Thelema Lodge Calendar for January 2002 e.v.
Thelema Lodge Calendar
for January 2002 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, 2001 e.v.
Thelema Lodge
Ordo Templi Orientis
P.O.Box 2303
Berkeley, CA 94702 USA
January 2002 e.v. at Thelema Lodge
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Announcements from
Lodge Members and Officers
Raising the Veil of Winter
The Isis of the World hath raised her veil
One moment, that fresh glory of the stars
May glow through winter, where the sun is pale.
-- Crowley, Carmen Saeculare.
Turning a corner in the darkness of the year, we work our way back to the
light now with the increasing days. Our lodge ritual for the winter solstice
last month found for a symbol of this progress an image from the dark center
of Dante's Inferno. Here Lucifer, "emperor of the woeful realm," stands "mid-
breast out of the ice" which marks the absolute middle of the earth, the
darkest hole in the cosmos. Flapping his great bat-wings as he munches on the
lowest of the damned, this monstrous devil seems entirely to bar the way out.
But by sneaking in between the strokes of his wings, and squeezing through the
ice to catch hold of the great "shaggy flanks" of the dark power himself,
descending "between matted hair and the frozen crusts" by clinging to the
devil's backside "where the thigh turns just on the thick of the haunch," the
cosmic pilgrim and his faithful guide manage to completely reverse their
orientation toward the world at this point. Emerging on the other side they
ascend the back stairs up through the lower hemisphere to issue at last "forth
to see again the stars."
Continual Labor and Enjoyment
January is the month least rich in Thelemic holidays and anniversaries, and
might seem a slow time around the lodge, were it not for the parties
perpetuated by certain local devotees of the One True Church of the Great
Green Frog. After this past seasons' flurry of aethyrs and events, work here
continues much more in the background this month. Great effort guided by
expert design and skillful carpentry has gone into the construction of our new
altar for the gnostic mass, which will be ready sometime this month after all
the sanding and varnishing is done. We also have plans to hang a new veil
around it in the temple, which should expand somewhat the seating area for
communicants by making the altar easily visible from the sides. Meanwhile,
work continues in the lodge library, where newly opened cartons of material
continue to be sorted and shelved for the use of members. And on a different
front, a long course of complex electronic editing by Bill Heidrick on behalf
of the lodge recently has made all sixteen years of our monthly Thelema Lodge Calendar available on line in an enhanced format, accessible at: http://members.aol.com/bheidrick
The Company of Stars
Join the members and friends of Thelema Lodge any Sunday evening as always
in Horus Temple to participate in our celebration of Aleister Crowley's
gnostic mass. Arrive at the lodge by 7:30 to assemble in the library,
awaiting the deacon's call for entry into the temple when the officers are
ready to begin the ritual. New participants are welcome at mass, and more
often than not we have first-time communicants with us, who are given a brief
orientation speech from one of our gnostic bishops before going in. To attend
the gnostic mass here for the first time, call several days ahead to speak
with the lodgemaster for directions and information. It doesn't usually take
long to learn the mass, and after mastering the part assigned to "the People"
in the ritual (including the Credo, the Anthem, and the various gestures and
formulas of response), interested participants may proceed to study the deacon's part. Memorization is not essential for the deacon, but the lines as
they are read from the fire altar must be completely comprehended and familiar
within the voice of this officer in order for the ritual to succeed.
Competence in the deacon's role, although not an absolute requirement for work
as priestess, is usually the best preparation, and for priest it is essential
to have mastered it. The deacon mediates between the principal celebrants and
the assembled communicants, so the role demands precise sensitivity to the
pace and style of the other officers, as well as sympathetic awareness of the
mood of the People. The roles of priestess and priest are best studied with a
partner, and many of our experienced officers will welcome invitations from
novices to study these roles together.
Members here take turns serving the community of Horus Temple in the roles
of priestess, priest, and deacon for each mass. In the vulgar calendar year
just completed, fully thirty members of the lodge community served as officers
in these roles over the course of our fifty-two celebrations of the gnostic
mass. These included O.T.O. initiates from Minerval through IX°, under the
helpful oversight of our four bishops of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. Our
most active officer this year wins in two separate categories; Leigh Ann was
our busiest priestess (twelve times) and also our most frequent deacon (nine).
Our busiest bishop, Caitlin, who was last year's most active mass officer,
came in just behind Leigh Ann in both roles (ten times priestess and six
deacon). Priestess number three was Pat (seven times on the altar), followed
by Tammy (four). Elton was our most active priest, opening the veil eleven
times this year, with Ross right behind (ten times), and Samuel following
(seven). Lew (priest six times and twice deacon) and Mordecai (five times
priest), our two longest-serving officers, each with over fifteen years of
experience in the mass, continued to devote their much appreciated expertise
to our temple. Matthew, who tied with Paul as our number three deacon (five
times each), was also close behind as priest (four times). Thirteen different
priestesses, eleven priests, and nineteen deacons celebrated the gnostic mass
with us in Horus Temple this past year, with an average attendance throughout
of just over 25 persons participating in the weekly liturgy. Along with our
core of dedicated clerical membership are many others who also support the
mass but step more rarely to the fore. We had a couple two-time priests this
year, and three who worked the role but once. There were three three-time,
four two-time, and two once-only priestesses. Of our deacons six were up
twice, and seven only once, giving just about everyone who was willing to
learn the role a chance. In our temple, working celebrants of the mass
constitute the majority of the communicants among the People, making it all
the more easy for novice officers to learn the workings of our liturgy,
encouraged by the active participatory engagement (and even emergency
assistance in a rare pinch) available from all points. Not every deacon can
be so poised and polished and sure of her saints as Leigh Ann, but her strong
example (and mighty memory) are just one of many examples of excellence
available in our gnostic celebrations. Put some work into the ritual of the
gnostic mass and make yourself part of a new mass team soon, consulting with
the lodgemaster when you are ready to request a date on the temple calendar.
