Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers

---- Fr.

An open letter to Alestair Crowley

    SOCIETY OF HIDDEN MASTERS

Dear Sir

    For many years we have watched your career with benevolent interest; while we have been unable to approve many of your activities in particular your policy of revealing secret knowledge which we consider dangerous if in the possession of untrained and uninitiated people, we have always respected your passionate integrity, your fanatical (and in our opinion, indiscreet) love of Truth.
    In our view, this mistaken policy has been responsible for many of your own personal mishaps. For this reason we are surprised that you should acquiesce, even by silence, in so blatant and impudent a hoax as the exhibition of Tarot Cards at the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, 26/7 Conduit Street, W.1. beginning 4th August 1942.
    We hereby challenge you to deny any of the statements here following: -
1. During the winter of 1898/9 you were entrusted by the Order of A A with the Secret Lecture on the Tarot, giving the initiated attributions.
2. You published these attributions at the command of the Secret Chiefs of the order in a Book of Reference numbered 777 in 1909.
3. You issued the Official Lecture of the Order on the Tarot, in the Equinox Vol. I Nos VII and VIII, March and September 1912.
4. You have made the Tarot your continual study and used it daily, since the Winter of 1898/9.
5. You have made the Tarot the skeleton or schema of all your writings on mystical and majical subjects. We would instance particularly "Ambresü", "Maji Hortus Rosarum" (The Wake-World), The Vision and the Voice, Theory and Practice of Magick.
6. You have been recognized everywhere in Europe and America (even, to a less extent, in India) as the supreme Authority on the Tarot; that is, by serious students of the subject.
7. You have contemplated the construction and publication of a properly designed and executed pack, based on the Equinox information ever since the issue of the grotesque and falsified parody which appeared under the auspices of the later H.E. Waite.
8. In a series of conversations in 1937 beginning at Mr. Clifford Bax' chambers in Albany St., W.1., you suggested to Lady Harris that she might be able to carry out this work. Although she very rightly protested that her knowledge of the subject hardly extended beyond the name, you, with the imbecile optimism characteristic of you, persuaded her that the descriptions of the cards given in the Equinox would be sufficient guide, and persuaded her to make the attempt.
9. It became obvious almost at once that the Equinox designs were artistically impracticable. Lady Harris very properly asked you to take the whole subject in hand ab ovo asque ad umbilicum. You thereupon agreed to devote your whole knowledge to the work of designing an entirely original pack of cards, incorporating the results of your 39 years of constant study of the subject with your profound - if at times unacceptably unorthodox - knowledge of comparative religion, mathematical physics, philosophy and Magick. Also that you should compose a Treatise explaining the subject in full. It appears from a notice in the Exhibition that there is a proposal to publish the cards as a pack without this book. To do so would limit their use to fortune-telling, a form of fraud against which you have constantly set your face your whole life long. We refuse to believe that you have now consented to prostitute the Sacred Wisdom of Thoth to this base and dishonest purpose and we insist upon this point being made clear.
10. On May 11, 1938, Lady Harris became officially your disciple, and was permitted to affiliate to the other Order of which you are Head, the O.T.O.
11. You made an agreement with Lady Harris by which you were to have a 66 2/3% interest in the work.
12. For the next four years approximately, Lady Harris prepared water-colours of the cards. She did this from your rough sketches and descriptions under your continual direction, subject to your constant and repeated corrections. In some cases you made her redraw and re-paint a card which you found unsatisfactory as many as five or six times. She has, when left to herself, no sense of dignify or congruity; one of us has seen some attempts which you rejected, for instance, her ideal figure for "The Fool", the Holy Ghost, was Harpo Marx. Did you really pass this and Trump I? She gave the Sphinx in Trump X a French cabahy sabre! And her first conception of "The Lord of the Winds and the Breezes; the King of the Spirits of the Air", was a clown in plate armour, waving rapier and dagger, sprawling over a demented nag, diving through a paper screen in a circus!
