Thelema Lodge Calendar for July 1993 e.v.

Thelema Lodge Calendar

for July 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.

Copyright © O.T.O. and the Individual Authors, 1993 e.v.

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

July 1993 e.v. at Thelema Lodge

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

Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers


Greater Feast

Brother Lon Davis passed into the embrace of Nuit on the morning of June 14th, 1993 e.v. For several years, the terrible rages of AIDS afflicted Lonnie and made life hard for his loving family. He was with us in the beginning of the emergence of the Caliphate, standing as Deacon in some of the first Gnostic Masses performed by the Order since the days of Crowley. He came to us from that magical time in the late 60's when Love was the word against war, and unworldly ways were followed in a world too course for beauty. From the Church of the Four Sided Triangle to the gods of Olympus in Eleusis, he brought humor, mystery and kindness. In some ways he was Loki and Coyote, in others Hermes and the god of the Mescal. Lonnie got into scrapes high and low, but he always continued himself. Wherever he went, he gave leadership and blessing, in sweat lodges and in temples, among the poor and the powerful. A seat is empty in the Electoral College, where a voice of fairness and equity once spoke.
A ceremony of parting and return to the Mother under the trees of the East Bay park lands will free his spirit to seek another giving in another day.


Events of July

Symposium on The Eucharist & Alchemy

Friday 23rd of July. A discussion of the eucharist as used in the western magical tradition. Special emphasis will be placed on the Liber XV eucharist, the alchemical transmutation and Crowley's comments from Chapter XX of Magick in Theory and Practice. The symposium will consist of 10-12 group discussion questions taken from MTP Chapter XX. Varied and lively discussion is invited, as are comments and insights from those familar with the topic. Requested reading (or review): MTP chapter XX, Liber XV, and Liber AL vel Legis Chapter III, verses 17 through 29. Familiarity with these readings will assist us in centering the group. *Additional suggested readings include, The Splendor Solus - Magnum Opus, Atalanta Fugiens - Magnum Opus, Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy & the Occult Arts - Dover, Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage - De Laurence.


Burmese Astrology

Maha Bote, a Burmese system of Astrology, is based on the day of the week and year the subject was born. It is an introduction to Astrology for the new comer and a different (never conflicting) perspective for the advanced student.
On the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, starting in July, Kathy Fleck will be teaching Maha Bote. Classes will begin sharply at 7:30 p.m. and run for one and half hours.


Monsters? Messiahs? Or Both?!?

Giants of Will with Brother Jeffrey Part II: The European Theater. The Taboo of seriously doing one's Will in Western Europe and How it got that way! Don't miss it or you'll kick yourself for years... 8pm, July 15th.


Liber Reguli

Bill's presentation will concentrate on the significance of the details of the ritual, with emphasis on the Chakras. Slides will be used extensively. 7:30 PM, July 14th.


Lammas

July 30th, Friday 8pm Lammas, hosted by Jewel & Jim. Lammas is a minor seasonal Feast to celebrate this sabbat, also known as the "first harvest" festival, or Lughnasad. This was the traditional time of God-eating, in the form of bread & grain beverage. John Barley Corn, the death of the God, the reverence of the first sheaf of grain harvested, these are but a few of the ancient mysteries honored at this time of year. Please call (415-666-3332) one week in advance to attend this sabbat celebration. Contributions of inspirational poetry, music or dramatic readings are welcome.


Academia Masonica

On July 16, at 7:30pm Thelema Lodge will host the first in a series of classes, discussions, and explorations of Freemasonry. This ongoing event will highlight the many and myriad Rites of Masonry, their possible points of origin, and how they can illumine the mysteries of our order and the entirety of the Western Magical Tradition. Come one come all! Presented by Brother Keith and Brother Henry.


