THE FATES, FOIBLES, FOLLIES, AND FAILURES OF FAMOUS OCCULTISTS





	NAVIGATION HOME PARTICIPATE FAQ BLOG (KINDA) LINKS-HELP WICCA » THE OLD RELIGION??? »"WITCH" DEFINED » MATRIARCHY MYTH » BURNING TIMES BULL » SALEM WITCH TRIALS » JOAN OF ARC A WITCH?? » GOOD WITCH"S BIBLE??? » "CHRISTIAN" WICCA » WICCA ISN'T SATANISM » HUMAN SCARFICIES??? NEOPAGANISM, NEODRUIDISM etc., » NEOPAGAN HOLI-DAZE » DRUIDS » COMPARITIVE MORALITY » FAMOUS OCCULTISTS MESOPAGANISM » SANTERIA » VOODOO » "HELP! I'M CURSED!" MASONIC MALARKEY » THE GOLDEN DAWN »FREEMASONRY » ROSICRUCIANS LEFT HAND PATH » SATANISM FACTS » ENOCHIAN MAGIC » ALEISTER CROWLEY » NECRONOMICON » OCCULT CRIMES #1 » OCCULT CRIMES #2 » OCCULT CRIMES #3 GNOSTICISM, ETC » GNOSTICS » CABALA DEBUNKED » ISLAM » THEOSOPHY » SCIENTOLOGY » PSYCHIC SCAMS » MORMONISM FYI » HITLER A CHRISTIAN ??? » DAVINCI DECODED » TWO BABYLONS BULL » BIBLE ERRORS ??? » THOSE AWFUL "XTIANS" » EVOLUTION IS O.K.! » KING JESUS » HEAVEN AND HELL » DEMONOLOGY » CELTIC CHRISTIANITY » MIRACLES SHARE THIS! (If you don't see your favorite social network or bookmark site listed below let us know and we'll add it!)				FAMOUS OCCULTISTS LIFESTYLES OF THE(NOT-SO) RICH AND (IN)FAMOUS "Champagne wishes and caviar dreams?" Not hardly! If you think the occult is a shortcut to wealth, fame, and power...boy did you get a wrong number! Here are some mini-biographies of over 100 occultists, most of whom are authors of popular books on the occult. Before you plunk down money for one of their books, see if you think they could "make it work" first. HERE THEY ARE! FROM MERLIN TO MANSON! FROM LAVEU TO LAVEY! MERLIN (Circa 500 A.D.) His legend inspired occultists of future generations for centuries, and still does today. Merlin was the legendary "wizard" who supposedly aided the equally legendary King Arthur. In reality, the two never actually met. Arthur was probably a Saxon Chieftain who lived a century after Merlin, and their legends were combined centuries later. The earliest legends of Merlin are far removed from the romantic legends most people are familiar with. One of the earliest accounts of Merlin is preserved in a late 15th century manuscript. In that account, Merlin is a naked, hairy madman (not a wizard) who declares he has been condemned for his sins to wander in the company of wild animals because he caused all the deaths in the battle fought "on the plain between Liddel and Carwannok." Toward the end of his life, Merlin was granted one last sacrament from a priest named Kentigern, and then later that day Merlin dies a horrible death at the hands of King Meldred's men. That’s a far cry from the long beards and pointy hats of later romantic legends! Geoffrey of Monmouth invented the Merlin legend in his Historia Regum Britanniae writtten in 1130 A.D. Geoffrey combined existing legends of a northen madman named Myrddin Wyllt (or Merlinus Caledonensis), with a bard named of Aurelius Ambrosius, who went mad after seeing the horrors of war and fled to live in the woods. Poor Merlin was probably suffering from what psychologists would now call “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”, rather than possessing magic powers. Later writers further embellished on Geoffrey's stories, combining them with legends of King Arthur, and even making Merlin the child of an earthly mother and a demon father [The Encyclopedia of The Occult by Lewis Spence pg 274] giving him magical powers. But none of these stories are true, and the people who inspired the Merlin legend were actually a madman (or possibly even legends of two different madmen) who lived in the wilderness. Of course, this doesn't stop occult book publishers like Llewellyn Publications from shamelessly publishing books like The 21 Lessons of Merlin, which have no direct connections whatsoever to Myrddin Wyll or Aurelius Ambrosius, and are just simply made up out of thin air! Such books are fakes, and people who buy them are only fooling themselves while they make the people who sell such books a little richer. The person known as Merlin did not have magical powers, he was just a madman who lived in the woods...probably a psychotic or perhaps even a schizophrenic. JACQUES DEMOLAY (1244-1314) The last leader of an order of fighting monks known as the Knights Templar. There has been a mountain of myth that has grown up about the Templars by both admirers and detractors alike. The Templars were an order of monks that defended Jerusalem before being driven out by Saladin. The Templars seemed to have escaped practically unharmed, suggesting they had cut a deal with Saladin. Legends have grown over the years about the Templars, including finding a treasure buried under the Temple in Jerusalem, finding the Ark of the Covenant only to bury it under a Church in Scotland for some reason, discovering some deep dark secret (such as Christ being married), and blackmailing the Roman Catholic Church with it are just a few of the myths. Supposedly the Freemasons have retained the mysterious secrets of the Templars, but more than likely this is just unfounded legends and fake rituals written over the centuries to inject some mystery into boring lives. What we do know about the Templars, is that they did have some wealth, but not the vast amounts writers today attribute to them. The idea that the Templars were the equivalent to billionaires is ludicrous! The Templars became skillful and shrewd traders with their Arab neighbors, which is how they made their wealth. There’s really no mystery to it. After the fall of Jerusalem, Jacques DeMolay and the Templars returned to France in disgrace. During this time the Roman Catholic Church had moved it’s headquarters to France, under a Pope who is known in history as the “Anti-Pope”. Since Jerusalem had fallen into Muslim hands, and would remain so until the British Empire acquired it briefly after WWI, there was no real reason for the Templar Order to continue. King Philip wanted to merge the Templars with the Hospitalers, which would have put them under his control. Demolay, not wanting to cede his authority, balked at this idea and refused to do so. There were many rumors circulating around France the Templars had become heretics, and the charges may not have been completely unfounded. Among the charges leveled against the Templars was that they engaged in homosexual acts. Historians have concluded that this charge was probably true, considering it sometimes happens when members of the same sex must live together for very extended periods of time ( cite ref, from R.H. Robbins). DeMolay confessed to engaging in homosexuality as well, but it is most unlikely that it was done as part of a “sex magic” ritual as modern day occult groups would have us believe. Before DeMolay was arrested on charges of heresy, his spies tipped him off, and he then immediately burned a large pile of documents. If this account is true, it shows he must have had something to hide...but one will ever know what exactly that might have been. Under torture, DeMolay confessed to heresy, and later publically admitted it. Later DeMolay recanted his confession however, angering the King. Since people have been known to confess to anything under torture, it’s impossible to know which version of Demolay’s confession to believe. Among the things the Templars confessed to was worshiping something called “Baphomet”. But what Baphomet was is a mystery. Some said it was a black cat, others said it was a human skull with the number 314 painted on it. Freemasons have a secret initiation (and blasphemous) ritual that takes place upon entrance into the 33rd degree in Scottish Rite, and the 10th degree of York Rite in which wine is drunk from a human skull, and apparently this is inspired by the Templar legend of skull worship. What we know for certain is that Baphomet was not the goat head inside the pentagram with Hebrew letters on each point spelling out “Leviathan”. This was an invention of occult writers of the 19th century. You may also see a “crusaders cross” called Baphomet, but this too is wishful thinking. Scholars have discovered Baphomet is actually a linguistic corruption of “Mohammed”, and believe the Templars had become clandestine Muslims. This theory would certainly explain a lot, including why the Templars escaped Saladin unscathed. Bedouin Muslims seem to have tolerance for homosexual sex (although lesbians are killed on the spot), which possibly could be a reason the Templars would want to have become Muslims, if accounts of their homosexuality are true. Many of the Templars fled to Muslim controlled Spanish Cordova, which would suggest they were indeed Muslims, and perhaps that is the solution to the enigma. The great and mysterious secret of the Templars may have been that they shared the same religion as the 9-11 hijackers! It’s also possible they escaped to Cordova thinking that could blend in with the Muslims, having knowledge of their language and customs. At any rate, DeMolay was not the possessor of some mysterious occult secret, and people belonging to modern day “Templar” orders (such as the O.T.O) have no direct connection to the original order at all. ABRA-MELIN [ b. 1362? d. 1458? ] ABRA-MELIN [ b. 1362? d. 1458? ] Supposedly an Egyptian mystic who instructed a certain "Abraham The Jew" in the ways of sorcery. Abraham the Jew supposedly entertained the kings of Europe with feats of magic, suggesting he was merely a stage magician. More than likely, Abra-Melin and Abraham the Jew were simply literary inventions, and there’s no real evidence to suggest either actually existed. The only known account appears in the book The Sacred Magic of Abramelin The Mage...a book claimed to have been translated directly from Hebrew, although scholars doubt this. The book supposedly dates from the 12th century, but appears to have been written in the 18th century by a Frenchman, judging from the handwriting style and grammatical errors. It’s a common trick among occultists to claim an occult book is centuries older than it actually is. In the book, Abraham supposedly travels the world and studies magic and meets a mysterious Egyptian mystic named Abra-Melin who gives him the ultimate secrets. The story of traveling around the world and into the Middle East to study the occult sounds similar to that of the Christian Rozenkrutz legend, and must have been a popular theme among occult legends of the day. The book’s system of magic isn’t Egyptian, and appears to be European Ceremonial magic. The book claims to give the invocations for Satan, Lucifer, Belial, and Leviathan, and the whole thing is obviously black magic under a thin veil. Abra-Melin was a popular form of magic with Aleister Crowley, who died a penniless drug adict, and this alone should convince most people it doesn’t work! HENREICH CORNIELIUS AGRIPPA VON NETTESHEIM (1486-1535) He wrote Three Books of Occult Philosophy (and possibly a fourth book) which was the basis for other works like The Magus by Barrett and to some degree rituals recorded in Regardie's book The Golden Dawn practiced by the now defunct order of the same name. Agrippa’s creaky book has been reprinted today and read by people thinking they can have magic powers. Aggrippa claimed he had all sorts of knowledge about summoning the spirits and how to compel them to do one’s bidding, including finding buried treasure. In fact that’s about the only reason people got into the occult in those days; to find buried treasure. The occult was the get rich quick scheme of ancient times, and still is even modern times among some ethnic groups. Even though many occultists today get excited about Agrippa’s book, it’s really nothing more than a book of silly superstitions. Aggrippa mentions the things you might expect to read in such a book, such as the correct way to remove the tongue from a frog for magic spells...while the poor frog is still alive (pg. 69 of the Llewellyn edition)! The tooth of a mole is also to be taken out while the mole is still alive, poor thing, and allegedly cures toothache (only it doesn’t really work). Hopefully the mole gets in a few good bites to whoever’s dumb enough to try it. If you see an ox treading corn, that’s good luck, seeing a mouse means danger, and seeing a snake means an enemy is talking abut you. (Pg. 163) It’s hard to believe anyone nowadays would take such silly superstition seriously, and yet some still do! While some might consider Agrippa a man of education, keep in mind he was educated 500 years ago, and that the world has gotten much more advanced since then. I’ve heard superstitious people who basically had no education from Third World countries believe in similar things as Agrippa. Agrippa was employed by the Emperor Maximilian I, but as a soldier and not as an astrologer as later writers have tried to claim. His reputation as an occultist seemed to cause him to lose positions he was appointed to, rather than acting as an asset. Despite all this occult knowledge, he died in poverty at age 48 in 1532! Do you have any books by him on your shelf? Maybe the oversized paperback from Llewellyn? If he wrote all these books on the occult and couldn't make it work, what chance does anyone else have of doing so? Agrippa was just a superstitious man who didn’t really have magical powers who died broke. PARACELCUS (1493-1541) His real name was Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Bombast von Hohenheim. He would be an inspiration to many future occultists, such as Mesmer and Cagliostro. This man was said to be arrogant and conceited, and even his chosen name seems to bear this out. He chose the name "Paracelcus" to mean "even grater than Celsus", Celsus being a famous Pagan Roman physician and anti-Christian writer. Paracelcus was an astrologer and alchemist, but considered himself a physician. Even though some occultists tend to romanticize themselves as some sort of “scientists” and the occult a “science”. Paracelcus himself denounced reason and once wrote, “Magic is wisdom. Reason is open folly”, and this hardly what one expect from a scientist! He spent most of his days wandering as a vagabond, getting jobs teaching at the universities and colleges of the day, and then being run off when the teachers and students had enough of his arrogance. Paracelcus managed to alienate anyone who met him and lost every friend he made due to his superior attitude. Paracelcus thought magnets were magic, as do most superstitious people, and thought he could cure patients with them, and also employed astrology. He published a book with illustrations resembling those used later on Tarot cards In 1536. He never found the philosopher's stone to live forever, nor figured out how to change lead into gold and died broke at the age of 51. Even though he was an inspiration for later occultists, he was simply, an arrogant fake. MOTHER SHIPTON (1512?-1561?) a.k.a Ursula Southill (or Sowthiel, or Southiel). Actually, there were several women who were said to be the legendary "Mother Shipton". In 1667 the first book was published published about her called The Strange and Wonderful History of Mother Shipton (later republished in 1686) which included some of her "predictions". Before that there seems to be no record of her, and this apparently where the hoax originated. She was actually the literary invention of a struggling writer named Richard Head. Head published the first book of "her" writings, which contained many "predictions" that had already been "fulfilled" by 1667...so it wasn't hard for Head to fabricate such a book. Many almanacs published up to the 19th century used Mother Shipton's name freely, such as New Universal Dream-Book; or The Dreamer's Sure Guide to the Hidden Mysteries of Futurity By Mother Shipton (1838).One of her predictions was that the world would end in 1884. It didn't, as you may have noticed. The date was changed in later books to 1984. (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, pg 214-215) It didn't end then either, as you probably noticed again. Presumably, the date will be changed to 2084 in new editions. An example of a Mother Shipton “prediction” is this often misquoted one: Eighteen hundred and thirty-five Which of us shall be alive? Many a king shall end his reign Many a knave his end shall gain. Apparently Kingdoms were to end in 1835...and in fact none did. Later editions in the 1930's changed the date to 1935...which was still wrong! In the 1970's, the date was changed to 1985...and still failed to come to pass. In the 70's many Wiccans promoted Mother Shipton, trying to pass her off as a Wiccan...she wasn't. Nor was she a prophetess. Books still continue to be written today by modern authors, claiming they are actually written by Mother Shipton! Mother Shipton; A false prophetess who never actually existed! JOHN DEE (1527-1608) John Dee invented Enochian "Magick" and tried unsuccessfully to get the spirits to bring him money. Enochian magic would be picked up by later occultists, such as the Golden Dawn bunch, Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie, and even Satanist Anton LaVey borrowed from it. Dee told Princess Elizabeth she would someday become the Queen, which was a prediction that was certainly possible, considering she was royalty, even though she was an unwilling guest of the Tower of London at the time. It’s unknown how many other nobles he might have also told a similar prediction about gaining the throne, figuring one of them would pay off. After Elizabeth gained the throne, he became the Queen’s advisor, even though Elizabeth is said not to have approved of his occultic methods. Dee made claims he made contact with “angels” that taught him the language spoken by Enoch to God, which he called “Enochian”. But the language Dee “discovered” is simply a corrupted form of Hebrew. The Enochian script is derived from Roman characters, oddly enough. It would have been easy enough for Dee to have simply invented such a language, and this is more plausible than thinking angels revealed it to him. Since Dee was employed as a spy for England at one point, it may even be the so-called “magical” language is really just a spy’s cipher that Dee later tried to pass off as an “angelic language”. Even though followers of Enochian magic claim it is to be used for the highest of spiritual purposes, Dee himself was said to use it mostly to try to find buried treasure. People who got involved in the occult often did it to find buried treasure as I’ve noted, and Dee was certainly no different. One favorite spirit of Dee’s supposedly called itself “Amy”, and was said to resemble a child carrying a lantern. Dee hoped that this spirit would locate buried treasure for him, or obtain money for him somehow. It didn’t work, of course. One day the spirit informed Dee and Kelly that the Enochian spirits that, rather than wanting to bring mankind enlightenment, they wanted to bring about the destruction of mankind! Yet Dee still wanted Kelly to keep invoking the spirits. To this day, people who practice Enochian magick believe that someday, someone will come up with the right combination and unleash the Enochian demons that will bring about the apocalypse. Common sense would derive from this that the Enochian angels are actually demons who seek to harm mankind! Dee’s fortune did not last. He spent the final years of his life stripped of his honors and income and was forced to live incommunicado. He died in extreme poverty at the age of 81. If the inventor of Enochian magic couldn't make it work for him, what chance does anyone else have? EDWARD KELLEY (1555-1597) a.k.a Edward Talbot He was an assistant to Dee during his Enochian experiments, which later occultists became so enamored over. Aleister Crowley even claimed he was the reincarnation of Kelley. Kelley had a shady past long before he met Dee. He had both is ears cut off as punishment for counterfeiting, which is why he always wore a hat to conceal the fact. He conned several people into thinking he could change lead into gold...a common scam for alchemists of the time. He became Dee’s assistant and seemed to have played a con on Dee at least part of the time they were together. Kelley tricked Dee into wife swapping, claiming the spirits had insisted upon it. Kelley got the better end of the swap, as Dee’s wife was 20 years younger than Kelley’s...so it’s not hard to see the real motive behind that “Angelic revelation”. Kelley warned Dee the “angels” they were talking to were really demons, and that angles had told him their goal was to destroy humanity! Some of the things Kelly and Dee claimed the angels revealed to them seemed to echo Gnostic heresy of earlier times, so assuming Kelly’s alarm was for real, it was justified. For example, according to Kelly the “angels” told them Jesus wasn’t God and no prayers should be made to him, and there was no Holy Ghost. The “angels” told them the story of Adam and Eve was nonsense, and that there had always been the same number of human beings throughout time, neither more nor less, which is a scientific impossibility! Kelley eventually abandoned Dee's magical practices, in 1589 because he found a new pigeon, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, who employed him to make gold through alchemy. Eventually, when the Emperor realized Kelly was conning him, Kelly fled. Kelley/Talbot died at the age of 47 from an injury sustained while trying to escape from prison after being incarcerated for his old hobby of counterfeiting. Kelley tried to lower himself out of a third story window with a makeshift rope, but the rope wasn’t long enough. He tried to drop the rest of the way down to the ground, and only succeeded in breaking his leg. The wound led to his death several days later, which must have been excruciating. If even Kelly thought the Enochian magic was Demonic and would destroy humanity, why is anyone stupid enough to try it??? Are you? Kelley didn’t wind up rich or powerful, didn’t have magic powers, nor does anyone else who practices Enochian “magic”. CHRISTIAN ROSENKRUTZ (invented in 1623 but allegedly b. 1378 d. 1484) Credited for creating the occult society known as the Rosicrucian Order. There have been dozens of groups calling themselves Rosicrucian throughout the centuries, and there are several in existence today. The most well known one today is probably the Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosy Cross based out of San Jose, California. Christian Rozenkruts, supposedly changed lead into gold, discovered ever-burning lamps, lived for 106 years, had amazing powers...and in reality never actually even existed!!! Christian Rozenkrutz was a hoax that has gotten a lot of milage since its creation. The Rosicrucian order first came to the attention of the world in Paris in 1623, when anonymous leaflets were distributed around the city announcing the “invisible college” coinciding with a new book published by a bookseller titled Fama Fraternitatis which detailed the life of the previously-unknown Christian Rosenkrutz.The book claimed Rozenkrutz had traveled to Turkey, Moroco, and Egypt to study alchemy...a trip that would have been unlikely for a lone European Christian at that time in Muslim controlled lands. The book claimed Paracelcus had learned his secrets from the an earlier book by Rosenkrutz...but in reality Paraclesus had no powers, and the he never heard of Rosenkrutz since the hoax came about years after he died. Paracelsus makes no mention of a Christian Rosenkrutz in any of his writings, which doesn’t come as a surprise. Fama Fraternis said the Rosicrucians were going to give millions of dollars worth of gold to rebuild the Roman Empire, since they could easily manufacture large quantities of gold and had no use for it. It’s not hard to see why people would be attracted to such an order...why, for strictly spiritual purposes of course! The whole Rosicrucian legend was started as a joke to make fun of occultists by a Lutheran minister named Valentin Andrea, who later admitted to the hoax. Andrea’s family crest is a cross with four roses, which is where he got the idea for the rose & cross symbol of Rosicrucianism. Andrea was depressed over the devastation brought about by the 30 years war, and wrote a tract of political satire. In fact, most of the material for Fama Fraternis, is actually plagiarized from a book published in 1615 titled Reformation of The World, written by Trajano Boccalini. (The History of Magic and The Occult by Kurt Seligmann, p.287). Historical scholars recognize Fama Fraternis as a book of political satire, but the problem with satire is that it often goes over the heads of the intended audience. Various Rosicrucian groups arose to meet the demands of the naive and greedy, hoping to find the secrets of changing lead into gold and having eternal youth. Many were outright scams. In the years following the publication of Fama Fraternis, the Paris police recorded several incidents of such scams where people were willingly separated from their money in hopes of learning mystical Rosicrucian secrets. Some modern day occultists, in order to save face, have begun to say Christian Rozenkrutz was merely symbolic, and not an actual person. Anyone who follows Rosicrucianism proves Andreas’ joke right; occultists will believe anything! Nevertheless, many people even today belong to one of the various Rosicrucian orders...each one claiming to be the only true order and all the others fake. The truth is, they’re all fakes, since it’s all based on a hoax, and was never really intended to be taken seriously! MICHAEL NOSTRADAMUS (1503-1566) Nostradamus is well known for writing “prophecies” in the form of four line poems called “quatrains”. Many legends have grown about Nostradamus which aren’t true, including his being a physician (there’s no record of it), his being Jewish (he only had one Jewish grandfather, and was in fact a second generation Roman Catholic) and discovering a cure for the plague from roses (it doesn’t actually work). Nostradmus made plenty of predications that haven’t panned out. He predicted a horrible fate for English Queen Elizabeth I in his almanacs, which never came to pass, and was probably written just to please the French nobility. A trick used by fortunetellers and psychics even today is to tell people what they want to hear. His reputation as an astrologer is exaggerated, and in fact, he could not actually cast horoscopes. Many of his so called “prophecies” were really political commentaries and critiques about the Roman Catholic Church, and not predictions of the future. Fans of Nostradamus who don’t know this read anything they want into the quatrains, transforming them into “prophecies”. The antiquated form of the French language that Nostradamus’ quatrains are written in allow for a lot of wiggle room, too. Quatrain 51, supposedly a prediction about the fire of London of 1666, was actually a veiled protest against English Queen Mary’s persecution of English Protestants in 1555. This event happened in Nostradamus’ lifetime, and Quatrain 51 was first published in May 1555, a few months after the incident happened occurred. (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, pgs 160-164) Critics have noted that Nostradamus is good at predicting the past...and they may be right in more ways than one! It’s a little known fact that Nostradmus’s son also tried his hand at predictions as well after the death of his father. According to Ripely’s Believe It Or Not, unlike his famous dad, “Nostradamus Jr.” didn’t have the knack for cloaking his predictions in poems without a specific date of fulfilment. Jr. was said to have botched every single prediction he ever made in fact, which is why he isn’t as widely known! Once he predicted a certain French town would burn down on a certain date. When it didn’t, determined to have one of his predictions come true, he tried to burn it down himself! An angry mob caught him in the act of arson, put out the fire in time before it spread, and even this prediction failed to materialize. When asked “Do you think we’re going to allow you to live after what you’ve done?” the defiant Nostradamus offspring replied “Yes”! The mob then immediately killed him. Even this very last prediction of Junior’s was a failure! In the 20th Century, Nazi Propagandist Joseph Gobbels had booklets of Nostradamus’ “prophecies” printed up with interpretations that made the Nazis sound as though they would win WWII, and had them distributed all over Europe. Great Britain retaliated with it’s own Nostradamus predictions with the Allied Nations victorious, and distributed them over Europe as well. More than likely, neither set of fake predictions had any real impact on the war, one way or the other. And while he may have used “occult” methods to get his visions, Nostradamus actually wrote that outside of the Christian Church there was no salvation! There’s no real evidence Nostradamus was a Rosicrucian or magician. Letters of Nostradamus turned up in the Bibliotheque Nationale in France that indicate Nostradamus was a secretly a Lutheran. While some of his practices may have been wrong, he actually seemed to have had faith in Christianity. Michele Nostradamus: His legend doesn’t live up to reality, and he was secretly a Lutheran! NICHOLAS CULPEPPER (1616-1654) Studied astrology in his youth and later wrote a book about herbal quack cures that many occultists follow. English physicians denounced his books, not because Culpepper was taking their business away (because he didn’t), but because of his bizarre unscientific occult beliefs about herbs. For instance, he thought a "strong infusion" of pomegranate could "cure ulcers in the mouth and throat and fasten the teeth(?)", because it corresponded to the astrological sign of mercury. Not only isn't this scientific, it simply doesn't work. Even though Culpepper is revered as a medical genius by today’s health nut crowd, he actually smoked and drank quite a bit! In fact, it’s been said his grandfather cut him out of his will allegedly because he was a lush. Some may question the common sense in using a book about medically untested folk medicine written in the 17th century in the first place, and for good reason. The FDA has on its website many herbs used in “herbalsim”(which is not the same as “homeopathic” medicine, but also is a quack science), from Vervain to Kava Kava, which can all have side effects and even be poisonous! Even with all his supposed medical knowledge, Culpepper died at the age of 41 from Tuberculosis, and partly due to a war wound he never completely recovered from, showing he didn’t really know anything but quack medicine or else he could have cured himself! "Physician heal thyself!" Since he couldn’t cure himself, believed in quack medical cures, and didn’t realize smoking and alcoholism were bad, why follow his teachings? SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1643-1727) He discovered the Law of Gravity. He theorized artificial satellites could be put into orbit around the Earth, and his laws of motion are still used by scientists today. Newton’s genius is considered to be on the same level as Albert Einstein’s. A lesser known fact about Newton is that he wasted 20 years of his life studying alchemy and the occult. He treated the endeavor practically as a full time job, concentrating on little else in his life. One day he finally realized it was all nonsense, and that he wasted TWO DECADES of his life trying to understand it. He became very distraught at this revelation, and probably came close to a nervous breakdown! But after a few days, he ditched the occult for good, picked himself up, dusted himself off, returned to the Christian faith, and resumed teaching science at Cambridge. Sir Isaac was one of the greatest minds in science, comparable to Eienstein, and even with his genius, he couldn't make it work! Neither will you or anyone else. Sir Isaac Newton: Occultists of all kinds everywhere should follow his example and ditch the occult, no matter how much time you’ve invested in it! CATHERINE DESHAYES a.k.a Madame LaViosin (1640?-1680)A Satanist who headed a cult of Devil worshipers that celebrated the Black Mass. LaViosin’s use of a nude girl as an altar was practiced by later Satanists groups, including Anton LaVey’s original Church of Satan. The chicken or egg question is, was LaViosin the first to celebrate actual Black Masses inspired by earlier but untrue legends, or did some sort of abominations actually take place in the centuries prior to her cult, providing an actual basis for the stories? At any rate, LaViosin’s case is well documented...perhaps the best documented witch trial ever...and such rituals did take place, and the parties involved were not innocent of their crimes. LaViosin was a witch and fortune teller who also ran an “abortion clinic” of sorts and sold poisons. She would take the fetuses of unborn babies and unwanted infants and slit their throats in Black Masses. Her clients who bought poison were usually nobility, often women. The Paris Police broke up her poison ring which reached all the way to England. They were tipped off by two Roman Catholic priests who had received several confessions of French noble ladies who confessed to trying to poison their husbands. The stories were almost always the same; a noble woman would poison her husband’s shirts, causing him to break out. His wife would then give him an ointment for the rash...which was more poison. Sometimes the husbands figured out what was happening, and fled to monasteries for safety, but some were not as fortunate. Priests are obliged to keep confessions secret, because Priests are bound by what is known as the “seal of the confession” not so their Bishop told the two Priests involved to give the police just enough information to begin searching without actually naming names of confessors. This information began an investigation that ultimately lead police to LaViosin. When the police raided LaViosin’s house, they knew something was strange about her family immediately because they all slept in the same bed. Police discovered a hidden chamber in the house that led to a room draped completely in black with black candles, and an altar covered with a mattress. Also discovered were several books on black magic and astrology owned by LaViosin. 367 people were arrested in all, and 74 people were sentenced. Many French nobles fled to England and other countries to avoid arrest, and the scandal rocked French high society. A debauched priest named Gibourg created communion wafers from flour and blood from the sacrificed infants. These were then used in the Black Masses against King Louis XIV. The King’s mistress had employed LaViosin to use Satanic black magic to kill the King, which didn’t work. When this failed to work, she planned to poison him, but the plot was uncovered before she could carry it out. LaViosin and several debauched Priests who had converted to Satanism conducted Black Masses with placentas and fetuses of the aborted babies provided by LaViosin’s abortion business, as well as living unwanted ones, over the naked bodies of young girls as altars. During the Masses, the demons Astoroth and Asmodeus were “invoked” for assistance. LaVisoin later confessed to police that over the years she had cremated some of the remains of the fetuses and babies in her furnace, and some she buried some in her garden. This was confirmed when authorities unearthed thousands of bones of infants on her property. An exact body count of the child murders and poisonings was impossible to tell, but must have been quite high. To avoid a public scandal, King Louis the 14th ordered the trial to be conducted in a sealed court ( a star chamber). LaViosin and her gang were all arrested, tried, and convicted for their crimes. The Government of France then created laws against fortune telling, sorcery, and poison to help assure successor cults didn’t arise. Years later the King ordered all records of the trial to be burned, but a few copies accidentally (or intentionally) weren’t destroyed and survive even today. Even though LaVisoin practiced human sacrifices, which some occultists consider to be the ultimate act for attaining power (it was widely practiced by the Pagans of old), it still did her no good. The Devil never gives complete success to those who follow him. LaViosin was burned at the stake in 1680. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG (1688-1722) Created the occultic New Jerusalem Church, which still exists today. Representatives from the New Jerusalem Church were present at the installation of Frank Griswold as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the 1990's, indicating that denomination had sank to previously unfathomable depths. Although from a well to do family, Swedenborg was strange man, who had visions and was said to have hated children. His contemporaries considered him mad. He had many bizarre hallucinations that inspired him to create a new “syrupy” theology, based mostly on his own ideas (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, pg 226-227). Swedenborg taught reincarnation, which is not compatible with Christian Theology, among other things. In his book Conjugal Love, he stated keeping mistresses and having concubines were OK. But it’s his doctrines on extraterrestrial life that are perhaps the most bizarre. His claims about events on other planets are the proof positive he was a fake. Swedenborg claimed there were people living on Venus, who were Christians: "They are of two kinds; some are gentle and benevolent, others wild, cruel and of gigantic stature. The latter rob and plunder, and live by this means; the former have so great a degree of gentleness and kindness that they are always beloved by the good; thus they often see the Lord appear in their own form on their earth." They talk through their stomachs, and so their voices are said to sound like belches. The next time you hear some sophomoric friend belch the alphabet, make sure they’re not from Venus! He also said the moon was inhabited: "The inhabitants of the Moon are small, like children of six or seven years old; at the same time they have the strength of men like ourselves. Their voice rolls like thunder, and the sound proceeds from the belly, because the Moon is in quite a different atmosphere from the other planets." It seems a lot of aliens talk through their stomachs. Only Doctor Who would know for sure. He was quite paranoid about Quakers, whom were probably the most harmless people of the day. He repeatedly called their religion vile and indecent and made up the most ridiculous charges against them, including wife swapping...a curious accusation considering his own liberal views on sex. Once he awoke screaming that his hair had been turned into snakes. He was convinced that Quaker ghosts had caused it to have actually happened, instead of dismissing it as a dream.(The Occult: A History By Collin Wilson, p 278). Most of his contemporaries thought he was a madman and a liar...and they certainly seem to have been right. Clearly, he was just a crackpot! But since people didn't know things back in the 1700's like Venus and the Moon don't have life, he managed to fool a few people. Today his followers simply seem to ignore the more embarrassing parts of his writings and keep the parts they like in a sort of “cafeteria religion”, if they’ve even read them at all. Modern Psychiatrists have noted a similar pattern in Swedenborg's visions and the hallucinations of schizophrenics, which would certainly explain a lot. "COUNT" CLAUDE LOUIS SAINT GERMAIN (1710?