Brother XII

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Brother XII (Edward Arthur Wilson) was a notorious prophet, mystic and confidence man who founded a spiritual community in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1920s and eventually swindled his followers of their money. The headquarters of the colony was near Canada's Nanaimo region. Born in Birmingham, England, in 1878, Wilson attracted a devoted following of wealthy, socially prominent followers.

In 1927 in Cedar, British Columbia, Brother XII established an organization called the Aquarian Foundation, which owed its origins to the teachings of the Theosophical Society. Brother XII published books, solicited funds and encouraged the society's members to build homes at the colony headquarters. With the goal of being a self-sufficient community separate from the outside world, the Foundation acquired additional property on nearby Valdes and De Courcy Islands through the donation of a wealthy socialite from Asheville, North Carolina.

Claiming to be the reincarnation of the Egyptian god Osiris, Brother XII took command of the colony and its funds. His mistress Madame Z (maiden name Mabel Rowbotham/married name Mabel Skottowe) became a brutal overseer who worked the members unceasingly, the tasks given being considered tests of their fitness to advance spiritually. As time passed, Brother XII became increasingly dictatorial and paranoid, fortifying his island kingdom, accumulating a fortune in gold, and acting unilaterally without the consent of the original Foundation Governors. As conditions at the colony deteriorated and it assumed the worst aspects of a cult, the disciples eventually revolted. In a rage, Brother XII destroyed the colony, smashing its buildings and farm equipment and scuttling his flagship, the Lady Royal.

Brother XII and Madame Z escaped in a powerful tugboat, failing to appear in court to answer the charges of their disillusioned former disciples. Brother XII is alleged to have died in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1934, but may have faked his own death. He remains one of the most intriguing and mysterious occult figures of the last century.