Fraternitas Saturni
One man’s religion is another man’s cult
Origin
Fraternitas Saturni (lat.: "Brotherhood of Saturn") is a German magical order, founded in 1926 by Eugen Grosche a.k.a. Gregor A. Gregorius and four others. It is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany.[1] The lodge is, as Gregorius states, "concerned with the study of esotericism, mysticism, and magic in the cosmic sense".[2] The FS adopts a system of degrees, ending with the 33rd as highest degree to reach this goal. The lodge claims further no political or economical objectives. It propagates ideals of freedom, tolerance and fraternity.[3]
The Fraternitas Saturni is essentially Thelemic, in that the order accept the Law of Thelema.
Note: Law of Thelema is a from book by Aleister Crowley from the Ordo Templi Orientisu religion.
The Father of Fraternitas Saturni
An influential occult group in Germany before World War II, headed by Albin Grau as grand master, accepting much of the teachings of Aleister Crowley.The group was disbanded by the Nazis in 1933 but reorganized in 1945.
A German ritual magic group the Fraternitas Saturni grew out of the spread of Crowley's ideas in Germany in the 1920s among members of the Grand Pansophical Lodge, a Masonic occult order.
Satanism Connection
One offshoot from Crowley’s crowd was the German group Fraternitas Saturni in 1926. Its founder Gregor A. Gregorius wrote Satanische Magie, which borrowed heavily from the Romantics and adopted Satan within the group’s astrological system. Fraternitas Saturni still exists and Gregorius’ writing has been used in Satanist practice.
Teutonic Magick
Teutonic Magick is as vast as the northern sky and as deep as the shrouded northern mists. Many of the most powerful forms of magick in the West were developed to an early perfection by Teutonic magicians—Albertus Magnus, Agrippa, Paracelsus— some were even elevated to the level of legend, such as Faustus.
The world of Teutonic Magick is full of truly secret, some sinister, corners as well. Many of these—like so much else that we believe to be sinister—are thus characterized simply because they are unknown and perhaps also misunderstood. There are whole realms of Teutonic Magick that have largely been kept truly secret until the latter part of this century.
GOTOS
Because of his chauvinistic attitudes towards women, Eugen Grosche was never able to find his soul-mate in the physical world, but using his occult arts and knowledge, assumed the form of 'GOTOS' an égregore or group-spirit. GOTOS was also called 'UTUIT', which was supposed to mean 'OTO-it' (a sort of activated form); it was also the highest rank in the FS (from 'Gradus Ordo Templi Orientis Saturni'), and the égregore was created as an astral body by the joint efforts of all FS members, using a specially created head-and-shoulders statue or bust to help their efforts. By this means, Grosche hoped that after his death, in the form of GOTOS's astral body, he could at last be united with his soul-mate - and thereby reach an androgynous state on a higher plane. This group-spirit was supposed to have some femimine characteristics, but the only feminine aspect of GOTOS was the mediumship used to obtain the design of its statue. Representing an égregore as a bust or head recalls the literary traditions of statues coming to life; or else the tale of Salomé, who desired John the Baptist's head on a platter - perhaps to gain his powers of prophecy.
So the central concept in FS lodges is that of the lodge égregore, and its powers of re-animation. The classic prototype for such an idea is that of Baphomet, the supposed idol of the Knights Templar, who was (as the Roman Emperor) likewise worshipped in the form of a head. It has been claimed that Baphomet was invoked with the first sura of the Qur'an, and dismissed with the twenty-fourth chapter of the apocryphal Book of Sirach.
O.T.O. groups have all made use of the idea of Baphomet - but in the Saturn lodges it has been given a different emphasis, and far greater value than in the other versions of the O.T.O.
Source Archve
Writings
The Fraternitas Saturni (FS) is not only the most important secret magical lodge of twentieth-century Germany, but one of the most important of all modern magical lodges. The sheer volume of occult texts produced by its masters and leading members surpasses nearly everything written by other magical groups.
The order journal of the FS, the Blätter für ange- wandte okkulte Lebenskunst ("Papers for an Applied Occult Art of Life", 1950-63; henceforth BaoL), comprising 3,600 large-format pages, without doubt rivals in size Aleister Crowley's original ten volumes of The Equinox (1909-13).
