Sidi Aissawa
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93,
I’ve never seen much written about the Sidi Aissawa. This is the group with which Crowley says he was studying shortly prior to receiving the Book of the Law. They come from Morocco and have groups in Algeria, but Egypt doesn’t seem to be their stronghold.
Several things intrigue me about them in a Thelemic context. One is that the name, which derives from the family that still runs the lineage, is almost a perfect anagram of ‘Aiwass.’ Secondly, Sufism offers a prototype for the A.A. system of teacher-student, since Sufism cannot be practiced without a personal teacher. I’m aware there is a stronger precedent in the Fama Fraternitatis, where each brother chooses his successor, but I still wonder if there was input.
AC retained great respect for Islam all his life, yet he didn’t (so far as I’m aware) integrate any specific Sufi practices into his system, other than Resh as a parallel to the daily round of Islamic prayers. He went back to yoga for a methodology, even though for me, there’s always a flavor of Sufi devotion in Thelema as AC presents it, especially in some of the Holy Books.
One link I did find online quotes Mircea Eliade’s observation that the Aissawa, along with other Sufi orders, have transgressive practices, which AC mentions in chapter 48 of his Confessions. On long journeys, they are bidden to eat scorpions and snakes alive. Antinomian practices like this, Eliade seems to be saying, would help free the psyche from rigid assumptions and inhibitions, a view Crowley shared to some extent.Anyone have any thoughts on Aissawa input into Thelema? There’s very little in the Confessions, and AC’s golf game gets more mention than Sufism in the chapter I cited.
93 93/93,
Edward
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Alrah, 93,
Yup, they're not in the same league as, say, the Naqshbandi - there's not a lot on them that's published, at least in English. I find it intriguing that Crowley found them, and then persuaded one of their sheikhs to share info.
I'm not much into Amy.
93 93/93,
Edward
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@Edward Mason said
"Secondly, Sufism offers a prototype for the A.A. system of teacher-student, since Sufism cannot be practiced without a personal teacher."
Does remote instructions of a witch classify as a teacher-student situations, heehee -
93,
I can sell you a cheap paddle, but it won't arrive for weeks.
What has long intrigued me is the anagram of Aissawa/Aiwass. I wondered for a while if the two had simply become muddled in Crowley's mind, but I was never able to convince myself of this. Rather, I had the feeling that Aiwass had used the Aissawa as kind of practical joke: something to prod Crowley into receptivity, and to get his psyche mulling over how Mohammed had received the Koran as a series of dictated messages. Being AC's HGA meant he would naturall create an attraction between Crowley and things relating to himself, once it was time to start the Aeonic party.
93 93/93,
Edward
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I remember reading that Crowley considered Richard Burton a personal hero; but can't remember if his interest in all things oriental preceded or followed from this.
But I agree, that it hardly seems likely to me that Aiwass was a simple muddling of the names.
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It was something that he called medial work between me and my HGA. One of the hundreds of things I learned in that four week session was Sufi asana. If it was a cheap paddle, then the paddle was good.
(To make it more clear, we never met.) (To make it even more clear, we physically talked only about half an hour.)
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@Alrah said
"93,
@Edward Mason said
"What has long intrigued me is the anagram of Aissawa/Aiwass. I wondered for a while if the two had simply become muddled in Crowley's mind, but I was never able to convince myself of this. Rather, I had the feeling that Aiwass had used the Aissawa as kind of practical joke: something to prod Crowley into receptivity, and to get his psyche mulling over how Mohammed had received the Koran as a series of dictated messages. Being AC's HGA meant he would naturall create an attraction between Crowley and things relating to himself, once it was time to start the Aeonic party."
That's a highly interesting idea.
Perhaps Crowley drew out the name Aiwass from his subconscious to represent a name that fitted his understanding of his role in bringing in the New Aeon at that time? The Beast as a Christ like figure? If he conceptualised Aissawa as his true self, it would tie in with the 3 Magi story around Jesus for him (only preparing the Beast for his work instead), and perhaps his Buddhist idea of reincarnation as well as (as you say) Mohammed and the Koran. Quite an impressive little synthesis actually.
"I could not agree more on this point.
The A∴A∴ / Secret Chiefs,Theosophic Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or The Great White Brotherhood represent the same exact order and idea, channeled through different subconsciousness of the Adepts.All words are sacred and all prophets true
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That's some really cool stuff of which I hadn't been aware...But as far as the Aissawa/Aiwass "muddling" or whatnot goes, wasn't it Ouarda, i.e. Rose, who first put the name Aiwass to Crowley? I seem to remember reading that somewhere...