The Sword of Horus

One more thing should be pointed out before we continue.  Although the majority of people who associate themselves and remain with the group are crass Inepts [as opposed to Adepts], it should be noted that some, especially those who eventually disassociate themselves with the group, a large number, are perhaps well-meaning, decent individuals, hoping that the pseudo-o.t.o. might be the genuine Ordo Templi Orientis, desperately seeking comradship in a lonely world that often seems magically bankrupt, often seeking this feeling of belonging much too desperately, while a few stubbornly believe that they can make the proverbial silk purse out of a sow's ear.  This does not make them "bad" people, but merely rather naive, perhaps a bit too idealistic, and/or somewhat misguided.  Then there are those, so to speak, "at the top".  Playing at being true Thelemites, Kings of the Earth, they are but rude little beggars who cannot hide their poverty - their intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy - from those that have eyes to see.

THE MAGICAL LINK, Vol. V, No. 2, March 1986 E.V.:  herein the readers are told that branches of their group called "Camps can be as simple as study groups and as complex as miniature Lodges."  That is to say, a good part of the organization is made up of one or a few people who sit around and talk about magick ... and that is the extent of it.

We are told that they, the "O.T.O. possesses the One True Book of Thelema, safe in a bank vault."  The reference is to the original manuscript copy of The Book of the Law.  Any thief could have obtained this, so it certainly does not make their claim to be the O.T.O. legitimate, and if indeed this is true, it is a pity that they are hoarding it instead of placing it in a reputable museum, making it available to scholars, and so forth.  It is akin to blasphemy that they should use it as if The Book were but a worm on a hook - mere bait to lure dues-paying members in for the slim chance of at least seeing the original MS in the handwriting of the Beast 666.

We are "treated" with a great deal of boring pseudo-intellectuality from Bill Heidrick, and in the Konx Om Pax Camp report from Frater Solis-Serpentis we read, "I also bore witness to the symbolic power and majesty of Lucifer Rising with the Jimmy Page soundtrack."  I have that particular video, thanks to an associate.  It is poorly made, idiotic, with as much symbolic value to it as a blank deck of tarot cards [if you can imagine that!] and Page's soundtrack is a badly done, boring, redundant, drone in which hardly a single instrument, if instruments were used! can be distinguished.  I would say the soundtrack was the result of a lack of originality, boredom, laziness and too many drugs.  And anyone finding value in the Kenneth Anger film and Jimmy Page's soundtrack must have a taste for sh... - well, you know.  [EDITOR'S NOTE:  See following Part 2 regarding the Lucifer Rising soundtrack.]

By the way, regarding the status of the group's various branches, here is a typical report from an objective observer not at the time associated with Newaeon:

"... attended an open house sponsored by the Eulis Lodge of the [pseudo-]OTO. ... the group's meeting place is in a ghetto area, and consists of an extremely dilapidated old house in various stages of disrepair.  ... the members of the group did nothing during the entire time but continually proclaim that they were a lodge of the 'legitimate' OTO, with actual lineage extending back to the Knights Templar, etc., ad nauseum ... basically the same old boring stuff."

The qualifying word "pseudo" in brackets I inserted for the sake of accuracy.

THE MAGICAL LINK, Vol. V, No. 4, April 1986 E.V.:  here we read a lot of talk about the bastard-Equinox, Vol. III, No. 10 that the group put out through Thelema Publications, meant to impress the reader.  Fact of the matter is, while it is valuable for the Crowley works therein, those works have been published elsewhere and are otherwise available, with only a few odd tid bits of hitherto unpublished material, mixed in with a lot of useless contemporary rubbish.

This issue also mentions that the group "owes in excess of $10,000.00 for legal and related expenses."  Nonetheless, various expensive projects are underway, and

"It just so happens that about $10,000 to $12,000 is owed in back dues. ... if those of you who are behind will start or resume donations, we will be able to get quit of the legal bill.