-1784) He seems to be a favorite of occultists nowadays. The Rosicrucians and Theosophists claim that Saint Germain is still alive and that he was once known as Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)! H.P. Blavatsky claims the Count to be one of the “ascended masters” that lives inside a mountain in Tibet, apparently even in the present time. Her successor Annie Besant claimed she actually met the Count still alive in 1896. Her follower Henry Olcott claimed he met centuries old Count St. Germain in 1926, still alive and said to be living in a castle in Transylvania. Guy Ballard, founder of the "I AM" New Age cult, claimed he too met Saint Germain, but on Mount Shasta in California in August of 1930. He must have must have gotten tired of having Dracula as a neighbor and moved out of his castle. Elizabeth Claire Prophet claimed to receive regular revelations from him, and her cult has practically deified the Count. Prophet claims the Count magically appeared to the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, telling them to sign it (as though they wouldn’t have otherwise?). Other occultists claim he lived on from the 1700's and became known as the psychologist Carl Jung. Obviously all these stories can’t be true (in fact, none of them are), and the actual truth is much less fanciful. The real “Count” St. Germain spun quite an unbelievable yarn of being extremely old...anywhere from 300 to 2000 years old, depending on whom he wanted to impress. He spoke of ancient events as though he had been present at them, and this apparently fooled some people into thinking he actually had. It’s a secret many occultists use called lying. He made it a point never to eat in public, and this added to the image that he had somehow discovered the secret of eternal youth and no longer needed food to survive. He did eat in private, or else he would have starved to death. No one knows where exactly “Count” St. Germain came from, and it’s unlikely he was actually a Count. Sometimes he claimed he was a Russian Prince, a count from Transylvania, or a German nobleman. In 1774 he fooled the Margrave Charles Alexander into believing he was Prince Rakoczy, until Alexander eventually learned several months later that all the Rakoczys were all dead. One account says he was simply the Itallian son of a tax collector born in 1710 in San Germano (Itallian for Saint Germain), and most historians think this is correct. Nothing of his life is known before 1740. St. Germain was said to have owned an impressive art collection, but famous pieces of art have pedigrees, and there is no famous painting ever documented to have been owned by Count St. Germain. Not even one. Since Germain was said to have been an artist himself, this suggests his paintings were really forgeries. Count St. Germaine managed to gain the confidence of Louis XV of France. Not everyone was fooled by St. Germain. Once he tried to impress the famous Giacomo Casanova (who was also a fake, but later at least he eventually admitted it in his memoirs) by changing a small ingot of lead into gold. But since he was a “fellow traveler”, Casanova told St. Germain he knew the trick was accomplished- -by switching the lead ingot for a gold one through slight of hand. St. Germain was miffed, and politely asked him to leave his house. Concerning the Count, Casanova had this to say: “This extraordinary man, intended by nature to be the king of impostors and quacks, would say in an easy, assured manner that he was three hundred years old, that he knew the secret of the Universal Medicine, that he possessed a mastery over nature, that he could melt diamonds, professing himself capable of forming, out of ten or twelve small diamonds, one large one of the finest water without any loss of weight. All this, he said, was a mere trifle to him. Notwithstanding his boastings, his bare-faced lies, and his manifold eccentricities, I cannot say I thought him offensive. In spite of my knowledge of what he was and in spite of my own feelings, I thought him an astonishing man as he was always astonishing me.” Another account from a contemporary comes from a letter written in 1745 by Horace Walpole The letter states Count St. Germain was arrested in London on suspicion of espionage but released without charge: “ ...the other day they seized an odd man, who goes by the name of Count St. Germain. He has been here these two years, and will not tell who he is, or whence, but professes that he does not go by his right name. He sings, plays on the violin wonderfully, composes, is mad, and not very sensible. He is called an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole; a somebody that married an heiress with a great fortune in Mexico, and ran away with her jewels to Constantinople; a priest, a fiddler, a vast nobleman. The Prince of Wales has had unsatiated curiosity about him, but in vain. However, nothing has been made out against him; he is released; and, what convinces me that he is not a gentleman, stays here, and talks of his being taken up for a spy.” (From a Letter to Sir Horace Mann, Dec. 9, 1745, available on Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12073/12073.txt) Cassanova’s writings give a clue as to why the Count got away with his ruse for so long; St. Germain was a charismatic character. Some people probably thought him an entertaining and harmless quack. But no doubt there were some people who probably believed him, or else he couldn’t have made a successful living sponging off of rich nobles. The mystery of his identity seemed to be part of his charm. His very last meal ticket had him quartered in a particularly damp room, which is said to have lead to his rheumatism. He became depressed toward the end of his life. During his lifetime, it’s said he also met another occult quack, Count Cagliostro, who he claimed he initiated into Freemasonry in London...even though the Prussian grand master Freemason St. Germain once met spotted him as a fake when he couldn’t give the correct handshakes and passwords. In reality, Count St. Germain wasn’t really a count, didn’t have occult powers, and was just a con artist. Count St. Germain was probably 74 when he died in 1784...even though he claimed to be centuries old and knew the secret to eternal life! He was just a con man, nothing more, certainly was not an “ascended master”! "CONTE" ALESSANDRO CAGLIOSTRO (1743?-1795) Cagliostro founded now extinct Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry and claimed to have had occult powers. He was an inspiration for future occultists like H.P. Blavatsky and Goethe, among others. Born of a peasant family named Balsamo, Cagliostro claimed to be a count, a Hermetic magician, an alchemist, and a Gypsy. Historian Thomas Carlyle called him the “Prince of Quacks.” Goethe was so impressed with Cagliostro at first, he traveled to Palermo to meet his family. How disappointed he must have been when “Count” Cagliostro’s family turned out to be peasants who lived in a one room house! He managed to write positive things about the encounter at first, but must have changed his mind later about Cagliostro, because in Goethe’s play The Grand Copht, he portrays Cagliostro as a charlatan. Unmanageable as a child, Cagliostro’s family sent him to a seminary for education. One day he read the Gospels and replaced the names of Biblical figures with the names of local prostitutes, causing him to be expelled. In Palermo he traveled with a gang of robbers. He used his talent for forgery to make theater tickets, a falsified will, and anything else he could profit from. He even robbed his own uncle and was accused of a murder. He conned the gullible and greedy by pretending that he was able to locate gold and buried treasure with magic, showing clients the sites where he said it was buried. When the gullible nobles went to dig up the treasure at the prescribed site, they instead found Cagliostro’s henchmen waiting for them dressed in devil costumes, who then proceeded to mug the nobles. Cagliostro would later tell the nobles that actual demons had robbed them, and also taken the treasure! This ruse landed him in prison on at least one occasion. At times Cagliostro was none too stable, and did the most embarrassing things, like putting a teacup on his erect penis and telling women "This is the only Bishop you will bow to!" Cagliostro was initiated into Freemasonry in London in 1776 and decided to start his own version. He claimed he found a manuscript in a bookstall that gave instructions for Egyptian Rite Masonry. Cagliostro told his followers he was thousands of years old, and was the Old Testament prophet Elijah, which were of course all lies. Egyptian Rite Masonry wasn’t really Egyptian at all, and was the creation of Cagliostro. He went about Europe setting up lodges which all sent payments to himself personally. Cagliostro held seances before they were called seances. Using a child as a medium (which he called a “pupille” or a “colombe”), Cagliostro claimed he could summon spirits to answer questions of wealthy patrons. In other words, he invented the medium scam that would be used in the next century. Cagliostro told the children how to act and what to say prior to the seance, and bribed them with candy. A few times the children actually told the patrons about Cagliostro’s coaching and bribery! Cagliostro is said to have “pimped out” his own wife at times. Once she tried to ditch Cagliostro for a wealthy noble, and in retaliation Cagliostro had her thrown in prison for a year for adultery. Another time he blackmailed a man whom he had caught in bed with his wife, most likely a pre-arranged set up. Cagliostro managed to con his way into Louis XVI’s court. He hatched a scheme to purchase an expensive necklace and charge it to Marie Antoinette. The French Royals found out about the attempted swindle, and Cagliostro and his gang went to prison in the Bastille. He was released after one year, but couldn’t stay out of trouble, and was imprisoned again in Italy. He died in St. Leo’s prison 1795, despite claiming he had the elixir of eternal youth. SIR FRANCIS DASHWOOD (1708-1781) Dashwood founded the infamous “Hellfire Club” in 1745. He was an inspiration to future occultists, such as Anton LaVey, Aleister Crowley, and no doubt to some degree, Gerald Gardner. Those Wiccans who think Wicca is an ancient religion think Dashwood might have been a Wiccan himself (he wasn’t). Even though most people classify him as a Satanist, more than likely Dashwood was an atheist who did blasphemous things for shock value, just as many Satanists do today. Dashwood was a wealthy libertine who, like Crowley later, was able to get away with many things he did because of his rank in British society. King George I had passed a law to prevent Hellfire-type clubs in 1721, but this didn’t discourage the more perverted types of English nobility. The Hellfire Club (also called “The Monks of Medmenham Abbey”) performed blasphemous rites, but the main interest was always orgies, not magic. It can’t be said no one suffered from the activities of Dashwood’s gatherings. Pedophillia was a common indulgence at Dashwood’s parties. Children were bought from the slums of London outright and used as sex slaves. Prostitutes dressed as nuns serviced the club’s patrons. Prostitution, unlike what you may have seen in Pretty Woman, is a crime against women. Women involved in prostitution were forced into it because they had no alternative, and certainly didn’t enjoy such a lifestyle. The only thing they could look forward to was an early death from disease or murder. Incest, a taboo in every culture, was also typical among the group. Daughters being molested by their fathers was a common practice. The members paid the price for their debauchery in the form of venereal diseases, naturally. By 1762, the membership included some of the highest ranking members of the British government; Dashwood was Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Wilkes, Paul Whitehead, and Charles Churchill were members of Parliament, and the Earl of Bute, was Prime Minister (although Adam Weishaupt, and Benjamin Franklin were never members as some people have suggested). Despite the wealth and connections, or rather because of it, Dashwood’s club for perverts eventually imploded. For some reason, Wilkes and Churchill thought they could topple the Bute government and gain control of Parliament if they leaked details of the Hellfire Club’s Satanic rites and perverted sexual activities, incredibly not realizing they were all under the roof of the same glass house. The plan worked, and Bute was removed, but the scandal also predictably tainted them in the process, and also more or less ruined the lives and reputations of everyone in the Hellfire Club. After the Bute scandal, Dashwood tried to revive the club in caves near Wycomb Hill, but the group had already peaked, and it folded not long after. Dashwood and his “monks” all died off from age and disease over the next twenty years. After Dashwood died, he left an enormous library of pornographic works...a legacy few people would proud of ! ADAM WEISHAUPT (1748-1811) Founder of the short lived and extremely over-rated Order of the Illuminati. Many occultists claim (falsely) to be in contact with the Illuminati. Fake Anti-Christ Aleister Crowley claimed to be a member, as did fake ex-Satanist Mike Warneke. The AMORC claims it is the highest level of their bogus mail order occult school, and initiation into this level allegedly takes place out of the body on the astral plane (!). Obviously only the most self-deluded make it to that level. The conspiracy nut crowd has a much less favorable view of the Illuminati, however. There is a mountain of myth surrounding this now extinct order, but we can determine the truth. Weishaupt was a Bavarian law professor who started the Illuminati in 1778 (not 1776). The Illuminati actually seems to have been more concerned with politics than the occult, and Weishaupt was probably an atheist. The Masonic-like rituals it used by the order were probably just a smokescreen for their subversive political activities. Weishaupt hated the Jesuits, but was said to have patterned his order after them in some ways. While the Illuminati was Masonic-like, it doesn’t appear to have been an actual branch of Freemasonry. The Illuminati sought to overthrow the government of Bavaria, and hoped it could eventually spread it’s revolution all over the world. Their overly ambitious goal was to end all kingdoms and all religions. But their activities were exposed in 1784, when an Illuminati courier was struck by lightning, and his secret papers came to light. Wieshaupt lost his position as a Professor and fled Bavaria. Weishaupt wrote a few books in exile, such as An Apology For The Illuminati, but the order was kaput. Weishaupt died in poverty, alone and forgotten (at least for a while). By the end of the 18th century, the Order of The Illuminatti had ceased to exist. Period. End of story. But of course, old legends die hard. The Illuminati has been a favorite subject of conspiracy writers from Texx Mars (who’s an Anti-Semite) to Jack Chick (who’s anti-Catholic). Exactly who is behind the Illuminati depends on the conspiracy nut who’s telling the tale. Anti-Semites say it's the Jews (the Rothschild's in particular, they’re always a favorite target of Jew haters), while others say the Roman Catholic Church, or the Freemasons (including the American founding fathers!), or the Communists, or Wiccans, or Satanists, or The Trilateral Commission, or even the Mafia, among others, and sometimes several groups are included in the conspiracy. The Illuminati is sort of like extraterrestrial aliens that pilot U.F.Os...lots of people claim to have seen them and believe they exist, write detailed books about what they do, explain how they’ve shaped history, make claims about what their plans are for humanity...but no one can offer a shred of evidence to prove they’re real. Oh, and speaking of U.F.O.s, British soccer player turned New Ager, David Icke, says the Illuminati are actually Reptilian Aliens! Help! Call Dr. Who! Obviously all these things are bigoted and crackpot ideas created by bigots and crackpots, and should be dismissed. In reality, the Illuminati hasn't existed in over 200 years, and it was a total failure. There is no evidence of their existence after the 18th century, and certainly no evidence the American Founding Fathers or the Rothschilds ever belonged to it. The lluminatti was exposed early on, and thus their operations ended. If there was an Illuminati today, it's the most unsuccessful secret society of all time, since a) everyone has heard of it and b) it’s over 200 years later since it was founded and it still hasn't taken over the world! You may even come across this or that webpage claiming to be the website of the “Illuminati” created as a joke or by someone living in a dream world. They too, can be dismissed, and have no connection to Weishaupt’s short lived Illuminati other than wishful thinking. Even though the legend has gotten a lot of mileage, there is no “real” Illuminati around today. It’s the stuff of crackpots and hatemongers, just deal with it. Adam Weishupt’s dream of world domination never materialized and he died an impoverished failure...and probably wasn’t even an occultist! DR. FRANZ ANTON MESMER (1734-1815) Falsely credited with creating hypnotism (he didn't, actually). He was a quack doctor who promoted the belief magnets could induce healing powers, called "animal magnetism"...the forerunner of quack magnetic healing practices of today. Mesmer believed in astrology, and thought the planets moved about in an ether, which caused tides. Disease was caused by blockage of these tides. Mesmer thought magnets were magic (as do superstitions people today) and could cure these “astral blockages”. Mesmer was somewhat of a gold digger, and married an older woman who had been one of his patients, and moved into her palace outside of Vienna. There he set up shop. He took special interest in some patients whom he allowed to live in his estate so he could heal them...all of them pretty young women, oddly enough. He also began to neglect his elderly wife about this time, focusing all his attention on his special patients. Local authorities became suspicious of Mesmer, because his treatments involved massaging the thighs and breasts of his female patients while they wore only a loose smock.. Maria Paradies, a blind 16 y.o. girl live-in patient that Mesmer claimed he was curing, was examined by a real Doctor and discovered to be in fact still blind. However, not wanting to miss out on the “treatments”, she refused to leave when her parents tried to retrieve her. Eventually the police intervened, and Mesmer left Vienna for France to avoid being arrested. Mesmer set up shop in Paris, and became a big hit. Patients would swoon and shudder during some of Mesmer’s dramatic magnet treatments, and the phenomenon soon was called "Mesmerism". Mesmer’s healing sessions were theatrical, not therapeutic. The healing sessions often dealt with men and women sitting next to each other in a darkened room pressing their hands against the inner thighs of the person next to them. It’s certainly not hard to imagine ulterior motives for people participating in the “healing” rituals! A cocky Mesmer approached King Louis the XVI of France for an endowment of 250,000 francs. The King agreed, but only if Mesmer would allow his methods to be examined by a committee first (French Physicians had been requesting the King do this for some time). Furious at the King’s requirements, Mesmer refused and left France, knowing he’d be exposed as a fake under such an examination. Rich clients of Mesmer’s began to pledge money to him, and soon the totals reached 350,000 Francs, much more than he initially asked the King for. Mesmer returned to France, and now it was the King’s turn to be furious. The King ordered a commission to investigate Mesmer, who was now compelled to comply. In 1784 by the French Academy of Sciences, including the company of U.S. ambassador Benjamin Franklin, drew the conclusion that Mesmer’s miraculous “cures” were merely due to suggestion (or probably due to what Psychologists would now call “the Placebo Effect”). A Physician pretending to be ill went to Mesmer who treated him. The Physician later revealed Mesmer could not correctly diagnose illness with magnets as he claimed. About this same time, news of the Maria Paradise incident surfaced in Paris, and he became a laughing stock. Mesmer lost his fortune after being exposed as a fraud, subsequently planned a comeback in Vienna, but was turned away at the border by authorities. He lived out a modest retirement, never achieving his previous success. Anton Mesmer was a fake, and magnets can’t cure you. People get sick from things like germs not planets or stars. Magnets aren’t magic, they’re just magnets. FRANCIS BARRETT (1770?-1820?) wrote The Magus in 1801. The Magus was and still is a popular book on conjuring spirits. In the book Barrett claimed he was a “Professor of Chemistry”, but there is no record of him attending any school in England, and he seems to have simply been lying. There was also a Francis Barett in England who experimented with hot air baloons, but there's no evidence that this is the same Francis Barrett, as some occultists like to claim. The book sold poorly and was forgotten until it was re-discovered 60 years later by Eliphas Levi and later others. The book is basically a re-writing of Corneilius Aggripa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Barrett died in obscurity, and since there is no known grave for him, he probably died in poverty and was buried in a pauper’s field. His book became popular only years after his death, and he never enjoyed the success of it. Barrett couldn’t make the occult work for him, neither could Aggrippa whom he plagiarized it from, nor can anyone else. Francis Barrett; He died in poverty and was simply regurgitated a previous fake’s writings. MARIE LAVEAU (1783?-1881?) There were apparently two Marie LaVeaus, the title seems to have been passed from mother two daughter, which is why she appeared to live to be around 100. Marie LaVeau Jr. seems to have been the one most people were familiar with. The junior LaVeau of the 19th century is said to have taken care of an elderly woman who bore a resemblance to her...apparently this was her mother, the first Marie LaVeau. The LaVeaus were known for her wild religious Voodoo ceremonies...really little more than orgies where rich white men paid to "get it on" with LaVeau’s black and mulatto voodoo girl followers (more like hookers, really). So in other words, the LaVeaus were little more than "Cathouse Madams". The LaVeaus were hairdressers by trade, and learned the secrets of their rich clients that they later used to blackmail them with. If the famous Voodoo Queens were so powerful why did they resort to blackmailing their hairdressing clients? Because she had no powers! The famous book Black and White Magic by Marie Laveau obviously wasn’t written by her but by the sellers of worthless and fake voodoo oils and powders...just colored baby oil and colored baby powder. The lodestones she gave people in the little red flannel bags weren’t magic...just magnets. Voodoo is for the superstitious. Are you superstitious? KATE FOX (b.1829-1892) and MARGARET FOX(b.1825-1892) At ages 11 and 15 respectively, the Fox sisters started the whole spiritualist/seance’ movement in 1848 in upstate New York. Much of modern occultism has its roots in Spiritualism. Spiritualism had no hierarchy, was often practiced in the homes of the followers, and women played a prominent role. It was the Wicca of it’s day. About four decades later, after years of poverty, failed marriages, and alcoholism, the sisters confessed the strange popping sounds had been made by the girls cracking their toe joints. The thumping sounds heard by their parents were made by simply bouncing an apple on the floor! Catherine even became a Roman Catholic and renounced spiritualism (calling it “evil”) at one point, but she backslid later and settled back into her old ways. They wrote a book exposing the truth called The Death Blow To Spiritualism, confessing the whole thing had been a hoax. The gals tried a road show, demonstrating how they popped their toes (they were double jointed), but it failed to draw large audiences. A few people just didn’t want to believe their confession, and evidence of this is the fact that even while the Foxes were on tour denouncing themselves as fakes, Kate still gave seances for money to private clients! A year later, failing to get rich by 'fessing up, they then recanted their confession and tried to return to Spiritualism. Mediums knew they were really fake all along, because they used all kinds of tricks in these seances’ (wires, mirrors, etc.), and were eventually exposed by skeptics, including magician Harry Houdini. Skeptics and disillusioned followers of the day didn’t buy the Foxes latest story, that they had lied about lying. Spiritualism had indeed received a death blow, and from the very people that started it. The days of a new book on Spiritualism coming out each week were over. Kate was arrested in 1888 for drunkenness and “idleness”. She lived from then on by begging and borrowing and died impoverished in 1892. Margaret died a few months after her sister Kate, and followed her into a pauper's grave. Even though spiritualists today swear the Foxes were legit (it's called being deluded), they don't even give seances in the last Medium camp at Cassadagga, Florida anymore. The masses left spiritualism like rats leaving a sinking ship. Spiritualism had a brief re-surge after WWI, with lonely people who tried to contact dead loved ones lost in battle. Once again, there were Mediums ready to prey on the desperate. Seances became a popular parlor trick, but died out again with the advent of the radio. Now people could hear the disembodied voices of Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, and Abbot and Costello, as well as news sports and commercials. Once again spiritualism was all but extinguished. The Fox Sisters, founders of the Spiritualist occult religion, were self admitted fakes and failures. ELIPHAS LEVI (1810 - 1875) Wrote several books on the occult, and put a new spin on magic. Born Alphonse Constant, Levi became a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. He found the vow of celibacy hard to keep, and left the Church to marry a young girl. The marriage only lasted a year. Levi made a big splash by trying to make sense of the occult by translating and reinterpreting (“misinterpreting” would be a more accurate word) medieval grimories. He basically rewrote them to make old spell-books sound as though they were sources of hidden wisdom. He transformed them from the superstitious books that had previously been for slackers, who thought spirits could be compelled to find buried treasure, or lovesick old men trying to win the hearts of teenage maidens via magic spells. By Levi’s reinterpretation for instance, a love charm in an old grimorie might now be re-written as a “seal to commune with the Olympian spirit of Venus”. Levi is probably best known for his drawing of the Devil, which he now called “the god of witches” also known as “Baphomet” or “The Goat of Mendes”. This drawing is a favorite of occultists of all types, including Wiccans and Satanists, and no doubt you’ve seen it previously as it has become somewhat famous. Under Levi, sorcery was now a religious path...something it had not previously been. He tried to make the occult more respectable and to the more naive types, he succeeded. He’s credited with creating the term “occult” to describe sorcery, fortune telling, necromancy, and all kinds of spooky weirdness to make it sound less like spooky weirdness. Levi created a myth that all, occult teachings and magic practices were all connected. Tarot cards, alchemy, sorcery, astrology, the cabala, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, etc., were all part of a mystical religious knowledge that was handed down from time immemorial and had been all but lost. Levi was convinced the key to this knowledge was through ritual magic. Not everyone agrees with his theory. Occult historian Collin Wilson bluntly called it “a lie” [The Occult: A History by Collin Wilson, pg.326) . The man who had many of Levi’s books translated, occultist A. E. Waite, warned readers Levi was prone to use his imagination...a case of the pot calling the cauldron black. Even though Levi wrote extensively about sorcery, he didn’t actually do things anyone would consider “magical”. While Levi may have thought of the occult as a science, he was never able to repeatedly produce results through magic (not even once) under the observation of others, which would have been necessary to validate this idea. He traveled to England in 1854, but the English expected him to be able to actually produce miracles which he couldn’t do. Although this event ended in failure, he did make a few contacts, notably author Bulwer-Lytton who gave him a well needed infusion of cash. Levi returned to France and still continued on as an occultist. Determined to actually produce magic after this, he later claimed he had conjured the spirit of Apollonius of Tyana (a Greek mystic who lived around 30 A.D.) to ask him two questions...obviously, Levi had a lot of time on his hands. In some accounts of the story, Levi got so scared when the spirit appeared, he forgot the two questions and passed out! No one else was present when this incident supposedly occurred, so it’s possible the story is a deliberate invention of Levi, or the product of his vivid imagination. He had to prepare for three weeks before this ritual that included 2 weeks of vegetarian dieting and a week of fasting. During this three weeks, Levi constantly meditated on Apollonius and imagined having conversations with him (visualization). The conjuration itself consisted of a grueling 12 hours of incantations. It’s not hard to believe since Levi wanted the spirit to appear so desperately, coupled with weakness from weeks of starving and constantly visualizing the “ghost” that he had simply hallucinated. Since by his own admission he passed out (which can happen from starvation), it’s even possible the whole thing was just a dream. Even Levi later admitted it was possible he had imagined it. If so, where was the magic? Passing out and having hallucinations aren’t magic! Nevertheless, Levi’s books about sorcery were a big inspiration to later occultists such as H.P.Blavatsky, A..E. Waite (who translated several of Levi’s books into English), MacGregor Mathers and the occultists of the Golden Dawn, and Aleister Crowley. Crowley even declared he was the reincarnation of Levi, who died in 1875, the same year Crowley was born. Gardner was familiar with the works of Levi and seems to have followed in his footsteps; Just as Levi had taken ancient grimories and changed them from superstitious spell books to repositories of religious wisdom, so Gerald Gardner later took witchcraft and changed it from nefarious sorcery to a pre-Christian Pagan priesthood. Levi did not seem to begin his career in the occult until his wife left him, which suggests to me that initially he got into the occult for the reason so many people do, to win back a lost lover through love spells. I wonder if his wife had never left him what would have happened. Perhaps he would have never got into the occult in the first place, and the occult revival would not have lasted as long as it did, nor had the long reaching impact. Eliphas Levi; A man with an active imagination who didn’t really have occult powers. EDWARD BULWER-LYTTON (1803-1873) A English blue blood writer best remembered for the now cliched line “It was a dark and stormy night.” The English Rosicrucian society, founded in 1867 by Robert Wentworth Little, claimed Bulwer-Lytton as their 'Grand Patron', but this was news to Lytton, and he wrote to the society complaining that he was "extremely surprised" by their use of the title, as he had "never sanctioned suc"'. Bulwer-Lytton was a believer in the occult who wrote a book titled The Coming Race in 1870. It dealt with a mysterious energy called “Vrill”, and a race of fictitious underground supermen by the same name who were destined to emerge when they ran out of living space and destroy humanity. Lytton meant his work to be fiction, but many Theosophists believed the book to somehow be true! The Theosophists concluded the fictitious "Vrill" people of Lytton's book were the Aryans. The idea of Vrill became popular among German racists, and even seems to have had an influence on Nietzsche, even though he was supposedly an atheist. The AMORC and Theosophists still write about the Vrill energy, which doesn’t actually exist, and probably will continue to write about it. All this from one novel! The legend of Vril continued to grow, and several occult groups were established in Germany before World War II inspired by this Vril fallacy, including a “Vril Lodge”. Serbottendorf, Hitler and Hess are said to have belonged to one of them. No doubt if Bulwer-Lytton could see how his novel inspired so much evil he would be horrified! The legend of underground Aryans continued to grow, even after Germany was crushed by WWII. In the 1970's, a crackpot writer named Dr. Raymond Bernard wrote several books about Nazis living at the South Pole, who had found the entrance to the “Hollow Earth”. He tried unsuccessfully to raise money to buy a Zeppelin, which was to have been decorated with swastikas, to fly to the South Pole to find it. Some fringe groups today believe Hitler and the Nazis escaped to the South Pole and to this non-existent Hollow Earth. Hitler’s committed suicide in 1945 according to eyewitnesses who were with him, and his remains were positively identified through dental records, therefore he did not escape to the South Pole or the Hollow Earth. Scientists know the earth is not hollow, but filled with molten rock. Anyone who has heard of volcanoes knows this is true. It just shows you how far occultists can take a work of fiction! Today, Lytton is today considered a hack writer, and UCLA even gives out a “Bulwer-Lytton Award” each year for incredibly bad writing. There is no Vrill, there are no Aryan Supermen - - not above ground, below ground, or at the South Pole - - and the Nazis were evil and lost WWII. This is reality. Bulwer Lytton; A hack writer who accidently launched an occult myth that inspired the Nazis. ALBERT PIKE (1809-1891) Revitalized Scottish Rite Masonry. Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish Rite Masonry from 1859 until his death. Born a Boston Yankee, he nevertheless fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. A notorious womanizer, Pike had left Massachusetts long before the war broke out, due to his numerous affairs. Despite being 300 lbs, he was what most people today would call “a player”. Pike claimed to have graduated from Harvard, although there is no record of it. Pike was made a Brigadier General due to his Masonic connections and position in the now extinct Whig Party...a position he was ill equipped to handle. Pike hatched a scheme to recruit Native Americans to fight for the Confederacy. In 1862 Pike’s brigade fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge, resulting in a Confederate rout. Later, his men were accused of desertion, scalping and defiling the bodies of dead Union soldiers. Pike resigned his commission in disgrace, and was later imprisoned for misappropriating funds. After the Civil War, Pike abandoned his wife and children to live in poverty and headed to Arkansas. It was during this time he began to re-write the rituals of Scottish Rite Masonry. Masonry had fallen from grace after the Captain Morgan incident of 1840. Morgan had published two books exposing the secret rituals, handshakes, and passwords. A band of Masons kidnaped Morgan in broad daylight, took him across the border to Canada, and murdered him. All the accused Masons were acquitted for the crime by a jury and judge who were all Masons, and the resulting scandal turned most Americans against Masonry. Masonry was given a second chance due in part to Albert Pike’s efforts and probably would have gone extinct in the U.S.A. otherwise. It’s been said of Pike he found Freemasonry in a log cabin and left it in a palace. While Pike maybe remembered by Freemasons as a veritable saint (at least until recent years), others outside of Masonry may not think so. Pike was a racist who considered black people inferior, and forbid their entrance to Freemasonry, citing they were not "born free". Pike is even said to have written the rituals of the Ku Klux Klan for Bedford Forrest during this same period! There are many Masonic and occultic elements in the KKK of the reconstruction ear that still live on today, such as the titles of “Cyclops”, “Wizard”, “Dragon” and “Ghoul” and the burning of crosses, which is something that you would expect of Satanists rather than Christians (although this practice may have developed much later). The rituals also talk about “seeking the light” and “accepting the light”, just like in Masonry. Many of the original members of the KKK were Masons, and The Klan even met in Masonic lodges in the early days! It’s also believed by many historians that Pike was the Imperial Wizard for the Arkansas KKK. It’s hard to say if this all this was true, considering the KKK was also a secret society like Freemasonry, but it is certainly possible. Pike seems to have had similar ideas to the Klan, as a newspaper article written by Pike illustrates: "With Negroes for witnesses and jurors, the administration of justice becomes a blasphemous mockery. A Loyal League of Negroes can cause any white man to be arrested, and can prove any charges it chooses to have made against him. ...The disenfranchised people of the South ... can find no protection for property, liberty or life, except in secret association.... We would unite every white man in the South, who is opposed to Negro suffrage, into one great Order of Southern Brotherhood, with an organization complete, active, vigorous, in which a few should execute the concentrated will of all, and whose very existence should be concealed from all but its members." [Memphis, Tennessee Daily Appeal, April 16, 1868] Despite decries of Mason apologists, it’s hard to imagine Pike’s secret society organized as a “Order of Southern Brotherhood” to suppress Black freedom could have been anything other than the Ku Klux Klan. Small wonder many Klan chapters held their meetings in the lodge halls of Freemasonry...another “whites only” secret society. Some speculate that the original Klan might have even been some kind of extension to American Freemasonry of the 19th century like the Shriners are today. Many people get offended when I point out Freemasonry was (and still is for the most part) a “whites only” organization, but it's the truth. The York Rite and Scottish Rite Freemasons claim they no longer follow the despicable practice of barring blacks from joining at this writing, although they have never responded to my inquieries as to the exact date the ban was lifted. In 1975, the U.S. Federal Government told the Freemasons to allow blacks to join or lose their tax exempt status. Instead of letting blacks join, they chose the latter! There is a claim made by many conspiracy writers that Pike said the god Masons worship was Lucifer, which he apparently did not actually make. Pike allegedly told a group of 33rd Degree Masons that this secret could be told to Masons of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees as well. The claim was first made by anti-Semite Edith Miller Star, a.k.a., Lady Queensboro, in her book, The Occult Theocracy. Star cited no reference to the source, and it appears to be bogus. Star spent her life in and out of mental asylums, and eventually died in one. Her story certainly sounds unlikely. That being said, Pike nevertheless did seem to have knowledge of the occult regardless if he was a “Luciferian” or not. In his Magnum Opus, Morals and Dogma, Pike made several references to the Cabala, instructing Masons to study it. He compares Christianity to the world’s religions, including the Pagan religions of old. Pike seems to hint that Sun worship is the original religion, a view echoed by later Masonic occultists such as Albert Macky, Rosicrucian Max Heindel, and Manly Palmer Hall. Pike considered Satan to be merely a dark force of nature, as did Helena Blavatsky and Anton LaVey. Whatever Pike’s religious beliefs might have been, he doesn’t seem to have been a Christian. No Christian should be part of such a nefarious legacy! If you’re a Mason and consider yourself a Christian, leave Masonry immediately. In dire straits toward the last years of his life, Albert Pike was allowed to live in a Masonic Temple. Albert Pike, an occultist, (Luciferian? ) womanizer, racist, who flopped as a Confederate General and spent his last days impoverished ! DANIEL DOUGLAS HOME (1833-1886) A Medium who came on the beginning of the Spiritualist scene at the time the Fox Sisters created it, even though he claimed he was “contacting spirits” before then. Home is said to be one of the few, if not the only, medium that wasn’t publically exposed as fake. The reason for Home’s success is due to the fact that he only allowed his seances to be examined under conditions he approved of. Skeptics during that time would light lanterns during the seances revealing the trickery of the mediums (such as wires, strings, assistants dressed in black, etc.). Home avoided this by never letting anyone attend a seance he thought might cause him trouble. Home was indeed caught using tricks once during a Seance, but the information was never made public during his lifetime (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, pg 120 ). Home’s Seances often utilized a concertina (a little accordion) locked in a cage. During the seance, faint music could be heard, and the attendees assumed it was a ghost playing the locked-up concertina. After his death, a small 8 note harmonica was discovered among his possessions. Magician James Randi has noted it would have been easy for Homes to conceal the little 8 note harmonica in his mouth, covered by his enormous moustache. For some reason, the spirits only played the same two songs at every seance, which were probably all the songs Home knew how to play. One of the songs was “Home, Sweet Home”, (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, pg 121 ) no doubt intended as an inside joke. Home suffered from TB most of his life and died at age 53. One of his assistants later went on to even greater fame than he did. Her name was Helena P. Blavatsky, who no doubt learned all of Home’s tricks. Like all Mediums and channelers, Home was a fake. HELENA PETROVNA BLAVATSKY (1831-1891) Authoress of Isis Unvieled, The Secret Doctrine, The Stanzas of Dyzan, and founder of the Theosophical Society. Theosophy became the basis for many occult societies who borrowed from it, including an offshoot called “Arianosophy”, most Rosicrucian groups around today, The Chaney’s Astara of Los Angeles, and Elizabeth Claire Prophet’s Church Universal and Triumphant, to name just a few. Many members of the Golden Dawn had started out in Theosophy, and it’s teachings seem to have been incorporated into modern day Spiritualism. The two hundred fifty pound Russian Medium Helena Blavatsky started the Theosophical Society 1875 claiming she had made telepathic contact with mysterious “ascended masters” in Tibet. She dubbed herself a “Priestess of Isis”, and combined Spiritualism, Cabala, Western occultism, Hinduism and Buddhism along with a dash of Darwinian evolution, to make the whole thing sound “scientific”. In fact, occultists of all stripes snidely think they are more scientific than Christians, simply because they believe in Evolution and the Big Bang (even though many if not most Christians do too!)