Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers

    This gentleman was hired as a private tutor for the children of the artist, Augustus John, who did numerous drawings of Aleister Crowley. He was also the Editor of the Burlington Magazine for a short time and personally knew Crowley. He apparently enjoyed his company very much and saw him quite often.
    Not much has been written about their relationship but one interesting story is worth repeating. Apparently, Crowley once "... remarked, 'Hope-J, I'd very much like you to greet me with a phrase from the Book of the Law whenever we meet.' Hope-Johnstone, examining this curious compilation of Crowley's, came on the sentence: 'Curse them, Curse them, Curse them!', which henceforward he always made a point of using at future encounters."¹
    One can picture Aleister Crowley saying, 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law' but its hard to imagine what expression would have been on his face when he first heard the reply come back 'Curse them, Curse them, Curse them!'.

--- Frater Archivist

Further Reading

Augustus John, A Biography by Michael Holroyd, Penguin Books England, 1976.

Note:
1. Messenger of Day, The Memoirs of Anthony Powell, Vol.II, Holt, Rinehart & Winston,
    NY, 1978, pg.82. The Archives of HA, File No.674.

from the Grady Project:

Published in McMurtry: Poems (London & Bergen: O.T.O., 1986 e.v.), and in The Grady Project #3 (March 1988 e.v.).

    Kenneth Grant was Aleister Crowley's personal secretary from 1944 to 1945 e.v. Grant became a member of O.T.O. and was given a charter to open an O.T.O. Camp in London in 1951 e.v. by Frater Saturnus, Karl Germer, then Outer Head of the O.T.O. and Crowley's immediate successor. Grant interpreted this charter to signify that he had full right to establish a complete Lodge of O.T.O. and to issue a manifesto. The Manifesto of New Isis Lodge recognized Germer's as World-Head of O.T.O.; but there were so many errors, misconstrued titles and presumptions of authority in the document that Germer expelled Grant in July of 1955 e.v. Grant choose to ignore the expulsion, and Hecate's Fountain gives a fantasy account of the doings of "New Isis Lodge". Whether or not any of the described goings-on actually took place is not clear from the book, but it is evident that many anachronisms have crept in. See the "Primary Sources" column in the Thelema Lodge Calendar of September 1992 e.v. for a summary documentation of Grant's involvement with Crowley, O.T.O. and Germer.
   
