tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40322147443175054872023-11-16T03:40:22.373-08:00Horns of CerastesRufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-53528986757275334362020-03-14T13:58:00.001-07:002020-03-14T14:21:46.241-07:00An Open Letter to Sabazius, with a Request<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21GgVAEEgQrgZGSaYM5huUHC2Hw96dEeJmHlllqg_lmLZZ5nYGhOrmeEjAGlV3Ilv3Ls9oQ7j-vEE_Rls10soz-7h12U4wVgifuKu-4VjIgwPuDgsbUowSXTEAA44-uq-znuRJutgmUs/s1600/horned+viper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21GgVAEEgQrgZGSaYM5huUHC2Hw96dEeJmHlllqg_lmLZZ5nYGhOrmeEjAGlV3Ilv3Ls9oQ7j-vEE_Rls10soz-7h12U4wVgifuKu-4VjIgwPuDgsbUowSXTEAA44-uq-znuRJutgmUs/s320/horned+viper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Dear Brother,<br />
<br />
93.<br />
<br />
I seriously don't know how you've managed to do it, for so many years. Thank you for your service.<br />
<br />
You are kind, and communicate it. You are calm, and keep your temper. You are honest, and express what people need to hear, in brief, without all the things I'd have to say about the subject at hand.<br />
<br />
You leave room for people to do what they will, without judgment, while taking the leadership mantle necessary to guard the camp. Yet you never cease to hear the voices of the comrades. I don't know if you weigh and judge things in contemplation, or are just one of those born leaders who don't have to think about it to come to the right answers. I honestly have no clue how you do it.<br />
<br />
Please consider composing a thing like The Thelemic Prince: A guide for Kings. A manual of philosophy, thoughtful governance, and leaving room for the principles of Thelema that you have guarded, carefully and thoughtfully since the crown was placed upon your brow.<br />
<br />
You've done good. My experiences with the OTO were both awesome, and incredibly angering. I'm emotional. I don't understand your ability to deal with things so rationally and ... I don't have the words. You find the path forward, that protects the camp, guards the folk, confronts the fires, while maintaining the integrity of it all.<br />
<br />
You're good at this thing.<br />
<br />
Please consider writing a maintenance and operations manual for those who follow you.<br />
<br />
93 93/93<br />
<br />
-Rufus.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-15444337224229645662020-01-06T05:37:00.000-08:002020-01-06T05:37:11.690-08:00If at First you don't Succeed, Try, Try Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxacNlW109-NVzY63aWoaFH5zK3fp_cxQj2tbgUSWvGLbk-LYmKzIcN4tdtqmVkPlqkrrkjH-L1l7zwwgQiSpwJv9Su-gNy58-52lxVZNLeeARc8A7GthMJ5Kn1T3Nvd6Eqwg73ZFBvFA/s1600/betrayal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxacNlW109-NVzY63aWoaFH5zK3fp_cxQj2tbgUSWvGLbk-LYmKzIcN4tdtqmVkPlqkrrkjH-L1l7zwwgQiSpwJv9Su-gNy58-52lxVZNLeeARc8A7GthMJ5Kn1T3Nvd6Eqwg73ZFBvFA/s320/betrayal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Last year, I made a big stink about Stephanie Olmstead-Dean being removed from her position as Body Master of William Blake Lodge on trumped up charges. I railed against the EC, I got myself suspended, and was repeatedly told I didn't know "what was really going on."<br />
<br />
Regardless, she was reinstated, and staid that way for ... almost three months before once again she was removed from the Body Master position on trumped up charges. This time for being a member of a Thelemic organization that had just launched, and listed on its web site the Gnostic Mass as a ritual they would be performing, although altered to represent different forces, and balance out the feminine and masculine. It wasn't even Liber XV anymore.<br />
<br />
AND ... They hadn't performed it. The list of rituals on the site was still in the notional phase. There was, at the time, no stated policy in place within the OTO or EGC that had been communicated to clergy indicating it was grounds for removal if you performed the Mass for an unaffiliated Thelemic organization. When she found out, they removed that ritual from the planned rites of the group, but it was apparently too late.<br />
<br />
Seizing the opportunity, whatever clandestine force who hates that Stephanie should lead William Blake with the success she has demonstrated over the years used this opportunity to remove her, once again from her position.<br />
<br />
I want to be really angry about it, but shockingly, I am not even surprised anymore. Some shadowy figure(s) have been working on getting William Blake Lodge out from under Stephanie's obviously eldritch claws, and having failed once, would not let go and went in again. Rumor has it they pulled the EC president out of a mandatory retreat to press the magick "kick Steph out" button. Because, <i>priorities</i>.<br />
<br />
Steph is one of the nicest, sweetest, most dedicated hard-working members of the OTO. She dressed up as a T-Rex for the King at Notocon, provided classes, workshops, actual traditional magical rituals, and continuously increased her local body membership, while growing one of the largest building funds of any Oasis or Lodge in the Kingdom of the United States. Her service is impeccable, her attitude was always positive, and she never spoke ill of her treatment at the hands of whomever has manipulated her out of her position.<br />
<br />
She's exactly the kind of person the OTO should be cultivating, and yet she is obviously the target of some hidden vendetta from people in the "Lover's" or "Hermit" triads.<br />
<br />
Why the fuck would anyone want to be a part of an organization that targets the hard-working and effective leadership over false reasons that just don't make sense?<br />
<br />
Beats me. I'm done. If you get something out of your participation in the OTO and EGC, good on ya, hope you don't piss off the wrong people, and may your time in the Order be recognized for what you've done.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-5164655652610835242019-08-26T06:44:00.000-07:002019-08-26T06:50:50.143-07:00Slut Shaming, Slander, Lies, Deceit, and the Whisper Campaigns of the OTO<div class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJb1udSdxRedImTMRb3KJEk646hPHm-SlduS7GE-UdpoPBvomOkDrP0D5kYHcI8JxAFMCZIgWM5-hcy4NliMyYaBbFPDAXS1NtiwhTLMvLSHXlTmnDpAuZBk4pJsyJiHpa1scu-oJHsrs/s1600/enoughisenough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1181" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJb1udSdxRedImTMRb3KJEk646hPHm-SlduS7GE-UdpoPBvomOkDrP0D5kYHcI8JxAFMCZIgWM5-hcy4NliMyYaBbFPDAXS1NtiwhTLMvLSHXlTmnDpAuZBk4pJsyJiHpa1scu-oJHsrs/s320/enoughisenough.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
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. </div>
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.)<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
There's some bullshit going on.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Slut shaming? In a sex-positive solar phallic sex cult?<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, none of this was mentioned in any of the proceedings.<br />
<br />
Shadow network. Whisper campaigns. Lies, and fucking motherfucking slander.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
It's like there's a vendetta against WBL at this point.<br />
<br />
Consider this. People are talking shit behind their back. Accusations without merit. Whispers in the darkness.<br />
<br />
Oathbreaking oathbreakers break oaths.<br />
<br />
That's not hyperbole, or sensationalism. That's what we do to one another. Yea, I get we're all works in progress.<br />
<br />
But we can fucking do better.<br />
<br />
Or ... not. It's honestly and sincerely up to you, and the choices you make.<br />
<br />
Here's the post Richard Davis made to defend himself from the lies and slander that are being spread about him.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.<br />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.<br />That is false.<br />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).<br />Like anyone else, it was my Will to next pursue ordination as a Novice to the Priesthood.<br />I was instructed to study the 2004 E.G.C. Manual which states:<br />"(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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br />Thank you again for your love, support, and consideration of the points above.<br />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.<br />Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there. 💖<br />Love is the law, love under will.<br />Sib. AYIN ע / R.A.D.</i></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><br /></i>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-19644427872176065212019-06-12T16:19:00.003-07:002020-09-30T13:27:05.975-07:00a view of the mass, when you're deadThey killed me you know.<br /><br /><div>It wasn't an accident, it was murder, they fucking killed me and tossed my body in a hole in the ground.<br /><br /></div><div>For telling the truth.<br /><br /></div><div>My friends found me and set me up in a decent tomb, at least.<br /><br /></div><div>So I'm sitting here, being dead, again. Dead isn't so bad. It's a lot cooler than some might have you think. And it's not like you're gone from the world completely or anything, you can still hear the living shuffling around, chatting, getting comfortable.<br /><br /></div><div>It's nice, really. A nice break. You get a chance to think about things, the people you love, the things you want to do with your death. And there's literally no limit, the Starry Sky turns out to be in the soul, and you can understand it better when you're dead and not distracted.</div><div><br />Everything was going great, and then I heard this voice, the voice of a goddess. "Greeting of Earth and Heaven," She says, and everything changes. I'm back in my tomb, the Starry Sky is gone, and I am literally slammed back in my dead old body.</div><div><br />Goddesses. I tell you what. They are beautiful and lovely, they entice you to chase after them, they reward you sometimes, punish you others, but you can't resist their pull, their attraction. Their love.<br />But when you meet a Goddess, expect to have something to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next thing I know, I'm being compelled by iron to get up and move. I'm DEAD for fuck's sake. I was DEAD. Decrepit. Decomposing gracefully, but by iron, I am compelled.</div><div><br />She has a task for me, of course. To administer the virtues to the brethren.<br /><br /></div><div>Sigh.<br /><br /></div><div>I knew it.<br /><br /></div><div>One does not deny a Goddess, but one does not lie to Her either.</div><div><br /></div><div>She opens the tomb, and I see Her, and all my concerns melt away. I am Hers.<br /><br /></div><div>Three steps out, and I show Her how I was killed, killed for telling the truth, yes, but also for my failures to keep the oaths made as I became the magician I was when they killed me.<br /><br /></div><div>There are truths that must be kept silent.<br /><br /></div><div>I explain to Her that I'm not worthy to do this thing, with Virtues. Truth is a terrible thing, Virtues even more complicated, but ... if you've ever dealt with a Goddess, you know how they are.<br /><br /></div><div>Stubborn.<br /><br /></div><div>So She purifies me, enflames me, turns me into a Priest, and I feel the fluids flowing again, and the breath breathing, and the fire of life itself pouring through my old body, and for a moment, I am alive, and transformed for her purposes, and I serve.<br /><br /></div><div>I lead Her to the East. I set Her upon the summit of the Earth. I worship Her, with salt and water, fire and air. I replace the veil as She transforms into her glorious beauty, because that is what I do, for Her, give Her space to reveal Herself.<br /><br /></div><div>And when She is transformed, and She blesses me again, and the people gathered, then at last I am able to see Her again, I am able to open the veil, and see Her, and the Starry Night is again with me.<br />I administer the virtues, knowing my unworthiness has been lifted in service to Her. She has made me fit to speak to the Sun, to speak to our ancestors, to culminate a rite of lust and of love for the sake of Will, and of union.</div><div><br /></div><div>She has made me fit to serve Her. And so, I do.<br /><br /></div><div>Again, I close her veil, hiding the splendour of the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky. I bless the people, reminding them of what they are here for. I shuffle off to my tomb, to return to the coolness of death, the peace of the grave, blessed to have had a chance to yield to Her.
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4619bd35-7fff-bb2b-ef26-811730e0d2af"></span>
</div>Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-85377198704019100072019-06-11T12:50:00.002-07:002019-06-11T12:50:33.233-07:00Lon Milo DuQuette Meet and Greet in Minneapolis June 29, 2019 (e.v.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9q8O65u_lCh9BUXlcde5N-d6AEchOh-izqA01ZVMT7u_M1XlHfLwu3eXRmlIhy4F8E1v80dfXWu-eEWIGjTCAPeUEWyYm8DmHUteknBpMgYjLn-eec_PM7_9cj3DT-WbyKjGTadaBS7U/s1600/lonBW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9q8O65u_lCh9BUXlcde5N-d6AEchOh-izqA01ZVMT7u_M1XlHfLwu3eXRmlIhy4F8E1v80dfXWu-eEWIGjTCAPeUEWyYm8DmHUteknBpMgYjLn-eec_PM7_9cj3DT-WbyKjGTadaBS7U/s400/lonBW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Lon's coming back to the Twin Cities June 29th, and will be joining us at Leaping Laughter (3107 California St. NE, Minneapolis 55418) for a meet and greet conversation. He's got tales, and rumor has it at least one tail, and chances are pretty good a guitar might pop up at some point.<br />
<br />
Show up around 6:30 P.M., bring all the donations you can afford, and no red wine, Constance disapproves. The talk begins at 7:00 P.M., and who knows what he'll bring up. Mysteries of the Mass, Secrets of the Sovereign Sanctuary, Horror Stories of Phyllis Seckler's Cat...<br />
<br />
He might even ... sing songs ... and ... play muuuuuuuuusic ...<br />
<br />
One never knows. <br /><br />But one can suspect.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-29373015454663404682019-04-09T18:48:00.001-07:002019-04-09T18:51:35.056-07:00An ApologyDear Sisters and Brothers in the O.T.O. and various A.'.A.'. claimant groups that I have offended over the last couple of years:<br />
<br />
You people didn't deserve the kind of treatment I've given you about your choices. I've been pretty shitty about some things that I thought mattered, and I apologize. It's been explained to me that ... I'm not helping.<br />
<br />
If you're doing the work, god damn. It's hard as shit. I'm sorry for giving you shit about it if I thought you were doing it wrong.<br />
<br />
The Praemonstrator of my A.'.A.'. claimant group, <a href="http://onestarinsight.org/">onestarinsight.org</a>, gave me a pretty thorough dressing down about my public discussions related to other people's discussions about our organization's legitimacy.<br />
<br />
I won't be taking any public stance in regard to claimant group's legitimacy going forward. The docs speak for themselves, and my vehement opinions have only made things worse. Sorry guys. Imma work really hard on that stupid quiet power of the sphinx, I promise.<br />
<br />
To the members of the outercol,org, I apologize for all the crap I've given you over the last few years. It hasn't helped. I promise to embrace that fuckin' Tacere bullshit going forward. For real. shhh and stuff.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-5777417539172670342019-02-15T10:29:00.002-08:002019-02-20T11:20:28.199-08:00A Pseudo-Review of Keith Readdy's One Truth and One Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKp8sTSILYBjnOaCZwoIc3Mw-rtcU1lvzA6WF_Vgz54ZOBqsWer0zweaBc7Q8yyLYGzItGxaKg01Jzl3W_ByofknFToalc6xWejECW8_XjIYCW3KlZ68MWdfmhWbjmQXz1N-GZ_PUCUOQ/s1600/onetruthonespirit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKp8sTSILYBjnOaCZwoIc3Mw-rtcU1lvzA6WF_Vgz54ZOBqsWer0zweaBc7Q8yyLYGzItGxaKg01Jzl3W_ByofknFToalc6xWejECW8_XjIYCW3KlZ68MWdfmhWbjmQXz1N-GZ_PUCUOQ/s320/onetruthonespirit.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
His academic and political presentations have been properly (in my humble opinion) analyzed, exposed, and addressed nicely in the following reviews:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thelemicknights.org/review-keith-readdys-one-truth-and-one-spirit/">Review 1</a>: 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.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thelemicunion.com/tag/one-truth-and-one-spirit/">Review 2:</a> 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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 <a href="http://onestarinsight.org/">OneStarinSight.org</a>.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
That was probably a little harsh.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
His Duplexity argument is just trash. Not worth worrying over.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
And it has interesting anecdotes.<br />
<br />
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 <i>Through the Fire</i>. 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.<br />
<br />
Ugh.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-33578465400042717312017-05-22T07:22:00.001-07:002017-05-22T07:26:55.163-07:00The Mystic Marriage of the A.'.A.'. and the O.T.O.As a result of the "From Cefalu to Sacramento" posts, I received the following remarks from a member of the A.'.A.'. who wishes to remain anonymous:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><b>THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE OF THE A∴A∴ AND THE O.T.O</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSd3sTuI_P01a2dyZiodpBLX2Zt1IOswql9ZX67pxd07txtmKkgquQAjcWdmmNZUHVVF0RcUnyFGujwWqQNLdeBf-ih0tS34uY1gOmK-FJt3hfSka-8LdFfkzVK7ypsnSZ046cNdgt8vo/s1600/Baphomet.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSd3sTuI_P01a2dyZiodpBLX2Zt1IOswql9ZX67pxd07txtmKkgquQAjcWdmmNZUHVVF0RcUnyFGujwWqQNLdeBf-ih0tS34uY1gOmK-FJt3hfSka-8LdFfkzVK7ypsnSZ046cNdgt8vo/s320/Baphomet.png" width="234" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"> “Duplexity” is a word
manufactured in recent times from Crowley’s Word of the Equinox, 1915, “Duplex.” Its potential meanings have been studied and the
altered word adopted as a cry to arms by those who would support one A∴A∴ group
over the others. In December 2016,
Frater Teleios wrote an essay about Duplexity, entitled One Truth and One
Spirit, which he states is an examination of the concept, with a specific focus
on the relationship of A∴A∴ groups with the O.T.O. In some ways, this brief manuscript is a
response to this essay. In it, Teleios
examines the roles of each Order and the relationship between them. The primary argument is stated to be based
upon the notion that the missions of the two Orders are the same, stated to be the
promulgation of Thelema.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">This statement seems at the least to be a radical
oversimplification, and is likely simply erroneous with respect to the basic
purpose of the A∴A∴. The functional aim
of the A∴A∴ would seem to be the development of individuals through a series of
practices and initiations to promote mystical and magical development under the
structure of Scientific Illuminism. The Oaths of the grades have no direction
to promulgate the Law, only to proclaim openly one’s association with the A∴A∴,
clearly not the same thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Therefore, I would venture that the premise of the essay is
specious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The essay illuminates a problem that exists in the arguments of
people who have focused upon Crowley’s original statement as a device in the
political debate about which claimant group is the “right one.” They have
focused on only one part of what is said in the journal entry, the single word
that result from Crowley’s masturbatory ritual.
His description of the ritual and its results contains other information
that has not been considered as carefully, perhaps, as the Word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">As an example of this hypothesis, we can formulate an
alternative argument here, starting with the original quotation about the word
of the Equinox, 1915:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">21 March 11.30 p.m. Weather cool and cloudy. Lights of temple</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">(four small).</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The true moment of the Equinox was 4.51 p.m.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Frater Perdurabo in manu illius. [Brother Perdurabo in his
hand]</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Object: To obtain The Word of the Masters for this Equinox</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">following.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The Operation was most extraordinary, being done in full open</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Temple of Neophyte</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">A∴A∴ in the Ceremony of the Equinox.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The orgasm and ejaculation were double, as it were twins, and
in the</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">instant between the two, the word DUPLEX was placed in my mind</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">with a clarity and certitude that I have never previously
known. The</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Elixir was abundant and excellent.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Result: As above recorded, great success. Very remarkable all
this;</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">it is a word of mystic marriage of A∴A∴ and O.T.O.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Instead of focusing on the word “duplex,” it is relevant to
focus here on the concept of mystic marriage.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">This is an important concept in the Gnostic Mass. In Liber XV, Section VIII is entitled “OF THE
MYSTIC MARRIAGE AND CONSUMMATION OF THE ELEMENTS.” In this portion of the Mass,
the Priest and the Priestess join the elements and themselves unite, indicating
that for Crowley, the mystic marriage was an act uniting a thing ascribed with
masculine dignities and a thing with feminine dignities. It would seem reasonable to assign the O.T.O.
as the masculine manifestation of the 93 current, with its social and
outward-facing focus, and assigning the A∴A∴ the introspective and “passive”
(in the sense of water and earth elements, rather than a statement about
womanhood) face of the current.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Further, in Opus Lutetianum, it is stated: “In any series of
Rites the roles of the celebrants should not be interchangeable.” Placing this
on the structure being developed here, the goals and mission of the A∴A∴ and
the O.T.O. ARE NOT THE SAME.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Crowley’s work, and indeed what the current-day aspirants are
making of it, supports the idea that the A∴A∴ is the feminine aspect in the
marriage, the “quiet and passive” partner.
The Order is made up of individuals doing the work, arguably not focused
on the “promulgation of Thelema.” The
work of the A∴A∴ is, written clearly in the quote above, the development of the
individual in isolation. This is
actually contrary to any sort of efforts toward promulgation (synonyms - make
known, make public, publicize, spread, communicate, propagate, disseminate,
broadcast, promote, preach). The members of the A∴A∴ form the hive mind that
quietly and individually pollinates the more visible and active O.T.O.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Another clear indication of the feminine character of the A∴A∴
can be found in the Book of Lies:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">3</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">ΚΕΦΑΛΗ Γ</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">THE OYSTER</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The Brothers of A∴A∴ are one with the Mother of the Child.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The Many is as adorable to the One as the One is to the Many.
