Ordo Templi Orientis
From Free Encyclopedia of Thelema
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) can be translated as Order of Oriental Templars, or Order of the Temple of the East. It is a secret, fraternal organization similar to that of Freemasonry, with a series of graded initations. For its teachings and principles of organization, it has accepted the Law of Thelema, which is expressed as “Do what thou wilt.” Thelemites believe that this Law was established with the writing of the Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley in 1904 in Cairo, Egypt.
Contents |
History
The Beginnings
The founding of Ordo Templi Orientis began with a wealthy paper chemist, Carl Kellner (1851-1905). A student of the occult and familiar with several modern secret organizations, he had come to believe that he had discovered a “Key” to the symbolism of Freemasonry and to the Mysteries of Nature itself. He then aspired to create an Academia Masonica that would unifiy the various systems of Masonry. Kellner, along with an associate, Theodor Reuss (1855-1923), decided to call it the Oriental Templar Order. In 1902, Reuss, along with Franz Hartmann and Henry Klein, purchased the right to perform the Scottish, Memphis and Mizraim rites of Freemasonry, the authority of which was confirmed in 1904 and again in 1905. These rites, along with the Swedenborgian Rite, formed the core of the newly established Order. When Kellner died in 1905, Reuss assumed full control, becoming the first Outer Head of the Order.
O.T.O. and Aleister Crowley
Reuss met Aleister Crowley and in 1910 admitted him to the three degrees of O.T.O. Only two years later, Crowley was placed in charge of Great Britain and Ireland, and was advanced to the X°. The appointment included the operation of the Masonic degrees of O.T.O., which were called Mysteria Mystica Maxima. Within the year Crowley had written the Manifesto of the M.'.M.'.M.'. which described the basic ten-degree system—which was still principally Masonic—with Kellner’s three degree Academia Masonica forming the VII°, VIII° and IX°.
In 1913, Crowley composed the Gnostic Mass while in Moscow, which he described as being the Order’s “central ceremony of its public and private celebration.” In 1914, soon after World War I broke out, he moved to America. It was around this time that he decided to integrate Thelema into the O.T.O. system, and in 1915 had revised rituals prepared for use in his M.'.M.'.M.'.. He revised them again in 1918, and in so doing reduced the rituals' ties to Masonry.
Crowley wrote that Theodor Reuss suffered a stroke in the Spring of 1920. In correspondence with one of his officers, Crowley expressed doubts about Reuss's competence to remain in office. Relations between Reuss and Crowley began to deteriorate. In a letter to H. Spencer Lewis, Reuss claimed that Crowley had been expelled from the Order and forbidden to use its name on October 25, 1921. Crowley never acknowledged receiving an expulsion notice from Reuss, although the two exchanged angry letters in November of 1921. Crowley informed Reuss that he was availing himself of Reuss's abdication from office and proclaiming himself the Outer Head of the Order. Reuss died on October 28, 1923. Crowley claimed in later correspondence that Reuss had designated him as his successor.
In 1933, Agape Lodge #2 was formed in Los Angeles, California under the leadership of Wilfred Talbot Smith (1885-1957). He and Regina Kahl celebrated the first public performance of the Gnostic Mass. Smith was advanced to the X° for the U.S. in 1935. Soon after, the Lodge moved to Pasadena where it was run by Jack Parsons (1914-1952), a founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
During WWII, the European branches of O.T.O. were either destroyed or driven underground. By the end of the war, the only surviving O.T.O. body was Agapé Lodge in California, although there were various initiates in different countries. Very few initiations were being performed. At this time, Karl Germer, who had been Crowley’s representative in Germany, came over to America after being released from Nazi confinement. In 1942, Crowley appointed him as his successor as OHO.
In that same year, Crowley personally conferred the IX° to Grady McMurtry (1918-1985), a member of Agapé Lodge. It was then that he assumed his new Magical Name, Hymenaeus Alpha. In 1946, McMurtry was entrusted with documents of emergency authorization to operate O.T.O. within California (the location of the only operational Lodge), along with the appointment of being Crowley’s personal representative within the U.S., second only to Germer.
O.T.O. after Crowley
Crowley died on December 1, 1947 and Karl Germer became OHO. He served from 1947 until his death in 1962. During his time as OHO, O.T.O. activity came to a standstill, with no new initiations being performed. An O.T.O. camp was chartered in England to Kenneth Grant, but he was expelled in 1955 for modifying the initiation rituals and claiming that the body was under joint leadership with another organization, Fraternitas Saturni.
Germer died in 1962 without naming a successor. It was not until 1969 that anyone stepped into the void when Grady McMurtry invoked his emergency authorization from Crowley and assumed the title of Caliph. He began performing initiations in 1970. Ordo Templi Orientis, Inc. was incorporated under the laws of the State of California on March 26th, 1979. The corporation attained Federal Tax exemption as a religious entity under IRS Code 501(c)3 in 1982. Grady McMurtry died in 1985, having successfully saved the O.T.O. from extinction.
McMurtry requested that members of the Sovereign Sanctuary (members of the Ninth Degree) elect the next Outer Head of the Order, which they did in 1985. Frater Hymenaeus Beta was elected to become the next OHO and he continues in that office today. In 1996, Sabazius X° was appointed as National Grand Master General for the U.S. Grand Lodge. Since McMurtry's time, O.T.O., Inc. has greatly expanded its publishing activities, initiated thousands of men and women into its ranks, and become an international organization with groups in dozens of countries around the world.
Schisms in the Thelemic community
Several competing factions currently claim to be the legitmate heirs to Aleister Crowley. After McMurtry revived O.T.O. in California, three others came forward to claim the title of OHO. Hermann Metzger had been a member of the early Swiss O.T.O. under Reuss. However, his claims were ignored by everyone outside of his country and he never pressed the issue. He died in 1990.
The other two were Kenneth Grant and Marcelo Ramos Motta. Grant had been expelled from O.T.O. in 1955 by Germer, but claims that Germer was never the legitimate OHO, and therefore the expulsion was void. He went on to found the organization known as the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis, which still claims a devoted following. Motta was never initiated into O.T.O. at all, but claimed that Germer’s wife, Sasha, told him that Karl’s last words stated that Motta was “the follower.” He sued for ownership of Crowley’s copyrights, which were denied to him by the U.S. District Court in Maine. Motta died in 1987, although various small groups calling themselves Society O.T.O. (S.O.T.O.) continue to exist. Both of these groups are quite different in structure and teachings from Crowley's O.T.O.
Historical Documents of O.T.O.
Teachings
The teachings of O.T.O. include:
