Thelema Lodge Calendar for February-March 1990 e.v.

Thelema Lodge Calendar

for February-March 1990 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.

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

February-March 1990 e.v. at Thelema Lodge

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

Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers

February 1990 e.v.
Events of March and April 1990 e.v. at Thelema Lodge.

Greetings of the Equinox! AN IIIxx (LXXXVI) begins March 20th at 1:19 pm. Thelema Lodge will celebrate with a potluck Feast (bring a vegetable) at 7, ritual at 9:30, and readings of the Beast's poetry between - miscellaneous poetry will be provided; or, bring your favorite selection. See you there!

Sunday Masses start at 8 pm. (Many thanks to you who are combating the tendency to Pagan Standard Time!) To request an April Mass, attend the March Lodgemeeting. Deacon's Classes convene at sunset in the Temple every Sunday in March. If you would like instruction for the Priest/ess roles, find your favorite clergyperson and ask her/him for a class.

Thelema Lodge meets at 8 pm on March 6th and April 3rd. We'll discuss the Equinox, the Days of Liber AL, and assorted business. The Lodge Of Perfection will meet on 3/15 and 4/19 - the Rose-Croix meets on April 19th. (also - 23rd for Secretmeeting)

Initiations (as always) are scheduled in advance. Minervals are scheduled for 3/24 and 4/7; First and Second Degrees April 21st, Third Degrees on March 24th. CALL on the night before for location.

Andrew continues his seminar by popular demand. Wear comfortable clothing. Everyone's welcome.

The Qabalah series continues on the 14th and 21st of March and on the 11th and 18th of April, with Bill. Slides, booklets and other materials will be used. These classes will progress through incidental techniques, the Sepher Yetzirah and make an entrance into Berashit Qabalah. Free copy of the 'Yetzirah and other materials provided. Gematria will be presented in April to make maximum use of the new dictionary being compiled.

Enochiana resurfaces on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm. Dave will continue the "Sigillum Dei Aemeth" series on these dates: 3/13, 3/27, 4/17, and 4/24 in Horus Temple. 655-4942 for more info.

The Exo-Psychology Guild will meet on Hypatia's Feast (March 12th) at 8 pm - call Lodge for location.

The Magick Theatre will host "Limericks For Saint Patrick" on the 17th at 7 pm. Prepare to both read and compose limericks - it's not too difficult - especially with Irish Coffee. 655-4942 for details.

Our Aries Bash will be the 25th at 4:18 - and Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM April Fool's Day: no joke!

-oOo-

The Thelema Lodge Chapter of the "Thuggee" and in particular its head devotee to Our Lady thanks most gracious Saint Judas for his extremely propitious answers to our fervent prayers.

Other Events...

On February 28th at Ancient Ways (located at 41st and Telegraph) Ebony will begin his Egyptian Magick class series. These classes will be held from 7 to 10 pm Wednesday evenings; three to five meetings (as necessary to the students) with a $3-$7 sliding scale fee per class. [Editor sez this is not an O.T.O. sponsored event...-C-]

April and May Extensions

A complete April calendar (with room for additions) will be found at the back of this Newsletter - these special events are noted:

April 8,9,10: Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law

First Day will be at Thelema Lodge, we'll read at 8 pm and do Mass after.

Locations for the Second and Third Days TBA (watch this space!)
May 5: Beltane (15 degrees Taurus) at the Beach.

from the Grady Project:

Adoni

In the Gardens of Adonis

Down the headlands of Lebanon

Groves of cypress, rue, and pine trees

Hold their ancient, holy trust,

Hidden deep within the foliage

Marble temples clothed with verdure

Bramble branches bar the pathway

If you seek with knowledge lust.

Yet to him who comes a pilgrim

Who would taste the sacred vintage

Wine the blood and son of Cybele

Let him know, this is the Law;

Come with yearning soul and kingly

Know and be the god Adonis

Pass your way, and dye the scaffold

Ere is told that which you saw.

-- Grady L. McMurtry

2/15/1942 e.v.

(first published as an appendix to the Magick Theater edition of Crowley's Liber CCCXXXV (Santa Cruz: 1987 e.v.); reprinted in The Grady Project #3 (March 1988 e.v.)

Previous Grady Project Next Grady Project

FROM THE BOOKSHELF

SEMIOTEXT[E] SF (Semiotext[e], Vol. 5, Issue 2) Edited by Rudy Rucker, Peter Lamborn Wilson, and Robert Anton Wilson (Autonomedia, NY: 1989) Reviewed by Majnun.