This is the Love of These; creation-parturition is the Bliss of the One;
coition-dissolution is the Bliss of the Many.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The All, thus interwoven of These, is Bliss.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Naught is beyond Bliss.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The Man delights in uniting with the Woman; the Woman in
parting from the Child.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The Brothers of A∴A∴ are Women: the Aspirants to A∴A∴ are Men.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Aspirants in the A∴A∴
are not to know any other member, except their direct supervisor. Their legal names are not used in publications;
their actual identities are not important.
The argument of the quiet, development of the individual and the benefit
to the larger society of the aspirants being the “female” of the pair is
supported by the fact that in the Gnostic Mass, there are no women explicitly
listed in the list of the saints. In fact, identity of females in the fraternal
order (O.T.O.) have traditionally been hidden in general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">An important difference between the approach of the O.T.O. and
the A∴A∴ is shown in this quotation from Magick Without Tears (MWT), further:</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif;"> </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">“The Brothers of A∴A∴ are one with the Mother of the Child.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">the A∴A∴ concerns the individual, his development, his
initiation,</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">his passage from 'Student' to 'Ipsissimus'; he has no contact
of any</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">kind with any other person except the Neophyte who introduces</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">him, and any Student or Students whom he may, after becoming a</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Neophyte, introduce. The details of this “Pilgrim's Progress”
are</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">very fully set forth in One Star in Sight […]”</span><span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The presence of multiple A∴A∴ groups is also imbedded and
accepted in Crowley’s original approach.
One Star in Sight sub figurâ CDLXXXIX states “The Adept must prepare and
publish a thesis setting forth His knowledge of the Universe, and his proposals
for its welfare and progress. He will thus be known as the leader of a school
of thought.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">A discussion of the 8°=3<sup>□</sup> oath from ordoaa.org
states “His principal business is to tend his “garden” of disciples, and to
obtain a perfect understanding of the Universe. He is a Master of Samadhi.” Later, this same page reminds: “They are all,
however, bound by the original and fundamental Oath of the Order, to devote
their energy to assisting the Progress of their Inferiors in the Order. Those
who accept the rewards of their emancipation for themselves are no longer
within the Order.” Simply put, all those A∴A∴ members who achieve 8°=3<sup>□</sup>
bind themselves by oath to forming their own new version of the order, to pass
along their achievements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">It was without any doubt Crowley’s vision to have multiple A∴A∴
and A∴A∴-like organizations. As an
order, the A∴A∴ would be failing if this had not happened. The existence of multiple A∴A∴ organizations
also necessitates a certain amount of diversity within them. That diversity does not invalidate any of them.
Indeed, this would seem to endorse the existence of organizations such as the
various Colleges of Thelema, Heart of Blood and many others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">In fact, Crowley’s view of spiritual attainment was flexible,
as shown in this quotation from Liber XIII: “All these grades are indeed but
convenient landmarks, not necessarily significant. A person who had attained
them all might be immeasurably the inferior of one who had attained none of
them; it is Spiritual Experience alone that counts in Result; the rest is but
Method.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Another pertinent quotation, this time from Porta Lucis: “We
therefore who are without the chains of ignorance, look closely into the heart
of the seeker and lead him by the path which is best suited to his nature unto
the ultimate end of all things, the supreme realization, the Life which abideth
in Light, yea, the Life which abideth in Light.” And lastly, “The first
condition of membership in the A∴A∴ is
that one is sworn to identify one's own Great Work with that of raising mankind
to higher levels, spiritually, and in every other way." (Magick Without
Tears) This being Crowley’s stated goal, we – his intellectual and spiritual
children – might choose to keep our eyes on that prize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">To conclude this brief remark, the notes from Crowley’s journal
of Equinox 1915 tell us a great deal about the relationship between the O.T.O.
and the A∴A∴, but that the actual word of the Equinox is not the most informative
part of the journal entry: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">The O.T.O. and the A∴A∴ form two partners in a mystic marriage,
and they do not have the same mission. Rather they are different sides of the
same coin, with the A∴A∴ creating richness inside the structure of the O.T.O.
by the quiet contributions of the sisters and brothers of the A∴A∴ in every role and
purpose in each O.T.O. body. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "cambria math" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">Love is the law, love under will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-71985065588105858312016-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:002016-12-03T14:06:47.766-08:00From Cefalu to Sacramento Part 4: Wending the Way to SacramentoIn the previous installment, we discussed the events that followed the death of Karl Germer, mentioning the ongoing work of Phyllis Seckler as she picked up and continued the administration of the A.'.A.'.. She went through a lot over the years, developing what eventually became the International College of Thelema and the Temple of the Silver Star in service to the A.'.A.'..<br />
<br />
She worked to create resources for people looking into the subjects of Thelema and Crowley through the publication of In the Continuum, a bi-annual journal that was available from 1973-1996. She worked to document her own Superior's history, writing a series of articles on the life of Jane Wolfe that was eventually expanded and published as <i>Jane Wolfe: Her life with Aleister Crowley, Parts 1 and 2</i>. Copies of Part 1 are still available from <a href="http://concreat.org/shop/">Conjoined Creation</a>, and I hope to see a combined volume re-published one day.<br />
<br />
As we mentioned in the previous post, throughout her life Seckler continued to accept students in the formula of the original blueprint Crowley published in the <i>Blue Equinox</i>. In 1993, Seckler was contacted by David Shoemaker, who soon began his work in the A.'.A.'. under her personal tutelage, and began his initiations into the Mysteries of the O.T.O..<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rgPPFc22zUgxAemsBXgQdTdYeE09kMf5Ne6A-sL3_zwpo_IjJrjjBRAfeEh3qz8iVjayUJ1AkbqyvGbwvDTzy3d4pp1AJh3K6daOzJHPxEy0ToTeYDF9698NFbCUg6k7cZJz92SCM10/s1600/david_cropped.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rgPPFc22zUgxAemsBXgQdTdYeE09kMf5Ne6A-sL3_zwpo_IjJrjjBRAfeEh3qz8iVjayUJ1AkbqyvGbwvDTzy3d4pp1AJh3K6daOzJHPxEy0ToTeYDF9698NFbCUg6k7cZJz92SCM10/s320/david_cropped.png" width="320" /></a> He and Phyllis Seckler became more than just student and teacher over the years. Hearing his stories about their time together, it quickly becomes obvious that they were friends and compatriots in the pursuit of the Work. She found in him the person she felt most comfortable leaving the legacy to which she had devoted her entire life. When she passed, he was named her <i>de facto </i>spiritual heir, receiving her personal library, and the documents of her history in the Orders. He followed her as Body Master of 418 Lodge in Sacramento, and currently leads the International College of Thelema and the Temple of the Silver Star, which were established by explicit warrant from Seckler.<br />
<br />
It's really not my place to speak about his accomplishments within the A.'.A.'.. He is more than capable of speaking publicly about himself, should he so choose, and he's made a great deal of his personal Work available publicly available through the Living Thelema podcasts, now fully cataloged at <a href="http://livingthelema.com/">livingthelema.com</a>, and through the book of the same name published in 2013. Speaking to him in person, seeing his presence at events, and receiving instruction in the techniques of Magick he shares speaks volumes about his experience and demeanor.<br />
<br />
But I'd like to share my favorite anecdote about David Shoemaker, and it's not one that comes from him, or anything he's ever made available publicly. It comes from conversations I had with an old friend at a tiny and remote whiskey bar somewhere within the borders of the Chesapeake Bay. It was before I joined the A.'.A.'. myself, and it was one of the things that made my decision easier.<br />
<br />
My friend and I met long after smoking was outlawed in all public places, but the smoke of thousands of imported cigars had long since permeated the grain of the wood of the bar as we discussed the route of the A.'.A.'. leadership as it led to David Shoemaker.<br />
<br />
"David's legit, perhaps the only one who can actually provide an unassailable paper trail back to Crowley, if that matters to you," my friend said. "While that gets him paper respect, there's a lot more to it than that. His whole life in Thelema demonstrates the Grades."<br />
<br />
You can bet this got my attention.<br />
<br />
My friend went on to tell me <i>All About What Happened to the A.'.A.'.<sup>TM</sup></i>. He just sat there, sipping his Coca-Cola (he didn't drink, even though there were scotches worth more than he made in a month available to him if he would just place the order for once in his life) and talking. He told me of Germer, and of Motta, and Breeze, and Gunther, of Grady McMurtry, and his own teacher's teacher, and he told me of Jane Wolfe, Phyllis Seckler, the Eshelman period, and then, finally, we spoke of David Shoemaker.<br />
<br />
He told me about how David had showed up in the early 1990s, and fell right into the current 93, rapidly moving up through the degrees of the O.T.O. and the Grades of A.'.A.'. alike. He spoke of the contributions to the College of Thelema by the key players, the end results, and the eventual change in focus that happened sometime before Phyllis passed away. He told me that she had left her full library and archives to David, and that he was her primary spiritual heir.<br />
<br />
And then he spoke of the disappearing David. "It's like he went silent after she died. Nothing on the national O.T.O. lists to speak of, nothing international, of course, and during this period, very little came out of the West Coast with his fingerprints on it."<br />
<br />
But then... something happened.<br />
<br />
"Something settled in him, and then everything changed," as it was put to me.<br />
<br />
My speculations revolve around the facts. Sometime between 2004 and 2010, David Shoemaker passed through some levels of initiation and experiential understanding that shifted his focus from a passive recipient of the teachings to an active teacher of our Mysteries. He returned to public life, broadcasting <i><a href="http://livingthelema.com/resources/podcast/">Living Thelema</a></i>, and taking the actions that eventually led to the formation of the International College of Thelema, and its initiatory body, the Temple of the Silver Star.<br />
<br />
"No one knows what happened, for sure, but it's pretty obvious," said my friend. "You don't do this stuff until you hit ..." and I won't say what Grade he was referencing, but basically, everyone who cares can figure it out. It's basic math, though, and his actions and his experiences map directly onto the path of initiation and what you'd expect someone to do when they hit certain Grades of the Order.<br />
<br />
So that about wraps it up. It was a long and winding road that led from Cefalu to Sacramento. Yet, in my mind, it's all pretty straightforward:<br />
<ul>
<li>Crowley to Germer</li>
<li>Germer to Seckler</li>
<li>Seckler to Shoemaker</li>
</ul>
The only reason we have all this other stuff to wade through is because people didn't like Phyllis Seckler, or the idea of her having the authority she had earned. She had standards, she said what she thought, and she didn't put up with adolescent foolishness when she saw it. She was a trail blazer, and through her tenacity she carved out the niche in which the O.T.O. was capable of being reborn. If Grady McMurtry was the father of the modern O.T.O., then she is undeniably its Mother. Without her direct support and encouragement, we simply would not have the organizations I am proud to be a part of today.<br />
<br />
I have been told I am simplifying things a great deal, and I might be. Those with vested interests in promulgation of revisionist history need this whole situation to be a lot more complicated to be able to weave alternate claims of legitimacy together. I've seen references to unpublished documents that allegedly contain "proof" that my conclusions are totally wrong, but in the same breath I'm told that these documents aren't supposed to be published and I just have to trust that they exist.<br />
<br />
I am skeptical.<br />
<br />
The documented facts led me to a remarkably simple conclusion, however: The spiritual and administrative authority of A.'.A.'., and the office of its Praemonstrator, was passed down to the highest ranked and recognized member of the A.'.A.'. in good standing with both the O.T.O. and the A.'.A.'. at the death of Karl Germer, and has continued in its work and its service since the days of Aleister Crowley. R regardless of any other claims or arguments, only one active administrative body of A.'.A.'. can , to my satisfaction, trace itself back to Aleister Crowley through decree, degree, and bequeathment.<br />
<br />
Over the course of the publication of these recent posts, I've had the opportunity to discuss the topics I'm bringing up with people from around the world, in multiple A.'.A.'. organizations around the globe that track their heritage back to Seckler, Motta, Grady McMurtry, and Gunther, and a surprising number of others that I didn't even know existed. People I've known for years in the occult community (and I mean people I've been friends with long before I ever considered joining any modern organized Thelemic group that goes back to Crowley) have contacted me and revealed their affiliation with groups that I had assumed were defunct or meaningless in the context of this discussion.<br />
<br />
I was wrong about that. I've come to realize that my perspective has been pretty insular. I'm a US citizen, in the O.T.O. Kingdom of the United States, and my experiences have been heavily influenced by the people I have met in various lodges around the United States, and a bare handful of international members of our global fraternity. A lot has gone down since Motta passed, apparently, and it's been as bad as I had expected in some instances, and far better in others. Eventually.<br />
<br />
The number of A.'.A.'. members around the world doing the work who have responded to this project has shifted my perspective on this subject quite a bit, while at the same time served to reinforce my conviction that the overall intent that started this is of global consequence when it comes to the relevance of the E.G.C., the O.T.O. and the A.'.A.'. when it comes to manifesting the Aeon of Horus and the fundamental aims of Hermetics on the planet that go back as long as we've had Herms in the first place.<br />
<br />
Incredibly effective magicians are coming out of all the claimant groups. People I respected as "grimoire magicians" are secretly members of our collective heritage. Witches and sorcerors who seem to be focused only on the practical aspects of magick are working their wiles in service to the A.'.A.'. for the good of the whole rest of the world, whether the world can accept and understand it or not. They are literally everywhere.<br />
<br />
They are doing the Work. They are experiencing the outcomes we are all striving towards. The exercises, practices, and study materials laid out by Crowley are working for people across the whole spectrum of practices we affiliate with publicly. The Work is actually doing what it's intended to do, and on a much broader and global scale than I ever dared hope.<br />
<br />
Y'all are awesome. Thanks. I'm proud to be amongst the company I find myself in.<br />
I still stand by the results of my own research to date. My opinions are pretty strong, and I think there is only one A.'.A.'. claimant group worth the time and effort I've put into it, historically, spiritually, and personally.<br />
<br />
But I also recognize that those are my experiences, and my conclusions. I based my choice of claimant groups to join on the foundation of documented history, and my intractable practicality. My experiences have been awesome. I had supervisors who responded, encouraged me, challenged me, while leaving me to the resources that come with the program to reach my own conclusions. I've gotten out of the system everything (and more) that I've put into it.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-84973761873753837332016-11-27T00:00:00.000-08:002016-11-28T07:11:25.832-08:00From Cefalu to Sacramento Part 3: The A.'.A.'. after Karl GermerThe state of the Thelemic bodies on planet Earth after the death of Karl Germer left a certain something to be desired. While there were active O.T.O. members in Switzerland, and various charters floating around, there was no official Outer Head of the Order universally recognized. Within the US, Agape lodge had dwindled in size and had ceased performing initiations. As a result, there were less than a couple dozen active living members by the time Grady McMurtry agreed, in response to a letter from Seckler, to activate his Caliphate status and to take over as the head of the O.T.O.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkheFxZdv56Eo6HDCvzjwSS5gcOVwDHiw0Io_0e-SWUX0nRfl7d5F8iAmN6K-9ZAHwEnJ1Mli6SpXzmDcOyMmztrexJARXz7TbbEZw5gWfdPiGSvrjr4U_zu7TlUTvysq3Ycw3dhXuzcw/s1600/Karl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkheFxZdv56Eo6HDCvzjwSS5gcOVwDHiw0Io_0e-SWUX0nRfl7d5F8iAmN6K-9ZAHwEnJ1Mli6SpXzmDcOyMmztrexJARXz7TbbEZw5gWfdPiGSvrjr4U_zu7TlUTvysq3Ycw3dhXuzcw/s320/Karl2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane Wolfe, Phyllis Seckler, and Karl Germer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Aleister Crowley had left Grady McMurtry a letter designating him as the successor to Karl Germer where the O.T.O. was concerned. I've read a lot of commentaries about the intentions and the ideas that went into this designation, and it boils down to the fact that Crowley intuitively understood that the O.T.O. would be in trouble when Germer passed, so he made provisions by giving Grady McMurtry the Caliphate papers.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, there were no "caliphate" designations to the A.'.A.'.. To understand what's going on today, primarily within the United States, we must turn our attention back to Marcelo Motta, delve into his relationships with a handful of his various acolytes, followers, and direct reports within the testing order of the A.'.A.'. under his watch.<br />
<br />
The following information is based largely on a careful reading of brother Wasserman's <i>In the Center of the Fire</i>. It is a condensed presentation of the detailed information he provides in his autobiography, his role in the history of the Order, and his understanding of events related to the members of the A.'.A.'. administration currently recognized as a partner with the O.T.O..<br />
<br />
It is this relationship between the Orders that indirectly inspired my research into the history of the A.'.A.'.. As a result, I am focusing primarily on the events following the death of Karl Germer that led to the formation of this alternate administrative body, and how these events led to the situation I find myself in as a member of both the A.'.A.'. and the O.T.O.*.<br />
<br />
As Frater Sabazius says, the O.T.O. can only ally itself with one Administrative body of the A.'.A.'.. They have currently made the choice to ally themselves with the administration led by J. Daniel Gunther, who traces himself indirectly back to the A.'.A.'. through Motta. He had some personal disagreements with his supervisor in the A.'.A.'., but he claims to have made direct contact with the Secret Chiefs to make up for the fact that he was no longer officially supervised by anyone actually in the A.'.A.'. that descends from Aleister Crowley, as one does.<br />
<br />
Wasserman's <i>In the Center of the Fire</i> provides a detailed history of the events leading to the formation of this administrative body, and I was encouraged to read it by several people in the Order whenever we talked about the A.'.A.'.. It explains how Wasserman, in his position at Weiser Publications in the 1970s brought the members of this organization together, and details the timeline of events that led up to the formation of the new administration.<br />
<br />
As Weiser published Crowley's books and the Thoth tarot deck, it became a communications hub for Thelemites from around the world. Correspondence came into the publisher the way it comes into the local bodies of the O.T.O. today, as people both new to the occult and old hands studying magick reached out to network with one another and discuss their studies and experiences. It was through Weiser that Wasserman met and corresponded with Motta, and eventually joined the A.'.A.'.. It was also through correspondence passing through Weiser that he was introduced to Richard "Gerney" Gernon, and J. Daniel Gunther.<br />
<br />
The highlights of the timeline of events leading the initiations of these men into the A.'.A.'. as Wasserman recalls them are as follows:<br />
<ul>
<li>1953 - Motta was initiated into the A.'.A.'. by Germer</li>
<li>April, 1975 - James Wasserman signs the Oath of the Probationer under Motta. </li>
<li>August, 1975 - J. Daniel Gunther announces himself as "Frater K.N.", an A.'.A.'. contact point in Nashville, Tennessee to Weiser Publishing, where Wasserman received the letter. </li>
<li>Sometime in August-October 1975 - Gurnon introduces Gunther to Motta, and Motta apparently accepts Gunther into his A.'.A.'. </li>
<li>October 1975 - Bill Breeze takes the Probationer's Oath from Gunther</li>
</ul>
<div>
