THE ACADEMY

London, England

10 April 1909

(page 964)

It seems that we are to have a new religion, the high priests of which will be the impious Mr. Aleister Crowley and the anarchistic Mr. Frank Harris. Mr. Crowley appears to be the founder of the movement. But, no doubt out of compliment to Mr. Harris, Mr. Crowley has called the concern “The A. A.,” which is understood to mean the ‘Appy ‘Arrises. And the ‘Appy ‘Arrises—we trust that our surmise as to the meaning of the A. A. is the correct one—have just published the first number of a new magazine called The Equinox, which is devoted to an explanation of the ‘Appy ‘Arrises religious tenets. So far as we can gather, the religion of Messrs. Crowley and Harris is a most curious affair. The neophyte is invited to hop around on one leg and breathe through one nostril for an hour at a stretch, and apparently this has to be done in a state of nudity. Playing cards also figure in Mr. Crowley’s ritual. In the current issue of Mr. Frank Harris’s Vanity Fair we are assured The Equinox contains some “excellent mystical poetry” by Mr. Crowley, together with a capital short story (by Mr. Frank Harris) which “is alone worth the five shillings asked for the volume.” Clearly the other new religion-mongers must look to their laurels.