Master of the Mysteries. Louis Sahagun

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      Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall © 2008, 2016 Louis Sahagun

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      The author gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint excerpted materials and images courtesy of the following individuals and organizations:

      Cover image and pages 57 and 186: William Mortensen Archives, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona

      Page vii, 24-25: University of Southern California. Libraries, California Historical Society

      Pages xii, 14, 19, 22-23, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 42, 43, 44, 58, 61, 65, 66, 67, 72-73, 76, 79, 86, 95, 103, 106, 107, 110, 111, 124, 150, 182, 211, 215-215, 218, 240, 265, 270, 288, 304, 309, 330, 335, 346, 348: Manly P. Hall Archives, Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, CA

      Pages 40-41: Donald W. Lloyd

      Pages 48, 229: Excerpted from the book The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic, and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy by Manly P. Hall, Philosophical Research Society

      Page 82: Jo Ann O’Connor

      Page 138: From the book Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons by John Carter, Feral House

      Page 143, 144, 149, 156, 163, 169, 173, 174, 175: Dan York

      Page 200: Manly P. Hall Collection, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA (86-B13321)

      Page 204: Photo by Michael Copner

      Page 207: Manly P. Hall Collection, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA (1378-183)

      Page 220: Warner Bros. Records Inc., Los Angeles, CA

      Page 234: Drawn by Andreus Magnus Hunglinger and engraved by Carl Ponheimer. 1787

      Page 235: Wellcome Library, London

      Page 250, 252: Taken from the Process Media book The Source. Credit: Isis Aquarian

      Page 256: Manly P. Hall Collection, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA (1378-183)

      Page 335: Fred Cole

      Design by Lissi Erwin / Splendid Corp.

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      ISBN: 978-1-934170-66-3

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      DEDICATION

      To Kris and Sophia, it’s all for you.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Writing this book has been a long and rewarding journey, one I could not have made without the help of many, many generous and thoughtful people. I am deeply grateful to Obadiah Harris, president of the Philosophical Research Society, who saw merit in this project and permitted me to quote from unpublished letters, notes and business materials, and to PRS researchers Maja D’Aoust and Paul Austad, who were unfailingly helpful guides in sorting through mountains of books, pamphlets and vital documents so that I could tell Manly P. Hall’s story.

      I remain indebted to my cherished friend Steve Droullard, a constant source of sage advice.

      I also owe thanks to renowned scholars J. Gordon Melton, Huston Smith and Rex Hutchens for their wise counsel, which made this project possible for a first-time author.

      Innumerable people offered invaluable insights into the complexities and nuances of Manly P. Hall’s life and work, sharing their knowledge and trusting me to present it accurately. Foremost among them are Jo Ann O’Connor, Hall’s stepdaughter, and the late Marie Hall, who were courteous and patient in the course of my conversations with them.

      I could not have written this book without the contributions of Pam Atkinson, Ann Badger, Linda Lee Beighle, Michael and Doreen Benner, Irene Bird, Phil Boroff, Mogens Brandt, Fred Cole, Michael Copner, Karen Cristino, Alice DeCameron, Priscilla Dewey, Adrienne Drake, Robert Elwood, Larry Geller, Robert Gerard, Bennet Bruce Gilbert, Dorothy Ives, Ron Hogart, Ann Holiday, Jay Kenny, Georgia Lambert, Hedda Lark, Larry Lytle, Elayne Manago, Michael Marsellos, James McCann, Michael Mirdad, John Pillsbury, Sterling Pollack, James Santucci, Stephen A. Schwartz, Nora loboda, Brad Stewart, Walter Stewart, Paul Sweeney, Susan Tonini, Charles Weber, Roger Weir, Clarita Woolridge and Dan York.

      I also owe thanks to my editor, Jodi Wille, who vastly improved the manuscript with her searching questions and expert revisions, and to Adam Parfrey, for taking a chance.

      And finally, I owe a special thanks to two remarkable men who inspired my work in many ways and gave my life deeper meaning, Col. Clarke Johnston and John Heston.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: City of Angels

CHAPTER 2: The Big Book

      CHAPTER 3: Signs and Symbols of War

      CHAPTER 4: Marie

      CHAPTER 5: Mystics in Love

      CHAPTER 6: Marie vs. the FBI

      CHAPTER 7: Good Vibrations

      CHAPTER 8: The Great Lost Society

      CHAPTER 9: On Fairies, Sex Magic, and Stuffed Potatoes

      CHAPTER 10: Metaphysical Turbulence

      CHAPTER 11: Heidi

      CHAPTER 12: Hanging Out With the Halls

      CHAPTER 13: “Dr. Fritz”

      CHAPTER 14: The Maestro’s Transition

      Epilogue

      Endnotes

       PREFACE

      to the EXPANDED EDITION

      THE ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE TO THE FIRST EDITION OF MASTER OF THE MYSTERIES: THE LIFE OF MANLY PALMER HALL LED ME TO EXPAND THE BOOK YOU ARE HOLDING IN YOUR HANDS. INTRIGUED, MANLY P. HALL AFICIONADOS WROTE ASKING FOR MORE, AND MANY OFFERED LEADS ON NEW SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

      After reading the first edition, some sources were no longer reticent to discuss their experiences, allowing me to fill critical omissions with their surprisingly candid details about quirky habits and intimate moments at home.

      This edition contains five new chapters including one based on the previously unpublished love letters between Hall and the woman who would become his second wife, Marie Bauer. Dan York, a movie producer and friend of the Halls in the 1980s, preserved the letters, which he obtained from Marie before she passed away.

      In addition to sharing the letters, York also provided his own unpublished memoir of an emotionally stormy winter afternoon spent with the Hall family in 1983. It offers the first portrait of these married mystics and their intense, often