Marc Edmund Jones

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Marc Edmund Jones

Marc Edmund Jones was an American astrologer, screenwriter, Presbyterian minister, Theosophist, and lecturer. He has been called "the dean of American astrology." He founded the Sabian Assembly in 1923, and made major contributions to the advancement of astrology through the Sabian Symbols and a system of planetary patterns relating to temperament types.

Personal life

Marc Edmund Jones was born in St. Louis on October 1, 1888. His parents were Edmund H. Jones, a dealer in building materials, and Anna Louise Holmes Jones. The family moved to Chicago, where Marc's sister Helen was born in 1897. After his schooling, Marc worked as a stenographer at the Pullman Company.[1] By 1913 he was working as a writer in the new silent film industry, and lived in New York and in California, where the production companies were based. He was called up to military duty during World War I, and after a few months in the Army was honorably discharged on November 23, 1918.[2] Around 1923 he married Priscilla Kennedy.

Marc Jones was energetic and entrepreneurial. He submitted scenarios (scripts) to film producers, and was very active as a lecturer. During the 1940s he and Priscilla lived in Manhattan, and then around 1952 settled in the Seattle area.

Priscilla Jones died on February 18, 1976 in Snohomish, Washington.[3] Dr. Jones died on March 5, 1980 at Sedro-Wooley, Washington, at the age of 91.[4].

He left a great legacy in his writings and students. These are the closing lines of his healing ritual:

May the temple of your living flesh
Be worthy of your high desire;
May your worldly place in daily life
Bring recompense in rich degree;
May your happiness and state of heart
Endear you everywhere you go;
And may the spirit stirring deep within
Be ever conscious in your thoughts!

Marc Edmund Jones

Screenwriting career

Jones worked in the early days of filmmaking as a prolific and highly regarded screenwriter, or "photoplaywright," described as "one of the cleverest scenario writers and movie picture experts in the country."[5] He wrote original stories and adapted novels into "scenarios" for silent films. During the silent film era, writers were present during production of the film, because the process was very improvisational. When writing episodes of the Runaway Jane series, Jones was with the Reliance production company as they traveled from their base in New York to Bermuda:

Marc Edmund Jones will work into his scenarios every interesting feature of the island and diving and submarine scenes will also be completed before the Runaways run back to New York.[6]

He was honored by his peers at a banquet of the New Orleans Inquest Club in 1913:

Mr. Jones is one of the best-known photoplaywrights in the country, and is the author of many screen successes. He will remain in the city until the month of March, and it is the intention of the local writers to extend him a hearty welcome. The banquet, which promises to be a swell affair, will be given at Fabacher's Rathskeller.[7]

In 1914 he worked with Russell D. Smith, Hattie Gray Baker, and other writers of the Mutual Film Corporation to establish the Photoplay Authors' League, a organization that lobbied on behalf of its members at a time when films were not protected by the First Amendment in the United States.[8] By 1919 was also a member of the Green Room Club, Playwright's Club, Authors' League, and Photodramatists' Club.[9]

These are some of the films he wrote:

  • In the Firelight, 1914 - in a series of 6 fhort films directed by Thomas Ricketts.
  • In the Moonlight, 1914 - in a series of 6 fhort films directed by Thomas Ricketts.
  • In the Daylight, 1914 - in a series of 6 fhort films directed by Thomas Ricketts.
  • In the Candle Light, 1914 - in a series of 6 fhort films directed by Thomas Ricketts. Two reels.
  • Out of the Haunted Past, 1914 - #44 in the Our Mutual Girl series of one-reel films.
  • The Town of Nazareth, 1914 - directed by Thomas Ricketts.
  • In the Twilight, 1915 - in the "Flying A" series of 6 films directed by Thomas Ricketts. Two reels.
  • The Cowardly Way, 1915 - on suicide.
  • Fate and the Fugitive, 1915 - a man is falsely accused for the crimes of a double.
  • Runaway June, 1915 - Jones adapted a screenplay from a George Randolph Chester novel. The film was presented as 15 short weekly episodes.
  • Tears and Smiles, 1917.
  • Loyalty of a Race, 1918 - 4-reel film commissioned by the National Colored Soldiers' Comfort Committee, and performed by "colored" actors in 150 scenes.
  • Skin Deep, 1922 - produced by Thomas H. Ince, was based on Jones' novel "Lucky Damage."

