Description

by J. Edward Cornelius

“The old Grady died on the frontiers of the Abyss. Was Grady ever fully sane again? Absolutely not. What was left in its wake was burnt ash—a crazed, bearded old man with a hearty laugh and lots of stories. But, then again, the sages have long said that the madness of a Fool moves Universes…”

Originally released as two volumes of RED FLAME, A Thelemic Research Journal titled In the Name of the Beast, A Biography of Grady Louis McMurtry, Disciple of Aleister Edward Crowley (2005) and long out-of-print, this newly revised biography of Grady is now in one volume.

“93 The new volume goes far more in-depth into my taking Eighth Degree OTO and the oath of the Abyss than what is found in … ‘In The Name of the Beast.’   93 93/93” –J. Edward Cornelius

Besides being a complicated man, Grady McMurtry was a magician. Magick and Oaths defined who he was. This biography not only tells priceless stories about Grady’s travels amongst Thelemites from the early thirties to the mid-eighties but it also gives us a rare glimpse into the magickal mind of a practicing ceremonial magician.

Paperback, 507 pages.

PLEASE NOTE: This title counts as 2* books for shipping purposes.

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A great, recent review from Velatus Mystēs on Substack. Here’s the first paragraph (of five):

Reading the first fifty pages of The Man, the Myth, the Legend by J. Cornelius has stirred something profound in me. From the very opening, I felt pulled into a narrative that transcends biography, moving instead into the realm of initiation where the process of recounting a life becomes a kind of ceremony in itself. Cornelius approaches Grady Louis McMurtry not only as a figure of historical significance but as a symbol of resilience and continuity within the Thelemic current. His words breathe life into a man who might otherwise appear in the margins of occult history, transforming him into a living archetype of will, struggle, and persistence through dark nights of both spirit and circumstance. …

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I must issue a public apology to David Allen Hulse—and a retraction.

In the new, one-volume version of J. Edward Cornelius’ biography of Grady Louis McMurtry, Jerry relates a colorful story supposedly supplied by Hulse—but it’s not so! Jerry’s diary reveals that he asked Hulse if he was the author and *Hulse said no*. Oops! I was involved in the editing and never checked the attribution’s accuracy.

The rollicking story, received in 1981, regales such characters as the “irascible” Grady himself, Bill Heidrick, “hillbilly templars” Don and Jane Correll. The real, unknown author was associated with the Sacramento OTO (which Hulse was not!) and, “at age 12[,] … lived at 418 Broadway in Redondo Beach Ca.”

Here’s a snippet:

“That was Grady’s life there at the end: the boredom of Berkeley relieved periodically by great initiatory adventures. Back and forth and up and down California and the USA did Grady initiating a go. Did he not wear the ring of Ankh-af-na-Khonsu? I will tell you one thing: if you are an old Berkeley hippy turned Caliph in an order of misfits that last thing you will get is respect. Everybody loved Grady, every Camp, Chapter, and Lodge. To have Grady visit was a call for celebration. Set up the tent. Spread the cushions around it. Buy a keg. Call up the scarlet women. Restock the sinsemilla and the LSD. Score the coke or the crank. It is initiation time!”

(The story spans pages 449 and 454 of the new Grady Louis McMurty: The Man, the Myth, and the Legend; it does not occur in In the Name of the Beast Vol. 2, Red Flame No. 13)

David Allen Hulse is author of such acclaimed books as The Western Mysteries: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Sacred Languages & Magickal Systems of the World (The Key of It All, Book 2) and New Dimensions for the Cube of Space. He is also the creator, with illustrator Nil Orange, of the Pontifex Tarot Decks (Meditation and Divinatory editions), combining esoteric French symbolism with Golden Dawn wisdom and just released on Summer Solstice 2023.

Again, David, my apologies. When next we print the Grady bio, we will remove your name from this story.