Archivist Anecdotes

Friends & Acquaintances
of Aleister Crowley

Part VII

Tom George Longstaff

President of the Alpine Club and past Vice-President of the Royal Geographical Society, this famous mountain climber had the opportunity to climb with Aleister Crowley in the Swiss Alps in the summer of 1899. Aleister Crowley who was only twenty-three at the time was considered 'a competent mountaineer but a self-confessed practitioner of black magic - hardly a comfortable fellow to have about the tent',1 but regardless, some individuals did enjoy climbing with young Alex. Tom Longstaff being one such gentleman.
In his biography entitled 'This My Voyage' Tom Longstaff has this brief account of mountain climbing with Aleister Crowley.
"August 24th was an off day, beguiled by lessons in the use of crampons from that enigmatic couple Oscar Eckenstein and Aleister Crowley. Eckenstein was responsible for the introduction of ice-claws, crampons, amongst British mountaineer: he even claimed that their use made the regulation ice-axe unnecessary. There was a peculiarly English opposition to their use in those days; they were scornfully called "artificial aids", but surely, so are special nails in climbing boots or an ice axe. Crowley was a poet and later a notorious master of Black Magic. At that time, as Laird of Boleskine, he chose to wear full Highland dress, complete with eagle's feather, on all occasions. But he was a fine climber, if an unconventional one. I have seen him go up the dangerous and difficult right (true) side of the great icefall of the Mer de Glace below the Geant alone, just for a promenade. Probably the first and perhaps the only time this mad, dangerous and difficult route had been taken"2
Aleister Crowley mentions the above occasion in his 'Confessions' when he and Eckenstein used the 'claws', he writes, "We had shown a young man from Oxford, Dr.T.G.Longstaff, of what they were capable. Eckenstein would walk on a measured slope of over seventy degrees of hard black ice without cutting a step. On slopes up to fifty degrees he could simply stroll about. Nor could Longstaff pull him off by rope."3
Crowley himself never liked the Alpine Club. He wrote that, "the average Alpine clubman qualifies by paying guides to haul him up a few hackneyed peaks. He is not expected to do any new climbs whatever; and it is an outrage to the spirit of the club to do anything original." It was in the year that Crowley died, 1947 that Tom Longstaff would became President of the Alpine Club. One wonders what Crowley would have thought.
Tom Longstaff would die at the age of 89 on June 27th 1964 at his home in Achiltibule, northwestern Scotland.

                                         --- Frater Archivist

Notes:
1. Men, Myth & Mountains; the Life & Times of Mountaineering by Ronald W.Clark,
Thomas Y.Crowell Company, NY,1976, pg.103. The Archives of HA File No.1444.
2. This My Voyage by Tom Longstaff, John Murry, LTD, London, 1951, pg.23-24.
The Archives of HA File No.282.
3. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, Edited by John Symonds & Kenneth Grant,
Hill & Wang, NY, 1969, pg.215.

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Crowley Classics

Given the size of Crowley's Opus, it is often difficult for a student to pick and choose among the many rituals and methods. Crowley is helpful in a number of ways, but many of his suggestions are widely scattered. Liber Resh is one of the most important. Here is the ritual itself and some commentary by Crowley about it. A few more observations have been added by the Editor below.

LIBER RESH
vel
HELIOS
SUB FIGURA CC.

0. These are the adorations to be performed by all aspirants to the A A
1. Let him greet the Sun at dawn, facing East, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Ra in Thy rising, even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Uprising of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Night!
2. Also at Noon, let him greet the Sun, facing South, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy triumphing, even unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy beauty, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Mid-course of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Morning!
3. Also, at Sunset, let him greet the Sun, facing West, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Tum in Thy setting, even unto Thee who art Tum in Thy joy, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Down-going of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Day!
4. Lastly, at Midnight, let him greet the Sun, facing North, giving the sign of his grade, and let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening.
5. And after each of these invocations thou shalt give the sign of silence, and afterward thou shalt perform the adoration that is taught thee by thy Superior. And then do thou compose Thyself to holy meditation.
6. Also it is better if in these adorations thou assume the God-form of Whom thou adorest, as if thou didst unite with Him in the adoration of That which is beyond Him.
7. Thus shalt thou ever be mindful of the Great Work which thou hast undertaken to perform, and thus shalt thou be strengthened to pursue it unto the attainment of the Stone of the Wise, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.

See Magick in Theory and Practice and Equinox Vol I, No. 6.

From Magick without Tears, available from New Falcon Press.

"... Now there is one really important matter. The only thing besides The Book of the Law which is in the forefront of the battle. As I told you yesterday, the first essential is the dedication of all that one is and all that one has to the Great Work, without reservation of any sort. This must be kept constantly in mind; the way to do this is to practice Liber Resh vel Helios, sub figura CC, pp. 425-426 - Magick. There is another version of these Adorations, slightly fuller; but those in the text are quite alright. The important thing is not to forget. I shall have to teach you the signs and gestures which go with the words. ..."

"...Particularly useful against the fear of death is the punctual and vigorous performance of Liber Resh. Meditate on the sun in each station: his continuous and even way: the endless circle. That formula in the Tarot book is most valuable. ..."

From Eight Lectures on Yoga, available from New Falcon Press.

" ... The classic of the subject is Liber Astarte vel Berylli, the Book of Devotion to a Particular Deity. This book is admirable beyond praise, reviewing the whole subject in every detail with flawless brilliancy of phrase. Its practice is enough in itself to bring the devotee to high attainment. This is only for the few. But every student should make a point of saluting the Sun (in the manner recommended in Liber Resh) four times daily, and he shall salute the Moon on her appearance with the Mantra Gayatri. The best way is to say the Mantra instantly one sees the Moon, to note whether the attention wavers, and to repeat the Mantra until it does not waver at all. ..."