'The BaoL are not the only study materials published by the FS. There is a further impThe BaoL are not the only study materials published by the FS. There is a further imposing corpus of magical teachings, theoretical tracts and practical exercises. This includes five beautifully designed folio volumes of Saturngnosis (1928–30), fourteen volumes of lodge school lectures from the late 1920s, and periodicals such as Vita Gnosis, Saturn Gnosis and Magischer Weg (“Magical Path”). There are also five special editions of magical documents from the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, as well as newsletters from individual Saturnian offshoots. Particularly impressive is the fifteen-part Documenta et Ritualia Fraternitatis Saturni (1975–7), collected and published by Adolf Hemberger in seventeen hectographed A4-size volumes. Despite some questions regarding their authenticity, these chronicle the vigorous inner life of the order with its organizational structures and magical workings. Finally there are the many books of the FS Grand Master Eugen Grosche (1888–1964, order name Gregor A. Gregorius) and Karl Spiesberger (1904–92, order name Fra[ter] Eratus).
…the FS seems to embrace a wider variety of esoteric approaches, at least in theory. Yet it has not even had much influence in Germany, and has attracted almost no international interest. One reason is its strongly anti-bourgeois orientation; another, the simple fact that very few original FS texts have been translated into English.
Grosche had been circulating important typewritten essays to the members from 1948 to 1950, and soon the FS was fully operational. In April 1950 there appeared the first issue of the long-running monthly lodge journal, the Blätter für angewandte okkulte Lebenskunst. The journal primarily conveyed the theoretical teachings of the FS, but also included a considerable amount of basic practical information. As with previous FS publications, a sober tone prevailed. Authors usually signed articles with their order names. There were also guest contributors, such as the Viennese esoteric researcher Lambert Binder and the English occultist Kenneth Grant. The journal, printed in an edition of 200 copies, covered a very wide spectrum of topics ranging from magic, astrology and Kabbalah to the Mithraic mysteries, from gnosis to folk beliefs. During the 1950s the FS was the only magical lodge in the world with a significant membership (around 100) to maintain a monthly journal.
On 18 March 1957 (the anniversary of the death of the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar) the FS declared itself the “Grand Lodge of the Fraternitas Saturni in Berlin” and was officially registered under this title.
In 1960 Grosche published a work that is somewhat shrouded in mystery. Entitled Exorial – Der Roman eines dämonischen Wesens (Exorial – the Novel of a Demonic Entity), it appeared in a private edition of 333 with each copy numbered and signed by Grosche himself. All of this seems to confirm the importance of the book, which – according to entirely plausible statements by Gregorius – was based on actual events. The “demonic entity” in question was alleged to have had such a strong effect on the imagination of several lodge members that it caused intense states of possession. As a consequence, under the direction of Gregorius, masters had to “magically banish” the entity to prevent further damage to the lodge.
33 Degrees
The organizational structure of the FS is a 33-degree system which is adapted from the AASR (Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite) and Droit Humain.
The preliminary or Vorhof degrees span from the 0° through the 11°. Degrees 1 through 7 correspond to the Masonic degree of Enterered Apprentice; 8° through 11° to that of Fellow Craft. Only upon attaining the 12°, Gradus Solis (which corresponds to the Master Mason degree of Freemasonry), is one considered a true member of the FS with a right to vote. The “Rosicrucian” section of degrees 12 through 20, which is further divided into three parts, is only so named for traditional reasons, since the FS is not a Rosicrucian organization. The following higher degrees and the Sanctuarium Gnosis of the 31° to the 33° are purely honorary and conferred as accolades. The Lodge Demon is the spiritual head of the lodge and is identified with the holder of the 33°, the Gradus Ordinis Templi Orientis Saturni, or GOTOS. The GOTOS is considered to be an egregore (a “subtle” entity consciously created by magical methods) existing in the spheres of Saturn; it is sustained through the power of the magical chain of the brothers (including sex magic), which the GOTOS magnetically attracts to himself. This GOTOS was compared to the “lodge demon” Baphomet of the Temple Order.