"... The Caliph needs about $260 per month minimum to travel about the Order doing his job.  The records are now maintained in four locations, at a cost of about $100 per month," and it is said that "1/3 of our members ... live outside the USA".

This reveals a great deal.  Briefly, there is little if any contact with one third of the group's membership due to distance and expense.  Actually the leadership, such as it is, has little contact with even the domestic membership.  Money is obviously badly mismanaged, too much is taken on without sufficient resources to do the job right, and there are a lot of disenchanted members and wasters associated with the group, loafers plain and simple, "beggars", and if a member is not paying dues that person ceases to be a member, ergo there are a lot of names on the membership roll of people who have ceased being members of the Caliphate psuedo-o.t.o., which makes farcical their boasts regarding the size and extent of their disorganized organization.

It is amusing to note that this was the report of the Grand Treasurer General, then our friend Bill Heidrick, and he was uncertain, by about $2,000.00, as to how much was owed in back dues.  Apparently he is as inept as a treasurer as he is an editor.

THE MAGICAL LINK, Vol. I, No. 10, February/March 1988 E.V.:  finally we receive some hitherto unavailable Crowleyana - Norman Mudd's "Conversations with Crowley", "Lecture on the Tarot" by Lady Frieda Harris, and Frater Achad's "Liber 151 vel QNA".  Mostly this is of worth to collectors and such, but with little practical value to the average student.  Nevertheless, the material herein printed is a fine juicy worm - a tasty carrot on a stick.

In the "News and Notes", opened properly with the Thelemic salutation, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law", but idiotically closed with the same phrase rather than "Love is the law, love under will", we are told that a "Doubleday/Terry suit [was] filed".  The group

"filed suit against the publishing firm Doubleday & Co. and the author Maury Terry, in connection with libelous and defamatory statements made in Terry's book The Ultimate Evil and in television broadcasts."

That should certainly improve their financial situation!  While I am hardly a fan of Mr. Terry's, it looks to me like a case of the pot calling the kettle black, and while the author may have indeed libelously slandered the group, that group had better be careful as they have more than a few skeletons in their closet that might pop out during such proceedings.

[NOTE:  A loyal brother provided me with a hardback copy of The Ultimate Evil by Maury Terry.  This should be fun!  Something to look forward to.]  [EDITOR'S NOTE 1998 E.V.:  This book was reviewed in some depth and that review and commentary will appear elswhere on this web sight.]

During a radio program called One Step Beyond, a program that, by the way, recommended Terry's book and was based upon that piece of ... er ... that volume, mention was made of "a national satanist cult known as the Ordo Templi Orientis or O.T.O." and of a member of that group, one Robert E. Newman [name and spelling may be incorrect], who had been convicted for child molestation.  After this in the broadcast it was pointed out that the convicted molester was a "former" member of the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o., although one must wonder what crimes he committed while still a member and why the leadership did not see the problem before this, and wonder as well how many others are there like this in the group which is more concerned with quantity and dues than it is quality and Thelema.  Apparently it was ... yep, you guessed it ... Bill Heidrick who had called the radio program during its broadcast.  He so impressed the hosts [admittedly apparently dim wits in their own right] that they could not remember his name, calling him Robert and Richard, and they definitely did not appreciate his "heavy handed" tactics, apparently unimpressed with threats Billy boy made.

THE MAGICAL LINK, Vol. II, No. 1, April/June 1988 E.V.:  "O.T.O. dues and fees," this issue informs the reader, "will increase by 33 1/3% effective with the Fall Equinox."  Hardly likely to make up for the $10,000 to $12,000 lost in unpaid dues, and more likely to encourage further delinquent dues.

"Marcelo Motta Dies", this issue announced, last August, we are told, of a "heart attack (myocardial infarction)".  Upon mention of another death, that of one Sister Chandria, I remembered a letter I had received from one Soror Rachel of the Grand Lodge [then] of the pseudo-o.t.o..  You may enjoy this.  I did.  It was amusing and informed me that I was doing something right - effectively.