    Folks who like Grant's theories, believe TV commercials and recognize Bela Lugosi as the greatest cinematic talent of the 20th century should not read this review. If those are your interests, simply rent a copy of Plan Nine from Outer Space, stick it in the VCR and curl up on the couch for your intellectual challenge of the day.
    Hecate's Fountain alternates specious speculations on Thelema with spates of garbled gematria and narrations of nauseous gamboling. The usurpation rate is somewhat abated, with only a few scattered claims of Grant being the head of O.T.O. (e.g. p. 236). There are remarks about people being in the O.T.O. who never heard more than the name (p. 243). Grant claims that the "Typhonian Order of the Outer" is O.T.O. (pp. 250-251) and also falsely asserts that his various productions came out of the O.T.O. Sovereign Sanctuary (p.89). New Isis "Lodge" is described as existing from 1955 e.v. until 1962 e.v., even though it could have had no connection to O.T.O. after mid 1955 e.v. (p. 257).
    At one time it appeared that Grant was a sort of stagnant back-water of the stream of Thelema. He experimented with two of Crowley's more difficult works, Liber Arcanorum Atu Tahuti Quas Vidit Asar in Amennti sub figura CCXXXI and Liber Carcerorum Qliphoth cum Suis Geniis. Together with sigils, these form one compound treatise, very short and mainly dealing with the illusions cast by "Choronzon" to destroy the "Babe of the Abyss". Grant inverted the usual rule; and, defying 3,000 years of mystical tradition, dove head-first into the Abyss by embracing all obstacles and illusions as truth. He reversed Crowley's stern warning that Astral travel was useless and obsessive if unduly indulged without proper tests. Hecate's Fountain abounds with absurd twittery. To judge by the excited descriptions of staging and astral mass hysteria it would appear that Grant has managed to confuse mammalian sex with fish spawning! The dramatic rituals recounted have one element in common; all failed drastically. Grant alleges that monsters emerged from aquaria to have sex with his priestesses and that people went mad or died in these goings on. Nothing daunted, Grant coins a new term for these flops: "Tangential tantrum", a catastrophic interruption in dramatic ritual. In this he endorses failure as success. Such breaks, however amusing as anecdotes, are fatal to the working. An ape disappears after a dangerous fire-works trick. Amphibians, mollusks, reptiles and bugs go into heat for human beings. There is no end of glory in this stuff - as if a magician had nothing better to do than ramp about, chittering in the Miasma! Grant's general method denies the absolute necessity to pass the Abyss, and insists that the worker should leap into it via Da'at (The "Mauve Zone"). This appears to be a deliberate attempt to be one with the classic "Black Brotherhood" - perhaps even as Crowley would define it, though not as a true monster like Hitler would manifest it.
    Grant continues his ridiculous ideas about deities, Qabalah and O.T.O. Please note that, contrary to Grant's assertion, Hoor-pa Kraat is not Set or the darkside of Horus (Set-Horus is quite another critter). Grant's ideas of Nuit and Hadit are grossly off. The term usually translated from Hebrew as "paths" actually does mean "channels", "conduits" or "tunnels"; and nothing is accomplished by Grant calling the negative of these paths "Tunnels of Set". The "back-side of the Tree of Life" is a way of describing the equivalent of sanitary plumbing, not the lower or Qlipothic forms of the Tree in Malkut. Gematria addicts always feel a leap of delight when they encounter a page or so of compressed word and number association. Sad the case of the fellow who gets out his index card box to add this material to his number dictionary. One minute it's interesting stuff about the Sephiroth with a tantalizing admixture of Eastern terminology and Voodoo. Then suddenly Yuggoth is Keter and the whole thing poops out like a shaken souffle. Grant considers the fiction of H. P. Lovecraft as revealed sacred scripture. There are distorted terms from otherwise legitimate traditions. As for the rest, neologism is not a valid alternative to literacy.
    Even Grant's interpretation of the letters "O.T.O." is abysmal. To be sure, these Roman letters can resemble male genitalia, but there is no sign in this work that Grant knows the secret Anagram.
    Grant obtained the portrait of "LAM" (see Equinox III, 1) from Crowley as a sort of gift for services rendered. This drawing shows a pinched, bald head emerging from a vulva at birth. Grant notes on page 149 that Crowley considered LAM to represent "the 'soul' of a dead lama". Now, LAM is being made out as some sort of flying saucer deity and an emissary from the Great Old Ones beyond the Stars (p. 251). Bother and nonsense! Can't an Exempt Adept do a simple hypostasis without some fellow starting up a punker religion on it? It's enough to make a soul consider an incarnation on Aldebaran, and we all know what it smells like there in late 4th Spring!
    It is to be deeply regretted that Grant saw fit to blacken the reputations of Cameron Parsons (text around page 30) and J. F. C. Fuller (p. 98). Mrs. Parsons is presented to be a psychic basket case, whereas she is one of the performing lights of avant-garde cinema. Fuller is described as having abandoned Crowley to become a follower of Hitler. Admittedly, Fuller was invited to Hitler's 50th birthday party before the outbreak of WWII, but he didn't see fit to go. It is not within reason that the British government would promote a follower of Hitler to the rank of Brigadier General.
    If you like playing with fresh feces and miss being a slug in bygone incarnations, this is your book. The occasional distortions of The Magical Revival have passed through transformation into bowling pins dipped in tar with shoe-button eyes in Nightside of Eden to become your Cup of Sludge in Hecate's Fountain. I pass mention of Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God, an embarrassment where Grant missed the fact that "The Hidden God" was simply Crowley's sobriquet for W.T.Smith.

    The twelve constellations in the world are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius and Pisces. The twelve {Hebrew} months of the year are: Nisan {the seventh month}, Ivar, Sivan, Tamus, Ab, Elul, Tishri, Mavcheshvan {also called Chesvan} Kislev, Tebet, Shebat and Adar. The twelve organs of the human body are: two hands two feet, two kidneys, gall, small intestines, liver, esophagus, stomach and milt {either the spleen or reproductive organs. Both systems have been often confused in Theosophical writings and ancient sources. The degree of absurdity involved in this relationship is incredible. This presumes a "rape" ethos in the culture, owing to the association of violence to the spleen and sex to the genitals.}

    First Division. God let the letter predominate in Sight {K.T. is Speech}, crowned it, combined one with the other and formed by them: Aries in the world, the month Nisan in the Year, and the right foot of the human body, male and female.

