lol homo dimwit "it was at crowley's instigation that the two men began to make their way, first by tram and then by foot, into the north african desert to the southwest of algiers; and it was crowley's decision to perform there a series of magical ceremonies that prefigured his elaboration of the techniques of sex magic, or, as he was later to call it, magick. in this case, the ceremonies combined the performance of advanced ritual magic with homosexual acts.  crowley's collection of poems are a blend of persian mysticism and the glorification of homosexual love, written in the style of ghazals by an imaginary seventeenth-century poet. they are supposedly translated into english by an anglo-indian, major lutiy, helped by an anonymous "editor," and are then discussed by an equally fictitious clergyman.  these activities did not find general favor with senior members of the golden dawn, and crowley began to acquire an unsavory reputation as rumors of his flamboyant lifestyle, demonic magic, and homosexuality began to circulate. w. b. yeats thought crowley was immoral, if not mad, while crowley was convinced that yeats was envious of his literary and magical prowess. the young probationer was made to sleep naked on a bed of gorse for a week, and early in the retirement crowley visited the shivering neuburg at night and scourged him with a bundle of nettles. later, dissatisfied with his progress, crowley gave him thirty-two strokes with a switch of gorse and drew blood. presumably this was not the sole purpose of these nocturnal visits. the probationer noted in his meticulous written record that crowley "is apparently a homo-sexual [sic] sadist.he performed the ceremony with obvious satisfaction." gorse has strong prickles and nettles sting, but the young man had taken a holy vow of obedience to his magical master. it is small wonder that neuburg attributed an "emissio seminer" to anxiety."
France