"Care Fratre (or Lord 'God', if you prefer) Beelzebub,

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law

"Greetings Oh Thou Most Immaculat [sic] Lord of the Flies, Thou who dwellest within Thy dark domain of the starved elements under the Horror of the Abyss of Hallucinations, Thou who criest 'Truth' (and the Amerikan Way) upon the reversed flaming sword that bars thee forever from the City of the Pyramids under the Night of Pan.

"This letter is to herewith inform you of the recent activities of one who (he must be one of yours !) is no doubt an insectoid spirit under thy abs- olute [thus it was hypnenated to continue on the next line] dominion and (apparently out of your [the o is typed over an l] control for the present) who has been infesting a realm of maggot filled corpses (without authorization from Tibet) within the consciousness of one G.M. Kelly, who has of course according to the Laws of Magick been compelled to involve a printer in this demon's dark design and actually print his (the little buzzing creature of yours that is) words.  As to Mr. Kelly's cooperation in this venture We are not properly informed, but be he willing tool or a maggot and worm of Thy body, the effect is the same in its turn; that of seeking to enlist others in the paranoid delusions and fetters of this confused (and no doubt agonized) mind.  We therefore the ardent magicians of the High Magick of the Light [i was typed over an o] do hereby petition Thee Oh Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies by the Most potent and powerful spells of the Living God IAO SABAO and the Word of the Aeon of Horus to withdraw this irksome spirit from the being of G.M. Kelly lest AGIA take away THY power and glory forever from within the realm of the irrelavent [sic] ones who you control - APOS PANTOS KAKODAIMINOS - LASHTAL"

This was signed wildly, the R being fully 2 inches high, by the "lady" and it was the carbon copy, not the original, that she sent me.  I assume I was being cursed or exorcised.  If so, it failed as I am still going strong and I have obtained admittance into the City of the Pyramids.  One thing the letter does do is reveal a typical form of hysteria to be found in the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. as well as the common type of member of that group:  petty, impolite, illiterate, undereducated at best, lacking all sense of style and class, and a magical Inept.  I received this letter, or whatever it was meant to be, in April of 1980 E.V. and replied with a one-page letter of sincere amusement.

Mention was also made of the Aurora Borealis, the newsletter put out by the Nepthys Lodge of the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. in Canada, and that reminds me of something else.

When TNN mentions a certain party within its pages, or if that person is written about, especially within The Sword of Horus, or if something that that person has written is published within this newsletter's pages, that individual receives either a complimentary copy of that particular issue, or a photocopy of that part of it.  Always.  It is the gentlemanly and Thelemic thing to do.

One issue of Aurora BOREalis, generally even more boring and trite than the publication here reviewed, contained an editorial expressing displeasure with the American Grand Lodge.  It should be noted that the writer was once a Newaeon subscriber early on and apparently felt inspired by later issues of TNN that he must have obtained in some way to read.

Now from time to time, without having asked for them, someone at the Nepthys Lodge was sending me complimentary copies of AB - even though I responded once with a few complimentary copies of TNN, politely informing them that I could not continue to send free copies.  However, the one time it would have been proper for them to have sent me a complimentary copy, they did not do so.  Seems I sent them a letter dated June 25th, 1986 E.V. complimenting them on the editorial criticizing the Grand Lodge of their group and, as I discovered later, they, without permission but more importantly without sending me a complimentary copy of that particular issue, printed that letter in AB - I must assume to, taking the letter out of context, brag that even the infamous G.M.Kelly approved of their work and words.

I wrote to these people when I discovered this, politely explained how impolite I considered that to be, and just as politely requested a copy of that particular issue of AB for my files.  Piling rudeness on top of rudeness, they did not even respond to my letter, and of course the complimentary copies [that I never asked for in the first place] stopped coming.  This gives you an idea of the low calibre of individuals to be found within this group, whether in the U.S. or Canada.  Would you like to be associated with such impolite little fellows as these?

