Request for information
If anyone out there has information on resources that can help me research some odd aspects of the period 1930-1960 in Southern California, I would really appreciate it if you would leave that information in comments to this post. The information I'm looking for concerns a subculture of mostly upper-middle-class and some upper-class individuals living in that area during that time who were involved in movements concerned with esoteric studies and occultism. As these were only a small part of the population in that area at the time, it might not seem worth one's while to do research on that subject. But in fact a number of extremely important developments came out of that period and from people who were part of that subculture, and because of that, I'd like to know more about it.
For example, rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons was also a dedicated occultist, a member of the Ordo Templi Orientis. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) in Pasadena, California. JPL gained extreme importance during the Cold War due to their participation in research and development of technology heavily involved with the manufacture of the nuclear missiles we had ready to use in case we were attacked by the Soviet Union as well as the rockets that we used to put men on the Moon in the late 1960s and the 1970s. And due to our involvement in space-based activities, whole new technological developments and industrial processes were worked out by JPL and other installations, both public and private, some of which resulted in the production of the sort of desk-top computers owned by private individuals today and the creation of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Parsons himself died in 1952, but his work contributed significantly to the development of our missiles and rockets, and thus to the technology that came to be as a result.
Also, numerous "New Age" and UFO-related groups proliferated in Southern California at that time. Sadly, ill-fated groups such as the Heaven's Gate cult were among the heirs of such movements and organizations. So, to a great extent, is the Church of Scientology, which was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, whom Jack Parsons took on as a student of occultism in the 1940s. Such groups have had a profound effect, not always good, on the lives of numerous people. In some cases, that effect has extended far beyond Southern California or even the United States, as is true of the Church of Scientology.
Obviously an in-depth study of that time and place would be of great interest to historians, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, legal researchers, forensics experts, and so on, but so far the only two books I've managed to find that go into it at all in a systematic, well-researched way are Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons by John Carter and Robert Anton Wilson and Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons by George Pendleton, of both of which I have and have read copies. If any readers of this blog know of other resources that provide intelligent, well-researched information on this subject, please let me know in the comments. Thanks in advance. qu
For example, rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons was also a dedicated occultist, a member of the Ordo Templi Orientis. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) in Pasadena, California. JPL gained extreme importance during the Cold War due to their participation in research and development of technology heavily involved with the manufacture of the nuclear missiles we had ready to use in case we were attacked by the Soviet Union as well as the rockets that we used to put men on the Moon in the late 1960s and the 1970s. And due to our involvement in space-based activities, whole new technological developments and industrial processes were worked out by JPL and other installations, both public and private, some of which resulted in the production of the sort of desk-top computers owned by private individuals today and the creation of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Parsons himself died in 1952, but his work contributed significantly to the development of our missiles and rockets, and thus to the technology that came to be as a result.
Also, numerous "New Age" and UFO-related groups proliferated in Southern California at that time. Sadly, ill-fated groups such as the Heaven's Gate cult were among the heirs of such movements and organizations. So, to a great extent, is the Church of Scientology, which was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, whom Jack Parsons took on as a student of occultism in the 1940s. Such groups have had a profound effect, not always good, on the lives of numerous people. In some cases, that effect has extended far beyond Southern California or even the United States, as is true of the Church of Scientology.
Obviously an in-depth study of that time and place would be of great interest to historians, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, legal researchers, forensics experts, and so on, but so far the only two books I've managed to find that go into it at all in a systematic, well-researched way are Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons by John Carter and Robert Anton Wilson and Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons by George Pendleton, of both of which I have and have read copies. If any readers of this blog know of other resources that provide intelligent, well-researched information on this subject, please let me know in the comments. Thanks in advance. qu