C.F. Russell


Cecil Frederick Russell was a 20th-century American occultist. Russell was a member of the A∴A∴ and Aleister Crowley's O.T.O. magical order. Russell later founded his own magical order, the G.B.G..

Early life

Russell was born in Greenwood, Mass. on June 9, 1897; His family later moved to Orlando, Florida.
His family stayed in the Massachusetts/New Hampshire area he went to Florida by bicycle to join the navy.
From April 22, 1917 to December 12, 1918, Russell served in the US Navy, where he worked at a hospital attendant at the US Naval Academy Hospital. While serving as a Pharmacist Mate aboard the USS Reina Mercedes, Russell injected himself with cocaine, resulting in a dishonorable discharge from the US Navy.
Russell disputes this in his Autobiography Znuz is Znees 2nd edition Page 157 - he pretended so as to be transferred to the medical facility & was discharged with a medical discharge. The war was over & he wanted to go join Crowley.

Disciple of Crowley

In June 1918, Russell met Crowley in New York and was initiated into the third-degree of Crowley's magical order Ordo Templi Orientis. Russell took the magical name of 'Frater Genesthai'.
From November 1920 to Autumn 1921, Russell lived at Crowley's 'abbey' in Cefalu, Sicily. Crowley's diary records:
C.F.R 's account of the magical working is in P.117-118 in Znuz is Znees volume 2. The details of the working are far more interesting than Crowley's comment below.
Now I'll shave and make up my face like the lowest kind of whore and rub on perfume and go after Genesthai like a drunken two-bit prick-pit in old New Orleans. He disgusts me sexually, as I him, as I suspect…he dirtier my deed, the dearer my darling will hold me; the grosser the act the greedier my arse to engulph him!

Founder of an order

In 1922, Russell founded the Choronzon Club, advertising it as a 'short cut to initiation" in the pages of Occult Digest. In 1931, the group changed its name to G.B.G It was initially structured as a correspondence course. G.B.G was headquartered in Chicago. Russell received half of all initiation fees collected. The fees were used to support the neighborhoods.
Inspired by Ida Craddock, Russell developed his own curriculum of sex magick. In the 1960s, disciple Louis T. Culling published these in two works entitled The Complete Magickal Curriculum of the Secret Order G.'.B.'.G.'. and Sex Magick. The first two degrees, "Alphaism and Dianism", reportedly draw upon Ida Craddock's work Heavenly Bridegrooms Culling writes that Dianism is "sexual congress without bringing it to climax" and that each participant is to regard their partner not as a "known earthly personality" but as a "visible manifestation of one's Holy Guardian Angel.
In San Francisco, Russell was visited by fellow Thelemite Wilfred Talbot Smith, who would later head the O.T.O's California chapter, the Agape Lodge. Many of Russell's followers would later join Smith's organization.
Russell was denounced by OTO leader Crowley, who in a document dated April 15, 1934 described Russell as a "thief, swindler, and blackmailer".
In 1938, the GBG dissolved.
As Genesthai continued separately for the rest of his 90 years of life to teach after establishing nearly 100 members across the United States under the name of the G.'.B.'.G.'.. He mostly taught logic, mathematics, and projective geometry as a more robust way of attaining enlightenment without the tendency to go insane as sex magic tends to do. Volume 3 of Znuz is Znees describes most of his inventions in that area. He even taught Zen Art work with water colors, hand-painting the pages for the members of the time. Except for his last 6 months, he would send out a page of instruction every week.

Later life

In 1944, Russell published Provenance, described as "the only twentieth century occult text to center around the subject of book-collecting".
From 1970–72, Russell published his memoirs entitled "Znuz is Znees: Memoirs of a Magician".
Russell died in 1987.

Selected works

short nameLong NameLink to Fastblogit and contents
BC1Book Chameleon first editionhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3358
BC2Book Chameleon 2nd editionhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3222
BC-3DBarbara Cubedhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3342
TCTropermic Calculushttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3344
GCGrammar of Changeshttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3346
CACombinational Arithmetichttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3347
MECManual Electro-Combinational Engineeringhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3348
AbsoAbso-Ming-Wen-Lutely Absey-Bookehttp://fastblogit.com/thought/18127
BRBook of Radicalshttp://fastblogit.com/thought/18128
RSRime Storehttp://fastblogit.com/thought/18129
RCRough Clothhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/18130
SCSilver Cradlehttp://fastblogit.com/thought/18131
DPDragon Pearlshttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3237
GRGentle Rainhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3244
WRWild Ricehttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3248
JMJade Mirrorhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3262
HRHill Roadhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3265
SPSpring Palacehttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3269
WCWater Chestnutshttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3281
ODOpen Doorhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3283
GTGnaw Throughhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3286
HBHorsebackhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3296
MHMud Huthttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3297
NWNorth Wellhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3304
MVMillet Valleyhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3309
CKCopper Kettlehttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3322
PMPepperminthttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3327
BUBlooming Umbrellahttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3331
PMPhoenix Marrowhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3336
LRLantern Riddleshttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3338
ZZ1Znuz is Znees volume 1 2nd editionhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3369
ZZ2Znuz is Znees volume 2 1st editionhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3370
ZZ3Znuz is Znees volume 3 1st editionhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3371
ZZ4Znuz is Znees volume 4 1st editionhttp://fastblogit.com/thought/3373