THE MAGICAL LINK, Vol. II, No. 4, Winter 1988 E.V.:  here we have a little bit of nothing with the usual promise of things that will be, but which, in the past, never came into being.

We read that "The O.T.O. [i.e. the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o.] is often criticized for being doctrinal and for being an elitist, degree-grubbing bunch of brown-nosers.  Accusations of this sort come through the mail often enough in the form of letters from troubled persons who have been stung by their first encounters with various members of the O.T.O."

and then rhetoric follows.  Soror Rachel's letter quoted earlier gives you an idea as to just how powerful their sting is - that is to say, just how powerless.  The letters referred to are obviously, at least for the most part, from members who wised up and people who made contact with the group in the hope that it was the O.T.O. as they falsely claim, only to discover that it is anything but.  The first sentence of the above quotation does indeed accurately describe the group, in part at least, for one could extend the description quite a bit.  The fact that it is often criticized like this also says something, and here it is worth noting that Newaeon seldom receives harsh criticisms like this and the few received are along the lines of Soror Rachel's letter.  Consider the nature and source.

"There are no 'right types' of Thelemites," this issue says.  "There are only kings and slaves."  In every way the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. proves that it is not composed of kings, therefore...

THE MAGICAL LINK, Vol. III, No. 1, Spring 1989 E.V.:  on the front page we read the following:

"I have known Order members to fall behind in their dues and still find the funds to snort twice that amount in cocaine in one evening."

I really do not need to comment upon that!  Then later on in this same issue:

"Brother Richard William Gernon, Frater 831, IX° O.T.O. [i.e. the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o.], Zelator (2=9) of A.·.A.·.  [I guarantee, not the true Order known as the A.·.A.·.!], and Bishop of the Ecclesia Gnostic Catholic, died suddenly on March 15, 1989 EV in New York City at age 39. ... He was an early member of the A.·.A.·. group organized by Marcelo Motta in Nashville in the mid-1970s.  [A sham; not a legitimate aspect of the A.·.A.·.] ... he served as master of the 'Mentu Lodge' of Motta's 'SOTO.' ..."

Then we are informed that he left Motta's pseudo-o.t.o., called the S.O.T.O., and joined the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. to become lodgemaster of the Tahuti Lodge.  "Gurney," as we are told his friends called him, "died of a heroin overdose.  He had acquired the heroin habit only recently", i.e. after having become a member of the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o., although he was probably a substance abuser long before this and psychologically, perhaps even physically, inclined towards addictiveness.

"It is important that we in the Order understand," it goes on, "his recent condition as a treatable disorder and not some sort of moral failure.  ... He is survived by his parents, former wives Gee, Debbie, Laura, and Micheline, and two children."

The piece was followed by "Caliph Hymenaeus Beta", apparently the author, with "Frater 218 A.·.A.·." below that.

Volumes of commentary on this alone could be written.  We must wonder about a 39 year old man who had been married four times, and who took such chances with his life when he had children to care for.  However, let us not here use this bit of information to condemn one man.  Let us instead reflect upon this matter as an indication of a grave problem within the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. and the nature of the individuals who seem to be attracted to the group and become a part of it.  Remember, for instance, the quotation from Vol. II, No. 4:  "There are no 'right types' of Thelemites.  There are only kings and slaves."  The late Mr. Gernon proved himself to be a slave whose master was heroin.  How many other slaves must there be in the group, not given as much attention as the late Mr. Gernon received here?  [Comments in brackets, as usual, being mine.]

BAPHOMET BREEZE, Vol. III, No. 2, Summer Solstice 1988 E.V.:  let us here finish this review with a Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. publication distributed by way of computer.

Herein we find "The Scientific Solution of [sic] the Problem of Government" by Comte de Fenix, i.e. Crowley, so at least, with this small piece of rare Crowleyana, the publication is given some worth.  Of course, since anyone with a computer can access this material it is obviously another lure.

