Two documentaries in particular have well chronicled the relation between musicians and the satanic occult. Essentially all music that proceeded forth from the USA can be traced back to Robert Johnson and his well-known deal with the devil at the crossroads:
They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll Part 1 of 4
Hell’s Bell’s – The Dangers of Rock ‘N’ Roll – Part 1 of 18
One of these has a segment on Aleister Crowley’s motto from the Book of the Law is “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” (which we dissected in detail, see here). They note that the motto has been used in very many song lyrics.
As a personal note: in this author’s life BC he played with three bands and yet, only wrote lyrics to one song. And do you know what the chorus was? YHVH help us, it was “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”
Before getting to our point, consider some of the content of Aleister Crowley’s obituary published in TIME Magazine in Monday, Dec. 15, 1947 AD as GREAT BRITAIN: Rascal’s Regress:
Edward Alexander (“Aleister”) Crowley…determined to be a shocking young man. He went to Cambridge and became interested in magick (as he insisted on spelling the word)…Most of his books and poems…were printed privately because of their obscenity. Aleister achieved his shocking ambition. But he discovered that, although he was notorious, he had also become ridiculous…
Newspaper called him “The Worst Man In The World.” They told fantastic stories of him; he could raise devils and dead cats; he drank blood; he celebrated the obscene Black mass in his “temple”…He said he could make himself invisible, and claimed to have walked around a town once in a red robe and golden crown, unnoticed by anyone. In a treatise on magic he blandly remarked that “for nearly all purposes, human sacrifice is best.”…
Nina Hamnett…told of Crowley’s villa in Sicily; “About half-past five in the morning, the household had to go out and face the sun. It was called “adoration.” The evening ceremony was the great thing. In one corner was a chair in which Mr. Crowley sat in front of a brazier in which incense was burned. There was a scarlet woman who wore a jewelled snake under her robe. There was a sort of hysterical business.
[Once] a cat was sacrificed. The knife was blunt and the cat got out of the red circle. That was bad for magical work…Justice Swift : “I have been over 40 years engaged in the administration of the law [but] I have never heard such dreadful, horrible, blasphemous and abominable stuff….” [Crowley stated] “Before Hitler was, I am.”…The world of 1947 buried him almost without noticing it, and without a shudder.
Another of Aleister Crowley’s (in)famous mottos from Book of the Law is, “Every man and woman is a star.”
This also has become infused into song lyrics and, in fact, is likely why we refer to celebrities in general as “stars.”
This motto is sometimes quoted directly, word for word, as in Ultramarine’s album that is titled, “Every Man & Woman Is a Star.”
Sometimes there are allusions to it as in John Lennon’s song, Instant Karma:
Instant Karma’s gonna get you… Who in the hell d’you think you are A super star Well, right you are Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Sometimes celebrity stardom is mixed in with the Crowley motto as in the Village People’s In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star):
Take a bus, a train or a plane to Hollywood Go there and then change your name You die your hair out there, it’s part of the game You’re gonna be a star, a big star…
Everybody is a star in Hollywood (alright)
Sometimes it is rephrased as in the children’s song album Kidz Bop which is titled Everyone’s A Star!
Note the common pillars
Following is a short list of songs and some of the lyrics that appeal to Aleister Crowley’s motto.
The Cult: Every Man And Woman Is A Star Pray that the world keeps us all down Tempests, bad trips Small lies, kill signs. Kill the beast in the ditch…
Every man and woman is a star
Note that Aleister Crowley referred to himself as “the beast” as per the Bible’s Book of Revelation. This is reminiscent of The Eagle’s song Hotel California which states, “They stab it with their steely knives but they just can’t kill the beast.” This song appears to be in reference to the Crowley related Pasadena California residence wherein Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard ran a sort of satanic boarding house.
T.N.T.: Everyone’s a star Lay your cards on the table Show the world who you are… In your blood it’s electric And the power’s in your veins… Everyone’s a star Shinin’ in the spotlight tonight… Feel the lightnin’ in the air Look in the mirror
Are you the only one there
The life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11) and this one’s is coursing with demonic energies, “it’s electric…the power’s in your veins.” Many reference to lightning in occult contexts are, consciously or not, to Jesus’ statement, “I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Such a person may only “see” themselves in the mirror but they are surely not alone.
Raven Symone / Cheetah Girls: Everyone’s A Star Look inside and you know you are I saw a man dancing on the corner Hat out… It’s hard to see but you know that anyone can fly Open your eyes, see the truth and you will realize that Everyone’s a star… The simple things can be so profound…
You can shine so bright
Stars are often correlated with brightly shining light, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2nd Corinthians 11:14).
Francis Dunnery (aka?) Francis Connie: Everyone’s A Star I’ve talked to senators and presidential daughters… I’ve talked to a medicine man and they’re all the same to me Wherever you are, Whatever you say, Wherever you go Whatever you need, whoever you are Everyone’s a star… I’ve been to old Calcutta I’ve been to Africa… I went to Zion on my way back from Jamaica… Everyone’s a star Sing it to the north side, sing it to the south side Sing it in the east side, sing it in the west side Sing it in the water, sing it in the air Sing it on the ground and everybody sing it Everyone’s a star
I’m just a peasant boy they said was going nowhere
From the elite (“senators and presidential daughters”) to a medicine and worldwide, everyone agrees, “Everyone’s a star. This is then chanted ritualistically to the four directions and to the elements. He was just a peasant boy they said was going nowhere but then gained fame by joining forces with the occultists in the music industry.
Sly & The Family Stone (and Barbie and Joan Osborne): Everybody Is A Star Everybody wants to shine Ooh, come out on a cloudy day ‘Til the sun that loves you proud… You don’t need darkness to do what you think is right… Everybody is a star I can feel it when you shine on me…
Ever catch a falling star
More references to shining, anthropomorphism of the Sun and reference to a falling star.
Robin Thicke: Everybody’s A Star Makin’ your heart stop Everybody knows me I’m gonna be a star That is why I feel it deep inside
A new invention runnin’ through my mind
Seeking stardom.
Kinks: Everybody’s A Star I’m I am a creator, inventor and innovator I observe the people, the ordinary people… ‘Cause I’m a star (Gonna make you a star) And I can make you a star (Gonna make you a star)… I’m the magic maker… I can take any man I see standing in the road And put rouge on his cheeks and put some powder on his nose I’ll teach him how to act, I’ll remould and reshape him I’ll put him in a stage suit and I’ll teach him how to pose I can turn the most ordinary man in the world into a star I’m a starmaker…
I can make or break you
In this case the reference it to star makers and how they manipulate stars towards financial success even at the cost of the star’s personal decline.
Damien Jurado: Everyone A Star Burned out, I found you like a light on Time to forget all that I’ve done I’m too in tune to change the dial Connected colors for the mood I’m on rewind all the time A welcome sign outside my mind Ready when you are to lose Asleep for days inside the blue Everyone a star, everyone a star…
Free is all we are, free is all we are
This guy is sold out to the one who made him a star and feels it is too late to turn back, “I’m too in tune to change the dial.”
Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as Aleister Crowley influence of art is concerned.