13. You left Lady Harris a comparatively free hand in respect of insignificant details; but at no time did she contribute a single idea of any kind to any card, and she is in fact almost as ignorant of the Tarot and its true meaning and use as when she began. We cannot however, blame you for this.
14. You have followed with as much fidelity as was possible the traditional designs of the mediaeval packs; but you have notably enriched and revified some of them, especially the Trumps, with your scholarship, as observed above in paragraph 9.
15. In every trump you have not only incorporated symbols illustrating the doctrines of Payne Knight, Hargrave Jennings, Arthur Eddington, J.G. Froyer, Bertrand Russell, J.W.N. Sullivan, Eliphanz Levi and how many others! - but introduced very many ideas purely personal to yourself and based on your own personal magical experience - see The Vision and the Voice, "The Paris Working" etc.
16. In certain cases, in order to make sure that your doctrines of the New Aeon is clearly manifest as the spiritual-magical basis of the whole work, you have given new names to the cards. Notably Trumps XI, XIV, and numerous "small" cards. You have made the final correction to the attributions - Trumps IV and XVII, according to the Book of the Law given to you in Cairo April 8, 9, and 10 1904. You have used "The Stele of Revealing" (see The Book of the Law Chap. I 49, III 19) to replace "The Last Judgment" (Trump XX) to affirm the supersession of the Aeon of Osiris the Dying God by that of Horus the Crowned and Conquering Child. The entire composition is soaked in and reeks of your own private and personal unique point of view with regard to Majick.
17. You undertook this Work with two main motives: -
    1. That it should serve as a Magical Atlas of and Guide to the Universe, for this "New Aeon of Horus", that is, for the next 2,000 years.
    2. That its undeniable beauty and majesty should be an intelligible vindication of the whole of your life's work. You rightly foresaw that sooner or later it would be clear that you are the sole responsible author of the Work and Lady Harris only your more or less docile and intelligent instrument.
18. You and Lady Harris were at first agreed that the Work should be put forth anonymously. She wrote to a friend "I intend to remain anonymous when the cards are shown". You had, of course, pointed out that any student of the subject would recognise your authorship at a glance.
19. Too well aware that in the past your work has been stolen and exploited by unscrupulous rascals and also that doctrinal argument of a lightly technical kind may all too frequently prove rather hard for a jury, you took the precaution of introducing certain symbols into the designs of such a character that the most stupid would be compelled to acknowledge your authorship of the Work.
    Your conduct is abominable and inexcusable to allow Lady Harris to issue a catalogue crammed with the grossest errors of fact, blunders of scholarship, irrelevancies and absurdities; to allow her to make herself the laughing-stock of London by laying claim to the authorship of pictures of which all artists know her to be utterly incapable, her work having been that of a wealthy amateur persistent enough to acquire a good technique but with no personality, no "message" groping in Bloomsbury fogs for the parasitic adulation of a gaggle of sycophants.
    We can understand your passionate wish to get these cards exhibited, even by a subterfuge, but you had no right to sacrifice Lady Harris and you have no right to lend yourself, even by silence to the perpetration of a hoax transparent and nausient as it must naturally be, which affects the honour of the Fraternity of Art and Letters.
    We repeat that we are surprised; for whatever your faults, you have always been honourable and truthful with more than ancient Roman rigour. You must speak now.

