Anthony Testa - The Key of the Abyss.pdf

2. Parsons and Hubabrd
The relationship between Jack (John) Whiteside Parsons and L. Ron
Hubbard, which culminated in the ritual documented in the Babalon
Working 8 , has been written about by those interested in the occult side
of the equation (i.e. Parsons) and those investigating Hubbard and or
Scientology. This gives an interesting range of perspective, since the
affair is important to the two points of view for wholly different
reasons; in the case of Parsons, he is seen as an immediate successor
(and therefore a link) to Aleister Crowley; for Hubbard, the story
really begins after, and his entanglement with the O.T.O. and Parsons
is an important indication of where he was coming from as he founded
Dianetics and then Scientology 9 . Nevertheless, Hubbard is not our
topic here and I will only mention his direct involvement in the
working as documented in the various accounts of Parsons and
Hubbard’s lives.
Several controversial studies of the founder and chief prophet of
Scientology have been written and are, in part due to the tendency of
The Church of Scientology to vigorously attack critics through libel
and copyright litigation, available for free on the Internet. Of these,
The Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller focuses on the life of
Hubbard while A Piece of Blue Sky by John Atack is an expose` on
“Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard”. Both books devote a
chapter to Hubbard’s time in Southern California, Miller’s book titles
the section, appropriately, “Black Magick and Betty”. I will look at
these works as examples of what is known about Parsons beyond the
small enclaves of magicians and Thelemites and it would be useful to
8
The Babalon Working, or Book of Babalon, is usually the name given to Parsons Liber 49
(with introductory materials including details on the ritual he used) and his later Book of
Antichrist which he wrote after he swore the Oath of the Abyss.
9
For those with a knee-jerk aversion to Scientology (and the organization has clearly been
guilty of some very bad behavior) but wish to explore the “Tech” I recommend you Google
the “Scientology Freezone” and read some of the (largely free) works written by people what
have passed through the Church of Scientology and are now practicing Hubbard’s techniques
independently. I would mention, however, that it is safe to order materials by mail from the
Church as they will not track you through the mail and induct you into their mind-control cult.
Regardless of what one may say about Scientology and or Hubbard, the fact remains that the
“Tech” (as Scientologist call it) is effective. What effect it is intended to achieve is, as the
saying goes, another story.
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