The Rocket Scientist Who Tried to Summon Demons
Jack Parsons helped build the foundation of NASA — but he also spent his nights performing strange magic rituals in the California desert.
Jack Parsons was one of the most important rocket scientists in American history. He helped create the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which later became a key part of NASA. But Parsons had a very unusual secret life alongside his rocket research. He practiced ceremonial magic and believed he could summon powerful supernatural beings through rituals.
In the early 1940s, Parsons joined a magical group called the Ordo Templi Orientis, or OTO. The group followed the teachings of a British occultist named Aleister Crowley. Parsons became the leader of the group's California chapter in 1943. He held meetings at his home in Pasadena and truly believed that rituals could bring supernatural forces into the real world.
In 1945, Parsons met science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who moved into his home. Together, they planned a series of magical ceremonies starting in January 1946. Parsons called this effort the 'Babalon Working.' He believed it could summon a powerful feminine force that would protect the world from destruction.
The rituals took the two men into the Mojave Desert on January 18, 1946. Parsons felt something change in the atmosphere and declared the mission a success. Soon after, a woman named Marjorie Cameron appeared at his door. Parsons was convinced she was the supernatural being they had summoned.
Parsons and Cameron began a relationship, and he believed they could bring a 'magical child' into the world — a kind of spiritual messiah. Aleister Crowley, however, was not impressed. He wrote to a friend that he was frustrated by the 'idiocy' of Parsons and Hubbard. Parsons eventually lost his leadership role in the OTO and his partnership with Hubbard ended.
Parsons married Cameron in October 1946 and kept searching for spiritual meaning. His life ended tragically on June 17, 1952, when an explosion destroyed his home laboratory. He was only 37 years old, and the exact cause of the explosion has never been fully explained. Despite his short life, Parsons left behind important contributions to rocket science.
Today, Jack Parsons is remembered as both a rocket pioneer and one of history's most unusual scientists. His early experiments helped launch what would become NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Yet he also spent much of his life exploring the supernatural. His story shows that people can be both brilliant and deeply mysterious at the same time.
Parsons became convinced this was the elemental lover he and Hubbard had worked to conjure, thereby confirming that the Babalon Working had produced its intended result.
Comprehension quiz preview
1. What organization did Jack Parsons help create that later became part of NASA?
2. Who was L. Ron Hubbard before he founded the Church of Scientology?
3. What did Parsons name the series of rituals he performed with Hubbard in 1946?