Richard Kaczynski (born November 10, 1963) is an American writer and lecturer in the fields of

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

beliefs and

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

s. He is known for his biography of the occultist

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

, ''Perdurabo: The Life of

'', described by ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'' as "the major biography to date", and by

Didrik Søderlind Didrik Schjerven Søderlind (born March 13, 1971) is a Norwegian secular humanist and skeptic who works as a journalist and author. He works as an advisor for the Norwegian Humanist Association and has previously been a journalist for forskning.n ...

in the Norwegian daily ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

'' as the best biography of Crowley. Kaczynski is also a keyboard player for the band House of Usher.

Academic background

Kaczynski holds a Bachelor of Science degree, master's degrees, and a PhD in

from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. He has held positions as assistant professor at Wayne State School of Medicine, research associate and affiliate at Yale University's Department of Psychiatry. He was also an adjunct instructor of

orthodontics Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...

at the

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 ...

School of Dentistry. He has published dozens of articles in academic peer-reviewed journals in areas ranging from national program evaluation of comprehensive work therapy, and multi-site clinical trials of treatment efficacy for bipolar disorder (STEP-BD), schizophrenia (CATIE) and Alzheimer's (CATIE).

Metaphysical background

Kaczynski has been a student of

Thelema Thelema () is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. The word '' ...

since 1977, a member of

Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult Initiation, initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner (mystic), Carl Kellner, He ...

since 1987, and a lecturer on magick since 1990. Within OTO he has been a very active member, and has done editorial duties on several publications including ''Neshamah'' and the proceedings books for its US biennial national conference. He appeared on Canada's

Drew Marshall Drew Marshall (born November 30, 1966) was the host of The Drew Marshall Show', Canada's most listened to spiritual talk show, from 2003 to 2019. Radio After moving back to Canada in 2003, Marshall successfully proposed a spiritually-oriented ...

radio show on June 25, 2011, where he was described as the "world’s leading expert on Aleister Crowley"

Works

Kaczynski's occult writings have appeared in various magazines including ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...

'', ''The Magical Link'', ''Neshamah'', ''Cheth'', ''Mezlim'', ''Eidolon'', and ''Different Worlds''. His medical and psychological writing has appeared in several publications in those fields.

Books

* ''The Revival of Magick and Other Essays'' by Aleister Crowley. Hymenaeus Beta and Richard Kaczynski, ed. New Falcon, 1998. . * ''Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley''. New Falcon Publications, 2002. * ''Perdurabo Outtakes''. Blue Equinox, 2005. * ''Panic in Detroit: The Magician and the Motor City''. Blue Equinox, 2006. * ''The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley'' (co-authored with

James Wasserman James Wasserman (23 June 1948 – 18 November 2020) was an American writer and occultist. A member of Ordo Templi Orientis since 1976 and a book designer by trade, he wrote extensively on spiritual and political liberty. Publishing career Wasser ...

). Weiser Books, 2009. * ''Beauty and Strength: Proceedings of the Sixth Biennial National Ordo Templi Orientis Conference'' R. Kaczynski, ed., BookSurge Publishing, 2009. * ''Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Life of Aleister Crowley'' 2nd ed., North Atlantic Books. * ''Forgotten Templars, The Untold Origins of the Ordo Templi Orientis'', 2012

Metaphysical articles

* Kaczynski, R. (1989). ''Preface to J.F.C. Fuller’s Bibliotheca Crowleyana''. Edmonds, WA: Sure Fire Press. * Kaczynski, R. (1993). "The Structure and Correlates of Metaphysical Beliefs Among a Sample of Behaviorally Committed Participants". Doctoral dissertation, Wayne State University, Detroit. * "Foreword" to ''People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out'' by

Ellen Evert Hopman Ellen Evert Hopman (born July 31, 1952, in Salzburg, Austria) is an author of both fiction and non-fiction, an herbalist, a lay homeopath, a lecturer, and a Mental Health Counselor who lives and works in Western Massachusetts. She is the author of s ...

, Lawrence Bond.

Inner Traditions Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

, 1995. reissued and renamed ''Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today'' Destiny Books 2001 , * "Daybreak: Early History and Origins of the British Golden Dawn" in ''Golden Dawn Sourcebook'' by Darcy Kuntz. Holmes Publishing, (1996). * "Taboo and Transformation in the Works of Aleister Crowley" in ''Rebels & Devils: The Psychology of Liberation'', edited by Christopher S. Hyatt. New Falcon Publications, (1996). * Kaczynski, R. (1996). ''Barking up the wrong tree: The Kabbalah that the western Hermetic tradition overlooked''. In P. Kershaw (Ed.), Proceedings of Convocation ’96. Magical Education Council of Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor, MI. * Kaczynski, R. (1998). ''Equidistant letter sequences: A guide for the perplexed''. In P. Kershaw (Ed.), Proceedings of Convocation ’98. Magical Education Council of Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor, MI. * Kaczynski, R. (1999). ''An introduction to “The Revival of Magick''” In Proceedings of Convocation ’99. Magical Education Council of Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor, MI. * Kaczynski, R. (2001). ''One is the magus, twain his biographies''. The Magical Link, 3:8-9. * Kaczynski, R. (2003). ''Wine and strange drugs: Aleister Crowley’s quest for enlightenment''. High Times, November, 339:64-66. * Kaczynski, R. (2005). ''The Satanic ritual abuse controversy: A case of groupthink?'' Neshamah, 1(1), 7-10. * Kaczynski, R. (2005). ''Metaphysical belief correlates in a behaviorally committed sample''. Neshamah, 1(1), 34-38. * Kaczynski, R. (2008). ''Foreword''. In Colin D. Campbell (ed.), A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema. York Beach, ME: Teitan Press. * Kaczynski, R. (2009). ''Carl Kellner’s occult roots: Sex and sex magick in the Victorian age''. In Richard Kaczynski (ed.), Beauty & Strength: Proceedings of the Sixth Biennial National Conference of Ordo Templi Orientis. Riverside, CA: Ordo Templi Orientis * Kaczynski, R. (2009). ''Iconic or iconoclastic? The Thoth Tarot and the Western esoteric tradition''. Tarosophist International #4 (September). * Kaczynski, R. (2010). ''The Method of Science: Ten Steps toward Scientific Illuminism''. Neshamah (fall 2010). * Kaczynski, R. (2011), ''Introducing Perdurabo'', Watkins Review, summer, 2011 issue.

Films

Music

;House of Usher * Body of Mind (1998) - House of Usher * Fanfare for the Pirates (1998) Mellow Records * Live Encore? (40 minutes live from Progday 1999) (2001) ;Page * ''Giant for a Life: A Tribute to Gentle Giant'' - Mellow Records * ''Zarathustra's Revenge'' - Mellow Records * ''Fanfare for the Pirates'' - (1998) Mellow Records

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczynski, Richard Living people American male biographers American occult writers Members of Ordo Templi Orientis Wayne State University alumni University of Detroit Mercy faculty Yale University faculty 20th-century American biographers 1963 births