Come to Middle Earth
Monday evening 21st January finds the Thelema Lodge "Section Two" group
riding the bandwagon to Middle Earth with selected readings from The Lord of the Rings and other writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973). Choose a passage or two that stands out in your memories from past readings of these "fantasy" classics, and gather around the fire in Horus Temple to read them once more with us. Tolkien, an Oxford professor of Germanic philology, constructed in his fiction an idealized pagan world of the bronze age, still recognizably English in many details, with foreign powers appearing as various species of more or less monstrous races. His tales of Middle Earth face readers squarely with one of the central challenges of Crowley's "Section Two" curriculum for A
A Probationers: the difference between ritual magick and the magic of folklore and fiction. Whereas ceremonial magick in ritual
provides a pattern for the concentration of will which functions like a yoga
of belief for the participants, the magic of fiction simply extends this
function into an artificial "fantasy" of power. Untrained, undisciplined
magical amateurs often fail to observe this difference, allowing their work to
depend upon drama and confusion as they misrepresent their conditions in order
more freely to imagine their results.
Designated "fantasy" for its innovative treatment of traditional elements
from history and folklore, Tolkien's quest story involves a variety of
characters from invented races which are fully rational but incompletely
human. The success of this concept set an example which not only rescued the
"fantasy" genre from such dreamy fairy tales as those of George Macdonald and
Lord Dunsany, but also revolutionized the related genre of science fiction
(which simply substitutes a pseudo-scientific technology for the pseudo-
magical technology of Middle Earth) with similar invented races. Tolkien
began by drafting long accounts in imitation of medieval chronicles, the
Islandic sagas, and their Victorian adaptors such as William Morris and Andrew
Lang. Then he used these invented myths and histories as background for a
children's adventure tale, successfully published in 1937 e.v. as The Hobbit.
Professionally expert at mining medieval sources for names, stories, and
symbols, and now having painstakingly trained himself as a storyteller,
Tolkien wrote during the war years and their aftermath his epic narrative of
the ring-bearer's journey through the close of the Third Age of Middle Earth.
The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes during the mid-1950s and
slowly developed a cult following of enormous proportions. Tolkien did
perhaps more than any other writer of our times to popularize the values of
the ancient pagan culture of northern Europe, making them available for
popular revival during the 1960s and beyond. The O.T.O. itself, as it was
being reorganized during this period, may well have absorbed imprints from
Middle Earth into the culture of Thelema, as Hymenaeus Alpha sat teaching
Tarot at the Renaissance Faire in the 1970s, and copies of the Book of the Law
reached the Society for Creative Anachronism. It may be said that Tolkien
fulfills much the same role for Thelemites today that Saint Richard Wagner did
for Crowley's own generation, and if so we have made considerable progress in
the direction of humane decency with respect to our transmissions of pagan
spiritual culture from the middle ages.
Previous Section Two Next Section Two
The Cause Behind All
Concerning "the Wheel of the TARO" Crowley gives some advice for the
student of magick in Liber 333: "Meditate long and broad and deep, O man, upon
this Wheel, revolving it in thy mind. Be this thy task, to see how each card
springs necessarily from each other card, even in due order from The Fool unto
The Ten of Coins. Then, when thou know'st the Wheel of Destiny complete,
may'st thou perceive THAT Will which moved it first. (There is no first or
last.) And lo! thou art past through the Abyss." In his commentary upon this
passage he explains that all other great symbolic wheels "refer to the
universe as it is; but the wheel of the Tarot is not only this, but represents
equally the Magical Path. This practice is therefore given by Frater P. to
his pupils; to treat the sequence of the cards as cause and effect. Thence,
to discover the cause behind all causes. Success in this practice qualifies
for the grade of Master of the Temple." Through all the years of his magical
progress, as S. H. Soror I.W.E. 8
= 3
A A [Martha Küntzel] reports in her
1944 e.v. prefatory "note" to The Book of Thoth, for Crowley himself (as
Frater P. and beyond) "the Tarot was his daily companion, guide, and object of
research." Guided by continual study of its symbols, he eventually claimed
the grade of Magister Templi on 3rd December 1910 e.v. as Vi Veri Vniversum
Vivus Vici. More than thirty years later in completing one of his last major works in The Book of Thoth, Crowley assembled a lifetime of divination and
research into a treatise on this universal system of symbolism.
We may not all qualify for so exalted a grade as Frau Küntzel right away,
but our study group for The Book of Thoth proceeds with lively discussions and
critical readings of this text and of the cards themselves. Reorienting
itself somewhat this season, the group will be switching meeting times to the
fourth Thursday evening of each month. Also, at the request of some
participants returning to this enterprise after a few months away, we will be
doubling back slightly and revisiting two trumps originally scheduled in our
series last autumn. This month's meeting in the lodge library will thus be on
Thursday evening 24th January from 8:00 until 10:00, and will cover the Atus
of the Hanged Man and Death (XII and XIII). As the card of baptism, both in
"the annihilation of the self in the Belovèd" and as "the spiritual function
of water in the economy of initiation," the Hanged Man trump represents not
sacrifice but progress toward ecstasy, the universal movement which was once
known as "worship." In the martial and piscine Atu of Death, putrefaction is
shown in "rhythmical undulation" with the process of life as the serpent and
the eagle transcend the scorpion, while the mercurial fish "as the continuing
elastic element in nature" reveals "a compendium of universal energy in its
most secret form."
