Introduction
(For the record, I despise how Crowley writes).
Most Introductions are fairly meaningless, but Crowley stuff a TON of information in the Introduction. I'm not going to reproduce it all here, but I want to hit some high points.
The book itself, prior to the Introduction, begins with the Hymn to Pan and pictures showing the various positions used in ritual. It should not escape anyone's attention that one of these positions is referred to as "the Svastika". I realize the symbol itself pre-dates the Nazi's, but with the Nazi party being founded almost a decade prior to the release of this book, and taking Crowley's stated beliefs into account, it's hard to argue that Crowley was unaware of the associations.
The Introduction itself begins with an except from The Lesser Key of Solomon and couple excerpts from The Golden Bough by Dr J.G. Frazer. These excerpts make the point that if the magician will always get the same effect if accompanied by the proper ceremony and the appropriate spell, as long as his will isn't thwarted by some external force. A magician can also only wield power that conforms to things such as the laws of nature (more on that below).
Crowley goes into the introduction by saying that this book is for ALL people, male and female, notwithstanding the issues presented in the previous post. There is a little bit of whining here:
My former work has been misunderstood, and its scope limited, by my use of technical terms.
Well... I mean, sure, but have you read some of Crowley's other stuff? I'm not sure "technical terms" are really the problem.
At any rate, it goes on to define MAGICK, set forth a postulate (a thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief.), and 28 theorems.
Crowley states that he wanted a name to designate his work, and existing terms "theosophy", etc, had undesirable connotations, so he chose "MAGICK", and we all know the K was added to differentiate it from stage (illusionary) magic. The definition of MAGICK Crowley gives is:
MAGICK is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity of Will.
That last bit, conformity of Will, is a very complicated concept. It seems simple, but you need to take into account such things as we can only affect change in an object if that object is capable of that change.
The Illustration for the definition is important and enlightening, so I'm going to include that here (it's one of those rare times Crowley speaks clearly):
It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my knowledge. I therefore take "magical weapons", pen, ink, and paper; I write "incantations" --- these sentences --- in the "magical language" i.e. that which is understood by the people I wish to instruct; I call forth "spirits", such as printers, publishers, booksellers, and so forth, and constrain them to convey my message to those people. The composition and distribution of this book is thus an act of MAGICK by which I cause changes to take place in conformity with my Will*
* By "Intentional" I mean "willed". But even unintentional acts so-seeming are not truly so. Thus, breathing is an act of the Will-to-Live.
Writing a book, creating a piece of art, etc, are acts of magick.
The postulate he puts forth is:
ANY required Change may be effected by the application of the proper kind and degree of Force in the proper manner through the proper medium to the proper object.
Essentially he's saying you need to follow the rules for the change you wish to affect. I'm pretty sure that should be "affected", which is a verb, not "effected", which is a noun, but what do I know?
What follows is 28 theorems. I'm only going to highlight a couple, those that are fairly self explanatory.
Every intentional act is a Magical Act