Heirs of the Baphomet: the Work of Aleister Crowley and Rosaleen Norton - Patricia Sophie Mayer

Heirs of the Baphomet: Androgyny, Gender Transformation, and Power in the Work of Aleister Crowley and Rosaleen Norton - Patricia Sophie Mayer (University of Vienna)
Abstract:
This paper examines how Eliphas Lévi’s well-known image of the Baphomet and its androgyny were adopted and interpreted by occult practitioners Aleister Crowley and Rosaleen Norton, and illustrates how Baphometian androgyny was used as a symbol of power and spiritual attainment, and applied to themselves. Crowley deals with the Baphomet mainly in his discussion of an entity named Aiwass, which Crowley identified as his Holy Guardian Angel or Higher Self. Androgyny became symbolic for the coming
Aeon of Horus as proclaimed by his text Liber AL. Furthermore, the concept played a significant role in the Ordo Templi Orientis. Taking the name Baphomet for himself,
Crowley also reinterpreted his own gender/body accordingly. Norton viewed Baphomet as the androgynous aspect of the god Pan, the highest deity in her pantheon. She adopted androgyny for herself, regularly practicing gender transformation in the astral realm. Additionally, Norton connected Baphometian androgyny with motives of triumph and
Jungian concepts of completeness. It will be shown how the template of Baphometian androgyny is used as a symbol of self-sufficiency, and how the Baphometian androgyne nevertheless depends on an reinforces the binary of male and female.
Bio:
Patricia Sophie Mayer is an MA student of Religious Studies and Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria, and student assistant at the Department of Religious Studies. Her research interests include religion in Japan, Western Esotericism, gender, and their intersections. Her first peerreviewed article on discourse of religion and the “cult debate” in Japan is slated to be published this year.
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This paper was presented at the ‘Esotericism and the Varieties of Transformation’ student conference on 26-27 July, 2021. For more information, visit the following link: events/27258...
This hybrid conference (online/on site) was held to explore the theme of ‘transformation’ in the history of esotericism. The motif manifests in many areas and on many different levels - whether we think about ideas/practices of individual deification, alchemical transmutation, or global consciousness change in New Age schemes, ‘transformation’ appears an almost unavoidable concept within the field. While not exclusive to esotericism (e.g. ‘transubstantiation’ in the Christian Eucharist), this notion does seem to occupy a privileged space specifically in esoteric belief systems and practices. Is this coincidental? Or are ‘transformative’ themes symptomatic of larger patterns intrinsic to esotericism? These and many other questions related to the theme formed the backdrop against which over twenty speakers presented fascinating research, arguments, and analyses.
The conference was organized in partnership with the Embassy of the Free Mind in Amsterdam and with the generous support of the ESSWE sponsorship program, the Amsterdam University Fund, and the Foundation of the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents.
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[@SwanSins13]

I was not disappointed. Wow I have a lot of work to do still. As a female I don’t wish to have a male part but I absolutely understand this and it explains a lot. It’s wonderful

[@MrDeanmfitz]

Yes you do

[@SwanSins13]

I’m at the start. I have a lot of hope.