Astounding Mastery of Rhythm and Rime
In his Confessions Aleister Crowley offers a magician's definition of
poetry: "A poem is a series of words so arranged that the combination of
meaning, rhythm, and rime produces the definitely magical effect of exalting
the soul to divine ecstasy." Shortly later in the same work he refers to
"that quintessence, limpid truth, opalescent with lyrical light, which
constitutes poetry." Throughout his life Crowley had incredible confidence,
both in the power of poetry and in his own poetic achievements. Again in
Confessions he wrote that "as a poet" he considered that his "technique was
perfect; it had shaken off from its sandals the last dust which they had
acquired by walking in the ways of earlier masters. I produced lyric and
dramatic poetry which shows an astounding mastery of rhythm and rime, a varied
power of expression which has no equal in the history of the language, and an
intensity of idea which eats into the soul of the reader like vitriol." He
continued this assessment of his own work with some of the most exalted claims
ever made on behalf of poetry: "There was an almost continual outpouring of
the Holy Spirit through my mind. The spring of poetry shot crystal clear from
the hidden furnace of my being into the pure and brilliant air, and fell and
fertilized the earth about the sacred hill. A thousand years from now men
will still gather round in wonder and worship to gaze upon the gorgeous
pageant of flowers that grow upon the glowing grass and to feast upon the ripe
fruits that burden the two great trees which tower like pillars for a gateway
to my garden -- the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of
Life." Join us at Thelema Lodge this month on Friday evening 18th January to
harvest some winter fruit with our new "Two Great Trees" poetry reading group,
which will meet on a monthly basis to cultivate the appreciation of verse in
oral delivery. Gather around the fire in Horus Temple from 8:00 until 10:00
to be part of this literary enterprise, which is being organized by Brother
Paul. Pick out half a dozen short poems which you already know well to bring
along and read (or as many short selections from longer works), which may be
either familiar favorites, recent discoveries, or your own inventions.
Crowley Classics
Originally published in The Fatherland 4:6 (New York: 15 March 1916) on pages 85 and 86, this is one of the odder and more problematic of Crowley's "German propaganda" essays. It is difficult to square the contents of this article with Crowley's own biographical record, so that it seems likely he is reporting as his own here experiences either repeated from another's account or in some manner fictionalized. Crowley himself did not return to Great Britain at all during 1915 or 1916 e.v. and traveled only within North America during the Great War (after arriving in New York from London around the end of October 1914 aboard the Lucitania.
Lifting the Mask from England
by Aleister Crowley
Things are by no means pleasant, either between the Allies themselves or
even between the heterogeneous components of "Kitchener's Kippers." The
English despise and distrust the French; the old story about the rout of Mons
being caused by the non-appearance of two French armies is still current. The
reason of it is variously given as treachery resulting in the shooting of two
French generals, failure to receive orders, and various other causes. But the
feeling remains that the French did fail to support them, however it may have
happened. And as the British expedition was pretty well wiped out, one can
understand the soreness of the feeling. On the French side is the deep-
seated, inherited distrust of "perfidious Albion." Every Frenchman knows
instinctively that if a moment should ever arrive when it would be to
England's interest to quit or change sides, she would not hesitate for a
moment.
There is also infinite jealousy between British and Colonial troops. The
Colonials are contemptuous of discipline and "boiled collars," and each man
fancies himself a hero. The British retaliate by contempt of the
provincialisms of the Colonials. But worse than all this is the absolute
conviction of Scotch, Irish, and Welsh troops, as well as of all the Colonial
troops, that they are deliberately sacrificed in battle, in order to spare the
English regiments. History, of course, abounds in instances where this has
been done. In some cases Celtic regiments have been deliberately shelled by
their own artillery. You cannot expect men to fight if they suspect this sort
of thing. The feeling in South Wales among the miners against conscription is
almost entirely due to the idea that the Government would be very pleased if
their numbers were reduced by fifty per cent or so. The feeling in Ireland
is, of course, well known. It is this absence of solidarity in the nation, or
rather nations, which has been the eternal stumbling-block. This more than
any other is the reason that conscription has become necessary.
Another reason for the unpopularity of the service was the complete
incompetence and even carelessness shown by the Government in the early days
of the war, with regard to providing creature comforts for the men. The usual
red tape has also been employed to a devastating extent in the drawing of
allowances. Women who can barely read and write have been bombarded with
forms which would puzzle a college professor, and expected to fill them out
satisfactorily. The restrictions on drink have caused even greater trouble.
Similar remarks apply to the questions of sexual morality. It is no good to
appeal to people on the ground that they are high-spirited patriots,
possessing all the virtues, when at the same time you are treating them as if
they were the lowest criminals, wallowing in every possible vice.
