, self-styled "the Beast", founder of his own spiritual orders, was already a legend the world over when he penned his biography. Known as a novelist, poet, magician, mountaineer, chessmaster, guru, he was also a notorious drug user, famous voluptuary and accomplished mystic. Born in England in 1875, son of a brewer and evangelizing Plymouth brother, Crowley rejected Victorian life and mores and pursued a life of rebellion where he sought to push the limits of experience and human knowledge. Soul-searching mysticism led to sexual excess, debauchery, drug use and daring physical and mental exploits whether on the most dangerous of mountain cliffs or in the most profound psychological experimentation. A master of Eastern and Western philosophy he travelled Egypt, China, Mexico, Thailand and more... Living in London, Paris, New York, he collected disciples, mistresses and lovers of both sexes, while pouring out unparallelled manuscripts on occultism, mysticism and the practice of the spiritual sciences. His prolific literary career and adventurous feats never far behind, he also produced a number of novels and volumes of verse to fill a library while breaking world records in mountaineering and climbing. Via his spiritual writings and experiments, he has left humanity with a legacy to decipher for ages to come.