---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is necessary is not to seek after…"
description: "\"What is necessary is not to seek after some fantastic ideal, utterly unsuited to our real needs, but to discover the true nature of those needs, to ful..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png"
---

#  What is necessary is not to seek after some fantastic…

![“What is necessary is not to seek after some fantastic ideal, utterly unsuited to our real needs, but to discover the true nature of those needs, to fulfill them, and rejoice therein.” quote by Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png)

> “What is necessary is not to seek after some fantastic ideal, utterly unsuited to our real needs, but to discover the true nature of those needs, to fulfill them, and rejoice therein.”

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Instead of chasing unrealistic ideals, understand genuine needs, fulfill them, and find joy in that fulfillment.

**In simple terms:** Seek real needs, not fantasies.

Key Takeaway

Identify true needs, pursue fulfillment.

Themes

needs fulfillment joy

Mood

thoughtful motivational

Type

philosophical self-help

When to use this quote

- career planning
- personal development
- health goals
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

humanism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What needs are truly essential to you?
- How can you align actions with those needs?

A Different Perspective

Idealism can distract from practical satisfaction.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [True nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-nature/)

## Related quotes

> [You have no obligation under the sun other than to discover your real needs, to fulfill them, and to rejoice in doing so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/you-have-no-obligation-under-the-sun-other-than-to-discover-your-real/)

[Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/)

> [“We are all part of a that needs to and can fulfill and any part can't replace another...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-ivanovski/we-are-all-part-of-a-that-needs-to-and-can-fulfill-and-any-part-can-t/)

Nikola Ivanovski

> [I definitely feel like I can fulfill any role that a team needs me to fulfill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-j-mayo/i-definitely-feel-like-i-can-fulfill-any-role-that-a-team-needs-me-to/)

[O. J. Mayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-j-mayo/)

> [Compassion is subtler than Vitamin C, but both are real needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/compassion-is-subtler-than-vitamin-c-but-both-are-real-needs/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I think the real needs in the country are for cultural renewal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-brownback/i-think-the-real-needs-in-the-country-are-for-cultural-renewal/)

[Sam Brownback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-brownback/)

> [To leave in search of yourself, of your real needs, is easier when you don't have to justify yourself to anyone, when there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-adjani/to-leave-in-search-of-yourself-of-your-real-needs-is-easier-when-you/)

[Isabelle Adjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-adjani/)

> [Advertising is - quite often - alive to our real needs. It's just the products on offer might not be the things that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/advertising-is-quite-often-alive-to-our-real-needs-it-s-just-the/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [Distinguish between real needs and artificial wants and control the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/distinguish-between-real-needs-and-artificial-wants-and-control-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [One needs to balance his love of others with his own real needs without neglecting either of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/one-needs-to-balance-his-love-of-others-with-his-own-real-needs/)

Senoraroy

> [I think each village was meant to feel pity for its own sick and poor whom it can help and I doubt if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-each-village-was-meant-to-feel-pity-for-its-own-sick-and-poor/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We are finite and God will not call us everywhere or to support every worthy cause. And real needs are not far from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-are-finite-and-god-will-not-call-us-everywhere-or-to-support-every/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [“Focus on relationships in your communities and God will come up spiritual conversations will emerge and real needs will come to light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smay/focus-on-relationships-in-your-communities-and-god-will-come-up/)

Matt Smay

> [In many, many instances, traditional Christianity fails to meet the real needs of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/in-many-many-instances-traditional-christianity-fails-to-meet-the/)

[Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/)

> [I strive to seek new material that fit into the logic of construction, while performing services appropriate to real needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaetano-pesce/i-strive-to-seek-new-material-that-fit-into-the-logic-of-construction/)

Gaetano Pesce

> [We need to do more to respond to the real needs of our young people and to those who are most in need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-suozzi/we-need-to-do-more-to-respond-to-the-real-needs-of-our-young-people/)

[Tom Suozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-suozzi/)