During my stay I was naturally the centre of a great deal of interest, as
having spent so long in America. Every one was anxious to know the real
attitude of the American public toward the war. I explained that the national
characteristics had not in any way been altered by the Atlantic. The Anglo-
Saxon was all volubility, sentimentality, and slop. Snobbishness, hypocrisy,
and money-bags were the three persons in his trinity. The Irish were
jubilant, feeling that the hour of revenge for their long martyrdom had struck
at last; but were content to wait and work in the dark for a little longer.
The Teutons (I continued) said little. If one judged from the volumes of talk
one would imagine that nine Americans in ten hated Germany. But the Teuton, realizing that acrimonious conversation does no particular damage, keeps his
breath to cool his porridge. I said I regarded it as certain that America
could not openly enter the war without political disruption, possibly of a
very violent character. The more thoughtful of those who discussed the matter
with me seemed to regard these considerations as an excuse for President
Wilson. There was also the argument that America was helping the Allies more
by staying out, than she could do by going in. But everywhere met the same
ingrained assumption that there were no two sides to the question; and those
who, being incapable of anything but the most superficial thought, reacted
simply to facts without consideration of what they might imply, merely
overflowed with vulgar abuse.
I found one man, however, who appeared fairly well acquainted with the real
situation in America. "The whole affair," he said to me, "is evidently
politics and graft. Wilson does not mean to get into trouble at any price,
because he knows that it would mean his political ruin. He sends these
idiotic notes to us and the Germans, merely in the hope of catching votes.
The fatuity of his whole proceeding is obvious. Neither we nor Germany are
foolish enough to take any notice of him. The old dog has no teeth; and if he
had, he would not dare bite. Why do not the Teutons avoid these tedious
diplomatic exchanges by painting their torpedoes in plain letters: "Peace on
Earth, Good-will towards Men." "I should hate to be misunderstood." "With
the compliments of the season." "To show our affection for America," and re-
christen the U-boats "Oscar III," "IV," and so on? What the Yankees do not
understand is that this little scrap with Germany is only a family quarrel.
We are mostly of the same blood, our royalties are closely related, our
languages are cognate, our interests are not particularly conflicting. We
shall very soon kiss and make friends and proceed to recoup ourselves -- by
taking over North and South America as going concerns. Wilson's blundering
diplomacy has given both of us every excuse for making war when it suits our
convenience. The British and German Navy are both entirely unimpaired,
neither of us have lost a single capital ship, and if necessary we could send
over an invading force, not of a few hundred thousand men, as their alarmists
diffidently suggest, but of just as many million as might be necessary to
reduce the whole continent to the status of a conquered province. In any
case, that is the only natural state for them. They have lost all idea of
liberty. Look at their Blue Laws and their Lizzie Laws. Look at how they
present themselves to be exploited by people with no moral or social
superiority, but merely greater skill in robbery. Look at the way in which
they endure our impudence, which is far greater than any Germany has given
them. Trust me, we'll make another India of the U. S. A." The ignorance and
bad taste of these remarks are positively alarming, when one considers that
the man who uttered them has an international reputation as a thinker.
Evidently the war has been too much for his poor mind.
I had only been about ten days in London when my psychological studies were
definitely interrupted in a manner wholly unexpected. I asked an old friend
named Carruthers to join me in a chop at the Club, and we had reached the
coffee (fortunately) before the waiter appeared and informed me that a
gentleman was waiting to see me on business. I guessed that the blow had
fallen, and went out as a sheep to slaughter. I was right. A very polite
individual introduced himself as Inspector Simpson; but instead of placing
gyves upon my wrists, he merely hoped that I was well, and could he have the
pleasure of a few minutes' conversation with me? I was, of course, only too
delighted. He then said that the Government was not at all angry with me;
they did not wish to prosecute me, oh dear, no, far from us be any such
thought! I realized for the fifteen-hundred-and-forty-first time in my life
the inestimable value of family connections and close friends in high places.
I told him, however, as in duty bound, that I should glory in suffering for
the truth. He reminded me that this was England, and that the truth would
never appear. I had no further remarks to make. Well, I said, "What can I do
for you? If you don't want to prosecute me -- what is it? Do you want to make me Foreign Secretary? You might do worse. I would have the boys out of
the trenches by Easter. It only needs a little give and take, a little common
sense." No, he said, the position was this: Averse as they were to any public
scandal, the press would certainly get wind of my presence in London, and
embarrass the Government by insisting upon making a fuss. He therefore
proposed to call for me in his automobile at eight o'clock the following
morning and wish me Goodspeed.
I asked him whether he could not postpone the journey for twenty-four
hours, as I had some very important business to settle with my lawyer the
following morning. His paws retracted for a moment, exhibiting the claws
beneath, still in a half hidden way. He was very sorry, he said, but his
orders were formal. He was sure that I would not put him to the inconvenience
of getting them changed. There was such a lot of red tape about these
trifles. . . . I knew what he meant, and agreed. So I excused myself to my
guest, took a taxi down to my lawyer's home in the country, and spent the
night settling up my business. In the morning Simpson took me down to Tilbury
in his car, and put me on to a transport, one of six. There must have been
fifteen to twenty thousand men aboard. Our little flotilla steamed out of the
Thames, and the following morning I was put off on to a fishing smack which
took me into Flushing. I was terribly puzzled at the time, to know what on
earth these ships were doing sailing north. But the mystery is now clear,
from information received. It appeared that there are still so many spies in
such places as Calais and Dover, that they do not care to send transports
through the Channel, as their presence is sure to be reported to the enemy;
they therefore send them around the north of Scotland into the Atlantic where
their destination could not be spied upon.
