He is the Co-Editor of PaganPages.Org and the author of multiple columns, including The Modern Merlin’s Corner, Entheogens for the New Gen, Stellium, and Scary, Strange and Mythical Encounters. He gives readings and other spiritual services through his Facebook Page, The Modern Merlin, as well other free informational posts for everyone to see! You can reach him on Facebook, or e-mail him at [email protected]