Christian ministry

Astrological work

Theosophical Society involvement

Jones was admitted as a member of the Theosophical Society on January 13, 1941. He joined in his home town of St. Louis, where the lodge was for a few years affiliated directly with the international headquarters rather than with the Theosophical Society in America. The President of the St. Louis Lodge was the industrialist Charles Luntz, who was an excellent teacher of astrology and editor of a Theosphical magazine called Ancient Wisdom. Later Jones was active with TSA lodges in Columbus, Ohio and Seattle, Washington, and he remained a member until his death in 1980. His wife, Priscilla, was also a member from June 30, 1951 until her death in 1976.

Dr. Jones was much in demand as a lecturer in Theosophical lodges all over the United States, especially from 1948-1959. He spoke in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, Miami, Washington, San Antonio, Wilmington, and many other cities. He conducted a workshop at Camp Indralaya, a Theosophical retreat center near Seattle. In 1976, at the age of 88, he lectured at the Society's national headquarters in Wheaton, Illinois. The topics of his lodge lectures were usually related to Theosophy, astrology, religion, history, and culture. Some of the titles are:

  • "Theosophical Perspectives on Astrology"
  • "Unrealized Christian Factors in Theosophy"
  • "The Meaning of Eastern Teachings in the Western World Today"
  • "The Crazy Quilt of History and Some Answers Theosophy Provides"
  • "The Mother Principle of God"
  • "Theosophy and the Feminization of Our Culture"
  • "The New Look in Mundane Astrology"
  • "The Cabala and Today's Crisis"
  • "The Astrology of Initiation"

One of Jones' final books, How To Live With The Stars, was published by the Theosophical Publishing House in 1975.

Book cover
Book cover

Writings

The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists eleven articles about Jones. Most are book reviews.

Jones wrote at least 20 books, listed here in alphabetical sequence:

  • Astrology: How & Why It Works. Philadelphia: David McKay Co., 1945.
  • The Counseling Manual In Astrology.
  • Essentials Of Astrological Analysis.
  • Fundamentals Of Number Significance.
  • Gandhi Lives. Philadelphia: David Mackay Co., 1948/??
  • George Sylvester Morris: Philosophical Career & Theistic Idealism. Philadelphia: David Mackay Co.,
  • The Guide To Horoscope Interpretation. Philadelphia: David McKay Co., 1941. Quest Books released a miniature version in 1975.
  • Horary Astrology.
  • How To Learn Astrology. Philadelphia: David McKay Co., 1941.
  • How To Live With The Stars. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1975.
  • Man, Magic And Fantasy.
  • The Marc Edmund Jones 500.
  • Mundane Perspectives In Astrology.
  • Occult Philosophy.
  • Patterns Of Consciousness: The Ibn Gabirol Squares,
  • The Sabian Book Of Letters To Aspirants.
  • The Sabian Manual: A Ritual For Living.
  • The Sabian Symbols In Astrology. New York: Sabian Publishing Society, 1953.
  • Scope Of Astrological Prediction.
  • Ten Words Of Power.

Additional resources

Books

  • Carnarius, Stanley. Marc Edmund Jones: Perspectives & Selections. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1984.
  • Carnarius, Stanley. Marc Edmund Jones: A Biography. Infinity Publishing, 2014.
  • Holden, James H., and Robert A. Hughes. Astrological Pioneers of America. Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, 1988.
  • Mather, Jonas R. The Sabian Way: A Compilation of the Philosophy of Dr. Marc Edmund Jones. Levittown, Pennsylvania, 1993.

Audio

Websites

Notes

  1. ↑ 1910 U. S. Census.
  2. ↑ New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919.
  3. ↑ Washington, U.S., Death Index, 1940-2017.
  4. ↑ Washington, U.S., Death Index, 1940-2017
  5. ↑ "To Write Scenario" Washington Bee (January 12, 1918), 1.
  6. ↑ "'Runaway June' runs to balmy Bermuda" Bridgeton Evening News (Feburary 9, 1915), 5.
  7. ↑ "Banquet to Mr. Jones" Times Picayune (September 25, 1913), 4.
  8. ↑ "News of Photoplays and Photoplayers" Daily Telegram (April 8, 1914), 8.
  9. ↑ "Writers and Directors." Motion Picture Studio Directory, 1919. Page 228.
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