As for me, I went to stay with a good friend of mine near Amsterdam, where
I was joined by someone from Berlin who had a special desire to hear my news,
and communicate his own. A small and selected part of the very interesting
conversation which I had with him may form the subject of another paper. He
went back after three days, and as for me, once more I concealed myself and
sailed for the Land of the Free by the Ryndam, where my knowledge of English
was increased by the personal instruction of Father Neptune as to the meaning
of the term seasickness.
Previous Crowley Classic Next Crowley Classic
from the Grady Project:
This polemical essay was originally written for The Magickal Link, Official Monthly Bulletin of Ordo Templi Orientis, where it appeared in April 1982 e.v. on the first two and one-third pages. The sectarian spirit evinced in this article seems a bit old-fashioned after twenty years, but in Grady's critique Thelemic culture is cast as a very personal heritage, and his denunciations (echoing those of Crowley, which he quotes) are usually based upon personal encounters with the "revisionists." The implied object of some sort of "Aleister Crowley Orthodoxy" is a bit disturbing to consider, but can not have been intended very seriously. The article includes a robust, insulting romp through the ranks of the laughable faux-O.T.O. organizations of that day (most of which existed only on paper), which seemed to spring up like weeds following the fallow decade of the Order from the middle 'fifties to the middle 'sixties e.v.
On Aleister Crowley Revisionism
by Caliph Hymenaeus Alpha X°
Probably the first to revise Aleister Crowley's teachings was Norman Mudd,
a mathematics professor who, after Cefalu, proved, with mathematical
precision, a number of things that Crowley found most unlike. He then drowned
himself. Crowley was not fond of him. When I asked about Mudd one day at 93
Jermyn Street he frowned, snorted, said, "Oh, you mean that idiot who loaded
his pockets with rocks and walked into the sea?" Surely a lesson to all
future revisionists, but they still try.
Then came Frater Achad and the Achad Tree. Crowley himself condemned it
(note 1, page 7, MT&P) and it has certainly had a strange history with firm
believers who have taken it to extravagant lengths, and equally firm opponents
who agree with Crowley that turning the OTz ChIIM (
= 228) upside down
by interchanging the leaves is dangerous nonsense. Personally I agree with
Crowley. Intellectual brilliance will not get you across the Abyss.
Next on my check list (this is infinitely expandable) was a friend of mine,
Jack Parsons, who with his Babalon Working supposedly brought down a Fourth
Chapter of Liber AL. This seems to have set a trend. And it is a beautiful
example of a magician seriously at work. But I can not accept it as a valid
Fourth Chapter of Liber AL. He did, however, add something new to the brittle
intellectualism of Mudd and Achad: passion! His feeling for Babalon is
poignant. And his ability as a poet makes him worthy of consideration -- even if only as a model of what not to do.
Then there was Level Press, operated by a Mr Lee Heflin. Mr Heflin has a
curious fixation about Liber AL. He refuses to believe it is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," but changes it to "Do what thou wilt is
the whole of the Law." Now this might make sense from some angelic point of
view -- angels living in a world of no-time where everything is happening all
at once like the current inside a telephone line -- but humans live in a world
of renewal and decay. It wouldn't be so bad if he were up-front, but his
method of penetrating the Thelemic consciousness is interesting. In general
it consists of publishing a Crowley book and inserting "Do what thou wilt is
the whole of the Law," without notice to the unwary that this is directly
counter to Liber AL and Crowley. Why he should try to redirect the Thelemic
current at this late date by calling blind signals from an unseen sideline is
every Thelemite's business.
The phenomenon known as "Fourth-Chapter-of-Liber-AL-itis" is a hard fish to
pin down, because what is trumpeted as such among a few chosen insiders may
not exactly say that when read. Also the authors are heavy into concealing
their personal glory by ascribing the actual message to a Thelemic source. We
have two candidates in that category. First, The Book of Perfection (93
Publishing, 1977) as delivered to 777 by Aiwass. Since Aleister Crowley
designated me as 
777 you might think that I wrote it. Not so.
Pick a number, any number. It's the Wheel of Fortune, folks! 777, like any
number, can be claimed by anyone. Proof is another matter. The Book of Perfection is an endless repetition of words from Liber AL, especially those
great big heavy HO-HO-HO ones, and other sources, and about as original as a
frozen TV dinner. The only thing that interested me was page 73, where it is
written "This book shall be sent to the Temple of the East in its original and
typewritten copy." The game's afoot, Watson! This solves a mystery. About
five years ago I received a large manila envelope in the mail. It had an
Oregon return address, but no name of sender. It was postmarked "JAN 20 '72".
Inside were two documents, one in manuscript and a typed copy. It contained
Liber Jiha'ad and other material presumably published in The Book of Perfection. Since it was said to be communicated by Aiwass, presumably the
same angel Aiwass who transmitted Liber AL to Aleister Crowley, I take it that
we are supposed to take it as an authentic communication from the Gods of
Thelema. That seems unlikely since the envelope containing this thundering
nonsense was addressed to: Mr Kenneth Grant, c/o O.T.O., P. O. Box 2043, Dublin, CA 94566 -- which happened to be the address of Hymenaeus Alpha
a.k.a. Grady Louis McMurtry. Now it just so happens that I met Mr Grant in
Aleister Crowley's presence, in A.C.'s room at the Bell Inn, Aston Clinton, circa 1944 e.v. Since Aleister Crowley could obviously tell Mr Grant from Mr
McMurtry at least long enough to introduce us, I am sure that this angel
Aiwass could also do the same. Since he did not, I can only conclude that the
Aiwass communicating The Book of Perfection is not the same Aiwass that
transmitted Liber AL to Aleister Crowley.
