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Aiwass

Aleister Crowley's Holy Guardian Angel, sought by him since he joined the Golden Dawn, and finally discovered in Egypt through his new wife Rose. Aiwass was the messenger of Set, the destroyer God and prototype for the Christian Satan. Crowley's Guardian Angel, it seems, was the messenger of the Devil. (See also Golden Dawn.)

Alchemy

Practised by John Dee and Edward Kelley in the hope of finding the Philosopher's Stone - a substance that could turn base metals into gold. In the 16th century, alchemy was big business, but the practice was first documented in 3rd-century BC Egypt. Alchemy has also been seen by philosophers as a spiritually symbolic process of purification rather than a physical one. (Plus: explore Channel 4's Spellbinder website.)

Anastasia Romanov

One of Rasputin's biggest fans. For many years there were rumours that Anastasia had escaped the firing squad that killed the rest of her family in 1919. Many stories emerged surrounding the Montenegrin princess, but recent DNA testing shows that she did, in fact, die with her sister Militsa and the other Romanov royals.

Astrology

John Dee was an expert astrologer. Nowadays astrology is often seen - thanks to daily newspaper star-sign columns - as a frivolous pursuit, but it can still be a serious practice, and casting personal horoscopes properly requires skill and knowledge. In Dee's time, astrology was seen as a science and was indistinguishable from astronomy.

Boney M

Seventies pop phenomena responsible for making Rasputin and his sexual exploits world famous with the hit single 'Rasputin'. Memorable lyrics include 'Rah, rah Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen' and 'to those Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear'. His rape victims might not have agreed. (See also Vera Zhukovskaya)

Diary of a Drug Fiend

An Aleister Crowley novel, published in 1922, dealing with his heroin and cocaine addiction. The last section of the novel is also the earliest known account of the goings on at the Abbey of Thelema in Sicily. (See also Thelema.)

Enochian keys

The language developed by John Dee and Edward Kelley, supposedly dictated by angels during their scrying sessions. Named after Enoch, the Biblical figure who 'walked with God', the Enochian system is said to be the tongue of the angels, and capable of controlling them. It has become the basis of many occult rituals and activities - it was even used by the Beast himself, Aleister Crowley. (See also Scrying.)

Foresight

Rasputin is reported to have had visions all of his life, some of which pertained to the future. A vision involving the virgin of Kazan, or black virgin, is said to be responsible for his initial journey to St Petersburg. In another he is reputed to have seen his own death, prompting him to write a letter to the Tsar. (See also St Petersburg)

Free Love

A common contemporary interpretation of Aleister Crowley's doctrine of 'Do what thou wilt' reduces his ideas to 'Do whatever you like'. This often means predatory male sexual behaviour. The original meaning, however, was more of an injunction to follow your 'higher self'. To do this it was necessary to reach enlightenment by meditation. Only then could true knowledge of exactly what 'thou wilt' be obtained.

Golden Dawn

Society that Aleister Crowley belonged to after leaving Cambridge. Founded by the eccentric magician Samuel Mathers, it taught alchemy, tarot and astrology, and included members such as the Irish writer WB Yeats – Crowley later called him a terrible poet. It was in the Golden Dawn that Crowley began searching for his Guardian Angel. (See also Aiwass.)

Hermogen

Bishop of Saratov, and a onetime friend of Rasputin who later became his enemy. After the Russian Revolution, Hermogen died at the hands of the revolutionaries. He was thrown into a river with irons around his neck – then beaten with boat hooks. Like Rasputin before him, he sank to the bottom while still breathing.

Juliette

Sequel to the Marquis de Sade's novel Justine. The heroine is Justine's twin sister, from whom she was separated at birth. Juliette, however, enjoys the delights of evil, even her violent sexual encounters. (See also Justine and 120 Days of Sodom.)

Justine

One of the Marquis de Sade's most famous novels, it depicts the graphic sexual encounters of a young woman, Justine. She is raped, branded, imprisoned and abused, yet still she believes that good will triumph. She is the perfect model of a masochist. Napoleon Bonaparte said: 'Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination.' (See also Juliette and Masochism.)

Leah Hirsig

Mistress and follower of Aleister Crowley. She once said: 'I dedicate myself wholly to the great work. I will work for wickedness, I will kill my heart, I will be shameless before all men, I will freely prostitute my body to all creatures.' She was true to her word and was known to have sex with goats.

Libel

In 1934, Aleister Crowley began a libel case against a writer who had called him a black magician. Some suggest that he did this simply because he was desperate for money and thought he might be awarded damages. The judge presiding over the case heard excerpts of Crowley's pornographic poetry and the testimonies of ex-disciples. Crowley lost the case.

Libertine

The Marquis de Sade freely admitted to being a libertine. The origin of the word is the Latin for 'freed man', but it is used to mean a person who behaves immorally – especially in sexual matters. (See also Sadism.)