Cracked asphalt. Passing wail of synthesized drum-beats echoing against the walls of abandoned warehouses. Ear-splitting crash of metal against metal. A gas-tank ignites. Teams of ragged youths with cybernetic limbs gather to dance and maim each other in the burning carnage.

"...like having sex with an obviously syphilitic whore and enjoying it more because you knew she was diseased."

- John Shirley, Six Kinds of Darkness

The Era Vulgaris Eighties being over, everyone is rushing to provide the definitive caricature of the times, to give an appearance of underlying direction to the scope of recent history. SEMIOTEXT[E] SF has appeared just in time for future nostalgics to single it out as, "Eighties. Very Eighties."

"In what has come to be known as the Kansas City Purges, one hundred pubescent boys are disemboweled on an open altar to appease Yam Kax, the Mayan corn god."

- Richard Kadrey, Genocide

Alienation. Hedonism. Despair. Machinery. Sentence fragments. I'm glad the attempt is being made to put a face on contemporary culture, even if it involves a measure of distortion. Although there are themes and images repeated in these stories almost to the point of cliche, no two offerings are at all similar.

"...I made myself a tuna sandwich and thought of sperms in fur coats, shivering on tiny wooden rafts as they tried to maneuver round the icebergs that blocked their way to the frozen eggs. I don't blame Ralph for leaving."

- Rachel Pollack, Burning Sky

Bruce Sterling's We See Things Differently gives an insightful view of a fallen America through the eyes of an Islamic journalist. J.G. Ballard's "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" might just take the prize for the most concise SF alchemical parable of all time. The Scepter of Praetorius shows that Ivan Stang has a great future ahead of him writing Cyberpornography, if the "Bob" thing ever burns out. Robert Anton Wilson once again proves that he can fake his own work as well as anyone. There's even a reference to the O.T.O.

Altogether a wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking book. One little gripe: I noticed more typos in the first five minutes than I've ever seen in any other book in my life. You'd think cyberpunks would have spell- checkers.

"No bugs, no pigs, no slugs

no things that crawl or hop

no blood without a wound

no shoes on holy ground

eight tiny reindeer on the roof

you'd better watch out, you'd better not cry

a jolly old man with a beard and a whip

and a string of frozen drool hanging from his lip."

- Thom Metzger, All Right, Everybody on the Floor!

Raid Update

The Berkeley Police Review Commission has been conducting interviews and holding hearings since the last issue of the Thelema Lodge Calendar. A partial determination has been rendered by the PRC in regard to one complainant. The Berkeley Police Review Commission makes internal recommendations to the City regarding conduct of officers and complaints by citizens.

In the partial determinations (more pending after April), the Commission found that insufficient evidence had been presented for direct religious persecution to be sustained on a split 2 to 1 vote. The dissenting opinion was given at length. The Commission did find that the affidavit (hence the search warrant itself) and the performance of the search were tainted by religious prejudice. Certain of the charges brought by Brother S. against officer conduct were examined, with verbal abuse and improper arrest being sustained. The greater part of the charges are still under hearing and review.

The sequence of events leading up to the raid: A dispute between tenants at 8th Street and the property immediately behind on 7th Street in Berkeley degenerated into accusations and petty complaints to the BPD. Most O.T.O. member tenants at 8th Street were not involved, only non-O.T.O. tenants below the main unit and a tenant in the detached cottage. This dispute proceeded to the point of restraining orders, harassment and varying abuses against persons and property. A former love relationship had broken up and a new one had been formed, with considerable acrimony resulting over who had what rights of access to property and privacy. The landlord of both properties used individuals from 7th street in dealing with maintenance and business on 8th street. An effort was made to improperly involve local O.T.O. in the matter by a certain party or parties on 7th street; to wit, O.T.O. was amorphously threatened with retribution if local O.T.O. leaders did not force the party in the 8th street cottage to leave her home. Local O.T.O. held that it could not intervene without becoming libel to civil tort and gross impropriety. The situation degenerated further, resulting in building inspections and a rent strike. The building inspections determined that the cottage and the lower units on 8th street were in numerous code violations, and the landlord's capacity to rent those units without major renovation was challenged by the City of Berkeley. C., a renter on 7th Street, made a complaint to the Berkeley PD about "missing wood". C. has testified that she made extensive comment about alleged drug use on the 8th street property, implicating O.T.O. Documents of an unidentified nature belonging to O.T.O. were given at that time to Officer Robles. C. further testified that she alleged O.T.O. to be a "Satanic" organization involved in abuse of minors. Officer Robles testified that he made a check on C.'s name and came up with no old charges. Following this episode, C. informed officer Robles that the landlord wanted to talk to him. C. also informed the landlord that officer Robles wanted to talk to him. It is not clear whether either landlord or officer initiated these efforts at contact. The landlord expressed concern that he would have a legal liability if he did not look into an allegation of drug use on his property, and he made arrangements to admit officer Robles to the 8th street property. Officer Robles and another officer posed as plumbers at the instigation of the landlord and gained entrance to the upper unit on 8th street without knowledge of their identity by the tenants. Officer Robles later testified that he read The Ultimate Evil and Satan Wants You in an effort to research O.T.O., somehow missing the fact that the latter book attacks the former and dismisses O.T.O. from involvement with "Satanism". Using a copy of the Thelema Lodge Calendar provided by C. (who is not on the mailing list for the TLC!) and his other information, officer Robles sought and obtained a search warrant. This warrant was executed 9/29-30/89 e.v.