Our final exhibit is Liber vel OVIZ 93 sub figura LXXVI as delivered by
OVIZ to PRZOVAL 8 = 3 (The Khabs Temple, 537 Jones Street #8475, San
Francisco, CA 94102). The text is the usual reshuffling of words from Liber
AL, no new revelations I could find, and "Privately printed by the O.T.O.", or
so it says. Which O.T.O. it does not say. But what is really interesting is
the "Introduction". For one thing it lets me off the hook as a possible
author since it proclaims openly its hostility to "the near total degeneration
and fall of the existing Crowley pseudo-cults such as Hymenaeus Alpha's
Rosicrucianised O.T.O." Apparently they have never been around to see our
Gnostic Mass. As for the phrases such as "The Master of A.A." and "The
Brothers of A.A.", etc., apparently the author of this work didn't even check
the Sigil of A A, clearly printed, in which the honor marks () after each
letter are clearly shown. Now the honor (fire) marks indicate that A A is
an inner, higher Order than O.T.O. (no honor marks). But that is hardly
surprising considering that this particular Aiwas is spelled OVIZ. Crowley
accepted three spellings of Aiwas: 
= 93; 
= 78; 
= 418 in the
Greek cabala. In each instance the 
(I) is before the 
(F) and is properly
pronounced "Aiwas". With the Vau before the Yod, however, it is properly
pronounced OEH-veh! I doubt if Crowley's Aiwas would appreciate such a
misinterpretation.
And now for the dessert. Just as we in Aleister Crowley's O.T.O. have our
private recognition signals, verbal and written, we also have a private
accord, never before published that I know of, that a Fourth Chapter of AL is
concealed in the Third Chapter. Horus is a double God. As you will remember
(AL III:35), The half of the word Heru-ra-ha, called Hoor-pa-kraat and Ra- Hoor-Khut, it having been the spell of Ra-Hoor-Khuit that was raised.
As for finding the unknown and unidentified author/s of Liber vel OVIZ 93,
that should not be difficult. All we have to do is join the foray and call
out the Baker Street Irregulars for -- as Sherlock Holmes would say, It's elemental, my dear Watson!
OEH-veh.
Written in the INFERNO CLUB in Columbus, Georgia,
and for all you other Thelemic buckaroos out there!
H. A. 777 |
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from the Library Shelf
Aleister Crowley's own spiritual culture arose partly out of his family background in one of the radical dissenting sects of Victorian Protestant Christianity. Especially since the religious wars of two centuries previous, the sectarian traditions in English religion had expanded to include a vast array of attitudes toward the problems of worship, morality, and social organization, including some radical notions which remained mostly underground but still survived to influence the language and thinking of "Plymouth Brethren" families like the Crowleys. Evangelists dismissed as "Ranters" had preached a radical anarchism which in some ways resembled Thelema, and in mid- seventeenth century England their message alarmed and fascinated many, becoming notorious as a cultural extreme. "Ranters" were famous for smoking in church, or for holding services in ale houses, and for swearing and telling obscene jokes while worshipping. Like some of the ancient gnostic sects, they were rumored to achieve a level of religious enthusiasm which led to orgies after their meetings, and were sometimes said to oppose marriage in preference for promiscuity. In a satirical drama called The Jovial Crew, or, The Devil
Turned Ranter, being a Character of the Roaring Ranters of these Times (1651) they preach and sing of their freedom to enjoy traditional vices in a pious spirit. ("Swive" is the Middle English verb for copulation.)
No hell we dread when we are dead,
No Gorgon nor no Fury;
And while we live, we'll drink and swive
In spite of judge and jury.
Come away, make no delay, of mirth we are no scanters,
Dance and sing all in a ring, for we are Jovial Ranters.
Come on my boys, receive your joys,
And take your fill of pleasure,
Shoot for shoot, away, let's do't,
But we must have our measure.
Come away, make no delay, of mirth et cetera.
All lie down, as in a swoun,
To have a pleasing vision,
And then rise with bared thighs;
Who'd fear such sweet incision?
Come away, make no delay, of mirth et cetera.
About, about, ye Jovial rout,
Dance antic like hob-gobblins;
Drink and roar, and swear and whore,
But yet no brawls or squablings.
Come away, make no delay, of mirth et cetera.
For an actual sample of "Ranter" literature, this extract from The Light
and Dark Sides of God, an 84 page pamphlet by Jacob Bottomley published illegally in 1650, is available in an appendix to Norman Cohn's The Pursuit of
the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the
Middle Ages (London: Secker & Warburg, 1957, revised 1970), "The 'Free Spirit' in Cromwell's England: The Ranters and their Literature." For presentation here, the spelling and punctuation have been regularized with modern practice wherever possible. It is easy to see verbal parallels between "Ranter" texts such as this and certain formulas in Crowley's gnostic mass; compare the Priest's speech on the second step, for example, with the opening sentences given below from Bottomley's pamphlet. Such gnostic ideas found in early modern radical Protestantism remind us of the illusionary nature of old historical categories such as "gnosticism." Scholars tend nowadays to deny the integrity of gnosticism as a tradition, stressing the specific teachings of separate groups which were only equated long after the fact by their political and theological opponents. Likewise the term "Ranters" is obviously suspect, having been imposed by the mass media of its day as a slur upon "stand up" preachers such as the frequently arrested Bottomley (whose rhetoric also reminds one a bit of Lenny Bruce).