    Naturally, Crowley had next to write a letter "of his own", defending himself and forcing the issue toward his intentions. Only a part of this survives; the first page is missing.

    I do however most strenuously deny participation in the hoax. This was perpetrated by Lady Harris without my knowledge or consent; I only learnt of the exhibitions, in the first case several days after the opening, from information supplied by loyal friends.
    This letter is to authorize and to request you to publicize its substance, either by a letter addressed to the Times and other newspapers, or as you in your best judgment may see fit.

             Believe me,
                     Gentlemen,
                             Yours faithfully,
                                     Aleister Crowley

from the Grady Project:

Published in Ecclesia Gnostica I:2 (winter, 1985 e.v. with the author's dedication "for: Julie Weber and her Magick Theater", in McMurtry: Poems (London & Bergen: O.T.O., 1986 e.v.), and in The Grady Project #3 (March 1988 e.v.).

    Third Division, He let the letter predominate in Sleep {K.T. assigns Laughing}, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them: Pisces in the world, the month Adar in the year, and the milt of the human body, male and female.
    He made them as a conflict, drew them up like a wall; and set one against the other as in warfare. {This last point is explained by the observation that these twelve letters symbolize processes in human behavior that can interfere with each other. Some further points must now be made regarding the assignments of qualities and body parts to these twelve simple letters. In the Golden Dawn Tradition, many things are subordinated to the Astrological symbolism. This was true in the case of the Double letters, where one of several natural methods of assignment in the Yetzirah was passed over to provide a better match between the Double Letters and the planets to work with Tarot Trumps. The other methods do not work as well with the G D Tarot-Astrological system, and they are therefore excluded from Liber 777. This should not make the student think that the primary method used there excludes the several systems proposed here. It is best to begin with a simple system. The serious student then must examine the other systems to determine the information contained in each of them. In the case of these Twelve Simple Letters, this is even more the case. The Golden Dawn -- Liber 777 system has shifted the twelve qualities of the simple letters to make them match the usual qualities of the Astrological signs. The Yetzirah has set up an entirely new parallel system through these qualities which deserves its own study. The same is true of the body organs mentioned here. In the Golden Dawn system, these associations are omitted entirely. The usual associations to the Zodiac signs are assumed in place of these associations in the Yetzirah to body organs. It is suggested that these associations have a particular meaning of their own, and that the serious student will in time find it useful to study that system. By all means, begin with the simpler approach given in Liber 777 and in the various works derived from the Order of the Golden Dawn. When comfortable with that approach, consider these other systems. It is the work of the advanced student of the mysteries to make these apparently diverse systems function well together -- even if the war of the simple letters is the only manner in which it may be done.
    Always remember that the ideas presented in the Yetzirah are like words in their effect. The object is to first learn the simple uses of these ideas, and then to discover the uses of these ideas that are like circumlocutions, figures of speech and allegories. By that means, one can obtain the conversation of the Angels.}

    These are the three mothers or the first elements Aleph, ; Mem, ; and shin, , from which emanated three progenitors: primitive air, water and fire, and from which emanated as their offspring three progenitors and their offspring, namely: the seven planets and their hosts, and the twelve oblique points. {The production of the double and single letters from the mother letters is like the interaction of the mother letters in the six rings: Example; Beth is like Aleph combined with Shin, = + , = + , = + , = + , = + , = + + = + + = + + , = + , = + , = + , = + , = + , = + , = + , + + , = + , = + , = + , = + -- this is obtained from the symbolic meaning of the letters and the dictionary meanings of the words they can be made to form. It is not simply related to the sounds of the letters or to their number values, although a complex relationship does exist through gematria. This theoretical example of the interrelationship of the letters is taken from Brief Meanings of the Hebrew Letters by Bill Heidrick, copyright 1974 e.v.}

    To confirm this there are faithful witnesses; the world, year and man, the twelve, the Equipoise {Fire, Water and Air in balance}, the heptade {seven-fold nature of things}, which He regulates like the Dragon, {Tali or the constellation Draco with its head and tail now taken in the simplified modern Astrology as the nodes of the Moon} sphere {the Hebrew word here is Galgal. It has the meaning of "machinery like turning wheels which drives the universe} and the heart {besides all this argument, it feels right}.

    The first elements , Aleph, Mem and Shin are air, water and fire; the fire is above, the water below, and a breath of air establishes the balance among them. For an illustration may serve, that the fire carries the water, is the phonetic character of which is mute and is hissing like fire, there is among them, a breath of air which places them in equilibrium.