That's the news and background in brief. Now for highlights from the interviews and sworn testimony.

Officer Robles admitted giving an orientation talk to the other officers participating in the raid. This talk advised the officers that the raid was on a possibly "Satanic" organization and that they should be prepared to enter dwellings containing many dangerous weapons. He also advised officers that evidence of child sacrifice might be found. Nothing of this was mentioned on the search warrant (which focused on drugs). Officers participating in the raid gave varied testimony, some remarking that there are numerous comments about "Satanism" during the raid and some not remembering any. One officer remarked that he just wandered about the rooms because they were "like a museum." Other officers made similar remarks. Officers testified about uncertainty in who arrested whom for what. At least one officer admitted signing an arrest sheet containing charges unknown to him --- this officer had arrested one of the residents on 63rd Street in Oakland for failure to give a true name. One of these charges was "possession of an IV unit". Officer Robles testified that he had said "I.D. card" to a secretary and that he had been misunderstood to have said "IV unit". Hence one individual was arrested and charged with failure to identify himself AND with possession of what later turned out to be his I.D. card! All persons arrested for being under the influence of narcotics who gave urine samples had the lab report come back clean, no narcotics. Despite this, one officer adamantly insisted that he never makes a mistake in determining such intoxication by eye examination. The houses were video taped, and that taping was characterized by officer E. to be complete filming of every room with emphasis, if any, on the evidence of alleged crime. Officer E. maintained that religious decorations and altars were not singled out. The video tape was shown during the PRC hearings. According to witnesses at the hearings, this tape did not show any of the alleged pipes, containers and other materials associated with drugs in the charges later dismissed, or any other charges outside of pyrotechnic (fireworks) chemicals owned by one person at 63th street not arrested during the raid. Witnesses to the tape viewing remarked that less than half of the rooms were shown on the tape, and that nearly all the tape was comprised of segments on books, religious paintings and religious articles. The Police Review Commission commented on the evident bias of the tape.

There was a surprise witness. C. came before the PRC and requested the right to testify. She admitted contacting officer Robles, but denied that she had said anything about the O.T.O. members in the main unit at 8th Street dealing, buying or distributing drugs. She testified that she knew some O.T.O. members were into drugs because she had sold cocaine to such people at an unspecified time in the past. C. stated that she had only been in the upstairs unit on 8th street once since the residents had moved in --- by crawling in a window to secretly observe a Vth Degree initiation with C.D. She did not describe anything of the initiation, but C. never reached beyond Ist degree O.T.O. membership before her resignation on 3/12/86 e.v. from O.T.O. membership, according to Grand Lodge records (not made public unless a public statement about them is made by the member/former member as in this instance). C. testified accurately regarding her Minerval (3/7/81 e.v.) and Ist degree (9/25/82 e.v.) initiation dates, but she stated that her resignation occurred about one year later than Grand Lodge records indicate. C. made vague assertions that she possessed higher degrees and that her crawling in to observe the Vth Degree initiations was at the instruction of an unnamed IXth Degree, one year after her resignation from membership in O.T.O. by her own account and two years by O.T.O. records made the day of her resignation. C. also stated that her words to officer Robles about an animal sacrifice by O.T.O. were not by her actual witness but from hearsay. She capped this by the remarkable utterance that to kill a chicken or a Mexican was equally murder in her eyes. This reporter is thankful that officer Robles, of Mexican birth, was out of the room when his star witness made that statement to the PRC. O.T.O. is proud of its many Hispanic members, and of the wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds in its membership both here and abroad. The PRC determined that C. was not an adequate witness for basing the raid, and one member of the commission advised the police to read Satanism in America by Carlson and Larue (reviewed last year in the TLC) in preference to the works cited by Officer Robles. C. expressed a desire to have nothing to do with O.T.O., a view in perfect accord with O.T.O.'s own wishes. Unfortunately, the present legal business is likely to drag on for quite a while.

