Encyclical Letter

"About the Author:  ... He is a member and Master of his own Oasis chartered by the Ordo Templi Orientis ... [and] ... has also maintained previous membership with two other groups that have strong claims of succession from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.  He publishes a bimonthly newsletter, The Rpstoval Review, and presently writes for an O.T.O. publication called The Baphomet Breeze."

The above warns us right off that there is going to be trouble with this book while it is highly misleading.  The author [and I use that term loosely here] is not a member of the O.T.O. which, for all intents and purposes, died with Crowley and Germer.  He is a member of the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o., one of several groups that falsely lay claim to that name.

In the Introduction, del Campo tells us that

"Originally, I wrote this book for my three children...  The purpose of this little work is not to show great literary skill, but rather to shed light on a difficult subject further made obscure by authors looking for scholarly recognition.  ... You should simply view this as a primer."

It is easy to believe because the book is so unbelievably infantile in the extreme.  However, he does accomplish one goal, for the book certainly does not show any great literary skill.  As for the stated purpose, well, I do not know what kind of light he was shedding upon matters because I could not see it, and accoridng to some of the letters I have received by people who were disappointed with the book and feel that they had wasted their money [they had] I am not alone in my opinion.  It is also not a very good primer.  For instance, terms like "Holy Guardian Angel" are thrown at the reader - and remember his readers were supposed to be young children - and if they are defined or explained at all it is quite inadequately.  For instance, on page 23 we finally get an approximation of a definition:

"Thelema uses the term Holy Guardian Angel when referring to a personal 'God'."

One reason for this sort of thing just may be that the author, who automatically puts himself in the position of teacher or at the very least guide, does not himself understand the meaning of such terms.

On page 121 he makes this statement:

"The Superconscious ... This is where the Higher Self is supposed to reside, the home of the diety within, the palace of the Holy Guardian Angel."

Poppycock.  Chucking the term "Higher Self" out of the way, let us just say here that the SUPRACONSCIOUS, as I prefer to call it [six to one, half dozen to the other] is the H.G.A. which is not so limited as to reside anywhere.  It is merely one way of viewing That essential core being, the modern "scientific", psychological view as opposed to the ancient magical view which calls It the Holy Guardian Angel.  But of course what else could one expect from someone who would write in his Introduction:

"the conscious (the logical mind) and the subconscious (the thinking mind)" [???]

The conscious aspect of the divided mind exercises reason and logic [or is at least capable of it; that is its natural tendency] and thinks things out.  The subconscious [the term I prefer, while some prefer unconscious] is the more primitive aspect of the divided self or mind that feels and reacts instinctively.  The supraconscious is, then, quite simply, the union of these two aspects of one's mind, oneself, reintegrated, perfectly joined so that the invidual is no longer at war with himself, engaged in a battle between reason and emotion, so that he [or she, of course] can fully real-ize himself and achieve his full potential.

Briefly describing The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage on page 5 he points out that

"it is a complete treatise on the methods used to access magical powers",

which is sure to grab the attention of any kid.  However, it seems also that it is what he himself, a grown man [at least physiologically speaking] is most interested in.  Parlor tricks.  And when he finally does get around to casually mentioning the H.G.A. it is in such a way that one is led to believe that this is a matter of less importance than obtaining magical powers.  Also he tosses off [quite frequently, I'll bet] the "Knowledge and Conversation with his Holy Guardian Angel" on page 6 and never once even tries to explain what is meant by that.  Pardon me if I am in error here, but is it not the purpose of a primer to explain the basics?  I cannot remember a single place in the book where del Campo even bothers to explain what Thelema is, or even define the Greek word!

A friend of mine remarked that del Campo's discussion about destiny versus free will seems to be abstruse and inadequate.  That is putting it mildly.  On pages 25 and 26, the entire chapter entitled "True Will vs. Destiny", the text failing to cover the second page, nothing of any worth was said.  True Will is not explained.  Why?  Because he makes it painfully obvious that he does not understand the simple concept of True Will.  In the next chapter on pages 27 and 28, "Transmuting Destiny into True Will", del Campo wrote

"As a Magician, your first task is to find your destiny by studying the chain of events that have led you to your present physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental states."  Then, he says, you can "change destiny into True Will".