Wasserman's record of his life is a very honest presentation of his strengths and his weaknesses. I think it's important to remember the state of mind he would have been in throughout these early days, to help understand some of the choices he made. He unabashedly describes his ongoing use of heroin and other intoxicants throughout his life, and summarizes his character of this time period as young, inexperienced, and ill-equipped to handle the responsibilities he was given. He seems to have been both head-strong and easily impressionable at the same time. With that in mind, let's look at that timeline of events in more detail.<br />
<br />
Through his position at Weiser Publications, Wasserman entered into a relationship with Motta, and this relationship had its ups and downs. While he ultimately signed the Oath of Probationer under Motta in April of 1975, he already had begun having concerns about allying himself with this leadership:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It would have happened six months earlier, as I had written to Motta in September 1974 requesting the Oath, just before he began his period of anti-Semitic rants. He later told me that my letter was lost in the mail. I was much relieved I had not bound myself to him on a spiritual level. But as things improved between us, I again requested the Oath."</i></blockquote>
<div>
Later in August, he received the announcement from Gunther that he was an A.'.A.'. point of contact in Tennessee. Wasserman goes on to explain that Gunther had no previous contact with anyone in the A.'.A.'. in real life, he had apparently been a student of the occult, read the works of Crowley, and was told by the Secret Chiefs that he was in the Order. Consequently, he of course wrote to the publisher of Crowley's writings, I assume to let them know that if anyone was interested, he was available as a contact of the A.'.A.'.. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wasserman was, by his own accounts during this period both youthful and filled with an enthusiasm that had not yet been tempered by experience. I personally have been in a position to see the kinds of letters we get at the local O.T.O. lodge from people in remote places who study the occult, and end up having a mystical experience that culminates, of course, in their being the chosen one of the Invisible College/Secret Chiefs/Alien Intelligences/Aiwass/Babalon/Ma'at, or whoever they'd most recently been studying that caught their fancy. Today, after surviving the New Age channelled writings of the gurus of the 1970s and 1980s, the occult community is more likely to toss grandiose self-proclamations directly into the trash as soon as they get them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wasserman, it seems, hadn't yet reached that point. Instead, he decided he should introduce Gunther to his friend Gurney, <i>"in hopes that we might learn more about this previously unknown individual and broaden our collective database, as it were."</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
Now, let's quote Wasserman's account of what happened, for posterity:<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"As soon as Dan learned of Motta through Gurney, he contacted him. Motta forwarded the letter he received from Gunther and his reply. Frater K.N. (J. Daniel Gunther) informed Motta that he had been authorized by the Secret Chiefs to establish an 'American chapter of A.'.A.'.' and wished to cooperate."</i></blockquote>
Motta responded as a Secret Chief himself, to keep this whole scenario in context, saying "he didn't remember authorizing anything, that there were no "chapters" or other organizational bodies of the A.'.A.'. and that Gunther had mis-capitalized "Do what thou wilt" etc. in violation of the very commands of The Book of the Law."<br />
<br />
So to recap, a guy in Nashville had an epiphany that he interpreted as a direct communication from the Secret Chiefs declaring him a member of the A.'.A.'. after reading the works of Aleister Crowley. He then wrote to Weiser announcing himself the contact point of A.'.A.'., and, when introduced to someone who he thought represented the A.'.A.'. had the temerity to declare that it was the Secret Chiefs themselves who authored his fantasies.<br />
<br />
Motta, of course, mocked him, but also apparently took him on as a student, never mentioning that in fact, there was already an A.'.A.'. actively operating in California under a recognized member who had achieved Adeptus Minor under the actual auspices of Aleister Crowley and his successors, who was several grades higher than the grade Motta himself claimed to have achieved while his superior in the Order was alive (and shortly <i>after </i>his superior's death as well).<br />
<br />
Also in 1975, Wasserman records Bill Breeze entering his life. He also says that in October of 1975, Breeze signed the Probationer's Oath during a visit from Gunther. Gunther had announced himself as contact of the A.'.A.'. in August, met Motta, been received as a student by Motta in that period, and then received Breeze as a Probationer in October of the very same year.<br />
<br />
If you have never gone through the process of joining the A.'.A.'. that Crowley laid out in the Blue Equinox, you might miss the absolutely amazing series of events that had to have taken place in order for this to make any kind of sense at all. When you apply, you enter the Student phase of the Order. To get to Probationer, you must complete a Student test demonstrating your understanding the study materials of the Student phase. For reference, it took Frater Achad 4 years to complete the Student test.<br />
<br />
Gunther must have completed the Student phase and test to Motta's satisfaction within the three-month period between announcing himself as a contact point of the A.'.A.'. in Nashville, and entered the Order as a Probationer. In that time, Breeze also would presumably have been expected to complete the Student phase, responded to the test, and received a passing grade. Motta would have had to present Gunther with a special dispensation as a Probationer to receive other Probationers on his behalf, and thus been able to receive Breeze in October.<br />
<br />
That is, assuming they actually entered the Order by means of the processes of the administration of the A.'.A.'. that were described by Crowley in the Blue Equinox. They might have different standards and requirements, though. If they did follow the process, it is amazing that they were able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time.<br />
<br />
The relationship between Bill Breeze and Marcelo Motta was short-lived. In 1976, Motta published his <i>Commentaries of AL</i>, which Breeze found to be incompatible with his understanding of Thelema. He cut off all contact with Motta upon reading this book, and he was one of the first in what quickly seems to become a trend. In brief, it can be said that after Motta published his "<i>Commentaries of AL</i>" some people started thinking he was insane, and stopped talking to him. Breeze was the first recorded in Wasserman's recount of history, but it spread.<br />
<br />
Wasserman took his time coming to the conclusion that Motta's sanity was questionable at best, but ultimately all the men who formed the administrative body currently affiliated with the O.T.O. cut off contact with him, or were expelled into "the outer darkness" by Motta himself:<br />
<ul>
<li>1976 - Bill Breeze cuts off contact from his end with Daniel Gunther over the <i>Commentaries of AL</i>.</li>
<li>1976, Early October - Motta cuts Wasserman off "from further correspondence" and Wasserman takes Daniel Gunther on as his Instructor. </li>
<li>1976, (later in October apparently) - Motta instructs Daniel Gunther to cast James Wasserman into the Outer Darkness. Gunther obediently stops being Wasserman's Instructor. </li>
<li>1978 - Daniel Gunther cuts off contact with Motta. </li>
<li>1978 - Wasserman signs the Neophyte Oath in front of Grady McMurtry, who seems to have declared that he went from 0<sup>○</sup>=0<sup>□</sup> to Magister Templi without even having completed the Probationer's Work according to his superior in the Order, because he felt like he had been through the Ordeals of the Grade as he understood them.</li>
<li>1980 - Richard "Gurney" Gernon cuts off contact with Motta.</li>
<li>1985 - Martin Starr cuts off contact with Motta. </li>
</ul>
At this point, it should be pretty clear that Motta was really good at alienating his American students. None of the people listed in Wasserman's narrative managed to maintain any kind of good relationship with Motta. From <i>In the Center of the Fire</i>, it almost appears as if everyone who spent time with him ended up thinking Motta was insane and unfit to administrate the A.'.A.'..<br />
<br />
By the end of 1985, all the people who would eventually end up forming a new administrative leadership of the A.'.A.'. had been expelled, cut off, or had voluntarily left the A.'.A.'. that was led by their superior, Marcelo Motta.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Seckler’s <i>de facto</i> administration of A.'.A.'. had continued uninterrupted and without such schism and strife for more than two decades.<br />
<br />
Gunther, whose original correspondence with Weiser included the claim to be a contact for the A.'.A.'. at the inspiration of the Secret Chiefs, eventually determined that he had the right approach back in the beginning. After leaving the auspices of his A.'.A.'. teacher, he followed up on this initial inspiration, and he claims to have forged a new link to the Secret Chiefs, thus conveniently legitimizing the organization he formed with Martin Starr.<br />
<br />
I don't pretend to understand why they took this step at all. Frankly, if they were interested in a legitimate link to the actual A.'.A.'. that Crowley had set up before he died, they all knew Phyllis personally.<br />
<br />
They literally had her phone number.<br />
<br />
All they had to do was call her.<br />
<br />
But no one did that. In spite of knowing she was recognized as a 5<sup>○</sup>=6<sup>□</sup> by Karl Germer, and had been trained in the actual Work by those who had done it themselves, including a superior in the Order who had studied directly at the feet of Crowley.<br />
<br />
It made more sense to them to should go off on their own and establish their own neo-A.'.A.'. rather than subjecting themselves to the leadership of the last legitimate Adept of the organization they seemed to hold in such high regard.<br />
<br />
Maybe if I'd been there to experience it first hand, the actions they took wouldn't seem to be quite the self-serving steps taken by expelled, resigned, or disgusted ex-followers of a Zelator that they appear to be in retrospect.<br />
<br />
Regardless, history is history. In 1985, Grady died, and Bill Breeze was elected the Outer Head of the Ordo Templi Orientis. As Outer Head, he chose to ally the O.T.O. with the administrative organization led by Daniel Gunther, as was his right. I should note that I fully support the work of Breeze in his role of O.H.O. of O.T.O., and nothing in this discussion should be taken to mean otherwise. I stand with Seckler herself in recognition of his leadership of the Order.<br />
<br />
The O.T.O. currently continues to officially work closely with this administrative group, although there are hundreds of initiates from other A.'.A.'. claimant groups working productively within the O.T.O. as well, at all levels of membership and in administrative capacities.<br />
<br />
But during this time, Phyllis Seckler was not idle. Seckler’s contributions to the O.T.O. are seldom called into question. It is known that she was the impetus that resulted in Grady exercising his Caliphate papers after the death of Karl Germer. Her participation in the initiations in the mid-1970s of new members is also on record, and there is little dispute that she is one of the main reasons the O.T.O. exists at all today. Her perseverance, her dedication, and her discretion kept the O.T.O. vibrant, authentic, and fundamentally alive.<br />
<br />
Her Work in the A.'.A.'. continued as well, though with considerably less public recognition or acknowledgment. With the death of Karl Germer, she found herself in the position of being the highest ranked documented A.'.A.'. initiate on the planet, and saying so in this way puts a particularly fine point on a subject many people would like to see disappear.<br />
<br />
Seckler had Sascha Germer and Marcelo Motta corresponding with her about all manner of things regarding the successorship of the O.T.O. and the bodies of Thelema. Her responses are vague, and tended to mollify his claims, mostly in the interests of keeping peace so that the establishment of Thelema could continue uninterrupted.<br />
<br />
Throughout her life in the Order, and since her passing, she has not been afforded, in my opinion, the respect or recognition she earned by virtue of her dedication to her personal Work, and the establishment of Thelema as a living, breathing, and growing body. I've often speculated that had she been born a man, we'd be a part of a completely different Thelemic community.<br />
<br />
Instead, we have the kinds of statements we find in <i>In the Center of the Fire</i> related to her alleged complicity to the thefts of documents from the O.T.O. library that border on slander. Wasserman at one moment acknowledges Germer's confirmation of her degree, and in the next rejects her advice relative to Reguli, even though her warnings about his activities mirrored exactly the conclusion he reached in later self-assessment. Even in comments on this series of posts, standards of authentication are brought up that apply, apparently, to her alone. Her attainment is questioned, her authority is questioned, her activities (documented at length) are questioned, and history itself is rewritten to conform to a story that simply never happened.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, Wasserman's published complaints that Grady failed to "muzzle" Phyllis in her expressions of her opinions, historical facts, and the harsh realities he was not equipped to process at the time show neither respect nor reverence for a member of the Sovereign Sanctuary. He refers to her as if she were a dog, rather than the person whose efforts ensured that he himself had a chance to become a member of the O.T.O., and who was the highest-legitimately-ranked member of the A.'.A.'. at the death of Karl Germer .<br />
<br />
Seckler never publicly took actions that she felt were harmful to the Orders, and while she would defend her status and her Work to the very end, she maintained a low profile for the sake of peace.<br />
<br />
Instead, she continued her Work. She took on the responsibilities of the administrative triumvirate of the A.'.A.'., serving as the <i>de facto</i> Praemonstrator, Imperator, and Cancellarius as Crowley and Germer had before her. She continued to take on new students (not that there were very many during that Thelemic “dark age” from the early 1960's to the early 1970's,) to teach the lessons of the A.'.A.'., testing the students as she had been tested, and implementing the structure of the A.'.A.'. Crowley had left behind, in some cases for the first time in history.<br />
<br />
Over the years, she continued to maintain the formulae of the A.'.A.'. as Crowley intended them. Records of students writing her, receiving the list of required documents, and their subsequent tests and advancement through the degrees attest to this fact. It is public knowledge that she partnered with James Eshelman for a time (though they were not on speaking terms at the end of her life) and passed her teachings on to others who continue to work with students in their own rights as legitimate heirs to the legacy of the A.'.A.'.. Although Seckler had also founded the College of Thelema in the early 1970s as an additional avenue of instruction, her administration of A.'.A.'. proper never ceased.<br />
<div>
<br />
* This post largely ignores the history of the various claimant groups throughout Central and South America. There are groups today that claim heritage from Motta around the world, and they seem to have had a very different experience than is represented in either the correspondence between Germer, Motta, and Seckler, or in <i>In the Center of the Fire.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-9121791500155958782016-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:002016-11-22T05:49:19.221-08:00From Cefalu to Sacramento Part 2: Enter Marcelo MottaPicking up where we left off in the previous installment, Aleister Crowley and Karl Germer both served as superiors to Jane Wolfe within the A.'.A.'., and Wolfe served as superior to Phyllis Seckler until her health failed. Germer gradually took over as Seckler's de facto superior and, along the way, recognized her as a 5<sup>○</sup>=6<sup>□</sup> in 1952. At his death, without declaring a clear successor (more on this later), the leadership of the Order was in question. It is reasonable to assume that leadership should pass to someone with significant spiritual “seniority," in terms of their actual grade, and also someone who could ably bear the authority of V.V.V.V.V., as evidenced by their own interior linkage to this spiritual source, as well as the fruits of their work in the world. As we will demonstrate, the person most qualified to inherit this mantle of leadership was Phyllis Seckler.<br />
<br />
However, at this time, a man already exhibiting the symptoms of mental illness that would echo throughout his lifetime chose to declare himself the head of the A.'.A.'., and later attempted to claim that the O.T.O. was also his inheritance. As we will see, his self-declaration of achievement, and demand of recognition in his self-proclaimed roles set the pattern of events that continue to echo through to today.<br />
<br />
This man was Marcelo Motta. Among many other roles he carved out for himself in his lifetime, he became a thorn in the side of the modern O.T.O., the catalyst of our legal recognition as the sole continuation of Aleister Crowley's O.T.O., and perhaps one of the least mentally stable sources of the current state of affairs related to the number of "administrative bodies" claiming to represent the A.'.A.'. created by Aleister Crowley<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Marcelo Motta was apparently initiated as a member of the Fraternitas Rosicrucianus Antiqua (FRA) in Brazil at the ripe old age of 17. He left Brazil under political pressure to travel to Europe and the United states, and later he portrayed this voyage as being part of a mission assigned to him by the leadership of the Brazilian FRA, to meet the head of their order at the time, one Parsifal Krumm-Heller. Parsifal was the son of Arnold Krumm-Heller, who had written a novel about the Rosicrucians that inspired young Motta.<br />
<br />
Arnold Krumm-Heller was a German fascist sympathizer and Hitler apologist who spent much of his adult life in Central and South America, serving as a military advisor, mercenary, and aiding various governments in their wars as he saw fit. One of the first ex-O.T.O. members, he was initiated into the O.T.O. as a contemporary of Theodore Reuss. He met with Aleister Crowley, and thought highly of his works in the esoteric communities. He went on to form the FRA based on his own understanding and ongoing study of the occult arts.<br />
<br />
Marcelo Motta, years later, found his way to the teachings of Aleister Crowley through the writings of John Symonds, specifically the book <i>The Great Beast</i>. Initially nervous about accepting the teachings of the Wickedest Man in the World, it was Parsifal Krumm-Heller, the legal leader of the FRA, who managed to convince Motta that there was something of value to be found in Thelema.<br />
<br />
Motta was born in 1931, and Symonds' book was published in 1951. Parsifal Krumm-Heller eventually went on to introduce Motta to Karl Germer in 1953. When Motta was first introduced to the ideas, teachings, and philosophies of the Great Beast, he would have been between the ages of 20-22 years. He would have been studying the FRA teachings for 3-5 years at this point, with, we presume the same level of intent he showed later in his life as a Probationer.<br />
<br />
I can only imagine what it was like moving into Crowley's work from the perspective of a person trained in the esoteric arts by a German fascist sympathizer and Hitler apologist who created his own Rosicrucian Order when extant Orders failed to provide him with the education he thought they should teach. Later events indicate the cognitive dissonance between his early exposure to the occult sciences and the liberating truths presented in the A.'.A.'. and the O.T.O. were in conflict throughout Motta's occult career.<br />
<br />
In 1953, Parsifal introduced Motta to Karl Germer, and Germer offered Motta initiation into the O.T.O. or the A.’. A.'.. Motta chose the A.'.A.'., having no interest in the O.T.O.<br />
<br />
I've looked for some documentation that indicated the Motta actually signed a Probationer's Oath and took on the Work officially under Germer. That documentation doesn't exist. Germer was not as interested in keeping track of signed Oaths as I sometimes wish he were.<br />
<br />
It makes sense--it's not like he signed the Adeptus Minor's Oath in a concentration camp before he attained K&C of the HGA. These were the "pioneer" days, as Crowley commented in Jane Wolfe's diaries, the days when the active leadership members were also the active Candidates pursuing the Work with all their hearts, minds, and spirits.<br />
<br />
Motta's A.'.A.'. career is difficult to track, as a result. All we have are the records of what he claimed publicly, and some correspondence between himself and Germer. From these records, I've managed to put together the following:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>1953 - Karl Germer accepts Marcelo Motta in the A.'.A.'.. I would hope that Germer gave him the list of Student Materials, told him to go study them, and let him know when he was ready for the student test. I doubt that happened in real life though. What we do know is that, according to Motta, in ....</li>
<li>1960 - 7 years after his initial acceptance into the A.'.A.'., Motta claims to have completed the Probationer Work. I personally find it fascinating that it took him 7 years to complete the Probationer Work. Rumor has it that C.F. Fuller took 4 years to finish the Student Test. I've taken it, and I understand, it's an ordeal. But in 7 years, Motta went from Student to the completion of Probationer Work, by his own claims. Seckler was 5<sup>○</sup>=6<sup>□</sup> in 12 years. </li>
<li>1961 - A year after he claimed he completed the Probationer Work, Motta published a copy of Liber Aleph. In the Imprimatur of that work, his symbol appears with the indication he is a 6<sup>○</sup>=5<sup>□</sup>. While this might be considered an “honorary” grade of Adeptus Major, it would only have been so in the same way that JFC Fuller was noted as a 5<sup>○</sup>=6<sup>□</sup> on various Imprimaturs published while Crowley lived. In reality Fuller still remained a Probationer. This Imprimatur might have established him as a member of the administration of the A.'.A.'., if it were in fact recognized and supported by anything written by Germer. Instead, correspondence shows that Germer had a completely different response after Motta began making certain claims:</li>