Watch this space. It's getting interesting again!

--- Bill Heidrick,

Treasure General of O.T.O. international.
Grand Treasure General of O.T.O. USA.
NOT Treasurer of Thelema Lodge

(There seems to be some confusion about my Office, so will I take a moment to clarify. I do print and mail the TLC, primarily at my own expense to give service to the local O.T.O. Lodge. I can't get the time to go over to the East Bay much more than twice a month, owing to my Grand Lodge duties. This is my way of supporting Thelema Lodge, a place of many happy memories and current friendships. Thelema Lodge was the Grand Lodge of O.T.O. until early 1986 e.v. when Agape Grand Lodge was re-established with offices in New York and California for general management of the national and international O.T.O. Owing to my work with the Grand Lodge, I cannot participate as an officer on the local level without conflicts of time and/or interest. Usually I style myself "TSG" for "Thus Spake the Gopher" in my writings for the TLC --- an allusion to the wonderfully diverse and plentiful tasks the Grand Lodge generously finds for me.)

From the Outbasket

Brother S.C. of San Francisco asked some questions about O.T.O. and Masonry a bit ago. Here are some edited highlights from the response.

O.T.O. and Freemasonry:

O.T.O. is not "irregular masonry", although we have our own Grand Lodge and are not recognized as Masonic by the Craft system.¹ The Masonic ideals are by-and-large very consistent with Thelema, but traditional applications in practice are often old-fashioned, decadent and intrusive. O.T.O. still maintains the Masonic structure of Lodges and initiations, but very little else of it. Regular Masonic initiations of O.T.O. members on the East coast have accommodated our members to the extent of using Liber AL in place of the Bible for taking the oath, but most O.T.O. members have little interest in joining the regular masons.

Crowley's O.T.O. initiation rituals somewhat resemble those of Scottish Rite Masonry, with major adaptations to suit Thelema. The New Aeon adjustments were largely accomplished by Crowley before he assumed Outer Headship of O.T.O. in the early 1920s, but the social and functional side of O.T.O. had to wait for modern times to resume development. During Crowley's tenure there were too few O.T.O. members to allow "The Method of Science..." to apply effectively. With over (1600) members, we can continue to experiment and see what structures are necessary to function and what plans and procedures are useless or intrusive. In simple, the revised (by Crowley) initiations and higher degree instruction papers take care of most of the New Aeon development... The business-style structure of record and review is timeless in all but things like computers and electronic mail. O.T.O. Lodges, Oases and Camps are largely free to do as the group wishes, save only for essentials like proper record, dues for operational necessities, report and maintaining the "Peace of the Temple" and the civil & personal rights of people generally, members or not. Some of the plans Crowley pushed after the Abbey of Thelema were excessive, but he was in the midst of great personal stress. When the rights of individual Thelemites are unnecessarily infringed, we tend to relax Crowley's procedures. This is especially true in the areas of "vows of poverty" and private lives.

-oOo-

Last year we had an inquiry from Ezio Albrille, a reporter in Italy. His questions were similar to those received earlier from a reporter in Australia. Here's an edited excerpt from my response to Mr. Albrille:

Politics and Religion:

Although some of the Fundamentalist Christian organizations act differently, O.T.O. in the United States takes the separation of church and state very seriously indeed. Philosophy is another matter. Our religion is called "Thelema", and there is a tradition of Thelemic political philosophy. I suspect that many of our members would be quite willing to join a secular "Thelema Party" in principle, but I doubt that ten O.T.O. members could be found in agreement on much of anything in detail. Speaking broadly, most of the membership would tend to support individual freedom; less laws (especially the so-called 'victimless crime' laws); a relaxation of drug laws; reduction of taxes; relaxation of international travel and trade barriers; an increase of government sponsored legal, medical, child protection and housing services; elimination of sexual laws effecting consenting adults; free higher education; an increase of free speech; absolute racial equality; freedom of courteous and non-injurious religious expression; and similar things. Since some of these views are mutually exclusive of others, this general political philosophy rarely can focus on a single issue. In a few words, most O.T.O. members feel that people should be permitted to mind their own business, have unlimited opportunity to better themselves and should enjoy the benefit of social protection from criminals, calamities of nature and the prejudices of other's.

-- TSG (Bill Heidrick)

Note to the Web edition:
1. The original text has been amended. "O.T.O. is technically 'irregular masonry.'