    Dragon {Tali} is in the world like a king upon his throne, the sphere is in the year like a king in the empire, and the heart is in the human body like a king in war. {Thus the three mother letters are like Draco, the seven double letters are like the regular motions of the planets and the twelve single letters are like the easily upset functions of the body.}

    The "Mystery Illustration" will take a break for now. If folks want it back, it will be continued. Please write to the editors with your likes and dislikes about the content of the TLC. Is there anything our readers would like to see more of? Less of?

DS of NJ asks: Why did Crowley call himself the "Beast 666" when he was not a satanist?

    Crowley called himself "The Beast 666" for a variety of reasons. Initially it was a matter of adolescent rebellion against his mother. Crowley's mother sometimes used to call him "Beast" when she was angry with him as a child. Otherwise, Crowley found "Revelations" fascinating, and continued his identification with this name following the explanation of the figures of "Revelations" (also called "The Apocalypse of St. John") given by the Order of The Golden Dawn. For a time in his later teens and early twenties, Crowley did fancy himself a dabbler in Satanism. All that ended when he got past the need to believe in one side or the other of the Christian myth. By his mid twenties, Crowley had stopped believing in the Christian God, Messiah and Devil or Satan. From that point he was free to learn deeper levels of meaning in "Revelations" and the mysteries generally. "The Beast 666" came to represent a Solar aspect of human incarnation to him, and that is the meaning he attached to the term until sometime after 1904 e.v. when he received The Book of the Law. That revelation provided entirely new definitions of "The Beast" for Crowley, unrelated to Christian concepts entirely. I should add that "Revelation" has been discovered to be a forgery, based on pre-Christian mysticism totally unrelated to the concepts of "Satan".

I have my grandfather's Masonic Bible, and notice that there are two letters each followed by the triangular dot in various places. They seem to be an identification of some sort.

    The three dots () that are often found with abbreviated names like A A and G D were originally intended to represent "Masonic Honor Points". In Masonry, a freemason who has received the first three craft degrees of initiation may put these three dots after his name. Organizations made up of Craft initiated Masons traditionally place these same three dots after the letters of abbreviation of their organization names, e.g. Golden Dawn: G D instead of G.D. The practice is not strictly observed anymore in mystical organizations, but is still used in the original way by regular Masons. Now days, the three dots are often used indiscriminately to represent "mystical", "once connected to masonry", "the Christian divine trinity" and almost anything else. Some organizations, like O.T.O., do not use the three dot triangle in abbreviations of their names even though they are derived from Masonry. The practice is often not followed when an abbreviation consists of exactly three letters, since three dots or periods are already in place.

What is Associate Membership?

    Associate membership in O.T.O. is mainly a way of staying on the O.T.O. Grand Lodge mailing list. Many people choose Associate membership just to get the Magical Link publication. Others become Associates until they are of full age and may be initiated. Initiates sometimes go inactive for a while and use Associate membership to stay in touch with the Order. There are other personal reasons for preferring Associate membership to Initiate membership, and Associate members sometimes get the same discounts on books and other products offered by local O.T.O groups and non-affiliated occult stores that are available to Initiates. Associate membership is available at US$10 per year, only through Grand Lodge. If you would like to take out Associate O.T.O. membership, write to the Grand Treasurer General, Agape Grand Lodge O.T.O., P.O.Box 403, Fairfax, CA 94978 USA and include $10 with your letter of request. Don't forget to include a clearly written name and address.

... How close of an association do you (Agape Grand Lodge) have with the various Camps and Oases?

    O.T.O. Agape Grand Lodge (which is incorporated under the laws of the State of California and has US tax exemption as a religious organization) recognizes, governs, monitors and has the power to close all Camps, Oases, Lodges and Chapters of O.T.O.

