"Warning - misuse of the Orgone Accumulator may lead to symptoms of orgone overdose. Leave the vicinity of the accumulator and call the 'Doctor' immediately!"
That would be the controversial Doctor Wilhelm Reich, father of orgone energy (also known as chi or life-energy) and the science of orgonomy. Wilhelm Reich developed a metal-lined device named the Orgone Accumulator, believing that the box trapped orgone energy that he could harness in groundbreaking approaches towards psychiatry, medicine, the social sciences, biology and weather research.
Orgone Energy
Wilhelm Reich's discovery of orgone began with his research of a physical bio-energy basis for Sigmund Freud's theories of neurosis in humans. Wilhelm Reich believed that traumatic experiences blocked the natural flow of life-energy in the body, leading to physical and mental disease. Wilhelm Reich concluded that the libidinal-energy that Freud discussed was the primordial-energy of life itself, connected to more than just sexuality. Orgone was everywhere and Reich measured this energy-in-motion over the surface of the earth. He even determined that its motion affected weather formation.
Orgone Accumulator
In 1940, Wilhelm Reich constructed the first device to accumulate orgone energy: a six-sided box constructed of alternating layers of organic materials (to attract the energy) and metallic materials (to radiate the energy toward the center of the box). Patients would sit inside the accumulator and absorb orgone energy through their skin and lungs. The accumulator had a healthy effect on blood and body tissue by improving the flow of life-energy and by releasing energy-blocks.
The New Cult of Sex and Anarchy
Not everyone liked the theories Wilhelm Reich suggested. Wilhelm Reich's work with cancer patients and the Orgone Accumulators received two very negative press articles. Journalist Mildred Brandy wrote both "The New Cult of Sex and Anarchy" and "The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich". Soon after their publication, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) sent agent Charles Wood to investigate Wilhelm Reich and Reich's research center, Orgonon.
