19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ, UK
The Magical Diaries of Leah Hirsig - Manon Hedenborg White & Henrik Bogdan
Fri 09 Jan
|London
A fascinating unique window into the life of Aleister Crowley's Scarlet Woman per excellence and the possibilities and challenges faced by women occultists in the early twentieth century.
Time & Location
09 Jan 2026, 17:00 – 18:00
London, 19-21 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4EZ, UK
About the event
On Friday 9th January, editors Henrik Bogdan and Manon Hedenborg White will join us for a special in-store talk on The Magical Diaries of Leah Hirsig! Leah Hirsig was a Swiss-American occultist, follower and lover of the prominent British occultist Aleister Crowley in the 1920s -the self-styled Great Beast 666, the founder and prophet of the new religion Thelema. This annotated edition of Hirsig's complete magical diaries and previously unpublished correspondence between her and Crowley sheds new light on their relationship and the broader role of women in twentieth-century occultism.
A schoolteacher by training who lived, loved, and travelled independently, Hirsig embodied the ideals of the New Woman, particularly in her attraction to a counter-normative occult movement. In 1920, Hirsig was appointed Crowley's Scarlet Woman, a title that identified her as the earthly avatar of the Thelemic goddess Babalon and as Crowley's feminine counterpart. In this role, Hirsig was essential in…