Ordo Templi Orientisu
Aleister Crowley made this movement mainstream
Origin
The early history of O.T.O. is difficult to trace reliably. It originated in Germany or Austria between 1895 and 1906. Its apparent founder was Carl Kellner (1851–1905) (probably with the German spelling Karl), a wealthy Austrian industrialist, in 1895 (although nothing verifiable is known of the Order until 1904). Kellner wanted to establish an Academia Masonica within which high-grade Freemasonic degrees could be conferred in German-speaking nations.
Theodor Reuss (1855–1923) collaborated with Kellner in creating O.T.O. and succeeded him as head of O.T.O. after Kellner's death. Under Reuss, charters were given to occult brotherhoods in France, Denmark, Switzerland, the United States, and Austria. There were ten degrees, of which the first five were Masonic.
The letters O.T.O. stand for Ordo Templi Orientis, the Order of Oriental Templars, or Order of the Temple of the East. O.T.O. is dedicated to the high purpose of securing the Liberty of the Individual and his or her advancement in Light, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, and Power through Beauty, Courage, and Wit, on the Foundation of Universal Brotherhood.
Ordo Templi Orientis is the first of the great Old Æon orders to accept The Book of the Law, received by Aleister Crowley in 1904 EV. This book proclaims a New Æon in human thought, culture and religion. The Æon arises from a single supreme injunction: the Law of Thelema, which is Do what thou wilt.
Although officially founded at the beginning of the 20th century e.v., O.T.O. represents a surfacing and confluence of the divergent streams of esoteric wisdom and knowledge which were originally divided and driven underground by political and religious intolerance during the dark ages. It draws from the traditions of the Freemasonic, Rosicrucian and Illuminist movements of the 18th and 19th centuries, the crusading Knights Templars of the middle ages and early Christian Gnosticism and the Pagan Mystery Schools. Its symbolism contains a reunification of the hidden traditions of the East and the West, and its resolution of these traditions has enabled it to recognize the true value of Aleister Crowley’s revelation of The Book of the Law
Full History: https://oto-usa.org/oto/history/ Archive
Transition to Aleister Crowley
In 1925, during a tumultuous Conference of Grand Masters, Crowley was officially elected as Outer Head of the Order (or O.H.O.) by the remaining administrative heads of O.T.O.
During this period, O.T.O. members outside of the USA rarely came into contact with one another.:
I am arranging to send you the official papers connected to the O.T.O. but the idea that you should meet other members first is quite impossible. Even after affiliation, you would not meet anyone unless it were necessary for you to work in cooperation with them. I am afraid you have still got the idea that the Great Work is a tea party. Contact with other students only means that you criticize their hats, and then their morals; and I am not going to encourage this. Your work is not anybody else’s, and undirected chatter is the worst poisonous element in a humane society.
— Aleister Crowley in Magick Without Tears
Since the total membership of O.T.O. at that time was counted in the dozens rather than in hundreds or thousands, this may simply have been Crowley's attempt at disguising the low numbers.
Revitilization
The order languished and could easily have dissolved. However, in 1969 Grady McMurtry, a member residing in the San Francisco Bay area, began to reorganize the OTO. McMurtry had been given a document by Crowley containing broad emergency measures. Through the 1970s and until his death in 1985, McMurtry rebuilt the order (assisted by the publication of many of Crowley's books), and by the time of his death there were lodges across the United States and in a number of foreign countries.
Mission Statement
Ordo Templi Orientis U.S.A. is the U.S. Grand Lodge (National Section) of Ordo Templi Orientis, a hierarchical, religious membership organization. Our mission is to effect and promote the doctrines and practices of the philosophical and religious system known as Thelema, with particular emphasis on cultivating the ideals of individual liberty, self-discipline, self-knowledge, and universal brotherhood. To this end, we conduct sacramental and initiatory rites, offer guidance and instruction to our members, organize social events, and engage in educational and community service activities at locations throughout the United States.
Core Tenets of Thelema
The theology of Thelema postulates all manifested existence arising from the interaction of two cosmic principles: the infinitely extended, all-pervading Space-Time Continuum; and the atomic, individually expressed Principle of Life and Wisdom. The interplay of these Principles gives rise to the Principle of Consciousness which governs existence. In the Book of the Law, the divine Principles are personified by a trinity of ancient Egyptian Divinities: Nuit, the Goddess of Infinite Space; Hadit, the Winged Serpent of Light; and Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Horus), the Solar, Hawk-Headed Lord of the Cosmos.
History is considered to be divided into a series of “Æons”, each with its own dominant concept of divinity and its own “formula” of redemption and advancement. The current Æon is termed the Æon of Horus.
According to Thelemic doctrine, the expression of Divine Law in the Æon of Horus is “Do what thou wilt”. This “Law of Thelema”, as it is called, is not to be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing whim, but rather as the divine mandate to discover one’s True Will or true purpose in life, and to accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways. The “acceptance” of the Law of Thelema is what defines a Thelemite; and the discovery and accomplishment of the True Will is the fundamental concern of all Thelemites. Achieving the “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel” is considered an integral part of this process. The methods and practices to be employed in this process are numerous and varied; and are grouped together under the generalized term “Magick”.
