Aspects of Frater Achad's "New Aeon"

[stephen]

First of all, let me state that the more I read of what Charles Stansfeld Jones had to say for himself, the less I liked him. And once given the opportunity for correspondence with Gerald Yorke, he certainly has an awful lot to say for himself. Not content with turning out a two/three page letter, he adds a page long postscript, then not satisfied that he has explained himself fully he writes a further letter on the same day. I do not think that it is inappropriate to suggest that this indicates an obsessive trait in his personality.

It is probably this element which makes the 1948-1949 correspondence such a demanding read: we get a chronological abundance of Achad speak and responses from Yorke referring to letters somewhere at the head of that backlog. I was going to make notes as I went along but that would just have made progress slower.

Jones's relationship with Crowley was already tainted when the correspondence between them is introduced in 1925 and they were already on divergent courses regarding the interpretation and fulfilment of The Book of the Law. When there is further correspondence between them in 1936, Jones sends Crowley a copy of his recently penned Liber QNA vel Namen Dei sub figura CLI, the 'Book QNA Concerning the Names of God' which is very revealing as regards the sources of his inspiration. He relates a series of biblical God names and concludes that the word QNA applied to God has been overlooked and is highly significant: it means 'jealous, or zealous': "For thou shalt worship no other god; for IHVH whose name is JEALOUS (QNA) is a jealous God." Exodus 34.14. Then still eager to impress Crowley with his qabbalistic insights into Liber AL he states that this word is actually what the Scarlet Woman mistook for 'Coph-nia' in AL.III.72. i.e Qoph, Nun, Aleph. Crowley gives an appreciative response but is clearly not impressed.

So what we have here, is Jones taking the least appealing attribute of the Old Testament God, his Jealous nature, and suggesting that it has relevance for Liber AL. He appears to be entirely reliant on Sepher Sephiroth Sub Figura D - Equinox I, No.8 for his qabbalistic correspondences and this was largely compiled from Old Testament sources and material from The Kabbalah Unveiled. In fact, he treats Sepher Sephiroth like his infallible personal oracle system and it provides the building blocks for his conception of a New Aeon of Truth and Justice.

[stephen]

Another significant aspect of Jones's approach to his New Aeon was his becoming a member of the Roman Catholic Church in 1928. Initially he stated that he did this to get a better understanding of it from the inside, the 'know thy enemy' ploy, but this is nonsense, it suited him fine. In his 5th May 1948 Statement to Yorke and Handel he declares:

"In order, however, to properly represent the Candidate Isa (the Arabic form of the name Jesus), it was necessary for Achad to be led to the opposite entrance Pillar of the Temple, there to learn the mysteries of the R.C. Church. He became an orthodox member of the Church and received his first communion at Midnight Mass, Christmas 1928. This step, and this alone, led to the opening up of the Initiations and Ordeals which were to follow in accordance with Liber Legis." (The Incoming.. pp. 247-248).

We are then given an interesting list of these Ordeals on which no further information is provided in the Correspondence. The records were apparently written up in the archives of the Universal Brotherhood  - a non-Thelemic organisation.  To get some understanding of how the above relates to The Book of the Law, see Chapter I, verses 49-50 and commentaries.

The following information from the Wikipedia entry on Charles Stansfeld Jones might be considered pertinent:

Anthony (Tony) Francis Stansfeld Jones (b. 1934 – ) was an adopted son of the Jones family; Ruby took in many foster children over the years. Since both Charles and Rubina had joined the Catholic Church in 1929, the children were raised Catholic. According to Tony Stansfeld Jones, the parents held Catholic masses in their Deep Cove, North Vancouver home for many years, later holding them in a local community hall.

'Once a Catholic, always a Catholic' don't they say.

Anyone seen anything of an Egyptian Goddess named MAAT around here, yet?

[stephen]

There are, in fact, only two references to MAAT as a Goddess in the index of The Incoming of the Aeon of Maat.

The particular effusion by Jones that puts him beyond the pale - and leaves him there - as far as I am concerned, is the document which he sent out on 21st April 1948, entitled: THE TEACHING OF THE "NEW AEON". It commences with a quotation from Liber B vel Magi - "For the curse of this grade is that He must speak Truth, that the falsehood thereof may enslave the souls of men".

