The Cecils may well have had a longstanding interest in mysticism. As was noted above, patriarch William Cecil was a patron of alchemy. It would appear that this interest became more pronounced during the late nineteenth century with the rise of the Salisbury line. In The Anglo-American Establishment, Quigley notes: "One of the enduring creations of the Cecil Bloc is the Society for Psychical Research, which holds a position in the history of the Cecil Bloc similar to that held by the Royal Institute of International Affairs in the Milner Group" (pgs. 31-32).
As for Crowley, the Great Beast had a curious relationship with both the Cecil family and the SPR. As to the former, it was no less than the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury who recommended Crowley to
Cambridge. He made this recommendation when he was a sitting prime minister to boot.
Consider the implication of this for a moment dear reader. Lord Salisbury was not merely Britain's prime minister, he was also the head of the Cecil Bloc. If Quigley is to be believed (and that is always debatable), the Bloc was effectively the preeminent political power of the day. Combine this with the historic influence the Lords of Salisbury have wielded for centuries and one is left with the distinct possibility that Lord Salisbury was at the time the most powerful figure in the
ENTIRE British Empire. This, dear readers, is the man who recommended Aleister Crowley to Cambridge University. Let that sink in for a moment if you will.
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| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury and one of the Britain's longest serving prime ministers |
The question then becomes, how did Crowley manage such a feat? In
The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, the Great Beast attributes the intervention of Lord Salisbury on his behalf to his aunt's involvement in the
Primrose League. This was an organization geared towards spreading conservative principals on behalf of the
Tories.
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| pins worn by members of the Primrose League |
While Crowley's family was fairly well to do, much of their fortune was based upon the family brewery, Crowley's Alton Alehouses. While this business was quite profitable, it was also the type of industry that was still looked down upon by the traditional British aristocracy during this era. Even the Great Beast himself seemed somewhat embarrassed by the source of his family fortune. What then would a man like Lord Salisbury make of a brewer's second cousin? Likely he would have been perceived as petty bourgeoisie, at best.
But keep in mind that the Cecil family maintained its historic power by recruiting men of ability into its ranks. Crowley was already an accomplished mountain climbers by this point and undeniably brilliant. This may well have made someone take notice.
Another potential clue is provided by the career Crowley had hoped to use Cambridge as a stepping stone for: namely, in the diplomatic service. Incidentally, this type of work has often gone hand in glove with spy craft as well. Indeed, diplomatic cover is a time honored tradition among spooks. And that is why Crowley's involvement in the Society for Psychical Research at Cambridge is so curious. Consider one of the individuals he encountered in the SPR at Cambridge:
"Another man who enjoyed intrigue was the Hon. Francis Henry Everard Joseph Feilding (1867-1936). Finding Catholicism inadequate to cope with grief at his sister's death, Feilding joined the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in 1895. Established at Trinity in 1882, the SPR investigated scientifically 'psychical' phenomena: mediumship, telepathy, ghosts and life after death. Feilding, SPR secretary from 1903, was also an intelligence officer. If anyone recruited Crowley for secret service at Cambridge or elsewhere, or at a later date, Everard Feilding, Crowley's senior by eight years, must be a prime candidate.
"A 15-year-old midshipman in the Royal Navy during the Egyptian campaign of 1882, Feilding was admitted to Trinity in 1887. Called to the Bar in 1894, he served on the Committee of Naval Censors (Press Bureau) during the Great War, and afterward, with the rank of Lieutenant RNVR, in the Special Intelligence Department of Egypt. In a career move similar to that which launched the legend of Lawrence of Arabia, Feilding was lent to the Arab Bureau and the Foreign Office for political service in Syria. After the war, he received the OBE, as well as the Order of the Nile and Order of El Nahda for services in Egypt and the Hejaz. Feilding was Crowley's intelligence contact when, during the Great War, the Beast spied on the German propaganda machine in New York."