    Second Division. He let the letter predominate in Hearing {K.T. is Thinking}, crowned it combined one with the other, and formed by them: Taurus in the world, the month Iyar in the year and the right kidney of the human body, male and female.

    Third Division. He let the letter predominate in Smell {K.T. is Walking}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Gemini in the world, the month Sivan in the year, and the left foot of the human body, male and female.

    First Division. He let the letter predominate in Speech {K.T. gives Seeing}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Cancer in the world, the month Tamus in the year, and the right hand of the human body, male and female.

    Second Division. He let the letter predominate in Digestion or Swallowing {K.T. gives Hearing}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Leo in the world, the month Ab in the year, and the left kidney of the human body, male and female.

    Third Division. He let the letter predominate in Touch or Coition {K.T. gives Working}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them Virgo in the world, the month Elul in the year, and the left hand of the human body, male and female.

    First Division. He let the letter predominate in Work {K.T. says Coition}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Libra in the world, the month Tishri in the year, and the gall of the human body, male and female.

    Second Division. He let the letter predominate in Motion or Walking {K.T. says Smelling}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Scorpio in the world, the month Marcheshvan in the year, and the small intestines of the human body, male and female.

    Third Division. He let the letter predominate in Anger {K.T. says Sleep}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Sagittarius in the world, the month Kislev in the year, and the stomach of the human body, male and female.

    First Division. He let the letter predominate in Laughter {K.T. assigns Anger}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Capricorn in the world, the month Tebes in the year, and the liver in the human body, male and female.

    Second Division. He let the letter predominate in Meditation or Thinking {K.T. assigns Swallowing}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Aquarius in the world, the month Schwat in the year, and the esophagus of the human body, male and female.

   A.C. in the Press:
    Crowley frequently was the object of gross attacks in the press, but not always. Here are two excerpts from contemporary newspaper accounts that are more fair than some. It will be seen that Crowley often managed to set himself up for eventual problems in various novel ways, even when no one else did it for him.

From The Star, 22nd June, 1929, New Zealand:

    An Englishman, against whom there are accusations of having practised black magic and of offences against decency, has been ordered to quit Paris. He is Edward Alexander Crowley, and caused some stir in London years ago.
    Born in Leamington 53 years ago and educated at Malvern and Trinity College, Cambridge, his profession was that of a poet and a writer on Buddhism. He had, he said, published books for over thirty years, and lived by authorship and on invested money.
    A strange, wandering life he led. He travelled through China on foot, and almost succeeded in ascending the Himalayas, and was received at Thibet by the sacred lamas.
    During the war he went to America and participated in German counter- espionage, but he declares that he lent himself to this role in agreement with the British Naval Intelligence Service, and that by the influence he exercised he succeeded in counter-balancing the formidable German organisation which existed in the United States.
    "I had no difficulty in ingratiating myself with the New York Irishmen," he said, "for my name, which was that of many of them, served as a passport. I discussed with Bernsdorff, the German Ambassador, the possibility of an Irish revolution, and to further this idea I wrote violent articles in the German paper in New York, 'Das Vaterland,' and suggested that England should become a German colony.
    "But I did these things in order to win the confidence of the Germans. The object I had in view was to make the German submarines sink American ships, and so compel America to enter the war. I was well in with the chief of the American Naval Intelligence Service, and I have sent him a telegram begging him to send me a letter, which I shall forward to the French Government."
    When he was pressed to give the reasons why the police had ordered him to leave France, Crowley said that he knew of none. There have been allegations that he had organised parties in his flat, that black magic was practised there, and that he was guilty of offences against morality.
    He admits that he has written a great deal about magic.
    "There is no accusation against me," he declared. "My sweetheart was expelled. She was told that a service was being rendered to her by separating her from me. When she demanded what it was the French authorities had against me they suggested that I was a trafficker in cocaine. This is ridiculous. Afterwards they said: 'It is not that. Perhaps that is not true. It is something else. The real reason is too terrible.'
    "I have lived in Paris for seven years. I have led a peaceable life, writing during the day, and playing chess at my club in the evenings. I was notified on March 9 that I would have to leave. ..."

