Moonchild (a.k.a., Liber LXXXI [Book 81], or The Butterfly Net) is a novel written by the British occultistAleister Crowley in 1917. Its plot involves a magical war between a group of white magicians, led by Simon Iff, and a group of black magicians, over an unborn child. It was first published by Mandrake Press in 1929 and its recent edition is published by Weiser.
Albeit not strictly a roman à clef, the novel depicts numerous acquaintances of Crowley's, thinly disguised fictional characters. Grady McMurtry's "Note on Moonchild" provides some insight into the possible real characters on which the author based the characters in the novel.[1] Crowley portrays MacGregor Mathers as the primary villain, including him as a character named SRMD, using the abbreviation of Mathers's magical name. Arthur Edward Waite appears as a villain named Arthwaite, and the unseen head of the Inner Circle of which SRMD was a member. "A.B." is theosophistAnnie Besant. Among Crowley's friends and allies, Allan Bennett appears as Mahatera Phang, Leila Waddell as Sister Cybele, the dancer Isadora Duncan appears as Lavinia King, and her companion Mary D'Este (mother of Preston Sturges, who helped Crowley write his magnum opusMagick: Book 4 under her magical name 'Soror Virakam') appears as Lisa la Giuffria. Cyril Grey is Crowley himself, while Simon Iff, who advocates the teachings of Tao, probably is the German occultist and head of Ordo Templi OrientisTheodor Reuss, whom Crowley considered a mentor.[2]
Plot summary
A year or so before the beginning of World War I, a young woman named Lisa la Giuffria is seduced by a white magician, Cyril Grey, and persuaded into helping him in a magical battle with a black magician and his Black Lodge. Grey is attempting to save and improve the human race and condition by creating a homunculus, through impregnating the girl with the soul of an ethereal being—the Moonchild. To achieve this, she will have to be kept in a secluded environment, and many preparatory magical rituals will be carried out. The black magician Douglas is bent on destroying Grey's plan. However, Grey's ultimate motives may not be what they appear. The Moonchild rituals are carried out in Southern Italy, but the occult organizations are based in Paris and England. At the end of the book, the war breaks out, and the white magicians support the Allies, while the black magicians support the Central Powers.
We are constantly reminded of the moods of Anatole France and the methods of Rabelais. From extensive dissertations on magic and spiritualism we are suddenly switched into humour that is sometimes normal, sometimes sardonic. From a glimpse into the blackest mysteries of Hecate we are transferred to a wonderful white vision of the poets. From the trivialities of peace we emerge into the horrors of the Great War. Moonchild is not more fantastic than a thorough going "thriller", but it is also a satire and an allegory, full of disorder and genius.[3]
Prior to writing this novel, during a visit to New Orleans in December 1916, Crowley wrote a number of short stories where the character Simon Iff investigates various crimes and mysteries.[9]
↑ "Moon Child". American Genre Film Archive. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
↑ "Moon Child". Science on Screen. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
↑ Collected in The Simon Iff Stories and Other Works (Wordsworth Editions, 2012), ISBN978-1-84022-678-2.
↑ Urban, Hugh B. (2011). The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion. Princeton University Press. pp.39–42. ISBN9780691146089. The aim of Parson's 'Babalon Working' was first to identify a female partner who would serve as his partner in esoteric sexual rituals; the partner would then become the vessel for the 'magickal child' or 'moonchild,' a supernatural offspring that would be the embodiment of ultimate power... According to Parson's account of March 2–3, 1946, Hubbard channeled the voice of Babalon, speaking as the beautiful but terrible lady...
↑ Urban, Hugh B. (2006). "4. The Beast with Two Backs". Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic, And Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism. University of California Press. pp.135–137. ISBN9780520247765. The ultimate goal of these operations, carried out during February and March 1946, was to give birth to the magical being, or 'moonchild,' described in Crowley's works. Using the powerful energy of IX degree Sex Magick, the rites were intended to open a doorway through which the goddess Babalon herself might appear in human form.
Thelema is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and a new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. Central to Thelema is the concept of discovering and following one's True Will, a unique purpose that transcends ordinary desires. Crowley's system begins with The Book of the Law, a text he maintained was dictated to him by a non-corporeal entity named Aiwass. This work outlines key principles, including the axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," emphasizing personal freedom and the pursuit of one's true path, guided by love.
Ceremonial magic encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.
Choronzon is a demon that originated in writing with the 16th-century occultists Edward Kelley and John Dee within the latter's occult system of Enochian magic. In the 20th century he became an important element within the mystical system of Thelema, founded by Aleister Crowley, where he is the "dweller in the abyss", believed to be the last great obstacle between the adept and enlightenment. Thelemites believe that if he is met with proper preparation, then his function is to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the abyss of occult cosmology.
