Thelema Lodge Calendar for August 1987 e.v.

Thelema Lodge Calendar

for August 1987 e.v.

The viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of OTO or its officers

Note to update: the addresses and phone numbers in these issues of the Thelema Lodge Calendars are obsolete since the closing of the Lodge. They are here for historic purposes only and should not be visited or called..

Thelema Lodge
Ordo Templi Orientis
P.O.Box 2303
Berkeley, CA 94702 USA

August 1987 e.v. at Thelema Lodge

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers

This Month at Thelema Lodge

The Qabalah class with Bill meets on the 12th and 19th of August, with roughly two meetings per month for a total of 10 meetings. This annual series provides in-depth instruction on the Tree of Life, Berashit and Merkabah Qabalah for all students of all levels. Slides, printed matter and turn-ons to literature are featured. 8PM.

The Enochian Chess Club meets on the 18th 8PM.

Swordsmanship classes in theory and practice by Drax on the 20th and 27th: The role of spiritual warrior as peacemaker. Avoidance of conflict. Psychical and magical combat. Martial Arts and physical combat. Sword combat, weapons design, tactics and the force. Bring Swords. Participate in demo's at your own risk. 7PM.

Egyptiana with Ebony on the 26th. 8PM.

Enochiana on the 25th with David will be on the 28/26 Children of God from the Sigillum Dei Aemeth. 9PM.

On the 11th, Metafutures by Drax: The role of Templar eclecticism in socioeconomic structures. The A-political politics of the Grail Bearers. Planetary unity and the extension of Earth-systems into Outer Space. Translation of polysyllibics available on request. 8PM.

The Astronomical Association with David and Drax familiarizes Thelemites with aerospace research facilities in the area. Field trips include: Chabot Science Center Observatory, Laurence Hall of Science, NASA Ames Research Center. Participation in Aero Space Societies is encouraged through this informal association, including the L5 Society, Dr. Leary's Star Seed Group and the Close Encounters UFO Society. On the 14th, 21st and 28th. 9PM sharp.
(Notice from the GTG: Any Deities from outer space who seek admission into the OTO are required to pay $30 to get Minervalized like everybody else!)

Gnostic Masses on the 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th at Sunset (after 8PM) and a Gnostic Mass Class on the 23rd at 4:18 PM.
Initiations this month from Minerval to IIIrd Degree (call early, location, date and time subject to change)

Thelema Lodge Business and re-organizational meeting on the 24th. 8PM.

Eleusian Rites,
Last Chance this Cycle

The rites of Mercury and Luna conclude this season at New Horizons on the 5th and 10th, respectively. Call (415) 439-9794 for details. See the July issue of the Thelema Lodge Calendar for more information.

Thelema Lodge Under New Management

Soror Lola is now the Lodge Mistress of Thelema Lodge, replacing our Greatly Honored Lodge Master J.G., of the past two years. The change was made by the authority of the National Grand Master and with the agreement of the Past Master of the Lodge. This will be reviewed by the Electoral College, and there may be an additional review in December. Grand Lodge has a policy of avoiding "pile-up" on officers having too much to do, and other Official Bodies led by Grand Lodge officers may also have some voluntary changes in the future. Most of the Lodge events will continue at the Oakland location, but even regular visitors to the Lodge would be advised to call ahead to check that events haven't been moved on short notice.
Thelema Lodge was suggested to Grady McMurtry by Jack Parsons in the early 1940s, was formally chartered in 1977 e.v. and served as the Grand Lodge until recently. Special efforts have been exerted to prevent the Lodge "going Dark" for even a minute. These included an agreement between Past Master J.G. and myself (Bill Heidrick) that I would assume leadership of the Lodge in the event that I ceased to be GTG of the Order. Well, I'm still GTG, and can't do justice to the position for lack of time. Lola is the Controller of the OTO Corporation and a Past GSG. She is more than capable of fostering a loving and Thelemic continuation of Grady's Thelema Lodge, the place my Soul calls home.

Theft at Thelema Lodge?

