Oath

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"An oath is essentially a conditional self-imprecation, a curse by which a person calls down upon himself some evil in the event of what he says not being true. The efficacy of the oath is originally entirely magical, it is due to the magic power inherent in the cursing words."

—Westermarck quoted by Crawley in [1]

Contents

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Crowley on Oaths

Aleister Crowley wrote about magical oaths in Book 4, Part II, Chapter 6, on the Wand:

"The Magick Wand is thus the principle weapon of the Magus; and the name of the wand is the Magical Oath."

and

"Word should express will: hence the Mystic Name of the Probationer is the expression of his highest Will.
"There are, of course, few Probationers who understand themselves sufficiently to be able to formulate this will to themselves, and therefore at the end of their probation they choose a new name.
"It is convenient therefore for the student to express his will by taking Magical Oaths."

Somewhat later, he continues:

"A real Magical Oath cannot be broken: you think it can, but it can't.
"This is the advantage of a real Magical Oath."

and

"It cannot be too clearly understood that such is the nature of things: it does not depend upon the will of any persons, however powerful or exalted; nor can Their force, the force of Their great oaths, avail against the weakest oath of the most trivial of beginners.
"The attempt to interfere with the Magical Will of another person would be wicked, if it were not absurd."
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Oaths in Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis

Ordo Templi Orientis as originally conceived by Theodor Reuss was structured with a degree system derived from Freemasonry. Similarly, the initiations contained oaths derived from those in the initiation rituals of Freemasonry.

From the beginning of Aleister Crowley's leadership of O.T.O. in England, Crowley presented it as a form of Freemasonry, but with himself as the head. In "Aleister Crowley: freemason!" [2], Martin Starr wrote:

"It could be argued that in the absence of Yarker, Crowley wasn't greatly interested in Freemasonry per se, but found its forms and methods useful for his own purposes, as has been true for many other organizers of esoteric societies. But in the Ordo Templi Orientis Crowley claimed for himself an authority unimaginable in Regular Freemasonry, even though Reuss was its nominal head, and he continued to develop the work of this Order without let or hindrance during his American period (1914-1919). Believing that he had 'discovered' the Lost Word of the Master Mason's Degree as well as the correct spelling of the word of the Holy Royal Arch, Crowley had its candidates swear to acknowledge him as 'the sole and supreme authority in Freemasonry" without fear of contradiction, though it is only with difficulty that one would imagine Reuss consenting to the wording."

In the United States, the Freemasons discovered that the first three degrees of Ordo Templi Orientis were substantially the same as the first three degrees of Freemasonry (commonly called the Blue Lodge degrees), and Crowley had to rewrite these initiation rituals so as not to come into conflict with the Freemasons. In his preface to the re-written rituals, he writes:

"Whereas the Institution of Free Masonry has fallen to complete and deserved contempt among all men but especially among true Masons, and whereas the traditional knowledge which it was designed to guard has been lost, degenerated, prostituted, or exploited, and whereas especially in America, the Institution serves as little else but a cloak for the operations of various gangs of swindlers, be it resolved by Us, the authorized representatives of its highest degrees and the faithful depositories of its ancient secrets that the present machinery for communicating its secrets, be declared obsolete and the work of all who may unlawfully attempt to usurp Our authority be declared void and of no effect. Be it further resolved that Our own powers be, during the period of reconstruction, concentrated in a single dictator. Be it further resolved that the whole symbolism of Free Masonry, and its name, be disused, that the true traditional knowledge be communicated in hieroglyphs unmistakably significant, although with the proper guards, in Rituals of first rate literary and dramatic merit, and so constructed that they shall require neither a gathering of many men nor expensive elaborations for their operation. These rituals, herewith submitted, are offered, subject to modifications made by the author in such sense as the Council may deem necessary, as illustrations of the proposed work up to the Third Degree. It may be added in explanation, that the Minerval Degree represents the attraction of a wandering God, or "Ego", within the Solar System -- that the Fourth Degree, of which the Ritual is not yet complete, represents the glorified state of the initiated Man -- and the Degree of Perfect Initiate, which closes the series, His ultimate Perfection. The Degrees from the Fifth to the Ninth are comments upon the Second, a progressive instruction in how to live." [3]

However, the oaths taken in all the degrees of Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis remain primarily derivitive of Masonic oaths, having the same or similar penalties, as described in the Metareligion article on Masonry:

"There has also been much controversy surrounding the bloody language of Masonic oaths. The penalties for telling Masonic secrets include tearing one's tongue out by the roots, plucking one's heart from its breast, and having one's body cut in two with the entrails burned to ashes. This language has spawned much anti-Masonic sentiment."

The Oaths themselves are presented here on separate pages so that those who do not wish to read them are not exposed to them in this article. It should be noted that these oaths date from the time of Crowley, and no assumption should be made that they are identical with or even similar to those currently in use within Ordo Templi Orientis, Inc.

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Hymenaeus Alpha on quoting from King's Secret Rituals

Hymenaeus Alpha, Past Grand Master of O.T.O., Inc., clearly stated that it is permissible to quote from Francis King's Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. and did so himself, as is shown by the following quote:

"When Francis King published The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O., I was so offended that at first I refused to have a copy. Later I would obtain one for research purposes. In this instance, it serves a purpose. When you take an initiatory degree, you take oaths not to reveal certain information that has been passed on to you. Ordinarily I could not discuss this. However I can quote from a book that has been published, and on page 44 of F. King's Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. he quotes from the Minerval ceremony: '. . . and if I break this oath . . . and betray the bread and salt, may the dogs devour my carcass: may I be mutilated and no more a man!' (italics mine)."—Hymenaeus Alpha
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References

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