Monday, August 26, 2019

Slut Shaming, Slander, Lies, Deceit, and the Whisper Campaigns of the OTO

While I am confident this post will likely end any potential future I may have had in the OTO, at this point, I'm ok with that. IMHO, anyone with a conscience, any understanding of fraternity, authenticity, or anyone who took any of their oaths seriously cannot look themselves in the mirror and say they are doing anything good, right, or decent supporting the status quo within the OTO. 

I know many people within the Order are doing their will, staying within, and doing the things that they feel need to be done to shift ignorance, intolerance, and blatant hypocrisy as they Will. I am proud of them. You have a lever. It is your voice. Use it, in the ways you see fit, to fulfill your obligations, to be the fellow soldier.

I was suspended from the OTO for treason. "Perfidy" was the word they used, but it's basically treason. Because I publicly attacked a decision made by a governmental body within the OTO, and made some "vague threats." (I said They. Will. Pay. in a comment on FB, indicating this shit will not stand, and there will be ramifications, such as this post.)

I love many members of the Electoral College (EC), and would never harm them. I have super strong ties to the things I said in dark rooms. I actually meant them. I really believe people are doing their best, but shit man.

There's some bullshit going on.

Within 48 hours of standing up against what I considered an ignorant and uninformed decision made by the EC, I was told slanderous things by one of my oldest friends about the "situation" in William Blake Lodge (WBL). A dear friend and muse and inspiration was accused of using WBL as a "hunting ground," and the body master "covered for her" because within their poly relationships, the body master's primary partner was necessary to "pay the bills." No evidence, no proof, nothing but judgmental accusations and justifications. And it was false.

Slut shaming? In a sex-positive solar phallic sex cult?

I was told things happened at the ritual that resulted in the EC's decision that were false, and when I asked the accuser to verify the accusations, I was rebuked for talking about things that were spoken of between us with people involved in the actual situation. Silence. Secrets. Darkness.

Meanwhile, none of this was mentioned in any of the proceedings.

Shadow network. Whisper campaigns. Lies, and fucking motherfucking slander.

I let my sister know she was being slandered. I let her know who was slandering her. Like in the agreement we made, you shit heel motherfuckers playing bullshit games in the darkness. Lovers, Hermits, you took the MOE oaths, and you aren't holding to them. You are fucking failing the camp.

So now it's gender shit. People are slandering my sibling Richard Davis, to the point they've had to make the post below in their defense.

It's like there's a vendetta against WBL at this point.

Consider this. People are talking shit behind their back. Accusations without merit. Whispers in the darkness.

Oathbreaking oathbreakers break oaths.

That's not hyperbole, or sensationalism. That's what we do to one another. Yea, I get we're all works in progress.

But we can fucking do better.

Or ... not. It's honestly and sincerely up to you, and the choices you make.

Here's the post Richard Davis made to defend himself from the lies and slander that are being spread about him.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
I've been seeing some misinformation shared, that for the past 2 years, I knowingly was "violating" E.G.C. policy, and breaking the rules by serving in public Masses as a Priestess.
That is false.
When I was ordained a Deacon, I explained to my Bishop I am Angrogyne (a non-binary identity, not exclusively male or female, but equally both male and female).
Like anyone else, it was my Will to next pursue ordination as a Novice to the Priesthood.
I was instructed to study the 2004 E.G.C. Manual which states:
"(vii) The role of Priest shall be filled by a man, and the role of Priestess shall be filled by a woman. For purposes of this document, transgendered and partially transgendered individuals shall be considered to be of the gender with which they most closely identify." - p.12, EGC Manual, Aug. 15, 2004 e.v.
I do not have a "gender with which I most closely identify" ... my gender is equally both. I wanted to serve as both, but that option was not available to me.
I was aware that there were already other non-binary clergy pursuing ordination as Priests, so I asked my Bishop's permission to pursue ordination as a Priestess. This meant I could only serve in public Masses as a Priestess, but could still serve in equally recognized private Masses as a Priest. So my Will found a way, and the E.G.C. policy allowed for it.
I have been very open, transparent, and proud about this since the time I was given permission to do it. I have not hidden it from anyone, and I have not violated any policies. So I'd like to ask that people just now learning about my service, please stop accusing me of that.
It was no secret to the U.S. Grand Lodge E.G.C. Secretary, who has served in a public Mass as a Priest with me as a Priestess, so I can assure you there is no dishonesty, deception, or confusion about the reporting of Masses I've served in.
It was no secret to several S.G.I.G.s/Bishops when we openly discussed my service as a novice Priestess at the Advanced Initiation Training (A.I.T.) I attended in December 2018.
It was no secret at NOTOCON when my E.G.C. service as a novice Priestess was openly discussed, sitting right next to Sabazius, as a panelist on the O.T.O. Diversity and Inclusion Panel.
I have nothing to hide, I am proud of my E.G.C. service, and will continue to abide by the E.G.C. policies, under the direction of my Bishop, and with the permission of the Primate, no matter how the policies may change when the new E.G.C. Manual is released.
Apparently we are to believe, by some, that Masses like the ones I serve in need to be "hidden" and are only ok if done behind closed doors for "initiates only," where they are still recorded and equally recognized as official celebrations of Liber XV by the E.G.C., just not suitable for the public.
Regardless of what decisions are made when the new E.G.C. Manual is released to clarify the new powers of the Deacon-Sacerdote office as an equal officer within the Priesthood, I just wanted to clear my name, and the names of my non-binary, gender-fluid, gender non-conforming, and androgyne Siblings, who are now being accused of "knowingly violating a policy that flies in the face of common sense," when in reality, we were all just told to "pick one and stick with it," and that is what we did.
You can't go back and say "nothing has changed, they were all just knowingly breaking the policy by not using common sense." That is not fair to any of us who were adhering to the policies of the O.T.O./E.G.C. as we had been told we could.
Thank you again for your love, support, and consideration of the points above.
I do not wish to fuel any fires or debates with this post, just to clear up some misinformation that I'd seen going around lately about Novice clergy like myself.
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there. 💖
Love is the law, love under will.
Sib. AYIN ×¢ / R.A.D.