(Aleister Crowley: The Biography, Tobias Churton, pg. 33)
Was Crowley then being groomed to be a spy? This is certainly a distinct possibility, especially in light of some of the activities the Beast got up to while attending Cambridge. During the New Year's Eve of 1896, Crowley found himself in the Swedish capital of
Stockholm. There he alleged to have had one of his first significant mystical experiences and to have been initiated into an outfit known as the "Military Order of the Temple."
Some researchers such as
Tobias Churton have suggested that Crowley had his first homosexual encounter in Stockholm as well. This is rather debatable, however. Crowley was a product of the British empire-building
public school system that has a
longstanding reputation for buggery and
pederasty. The implications of the Stockholm experience are curious, however.
The
Knights Templar, which the "Military Order of the Temple" is clearly a play upon, were accused of buggery. This particular "initiation" may be an allusion to that allegation. As homosexuality was still quite illegal and taboo in British society at the time, there is a possibility that this was an attempt to build a control file on Crowley for latter use.
Sweden was also the gateway to Russia, then considered the greatest threat to the British Empire. "Incidentally," Crowley would later turn up in
Saint Petersburg several months later, in the summer of 1897. One could conclude then that things must have gone very well indeed in Stockholm.
Still, this does not quite explain the Cecil family's curious patronage of Crowley. One possible explanation entails the Great Beast "kissing" the right "ring" in public school. Crowley attended
Eastbourne, which was founded by the above-mentioned Cavendish family. The Cavendishs themselves are quite a longtime powerhouse among the British aristocracy and of course intermarried with the Cecils. The ties between the Cavendish clan and Crowley's alma mater are close to the point that the school adopted the stag from the family's coat of arms for its emblem. The possibility that Crowley serviced someone sufficiently to extract favor from the chief of the Cecil Bloc can not be discounted.
Boney and the ABN
Another curious I figure I discussed with Jasun was the mysterious Major General
J.F.C. "Boney" Fuller. Boney was both a brilliant military strategist and an early Crowley-ite. The two men had first encountered one another at some point during the first decade of the twentieth century. Fuller would soon become one of the Great Beast's most enthusiastic supporters. He penned
The Star in The West: A Critical Essay Upon the Works of Aleister Crowley and became a co-founder of the
A∴A∴, Crowley's magical order. Reportedly, their relationship began to sour towards the end of the decade due concerns by Fuller that Crowley's bisexuality may effect his military career (clearly, the control file was not working by this point, if ever).
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| "Boney" Fuller |
Contact between the two men was scarce after 1911, but Fuller would continue to have an interest in the occult. During the 1930s, he also became enamored with fascism. He joined the
British Union of Fascists (BUF) and became one the closet allies of founder
Sir Oswald Mosley.
Prior to setting up the BUF, Mosley had been seen as a rising star within the Conservative Party. In 1920 he had married
Lady Cynthia Curzon. Mosley was apparently quite taken with the women of the Curzon family as he later carried on an affair with Lady Cynthia's younger sister,
Lady Alexandra Curzon, and their stepmother,
Grace Curzon. Grace's husband and the father of Cynthia and Alexandra was Lord
George Curzon. Per Quigley, Curzon's was not just Lord Salisbury's former private secretary, but his protege. Curzon would continue to be linked to the Cecil Bloc up until the time of his death in 1925. As such, Mosley effectively married into the Bloc.
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| Lord George Curzon |
How closely the Curzons were to the Bloc after Lord Curzon's death is debatable. Both Mosley and Lady Cynthia had joined
Labour in 1924, shortly before Lord Curzon shed his mortal coil. Given the longstanding association the Cecils have with the Conservative Party, it is difficult to discern how this move would have been perceived. Mosley of course later drifted to fascism, but said ideology appears to have enjoyed greater support among the Cecil Bloc's frenemies in the Milner Group. Further muddying the waters are the simultaneous affairs Lady Alexandra was carrying out in the years leading up to WWII with Mosley and
Lord Halifax, a leading figure in the Milner Group by that time.