A Ranter Looks at the Dark Side of God
by Jacob Bottomley (1650)
I. Concerning God
O God, what shall I say thou art, when thou canst not be named? What shall
I speak of thee, when in speaking of thee, I speak nothing but contradiction?
For if I say I see thee, it is nothing but thy seeing of thy self; for there
is nothing in me capable of seeing thee but thy self. If I say I know thee,
that is no other but the knowledge of thy self; for I am rather known of thee, than know thee. If I say I love thee, it is nothing so, for there is nothing
in me can love thee but thy self; and therefore thou dost but love thy self.
My seeking of thee is no other but thy seeking of thy self. My delighting
enjoying thee, is no other but thy delighting in thy self, and enjoying of thy
self after a most unconceivable manner.
. . . thou being the life and substance of all creatures, they speak and
move, yea, live in thee; and whatever any creature is, it is that as it is in
thee . . . Lord, whither shall I go from thy presence? For it is thy presence
and being that is the substance and being of all creatures and things, and
fills heaven and earth and all other places . . . Nay, I see that God is in
all creatures, man and beast, fish and fowl, and every green thing from the
highest cedar to the ivy on the wall; and that God is the life and being of
them all, and that God doth really dwell, and (if you will) personally (if he
may admit so low an expression) in them all, and hath his being no where else
out of the creatures . . .
Did men see that God was in them, and framing all their thoughts and
working all their works, and that he was with them in all conditions: what
carnal spirit would reach out to that by an outward way, which spiritually is
in him, and which he stands really possessed of, and which divine wisdom sees
the best, and that things can be no otherwise with him? . . . [Formerly I]
thought that my sins or holy walking did cause [God] to alter his purpose of
good or evil to me, but now I cannot look upon any condition or action, but
methinks there appears a sweet concurrence of the supreme will in it. Nothing
comes short of it, or goes beyond it, nor any man shall do or be any thing but
what shall fall in a sweet compliance with it; it being the womb wherein all
things are conceived, and in which all creatures were formed and brought
forth.
. . . As all things were let out of God, so shall they all give up their
being, life, and happiness unto God again . . . Though the clothing dissolve
and come to nothing, yet the inward man still lives; though the shadow dies,
yet the soul or substance, which is God, lives to all eternity. Further, to
me it is clear that there is nothing that partakes of the divine nature, or is
of God, but it is God. The reason is because there are no distinctions in
God, he being one individed [sic] essence . . . I cannot see . . . that [God]
is capable of any degrees of more or less, or that he loves one man more than
another, or hates one man more than another . . . I cannot see that there is
love and hatred in God, or any such passions. That which admits of degrees is
not perfect. . . . And God loves the being of all creatures; yea, all men are
alike to him, and have received lively impressions of the divine nature,
thought they be not so gloriously and purely manifested in some as in others;
some live in the light side of God, and some in the dark side. But in respect
of God, light and darkness are all one to him, for there is nothing contrary
to God, but only to our apprehension . . . I do not apprehend that God was
only manifest in the flesh of Christ, or the man called Christ; but that he as
really and substantially dwells in the flesh of other men and creatures, as
well as in the man Christ.
II. Concerning Heaven
. . . then men are in heaven, or heaven in men, when God appears in his
glorious and pure manifestations of himself, in Love and Grace, in Peace and
rest in the Spirit . . .
. . . I find that where God dwells, and is come, and hath taken men up, and
wrapped them up into the Spirit, there is a new heaven and a new earth, and
all the heaven I look ever to enjoy is to have my earthly and dark
apprehensions of God to cease, and to live no other life than what Christ
spiritually lives in me.
III. Concerning Sin
. . . though men act in darkness, yet God is there veiling his glory, and
so they must needs sin; for sin is properly the dark side of God which is a
mere privation of light. Further, we must consider that God gives not any law
or rule out of himself, or beyond his own glory . . . sin itself doth as well
fall in compliance with the glory of God, as well as that which we call grace
and goodness; for sin abounds that grace may abound much more . . .
And whereas some may say, "Then men may live as they list, because God is
the same, and all tends to his glory, if we sin or if we do well." I answer
them in the words of the Apostle: "Men should not sin because grace abounds;
but yet if they do sin, that shall turn to the praise of God, as well as when
they do well." And so the wrath of man praises God as well as his love and
meekness, and God [is] glorified in the one as well as the other. And however
this may seem to countenance that God is the author of sin, and wills sin, yet
to me it is plain that there is nothing that hath being but God, and sin being
a nullity, God cannot be he author of it, and so [it] falls not within the
decree of God . . .
Further, I see that the reason why we call some men wicked and some godly
is not anything in the men, but as the divine being appears more gloriously in
one than in another. So we say the one is a saint and godly, and the other is
wicked and profane, and yet the one acts as he is carried forth by the supreme
power, and so doth the other. And if there be any difference it is not in
respect if the creature, of what it is or doth, for the same divine being is
in the other as well as the other, but only it doth not manifest itself in the
one as the other . . .
