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of his Manifesto of the Antichrist, Parsons mercifully appears quite lucid and together in
his letters to Cameron between October 1949 and February 1950—during their
temporary estrangement and near divorce—in which he addresses her as Candida, her
magical name. Some of these letters are profoundly moving and beautiful expressions
of love, and it’s surprising Carter made no use of them at all to cast light on their
relationship, instead giving weight on p 171 to an unnamed fbi informant’s observation:
“Subject seems very much in love with his wife but she is not at all affectionate and does
not appear to return his affection. [2 lines censored by fbi] She is the dominating
personality of the two and controls the activities and thinking of subject to a very
considerable degree.” (Carter’s use of the letters to Cameron is restricted to two
unattributed quotations on pages 60 and 108, and one cited on p 194, solely to illustrate
matters other than their relationship. On p 169 he mistakenly attributes a quotation
from Parsons’ letter to Cameron of Jan 25, 1950, as coming from a letter from Parsons
to Germer of January 1951.)
In a very interesting letter to Karl Germer of June 19, 1949, something emerges that
is not mentioned by Carter, Jack’s use of prostitutes for sex magick during his separation
from Marjorie Cameron:
For the time being my magical partners consist of those that can be purchased or otherwise
easily picked up and disposed of. I have no further time for serious involvement with
anyone who is not in accord with my Will. I charge you as a brother to regard this entire
communication as strictly confidential, and preferably to destroy this letter. I do not
want anyone besides yourself to know the details of my present condition or recent
history—my time is not yet. I have written you because I sensed your kindly interest as
a brother—because you first initiated me into the most holy and glorious sanctuary of
True Magick—so that you might know the reasons for my present state and plans. My
best wishes for your success, and (what is the same thing) for the accomplishment of the
holy Law of Thelema, to which we are both dedicated. Love is the law, love under will.
Fraternally, 210.
“210” is the gematrical summation of “Io Pan”, relating to Parsons’ magical name and
motto. This letter might in addition be seen to cast doubt on Carter’s bald statement
that Parsons “hated” Germer (p 174), for which no evidence is offered. It is also in this
same letter that Parsons said he had been working as a filling station attendant, an
assertion unsourced in Sex and Rockets that Shedona Chevalier desired to know the
origin of in her correspondence with Adam Parfrey.
It is still puzzling why Cameron did not appear to fit the bill as the expected Babalon.
Parsons writes to Cameron on October 5, 1949: “I know that Babalon is incarnate upon
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