Jones then proceeds to denounce The Book of the Law as an evil and deceiving document. He refers to "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" as a "deceptive slogan" and goes on to state:
"The "Beast" may be considered as his own worst enemy, but Aiwass is quite evidently the enemy of mankind, and should be recognized as such, if this new system, deliberately calculated to bring about the self-destruction of the human race, is to be rightly evaluated."  (page 192).
According to Jones, Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Khuit are all false imposters delivering dangerously misleading teachings.

The truly bizarre thing is that after proclaiming this, Jones continues to commence his letters with "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" and includes the images of Nuit and Hadit on his Star Goddess letterhead.

Basically, Crowley is dead, the Curse of the Grade of Magus has been lifted and it remains for Jones as Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'. to correctly interpret the remaining riddles of Liber AL, all of which concern him as the holy chosen one - might as well rename it Frater Achad's Puzzle Book - and go on to declare his New Aeon of Truth and Justice. In fact, he had done this on 2nd April 1948, declaring: THE AEON OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE, 1.11 P.M. April 2, 1948. PRAISE BE TO GOD THE PLENUM OF ALL PERFECTION! This latter phrase is Universal Brotherhood jargon.

More revelations follow, but there is the gist of it. Think it should be left to Gerald Yorke to give a brief summation:

"I agree entirely as to a period of silence. I expect Jones to come out into the open as the correct spiritual heir both in A.'.A.'. and O.T.O., but he is so crazy that I cannot believe him capable of doing anything. He has a strong dislike for you, and in my opinion has never recovered from the shock of A.C. casting him off, but I may be wrong."
(Letter to Karl Germer, 18th June 1948, page 390).


    

[williamxiii]

thanks Stephen! It has been some months since I read "Incoming" so can't respond directly to your posts, but I am enjoying your observations. The acceleration of Achad's writing frequency over the course of the correspondence is notable and one definitely gets a sense of his fever. Thank the gods social media wasn't yet available. Sort of wishing the post would again deliver twice a day though. Just wanted to let you know that your effort above wasn't just falling into the void.

[stephen]

Thanks for your note of appreciation! Think I may have been working something out of my system there. Despite all of my criticisms of Achad, there is much in the Correspondence of considerable interest and worth. Germer has some interesting things to say, I liked the way he describes himself as being essentially a German Mystic - it explains a lot about his character.

Unfortunately, Achad gives minimal detail of those things which are of interest in the work of Kenneth Grant - such as the Thirteen-fold Star-Diamond of Manifestation 438 and the Star Sapphire etc. and his various ordeals of initiation, as these all seem to be regarded as belonging to the Universal Brotherhood archives and not for the rest of us.

[williamxiii]

hardly universal then, eh?

[Deleted]

I think Frater Achad is the only one (!) who was able, albeit after long years of serious tribulations, to finally understand the whole mess that is the so-called book of law (Liber CCXX), the whole malignancy of it, and unmask it to the satisfaction of all those who fell prey to the glamours of The Beast.
Achad states, correctly, I am sure, that Crowley was not even a true Magister Templi.
I, too, used to consider myself a Thelemite, but that changed after reading Achad's lucid letters.
It is difficult to argue with someone so cynically disposed as mr. Stephen who doesen't hide his dislike for Achad, so I won't bother talking overmuch.
Time will show, I believe, that the "Law" of Thelema is just an evil aberration, whose only value, it seems, is to provide a test of sorts for the soul.
Achad's brilliant exposure of AL on the pages of 191-194 in the book The Incoming of the Aeon of Maat is concise proof about the whole thelemic afair.
That he continued to use the Thelemic salutations in his letters is not a proof of his inconsistency, as some would have it, but of his admirable Wisdom.
Achad is the true Prophet of the Lovely Star, and while I don't intend to worship him I most certainly say: God bless him!
And you!

[williamxiii]

Thanks for the input ateh. Though, given that Frater Achad is unknown outside the Thelemic community and not overly regarded by a large part of it, I am doubtful on whether his efforts at "unmasking" - if it can be said these actually existed - have met with much success. I do think his work, including the correspondence, stands as valuable testimony by someone who struggled with understanding and implementing Thelema in their own spiritual journey.