<li>1962, June - In response to some megalomaniacal and disturbing claims made by Motta, Karl Germer responds unequivocally and clearly as his superior in the A.'.A.'. that Motta is "a Neophyte, at best*."</li>
<li>1962, July - To which Marcelo Motta responded... "Yea, you're right, I renounce any claims to anything higher." I'm paraphrasing, but Motta agreed with Germer that he was nothing more than a Neophyte.</li>
<li>1962, October - Karl Germer dies, without naming anyone to follow him as the leader of the O.T.O. or the A.'.A.'. in writing. There are claims that Sascha said Germer named him “the Follower” on his death bed, but these fail to hold much water in full context. While there is no clear paper trail validating claims to Motta’s succession as head of the A.'.A.'., even those groups who claim he was the heir to the A.'.A.'. recognize and support the fact that Motta was suffering from multiple mental illnesses. These mental illnesses effectively left him incompetent to administer anything at the time of Germer’s death. </li>
<li>1963, January – Motta writes a letter to Sascha Germer in which he signs off as a 2<sup>○</sup>=9<sup>□</sup>, effectively claiming his status as Zelator.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-4ZYFhVdi7cFefhXcy4p6xBjw_5FYj9hQDnE_9_J_PSGUD31k4jErU9vA1ENBVvdxtVZdfICcb1aMCARfzKiDZsWeqLoGvOxcIQaqEHKvDonYeSUc8zE1vjNBuxNGlPn8Wb1ZuoeikI/s1600/corrected_Timeline3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-4ZYFhVdi7cFefhXcy4p6xBjw_5FYj9hQDnE_9_J_PSGUD31k4jErU9vA1ENBVvdxtVZdfICcb1aMCARfzKiDZsWeqLoGvOxcIQaqEHKvDonYeSUc8zE1vjNBuxNGlPn8Wb1ZuoeikI/s640/corrected_Timeline3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Motta's A.'.A.'. Path to Zelator</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So at the death of Karl Germer, Marcello Motta acknowledged he was a Neophyte, at best. Some sources indicate he completed the Zelator work shortly before the death of Germer, but I haven't seen anything other than his own writings that indicate his superior in the Order acknowledged his claims in any way.<br />
<br />
Again, this only matters because people, mostly Motta at the time, but later others, claimed that Motta was somehow the legitimate successor to the A.'.A.'. and the O.T.O. Though Sascha Germer later noted to Motta that he was named “the Follower” on Germer’s death bed, the veracity of this claim, the context, and the state of mind of Germer at the time is unknown. When combined with the mental state of Sascha, as shown in her correspondences with Motta, this claim seems likely spurious. Motta himself expressed confusion about what this “Follower” business meant, in a letter to Sascha after Germer’s death. Regardless, the obvious deterioration of Motta’s mental state, as attested to by his own writings and the reactions of his disciples, students, co-workers, and everyone else who worked with him makes it abundantly clear that he was mentally incompetent to lead anything at the time of Germer’s death or beyond.<br />
<br />
Following Karl Germer's death, Seckler maintained correspondence with Sascha Germer, Marcelo Motta, Gerald Yorke, and many others as she sought to figure out what should happen next. Reading through the old letters between Seckler and Motta, it becomes pretty clear that she was already aware that he had reached the disconnection with sanity later noted by Wasserman in <i>In the Center of the Fire</i>. In her letters, she would placate his more extreme statements, while continuing to strive to accomplish the best interests of the Orders. Her dedication to the preservation of fraternity and peace at the time continues to impact the circumstances we find ourselves in to this day.<br />
<br />
Looking back, I really wish she had been more strident about the administrative succession of the A.'.A.'.. I appreciate that she wanted to keep peace for the good of Thelema, but she had a right that she never chose to exercise because she didn't want to make trouble. She was a woman in a male-dominated world, and we can see how the men treated her in the 1970s through the 1980s in Wasserman’s account, and how the men she was inspiring to re-form Thelema and the O.T.O. treated her personally, esoterically, and professionally. She chose the honorable route, laying down her rights so that people would focus more on rebuilding the O.T.O. rather than being yet another divisive voice in the crowd. While I respect her choices, I regret that they were necessary.<br />
<br />
Seckler did, however, leave us an important document detailing her concerns about claimant groups opportunistically attempting to claim A.'.A.'. as their own, as well as her views of her own grade status, and that of Marcelo Motta. This document, drafted in 2000 e.v. near the end of her life, was her commentary on the Constitution of the Order of Thelemites. While this document doesn’t pertain to successorship in A.’.A.’. per se, it does make clear her views on relevant matters such as those mentioned above. Reprinted here in its entirety:<br />
<div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRIQTjWWjPEPFnLda8YwvWXzKQaNqhMjs9ixkDyNp8kHACbQff4-_wieBH3jZreHZTZVfT4wcVYS0rbaoWjZ-2dqatYw1h3j-We2hPdzChTRxE7y8vEpsr6brIjXqqdTP-RecS-cCEcQ/s1600/Seckler_Order_Thelemites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRIQTjWWjPEPFnLda8YwvWXzKQaNqhMjs9ixkDyNp8kHACbQff4-_wieBH3jZreHZTZVfT4wcVYS0rbaoWjZ-2dqatYw1h3j-We2hPdzChTRxE7y8vEpsr6brIjXqqdTP-RecS-cCEcQ/s640/Seckler_Order_Thelemites.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <i>The Kabbalah, Magick, and Thelema, Selected Writings Vol.II</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
* The context of this quote is:<br />
<br />
"If one tried to go into refuting or arguing your recent letters one would run the risk of getting contaminated by the demonic forces that have got a hold of you. What I will do is give you the benefit of my experience. It has been my privilege or misfortune to have to watch at least a score of “experts of delusion” in the last more than thirty-five years of my connection with Thelema!)<br />
<br />
"What you claim – the title of BEAST – is only minor, i.e. a repeat of another title. (Yet Crowley assumed the grade only 15 years after he had become M.T., while you are at best a Neophyte!)"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-41121248300148449922016-11-19T06:44:00.000-08:002016-11-19T10:34:24.478-08:00From Cefalu to Sacramento Part 1: Crowley through Seckler<i>Note: Months ago, we started exploring the history of the A.'.A.'., and I thought it would be fun to type up how we went from where Crowley started things to our current experiences. I thought it would be a couple weeks between posts, but the more I got into it, the bigger the "next" post became, until I ended up with a 6600-word essay that's definitely in the TL;DR category. I've broken that piece into several more-digestable parts that will be published over the next few weeks. </i><br />
<h2>
From Cefalu to Sacramento </h2>
<h3>
Part 1: From Crowley to Seckler</h3>
Trying to figure out why there are so many different A.'.A.'. groups today led me to ask David Shoemaker how it all happened. His response began, "Well, to really understand that, you have to go back to the state of affairs when Germer died..."<br />
<br />
We went on to have a discussion that went on over multiple evenings. These conversations filled in the gaps in my understanding, and explained the situation clearly. I had already gone through several of Jane Wolfe and Phyllis Seckler’s diaries, books, and personal correspondences, and had a pretty solid understanding of their personal experiences and the kinds of things they recorded for themselves, their superiors, and the things they said publicly. The things David Shoemaker shared filled in the practical, administrative, and functional gaps of the narrative that don’t get mentioned in magical diaries, or the kinds of letters shared between Phyllis and her superior in the Order about her HGA experiences, or in regular publications.<br />
<br />
Reading Brother Wasserman's <i>In the Center of the Fire</i> provided an alternate view of the events surrounding a lot of the Order’s history, and shed some light on the peculiar impact of Marcelo Motta on the state of affairs we have to deal with today. While I completely disagree with Wasserman’s conclusions about Seckler, his memoir of the time provides a raw look at his experiences with the key players he interacted with and his own involvement with them.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, Wasserman’s account is presented with a no-holds-barred honesty in which he documents the correlation between uncontrolled drug addiction and grandiose spiritual experiences, his own naiveté as a child of the sixties, and his fundamental lack of preparation to face the trials and ordeals he went through during this period of his life.<br />
<br />
Tracking down reliable information relative to the claimants who trace themselves back through Grady McMurtry was more difficult. While there are reams of published materials available on the internet, much of it comes from questionable resources and unverifiable claims. Sifting through that was a nightmare full of dead ends, as you can imagine.<br />
<br />
I ended up reaching out to my friends who trace their A.'.A.'. experiences back to Grady McMurtry, and wound up receiving an honest and clean account from a first-hand eye witness to the stuff that went down when it was going down. There are some interesting arguments related to the authority of Grady to take on students, or to represent the A.'.A.'. as its leader that, frankly, don’t make much sense to me. That said, with a couple notable exceptions, the people I’ve met in groups descended from Grady are consistently the kind of magicians I like to hang out with. They generally have done the Work, and have integrated it to the point where they can carry on a decent conversation without it degenerating into meaninglessness.<br />
<br />
Documenting the history of the orders up through the last quarter of the 20th century e.v. is fairly easy. The people in question have left historic records, and their writings are fixed reference points to which we can refer as we discuss history. It’s historically documented. However, when we start getting past the 1970s e.v., we start to interact with people who are still alive, which makes it a lot harder to say, “this is what they did in their lives, and at the end of their incarnations in this plane, this is what they accomplished and what they’ve left us to sort through.” We simply can’t speak of the living conclusively, because they haven't, ah... concluded.<br />
<br />
And because they haven't concluded yet, there's a lot left that can happen. Minds might change, people might see things differently, apparent successors might renounce all occultism and return to the religion of their birth, leaving everyone else wondering what the actual heck just happened, as one (cough cough cough Achad cough cough cough) does.<br />
<br />
With this in mind, I think it’s probably best to just delineate the main points to date as they pertain to other people’s public statements, and then to focus on the events leading the A.’. A.’. to Sacramento.<br />
Over the course of this work, I’ve been keeping track of things as they unfold using a timeline that shows the ongoing chain of events. It’s been pretty useful, I must say. I like pictures, dates, and small words to summarize things, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this is definitely that picture:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNXqszSqwIiQ4V54u_N6xRvLQ_lXrg_Xvccfq5TlVXlgBvwrGWmf9FnSxFKA4Uz6PZiQeMeejApasIAlU2EL4PEw7cUyWDipck5OiRfkBCl58D7sF_7g5_44vrLS2691MB7YDdMiBW_I/s1600/corrected_Timeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNXqszSqwIiQ4V54u_N6xRvLQ_lXrg_Xvccfq5TlVXlgBvwrGWmf9FnSxFKA4Uz6PZiQeMeejApasIAlU2EL4PEw7cUyWDipck5OiRfkBCl58D7sF_7g5_44vrLS2691MB7YDdMiBW_I/s640/corrected_Timeline.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Whole Enchilada</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
But a picture isn’t a thousand words, really. So let’s tell the story then, shall we?<br />
<br />
We’ll begin at Cefalu.<br />
<br />
It's April 1920, and Aleister Crowley and his whole squad is totally on point. He is Magus, he is the Prophet, he is the gate of manifestation of the Aeon of Horus, and he's got one of the very first hippy communes ever set up, in beautiful Cefalu, Sicily. He's got acolytes, disciples, and groupies. He's got it going on. The Abbey of Thelema is open for spiritual business, there's drugs, there's ceremonial magick, there's asana and pranayama, and all the sex you can imagine.<br />
<br />
Things are going pretty well, if he does say so himself.<br />
<br />
And he's not just a local phenomenon. His reputation and influence has spread around the world, even to the silver screen of Hollywood. He has been in touch with a young starlet named Jane Wolfe, and she has agreed to come and join him on his adventure, to participate in the grand experiment, and to devote herself to the teachings of the A.'.A.'..<br />
<br />
When she arrived, she immersed herself into the communal life. Her diaries of the seven years she spent at Cefalu are a clear demonstration of what it was that Crowley expected from his A.'.A.'. students in real life. The exercises he assigned her, the documentation requirements, the progress made and the hand written feedback in the margins are a clear record of what it means to be a member of the A.'.A.'. the way Crowley ran things in actual practice. He came pretty close to following his own recommended approaches to things, but there were a lot of deviations as he saw fit. It's amazing to have such a complete record of what Crowley actually did with his students through her diary entries.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh951i7CHFtIB2C83Kr_Zb-CmBu3S_LSlO58fZAQeOiDsT109DKN8GREYYtLzORq31GFp2kBycZ_nTgkt6V2MWWhJgXXBk-8LqbJC9G8BAkDowhbaku_o-jyPra-Efkb6Exkysez9VvNj0/s1600/corrected_Timeline2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh951i7CHFtIB2C83Kr_Zb-CmBu3S_LSlO58fZAQeOiDsT109DKN8GREYYtLzORq31GFp2kBycZ_nTgkt6V2MWWhJgXXBk-8LqbJC9G8BAkDowhbaku_o-jyPra-Efkb6Exkysez9VvNj0/s640/corrected_Timeline2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Closer View of Jane Wolfe's Time at Cefalu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She spent three years with Crowley at Cefalu. She ended up leaving after Loveday died, but before Mussolini was convinced to kick Crowley out of Italy. Crowley sent her first to London, expecting her to single-handedly put together a Cefalu Mark II on her own, with little resources, few contacts, and no source of income.<br />
<br />
This didn't exactly work out the way Crowley had hoped. Wolfe spent months trying different tactics to find a way to help Crowley accomplish his intentions, but there was little money, less support, and none of the kinds of financial windfalls that would have been necessary for her to succeed in her mission. Over time, her health deteriorated, and she eventually had to return to the United States for surgery and recuperation.<br />
<br />
When she had recovered, she returned to the service of the OTO and A.'.A.'. in California, joining Wilfred Smith at Agape Lodge II, which took the place of Smith’s initial efforts at Agape Lodge I in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. By the end of World War II in 1945, she was a pillar of the last remaining Thelemic community on the planet. Various individual members remained scattered around the world, and maintained communications with Crowley and Germer, but Agape Lodge had become the last active group in the body of the Order. And it was beset by the challenges of the birth pains of the Aeon, both within and without.<br />
<br />
It was here that Wolfe met Phyllis Seckler, who became her student in the A.'.A.'.. Seckler was a pragmatic and intense person, whose experience as a high school teacher educating adolescents served her well in her later years in both the O.T.O. and the A.'.A.'.. Between June of 1940, and June of 1952, Seckler applied her tenacity, intelligence, and her Will to accomplishing the Work of A.'.A.'.. During this time, Wolfe's health again deteriorated, and eventually Karl Germer took over Seckler’s direct supervision within the A.'.A.'.. He acknowledged her attainment of the 5<sup>○</sup>=6<sup>□</sup> grade in 1952, first in personal correspondence with Jane Wolfe, and later directly to Seckler.<br />
<br />
The two continued their relationship as student and teacher throughout the rest of Germer's life. When he died in 1962, Seckler's actual grade was not a matter of public knowledge or commentary, but she was officially, per the O.H.O. of the O.T.O. and Head of the A.'.A.'., recognized as 5<sup>○</sup>=6<sup>□</sup>. This, as we will see, becomes important as time goes by.<br />
<br />
In our next installment, we'll examine one of the primary sources of conflict within the Orders historically, the echoes of whose madness continue to be heard today.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-45605795864900995362016-09-16T12:57:00.001-07:002016-09-16T12:57:09.694-07:00United States of Hoodoo Screening and Q&A with Darius James at Leaping Laughter Lodge Tonight!This Friday, join Leaping Laughter Lodge and Darius James for The United States of Hoodoo!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPHbwM8iOMgIHNz6M2BO4yBDM8YvaZ5BGvDaR9U3tT65HNyTpVQBTDTZ3ZHHgILglkc7knc5E3j38_dl2R2J6Cnk2yPeZKd1finlB7csWf5T3Un1pXlVMCNR2u5fZv3g7mfmUQnY7rKA/s1600/hoodoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPHbwM8iOMgIHNz6M2BO4yBDM8YvaZ5BGvDaR9U3tT65HNyTpVQBTDTZ3ZHHgILglkc7knc5E3j38_dl2R2J6Cnk2yPeZKd1finlB7csWf5T3Un1pXlVMCNR2u5fZv3g7mfmUQnY7rKA/s400/hoodoo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Movie night at the lodge is a normally a chance to hang out, watch some interesting films, and enjoy a lively discussion about the films as we watch, or after. This month though, we have a special treat. We’ll be showing the United States of Hoodoo, and thanks to some connections to the writer, we will have Darius James joining us via Skype after the screening for discussion on hoodoo, the making of the film, and a Q&A session! The film is focused on “how African based spirituality has influenced America´s popular culture. The old African gods have taken on new forms since their arrival on North America's shores. Their spirit now manifests itself in turn-table wizardry, improvisational skills and mind-blowing collages, rituals and performances. The film shakes up traditional and stereotypical ways of thinking about race, religion, rationality. Through meetings with musicians, writers and artists, miracle healers, gumbo cooks and Mississippi Blues men, this documentary explores a culture which has always drawn on a unique mix of different ethnic influences to produce its cultural diversity, allure, and vitality.”<br />
<br />
Darius James was a close high school friend of Sallie Ann Glassman, who was recently interviewed by our own Deputy Lodge Master Harper Feist for the Thelema Now! Podcast. Currently, he is exploring the spiritual reality of Haitian voodoo through his friend, Val Jeanty, the electronic drummer featured in the documentary.<br />
<br />
PLEASE NOTE: Darius has recently suffered a house fire, and without insurance is facing the huge task of replacing his hearth and home and all his possessions on his own. All donations received this month from Movie Night will be forwarded on to his crowd-funding recovery campaign. I can tell you, house fire recovery sucks, even when no one is injured.<br />
<br />
Come one, come all, join us for an evening exploring the kind of practical magic that makes what we do meaningful in this whole “Great Work” thing we do. Suggested donation is $15 at the door, but whatever you bring will be appreciated!"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/tcvtsmzw">https://www.gofundme.com/tcvtsmzw</a></div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-4623871936803814862016-08-24T10:40:00.002-07:002016-08-24T10:40:34.018-07:00Opening Remarks of 2016 OTO Symposium "Women and the Feminine in Thelema"<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sweet sisters and brothers, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m Harper Feist, the Deputy Master of Leaping Laughter
Lodge here in the Twin Cities and I am hugely honored to be the on-site Chair
of this 2016 OTO Womens’ Symposium.
Thank you all for coming!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a short statement prepared for this august event and
I have three pieces of business to address.
First, there is the matter of THANKS. Then there will be a couple of
moments focused on pragmatics. After
that, I want to address the symposium logo and my infatuation with the Statue
of Liberty. The flames on the logo are
the hearth fires of the OTO, maintained by the women, ignited by Liberty. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had a teacher once who said, “If you only practice
gratitude, it is enough.” In that vein, I offer thanks in what I hope is
chronological order (please raise your hand as I acknowledge you):<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ixel Balamke, the master of LLL, for suggesting this crazy
thing in the first place.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rufus Opus, my partner in all the crimes and the AV dude for
the conference. Also the bourbon
expert. Good guy to know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nessa Cohorn, my wonder twin and US Conference Guru, for
emails without count, jokes without tasteful boundaries, and that little ritual
to make sure everything worked out just right. It probably resulted in someone
thinking he was having a hot flash. You
and I have work to do together, you know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Magenta, of LLL, who knows the Twin Cities better than
anyone else, and who helped my craft the FAQ email.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To our ritual team, Elizabeth, Rufus, Ixel, Hunahpu, Joni
and Fr. Barabbas. You will all see later why thanks should profuse and
tasty. Standing with you, we will all be
gods.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Kat, our graceful muse and introducer par
excellence. Thanks for taking an
important job, recognized at the last moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Joni, my fellow moderator at the panel discussion. Thanks for helping me swing that microphone!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Kelly, our event photographer. She normally shoots footage of athletic
events, so I hope you do not disappoint her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Sam, our sound engineer and DJ. He’s seriously doing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Hunahpu: the
chocolate and roses were just right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Josh, Kirstine and Andrew, who are ready to do
anything. Over the course of the next
couple of years, you’ll know exactly what you signed up for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To Martin, my runner.
