Correspondence from Charles Stansfeld Jones to Gerald Yorke and Albert H. Handel

AEON OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE

23 May 1948

To my Two Witnesses Yorke and Handel.

Fellow Stars,

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!

This is Trinity Sunday—the close of the Easter Season. Much has transpired since Easter Sunday. Praise be to the Infinite Plenum of All Perfection! and to the Divine Providence which overrules all Chance.

This over-ruling by Providence is to be seen in the appointment of Saturnus [Karl Germer] to his present position and in the type of man chosen, as well as in Therion's having been led to restrict the meaning and application of the teachings of Liber Legis by means of a later Comment which he published in The Equinox of the Gods in place of the former one which is yet the Comment, as shown in my letter of yesterday's date. It is, I feel, most fortunate that Saturnus is the type of man who will rigidly stick to that set of restrictions and uphold them so far as his followers or the general public are concerned. This is a great safeguard.

There is no object in trying to "convert" Saturnus to acceptance of the manifestation of the incoming of the Aeon of Truth and Justice, not to change his opinion in regard to myself or my actions. Time will show.

Neither do I wish to "convert" you to the acceptance of my views and findings which have been presented to you in this series of letters recording facts and events as they occurred at this special period. I do, however, want further to make plain my position and secure your brotherly co-operation and understanding.

It cannot well be denied that there has been presented to you a long series of coincidences" which are as inexplicable on the plane of reason to me as they may be to you. Nor can it be denied that it has been shown that "I" have had a special, in fact unique, part to play in the drama of Initiation with which Liber Legis deals. Therein lies the danger of misunderstanding unless the position is understood at least by you Two Special Witnesses. There may never be any need for others thus to understand, and it would be unwise for you to try in any way to make them do so. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law! The law is for all! But the true interpretation and meaning of Liber Legis is not for all. Both Therion and Saturnus are right in that respect—whether they rightly understood or understand the Book or not. The Book could breed centres of pestilence if discussed and 'interpreted' by the wrong people in groups. The restrictions provided are wise.

Here is the difficulty of the present situation. Under the previous system the Magus was forced to speak truth, knowing that the "falsehood" thereof would enslave the soul. That still applies, more or less, for those who study the Therion teaching and consider it the final one.

A new type of difficulty could well arise should I be led into error in trying to explain in a general way the inner way of Liber Legis and the details of the incoming of the Aeon of Ma—or MA-ION—to a wide circle of people. That does not appear to be my task—nor yours, as my Witnesses, because of your promise of Reserve at least during my lifetime.

Here is the true nature of the difficulty. In order to try and explain the true meaning of Liber Legis by means of the Keys which I have discovered, which undoubtedly unlock many fresh mysteries of the Book never clear to Therion and certainly not understood by Saturnus, it becomes necessary, as our correspondence must have shown you, that I constantly refer to MY Word, MY Names, MY exploits, MY representation of Isa, MY discoveries, MY Numbers, MY books, and so on. And since my Mottoes, etc., quite innocently chosen in the first place, represent important God Names, and this process of Initiation leads through MY Ordeals and (thank God!) MY FOOLISHNESS and blindness all the way to the announcement of a Change of Aeon and the whole Magical System, it is obvious that those who hear of it and misunderstand, as they would be almost bound to do if presented in such a manner, would certainly label me, as Handel remarked, the World's Greatest Egoist or Madman. This, again, might cause confusion should they discover me living a quiet, normal life with my family here in Canada.

You see, then, how Providence and Liber Legis have indicated the value of the formula NOT TALKING as a very essential one at least in my own case. Liber Legis says: "Let my servants be few and secret"—and MEANS it.

It is obvious, therefore, that other means to be devised, if necessary, for the transmission to wider circles, of some of the explanations of mysteries relative to the New Aeon. In such a case, right means will be provided.

I do hold you two in very special regard, for you are the only persons with whom I can more or less freely discuss these important matters. I feel sure you will be true to the trust. I have been, and am, trying to work for God and Humanity—not for my personal aggrandizement. It would perhaps be fatal to my mission should the fact that the KEYS to Liber Legis appear to be such a PERSONAL affair if USED to explain the book, turn public attention to ME personally. The essence of the thing, if the Aeon of Truth and Justice is a fact, lies in the impersonal and concealed manner of its having been brought about. The PROOF lies in its MANIFESTATION—not mine. Either world affairs will be seen to have changed for the better (at least in the sense of an Aurora) during last April— or they will not. They certainly have done so on SOME plane; how long it will take for it to become apparent in outer manifestation all over the planet, is another matter. It would only be fair to give it ten years before expecting marked improvement. Let us then wait in patience and hope.