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

    Ra Hoor Camp manifested on March 30th 1993. The Camp is located in Petaluma, CA at the Home of Campmaster Frater 101. One of the goals of the Camp is to spread the word of Thelema through the use of printed materials. Several such publications already exist, in fact Thelema Lodge has already used a Ra Hoor Publication in its new Temple (plug plug). Speaking of temples, Ra Hoor Temple with its full set up of temple regalia for Gnostic Masses and even some Initiations is large enough to hold 15-20 people comfortably, so come help us fill it up (and the rest of the house too!) at the official Camp Warming Party on July 10th 1993. There will be a reading of the Book of the Law to officially open the Temple, and fun and socializing afterwards. Come ring in our new addition to the Bay area and have fun doing it! Call for more info. (707) ... ...., ask for Mike, or write:

Ra Hoor Camp OTO 925 Lakeville St., #193 Petaluma, CA 94952-3329

    Also, Ra Hoor Camp is looking for those Thelemites in the Sonoma, Marin, and Napa county areas (we know you're out there) to attend classes, workshops and rituals, but before we can plan these events, we need to know if someone's interested, so contact us and help build a bastion of Thelema in the North Bay!

June 2, 1973	Four men row into Loch Ness, one the Rev.Donald Omand who performs an Exorcism to rid the lake of the 'demon'. It didn't seem to work, Nessie was seen soon after.
June 4, 1922	Aleister Crowley begins writing his book The Diary of a Drug Fiend.
June 6, 1926	The man who made the unfulfilled promise to "make Aleister Crowley look like a Boy Scout", Alex Sanders 'King of The Witches' called Verbius was born.
June 8, 1743	One of Aleister Crowley's previous incarnations, the Count Cagliostro, or Joseph Balsamo is born in Palermo Sicily.
June 8, 1905	Karl Kellner dies.
June 9, 1885	Wilfred T.Smith is born in Kent England, the man who Aleister Crowley stated "is not a man at all; he is the Incarnation of some God". (Other sources claim he was born 10/6/1885)
June 9, 1949	The Agape Lodge of the OTO moves into its new location at 1003 South Orange Grove Avenue in Pasadena. A procession led the way into the house, Jane Wolfe carrying a picture of Aleister Crowley followed by Wilfred Smith with the Book of The Law. Behind him was Regina Kahl with The Stele and last was Parsons with the Holy Ark.
June 10, 1969	Fire destroys outbuildings on the "Solar Lodge", or Brayton Ranch in California.
June 10, 1975	Michael Aquino leaves 'The Church of Satan' and forms his own group, The Temple of Set.
June 11, 1886	Issberner Haldane is born on this date. He was Lodge Master of the German 'Ordo Novi Templi, or ONT.
June 13, 1865	W.B.Yeats described by Aleister Crowley as "a lank dishevelled demonologist who might have taken more pains with his personal appearance without incurring the reproach of dandyism" was born on this date.
June 13, 1884	Dr.Gerald Gardner born.
June 13, 1941	Grady Louis McMurtry takes Minerval & First Degree Initiation on the same night joining the Ordo Templi Orientis.
June 13, 1949	Cyril Hoskin falls off a ladder on this date, and when he finally comes around he has a new identity ... he becomes Tuesday Lobsang Rampa.
June 16, 1880	The Theosophist, Alice Bailey is born.
June 20, 1923	Norman Mudd follows Aleister Crowley to Tunis.
June 20, 1952	It was not long after the infamous Babalon Working that Jack Parsons, Frater Bellarion 210 would drop a phial of fulminate of Mercury, obtaining a crater both in Los Angeles and on the Moon in his honor. He died on this date.
June 21, 1916	Frater Achad takes the Oath of The Master of The Temple, or 'NEMO' 8 = 3 in the AA
June 23, 1981	The Temple Ov Psychick Youth is founded.
June 24, 1947	While flying over Mt.Rainer in Washington Kenneth Arnold sights a group of objects and radios in claiming they "look like saucers skipping over the surface of water, flying saucers!" ... thus the term UFO is born.
June 28, 1855	Albert Karl Theodor Reuss born.
June 28, 1940	Edgar Cayce predicted that Atlantis would rise from the Atlantic Ocean on this date.
June 30, 1925	Frederick Leigh Gardner, the man who Aleister Crowley decided was responsible for evoking Typhon-Set against him, died on this date.

Thelema Lodge Events Calendar for June 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.