Only time will tell how much exercise you’ll get this weekend!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To the staff of Hotel Minneapolis, who’ve been wonderful to
work with and who will be showing us the best time the Twin Cities has to offer
this weekend<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to you all!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A brief break into the pragmatic:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The schedule is on-line only, but we’ll have a hard copy of
it posted near the door. If you need
help, look for the folks with LLL on the corner of their name tag. They all have my cell phone number and will
run to ground any issue you have.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The presentation room is called Equity and is
downstairs. We’ll be having the ceremony
there on Sunday afternoon after lunch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I mentioned, the hotel staff is here to make you visit
more pleasant than you thought possible, if you need anything, they will gladly
direct you at the front desk. If we LLL
folks can help further, please let us know!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, who among you have a relationship with the Statue of
Liberty?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have loved her since I was a little Thelemite, knee-high
to a groundhog….no, I mean a gopher. This
IS Minnesota, after all. I was five when
I decided that the spikes sticking out of her head were much better than a
halo, and I was right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from
France, and was entitled, LIBERTY ENLIGHTING THE WORLD. She was forged in copper and transported in
pieces to New York City. The build was
final and the statue dedicated in 1886. The statue is of a robed female figure
representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata
(a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The
statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States, and was a welcoming
sight to immigrants arriving from abroad.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The American poet, Emma Lazarus, wrote a poem during the
construction of the base to raise money for the erection of the statue, and it
was this poem that firstly brought my attention back to the statue during my
preliminary efforts at organization. I’d
like to read it to you:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The New Colossus<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries
she<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My sisters and brothers, gaze into one another’s fierce
and gorgeous eyes. We are that lightning;
we are that flame, we are the chains, broken beneath our feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Welcome to the 2016 OTO Women’s Symposium, “Women and the
Feminine in the Thelema!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Love is the law, love under will!<o:p></o:p></div>
Harper Feisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11842777275129971400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-66900295721231724932016-08-08T10:31:00.000-07:002019-04-15T11:54:44.196-07:00Women's Symposium Original Ritual: The Courtship of Babalon and Chaos<h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LqV8OMswnIxEFOjS0UgVMpIVkU_jqsqo8qku4gBYCMtf6U35x9g1XSYfaRJj6BeHLaRzKwDVAbJ6Wcd3ZDi7VIAB6A5rqqiRw-eJH5P1jico6YKU8VBVFHOyWzcOcQrNLW5WJjC0NNc/s1600/Thelemic-Womens-sympoisum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="720" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LqV8OMswnIxEFOjS0UgVMpIVkU_jqsqo8qku4gBYCMtf6U35x9g1XSYfaRJj6BeHLaRzKwDVAbJ6Wcd3ZDi7VIAB6A5rqqiRw-eJH5P1jico6YKU8VBVFHOyWzcOcQrNLW5WJjC0NNc/s640/Thelemic-Womens-sympoisum.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
The Courtship of Babalon and Chaos</h2>
</div>
</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Closing Ritual for the OTO Women’s Symposium, August 2016</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
By Harper Feist </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(With thanks for word wrangling by Rufus Opus, the first Chaos, and blocking help from the original team, Elizabeth Miner, Ixel Balamke and Hunahpu, Joni Watling and Frater Barrabas.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
4 and 7 is 11.</div>
<div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Setting </h3>
<ul>
<li>LED candles suspended from ceiling (about 30 needed) </li>
<li>Bright light over the place where B will stand </li>
<li>Black veil in the east, perhaps on the dais with a throne behind </li>
<li>Double-cube altar in the center </li>
<li>Personae dramatis: A priest who plays Chaos, a priestess who plays Babalon, a deacon who plays a deacon, four attendants in black, one soldier at the door.</li>
</ul>
<i>Female Attendants: sing the Babalon chant as people gather before the door. </i><br />
<h3>
Deacon Speech </h3>
DEACON: <br />
<br />
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law! <br />
<br />
Welcome to Leaping Laughter Lodge’s presentation of the original ritual entitled “The Courtship of Babalon and Chaos.” This Eucharistic rite was inspired by an essay written by Soror Helena and Frater Sabazius regarding the Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Mass. In it, the Babalon/Chaos couple was equated to other creation Goddess/God pairs, including those that are the topic of the world’s first written story, Inanna and Dumuzi. We borrow some of the original Sumerian words from this story, both the translated and transliterated texts, for the actual courtship portion of the rite. <br />
<br />
At the heart of the rite, there is the adoration of Babalon, though, so there must be a blood sacrifice (ham this up). This will be accomplished figuratively with a small portion of wine that you will be given when you enter the temple. There will be a part in the ritual where you take the tube of wine – now your blood – and pour it into the cup brought to you by an attendant. <br />
<br />
There will come a time in the ritual when I (Deacon) perform a brief adoration to Babalon. Please join me in any way that you desire. <br />
<br />
Shortly after this section, you and I will share a call and response piece. I will turn outward toward the congregation to make this clear. When the call and response portion is complete, I will turn back to the action in the ritual and address myself to the Priestess and Priest. <br />
<br />
This is the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast. <br />
<br />
Thou shalt drain out thy blood that is thy life into the golden cup. Thou shalt mingle thy life with the universal life. Thou shalt keep not back one drop. <br />
<br />
Love is the law, love under will. <br />
<br />
<i>The people process into the temple. The female attendants give out the tubes of wine. </i><br />
<h3>
The Opening Scenario </h3>
Chaos sits in the east, behind a veil (on a throne on dais steps). <br />
<br />
People gather in a vesica piscis shape. The chairs will be rearranged to that they can sit. Once all the people are in and calm, the attendants should take up their positions around the altar. They are to be living pillars in the temple. <br />
<br />
Deacon waits for congregation to settle, then acknowledges continuous presence of chaos (talking to the curtain): <br />
<br />
D: Blackness, blackness intolerable, before the beginning of the light. Beginning ineffable, darkness unbroken, creation awaiting in potential, energy pausing for the arrival of matter. Holy art thou, Chaos, Chaos, ever and never present, you are the rushing, the leaping, the swirling, unpredictability, the delicious strange attractor. <br />
<br />
D: You are the snake that devoureth the spirit of man with the lust of light. You are the sightless storm in the night that wrappeth the world about with desolation. Chaos is your name, and you are the blessed thick power and potence. You pour yourself into the material world, the creation of experience. The God we feel in the quickening pulse, the god we feel in the quickening womb. <br />
<br />
D: Seemingly, you move without plan, without art, but all was established in the beginning, your Genesis is the butterfly’s wing. </div>
<div>
D: Are you the dark or the light? All the double phenomena are only two ways of looking at a single phenomenon; and the single phenomenon is Peace. <br />
<br />
CHAOS: Aye, this present Cosmos is the War of the Rose and the Cross, but I was the singular blackness, a blackness intolerable. Before “In the beginning,” it was written, “Holy art thou, Chaos, Chaos, Eternity, all contradictions in terms!” <br />
<br />
C: Yet Cosmos must come, and in this Cosmos must the balance be set up where there was no need of balance, because there was no injustice, but only truth. But when the balances are equal, scale matched with scale, then will Chaos return. <br />
<br />
C: Beneath my feet is the kingdom, and upon my head the crown. I AM is spirit and matter; I AM is peace and power; in me is Chaos and Night and Pan, and thus also upon Babalon my concubine, that hath made me drunk upon the blood of the saints that she hath gathered in her golden cup. And this is that which is written: Malkuth shall be uplifted and set upon the throne of Binah. <br />
<br />
<i>Deacon indicates that people should stand. <br /><br />Babalon walks from west side of room to center on west side of altar. She is dressed in red under white wrapping, covering her entirely. She should look a lot like a mummy. She says nothing and stands under the one bright light. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Gong begins…</i><br />
ATTENDANTS: Wine Collection - Each beginning at a cardinal direction, and moving clockwise. Female Attendants in North and West, Male Attendants in East and South. <br />
<br />
Each will collect about 15 tubes of wine. It will likely take 7-10 minutes. The attendants should make this portion of the event impactful and heavy, by being slow, deliberate and somber. People can keep their test tubes. <br />
<br />
DEACON: Pours out all the peoples wine into the chalice, delivers to Babalon. <br />
<br />
BABALON: <i>Drinks Wine from Chalice.</i> <br />
<br />
<i>Gong playing peaks when she is drinking the wine. When wine is gone, silence. </i><br />
ATTENDANTS: <i>Four attendants remove white wrapping, revealing red garments, women on the north side of the temple, men on the south. After the unveiling, the wrapping should be left on the floor, draped as artfully as possible in a second or two. <br /><br />Attendants resume their places. </i><br />
<h3>
Adoration of BABALON. </h3>
<br />
CALL AND RESPONSE: <i>Call and response with congregants, this should be practiced with shills before the actual ritual. </i>DEACON: “Please repeat after me….” <br />
<br />
D: I love thee, O Lady of Holy Lust <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: I pour myself into your divine and holy Cup <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: Thou who gavest us flesh to clothe our naked spirits <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: thou who art the loveliness of the Great Sea <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: the wet and fertile smell of soil <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: the howl of the newly born <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: the gasp of the newly dying <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: you who art the womb of woman <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
D: and womb of Earth <br />
[Congregation Repeats] <br />
<br />
DEACON: <i>Makes the sign of Harpocrates and turns her back to the congregation. She may fall to her knees before Babalon if she desires. </i><br />
<br />
D: And thou who art called by man <br />
Mother of Abominations <br />
the divine mystery of whose adulteries <br />
is that thou yieldest thyself to all things <br />
Beautiful art thou, O Babalon, and desirable <br />
and in thy weakness hath subdued the strength of all <br />
therefore art thou called Understanding, O Babalon, <br />
I love thee, blessed Lady of the Night! <br />
I beg thee, Rider of the Beast, <br />
cremate all the dross within me <br />
make me new again and simple <br />
I beg thee to remove from me <br />
that which I am no longer <br />
Leave only the perfect structure of Now <br />
Ignite the fuse that leads to god and God <br />
so that I, like you, may burn in the innocent violence <br />
of sacred incineration <br />
And when the abyssal hole appears <br />
I beg thee be reaching to me from the other side <br />
as I continually pour myself into your divine and holy Cup <br />
<br />
BABALON: Lifts Deacon to her feet, and kisses her. Then she responds: <br />
<br />
B: There is nothing that I have not trampled beneath my feet. There is nothing that I have not set a garland on my brow. I have wound all things about my waist as a girdle. I have hidden all things in the cave of my heart. I have slain all things because I am Innocence. I have lain with all things because I am Untouched Virginity. I have given birth to all things because I am Death. Stainless are my lips, for they are redder than the purple of the vine, and of the blood wherewith I am intoxicated. <br />
<br />
B: Stainless is my forehead, for it is whiter than the wind and the dew that cooleth it. I am light, and I am night, and I am that which is beyond them. I am speech, and I am silence, and I am that which is beyond them. I am life, and I am death, and I am that which is beyond them. I am war and I am peace, and I am that which is beyond them. I am weakness, and I am strength, and I am that which is beyond them. Yet by none of these can man reach up to me. Yet by each of them must man reach up to me. Thou shalt laugh at the folly of the fool. Thou shalt learn the wisdom of the Wise. And thou shalt be initiate in holy things. And thou shalt be learned in the things of love, in the many things of love, and all the myriad things of love.] <br />
<br />
B: I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all. Dissolution. I am ready to dissolve and to be dissolved, to disappear into oneness…. <br />
<br />
C: So many stories are our story, beloved one – Once I was a young god strolling near the Euphrates and I said, “I sing your name BABALON, O BABALON, As I walk, as I walk, as I pass along the banks of the august river, as I roam along the banks of the Euphrates, as I pass along the gaudy streets: O my beautiful One, may you be as a seed planted in the dark and fertile soil; may you be the root; may you be the stem; may you be the bud, and the leaf, and the flower; may you be the fruit, a beautiful ripened fruit. May you be the one who beautifies, may you be the nursing mother of the womb, may you be your own mother's womb and all wombs, the root of all, a fertile vine, oh beloved. <br />
<br />
MALE ATTENDANTS: The male attendants open the curtain and bring forth Chaos. The shall lead him to Babalon’s side. After they do this, they should return to their positions. <br />
<br />
B: In the style of the first story, his consort answers, “May "There is enough, there is enough" be your blessing and a splendid utterance, and may "There is none" be your abomination. May you be the owner of a house where there is enough, with a beautiful sister, beautiful children! A beautiful storehouse. May you be the male in all men. May you be the son of your god, may you be handsome, may you be praised! </div>
<div>
B: May you be one who pleases his city's god, may you be a son who delights his mother, may you be the life-force of your city, may you be an honourable man, good offspring, may you be prosperous! May you own silver there, may you own grain there! Owning silver, may you delight in silver; owning grain, may you delight in grain! May you be valiant and joyous, may you never be blighted! May you be a soother of hearts, who never wearies of words! <br />
<br />
C: “As I said unto the Queen of Heaven, Babalon I would go with you to our garden, yea, I would go with you to our orchard; I would go with you even unto our apple tree. There I would plant the sweet honey covered seed. There I would enter into thy garden, into thy beautiful temple. There, with you, I would weave the Veil of Life upon the Face of the Spirit. <br />
<br />
FEMALE ATTENDANTS: <i>The female attendants come to either side of the pair, and join their hands, then push them gently together at the right moment. They should stand with the pair until the Sumerian portion is finished and then resume their position. </i>B: Let them erect for me my flowered bed. Let them spread it for me with herbs like translucent lapis lazuli. For me let them bring in the man of my heart. Let them bring in to me my beautiful love. Let them put his hand in my hand, let them put his heart by my heart. As hand is put to head, the sleep is so pleasant. As heart is pressed to heart, the pleasure is so sweet. <br />
<br />
44.šu-ni šu-ĝu-ta de-ĝa!-da-ma-ma-ne <br />
45.ša-ba-ni ša-ab-ĝu-ta de-ĝa-da-ma-ma-ne <br />
46.šu /saĝ\-še /ma\-al-la-na u ku-bi ze-ba an-ga <br />
47.ša-<ab> ša-ba tab-ba-na ḫi-li-bi ku-ku-da an-ga <br />
<br />
CHAOS and BABALON together: As hand is put to head, the sleep is so pleasant. As heart is pressed to heart, the pleasure is so sweet. </div>
<div>
ATTENDANTS: <i>All go behind the curtain and bring out the elements. The women bring the cakes to the north side of the Deacon, the men bring the wine to the south. </i><br />
<br />
DEACON: consecrates the elements:<br />
<br />
D: “This is the Kingship (cakes), <br />
<br />
D: “This is the Queenship (wine).” <br />
<br />
<i>Deacon hands C and B cookies, they eat as at a wedding cake cutting </i><br />
<i>Deacon hands C and B wines, same here </i><br />
DEACON, CHAOS and BABALON together: “To love!” <br />
<br />
FEMALE ATTENDANTS: raise cakes <br />
<br />
<i>C and B both kiss the tray. </i><br />
MALE ATTENDANTS: raise wine <br />
<br />
<i>C and B both kiss the tray. </i><br />
DEACON: Remind people to hold onto their Eucharist so that can all can commune together. <br />
<br />
ATTENDANTS: Distribute Eucharist. Men should start in the same places they began to pick up the wine, and move 180 degrees around the circle, clockwise. Women same, even though these do not overlap. </div>
<div>
ATTENDANTS: Return any leftovers behind the curtain and resume their positions, each with a cup and cake. <br />
<br />
ALL: Raise wine and cake, eat, and drink at once. </div>
<div>
ALL: “To love!” <br />
<h3>
The Blessing</h3>
</div>
<div>
D: Behold the faces of your God, the beginning of comfort, whose eyes are the brightness of the heavens which provided you for the government of the earth, and her unspeakable variety, furnishing you with a power of understanding, that ye might dispose all things according to the foresight of Them that sitteth on the Holy Throne, and rose up in the beginning, saying, The earth, let her be governed by her parts, and let there be division in her, that her glory may be always ecstasy. <br />
<br />
B: Behold the faces of your sisters, behold the faces of your brothers. So many keen minds, united in purpose, keen eyes; insightful and bold. Power and glory are yours in the now and the ever. Know that I am the seven-fold star that contains the mysteries of the Universe. Seek me in the darkness of night, in the darkness of fertile soil, in the depths of your soul. You are the many and the one. In your dissolution, there will be ecstasy. <br />
<br />
ALL: “So mote it be!” <br />
<br />
<i>Overhead light extinguished to signal end of ritual. All Exit, leaving Chaos and Babalon in Darkness. </i><br />
<h3>
Source Material:</h3>
<h4>
Inspiration:</h4>
The Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Church: an Examination, by Helena and Tau Apiryon (Frater Sabazius) - http://hermetic.com/sabazius/creed_egc.htm<br />
<h4>
Transliteration of Sumerian text:</h4>
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literatures: <a href="http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.08*#">http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.08*#</a><br />
<h4>
Ritual context:</h4>
Enheduanna, (2000). Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart. Austin TX, University of Texas Press, translated by Meador, Betty De Shong. ISBN 10-292-75242-3<br />
<br />
Wolkstein, D. and S.N. Kramer, (1983). Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. New York, NY, Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-014713-X<br />
<h4>
Thelemic descriptions of both Babalon and Chaos:</h4>
Crowley, A.C., V.B. Neuburg and M. Desti, (1998). The Vision and the Voice, with Commentary and Other Papers. Boston MA, Red Wheel/Weiser LLC. ISBN 0-87728-906-9<br />
<h4>
Much of the Deacon’s adoration of Babalon:</h4>
Feist, H. “Orison to Babalon,” unpublished.</div>
Harper Feisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11842777275129971400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-24278310470493060682016-07-31T16:39:00.003-07:002016-07-31T20:16:55.327-07:00The Progeny of Jane Wolfe and Phyllis Seckler (and My Path into the A.'.A.'.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMU4mHzjoSCP5bGZNqH9REM9jLGEz6kSzVFDStbG-M_XvAehKcOgoebfA8SUAZxLY8tXcFZhnZGzYv1PkQqG-Sd0pP1DBLRNRC_5nPwfNzvQ96R9NckwDYe0xzqx2n8os6GFVMgfir0BE/s1600/280px-Jane_Wolfe_Cefal%25C3%25B9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMU4mHzjoSCP5bGZNqH9REM9jLGEz6kSzVFDStbG-M_XvAehKcOgoebfA8SUAZxLY8tXcFZhnZGzYv1PkQqG-Sd0pP1DBLRNRC_5nPwfNzvQ96R9NckwDYe0xzqx2n8os6GFVMgfir0BE/s320/280px-Jane_Wolfe_Cefal%25C3%25B9.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
As we continue this series of posts, I'm going to keep it as simple as possible. I tried to write this post in several different ways, from a historical report with lots of footnotes, to a formal interview, to a FAQ-formatted piece, but nothing really worked. In the end, I decided the best way to present this information was to just tell my story, what I found along the way, and what I've heard and learned since I began.<br />
<br />
When the A.’.A.’. finally knocked at my door telling me my time had come to join, I was one of those people who wanted to make sure that I was getting the real deal. If you've read the blog posts over at Head for the Red, you can see that for the last decade or so, I make it my goal to find a complete system as close to the source as possible with as little corruption, divergence, or piled on make-believe. It worked well for me, I traced the KBL back to its pre-Sefer Yetzira origins to my satisfaction, and discovered in the 1st through 3rd centuries the Greek Magical Papyri, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the philosophical and practical roots that made sense of all the information found later in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy.<br />
<br />
You'd think finding the organization created, run, and passed on by Crowley less than a hundred years ago would be a lot easier than finding the foundational documents of the Western Mystery Tradition written almost two thousand years ago.<br />
<br />
But you'd be wrong.<br />
<br />
After a few weeks, I remembered every negative notion I'd ever had about the Victorian era systems of magical study and practice since I was 16. I'd gotten spoiled by working with the grimoires and Greek Magical Papyri, they were written so long ago, there were only manuscripts and academic studies. There were no personalities, figureheads, no records of the egotistical conflicts that inevitably manifest when two or more are gathered in the name of magick.<br />
<br />
I feel sorry for Harper and a couple of my closest friends who witnessed me complain and rant and vent as I found dead end after dead end, one conflicting story after another, and all the rumors and innuendo.<br />
<br />
But I'm stubborn. I tracked various groups and their leaders down, both active and defunct.<br />
<br />
I started with a good friend I've known for years. He is a member of a claimant group that traces itself back through Ebony Anpu to Grady McMurtry. His claimant group, while still alive and active in at least himself and his direct supervisor, didn't concern itself with whether or not they "really" had documentable claims linking them to Crowley, which mattered to me a lot. He understood, and pointed me in the direction of the major claimant groups currently in existence, and suggested that I should probably take a look at the group led by Dr. David Shoemaker if I was serious about finding something that can track itself back to Crowley.<br />
<br />
Following up on his tips and leads, I found myself speaking with the leader of a group that claimed to be providing the teachings of the A.’.A.’.. At some point, this group had started calling its local groups "Clerk Houses," a reference to a verse in the Book of the Law, and had diverged in several other ways from the original formula of the A.’.A.’.. This group is led by a person of character who has a long and documented history of interesting relations with the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and various members of the A.’.A.’.. This group also traced itself back through Grady McMurtry. I found it is no longer taking on new members, and the conversations I had with the leader about various topics led to more questions and concerns than answers, so I took notes and moved along to the next lead.<br />
<br />
I also looked into another claimant group, descended from J. F. C. Fuller. While members of that organization continue their personal Work, they make no claim to "legitimacy" that met the standards I'd set for myself, though all the members I've interacted with have been awesome people I respect and admire.<br />
<br />
I found a few other groups that were claiming to be A.’.A.’. as I continued my research, but they really aren't worth mentioning. Most have a small online presence, are very vocal in their own Facebook groups, but ultimately don’t add up to much more than empty claims on the internet, and a lot of regurgitation of new age tropes from the 1980s. For example, one group said they had established connections with the Secret Chiefs on their own, I think by doing Liber Resh daily. And if it's on the internet, it has to be true, right?<br />
