”The Aeth Mystery”
is a short booklet published in 1914 by the FRC, an occult group based in
Quakertown, United States. The FRC still exists. Back in the days, it was led
by Reuben Swinburne Clymer, almost forgotten today, but apparently ”a big fish”
in the occult milieu at the time. He claimed that the FRC had been founded by
sex magician Pascal Beverly Randolph! Clymer also had a long-standing feud with
the AMORC, another ”Rosicrucian” order which is still around.
”The Aeth Mystery”
is a short introduction to the teachings and practices of the FRC. It´s explicitly
intended for people who are interested in joining the fraternity. Clymer´s
system seems to be based on three pillars: Western ritual magic, Eastern (or
nominally Eastern) yogic techniques, and alternative medicine. In this text,
the emphasis is on yoga. Interestingly, Clymer almost never uses Hindu or
Buddhist terminology. It´s therefore not entirely clear what kind of yoga he is
describing, but he does mention something that seems to be chakras. If so, the
mysterious Aeth or Life Force the yogi is supposed to connect with and draw energy
from could be the kundalini. The yogi will also get in touch with a ”hierarchy”
of various spirit-beings. Clymer says that the Aeth will give the occultist supernatural
powers (siddhi powers?) and he clearly wants the practitioner to use them –
most other gurus advise against it. The Aeth can prolong the life of the
practitioner, perhaps even make him immortal, and should also be used to help other
people, perhaps by healing them from ailments. Clairvoyance is another power gained
by the illuminated (not to mention ”zorvoyance”).
Absolute
secrecy about the practice is enjoined, and the pamphlet actually starts with stern
warnings about the impending death of everyone who takes the vows and breaks them.
The usual fake pedigree is included. Here, the transmission of esoteric knowledge
doesn´t start with Atlantis but rather with highly idealized versions of ancient
Egypt, Greece and Rome. India is hardly mentioned. But perhaps Atlantis *is*
included, since Clymer makes the mysterious statement that North America was
part of ancient Egypt…
Another
pamphlet published by the FRC, ”The Divine Mystery” deals more with the Western
esoteric aspects of the Clymerite teachings, including really weird speculations
about elemental spirits.
The FRC are apparently anti-vaxxers, so if you ever see one of their illuminated initiates together with a dog (or a cynocephalus), that essentially means the dog has rabies, so I wouldn´t go anywhere near their temple grounds, unless I´m into some really fucked up heavy tantrika shit.
ReplyDeleteI´m a leftist in the same sense as Pilsudski.
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