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| Oswald Mosley |
On the other hand, another leading figure in the British fascist movement was Philip Farrer, a British intelligence officer during WWI who had served as the 4th Marquess of Salisbury's
private secretary during the late 1930s. Fuller himself regularly collaborated with Farrer. At a minimum then, the Cecils appear to have been keeping an eye on Mosley's actions. And it was into this maelstrom that Fuller boldly plunged.
This would open doors for Fuller in the broader fascist movement. He would establish close ties with the German General Stuff during the 1930s, who were greatly influenced by his concepts concerning
mechanized warfare. Fuller was the only foreigner present during Nazi Germany's first armored maneuvers in 1935 and was in attendance during Hitler's 50th birthday bash in 1939.
Fuller had even more extensive ties to various fascist organizations and regimes, which did not lead to his detention at the outbreak of war.
"... Admitted to Oswald Mosley's inner circle, Fuller visited both Mussolini and Hitler. He was also a founding member of the pre-war Nordic League (known initially as the White Knights of Britain or the Hooded Men) which had been established by Nazi agents run by Alfred Rosenberg. Its activities, which were directed from Berlin, included providing an insider's view of the British elite. Fuller had also written intelligence reports on British organizations and individuals for Goebbels, the head of the Nazi propaganda department, and Heinrich Himmler, chief of the SS. It is said that Fuller would have been made ministry of defense if Mosley had come to power, and was regarded by the Nazis as a possible 'Quisling.' Despite the fact that MI5 had him under surveillance, when war came he and his Polish wife were not among the more than seven hundred BUF supporters detained under the 18b regulations. Even Mosley was puzzled by this omission. One possible reason, which would explain a great deal, was that Fuller was an MI6 agent and thus protected."
(MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Stephen Dorril, pgs. 441-442)
Indeed, it is the only really plausible explanation as to why the British authorities did not feel the need to intern a man who had celebrated Hitler's birthday with the Fuhrer on the eve of war. Throw in Fuller's close collaborator, Philip Farrer, and one is left with the distinct impression that these men were managing the British fascist movement on behalf of the intelligence services. Given the rampant support for fascism among the British aristocracy during the 1930s, the involvement of Fuller and Farrer may not have begun as an intelligence op, but as war with Germany became inevitable it likely became one.
It was during Fuller's time moonlighting for Nazi intelligence services that he encountered a most curious organization.
" 'Boney' Fuller... had been active among the Ukrainian nationalist before the war and among the Ukrainian communities in both Britain and Germany after the war. In the mid-thirties, around the same time as MI6 was recruiting the Banderites in the OUN, the Ukrainian émigré community in London have been penetrated by German Intelligence. This had been undertaken with the help Fuller to ensure Anglo-German 'understanding.' He thought that Hitler's greatest mistake during the war have been to treat the Ukrainians as subhuman, Untermenschen, thus ignoring the military potential of the nationalists. With the support of his good friend Richard Stokes, at the end of the war Fuller had helped assist one of the leading figures in the OUN-B, Jaroslav Stetsko, and maintained contacts with the Ukrainian nationalists and the DP camps throughout the forties. By 1950, Fuller was seventy-one, a wizened old man but still active, calling for a moral as well as a physical and economic campaign against the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Union."
(MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Stephen Dorril, pg. 442)
OUN stands for
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The OUN-B was an especially militant branch of the OUN centered around
Stepan Bandera. This outfit was an on again, off again
Quisling that eventually founded the infamous
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The UPA was eventually embraced by the Nazis and received training from famed commando
Otto Skorzeny. This effectively transformed then into a
stay-behind unit that was used to harass the Red Army as the Nazis retreated in what was known as Operation Sunflower. The OUN/UPA managed to tie down some 200,000 Soviet troops and kill over 7000 officers, per the great Christopher Simpson in his classic
Blowback (pgs. 162-163).