[PW PV 113]

The consequences of a lack of proper succession planning are laid bare in The Incoming of the Aeon of Maat. It isn’t the dry and dusty tome that one might imagine a collection of letters between deceased occultists to be.

Both Jones and Kenneth received transmissions from The Great Beast, but they handled them very differently.

In the letters, Yorke was business-like, and Germer was stand-offish throughout. But Yorke also led a colourful life, and there was a humorous side to his impatience at Jones’ insistent claims and obsession about the Word of the Aeon and his increasingly tendentious Gematria.

But there should be some sympathy with Jones because of his identification as Parzival, and the severity of the stress on the personality in going out on such a limb. He also made himself very central to his discovery. However, the attempt to heal himself through the UB and the Catholic Church did not appear to be a wise move.

Kenneth formed a connection on the Aossic-Aiwass level to the manifester of Liber AL; a connection that Jones couldn’t configure. And when Liber LPP appeared in 1974, Kenneth latched onto it as the revelatory text of the Aeon of Maat that was missing from Jones’ earlier pronouncement.

Being overlooked for Germer, and then snubbed by him, when arguably Kenneth was the one taking the current in new and interesting directions must have been galling, as was shown in Kenneth’s scathing epistle to Germer which unfortunately doesn’t find its way into this collection, although Michael has made this available elsewhere.

[stephen]

Hi PW PV 113 - That is an interesting general summation of the Correspondence in The Incoming of the Aeon of Maat.

Apparently, KG had some doubts about the validity of Liber Pennae Praenumbra when he first received a copy from Nema, but found enough there to stimulate his interest and clearly he was well acquainted with Achad's work already. There is much more than the time gap of 30 years difference to distinguish Achad's vision of the Aeon of truth and Justice from Nema's Aeon of Maat.

Of course, Starfire have just republished Outside the Circles of Time and that is where the action is. I acquired my first edition in 1980, loved the early chapters and then was not quite sure what to make of all the Maatian material that followed. I have never read the book again from cover to cover, although I have had the perennial need to dip in for references.

Took out my 2008 Starfire edition the other day and got stuck into Ch.11 "Stones of Precious Water"- what a formidable chapter that is - I wonder if all of these people who are expressing their boundless enthusiasm at receiving their copies of the new edition truly realize what they are letting themselves in for?

Shall have something to add to this when I am not feeling too "cynically disposed"! 

 

[PW PV 113]

Thanks Stephen. Aeonology is multi-faceted, isn't it !
OTCOT happened to be the first of Kenneth's books that I acquired about 10 years ago - alas all those hard copies are on the other side of the world right now, so I can't follow your reference, but your other comments are interesting too. I did work with Maat in the early 90's, but after that my path became dominated by Qabalistic workings until recently. But the dual current is a fantastic environment into which to invoke.

[Deleted]

I WAS convinced I've said my last on Achad-related issues but it seems I've made a miss.
Again!
I've been struggling with my position and intiation for quite some time and yet - solid ground is ever elusive, even in small matters life always finds a way to brutally shift my notions.
That - is progress too? It may be construed as such.
But there is no "joy in setting out", none in travelling - while the goal seems far off.
I am here to redress my previous post, to correct my pronouncements re Achad, and I'd like to say much about the subject but...I can only, it seems, write about me and my position. And clarify.
To wit: English = my 2nd language, I ask a wide margine for error, please, and don't be too severe if I use a word like "batty" - as if that was my final word when it comes to Achad aka Tantalus Leucocephalus aka Parzival aka V.I.O.O.I.V.

Contrary to what Achad says, AIWAZ isn't the enemy of the human race. I've come to abrogate my previously held notions in this regard, you see.
But until I finish reading the TIOTAOM book - I won't be writing much about Achad.
The Aeon of Maat? It may be incoming. But only as a form of Judgement i.e. it is Heru-Ra-Ha all over again.
The more I think, the more I find Oiver St. John and his work relevant.
When first I arrived here, Stephen was the member who greeted me cordially, he is a gentleman and scholar, but when I asked him if he were prepared to photocopy for me a text of his, the reply I received was somewhat rude (via Facebook), that soured our communication and I guess is the reson I called him cynical.
However, I still have place for friendly and even fraternal manners in my heart.
With forthcoming feedback, I may write a more vivacious line, as it is - I feel tired and have to conserve energy, forgive me if, for the time being, I call it quits.
A. Crowley, The Book of the Law, Aiwass, Heru, Therion and BABALON, the Great Work, is the best thing that has ever happened in the world since it began. 
I began my magickal path in 1992ev - despite my failures, I still think it is the right way.
I salute you all and wish you well. 
93

[stephen]

Hello Ljubo, I had the idea that 'ateh' was you. Good to have you back, I think,  .