[God's] will is his power, and his power is his will; and by the self same
act that he wills things, by the self same act he doth things. And it is our
weakness otherwise to apprehend, for God being one and entire, admitting of no
distinction or division in himself, he admits of no variations, but all things
are as that supreme will acts and brings them forth. And I see according to
the counsel of his will; they did no more that crucified Christ, than they
that did embrace him.
These things I write, not to countenance any unseemly act or evil in any
man . . .
IV. Concerning Hell
I was continually suffering the torment of hell, and tossed up and down,
being condemned of myself . . . And this is that I found til God appeared
spiritually, and showed me that he was all the glory and happiness himself,
and that flesh was nothing . . . God . . . brought me into the glorious
liberty of the Sons of God, whereas I was before in bondage to sin, law, an
accusing conscience (which is hell) . . .
[The soul] came immediately from God, and is no other but of God, and if I
may say further without offence, it is God; for that which is of God is God,
because God cannot be divided . . . How this soul, as men speak of, should be
impure and sinful, I know not, for how flesh should defile a spirit I cannot
imagine . . .
The truth is, there is nothing lives to all eternity but God; everything
below God perisheth and comes to nothing. And as all things had their
subsistence and being in God, before they were ever manifested in the world of
creatures, so in the end whatsoever is of God, or God in the world, at the end
of it they shall all be wrapped up into God again. And so as God from all
eternity lived in himself, and all things in him, so when he shall cease to
live in flesh and creatures, he will then live in himself unto all eternity,
and will gloriously triumph over sin, hell, and death. And all creatures
shall give up their power and glory unto God, back again from whence it
originally came, and so God shall be all.
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Primary Sources
Frieda and the Gambit:
Here are two letters from Grady McMurtry to Aleister Crowley, written in 1945 e.v., set in the time of wind-up of WWII in Europe. Grady mentions problems with Frieda Harris, a letter to Frederic Mellinger, rotation out of Germany and Chess. Koestler's "The Yogi and the Commissar" makes a brief round trip.
| | 729th Air Materiel Sqdn
487th Air Service Group
APO 149, % PM, NY, NY
1 July 1945
Germany
|
| Dear Aleister,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law!
Got your "The Yogi and the Commissar" of the other day. You should be
receiving it soon. Frieda and I had a few words as she refused to mail it to
you. She wasn't doing me any favors; I though she was a friend of yours.
Being an American Serviceman I couldn't mail it through an English post office
and the Red Cross doesn't accept parcels, so I had to bring it with me and
mail it from over here.
I have written to Frederic and hope to hear from him soon. Have gotten to
work on that book and have it about half done. It should be ready in a week
or so, depending on how many trips on Army business I have to make, of course.
Note change of address. Same outfit -- just new name.
Love is the law, love under will. |
-oOo-
| | 1930th Ord. Amunition Co. (Avn)
APO 744, U. S. Army
20 July 1945
France
|
| Dear Aleister,
This will let you know that I have yet another change of address and also that
I probably will not be seeing you for some time. Unless you come to the
States within a year or so, of course. I do not expect to be back there until
then myself. Pulling me out of Germany at this time was sad indeed --
considering that I was about the only man in the company who could speak
German well enough to get around. Actually I didn't mind that so much as I
did the anticipated "Battle of Prague". I think I mentioned taking liberty
run convoys into Pilsen -- while there I met certain delightful young things
who had come over into the American zone to visit Pilson for purposes of
dancing -- it being impossible to dance in Prague for some reason. Now I read
in the Stars & Stripes that the Russians are evacuating that city -- so here I
am far back in la belle France wondering what to do with these addresses in my
little black book! We will now recite three verses of "The City of Dreadful
Night".
There doesn't seem to be much chance of playing chess around here but at my
last station I was the unofficial champion of an impromptu club. I was
beating all comers with regularity, anyway. I seem to be able to make a
powerful offensive with a modification of that Danish gambit you demonstrated.
Allowing the pawn to become well developed before administering what we call
in American football "The Mousetrap", with the bishops doubled and the knights
playing merry hell with the castled king. Speaking of football -- I've used
another expression they commonly employ "the line-drive play" in this bit of
verse. Somehow I seem to be stuck with that particular form. Like a cracked
record grinding out the same old tune.
Trust that the "Yogi" has arrived by now. Has Frieda mentioned my having her
Rabelais? if so tell her to keep her shirt on as I will sent it as soon as I
have finished reading it. Don't be surprised if there is some delay in my
answering your next letter as I may not receive it for some time,
Yours ever, |
Previous Primary Sources Next Primary Sources
Thelema Lodge Events Calendar for January 2002 e.v.
| 1/1/02 | | Vulgar New Year 2002 | | | | |
| 1/6/02 | Gnostic Mass 7:30PM Horus Temple | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/13/02 | Gnostic Mass 7:30PM Horus Temple | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/18/02 | Poetry Reading Group in Horus Temple
8:00 PM | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/19/02 | Sol enters Aquarius 10:02 PM |
| 1/20/02 | Gnostic Mass 7:30PM Horus Temple | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/21/02 | Section II reading group with
Caitlin: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord
of the Rings 8PM in the library | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/24/02 | The Book of Thoth reading group
8:00PM library | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/27/02 | Gnostic Mass 7:30PM Horus Temple | (510) 652-3171 | Thelema Ldg. |
| 1/28/02 | Full Moon in Leo 2:50 PM |
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)
Internet: heidrick@well.com (Submissions and internet circulation only)