L. Ron Hubbard

Silverlyn

You know, I could find the actual story from another forum I frequent regarding this subject, but to tell you the truth, I just have no interest!

If you REALLY want it tho just ask and I'll go find it and post it all for you.

Silverlyn
 

Greg Stanton

From Wikipedia, which concurs with other written accounts:

Parsons was also an avid practitioner of the occult arts, and a follower of "Thelema". He saw no contradiction between his scientific and magical pursuits, and before each rocket test launch, Parsons would invoke the name of the Greek god Pan.

Parsons was chosen by Aleister Crowley to lead the "Agape Lodge", the Thelemic "Ordo Templi Orientis" ("O.T.O.") in California, in 1942, after Crowley expelled Wilfred Smith from the position.

Sara Northrup (aka "Sarah Elizabeth" or "Betty" Northrup), began living with Parsons after his wife, Sarah's half-sister Helen Northrup, left with Wilfred Smith. Sarah Northrup later married L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology and sometime magical partner of Parsons. Parsons and Hubbard participated in a ritual known as the Babalon Working which is famous in occult circles — loosely, it was an attempt to summon a living goddess and change the course of history.[citation needed] They were aided in this work by Sampson Bennetts of the Rosicrucian Order and his wife Sara Melian Gabriel, a spiritualist from India.

In January 1946, Parsons, Sarah, and Hubbard started a boat dealing company named Allied Enterprises. Parsons put in the sum of approximately $21,000— Hubbard put in $1,200, and Sarah nothing. Hubbard eventually abandoned Parsons and their business plans, leaving a port in Florida with the boat and with Sarah. It is said Parsons retreated to his hotel room and summoned a typhoon in retribution (i.e. with an evocation of "Bartzabel"[2] - the so-called "intelligence" supposedly presiding over the planet Mars). A Florida court later dissolved the poorly-contracted business, ordered repayment of debts to Parsons, and awarded ownership of the boat to Hubbard.

The Hubbard/Allied Enterprises relationship lasted until 1947, when Hubbard again defrauded Parsons of a sum of money and ran off again with Sarah Northrup. Hubbard used much of this money from Allied Enterprises to promulgate and publish his book Dianetics, whose "teachings" later evolved into and was superseded by so-called "Scientology".
 

Silverlyn

Hey, thanks for that Link!! :)
 

ravenest

" The Hubbard/Allied Enterprises relationship lasted until 1947, when Hubbard again defrauded Parsons of a sum of money and ran off again with Sarah Northrup. "

WOT ???? TWICE!!!!???

No wonder he got the chop from Lodge Master !
 

Silverlyn

Yep, raven has it right. It all was nuts, but then so was lrh, lol!!
 

Yygdrasilian

Tax The Churches

I heard this story from a guy named “Bob” about how L.Ron told him the secret to founding a religion. He says, “We all know how dumb the average guy is, right?....Well, mathematically, by definition, half of everyone else is even dumber. So, if you make it up, they’ll buy it!”

Really, it’s 3/4’s.
 

Aeon418

ravenest said:
WOT ???? TWICE!!!!???

No wonder he got the chop from Lodge Master !
Crowley cable to Karl Germer:
Suspect Ron playing confidence trick +STOP+ Jack Parsons weak fool +STOP+ obvious victim prowling swindlers
The only person who couldn't see this was Parsons himself. Grady McMurtry, Jane Wolfe, and Louis Culling all voiced their concerns. But Parsons was absolutely enamored with Hubbard. So much so that Culling wrote that Parsons was "eating out of Ron's hand".

I wonder if Parsons came to see Ron as the father he never had?

I think it all goes back to those early workings with Ron. Crowley warned Parsons about his tendency to get carried away by his own enthusiasm. And yet that appears to be exactly how Hubbard manipulated him.

On a different note...
January 4, 1946, 9:00 PM)

1. Prepared and consecrated Air Dagger. (The other magical weap- ons were previously prepared. This dagger served as the special talisman of the operation.) 2. Prepared Enochian Air Tablet on virgin parchment. 3. Prepared Parchment Talisman 4. Rituals as follows: (a) Invoking Pentagram of Air. (b) Invocation of Bornless One. (c) Conjuration of Air. (d) Consecration of Air Dagger. (e) Key Call of third Aire. (f) Invocation of God and King of Aire. (g) Invocation of Six Seniors. (h) Invocation of (RZDA) by *n*n*n and (EXARP), to visible ap- pearance. (i) Invocaton of wand with material basis on talisman. (j) Invocation with dagger. (k) License to depart, purification, and banishing.
I know that John Carter brushes over this in his, "Sex and Rockets", but I think it could explain a lot. Does anyone else think that point (e) is the odd one out? Key Call of Third Aire? Huh? Talk about mixing apples and oranges.

What a surprise when one month later he "thinks" he is receiving messages from Babalon. Hmmmm....
 

Greg Stanton

Actually John Carter is fairly thorough in S&R -- it's the other book, Strange Angel, that sidesteps a lot of stuff. Particularly anything that would get the author into legal trouble with the Cult.