Correspondence from Emily Crowley to Aleister Crowley

West Cliff Mansion

St John's Road

Eastbourne.

April 25th 1904.

My dear, dear boy,

How I grieve over you—You, my only child, yet never writing anything to me but what you know must grieve me and now sending me through the medium of your wife that horrible advertisement which I do trust you will keep from all eyes that have not seen it—it is unworthy of a man—all is truly sad and yet surely beneath all the extravagant irreligion and blasphemy there must be deep down in your soul a need which only Christ can fill. You want Power. Well “Power belongeth unto God” and man cannot use God’s power except in weakness St Paul said “When I am weak then am I strong”. There is another power and this you have taken up with—you have got hold of the wrong power—Satan is strong and can energize his agents, but thank God, there is a stronger than he! You will have to bow to Him one day. Why not now ?

Oh, Alec, my dearly beloved son, do turn from the arch enemy of your soul—You have tried most of the religions, now try something new—Try “a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother”, you know as well as I do, that you must take Him as your Saviour first—Oh do come now—“without money and without price” see what easy terms—much better than your advertisement—Don’t make fun of this, Alec my dear, dear son—I am in dead earnest—may God forgive the past, may He snatch you out of the jaws of death and hell—Oh, may He bring you to Himself, so that you may see your awful sins in their true light—I have had some sight of my own sins in the past and oh what horror!

“Behold One hanging on the tree

In agonies and blood

He cast His languid eyes on me

As near His cross I stood

Sure never till my dying day

Shall I forget that look.

It seemed to charge me with His death

Tho’ not a word He spoke”

I feel I have not been half in earnest with you, though I have indeed looked to God for you again and again, and how often have I thought you were really coming to Christ and have been disappointed. Not that God has not heard—He has heard and is ready to bless you ! Only, when is it to be ? I cannot but say “Lord how long?”

Satan is keeping you away from the only One who can befriend you and I do entreat you to come now. If you only act on the terms of God’s Agreement “Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of Salvation , Satan and all his hosts will have to flee “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” You know the way so well. Then come ere the day of grace passes away.

God forgive and bless you,

My poor dear Alec,

Y’ loving mother

EMILY B. CROWLEY

[Taken from the first impression of Crowley's 1904 book, Why Jesus Wept]