Wilfred Talbot Smith Diary Entry

 Saturday, 22 December 1917

10 am. I have just been round to talk to J. [Charles Stansfeld Jones] but he is too busy. In answer to my salutation, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law, he said this has been change to; There is no law beyond do what thou wilt. As the Aeon is now established it is changed from the future tense to the present.

11.13 am. Well things seem to be happening just as they did last year. I met J. in the lavatory and he tells me that he got a lot more through from the magical plane last night. He saw Taylor^[1] again and says he fixed him up and made him a 7th.

He repeats many of the statements he made last year, at the time of the other initiation; such as:—The A∴A∴ being gone for ever and the grade of Magus, and in addition he says, the old Hebraic laws, the Quabalah and the curse of the beginning are wiped out. He does not say what the curse was.

He lays claim to the 11th degree and takes over the whole Order under Parsival instead of Baphomet; also initiation will be comparatively easy, and the law of love will reign. (Nearly all his remarks parallel those he made last year.) Then he suddenly comes out with "I make you a 7th for now and ever" and we shook hands. After some further remarks, which I can't remember, he repeated the above and taking my hands kissed me saying "I bind you with love instead of with an oath." His face showed feeling as on June 21 1916 but not so strongly. He says there is a Supreme Grand Council with Mrs J. [Rubina Stansfeld Jones], Taylor and myself as 7ths. 777 he remarks; (the whole time he is finding symbolism in some name or number, and a small incident becomes full of import at a time like this.)

Further he says; the curse Mrs J. has been under will be lifted. He is most positive of all he says. Every word of the Book of the Law is true, he says, and that he has got the key to it and has sent on the explanation of the passage "This line drawn" etc. to A.C. as a proof.

Being Saturday, we went out to see White [Howard White] in the afternoon. On the way his whole conversation magical, or very nearly; the way he found something symbolical in almost every thing, was quite extraordinary. To mention only one thing. He suddenly remembered that the white pillar of the Lodge was tucked into the black one (they were hollow). This started a whole train of ideas and explanations, most illuminating and comprehensive, to a large extent, even to me. Nothing short of a Dictaphone could possibly record it all and I am indeed sorry that such a poor scribe as myself was the only person to hear him.

We found White in bed and certain he had got consumption and determined to keep it. He was expecting to go to the sanitorium in a week or two. We could him no good his mind was finally made up.

1—[Jones was trying to get Taylor to bring a Vancouver, British Columbia, "Aquarian Movement" under the O.T.O. This came about after Herbert (Harry?) Musclow, the leader of the movement was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for fraud. Mr. Taylor took control of the movement during Mr. Musclow's imprisonment.]

[7]