You need to stay focused on one theme and one practice, find the positivity in that and progress from there. It is never too late.

[Deleted]

Thank you, Stephen. LXV,V: 55.

[stephen]

Peradventure...

[merlin]

Take it easy, Ljubo. I don't know you, nor your personal life story, but from your posts it seems to me that you are overly preoccupied with Orders, degrees, etc. (Correct me if I am wrong). I think that Initiation is, on the contrary, a very personal process, and that the ultimate aim of it (I won't write it here what that aim is, because that would be just my personal interpretation) is independent from degrees and the like... Furthermore, this board is mainly concerned with Kenneth Grant's work, so I suspect that "Caliphate O.T.O." would not agree with everything that is written here.

[Deleted]

Thank you man, I appreciate what you wrote.

[Gregory Peters]

Jun 25, 2021 15:35:00 GMT @ateh said:

Thank you man, I appreciate what you wrote.

I may have been too preocuppied with Orders and Grades/Degrees at a certain point in my life but that period is over.

With respect to Initiation, however, I think an Order is needed.

That being said, I don't think the Caliphate is such an Order, my experience tells me it is similar to a bad marriage.

I suppose an Order is helpful for “initiation”, if you are defining that as formally starting with a specific tradition. If initiation is an inward journey to Gnosis or Self Realization well… that is everyone’s birthright. No organization/tradition/school/what have you owns it or even controls it. Namkhai Norbu would often mention that Dzogchen was also taught on 13 different star systems (at least!), so clearly not even limited to this tiny speck of dust in a corner of an anonymous solar system, and the strangely self-aware apes that seem to focus on it.

[Raj Don Yasser]

Regarding the contested notion of a "double-current", there was a time when I found myself going back-and-forth since first encountering this concept in the early-to-late late 90s after first encountering Grant's trilogies and Nema's "Maat Magic".

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this forum, after spending years seriously studying and implementing the natural science of General Semantics (a non-Aristotellian system of logic formulated by Korzybski in his 1933 magnum opus "Science & Sanity"), most seemingly apparent contradictions at the VERBAL level of abstraction (e.g. "determinism vs free-will", "nature vs nurture", etc.) no longer appear as ACTUALLY and IN FACT a contradiction at all.

Many, many times when meeting folks new to "occult" studies I regularly recommend that one first become aquainted with General Semantics. Particularly of importance is the self-evident (yet often neglected) truism that "the map is not the territory" and/or "the menu is not the meal". Crowley's advice to not fully regard one's experience nor understanding as objectively true nor completely subjectively true is very well explained via General Semantics.

This series of lectures filmed at Northwestern is a GREAT introduction. My clinical interns are requried to view this series of videos while under my supervision:

youtu.be/Y1jHjHkCU4Y

For what it's worth, I personally equate awareness of one's level of abstractions as functionally equivalent to Gurdjieff's "waking up", Crowley's "true will", Maharshi's "atma vichara", and similar notions.

[Gregory Peters]

I first came across the concept of General Semantics in my early 20’s reading Robert Anton Wilson and (I think later) some material from Chrisopther S. Hyatt. I was suitably impressed and tried incorporating it at the time. Over the years it had started to fade from awareness, so reading your post was a pleasant reminder. Never having gone into the source material I can’t say I got very deep with the practice; however, what you say about it feeding into the ideas of “waking up”, etc seems to fit beautifully.

[Deleted]

What would Achad say to this?

ascensionglossary.com/index.php/Typhon

[The Double-Wanded One]

One thing I'm quite certain about with the Aeon of Ma'at is that Ma'at's justice and the sentiments associated with it, do not reflect anything we've seen in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is nothing like the new age movements or modern liberalism. It is something too far away from us. However long the Aeon of Horus lasts us, humanity in the next Aeon will be to us now as we are to people thousands of years ago, in contrast.