Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
Scientist, poet, and self-proclaimed Antichrist, Jack Parsons was a bizarre genius whose life reads like an implausible yet irresistible science fiction novel. Sex and Rockets looks at his short life and dual career as cofounder of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and leader of the Agape Lodge of Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). Author John Carter scours primary documents and interviews surviving friends and contemporaries to deliver an intriguing portrait of a dreamy, driven man equally interested in rocketry and magick. From his early childhood and deep attachment to his mother (who killed herself hours after he died) through his nonacademic research and brilliant innovations in solid fuels to his mysterious 1952 dem
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(out of 23 reviews)
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Review by Jaye Beldo for Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
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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.
Review by for Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
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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!
Review by Jon Norris for Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
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Sex and Rockets is a biography of John Whiteside Parsons, one of the most important men in the development of rocketry and space exploration. (…)This book, however, is about his life. It chronicles his growth and development in the professional arena more than the occult arena, although that is touched upon also. His relationships with other important people, such as the mysterious L. Ron Hubbard of Scientology fame, are discussed, as are the suspicious circumstances of his death by explosion in his home workshop.I do not know if the material is accurate, but it seems well researched and makes interesting reading. There is an excellent introdcution by Robert Anton Wilson that is well worth reading in its own right. Parsons was an interesting critter, and this book will give you a bit more information about his life and the circumstances in which he lived.”I seem to be living in a nation that simply does not know what freedom is.”
J.W. Parsons
Review by C. Middleton for Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
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This short biography touches upon the salient points of a fascinating individual: John W. Parsons, self-educated, visionary, explosives expert, rocket scientist and striving occultist, died at an early age, thirty seven, due to a freak explosion in his garage, a makeshift laboratory that was later discovered, had enough explosive material within it to take-out an entire city block. Was it murder? Was it a major conjuring ritual gone wrong? Or was it simply a terrible accident due to carelessness and oversight?Parsons was indeed a unique character. His interest in Science Fiction, for example, moved him into literary circles, whose members are SF legends: Heinlein, Van Vogt…he became the protege of the founder of the OTO, Aleister Crowley. Another interesting personality, L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, moved into his house, and allegedly took part in an extensive magical rite that might have drastically changed, for the worse, Parsons life. Many things may have contributed to Parsons turn of bad luck, but as the author points out, Hubbard ran off with Parsons wife and disappeared with a substantial sum of money, which later, Parsons sued for and won. Betrayal can have a devastating effect on anyone, as it obviously did on Parsons…My only criticism of the text is the superficial manner in which the subject matter was explored – for such an interesting individual, much more time could have been spent researching his relationships and particularly his time at Hughes Aircraft and the alleged ‘deal’ he made with the Israeli government. It was rumoured that Parsons was organising to move to Israel with his wife Cameron, just prior to his mysterious death. Similar to most artists and non-conformists of the time, Parsons had a thick FBI file and had been under surveillance for an extended period…these intriguing aspects of Parsons life should have been unpacked, but were not…your guess is as good as mine.Despite its lack of depth, ~Sex and Rockets~ is a fascinating read.
Review by for Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
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Firstly, the American space race owed as more to ex-Nazi rocket scientists such as Werner Von Braun who were smuggled into America at the end of WWII. The moon rocket was a direct descendant of the V2 flying bomb.Secondly, using some of the same Nazi technology, and the remainder of their scientists, the Russians managed to beat the USA into space and orbit. They managed to break ahead in the space race when the USA was still crawling. Only some years after Parsons’ death did the USA manage to overtake the Soviets.Thirdly, Parsons’ working career was relatively short since he died young, and he didn’t achieve a vast amount in it compared to his peers inside (and OUTSIDE – let’s not be America-centric) America. His rocket fuel had already been superceded by the time Americans got into space… it had proven to be too dangerous. In fact, this “revolutionary” rocket fuel may have been what killed himFourthly, Parsons was also incredibly gullible and got sucked in by various religious con artists and cult leaders. This is what makes him interesting to people into the occult and obscure.Parsons is only a small footnote in space science. His most major contribution was giving his name to a crater.