Teachings
The teachings of the FS are held together by an overriding spiritual conception. This is the “mythology” of Saturn based upon astrological teachings and the glacial cosmology of Hanns Hörbiger (1860–1931), in which fire meets ice, moons crash down onto the planets, and the cosmos exists as an eternal battle of opposites. At the beginning of time, darkness was a more powerful primordial element, but the light was contained within it. In order for the light to begin to glow, a Logos was required. In our planetary system it was the Logos of the sun (Chrestos) that brought light and, along with it, life. But the great angel Lucifer, who originally sat at the side of God, grabbed the torch of light and as Light-bringer (Lucifer), and thus the bearer of divine secrets, adjourned to the farthest reaches of the spheres. His planetary form is therefore Saturn, which in ancient cosmology lies farthest from the sun. Lucifer represents Saturn's “higher octaves”: “The sun is the centre out of which radiates the entire secret of life. Saturn is the periphery, the border of time and space” (Protagoras 1962). Saturn is the place where the last light passes over into darkness. He is therefore considered the Guardian of the Threshold who opens the door to transcendence and salvation, and who guards the realm of the dead, but definitely not the realm of “Evil”. Saturn is also the great judge with sword and scales, entrusted with weights, measures and numbers.
Because light and dark, existing as polar opposites, are always at war with one another, Lucifer battles with the principle of Chrestos. This is also how death came into the world. The primary battlefield is our Earth, which beside its physical plane has a negative–astral dimension and a positive–mental sphere. The planets closest to the sun, such as Venus and Mercury, are on the side of the Chrestos principle, while those situated on the “other” side of the Earth, such as Mars, are the servants of the Saturn principle. In the same way that Lucifer represents the “higher octaves” of Saturn, Satan represents his “lower octaves”.
Thus the negative Luciferian principle is not only of divine origin, but as an element of balance it is just as necessary as the Chrestos principle. For people who have a spiritual understanding of him, Lucifer, the great Light-bearer for mankind, who of his own will shattered the egocentric power of the sun's Logos, can function just as well as a figure of salvation as does the Chrestos principle of the sun … God has a bright and a dark face. (Gregorius 1953a: 6)
For the human being, the path from Saturn to the Sun corresponds to overcoming the five great obstacles: jealousy, hate, laziness, doubt and inconstancy. These must gradually be repolarized into longing, love, energy, faith and perseverance, in an admittedly difficult path that takes many years (Gregorius 1952b: 6). “To follow a cult of Saturn thus means to comprehend the higher octaves of this demiurge, to recognize the Luciferian principle as a divine spiritual power, and to organize this consciously in the service of the sun's Logos” (Gregorius 1953a: 6).
Insights
Stephen Flowers, in his book on the German magical order Fraternitas Saturni, (FS) says that “the FS is (or was) the most unabashedly Luciferian organization in the modern Western occult revival”. It is also reported that the Fraternitas Saturni holds the view that:
Saturn-Gnosis
≫ In the Saturn-Gnosis the planet and archetype of Saturnus is the focal point for the manifestation of the Demiurge. This Demiurge is identified with Lucifer— the Bearer of Light—as the higher octave of Saturn. In this capacity it is the “Guardian of the Threshold” to higher initiation and being.
≫ According to secret FS teachings, Saturnus is the Great Judge that manifests justice; he also brings reason and intelligence, and governs all standards of weights, measurements, and number. He is the Lord of the Seven Dwellings (= planetary genii of the outer realm), and governor of the revealed world and lord over life and death, and over the light and darkness. Saturnus is seen as the breaker of cosmic order and unity—thus he instituted death, causing regeneration and change to come into being. One of the ways in which he broke the cosmic order was in the revelation of divine secrets to mankind. For this he was punished.
≫ Thus in many ways Saturnus is identical with Prometheus of Greek tradition, and is certainly to be identified as well with the Serpent of Paradise.
≫ This Demiurge Saturnus is identified with the number 666. He is the Beast 666, manifest in the Man (or Men) 666, and in the Living Center of the Sun—Sorath 666.
Feeding thru negative Energy: Black Sun The invisible War: You are inside and playing an important part. Symbol of cubes show dominance over 3D and 4D. (tesseract) Jesus is coming in 5D and beyond.
Symbolism
Closing
This religion was limited to mostly Germany in terms of membership, but their mass of written texts are still used this day globally in Satanic Rituals.