...while they also believe in such things as elves, fairies, and magic and carry red flannel bags with a lodestones to bring good luck. And while Theosophists may not believe in all those things mentioned, they do have many beliefs that most people would find strange. The Theosophical Society had an alliance with an organization run by a certain Swami Sarasvati, until the Swami denounced Blavatsky and her sidekick Ollcott as charlatans , and they were exposed as such many times. Nevertheless, the society is still around today. She wrote two occult best sellers, Isis Unveiled (1887) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), which are still in print. Blavatsky claimed the ascended masters (humans who are centuries old living inside a mountain in Tibet) inspired her to write the books and communicated with her telepathically. She claimed the goddess Isis herself gave her the ideas for Isis Unveiled. There’s actually no real evidence she actually had any contact with “ascended masters” or “Isis”, and the bulk of the material for her books is simply plagiarized from other works. A skeptic named William Coleman discovered 2000 passages Blavatsky lifted from other books and never gave credit for. He counted a total of 100 books in all used in the making of Isis Unveiled, and The Secret Doctrine was discovered to be in a similar vein, with even entire pages plagiarized from other books! The footnotes to Blavastky’s books were added years after her death by her followers to help cover up her plagiarism. The Stanzas of Dyzan, yet another book Blavatsky wrote, claiming it was the oldest book in the world, also turned out to be a hoax with many passages copied from books of the 19th century! Nevertheless, her books are still in print to this day (Madame Blavatsky High Priestess Of The Occult pgs. 374-375 by Gertrude M. Williams). Blavatsky was born of Russian nobility. She married a 50 year old Colonel, but soon left him. She is said to have had several odd jobs, including a trick rider in a circus, a piano teacher, and manager of an artificial flower factory. She also became the traveling companion of a wealthy heiress who had a library of hundreds of books that she always took with her. This is no doubt where Blavatsky got much of her material to plagiarize from. As previously mentioned, for a time she was the assistant to medium Daniel Home, and this is where she learned the tricks of the trade of Spiritualism. She was not as cautious as Home, however, and got accused of fraud and exposed as a fake several times during her career. She set up shop as a medium in Cairo, Egypt, but was exposed as a fake when someone found a long white glove stuffed with cotton in the Seance room right before a Seance was about to begin (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, pg 34 ). She fled Egypt after that and went to America. Blavatsky decided she needed a better scam than Spiritualism. At first they called it The Miracle Club, but it didn’t take, since it was too much like Spiritualism. Then she decided on the name Theosophy, and the scam worked. Once she claimed to have materialized a teacup by meditating while sitting on the ground. When an observer accused of her of having buried it there earlier and merely digging up the teacup, she was treated to one of those blasts of foul language Blavatsky was notorious for. (The Occult: A History by Colin Wilson, page 334) Another time Blavatsky claimed to have found a lost broach of an heiress. The heiress accused Blavatsky of simply buying one that looked like it. Blavatsky denied this profusely, even though a receipt for the broach from a local pawn broker was later produced by a defector! (Ibid, 334) One follower (who had apparently been Blavatsky’s assistant in fakery) named Emma Coulomb became disillusioned with Blavatsky and set out to expose Blavatsky as the fraud she was. Coulomb passed along evidence which showed Blavatsky to be a fake to the editor of Christian College Magazine. One revelation was that Blavatsky made letters from “Coot Hoomi” (one of the Tibetan ascended masters Blavatsky supposedly had contact with) seem to magically appear from nowhere by simply shoving them through cracks in the ceiling from the room above! Coulomb also revealed Blavatsky had secret passages and hidden doors built into her house which aided her in deceiving people about her “psychic abilities”. Why did she do this? Well, it’s because she was a fraud and she had no powers and people who follow her teachings today need to accept this. The Theosophists tried to strike back, claiming Christian missionaries were behind a conspiracy to stop them involving thousands of dollars. The reality is Christian missionaries never took the Theosophists seriously, and never launched such a campaign, nor did they have the thousands of dollars at their disposal as Theosophists charged. Not long after this, a medium in America claimed that Blavatsky plagiarized one of his lectures and published it as a "revelation" from Coot Hoomi. (The Occult: A History by Collin Wilson pgs ) . About this same time The Society for Psychical Research set out to India to investigate Blavatsky at the insistence of Coulomb. The investigator, Richard Hodgson, was admitted to the room containing the "shrine" where Coot Hoomi's letters magically appeared, but only after much stalling. He smelt a rat after finding just a newly made cedar wood box and freshly plastered walls. A bungling follower tried to defend HPB by saying "You see, it's perfectly solid" while slapping the back of the “shrine”, and thus accidentally causing the back to fall off, revealing a secret entrance to Blavatsky's bedroom! The investigator interviewed several people who had witnessed her “magic feats” and grouped them into four categories: 1. Skeptics 2. Partial skeptics 3. Sincere believers 4. Confederates who aided her in deception. (Madame Blavatsky High Priestess Of The Occult by Gertrude M. Williams pgs.270-271) The Society for Psychical Research published a detailed 200 page report, detailing the methods of trickery Blavatsky used. The report concluded by calling her “...one of the most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting imposters in history”. Her society sounds as though it was actually a cult. Many of her closest followers were said to have suffered miserable fates, including suicide. Biographer Gertrude Williams wrote that “she ruled her followers ambidextrously, through glamour and fear”. Toward the end of her life, she wrote a confession to one of her detractors, a Russian writer named Solyvov, and admitted she had lied about many things, including the existence of the Mahatmas, having hundreds of lovers (she was actually a virgin until they day she died), that she faked communications with spirits and that some of the phenomena her followers saw could be attributed to hallucination! Even then, she wrote the letter in the most dramatic manner possible, making herself sound like a persecuted martyr rather than a fraud. Later she retracted part of the confession, claiming the Ascended Masters were real after all, which would mean she lied about lying if that were the case. Considering the Chinese Army has control of every square inch of Tibet, it’s unlikely they would have failed to miss the discovery of an underground Bhuddist momentary. And if Tibetan Bhuddists had all these miraculous powers, with all due respect, the Dalai Lama would not have to live in exile as he has for decades! Though Blavatsky was proven a fraud in her lifetime and even finally admitted it, her Theosophical Society continues on. There are chapters in several countries even today, including the U.S. Her followers will even say things like “Sure, HPB had a streak of charlatanism in her, but you have to look past that and read her teachings for what they really are.” What are these teachings? Blavatsky’s Theosophy deals with such hookum as the "seven root races". The god like giant Aryan race lived on Atlantis and lost their god-like status by intermarrying with the “semi-human” Jews. The intermarrying with Jews caused the Aryans to devolve, according to Blavatsky. Blavatsky called Judaism a “religion of hate and malice toward everyone and everything outside itself.” , while the Aryans were the most advanced people spiritually. Compare this type of mentality with that of Joseph Mengele. Theosphy is nothing but recycled occult gobbledy gook from previous books with a strong flavor of anti-Semitism and anti-Christianism thrown in for flavor! Eventually, so the story goes, the Aryans blew up Atlantis through black magic. Kaboom! The next root race were invisible, made from “fire mist”, and lived at the North Pole. No doubt, neighbors of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I wonder if they were invisible how anyone knew they existed since they can't be seen? There’s a head scratcher. The race after that was just barely visible, lived in Asia and “invented sex”. A race of giant telepathic apes inhabited the now vanished continent of Lemuria. (I know, it sounds like a D.C. comic.). Her writings are not only anti-Semetic but as well as anti-Christian. She considered Jesus to have been “a failure”, and seemed very troubled, if not jealous, of the many depictions of the Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics. She often snidely commented on the “many changes of wardrobe” Mary seems to have, almost like one woman envious of another woman’s clothes. Blavastky’s hokum was a big inspiration for many occultists of her day. It stirred up interest in goddess worship and influenced many Rosicrucians groups, The Golden Dawn, Astara ( the California psychic church and mail order occult school run by the Cheney’s), The Church Universal and Triumphant (Elizabeth Claire Prophet’s gun toting survivalist cult), among others. The Rosicrucian Fellowship uses Blavatsky’s teachings for the bulk of their mail order “Western Philosophy” course. Aleister Crowley, claimed to have actually met her in person, and Blavatsky’s books were required readings for members of Crowley’s occult organizations. HPB was probably the first to introduce reincarnation into Spiritualism. Up until then, most Spiritists believed in a heaven like existence throughout eternity, called “Summerland”. Blavatsky also introduced evolution into reincarnation by saying people were reincarnated as people, not randomly switching incarnations between animals and people as in the version of reincarnation taught by Eastern religions, like Hinduism and Bhuddism.. Her saddest and most horrifying accomplishment was being the spiritual impetus for the Nazi regime, decades after her death. As you can guess by her doctrines about Aryans and Jews previously mentioned, many German occultists and racists embraced Blavatsky’s idea of being descended from Aryan god-men and her anti-Semeticism. Blatvatsky’s favorite occult symbol was the swastika, which she claimed was the symbol of the Aryan race and the most powerful of all occult symbols. This symbol was adopted by the Nazis. Heinrich Himmler was a devout believer in Blavatsky’s teachings, and even went on an expedition to Asia as Germany was losing WWII to try and find the (non-existing) link to the Tibetans and the Aryans. Blavatsky was one of the first occultists to make goddess worship an alternative to Christianity, paving the way for Gardner and the Wiccans. Likewise, Gardner borrowed some ideas from Blavatsky, particularly her take on reincarnation which was different from the Eastern idea of it. Even though Blavatsky admitted she was a fake, there are still a handful of followers that refuse to believe it. There are two branches of the Theosophical society, the result of a schism after her death. One branch is based in Arya, India, the other in Wheaton, Illinois. In the 1990's during a Theosophist convention of the American branch, a pair of ice tongs Blavatsky had “materialized” during her career (no doubt by slight of hand) was proudly on display. Some people will always want to believe. Supposedly, the Tibetan masters she was in telepathic contact with lived for centuries. Why then was she in poor health during her final years, and only lived to be 61 instead of hundreds of years like Coot Hoomi and Count St. Germain? Why follow a follow a fraud who caused so much evil? Blavatsky helped in part create the holocaust. Her racist doctrines are more than just pure fantasy, they are also pure evil. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE 1844-1900 A 19th century German philosopher perhaps best known for the saying “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”, and also coined the phrase "God is dead". He was actually an atheist, not an occultist. But since so many occultists seem to read Nitzche (or pretend to), I’ll mention him. Occultist Aleister Crowley seemed to be very influenced by him, as were Anton LaVey and even Charles Manson. Nietzsche did not believe in conventional morality, but thought man was “beyond good and evil”, and had to choose his own moral code. This is basically the way most occultists live their lives. Nietzsche believed a person should throw themselves completely into a cause without hope of personal gain or reward (according to most interpretations). Many historians think Nietzsche’s writings are why so many intellectuals joined the Nazi and Communist parties during the early 20th century. His writings of "Ubermench" (supermen) rising up from the masses certainly sound as though they could have been written by Joseph Goebels. Neitzche's writings are somewhat ambiguous, almost to the point of being mystical. This allows for a lot of wiggle room interpretation wise, and thus there are actually several school of thought on how to interpret what his philosophy is about. Writings about "The Will To Power" and the rise of "Supermen" are what made him Hitler's favorite sage, and the anti-Semetic and anti-Christian tone was no doubt an added bonus. He was also said to be a favorite of Joseph Stalin, too. Apologists for Nietzche claim he wasn't really anti-Semetic, and that the Nazis simply took selections of his writings they liked out of context, and ignored what they didn't like. The thing is, there doesn’t seem to be much that they wouldn’t have liked! His apologists will claim things such as Nietzche allegdly dropped a publisher because the publisher was anti-Semetic, as an example (other accounts say, it was simply a dispute over money). Nietzsche is favorite of college professors, and when the fact he had been a source of inspiration for the Nazis came out, it became necessary to claim Nietzsche was not anti-Semitic, and even opposed to anti-Semitism. This is because atheistic professors just love Nietzsche’s hatred of Christians and want to keep him the classrooms. It’s really just a convenient way to promote bigotry. Hating Christians isn’t as detestable as hating Jews, but it should be. If Nietzsche wasn't an anti-Semite, he sure kept some peculiar company, especially for someone who supposedly opposed anti-Semitism! One of his best friends was composer Richard Wagner, a man who never tried to hide his hatred of Jews. If the Nazi regime had been a movie, Wagner provided the soundtrack for it 50 years in advance. It would have been hard to have been Wagner's friend without having his issues with Jews and Judaism come up, because anti-Semitism and German romanticism dominated his music and his life. His sister was an anti-Semite and even left Germany with her husband for Uruguay to start an "Aryan colony" ,which still exists today. In a foreshadow of things to come, the group even adopted a swastika flag as it's symbol! In other words, the group created a proto-Nazi Germany south of the border (well, south of our border, anyway). His other sister was also an anti-Semite, whom apologists blame for editing and arranging his posthumous writings to appear anti-Semitic. It might be presumed his sisters learned anti-Semitism and German nationalism from their parents, which would have been the same parents Professor Friedrich had. How is it that this man was surrounded by so many haters of Jews, and yet somehow remained unaffected? The fact Nietzsche hated Christianity is unquestionable, so is it really so unreasonable to think he hated it's parent religion? His biggest source of inspiration, Shopenhauer, was also an anti-Semite who hated Christianity. Shopenhauer wrote extensively about the will, like Nietzsche, although he did not seem to practice much will power in real life. He usually gorged himself at dinner and drank wine until he fell asleep at the dinner table, food particles still clinging in his beard. These are the type of people that wake up in various puddles of their own fluids (and those of others!). Nietzsche’s idea that he could make up his own morality allowed him to frequent brothels, which is how he contracted syphilis. Some think this may have been the cause of his madness, although many of his readers like to romanticize he went insane from learning too much of life’s mysteries. He spent his final days in an insane asylum where he spent his time screaming “I am God! I am God!” Now that you know all that, you might want to skip reading him and Shopenhauer too. ANNIE BESANT (1847-1933) Blavatsky chose her to lead the Theosophical society. It has been alleged she and Blavatsky were lesbian lovers, citing some curious comments in surviving letters written between the two of them. Blavatsky addressed her letters to Besant “‘My Darling Penelope’ from ‘Your female Ulysses’” Besant’s biographer notes that there seemed to be a lesbian element to the way she dominated Blavatsky. There’s no way to prove such allegations for sure. After a dispute in which William Q. Judge, leader of the American section, was accused of falsifying letters from the Masters (just like Blavatsky), the American section split away. Besant is best known for having botched an attempt to bring a fake Messiah into the world. Like Blavatsky before her, Bessant was a fake. In reality, the Theosophists had adopted (or kidnaped, according to the boy's parents) the boy, and the parents sued to try to get him back, accusing the Theosophists of corrupting their son. Krisnamurti nevertheless remained under their wing for his formative years. Years later Krishnamurti once ran into writer Bernard Shaw, while he was on vacation in Bombay. Besant had once been a mistress to Shaw years earlier, and when it ended, she was hurt deeply. Perhaps she too sought out the occult as a way to bring back a lost lover. Shaw enquired of Krishnamurti how she was doing. “Fine”, he told her “but at her great age she cannot think consecutively” to which Shaw replied “She never could.” (The Occult: A History by Collin Wilson pgs ) Eventually Krishnamurti ditched the Theosophists to start his own Guru business in the 1960's. Annie Besant A fake who followed in the footsteps of another fake. COLONEL HENRY STEEL OLCOTT 1832-1907 Helped Blavatsky found the Theosophical society. Since he was in Blavatsky’s inner circle, he no doubt knew of her tricks. Olcott wrote A Bhuddist Chatachism, and developed his own standing within the Theosophical Society, which irked Blavatsky. For a while Olcott and Blavatsky shared a house together in a platonic relationship. A little acknowledged fact among occultists is that Col. Olcott is where Blavatsky got the idea for the name of her fictitious ascended master “Coot Hoomii”...it’s a play on words for Colonel Olcott! CHARLES LEADBEATER (1854-1934) The number two man in Theosophy under Bessant’s leadership. Leadbeater was an Episcopal minister who became a Theosophist, simply after having been handed a letter that claimed the spurious “Coot Hoomi” wanted him to join! He would later claimed he joined around 350 B.C. in Greece by Pythagoras, and then spent the rest of the time in Theosophist Heaven called Devachan. Leadbeater has been described as a “hopeless romantic”, and not meant in a good way. Leadbeater , according to writer James Webb, Leadbeater was a “homosexual” (The Occult Underground by James Webb, pg 87) and also notes that "From his early days as a Hampshire curate until the close of his life at at Sydney, he seems to have had an incurable taste for young men."(The Occult Underground by James Webb, pg.97). It was Leadbeater who had discovered an 8 year old Krishnamurti on an Indian beach and decided to “adopt” him. Krishnamurti’s father nearly ruined the scheme for the Theosophists, however, when he accused Leadbeater of “corrupting” his son. “There was...small doubt that Leadbeater had been up to his old tricks again”, according to Annie Bessant’s biographer, Arthur H. Nethercot ( The First Five Lives of Annie Besant by Arthur H. Nethercot pg 102). Narayaniah, had agreed to allow Annie Bessant to raise his two sons, and in return she agreed to give the boys a proper English university education. However, Narayaniah was horrified to discover Bessant and the Theosophists wanted to declare Krishnamurti the new Maitreya (the Bhuddhist Messiah), in addition to other questionable activities. Narayaniah, took the Theosophical society to court to get his sons back. Leadbeater’s reputation as a pedophile came up several times during the trial. There were several times Leadbeater had been observed in questionable circumstances with Krishnamurti. The judge made the children wards of the court, but Bessant managed to get the boys back in the end. Leadbeater was dismissed from the Theosophical Society, and spent his last days in a self imposed exile. Charles Leadbeater; Fake and pedophile JITTA KRISHNAMURTI (1895-1986) The fake messiah introduced by the Theosophical Society, who later denied being divine. In his 20's, Krishnamurti became disillusioned with the Theosophy when his brother died from Tuberculosis after Theosophists had failed to heal him as they claimed they could. An occult order was formed by Theosphists called The Order of The Star in The East (mocking the star that announced the birth of Christ) to introduce the new “World Teacher” in 1907. But in 1929 Krishnamurti dissolved the order during an address he gave before the group, which shocked and angered them. After the dissolution embarrassment, the Theosophists turned against Krishnamurti. Theosophist leaders had unwittingly set themselves up for such a thing to happen, having told their gullible followers over the years that the “World Teacher” might someday say things that were completely unexpected and contrary to their preconceived notions, and it would be unwise and even “dangerous” not to do as he instructed! So when Krishnamurti said he wasn’t some sort of occult messiah, they had no choice but to paradoxically believe him! Krishnamurti gained some fame in the 1960's during the Eastern Religion craze. Ironically, Krinamurti is now known as the “un-guru”, because he told seekers that they should forgo all religions and all gurus (including Theosophy) and try to find answers themselves. He came full circle by having his books carried by Quest Publishing, the publisher of Theosophical books. After his death, his popularity seems to have dropped off. Krishanmurti failed to rise from the grave or do any miracles during his lifetime, indeed confirming his claim not to be a messiah! RUDOLPH STEINER (1861-1925) A racist and occultist, probably best known today for the Steiner Schools, called Waldorf Schools in some areas (named after a German brand of cigarette, oddly enough). The schools are known to slip in occult doctrines, and if you’re a Christian you might want to remove your child if you have one enrolled in such a school. Steiner left Theosophy when Annie Besant introduced Krishnamurti as the "reincarnation of Christ". Steiner, a believer in “Aryan supremacy”, couldn't accept a brown skinned Hindu to be the new Messiah. He started a more racist version of Theosophy called the Anthroposophical Society to promote “Arinosophy”. Building on Theosophy's doctrine of root races, Steiner further built on the myth of Aryan supremacy, saying Aryans were more "spiritually advanced" than the other races and that their time had arrived. The similarities with many of Steiner's bizarre doctrines and Nazi ideas are unmistakable. Wolfgang Treher makes a convincing case that Steiner's racial theories, especially the repeated scheme of a small minority evolving further while a large mass declines, bear striking similarities even in detail to Hitler's own theories. He concludes: "Concentration camps, slave labor and the murder of Jews constitute a praxis whose key is perhaps to be found in the 'theories' of Rudolf Steiner." (Wolfgang Treher, Hitler Steiner Schreber, Emmingden 1966, p. 70.). Steiner was by his own account "enthusiastically active" in pan-German nationalist movements in Vienna at the end of the nineteenth century. No one in their right mind considers the Nazis to have been right...and yet many occultists consider this ancestor to Nazi thought an "adept"! Steiner must have had some impact on Nazi thought. Nazi Germany’s number two man, Rudolph Hess, was a fan of Steiner and insisted on vegetables grown with Steiner’s methods. No doubt there were others. The Nazis eliminated every right-wing pro-Aryan group, even though these groups often had identical beliefs to the Nazis, not wanting rival groups to emerge. In 1924 they were believed to have burned down Stiener’s headquarters. He was said to have been so devastated from this he could not go on. He died the following year from a heart attack, although some accounts say he was actually murdered by Nazis. Aryans are not “more evolved than other people”, and such racism has proven to be lethal. The only people who need to feel somehow inherently superior are those of impoverished egos and filled with hate. ALICE BAILEY (1880-1949) Succeeded Bessant as head of the Theosophical Society. Like her predecessors, Bailey was a pro-Aryan anti-Semite. Bailey dismissed the persecution the Jews had endured had simply been their “Karma”, eerily reminiscent of Neo-Nazis who say the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves. Bailey also informed her readers that the Jews had lost their right to be the people whom a future Messiah would be born due because of their arrogance, and that they would have to go through “fires of purification”. Bailey wrote that statement in 1949, after the ovens of Nazi extermination camps had been made well known. It’s unlikely such a poor choice of words was an accident, considering her attitude toward Jews. In addition to that, Bailey Claimed the atomic bomb was actually a “gift” from the ascended masters to mankind. After her death, her husband continued her work, and claimed that a few years prior an unnamed “disciple” had tried to “unite the people of Europe by the Rhine River” and had failed. It seemed obvious Bailey was talking about Adolph Hitler! If there was any doubt that some high ranking Theosophists are pro-Nazi, that statement would seem to remove it. ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS (1826-1910) A Medium who coined the term "Summerland" (The Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi, p 226) for the spiritual afterlife...a term later plagiarized by Gerald Gardner to describe the Wiccan afterlife. Jackson wrote a book titled The Principles of Nature . Davis plagiarized long passages word for word from Swedenborg, both in this book and in his subsequent writings. Perhaps that's why Davis claimed that the planets Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury all had humans living on them! Even though he was obviously a fake and a fraud, his books are still in print today. PASCHAL BEVERLY RANDOLPH (1825-1875) He wrote many books about sex magic (which he called the “rites of Elusis”), and how it could enlighten people. Good luck trying to decipher his convoluted writings written in a muddled 19th century colloquial English. His works inspired people like Aleister Crowley, the members of the O.:T.:O.:., and Henri Gamache, and are still in print. Randolph was the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and a barmaid (Randolph once remarked his parents "did not stop to pay fees to the justice or to the priest."). His mother died from smallpox when he was 5, and he went to live with a half sister. He ran away from home at 15 and became a sailor. When the spiritualist movement kicked off, Randolph jumped on the bandwagon, appearing on stage as a medium and advertising his services. There have been legends and claims about Randolph that have arisen that have been questionable. One is his supposed friendship with President Abraham Lincoln, and being denied to ride on the train carrying Lincoln’s body because he was a Negro. He claimed to have been a medical doctor, although how and when he received his training is unclear. An early advocate of “free love”, in February 1872 Randolph was jailed for promoting immoral sex, although later acquitted. He married his second wife, Kate, while still legally married to his first wife, meaning Randolph was a bigamist. Apparently Randolph’s sex magic didn't bring happiness, because he committed suicide at age 49, leaving his wife and son to live in poverty. Sex magic doesn't get you anything except perhaps a venereal disease. Sex magic isn’t magic...it’s nothing more than an excuse to have sex and a way for gullible people to be seduced. When you realize this, you will be a step closer to a better life. Would you want to wind up like poor Mr. Randolph? P.B. Randolph Bigamist and fake who committed suicide. GEORGE PICKINGILL (1816-1909) A Wiccan named Bill Lidell a.k.a. "Lugh" claimed Pickingill was an adept, skilled in ancient mystery religions and the occult. Lugh claimed Pickingill wrote the complicated rituals for the Golden Dawn and Wicca and that he ran a network of covens all over the UK. This would have been quite a feat for George, considering he was an illiterate farm hand! Lugh simply lied to make Wicca seem older than what it really is. There are church records surviving in Sussex that show Pickingill was baptized as an infant, and also that he had his son Baptized years later [need ref from Wikipedia or Triumph of the Moon]. Pickingill may have simply been a Christian to whom ridiculous legends have grown! Old George died as he lived, in poverty. GRIGORY YEFIMOVICH NONYKH RASPUTIN (1869-1916) A Russian Orthodox Priest of the early 20th century who has been falsely accused of being an occultist by later writers. In his youth, Rasputin had been a sinner. Some writers have said his name means "debauched one", but this isn’t so, and actually means “crossroads” (honestly, who would name their kid “debauched one”, anyway?) As an adult, Rasputin had a dramatic religious conversion while visiting a monastery and became a Priest. After a pilgrimage to Jerusalem that he made entirely on foot, Rasputin returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. The “mad monk” Rasputin was very popular at the court of the last Czar of Russia, because he healed the Czar's hemophiliac son through prayer. In 1905, the Czar’s son Nicholas (a hemophiliac), was bleeding internally and was feared to be dying. When Rasputin began praying for the Czar’s son, he (or perhaps someone else) insisted the attending physician discontinue his treatments. This alone probably saved the child’s life, because the doctor was giving the child aspirin, which unbeknownst to him was compounding his hemophilia. No one at that time knew aspirin was a blood thinner. Many nefarious claims have been made about Rasputin, and perhaps not all of them are undeserved, but he was not the monster with a hypnotic gaze later hack writers tried to turn him into. There were many temptations that came with his success, including alcohol and adultery, and if the Czar’s secret police can be believed (and that’s certainly a big “if”), he succumbed to them. His daughter Maria, wrote a biography of her father years after his death, and claims he was a pious man and dismisses the stories about him. Rasputin got involved in political intrigue and was in over his head. He was assassinated in 1916. Occultists are fascinated by Rasputin, because of his alleged healing powers, and because he managed to become a favorite of the Romanov’s. Several theories have been made as to the source of his “powers”. One theory is that Rasputin belonged to a religious sect called the Khylsty, which practiced sex rituals, but historians conclude there is no evidence to support this idea. His daughter Maria also denied her father that he was a member of the sect in her biography of her father. Occultists seem to think Rasputin had occult powers such as being able to read minds, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of this. Sophie Buxhoeveden, a friend of the Czarina, recounts how these stories came about: “I believe that at this time the Empress saw Rasputin occasionally, but he was chiefly to be found in the company of the two Grand Duchesses who had ‘discovered’ him, and who now reported that Rasputin was undoubtedly a "seer." This annoyed the Emperor, and, the next time he saw Rasputin, he asked him to tell him how he “saw " . "Your Majesty, I know nothing of clairvoyancy," said Rasputin. "Then why have the Grand Duchesses asserted that you possess clairvoyant gifts?" replied the Emperor, crossly; and, when the Empress put the same question to Rasputin, she received the same reply” Buxhoeveden seemed to think the accusation of being a “seer” was done out of political reasons to discredit Rasputin. She also noted that “The commencement of endless intrigues dates from this period, as Elidor and Germogen were afraid that Rasputin would become more important than themselves.” ( from The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Sophie Buxhoeveden, Chapter V) Occultists like Anton LaVey have tried to re-write history and make Rasputin into an occultist too...and even a Satanist no less. This is because they wish they could get close to people in power as Rasputin did with the Czar. But Rasputin was not an occultist, and all the wishful thinking will not change the past and make him into one. He didn’t have occult powers, and even if he lived sinfully, he still wasn’t a Satanist or occultist of any kind. The occult won’t give you sort of political power...or any power. Period. GEORGE IVANOVITCH GURDJIEFF(1877-1949) An Armenian-Greek con man who got involved in many money making scams. Once he even dyed sparrows in peroxide and sold them as canaries! Even his biographers had to admit he had a streak of charlatanism about him. Much of his early life is unknown, outside of Gurdjieff’s unconfirmed accounts of himself.. Some historians think he may have worked as a Russian agent who spied on Tibet in his early life. Gurdjieff founded and closed many esoteric schools during his career. One of these schools was the "Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man" at Fontainebleau, near Paris, where he managed to talk artists, writers, rich widows, aristocrats and common folk who had the money into working freely for him in exchange for his gobbledygook on every imaginable subject. He created a system of bunk psychotherapy which is convoluted and not even people who claim to practice it can clearly explain what is to outsiders. In other words, it was the forerunner of Scientology. Gurdjieff claimed that people do not perceive reality, as they are not conscious of themselves, but live in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep”, which of course only his system (called by several names, including “the work” and “the Fourth Way”) can awaken them to a higher consciousness. His magnum opus is a 1000 page book, All and Everything, that his followers are expected to live by. Much of his writings are said to be similar to Blavatsky’s Theosophy. Some of his teachings state planet Earth is an actual living being itself (it isn’t), vaguely similar to things Paracelcus wrote.. Gurdgieff also had peculiar beliefs about movement. He sometimes would make his followers freeze in a certain position for hours at a time. Critics charge Gurdjieff's system attaches no value to almost everything that comprises the life of the average man. According to Gurdjieff, everything an "average man" possesses, accomplishes, does, and feels is completely accidental and without any initiative, which would contradict common sense! People who have made a mark in the world have rarely done so without hard work. Gurdjieff' also taught morality is unimportant, which would contradict the teachings of the world religions. His career could have come to an early end in Germany in the 1930's. During a parade, Gurdjieff mocked the goose stepping Nazis as they filed by. The police arrested him, but upon questioning him, decided he was simply a madman and released him. Like Crowley and Blavatsky, he seemed to have a cult leader like grip on his followers. During a demonstration in New York, several of his followers ran toward the end of the a stage, and people sitting in the front row figured they would stop at the last second. Instead, they all plunged off the stage, landing on the people on the front row patrons! (The Occult: A History by Collin Wilson pgs )The fact no one was seriously injured is cited by Gurdjieff’s fans as somehow “proof” of his mystical powers. All it proves his followers were brainwashed to the point they would run off a stage for him. Fortunately Gurdjieff was not the violent type and never ordered them to carry out suicide missions, or they probably would have. Despite presumably being a more advanced human being than the rest of us, he was a notoriously bad driver. For some reason he felt compelled to drive on the wrong side of the road, and at very high speed. One follower who went on one such white knuckler with Gurdjieff said he would drive until the car ran out of gas, then insisted a mechanic be fetched, refusing to believe the car had merely run out of fuel. In 1949 he died in a car wreck, predictably. There is a dispute as to who Gurdjieff’s successor was. A Javaneese monk, Pak Mohammed Subuh,(1901-1983) claimed he was, and started a cult called “Subud” in the late 1950's. It bears little resemblance to Gurdjieff’s original cult. Subuh was financed by Gurdjieff’s follower J,G. Bennet. The cult had a following of celebrities, (cults often seem to, don’t they?) but after 1960, interest faded, and the Subuh went back to Indonesia. Bennet ditched Gurdjieff’s teachings and converted to Roman Catholicism [need ref from Wikipedia]. Another contender to the throne lives on a ranch in America. It’s said his living quarters are palatial and he surrounds himself with expensive works of art. His followers are said to work slavishly to keep up his lifestyle, and seldom actually get to see him. He’s also said to hint to followers that he’s Jesus Christ. In other words, it’s just your typical American cult! Since even Gurdjieff’s followers say he was more or less a con man, and since he didn’t sound particularly sane, why does anyone bother taking him seriously today? Gurdjieff; a cult leader who was a charlatan and had mental problems CHEIRO (1867-1936) A famous Irish palmist of the early 20th century who's real name was William Warner. Books with his name are still being printed and sold. He was flashy and knew how to attract attention. He did gain some celebrity clients for a time. He made many unsubstantiated claims (as do all occultists), such as having an affair with German spy Mata Hari and traveling to India and Egypt to study the occult. Warner claimed to have discovered a rare occult book written on human hide about palmistry...which is extremely unlikely. There were plenty of commercially printed books on Palmistry around then as are now as well as people who practiced it, which is no doubt how he really learned the subject. Cheiro/Warner was said to have read the palms of some celebrities, including Mark Twain and Charlie Chaplain, but there’s no record as to what they thought of his accuracy, if any. After his popularity ended he tried to revitalize his career by moving to California...but he apparently couldn’t foresee his own failure at this. He even tried his hand unsuccessfully at writing screenplays. He died poverty-stricken (as do most occultists) in Hollywood, California, in 1936, apparently unable to see his own future. Cheiro ; He was a fake who died broke. MAX HEINDEL (1865-1919) Founder of the Rosicrucain Fellowship. Born Max Von Gross to a Dutch noble family, he grew up in poverty, just the same. While his family were blue bloods, they didn’t have the green stuff. His mother scrimped and managed to get he and his siblings a good education. As an adult, Van Gross immigrated to the United States and got a job as an engineer. Von Gross became enamored with the occult and racial hogwash of Arinosophy on a trip to Germany and later changed his name to Max Heindel. Swallowing the whole racist Aryan nonsense of Theosophy and Arinosophy, he wanted his name to sound more German. He claimed to have been initiated into Rosicrucianism while in Europe and started the Rosicrucian Fellowship in Oceanside, California. The Fellowship became a rival of sorts to the more well known AMORC. The Fellowship claims to give free lessons in Esoteric Bible Studies (which are woefully inaccurate!), Astrology, and Western Philosophy (which is actuality just a course in Theosophy). The catch to the “free” lessons is that you have to buy the textbooks for the courses...all of which are published and sold exclusively by the Rosicrucian Fellowship. Although the Rosicrucian Fellowship claims to be a Christian outfit, the evidence speaks otherwise. The group used to feature the Tower of Babel Ziggurat on their literature...an object the Bible records as having been offensive to God. Like all occult societies, The Fellowship claims to be much older than it really is, and says it’s origins go back to the Babylonian Mystery schools although it offers no actual proof (it can’t since it’s a lie), which would certainly be a strange claim for a Christian outfit! Heindel taught Lucifer was a “benefactor” to mankind, rather than a devil, who gave man knowledge. Heindel revealed in a 1933 edition of Rays From The Cross magazine that the god Rosicrucians worship is “The Solar Logos”, or in other words, a sun god, which would certainly mean they are Neopagans rather than Christians! Rosicrucians claim to able to heal people with occult powers at a distance (called absent healing) and push a vegetarian diet. Lucifer apparently wasn’t much of a benefactor to VanGorss/Heindel, and he was said to have spent the last decade of his life in both poor health and dire straights financially...as do most occultists it seems! Max Heindel He simply rehashed previous occult teachings and died broke and sick anyway. “BARON” RUDOLPH VON SEBOTTENDORF (1875-1945) His real name was Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer, and in addition to the Sebottendorf alias, he also used the psudeonym Erwin Torre. The founder of the occult order known as the Thule Society. Serbottendorf was an anti-Semite who believed in Blavatsky’s teachings of the Aryan race. He was a member of the Thule society in 1919 comprised of like minded Germans. The Thule disbanded in 1923 after violent attacks from communists in which some Thule members were killed. One branch of the Thule, the German Order, survived however, and eventually evolved into the Nazi Party. In fact, some historians think the Thule was really just and recruiting tool for the German Order as well as a smokescreen for their political activities, which was the real motive behind the orginization. After the Thule disbanded, Serbottendorf fled to Turkey, then Mexico and eventually returned to Germany 1933, probably hoping to assume some important position in the Nazi regime. But instead the Nazis acted indifferent toward him since they no longer needed him. Feeling dissed, he wrote an account of Hitler’s early days titled Bevor Hitler Kam (Before Hitler Came). In it Serbottendorf recounted “The Thule Society was the original group to whom Hitler came”, and revealed the roots of the Nazi party lay in that secret occult society. It was through the help of the Thule members...some of whom were well connected...that Hitler was able to rise to power. An astrologer who worked for the Nazis named William Wulf mentioned after the war Hitler belonged to a society of astrologers and magicians before coming to power, and this was probably a reference to the Thule Society, thus confirming Serbottendorf’s claim. Bevor Hitler Kam sold well enough for a second printing. The Nazis found out about the book, and were none too pleased. They had already given an “official” account of Hitler’s rise to power, and didn’t need someone airing their dirty leaderhosen in public. Copies of the book were confiscated by the Nazis, and Serbottendorf was murdered according to his publisher, no doubt by the Gestapo. A few copies of the book managed to survive, however. Even though Serbottendorf was murdered and the Nazis lost WWII miserably, some occultists still practice what they call “Nazi occult rituals”, many Satanists and Odinists in particular. Why would anyone want to do this, seeing how it worked out for Serbottendorf and the Nazis (let alone how evil the Nazis were)??? You don’t need magic to be a failure! Serbottendorf ; He sought power through the occult, but in the end he wound up murdered. ADOLPH HITLER (1889-1945) Hitler’s name doesn’t spring to mind when one thinks of an occultist, but some occultists consider him to have had occult powers, so I'll mention him. Hitler might have been an Odinist (worshiper of false Viking gods like Thor, Odin, and Freya), or possibly just an atheist who dabbled in the occult, but at any rate, he obviously wasn’t a Christian. Some occultists consider him an "ascended master" or even an "avatar" (incarnated god). Hitler wanted to exterminate the Jews and eventually replace Christianity with Germanic paganism, and this much is certain. Whatever Hitler’s religious beliefs were, we can certainly rule out his being a Christian. In 1996 documents from the Nuremberg Trial were discovered detailing the Nazi’s systematic persecution of Christian Churches and Hilter’s plans to eliminate Christianity altogether after WWII. An American General detailed the accounts given to him by former Nazi leaders of Hitler’s “Kirchenkampf” plans which comprise no less than 150 volumes of Nuremberg Trial documents alone! Even though Hitler may have written and said things at times to make him sound Christian, such as things he said in Mein Kampf, it should be remembered Mien Kampf is political propaganda and not to be taken at face value. Mein Kampf also doesn’t mention Hitler’s plans for the Holocaust, either. Ruteger’s Journal of Religion and Law has made those Nuremberg documents available to read online (need URL). There have been may spurious accounts about Hitler and the Nazis, the occult being one subject. A book published in 1973 called The Spear of Destiny claimed Hitler was a Satanist obsessed with a legendary spear thought to have pierced the side of Christ. It also claims Hitler was a blood drinking Satanist who traveled to India and joined the cult of Kali. These, and many other bizarre stories are untrue. But there is no doubt that Hitler, Hess and Himmler were all involved in the occult to varying degrees, nonetheless. There are many claims that Hitler belonged to various occult societies that combined racism and right wing politics with ritual magic. It’s possible some of the groups claimed to be interested in the occult as a smokescreen to hide their political aims. Besides the Thule, one group that Hitler also supposedly belonged to was called the New Order of Templars. The society was created by Georg Liebenfels in 1909, and combined the legends of the Templars with Aryan supremacy. There is at least one verified record of Hitler visiting Liebenfels, and it could certainly be there was a working relationship between the two. Liebenfels wrote to a disciple in a letter in 1932 “Hitler is one of our pupils.” and promised that through Hitler they would “make the whole world tremble”. They did, but the end results were probably not as he and Hitler would have hoped. A Look magazine issue of 1940 mentions Hitler had his own observatory and practiced astrology, although Hitler said it was merely just for fun. The words “Hitler” and “fun” don’t exactly go together, and realizing some of the people trafficked with, it was probably more than for amusement purposes. Hitler’s superstition became so well known, that even The Three Stooges made a short that same year that mocked Hitler’s belief in astrology (and also mocked Hitler himself, of course! Soitenly!). When British Intelligence discovered Hitler’s interest in star gazing, they hired an astrologer named Pohl to try to figure out what Hitler’s astrologers were telling him. When asked about a British invasion, Pohl told Churchill he personally had known all the astrologers advising Hitler, and that they all had advised him against it. He was apparently right, since no dreaded invasion of Britain ever took place. The Nazis attitude toward astrologers was ambivalent. On the one hand, they outlawed fortunetellers and astrologers, but quietly employed some of them for official party business. Hitler hired an astrologer and hypnotist named Hume to teach him about mass psychology and hypnosis. It’s believed Hume taught him the strange hand gestures that you often see used by Hitler during speeches in newsreels. Hume opened a seance parlor called “Castle of The Occult”. He had the room bugged with microphones to pick up conversations before the seances to fool people into thinking he had occult powers. He seemed to have predicted the Reischtag fire, perhaps because he played some part in it, or because the Nazis had told him about it, or he picked up plans for it during a bugged conversation. He was murdered 6 weeks later by the Berlin police, no one knows for sure why, but it’s generally thought the Reischtag fire had something to do with it. It may have been because his Jewish parentage finally came to light, or perhaps his microphones had been discovered, or it may have been because the Berlin Chief of Police was indebted to him for a large amount of money. At any rate, Hitler’s astrologer didn’t see it coming! The Nazis belief in astrology was so strong they were even willing to risk a U-Boat and it’s crew for a simple dime store farmer’s almanac. In 1942, German spies were sent by U-Boat to North Carolina to buy a copy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, believing it had the most accurate weather forecasts in the world (even though this has been proven not to be the case in scientic studies) They were promptly captured in the attempt of trying to buy a copy. Uncle Sam banned publication of all such almanacs until the end of WWII to discourage future attempts. Occultism and quack science seem to go hand in hand, and not surprisingly quack sciences flourished under Hitler. Hoebinger was a mechanic who created a theory of “Fire and Ice” to explain the creation of the universe. His theory was that the moon was made of ice, and that planets were created when huge globes of ice collided with the sun. The current moon is the fourth such ice globe to be the earth’s satellite, and would plunge to earth in 1000 years, creating another deluge. This is supposedly why Hitler said the Third Reich would last 1000 years. Scientists were forced to accept this bizarre and unscientific Fire and Ice theory which Hitler favored as an alternative to what he called “Jewish science”. Hilter liked Hoebinnger so much, that Hoebinnger is the only person known to have told Hilter to shut up while he was talking...and live! Hoebinnger died in 1933, but a group of psudeo-scientists he assembled while alive continued to advise the Nazis. “The Hoebinngers” as they were known wrongly predicted a mild winter for Russia in 1942 which resulted in disaster for Germany when their troops experienced a sub-arctic nightmare. The winter was so cold gun powder wouldn’t ignite. Hoebinnger believed the earth was merely a hollow globe and the Nazis experimented on a crazy scheme to create a radar system based on the idea. It failed to work, since the earth isn’t hollow. During WWII, the Germans became perplexed as to why the British were so good at finding and destroying their U-Boats and ships. They somehow drew the bizarre conclusion that the British were using psychics with pendulums swinging over maps (used sort of like divining rods) to do this. It didn’t occur to them, thank goodness for the world, that the British had in fact captured a German code machine (called an Enigma machine). The pendulum diviners were employed with Hitler’s approval, but did absolutely nothing to help locate British ships. Hitler started out at the beginning of WW2 with the world's largest army while America had the 16th largest. His ally Japan, a nation of adherents to the Shinto religion who are goddess worshipers (not unlike Wiccans)decimated America's navy with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although Mussolini was an atheist who only paid lip service to the Vatican to keep up appearances, the Fascists had occultist supporters like the Baron Julius Cesare and Andrea Evola, who wanted Italy to return to Roman paganism. Spain was yet another powerful ally to Hitler. Germany was way ahead in atomic bomb research at the beginning of the war. In theory, Hitler should have won WW2 based on his resources, and in fact Germany was winning the war in the beginning.. But instead of course, Germany lost WW2, with Hitler biting on a cyanide capsule while simultaneously pulling the trigger of gun pointed at his head. Germany, Italy, and Japan lay in ruins. Spain had backed out of WWII declaring itself neutral and depriving Hitler of any help it might bring. Hitler’s name is the most reviled in history. So much for Odin! The occult didn’t help the evil Hitler, nor will it help anyone else. As a final act, Hitler committed suicide on April 30th...the Neopagan holiday of Walpurgisnacht. Some people speculate this date was chosen due to some kind of occult belief. Could Hitler have offered himself as a sort of human sacrifice to Germanic Pagan gods as a last desperate attempt to win the war? If so, this last magical act also failed. Adolph Hitler; a failure and the most despised man to have ever lived. HEINRICH HIMMLER (1900-1945) Occultist chicken farmer who became an infamous mass murderer. Himmler was an early member of the Nazi Party who rose in rank to become the second in command of Hitler’s Reich. He was a devout student of the occult, in particular of Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy, as well as astrology, spiritualism, and herbalism. Himmler headed the Nazi shock troops known as the SS during the Nazi regime. Himmler was obsessed at finding the occult origins of the “Aryan race”, and created a department called the Annenahbe to investigate and catalog every piece of folklore and superstition on the German speaking people. Himmler had 63 million dollars spent to restore the Welwelsburg Castle...an outrageous sum of money...just because he thought it was built on the site of a pre-Christian Saxon fort. It became the headquarters for the SS, and a Mecca of sorts for a future Germanic Neopagan/occult religion (some occult nuts even make visits there even today). The SS headquarters was a literal temple to German racism, and contained a library of an estimated 10,000 books of the occult, folklore, and anything having to do with Germany. Himmler claimed he talked to the ghost of Henry the Folwer each night, who would appear at his bed. On the 1000th anniversary of Henry the Folwer’s birth, Himmler had Fowler’s remains re-enterred with much pomp and ceremony. Himmler also claimed to be the reincarnation of Henry the Folwer. It’s a head scratcher to wonder how he thought he was able to talk to his own ghost. Himmler despised the Jesuits (since they were Christians) but oddly enough patterned the SS after them in some ways. Himmler intended to replace Christianity with Germanic Neopaganism with SS officers to act as sort of like High Priests for this new Neopagan religion. SS officers were even to preside over weddings. Hitler once remarked “After I die Himmler will probably make me into some kind of SS Saint. Can you believe it? Ridiculous! We should have just stayed with the Christians. At least they had a sense of order.” [emphasis mine to show Hitler and the Nazis had abandoned Christianity] Himmler’s bizarre occult beliefs became the basis for many Nazi policies. SS officers were encouraged to copulate with women in German cemeteries in hopes the ghosts of German soldiers would be reincarnated into the babies from said unions. A German occultist named Karl Maria Wiligut (1866-1946) said he could psychically trace a German’s family tree back 280,000 years by psychic means, and that the Earth once had four moons and three suns. Wiligut claimed his own family line started when the gods of the sea mated with the gods of the air. Himmler immediately made this crackpot an SS Colonel! In 1938 Colonel Wiligut was forced to retire after it came to light he had once been committed to an insane asylum in 1924 after he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic! Surviving records indicate Himmler dispatched SS personnel to investigate such superstitious things as why crows linger at funerals than other birds (no one could find out, since they actually don’t). When Germany’s fall was apparent, Himmler secretly tried (unsuccessfully) to negotiate a surrender deal with the allies. An aide implored him not to discuss occult subjects with his contact, a Dutch Barron. But Himmler, the original occult geek, lectured the poor man for an hour to the similarities to Germanic runes and Japanese pictographs as evidence that both Germans and Japanese were Aryans. When Germany fell to the Alies in 1945, Himmler tried to escape wearing a Private’s uniform but his occult powers must have been on the blink or something, because he was captured and recognized almost immediately. He committed suicide during an interrogation by biting down on a suicide capsule he concealed in his mouth. Despite the supposed occult power the Nazis had, it did nothing for them. Germany laid in ruins, and the Nazis became the most despised villains in history. Himmler’s son later described in the decades after the war the bizarre and Satanic things his father did, including having furniture made from human bones. Even he is perplexed by his father’s ghoulish appetites. He has not followed in his father’s footsteps, and is a Lutheran minister! Hienrich Himmler; an occult geek and failure. One of the most reviled mass murders of history. RUDOLPH HESS (1894-1987) Early Nazi party member who became Deputy Fuherer. Hess is best remembered for his bizarre attempt to win Great Britain on the side of the Axis that ended in his imprisonment. Hess had been a member of the Thule Society, and was said to daily consulted astrologers and fortunetellers for advice. Hess became convinced by a psychic that Britain had to enter World War II on the Axis side for Germany to win. He thought he could convince the British to join the Axis, and flew a plane to Scotland on a mission to win them over...obviously not very likely. Hess failed in his mission and was immediately captured by a pitchfork wielding farmer upon his arrival! Hitler was furious when news of Hess’s capture reached him. It’s said Hitler read a letter Hess left him, and though the contents aren’t known, Hitler immediately had all astrologers, fortune tellers , and psychics arrested in Germany after that incident, suggesting the letter was about an astrological or psychic prediction that precipitated Hess’ flight. Hess sat out the war in prison, and was later sentenced to life imprisonment during the Nuermberg War Crime Trials. Hess spent the rest of his life in Spandau Prison, and for many years was it’s only resident. He attempted suicide on several occasions, and finally succeeded in 1989 at the age of 90. From his capture in 1938 to his suicide in 1989, Hess spent more of his life imprisoned than he did free. In his suicide note he told his wife he had pretended to be insane, hoping he could gain his release. His plan failed, and it must have been enough to drive someone mad, having to pretend for 50 years to be crazy! The occult didn’t work for Hess, and it won’t work for anyone else. Rudolph Hess Nazi war criminal, prisoner most of his life, and ultimate failure who committed suicide. ALEISTER CROWLEY (1875-1947) The founder of the Thelema occult religion, and connected directly or indirectly to just about every occult group or movement around today, from the The Church of Satan, the AMORC, Wicca and even the Church of Scientology . Crowley started out in life as a wealthy heir to Crowley Ale. Despite all his voluminous writings that blather about the importance of developing the will, he squandered his fortune away on drugs and prostitutes. Crowley did some incredibly strange things during his career, to put it mildly, including defecating on hotel carpets because he thought his feces was sacred, molested children, sharpened his teeth to make fangs, ate feces, put food and dead birds on a skeleton in attempt to reanimate it (all it did was make a mess) and identified with the Anti-Christ. His followers are willing to overlook such behavior, thinking somehow it was due to being in contact with the mystical forces. But there is actually a much more mundane explanation for Crowley’s behavior. Crowley Apparently suffered minor brain damage from an explosion on Guy Fawkes night when he was 14. In an explosion resulting from a “homemade firework” (a glass jar with two pounds of gunpowder), young Crowley was knocked unconscious. He remained in a coma for four days, and had to keep a blindfold on for two weeks for fear he’d go blind. His family noticed a change in his personality after this accident. This accident probably made him psychotic, because psychosis can be cause by brain damage, and Crowley certainly exhibited psychotic behavior throughout his life. In addition to things mentioned, he would claim to be a Scottish Laird, a Russian Count, an Egyptian Prince, claim to have a medical degree when he didn’t, and once opened a "magickal restaurant" featuring pills made with his own semen as an ingredient (yuck!). Not long after this accident is when Crowley began his interest in the occult. He read A.E. Waite’s Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, and claims he made a pact with the devil at age 14. As an adult, Crowley created a religion called Thelema. Thelema is a religion with no commandments, and instead tells followers “Do What Thou Will”. Crowley seems to have gotten the idea for Thelema from the novel by renegade Roman Catholic monk Francois Rabelais (c.1495-1553) called Gargantua and Pantagruel, written circa 1542 A.D. The monks lived in the Abbey of Thelema only had one rule, “Do What Thou Will”. Crowley developed a taste for mountain climbing while at Cambridge, and tried to climb Mount Everest a few times, but always failed to reach the top. Crowley likened the pursuit of the occult to mountain climbing. A person had to work hard at it and not stop to rest. If the occultist failed in his task, he would fall off the "mountain" into "the Abyss". Crowley was known to abuse his porters, and gave racist excuses to a British newspaper when interviewed as to why this was OK. On such an expedition in 1905, Crowley was deposed as leader of the group because of such behavior. During this climb, there was an avalanche later that killed several people. Crowley heard the cries for help, but did not even bother to look outside his tent, and this incident is hard to excuse, even by his followers. But this incident is far from being atypical of Crowley. Crowley was described, by friend and foe alike, as an egotistical, self centered, arrogant individual. He took much and gave little in return. He cared nothing about other people, except what he could get out of them and could be downright cruel to his disciples and friends. To the psychotic, there is no one more important than themselves. Crowley's life seems to have reflected his moto of "Do What Thou Will". Such a moto is the moto of a sociopath, if not a criminal, and it doesn’t make people better. Influenced by Nietzsche, He believed he was "beyond good and evil", and thought conventional morality did not apply to him. When looking at Crowley’s behavior throughout his life, it is hard to see any benefits of practicing Thelema. Crowley joined the Order of The Golden Dawn, but caused much friction in the group. After he got kicked out, he later started his own version, called the Aregentinum Astrum, (Latin for “Silver Star”)or A.A. He also joined the Ordero Templi Orenentis (O.T.O.), the Order of Oriental Templars. In 1923, he was promoted to head of the Order. Crowley was very fond of demons and sought them out on many occasions. One technique Crowley used to accomplish this was to sodomize a fellow magician, either man or woman, and then eat the semen or feces after the act took place. Crowley believed that sodomy attracted demons, and by eating these vile things (in a sort of mock communion) he could bring the demons inside himself and gain their powers and knowledge. Thank you for not throwing up on this book when you read that. Whatever Crowley thought he learned from these experiences is unknown, and you’d be an idiot to want to try these techniques. While Crowley never became the Devil's chief of staff he did, according to his followers, become demonically possessed on at least one occasion. During a ritual in the desert, along with two of his disciples, he attempted to invoke a demon called "Chronozon". It is said Crowley did all the things you're supposed to do, drawing his cute little circle in the sand with all the names of the God that he so despised inside to protect him. But, so the story goes, the demon simply kicked sand on the circle, walked right in, and possessed Crowley. It was said after this incident, Crowley appeared to have aged 20 years overnight. Many of his followers believe Crowley was possessed by this demon for the rest of his life! These are things one must consider when deciding to follow the teachings of this man. Crowley married his wife Rose in 1903 and called her The Whore of Babylon to complement his self imposed Great Beast title. She was not a very stable woman. Crowley recorded one day on their Honeymoon, a bat got tangled in Rose’s hair. Later that night, she began screaming and clawing, thinking she was turning into a bat herself. She eventually divorced Crowley and spent the rest of her life in an insane asylum. This was said to be a pattern throughout Crowley's career. Followers, servants, and lovers of both sexes went insane, perhaps because they were mentally unstable to begin with, or perhaps driven insane deliberately by Crowley somehow, or perhaps both factors. Several disciples were said to have committed suicide after Crowley had no further use for them. Most people would expect a religious figure does good things for people. But what about a religious figure that drives people insane and even to suicide? Crowley was very fond of demons and sought them out on many occasions. One technique Crowley used to accomplish this was to sodomize a fellow magician, either man or woman, and then eat the semen or feces after the act took place. Crowley believed that sodomy attracted demons, and by eating these vile things (in a sort of mock communion) he could bring the demons inside himself and gain their powers and knowledge. Thank you for not throwing up on this book when you read that. Whatever Crowley thought he learned from these experiences is unknown, and you’d be an idiot to want to try these techniques. While Crowley never became the Devil's chief of staff he did, according to his followers, become demonically possessed on at least one occasion. During a ritual in the desert, along with two of his disciples, he attempted to invoke a demon called "Chronozon". It is said Crowley did all the things you're supposed to do, drawing his cute little circle in the sand with all the names of the God that he so despised inside to protect him. But, so the story goes, the demon simply kicked sand on the circle, walked right in, and possessed Crowley. It was said after this incident, Crowley appeared to have aged 20 years overnight. Many of his followers believe Crowley was possessed by this demon for the rest of his life! These are things one must consider when deciding to follow the teachings of this man. In 1903, Crowley wrote his magnum opus, titled Liber Al Vel Legis, Latin for “The Book of The Law” in mockery of the Law of Moses, which he claims was dictated to him by his “Holy Guardian Angel” named Aiwazz. Some of Crowley’s followers, such as the Temple of Set, claim Aiwazz was none other than Satan. This would mean Thelema is a form of Satanism! Thelemites hope that their religion will someday destroy Christianity and replace it (along with the rest of the word’s religions), and Liber Al bears this out: “3:50 I am in a secret fourfold word, the blasphemy against all gods of men. 3:51 Curse them! Curse them! Curse them! 3:52 With my Hawk's head I peck at the eyes of Jesus as he hangs upon the cross. 3:53 I flap my wings in the face of Mohammed & blind him. 3:54 With my claws I tear out the flesh of the Indian and the Buddhist, Mongol and Din. 3:55 Bahlasti! Ompehda! I spit on your crapulous creeds. 3:56 Let Mary inviolate be torn upon the wheels: for her sake let all chaste women be utterly despised among you!” Even though Thelemites charge Christians with being intolerant of other faiths (as do all occultists), what are we to make of Thelemites from reading the above passage? Thelema is clearly intolerant of all other religions. Crowley was obsessed with developing the will, like Neitzche, and thought it was utterly crucial to becoming a sorcerer. One method of will development devised by Crowley involved making himself not think of himself as “I”, and cutting his forearm with a razor each time he thought that thought. So in other words, he was no different than teenage Satanists and Wiccans I’ve come across who are into “cutting”. Crowley was simply exhibiting self-injurious behavior as do many psychotic and mentally ill people. Crowley seemed to be a pansexual, which is someone who sees sex in everything. He took on sexual partners of both sexes, and is said to have been a pedophile and even tried necrophilia. While the charges of molesting children are now denied by some, his very writings indicate he violated his own children: “[Rose Kelly] hath given Her two year old bastard boy to her lover’s whim of sodomy...She hath tongued Her five-month old girl, and asked its father to deflower it.” A follower named Willian Mudd, a little known gay poet, allowed Crowley to sodomize him on numerous occasions as part of their “sex magick”. He later committed suicide by drowning himself with his pockets full of rocks. In fact, most of Crowley’s followers, lovers, and servants went mad or committed suicide. What kind of prophet causes so much misery for the people around him? In 1920 Crowley established his life long dream of an “Abbey of Thelema” at Cefalu on the island of Sicily. But the broken down chateau did not become the occult sex and drug utopia Crowley had envisioned. His wife and his lover bickered and fought constantly with one another. The trio almost starved to death had it not been for some kindly peasants who felt sorry for them and gave them food. Disciples came and went, one describing the Abbey as an outhouse because the chateau smelled of feces and was littered with garbage. One of the most disgusting of all Crowley's "magical" acts was the night Leah defecated on a plate which Crowley, a man who’s blasphemy knew no end, then consecrated her feces as a "Eucharist", in mockery of The Lord’s Supper. Crowley claimed she then “demanded” that Crowley should eat her excrement, to which he did, but of course Crowley was known to consume feces many times on previous occasions. Later, he wrote of this "magickal"experience: "My mouth burned; my throat choked; my belly retched, my blood fled whither who knows, and my skin sweated. She stood above me, hideous in contempt." (99) Animal sacrifices were a common occurrence at the chateau. One follower got distemper after drinking sacrificed cat’s blood."The cat was placed on the altar; incense was burnt; magical invocations went on for two hours. At the end of this time, Loveday slashed the cat's throat with a knife; but the blow was too light, and the cat rushed around the room howling. It was caught again, etherized, and Loveday was made to gulp down a cup of the cat's blood." The result of this “magic ritual” was Lovejoy contracted distemper and died shortly afterwards. After Lovejoy’s death and stories of a animal sacrifices made the Italian newspapers, Mussolini’s Fascist government kicked him out in 1924, proving Crowley had no powers or else he could have stopped it. Cats weren’t the only victims of Crowley’s dangerous and disgusting blood drinking rituals. His second wife, Leah Hirsig, had to copulate with a goat, until the moment of climax, then Crowley slashed it’s throat and he and his followers drank the blood. Even though occultists all hold Crowley in the highest esteem - - Thelemites actually consider him to have been a god - - I can really see no difference between Crowley and a teenage “stoner” Satanist who goes around the neighborhood sacrificing cats, other than Crowley had better grammar. Once Italy gave Crowley the boot, he went to Paris, and his career went downhill from there. The tabloids decided Crowley was somewhat of a has been. One newspaper article noted how much Crowley seemed to have aged in appearance beyond his years. His hard living was taking it’s toll. He had a nervous breakdown after trying to conjure a demon in a Paris hotel. Crowley was found huddled nude in a corner, his robe ripped to shreds. His illegitimate son MacAlister died during this same attempt, apparently from fright. Crowley spent four months in an insane asylum after that, and was released, a broken man [America Bewitched by Daniel Logan pg 64-65). From there his downward spiral only gained momentum. Aleister spent the remainder of his years sponging off former students to keep up his drug habits. His arms were badly scarred from his heroine addiction as well as from years of cutting himself. In 1947 he died impoverished in a flophouse in Hastings, England, forgotten by most, a drug addict and alcoholic, but still claimed to the last he was “The Great Beast 666" to the end. Would you want to follow someone who wound up a penniless drug addict? If so, just go to any homeless shelter. No doubt some of them can tell you all about the spirits and weird things they see too! Aleister Crowley was a psychotic and fraud who died a penniless junkie in a flophouse. "Success is your proof " - -Liber Al Vel Legis 3:46, Aleister Crowley KARL GERMER (1885-1962) Succeeded Crowley as leader of the O.T.O. in the U.S.A., although rivals of Germer hotly disputed this. Like Crowley, Germer tried to have mastery over drugs...and also would up a junkie like Crowley. Years of drug abuse ravaged his body (and bank account) , and he died in poor health in California in 1962. Karl Germer; Died a junkie like his master before him. FRANZ BARDON (1909-1956) a.k.a. Frantisek Bardon A Czech stage magician who wrote a few books on the occult. Despite the claims of being a "real magician" with magical powers, Bardon was imprisoned by the Nazis during WWII and had to remain incarcerated until the camp was liberated by the Russians. You would think with magic powers he could have made himself invisible or hexed a guard to let him go, don't you? Bardon's luck under communism wasn't much better. He was imprisoned again in 1956 for illegal production of medicine, because his medicines were based on "alchemical" recipes, and Bardon was not a Pharmacist nor a Medical Doctor. He died in prison four months later, after eating bacon that affected his pancreitis. Some have speculated Bardon committed suicide, because he had requested the bacon from his wife, knowing full well eating bacon could kill him! Bardon couldn't make magic work for him, it didn’t cure his pancritiis, it didn’t get him out of prison, it never made him rich. It left him with no option but suicide...and yet people still buy his books! Franz Bardon; a fake who committed suicide. EVANGELINE ADAMS (1868-1932) A famous astrologer, she published four books on astrology. Adams was arrested twice in New York for fortune telling, in 1911 and 1914, but was acquitted both times. Some have credited Adams with the decriminalization of astrology, although in fact it still remained illegal in New York to be an astrologer for many years after her death, and apparently still is (see Section 889 of the NY Criminal Code! ). Coming from a proper Boston upbringing, Adams did manage to pave the way for many future quacks and cons by making astrology more socially acceptable. One of Adams predications astrologers prefer you don’t think about occurred in Feb. 1929, when Adams told readers of her daily column the stock market would rise in the coming months. This is what most people assumed anyway, so it sounds like her predictions merely echoed popular belief, rather than originating from some mystical source. As mentioned on the Psychic Scams page on this website, a common trick of fortunetellers throughout the ages is to simply tell people what they want to hear. In fact, there was a “mini-crash” of the stock market the very next month in March, and the famous mega-crash in October that triggered the Great Depression of the 1930's! People who foolishly trusted her and bought stocks on her advice lost their fortunes. Like most astrologers, Adams probably had a hit or miss ratio that can be attributed to chance. And like most psychics, fortune-tellers, or channelers, she probably just told people what they wanted to hear. Astrology is unscientific, has been proven not to work in tests, and people who follow astrologers like Adams can wind up in disastrous circumstances as a result! Evenageline Adams; false prophetess EDGAR CAYCE (1877-1945) Known as “the sleeping prophet”, because he could seem to put himself into a trance-like state during his readings. Cayce didn't charge for his "readings", but accepted large donations instead. After his death, his son started the Association for Research and Enlightenment so he could charge people fees to research his father's previous readings. Cayce combined the occult with Biblical teaching and even a dash of Mormon theology (Cayce claimed his nanny as a child had been one of Brigham Young’s wives). Both his father and grandfather were said to have been involved in the occult. There are different accounts of how Cayce “discovered” his powers, each more fanciful than the next. One version has him in a coma with fever at age 10, when he suddenly told the doctor in a trance-like state, “We have been injured by a baseball to the base of the spine”. He then instructed the Doctor to make a poultice from herbs and put it on his neck. This supposedly saved his life. Another account says an angel visited him as an 8 year old boy, asking him his wish. Cayce supposedly asked the angel for the gift of healing. Joseph Smith Jr. Was also supposedly visited by an angel as a child, which might be the real inspiration for the story. Yet another account says Cayce got laryngitis, and was cured by a hypnotist. The laryngitis came back, so under hypnosis, the hypnotist asked him for a cure. Cayce told the hypnotist the cure, and it supposedly worked. Later the hypnotist supposedly tried asking Cayce for cures of other people, which also supposedly worked. The real source of Cayce’s powers seems to be less mystical. As mentioned, his family was involved in the occult going back to his paternal grandfather. As an adult, Cayce worked in a health nut bookstore, which had many books on folk cures, homeopathy, osteopathy and quack medicine ( and probably some occult books too). Many of the cures given in his trances use Osteopath terminology, and that’s unlikely to be a coincidence. In fact, all of his cures seem to have been based on folk cures and quack medicine of the day. One would think with all of Cayce’s psychic powers, he could have come up with a cure for things like Cancer, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Heart Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, and other incurable diseases, but he didn’t. Although supposedly able to heal others, he couldn’t heal himself. While he was dying of a fatal illness he predicted “In 5 days I will be completely healed”. Instead, a few days later he died! Cayce advised eating almonds to prevent Cancer, to which his followers note that almonds have laetril in them. Laetril was actually proven to be ineffectual against Cancer, but people into “alternative medicine” still swear by it, even though it doesn’t work. Cayce also said a person could smoke 5 or 6 cigarettes a day and not risk getting Cancer, which is also not true according to doctors. The “sleeping prophet” made many false prediction including, including Hitler would be a man of peace, and Atlantis would rise from the ocean in 1968 (it didn't). In 1968 the discovery of formations on the ocean floor that look like a road off the island of Bimini were heralded by New Agers as proof of Atlantis, but the “road” turned out to be cracked rock that is found naturally throughout the world’s ocean. Furthermore, it didn’t “rise from the sea” as Cayce said Atlantis would, and is still on the bottom of the sea. There are more false predictions as well. In 1934 he predicted this: "The earth will be broken up in the western portion of America. The greater portion of Japan must go into the sea. The upper portion of Europe will be changed as in the twinkling of an eye. Land will appear off the east coast of America. There will be the upheavals in the Arctic and in the Antarctic that will make for the eruption of volcanoes in the Torrid areas, and there will be the shifting then of the poles—so that where there have been those of a frigid or semi-tropical will become the more tropical, and moss and fern will grow. And these will begin in those periods in '58 to '98'." Needless to say, none of these things happened. He made dozens of other predictions that didn't happen as well. Edgar Cayce; a false prophet and a fake. WILHELM REICH (1892-1957) Included here because so many occultists (Anton LaVey and Israel Regaride, Gavin and Yvonne Frost to name just four) seem to read his books and subscribe to his ideas. He was a quack psychiatrist, although he had an impressive pedigree, and had actually studied under Dr. Sigmund Freud himself. Reich claimed he discovered a new form of energy called "orgone", and cited evidence of its existence. Reich claimed, for instance, if a you stare at the sky long enough, the ripples you see are the “orgone enregy”. In reality, doctors know the ripples are just an optical illusion due to eye strain, nothing more! Orgone seemed to be the building blocks of the universe, and could also cure practically every disease, according to Reich. To date, no one has ever verified orgone's existence, although Reich's cult of followers continue to claim they have. In 1940 Reich invented a device that he claimed could cure everything from impotence to cancer called the "Orgone collector"...which was actually just an empty wooden box. Reich charged his clients around $250 per session of sitting in this phony miracle box. He also sold "Orgone blankets" and "Orgone pillows", which also boasted curative powers, and were just ordinary blankets and pillows. