Magick Without Tears

✍ Scribed by Aleister Crowley; Israel Regardie

• Publisher: Falcon Press
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 558
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Edited by Israel Regardie.

Magick Without Tears is filled with gems of wisdom and philosophy, arranged very topically and with a useful index. Crowley uses plain language in the letters although the book does require concentration and more than one reading to absorb much of the content; this is not fluff reading for the beach! His writing style is informal, charming and humorous in some areas and vitriolic in others, especially when confronting lazy or muddled thinking in his students. Pomposity is kept to a minimum and the conversational tone makes The Great Beast seem almost approachable.

Crowley covers a host of topics, from vampires to overcoming one's fears of astral travel to geomancy, womanhood, false "teachers" and other subjects.

It's assumed that readers will have more than a passing familiarity with the points he discusses and occultism in general, and part of the book's appeal is that it answers questions that serious students will already have arrived at on their own. Crowley's insights are certainly illuminating since they spring from a lifetime of experience. To his credit, he advocates critical thinking and skepticism in his students and leaves some blanks for readers to fill in; practical information is freely given to a point, after which it's up to you! Much can be inferred from his silence on certain points also, which is why this book needs careful reading if you want to get the most out of it. Don't let the conversational tone fool you; this book is a serious work with plenty of information there for the taking