Magick

Aleister Crowley's spelling of magic, a deliberate attempt to get to the archaic roots of the word and to distinguish it from the magic used in conjuring tricks. Some suggest that this spelling reflects the sexual element of his ideas – k is the first letter of the Greek word kteis, meaning female genitalia.

Maria

Rasputin's daughter. After his death, his secretary Simonovich realised that Rasputin had moved a lot of money into Maria's account, and generally set all his affairs in order – more proof that he knew his murder was imminent? (See also Foresight)

Masochism

The complementary opposite of sadism (which comes from the Marquis de Sade's name). Derived from the name of Austrian-born novelist Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, it means to derive pleasure and enjoyment from your own pain or humiliation. It is often combined with sadism in the term sado-masochism describing both the willing abuser and abused. Often shortened to S&M to describe the sexual scene which uses whips, leather and other fetish objects for pleasure. (See also Sadism and Justine.)

120 Days of Sodom

Often seen as the Marquis de Sade's defining novel, it is a compendium of his notorious lusts and cruelties. He thought that he had lost this piece while he was imprisoned in the Bastille, but it was later found rolled up and hidden inside a bedpost. (See also Justine and Juliette.)

Potassium cyanide

The poison used to kill Rasputin. It is highly toxic when ingested, and corrosive to the gastro-intestinal tract. Large doses normally produce sudden loss of consciousness and prompt death from respiratory arrest.

Reincarnation

Aleister Crowley believed in reincarnation and suggested that his past lives included the 18th-century occultist Count Cagliostro, Eliphas Levi (an occultist who died on the same day that Crowley was born) and Edward Kelly, who deciphered the Enochian language with John Dee. Crowley also thought he'd been Alexander VI, the notoriously decadent Borgia pope.

Renaissance magus

John Dee is often described as a Renaissance Magus. The Renaissance was a rediscovery of classical thought through literature, art and architecture and began in Italy in the 14th century, spreading to the rest of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. A Magus is a legendary magician of superhuman powers, an archetypal figure which derives from the shaman.

Sadism

Derived from the Marquis de Sade's name, it means to gain pleasure from hurting and humiliating others and was first introduced to the dictionary in 1834. The person on the receiving end of such treatment is, if willing, called a masochist. (See also Masochism.)

St Petersburg

Capital city of Russia at the start of the 20th century, where Rasputin met his end. Described as a place of great sexual permissiveness. The writer Leo Tolstoy said that St Petersburg was 'tormented by sleepless nights, stupefied and deadened by wine, wealth and lovemaking without love'. Others labelled it a lunatic asylum. During the First World War, the suicide rate tripled and a crime wave swept the city.

Scrying

Practised by John Dee and Edward Kelley. From the English word descry, meaning to reveal, scrying is the art of clairvoyance achieved by concentrating on an object, usually one with a reflective or semi-reflective surface (typically a mirror, a crystal ball or water), until visions appear. Dee used a black mirror made of obsidian, which he called a 'shewstone' because it 'shewed' (showed) the future. (See also Enochian Keys.)

Surrealism

Movement that adopted the Marquis de Sade as an emblem of revolution in the arts and literature. Flourished in early 20th-century Europe, especially Paris. Surrealists sought to release the creativity of the unconscious mind, often combining dream images in strange and unrelated ways. Surrealist artists include Salvador Dali, René Magritte and Max Ernst. Today, surreal juxtapositions have become part of popular culture through comedy (such as the Monty Python shows) and through advertising.

Thelema

The name that Aleister Crowley used to describe his religion, a mix of magick, Christianity and Gnosticism — basically, the belief that humans are essentially outside the material universe. The name means 'free will' in Greek and Crowley used it to denote his most important and best-remembered doctrine: 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.' The writer and pornographer Frank Harris was a fellow Thelemite. (See also Free Love and Magick.)

Vera Zhukovskaya

One of Rasputin's victims, she alleged that 'he was nothing but savage animal desire. The last thing I remember is his tearing off my underclothing, then I lost consciousness. I awoke and found myself lying on the ground, torn and defiled.' (See also Boney M)

Virgins' hair

Rasputin is reputed to have cut locks of hair from the virgins he had sex with. When his house was pulled down in 1977, the authorities unearthed several boxes containing hair buried in the garden.

Vladimir Purishkevich

The inspiration behind the plan to murder Rasputin. A right-wing anti-Semite and monarchist, Purishkevich was one of the best-known faces in Tsarist Russia. He inspired Felix Yusupov to murder Rasputin with a rousing speech in the Russian parliament: 'Now the dark forces are destroying Russia's last stronghold – the church. A rascal, a khlyst, a dirty illiterate peasant is playing with our churchmen. What abyss are they taking us into? My God! I want to sacrifice myself and kill this vile creature – Rasputin.' (See also Potassium cyanide)

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