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration obtained an injunction against Reich selling his products in 1954, but Reich defiantly continued to do so. In between Orgone research, Reich also claimed to have stopped a UFO invasion with a secret ray weapon he developed. You think the FDA would have been grateful to Reich for keeping us from being turned into pod people, but they still had him arrested. He died in Prison in 1957 for failing to obey a court order, but there will always be a segment of the population that follows quacks and nuts. Occultism and quack science seem to go hand in hand. Wilhelm Reich; a quack and a fraud who died in prison. ISRAEL REGARDIE (1907-1985) Briefly a secretary of Crowley, until he had a falling out with “The Great Beast”. Even fans of Crowley have pointed out that’s a good thing, considering how most of Crowley’s followers went insane or committed suicide! Regardie practiced his own quack version of psychotherapy based on Wilhelm Reich's writings, and called himself “Dr. Regardie”, even though he only went to Chiropractic school. Chiropractors are not licensed to be Psychologists in the U.S., but you can call yourself a "therapist" of any kind in just about any state and get away with it. During an alchemy experiment, he burnt his lungs from the fumes and suffered from breathing problems because of that for the rest of his life. Alchemy was a quack science in the middle ages that sought to turn lead into gold and elixirs of eternal youth, and it still seems people bite on it. He revealed the “secret” rituals of the Golden Dawn sold today as a huge book published by Llewellyn that sells for around 30 bucks. So let’s review: he was a quack psychologist, a secretary to the flop house- junkie “anti-Christ”, and the author of a book about an occult order that turned out to be a hoax. Got it? People who own his book own a book about an occult order started by a fake (Mathers) written by a Chiropractor, who worked for the flophouse junkie Anti-Christ, but they aren’t “magicians” of any sort. HARVEY SPENCER LEWIS (1883-1939) Founder of the "Ancient Mystical Order Of The Rosy Cross", or AMORC. Lewis claims to have the secrets of Christian Rosenkrutz...a man who never really existed. He worked in advertising as an illustrator which helped him to promote the AMORC, through print ads and booklets. The order sells about 3 dozen books with catchy titles to sell boring material. Titles such as Mental Poisoning, The Secret Life of Jesus, and Mastery of the Cycles of Fate might seem to promise more than they deliver. Rosicrucians are told they can counter act negative Karma, with the law of Ahrma...which sometimes involves making out a check to AMORC. Lewis founder the AMORC and heavily promoted the super-secret order by advertising in national magazines and newspapers. It has been jokingly said by critics that if the AMORC ever stopped advertising that the print media industry would go belly up! Anyone could learn to be an occultist for just a few dollars each month after answering a very simple questionnaire. AMORC claims not to be a religion, although Lewis tried to start a Rosicrucian Church at one point, and also operated a Rosicrucian radio station in Florida to promote it. While Rosicrucians may claim to be Christian, AMORC says it goes back to an Egyptian mystery school started by Pharo Amenhotep (it actually doesn’t, however). Rosicrucians set up Neopagan altars (it would be hard to call them “Christian”) in their homes with busts of Nephertiti and Amenhotep on them...obviously meant to be Pagan demi-gods. There’s little of AMORC that has to do with Christian mysticism. While Lewis may have claimed to have been a “Christian Mystic”, he was in fact a disciple of Aleister Crowley, the flophouse Anti-Christ! The truth came out during a lawsuit in which a rival Rosicrucian named Swinburne Clymer sued Lewis. According to Clymer, Lewis was initiated in a ritual that was supposed to have lasted 3 days behind closed doors (and could have even involved homosexual “sex magic”, since Crowley was involved), but Lewis’s ritual only lasted one day. The AMORC doesn’t want you to know their “Mystic Christian” leader was initiated by a self proclaimed “Anti-Christ”, so you’ll plunk down your $10 each month for “monographs” of useless occult gobbledygook! Upon hearing of Lewis’s success, Crowley wrote Lewis to proclaim himself head of the AMORC. Lewis refused, since his money making order was doing fine without him, and he knew the negative reputation Crowley had deliberately cultivated would change that. Crowley thought of going to America again, to seize the order from Lewis, but the by that time Crowley was in his flophouse years, and since he never had magic powers to begin with, couldn’t actually cast a spell for traveling money. In 1916, Lewis held a press conference and supposedly demonstrated he could change zinc into gold, or so he claimed at least. The AMORC has never offered to share this secret with anyone else or even attempt to duplicate the feat in public. It’s certainly never allowed a demonstration with scientists present to examine the process. Undoubtedly the trick was probably done by slight of hand or similar means. Casanova was unimpressed when Count St. Germain tried to fool him with it in the 18th century by a similar stunt. The AMORC still exists, even though in recent years there have been schisms. In 1990, Rosicrucian Imperator Gary Stewart was removed and later sued by the AMORC over embezzlement of funds. The AMORC board of directors claimed Stewart had embezzled around $500,000 and hid it in bank accounts in Spain. Stewart denied the charges, saying everything he did was on the level, and fought back with his own lawsuit. Eventually the case was settled out of court, and the AMORC dismissed their case with prejudice. Now, if Rosicrucians can really do change zinc into gold, why do they need to charge money for the lessons? Why was there an embezzlement scandal in the 1990's, seeing how Rosicrucians can simply create gold? Didn’t the original Rosicrucian document, Fama Fraternis, claimed Rosicrucians had no use for gold? The reality is, they actually can’t change zinc into gold, they don’t have mystic powers, and Rosicrucianism is based on a hoax as we’ve already seen. H. Spencer Lewis; a fake, a follower of the flop house Anti-Christ, and a man who knew the value of mass marketing. RUEBEN SWINEBURN CLYMER (1878-1966) A Rosicrucian rival to H. Spencer Lewis (and more or less, Max Heindel), and follower of P.B. Randolph. As mentioned, Clymer made public the charge that H. Spencer Lewis was initiated by Crowley. One group of Clymer's Rosicrucians eventually merged with another Rosicrucian group that has ties to Aleister Crowley's Thelema...ironically coming full circle and becoming a sort of “cousin” to the AMORC (technically, at least) Clymer bought P.B. Randolph’s occult archives from his widow, and kept Randolph’s books in print. Clymer claimed he succeeded Edward H Brown (known as 'Eulis') as head of a Rosicrucian order, but this has been proven false. Clymer created his 'Fraternitas Rosae Crucis' in 1920, two years before Brown actually died. His official biography boasts that 3,000,000 people received Clymer’s teachings during his lifetime, which sounds very unlikely. My guess is the number is probably closer to a few hundred...and that number would be stretched out over more than half a century. Clymer’s group never achieved the commercial success or audience of his rival, the AMORC, or even the Rosicrucian Fellowship. Clymer had his own bizzare views of Christianity and race. Swiburne claimed “Jesus was an Aryan in whose veins flowed Aryan blood” [ref Handbook of Today’s Religions], even though his idol Randolph was black. Clymer was said to have a portrait of Jesus on his wall, depicting him as a blond haired, blue eyed man...an impossibility since Jesus was a middle eastern Jew! Jesus certainly didn’t appear different from other people since he was able to blend into a crowd and since Judas had to point him out to the Romans [ref. Bible verses] and could escape crowds by blending in, impossible of a blue eyed Aryan [Bible verses] Some of his teachings sound chillingly similar to those ideas espoused by Nazis. Clymer was a strong believer that expectant mothers should follow an occult regimen of diet and meditation to bring about a race of “Supermen”. A biography written by the Rosicrucians (probably ghost written by Clymer himself) from 1955 states "Dr. Clymer is convinced more firmly than ever that racial or blood purity is an absolute essential to the attainment of the highest degree of development not only for the individual, but also for the country alike... He felt that the man who loses his race pride begins to deteriorate. This applies to all races as well as individuals." [website ref with date] So Clymer was just yet another Neo-Nazi wolf in Theosophist sheep clothing. Oddly enough, Clymer's hero was Paschal Beverly Randolph, who's father was said to be white and his mother was of Negro, Indian, and a little white ancestry! This would seem to fly in the face of his “racially pure” hogwash hate teaching. The Rosicrucians dispute Randolph's Negro ancestry...even though Randolph seems to have identified himself as one in his writings! Claiming he was trained as a medical doctor, Clymer was a actually strong believer in many quack forms of medicine like Osteopathy. He was considered a quack during his lifetime. This is probably why he never attained the financial wealth most doctors would have. R. Swineburn Clymer, quack, fraud, and racist. AUSTIN OSMAN SPARE (1886-1856) Created "Chaos Magic", if it can be called magic. He had a ho hum career as an artist and writer. His paintings were so dark, full of grotesque things and occult symbols that they turned most people off. If it weren’t for occultists, his works would be completely forgotten. He did a brief stint in the British Army during WWI as an illustrator. In the 1920's he returned to South London where he lived in poverty in a small basement flat. He eeked out a living drawing portraits of people in the local pubs and selling them for small amounts of money. For a time he was an outer member of Crowley’s A.A., but even the nefarious Crowley called Spare an “evil magician”...certainly a case of the pot calling the kettle black! During one experiment, Spare tied to make roses magically appear by tracing magic symbols in the air, waving his arms around with his face contorted (to show he was using his will, no doubt...just like when a kid makes a face before they make a wish) and repeating the word “roses”. After a few minutes, an overhead sewer pipe burst, covering Spare and his assistant head to toe in human waste (The Occult by Colin Wilson pg 209) ! Interpret that how you will, I think it pretty much sums up his magical career and teachings (and the occult in general). Like most occultists, Spare died broke. If he knew so much about magic, why could he not use it to create a better life for himself? He couldn’t make it work unless you consider being drenched in sewage and dying broke successful, neither can anyone else. Austin O. Spare creator of weird art and occult fake who died broke and was showered in sewage instead of roses! SYBIL LEEK (1917 -1982) A prominent Wiccan and self proclaimed successor to Crowley. Leek claimed she knew Crowley, but turned out later she lied after the dates of Crowley's whereabouts and other details didn't match up. Also, Crowley never mentioned Leek or her family even once in his voluminous writings. If she were Crowley's successor though, that would make her the next "Great Beast, 666" (Crowley's self dubbed title). Leek also claimed to have powers, especially the ability to heal. This is why friends who knew her were puzzled when, unable to heal herself, she died of lung cancer at 75 (she didn't even smoke). If she had so many great powers, why didn't she get rich while she was alive? Because she was a fraud! SAMUEL LIDDELL"MACGREGOR" MATHERS (1854-1918) One of the founding members of the Golden Dawn, along with Dr. Wynn Westcott and Dr Woodman. Mathers lied about being in contact with secret chiefs in Germany who supposedly gave him the instructions to start the Golden Dawn. Mathers did many things that anyone would find at least "eccentric". Among other things, he used to play "ghost chess", with a spirit that only he could see. He would move the piece wherever his invisible opponent would tell him. He also told people he was a descendant of King James II, even though he wasn’t. Even more bizzare, he sometimes claimed to actually be King James II himself! Not the reincarnation mind you, but the actual King James II who had somehow lived into the 19th century, even though history records he was killed in battle! . Arthur Machen was not quite as naive as the rest, and left the Order of the Golden Dawn after about a year (1899-1900), just prior to the schism that splintered it. He became skeptical of all mystical orders and secret societies after this. Perhaps the most telling piece he wrote about his experience in the G.D. comes from one of his autobiographical writings. He saved himself from potential libel suits by changing or omitting the names of the players and changing the name of the G.D. to the "Order of the Twilight Star". An excerpt from his autobiography Things Near and Far (1923) tells the whole story: " Among the members there were, indeed, persons of very high attainments, who, in my opinion, ought to have known better after a year's membership or less; but the society as a society was pure foolishness concerned with impotent and imbecile Abracadabras. It knew nothing about anything and concealed the fact under an impressive ritual and a sonorous phraseology. It had no wisdom, even of the inferior or lower kind, in its leadership; it exercised no real scrutiny onto the character of those whom it admired . “ “And yet it had and has an interest of a kind. It claimed, I may say, to be of very considerable antiquity, and to have been introduced into England from abroad in a singular manner. I am not quite certain as to the details, but the mythos imparted to members was something after this fashion. A gentleman interested in occult studies was looking round the shelves of a second-hand bookshop,...when he found between the leaves a few pages of dim manuscript, written in a character which was strange to him. The gentleman bought the book, and when he got home early eagerly examined the manuscript. It was in cipher; he could make nothing of it. But on the manuscript -- or perhaps on a separate slip laid next to it -- was the address of a person in Germany. The curious instigator of secret things and hidden counsels wrote to the address, obtained full particulars, the true manner of reading the cipher and, as I conjecture, a sort of commission and jurisdiction from the Unknown Heads in Germany to administer the mysteries in England. And hence arose, or re-arose, in these isles the Order of the Twilight Star. Its original foundation was assigned to the fifteenth century.” “I like the story; but there was not on atom of truth in it. Its true date of origin was 1880 at the earliest. The 'Cipher Manuscript' was written on paper that bore the watermark of 1809 in ink that had a faded appearance. But it contained information that could not possibly have been known to any living being in the year 1809, that was not known to any living being till twenty years later. It was, no doubt a forgery of the early 'eighties. Its originators must have some knowledge of Freemasonry; but so ingeniously was this occult fraud 'put upon the market' that, to the best of my belief, the flotation remains a mystery to this day. . . There was not the ancient frame of mind; it was not even the 1809 frame of mind. But it was very much the eighteen-eighty and later frame of mind....the Twilight Star shed no ray of any kind on my path."(19) Machen was in a far better position to judge the G.D. than anyone alive today, having been an actual member himself. The fact that the cipher manuscript Mathers claims he found in a London bookstall was a fake suggests Mathers, if not all three of the founders of the G.D., were in fact the authors of said manuscript. Crowley figured out there were no secret chiefs, and called Mather's bluff, claiming the Chiefs had made him the head of the Golden Dawn in a letter to Mathers, and that they wanted Mathers out. Eventually Mathers admitted he lied about the secret chiefs, which led to him being kicked out, & the Golden Dawn being disbanded 1903. Crowley wrote that he ran into Monia Mathers years later in Paris, and that she had been reduced to performing in live nude shows, because Mathers and his wife were now in dire straits [ref The Occult?], although Golden Dawn fans merely dismiss this as sour grapes on Crowley’s part. Macgregor died in poverty from Pneumonia in 1918. His widow Monia eventually faded into obscurity and died in poverty. Since we know Mathers was a liar, why bother with him? He was a fake and had no powers! ANNA SPRENGEL (Invented in 1885, impostor b.1850? - d1910?) Like Christian Rosenkrutez and Coot Hoomi, Fraulein Anna Sprengel never really existed...at least not at first. Mathers had invented the story of an Anna Sprengel being his contact to the “Secret Chiefs” who supposedly gave him instructions on how to start a Golden Dawn chapter in England. In reality, Mathers was the creator of the Golden Dawn, and he had lied about Secret Chiefs and Anna Sprengel. By the 1890's, some members of the Golden Dawn had begin to doubt the authenticity of the order’s rituals. Mathers was slowly losing credibility in the group. The appearance of Anna Sprengel in the flesh would save his bacon, or at least he must have thought so. A few years prior to this incident, Mathers had tried to pass off a fake Anna Sprengel. Her real name was Editha Jackson who went by the aliases Laura Horos ,Mrs. Diss Dabar, Angel Anna, and Swami Viva Ananda. The story goes, she and her husband Frank Jackson met Mathers in Paris in January of 1900 and introduced themselves as members of the American Golden Dawn, and that she was even none other than Anna Sprengel herself who had been his contact through the mail. Jackson was a hefty 250 lbs., and claimed she was so large because she swallowed the soul of the now deceased Madame Blavatsky, who was now inside her. Mathers would later claim that even he too had been duped by the Jacksons, but more than likely, they were hired by Mather’s to play their roles. Mathers knew better than anyone Sprengel wasn’t real, so if he had been duped by her, then he was much more delusional than previously imagined! The fact that Mathers initiated the pair into the 1st Degree of the Golden Dawn seems strange if the Jacksons were really high ranking Golden Dawn members already, and suggests Mathers must have really known they weren’t. The stunt backfired when Jackson and her husband stole the Golden Dawn rituals and tried to set up their own version of the Golden Dawn called The Order of Theocratic Unity. It backfired even further when Edith and Frank Jackson were later arrested on charges of the rape of a young female Theocratic Order member. Miss Vera Corysdale claimed in sworn testimony during the Jackson’s trial that Frank and Editha had drugged her and hypnotized her each day for a period of several days. In her helpless state, Frank had proceeded to rape her as part of her “initiation ritual”. Under oath Corysdale told a shocked London court that Frank had even claimed he was Jesus Christ, and that having sex with him wasn’t a sin but “an act of piety”! Furthermore, any illegitimate children that might be accidently born would be “Divine”. Frank received 15 years in prison and Editha received 7 years. They both died in obscurity after their release from prison, and probably in poverty. It's believed Editha went back to Kentucky adter her release and resumed the only profession she had known...scamming clients with her medium routine. The Golden Dawn members denied the Theocratic Unity was part of their organization, but the story was all over the newspapers, and they were all tainted by the scandal because of their connection to the Jacksons. The scandal only furthered Mather’s image as mentally unstable and a fraud and hastened his eventual dismissal. There were even humorous New Year’s greeting cards printed up sold commercially that made light of the trial and mocked the Golden Dawn. The Jackson’s rape trial contributed to the disintegration of the Golden Dawn, perhaps more than anything else did. After the Golden Dawn broke up, one member, a Dr. Felkin, actually traveled to Germany prior to the years of WWI, desperate to find the real Secret Chiefs and Anna Sprengel. He did find a woman who had the same name, but she assured Felkin she wasn’t the mystic adept he sought. Nevertheless, Felkin still wanted to believe and didn’t want to face his friends empty handed, so he claimed he had met Sprengel’s niece, based on the encounter with this “other” Anna Sprengel. This technique used by occultists throughout the ages is known to non-adepts as “lying”! Anna Sprengel, a fake fraulein fleshed out into life by a fraudulent medium who wound up in prison. ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE (1857-1942) Waite created the famous “Rider Waite” tarot deck, but it was published years after he died, and he never got to enjoy the monetary success of it. He had little formal education, and most of it seemed to come from “pennydreadful” novels, although he did even manage to even learn some Hebrew and Greek self taught. Even though Waite called himself a Christian, he wrote the infamous Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. He later re-edited the book into a more “workable” format called The Book of Ceremonial Magic ( a grimorie of black magic), showing he was serious about practicing black magic...something a real Christian would never be involved in! One such spell was a ridiculous ritual for creating a magic “gold finding hen”, that involved reciting incantations and pouring whisky on a chicken egg. From this egg, after several days a miniature rooster a few inches tall was to hatch out, and be able to hunt down buried treasure! Even though Waite’s books claimed to give instructions for creating such an impossible thing, he certainly never seemed to able to actually do it himself, and all one would create from such an experiment is a rotten egg. It isn’t the first time an occultist has produced one. Waite was one of the members of Mather’s Golden Dawn. As gullible as Waite might have been, even he doubted the rituals of the order were as ancient as Mather’s claimed. He thought they were probably written around 1870 at the earliest. Still, Waite went along with it, apparently knowing of the Order’s bogus origins anyway. There was nothing extraordinary about Mr. Waite, and never really did anything that could be considered magic. He helped perpetuate a fraud. DION FORTUNE (1890-1956) a.k.a, Violet Firth (real name) Some Wiccans claim she was a Wiccan too, but her occult order, The Society For Inner Light based in England, continues to deny she was a Wiccan and says she was only an "Esoteric Christian". One day at work when her boss chewed her out, the poor thing nearly had a nervous breakdown, and suffered for two weeks. Raised in a Christian Science home, she became convinced her boss had poisoned her with "animal magnetism" and the her boss must have somehow learned the technique on a trip to India. It didn't occur to herself that she might have just been overly sensitive and leapt to conclusions! She joined the Theosophical Society (as mentioned, founded by a fraud) and later the Golden Dawn (which was also founded by a fraud) as well as one of its successive orders after it broke up. There, she had a falling out with Monia Mathers (Magregor’s wife), and then claimed now Monia was trying to kill her with magic. She must have been kind of like the kid who complains "Mom, he won't stop looking at me!" At night she dreamt of magical battles with Monia in the “astral realm” that she thought to be real and later wrote about. When a bunch of stray cats purportedly showed up in her neighborhood, Dion was convinced this was somehow due to a hex from Monia Mathers. The poor thing even imagined she saw a giant tabby cat walking down her staircase that she took to be a “thoughtform” created by Monia.! She was on good terms with Crowley and referred to the self-proclaimed anti-Christ as “My Dear 666", and often sought out his advice on the occult during his flophouse years. That was strange behavior for a supposed "Christian", certainly. No doubt Crowley successfully extracted money and sexual favors from Fortune, as he did all his students. She claims once she accidentally created a “werewolf thoughform” and asked Aleister Crowley how to correct the situation. Fortune wrote the thoughform was created when she was really angry at a woman who annoyed her earlier that day. I wonder if the woman ever had a peaceful friendship with anyone other than Crowley? She was briefly married to a man in the 1950's, but they couldn't stop bickering over the right way to perform "magic". They never actually did anything normal people would find magical, so all the bickering was rather pointless. He eventually left her for a prettier, younger woman, and you think with all those supposed occult powers she would have been able to have foreseen it before she married him. Fortune wrote several books, including Psychic Self Defense for those who live in constant fear of getting "the whammy" as she seemed to have. In may ways, she’s no different from the superstious, undereducated types that carry little red flannel bags with magnets in them, hoping to ward off jinxes. When you ditch the occult, it's the greatest feeling knowing no one can hex you. I know it’s great never having to carry around stupid talismans or red flannel bags hoping I won’t get a spell cast on me! Wouldn't you like that feeling? Dione Fortune lived in a world of fear, paranoia, superstition, failed romance, and hallucinations. Why would anyone want what she had? JACK PARSONS (1914-1952) Parsons founded Cal Tech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and seemed like a scholarly man. He created solid rocket fuel and even has a crater on the dark side of the moon named after him. But friends new he had another side. Parsons was a student of Aleister Crowley and a member of the O.:T.:O:. Eventually he tried to become the successor to Crowley, proclaiming himself the new “Great Beast”, and promising to issue in a new Aeon of all kinds of darkness and destruction on humanity (gee, thanks) and other such horseradish. He wrote a book titled Liber 49 that called for the creation of a Thelemic-witchcraft type religion that sounds a lot like Wicca. Apologists say he died in a "mysterious experiment". But the truth is he blew himself up in his basement, making nitroglycerin, which he sold on the black market to supplement his income (apparently his money spells didn't work, either!). His mother soon killed herself later in a suicide pact. Parsons could have gone down in history with people that founded great institutions of learning, but instead will probably be remembered more as an occult weirdo that blew himself to smithereens. PAMELA COLEMAN SMITH (1878-1951) She painted the illustrations for Authur Edward Waite's tarot deck. The illustrations are somewhat crude, and have been described as being similar to “comic book art” by critics. Smith never attained success as an artist during her lifetime. She was a member of the Golden Dawn herself, like Waite. The Rider-Waite deck became the most popular of all time...but Smith had died years earlier and never got to enjoy the success. She passed away penniless and alone in a London flat. She had shared the flat earlier with a woman whom many have speculated was her lesbian lover, who died broke too. After Smith’s death, all of her possessions were sold off to pay her bills. I wonder why the cards didn't warn her? Maybe she could have ditched the occult for a respectable life instead of hoping it's powers would have given her life meaning. ELSIE WRIGHT (1901-1986) AND FRANCES GRIFFITHS (1907-1988) Elsie and Frances were not really occultists, but included here because of their contribution to the superstitious belief in fairies. Fairies had been part of European folklore for sometime. Usually fairies were thought of as things to be feared. In some legends, fairies would steal human babies, or bring about death. By the late 19th -early 20th century, however, there was a romanticizing of Pagan myths, and the harsher aspects of fairy lore were forgotten. There was also an occult revival going on, too, which aided Elsie and Frances in their hoax. In 1917 These two cousins fooled many people into believing fairies were real by merely cutting out pictures of fairies from a popular children's book, Princess Mary's Gift Book, and photographing themselves with them. Even though experts who examined the photos concluded they were obvious fakes (the fairies wore the latest Paris fashions of the day in some photos!), many people who wanted to believe swallowed the lies whole. One such dupe was a Golden Dawn magician named Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...ironically a man who made his fortune writing about a detective who was nobody’s fool and used flawless logic to solve crimes: Sherlock Holmes. Doyle allowed the girls complete access to his camera in his test, and was not allowed to see the girls actually take the photograph of the fairies. Nevertheless, he declared the photo that resulted genuine, and didn’t seem the girls’ request for secrecy unusual! The pair continued to insist the photos were genuine even well into adulthood, and it seemed there were many adults (mostly occult types, obviously) who wanted to believe too. Then in 1981 and mid 1982 respectively, Frances and Elsie, admitted that the infamous pictures were fakes. Frances said, "My heart always sinks when I look at [the fake fairy pictures]. When I think of how it's gone all round the world. I don't see how people could believe they're real fairies. I could see the backs of them and the hatpins when the photo was being taken." They later recanted and claimed they first four pictures were fakes, but the fifth picture was real...honest (which means they lied about lying...sound familiar?). For some reason they just happened to snap a picture of a real fairy after four fakes? Yeah right. Nevertheless, many people claim to really believe in fairies, and there is even a branch of Wicca devoted to them. Are you ready to stop believing in fairy tales? MARGRET MURRAY (1863-1963) Egyptologist, Anthropologist, writer and "witch". In 1920 Margaret Murray departed from reality and wrote The Witch Cult in Western Europe. Even though the book was purported to be a legitimate book of research into the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, it is actually a spurious book full of deliberate mistranslations, falsehoods, and ridiculous theories. Murray claimed that the witch hunts were actually against a surviving sect of European Paganism, drawing inspiration from the Leland’s Aradia, forgery…a book that was already discredited and virtually forgotten even back then! A few Years later, Murray penned God of The Witches (1933), implying that the Christian church had started a smear campaign, basically making the Greek god Pan into a the evil Devil (no doubt she had caught the “Pan fad” of the era that Professor Ronald Hutton has recorded in Triumph of The Moon). It would have been the biggest smear campaign in history if it was true, but it isn’t. While Leland was content to suggest witches might have been people who abandoned Christianity for ancient Pagan deities or Lucifer himself in some sort of a Gnostic rebellion, Murray was not content with this. Instead she said somehow Paganism survived in Europe into the 1700s and perhaps even beyond. The witch trials weren’t witch trials at all, claimed Murray, but were really an attempt by the Church to stamp out a rival Pagan religion...although she didn't explain why it waited so long to act against this perceived threat, some 1300 years into the game! Murray called her theoretical cult “Dianic witchcraft”. Murray’s books have been rightly criticized by several generations of scholars for their shoddy scholarship. Murray ignored much evidence, rationalized other evidence and even invented evidence on numerous topics. She disregarded a large amount of unpublished data she had access to, completely ignored, misquoted, and rationalized evidence of impossible things like witches flying on broomsticks for instance, so that her fictitious witch religion was universal throughout Europe! This is just a fancy way of saying she lied. It’s nothing more or less than history revision! Early on Murray quit reading what critics wrote about her, and stubbornly refused to admit she was wrong. She also failed to explain why this Pagan remnant was unlike any known pagan system in pre-Christian Europe, such as the religion of the Anglo-Saxons/Celts. The Celts worshiped a triune god of Teutates, Esus, and Taranis, not a god/goddess (nor did they have a “triple goddess” as some later Neopagan writers have claimed). Or why, if the cult existed from the Stone Age, that it worshiped Roman idols of Diana and Pan, which couldn’t have happened until the Romans conquered most of Europe, and then Britain. Perhaps the most blatant falsification occurs in her Murray’s claims about Joan of Arc. Murray claims that Joan of Arc, executed for witchcraft, and was really was one of these “Dianic witches”. English documents leave little room for doubt as to the actual motive behind her trial. There are still in existence financial records proving that the English government paid and summoned the judges and assessors from people loyal to the King of England. Joan’s trial was an act of revenge by the English against the French, plain and simple. There is nothing in the trial records which indicate Joan of Arc was anything other than a devoted Roman Catholic. Murray consistently makes ridiculous statements founded on frivolous things such as Joan's name, stating "Joan" is a witch name. Joan was probably the most common female name during that time from the records that we have from that period, not just among accused "witches". It would be like saying a Mexican named "Jesus" must be the Christ returned based solely on his name, or everyone named “Adolph” must therefore be a Nazi. Perhaps the most laughable of all Murray’s claims are those of fairies. Yes, fairies. Murray claims that the legends of fairies, elves, and leprechauns are in reality based on a race of European Pagan dwarfs that practiced sorcery. She had probably been inspired by the Wright’s hoax. For having allegedly played such a crucial role in the political history of Europe (if we to believe Murray), it seems that these pygmy witches were remarkably successful at having escaped detection down to this day. Considering Hitler's Weirmacht and Lenin’s/Stalin's U.S.S.R. having conquered practically every square inch of Europe at some point or another, as well as all the conquests and wars that happened in Europe throughout the centuries before that, it seems unlikely they would have escaped detection up even into the present time. Had Murray lived until the 1970's, I suppose that if she would have seen a Lucky Charms cereal commercial on T.V., she would have heralded this as proof positive of their existence! The books of Margaret Murray are very far from being accurate scholarly research. As we have just seen they are, in fact, the doctored works, misquoted documents, and outright falsehoods of someone with a personal agenda; a grown woman who wanted to "play Witch". They read more like something from an author of U.F.O. or “Black Helicopter” books might write, rather than a legitimate anthropologist. It's hard to believe Murray had a degree in anthropology if the only thing people knew about her was just her books. Murray focused on a horned deity, 'Cernnunos', even though it only seemed to be a minor idol. Likewise she tries to link Pan to this “horned god” of witches, but as stated Pan was a minor Greek idol worshiped by goat herders and no connection to witchcraft. There was no connection between Cernnunos and Pan. She also claimed that the “horned god” was the deity pictured in Stone Age paintings...which are now interpreted by anthropologists as simply a picture of a hunter disguising himself with an animal skin...just as African Bushmen hunters still do to this very day [ref?]