Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons

Rating:
Summary: A Compulsive & Restless Spirit
Review: A Review from BLACK PEARL: The Journal of the College of Thelema (Vol. I, No. 71, March, 2000). Copyright 2000, College of Thelema (permission by editor granted Amazon Books to use). With its campy sci-fi cover featuring a leggy woman, a rocket ship, and the Enochian alphabet, the tone is set for this long overdue biography of Jack Parsons, the man at ground zero of what we now consider the modern "arts" of rocketry, science fiction, and magick. In this treatment by John Carter (pseudo-nym), Parsons comes across as a compulsive and restless spirit who, in his short lifetime, attempted to reconcile these seemingly strange bedfellows - with varying degrees of success. Seeming almost gossipy at times, the book reads with deceptive ease for a biography, due in large part to its lack of in-depth background information on Crowley and related occult theory. Though brief histo-ries of the O.T.O., Enochian magick, and the like are given, the reader is wisely referred to other sources, thereby avoiding what could easily become a massive and confusing tome where the import of Parsons' contributions would be lost. This makes Sex & Rockets a treat for those with a knowledge of Thelema and the esoteric. By the same token, this allows the casual reader to enjoy all the "good stuff," supplementing their knowledge as they see fit. Ultimately, I am inclined to agree with the author that, at the end of the day, Parsons' contributions to rocketry are vastly underrated and those to the occult overrated. However, I think that Parsons' approach to Thelema, and the occult in general, was highly subjective and, taking into account his own personal demons, his methods may gain merit as time goes by and may even become considered innovative. The book culminates in the chapter "Death and Beyond," a veritable avalanche of tangential relation-ships and events as diverse as UFOs and Beat Culture, leaving one with much food for thought. Knowledgeable, well researched, with great photos, and not a little scandalous, this book is seminal. - GREG FIORINI

Rating:
Summary: Shines Needed Light on the Moon Children
Review: Jack Parsons, the California based rocket scientist/visionary functioned as a kind of sacrificial poster boy, an ersatz Ahriman for not only the Military-Industrial but also the Occult complexes looming at large. His short, yet brilliant life as a promoter of explosives ended in an ironically mysterious conflagration perhaps born of his own making, the kind of termination amounting to nothing more foreshadowing apostrophe. Parsons possessed the kind of naivete needed to pull off such a stunt, a perverted innocence detrimental to his prospective future as a technical oracle. The forces at large working against him, mostly in the form of the vampiric thugs, namely Aleister Crowley and L. Ron Hubbard, took full advantage of Parson's inherent vulnerability. Fortunately, these sleazy con-archetypes and the tragedies they have promoted in the form of the Golden Dawn/OTO and Scientology are adequately exposed, in compelling fashion, in Sex and Rockets: The Occult Life of Jack Parsons (wisely written under the pseudonym of John Carter) published by Feral House. The book functions, in a balanced way, as both warning as well as entertainment. The recessed quality of the journalism found in Sex and Rockets , obviously written by a mature mind capable of withstanding the myriads of seductively dangerous trappings of the occult, allows the reader into a world usually rife with distortion and intentional disinformation. The author's ability to resist sensationalizing the subject matter allows us to appreciate Jack Parson's own personal charisma and the susceptibility that lead to his demise. Whether or not Parsons was himself a sacrificial victim of the occult forces he attempted to entertain matters little in light of the glaring fact that black magic and rocket fuel should never be mixed. Obviously our anti-hero could not withstand the Gung Ho obliviousness of his peers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California where he worked nor the cryptic repercussions of the Baby-Lon magick workings of Aleister Cowardly and L. Ron Hubbard, the dubious promoters of a kind of lower astral plane egotism so popular with most occult aficionados. Perhaps the many bastard Moon Children currently at large, spawned from such horrid rituals adequately described in Sex and Rockets have the needed insights to Parson's death and purpose in life hidden in their very genetic makeup. It shouldn't be too hard for us to find such orphans of sorcery. Many of these hatchlings are working for Microsoft now, much too comfortable with their ample stock options and pension plans to care about how indistinguishable the occult and technology have become. It is these heirs to the legacy of the founding Fathers and Mothers of Black Magick, American style, that our current missles should be aimed at. Perhaps that is what Jack was hinting at all along, between the lines of his pitiful self indictment, using his murder/accident/suicide as the fuel for his parabolic mission. Maybe a smidgen of conscience overtook Parsons in his final hour and he himself ignited his own witches brew that lead to his demise in a kind of combustible albeit altruistic Hari Kari that someday Hollywood will pay adequate homage to. If indeed he was murdered or even accidented into the afterlife, the irony of his incarnation will still pervade for years to come, thanks to the efforts and responsibility of the author of Sex and Rockets., whoever he or she may be.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Work on an Incredible Man
Review: Most people today have never heard of Parsons, and many who do underestimate the importance of his work. Parsons was a brilliant individual who led a colorful and offbeat life. Until now, however, very little information has been made available about him. This book is a much needed and very absorbing piece of little-known American history. It was well written and kept me reading non-stop. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer and more in-depth, but the author did a great job with the sources he was able to dig up. One of my favorite bios!