Friday, February 15, 2019

A Pseudo-Review of Keith Readdy's One Truth and One Spirit

Keith Readdy has recently published One Truth and One Spirit, subtitled "Aleister Crowley's Spiritual Legacy." This is not a true review, this is just a tribute.

In this work, Keith has put together a lot of his personal research and published it for consumption by the masses. Overall, his research is interesting and provides an insight into history from a perspective that quite a few people will find useful in years to come.

His academic and political presentations have been properly (in my humble opinion) analyzed, exposed, and addressed nicely in the following reviews:

Review 1: By an OTO member who values Thelemic promulgation, sees the failures of the OTO in this regard, and wants to see it do better; also, I think, he feels that the Southern Baptist approach to Thelema is stupid, and that the idea of Duplexity is inbred white trash bullshit (paraphrasing, with intent). Neutral in terms of A.'.A.'. affiliation (he won't join my preferred group, the bastard), and an honest expression of his likes and dislikes of Readdy's work.

Review 2: By an OTO member who values historic accuracy. Tons of historically provable facts, relies primarily on his 20 years of experience in the OTO and documentation he's had access to, and his personal research. Totally one of Grady's lineage in regards to the A.'.A.'., as becomes clear in his discourse. Barely grinds his personal ax about the fact that he hasn't been invited to Vth yet.

As much as I would LOVE to contribute another rebuttal to the presuppositions Keith's book assumes, I don't think it's entirely necessary. People aware of the facts are aware of the facts, and there will be plenty of links to these reviews available online.

Suffice it to say, the public face of the A.'.A.'. claimant group that the OTO is currently partnering with is founded on a dude from Tennessee's assertion that he talked to the Secret Chiefs sometime in the 70s, and they told him he's the leader of the A.'.A.'., for real, for real, he means it.

Meanwhile the actual A.'.A.'.'s outer face continues its work, regardless of OTO recognition or affiliation, as it has since Aleister Crowley oversaw Jane Wolfe's progress at Cefalu. There is only one A.'.A.'., and there is only one group that has maintained its link to its root and core. If you're interested in the real A.'.A.'., check out OneStarinSight.org.

But Keith Readdy put a ton of work into producing this book, and I know how hard that can be. I respect the work he's done, and the information he provides. I've read most of it previously, when he published it under other pseudonyms publicly.

I initially described this book as a Frankenstein's monster sewn together from other works into a shambling golem stumbling towards some unsustainable view of the OTO dictated by Shiva X, a dude in Texas, and J. Daniel Gunther.

That was probably a little harsh.

My brother Keith spent a lot of time putting together his book, and that shit's hard to do. This is a sizable chunk of his life, and I admire his ability to put this all together. I feel like he's sincere in what he presents, and is super focused on making certain points, documenting them clearly and concisely.

I also think he's a pawn being used by a tiny little cabal in the OTO to further their overall plans of invalidating all other A.'.A.'. claimant groups, with a specific hard on against Phyllis Seckler and her heirs.

Keith uses a lot of source-citing in his book, which is good. Unfortunately, I know the magical motto and civilian names of at least one of the people he cites repeatedly. He cites them as if they were different people in the footnotes, and that is kinda cool, you don't want to out your brothers and sisters for sure, but it makes it look like he's got twice as many sources supporting the Duplexity argument than he does. In real life, it's one guy who had a thought and wrote an essay that Shiva X thought was cool, and then it got spun up into some kind of big deal. I happen to  like him as a brother in the OTO, even though we disagree about things A.'.A.'. in all the possible ways.

His Duplexity argument is just trash. Not worth worrying over.

I super enjoyed reading Keith's book. It's a snapshot of what some OTO Thelemites think about Thelema in general. It's full of contradictions, and would fail every kind of basic internal consistency checks required by most documents, but it gives an interesting perspective on the history, present, and future of the OTO and the A.'.A.'. as it is currently viewed by one faction of organized Thelema.

And it has interesting anecdotes.

I would recommend reading it in context of the diaries of Jane Wolf, the Red Flame books regarding Jane and Crowley, and Karl Germer's correspondence with Phyllis and Jane. Understanding the roots of the animosity against Phyllis that is expressed in this book also requires reading James Wasserman's Through the Fire. It puts the whole thing into perspective, young pup meets A.'.A.'. leadership, doesn't like that it's a woman who tells him he's doing something he shouldn't be doing yet based on his obvious drug addictions and incomplete preparation for the rite, rebels and goes to someone else who has an actual penis because that's what matters most to him.

Ugh.

Anyway, if you read Keith's book, respect the work that he put into it, forgive his bias, and spend some effort learning the full story of how things work. It's not his fault.

The Law that was adopted by the O.T.O. comes from the A.'.A.'., as Crowley states in Liber CCC. I support the OTO because it's easy. At the end of the day though, the OTO is not the One True Thelemic body that will carry out the work of the A.'.A.'. if it loses sight of the actual Law; it's only the most convenient at the moment. If members in positions of authority continue to push against the legitimate heirs to the A.'.A.'. in favor of 1970's would-be gurus who hear voices confirming their innermost desires, the A.'.A.'. will find a better vehicle to support its work.