Editing Aleister Crowley (section)

===Mexico, India, Paris, and marriage: 1900–1903===
In 1900, Crowley travelled to Mexico via the United States, settling in [[Mexico City]] and starting a relationship with a local woman. Developing a love of the country, he continued experimenting with ceremonial magic, working with [[John Dee]]'s [[Enochian]] invocations. He later said he had been initiated into [[Freemasonry]] while there, and he wrote a play based on [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' as well as a series of poems, published as ''Oracles'' (1905). Eckenstein joined him later in 1900, and together they climbed several mountains, including [[Iztaccihuatl]], [[Popocatépetl|Popocatepetl]], and [[Volcán de Colima|Colima]], the latter of which they had to abandon owing to a volcanic eruption.{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=127–37|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=80–86|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=83–90|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4pp=64–70}} Leaving Mexico, Crowley headed to San Francisco before sailing for Hawaii aboard the ''Nippon Maru''. On the ship, he had a brief affair with a married woman named Mary Alice Rogers; saying he fell in love with her, he wrote a series of poems about the romance, published as ''Alice: An Adultery'' (1903).{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=137–39|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=86–90|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=90–93|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4pp=71–75}}

[[File:Aleister Crowley 1902 K2.jpg|thumbnail|alt=Crowley bathing in a spring during the K2 Expedition, 1902|Crowley during the K2 Expedition, 1902]]
Briefly stopping in Japan and Hong Kong, Crowley reached Ceylon, where he met with Allan Bennett, who was there studying [[Shaivism]]. The pair spent some time in [[Kandy]] before Bennett decided to become a Buddhist monk in the [[Theravada]] tradition, travelling to Burma to do so.{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=139–44|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=90–95|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=93–96|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4pp=76–78}} Crowley decided to tour India, devoting himself to the Hindu practice of ''[[Rāja yoga]]'', by which means he believed he had achieved the spiritual state of ''[[Dhyana in Hinduism|dhyana]]''. He spent much of this time studying at the [[Meenakshi Temple]] in [[Madurai|Madura]]. At this time he also wrote poetry which was published as ''The Sword of Song'' (1904). He contracted [[malaria]], and had to recuperate from the disease in Calcutta and Rangoon.{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=144–47|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=94–98|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=96–98|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4pp=78–83}} In 1902, he was joined in India by Eckenstein and several other mountaineers: [[Guy Knowles]], H. Pfannl, V. Wesseley, and [[Jules Jacot-Guillarmod]]. Together, the Eckenstein-Crowley expedition attempted [[K2]], which was never climbed before. On the journey, Crowley was afflicted with [[influenza]], malaria, and [[snow blindness]], and other expedition members were also struck with illness. They reached an altitude of {{convert|20000|ft|m}} before turning back.{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=148–56|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=98–104|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=98–108|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4p=83}}

Having arrived in Paris in November 1902, he socialized with his friend the painter [[Gerald Kelly]], and through him became a fixture of the Parisian arts scene. Whilst there, Crowley wrote a series of poems on the work of an acquaintance, the sculptor [[Auguste Rodin]]. These poems were later published as ''Rodin in Rime'' (1907).{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=159–63|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=104–08|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=109–15|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4pp=84–86}} One of those frequenting this milieu was [[W. Somerset Maugham]], who after briefly meeting Crowley later used him as a model for the character of Oliver Haddo in his novel ''[[The Magician (Maugham novel)|The Magician]]'' (1908).{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=164–67|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=105–07|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=112–13|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4p=85}} He returned to Boleskine in April 1903. In August, Crowley wed Gerald Kelly's sister [[Rose Edith Kelly]] in a "marriage of convenience" to prevent her from entering an [[arranged marriage]]; the marriage appalled the Kelly family and damaged his friendship with Gerald. Heading on a honeymoon to Paris, Cairo, and then Ceylon, Crowley fell in love with Rose and worked to prove his affections. While on his honeymoon, he wrote her a series of love poems, published as ''Rosa Mundi and other Love Songs'' (1906), as well as authoring the religious satire ''Why Jesus Wept'' (1904).{{sfnm|1a1=Booth|1y=2000|1pp=171–77|2a1=Sutin|2y=2000|2pp=110–16|3a1=Kaczynski|3y=2010|3pp=119–24|4a1=Churton|4y=2011|4pp=89–90}}