Francis X. King

For the novelist born in 1923, see Francis King.

Francis X. King (10 January 1934 – 8 November 1994) was a British occult writer and editor who wrote about tarot, divination, witchcraft, magic, sex magic, tantra, and holistic medicine. He was a member of the Society of the Inner Light, an offshoot of the Alpha et Omega, which in turn was an offshoot of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Controversy

King's 1973 publication of The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. infuriated their order head Grady McMurtry, because the fraternity's secrets were being revealed. In an O.T.O newsletter McMurtry stated their policy at the time: "We do not endorse the publication of this material because the so called 9th degree section does not include the paper (titled IX degree Emblems and Modes of Use) which Aleister Crowley handed me at 93 Jermyn St circa 1943-44 e.v. without which the whole thing is nonsense." Francis King is thought to have been given the rest of the rituals (sans the missing one) by Gerald Yorke.

Partial bibliography

• Techniques of High Magic with Stephen Skinner (1976)
• Tantra: A Practical Guide to its Teachings and Techniques
• The Cosmic Influence
• The Magical World of Aleister Crowley (1977)
• Christopher Isherwood
• Ritual Magic in England: 1887 to the Present Day (1970)
• Sexuality, Magic and Perversion (1971)
• The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. (1973)
• Satan and Swastika (1976)
• The Rebirth of Magic (1982)
• Tantra For Westerners: A Practical Guide to the Way of Action (1986)
• The Encyclopedia of Fortune-Telling (1988)
• Tarot (1990)
• Rudolf Steiner and Holistic Medicine (1987)
• Witchcraft and Demonology (1991)
• Mind & Magic - An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Mysterious and Unexplained (1991)
• The Flying Sorcerer: Being the Magical and Aeronautical Adventures of Francis Barrett (1992)
• Nostradamus: Prophecies Fulfilled and Predictions for the Millennium and Beyond by Francis X. King (1993) With Stephen Skinner
• The Complete Fortune-Teller with Paul Cooper (1994)
• Encyclopedia of Mind, Magic, and Mysteries (1995)
• The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Fortune-Telling: Predict the Future and Plan Your Life with This Practical Guide to Techniques (1997)
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fortune-Telling (2001)