About the Author of the Brotherhood of Light Lessons

C. C. Zain is the pen name used by Elbert Benjamine, the noted astrologer, naturalist and occultist, for those writings done under the aegis of The Brotherhood of Light during the years 1914-1951. This body of knowledge has become known as The Brotherhood of Light Lessons.

Elbert Benjamine was one of the most prolific astrological writers of the 20th century. In addition to the twenty-three volumes of the Brotherhood of Light series published under the pen name C. C. Zain, Benjamine also wrote more than fifty books and hundreds of magazine articles. A scholar who mastered every physical science of his time, Benjamine brought the same vigor to his exploration of the metaphysical sciences. The work of C. C. Zain (Elbert Benjamine) has impacted the lives of thousands of students of Western Occultism.

Elbert Benjamine was born Benjamin P. Williams in the small town of Adel, Iowa, December 12, 1882. He was a natural psychic and seer. As a youth his heightened awareness brought him into contact with those who had passed from this plane to the next. In the autumn of 1898, he began his esoteric studies. By 1900 he had contacted The Brotherhood of Light and began serious study of astrology. His father was a doctor and deacon in the Disciples of Christ church in Iowa, where the community strongly disapproved of any interest in astrology and the occult. For this reason, upon moving to Los Angeles, he changed his name to Elbert Benjamine in order to protect his family. In the spring of 1910 he gave his promise to write the Twenty-One Brotherhood of Light Courses covering astrology, alchemy and magic, under the penname of C. C. Zain. From that time until his death in 1951, he devoted his life’s energy and personal resources to writing the lessons, and to establishing The Church of Light as a vehicle for disseminating The Brotherhood of Light teachings and the Religion of the Stars.