Preface
I desire to conclude this book review begun in 2020, and revised in 2026. Frankly, I deduce that I have already dealt with some core issues from the book with my first four articles, anyway.
REDFERN, NICK (2010) Final Events: And The Secret Government Group On Demonic UFOS And The Afterlife, San Antonio/New York, Anomalist Books.
Chapter Two: Sympathy For The Devil
Chapter Two takes, what to me sees an unexpected turn, when it states that to fully understand the complex nature, history and origins of the darkness that some within the United States government believe surround humanity (12); we need to understand the life and times of Aleister Crowley. (12).
Cited
'Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century.
A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life.
Crowley gained widespread notoriety during his lifetime, being a recreational drug user, bisexual, and an individualist social critic. Crowley has remained a highly influential figure over Western esotericism and the counterculture and continues to be considered a prophet in Thelema. He is the subject of various biographies and academic studies.'
Key cited source
CROWLEY, ALEISTER (1889-1989) (bulk 1901-1953) Aleister Crowley Collection,
| Manuscript Collection MS-01002, Austin, Texas, An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center. |
Cited
'The Aleister Crowley Encyclopedia (Paperback)
Aleister Crowley was an iconoclast and fascinating figure who shocked society with his debauched and occult behaviour. Crowley is famous for his spiritual, magic and occult studies. He was called a dangerous Satanist but there are many layers and nuances to his mystical beliefs and his religious system called Thelema.
Crowley was a writer, poet, chess master, painter, spy, journalist, world traveller and mountain climber. He was a big recreational drug user and experimenter, and had a rather liberal attitude to sexual matters. His ideas and personality have inspired many artists, people and movements in modern times - such as the New Age movement, rock musicians and Wicca.'
EVERETT HAROLD (2022) The Aleister Crowley Encyclopedia (Paperback), Harold Everett, North Charleston, South Carolina.
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Similarly Redfern describes as an occultist that in 1918 (13) made contact with an 'interdimensional entity known as Lam' (13). Lam was a 'large-headed figure' (13).
The Equinox
The image below is from page 193
The portrait called 'The Way', which is 'Lam' and its brief mention as the 'Lama of Lêng' on page 16 are the only references or mentions of Lam in The Blue Equinox (1919). (p. 1)
Lam was not mentioned in another publication during Crowley's life, but Lam was noted in a private diary or what could be called a magical record.
Within:
CROWLEY, ALEISTER (1918) The Amalantrah Working, New York, Magical Record.
It seems to me, suspicious that a classic occultist like Crowley would interact with an alien. Why would occult practice lead to Crowley as the perhaps first documented person to meet with an alien known as a 'Gray'? Seems more likely to me that an occultist as his high level of involvement could quite reasonably interact with a demonic entity that can be make itself appear to be a member of the alien 'Gray' group. If an actual 'Gray' wanted to make first contact with a human being, why not communicate with a reputable scientist, astronaut, politician or world leader, for example? This perhaps, first documented 'Gray' encounter strikes me as more supernatural and extradimensional than extraterrestrial. In other words, more occultic than scientific. But, there is no distinct, documented, connection between what Crowley experienced and the encounters described by the Collins Elite.
With this Chapter, Redfern appears to be establishing the occult, perhaps Satanic connection to a the 'Gray' aliens, at least.
Chapter 3: "Be Careful; They Bite"
Although historically interesting for certain, I do not find Chapter 3 that helpful in affirming that the alien beings are demonic. Rocket scientist and engineer, chemist and follower of Crowley in Thelema, Jack Parsons, full name, John Whiteside Parsons (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons) is described in very negative, unfavorable personal terms (18). I am not going to repeat these here as they do not academically help the review. Parsons was an occultist that also eventually connected with L. Ron Hubbard (20), that being the science fiction writer and the founder of the Church of Scientology. Essentially, the Chapter documents that there were occultists at NASA and within the United Airforce that believed in UFOs. Anecdotes about UFO‑believing Air Force insiders are provided by Redfern (18-25).
CARTER, JOHN (2000) Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons, Los Angeles, Feral House.
PENDLE, GEORGE (2006) The Naked Scientist: A Cultural History of the British Scientific Hero, London, Macmillan.
Cited
'John Whiteside Parsons (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952) was an American rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. He invented the first rocket engine to use a castable, composite rocket propellant, and pioneered the advancement of both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets.'
Clearly Parsons was a substantial scientist, intellectually.
Clearly Parsons was a substantial scientist, intellectually.
Cited
'Following some brief involvement with Marxism in 1939, Parsons converted to Thelema, the new religious movement founded by the English occultist Aleister Crowley.Together with his first wife, Helen Northrup, Parsons joined the Agape Lodge, the Californian branch of the Thelemite Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) in 1941. At Crowley's bidding, Parsons replaced Wilfred Talbot Smith as its leader in 1942 and ran the Lodge from his mansion on Orange Grove Boulevard. Parsons was expelled from JPL and Aerojet in 1944 owing to the Lodge's infamous reputation and to his hazardous workplace conduct.'