<br />
Well... I wasn't convinced.<br />
<br />
So that left three options that seemed to have some kind of weight behind them.<br />
<br />
The first was, of course, the A.’.A.’. group that is currently advertised by and publicly affiliated with the O.T.O.. Frater Sabazius made it very clear that the O.T.O. can only work with one administrative A.’.A.’. claimant group at a time, while also making it clear that it's not within the power of the O.T.O. to confer any kind of validity or authenticity to any of the claimant groups. The claimant group that is currently the partner of the O.T.O. is led by J. Daniel Gunther. Being an O.T.O. initiate, it was important to me to look into this group's history and practices. I really prefer to have all my eggs in one ecumenical basket, as it were.<br />
<br />
I had assumed that Gunther's group, having been recognized by the O.T.O. as a partner tradition in the spread of Thelema and the Law which is for all, was led by someone involved in all three branches of Thelema as they operate in the current material manifestations of things: the A.’.A.’., the O.T.O., and the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.). It appears that Gunther is not, in fact, a dues-current member of the O.T.O., and has no affiliation with the E.G.C.<br />
<br />
That really matters to me.<br />
<br />
But I wanted to give them a fair shake, so I tried to keep an open mind and kept exploring. I'd heard all kinds of opinions about the various claimant groups by this time, and while I appreciated the opinions of my friends, I understand the nature of politics in organizations, and I really wanted to read something firsthand from the sources.<br />
<br />
A few of my friends recommended that I read In the Center of the Fire, by James Wasserman. He had studied under Motta, and was in the A.’.A.’. claimant group led by Gunther. He'd written up his experiences around the time of the formation of the O.T.O., and spoke a lot about his interactions with the people that were the major players of the times when he started getting into the O.T.O. and A.’.A.’. aspects of Thelema. He'd met and worked with Motta, he'd met with Soror Meral and Grady McMurtry. He was present at the trials that ended up establishing the validity of the O.T.O., and he had written up his experiences with these people and he published it.<br />
<br />
So I bought his book, and I read it, and in it he clearly states that all the founding members of the A.’.A.’. administration currently partnered with the O.T.O. had either been expelled by Motta before his death, or had, according to Motta, left the A.’.A.’. on their own. Furthermore, it was notable that Soror Meral had been administering A.’.A.’. continuously for decades before the formulation of the governing “Triad” of the Gunther-led group.<br />
<br />
This was a nail in the coffin for me, as far as this group was concerned.<br />
<br />
This left me with two options, the group led by James Eshelman, and David Shoemaker's group.<br />
<br />
By this time, I had the chance to read some of the things that Eshelman had published, and I personally found his "corrections" and expansions to 777 to be less than useful. Also, as I mentioned earlier, it was important to me that I join a group that was led by someone in good standing in the O.T.O.. As with Gunther, that turned out not to be the case with Eshelman.<br />
<br />
So I’d found several groups claiming to be “the” A.’.A.’., or who were being referenced as being an approach to the A.’.A.’., but every road had been a bust. Frankly, I was about done with the A.’.A.’. at this point. It was the Golden Dawn all over again, I thought. Schism, in-fighting, and expulsions at best, hollow claims on the internet at the worst.<br />
<br />
So I figured, what the heck, everyone keeps telling me Shoemaker's the real deal, I'll give it one more shot.<br />
<br />
I went into it with expectations that had been shaped by my experiences, so in other words, they were decidedly low.<br />
<br />
I can only imagine how my early correspondences with David Shoemaker must have come across. I was tired and cranky from the experiences I'd had, and I just wanted to follow up on the Wasserman claims that Meral was really 5=6. I suspect I might have come across as a little, uhm, rude.<br />
<br />
I honestly expected to discover in no time that she had been expelled, or hadn't actually been in the Order, or that she was a practitioner of Spiritism who channeled the Secret Chiefs through her Ouija board at parties after she'd had enough brandy.<br />
<br />
Instead, he sent me a document that showed the correspondence between Karl Germer and Jane Wolfe (Soror Estai), and later with Soror Meral herself when he had taken over as her superior in the A.’.A.’.. It was excerpts, but he pointed me to where the full text and context had been published for reference.<br />
<br />
I hopped on these books, and ate them up. It was a dream come true. Laid out in letter after letter were the things I had been looking for, in the kind of detail that you just can't make up.<br />
<br />
Soror Meral was the student of Jane Wolfe, who was at Cefalu with Aleister Crowley. One of the things Shoemaker had made available publicly was her journal entries from her time at Cefalu. I had the journal in no time, and I read about her experiences, I saw her work, I saw her journal entries, and in the margins in Crowley's own handwritten admonishments, his personal advice, and his recognition of her accomplishments as she proceeded through the exercises he laid out for her. I saw her history through her own eyes, and tracked down more correspondence from the time. I saw that Crowley leaned heavily on Jane Wolfe, recognized her value (sometimes) and relied on her efforts in every way to keep Agape Lodge running the way he wanted it to be run.<br />
<br />
I kept waiting to find the letter that expelled Jane Wolfe, or Phyllis Seckler. Almost all the women he worked with quit, or their relationships ended poorly. Many of the men too. He was a notoriously difficult person.<br />
<br />
But that letter never came. He maintained his relationships and correspondence with Jane and Phyllis throughout his life. When I reached the correspondence from the time he died, I read about how Germer was saddled with being the head of both the A.’.A.’. and O.T.O., and how he handled himself in this new role. I saw the letters exchanged between Wolfe and Germer, and later between Seckler and Germer, between superior and student, letters of encouragement and instruction, the exchange of wisdom and of insight.<br />
<br />
This stuff is all published, and is publicly available. Everyone interested in the historic account of what was going on between the Thelemites of that time should take a look at the bibliography at the end of this post, and add these books to your library so you can see the full story for yourself.<br />
<br />
The preponderance of evidence was, for me, undeniable:<br />
<br />
The Germer/Wolfe/Seckler claimant group is the only claimant group with an unbroken initiatory and administrative link extending all the way back to Crowley at Cefalu. The group never stopped initiating people, never stopped the grand experiment Crowley had begun, never disbanded, resigned, or gave up. They have simply endured, and did the Work of expressing the Law of Thelema into the world this whole time.<br />
<br />
Not only that, but it became obvious to me that when Grady and Phyllis were working together to rejuvenate the O.T.O. after its long hiatus, there was an existing partnership and natural overlap between the O.T.O. and the A.’.A.’. administration that reflected exactly what I understood Crowley had wanted from the beginning: those people interested in the A.’.A.’. curriculum were studying it as designed, and at the same time serving in their local O.T.O. and EGC bodies, quietly and without fanfare. To this day that interpenetration of the A.’.A.’. within the O.T.O. continues. The more people I've met since my initial research into this subject and my entry into the system, the more I've found that we are everywhere, across the world, at every level of service stretching from the degrees of Minerval to Bishop, and beyond.<br />
<br />
I was both convinced... and totally relieved. The richness of the materials, the unadulterated presentation of what was going on - warts and all - in everything I read made it clear that this wasn't some sugar-coated fantasy reinterpretation of events. Crowley could be a real jerk. Germer got angry, just like everyone else. Jane went through some horrifying personal experiences. Phyllis endured social prejudices and things we wouldn’t put up with at lodge today, and had a strong set of opinions that she didn't hesitate to express as she saw fit.<br />
<br />
These were real people doing the real Work, and they faced the same kinds of struggles we face today. The historical research I had seen, and the work I'd done myself was fleshed out in details that made the people more than just characters in a story or in a Wikipedia article. Things I went through in my own work were reflected in the conversations between mentors and students, and in the journals of my predecessors in clear black and white, going all the way back to the source. I wished I'd had that kind of feedback as I was stumbling my way through things.<br />
<br />
So it was an easy decision for me to join the Shoemaker claimant group. I didn't think it would matter much to anyone else, so I signed up, got the list of reading materials, and when it was time, I began the Student curriculum. It's been great. I've had confirmation of things I thought I'd understood, which made me feel good, and I've come to realize that I had totally missed some really obvious things along the way, and that's proven to be even better. My experiences doing the Work of the grades has been awesome, and I have no qualms encouraging anyone feeling like they are hearing the knock of the Order at their door to join with me in our group, it's got it going on.<br />
<br />
And that's basically my story, and how I ended up where I'm at with this whole A.’.A.’. business.<br />
<br />
While I made the choice that seemed best to me, I also want to make sure I mention that along the way I've spoken to a lot of members of different claimant groups. It is clear to anyone who interacts with them that a lot of important and thoughtful work is being done by initiates in the various claimant groups.<br />
<br />
Please, refer to the Bibliography below to research things for yourself. It's all there in black and white. I'd leave it there, but...<br />
<br />
But...<br />
<br />
There's always a "but" in these things.<br />
<br />
This "but" is about what happened to me as I went along, and continued to advance through the Man of Earth triad of the O.T.O.. I started to notice a trend. Whenever I would talk about joining the A.’.A.’. publicly, I got a lot of feedback.<br />
<br />
Also, when I announced to my old blog audience that I'd joined the A.’.A.’. in a post with a link to onestarinsight.org, within my circles of friends and acquaintances in the O.T.O. I was asked some interesting questions by some people. Others came out and directly challenged my choices. It didn't take long to find that a lot of people had a lot of misinformation and had formed some very adamant opinions as a result.<br />
<br />
And, as those who know me are aware, this is exactly the kind of thing that I think I was born to do: set the record straight about how things actually work in a way that everyone can understand, with references for further research and cited sources that should be researched so you come to your own conclusions.<br />
<br />
So going forward, I'm envisioning the following posts to present the questions, rumors, and allegations I've heard, and the answers, truth, and documented rebuttals to these things respectively.<br />
<br />
First, I think the history of the A.’.A.’. that led from Cefalu to Sacramento, the Crowley-Wolfe-Seckler/Germer-Wolfe-Seckler/Germer-Seckler-Shoemaker history of succession is really important to understand. It's a simple core narrative that makes sense when you look at it. There's no questionable practices, challenges, or blatantly false claims to be found in the story, and that alone speaks volumes. Without attacking anyone else, it simply presents the story of the A.’.A.’., its members, its leadership over the years, and provides the foundation necessary to understand where we are today.<br />
<br />
The role of Motta in this history can't be ignored, since his personal history, involvement in the A.’.A.’., and subsequent claims continue to influence some public opinions today. I'll at least reference some simple and straight-forward published correspondence that addresses his role in this process according to Germer, and later in his life, James Wasserman.<br />
<br />
Once the actual history is laid out, the next thing I'd like to address are the basic pieces of misinformation I've come across since I've started this process. I picture this post as a simple "This is what I've heard, but this is the truth" list of what people say verses the truth. I'll stick to documented things, because that's the easiest way to address this stuff.<br />
<br />
My hope is to put a lot of these rumors and accusations to bed once and for all. There's a lot of confusion around how the A.’.A.’. claimant group Phyllis led worked in practice, and the roles of the International College of Thelema and the Temple of the Silver Star. I heard a lot of people use the word "recensions" in reference to things Seckler had done, and a lot of blatant lies about theft of library materials, allegations of profiting off the teachings of the A.’.A.’., and suggestions that this claimant group that goes directly back to Crowley without interruption is somehow a newcomer, when it's never stopped.<br />
<br />
And then finally, I'd like to wrap up this series of posts with an opinion-editorial piece addressing the relationship between the O.T.O. and the A.’.A.’., some recent rhetoric, and how I'd personally like to see things shake out over the rest of my lifetime.<br />
<br />
Bibliography:<br />
<br />
Seckler, P. (2003). Jane Wolfe: Her Life with Aleister Crowley Part 1 (Red Flame Journal #10). Berkely: Red Flame Productions.<br />
Seckler, P. (2003). Jane Wolfe: Her Life with Aleister Crowley Part 2 (Red Flame Journal #11). Berkeley: Red Flame Productions.<br />
Seckler, P. (2010). The Thoth Tarot, Astrology, and Other Selected Writings. Sacramento: Teitan Press.<br />
Seckler, P. (2012). The Kabbalah, Magick, and Thelema: Selected Writings Volume II. Sacramento: Teitan Press.<br />
Wasserman, J. (2012). In the Center of the Fire. Lake Worth, FL: Ibis Press.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-17242940009034509302016-05-31T17:11:00.000-07:002016-05-31T17:11:51.397-07:00On Baphomet, the Serpent and the Lion, and the Child of Chaos and Babalon<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkLhEv8YCEv-4nVgHfiVN-Ch-LDgXoe_mozq7P_oTfV9dcBb1zwfJOcmaWskAubBzqxCOLXVbw8cEbEzgKDldovsnLBK8QHwItaXHo9AJZKPvbGvwvPah3Dlp8w9wBxWaLeOyVEW9rhA/s1600/baph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkLhEv8YCEv-4nVgHfiVN-Ch-LDgXoe_mozq7P_oTfV9dcBb1zwfJOcmaWskAubBzqxCOLXVbw8cEbEzgKDldovsnLBK8QHwItaXHo9AJZKPvbGvwvPah3Dlp8w9wBxWaLeOyVEW9rhA/s320/baph.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shop.doveserpent-oto.org/prints/">Baphomet, by Chuk Vinson</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>"I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name CHAOS, the sole viceregent of the Sun upon Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breaths.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET..."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>-from the <a href="http://hermetic.com/sabazius/creed_egc.htm">Creed of the Ecclesia Gnsotica Catholica</a> (EGC)</i><br />
<br />
Goodness, it's been a long time since I found myself at about 30,000 feet on a Southwest flight, bound to who-knows-where, memorizing the Gnostic Creed in preparation for my Confirmation in the E.G.C. It was an exciting time for me, I think I had made it to my I* in the OTO, and I was going to be confirmed in a white robe at a Gnostic Mass that was being performed by Cathy (neé Craig) Berry and Leanne Mason Berry. I didn't want to screw it up.<br />
<br />
I remember digesting the bits about Chaos, eating it right up and understanding it in ways I couldn't explain. I remember grooving to the bits on Babalon, in whose cup I saw myself swimming in with abandon.<br />
<br />
But then I got to that Baphomet part.<br />
<br />
Chaos gets a whole bunch of stuff. Babalon gets less, but still, it touches on Mysteries that can be readily explored.<br />
<br />
And then there's the Serpent and the Lion, in his name Baphomet.<br />
<br />
It's a bit sparse, there.<br />
<br />
I went into Levi, and read about Baphomet there. I read through a lot of the references to Baphomet in Crowley's writings that Google can provide on a site search of Hermetic.com. I looked into the Greek lion-headed serpent pieces I found here and there, and I finally just kind of gave up. It's not like I actually understood half of what I was reading, and the other half was getting consumed in all the other stuff I've been working on since then.<br />
<br />
But then Harper went to New Orleans for a Mass at Alombrados, and while in the vicinity picked up a little picture of Baphomet that started residing in our Temple space. And she had dreams, and visions of Baphomet in her operations of the Great Work. And she made a little statue of that goat-headed god that destroys the destroyer, and he became mighty among us.<br />
<br />
And then I started performing the Gnostic Mass as Priest. And I understood a thing about how Baphomet is the offspring of Hadit and Nuit, of Chaos and Babalon, and its role in the creation and generation of existence as we know it, as we experience it, and as we want it to feel as we dive into it, all senses blazing, and raw, and beautiful.<br />
<br />
And then I started to see that it was also the married Red Queen and White King of alchemy, the precursor to the Stone of the Wise, in some systems. It is the energetic constant that creates, that takes the raw powers of the Sun and turns it into everything we experience, and everything we experience it through.<br />
<br />
And I'm still young in this path. I've read through <a href="http://hermetic.com/sabazius/creed_egc.htm">Frater Sabazius' discussion</a> of Baphomet as the offspring of Chaos and Babalon. I'm looking forward to the <i><a href="http://otows2016.notocon.org/">2016 O.T.O. Women's Symposium</a></i> eucharistic rite that is based on the Marriage of Chaos and Babalon as discussed in that link. I'm looking forward to exploring where we end up as a result, when that Lion and that Serpent is created.<br />
<br />
Baphomet kicks ass.<br />
<br />
And in keeping with this theme, I received in the mail this afternoon the coolest representation of Baphomet I've ever seen. Chuk Vinson, who many of you might remember as the artist who created the work "Anatomy Occultus" that pops up in the background of my profile pics on Facebook on occasion, has finished his Baphomet piece. Here's me with the print:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoQguM5O-qYXKiQSlyM3JN5RKVs6bHrzUKDCNJ7cNnYZKyLAgL0xmMsbLWxv_fl3vDeDv80Tf1KZroznsXUi-xW2kOgOuXnhMu7Io7IPURrnC8kyrQKwRdDqR9JcNra1w7AxwoQLufV0/s1600/RO+and+Baph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoQguM5O-qYXKiQSlyM3JN5RKVs6bHrzUKDCNJ7cNnYZKyLAgL0xmMsbLWxv_fl3vDeDv80Tf1KZroznsXUi-xW2kOgOuXnhMu7Io7IPURrnC8kyrQKwRdDqR9JcNra1w7AxwoQLufV0/s320/RO+and+Baph.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's now available from the Dove and Serpent store, and all proceeds will go to supporting the local lodge at the following link:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://shop.doveserpent-oto.org/prints/"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>http://shop.doveserpent-oto.org/prints/</b></span></a></div>
<br />
I can't recommend enough that you get a copy of this print in your temple space as soon as possible. The Baphomet of Levi is pretty awesome, don't get me wrong, but Chuk's work captures the animal nature of this entity that crops up when you actually get in touch with it. You can feel the coarseness of the hair, smell the goatiness of its potency, feel it move and move you at the same time when you contemplate this image.<br />
<br />
He really nailed it.<br />
<br />Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-8537552338534466962016-05-12T17:21:00.001-07:002016-05-17T06:52:06.758-07:00The Progeny of Sorores Estai and Meral93!<br />
<br />
After Harper and I published the "Progenitrix" articles on the lives of <a href="http://hornsofcerastes.blogspot.com/2015/08/progenitrix-jane-wolfe-legacy.html">Jane Wolfe</a> and <a href="http://hornsofcerastes.blogspot.com/2016/02/progenitrix-soror-meral-mother-of.html">Phyllis Seckler</a> within the realms of the A.'.A.'., the O.T.O., and the ongoing impacts of their lives on the promulgation of the Thelema of Aleister Crowley, it rapidly became apparent that the history of these Sisters, and of Phyllis Seckler in particular, was a subject of dispute among modern Thelemites in the Order.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_b1OQLrcKD_UuvU3rZAYREvLq257xepaDKA2cqYJ18K0u_gWrecl-_HPmw4CboyyDiV7uNEhUi-EcEffW0wYyA_qkT-ASlVxYF69ewK4BMqTjba3jrKUkbwH1NhcsQdvNKf_d6v6xGI/s1600/Meral2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_b1OQLrcKD_UuvU3rZAYREvLq257xepaDKA2cqYJ18K0u_gWrecl-_HPmw4CboyyDiV7uNEhUi-EcEffW0wYyA_qkT-ASlVxYF69ewK4BMqTjba3jrKUkbwH1NhcsQdvNKf_d6v6xGI/s320/Meral2.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soror Meral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The number of contradictory ideas, incorrect representations, and blatantly false allegations surrounding our progenitrix that were brought to me by our brethren was astounding. I had no idea that people didn't already know this stuff.<br />
<br />
In writing the essay on Jane Wolfe, I relied a great deal on her actual correspondence with Crowley, and her diaries at Cefalu*. I also consulted the correspondences between Seckler and Germer, and between Seckler and Wolfe. This correspondence is publicly available, and has been published for years, made available by Marlene Cornelius**, and David Shoemaker***.<br />
<br />
I thought everyone with an active opinion on Jane and Phyllis had read this information, but apparently... not so much.<br />
<br />
The publicly available record directly contradicts 90% of the misinformation I've heard from my sisters and brothers in the Order, and clarifies the remaining 10% that might be interpreted improperly when taken out of context. All of the documentation I found is indisputable, by even the most adamant detractors of our Sister.<br />
<br />
Yet accusations of recension, perversion, lack of initiation, and even implications of criminal activity continue to float around the edges of the Thelemic community.<br />
<br />
In an effort to resolve the disconnect between historic facts and the various theories and gossip I've heard exchanged with sisters and brethren in the Order, ranging from Austin, Texas, to Baltimore, Maryland, and to here in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I decided I needed to get as close to the source as possible. After all, she was with us until 2004, and it's not like I don't <i>actually </i>know the people who knew her best when she was alive.<br />
<br />
So, of course, I went to David Shoemaker and asked him about some of the things people were saying.<br />
<br />
David was one of the people closest to Soror Meral in life. He was her personal student in the A.'.A.'., and worked closely with her during the final decade of her life. As a member of a relatively small group of people who could consider themselves the heirs of her legacy, and as one of the people who actually worked with her on several of the projects that are the subject of so much confusion, it made sense to go to him and address these topics directly.<br />
<br />
Talking to David about these subjects was quite enlightening. If you've heard his <i>Living Thelema</i> broadcasts, you're familiar with the calm and intelligent approach he brings to the subjects he addresses. Even extremely inflammatory accusations were met with gentle correction, supported by simple documentable facts.<br />
<br />
Over the last couple of months I've continued to ask him questions covering topics that cover the history of the A.'.A.'. from the time of Germer's death, when there was only one recognized administration, through the development of Neo-A.'.A.'. administrations, until we reached the current state of affairs.<br />
<br />
I spoke with him about the different methods of administration of the A.'.A.'. that Soror Meral experimented with as she progressed through her own initiations and the accomplishment of her Great Work, and came to understand more clearly how the traditional student program of the A.'.A.'. never stopped, and the actual roles the institutions such as the International College of Thelema, or the Temple of the Silver Star played under the auspices of her teachings.<br />
<br />
After these conversations, I found myself in a much better position to understand the relationship between the A.'.A.'. and the O.T.O. historically and today.<br />
<br />
Sisters and Brothers, <i>a lot has gone down over the years</i>.<br />
<br />
Over the next few weeks, I'll be publishing the results of our interviews in a series of "Progeny of Estai-Meral" posts. It might take a while to cover all the material. There's a fair amount of it, after all. It's been more than a minute since Meral's recognition by Germer as a 5=6. Life has happened.<br />
