Led Zeppelin guitarist and leader Jimmy Page has often expressed interest in the teachings of Crowley. He owns the second largest collection of Crowley's books in the world, and one of his three houses is Crowley's former residence at Boleskine on the shores of Loch Ness. "Lucifer Rising", Anger's most ambitious project to date, deals with the "fallen angel" of orthodox Christian Mythology, who in Anger's film is restored to his Gnostic status as "the Bringer of Light"; an implicit part of Crowley's own teachings.
Prophets, Satanist, or Illuminati: Hard Truth / Wake Up America
Famous Satanist Aleister Crowley (born Edward Alexander Crowley) (1875-1947) has had a large influence upon modern rock music. The following overview of Crowley’s life is from Hungry for Heaven by Steve Turner: “Born in 1875, Aleister Crowley had, like the Rolling Stones, rebelled against a regulated small-town background. He’d been raised in Leamington, Warwickshire, by parents who were members of the Strict Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian sect. From an early age young Aleister identified with the enemies of God in the Bible stories that were read to him. In particular he identified with the antichrist predicted in the book of Revelation. In 1898 he joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical society.Interest in the occult
In the early 1970s, Jimmy Page owned an occult bookshop and publishing house, "The Equinox Booksellers and Publishers" in Kensington High Street, London, eventually closing it as the increasing success of Led Zeppelin resulted in his having insufficient time to devote to it. The company published a facsimile of Crowley's 1904 edition of The Goetia. The seriousness of Page's intent was demonstrated by the dust wrapper being printed on the notoriously fragile camel hair paper of the original.
The appearance of four symbols on the jacket of Led Zeppelin's fourth album have been linked to Page's interest in the occult. It is generally accepted that the four symbols represented each member of the band. During tours and performances after the release of Led Zeppelin IV, Page often had zodiac symbols embroidered on his clothes (referred to as his "Dragon Suit", it included the signs for Capricorn, Scorpio and Cancer which are Page's Sun, Ascendant and Moon signs, respectively) along with the so-called "ZoSo" symbol. The source of the ZoSo symbol itself is no longer a mystery but the meaning of it still is; it originated in 'Ars Magica Arteficii' (1557) by J Cardan, an old alchemical grimoire, where it has been identified as a sigil consisting of zodiac signs. The sigil is reproduced in "Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils" by Fred Gettings, published in 1982 by Routledge & Kegan Paul (see here). It had previously been conjectured that the symbol was derived from various occult and mystical sources, most notably The Kabbalah, a stylised "666" from Aleister Crowley's Equinox publication or from Austin Osman Spare's "Zos Speaks"' but these are now considered to be probably incorrect. It has also been alleged that the symbol is merely a doodle that Page scribbled while on the telephone.
The artwork inside the album cover of Led Zeppelin IV is from a painting by Barrington Colby Mom, influenced by the traditional Rider/Waite Tarot card design for the card called "The Hermit". Page transforms into this character during his segment of the movie "The Song Remains the Same".
The artwork for the Swan Song Records label, which was a record label launched by Led Zeppelin on 10 May 1974, as a vehicle for the band to promote its own products. The Swan Song company logo, depicting a writhing winged man (sans genitalia) in the sky, was based on Evening: Fall of Day (1869) by painter William Rimmer, featuring a picture of the mythological Greek god of light and reason, Apollo, although often it is mistakenly misinterpreted as the classical Greek hero Icarus, who flew too close to the Sun, or Lucifer, a fallen angel who was cast out of heaven and then became Satan.[26]
During the time of the PMRC hearing of the 1980s there were some accusations claiming the song "Stairway to Heaven" had allegedly satanic reverse-audio messages (known at the time as "backwards masking") in the verse that starts with the line 'If there's a bustle in your hedgerow'.
Page was commissioned to write the soundtrack music for the film Lucifer Rising by another occultist and Crowley admirer, underground movie director Kenneth Anger. Page even allowed Anger to film a portion of this movie in the basement of Tower House (Page's London residence). In the end Page produced 23 minutes of music which Anger felt were useless because the film ran for 28 minutes and Anger wanted the film to have a full soundtrack. Anger claimed Page took three years to deliver the music, and the final product was only 23 minutes of droning. On top of that, the director slammed the guitarist in the press by calling him a "dabbler" in the occult and an addict. Anger accused Page of "having an affair with the White Lady" and being too strung out on drugs to complete the project. Page countered claiming he had fulfilled all his obligations, even going so far as to lend Anger his own film editing equipment to help him finish the project. Bootlegs of Page's soundtrack for the project exist and were highly prized by Page's fans until an album also titled "Lucifer Rising" was released by Boleskine House Records on 19 June 1987. The blue vinyl disc contains all 23 minutes of the soundtrack music that Page provided for the movie. The introduction to Led Zeppelin's song "In the Evening" is said to be taken from the unfinished soundtrack, most of which was recorded by running a guitar through a synthesiser.
Although Page collected works by Crowley, he never described himself as a Thelemite nor was he ever initiated into the O.T.O., and has since distanced himself from anything to do with the occult movement. The Equinox Bookstore and Boleskine House were both sold off during the 1980s, as Page settled into family life and participated in charity work.
Page had a fascination with the poet, novelist, artist, occultist and founder of Thelema, Aleister Crowley. He pressed Crowley's motto "Do What Thou Wilt" (along with "So Mote Be It" on the reverse side), into their , Led Zeppelin III, and he bought Crowley's rural retreat, 'Boleskine House'. When their untitled fourth album was released, there were some interpretations of the "Stairway To Heaven" that claimed it had satanic reverse-audio messages in th ...
guardian.co.uk, UK -
Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, formerly known for rock'n'roll excesses, long-term heroin and cocaine use, a fascination with the occult and generally being the ...
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Glasgow Sunday Mail, UK -
Leona Lewis and Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page will perform the song for the Olympic handover to London. But raunchy lyrics have been cut to save Chinese ...
Page and Lewis intro to 2012 TeleText, UK - Rock legend Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis are to headline an eight-minute slot in the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony to introduce London 2012. ... |
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