Not every Thelemite utilizes all the practices available, there is considerable room for each individual practitioner to choose practices which are suitable to his or her individual needs. Some of these practices are the same as, or similar to, the practices advocated by many of the great religions of the past and present; such as prayer, meditation, study of religious texts (those of Thelema and of other religions as well), chanting, symbolic and initiatory ritual, devotional exercises, self-discipline, etc. However, some of our practices have been traditionally associated with what has generally been known as “occultism”; i.e., astrology, divination, numerology, yoga, tantric alchemy, and discourse with “angels” or “spirits” are all taken by Thelemites as potentially effective means for obtaining spiritual insights into the nature of one’s being and one’s place in the universe; and for the fulfillment of such insights through harmonious, evolutionary works.
Satanism Connection
Hymn to Lucifer by Aleister Crowley
Ware, nor of good nor ill, what aim hath act?
Without its climax, death, what savour hath
Life? an impeccable machine, exact
He paces an inane and pointless path
To glut brute appetites, his sole content
How tedious were he fit to comprehend
Himself! More, this our noble element
Of fire in nature, love in spirit, unkenned
Life hath no spring, no axle, and no end.
His body a bloody-ruby radiant
With noble passion, sun-souled Lucifer
Swept through the dawn colossal, swift aslant
On Eden's imbecile perimeter.
He blessed nonentity with every curse
And spiced with sorrow the dull soul of sense,
Breathed life into the sterile universe,
With Love and Knowledge drove out innocence
The Key of Joy is disobedience.
Structure of OTO
The Man of Earth Triad
0°—Minerval
I°—Man & Brother
II°—Magician
III°—Master Magician
IV°—Perfect Magician & Companion of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch
P.I.—Perfect Initiate, or Prince of Jerusalem
Outside all Triads
Knight of the East & West
The Lover Triad
V°—
Sovereign Prince Rose-Croix, and Knight of the Pelican & Eagle
Knight of the Red Eagle, and Member of the Senate of Knight Hermetic Philosophers
VI°—
Illustrious Knight (Templar) of the Order of Kadosch, and Companion of the Holy Graal
Grand Inquisitor Commander, and Member of the Grand Tribunal
Prince of the Royal Secret
VII°—
Theoreticus, and Very Illustrious Sovereign Grand Inspector General
Magus of Light, and Bishop of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica
Grandmaster of Light, and Inspector of Rites & Degrees
The Hermit Triad
VIII°—
Perfect Pontiff of the Illuminati
Epopt of the Illuminati
IX°—Initiate of the Sanctuary of the Gnosis
X°—Rex Summus Sanctissimus
XI°—Initiate of the Eleventh Degree (This degree is technical, and has no relation to the general plan of the Order)
XII°—Frater Superior, and Outer Head of the Order
The Governing Bodies
International Headquarters
Presided over by the Outer Head of the Order XII° (O.H.O.—also known as Frater Superior)
Supreme Council
Revolutionaries
The Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis of the IX°
The Secret Areopagus of the Illuminati of the VIII°
The Grand Tribunal of the VI°
The National Grand Lodge
Presided over by the National Grand Master X°
Executive Council
The Supreme Grand Council
The Electoral College
The Process
I attended lectures on tarot, kabbalah, the so-called Western Esoteric Tradition, and Thelemic theory. The instructors were knowledgeable, funny and kind. Great people, really. I was happy to pay dues, and glad to feel like I was joining a community of people with similar, if not perfectly aligned, interests.
Months later I underwent my Minerval initiation. I diligently avoided reading up on it prior to, and the experience was appropriately spooky. We had a feast, some wine, and a chat about the wonderful things in store for the new initiates.
Our classes became more focused on Thelemic magical theory as the OTO sees it. The Gnostic Mass was presented as the OTO’s central rite — understand its symbolism was key to unlocking the secrets of magick itself.
It’s no secret that in the Gnostic Mass, this central rite, involves a (fully dressed) priest, a (usually naked) woman on the altar, a simulation of hetero sex initiated by the priest, and a simulation of fellatio performed by the priestess. There’s a lot more involved — more people, more symbolism, magick words, all that great stuff — but these two roles are fixed. A woman may never serve as the priest, and a man may never lay upon the altar.
Crowley repeatedly describes Thelema as a solar-phallic cult…
Membership Policies
Privacy: Membership in O.T.O. is private. Names and addresses of members are kept confidential from the general public and from the bulk of O.T.O. members. O.T.O. officers (including local body officers) are provided with information about members on a need-to-know basis. For example, a member wishing to attend an initiates-only event at a local body may have her membership status confirmed by Grand Lodge in response to a query by the local body master; similarly, Grand Lodge officers in the Treasury and newsletter offices will have access to the member information required to do their jobs.
Alleged Famous OTO Members
Locations
Globally
US Grand Lodge Locations
Symbolism
Closing
This movement is rapidly becoming Mainstream. But once you understand that Satanism is the worship of self above all others, you can see the Satanic roots of this religion.