The OUN/UPA was fanatically anti-Semitic, anti-Communist, and generally anti-Russian to the hilt. They are considered to be the
inspiration behind the modern, neo-Nazi paramilitary outfit known as the
Azov Battalion.
In the postwar years, the US an UK viewed the OUN-B/UPA as idea candidates to infiltrate behind Soviet lines so as to carry out sabotage operations. Back in the West, many former OUN-B/UPA members cultivated the far right. The leading figure among the Ukrainians was the above-mentioned
Yaroslav Stetsko.
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| Stetsko |
He was the longtime head of the far right emigre outfit known as the
Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN). As I've noted before
here, the ABN had its origins in Nazi Germany, being comprised of many of the most militant Eastern European "Quisling" outfits. Many of its components were guilty of horrendous war crimes during WWII. Naturally, the US and UK felt that the ABN could serve as the backbone for efforts to pry Eastern Europe out of the Soviet bloc. These efforts largely failed, but the ABN would go on to wield enormous power in the West through a later organization it helped co-found known as the
World Anti-Communist League (WACL). The WACL in turn had extensive ties to both Western and Eastern intelligence services, international drug traffickers and various terror networks. Much more information on the WACL can be found
here.
For our purposes here, it is also interesting to note the frequency of cults and secret societies within the WACL. The Asian component had its origins in an outfit known as the Asian People's Anti-Communist League (APACL). The guiding forces behind the APACL were South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The Japanese and Taiwanese components were deeply linked to the
Yakuza and
Green Gang, respectively. Both were organized crime syndicates and secret societies. As for South Korea, much of the support for the APACL (and later WACL) came from the Unification Church, the above-mentioned cult that grew out of Moral Re-Armament movement. The Unification Church also enjoyed longstanding ties to the
KCIA, for years South Korea's principal intelligence service. More on these cretins can be found
here.
The APACL was hardly the only component to feature secret societies and cults, however. One of the most powerful organizations within the Latin American section was a Mexican secret society known as Los Tecos ("the Owls"). The Tecos enjoyed close links with both Mexican security services and drug cartels. During the 1970s and 1980s, they helped raise the so-called White Brigades to destabilize the nation. More on the Tecos, which have at times been likened to a cult, can be found
here.
Nor was the Ukrainian section of the ABN the only outfit to rub elbows with a noted occultist. The Romanian section was mainly comprised of veterans of the
Iron Guard. During the WWII era, the Guard maintained links with Italian occultist and philosopher
Julius Evola. Indeed, there has been some speculation that Evola was the Guard's liaison with Nazi intelligence. The Guardists would later have an influence on the structure of Los Tecos while other Evola-ites crop up among the Italian partners of the League. Much more information on this topic can be found
here.
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| Evola |
As such, it is hardly surprising to find a former Crowley acolyte rubbing shoulders with the OUN-B faction of the ABN. It is especially curious that Boney had ties to the OUN-B going back to the 1930s, around the same time Evola was working with the Iron Guard in Romania. When the ABN got going in 1943, the Ukrainian and Romanian sections may well have had some curious mystical discussions. In fairness though, it should also be noted that Yaroslav Stetsko also met with the Moral Re-Armament types at some point as well. But then again, if the Cecil family was lurking behind both Crowley and the MRA, this is not entirely surprising.
Boney, Evola-ites, the Tecos, the Unification Church, the Yakuza --the WACL certainly featured an incredible cast of occultists, secret societies, and cults in its midst. In addition to being the visible face of the Fascist International during the 1970s and 1980s, it may have housed a kind of Black Order within its inner circle as well. Certainly, its affiliates had many curious interests --just consider the
New Age pursuits of the Unification Church, for instance.
And with that, I shall sign off for now dear readers. As always, I hope everyone enjoys the chat and has found this supplemental material to be compelling. Stay tuned until next time.
