ABSTRACT
Every time he had to concretize his political thought, he did so in a childish and vague form. (João Gaspar Simões, Vida e Obra de Fernando Pessoa,
referring to Fernando Pessoa)
Fernando Pessoa’s political mysticism
In this chapter I will examine one of the most mysterious and enigmatic episodes in Crowley’s life: his journey to Portugal to meet with Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935).1 Why is this episode and more generally Crowley’s relationship with Pessoa so significant? To begin with, there is the interest that Pessoa’s personality holds for anyone investigating connections between politics and esotericism during the rst half of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, Pessoa’s political and esoteric works are not yet available in English.2 Most of Pessoa’s esoteric writings are fragmentary in nature, and most remained unpublished for a long time aer his death.