During the weekend at the end of July and beginning of August, someone entered Thelema Lodge and took ritual equipment from our temple. The place was locked, and there were no evident signs of forced entry. The missing property includes: 22 Brass Candle Sticks, four Robes (black and red), two Swords (one Kts. of Columbus style and one military dress), one 12-14 inch Egyptian museum replica Hawk (black) and possibly other property not yet identified. The value of the material so far known to be missing is above $320, and nearly all of it was on loan to the Lodge by people who can ill afford the loss. If anyone borrowed this material for a ritual or initiation, please return it at once. If anyone sees stuff like this around, please phone the Lodge at (415) 655-4942 or leave a message at (415) 454-5176. It is certainly possible that these things have simply been borrowed and will be returned, but no note or advance knowledge of such a matter has come to light. This is especially disturbing in that the Lodge did not own the articles.

From the Out Basket
The Gopher Grunts

The Lesser Pentagram ritual, variations of direction:

From time to time letters to the G.T.G. raise questions of general interest. These letters are handed to the Grand Gopher General, who shares the body of the present GTG, rent free. Dimorphic and more complex personalities are certainly not rare in Thelema, so this situation should not seem strange to anyone. Be that as it may, edited and extended portions of the answers to these letters will appear here in the Thelema Lodge Calendar as long as our readers find them useful:

Q. "What about variations in the assignment of Archangels to the directions in the Lesser Pentagram Ritual" -- from TX.

A. This question refers to the middle portion of the ritual, which is found in many places. Here is the portion in question, taken from the version published by Crowley in Magick in Theory and Practice, pages 379 - 340.

The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram
...

	x.		Extending the arms in the form of a cross say,
	xi.		Before me Raphael;
	xii.		Behind me Gabriel;
	xiii.		On my right hand, Michael.
	xiv.		On my left hand, Auriel;
	xv.		For about me flames the Pentagram,
	xvi.		And in the Column stands the six-rayed Star.

...

Traditionally, the magician is facing East during this, with elements attributed as follows: East = Air; South = Fire; West = Water; North = Earth. It is worth pointing out that a literal following of Crowley's directions in this version from MTP would have the magician facing North, but the circle incomplete. There are other versions, including a Thelemic one; but that's not the subject of the question.

    I am aware of three reasons for variation on the allocation of the Archangels:
    1. The usual attribution seems to be to the prevailing winds, and could reasonably change depending on where you are located. Thus the usual attribution would work for West Europe and for California, but on the East US the moist wind comes from the East -- Water might move accordingly. Below the equator, the Seasons are reversed, and the Sun appears to move differently, i.e. to the North rather than the South. Below equator directional rituals are often altered from Northern Hemisphere ones.
    2. Regardie cites a Golden Dawn variation of the ritual which was used for "spirit vision in the abode" of the signs. In this variation the allocation is to the Kerubs of the fixed signs, and the elemental allocation is discussed in The Golden Dawn, volume III, page 14. Using the variation there, we could have: Michael-East; Uriel-South; Raphael-West and Gabriel -North. A different way of interpreting this theory of allocation by fixed signs might have: Raphael-East; Uriel West; Michael-South and Gabriel-North. These two variations on one theory have to do with the sign to take to start the year, the matching of Archangels to elements, and the orientation of the magician to the universe.
    3. The oldest immediate precursor to this part of the Ritual that I have been able to find is a part of a Hebrew Night Prayer: "In the name of the Lord God of Israel, may Michael be at my right hand, and Gabriel at my left; before me Uriel; behind me Raphael; and above my head the divine presence." page 852 of the Birnbaum Siddur, Sephardic version, 1969, Hebrew Publishing Company, NY. It would be reasonable to look in Ma'aseh Merkabah and Hekaloth literature of the pre Christian era for precursors to this. The elemental attributions are not mentioned in the prayer.
    Whatever the allocation, many former Golden Dawn members who comment on the ritual mention that there was a secret or "correct" version. See also the writings of Dion Fortune, Paul Foster Case and W.E.Butler. There is an oral tradition, attributed to Crowley by the former Caliph of the OTO, that the sacred direction is North, rather than East.
    The best thing to do would be to learn the ritual in it's common form, and then to experiment with these other attributions once the "Spirit Vision" is acquired. There is little point in getting lost in scholastic confusion over what is essentially an empirical matter. Mark these other versions for later experiment, but learn the standard one well. The standard version of the Pentagram Ritual is used as a baseline in discussion with other students. If you don't learn that version, you can't share the wealth of the researches of your colleagues. In particular, derivative rituals like Crowley's "Star Ruby" would be harder to learn and weaker in effect without knowledge of the standard version of the Lesser Pentagram Ritual.