That means that we have our own Grand Lodge and are not recognized by

the Craft system." has been replaced with the text now shown above. This

corrects an error on my part, based in ignorance of the formal meaning

of "irregular masonry" as a term. The United Grand Lodge of England does

not list O.T.O. as "irregular" on grounds that O.T.O. does not claim to make

or raise Masons. Otherwise there would be a ban on O.T.O. members joining

regular Masonry. There is not such a ban out of the United Grand Lodge

of England.

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Events Calendar for February 1990 e.v.

2/3/90	Brigid rite at Horus Temple	Thelema Ldg
2/4/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
2/6/90	Thelema Lodge Meeting 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
2/11/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
2/14/90	Qabalah #4: 8 PM with Bill	Thelema Ldg.
2/15/90	Rose-Croix/Lodge of Perfection
2/18/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
2/20/90	Enochiana with Dave 8:30 PM "Sigillum Dei Aemeth" Pt. I	Thelema Ldg.
2/21/90	Qabalah #5: 8 PM with Bill	Thelema Ldg.
2/23/90	Secret Meeting ...	Thelema Ldg.
2/24/90	Minerval and IIIrd Degree init.	Thelema Ldg.
2/25/90	Pisces Birthday party 4:18 PM	Thelema Ldg.
2/25/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
2/27/90	Mardi Gras

Projected Advance Events Calendar for March 1990 e.v.

3/1/90	Lodge of Perfection init. practice	Ldg o' Per.
3/4/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/6/90	Thelema Lodge Meeting 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/8/90	Shiatsu II with Andrew 7:30 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/11/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/12/90	Hypatia's Feast, Exo-Psych Guild	Exo-Psych Gld
3/13/90	Enochiana with Dave 7:30 PM Sigilum Dei Aemeth Part II	Thelema Ldg.
3/14/90	Qabalah #6: 8 PM with Bill	Thelema Ldg.
3/15/90	Lodge of Perfection Meeting	Ldg o' Per.
3/17/90	St. Patrick's Limerick party 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/18/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/20/90	Vernal Equinox Feast at Sunset Ritual at 9:30 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/21/90	Qabalah #7: 8 PM with Bill	Thelema Ldg.
3/24/90	Minerval & IIIrd Deg. initiations	Thelema Ldg.
3/25/90	Aries Birthday party 4:18 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/25/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
3/27/90	Enochiana with Dave 7:30 PM Sigilum Dei Aemeth Part III	Thelema Ldg.

Projected Advance Events Calendar for April 1990 e.v.

4/1/90	DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS SPRING AHEAD 1 HOUR	government
4/1/90	Jurgenmass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
4/3/90	Thelema Lodge Meeting 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
4/7/90	Minerval initiations at Midnight	Thelema Ldg.
4/8/90	Liber AL Day #1 1st Chapter and Mass at the Lodge. Reading 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
4/9/90	Liber AL Day #2 2nd Chapter and time and place to be announced	TBA
4/10/90	Liber AL Day #3 3rd Chapter and time and place to be announced	TBA
4/11/90	Qabalah #8: 8 PM with Bill	Thelema Ldg.
4/15/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
4/17/90	Enochiana with Dave 7:30 PM Sigilum Dei Aemeth Part IIII	Thelema Ldg.
4/18/90	Qabalah #9: 8 PM with Bill	Thelema Ldg.
4/19/90	Rose-Croix & Lodge of Perfection Mt.	R+C & LOP
4/21/90	Ist and IInd Deg. Initiations	Thelema Ldg.
4/22/90	Gnostic Mass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.
4/24/90	Enochiana with Dave 7:30 PM Sigilum Dei Aemeth Part V.	Thelema Ldg.
4/29/90	Taurus Birthday Party 4:18 PM	Thelema Ldg.
4/29/90	Aethyrmass 8 PM	Thelema Ldg.

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.

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

Phone: (510) 652-3171 (for events info and contact to Lodge)

Production and Circulation:
OTO-TLC
P.O.Box 430
Fairfax, CA 94978 USA

Internet: heidrick@well.com (Submissions and circulation only)

	In the Gardens of Adonis
	Down the headlands of Lebanon
	Groves of cypress, rue, and pine trees
	Hold their ancient, holy trust,
	Hidden deep within the foliage
	Marble temples clothed with verdure
	Bramble branches bar the pathway
	If you seek with knowledge lust.
	Yet to him who comes a pilgrim
	Who would taste the sacred vintage
	Wine the blood and son of Cybele
	Let him know, this is the Law;
	Come with yearning soul and kingly
	Know and be the god Adonis
	Pass your way, and dye the scaffold
	Ere is told that which you saw.
	-- Grady L. McMurtry
	2/15/1942 e.v.