Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword and Other Essays Oriflamme 1

by John Whiteside Parsons

Written around 1950, these essays are now, decades later, still strikingly prophetic. His introductory essays on magick and witchcraft are classics of lucidity. This volume makes available for the first time all of Parsons’ surviving essays, edited by his wife and student, Cameron, in collaboration with Frater Superior Hymenaeus Beta, the head of the O.T.O.

Genres: Philosophy, Occult, Thelema, Politics, Nonfiction, Essays, Magick

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 1989

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was Parsons nuts? Yes.
Was Parsons a proven genius? Yes.
This book was strange because I took some of it to heart but completely left the rest on the page where it belonged.

[Andrea Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third and final sections were for me the most memorable. I found the feminist nature of the writing to be surprisingly refreshing in its poetic nature. Parsons wrote this book in 1946 before the feminist movement of the 1960's; it was if he was predicting the future. The rise of the woman warrior, her fall and subsequent getting back to her feet. He shows no real agenda or bias in his writing other than his heavy feminist leanings which makes this a great piece of work. And it is an even more interesting read if one knows of Parsons background in work and play.

[Derek Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this essay online since the book is out of print. How such an amazing work could be out of print and unavailable (along with all of Parsons other writings), is beyond me. The man was a genius and hopefully the tv show Strange Angel will help get his written work in published form some day soon.

[Lasa Limpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book and one of the first on the occult that I encountered.

I remember going into an esoteric bookstore and asking for a book on occult magick of some sort, really having no idea what I was talking about. The goth working there sagely, with intimidating hair, immediately walked over and pulled this book out of the shelf with such complete authority that it was like, buy this shit or go away and die. I think after that she pulled out Book Four! Oh guck! I'm wrong, it was Book Four she pulled out! By Crowley, a good but predictable choice! I found this one myself, same day, same store. Never mind.

I love the cover. Gorgeous.

[Al Saqib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when I think I am going mad, completely insane, out of my mind, I always find out about someone who has gone the next step. This is both a thing of relief and sad. Relief because I know I have been vindicated by the thought process I had channeled. Sad because I am not the only one.
However, it is always nice to have a voice that can give company.
Freedom is a two edged sword is a brilliant essay, one I should have picked up a long time ago.
I agree with everything and can already see the extensions for the ideas discussed in it.
The essay came at the right time for me, I am about to make some consequential decisions and this essay gives me confidence to carry them out.

[dr_set · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of essays in defense of liberalism written in the context of McCarthyism in the US.

In them he states that freedom is a two-edged sword of which one edge is liberty and the other, responsibility. He basically makes an argument against the Paradox of Tolerance, taking the maximalist position regarding individual freedoms.

The liberal accepting them must guarantee these rights to all others at all times, regardless of his personal feelings or interests. He must work to establish and protect them, live in a manner commensurate with them and be prepared to defend them with his life. He must refuse allegiance to any state or organization which denies these rights and he should aid and encourage all who, without qualification or equivocation, endorse them. He must refuse to compromise these principles on any issue or for any reason.

Nothing short of such a commitment will assure the survival of liberty, or democracy of society itself. Liberalism is not only a code for individuals and their state, it is the only possible basis for a future international civilization. However, these principles will be only rhetoric unless they are revered and protected by those to whom they apply.
...
It must also be understood that we cannot force man's rights upon him. Man has a right to be a slave if he so desires. If he does not assert and defend his rights he deserves slavery. The person who is tyrannized by his family, his peers, by public opinion or slave morality, providing he is free to leave their influence or to challenge it, is worthy of his condition.

His position seems even more naive in the era of social media than it was after Karl Popper wrote about the dangers of it as shown by the Fascist and Communist movements taking advantage of the freedoms and tolerance grated to them by liberal societies to destroy them from within.

[Stephen Michaels]

"Nothing is of its nature, evil-- and nothing is of its nature, good. Evil is only excess; good is simply balance. All things are subject to abuse and likewise susceptible to beneficial use. Balance does not consist in denial or excess in indulgence. Balance can only be obtained by exceeding. The elemental forces in man's nature are so tremendous that they can only be balanced by an ultimate self-expression. To place limitations and restrictions on this nature is to build a wall of plaster around a sun. If we clip an eagles' wings or feed carrots to a lion we will not uplift or improve either species. The fundamental purpose of religion is to attain an identity with a power which we believe to be greater than ourselves, whose omnipotence and immortality we can share. Having achieved some sense of this identity, we then feel that we can cope with problems and attain ends with more confidence. The reliance on religion as well as the reliance on property can indicate a lack of self-reliance.

