BOOKS & IDEAS - A home unlike all others - In the 1970s, cultists dropped out and tuned in to a guru called Father Yod.
Earlier this summer, almost 100 psychedelic music fans, subculture aficionados, students of the occult and local literati climbed the flower-petal-strewn steps of publisher couple Jodi Wille and Adam Parfrey's Silver Lake home for a salon celebrating the upcoming publication of "The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, YaHoWa 13 and the Source Family" (Process), the definitive history of a mystical cult that thrived in Los Angeles between 1970 and 1974. The book's author, Isis Aquarian (formerly Charlene Peters), had flown in from Hawaii, and Family members Omne, Magus, Electra and Orbit, all of whom are now in their 50s and 60s, had also come to share stories.
During a Q&A session, they good-naturedly addressed whether they'd been brainwashed ("Absolutely!" said Orbit, who now goes by David) and answered questions about Dionysm, the form of tantric sex they'd practiced.
"I'm ready to join right now!" announced one attendee, no doubt echoing the sentiments of many who wistfully longed for a time when Utopia was, if not entirely feasible, at least on the agenda.
The Source: A photo caption with an article in Sunday's Arts & Music section about the early 1970s Los Angeles cult the Source misidentified a modern photograph of Isis Aquarian as that of Jodi Wille. Aquarian also appeared in a second photograph, from 1973.
The Source: A caption with an article last Sunday about the early-1970s Los Angeles cult the Source misidentified a modern photograph of Isis Aquarian as Jodi Wille. Aquarian also appeared in a second photograph, from 1973.
The Source: A photo caption with an article in the Aug. 19 Arts & Music section about the early 1970s Los Angeles cult the Source misidentified a modern photograph of Isis Aquarian as that of Jodi Wille. Aquarian also appeared in a second photograph, from 1973.
Notwithstanding the group's visible presence in Hollywood (brothers and sisters could often be seen strolling en masse down Sunset, Atlantean robes and hair a-flowing), extensive media coverage, and the catalog of music they recorded as YaHoWa 13 -- legendary among connoisseurs of psychedelic rock -- the Source story has remained untold for 30 years. This is partly because of a vow of secrecy taken by all members, but more likely it's a reflection of their confusion and even shame about the communal experience, for which American society gave them only one place to file: in the freaky hippie bin.