    The article continues with the famous coffee machine story.

    Mr. Edward Alexander (Aleister) Crowley, the English mystic writer, has been married at Leipzig to Mlle. Maria Teresa Ferrari de Miramar, who is a native of Nicaragua.
    The marriage ceremony, according to an announcement, was performed in the presence of the British Consul...
    Mr. Aleister Crowley was recently refused the right to stay in France. He stated that his fiancee had also been forced to leave France.
    Mr. Crowley was born at Leamington 53 years ago and was educated in Malvern and Trinity College, Cambridge. He had been through China on foot, has been received by the sacred lamas in Thibet, and has reached other remote places, such as the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
    He came into prominence in London in 1911 when his picture was painted by Augustus John.
    During the war he went to America and participated in German counter-espionage, declaring that he did this at the request of the British Naval Intelligence Department.

    Well, at least Crowley isn't advocating sinking of American shipping this time; but let it be remembered that Maria later capped her career by breaking into Buckingham Palace and demanding that the Prince of Wales recognize her has his natural daughter!

    Want to read more press clippings? Check out the Archives of H.A. at the new Thelema Lodge location.

Clue: It's not Bilbo Baggins.

    Please remember that this selection is 15 years old. The Caliph mentioned is Grady McMurtry, Hymenaeus Alpha. The present Grand Master/Caliph is Hymenaeus Beta.

    In the past three issues of the O.T.O. Newsletter, several aspects of Liber AL, The Book of the Law, have been taken up. One thing that seems to have been left out, however is DOING LIBER AL... that is, practices that relate to the book but do not involve mental study as the primary activity. This brief article will mention a few ideas that may be of interest.
    Memorization and diary: Consider writing one verse of Liber AL per page of your diary, or per entry. The verse could be memorized through mental repetition throughout the day.
    Thoth working: Copy the entire text out by hand. This is a very good practice to perform before one's meditation.
    Bibliomancy: When in need of divination, simply open Liber AL at random and take an omen from whatever verse strikes your eye. Crowley cast aspersions on bibliomancy in general, but he often advised the use of Liber AL in this manner. The operative principle behind this method rests on the esteem in which the book is held.
    Agreements between Thelemites: When engaging in business, parting, meeting or otherwise holding gentle commerce between Thelemites, an appropriate act would be the reading or recitation of the first chapter of Liber AL together. This practice is similar to the manner of Moslems with the first chapter of the Koran.
    In times of confusion and loneliness: Try reading or reciting the second chapter of Liber AL. This practice is also advised as a preliminary to study or the making of a difficult decision.
    In times of physical and Magical danger: The third chapter is a proper device. Read it or recite it together before entering military combat, going to a dangerous place, or in times of fear. A letter or other document that is loaded with bad vibes may be neutralized through placement in the third chapter of Liber AL - kindly do not over-stuff the book with old bills.
    Mantra: This is a particular favorite of the Caliph. Some of the passages in Liber AL lend themselves very well to mantric chant. This is particularly true of the poetic variations on The Stele of the Revealing that are present in Liber AL. Many of these lines are a bit far removed from literal translation of the lines of the Stele, but poetry transcends precision in the strictly literal manner. Suggested sections for mantra include: I: 14, II: 17. III: 37 and 38. The last mentioned is of particular value in circle chants with many people: "Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit! Bid me within thine House to dwell, O winged snake of light, Hadit! Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!"
    Artistry: Draw, model or paint the images of the deities in Liber AL. Make the devices described. Illustrate the images.
    Astral Travel: Journey to the temples and places mentioned.
    Invocation of the deities: This is particularly important for Order work. Such invocation can be active on many levels. It can be a simple practice to lessen the problems of the day, or it can become a key to the inner workings of Thelema. If you are oppressed with anger or frustration, your Hadit nature is too contracted. It is correct to invoke Nuit. If you are without aim or focus, your Nuit nature is too diffuse. It is then correct to invoke Hadit. For the two forms of Horus, study the two parts of the third chapter to obtain a subtle understanding.
    Consider the two basic forms of souls. Crowley said that a man's soul is concentrated in a core, while a woman's soul is empty - its essence is on the outside. This classification is not strictly one of physical gender; more it is a way of speaking about a primary mystery. The same mystery is voiced when it is said that: "The aspirants to AA are men. The brothers of AA are women." This mystery cannot be explained fully outside of initiation; but it is closely related to the invocation of the deities of Liber AL, and to the differences between a "male" or Outer Order like O.T.O. and a "female" or Inner Order like AA
    As an aid to these things, try this. Meditate on all that surrounds you as a single thing apart from you. Continue this mental focus until all about you is like a vast and crowded shell of alien matter. This is the concentration in the outer of Hadit. Turn your concentration inward to the essential point of self. This is the concentration in the inner of Hadit. Then let the point quest toward the shell outside. Let a great yearning grow toward the ending of the separation. Now, let your mind extend itself to objects near you. Feel the calendar on the wall, the wall itself, the earth outside, the sky - all as parts of your essential self. When this identification becomes so complete that you are able to see through solid objects with Astral vision, you have come to Nuit in the outer. To discover the inner of Nuit, you must learn to sacrifice a part of the grip you hold to your physical body.
    Literal Practices: At times, especially in the third chapter of Liber AL, practices are suggested that are only valid in a crude manner in the most extreme of circumstances. Be cautious in listening to the voice of the Ape of Thoth. Many of the things that can be literally done according to Liber AL are not so limited by circumstance. Physical love between two people of any physical gender is a thing of beauty. Let circumstance and good sense determine these workings. With regard to strange drugs - reckon by the whole of the Law.
    Other ways of doing: These are many. Establishment of feasts, design of ritual, passing out copies of Liber AL ... the list is endless.