It is not clear what Crowley may have done to make Liber Resh "slightly fuller", aside from normal variation in group ritual application. The student may easily extend the ritual to expand the devotions, to include a personal magical name or otherwise to modify the ritual slightly. This ritual should not be lengthened much; to do so might diminish the effect. Liber Resh is intended to fix the diurnal cycle in the mind and body of the student. At the four gates of the day, the mind and body change to match the course of the Sun. Regular practice of this ritual gives insight into these states and a sense of the eternity of this cycle. The gestures for this ritual are also not widely known, and appear to be suited to the circumstances. One may use the larger postures associated with Liber Reguli, NOX and IAO; or mudras of the hands can be used. Grady McMurtry once recounted seeing Crowley perform Liber Resh silently on the upper deck of an open omnibus in London, using small hand gestures alone. It is a simple matter to shape the hands to produce the triangular signs of the four elements, and that can easily serve. --- Editor

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Guest Editorial

The Liar Within

Recovered Memories - Modern Fables

by Aleph-Yod-Nun-final

When most of the people we know believe more or less the same things we do, our reality is affirmed. When people from very different cultures diverge greatly from our beliefs, we can dismiss them as wrong, superstitious, out- moded, etc. But when people we have close contact with insist on a reality that clashes violently with our own, it is a challenge to the very core of our sense of truth.
Society is presently divided by "recovered memories" a phenomenon that is suddenly being discussed everywhere. The S.F. Examiner series by Stephanie Salter discusses how adults suddenly start "remembering" childhood sexual and ritual abuse, usually in therapy (hypnosis is frequently but not always used), 12 step meetings or support groups. What is striking about this growing trend is that it has led to a flurry of law suits against some of the most solid "regular" citizens in the country by their own children and it frequently involves the kind of really lurid tales of Satanic rituals which created a panic a few years ago but resulted in no solid evidence which police could find. Salter, who is skeptical about the veracity of these memories, provides interviews with people who thought they had remembered abuse and later recanted. She also spoke with memory experts who describe memory as malleable and subject to manipulation.
What it means to those of us actually involved in the "occult" is that if even the most ordinary Americans are vulnerable to accusations, how much more so are we? Soror Timshel, Baphomet Breeze (Baphomet Lodge - OTO,) also had a recent article about the child abuse scare in which she warned us not to let our children see rituals lest they inadvertently divulge to the wrong people and bring the paranoia right to our doorsteps.
I decided to do some investigating on my own and found that many of those who belong to this subculture (if I may call it that) are members of the feminist, progressive and even Pagan community (Reclaiming actually has a recovery group for survivors). I started my inquiry at a local feminist bookstore (Old Wives Tales) and immediately hit pay dirt. There was a whole shelf devoted to recovery from abuse. The Courage to Heal, which was cited by Salter as one of the most notorious of its genre, was there as well as Breaking the Circle of Satanic Abuse, a book which listed Wicca and Santeria along with Satanism as religions leading to abuse. Very odd, I thought, for a store that carries Starhawk. But what bothered me even more was the inclusion of The Ultimate Evil by Maury Terry (a book which was the subject of a lawsuit of O.T.O. References to O.T.O. were changed after settlement of the case.). The strange thing is that this book does not mention child abuse at all. It just talks about the evil satanic conspiracy (which it tries to link with the Son of Sam killings). This raises a question regarding Old Wives Tales' focus. Is it child abuse per se or satanism per se? When I questioned the presence of this book, I was told it provided "a history of ritual and its abuse." Huh?
I bought several of the books on abuse, and was immediately told about an upcoming creative speak-out by "ritual abuse survivors." At that event, Old Wives Tales had a book table with some books which are not on their regular shelves but are on the "bibliography" of one of the survivors. It included The Golden Dawn about which one of the people was heard to say, "The Golden Dawn. That's by Crowley, isn't it?" I said, "No, it's by Israel Regardie and I don't know what it is doing here." I tracked down the woman who was responsible for its presence and she merely said that Satanists pervert rituals from many sources. (So why not include the Bible?)
The survivors announced they were providing kleenex packages and teddy bears in case the audience got too upset by the subject matter. Lots of skits, chanting, singing and dancing. They were not very specific about what had happened but they made sure we knew that doubting them was tantamount to "revictimizing" them. I studied them intently during the whole program, trying to get a handle on what they were about. I tried putting myself in their place. What if that were me up there? I just couldn't get a feeling of reality about it. But others in the audience sure did. So who is right? It's all so subjective. They ended the program by ritually tearing up Salter's articles. Too bad they didn't discuss them, instead. But these were the true believers preaching to the converted.
My problem is how to relate to all this? Do we, as they say, owe them the courtesy of believing their claims, no matter how bizarre or far-fetched they are (at times)? I have decided not. My mind belongs to me and no one has the right to demand that I accept something that seems irrational or contradicts the rest of my coherent universe. Do we have the right to demand that they deal with our reality more respectfully? I find it significant that Golden Dawn and not Starhawk is among the literature on "abuse." If cults distort rituals, why single out only a certain kind of ritual for scrutiny? As ceremonial magicians, we may be "others" in their eyes, folks far enough removed to be disregarded by them. Why do they sell books written by fundamentalists (such as Lauren Stratford) who have been discredited?
I believe we must avoid making an "other" of this culture while maintaining our right to skepticism. We can also challenge them to do the same for us. We have the right to ask some hard questions of the feminist community regarding their apparently uncritical acceptance of fundamentalist and otherwise dubious sources of information when it would seem to contradict their politics. We can be even more frank and direct with Wiccans. After all, they have the same problems with witchhunts we do.
Finally, we are confronted by a basic question about the past. If memories can be false (while so convincing) what can we know for sure about the past? How can we trust memory, a major key to the past, not to mislead us? Crowley spoke of the magical memory whereby we can, he claimed, recover, not only our own personal past in our current incarnation, but that of former incarnations. Can we even trust the memory to accurately reveal our personal past, much less our past lives? Here, Crowley's scientific approach completely saves the day.
"Far be it from any apologist for magick to insist upon the objective validity of these concatenations! It would be childish to cling to the belief that Marius de Aquila actually existed; it matters no more than it matters to the mathematician whether the use of the symbol X22 involves the 'reality' of 22 dimensions of space.... The 'falsity' of Aesop's fables does not diminish their value to mankind." MTP - p.58
Mankind and womankind are now engrossed in a fable of quite a different sort than Aesop's. It remains to be seen if any "benefit" accrues. But it is something many people seem to need. Perhaps it is another fantastic symptom of our collective transformation into the new Aeon. By demonizing their past are not people also trying to cut their ties with their histories and place their stock firmly in the present? Are they not trying to recreate themselves? This new trend could be another of the "abortive births of the Child."--Introduction to Liber Legis. Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child is building his new world on the ashes of the old. Hold on if you can. We're in for quite a ride!


