About this episode

The episode explores the life and cultural impact of Aleister Crowley, examining his legacy in modern society.

What happens when you raise a child telling him he's the Beast — and he decides to prove you right? Could a man who genuinely repelled everyone around him have quietly shaped the culture we live in today? And, is the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll actually the legacy of a repressed Victorian occultist with a god complex? Peter and Afua descend into the dark, theatrical, and genuinely troubling life of Aleister Crowley: English occultist, self-declared Great Beast 666, and the man who may have done more than anyone to wire transgression, desire, and spiritual hunger into the DNA of modern culture. 0:00 The wickedest man in the world — and why he owned it 6:00 The Exclusive Brethren: the suffocating sect that made Crowley inevitable 10:00 Cambridge, cigars, and erotic poetry: the beast is unleashed 15:00 Golden Dawn and the occult underground of Victorian London 20:00 Mountaineering, meditation, and the spiritual pick-and-mix 24:00 Cairo, 666, and the Book of the Law 26:00 Rose Kelly: the woman without whom none of it happens 33:00 The Abbey of Thelema and a scandal that shocks even the tabloids 38:00 How Crowley became the Beatles' and Led Zeppelin's spirit animal 42:00…

Topics covered

• occultism
• cultural impact
• transgression
• spirituality
• Victorian society
• music history

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