Aleister Crowley’s The Temple of Solomon the King

Aleister Crowley, with the assistance of J. F. C. Fuller, serialized an extensive magical autobiography based in part on the record of his personal diary, as Frater Perdurabo or Fra. P, in the pages of The Equinox. This serialized article was called “The Temple of Solomon the King” and details Crowley’s experience up to and including achieving the grade Magister Templi, or Master of the Temple. Included during this period of time was the Equinox of the Gods, which began with the reception of the Book of the Law on April 8, 9 & 10, 1904.

The publication of the rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in The Equinox as part of The Temple of Solomon the King resulted in a famous trial. You can read about this trial in several articles and letters that appeared in the press of the time.

Parts of the what appeared in the pages of The Equinox were later used in other works. For example, Part V is also Liber LVIII – Qabalah, and Part VI of the serialization, The Priest in Book II, forms much of another document called Genesis Libri AL which comprises the bulk of The Equinox of the Gods.

The document called “Liber LXXIII – The Urn” was intended to be a sequel, detailing Crowley's further experience of the grade of Magus and on, beyond what had been covered in this The Temple of Solomon the King. However, “The Urn” was not completed in Crowley’s lifetime. It was re-constructed posthumously, and published as part of “The Vision & the Voice With Commentary and Other Papers”, Equinox IV ii.

This page is a portal into the full text of The Temple of Solomon the King, as it appears in the pages of The Equinox, as an aid to those wishing to read it online and get a fuller picture of the whole body of the serialized work.

— The Hermetic Library

The foundations of the Temple of SOLOMON THE KING and The nine cunning Craftsmen who laid them between the Watch-towers of Night & Day.

• Preface
• The Black Watch-Tower
• The Miser
• The Spendthrift
• The Bankrupt
• The Prude
• The Child
• The Wanton
• The Slave
• The Warrior
• The King
• The White Watch-Tower

The Scaffolding of the Temple of SOLOMON THE KING and The ten mighty Supports which are set between the Pillars of Death and Life.

• The Pillar of the Cloud
• The Acolyte
• The Neophyte
  • The Rituals of the Order of the Golden Dawn
  • Ritual of the 0^○=0^□ Grade of Neophyte
  • Ritual of the 1^○=10^□ Grade of Zelator
  • Ritual of the 2^○=9^□ Grade of Theoricus
  • Ritual of the 3^○=8^□ Grade of Practicus
  • Ritual of the 4^○=7^□ Grade of Philosophus
• The Seer
• The Ladder
• The Sorcerer
  • Book I Practical Evocation
  • Book II Consecration of Talismans
  • Book III Invisibility
    • Transformations
    • Spiritual Development
  • Book IV Divination
  • Book V Alchemical Processes
    • The Ritual for the Evocation unto Visible Appearance of the Great Spirit Taphthartharath
    • Talisman of Fire of Jupiter with Ritual
    • The Magical Invocation of the Higher Genius
• The Adept
  • The Ritual of the Order of Rosæ Rubeæ et Aureæ Crusis
  • Ritual of the 5^○=6^□ Grade of Adeptus Minor
• The Magician
  • The Book of the Spirit of the Living God
• The Hermit
  • The Agnostic Position
  • The Vedanta
  • Attainment By Yoga
  • The Yogas
  • The Constitution of the Human Organism
  • The Chakkras
  • The Doctrines of Buddhism
  • The Noble Eightfold Path
  • The Writings of Truth
  • The Writings of Truth (continued)
• The Priest
• The Babe
• The Poet
• Nemo

The trial over the publication of the rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the pages of The Equinox as part of The Temple of Solomon the King caused a stir in the press of the time, including these articles and letters
“Secrets of the Rosicrucians” – The Weekly News, March 22nd, 1910
“Rosicrucian Mysteries”– The Standard, March 22, 1910.
“Secrets of a Mystic Society”– Daily Express, March 23, 1910.
“Mystic Order”– The People, March 27, 1910.
“John Bull letter no. 1”– John Bull, April 2, 1910.
“John Bull letter no. 2”– John Bull, May 2, 1910.

Read additional biographical about Aleister Crowley covering these events and others during the period of time detailed in The Temple of Solomon the King in
The Confessions of Aleister Crowley
The Master Therion, a biographical note

You can also read the way this material was incorporated into
Liber LVIII – Qabalah
Genesis Libri AL which comprises the bulk of The Equinox of the Gods

You can read about the systems of magick and initiation mentioned
The Golden Dawn Library Project
A∴A∴
One Star in Sight
Syllabus of the Official Instructions of A∴ A∴ (Liber CCVII)
Curriculum of A∴ A∴ (Appendix I of Magick in Theory and Practice)

And much more at the Libri of Aleister Crowley.

Although the full text was published as “Temple of Solomon the King” (New Falcon, 2004), that is now out of print. You can read more in the following published works