<br />
And it hasn't stopped.<br />
<br />
While I get the next post together, take a few minutes and tune into <a href="https://stoopingstarlight.com/2016/04/08/186/">this Stooping Starlight episode</a>, featuring a rare interview with Soror Meral. Hearing her speak gives you more insight into her life, view, and personality than anything I could write about ever will. While an abridged transcript of this interview appears in <i>The Thoth Tarot, Astrology, and Other Selected Writings</i> (see below), the Stooping Starlight podcast provides never-before-published conversations with Soror Meral.<br />
<br />
93 93/93<br />
<br />
* <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">See </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jane Wolfe: The Cefalu Diaries 1920-1923</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
available from the International College of Thelema (</span><a href="http://intcot.org/store" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://intcot.org/store</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">)</span><br />
** See <i><a href="http://concreat.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=10">Jane Wolfe: Her Life with Aleister Crowley, Parts I and II</a></i>, available from Conjoined Creation<br />
*** See <i><a href="http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/details.php?record=38831">The Thoth Tarot, Astrology and Other Selected Writings</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/details.php?record=41745">The Kabbalah, Magick, and Selected Writings Volume II</a></i>, available from Weiser Antiquarian Books.<br />
<br />Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-1593938727155764592016-04-26T15:39:00.000-07:002016-04-26T16:17:06.615-07:00The O.T.O. Framework for Issue Management<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1HzPL1uO-X-FhA5Mr2wH2cnkdn1IkoF8xaUI7N7DqQTAbVmoFtqcbbe_XqOeyT5-Wxkn4htrOyDInt-O2j-4sHb4B9HqDtJyO-SaN17VOxsA5wxWjSqnVBlsCoP6eMVq9PTJdhSXsqY/s1600/Angry%252BBull%252B9-24.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1HzPL1uO-X-FhA5Mr2wH2cnkdn1IkoF8xaUI7N7DqQTAbVmoFtqcbbe_XqOeyT5-Wxkn4htrOyDInt-O2j-4sHb4B9HqDtJyO-SaN17VOxsA5wxWjSqnVBlsCoP6eMVq9PTJdhSXsqY/s200/Angry%252BBull%252B9-24.jpeg" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ain't Mad, Just Pissed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today I gotta address something that actually pisses me off about people in general, and also to point out something cool about the O.T.O. in the USA, and how it deals with shit between brothers, between sisters, between brothers and sisters, and everything in between.<br />
<br />
The other day when I posted about public criticism of the O.T.O., my intent was to get people to focus on <i>fixing</i> problems rather than pretending they don't exist. I got a lot of support from some people, and some mixed reviews from some others. Overall it was received well by our community.<br />
<br />
But today I woke up to a comment on the post from some smug self-righteous pretentious enema bag of a human being saying "And so my friends...here is prime real estate example of not to join these "mystery" schools."<br />
<br />
I didn't add the ellipses. They were his. There were more in another sentence. He's just totally that kind of guy.<br />
<br />
I deleted his comment, because really? Bad things happen to people in groups like O.T.O., no one should ever join them?<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZaYJIUI7VFTg5Bg7vrYNwwYQDZnM96iUXMdNDJhJK56KKLUGHVyKnO7uhAYBEUuF7BUzxS02g0gj3XGuTMq5msF-so18PwGHAcoJ0ujYcYxuREpXmb-myUrHZHaleySPpIFOLwNud5Y/s1600/crickets.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZaYJIUI7VFTg5Bg7vrYNwwYQDZnM96iUXMdNDJhJK56KKLUGHVyKnO7uhAYBEUuF7BUzxS02g0gj3XGuTMq5msF-so18PwGHAcoJ0ujYcYxuREpXmb-myUrHZHaleySPpIFOLwNud5Y/s200/crickets.gif" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Podunk, Montana: Attractions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If that's the criteria, you'd better pack your shit and move to Podunk, Montana and be alone, because the things I was talking about that happen in the Order happen at all levels of secular society, including businesses, fraternities, sororities, academia, non-profit organizations, schools, scouts and in all occult, new age, spiritual, shamanic, pagan, and every single one of the Christian churches I ever belonged to, and there were, ahem, several.<br />
<br />
Shit happens to women, and men, with team-mates, partners, and in situations that are fraternal, tribal, and societal. We are humans, and we act like it wherever we are. Some folks are good, some suck, and most fall somewhere in between.<br />
<br />
But where I take umbrage at the sentiment expressed above by the non-member drive-by commentator is that <i>because</i> sometimes people in the Order have issues, all Orders suck.<br />
<br />
Bullshit.<br />
<br />
In point of fact, sisters and brothers:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The O.T.O. is not comprised of a bunch of stupid noob fucktards. </span></i></b></div>
<br />
<br />
We've been doing this shit for 104 years. We've seen the ugliest of the ugly, and we are working hard, daily, to rise above the bullshit and be better than we were a decade ago. We've been doing it since Agape Lodge, here in the States, refining with each generation the mistakes of the previous folks, creating a method that lets folks "Do what thou wilt" while <i>protecting</i> the rights of Liber Oz for every woman and every man who is a Star.<br />
<br />
It's not perfect, yet, but we've been doing this longer than most, and we've been doing it with the intent of making the thing we do as Ideal as possible, for a long, long time.<br />
<br />
And we've been doing it with all the <i>arrogance</i> <i>and expectation</i> of equality and liberty that America brings to the table every time we feel like gathering sustenance to accomplish our Will.<br />
<br />
And yes, sometimes that attitudinal approach to things sucks for the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
But <i>sometimes</i>, every <i>once in a while</i>, we get shit right and set the goddammed bar at a level that everyone else on the planet should strive for.<br />
<br />
<b>Body Master Training, Kaaba Colloquium, and the Path of Mediation</b><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://oto-usa.org/">O.T.O. Kingdom of the United States of America</a> has incorporated systems that provide a process to address horseshit when it occurs.<br />
<br />
These systems are evolving, and processes are developing and are being refined regularly. Body Masters in lodges are trained and prepared to address the issues that arise in close confines through things like the sexual harassment policies of the "Camp, Oasis, and Lodge Master Handbook." This document provides the guidelines of what to do in the event of local members starting problems that need to be addressed.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNjjlhz6p-5KMyehcbIoPvhKoghyphenhyphen-_0Z-CmYzAUeNRjxQ6qolSB3s-AYYBxFjk5ntmfufFN1WnR2T3Gkj3EFVhB_asgibWQrdpe_nlanfxHPfvDWVmadTFa3sU_nlDk3tZiuJtS3u0ks/s1600/kaaba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNjjlhz6p-5KMyehcbIoPvhKoghyphenhyphen-_0Z-CmYzAUeNRjxQ6qolSB3s-AYYBxFjk5ntmfufFN1WnR2T3Gkj3EFVhB_asgibWQrdpe_nlanfxHPfvDWVmadTFa3sU_nlDk3tZiuJtS3u0ks/s320/kaaba.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Think About It</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In addition, the O.T.O. provides travelling events like the <a href="http://kaaba.oto-usa.org/">Kaaba Colloquium</a>, presented by folks who have been through it before, who have studied a bit on what happens when lodges form, and who have figured out how to address issues in the Lodge when they inevitably arise.<br />
<br />
Not only is there actual leadership training in place, there's also the "<a href="http://lib.oto-usa.org/agape/path-of-mediation.pdf">Path of Mediation</a>." Written by a former "Ombudsman" of the O.T.O., this document provides the best practices for dealing with the inevitable crap that arises in the Order when you put more than one magician in a room together and expect them to get along for a while.<br />
<br />
The steps are pretty easy, just like the ones I laid out in the other post. They're basically common sense:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Own your own shit in the situation; none of us are perfect, recognize it might be all in our heads, address things we might be doing personally that contribute to the situation, etc. BUT ... If it's not you, then:</li>
<li>Take it to the person you've got a problem with, try to resolve it like a fucking adult, recognizing your own issues, but fairly expecting right treatment from your brother or sister in ways that confirm your own rights as laid out in Liber Oz. If that fails, then:</li>
<li>Take the issue to the Body Master. Not the fellow lodge mates, or your friends, or the Internet, but the person responsible for Pax Templi locally.</li>
</ul>
<div>
First you take your issues to <i>yourself</i>. Then to the person <i>causing your shit</i>. Then to the <i>Body Master or local head</i> of this Hydra we joined.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When you take it to the Body Master, expect them to follow up with the person you've already addressed this issue with. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nota Bene: They are not going to ignore you, or pretend like it's "sub-rosa." If a problem is severe enough to warrant a Body Master's intervention, you'd better be prepared for them to intervene. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What if I don't feel comfortable with the Body Master?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There may be occasions where you can't just go to the Body Master, or feel uncomfortable doing that, and you wish you had an impartial person you could reach out to in the Order because you don't think you'll get a fair shake, or you just feel weird talking about it to someone who is locally "friends" with the person causing you strife, or might be the person causing you strife. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The US Grand Lodge has a position set up to deal with this kind of situation, the "Ombudsman" who will hear your issue, and give you guidance on your next steps to resolve the conflict.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you find yourself in need, send an email to:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="mailto:ombudsman@oto-usa.org">ombudsman@oto-usa.org</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I talk to the current Ombudsman fairly regularly about things, and I trust him to listen and respond to your situation with the full concern and gravity it deserves. We don't always agree on some things, but he has never been anything but fair and consistent with me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FcW6y49exZwwWklZWdXIkJqI27bFNEr7xXPCCmrwIDMtInNAk9OaL0cm5NlM_DsKg90OYzqYqJNPTXs8Nwaww9OezVU0hIWQQE_Qf2uCmLndKcNfQFLjVySyU_SZ4lcLcoEambsZK2M/s1600/aslan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FcW6y49exZwwWklZWdXIkJqI27bFNEr7xXPCCmrwIDMtInNAk9OaL0cm5NlM_DsKg90OYzqYqJNPTXs8Nwaww9OezVU0hIWQQE_Qf2uCmLndKcNfQFLjVySyU_SZ4lcLcoEambsZK2M/s320/aslan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe Chaotic Good</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Note that he will treat all contacts as if they are serious allegations that deserve the full attention of the Order, and he will bring to bear all the things he must in his office.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's not like he's a <i>tame</i> lion.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What to Do if You Have Issues in the Order</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Like any organization that plans on being around for a while, the O.T.O. will address any allegations seriously, and as completely as possible. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Unfortunately, due to people being people, it's super easy to get emotionally riled up and make accusations without being able to provide proof, evidence, or documentation that results in a clear-cut resolution in our favor.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The essence of "mediation" is finding the middle ground, and that means conceding things on occasion. If you need to take the "path or mediation," you need to be ready to prove any and all allegations you are going to bring against the brother or sister in question.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you've addressed your own issues, and have attempted to talk to the brother or sister personally about the issue, and you have failed to find a way to peace and Joy with that person, it's time to start taking things to the next level.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT.</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you're having issues with a person, start a log. Document when events that make you uncomfortable occur in a journal. Note who was present, who could attest that it happened as you saw it. Talk to others in the situation and determine consensus on the situation. Get confirmation from them about what they saw and heard in case you need their testimony. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dates matter. Times matter. Witnesses matter.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjELtnS0dVTb6v6xB3P9cC9AJ6jG837P00GXSoFtnq6j1rqVDvRsSnku_ViXew-XdamEwusEI8J8MzBXsefK5KvMgGnWJme09TVM62RRttbUQy_-UhVhf5v2sTJOPfsz3pw6F-c-Zlbkg/s1600/road_ends.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjELtnS0dVTb6v6xB3P9cC9AJ6jG837P00GXSoFtnq6j1rqVDvRsSnku_ViXew-XdamEwusEI8J8MzBXsefK5KvMgGnWJme09TVM62RRttbUQy_-UhVhf5v2sTJOPfsz3pw6F-c-Zlbkg/s320/road_ends.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
It would be awesome if the Order could believe every allegation against a brother or sister, but over the years, we have seen what happens when people break up, divorce, or just don't like each other. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We know where that road ends. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So the Order expects you to be able to support your accusation, provide evidence, and provide corroboration.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>Example</i></b>:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A brother makes misogynist statements that makes a sister feel uncomfortable, publicly or privately, and begins a recognizable pattern of attempted dominance, undermining, etc.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The sister may or may not document the first instance, but at the moment any sister is uncomfortable with a brother's behavior, they should immediately begin documenting behavior, events, conversations, and things that make her feel uncomfortable. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If possible, address the brother personally through a safe and documentable means, like email, or private message, explaining what he said, how you felt, and why you felt that way. Copy someone else, or use the blind copy feature (bcc) to make sure others see what you're up to.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Expect an apology, but do <b><i>NOT</i></b> stop documenting events.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Put everything in writing, and make sure all personal conversations with the person are witnessed by others. In lodge, that's pretty easy. You stick to your friends, and don't let the creepazoid get you alone. "There's nothing you can say in private that you can't say in front of our brothers and sisters" is a great way to make sure you don't get in a position where it's your word against theirs.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Save all documentation. Pretend it's you against the world. Let nothing slide. Document everything.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>If a Sister or Brother Comes to You, or if You See Something and Need to Say Something</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes people are afraid to go vertical and deal with a problem, but they are ok going horizontal to get strength from others who they see as strong members of the community willing to stand up against bullshit. Other times, people have gone vertical to their lodge master, or the Ombudsman, and haven't gotten the satisfaction they desired, and bring their issues to you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Or if you're like me, you see bullshit going down and make it your business because you've seen how things suck in abusive relationships and you aren't putting up with that because it's wrong.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Start a file. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've got some things going on in my world that I keep files on. Names, dates, who said what, what went down, how I felt, what I know at any given time. I have org charts I keep up to date, and I interview people as often as possible to keep up with events. I have input from others, and try to remain objective, not letting my own emotions get the better of me, and preparing to crush the fuck out of those who deserve it, and to exonerate those falsely accused, as needed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you're going to let yourself get involved in other people's problems, know that they probably aren't documenting it. Stand in the gap for them, be the one who will be their ally. Or just slime away spineless in the corner.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Eventually people have to stand for themselves. If you document issues and complaints, people trying to manipulate the system will see that they are only establishing evidence against themselves and will go away. If they have legit issues, the evidence you gather for them will pave the way for them to have a foundation to stand on.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Actively Work With Your Community</b><br />
<br />
So the thing about the O.T.O. is that we have a pretty solid net in place in our community to catch bullshit, and to eject it from the current. We swim in this stream all the time, and most of the time it's awesome. But if we find ourselves in a warm spot in the pool, or we see a turd floating where people are trying to have a good time, we need to point it out, and get rid of the offense and the offender. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes the offender can be retrained, other times they aren't allowed back in the hot tub, for reasons. We have to be compassionate to both sides of an equation, but we must stand firm against any abuse or harm to our tribe.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The O.T.O. is the only religious/spiritual/mystical group I've ever belonged to that had a cohesive and clear set of guidelines in place to address the kind of tribal bullshit that arises when three or more are gathered in one name. It gives me great hope that we can overcome the bullshit, and it makes me angry when people try to say "the O.T.O. has issues so don't join 'em." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We are the best organization on the planet equipped to manifest the Law of life, love, liberty and light for people of all genders, people of all races, and just, you know, people, whatever the modifier might be. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If we weren't, I wouldn't participate in this thing. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I do it for the Joy. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It best be Joyful.</div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-29385782005298651102016-04-26T08:56:00.000-07:002016-04-26T08:56:00.094-07:00Harper and I at Anabasis EncampmentLast weekend, Harper and I packed up a cooler, some clothes, some conjuration gear and a laptop, and headed to Indianapolis to give a joint presentation on the Conjuration of the Seven Spheres. I focused my talk on the Seven Spheres cosmology, and the topics of the book. Harper focused her talk on the techniques of scrying that make the experience of conjuration possible at all.<br />
<br />
Going in, I wasn't sure what to expect, but by the end of the weekend, all I could say was...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NzKFADc2VjkcE6NJoB_eeRwSFWi0eVvNcR4dURPEe2TY6R4OSmgmpl7oHp4_SRk6_sJ-t9xP7C1hCqf9_r-jdZ_Y1Uh-u24qbLsX60f2VcOkC5JCQkOY4d3oioTfhOCztKqIh-XtWjA/s1600/Incredibles-Totally-Wicked.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NzKFADc2VjkcE6NJoB_eeRwSFWi0eVvNcR4dURPEe2TY6R4OSmgmpl7oHp4_SRk6_sJ-t9xP7C1hCqf9_r-jdZ_Y1Uh-u24qbLsX60f2VcOkC5JCQkOY4d3oioTfhOCztKqIh-XtWjA/s400/Incredibles-Totally-Wicked.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
What an absolutely fabulous group of people! The locals were awesome, a Gent for Jupiter showed up, another "student" from days past was there, and the Brothers and Sisters of the O.T.O. who popped in from Tennesee, Kentucky, and Chicago were just the best.<br />
<br />
I really love doing this kind of thing, and it's a subject near and dear to my heart. The questions and answers were awesome, the opportunity to present with Harper at an event was amazing, and the conjuration was a total success.<br />
<br />
My favorite part was the dinners and conversations with people during and after the event. You guys were great. Thanks so much for having us, for showing up, and for sharing your experiences with us. I can't wait to hang out with you all again, as soon as possible.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-21037922360927607442016-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:002016-04-26T12:02:04.367-07:00On Public Criticism of the O.T.O.Heyo-O.T.O. Sisters and Brothers!<br />
<br />
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!<br />
<br />
Today I'm going to talk about a thing that annoyed me yesterday, and I hope my love of the Order comes through, as well as the actual V.I.T.R.I.O.L. I feel looking at some of the stuff that went down yesterday, because Eff. That. Sht.<br />
<br />
Twice yesterday, I saw O.T.O. members respond to perceived attacks and criticisms of the Order indignantly.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/parkssnubgifs-scissors.gif?w=650" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/parkssnubgifs-scissors.gif?w=650" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Say we don't shower again, motherfucker.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One person brought a comment made by a long-time friend to me in private, asking how I could let it slide, and another vague-booked about a similar insult, which may or may not have been the same incident.<br />
<br />
Alright, so don't get me wrong, I get it....<br />
<br />
I really enjoy pissing off some of the ex-members and soon-to-be-ex-members of the O.T.O. by talking about what a great time I'm having in our amazingly diverse, delightful, and sometimes dysfunctional family. I like to talk about how cool it is that the Order is growing, spreading the umbrella of Thelema across the world, making it accessible to people so that every man woman and child has the opportunity to go through the process of transforming from normal people into Master Magicians, and beyond.<br />
<br />
Nothing riles ex-members up like seeing someone having a good time in the Order, I tell you what. There's a dude that I can get into an apoplectic fit on Facebook just by talking about how the O.T.O. is the most effective structure for teaching Hermetics since the sacking of Rome. I imagine he has to clean his monitor for a week after I do it, and I'm still petty enough to get a kick out of that.<br />
<br />
It's awesome.<br />
<br />
So yea, screwing with people who are just bitter because they didn't get reimbursed for some gas money on a road trip they offered to provide without mentioning they expected some gas money is one thing.<br />
<br />
Even riling up the folks who have the "True mysteries of QBL and the <i>REAL A.'.A.'.</i> and people who have "Established more (in my own name) to advance Thelema than any structure that stemmed from Crowley legitimately ever..." is fun.<br />
<br />
These haters and ex-members who left because we didn't automagickally suck their cocks* when they declared themselves Ipsissimus and the Second Prophet of Thelema** deserve all the derisions and mockeries we can aim at them, if we feel like it, because they are extremists, nut jobs, and are actively pursuing an agenda that legitimately defines them as "Enemies of the Order."<br />
<br />
I see it as my personal duty to help them demonstrate to as many people as possible that they are ridiculous parodies of actual Thelemites, spittle-flecked and mentally ill, in need of meds, treatments, and a whole friggin' lot of therapy, or at least a weekend in Peru with a shaman.<br />
<br />
Or two.<br />
<br />
Cause I like that, it's in my blood. It is my nature, if you <i>will</i>.<br />
<br />
That said, there are people with legitimate gripes against the Order.<br />
<br />
There are sisters who were, in their opinions, abused by people still serving in the Order. Decisions made by people that left us looking really stupid over legal issues with felons when we should have known better as Magicians that we never acknowledged.<br />
<br />
Guys, I mean come on. There are ugly incidents going on in smaller valleys internationally that are getting sugar-coated, and people know about it.<br />
<br />
I don't want to air our dirty laundry, my fellow Order brothers and sisters, but <b>frankly</b>....<br />
<br />
To pretend we are all awesome manifestations of the Hermetic Ideal all the time is just bullshit.<br />
<br />