Qabalah

Sepher Yetzirah

(7th Installment)
[Adapted to conform to the Golden Dawn correspondences in 1976 e.v. with parenthetic notes by Bill Heidrick from the Kalisch and Stenring translations. This rendering of the S.Y. is made in the public domain as a way of paying dues of another kind. The notes are in curly brackets: {}, and are not part of the original text. The Sepher Yetzirah is the ultimate basis of the Golden Dawn system of correspondences embodied in Crowley's Liber 777.]

Chapter Six. (cont.)

Section Five.

Elohim has also set the one over against the other; the good against the evil, and the evil against the good {here "good" is the Hebrew word "tob" which is the seal of creation used in Genesis and "evil" is "Ra" the name used by the Egyptians for the god of the sun -- a competitor of Jehovah}; the good proceeds from the good, and the evil from the evil; the good purifies the bad, and the bad the good; the good is preserved for the good, and the evil for the bad ones {The Qabalistic ideas of good and evil are very different from those of modern society. Avoid a moral interpretation here. In simple terms, "good" = "our side" and "evil" = "anything against us." The Qabalistic ideas are more complex than that, and they involve concepts much like those met in law courts.}.

Section Six.

There are three of which every one of them stands by itself; one is in the affirmative, the other in the negative and one equalizes them {The three mother letters are viewed as plaintiff, defendant and judge}.

Section Seven.

There are seven of which three are against three and one places them in equilibrium. There are twelve which are all the time at war; three of them produce love, and three hatred, three are animators and three destroyers {Beth vs. Gimel, Dalet vs. Koph, Peh vs. Resh with Taw placing them in equilibrium. As for the twelve which are at war, that matter depends on association to body parts and directions -- it is not clearly defined in the Sepher Yetzirah, but needs more study.}.

Section Eight.

The three that produce love are the heart and the ears; the three that produce hatred are the liver, the gall and the tongue; the three animators are the two nostrils and the milt; and the three destroyers are the mouth and the two openings of the body; and God, the faithful King rules over all from His holy habitation to all eternity. He is one above three, three are above seven, seven are above twelve, and all are linked together. {If the text is not corrupt in Section Eight, we may understand that: Gimel, Peh and either Aleph, Taw or Vau produce love; Lamed, Ayin and perhaps Taw produce hatred; Dalet, Resh and Qof are the animators; Peh and two other Letters are the destroyers. The issue is not clear.}

Section Nine.

There are twenty-two letters by which the I AM {Aleph-Nun-Yod-Hay}, Yah {Yod-Hay}, He of the Hosts
{Yod-Hay-Vau-Hay Tzaddi-Bet-Aleph-Vau-Taw}, God Almighty {Aleph-Lamid Shin-Dalet-Yod}, He Who Creates the Eiohim {Yod-Hay-Vau-Hay Aleph-Lamid-Hay-Yod-Mem-final}, designed, formed and created by three Sepharim, His whole world, and formed by them creatures and all those that will be formed in time to come.