TSG (or "Thus Spake the Gopher")

Next Outbasket

Grand Lodge News

OTO Statistics and Dues

    Dues billing for USA, parts of Canada and some individual accounts overseas is scheduled for August. There are currently more than 1,000 active initiate and associate members of O.T.O., world wide. The membership runs 63% USA, 11% Canada, 26% mostly Europe and Oceania. By type of membership, the proportion is approximately: Associate -- 14%, Minerval -- 31%, Ist -- 22%, IInd -- 10%, IIIrd -- 9%, IVth -- 4%, all degrees Vth and above about 10%. There are slightly more Active members than Inactive, taking the last ten years for the sample. Because of annual assessment and quarterly billing, a perfect turnover of dues anniversaries would mean 25% owing dues at any given time; but the proportion is actually closer to 1/3 of the membership. In the last quarterly billing, 28 Minervals lost their membership for nonpayment of dues, and 9 members from Ist and IInd Degrees were ruled inactive for the same reason. This time, it is anticipated that about 35 Minervals may default and probably less than 20 Ist through Vth Degree. Minervals can loose their membership after going as little as 60 days over the paid period of their dues ($15 per year), and can only return to active membership through Association or initiation to Ist Degree. Ist Degree and higher can be made inactive after getting about 18 months behind in their dues, and can usually return to active membership by simply paying two years dues. We try to notify members before ruling them inactive, but at least 20% of the membership is without known address at any given time. If we don't know where you are, you can loose your membership without notice! Billing in the USA is quarterly. Billing outside the USA will be quarterly in the near future, as reporting of initiations becomes more consistent. For members in good report, extension for hardship is almost always available on request. Such a request must be made anew every time dues are billed. In ten years, less than 10 members have been dropped or made inactive despite a renewed request for more time. Silence doesn't count as a request. Requests for more time to pay are not carried from one billing to the next unless the requests are made again. Bad checks are the most common reason for ignoring a request for more time. Persons charged with misconduct are often given an extension to allow the issue to be resolved. Persons convicted of serious misconduct, commonly violence, theft or injury to their Brothers and Sisters or the Order, are expelled. In 10 years, only 6 have been expelled out of more than 1,800 members! More than that have resigned in the face of charges. Less than that are currently on suspension for cause or pending a hearing. Expulsion is never done without attempted notice and the chance of a personal hearing. Expulsion is not permitted without substantial evidence. Expulsion can be reversed. About 3 nonmembers have been eternally barred from ever becoming OTO members on the grounds of attacking the OTO with uncommon malice.
    That's the size of it, and the worst of it. Frankly, I doubt that you could find a dues paying organization anywhere with a better record or a more diverse membership. That not-withstanding, more than $12,000 is owed in back dues, and the OTO can't run without money. I would love to see it free, but I would hate to see it drop to under 20 real members like it did when nobody paid dues back in the 50's. Publications, postage and legal existence all cost money; to say nothing of travel. Without your dues, the OTO would be a dead dream. If you aren't a member, help make the dream a reality! $10 per year gets you Associate membership, and pays for minimal services. If you owe dues, smoke less. If you don't owe dues, how about a donation? Donations are tax deductible in the USA.
    If you don't receive the Magical Link, but do receive the Thelema Lodge Calendar; chances are you are not a current O.T.O. member. Associate membership is available at $10 per year through the Grand Lodge in New York. If you were initiated, did you neglect your dues too long? That would do it. Expired Minervals can return through simple Ist degree initiation, while Ist Degree and higher can return to active membership through payment of two years's dues. Contact the nearest Lodge or Oasis for more information on initiation, or write to the Grand Treasurer General at P.O.Box 430, Fairfax, CA 94930 USA for the present status of your account. Dues are planned to go up later this year. Pay now and save $'s!

