Independent twentieth-century magic
Jack Parsons
John Whiteside Parsons
Rocket scientist and Thelemite, occupying one of the strangest intersections in modern history.
- Dates
- 1914 – 17 June 1952
- Dating
- documented dates
- Born
- Los Angeles
- Died
- Pasadena
The life
He helped create the experimental rocket group that developed into JPL and co-founded Aerojet. In 1941 he joined the Agape Lodge of Crowley's O.T.O. and eventually led it. In 1946 he conducted the Babalon Working, with L. Ron Hubbard participating in portions of it, believing it connected with the manifestation of the Thelemic goddess Babalon. His scientific career suffered amid security concerns and his unconventional personal life, and he died at thirty-seven when chemicals exploded in his Pasadena laboratory.
Place in the tradition
His stature as an occult figure grew dramatically after his death, and he is now the standing example of how close the two halves of the twentieth century could get.
the written record
Principal works
-
received/written February–March 1946
Liber 49
The Book of Babalon
Parsons regarded it as a divinely received continuation or complement to Crowley's Book of the Law.
-
1949
The Book of Antichrist
A short manifesto announcing his magical identity and rejection of oppressive moral structures.
-
essays, collected later
Freedom Is a Two-Edged Sword
Essays on liberty, magic and society, gathered after his death.