We ourselves create this 'God of Power'. It is from our own individual 'self' that his power is drawn and this self is greater than any god which it creates. Therefore to know ourselves is the highest form of wisdom and to believe in ourselves is the highest form of faith. Science which seeks to know and art which seeks to interpret are two forms of love which constitute the only availing way of worship. That these two greatest expressions of the human spirit should be subservient to religion, politics, nationalism and war is the ultimate blasphemy."

dualism in political philosophy + babylon's call

[yo JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shledávám ironickým poslouchat traktáty a postoje o rovnosti a liberalismu od inženýra, který tunil pohon pro rakety později využíváné armádou a jeho týmu a experimentům se přezdívalo "suicide squad" (odsud konečně narážím i na jméno Fraank Malina - ocení cimrmanologové). Netvrdím, že fundamentálně nesouhlasím s postoji, které Parsons zastával, na 1940s progresivní, pro-feministické, pro-sexuální (člen Thelémy, sexuální magie se pro něj nacházela ve stejné sféře jako vývoj raket, kterými chtěl povýšit lidstvo na další level, v době, kdy se vnímalo tohle jen jako "science fiction", snaha o fyzickou manifestaci Babalon - symbolizující osvobozenou sexualitu a duchovní transformaci), anti-autoritativní postoje, kritika prakticky jakýchkoliv socio-struktur určených k roztržení individualismu, ale definitivně často taky zní hodně jako klasický "argument druhé strany", která má "tunnel vision" jen pro svoje postoje a žádné jiné nejsou správnější. Vyzdvihování osobní svobody, původních pramenů (např. Ježíš) vs. opresivního organizovaného náboženství (struktur). Zemřel ve věku 37 let během exploze v laboratoři. Vyšetřován FBI pro podezření ze špionáže a spojení s radikálním okultismem. Wild life. 7/10

[Adonay Quetzal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. It’s so funny that people have painted Parsons as some sort of Libertarian (re: Tea Party) type of political occultist when much of this book would lean much more towards Socialism. Yet even trying to put him in such a box itself doesn’t work. His ideas expressed here are incredibly nuanced and complex, I think it’s best to go into this book with no expectations and just let the man speak for himself. His concepts of The Witchcult and how Babalon and Thelema would lead into this more Nature oriented paganism parallels well with what Gardner and Valiente were going for and si even if Ceremonial Magick or Rocket Science aren’t your bag, I think there is lots to gleam from this short little collection.

Do yourself a favor though, if you can find his essays online, do so cause the price(s) that this collection can go for will definitely stand in the way of lots of folks getting this valuable insight.

[Alienne Laval]

An anarchist utopia, elitist, truly republican.

One should read it together with Liber 49, "Babalon Working". Was the "channeled" "penelous flame" just only a grammatical mistake, to be corrected in "Freedom is a Two Edged Sword"?

[American Partners · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting, very progressive and in many ways prescient essay given the context in which it was written: 1940s America.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this writing is its definition of "liberal" and how starkly it conflicts with our use of the word today.

[Atom Murata · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating foray into the occult, surprisingly progressive as other readers note. Jack Parsons is a truly singular character, and his story is worth delving into.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this through Scribd, as an eBook. Scribd has now become a pay service for certain titles, but I think I was able to finish it because I started it before the change-over. Physical copies are a bit pricey at the moment, so I opted for the eBook. Anyway, this is a great treatise on liberal philosophy, written in the 1950s. I suspect Parsons would be shocked to see how many freedoms have eroded since that time. Maybe not, though, as he seemed to have a good handle on how the government and the press were colluding, even then. It's nice-n-short, too, coming in at 30-odd pages.

[Cornissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Parsons was a rocket scientist, an occultist and a member of Crowley's magical order. His eloquent writings on the human condition convey passion, intelligence and deep conviction. "Freedom Is A Two-Edged Sword of which one edge is liberty and the other responsibility, on which both edges are exceedingly sharp".

Something are worth to fight and die for. True freedom lies in our divine will. We must excercise this and these are the key to win this fight.

[Alex Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. A quick and easy read. I read this after hearing Robert Anton Wilson talking about it and singing its praises. Didn’t offer anything that new to me but I agree with pretty much most of it.