C. F. Russell
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C. F. Russell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cecil Frederick Russell June 19, 1897 Greenwood, Mass. |
| Died | June 12, 1987 (aged 89) California |
| Pen name | Frater Genesthai |
| Occupation | Occultist, Author |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
Cecil Frederick Russell (1897-1987) was a 20th-century American occultist. Russell was a member of the A∴A∴ and Aleister Crowley's O.T.O. magical order. Russell later founded his own magical order, the G.B.G. (variously explained as "Great Brotherhood of God" or "Gnostic Body of God").
Early life
Russel was born in Greenwood, Mass. on June 9, 1897; His family later moved to Orlando, Florida.[1]
From April 22,1917 to December 12, 1918, Russell served in the US Navy, where he worked at a hospital attendant at the US Naval Academy Hospital.[1] While serving as a Pharmacist Mate aboard the USS Reina Mercedes, Russell injected himself with cocaine, resulting in a dishonorable discharge from the US Navy.[1]
Disciple of Crowley
In June 1918, Russell met Crowley in New York and was initiated into the third-degree of Crowley's magical order Ordo Templi Orientis. Russell took the magical name of 'Frater Genesthai'.[2]
From November 1920 to Autumn 1921, Russell lived at Crowley's 'abbey' in Cefalu, Sicily.[3] Crowley's diary records:[4] [5]
Now I'll shave and make up my face like the lowest kind of whore and rub on perfume and go after Genesthai [Russell] like a drunken two-bit prick-pit in old New Orleans. He disgusts me sexually, as I him, as I suspect…[T]he dirtiermy deed, the dearer my darling will hold me; the grosser the act the greedier my arse to engulph him!
Founder of an order
In 1928 1922, Russell founded the The Chorononzon Club, advertising a 'short cut to initiation". In 1931, the group changed its name to G.B.G (for "Great Brotherhood of God" or "Gnostic Body of God")[6][7] It was initially structured as a correspondence course.[8] G.B.G was headquartered in Chicago. [9] Russell received half of all initiation fees collected. [10][3]
Inspired by Ida Craddock, Russell developed his own curriculum of sex magick. [7] In 1960s, disciple Louis T. Culling published these in two works entitled The Complete Magickal Curriculum of the Secret Order G.'.B.'.G.'. and Sex Magick.[11] The first two degrees, "Alphaism and Dianism", reportedly draw upon Ida Craddock's work Heavenly Bridegrooms [6]
Russell was expelled from the OTO by leader Crowley, who in a document dated April 15, 1934 denounced Russell as a "thief, swindler, and blackmailer".[3]
In 1938, the GBG dissolved. [9]
Later life
In 1944, Russell published Provenance, described as "the only twentieth century occult text to center around the subject of book-collecting".[12]
From 1970-72, Russell published his memoirs entitled "Znuz is Znees: Memoirs of a Magician".[13]
Russell died in 1987.
Selected works
- Book chameleon: A new version in verse. (1940)[14]
- Provenance (1944)[15]
- Barbara Cubed: The manual of pure logic (1944)[16]
- Tropermic calculus (1944)[17]
- Grammar of changes (1944)[18]
- Manual of Electro-combinational Engineering (1945)[19]
- Znuz is Znees: Memoirs of a magician (1970)[20]
References
- ^ a b c Kaczynski, Richard (April 10, 2012). Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition. North Atlantic Books. p. 329. ISBN 9781583945766.
- ^ "Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley"., Crowley, A., & Skinner, S. (1996). The magical diaries of Aleister Crowley: Tunesia 1923. York Beach, ME: Weiser.
- ^ a b c "Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition".
- ^ Crowley, 1918 Diary (OTO Archives), cited in Sutin, Do What Thou Wilt, 288.
- ^ "Do What Thou Wilt". Sutin, L. (2002). Do what thou wilt: A life of Aleister Crowley. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 9780312252434
- ^ a b "Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic"., Chappell, V. (2010). Sexual outlaw, erotic mystic: The essential Ida Craddock. San Francisco, CA: Red Wheel/Weiser.
- ^ a b "The Complete Magick Curriculum of the Secret Order G.B.G."
- ^ The Occult Mentors of Maria de Naglowska, ISBN 978-0557404759
- ^ a b "The Great Work of the Flesh"., Alexandrian, S. (2015). The great work of the flesh: Sexual magic East and West.
- ^ "The Unknown God"., Starr, M. P. (2003). The unknown God: W.T. Smith and the Thelemites. Bolingbrook, Ill: Teitan Press.
- ^ The Complete Magick Curriculum of the Secret Order G.B.G.: Being the Entire Study, Curriculum, Magick Rituals, and Initiatory Practices of the G.B.G (The Great Brotherhood of God): Louis T. Culling, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke: 9780738719122: Amazon.com: Books. ASIN 0738719129.
{{cite book}}: Check|asin=value (help) - ^ Weiser Antiquarian Books. "Provenance". Russell, C. F., Schimmel, S. B., Schimmel, C. F., & Frank W. Tober Collection. (1944). Provenance. Los Angeles: Bookhaven Press.
- ^ "The Great Work of the Flesh".
- ^ Russell, C. F. (1940). Book chameleon: A new version in verse.
- ^ Russell, C. F., Schimmel, S. B., Schimmel, C. F., & Frank W. Tober Collection. (1944). Provenance. Los Angeles: Bookhaven Press.
- ^ Russell, C. F. (1944). Barbara cubed: The manual of pure logic. Los Angeles: Times-Mirror Press.
- ^ Russell, C. F. (1944). Tropermic calculus. Los Angeles: Printed for the author & his friends.
- ^ Russell, C. F. (1944). Grammar of changes. Los Angeles: Times-Mirror Press.
- ^ Manual of Electro-combinational Engineering Times-Mirror Press, 1945
- ^ Russell, C. F. (1970). Znuz is znees: Memoirs of a magician. Los Angeles
Category:1897 births Category:1987 deaths Category:Members of Ordo Templi Orientis Category:American occultists Category:Thelema