May 1, 1776	Adam Weishaupt founds the Illuminati on this date.
May 1, 1923	Crowley is expelled from Italy by Mussolini.
May 1 (?)	Crowley's wife, Maria Teresa de Miramar is born.
May 2, 1937	Aleister Crowley's son Attaturk is born.
May 3, 1587	John Dee and Edward Kelly swap wives.
May 6, 1678	Catherine Deshayes, known as La Voisin is condemned to die. After being tortured for many hours she was burnt alive in the 'iron chair' for her crimes in France.
May 6, 1883	Victor Benjamin Neuburg born.
May 7, 1988	Robert A. Heinlein dies in California.
May 8, 1891	Blavatsky dies in London at the age of sixty.
May 9, 1910	Aleister Crowley evokes 'Bartzabel' the Spirit of Mars into the body of Victor Neuburg.
May 9, 1945	Rudolf von Sebottendorff the founder of the German Thule Society commits suicide by jumping off a bridge into the river Bosporus.
May 10, 1922	R.Swinburne Clymer succeeds as Grand Master of the Rosicrucians after the death of Brown.
May 10, 1929	Israel Regardie arrives in Paris to meet Crowley.
May 10, 1941	Karl Germer is arrested by the Nazis and held for ten months in a concentration camp.
May 11, 1923	Aleister Crowley arrives in Tunis after being expelled from Italy by Mussolini.
May 12, 1954	Wilhelm Reich contacts a UFO hovering over his laboratory in Rangeley, Maine.
May 13, 1915	Spencer Lewis holds the first 'official' AMORC-Rosicrucian convocation in the United States.
May 15, 1956	Austin Osman Spare dies.
May 16, 1934	Norman Mudd dies.
May 16, 1945	Aleister Crowley writes in his diary about Kenneth Grant with concern "what shall I do about him? ... he must go on Wednesday, cunt of course ... he makes Neuburg stand out like the Shewe Dagon above a Jackal's turd!".
May 19, 1923	Crowley's child by Ninette Shumway, or Isabella Fraux is born on this date at Cefalu.
May 19, 1942	At 11:30pm Arthur Edward Waite died.
May 23, 1921	Aleister Crowley assumes the Oath of Ipsissimus in the AA, or 10 = 1
May 23, 1924	Kenneth Grant is born in London.
May 23, 1945	The Nazi Himmler commits suicide. Aleister Crowley writes in his diary on this date, "Himmler, the Schweinhund & worse, who put Karl Germer in Concentration Camp -- chiefly because he was my friend! -- killed himself after capture."
May 25, 1948	A UFO crashes in Aztec, New Mexico leaving sixteen alien bodies scattered across the area.
May 31, 1875	Eliphas Levi dies.
May 31, 1940	Victor Neuburg dies of tuberculosis.

Events Calendar for May 1993 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.