Cited
Cited
'In 1945, Parsons separated from Helen, after having an affair with her sister Sara; when Sara left him for L. Ron Hubbard, Parsons conducted the Babalon Working, a series of rituals intended to invoke the Thelemic goddess Babalon on Earth. He and Hubbard continued the working with Marjorie Cameron, whom Parsons married in 1946. After Hubbard and Sara defrauded him of his life savings, Parsons resigned from the O.T.O., then held various jobs while acting as a consultant for Israel's rocket program. Amid McCarthyism, Parsons was accused of espionage and left unable to work in rocketry.'
Interesting that Parsons was connected to both Crowley and Hubbard.
Cited
'Death In 1952 Parsons died at the age of 37 in a home laboratory explosion that attracted national media attention; the police ruled it an accident, but many associates suspected suicide or murder.'
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Comments
I find this book review problematic and will end it here. 'He said, she said', is just not the kind of work I want to deal with.
I find this book review problematic and will end it here. 'He said, she said', is just not the kind of work I want to deal with.
When seeking to do an academic book review, I do find Redfern's work interesting. But this book serves as a narrative description of personal lives and professional careers of occultists, as in Crowley and Parsons. In the case of L. Ron Hubbard, that is definitively historically, the founder of the Church of Scientology, he is basically mentioned in this book because he knew Parsons (20-21). Yes, in each case, the view of the person being discussed is not a historical, biblical, Christian belief. This does not mean that there is a significant connection to a belief in alien beings that then might be demonic. As an academic, that tries to produce significant scholarship, I am not going to speculate on possible, occult activity of Hubbard, through guilt by association with Parsons (20-21) from Redfern. This because Redfern documents that Parsons knew Hubbard and that Hubbard might have been involved in the occult simultaneously with Parsons (20-21). I am also not going to then again speculate on how this relationship might be connected to a belief by either person in aliens. Just because according to the Collins Elite, within the United States, Department of Defense. these aliens might be demonic.
These three being associated with negative personal morality (internal) and ethics (external) by Redfern, because of occult involvement in the case of Crowley and Parsons, and possible occult involvement in that case of Hubbard (21-22), does not academically suffice for me to continue with this review.
I cannot in good conscience, document this material as a significant academic, historical, investigation.
A scientist or engineer holding to a form of naturalism may very well support the explanation that UFOs are actual natural, extraterrestrial aliens, as opposed to supernatural, extradimensional demonic beings. This would be a standard, philosophy of science, secular understanding.
A naturalist might, even in fact, accept the aliens as natural, extradimensional beings, that are also extraterrestrial.
The occultist can reason the entities are perhaps natural or supernatural, perhaps extradimensional and perhaps extraterrestrial.
Some kind of worldview belief in aliens does not necessarily promote a personal, demonic, Satanic agenda.
It does not take an occultist to believe in UFOs.
I am thankful to Redfern for this text as reference material. However, for me to continue with this book review as an academic one, I would require stronger documented evidence of a historical, belief by key players associated with the United States Department Defence in alien entities. Then simultaneously, there would need to be substantial documentation on why these aliens could be, or should be considered demonic. What we have documented is reasoning by some within the Collins Elite that the United States Department of Defense has been dealing with possible alien entities, that might be demonic. As a scholar, I would like to see in print the worldview and philosophy of these supposed alien entities. In other words, there is no primary, alien (or demonic) documentation.
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CARTER, JOHN (2000) Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons, Los Angeles, Feral House.
CONWAY DAVID A. AND RONALD MUNSON (1997) The Elements of Reasoning, Wadsworth Publishing Company, New York.
CROWLEY, ALEISTER (1889-1989) (bulk 1901-1953) Aleister Crowley Collection,
| Manuscript Collection MS-01002, Austin, Texas, An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Center. CROWLEY, ALEISTER (1918) The Amalantrah Working, New York, Magical Record. CROWLEY, ALEISTER (1919) The Blue Equinox: The Equinox III (1), Detroit, Universal Publishing Company. (Including the supplement "Liber LXXI: The Voice of the Silence"). EVERETT HAROLD (2022) The Aleister Crowley Encyclopedia (Paperback), Harold Everett, North Charleston, South Carolina. LANGER, SUSANNE K (1953)(1967) An Introduction to Symbolic Logic, Dover Publications, New York. PENDLE, GEORGE (2006) The Naked Scientist: A Cultural History of the British Scientific Hero, London, Macmillan. PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London. |
REDFERN, NICK (2010) Final Events: And The Secret Government Group On Demonic UFOS And The Afterlife, San Antonio/New York, Anomalist Books.
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