! The famous Lascaux painting is not a deity (nor is it a painting of a Shaman, as some Wiccan apologists have said). Even though these claims were disproved almost as soon as Murray's book came out, there are still books and websites on Wicca that feature pictures of this cave painting claiming it is a Wiccan priest! Murray's ridiculous books became widely read among occultists. There was apparently at least one proto-Wicca cult by the 1920's , and there may have even been a few more no one knows about. Murray lived to be 100 and was initiated into Gardner’s Wicca coven. No doubt claiming to be a witch must have fulfilled some kind of life long fantasy for the old gal. It certainly must have been a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction, because she finally felt her “Dianic witch cult” hypothesis validated! But Murray was simply the victim of her own “witch-ful” thinking. Gardner had fabricated his cult inspired by her writings, rather than being part of an actual caveman sorcerer cult that made it into the 20th century. Her hogwash had come full circle, and Wicca had become sort of like a “self fulfilling prophecy”. It’s not unlike people who publish books titled Necronomicon, claiming them to be the same (fictional, and non-existent) spell book written about by H.P. Lovecraft in his short fictional horror stories(which we’ll read about later). But at least Lovecraft never wanted people to really believe such a fictitious book actually existed (he said it didn’t, which is even documented numerous times!), no matter how many letters he got from enquirers wanting to know where to get there copy. Even if Murray had known about the rites of Freemasonry, Crowley, and The Golden Dawn, and would have realized these rituals of Gardner’s coven were cribbed from these sources, she probably wouldn’t have cared anyway. She was just happy to “play witch”. Among scholars, the Murray thesis completely fell apart in the 1970's, when better methods of investigating the witch trials were used. Ronald Hutton states "During the past two decades a score of detailed local studies of the Great Witch Hunt, spanning Europe, have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that its victims were not practitioners of the Old Religion." He then lists no less than half a page of references of items written by scholars during the years 1969 to 1989 to support his statement! But even in spite of all this, many Wiccans still continue to cite Murray as a credible source, or if nothing else, continue to more or less uphold what she believed in. Even before Gardner’s initiation into Wicca, Murray had dabbled in black magic prior to her initiation into Gardner’s spurious coven. Colleagues claimed that she often threw hexes on people who criticized her work, even though she had supposedly gone on record in a newspaper article saying she didn’t actually believe in magic! One such hex took place in the presence of two colleagues with the intent of hexing someone who got a promotion which made her very jealous. Supposedly, the man actually did become ill later and had to resign, which the two witnesses chalked up to coincidence since his health had apparently not been too good before he got the promotion. Murray was a woman of contradictions, not always truthful, not above forging data, and hardly a warm and cuddly person! Deep down inside Murray may have wanted to become a witch for a reason many people get into it, namely, power. GERALD B. GARDNER (1884-1964) Credited with “saving Wicca from total extinction”, founder of the “Gardnerian Tradition” of Wicca. According to Gardner and his cronies, Gardner, being an amateur folklorist, discovered a cult of goddess worshiping Pagans who were the witches of Margaret Murray’s “Dianic Witchcraft” thesis. These witches called their religion Wicca, and initiated him into the cult. The cult supposedly went back to the Stone Age, and had adapted the rituals over time. Gardner said the Wiccans went underground during the witch hunt era, for which he coined the phrase “The Burning Times”. Gardner revealed information about Wicca in a series of books, published in the 1950's. He appeared on the BBC, gave lectures and interviews to promote Wicca...all the while claiming “witches don’t proselytize”! Not everyone bought Gardner’s incredible story. Folklorists and anthropologists found it strange that somehow this Stone Age Pagan cult had remained secret for thousands of years in a small place like England. Historian Ronald Hutton has even noted secret societies in England aren’t very secret, and can easily be tracked [ref?]. The folklore society he belonged to rejected for publication in their journal an article detailing Wicca that Gardner wrote. Folkorists also noted the witchcraft described by Gardner was nothing like the known and well documented forms of witchcraft of the British Isles. Occultists wanted to believe, however. They were desperate for it. People who had grown dissatisfied with Satanism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and Spiritualism could now indulge in the kinky nude rites of Gardnerian Wicca that involved being tied up, flogged, and of course “The Great Rite”, sex. The British press treated the whole thing as a joke at first. One article featured a cartoon of naked people dancing around a fire, with the men chasing the women. It certainly seemed Wicca was just another swinging sex club of the 60's to outsiders. Adian Kelly, the “Traditionhead” for a Wiccan “denomination” if you will, called the New Reformed Orthodox Order of The Golden Dawn” did an expose of Gardner that was published very briefly in 1991. Kelly discovered things which forced many Wiccans to change their claims about Gardner. Kelly discovered Gardner was a sado-masochist and nudist, as well as a feminist who enjoyed being tied up and beaten, and had penchants for knives and writing in archaic English. It seems a mighty strange coincidence that Gardner happened to find a cult...allegedly going back to the Stone Age...that practiced all of his fetishes! Being a disciple of Aleister Crowley, Gardner created Wicca primarily so he could fulfill his fetish of being beaten by strong willed women, according to Wiccan tradition head Aidan Kelly. Gardner stole rituals from Thelema, The Golden Dawn, Freemasonry, The Greater Key of Solomon, Rudyard Kipling, and even Gothic Satanism to create Wicca (although I should point out again Wicca and Satanism are not the same thing, as most people already know). After doing much investigation into Wicca which included reading Gardner’s original drafts for the Wiccan Book of Shadows, Kelly drew this conclusion; ” [M]any of the Book of Shadows rituals did not exist in 1954 (when Witchcraft Today was published) but instead were still being written...[T]he major sources from which the rituals had been constructed included: (a) Mather's edition of the Greater Key of Solomon; (b) Aleister Crowley's Magic in Theory and Practice; (c) Leland's Aradia (d) some Masonic rituals akin to those described by Duncan and those of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (aside from those transmitted by Crowley); and (e) Margaret Murray's The Witch Cult in Western Europe. There were also bits and pieces from other works by Leland, Jane E. Harrison, Gilbert Murray, James Frazier, and other great classicists from the 19th century. That accounted for EVERYTHING in the rituals…There was nothing left that differed in any important way from what you can find in those sources-but that is NOT at all what Gardner had claimed” (Crafting The Art of Magic by Adian Kelly, Page xvii) Gerald Garndner claimed he had been allowed to copy a Wicca coven’s Book of Shadows, which in reality, was his own creation. Kelly was allowed access to Gardner original manuscripts, and chronicled the various stages of development the book went through. In it’s earliest stage, it was said to have been “80% Crowley’s writings”. When Doreen Valiente was intitated into the cult, she recognized the Book of Shadows was lifted from Crowley. Gardner told her basically yo write a better one if she thought she could. She continued with the hoax, and re-wrote the book, adding her own poetry. But elements of Crowley can stll be found in Wicca. The most obvious one is the initiation to the 2nd Degree. It’s blatantly obvious that the Wiccan Third Degree ritual mentioned in Chapter One is plagiarized from Crowley's Gnostic Mass word for word. Honestly, who could believe peasant farmers living in rural England could write things like “...Marvel beyond imagination, soul of infinite space.....”? Apparently a lot of Wiccans do! The rituals of Crowley and Wicca have many similarities; such as the enthronement of the priestess upon the altar, and the consecration of cakes and wine, the eights Sabbats of Wicca, sex magick rituals, etc. Even the moto of Thelema “Do What Thou Will” sounds strikingly similar to the Wiccan Rede “An It Harm None, Do What Ye Wilt”. . Gardner rewrote things such as 'I am alone; there is no God where I am' to become 'I am alone, the Lord within ourselves' Crowley's 'peace unutterable, rest, ecstacy' became 'peace unutterable, rest, the ecstacy of the Goddess'. The public at large certainly knew nothing of what the Book of Shadows contained at the time, and likely didn’t read Crowley’s obscure books either. Knowing that his plagiarism would might be discovered eventually, Gardner attempted to create a cover story in his book Witchcraft Today: “The only man I can think of who could have invented the rites was the late Aleister Crowley. When I met him he was most interested to hear that I was a member, and said he had been inside when he was very young, but would not say whether he had rewritten anything or not. But the witch practices are entirely different in method from any kind of magic he wrote about, and he described very many kinds. There are indeed certain expressions and certain words used which smack of Crowley; possibly he borrowed things from the cult writings, or more likely someone may have borrowed expressions from him.” Gardner was obviously lying through his teeth when he made this statement. He tries to make it sound like he had at best a passing friendship with Crowley, and fails to mention he was in Crowley's O.T.O.! Gardner was a member of Crowley's organization, not the other way around. Since Gerald Gardner was not only a member, but a high ranking member of Crowley's organization no less, it means he was certainly well aware of Crowley's writings. In the “Minerval Initiation” of the O.T.O.:, Gardner would have stood bound hand and foot, blindfolded,, and then heard the words, 'I give unimaginable joys upon earth: certainty, not faith, etc, etc,...all this while standing at swordpoint, just like in Wiccan initiations. At the end of the ritual, the initiate is given a copy of Crowley’s Book of the Law, much like how a newly initiated Wiccan is given a copy of the Book of Shadows. Here we see two occult organizations with exactly the same words and similar initiation ritual. It is absolutely impossible this is a coincidence, or that Gardner could have somehow missed this! Wicca is compiled from many sources Aleister Crowley would have certainly been familiar with (such as Freemasonry and the Golden Dawn), so why would Wicca be “unlike any from of magick Crowley had ever seen”, as Gardner claims? Nor was it likely that Crowley ever was initiated into Wicca, because he wrote down every detail of his occult studies and practices. He never mentions Wicca in any of his voluminous writings, not even once. If Crowley was so dog gone interested in Wicca as Gardner claims, why did he not make some kind of mention of it? His diaries from the time he knew Gardner only mention him dropping by for visits, but no mention about Wicca or ever coming into contact with a cult of stone age goddess worshipers living in England. That’s hardly something he would have omitted! Crowley would have been well aware what such a discovery would have meant, and he would have certainly have mentioned it somewhere in his writings. He also doesn’t mention knowing Sybil Leek or her family as she later claimed, “babysitting” Alex Sanders or knowing his family as he later claimed, or ever knowing or meeting “Old George Pickingill”, and learning Wicca from him as Lugh later claimed. Gerald Garnder; a perverted liar who created the Wiccan hoax. MONIQUE WILSON (1928-1980) Was named as Gardner’s successor after his demise. Wilson lied about being Gardner’s niece, and also that he named her “Queen of The Witches” in his will. Her critics have noted if she really was his niece, that means that they had incestuous sex when they performed the Great Rite (the great is ritualized sex “magic” performed by some Wiccans)! Even though Wiccans may spout “perfect love and perfect trust”, Wilson’s career was pock marked by bitter rivalries and jealousies of her fellow Wiccans. Wislon certainly had no problems with promoting Wicca, and she and her hubby often posed in the buff wearing nothing but some Wiccan jewelry in British tabloids. In 1969 the UK newspaper News Of The World broke the story that the Wilsons were abusing their 11 year old daughter, Yvette. British Child Protective Services oversaw the case for the next 3 years. Monique was very unhappy and became an alcoholic to fill the void in her life that Wicca couldn’t. In 1973 she and her husband sold Gardner’s Witchcraft Museum's contents to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, moved to Spain and bought a café. This act infuriated Wiccans perhaps more than anything else, since they considered Gardner’s trinkets to be sacred relics of their religion. She apparently gave up Wicca because there’s no further mention of her activity in it, and died in 1980. Her husband died in 1982 in a car crash. No one knows what ever happened to Yvette, but she seems to have not carried on in the Wiccan tradition. So...where was all the magic??? Like most Wiccans of the day, she seemed to be an exhibitionist who enjoyed the attention calling oneself a “witch” brings, and even getting to pose nude in magazines. But once the fun ended, she cashed out and moved on. ALEX SANDERS (1926-1988) Sanders claimed he was the "King of Witches". Born in Manchester, England, Sanders father was an alcoholic, and he was raised primarily by his grandmother. Sanders said he was initiated into Wicca at age 7 in a ritual that he claimed involved a nude ritual with his grandmother, who nicked his scrotum with a knife as part of the ritual. He claimed he was initiated into the 2nd and later 3rd degree of Wicca by his granny when he was older, which would have involved having sex with her (sick!). Sanders claimed his grandmother had belonged to a Wiccan tradition completely independent of Gerald Gardners, and also went back thousands of years. Sanders claimed he copied his grandmother’s book of shadows by age 8, and that Aleister Crowley used to babysit him. Sanders admitted he had dabbled in Satanism as an adult, but later came back to “the right hand path”. Alex always sought the spotlight and was an early evangelist for Wicca, even though Wiccans may not think of him as such. He appeared in two x-rated documentaries about Wicca, he made several television appearances on the BBC, he was the subject of several books, he toured the UK giving lectures...all the while claiming Wiccans didn’t recruit followers, as all Wiccans seem to. I wonder what exactly their ideas of recruiting are, anyway? If Wicca was even a fraction as secret as it allegedly is, it wouldn’t be the fastest growing religion in the world! Sanders claimed he could perform abortions by casting spells on pregnant women, killing the unborn child. Sanders related one such disturbing instance in the book What Witches Do: "There was a girl who recently tried everything and had no money..she really believed I could stop it. I pointed to her womb, without touching her or giving her anything to take and said, 'Yes, it's stopped. It won't grow anymore. You will have a heavy period, and by the end of September, you will be clear of it...Another girl, three months pregnant--I got the clinic fee reduced by more than half for her but she still couldn't afford it and she was desperate. So I told her,'I don't care if you believe me or not--it's stopped!' Michael [Sander's “spirit guide”] was shouting in my mind, 'Three, three, three!' I told her, 'Within three days you'll be perfectly alright. " If the idea of using Witchcraft to kill unborn children doesn't sound evil enough, Sanders further something even more disturbing. Sander goes on to describe the spell he uses to perform this abortion spell (which I will not repeat here so no one reading this will try it), and then says: "I realize I am taking a life-I have to absorb that spirit into my being and become responsible for it. That's where magic and wisdom come in." (What Witches Do, by Janet and Stewart Farrar, 2nd ed., pgs.126-127 emphasis mine, Pheonix Publishing Inc. isbn 0-919345-17-4) So rather than dismiss an unborn fetus as not being human as many pro-choicers do, Sanders was fully aware he was taking a human life in the killing an unborn child! And why shouldn’t he? Abortion really is baby murder, after all. He then believed, of all things, he could absorb the baby's soul into himself like some sort of spirit vampire! If Wiccans believe in doing anything they want bar “harming none”, what would we call what was done to the unborn child? Eventually the truth Sander’s Wiccan lineage came to light. It seems Sanders had invented his Wiccan tradition, and granny was never a witch. Since there were people still alive who knew Sander’s parents, he claimed the Wiccan tradition had the unlikely practice of skipping a generation, and being passed from granparent to grandchild. His ex-wife Maxine revealed he had actually been in one of Gerald Gardner’s covens, which is how he was able to plagiarize from their Book of Shadows. The parts of the book he didn’t have access to and couldn’t plagiarize from, he simply plagiarized from other occult books (such as those by Franz Bardon) to make his own Book of Shadows. It also came to light Aleister Crowley never babysat him as a child either, since Crowley’s diaries never mention Sander’s family. Babysitting would have been uncharacteristic of CrowleyThe Gardnerieans did not expose as him as a fraud immediately, though, and it could be that having another Wiccan sect would make their hoax more viable. Alex and Maxine parted ways in the late 1970's. He remarried and retreated from London to a small town, and now seemed to avoid the limelight. His next wife, Jill, divorced him too, claiming Sanders spent all their money on his gay boyfriends (Sanders had sometimes hinted he was bisexual). Alex died of lung cancer at age 61. He wasn't a millionaire, didn't have lots of worldly power, and NOT his magic, nor that of his followers, couldn't heal him. Some king of the witches! He was a failure and a fraud! ROBERT COCHRANE (1931-1966) a.k.a Roy Bowers. He founded Tubal Cain/1734 Wicca. He was initiated into Gardnerian Wicca, but then later left and claimed to have been descended from a long line of Wiccans, just like Alex Sanders did. He too fabricated a story of coming from a line independent from Gardner’s, called by the names "The 1734 tradition", "The Clan of Tubal Cain" and “The Royal Windsor Cuveen”, implying a false connection to the Royal family. Cochrane's version of his history is cloudy and somewhat contradictory. His parents were actually both Methodists, and didn’t seem to even have an interest in the occult. He claimed the source of his Wiccan lineage was a Great-great grandfather, other times he implied an "Aunt Sally" taught him Wicca, other times an uncle on his mother’s side but there’s no proof any of them were involved in the occult or Wicca. Then in contradiction to all of this, he claimed his mother (who wasn’t a Wiccan but a Methodist) had taught him just as her grandmother had taught her. In yet another claim he supposedly had ancestors who had been executed for witchcraft, but likewise this has also not been proven. For someone who is supposedly a hereditary Wiccan there isn't much of anything original to Cochrane's "Tradition", either. Tubal Cain is a Biblical figure, found in Genesis, a strange name choice for a Neopagan tradition. Cochrane later renamed Tubal Cain Wicca "The 1734 Tradition". Cochrane explained "1734" was a numerological reference to "YHVH", the Judeo-Christian God, also a strange choice for Neopagans. Cochrane described the Wiccan god as the goat-footed God of fire, craft and death, while the goddess ruled life, fate and destiny, with a horned solar god as their child, sounding as though it were inspired from Crowley’s Liber Al Vel Legis. There is no official Book of Shadows in 1736 Wicca, as there are in other Wiccan “traditions”. The closest thing they have are Cochrane's muddled and rambling letters which are treated as sacred literature by his followers. His coven always worked out of doors, and wore black hooded robes while dancing and chanting around a fire in the center of a circle. The Summer Solstice is the day the Wiccan horned god symbolically dies. On June 21st, 1966, Cochrane committed suicide by ingesting Bella Donna leaves. Since his suicide occurred on the day of the Neopagan holiday (not unlike Hitler’s suicide) of the Summer solstice, there is little doubt that it was done as an act of human sacrifice, and even Wiccans acknowledge this. He was just 35. A successor group called “The Regency” was created after Cochrane’s death, intending to have his 8 year old son take the reigns when he became an adult. However, his sone declined upon reaching adulthood, and seems to want no part of it or Wicca. Robert Cochrane was a liar who committed suicide for a senseless lie. RAYMOND BUCKLAND (1934- ). Intiaited into Wicca by Monique Wilson, he went on to create a mail-order Wicca school in America and publish several books on witchcraft. Considered to be the “legitimate” American heir to Gardner’s throne, he announced his arrival to the U.S. in 1962 by letter to FATE magazine, in a letter to the editor calling himself “Sir Raymond Buckland”, although he was never knighted, and telling readers he had knowledge of the occult. Apparently his move to America had been a sort of "misionary mission" for Wicca. He claimed to have a PhD in Folklore from Brentrand Forrest School, which was actually a diploma mill, according to Bear's Guide To Alternative Degrees 7th edition (1980) It also went by the names of Sussex College of Technology, and The University of Man. Brentrand Forrest School, et al, was operated out of a large home south of London, and sold degrees through the mail for around $250 with no classes or studying involved. The same book also mentioned mentions Buckland's own now defunct diploma mill called “The Occult Research Bureau” (not be confused with a website by the same name owned by a different individual), that sold Doctorates ranging from $5 to $65. He plagiarized Henri Gamache’s book, Master Book of Candle Burning, for his book Candle Burning Magic. Buckland’s book gives advice that amounts to “work hard, and save your money”, which doesn’t require magic! Buckland claims a Scottish ghost that had been a witch in the 16th century introduced him to “Picta Wicca”. But it’s obvious Buckland created Picta Wicca was created so he could cash in on the growing solitary Wiccan movement, since Picta Wicca is geared toward solitary practitioners. Picta Wicca seems to be made out of bits and pieces of other occultic practices, just as any form of Wicca. HOWARD PHILIPS LOVECRAFT (1890-1937) Was not even really even an occultist, but just a writer of short horror stories who was virtually unknown in his day. Many would be Harry Potters assume that he was an occultist because his short stories that he wrote usually centered around a spell book called "The Necronomicon". Lovecraft told people on numerous occasions there was no real Necronomicon. "..I read the Arabian Nights at the age of five. In those days I used to dress up in a turban, burnt-cork a beard on my face, and call myself by the synthetic name (Allah only knows where I got it!) of Abdul Alhazred - which I later revived, in memory of old times, to confer on the hypothetical author of the hypothetical Necronomicon!" (from a letter to Robert E. Howard, October 4, 1930) "As for writing the Necronomicon - I wish I had the energy and ingenuity to do it! I fear it would be quite a job in view of the very diverse passages and intimations which I have in the course of time attributed to it! I might, though, issue an abridged Necronomicon - containing such parts as are considered at least reasonably safe for the perusal of mankind! When von Juntz's Black Book and the poems of Justin Geoffrey are on the market, I shall certainly have to think about the immortalisation of old Abdul!" (from a letter to Robert E. Howard, May 7, 1932) "By the way - there is no ‘Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred ’ That hellish & forbidden volume is an imaginative conception of mine, which others of the [Weird Tales magazine] group have also used as a background of allusion." (from a letter to Robert Bloch, May 9, 1933) "As for the "Necronomicon" - this month's triple use of such allusions is bringing me in an unusual number of inquiries concerning the real nature & obtainability of Alhazred's, Eibon's, & von Junzt's works. In each case I am frankly confessing the fakery involved." ( from a letter to Robert Bloch dated early to mid July 1933) "Regarding the Necronomicon - I must confess that this monstrous & abhorred volume is merely a figment of my own imagination! Inventing horrible books is quite a pastime among devotees of the weird, & . . . many of the regular W.T. contributors have such things to their credit - or discredit. It rather amuses the different writers to use one another's synthetic demons & imaginary books in their stories - so that Clark Ashton Smith often speaks of my Necronomicon while I refer to his Book of Eibon . . & so on. This pooling of resources tends to build up quite a pseudo-convincing background of dark mythology, legendry, & bibliography - though of course none of us has the least wish actually to mislead readers." ( from a letter to Miss Margaret Sylvester, dated January 13, 1934) Far from being a believer in magic, in reality, Lovecraft was, in fact, an atheist. He was also a white supremacist who even collaborated with the Nazis before the outbreak of WWII. The Nazis approached Lovecraft to write the American equivalent of Mein Kampf. Lovecraft was bigoted enough that he agreed to do it. Fortunately a friend and his ex-wife talked him out of it. Lovecraft's racism has not gone unnoticed among scholars, either. Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi has said "There is no denying the reality of Lovecraft's racism, nor can it merely be passed off as ‘typical of his time,’ for it appears that Lovecraft expressed his views more pronouncedly (although usually not for publication) than many others of his era. It is also foolish to deny that racism enters into his fiction."In his book H.P. Lovecraft: Against The World, Against Life, Michel Houellebecq argues that "racial hatred" provided the emotional force and inspiration for much of Lovecraft's greatest works. Some of his most hostile racist views can be found in his poetry, particularly in On the Creation of N***s, and New England Fallen (both 1912). The one thing he did have in common with occultists was that he died broke at the home of two spinster aunts he lived with. Lovecraft's stories usually had one central theme: Stupid people who tried their hand at occult and got fried every single time. If you take anything away after reading Lovecraft, make it that. The occult ruins lives, avoid it. HENRI GAMACHE (b 1900? d. 1960?) Gamache wrote several occult books, including Terrors of The Evil Eye, and The Master Book of Candle Burning that Buckland later plagiarize from to write his book, Candle Burning Magic, but didn't give any credit to Gamache. Gamache's actual name was Young (his first name is now unknown),and wrote of how to perform spells for all kinds of things, including prosperity and money. But Gamache/Young gave the manuscript of his book to the publisher to settle a debt...for $37! Couldn't Gamache use his magic candle spells to even conjure up $37?? No, because magic doesn't work! GAVIN FROST (1930- ) AND YVONNE FROST (1930- ) Wiccan Evangelists and founders of the The Church of Wicca in 1968 in Salem Missouri, (no, not Massachusetts). The Frosts also run a mail order school of Wicca which charges around $100 for their course, plus the cost of books and materials. Some would consider that a small price for being a witch. Gavin hails from England, and claims to have a Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of London. His wife Yvonne says she graduated from Fullerton Junior college, and was a member of the high I.Q. club Mensa at one time. “Witchcraft Can Make You Rich In A Ghetto”, declared one chapter of their book The Magic Power of Witchcraft. But the Frosts themselves never got to be millionaires, and now they conveniently claim they’ve taken a vow of poverty! The Frosts claim that through dedicated study and practice, anyone can attain occult powers, such as astral projection, or causing an out-of-body experience at will. The method for this is supposedly accomplished by realizing one is asleep while dreaming. It’s more likely these supposed astral flights are really just dreams. No one claiming to do astral projection has succeeded at James Randi’s Million Dollar challenge, and I seriously doubt anyone ever will. In 1970 Gavin and Yvonne Frost write a book titled The Witch's Bible. The book appears to have been a textbook of sorts for their mail order Wicca course. While no crimes were broken in publishing the book, and possession of the book itself is not illegal , it does describe some things which might land people in jail if they tried them, and many of the things described might seem to have ulterior motives behind them. At first glance, the manual seems to be geared not only toward wife swapping and open marriages but also pedophiles. It states female children should have their hymens surgically removed as infants, and males should be circumised by their own mothers if need be. One shocking item is a ritual for deflowering a girl upon entering puberty that uses a homemade dildo shaped like an ahnk (pg 66). The girl is supposed to be instructed to use it upon herself, gradually working her way up to bigger sized dildos. The book says that girl should be given a "demonstration" on how to use the ankh/dildo by another member, and the child is to be told if she has difficulties performing the task the coven's high priest or her own father will assist. Using a dildo on a child (ecspecially one's own) must certainly be illegal, not to mention just plain perverted. The Frosts claim no one has ever tried the ritual, but it the book's author gives very specific instructions as to positioning of the girl's body during insertion, which sounds almost as though he'd participated in one such event. It seems strange that the deflowering ritual is still kept in the later editions of the book considering the controversy it generated for the Frosts years later. The secrecy that is part of Wicca could easily conceal such acts, and it almost sounds like the far fetched stories of so-called "Satanic Ritual Abuse" might have some sort of basis after all. On page 66 (as though rape with a dildo isn’t bad enough) we read the following: "Throughout the fast the female novice wears her phallus, and at some time during the fast the novices are given a demonstration of introitus by a couple selected by the coven. The novice makes her own decision on contraception or lack of it. If she needs advice or help, the sponsor is the one to give it. (The IUD is the recommended Wicca preventive.)" [emphasis mine] It’s clear the child is being prepared for use in sex rituals with members of the coven, since she is shown two coven members engaging in sex and has to chose a contraceptive!. Sex with underage children is most defiantly illegal, even if you try to hide behind religion. The book also says children are not the property of the parents but belong to the coven...making such groups sound like cults. It also says children should be told everything about sex, with no "birds and bees" lest they grow up like "sexually repressed perverts as Christian children do" [ref?]. It says covens should create a schedule for rotating the children to live with other members [ref?]...one can only wonder for what purpose! The book even says it's hoped the child's first sexual experience will someday be with the other coven members present as part of a Wiccan sex ritual [ref?]. It seems pedophiles would have a field day in these types of covens. The Frosts were some of the pioneers of the American Wicca movement and helped write the 1974 Wiccan "Principals of Belief", but nowadays they are the black sheep of Wicca. In the 1990's, the word "Good" was added to the book's title, although it would hard to find any good in it. The book seemed to go completely unnoticed during the so-called "Satanic Panic" in the 80's and 90's, oddly enough. This was probably due to the fact the Good Witch's Bible was not well known outside of Wiccan circles, and even Wiccans who despised the Frosts probably weren't about to air their dirty laundry and risk defaming "the Craft" just to save a few kids from being sexually violated. At any rate, the Frosts motivation for being Wiccans seems to be born out of purely sexual reasons, and actual proof of occult powers or magic seems non-existent. LANCE COLLINS (1949- ) His real name is John Todd. He is a fake ex-Wiccan who eventually became a real Wiccan, then an ex-Wiccan again, then a real Wiccan again. Not exactly like the other occultists on this list, but he made such an impact on American Christians during his heyday he deserves a mention. The Illuminati was introduced to mainstream Christians when a mentally unstable man named John Todd went on the Bible belt circuit with a bizarre story about having escaped from a life of drug abuse, Wicca and the mythical Illuminati, and becoming a Christian. Todd became a storefront preacher in 1968 in Phoenix, Arizona, and appeared on a Christian TV show in 1972 which gave him the soap box every crackpot needs. He claimed he was saved from Wicca and Satanism and drug addiction when he found a Jack Chick tract titled Bewitched. Todd/Collins and the others like him that followed are the reason I can’t accept money for writing a book or giving a lecture in a church. Todd/Collins went on from there and made a tour of churches in 1973, telling a story about the Illuminati and it’s secret plans for world domination...which for some reason are outlined in the novel Altas Shrugged by Ayn Rand that anyone can buy. The conspiracy included Wicca, The Church of Satan, The Manson Family, The Knights of Columbus, B’Nai Brith, The Process Church of the Final Judgement, the Teamster’s Union, the Communist party, shipping magnate Aristotle Onasis, the Rothchilds, and even President Jimmy Carter, whom he said was the Anti-Christ and would assume world control by 1984! Apparently Carter’s been keeping it a big secret that he runs the world, and builds houses for Habitat for Humanity as a cover! Armageddon was supposed to happen in 1979, they also apparently kept that quiet too, somehow. Todd claimed he was a life long Wiccan (impossible since Wicca was only invented circa 1954), and his family was a famous family of witches named Collins. At the time, Dark Shadows was a popular T.V. show that featured a fictional family of witches named Collins, which is probably where he got the idea. They were indeed famous, since they were on T.V., but certainly not real in any sense, or even based on historic figures. Todd claimed that when he achieved the highest level of Wicca, Grand Druid, he was told it was all just a front for Satanism, and made a member of the all powerful Illuminati. Todd/Collins claimed all mainline denominations of Christian churches had already been infiltrated by the Illuminati. Tapes made of his lectures circulated among Fundamentalist Christians...even after Carter failed to be the anti-Christ and Armegeddon didn't happen in 1979. Among some of the other strange claims made by Todd/Collins was that Melodyland and Jerry Falwell contributed millions of dollars to Satanists, and John Kennedy was still alive, and that he had been his personal warlock! None too stable, he went into a one year period of “backsliding” as he later called it between 1976-1977. It was more than just “backsliding”, it was leaving the Christian faith and joining the Frost’s Church of Wicca and establishing his own coven. The Frosts either never heard of Todd, or didn’t care as long as he paid his membership dues. Todd began teaching classes on his own Wiccan “tradition” at an occult bookstore he opened called the Witches Cauldron in Chicago. His “coven” consisted mostly of underage girls, who later claimed Todd had forced them to have sex with him. He was arrested for statutory rape, but was bailed out by the famous comic Bible tract publisher Jack Chick...a man who’s own grasp of reality seems questionable at times. Todd/Collins claimed he suffered from seizures while in jail, and Chick managed to get him released after only serving a few months. Chick still stands by Todd/Collins story and publishes his fables (along with his likeness) in the comic book Spellbound. Ironically enough, Chick did later produce a cassette tape in the 1980's titled Closet Witches, warning Satanists were infiltrating and ruining Christian churches, yet ironically unable to see the damage Todd/Collins created! After the backsliding incident, Todd/Collins resumed his lecture circuit as though nothing had happened, and now included the famous Melodyland church and Christian Rock music as part of the Illuminati conspiracy. The hoax was eventually exposed by two fundamentalist Christians in the book The Todd Phenomenon. According to The Todd Phenomenon, Todd/Collins was not a life long witch descended from a long line of Wiccans going back centuries as he claimed, but rather he was just a poor chap who suffered from paranoid delusions brought on by brain damage he got from being abused as a child by an alcoholic father. He served briefly in the army in Germany (but not as a Green Beret nor in Vietnam as he had claimed) until army psychiatrists determined he was a pathological liar who could not distinguish fantasy from reality and had probably received brain damage from his beatings as a child. A 19 year old John Todd was discharged in a time when mentally unstable vets were routinely inserted into the general populace with no thought to the consequences. Todd’s involvement with Wicca and drug abuse did not actually begin until his Church lecture circuit touring! Even during his so-called conversion to Christianity before his “backsliding” incident, his wife and associates claim Todd combined Wicca and Christianity. Todd frequently made passes at the female church goers, some of whom he seduced, and also got his teenage sister-in-law pregnant. His story inspired other people to fabricate their own testimonies, including wannabe Mike Warneke. Todd and Warneke once met, and the result was a shouting match in which the two had to be physically separated to keep from clobbering each other. Todd accused Warneke of more or less stealing his act, and he was probably right. But Warneke got the last laugh by co-writing the introduction to The Todd Phenomenon. A few years later however, Waneke’s own glass house got stoned when he was exposed as a fake himself by an article in Cornerstone Christian magazine in 1989! Todd faded from the public eye by 1980 and reportedly began selling freeze dried food in Montana for the coming Armageddon. In 1990 he was convicted in South Carolina for the rape of several college students. Prior to his arrest, he was referred to locally as the USC (University of South Carolina) Rapist. Todd also is alleged to have molested several young girls in South Carolina when he was a karate instructor. Todd's sentence was up in 2004, but deemed too dangerous to be released back into society. He is currently residing in a maximum security facility for the treatment of high risk sex offenders, where he will remain for the rest of his life. Todd claims he’s innocent and that he was framed by the late octogenarian Senator Strom Thurmond and the Freemasons. There’s a false story circulating on the internet that Todd was freed in 1994, picked up by a helicopter and murdered when he couldn’t pay the Illuminati $10,000 to spare his life (remember this is an organization supposedly with Trillions of dollars at their disposal!). I can see why conspiracy buffs would want to “kill him off”, because Todd has once again re-converted back to Wicca and renounced Christianity while in prison (if not even earlier). A Wiccan "prison chaplain" even pays him regular visits. I guess in a strange way, he’s a famous occultist too, and so he belongs on this list. MP3s made from Todd’s cassette tapes that circulated among Christian churches in the early 70's are available online today, with some conspiracy nuts swearing his impossible stories are somehow true. His name still appears in several Chick Publication Christian (?) comics. Like I said, old legends die hard. White supremacists are the biggest supporters of Todd’s story nowadays, which gives you an idea of the mentality of his stories. “An ungodly witness corneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.” - -Proverbs 19:28 LEO MARTELLO (1931-2000) He claimed to have a PhD in folklore which he didn’t really have. He also claimed he came from a long line of Itallian Wiccans, but in reality he didn’t. Back in the 70's, all Wiccans were claiming Wicca was ancient, prior to the exposes written by Adian Kelly and Professor Hutton, which revealed the not-so-ancient origins of “The Craft”. Prior to Wicca’s invention by Gardner, Martello had been a hypnotist and a graphologist (someone who tells fortunes through hand writing). From the sounds of things, he no doubt had an interest in the occult before Wicca went mainstream. He claimed some mysterious cousins from Italy had been watching for a while and then initiated him into the Italian version of Wicca, although said cousins have never been named or proven to have intiated him. His brand of Wicca seems to have been lifted from Leland's spurious Aradia. Even though he called himself a “Witch” he didn’t have magic powers, and he died from an undisclosed illness, which many believe to have been AIDS. He seemed to hate Christians with a passion. If his religion left him filled with hate, how did it make him a better person? Leo Martello; An embittered fake. JOSE SILVA (1914- ) Inventor of the Silva Mind Control Method, which was later renamed to sound less ominous. Silva was supposedly an early follower of Scientology before breaking away to found his own cult. Using techniques that resemble self-hypnosis, followers of this system think they can develop ESP and amazing memory power. Most of the course seems to consist of imagining traveling out of the body to