Section Ten.

When the Patriarch Abraham comprehended the great truism, revolved it in his mind, conceived it perfectly, made careful investigations and profound inquiries, pondered upon it and succeeded in contemplations, the Lord of the Universe appeared to him, called him his friend, made with him a covenant between the ten fingers of his hands, which is the covenant of the tongue, and the covenant between the ten toes of his feet, which is the covenant of circumcision, and said of him: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." {Jer.l.5}

THUS ENDS

Samekh-Peh-Resh Yod-Tzaddi-Yod-Resh-Hay

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from the Grady Project:

Noah

Plasma grail-fire
Sailor stoa
Queen of Heaven, Maid of Longing
Royal ale-pyre
Brother Noah
Ark of Neptune, Child belonging

       Frigidity ?
       Rigidity
       Luminous ?
       Numinous
       Demonic ?
       Mnemonic
       Crucible ?
       Deucible
       Acrostic ?
       Al Gnostic !
           4/11/62
-- Grady L. McMurtry                     

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

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Primary Sources

AC v AMORC:
In December of last year, this column presented a letter from Crowley to H.S.Lewis, founder of the A.M.O.R.C. "Rosicrucian" organization now centered in San Jose, California. At the end of that piece, brief mention was made of a plan by Crowley to sue Lewis and A.M.O.R.C. for control of the assets of the latter. On close reading, the document below does not appear to be an actual plea to Lewis for financing the suit, as was incorrectly stated earlier (darn!, that made a good Crowley story!). Here's the infamous Memorandum. Crowley missed on a few things, including the nature of the relationship between A.M.O.R.C. and O.T.O. under the Reuss charter and Lewis's last name. Nothing is currently known about the truth or falsity of the charge of A.M.O.R.C. being under investigation in the 30's, or the accuracy of the financial speculations given below. It is interesting to speculate who the disaffected A.M.O.R.C. member might have been, who gave this information to Crowley.

PRImrose 505323 Albert Road, N.W. 1.
            January 28, 1936

MEMORANDUM.

Aleister Crowley is the head of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis.)
His authority is sole and supreme, and the property of the Order is vested in himself and his Grand Officers, who are his nominees.
The Order is international in scope. A Mr.H.Lewis Spencer has been in control of an Order with headquarters in
California under the title of AMORC. His authority is, however, derived from the O.T.O.
The property of the AMORC is, therefore, by the Constitution of the Order, legally the property of Mr. Aleister Crowley.
The real and personal property of the AMORC is estimated at $900,000 by his ex-Grand Treasurer, and its annual income is said to amount to about $350,000.
Mr. Crowley proposes to go to California and claim the property.
A favourable circumstance is that Mr. Spencer Lewis has acted in ways which have caused the Federal Trade Commission to institute an enquiry into the integrity of the organisation. Mr. Crowley has been asked to cooperate.
In recent correspondence between Mr. Crowley and Mr. Lewis, the latter has sought to avoid acknowledgement of the authority of the former, but he can produce no alternative authority and the true position is demonstrated beyond question by Mr. Lewis' own documents.
There should be no difficulty in getting lawyers in San Francisco or Los Angeles to undertake the prosecution of the claim on a contingent basis.
Mr. Crowley would propose to set aside $125,000 for the satisfaction of any possible claims against the estate, either by the government or previous members of the Order who are found to have a legitimate grievance against Mr. Lewis. His ultimate aim is to establish the Order on a large scale in the U.S.A. and elsewhere, on a basis of the most scrupulous honesty.
We require $5000 to finance Mr. Crowley's journey.
The details of this proposition, with documentary corroboration, will be shown to interested parties on application, and if a satisfactory basis of action can be agreed upon, the terms of the loan will be discussed by us on his behalf.
{no signature}

Nothing came of this attempt. The author of this document is not definitely known. Karl Germer, Crowley's Grand Treasurer General, had been released from a Nazi Concentration camp by this time; and his identification papers were stamped at London to permit travel in England from 22nd January to March of 1936 e.v. The date is right, but another hand is possible. Perhaps Louis Wilkinson, Crowley's financial adviser of the time, had something to do with this; perhaps Crowley's legal firm for the libel suit against the "Tiger Woman". Agape Lodge #2 had started in Southern California in 1935 e.v., under W.Smith; and the letter was probably addressed to O.T.O. members in the U.S.A. -- possibly also to the residue of the Achad Agape #1 Lodge in Vancouver, B.C. and scattered O.T.O. members on the East Coast of the U.S.
It is unlikely that Crowley had read the 1921 e.v. "Gage of Amity" document issued by Reuss to Lewis before this letter was prepared. That document spells out the relationship between A.M.O.R.C. and O.T.O. in a way not entirely compatible with these claims.
As a parting note, the question often arises: "How is O.T.O. present practice different by necessity from the 1917 e.v. O.T.O. Constitution? What changes were required by Law?" Here's one. Under the old Constitution, the assets of the Order vested in an undefined way in the higher degree members, including the Head of the Order. That isn't allowed under US nonprofit law. Before the old O.T.O. Association was incorporated over a decade ago, the ranking members of the Order consented to new Articles and Bylaws, thereby vesting the assets of the Order in the new O.T.O. Corporation. The higher degree members still form an Aeropagus, with authority over amendments to the Bylaws and Articles of incorporation; but no question remains of any individual receiving financial benefits directly from the assets of the Order. Dues refunds to families and personal loans are a thing of the past; and any assets of the Order would have to continue in another non-profit organization, rather than be disbursed to individuals. In many ways, this is a great enhancement of the stability of the O.T.O. and a major safeguard against potential abuse.
-- Ed.