Magical Link to change:
Local Newsletters may get Special Role

As an experiment, and in answer to popular requests, the Grand Lodge Periodical, Magical Link is doubling its size from 8 to 16 pages. This will enable the Order to publish longer material, including many of Crowley's previously unpublished or hard to find items. To control costs, the Magical Link will drop its frequency of publication from about 10 issues per year to six. This means that O.T.O. members will now be receiving the Magical Link every other month instead of nearly every month. In part, very gratifying increase of local and national O.T.O. newsletters has made this possible. The Magical Link has a problem in furnishing timely news, owing to the time required for quality production and advance mailings. In the new format, the Grand Lodge publication will continue to carry local official body news, general announcements and the material it has traditionally provided. Now it also has room for those special articles and Libers of lasting importance that could not fit in the smaller format. The Thelema Lodge Calendar will soon be publicizing a subscription rate outside its San Francisco Bay area free mailing zone. In the TLC, you can find a lot of Grand Lodge News a lot quicker than you could in the more professional Magical Link. Because the TLC goes free to all official Lodges, Oases, Camps, Tribes and Chapters of the OTO, many of the publishers of other local O.T.O. periodicals are reading this notice. As editor of the TLC and GTG of OTO, I have a suggestion: In the off months when the Magical Link is between issues, would publishers of local O.T.O. periodicals like to send out their material on speculation to try for national and international subscriptions? We could do this in rotation using the Grand Lodge mailing list, assuming that the Caliph agrees. Also, consider sending in a notice of rates of subscription for your local publications to the JAF 7666 New York address of the Editor of the Magical Link. For OTO official body publications only, the costs of such an order-wide mailing run approximately like this: 700/USA at Bulk rate $60; 120/CANADA at 1st class $30; 240/OVERSEAS at surface $70; 31/OCEANIA at A/O rate $14; 73/OFFICIALBODIES at mixed 1st class and air $25. (These figures are rounded up or exaggerated to allow for increase in membership over the next several months. Final weight of each unit in envelope or imprint mailer assumed to be one oz. or less.) As long as the publication is definitely OTO and not an outside item, there should be no problem in using the secure mailing list. Mailings would take place from the Grand Lodge postal address in Fairfax, California to insure privacy of the mailing list. More tightly directed mailings could be made, but the ability to cut sections off for Bulk mailing is limited to blocks of 200 or more by the post office. Grand Lodge has always made regional service mailings available to official bodies, but this is not widely known. Because an "Ecological Niche" appears to be opening up as the Magical Link shifts toward an Oriflamme style publication, I thought I should remind folks of this option.

The Editor of the Magical Link tells me that serialized publication of Crowley's works Liber Hyacinth and his essay on Cocaine will be run in coming issues of the Grand Lodge publication. Readers will possibly be surprised to learn Crowley's real attitude toward drug abuse, after so much misinformation over the years. In particular, Liber Hyacinth, also called Liber 93 describes Crowley's efforts to kick Heroin and Cocaine addiction in the 1920's. This work provides significant new insights into the Prophet's understanding of Liber AL:

AL II,70: "There is help & hope in other spells. Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by the eight and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein!"
AL II,22: "I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all. It is a lie, this folly against self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this."

As many of our readers know, Crowley did not get into these drugs by breaking the law. Cocaine was even endorsed by Freud and the Pope! Crowley was prescribed Heroin as a control medication for his asthma by a doctor who believed that the drug was a "nonaddictive substitute for morphine." Crowley draws a distinction between recreational use and use toward Ra Hoor Khuit. The former asks for karma. The latter involves religious elements and profound self-control. Some O.T.O. members have taken to forgetting their Ist Degree oaths to the extent of allowing their free will to be impaired though intemperate indulgence. It may be that Crowley's words on this subject will reach where common sense does not. Some people should simply not partake of some substances, and the gods will certainly guide them if they listen to the inner voice and observe their outer lives. Religious observances do not have to be illegal actions. If the law of the land is wrong, work to change the law. O.T.O. offers free Associate Membership to prisoners as a social and Thelemic outreach program. All too many of those brothers and sisters that we first met on prison stationary found their free-will impaired through being at the wrong place with the wrong stuff at the right time. Think about it. Crowley's health was damaged by reliance on bad medical advice, and his public voice was silenced by the press of Lord Beaverbrook. Read Crowley's unique account in coming issues of the Magical Link.

Non OTO events and alternatives.

The Bay Area Council of Pagan Circles and Solitaires, in combination with Friends of the Circle Coven and the Order of Promethios is accessible through (415) 931-4014 and 547-7115 in San Francisco and Emeryville. This is a Pagan supportive network oriented toward individuals and for correction of nonpagan public stereotypes. The new group has had some scheduling conflicts, and you should contact them directly for more information. Their first event was too early in August to effectively be publicized here, but they sound well worth checking into.

VOYAGES, An Avant Garde Play on Reincarnation August 21, 22, and 23. 8:00 PM at Zellerbach Playhouse. Written and directed by Kim McMillon, Choreography by Shakirl. Co-Sponsored by New Age Ensemble & ASUC S.P. The Play introduces the public to the concept of reincarnation.