visit absent people and perform diagnoses on them. However, the actual validity of this “absent healing” has never been tested or proven, and it’s not hard to figure out why students are discouraged from doing so. OBERON (TIMOTHY) RAVENHEART (1942- ). & MORNING GLORY ZELL (DIANA MOORE)-RAVENHEART (1942 - ), et al The Ravenhearts are the founders of the Wiccan/Neopagan group, The Church of All Worlds, in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are part of a bizarre "polyamorous" marriage involving 6 people at this writing; 3 men and 3 women. Morning Glory claims she even coined the term "polyamorous", which is a fancy way of saying you're shacking up with several people. It's polygamy with out the mariages. Despite this group, (and many more like them) most Wiccans nowadays will tell you all Wiccans are heterosexual and monogamous, and anything contrary to that idea is simply “Fundamentalist propaganda”. It seems their religious choice is based on sexual preferences rather than anything mystical. They don't really seem to have magic powers (if they did, they would certainly take Randi’s $1 million dollar challenge). Their choice of religion seems based on life style preference with Wicca's "'An it harm none, do what ye will" ( plagarized from Crowley's moto, "Do what tho will", which was plagarized from Gargantua and Patagruel). SAI BABA (1926 - ) His real name was Satyananrayana Raju. An Indian guru who gained fame during the 1960's Eastern religion craze. Sai Baba was touted to be “the man of miracles”, who could produce coins and fruit out of thin air or from a seemingly empty bag. His books were popular among many occultists, and were even sold through the Samuel Weiser’s mail order occult book catalog. New Age "prophet" Benjamim Creme hailed Sai Baba as having been an Avatar and equal to Christ himself. Creme also accepted Baba's claim that he is the reincarnation of a 19th century guru named Sai Baba of Shirdi Critics however, declared his “miracles” to be nothing more than the slight of hand and tricks of a stage magician. Baba also seems to know the old “regurgitation” trick, and is able to make sacred cloth objects come out of his mouth after seeming to go into a trance. There’s been no “miracle” Sai Baba could do that a stage magician could not also do. Even more disturbing than his trickery are the allegations of sexual misconduct made by ex-followers. Three suicides have been linked to Sai Baba, one was an alleged victim of the guru’s sexual abuse. A former Swedish film star, Conny Larsson alleged the guru regularly performed oral sex on him and asked for it in return. This was somehow a spiritual effort to correct the Swede’s “kundalini energy”. There have also been numerous allegations made about Sai Baba and sex with minors. UNESCO took it seriously enough that it decided to not sponsor a conference with the guru saying it was “deeply concerned about widely reported allegations of sexual abuse involving youth and children that have been leveled at the leader.” Sai Baba; fake guru, real homosexual and pedophile. BENJAMIN CREME ( 1922- ) Founder of a New Age association called Tara. Creme was a strong believer in the fraudulent Madame Blavatsky’s teachings of Theosophy. Creme basically did a rehash of Blavatsky’s shtick, and claimed he came into contact with the Ascended Masters in 1959 via telepathy...and therefore, completely unprovable. During the 1970's, Creme toured Europe and America claiming Christ was soon returning, but in a new spin to the typical scam of people claiming to be Christ returned. In Creme’s version, he didn’t claim to actually be Christ, but merely his spokesperson. According to Creme, Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t really the Christ, and in fact had been reincarnated into the body of a Syrian living inside a mountain. He must have been eating his yogurt, because Creme said his Syrian Jesus was 640 years old! Christ, according to Creme, was a spirit that had inhabited Jesus’ body while he was alive, and departed when he was crucified. Jesus was unworthy for resurrection, and was reincarnated. Christ on the other hand was living in the Brick Lane suburb of London since 1977...although Creme never presented him to the media, as one would think he would have. This New Age Christ, whom he referred to as “Maitreya” (A word actually denoting the 5th incarnation of Buddha) would return to earth on the Neopagan holiday of the Spring Equinox of 1982 and stand side by side with his 640 year old Jesus, so people would finally know they weren’t the same person. This never happened, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Neither Creme’s Jesus nor his Christ have made documented appearances and have never been photographed or given interviews with the media. The best Creme could do was publish a few pictures of crosses reflected on buildings as “proof” of his Christ’s blessing. Creme also claimed the crop circles were a sign Christ had returned, even though they had been debunked as hoaxes. Their existence seems highly unlikely at best. Creme has yet to materialize his Jesus or his Christ, but still continues to collect fees from his lectures showing apparently validating P.T Barnum’s thesis about the birthrate. All the same, it was probably better for humanity that Creme’s Christ never actually existed. For one thing, Creme claimed Lucifer was both the prodigal son and the sacrificial lamb who had bought us our salvation. This Lucifer had lived on the planet Venus 18 ½ million years ago was responsible for our evolution as well. In a lecture given at a Unity church ( a metaphysical/occult church) in 1980, Creme said Christ would end all religions and democracy. He was also said to have a preoccupation with the number “666", which he thought would hasten Christ’s return, I kid you not. Creme often defended Lucifer in public debates which even made many New Agers uncomfortable. Creme’s Christ sounds an awful lot of what you might expect someone advocating the Antichrist to say! Jesus Christ knew fakes like Creme would arise, which is why the Bible says “If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don't believe it! The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west.” ( Mat 24:26-27 translation CEV) In other words, when Jesus comes back, there won’t be any question about it. So when a crackpot like Creme tells you Christ is living in London, don’t believe it. Benjamin Creme, false prophet who promotes a non-existent false Christ of his own making. SILVER RAVENWOLF (1956-) Neo-Wiccan author. Ravenwolf tries to present a “soccer mom” image of Wicca. Ravenwolf is at the head of a more “sanitized” version Wicca that Wiccans of Gardnerian, Alexandrian, and other “original” forms have dubbed “Neo-Wicca”. In Neo-Wicca, there are no sex rituals, monogamy is encouraged, and drugs are a big no-no(all in theory at least). This is a far cry from the nude rituals involving S and M of and wine filled chalices, and pot as part of the “eight-fold path” of Gardnerian Wicca and it’s clones! Her target audience seems to be teenagers. Her book Teen Witch seems to bear some resemblance to the movie poster for the movie The Craft, and it’s hard to believe this was an accident or coincidnece. According to her book To Ride A Silver Broomstick, Ravenwolf claims she became a Wiccan in 1969 (which would mean she was 12 or 13 at the time, which she doesn’t mention in the account) after someone gave her an apparently vague description of it. As an adult, she wrote several occult books, including one book on prosperity magic titled Money Spells. Ravenwolf makes extraordinary claims for practicing sorcery, but what occult book author doesn’t? Here’s an example: “As someone who works with magick, sooner or later you're going to be found out, anyway. Let's face it. You will probably carry yourself differently (confidence does that to a person). You may become more articulate, more sensitive, more ethical; happier, richer, healthier. You will succeed in your dreams where others spend their lives wishing instead. Eventually, people will wonder what you are doing right! People may also fear you. Not because you have threatened them, but because you obviously are not enjoying the same tragedies they are.” (Teen Witch page 278) Wow! Wiccans not only strike fear in the hearts of people (but probably not for the reasons Ravenwolf thinks of) witches stand out because of their worldly success! But if that’s true, why does Ravenwolf admit she can’t even afford a hair dresser and has to cut her own hair? " For years I couldn't afford to go to a hair stylist (still can't, it's shop and chop for me). I got pretty good at stying my own hair from looking at magazine pictures" [Teen Witch, Llewellyn Publications, 2003 edition, page 145] Considering she can’t even afford a hair dresser - -by her own admission - -why would anyone honestly think sshe can actually cast money spells that work? As far as Wiccans leading charmed lives that avoid tragedies that mere normal people have and leading happy lives, this doesn’t seem to jibe with the feedback she claims she’s getting. Silver Ravenwolf seems to have inadvertently discovered that Wicca makes a person’s life worse instead of better! I doubt she’ll admit that much, but this is what she wrote: "A lot of people tell me how bad their lives have gotten after casting a spell and tell me they won't do Witchcraft anymore. I tell them their lives would have been much worse for not having cast the spell". [ Teen Witch, 2003 edition, page 145] Don't you would think a lot of people would be saying things like "Hey, Silver Ravenwolf, my life has improved tremendously with Wicca!" if Wicca is as great as she and others claim? Instead it makes lives much worse, not happier and better, and even Silver Ravenwolf admits in writing she hears this...and hears it “ a lot”! She admits people often tell her their lives are worse because of witchcraft...not better!! So it seems Ravenwolf’s letters would coincide with the miserable fates of occultists I’ve listed in this book, rather than being a shortcut to success and power. My friends, sometimes things are as they seem. The people of many religions and many cultures around the world consider sorcery evil and a thing not to take up, and there’s a reason. If this stuff wasn't evil, don't you think they'd say, "Man, is my life better!"? Ravenwolf’s spells and “traditions” are made up from bits and pieces of previous occult books, and things she whips up out of thin air. Poof! One spell involves the use of an empty Pringle’s potato chip can. I can’t hepl but wonder if she actually writes about such things with a straight face. She also hates and fears Christians and teaches people to do likewise, showing her religion doesn’t make her any better, just bitter. She encourages her young readers to lie to their parents about Wicca, and to practice it in fear and secrecy if need be. “While in Persia, they [the Christians] came across a nasty God that was used in that country. And, wonder of wonders, he resembled the old God of the people in Europe. He was dark, half animal, with horns and a tail. Bingo! They thought and rubbed their hands excitedly together. Now we know how to eradicate the old religion and bring in the new. When they got back to Europe, they told the people that the old God was really Satan because he had horns and a tail.” (To Ride A Silver Broomstick , page 49) This idea flies in the face of reality...and yet Wiccans keep repeating the lie! Ravenwolf is apparently referring to the Zoroastrian devil “Ahriman”. Ahriman is not considered a “nasty God” as Ravenwolf puts it, he is considered the epitome of everything evil and the enemy of their god “Ahura-Mazda”. He also does not bear a resemblance to the caricatured idea of the Devil as having horns and a pointed tail, nor to the Druid god Cernnunos which Wiccans borrow from the ancient Celts. Jews and Christians already believed in the existence of demons and didn’t need to borrow from Zoroastrianism. For that matter, Pagans too, believed in evil gods and goddess, monsters, ghosts, and all kinds of evil supernatural creatures. Kronos, the Gorgons, Medusa, Pluto, Loki, Hel, ogres, and vampires to name but a few of them. There never was a “one god” worshiped by all Pagans, and this idea is ridiculous. THE RELIGIONS OF EVERY CULTURE, from ancient times until now...even the now extinct Pagan religions of Europe (not to be confused with spurious recreations of Neopagans), have or had a belief in evil spirits! Most Wiccans would probably die of shock if they ever took a Comparative Religion class at a local community college and discovered this well documented fact! Horned gods were not the primary deities worshiped in Europe at the time of the rise of Christianity. European Pagans worshiped idols that looked like human beings, like Zeus, Isis, Odin, Mercury, etc. Just thinking about how the Christians somehow transformed this supposed universally worshiped “horned god” into a devil defies logic. Did the Christians, after their trip from Persia, tell the Pagans, “Hey, your horned god is a devil! Now then, start worshiping Jesus!” It’s about like if a bunch of Shintos would tell Christians Ameratsu was god and Jesus was the devil. Would Christians believe it? Would they suddenly start calling Jesus a devil? Of course not! Pagans of old must have been a very easily persuaded bunch if this was the case! If this were so, it’s a wonder any Christians were ever thrown to the lions at all. All they had to do was say, “Turn me loose, because your god is a devil!” And for that matter, the Christians being persecuted in countries where they are the minority can just tell the people “Hey, you’re god is a devil!” and the people will immediately switch to Christianity! It doesn’t work that way now, nor did it back then. Oh, and did you notice the part of how the Christians "rubbed their hands excitedly together" like Lex Luthor after he shoots Superman with a Kryptonite laser? MUHAHAHAHA Oh, those evil “xtians” Ravenwolf then tries unsuccessfully to play down her hate by saying: "I wrote this story to sound rather trite on purpose It is a good story, though, for children, and an interesting one to tell around the fireplace." (page 50) Yes, I suppose if you consider history revision, spreading hate and telling lies good for children! Otherwise, stick to Dr. Seuss. Ravenwolf’s bigoted view of Christians is as ignorant as her knowledge of history, so instead of reading her book around the fireplace, I would be tempted to toss it in instead (but I won’t since I don’t have a fireplace). Ravenwolf is one of the biggest selling authors of Wiccan books right now, and not easily dismissed...even though many Wiccans and Neo-Wiccans try to dismiss her. People are reading her books and learning history revision. She is a peddler of fear and hate, whose money spells don’t seem to enable her to afford a haircut. ANTON LAVEY (1931-1997) Founder of the First Church of Satan of San Francisco in 1966 and author of 5 books on Satanism . LaVey founded the Church of Satan in 1966 to cash in on the occult craze of the 1960's. Previously, he had been an organ player in nightclubs and was a high school dropout. Since he had an uneventful life, he simply made one up for himself by a form of Satanic sorcery known as “Lesser Black Magic” or to put it in laymen’s terms, “lying”. LaVey claimed he had been a lion tamer for a circus, a police photographer with a degree in criminology, an oboist for the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra (which doesn’t even exist!), had affairs with Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe, had played the part of the Devil in the movie Rosemary’s Baby, and was a millionaire...none of which were true. He got away with the lies for many years, until Rolling Stone magazine did an expose on him in 1992. After his death, his family made even more embarrassing facts public. Nevertheless, the lies continue to be repeated by friend and foe alike. LaVey's philosophy is one of hedonism and "free love" (hardly news for the 60's), and featured rituals with his nude wife and bare breasted female followers, which shows why males would want to join...even at the cost of $20 yearly dues/$5 per meeting back then. LaVey claimed Satan represented a "dark force in nature" that gave mastery over the fleshly life in his "Satanic Bible", and even established a modern day Satanic Church. His rituals told readers they could obtain the object of their sexual desires, wealth through Satan's compassion (!), and revenge on their enemies through hexes. Satanists who try the spells in th book, however, usually soon realize they don’t actually work, but continue to call themselves Satanists anyway. LaVey was approached by Avon books to wrote a book on witchcraft to cash in on the occult craze of the 1960's. He cobbled together The Satanic Bible from a forgotten right-wing political tract (where of the material from the Book of Satan section comes from), Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Enochian occult material of John Dee. In the book, he presents a straw man, a one dimensional view of Christianity, and tears it down, making Satanism appear to be the only choice if a person wants to be happy in life. To non-critical thinkers, (young people in particular) Satanism seems like a religion that will give them anything they want in life, while Christianity or another “white light” religion will only bring them misery. LaVey’s promise of power and strength are key selling points to his “philosophy”. He argues violence is a natural human trait, and therefore it’s only human to be violent. But studies by many anthropologists have shown violent behavior is a learned trait, not a natural one. The Satanic Bible, like any system of the occult, promises an easy path to undeserved power. It doesn’t take too long to realize the spells in The Satanic Bible don’t actually work, therefore Satanists will tell you about what a great “philosophy” it is. If you follow LaVey’s “philosophy”, you probably wind up in jail. LaVey himself had several run-ins with the law. The fact that people who seek out Satanism crave strength and power is a warning flag for problems in their own lives. Satanism simply causes them to ignore their underlying problems and not seek help for them. As a "philosophy", Satanism could be boiled down to hedonism, which was hardly a new idea in the 1960's. Oddly enough, most Satanists don't fit the bill as swingers. LaVey claimed he was looking for” men who could stand on their own two feet”, but in reality, Satanism is just a personality cult centered around LaVey. LaVey spun a yarn about himself, making his mundane life as a bar musician into an Indiana Jones like tale. Satanists who feel they have dull, uneventful lives live vicariously through LaVey. LaVey claimed Satanists were “the Alien elite”. But according to Psychiatrist Michael Moriarity, teenage Satanists (and presumably the older ones) are people who almost always fall into one of four categories, The Psudeo-intellectual, the psychotic, the angry misfit, and the impulsive suicidal type. Successful people don’t need Satanism, nor does it attract successful people. You’re much more likely to find the bookish or angry at the world types (if not both) calling themselves Satanists, than you ever will a CEO or a Senator. LaVey claimed that nuts were given "the bum's rush" when trying to join the Church of Satan, but clearly the term “nut” was in the eye of the beholder. LaVey has admitted to holding a "Cannibal feast" of a human leg in at least 3 books. The Satanic Bible & The Satanic Rituals certainly describe many things most normal people would consider pychotic such as Nude girl is used as an altar (found in both The Satanic Bible, & The Satanic Rituals)A human skull is used in Die Elektrischen Vorspiele ritual (Satanic Rituals, p. 109)Human leg bone or arm bone is used in Homage to Tchort ritual (p.137) Woman dressed as nun urinates before group into a bedpan in the Black Mass ritual (p.43) Urine is then sprinkled like holy water (p.44)Man climbs into coffin with nude woman (or nude man if he is gay) in Le Epais ritual (p.59). LaVey never really seemed to know what Satanism was himself. Some of his writings seemed atheistic and disbelieving in any mysticism, but at other times he called Satan "the dark side of nature", gave instructions on how to have successful spells, and often refers to Satan as a personification. One thing is for certain, The Satanic Bible gives specific instructions on timing, tools to be used, specific rituals for sex spells, revenge spells, etc (The Book of Belial)., and it seemed he expected results. LaVey had some worldly success for a brief time, and even managed to employ a chauffeur for a year or two. But like all success gained by occultists, it was fleeting. In 1975 the Church of Satan split up, with many core members leaving to join the Temple of Set or other short lived groups. The house he lived in was actually given to him by his parents. Family and friends revealed LaVey forced female followers into prostitution as part of his bogus "Satanic sex therapy", took all their earnings and beat them when they didn't bring in enough money. In other words, he was just a common pimp! In 1984 LaVey was arrested after he strangled his common law Wife Diane (nee Hegarty) into unconsciousness. Daughter Karla LaVey pulled her poor stepmother outside to save her life . Diane would later leave him and sue LaVey for half his property, claiming he had physically abused her all throughout their 26 year relationship. LaVey also had other incidents with the law. Daughter Zeena claims LaVey was the passive witness to the molestation of his own grandson, Stanton, in 1986 by one of LaVey's friends who was later convicted of sex crimes with minors, although LaVey was not charged with any wrong doing. Zeena herself was impregnated at age 14 by a Church of Satan member purported to be in his 30's. LaVey's was arrested 1979 due to his lion's (named Togare) unruly behavior and was ordered by a court to donate it to the San Francisco Zoo. The animal had been mistreated by LaVey (he used an electric cattle prod on him) and Togare had to receive special treatment the remainder of his life. LaVey had been given the animal by a Church of Satan member, believing LaVey’s lie about being a circus lion tamer. Defector P.E.I. Bonewitz claimed LaVey blackmailed some of the members of Church of Satan to supplement his income. Though never charged formally, LaVey was said to have pimped out female followers and beat them when they didn't bring back enough money as part of his "Satanic sex therapy" scam. He also claimed in the 1960's he presided over a "cannibal feast" of a human leg procured from a hospital, which would have certainly landed the diners in jail had they got caught. Many of the members of the Church of Satan in the 1960's were members of Law Enforcement, which is presumed by many why LaVey avoided legal entanglements most of the time. LaVey was on the right side of the law in one incident, when in 1979 he reported to the F.B.I. that someone had tried to contract the Church of Satan to make a contract killing on a U.S. Senator. During the interview with the Feds, LaVey told them he had become "disillusioned with Satanism" at the time, but apparently went back into his rut later on. A 50 year old high school dropout with no marketable skills is hard to employ, and no one was about to take a former leader of a Satanic cult seriously. LaVey began selling membership cards to the Church of Satan out of a Post office box for $100. The actual Church of Satan no longer actually existed at that point, accept on paper and one or two cell groups here and there. Despite LaVey's claims that Satanists don't believe in charity of any kind, LaVey and his family had to live on handouts from friends and relatives, and public assistance during the 80's. He finally filed for bankruptcy in 1992, and was forced to sell his house to a real estate developer who allowed him to stay there until he died. With the drastic lifestyle change of going from a purported $50,000 a year or so income (which was probably less, considering LaVey’s track record for telling the truth) in the late 60's, to living on handouts and public assistance, LaVey , like Pee Wee Herman, later claimed “I meant to do that”, stating he was eschewing materialism for asceticism...a hypocritical 180 degree turnaround from the hedonistic philosophy presented in The Satanic Bible! With all his supposed knowledge of Satanic magic and worldly philosophy, LaVey only succeeded in being poor and in trouble with the law from time to time. LaVey died in poverty from pulmonary edema in 1997. A follower (allegedly his daughter Karla) scratched Oct. 29th out on his death certificate and wrote Oct. 31st as the day he died in a pathetic attempt to make it appear he died on Hallowe’en! Even this failed. Since Satanic magic obviously doesn’t work, his followers, desperate to save face, began claiming LaVey never really meant the spells to actually work, but clearly that isn’t the case. The Satanic Bible and The Devil’s Notebook gave specific rules to follow for success, as well as the timing of rituals, imagery, candles to use, clothing, appropriate Enochain Key, etc. LaVey was obviously writing to make the reader to think magic would work! If he couldn't make the spells from The Satanic Bible work, what chance does anyone else have? Do you want to cast spells for money and wind up on foodstamps like LaVey? Do you want to be a pimp living in your parent's house? If so, keep practicing the occult and maybe you to will wind up like poor ol' Anton! Anton LaVey, wife beating pimp, cannibal, fraud, and failure. MICHAEL AQUINO (1946- ) A former U.S. Army Reserve Colonel, Vietnam veteran, and Eagle Scout who broke away from the Church of Satan and formed the Temple of Set in 1975. Aquino claimed he could literally channel the Egyptian devil Set, and received direct communication from him. To add to his elfin appearance, he plucked his eyebrows, cut his hair in a drastic Eddie Munster widow’s peak, and tattooed “666" on his scalp, inspired by his purported obsession with the 1970's horror movie The Omen. He often appeared on talk shows and in newspaper articles with titles like “Satanist is Colonel in Army”. Exactly why all this didn’t bother anyone at the Pentagon is a mystery. But I guess any group of people that will pay $20,000 for a toilet seat or $10,000 for a hammer doesn’t really pay a whole lot of attention to what goes on around them in the first place. Supposedly with all this power, you figure his life would be on easy street, right? Eventually Uncle Sam was not to thrilled about having someone who claimed he talked to the Devil in charge of the Psychological Warfare programs that Aquino oversaw...at least not after Aquino was named in a child daycare sex abuse scandal at the Presidio that hit the newspapers and TV. Aquino still claims he was innocent, and was never charged with a crime . Even so, Aquino is a follower of Crowley’s teachings, the same Crowley who wrote of molesting his own children and was always haunted by rumors of child sacrifice. A homosexual follower who called himself “Lord Egan” claimed to have been a member of N.A.M.B.L.A., the infamous gay pedophile association, right before the Presidio incident (Egan would later claim he did it merely for “shock value”, and denied actually being a gay pedophile). All this supposedly caused Aquino’s military career to end earlier than he would have liked, and the Presidio incident still haunts him. Critics note the incident gave Aquino a soapbox from which to bewail the “Satanic Panic”. Aquino made himself a lightning rod for scandal by his appearance and promoting Satanism, so some critics say Aquino only had himself to blame when people thought he was a weirdo. Defectors of the group say that The Temple of Set has an unhealthy infatuation with Nazism, and having briefly been a member myself, I can say this appears to have been true. The Temple of Set had an enormous reading list, which included a section about Facism and Totalitarianism. Some of the suggested books were Adolph Hitler’s Mien Kampf, The Passing of the Great Race, and The Borman Brotherhood. Some members claimed to belong to Neo-Nazi groups and the KKK. While on a tour of Europe for N.A.T.O. in 1984, Aquino interrupted it to take time to stop by the Welwelsburg castle (that had been Nazi SS headquaters during World War II, previously mentioned) to do a Satanic ritual. Small wonder we lost ‘Nam. The Temple of Set operates a sort of “mail order cult” where people can join for around $100 and get a card saying they’re a member, and a spooky membership certificate to hang on the wall to creep out what few normal friends they might have had left. It’s really more about ego trips than sorcery. “Occult nerds” might be the best way to describe them. They’re the type of people that enjoy arguing in online newsgroups and forums about the occult, attempting to prove they “know more” about esoteric subjects, but can’t actually do anything that anybody could call “magic”. They resemble Heinrich Himmler in more ways than one. Aquino doesn’t have magic powers, he doesn’t really “channel” Set, and people who get involved with the occult only ruin their lives. LORD EGAN (1958 - ) Broke away from the Temple of Set to form his own group, The First Church of Satan. Here's what he once wrote on his website: "I've been forced to give up coffee - the acid was responsible for a minor ulcer and I can no longer take any chances with my health. This was my solitary vice - now it is gone. I do not drink, do not smoke, do not use recreational drugs and have nothing remotely resembling a sex life!" I received an email from Egan’s ex-girlfriend confirming the statements to be true. And the advantages to being a Satanist are...??? Obviously, calling one’s self a Satanist does nothing to improve the quality of one’s life. If shocking and scaring people are the only way a person can derive pleasure in life, I’d say that would qualify as anti-social behavior. Satanism is not something any normal person would want to embrace. MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI (1914-2008) A Hindu guru who created the Transcendental Meditation movement in 1958. In the 1960's the Beatles, the Beach Boys,Mia Farrow, Shirley McClaine and their entourages set out for India to meet the Yogi & get enlightenment. However, they all became disillusioned when the Yogi didn't seem to have any answers. Even flying the Beatles around in the Maharashi’s private helicopter over his spacious estate, or being driven around in his chauffeur driven Rolls Royce didn’t instill confidence, oddly enough. When one of the women claimed the Yogi tried to rape her it was the last straw and the group dispersed. Later apologists have said the incident was due to a misunderstanding of a friendly hug between Mia Farrow and Yogi, but in a press conference shortly after the defection, John Lennon called him “a notorious womanizer”..quite a statement considering Lennon had been around the block himself! Lennon’s statement suggests there was more than just one mere incident that bothered them. John Lennon and Paul McCartney claimed they felt "disappointed and betrayed" by Maharishi. When Maharishi asked Lennon why he was leaving Lennon reportedly snapped, "If you're so bloody enlightened, you should already know why!" The Beatles later recorded two songs to make fun of the Yogi, Sexy Sadie and The Fool On The Hill. Harrison of the Beatles reconciled with the Yogi, however, and returned to TM. In the 1980's, Harrison ran for British Parliament, and Doug Henning in Canada ran for the Canadian Paliment, on the TM political party ticket. The fact TM has it's very own political party suggests the movement may not be as benign as people think. Both Harrison and Henning lost, as did every single TM Party candidate in every country...even though Yogi had assured them all they would all win! TM loves to talk about the health benefits of meditating, but the reality is tests have shown TM does nothing to improve health or reduce stress. If the lives of some of their celebrity followers are any indication, this would seem so. George Harrison died of brain cancer, Doug Henning died of liver cancer, and Andy Kaufman died of lung cancer...and he didn’t even smoke. Yogi claims followers can perform miracles such as levitating and can make themselves invisible, but none of the miraculous claims have ever been proven. Yogi also claims he has the secret to reverse aging...even though he apparently doesn't use it on himself if he does. The top of his domed head once covered in shaggy hair became as bald as an egg in later years, and he was frail and in poor health, as one would expect of any man in his 90's. The Yogi was a fake. Of course some people would be impressed the Yogi lived to be in his 90's, but so have many people who’ve never heard of TM. Wealthy people tend to have longer life expectancies, and Yogi was certainly richer than the average bear-on! TM is really nothing more than Hinduism. Even though they may deny this, and deny it’s a religion, it is. A judge even ruled so in a court case. The initiation ceremony involves reading from the Bagahvad Gita, singing a Hindu hymn, invoking Hindu deities, and paying homage to the spirit of Guru Dev, Yogi’s mentor. The “mantras” that are assigned to TM followers to meditate on are even the names of Hindu deities. To put it frankly, TM is simply another form Hinduism marketed to Westerners! Hinduism hasn’t transformed India into some kind of utopian paradise, and they tried it for thousands of years. Hinduism is ruled by an autocratic hierarchy, where the highest level, the Mahatmas, are considered literally to be “gods”. The people on the lowest rung, the Untouchables, are degraded to the lowest level of life. Many of them are breaking their yokes of virtual slavery and becoming Christians...much to the outrage of Hindu priests! Even though many people in the West think of Hinduism as peace loving and tolerant, persecution of Christians and other non-Hindus goes on at a regular basis. Indian authorities tend to look the other way, and will even lie and say Christians are doing the persecuting to justify the atrocities committed against them. No form of Hinduism will make the world a better place. TM will not transform the world, it will only empty pocket books. Yogi is just another garden variety guru, who’s had his share of boo-boos. There is a Christianized version of TM called "Centering Prayer" developed in part by a former Roman Catholic monk who belongs to TM, which Christians should avoid. CHARLES MILES MANSON (1934- ) He and several members of his “Family” are in prison doing life. They were murderers, drug addicts, and people no one would want to be. Manson is a paranoid schizophrenic...insane and locked up and someone to be pitied. But for some reason, many occultists are fascinated by him, probably because he got a lot of women. Even Michael Aquino called him a type of Satanist in The Crystal Tablet of Set. Several authors have noted Manson was a borrower of ideas and was influenced by many sources. His biggest influences seem to have been a Scientology and a Neo-Gnostic like cult called The Process Church of the Final Judgement, which was also a Scientology breakaway group. The Process was a weird combination of Scientology, end time Jesus Freak-ism, and Satanism. Scientology’s auditing process involves a mild form of hypnosis, and many people have speculated this could partly explain how Manson learned to brainwash his followers. Mason also admired Hitler and read Mein Kampf, and also studied Nietzsche. At least two members of The Church of Satan belonged to Manson’s cult, Susan Atkins and Bobby Bosaliel. Atkins appeared in LaVey’s “Topless Witches” nightclub act, in which she took LSD and got inside a coffin. Baeuseliel appeared in fellow Church of Satan member Kenneth Anger’s underground movie Lucifer Rising. More than anything else, Mason is a product of criminal behavior; insane, drug addicted, racist and paranoid. He’s not someone you’d want to be. A book about Manson, complete with his “spells” was published in the 80's...it's hard to believe people would be stupid enough to want to try them, but there you go. The women he got were not the kind you would take home to mother, and he basically got them drugged and brainwashed them (probably with techniques he learned from Scientology while in prison). There was no magic involved, and Manson has no powers...if he did he would not be in prison! If you want to be like Manson, see a psychiatrist. ARTHUR FORD (1896-1971) A Medium and Spiritualist who made money conning people. Ford maintained a huge collection of files on clients that he used to fool people into thinking he could contact the dead. Ford is known as the Medium who contacted the ghost of Houdini. Houdini's widow, Bess, admitted late in life she'd given the famous “survival” code to Ford, who had thereupon announced a successful attempt to contact the spirit of Houdini. Mrs. Houdini, a Roman Catholic, recanted her announcement that her husband's spirit had contacted her. Late in his life “Reverend” Ford maintained a room at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City where he did “readings” and “seances” for his customers. After Episcopal Bishop James Pike found a few odds and ends out of place in his house one day in 1966 (such as a safety pin merely lying open on the floor), he was convinced it was due to the ghost of his dead son. This began Pike’s involvement with Ford. Ford convinced Pike he had contacted his dead son’s ghost, supposedly because Ford told him things only Pike and his son would know. But skeptics have noted that Pike appeared on TV hundreds of times, and could have easily mentioned the facts and forgotten them. In 1969 while on a trip to Israel, Pike and his wife became lost in the dessert attempting to drive to Qumran. His wife set out for help, leaving Pike in the car. Several hours passed, but Pike was not found. Medium Arthur Ford phoned Diane and told her Pike was in a cave, still alive, when in fact he was later found dead on a rocky crag, and had been for some time. It's been said by people who worked with him that Ford always exhibited a callous attitude toward the clients, referring to them as “suckers” or even worse things. Many Mediums and Psychics subscribe to what is known as the "Blue Book"... a privately published, regularly updated directory of names and pertinent information about potential clients. Psychics and Mediums use the information to impress clients into thinking they have psychic powers. According to Psychic debunker James Randi, "Regional versions exist, and the source is carefully guarded. The data are submitted free or sold to the publishers by practicing mediums, who obtain it from each other and from important and wealthy clients. Individual “spirit camps” or similar communities will often keep their own private lists, formerly on index cards, but now in computer form, of persons who have visited there." Ford was a fake, as are all Mediums. He preyed on people’s misfortunes and gave false readings. FRANCOIS "PAPA DOC" DUVALIER (1907 -1971) AND JEAN-CLAUDE "BABY DOC" DUVALIER (1951-) Father and son dictators of Haiti who ran the impoverished island nation with iron fists. The Duvaliers used Voodoo to their advantage, making people fear them through the superstitious belief that they had employed the most powerful Voodoo priests in Haiti. The fear wasn’t all superstition, either. The pair of the ran the infamous “Tom Tom Macoute”, a secret police that would secretly kidnap, torture, and murder anyone who spoke out against their regime. Baby Doc took the Voodoo imagery even further by telling the people of Haiti he was the incarnation of Baron Samedi, the Voodoo god of death. He often sported a top hat and cane to promote the image, and even changed the colors of Hati’s flag to red and black - - the colors of Voodoo - - to further the idea. Eventually the people of Haiti had enough, and Duvalier was overthrown, due in part to the CIA, because the US was tired of Hatians seeking refuge from the magic island. When Haitians got rid of the Duvalier’s, they wised up and used guns and Molotov cocktails instead of just voodoo. Haiti, along with Cuba (a nation with followers of a similar religion to Voodoo called Santeria) are the only two third world nations in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti has one of the highest percentage of AIDS cases in the world, which former Nigerian Ju Ju priest Isaiah Oke blames on Voodoo’s use of blood rituals, dead body parts, and orgies which often happen during ceremonies. He also says African kings were usually the men who were considered to be the most powerful Ju Ju men, because the people fear them. This ancient tradition seems to be what enabled the Duvaliers to come to power. Does Voodoo sound like it works? Well, it does help enslave people through fear and superstition, so it works for ruthless dictators like the Duvaliers. FIDEL CASTRO (1926- ) An infamous communist dictator, but also a seldom acknowledged