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From the Outbasket

Here are questions and answers from Grand Lodge correspondence, substantially edited for publication.

JB of Alaska asked about Minerval (beginning) initiation in O.T.O.

Minerval initiation can only be received in a physical ceremony run by a chartered initiator, who must be at least IIIrd Degree O.T.O. Initiation to any degree of O.T.O. membership must always be done by a properly chartered O.T.O. initiator of the requisite minimum degree -- no non-O.T.O. initiators or astral initiations. This comes from the nature of the initiation ceremony itself and from the nature of O.T.O. as an Outer Order. Associate Membership is available through the mail. No form is needed for Associate Membership, and the forms for Minerval application are only available through an initiating Oasis or Lodge -- some of the Camps can also initiate.

B & L S of AR asked about commitment to Thelema as a religion and initiation in O.T.O.

Formal commitment to Thelema as a religion is mostly left to the individual. We do require that a Ist Degree accept Liber AL, but that only applies in two ways: no deliberate changes in the text (paraphrasing or "improving" without identifying such a derivation as different from the original) and agreement that Liber AL is subject to personal and individual interpretation -- no standard "right" way of understanding the verses. Fundamentalists give me the shivers; Christian or Thelemic are equally disgusting. Frankly, I don't think Fundamentalist Thelema can exist outside of a mental disorder -- it's a contradiction in terms. The Thelemic Religion is a belief in individual discovery and evolution by the Great Work, together with a personal belief in Liber AL. The Gnostic Mass is open to the general public in some places and by appointment or invitation in other places. It largely depends on the feelings of the participants and the general attitudes in the community around the location. There are some places where you have to be careful who knows what you practice. Write to any or all of the O.T.O. Camps, Oases and Lodges in the Magical Link list, as you please. There's a considerable variety.

G of England wrote to resign from O.T.O. Although he didn't exactly ask a question, his vigorous and youthful vocabulary suggested that some of the benefits of O.T.O. membership may have passed over his head. Normally resignations are more relaxed and respectfully received. I thought to help him understand the mysteries, with a view to the intellectual level of his letter:

(Taking a couple of the words G used to describe O.T.O. and yours truly) ... Investigative research did turn up the fact that "whimp" and "wanker" both may be used as nouns and verbs. ... did you know that "Wimpy" of "Whimpy Burgers" fame is actually based on this same term and meaning? Wimpy is a character from the Popeye comics, as I am sure you know. But are you aware that Popeye, Olive Oil, Sweet-pee and Wimpy are actually a hinting at the VIIIth and IXth Degree secrets? The "strip" even has Black Brothers and Sisters (Bluto and the Sea-Hag) as well as Men of Earth (the Goons). If the symbolism of the Gnostic Mass is a little obscure to you, there you have a level of the mysteries suited to the mental age of your vocabulary. Don't thank me; glad to help.

-- TSG (Bill Heidrick)

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Ra Hoor Camp OTO

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

It's official! There is a new Camp in the North Bay. We are looking for Thelemites in the Sonoma, Marin and Napa county area to help build a successful Camp and spread the word of Thelema. There is a fully stocked temple at the Camp ready for Mass Teams, and also for certain initiations. Call or write for more information, or with any suggestions you may have about what you'd like to see done in the area.
Ra Hoor Camp OTO
925 Lakeville St., #193
Petaluma, CA 94952-3329
Love is the law, love under will
Frater 101


Saladin:

An Historical Perspective

By Frater 101

OK, we all know Saladin as "some guy with something to do with a camp in the desert", right? But does anybody know the history of the man? Well, it may just be that I'm the only one in the whole Order who had to go and look this one up, but I'll take the chance that there are others out thee who say "Of course I know who Saladin was and what he did" and then add in a silent (...not...). And this is what I found...
Saladin was born in Tikrit, Iraq in 1138 as a Kurd, his Arabic name was Salahad-Din Usuf. When he turned 14, he joined other members of his family (the Ayyubids) in the service of the Syrian ruler Nur ad-Din (lived from 1118-11174). During the years 1164 and 1169 Saladin made a name for himself on three expeditions for Nur ad-Din to aid the faltering Fatimid rulers of Egypt against the Christian Crusaders from Palestine. In 1169, Saladin was appointed the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian army and Vizier of Egypt. While he was somewhat subject to the authority of the Fatimid Caliph in Cairo, Saladin treated Egypt as an Ayyubid power base, relying mainly on his Kurdish family and supporters. Saladin was clever enough to begin his next campaign against the Christians by arranging a truce with King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. That gave him time to rally the Moslem forces while the Christian leaders, bent on further glory, quarreled amongst themselves. Once Egypt's economy was revitalized and its land and naval forces were reorganized, Saladin repelled the Crusaders and took the offensive against them after King Baldwin broke the truce by attacking one of the rich caravans specifically protected under the truce. In September 1171 he suppressed the dissident Fatimid regime, reuniting Egypt with the orthodox Abbasid Caliphate, but his reluctance to join forces with Nur ad- Din against the Crusaders brought him to the brink of war with his former master.
After Nur ad-Din's death in 1174 Saladin began to expand his power in Syria and northern Mesopotamia. Following the conquering of Damascus, Aleppo, Tiberias, Acre, Jaffa, Ascalon and Mosul, Saladin and his immense Muslim armies finally stood before Jerusalem. There was no hope for those within the city, and on October 2, 1187, they surrendered. Saladin's entrance into Jerusalem was very different from that of the Christians when they had taken it from the Moslems eighty-eight years before. Not a building was burned this time, not a person injured, and nothing was stolen. The Moslems had agreed to let the Christian inhabitants ransom themselves for ten gold pieces per man, five for a woman, and one for a child. For seven thousand of the poor folk who could not raise the whole ransom, Saladin accepted thirty thousand gold pieces instead of seventy thousand. But there were thousands of the poor who could pay nothing. Patriarch Heraclius, head of the Christian church in Jerusalem, and other wealthy churchmen paid their ten gold pieces per man and left the city with wagon loads of gold, silver and precious stones. Behind them trudged the poor who, unable to pay, had to become slaves to the Moslems.
Saladin's brother, al-Adil, was so touched by the sight that he begged for the liberty of a thousand of them as a reward for the fighting he had done. This was granted. Saladin himself freed all of the old people and gave money from his own treasury for the widows and orphans of knights and sergeants killed in battle. He granted freedom to five hundred more for the sake of the captain of the city, and he gave seven hundred to the Patriarch, who was thus able to save his gold. Saladin's chivalry, and that of many of his officers, put to shame the behavior of the Christian Knights.
As the long procession of Christians, free and captive, moved away from Jerusalem, the golden banner of Saladin was raised above the walls. The cross upon the dome of the Rock, the mosque that the Christians had made into a church, was pulled down. "The very statues," wrote a Christian chronicler, "wept for shame." The Eastern kingdom of the Franks had crashed into ruin. In 1189 the nations of western Europe launched the Third Crusade in an attempt to win back the Holy City.
Despite Saladin's relentless military and diplomatic efforts, a Christian land and naval blockade forced the surrender of the Palestinian fortress of Acre in 1191. The Crusaders, however, didn't follow up this victory in their quest for Jerusalem. In 1192 Saladin signed an armistice with King Richard (the Lion-Heart) of England that allowed the Crusaders to reconstitute their kingdom along the Palestinian-Syrian coast but left Jerusalem in Muslim hands. On march 4, 1193 Saladin died in Damascus after a brief illness.

Sources:Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia
The Knights of the Crusades

Soror Akasha


Important Marriage Notice

We are extremely pleased to announce the engagement of our Lodge Master J.Edward Cornelius to the beautiful and voluptuous Lodge Treasurer Marlene Smith. The Wedding is being planned for Tuesday October 12th 1993ev 12:00 Noon. We are well aware that this is a few months away but there is so much planning which is required that it is a must to begin notifying in advance. For those who can not make a Tuesday afternoon, plans are being made to hold a special 'Feast' on the Saturday before the actual wedding date which should be one hell of a party. Future plans will be announced in the Calendar as the actual date draws closer. We extend the best of luck and well wishes to both as their futures draw closer together and paths entwine.


THE HISTORY HEAP

JULY

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law -- Liber AL vel Legis I:40

July 3, 1886
Kenneth Mackenzie dies, Rosicrucian Adept and member of the S.R.I.A.

July 3, 1900
Raoul Loveday was born.

July 5, 1924
G.I.Gurdjieff has been described "... as an insane diver who would not last two minutes on a modern road". Fritz Peters tells that he drove too fast on the wrong side of the road. Often he would miss his turn and refusing never to go backwards he would look for a new route on his map. One such route brought him head on into a tree outside Paris on this date, which was almost near fatal.