(The Thelema Lodge Calendar accepts notices without endorsement for complimentary circulation on events and groups of interest in the San Francisco Greater Bay Area. This is done without charge as a service to the Pagan and Thelemic Communities.)

Thelema Lodge Calendar Electronic Edition.

Upload versions of this publication are available on ThelemaNET and BaphoNET, the two OTO computer Bulletin Boards in Berkeley and New York. This service is available at the pleasure of the Sysops. If interest materializes, the Thelema Lodge Calendar will be uploaded at a future time to the ACCESS datalibrary on Compuserve (It's too long for electronic mail). Modem access to ThelemaNET is via (415) {...}. Modem access to BaphoNET is via (718) {...}. The Editor of the Thelema Lodge Calendar can be reached via Electronic Mail on Compuserve No. {...}. Material for the Thelema Lodge Calendar can be left for Bill Heidrick, Editor of the TLC at any of these three electronic points. For publication, this should be done by the 20th of the month before. With improved equipment, previous electronic access problems have been solved.

Events Calendar for August 1987 e.v.

8/1/87	Bay Area Council of Pagan Circles	non OTO
	and Solitaires, contact for
	more info and other events
8/1-3/87	Marin Headlands Camp out.	Thelema Ldg
8/7/87	Selene Camp meeting 7:30PM	Selene Camp
8/5/87	Eleusian Rite of Mercury at
	New Horizons. 8:PM
8/9/87	Gnostic Mass at Sun Down (8:39 PM)	Thelema Ldg
8/10/87	Eleusian Rite of Luna at
	New Horizons. 8:14 PM
8/11/87	Class: Metafutures, the Eclectic	Thelema Ldg
	Vision. 8-10 PM. With Drax
8/12/87	Class #1: Qabalah Series	Thelema Ldg
	Intro. 8PM. With Bill.
8/14/87	Astronomical Association 9PM	Thelema Ldg
	(Field Trip, be on time)
8/15/87	Ist and IInd Degree initiations	Thelema Ldg
	Date may be changed. Call for
	Reservations, location and time
8/16/87	Gnostic Mass at Sun Down (8:39 PM)	Thelema Ldg
8/18/87	Enochian Chess Club. 8PM	Thelema Ldg
8/19/87	Class #2: Qabalah Series	Thelema Ldg
	Yesod. 8PM. With Bill.
8/20/87	Swordsmanship, The Weapon	Thelema Ldg
	7PM to Sun Set. With Drax.
8/21/87	Astronomical Association 9PM	Thelema Ldg
	(Field Trip, be on time)
8/21/87	Selene Camp meeting 7:30PM	Selene Camp
8/21-23	Voyages, (past lives excursion)	non OTO
	2526 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
	$12 and discount tickets available
	Kim McMillon at the UCB Zellerbach
	Playhouse. Multi media show.
8/22/87	Minerval (starting) Initiation	Thelema Ldg
	Date may be changed. Call for
	Reservations, location and time.
8/22/87	Selene Camp Minerval class 7:30PM	Selene Camp
8/23/87	Gnostic Mass Class at 4:18 PM	Thelema Ldg
8/23/87	Gnostic Mass at Sun Down (8:39 PM)	Thelema Ldg
8/24/87	Thelema Lodge Meeting, under new	Thelema Ldg
	management. 8PM
8/25/87	Class: Enochiana, Sigillum Dei	Thelema Ldg
	Aemeth. 9PM with Dave
8/26/87	Class: Egyptiana with Ebony 8PM	Thelema Ldg
8/27/87	Swordsmanship, The Force	Thelema Ldg
	7PM to Sun Set. With Drax.
8/28/87	Astronomical Association 9PM	Thelema Ldg
	(Field Trip, be on time)
8/29/87	IIIrd Degree Initiations	Thelema Ldg
	Date may be changed. Call for
	Reservations, location and time.
8/30/87	Gnostic Mass at Sun Down (8:39 PM)	Thelema Ldg
Fridays	Selene camp formal meetings every	Selene Camp
	1st and 3rd Friday of every month
	Informal meetings on the other
	Fridays are common, but call.
	ABRAHADABRA OASIS holds meetings and	ABRAHADABRA
	classes every month. We missed their
	announcement this time, but please
	call for August dates and times.

The viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of OTO or its officers.