George King (23 January 1919,

Wellington, Shropshire Wellington is a market town and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated northwest of Telford and east of Shrewsbury, near the western terminus of the M54 motorway. The summit of The Wrekin lie ...

– 12 July 1997,

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

) was a British author, esotericist, and spiritual figure who founded the

Aetherius Society The Aetherius Society is a new religious movement founded by George King in the mid-1950s, also in the " Marburg Journal of Religion"link to the article/ref> as the result of what King claimed were contacts with extraterrestrial intelligences, w ...

, a

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

, during the mid-1950s.

Biography

George King was born on 23 January 1919, in

, England and brought up in a protestant family with strong occult interests.Isaksson, Stefan (2000). "The Aetherius Society". I
''New religious UFO movements: extraterrestrial salvation in contemporary America''
His father (also called George King) was a school teacher and mother Mary a nurse and later small business owner. The family relocated on several occasions as his father sought better appointments, settling for a period in North Yorkshire. King was educated at Guisborough Grammar School. In 1937 King at the age of 18 left the family home and moved to London. Led by his belief in

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

he became a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, serving in the

Auxiliary Fire Service The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...

. Later he worked as a chauffeur and security officer. As a youth and young man King studied

theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritual new religious movementSources for 'new religious movement': which was founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensibl ...

rosicrucianism Rosicrucianism () is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new esoteric order. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose ...

and

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. In 1954, he claimed that a voice told him "Prepare yourself! You are to become the voice of Interplanetary Parliament". Afterwards in 1955, he founded the

and published the book ''Contact Your Higher Self Through Yoga''. In 1959 he was interviewed on BBC television about his beliefs and experiences. George King died in

, on 12 July 1997, at the age of 78, according to the Aetherius Society. However, his death was not reported in major newspapers.

Titles

The Aetherius Society usually refers to King as "Dr. George King". The society does not, however, document where King received his doctorate. Barrett states that King received his doctorate from the "International Theological Seminary of California, a degree mill with no accreditation". King is also referred to as Metropolitan Archbishop of the Aetherius Churches. His consecration as a bishop was from the

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

-related

Liberal Catholic Church The names Liberal Catholic Church (LCC) and Liberal Catholic movement are used by a number of separate Independent Catholic denominations throughout the world descending from James I. Wedgwood, which combine Catholic sacramental practices with ...

. King is also "referred to y the societyas an author, inventor, metaphysician, occultist, prophet, psychic, spiritual healer, spiritual leader, teacher, yogi and Aquarian master". He was also lavished with innumerable titles, degrees, and honors from unorthodox sources., also in the "

Marburg Journal of Religion The ''Marburg Journal of Religion'' is a peer-reviewed online academic journal that publishes articles on empirical and theoretical studies of religion. The first issue was published in April 1996. The original concept was developed by Michael Py ...

"
link to the article
/ref>< According to the society, the various honors were all given to King as a "token offer of gratitude" for his work. Michael Rothstein observes that all of this hagiographical material is primarily aimed at believers who have special, 'esoteric' knowledge about King, whereas the society's communications during publicity campaigns are angled differently. Barrett notes that amongst King's titles are listed a Knighthood in the Sovereign Military Orthodox Dynastic Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George, which was from a branch of the Byzantine Royal House in exile, and was not recognized by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in England, as the title "Sir" might imply. King received other chivalric titles and various degrees. Barrett states that neither the chivalric titles nor the degrees were recognized by any mainstream bodies.Barrett, David V. (2001) p119 According to one source, King used as a formal title "

His Eminence His Eminence (abbreviation H.Em. or HE) is a style (manner of address), style of reference for high nobility, still in use in various religious contexts. Catholicism The style remains in use as the official style or standard form of address in ...

Sir George King, O.S.P., Ph.D., Th.D., D.D., Metropolitan Archbishop of the Aetherius Churches." The knighthood is not British but from "an unspecified foreign source". American radio personality

Long John Nebel Long John Nebel (born John Zimmerman; June 11, 1911 – April 10, 1978) was an influential New York City talk radio show host. From the mid-1950s until his death in 1978, Nebel was a hugely popular all-night radio host, with millions of regular ...

had King as a guest on his show and later wrote: " 'George King of England' – is what he calls himself, and you can't be sure whether he's pausing after 'George,' or after 'King,' but it doesn't really matter because after about three minutes you get the idea strong and clear." In 1991 King was "presented Letters Patent of Armorial Bearings also known as a Grant of Arms, by Bluemantle Pursuivant, a Herald of Her Majesty's College of Arms in England." A Grant of Arms is applied for; anyone can receive a

Grant of Arms A grant of arms or a governmental issuance of arms is an instrument issued by a lawful authority, such as an officer of arms or State Herald, which confers on a person and his or her descendants the right to bear a particular coat of arms or a ...

, if they can satisfy one of several requirements, but King could not and his grant was annulled the following year. According to skeptic

James Randi James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.#Rodrigues, Rodrig ...

, George King's titles of 'Reverend', 'Doctor' and 'Sir' are unverified.

Reception and criticism

King has been described as a

mystagogue A mystagogue (from ) is a person who initiates others into mystic beliefs, and an educator or person who has knowledge of the sacred mysteries of a belief system. Another word for mystagogue is hierophant. Origins In ancient mystery religions, a ...

and a religious virtuoso in the manner he formed and led the development of the Aetherius Society as a 'magico-religious' organisation. His claims have been denounced as

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

by some skeptics.

Publications

Selected writings: *1955. ''Contact Your Higher Self Through Yoga''. Los Angeles: Aetherius Society. *1958. ''Life on the Planets''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1961. ''You Are Responsible!''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1962. ''The Twelve Blessings''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1963. ''The Nine Freedoms''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1964a. ''The Flying Saucers: A Report on the Flying Saucers, Their Crews and Their Mission to Earth''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1964b. ''Contact Your Higher Self Through Yoga''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1966. ''A Book of Sacred Prayers''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. * 1975. ''The Five Temples of God''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1979. ''Operation Sunbeam: God's Magic in Action''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. irst published in 1958.*1982. ''Operation Space Magic: The Cosmic Connection''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1987. ''Operation Space Power: The Solution of the Spiritual Energy Crisis''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1988. ''Life on the Planets''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. irst published in 1958.*1989. ''Contact with a Lord of Karma''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *n.d. ''The Practices of Aetherius''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society. *1996. With Richard Lawrence. ''Contacts with the Gods From Space: Pathway to the New Millennium''. Hollywood, CA: Aetherius Society.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
maintained by the

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, George 1919 births 1997 deaths People from Wellington, Shropshire English religious writers 20th-century English male writers British emigrants to the United States Founders of new religious movements Contactees Converts to new religious movements from Christianity English religious leaders