NorCal L.O.W.F.I

Posts Tagged ‘Ordo Templi Orientalis’

I usually get down L.A. way 2 or 3 times a year, and when I do I make it a point to visit some of the stranger locales gracing the city of angels and demons. In March of this year, I paid homage to Aleister Crowley disciple, Jack Parsons, with an outing to the fabled Devil’s Gate Dam, located in the town of La Canada.

Devil's Gate Dam (Photo by Gorightly)

Parsons – a rocket scientist and founding member of Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL), and one time head of the California branch of the Agape Lodge of the Ordo Templi Orientalis – practiced magic upon occasion at Devil’s Gate Dam, located a short distance from JPL, where during daylight hours he helped construct rockets that would later land men on the moon.

Parsons at Devil's Gate

JPL seen from Devil's Gate (Photo by Gorightly)

While some might see a dichotomy between Parsons daytime pursuits as contrasted against his nocturnal activities – ritual magic and the world science – there seems to be a common denominator between the two, that of tapping into the generative force of creation. In the realm of physical science, Parsons’ mode of expression was rockets, symbolic of the Freemasonic obelisk, the male member erecting itself toward the stars, reaching out and attempting to the conquer the heavens.

Concurrently, Parsons magical practices revolved around a ritual working, the intent of which was to create a “child” in the spiritual realms, who would be “called down” and directed into the womb of a female volunteer. When born — according to Crowleyean prophecy — this child would incarnate the forces of Babalon, and become the Scarlet Woman of Revelations, symbolizing the dawning of the Age of Horus. To this end, Parsons – in collaboration with L. Ron Hubbard and his soon-to-be-wife Marjorie Cameron – attempted to create (according to legend) what is called a homunculus; an inanimate being that is given life by way of this aforementioned magical ritual.

Marjorie Cameron

As history instructs, Parson’s life ended with a monumental bang when — on June 17, 1952 — he blew himself up while working with powerful explosives. Some have suggested that this explosion was no accident, and that foul play was involved. Other theories contend that Parsons’ was engaged in a homunculus experiment that went haywire and blew up in his face.