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Correspondence from "John Jones" [Charles Stansfeld Jones] to Aleister Crowley
JOHN JONES BOX 365 VANCOUVER, B.C. CANADA
St. A. E. Crowley Esq., c/o Mr. J. G. Bayley [James Gilbert Bayley], 11 Abercairn Road, Streatham, S.W.16, England.
10 August 1932
Dear Sire,
I have now been able to obtain for you a copy of the unanswered letter of August 25, 1925. In reading it through it seems quite interesting and even "up-to-date". The writer must have been quite a bird in his way. Had some sort of a crest, didn't he, over his C.S.?
There has been quite an interest in stamp-collecting out here, especially new issues and Air Mail stamps, and I am sending this under special flown cover (which please preserve) because they say that envelopes are much more sought after by the real collectors than single stamps which bear no postmark. I shall hope to mail this on Saturday, August 13, which will, by the way, be the day previous to A's [Frater Achad] Silver Wedding Anniversary to Ruby [Rubina Stansfeld Jones]. He is just as silly as ever with his jokes; talks about "heir males" when, of course, he has only little Deidre [Deirdre Stansfeld Jones] to show, and (like Lola [Lola Zaza Crowley]) she's quite a big girl now.
It is strange how things, worked out in miniature as a "Project", multiply and after a time show out on a larger scale—if one waits long enough. Perhaps the ancient alchemists were right in this, that after a time it becomes mere child's play which can be entered into with little personal expense. I am sending you a cutting of the Mass of the Phoenix—it must have been a wonderful sight; only wish we could have been there together. I remember, too, your lonely visit to St. Peters, and the P.[ost] C.[ard] you sent at the time, years ago.
The Olympic Games at LA [Los Angeles] seem to be going strong and, one cannot help taking an interest in this form of noble sport. The enclosed cutting from last night's paper showing race between Stella and Mary will show you what I mean—the papers are full of such news just now. They tell me Mary had IT and Stella knew-it. And that Mary (in violet) got mixed up with one of the chariot wheels, and thus came in second on the first lap. However, there is quite a different side to the story; and I could tell you, if you asked me, how Violet is the Greek word for Ion., and about the attempt to break up the inviolate atom of Hydrogen—and the result was helium after all. Good old m. is one of the constituents of water, after all; and o. hadit all over them, being full of life. H2O. But, as I remarked, that's another story, although I enclose a cutting about—I don't care.
I am waiting, as a matter of fact, until Fr. A. gets some new notepaper, on the 11th, so that I may type out for you an old prayer which shows the Greek influence which resulted after the Council of Ferrara-Florence and the visit of Gemistus Pletho thereto. You will remember all the churches were re-united about that time, and thereafter, Mutainus, and Pico della Mirandola, the Qabalist, under Cosmo de Medici, did much to restore the beauties of Greek thought in the Church; now rather sternly Roman in character. These old prayers are quite good to use even at this late day.
But, by the way, Fr. A. says that he is using the Pansonian Mantra for harmonizing the AA, not the A∴A∴, so you should not show his new notepaper to others, if you don't mind, because he has a much better style in mind expressly for the A∴A∴, a bit later on. (There are wheels within wheels, as it were—let not one know well the other.) Excuse my silly joke about the chariots at the Games—my mind runs along in that direction. Which reminds me that I hope to use a 5=6 surcharged double Mercury stamp on this letter (with others) and that this is a rare issue of which very few came out last month, but I thought it would help to fill in those grades Fr. R. mentioned as missing in MAAT.
You asked me, too, about a good hand-cleaner for use for the new Fuller Brushes. I am sending you the wrapper of one which seems to work excellently. It is funny how those manufacturers got hold of the prism as a good form of packing—reminds one a bit of that "Anatomy" [The Anatomy of the Body of God] book we studied some time ago.
Excuse this rambling letter, which is merely an excuse for sending you a registered packet flown by Air Mail and adding to your stamp collection. You will notice, too, that the old Monomark has been used as a return address in case you are not to be found. It seemed well to preserve this set of LETTERS. which form a good distinguishing mark, and should remain in good hands.
We all send our kind regards and hope you are well after the rather long silence.
Yours faithfully,
ohn Jones [Charles Stansfeld Jones]
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