July 7, 1864
Florence Farr was born on this date. It has been written that she was "... not a nymphomaniac, nor was she really interested in sex, but she was almost incapable of saying no to any man who asked her to sleep with him." Aleister Crowley was rumored to be one such gentleman.

July 8, 1916
Aleister Crowley & Hilarion (Jane Foster) attempt to create a 'Magical Child' as heir to his magical current. The child would take the form of Frater Achad.

July 9, 1910
D.H.Lawrence writes in a letter to Miss Crawford a brief reply, "If Ambergris smells like 'Crowley', it is pretty bad. Civet cats and sperm wales - ugh!"

July 12, 1985
The beloved O.H.O. of the Ordo Templi Orientis Frater Hymenaeus Alpha 777 aka Grady Louis McMurtry shed his earthly vehicle and died in California after a long illness.

July 13, 1865
M.Encausee, alias Papus was born.

July 13, 1915
The New York Times runs an article in its paper entitled 'Irish Republic bork in New York harbor' which tells the story of Aleister Crowley burning his British passport at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

July 20, 1955
Kenneth Grant sends Karl Germer his 'New Manifesto' along with a letter which explains that for the preservation of secrecy it was not possible for Germer, the O.H.O. of the Ordo Templi Orientis to see copies of the 'new' OTO Initiation Rituals which he has written. In reply, Germer sends a registered letter on this date to Mr.Grant expelling him from the Order.

July 22, 1921
Frank Bennett, Frater Progradior signs the Oath of Zelator in the AA on this date.

July 23, 1874
Rose Edith Kelly, wife of Aleister Crowley was born on this date. The best quote regarding her is as follows: 'Rose stripped off her clothes and stood before Crowley in all her nudity. Her breasts were perfect cones, and firm. Her waist was trim and her hips nicely rounded. She was a true red head all the way.'

July 23, 1920
Jane Wolfe arrives at the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu from America in hopes that Aleister Crowley might cure her sickness. William Seabrook, a very close friend, states she was suffering from "... an unrequited passion for some homme fatale of the speakeasy epoch, from too much gin, despondency, and a couple of other depressants which included veronal."

July 25, 1928
Fortune claimed that Moina Mathers killed a Mrs.Fornario by sending a large astral cat to claw her to pieces. This is an impressive story but facts show that Moina Mathers died on this date ... eighteen months before Mrs.Fornario!

July 26, 1856
George Bernard Shaw was born. A man who Aleister Crowley wrote, "... was engaged in public exhibitions of rapier play; his subtlety made his colleagues doubt his sincerity."

July 26, 1895
Aldous Huxley was born. Aleister Crowley met Huxley while he was visiting Berlin and did a hasty sketch of him stating, 'I thought he had a lot of money and painted him like this to flatter him.'

July 27, 1873
Dr.William Moriarty, the real figure Dion Fortune based Dr.Taverner upon, is born in Dublin on this date. It has been written that "Moriarty was not an MD. He was not even a PhD. He just fibbed a little."

July 28, 1904
Nuit Ma Ahathoor Hecate Sappho Jezebel Lilith is born to Aleister Crowley and his wife Rose, although she would not live long and dies shortly after. Duncombe Jewell remarked later that she had died of "acute nomenclature."

July 29, 1875
P.B.Randolph shoots himself in head and dies.

Love is the law, love under will. -- Liber AL vel Legis I:57

                              A.O.583 VIII°

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Events Calendar for July 1993 e.v.

7/4/93LOP & Adviser Council 3:33 PMThelema Ldg.
7/5/93Thelema Lodge meeting 8:00 PMThelema Ldg.
7/8/93Burmese Astrology w/Kathy 7:30 PMThelema Ldg.
7/10/93Ra Hoor Camp Warming (North Bay)RaHoor Camp
7/11/93Thelema Lodge Open House from 3:33PMThelema Ldg.
7/14/93Liber Reguli Class w/Bill 7:30 PMThelema Ldg.
7/15/93Giants of Will Pt.II w/Jeff 8 PMThelema Ldg.
7/16/93Academia Masonica 7:30 PMThelema Ldg.
7/17/93IIIrd Deg. InitiationsThelema Ldg.
7/18/93Gnostic Mass 4:18 PMThelema Ldg.
7/22/93Burmese Astrology w/Kathy 7:30 PMThelema Ldg.
7/23/93Symposium on the Eucharist &
Alchemy 8 PM		Thelema Ldg.
7/25/93Gnostic Mass 4:18 PMThelema Ldg.
7/28/93Liber XV Workshop 7 PMThelema Ldg.
7/30/93Lammas (Call one week ahead to go)Thelema Ldg.
7/31/93Minerval initiations (Call to go)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:
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Internet: heidrick@well.com (Submissions and circulation only)

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