It is announced that dues are being increased, membership dues and individual lodge dues, that those dues range from $20.00 to $1,488.00 - the higher dues being paid by those of tthe higher degrees, so I hope that in those higher degrees the secret of transmuting lead into gold is taught! - and that "Dues are payable upon taking a new initiation, or after one year, whichever comes first."

There is a push for initiations and push for money.  Obviously initiations in this group do not indicate any kind of attainment, but merely indicate how high one's dues are.  And it is obvious that, for instance, a IX° is simply one who is paying higher dues and fees than one of a lower degree ... IF HE IS PAYING THEM AT ALL.  It also strikes me as an interesting way to keep as many members as possible in the lower degrees, under the thumb of Breeze and his cronies.

"Members are also welcome to make whatever additional contributions they may wish from time to time."  The plea, as this obviously was, is pathetic and is likely to be ignored by any thinking person.

Reading this I felt as if it were another bit of trash in the mail from one of the many pseudo-christian evangelists and televangelists soliciting money in every way, shape and form - for the work of the organization and the good of all, of course.  I was almost surprised to see the name, such as it was, of Frater Iacchus attached to this piece as I fully expected to see the name Bakker.

This publication was full of trite nonsense like "He Who Laughs..." by Soror Mari, "From the XAO Palace" by Soror Sophia, and "A Thelemic Language Lesson".  The latter tells us, with clumsy tongue-in-cheek, that "Do what thou wilt" means "Fine, don't do it my way ... but it'll be wrong", that "Take your fill and will of love as ye will" means "Wanna fuck?", and with an equal degree of class, and probably more truthfulness than intended in regards to how these people misuse and misinterpret Thelemic phrases, "It's beyond your grade" means "I don't know."  All very stupid - but very revealing.  The one or two people in the group who can laugh at themselves, or at least occasionally pretend as if they can - so long as they are making the jokes - assist the rest of us to see more clearly what the group is really all about, whether they intend to or not.

To cap things off, please excuse the pun, "O.T.O. Baseball Caps" are advertised for sale at $8.50 each, being "black standard baseball caps with the O.T.O. lamen silk screened on the front in bright white."

Certainly a sense of humour is essential, especially to one who is involved in the esoteric, however, it is obvious that these people, offering nothing of substance within their dull satire or elsewhere, aside from odd bits of Crowleyana written by A.C., merely use their lacklustre humour to disguise their intellectual poverty.

Conclusions have been made throughout and need not be repeated in detail.  Suffice it to say that we have here a group of people who do not practice what they preach, for the most part, who prove themselves to be the "slaves that serve" and "beggars" while pretending to be "kings of the earth", i.e. Thelemites, and who claim to be the only true and legitimate Ordo Templi Orientis in existence.  The fact of the matter is, however, the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. is primarily composed of the worst types of occultists, wasters and loafers, Inepts of the lowest degree, incapable of the simplest things, with a sprinkling of fairly decent people who mostly wise up and leave the group early on while a very few continue on in the group hoping against hope that something fine can still be built upon the rotten foundation.  And here let me finish by quoting from a few letters recently received from out of state:

"I used to be in OTO but ... I don't get their mail any more.  But then again what OTO.  I am sure there are many.  I'm pissed at OTO because I once sent them a check for the book CLOUDS WITHOUT WATER and they never sent it.  ... I can't get the book..."

"I received the flyer for your newsletter and I must say I am duly impressed!  It was stunning to read your denunciation of the O.T.O. [i.e. the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o., as above also] ... It, to put it mildly, shattered my conceptions of what the O.T.O. is all about.  For, you see, I am a 1st degree initiate in the Caliphate O.T.O., and I felt threatened by what I read in the flyer.  But, after thinking on the impact this had made on me, I sort of see where you're getting at."