## More by Aleister Crowley

> [“Remember that which is written: "Moderate strength rings the bell: great strength returns the penny." It is always the little bit extra that brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/remember-that-which-is-written-moderate-strength-rings-the-bell-great/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/ordinary-morality-is-only-for-ordinary-people/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [This formula of Love is universal; all the laws of Nature are its servitors. Thus, gravitation, chemical affinity, electrical potential, and the rest -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/this-formula-of-love-is-universal-all-the-laws-of-nature-are-its/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [The Gods are but names for the forces of Nature themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-gods-are-but-names-for-the-forces-of-nature-themselves/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [Your kiss is bitter with cocaine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/your-kiss-is-bitter-with-cocaine/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [A single ego is an absurdly narrow vantage point from which to view the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/a-single-ego-is-an-absurdly-narrow-vantage-point-from-which-to-view/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [I must make MAGICK the essential factor in the life of ALL. In presenting this book to the world, I must then explain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/i-must-make-magick-the-essential-factor-in-the-life-of-all-in/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [What is it in absinthe that makes it a separate cult? The effects of its abuse are totally distinct from those of other stimulants.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-is-it-in-absinthe-that-makes-it-a-separate-cult-the-effects-of/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [“Indubitably, Magick is one of the subtlest and most difficult of the sciences and arts. There is more opportunity for errors of comprehension, judgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/indubitably-magick-is-one-of-the-subtlest-and-most-difficult-of-the/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [Every one interprets everything in terms of his own experience. If you say anything which does not touch a precisely similar spot in another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/every-one-interprets-everything-in-terms-of-his-own-experience-if-you/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [I am inclined to agree with the Head Master of Eton that pæderastic passions among schoolboys 'do no harm'; further, I think them the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/i-am-inclined-to-agree-with-the-head-master-of-eton-that-p-derastic/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-joy-of-life-consists-in-the-exercise-of-one-s-energies-continual/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [Every intentional act is a magical act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/every-intentional-act-is-a-magical-act/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [“Sex is, directly or indirectly, the most powerful weapon in the armoury of the Magician; and precisely because there is no moral guide, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/sex-is-directly-or-indirectly-the-most-powerful-weapon-in-the-armoury/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

> [The old spelling MAGICK has been adopted throughout in order to distinguish the Science of the Magi from all its counterfeits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-old-spelling-magick-has-been-adopted-throughout-in-order-to/)

[Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

[Explore all 291 Aleister Crowley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/)

## More Fantastic quotes

> [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I always loved as a kid reading 'Spider-Man,' and the 'Fantastic Four' would show up... it was all about that larger universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-reed/i-always-loved-as-a-kid-reading-spider-man-and-the-fantastic-four/)

[Peyton Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-reed/)

> [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/)

[Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/)

> [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/)

[Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/)

> [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. And that wolf would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-m-attracted-to-the-garden-without-a-doubt-but-i-always-try-and/)

[Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/)

> [I have a Twitter account; I have a fantastic Facebook page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-king/i-have-a-twitter-account-i-have-a-fantastic-facebook-page/)

[Angus King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-king/)

> [Making the unbelievable believable is different on a set with 'Fantastic Four,' where it's like, 'Wind machines! Because the airship is coming in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/making-the-unbelievable-believable-is-different-on-a-set-with/)

[Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/)

> [ There's a fantastic, thousand-page book by David Thomson about \[David O. Selznick\]. Again, it's not the best argument or the best advertisement for his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-longworth/there-s-a-fantastic-thousand-page-book-by-david-thomson-about-david-o/)

[Karina Longworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-longworth/)

> [Women's Aid is a fantastic charity which has my full support. I am proud to call myself a Real Man, a man who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-fox/women-s-aid-is-a-fantastic-charity-which-has-my-full-support-i-am/)

Neil Fox

> [Fantastic truths perish slower... Sappho's moon will survive the moon of Armstrong. Different computations are necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odysseas-elytis/fantastic-truths-perish-slower-sappho-s-moon-will-survive-the-moon-of/)

[Odysseas Elytis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odysseas-elytis/)

> [I dreamt a limitless book, A book unbound, Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance On every line there was a new horizon drawn, New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-dreamt-a-limitless-book-a-book-unbound-its-leaves-scattered-in/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

> [Competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry is intensely competitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/competition-is-always-a-fantastic-thing-and-the-computer-industry-is/)

[Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/)

> [Films are a fantastic medium and the huge impact they have cannot be denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suhasini-maniratnam/films-are-a-fantastic-medium-and-the-huge-impact-they-have-cannot-be/)

[Suhasini Maniratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suhasini-maniratnam/)

> [The idea of building a Near Eastern house in Honolulu must seem fantastic to many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-duke/the-idea-of-building-a-near-eastern-house-in-honolulu-must-seem/)

[Doris Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-duke/)

> [Its always fantastic to be on the podium, and, of course, the top step is always our target.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-grosjean/its-always-fantastic-to-be-on-the-podium-and-of-course-the-top-step/)

[Romain Grosjean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-grosjean/)

[Browse all 1,974 Fantastic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What is necessary is not to seek after some fantastic ideal, utterly unsuited to our real needs, but to discover the true nature of those needs, to fulfill them, and rejoice therein.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Aleister Crowley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-some-fantastic-ideal-utterly/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fantastic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-some-fantastic-ideal-utterly/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/aleister-crowley-1100_fantastic_what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-s_2933217.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What is necessary is not to seek after some fantastic ideal, utterly unsuited to our real needs, but to…” — Aleister Crowley",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Aleister Crowley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What is necessary is not to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-some-fantastic-ideal-utterly/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-is-necessary-is-not-to-seek-after-some-fantastic-ideal-utterly/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
