I think I might have to go for Gerald Gardner.

I'm not a Wiccan and there's plenty of controversy surrounding many of his claims but he did bring Wicca, Paganism and magic to the masses at a time when all of this was considered more than a little suspect (The Witchcraft Act of 1735 wasn't actually repealed until 1951!). Although to be fair, he was another one that was heavily influenced by Crowley.

I know his former houses tend to have blue plaques stating that 'The Father of Modern Witchcraft Lived Here' so I guess that counts for something!

Issac Newton. He was an alchemist for those who don't know.

His calculus had a big part in the scientific era. He created it to how the heavenly bodies move, not why btw.

Also he was a big Christian theologian. Today most Christians would frown on the practice of alchemy which shows how little they really know about church history.

Just some stuff hey didn't teach you in school! Lol

Franz Bardon

I'd say Aleister Crowley, if nothing else at least for the fact that he delved so deep into so many different things that I believe that it would take 100-200 more years for that kind of knowledge/material to come to the forefront if it wasn't for him.

Franz Bardon for making a step by step guide for hermeticism available.

Aleister Crowley, let me explain why.

Before Crowley systems of meditation, directed energy work, and ceremonial magick rarely came together. While the Golden Dawn WAS working with direct ceremonial magick, concepts of yoga, tantra, and various other energy schools were limited. In many ways he was the Bruce Lee of the Magick World by cherry picking a number of methods from other schools he was able to create an amalgamation and open the western world to not just the principals or application of magick - which other great men and women before him had done - but provide an energetic understanding and basis for that magick.

Further he was the first to begin to slowly remove the dogmatic principals of Magick systems from the very fabrics of magick and incorporate a more pseudo-scientific view of the process. His focus on energy systems from the east added to the western world and ultimately set the ground work for EVERY method that has followed since in some capacity. However lets let the man's works speak for themselves in the form of quotes and how they have impacted the modern view of mysticism.

The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal. Aleister Crowley

This here sets up an understanding previously not taken that “enough is not enough” when it comes to magicks. It shows the understanding that growth, development, advancement of the art, and of the self are the most important tasks of the magus. This alone would make him worthy as it is the ultimate breaking of dogma. Yet the man understood more than just that.

In the absence of willpower the most complete collection of virtues and talents is wholly worthless. Aleister Crowley

In this again the explanation of focus and energy in the form of will is made clear. The most key element of all magickal workings is explained easily in a quote when before this time people were dancing around a fire, drawing circles, doing repetition in hopes of reaching the transcendental state and thereby achieving the ability to work magick.

The pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it vague, enormous and menacing. Aleister Crowley

For the “evilest man who ever lived” he has a firmer understanding of the truth of morality. He recognizes that to remove all concepts of evil is to set something greater in motion of far more destructive power. That some social law is needed to preserve mankind is a universal truth even he hits on.

The conscience of the world is so guilty that it always assumes that people who investigate heresies must be heretics; just as if a doctor who studies leprosy must be a leper. Indeed, it is only recently that science has been allowed to study anything without reproach. Aleister Crowley

He opened the gateways of comprehension on the nature of morality its self as it concerns magick. In this he FORCED a world that would burn us for our “practice” to re-evaluate by using strong and well worded speech as a wall against ignorance. He stood up for our ability to do what we do this very day.

The supreme satisfaction is to be able to despise one's neighbor and this fact goes far to account for religious intolerance. It is evidently consoling to reflect that the people next door are headed for hell. Aleister Crowley

He challenged the moral compulsions of the day. Not only was he a revolutionary in the mystical arts but a visionary in his ability to tear apart classic thought. He forced the fundamentalist of the day to recheck themselves and look at their OWN moral compulsions.

Indubitably, magic is one of the subtlest and most difficult of the sciences and arts. There is more opportunity for errors of comprehension, judgment and practice than in any other branch of physics. Aleister Crowley

For the Magickal side, he made it clear that we are more than simply fire dancers. He brought an understanding of Magick as a clear, focused, nearly scientific concept. He explained change in accordance with will in such a way that the common man had some hope of comprehension and those with the talent could excel.



So for my vote on this it has to be Crowley. There have been men before and since him who have done great things. True he did not “invent” much in the way of magick, but he brought methods together in a way that caused us to look and evaluate systems of magick differently. If not for him the idea of energy and intent in ritual would still be something reserved only for the Masters of the craft and instead is one now understood by even the novices. If not for him we would still be drawing symbols 12hrs a day instead of learning to truly make it into a state of trance for the work. We would have no concept that the same energies, at least in part, that are in play during deep meditations and energy workings of the east are the very energies being used to help work with higher powers in the west. I won't even get into how he spear headed the LGBT movement, how he changed the view on sexuality, or anything like that. Was he a flawed man? Yes, he was consumed by his passions and even warned of this, but in his flaws he found a way to bring us closer to the understanding of magick than anyone before him had done and became the foundation for which we do our work today.

If by nothing else, his infamy inspired generations to ask "What is magick?"

Aleister Crowley is my answer even though I find his rambling texts very hard to read but a brilliant man
Initially I thought Merlin but according to a page I read that Merlin wasnt even called Merlin and the character was a mix of a madman and a prophet and by the time joe public had finished with the character well he was an all powerful Wizard. That popped my bubble big style

Hekhare wrote:the character was a mix of a madman and a prophet and by the time joe public had finished with the character well he was an all powerful Wizard.

That pretty well describes Crowley as well...

Then again, a friend in the film industry tells me that some of the most creative writers she's met criss-cross the line between genius and madness on a regular basis
Look at Poe....

Dragonoake wrote:

Hekhare wrote:the character was a mix of a madman and a prophet and by the time joe public had finished with the character well he was an all powerful Wizard.

That pretty well describes Crowley as well...

Then again, a friend in the film industry tells me that some of the most creative writers she's met criss-cross the line between genius and madness on a regular basis
Look at Poe....

Lol yes he was Mad as a March hare [emoji106]

Waall Pardners, methinks that the most important male magick creator and magician already was knnown as a developer and user of this new aspect of the Earth's World, that we have called magic , since the first comings of the magia, and thus lived sometime before 1300 BC (He was known well, prior to the first fall of Troy.

His name is Abaris the Hyperborean

He created the first baseline concept of magick, thus impregnating all the "thinking parts of the planet" and even having that dribble into geographic areas of primitivism.

Thus, he created:
A. The Concept of What we Now Call Magick

B. The Demonstration of various Magicks as listed by Heroditus and Others later on.
His Magick was the Basis of Gnosticism, Phalicism, Creating Objects, and Uses of Mentalities.

C. The Father of Siberian Magick,

D. The Father of Solomonic Qabala

E. The Probable Author of The Enocian Language, first "publicly found by Dr. John Dee in his collection of extremely ancient manuscripts (now lost or hidden) of this language

F. The healing of some diseases by hypnosis (which he probably was one of a few who discovered this ability. But may have been the "Primary Spreader" of this knowledge as he selected some people to "Carry On".

G. I could have mentioned a few people in Ancient Egypt, BUT, while their Occultism was Very Advanced, it was not Magick per se.

Caiyros