And finally:  during the first week of this past August I received a thoroughly disgusting letter from a terribly unbalanced individual who is [Thank the Gods!] at this time incarcerated.  The envelope even bore a disclaimer stamp from the prison refusing to take responsibility for the contents of the letter.  And the letter!  This man, wishing to subscribe to TNN, offered to create a designer drug for me ... me?! ... that he said would be legal, while still in prison.  He went into sickening detail regarding his sexual inclinations, and one really has to be disgusting to sicken a Thelemic Sex Magician!  And he went on to explain that he was looking for a woman with a drug-dependency as that is his ideal of the perfect woman.

I replied to this first letter only, refusing to have him as a TNN subscriber, partly because TNN, in part, is a means of seeking out and gathering special people together and this fellow is unquestionably one of the outcast and unfit.  I explained that he did not understand Crowley and Thelema as well as he thought, and went into some detail, and that was that - for me.

I received three more letters, long, rambling, wildly handwritten letters, full of insane pseudo-calculations, threats and so forth, which naturally I filed away and did not respond to.  Here are a few glimpses of those letters:

"Dear G.M.Kelly,
...First, I am not human, but am the Mutant Monster.  I was born 11-12-1946 (11 + 12 + 1 + 9 + 4 + 6 = 43 = the male organ) ... At my baptism I proclaimed myself Lucifer ["3.8" written above this name] and 13 days later I became 13 years old. ... I was excommunicated. ... You judge me! but the owners of all Crowleys manuscripts and secrete (?) head of Ordo Templi Orientis were (are?) Richard and Jean Brayton. ..."

Jean Brayton you can find mention of in the book The Family [at least the earlier editions].  She headed what was miscalled "The Solar Lodge of the O.T.O.", responsible for the theft of the Crowley/Germer library - the first time! - the beating of the widow Germer, the death of a small boy on their desert ranch, etc..  We are not talking about a lovely couple here, but they seem to be people this fellow admires.  Anyway, the letter goes on with things like, "You G.M.Kelly are about to Die!", the last word being hi-lited in orange, as was his final sentence, "Quite Practicing My Religion!"  Words I have here italicized being underscored in the original letters.

"Dear Mr. Kelly
... At the request of my angel, Hermes, I will relate my origin... I was a Mormon boy and I was baptized just before I turned 13. ... I slay daily. I call it Target Practice.  ... Drugs are my weapons.  I turn one against another and make people kill each other. ... I'm alone!  I'm al-one!  I'm none!  I'm Nu-n! ..."

"Dear Enemy Kelly,
... Consider this formula [and a legitimate looking formula is written down that probably is an explosive with an arrow pointing to] Khu.Bo.om!  [the numbers 2, 8, 3, 2, 6, 6, 4 written under these letters with an arrow pointing to a black lightning bolt, my seal from the letterhead of the only reply sent to him taped below that, cut in five pieces as if shattered by the lightning bolt, on either side of which is] 60% T.N.T./39% RDX 1% Neutral Parafin.  I'll be to see you in the future, but you may never see me or if you do it might well be the last thing you ever see.  You should never insult a man's (or Mutant's) religion.  Good-bye!" [sic]

The reason I make mention of this extremely distrubed individual here is simple.  In his August 2nd letter, for instance, he wrote:

"I challenge your stand and the organization behind you.  Even if it is the O.T.O. of which I am an associate member."

Immediately one can easily determine that the man is a dangerous lunatic and whereas I instantly refused to have anything more to do with him, rejecting him as a TNN subscriber despite the fact that Newaeon needs every cent that it can get, the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. accepted him as an Associate Member in order to add yet another name to their membership roll and collect more money.  This is but one of many examples of their focus upon quantity at the expense of quality.

"Is a God to live in a dog?  No!  but the highest are of us.  They shall rejoice, our chosen:  who sorroweth is not of us.  Beauty and strength, leaping laughter and delicious languor, force and fire, are of us.  We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit:  let them die in their misery."
[CCXX II.19-21]