The Typhonian Order, previously known as Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis (T.O.T.O.), is a self-initiatory magical organization based in the United Kingdom that focuses on magical and Typhonian concepts. It was originally led by British occultist Kenneth Grant (1924–2011) and his wife Steffi Grant, and is now led by their deputy Michael Staley.
Kenneth Grant was an English ceremonial magician, novelist, and advocate of the Thelemic religion. A poet, novelist, and writer, he founded his own Thelemic organisation, the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis—later renamed the Typhonian Order—with his wife Steffi Grant.
True Will is a foundational concept in Thelema, the philosophical and magical framework established by Aleister Crowley early in the 20th century. It represents the intrinsic and divine purpose unique to each individual, transcending mere personal desires and societal expectations. At the core of Crowley's teachings is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law", a central dictum of his received work, The Book of the Law. This principle asserts not a license for unchecked indulgence, but rather a mandate for individuals to align their actions with their truest spiritual calling. By adhering to their True Will, practitioners of Thelema seek to fulfill their spiritual destiny by harmonising with the cosmic order.
Sex magic is any type of sexual activity used in magical, ritualistic or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits. One practice of sex magic is using sexual arousal or orgasm with visualization of a desired result. A premise posited by sex magicians is the concept that sexual energy is a potent force that can be harnessed to transcend one's normally perceived reality.
William Breeze, also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Tau Silenus, is an American writer and publisher on magick and philosophy. He is the Sovereign Patriarch, or supreme governing cleric, of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), the liturgical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), of which he is the current Outer Head of the Order (OHO), also known as Frater Superior, as well as caliph, the order's international leader. In this capacity he is a leading editor of the occult works of Aleister Crowley, the founder of the philosophy and religion of Thelema, who is regarded as its prophet.
Babalon is a goddess found in the occult system of Thelema, which was established in 1904 with the writing of The Book of the Law by English author and occultist Aleister Crowley. The spelling of the name as "Babalon" was revealed to Crowley in The Vision and the Voice. Her name and imagery feature prominently in Crowley's "Liber Cheth vel Vallum Abiegni".
Simon Iff is the protagonist of a series of short detective stories written by occultist Aleister Crowley. He is portrayed as a mystic, magician, world traveller, high society figure and great detective who is advanced in years but possesses a thorough insight into human psychology. According to publisher, editor and Crowley scholar William Breeze, the character is based on Crowley's idealised self-image of his own old age.
In Thelema, the Abyss represents a metaphysical concept that signifies the great chasm or void separating the manifest world from its divine source. Aleister Crowley, the founder of Thelema, extensively explored and integrated this concept into his esoteric teachings, imbuing it with deep spiritual significance.
Within Thelema, the Great Work is the spiritual endeavor aimed at realizing one's True Will and achieving a profound mystical union with Nuit, the Thelemic personification of the infinite and boundless expanse of the universe. This path, crafted by Aleister Crowley, draws inspiration from Hermetic alchemy and the Hermetic Qabalah. The cornerstone of Thelema is the Book of the Law, received by Crowley in 1904 through a communication with the entity Aiwass. This text became the central scripture, heralding a new Aeon for humanity and outlining the principles of Thelema.
Aleister Crowley was an English writer, not only on the topic of Thelema and magick, but also on philosophy, politics, and culture. He was a published poet and playwright and left behind many personal letters and daily journal entries. Most of Crowley's published works entered the public domain in 2018.
In ceremonial magic, a magical formula or a word of power is a word that is believed to have specific supernatural effects. They are words whose meaning illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise means to communicate very abstract information through the medium of a word or phrase.
Eroto-comatose lucidity is a technique of sex magic known best by its formulation by English author and occultist Aleister Crowley in 1912, but which has several variations and is used in a number of ways by different spiritual communities. A common form of the ritual uses repeated sexual stimulation to place the individual in a state between full sleep and full wakefulness as well as exhaustion, allowing the practitioner to commune with their god.
Moonchild or Moon child may refer to:
Scientology is in part derived from, and shares elements with, a number of esoteric or occult systems. The extent of the influence of specific occult belief systems on Scientology is a subject of debate amongst scholars.
The Agape Lodge was an American chapter of Ordo Templi Orientis founded in California in 1935 by Wilfred Talbot Smith. Following World War II, it was the sole surviving O.T.O. organization. The O.T.O. itself traced its origins back to Carl Kellner and underwent leadership changes until Aleister Crowley took over in 1925. In 1935, Smith established the Agape Lodge No. 2 in Hollywood, attracting initiates through advertising and hosting regular meetings, lectures, and social events, including a Gnostic Mass open to the public.
Helen Parsons Smith was an American occultist, entrepreneur, book editor, and publisher. She served as Priestess of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica at Agape Lodge of Ordo Templi Orientis in Pasadena, California, during the 1940s, and the independent Church of Thelema in Malibu, which she co-founded with her second husband Wilfred Talbot Smith, during the 1950s.
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