follower of Santeria, too! It may seem like an obvious contradiction that someone who espouses communism, an atheistic system of government that seeks to eradicate all religion through force if need be, would be a follower of Santeria, a primitive religion that routinely involves use of magic spells and animal sacrifice. Nonetheless, Castro not only uses Santeria to terrify people into following him, he even seems to actually believe in it, too! Castro is a brutal dictator who kills anyone who opposes him, suppresses free speech, and profits from the sale of drugs. The evil dictator has made himself a billionaire by estimates...much of it through the drug trade...and rodes in a chauffeur driven Mercedes while his peasant subjects starve and ride on bicycles. He has run his once thriving island nation into the ground to the point that Cubans will flee on homemade rafts and often die in the attempt to live in the U.S.A. If Santeria is so great, why do a nation of Santerias live in deplorable conditions? Why can’t their magic make things better? Castro allows Santeria in Cuba because he knows he can control his people through fear with it, just like the Duvaliers did with Voodoo in Haiti. If you take a good look of Castro in a photo or on video next time, you may notice he wore two wrist watches. One watch is said to be worn just to hide his Santeria bracelet. I thought this was just a crazy rumor when I first heard it, but sure enough, the next time I saw Castro on TV, he was wearing two wrist watches. The last time mention was made of his superstitious occult religion was made was during the Elian Gonzales disaster of the Clinton/Reno regime. According to sources, Castro was advised by his Santeria priests that he if Elian was allowed to remain the United States it would mean his dictatorship would end. Castro threatened Clinton with another Mariel boat lift if he didn’t get the boy returned, and thus Slick Wille quickly caved and sent his jack booted thugs armed with machine guns got the job done. It’s hard to say how many policies have been made due to Castro’s superstitious belief in Santeria...and it’s quite scary when you think about it. At Castro’s inauguration, doves landed on Castro’s shoulder’s , which the superstitious Santerios of Cuba took as a sign from the "Orishas". The doves, however, had been trained by placing corn on Castro’s shoulders. Outside of Castro and his cronies, those doves were probably the last Cubans to have eaten regular meals. Some hero! This is the only way to succeed at Santeria...by lying and exploiting others. MANUEL NOREIGA [1934- ] While few may know of Castro’s Santeria inclinations, even fewer know of Manuel Noreiga’s. Noriega made a fortune not from just being dictator of Panama, but from the drug trade. In 1990, when American forces arrested him, along with drugs, they discovered a Santeria altar in his home, with effigies of former President Regan and then President Bush 41, in an attempt to curse them (along with other enemies). It didn’t work, and he wound up spending 25 years in an American prison! L. RON HUBBARD (1911-1986) Mentally ill science fiction writer who created Dianetics and later Scientology. In a way he was Aleister Crowley’s most successful disciple. During the 1960's, Hubbard belonged to a California chapter of Crowley’s O.T.O. that also included Jack Parr. Parr had a falling out with Hubbard after he left with his wife and several thousand dollars of O.T.O. funds. Hubbard had apparently been interested in the occult prior to this, and had briefly been a member of the mail order AMORC Rosicrucian occult order. In a lecture given in the 1960's, Hubbard referred to Crowley as “my friend” and recommended his book The Master Therion (therion = Greek for beast) for Scientologists to read. There are many similarities to Thelema and Scientology, in fact some critics charge Scientology is just a “science fictionalized” version of Thelema! In 1950, Hubbard published the book Dianetics, that purported to be a way to achieve mental health and happiness. Dianetics attempts to recover traumatic prenatal memories (called engrams) which Dianetics purports are the source of human mental impediments. Using a process called “auditing”, a person is supposedly made to relieve these incidents and erase them. Once this is done the subconcious mind, called ‘the reactive mind” in Dianetics, is then shut down (a scientific impossibility) allowing only the conscious mind (Analytical Mind in Dianetics lingo) to run the show. This state is called “clear”. Once a person is clear, they were said to no longer need glasses, their I.Q.s would go up, and they would have total recall. Hubbard introduced his first clear, a 22 y.o. UCLA physics graduate student, to a packed L.A. auditorium. But the demonstration quickly turned into a farce, when the girl couldn’t even answer questions a physics freshman could have answered, and obviously didn’t have total recall. The FDA decided that Dianetics was a dangerous form of psychotherapy, and tried to shut down Hubbard’s Dianetic centers. Facing the loss of his golden goose, Hubbard started The Church of Scientology in 1966 with headquarters in a run down Clearwater, Florida hotel. To Dianetics’ quack psychotherapy Hubbard tossed in reincarnation. This turned to be an even bigger money maker, because since people had dozens, hundreds, or perhaps thousands of past lives, each of these lives caused engrams which also had to be audited. Cha-ching $$$! Hubbard used hypnosis, fear, and lies to create an empire worth millions, which has been exposed in books such as The Scandal of Scientology by Paulette Cooper, The Bare Faced Messiah by Russel Miller, and A Piece of Blue Sky by Jon Atack, all of which can be read online for free. . Of course, Hubbard spent a good deal of the time on the lam, so he probably didn’t get to enjoy his money as well he would have liked. Many people (including ex-wives and lovers, the FBI, and federal judges) concluded Hubbard was "hopelessly insane" and a “pathological liar”. While some may wonder how an insane person can run an organization, keep in mind sometimes even psychotics can become heads of corporations, as apparently in Hubbard’s case. Like most occultists, Hubbard lied about his achievements, such as claiming to have earned a degree in Nuclear Physics which turned out to be from a diploma mill. The Church of Scientology cult is a hopeless morass of lies and deceit that has caused the deaths of several people, including Hubbard’s own son, Quentin. Scientology is a dangerous psychotherapy cult that keeps people from obtaining the help they really need. Brainwashing through hypnosis and use of a lie detector called an "E-Meter" costs followers thousands of dollars over time. Auditing can cost around $300 per hour or more. One man claimed to have spent $250,000 to try to achieve the state of clear with no success. Scientific impossibilities, such human beings living on earth trillions of years ago who were enslaved by an evil alien named “Xenu” are part of the "Theology" of Scientology. Hubbard, far from being a humanitarian, used people for his own ends and cared little about what happened to them. He even used his own wife (wife #3) to take the rap in a scandal that involved money laundering & breaking into federal offices the church had labeled "Operation Snow White". People who oppose the "Church" are systematically harassed, as was Paullete Cooper when she was framed in another Scientology excursion called "Operation PC Freakout". In the 1970's, Hubbard and followers absconded from the authorities onboard three private cruise ships called "The Sea Org", complete with pretty underage teenage girls dressed in skimpy sailor costumes to attend to his every whim. Many celebrities have been wooed by Scientology, which helps the cults image. Often times celebrities find Scientology to help them kick drugs. Even though Scientology’s front Narcanon group claims to help people get off drugs, Hubbard himself, however, was said to be a chain smoker who frequently drank. Celebrities receive much different treatment than the ordinary peon, according to defectors of the cult. Scientology has so many rules and procedures, it seems completely impossible to follow. Hubbard wrote over 100 books about Dianetics and Scientology, most of which are hard to decipher. John Travolta said in an interview that all the rules of Scientology has for a happy marriage would probably fill a set of books the size of the Encyclopedia Britannica! So why do people follow Scientology? Dianetics/Scientology’s system of therapy is done through a process called “auditing”. Critics have observed auditing is really just a mild form of hypnosis. But the more people are repeatedly hypnotized, the easier it becomes to hypnotize them. The E-Meter drills give very mild electric shock, which physicians say is habit forming. So someone being audited could be easily brainwashed. It’s no wonder Scientologists actually believe they have lived for Trillions of years on other planets! Would you consider someone who constantly lied to you, brainwashed you, used you for money and then tried to ruin you if you tried to expose them a "good guy"? KIRBY HENSLEY (1911-1999) Included here on this list, mostly because so many occultists buy fake degrees and church charters from his "church". This nutty little preacher from North Carolina started a bogus church that made him thousands (The Universal Life Church in 1962) , because he would ordain anyone for money. He also started a bogus law school that was shut down, and even ran for President as all crackpots seem to do. The ULC even ordains atheists, Satanists, and even animals and inanimate objects! My pet Cocker Spaniel Oscar is a ULC "minister", complete with certificate of ordination! Some people have even got their potted plants ordained! One man had an old tennis shoe ordained. Think about it, would you want to be part of a church that ordains not only anyone...but anything??? The Universal Life Church is a diploma mill as well as an ordination mill. Hensley himself received a Doctor of Divinity degree from another diploma mill, as well as a bogus degree in metallurgy, which he mistakenly bought thinking it was a degree in metaphysics! The ULC offers Doctor of Divinity degrees without any tests, previous education, or studying, for a “donation” of about $29.95. There’s also a PhD in religion offered for around $100. If you see an occultist with “D.D.” after their name, chances are they got it from the ULC or a similar mill. The ULC also sales a variety of titles from Imam, Arch-Cardinal, Rabbi, Deacon, Bishop and even (no kidding) Jedi Knight. Hensley himself claimed he didn’t believe in a god, but claimed the sky was “our father” and the earth was “our mother”. He believed in reincarnation, claiming to be a reincarnated vaudeville comedian. Borrowing from Christian Science (to which he belonged to briefly), he claimed Jesus and Christ were to separate beings, and that Jesus of Nazareth was really the anti-Christ. Some people he ordained included New Age minister Rev. Terry Cole Whittaker, atheist Madeleine O’Hair, Fr. Alberto Rivera the fake ex-Jesuit of Jack Chick comic book fame, and the mass murderer "Reverend" Jim Jones (who was also an atheist). Hensley’s fake church is worthless spiritually. It only served to make him money. Yet many occultists seek ordination from his church. Aren’t you better than, a dog, a potted plant, or a mass murderer??? Then why be in the same league they are??? TUESDAY LOBSANG RAMPA (1910-1981) a.k.a Dr. Carl Kuon Suo(1911-1981) His real name was Cyril Henry Hoskin, and he was a British plumber's assistant who wrote the book The Third Eye in 1956. Like Blavatsky before him, Hoskin chose Tibet as the back drop for his scam. The book deals with a Tibetan who had a hole drilled in his forehead to open the “third eye”. Hoskins claimed later the book was about himself. The book seems to have inspired other people to drill holes in their heads in the 60's...some of which ended in fatality. Eventually it was discovered Hoskins spoke not a word of Tibetan, and had not been to Tibet even once, nor ever owned a passport in his life! Hoskins next books claimed the real Rampa had merely posessed the body of Hoskins (and apparently forgot how to speak Tibetan). Believers gladly swallowed Rampa's history revision. Hoskin produced several more ludicrous books, including My Visit to Venus, in which he described a trip in a flying saucer in the company of two Venusians. Obviously a crackpot, but his books are still in print. JEANNE DIXON (1918-1998) Celebrated psychic, who was well known for her yearly list of predictions in tabloids like The Star and The National Enquirer. Some credit her with predicting the assassination of President Kennedy, but what she actually predicted in 1956 was that the unnamed president to be elected in 1960 would die or be killed in his second term. There was a belief in the "20 year presidential curse" by many people at the time, so Dixon was just going with the popular opinion. (It should be pointed out that two Presidents died outside of the 20 year cycle, and that Ronald Regan and George W. Bush did not die in the 20 year curse. Fans of the curse theory simply leave these details out when figuring the “curse”.) The endless chain of Dixon's major failed predictions, including Tom Dewey elected as an “assistant president,” the fall of India's Nehru which never happened, Richard Nixon's return to office after his resignation that failed to materialize, and germ warfare in 1958 with China that never happened. She also predicted a monster comet striking the Earth, the election of a female U.S. president and the dissolution of the Roman Catholic Church...all to take place before 1990! She was a false prophetess, plain and simple. No one claiming to have psychic powers actually has them. PETER HURKOS (1911-1988) Born Pieter Van der Hurk in Holland, he claimed he became psychic after receiving a blow to the head at age 30. He charged $250 a session clients, eager to be parted from their money. Hurkos claimed he solved dozens of murder cases for the police, but police beg to differ. For instance, he claimed to have solved the Boston Strangler case, but cops said Hurkos was merely one of several psychics who claimed to have information, and nothing Hurkos told them was of any help, anyway. He also claimed Scotland Yard hired him on the “Stone of Scone” case in 1951, but Scotland Yard said Hurkos was paid no money by them, and that he simply volunteered information that he could have easily gotten out of the newspapers. Scotland Yard did recover the famous coronation stone (purported to have been brought from Israel by the Biblical Patriarch Jeremiah), but not from any information Hurkos gave them. Hurkos was asked by parapsychologists to undergo tests, which he always refused, except for once. He agreed to be tested by Dr. Charles Tart at the University of California at Davis, and he failed. Magician James “The Amazing” Randi and other skeptics have noted Hurkos’ successes can be attributed simply to a technique used by mediums, psychics, and astrologers called “cold reading”. In cold reading, the psychic asks vague questions and allows the client to fill in the blanks for them. It sounds simple, but it is quite effective. Peter Hurkos was a $250 an hour fake. JANE ROBERTS (1929-1984) Started the New Age channeling craze. Channeling is just a re-hash of the scam used by 19th century mediums who claim ghosts speak through them, and as critics have pointed out, New Age isn’t new, it’s just old occult scams with new names. Roberts claimed Seth is a spirit who in past lives has been a caveman and a pope, among other things. There’s no proof to Robert’s claims, and people who buy her story simply take her word for it. Roberts is well read, and taught a creative writing class, which helped her write the book Seth Speaks. Roberts talents in poetry and her knowledge of religions and the occult helped her carry off the Seth hoax.. HERMAN SLATER (1935-1992) was a very prominent Pagan and Wiccan in NYC. He owned a store and publishing company called "The Magickal Childe", and wrote the spurious Necronomicon. Even though the Necronomicon was a fake, it didn’t stop him from making money of this fraud. He wrote lots of other books too, none of which will give readers magic powers. Slater was considered somewhat of a wet blanket among other Neopagans, because he called for monogamy among Wiccans on his cable access show. Like many Pagans and Wiccans, he practiced sex magic, which is how he and his gay lover contracted AIDS. Perhaps he should have taken his own advice about being monogamous. See what I mean about sex magic being good for nothing but contracting venereal disease? He died in 1992. Why couldn't Slater's magic prevent his death, or warn him he was going to contract AIDS? It seems Wiccans are no more powerful or special than ordinary people. CARLOS CASTENADA (1925-1998) 1960's Psychedelic author and New Age icon. In 1968, Castenada claimed he traveled to Mexico was taught secrets of magic and enlightenment through drugs by a Yaqui Indian sorcerer named Don Juan. Castenada wrote about the alleged experiences of what he called "the separate reality" in The Teachings of Don Juan. Castaneda claimed he took peyote, talked to coyotes, turned into a crow, and learned how to fly, all through Don Juan's instructions and lots of dope. Castenada's book was an instant hit with the Hippies of the 1960's who now had an excuse to justify the use dangerous pychotropic drugs, and also a hit with occultists who had read about Crowley's recommendations for drugs as part of "Magick". The Wiccan group "Church of All Worlds" made Castenada's books required reading according to former members. That Castenada's books encourage drug use is unquestionable, and have no doubt lead many people down a path of drug addiction and ruin, just as Crowley's Thelema has. Castenada went on to write 11 more books including Journey To Ixtalan, which he submitted as his doctoral thesis at UCLA and was awarded a Doctorate in Anthropology degree. Not everyone bought Casteneda's story hook, line and sinker, however. Several Native American scholars have commented that the story of Don Juan and Castenada resembles European stories of the sorcerer and his apprentice rather than traditional Native American Shamanism. In 1972 Anthropologist Joyce Carol Oates wrote a critical letter to the New York Times because their book reviewer accepted Castaneda's books as fact. Then in 1973, Time magazine published an expose of Castenada, revealing he had lied about his past, as most occultists seem to do. When various skeptics and seekers alike inquired if they could meet Don Juan, the answer Castenada gave them was always “no”. Richard de Mille, son of famous director Cecil, practically made a career demonstrating Castaneda's was a fraud. No one has ever been able to verify the existence Don Juan, and it seems he never really existed, just like Christian Rosenkrutz, Coot Hoomi, or Anna Sprengel. Castenada "killed off" Don Juan in the second book in order to deflect criticism, claiming the Shaman had died sometime after his previous encounter with him. Unfortunately this fictional character wasn’t the only person who died because of Carlos. Castenada created his own cult in the later years of his life called "Cleargreen", that consisted of female followers who were also his lovers. These he called his "witches". Charles Manson called the female lover/cult members of his desert based drug cult “witches” too, by the way. In After Casteanda's death in 1998, the female cult members disappeared. Witches Florinda Donner-Grau and Taisha Abelar, Kylie Lundahl, and Amalia Marquez vanished the day after Castaneda's death. A few weeks later, Patricia Partin, Castaneda's adopted daughter as well as his lover (sick!), disappeared. The skeleton of one Cleargreen witch, Partin, turned up in the California dessert in 2006, identified through DNA testing. Authorities think the cult killed themselves as part of a suicide pact when Castenada died from natural causes. Some former Castaneda associates suspect the missing women committed suicide because of remarks they made shortly before vanishing, and Castaneda's frequent discussion of suicide in cult meetings. Achieving transcendence through "a death nobly chosen" had long been central to his ludicrous teachings, along with drug use and "magic". Castenada, fraud, drug pusher, liar, and suicide cult leader. ANNA RIVA (1930? - 2005) Her real name was Dorothy Spencer. During the 1960's she owned a mail order occult supply business called “International Imports” based out of Hollywood, California later relocated to Tolouca Lake. She wrote several booklets under the pen name Anna Riva (Anna being her mother’s name and Riva being her daughter’s). Her books of magic spells always called for items like “Money Drawing Powder” or “Black Cat Oil”, which of course, she sold through her digest sized mail order catalog. Her biggest selling items were items such as “magic oils”, “magic powders” and “magic incense”. The powders were really just ordinary colored talcum powder. The oils were essential oils and mineral oils with artificial coloring and scent. The incense was the same kind of incense sold anywhere else. The color of the powder, incense or oil determined what label was slapped on to it. For instance, strawberry essential oil was red, so it was usually called “Love Oil” or “Lover’s Oil”. Mineral oil with green coloring was usually called “Money Drawing Oil” etc., “Magic candles” were also a big item. These were simply ordinary candles with paper labels on them that said things like “money drawing” or “black art”. In the 1980's a line of “magic sprays”...air freshener with occult sounding labels...was introduced. Spencer/Riva had a disclaimer in every catalog that the items sold were merely “curios’ with no magic powers implied, although clearly the items were being sold as magical ingredients for spells. Her books carried similar disclaimers. This kept her from ever being sued for fraud, since the items she sold were fakes. Even so, they were obviously marketed as spellbooks...unless you don’t consider books with titles such as The Modern Witchcraft Spellbook, Witchcraft, Spellcraft, and Hexcraft, and Candle Burning Magic to be such. In the 1990's, Spencer reportedly sold her company and retired to Montana. She suffered from Alzhiemers in her twilight years and died in 2005. There was nothing magical about Anna Riva’s life, she simply sold fake magic items (and called them curios in the disclaimer) through the mail. Her magic books still remain in print, and oils, incense, powders and other items...still with the disclaimers about them not actually being magic items. Practically anything can be a curio, but her items aren’t really magic. TONY AGPOA (1939-1982) Agpaoa began the famous psychic surgery scam in the Philippines during the 1960's. The Philippine psychic surgery scam goes back hundres of years. Spanish conquistadors recorded it as far back as the 16th century. Spanish Priest/Explorer Pedro Chirino wrote in 1565, "He (the sorcerer) placed one end of the hollow bamboo upon the affected part while through the other end he sucked up the air; then, he let fall some pebbles from his mouth pretending they had been extracted from the affected spot...In times of sickness, these men were at there best, because in times of sickness they (the patients) were ready to venerate anyone who could give or at least promise to obtain a remedy for them." [Wikipedia] Agpoa was a Filipino psychic surgeon who took his act on the road to the United States where desperate people paid thousands for his "services". Agpoa made enough money from his scam to afford a palatial home and even a gold plated Mercedes Benz! In 1968 on one such trip he was arrested in Detroit, Michigan, skipped out on $25,000 bail, and fled back to the Phillippines. Despite that, he was still sought by terminally ill people and even featured in the 1977 mondo shock-umentary film, Journey Into The Beyond. Even in the documentary, the narrator (John Carradine)stated some people accused Agpoa of using the tricks of a stage magician. Agpoa and other psychic surgeons, could make their hands seem to go into solid tissue, remove growths, and seal the entry point without even leaving a wound. James Randi and other magicians have demonstrated that slight of hand and sometimes a magicians gimmick...a phony thumb tip...is used to create the illusion of removing tumors, blood, etc.. The psychic surgeons conceal parts of chickens and blood inside their hands or fake thumb tip, and claim they're tumors or such, and the patients blood. The reason no scar or wound is left is because the surgeon’s hands never actually enter the patient's body in the first place! Agpoa actually performed simple surgery such as removing cysts and draining infections on some patients using a knife, which was certainly dangerous since it was done in less than sterile conditions and he had no medical training! Psychic surgeons play on people’s desperation. Their patients usually are people who have been diagnosed with incurable diseases and turn to these con men for help. Since the patients die rather than get better, there’s no one around to sue or complain to the authorities. When Agpoa was suffering from appendicitis himself, he was flown in a Chatered jet to UCLA medical center for surgery, rather than use his own "psychic skills" to just simply yank the appendix out. When his son developed cancer, rather than use his alleged "powers", he had him taken to an American hospital as well, although the boy did not recover, unfortunately. Agpoa and the con men like him prey on the desperation of sick people, and are the worst kind of occult con men. Agpoa died at age 41. He, and all psychic surgeons, are fakes and frauds of the worst kind. ELIZABETH CLARE PROPHET (1940- ) President of the "Church Universal and Triumphant", founded in 1958 with her husband, Mark Prophet (1918-1973). Clare's Church started out as the usual run of the mill New Age church. She claimed to be in contact with Count Saint Germain, a fraud who died in the 18th century. As time progressed, the cult evolved into a survivalist cult. The cult’s teachings seemed to be similar to Theosophy in many ways. The groups is said to have arranged marriages and an authoritarian model of leadership , like the Moonies. The church moved from Malibu to Montana, into a massive underground bunker with tons of arms and food supplies for the end of the world that Prophet failed to predict correctly. World War III between the Soviet Union and the United States never happened, as Clare had said would. Of course, many people living at that time thought war between the U.S.A and U.S.S.R was unavoidable, so Prophet seems to have merely followed the crowd. Some of the group’s members went to jail for obtaining automatic weapons illegally after a raid in the 1990's by the ATF. Fortunately it didn't end in a Waco like standoff. She stepped down from leadership of the sect due to health issues. Even though Clare’s prophecies have failed, her books are still in print. MAYA DEREN (1917-1961) Avante Garde film maker of the 40's and 50's. She had degrees from Smith College and the New York University, including a PhD. She went to Haiti to film the black and white documentary Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. Interested in Voodoo as a dance form, she wound up becoming fascinated with spiritism and was initiated into a Voodoo cult. Her life stagnated after this. She worked on films she never finished (Divine Horsemen was actually finished by someone else, by the way). She became addicted to prescription drugs and seldom left her home. She died at age 41. Occultists recommend watching Divine Horsemen...but maybe they should be thinking about how Deren wound up. Voodoo doesn't help the people of Haiti, who live in a third world country, and it won't help anyone else, either. SCOTT CUNNINGHAM (1956-1993) Scott seemed to have all the answers, because he wrote several books on the occult. Wicca A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner is on the shelf of almost every Wiccan, and many non-Wiccans. But Scott, despite all these “powers” and knowledge, still died from cancer anyway at the age of 43. His life doesn’t seem to have been anything extraordinary, and he didn’t do anything Cunningham’s books don’t work, and he didn’t have magic powers. Why waste your valuable time reading them? MISS CLEO (1962- ) a.k.a. Youree Dell Harris, Cleomili Harris, Youree Perris, Cleo Harris. Self proclaimed psychic and shaman. Harris, who was actress from Seattle, and her lesbian lover created a production company to stage her own plays. Her plays failed at the box office, however. Youree/Cleo lied to the actors in the production company claiming she had bone cancer when she was unable to pay them. The actors claim Youree gave them promissary notes in lieu of payment, but at this writing has still failed to make good on them. She fled Seattle, leaving a trail of unpaid bills and broken promises. Youree played a Jamaican character in a play titled Women Only that later became the basis for her psychic “Miss Cleo” character. In the late 1990's, she became a telephone psychic for the Psychic Friends network. Anyone can become a “telephone psychic”, as no psychic powers are actually necessary (or even likely). The telephone “psychics”, actually read from a script, which has now been made available online by Court TV. Eventually she appeared as the Miss Cleo (pretending to be a Jamaican native) character in infomercials for the company, for a flat $1700 fee that she was paid. The supposedly free calls actually cost callers around $6 per minute. One Customer sued after he got a bill for $300 for his “free” call. After none of the Psychic friends predicted the terrorist attacks on 9-11 (or they were awfully quiet about it if they did), the calls were said to have dropped off dramatically. The FTC got an injunction against the Psychic Friends network. In 2002 Harris was actually sued herself by the State of Florida, which allows spokespersons to be held liable, but the suit was later dropped. In 2004 Harris appeared in a car commercial for a local Palm Beach car dealer as the Lady Cleo character. In 2006 Cleo tried to gain attention again in 2006 by “coming out” admitting she was a lesbian. The story made a few gay newspapers, but was ignored by the main stream press. It’s very unlikely her career will ever rise from the grave, and you don’t have to be a psychic to see that. AND WHAT ABOUT YOU? Hopefully you won't ever make this list! HEY, WHERE IS ALL THE MAGIC??? It seems occultists are not as powerful as they would like to think! How come people like Brad Pitt, Arnold Shawtzenagger, Donald Trump or Bill Gates aren't on this list? Sucessful people seem to do so without aid of the occult. Occultists seem to have a habit of dying in poverty, despite claims like witchcraft will make you rich in a ghetto(which is the title of a chapter of "The Magic Power of Witchcraft, BTW). The one that do make a fortune it do so by lying to and exploiting their followers (like Hubbard and Castro). Despite claims of miraculous healing by Wiccans and other occultists, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of it. So what makes "famous" occultists so dad-blame famous? Except they left behind some books promoting superstitions after they died, there was usually nothing noteworthy about them! It's really hard to say they did anything that could be called "magic", unless you want to grasp at straws and call Aleister Crowley's drug induced hallucinations "magick". If you read "The Satanic Bible", you will come across "The Balance Factor". It says that a person shouldn't try to cast a spell for something that is out of his or her range. In fact, if you read between the lines of just about any occult book published nowadays, you will read similar advice. Candle Burning Magic by Raymond Buckland is a popular book, plagiarized from a similar book by Henri Gamache. Buckland also gives advice similar to LaVey's; cast spells for something you could get anyway. For instance if you want a brand new car, cast spells, get a job, save your money, buy a used car. Eventually trade your way up to a new car. BIG DEAL! This is NOT magic! People do this everyday, only without wasting their time casting "spells"! And if you're going to say "Well, magic doesn't work that way, you ignorant xtian!" My answer is, magic doesn't work, PERIOD! Occultists make suckers out of their followers People have noted Blavatsky had the habit of making fools of the very followers who trusted her. It's been said she made up the name "Koot Hoomi" as a play on words from the name of her loyal, but naive follower, Henry Olcott. Aleister Crowley once wrote a story about a man who traveled to see a great guru. The teacher asked the student if he wanted to know the ultimate secret. The student indeed did, and proceeded to shell out all the money he had for it. The secret turned out to be W.C. Field's famous line, "There's a sucker born every minute!" Crowley seems to have lived by this moto, using his students as meal tickets after he depleted his own funds, as well as bed mates. Crowley once drew a portrait of Buddhist and 60's guru Allan Ginsberg, later commenting in his diaries he had only done it thinking Ginsberg "had a lot of money", so he could sponge off him. This is the kind of person Crowley was...a con man! To Crowley, a student was only good for money, or sex...or both. Likewise, many occult authors, teachers, and coven leaders are of this ilk. When they see you, you are either a potential source of money, or a potential bedmate. If nothing else, you're someone that can grovel and beg and then reveal the great "secrets" which can be learned at any local Books-A-Million. When you read of the ways the Frost's scheme to beat an airline out of free flights (in The Magic Power of Witchcraft), are you sure they won't treat you in a similar fashion? Even if you never plan to follow the ideas of the Frosts, what about other Wiccans you meet who follow their teachings? IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE "WISE", THEN REALIZE MAGIC DOESN'T WORK! Sources The Occult: A History by Colin Wilson The Occult Underground by James Webb The Bare Faced Messiah by Russell Miller A Piece of Blue Sky by John Atack Satan's Assassins by Brad Stieger and Warren Smith Revelations from Anton LaVey's friends and family The VooDoo in New Orleans by Robert Talant The History of Magic and The Occult by Kurt Selegmann The Nazis and the Occult by Dusty Sklar The Satanic Bible Anton LaVey Candle Burning Magic Raymond Buckland The Master Book of Candle Burning by Heny Gamache Anthroposophy and Ecofascism by Peter Staudenmaier Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi and Arthur C. Clarke Bear's Guide To Non-Traditional College Degrees 7th Edition (1980) by Dr. John Bear Raising Hell: An Encyclopedia of Devil Worship and Satanic Crime by Michael Newton http://wikipedia.com http://luckymojo.com FREESTUFF ! ** GETTHE UNCOMMON SENSE MINISTRIES TOOLBAR! IT'S FREE! FREE INTERNET RADIO,FREE TV ON YOUR COMPUTER, WASTE TIME ON FACEBOOK, CHECK YOUR EMAIL, ANDNEVER FORGET TO CLICK ON THE HUNGER SITE WITH THIS FREE APP! WORKS ONINTERNET EXPLORER, FIREFOX, SAFARI, AND CHROME! WORKS ON WINDOWS AND LINUX! BE THE FIRST ON YOUR BLOCK TO AMAZE YOUR FRIENDS...AND ENEMIES!CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD! READTHESE FREE EBOOKS MERE CHRISTIANITY BY C.S.LEWIS You're probably familiar with C.S. Lewis.He's best remembered for the Chronicles of Narnia, which was inspiredby the Gospel of Christ. Unlike LaVey, Lewis really did have a doctorate, and was a college professor to boot! Lewis lost his faith early in life and became an atheist, and later rediscovered Christianity through his friend J.R.Tolkien (of Lord of The Ringsfame). Mere Christianity is perhaps is best non-fiction work. In it hepresents a thinking person's Christianity, showing you don't have toditch your brain to be a Christian! YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE BOOK "136 BIBLE CONTRADICITIONS...EXPLAINED" AS A .pdfFILE RIGHT NOW BY CLICKING HERE! Is the Bible really a "mass of contradictions" as some critics claim? Or are these claims simply unfounded? These booklet refutes 136 purported "contradictions" of the Holy Bible. It's your absolutley FREE! Download it now. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to Read them if you don't haveinstalled already. It's also free. .. THEPROBLEM OF PAIN by C.S. Lewis Lewis was more than the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, he was also a college professor, and Theologian. One of the things Lewis had to confront before he left atheism for Christianity was the problem of pain. The classic problem of evil is usually stated: "If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both." Lewis answers by showing that those who say this do not know what "almighty", "good", or "perfectly happy" really mean. This book is typical of Lewis, well written, wellthough-out, and relatively easy to follow. BLINDSIDED: A JEWISH AGNOSTIC FINDS THE MESSIAH. Read Stephen Katz's sincere story of how he lost faith in the Judaism of his youth and became an agnostic. College is a place where some people lose their faith, but irnonically, it's where Stephen Katz found it! Read how he came to the conclusion Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews! As a little girl, Susan experienced the loss of her father. After the funeral Susan asked the Rabbi a straightforward question. "Rabbi, is my daddy in heaven?" He paused, not expecting the question...but his smile seemed reassuring. "Susan, your father's memory will live on in the life you lead. You can be his legacy." It was a nice thought, but it didn't satisfy me. "Rabbi", I went on, "...you didn't answer my question. Is my daddy in heaven now?" He was a little more serious at this point and looked straight into my eyes and said, "I wish I could give you a definite answer, Susan, but I can't. We don't know for sure what is beyond the grave. We can only hope. And remember, your father was a good man." The rabbi's second attempt to answer the question troubled me even more." " Loss to Life is the story of Susan Perlman, a Jewish believer in Jesus from Brooklyn, New York, and how she discovered the Messiah. The Richard Harvey story twists through the halls of England¡¯s finest academic institutions, turns with the author as he pursues nearly every religion under the sun and dramatically takes off as he discovers the great transforming truth! There is only one problem: That truth and his Jewish roots seem to stand in conflict with one another.But I¡¯m Jewish! is the unlikely adventure of one of England¡¯s newest and most fascinating mission leaders. As Richard Harvey¡¯s story unfolds you will see how he and his wife, Monica, became Jews for Jesus and why today he is resolute in telling his Jewish people that they too can be both Jewish and Christian! ARE THE CELTS SOME OF THE 10 LOSTTRIBES OF ISRAEL? According to some authorities, they just might be. It's a facinatingtheory! Download this free booklet as a .pdf file. You'll needAdobe Acrobat Reader toread it, if you don't have it already (it'sfree http://adobe.com). The booklet is published by the UCG, which I amnot affiliated with. Read the booklet and decide for your self! If the Celts are the lost tribes of Israel, then Christianity, not Wicca, isthe religion they should befollowing! Downloadthis free ebook and decide if the Devil is the Prince ofEvil. It will answer many of your questions, such as if Godcreated aDevil, and if the Devil is real, not merely a fable or ametaphor. . . . . AuthorC.S.Lewis (of the Chronicles of Narnia fame) once wrote that whilehe was anatheist he was mad at God because he didn't exist.Many people don'tunderstand how God can "allow" suffering. This bookin .pdf format willhelp answer your questions. . . Alongwith genocide ofwomen,Hinduism has also encouraged child molestation of young girls,murderof women by men without punishment...and even worse. Iwon'tdescribe here how Hindu men sometimes dispose of the bodies ofthewives they murder. YOU CAN READTHE BOOK GENOCIDE OF WOMEN INHINDUISM By Sita Agarwal (who is afeminist and atheist) HERE AVAILABLEAS A FREE DOWNLOAD. Copyright 2011 Uncommon Sense Some of the materials on this web site are copyrighted by others, and are made available here for non-profit educational purposes such as teaching, scholarship, and research. Title 17, Ch. 1, Sec. 107 of the US Copyright law states that such Fair Use "is not an infringement of copyright"(click here to read it all). Uncommon Sense Ministries, Inc. is not a church, and is not affiliated with any other organizations. Links to external web sites do not necessarily constitute endorsements, but are provided as aids to research. NONE OF THESE MATERIALS ARE TO BE SOLD. All HTML is Copyrighted by Uncommon Sense Ministries. Permission is freely given to use it by others SO LONG AS IT AS NOT USED FOR PURPOSES PROMOTING ANY FORM OF OCCULTISM OR CULTS.