Yours in love and Unity,

Achad.

Note: You might well wonder: If Achad has gone through all this ordeal and so on, and has succeeded in finding some special qabalistic method of interpreting Liber Legis and even in bringing in a New Aeon—and now seems so utterly indifferent about the whole thing—except for having used us as a means of recording it—what's the use of it all? How do we and others come in if he's "stolen" the whole show? (Or thinks he has.) Where do we go from here?

There is quite another side to the story. There is evidence of a live current of Initiation which persists, quite apart from the death of A.C. the Magician. There is therefore present the great essential of a True Mystery School—although what form it may now take remains an open question. We do know that the system of A∴A∴ had at one time the Power to Initiate. There have been many failures, some partial successes and, apparently, some sign of real success in the case of one who started off under that System. I am not aware of how the System worked on others of later years, nor just who are the persona involved. Saturnus has given me no information. There is only one person, so far as I know, who may now be under him but who was once in my care. I have inquired about that person [Wilfred Talbot Smith] but had no reply. Therefore I hold myself now free of karmic responsibility for him and his followers and his actions.

Personally, however, I can testify to the following, and therein lies my own satisfaction and comfort. A combination of seeking, faith, courage and trust in Divine Providence, and an honest effort to do one's true will, without lust of result, can lead to the discovery that what is said by a certain Alchemist is true. He writes (to another Alchemist):

You are sufficiently instructed in our Philosophy, to comprehend, that the Possession of the universal Medicine, and of the great Elixir, is of all worldly Treasures the greatest, the most real, and the most valuable that Man can enjoy. Indeed, immense Riches, supreme Dignities, and all the Greatness of the Earth, are not comparable to this precious Treasure, which is the sole temporal Good, able to satisfy the Heart of Man . . .

. . . This Treasure hath moreover this particular Advantage, above all other Blessings of this Life, that he who enjoys it, finds himself perfectly satisfies, even with its only Contemplation, and that he can never be troubled with the fear of losing it.

You are likewise convinced, that God governs the World; that Divine Providence causes, that there reigns an Order, which his infinite Wisdom has established in it from the beginning of all Ages, and that this Providence is not that blind Fatality of the Antients, nor that pretended Chain of Causes, or that necessary Order of Things that must make them follow without any Distinction: But on the contrary, you are well persuaded, that the Wisdom of God presides over all the Events that happen or appear in the World.

Under the double Foundation, which these two Reflections establish, you cannot but doubt that God who disposes Sovereignly of all the Possessions in the World, never permits that those who apply themselves to the Search of this precious Treasure, with design to make a bad use of it, should their endeavours come to its Possession; really what mischief might not be caused in World by a perverse Spirit, who would have no other aim but to gratify his ambition and indulge his Lusts, if he had in his Power and Possession this.

. . . Wherefore the Philosophers, who perfectly know what Mischief and Disorders might accrue to civil Society, if the Knowledge of this Great Secret were revealed to the impious, do not treat of it, but with fear, nor speak of it, but enigmatically, to the end, that it may not be comprehended, but by those whose Study and Endeavours God will bless.

This Secret, then, is the Treasure of the True Mystery Schools, and the reason for their existence. Whenever some partial aspect of this secret has fallen into unworthy hands, or one of its principal aspects been misused by powerful persons, trouble has come upon the human race. The whole device of the issuance of Liber Legis may have been for the purpose of correcting some trouble of that sort which previously occurred; it may have been a device whereby it was hoped that further trouble might be brought upon the world through a powerful agent or agents, who were likely to misuse the secret they thought they fully possessed. It is not for me to judge nor speculate further on that aspect.

Suffice it to say that in my opinion the almost total destruction, which might have resulted from things done by those who left the Supreme Being and Providence out of account, has once more been averted; I certainly hope so. In that case there may be a real Aeon of Truth and Justice made Manifest—but that will not exclude the possibility of further punishment where needed.

I also give it as my opinion that the True Secret has never been lost nor gotten into wrong hands, and that therefore this Treasure, the sole temporal Good, able to satisfy the Heart of Man, must still be available to those who worthily seek it in the right spirit and trust in God and Divine Providence. This, whether there be need for further Mystery schools or not. It is, in a very real sense, the Treasure of the Humble, and the natural processes of old age are unable to take it away.

This, then, is my secret testimony to you my Witnesses. I am unable to confer this secret, it is the result of a process in one's life, overseen by the Supreme Being; but the glimpse I have had of it does account for my apparent indifference to worldly recognition of any sort, and preference for a quiet simple life with my fellow men and women, rather than either against or above them.

Yours in Unity and Love,

Achad.

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