No one will believe it, especially when known Brothers of our Order are posting on our own Sisters' timelines about how they are passive-aggressively attacking masculinity and all males because they are sick of having to lie about having a boyfriend to get a guy to stop hitting on them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_qioa63JYOZ0fuTqNLxJ4bO88ze2TY1SB4Cl49sqTEqzP_N532FTAO-rUnGv-fb0eNetPCjlQKxcfPEx5cvwWUsxIOzivAq63cnSWcM479v_xQucuxfc0mVQMvluU2PnJ-UG6f2WhM8/s1600/exceed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_qioa63JYOZ0fuTqNLxJ4bO88ze2TY1SB4Cl49sqTEqzP_N532FTAO-rUnGv-fb0eNetPCjlQKxcfPEx5cvwWUsxIOzivAq63cnSWcM479v_xQucuxfc0mVQMvluU2PnJ-UG6f2WhM8/s320/exceed.png" width="320" /></a></div>
No one will believe it when known Brothers of our Order are saying "we are biologically hardwired" to be assholes, and advising the Sisters to "deal with it" in spite of the admonishment of the friggin' book of the friggin' law to overcome and refine our natures to be better than that as human beings.<br />
<br />
And honestly, the thing that pissed off the guy that brought it to me personally was the accusation that people in the O.T.O. don't shower, and live in their mom's basements*** and need to understand that getting laid is at times a function of hygiene, employment, and not living with your mom...<br />
<br />
... when the actual person that inspired the conversation in the first place makes perfect sense of those statements in multiple ways.<br />
<br />
So, if the criticisms of the people in the Order are legit, let's <i>do </i>something about it. Let's not get pissed that people ARE MAKING PUBLIC CRITICISMS that are actually legit, guys.<br />
<br />
Let's instead GET RID OF THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THESE CRITICISMS POSSIBLE AND LEGIT.<br />
<br />
Stand up for our sisters. Don't put up with douchebags. Stand against people invalidating the actual things people experience.<br />
<br />
Tell people to shower, get a job, and pay their fucking dues.<br />
<br />
You want to stand proud of the Order? Make it an honorable thing to stand proud of.<br />
<br />
And if you're more concerned about the REPUTATION of the Order than you are concerned about the REALITY EXPERIENCED BY MEMBERS OF THE ORDER, I think you have some serious issues that will inevitably be addressed when you start taking the whole "Tiphareth" thing seriously.<br />
<br />
It's BEAUTY for a reason. It is BEAUTY. It's not ugly. And when you taste the BEAUTY, you can't stand the ugly.<br />
<br />
But if you can't handle friggin' Samekh, fine. Until you're ready for it, recognize that the criticisms we receive from people are actually goads to get us to move towards something better. Something useful for the intent of our Order. Something that gets us to recognize our faults, to overcome them, and to be <i>better </i>so we can demonstrate to the rest of these people on the planet the actual and material and spiritual value of the Law.<br />
<br />
When someone levels an accusation at the O.T.O. that you find offensive, check it out.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Is it true personally? Do you do the thing they are saying?</li>
<li>Is it true in your lodge? Is anyone doing what they are saying locally?</li>
<li>Is it true in your Kingdom? Is anyone in your kingdom doing what they are saying in your country?</li>
</ul>
<br />
If it is not true, crush those motherfuckers. <i>Destroy them utterly</i>. Return them to the ash of the Grey Land that they arose from, make them a mockery, deride them in the market place, and humiliate the fuck out of them on all the social medias.<br />
<br />
But if it <i>is </i>true in the slightest, purge the fuck out of that as soon as you can, with the full extent of your power, because if we are to succeed in this endeavor we've signed on to with oath after oath, then we cannot abide with it in any way, shape, or form.<br />
<br />
And if we can't do that, my sisters and brothers, we have no right to pretend we are what we really are all about.<br />
<br />
We're just the latest poseurs with indignant tendencies, and time will sweep us the fuck aside, as we rightly deserve.<br />
<br />
Love is the law, love under Will.<br />
<br />
* They're almost always guys, except for one person who I think is married to the awesome reincarnation of Crowley who happened to make a ring for Elvis while Crowley was still alive, but that's none of my business.<br />
<br />
** There are so many Second Prophets, guys, and the ones that died in the 60s, 70s, and 80s were better than you, grow up, lookin' at you world teachers.<br />
<br />
*** So at least one Thelemite who I think pretty highly of as a person lives in his mom's basement at the moment as a result of some actual HORSE SHIT he has had to deal with, and this is not <i>necessarily</i> an indictment of anyone who's going through shit, per se, and that's worth noting. Also, I totally lived in my parents' basement off and on til I was about 23-25, I can't remember because I was pretty stoned at the time.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-89358694703193264802016-04-18T14:56:00.000-07:002016-04-18T14:56:05.238-07:00Midwestern Enlightenment Studies with Harper Feist, Soror Laila and Rufus OpusHey there!<br />
<br />
93 and stuff.<br />
<br />
This coming weekend, if you're lucky enough to be in the Midwest, you have two opportunities to experience some goddamned amazing awesomeness at the hands of your intrepid explorer magicians who go about doing this shit and talking about it to you and others so you can do it too!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
This weekend in Indianapolis, Harper Feist and I will be providing a joint presentation of angelic conjuration magic that demonstrates how to conjure the spirits, how to hear them and interact with them, and how to incubate the forces they represent in a Hermetic context to attain the transformations that result in the accomplishment of the Great Work:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1567534966870042/">Harper Feist and Rufus Opus Present:</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1567534966870042/">Conjuring the Seven Spheres!</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikY-1XC5DsOBDotbfzHt9_0f-kOGsH2XeieKb2-XBqYNMJrQSytvXHtQHqYgSK458Xna0Z-y9I8sJH3aNrA-iGKtqpqeDzu3rYNRRYepPlL5owPpHUM-xkOxsGlsAEmMTzQT6h03vyjs/s1600/hfro_in_Cincinnatti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikY-1XC5DsOBDotbfzHt9_0f-kOGsH2XeieKb2-XBqYNMJrQSytvXHtQHqYgSK458Xna0Z-y9I8sJH3aNrA-iGKtqpqeDzu3rYNRRYepPlL5owPpHUM-xkOxsGlsAEmMTzQT6h03vyjs/s320/hfro_in_Cincinnatti.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This would be what I consider the "Green Work" phase of the Hermetic interpretation of the Great Work as I define it. After you've been through the basics of Hermetics (roughly II* in OTO or so), you need the White Work to get you K&CHGA, and then you need the Green Work to make your world your personal playground. The Angel teaches you things, but it also takes you on a series of initiations that put you into a position of authority and wisdom from which to organize and direct the manifestation of your experienced reality.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Harper will be teaching fundamentals and advanced techniques to hear and interact with spirits, which is basically the key to doing magic. I can't tell you how many people don't even consider this simple process that makes it possible to do everything else we do. The number of people that expect a season on netflix related to the spheres to show up in their crystals is just overwhelming. Harper teaches how to use the entire body as a sensory input that connects us to the realms of the spirits, enabling us to participate in the unfolding of experiences they provide.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And then I'll be walking people through the forces of the spheres and how they manifest in our experiences on the daily, providing some insights into the ongoing aspects of creating and maintaining our existences as we progress through each of the Seven planetary spheres and develop the understanding and ability to direct these forces as we see fit.</div>
<br />
AND then, on the following Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio, I am SO PLEASED to announce that Sarah Mooshian, also known as the lovely and talented Soror Laila, will be presenting her experiences in the "White Work" phase of the Hermetic interpretation of the Great Work as I define it, also known as the<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
ahem. take a breath, you actually need a sec.<br />
<br />
Ok, ready? Alright:<br />
<br />
The <i>motherfucking</i> <i>Attainment of Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel</i>.<br />
<br />
That's right.<br />
<br />
Sarah went through all the crap we put up with in this process (and until you have been through it, you won't appreciate the ha-ha "humor" of that comment) to get to talk to this spiritual entity that just makes our lives ...<br />
<br />
uhm.<br />
<br />
I mean.<br />
<br />
Sarah carefully performed the operations described in the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, and reaped the harvest that comes from this process.<br />
<br />
She's going to be speaking about her experience in attaining K&CHGA using traditional techniques at Black Sun Lodge in Cleveland this weekend.<br />
<br />
This kind of frank and earnest conversation about this ritual is what led me to attainment on my own. You can't actually expect to have a better and more useful time this weekend if you can make it to her presentation, linked below:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?eid=XzYxMjNnY3EyNm9xamliYTM2c3FqY2I5azZkMWpnYmEyNmwxNGFiOWo4ZDBrYWUxbjhjcDNnZ3BwNmsgbWFzdGVyQGJsYWNrc3VuOTMub3Jn&ctz=America/New_York&sf=true&output=xml#eventpage_6">A Season with my Holy Guardian Angel</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not bad if you're close to Cleveland!<br />
<br />
So no matter where you happen to be in the Midwest this weekend, you've got amazing opportunities. Join Harper and myself, or join Sarah, or join us both if you can! We guarantee you will not walk away from the weekend's events with anything less than what you need to make your personal world a better place, for you, for me, and for anyone else who has to put up with us.</div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-18932558355189128282016-04-13T11:09:00.001-07:002016-04-13T11:09:30.538-07:00The Office of the Readings: Thelemic Liturgical Community Pathworkings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVInVh1xt2Kg_QkfBAdnqfy1fFWwi9Oj0olJqxZ85OA_aCZgr4EcfBc1nB3AQepPkyUIRTQavNYJKoYz50jRH4a6jyx7O0_c_Te42OQw8QE_jVsgJfxry6AEzPNN7TLmCO4tgNHbh_8Q/s1600/Serpent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVInVh1xt2Kg_QkfBAdnqfy1fFWwi9Oj0olJqxZ85OA_aCZgr4EcfBc1nB3AQepPkyUIRTQavNYJKoYz50jRH4a6jyx7O0_c_Te42OQw8QE_jVsgJfxry6AEzPNN7TLmCO4tgNHbh_8Q/s320/Serpent.jpg" width="202" /></a>For the last 23 nights, Leaping Laughter Lodge has presented the annual "Office of the Readings." This series of rituals, led by Scott Michael Stenwick, kicks off with the Equinox Rite on March 19.<br />
<br />
Each subsequent night, we participated in a ritual conjuration of the forces of each of the 22 paths of the Tree of Life. Check out <a href="http://ananael.blogspot.com/2008/04/rite-of-office-of-readings.html">Scott's blog post on the ritual</a> he uses that he made back in 2008 on Augoeides. I think the ritual may have changed slightly over the years, but it's the basic formula we followed.<br />
<br />
Beginning at Path 32, Tav, the Universe, we worked our way up the Path of the Serpent. The last three paths leading to Kether, Gimel, Beth, and Aleph align with the Feast of the Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law.<br />
<br />
In a conversation on Facebook sparked by Michael Kolson, the subject of the value of the Office of the Readings came up in a post about the <a href="http://zeroequalstwo.net/meditations-and-readings-to-prepare-for-the-three-days/">Zero Equals Two article</a> on the Readings. Michael expressed his doubts about the value of the process, and asked if he was alone in thinking it was worthless.<br />
<br />
In that conversation, I found myself saying this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Going through an intentional experience of the 22 paths of the Tree of Life yearly becomes a shamanic quest for us as a group. It becomes an Ordeal, and it's cathartic in ways that are hard to put into words. Last year, we (my partner Harper and I) were dealing with cancer, this year we're dealing with something else, but this operation provides us with a framework to address and deal with things in a way that is beneficial that doesn't happen in any other way communally.</blockquote>
Frater IAO131 asked for more clarification:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To be clear, you are saying that reading segments of Holy Books "provides us with a framework to address and deal with things in a way that is beneficial that doesn't happen in any other way communally"? Can you expand more on how reading these book portions/chapters provides those things? I am very interested to hear.</blockquote>
<div>
And that's what started this blog post. </div>
<br />
Let's begin with a discussion of the basic framework of the ritual as a whole, and individually. Beginning on the night after the Equinox, Scott performs a ritual that does the following:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Cleanses the ritual space</li>
<li>Calls on the powers of creation and manifestation within the Thelemic system to attend, bear witness, and provide their influence in the execution of our statement of intent (my interpretation of his "operant field" theory)</li>
<li>Uses a Call and Response formula with the congregants to focus our intents collectively, and to shape the ritual space so that it is conducive to the forces and intelligences we are seeking to conjure, in accord with the ideas of how Magick works as presented in Magick in Theory and Practice.</li>
<li>Incorporates a hymn based on four stages of the Alchemical Work that progress as we progress.</li>
<li>Conjures the forces represented by the Hebrew Letter, tarot Trump, and Astrological/Planetary/Elemental assignments in 777.</li>
<li>Provides a timed period for the attendees to sit in contemplation and integration of these forces.</li>
<li>Wraps up with a benediction that further anchors the forces within the magical sphere of the attendees.</li>
</ul>
<br />
So that's the framework. It is a daily group ritual conjuration, contemplation, and integration of the forces of each of the paths as we progress up the path of the Serpent on the Tree of Life.<br />
<br />
If you look at the process of initiations we go through in the Man of Earth Triad, for example, you can see that it is a similar process. We are exposed to certain truths, influences, and mysteries, and we are then given an opportunity to integrate those forces before continuing on to the next logically progressive moment in the path from a Guest to a Master Magician. It takes years in the OTO.<br />
<br />
In the A.'.A.'., the progression is from Student to Probationer to Neophyte, and so on. Each phase has tasks, assignments, and tests before the cumulative processes have prepared the individual for the next step. This process also takes years.<br />
<br />
In the EGC, the progression is through the Sacraments, and a person can go from Baptism, to Confirmation, and on to the service officers of the Ordained Priesthood, and beyond. At each phase the person is exposed to forces, mysteries, and experiences that have to be integrated as they progress in the Church. And again, this process takes years.<br />
<br />
In all of these processes of progressive initiations, the participants get to deal with the esoteric alchemical processes that crop up as they go along. The number of anecdotal stories I've heard related to the Ordeals of the MOE degrees are awesome. I've seen people nervous about taking their II*, not because of the actual initiation, but because of what they've seen their lodge mates go through over the next year. The A.'.A.'. Ordeals are consistent enough across the process from the times of Crowley that Dr. Shoemaker was able to <a href="http://livingthelema.com/2013/10/19/the-ordeals-of-a-a/">produce a podcast</a> and a chapter in his book <i><a href="http://livingthelema.com/about-the-book/">Living Thelema</a> </i>about what can be expected at each phase.<br />
<br />
But when you go through the Paths of the Tree from 32 to 11, you are taking yourself through an initiatory system that goes from the most material and mundane aspects of your existence to the absolute purest, rawest, first expression of the parts of existence.<br />
<br />
You go center, then outside, then inside, then outside again, then inside, and then across.<br />
<br />
Catch your breath.<br />
<br />
Then it's Up one, Up two, up three.<br />
<br />
Then back outside, and inside, and outside, and inside, and across.<br />
<br />
Catch your breath.<br />
<br />
Then it's outside, inside, outside, inside, and across again.<br />
<br />
And then take a deep breath.<br />
<br />
Because it's up Book 1, up Book 2, and up Book 3, and you've done it, you've gone up through the Tree along all the paths that connect the spheres that trace the manifestation from the purest to the most material. You've done it. You've taken apart the outer shells of things, seen what lied beneath, and how they are connected across from one another. You've ascended.<br />
<br />
And you've breathed it all in.<br />
<br />
So in real life, the process is a framework of initiation that has a start, and a stop, and clear path markers along the way. It's a controlled distillation of the members of the community that participate.<br />
<br />
Harper was going through the process of being diagnosed with cancer the first time we participated in the Office of the Readings, and this community effort to work through things from the most mundane to the highest as a group helped us personally get through a lot of the pain and confusion we were dealing with in our relationship at the time. It gave us a perspective to put our experiences into. A framework to see spiritual things when we would otherwise have been focusing on some frightening truths.<br />
<br />
This year there wasn't as much drama going on in our personal lives, but being in the crucible of the progressive pathworkings still managed to bring things that I thought I had dealt with years ago back up to the surface to address and overcome.<br />
<br />
And the same was going on for everyone else, to varying degrees in the lodge. We went through it together, sometimes sharing the emotions, sometimes keeping them to ourselves. But we were all going through it, and we went through it together as a community. It strengthened the bonds that we share, and made paths and connections between us that don't form in any of the regular classes, masses, and events we come together to share the rest of the time.<br />
<br />
The temple space becomes our Alembic. The rituals and the conjurations of the forces provide the heat. We who participate are the Primum Materia, and the progressive exposure to that sustained heat transforms us, purifies us, and creates a community amalgamation that leaves us stronger, purer, and more able to do what it is we are here to do.<br />
<br />
And that doesn't happen often as a group at the local OTO community. Most Work is done alone, especially in the A.'.A.'., and the OTO and EGC initiations are at a much different level of intensity and personal transformation. Not less powerful, but more prolongued than 23 days, for sure. Having a few weeks out of the year that you know you're going to go through some immersion therapy that will draw things up to the surface to address as you climb the Coils of the Serpent is awesome.<br />
<br />
So thanks much, Brother Stenwick (and Sorors Lalita and Maurine) for doing the rites, and thanks to all the members of the Lodge of Leaping Laughter for reading, and for the foods and wines and conversations, and above all else for showing up as a community to participate in this rite of renewal and celebration.<br />
<br />
Super well done, sisters and brothers.Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-57102373964695011092016-04-04T05:04:00.000-07:002016-04-04T05:04:00.831-07:00Advanced Initiation Training (AIT) May 7-8 2016 E.V.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31Lp-KNvi-6xIaQU6w6zuoSdoo4RIediDbRK3Aeq3JabLI6Lq5ttZifPBDCvuGLSx9BwgqD15cHEN45G-KOIuDS3DG9PeBlHEKk6x5aM5bpDLY6k5R5GAdxttYfAcNSdTIRx7qNthKQQ/s1600/AIT2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31Lp-KNvi-6xIaQU6w6zuoSdoo4RIediDbRK3Aeq3JabLI6Lq5ttZifPBDCvuGLSx9BwgqD15cHEN45G-KOIuDS3DG9PeBlHEKk6x5aM5bpDLY6k5R5GAdxttYfAcNSdTIRx7qNthKQQ/s400/AIT2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As part of the ongoing quest to increase and improve the skill sets of our Master Magicians and Chartered Initiaties, the OTO provides <a href="http://ait.oto-usa.org/">Advanced Initiation Training</a>. This program is designed to enhance the understanding of both the hands on practical aspects of the process of Initiation within the OTO, and the general understanding of the symbolism of the initiations we perform.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At Leaping Laughter Lodge, the resident Bishops regularly present Initiation Training. They set aside a whole day at the Lodge, and, beginning with the highest degree of local members, go through each of the degrees and discuss what each means. To attend the discussion, you must be initated into the degree being discussed (obviously). As each discussion concludes, the next degreed initiates can join in the next discussion. As the day progresses, we end up getting more and more people, until all the lodge members (who can make it) are present at the Minerval discussion.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's a real blast.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But even setting aside a whole day for it leaves us with a set amount of time to discuss each degree. There are constraints, and the Bishops are as thorough as possible in these Initiation Training sessions, but there's only so much time to spend on each degree. We publish the schedule so people know when to show up, and if we go over on the II* discussion, there are I* folk hanging out in the lobby waiting to get in. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We don't have time to get into all the gritty details.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fortunately, the OTO put together the Advanced Initiation Training (AIT) program. Teams of specialists have put together presentations on the aspects of intiation that let us spend time immersing ourselves in the practice and symbolism of the OTO's initiatory journey.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Lodge of Leaping Laughter in the Valley of Minneapolis is honored to present AIT on May 7-8, 2016 E.V. We'll have multiple Bishops on hand to provide different viewpoints and discussions, to exchange anecdotes of initiations gone great*, and initiations gone wrong*. We hope to have as many people present as possible, and we can't wait to see you.<br />
<br />
There will be wine and roses.<br />
<br />
Event details can be found on the links at the following site:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://leapinglaughter.org/advanced-initiation-training-ait/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://leapinglaughter.org/advanced-initiation-training-ait/</span></a></div>
<br />
If you already know what AIT is all about and are a Chartered Initiate, or III* or higher and want to attend, you can go directly to the Registration link below:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://ait.oto-usa.org/minneapolis-2016">http://ait.oto-usa.org/minneapolis-2016</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
[NOTE: All footnotes are speculation only, and probably won't actually be discussed:]</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
* Crowley appeared and gave him a crown. The crown stayed when Crowley went back to the City of the Pyramids. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
** What do you MEAN the goat has a headache? How can you even TELL?</div>
</div>
Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4032214744317505487.post-29812426036909322992016-03-24T22:22:00.003-07:002016-03-24T22:38:01.164-07:00BJ Swayne/Ararita 418 Discusses Solomonic Magic, "Witchblood," and Thelema for Millennials<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoPMbpcteVq03_csla8t5QWgCYLCWnKBvWIRE7TtMmIlwk65kxw78RQ4cCG_Z1GImmjHwJxwB0Js-ddz9qfQzNlPyuPaU2p6AzpmD8qTjDsAoEi_JDIPSvRIBPHHxQREVCI03BB37vOU/s1600/ararita-RO.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoPMbpcteVq03_csla8t5QWgCYLCWnKBvWIRE7TtMmIlwk65kxw78RQ4cCG_Z1GImmjHwJxwB0Js-ddz9qfQzNlPyuPaU2p6AzpmD8qTjDsAoEi_JDIPSvRIBPHHxQREVCI03BB37vOU/s320/ararita-RO.png" width="320" /></a>I had a great conversation this evening with Ararita 418 (BJ Swayne) of William Blake Lodge. We talked about our history, and then started aiming for a conversation on the Heptameron and his recent work on de-hot-messifying the thing... and we sort of missed a lot.<br />
<br />
Instead, we got to talking about what makes a magician or a witch a magician or a witch, and wandered on to the differences between Solomonic Magic and modern Ceremonial Magick, and what happens when you conjure a spirit from a Grimoire using Thelemic techniques.<br />
<br />
Then we ended up having a fascinating conversation about how Millenials are basically already incorporating the Law into their lives, and how the A.'.A.'. and OTO might evolve to adapt to this particular change in things.<br />
<br />
We didn't make it to the Heptameron stuff, but that's probably ok. We'll try again soon.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AdNAAJKNvuU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AdNAAJKNvuU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Rufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.com0