Balderdash.  Destiny to a fatalist is one's inescapable lot in life and all one can do is accept it and go with the flow.  A Thelemite, a real Thelemite, recognizes that the links of destiny were forged by the True Self, his H.G.A., He Himself, and he [or she] does not have to "change" it into anything for it is the Thelemite's destiny to discover and accomplish his True Will.

In the chapter entitled "The Philosophy of True Will" on pages 29 through 31 he states that

"doing your True Will means following the course which the universe has chosen for you and staying on it."

This is not far from the Christian view of what God's plan is for his children.  Oh, it cannot be said that del Campo's statement is absolutely wrong.  The Thelemic adept learns that there is, essentially, no difference between the microcosm and the macrocosm, yet it seems obvious to me that del Campo has isolated himself from the universe around him and may not even realize it.

And again, he most certainly does not understand the concept of True Will.  Take, for instance, the following sentence as an indication of this.

"No matter how insignificant it may seem to you, your Will plays an important role within the divine plan."

If one has discovered one's True Will, and it is painfully obvious that the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o., et al, have failed to assist del Campo in this task, it is not perceived by one as "insignificant", for one clearly sees the importance of that Will, that purpose for existing, and how he may, through the accomplishment of his Will, touch others and assist the spiritual evolution of humanity.

Del Campo has been reliably quoted as saying that

"Thelema is elastic and capable of great tolerance.  There are Christian Thelemites, who have reconciled both mythos."

How can this be?  The mythos or traditional story of Christianity is one of sacrifice, suffering, death and resurrection, while the Thelemic "mythos", such as it may be called, or philosophy is one of ever becoming without the masochistic need to sacrifice and suffer, die and be reborn.  Water and oil, no matter how well they have been purified, simply do not mix.  A Christian Thelemite is an oxymoron of sorts - as senseless as a Buddhist Christian or Christian Atheist.  Oh, Thelema, and in particular Thelemites, can exercise a great deal of tolerance, but that is another matter entirely.  Of course, I have no doubt that in the Caliphate pseudo-o.t.o. there are indeed "Christian Thelemites", but I would have to call them pseudo-thelemites.  Many of the members of the Caliphate gang are like one woman I encountered some years back.  During the course of a conversation she would suddenly announce "I'm a Buddhist!" and "I'm a Rosicrucian!" and "I'm a Wiccan!" and so on and so on until it was clear that she had either achieved perfect samhadi with the universe and realized herself as one with all, or she had gone completely off the deep end and could not see that many of the things she said she was were incompatible with some of the others.  There are a lot of people like that in the Caliphate gang.  Joiners of every group foolish enough to accept them, scared to death to be left alone for a minute as, once alone, they may be forced to face the truth about themselves and they just can not do that!  Oh, God no!  Such a thing would either drive them mad with regrets and remorse unless they faced the fact that we can all stand a little self-improvement, but genuine self-improvement is a lot of work and it is much easier to lay the blame for one's faults on others rather than to take responsibility for them and then try to correct those faults.  Joining a group not only keeps one distracted, but it also supports one with a support group to constantly reassure you that you are just fine the way you are.  Problem is, support groups eventually break down and the whole thing tends to backfire.  But that's okay ... there's always another such group right around the corner!

When he refers to "the O.T.O." and "the A.·.A.·." he is really not referring to the genuine Orders, but rather to the Caliphate's sham, and when he says that

"Advancement in this Order is not easy; it is not randomly given for the sake of convenience or favoritism.  One must earn one's grade; the tasks are difficult and demanding.  The lazy and insincere aspirant seldom attains any grade beyond Neophyte"

I have to laugh for whether speaking of the one or the other pseudo-order the truth is very often just the opposite, and members of the Caliphate nonsense seem to be made up almost exclusively of lazy, insincere wasters.  And I really liked this:

"All of those who have truly devoted their lives to the Work are attracted to this Order the same way that a moth is drawn to the light."

Right.  Translation for those of us living in the real world:  Those who are attracted to the Caliphate gang are like the moth that is drawn to the flame - and eventually they get burned.

If someone claims to represent the A.·.A.·. del Campo offers a few guidelines so that one may

"end up with a rightful teacher" and avoid "selfish individuals who use your pure intentions to gratify their sense of self-importance."

He suggests that you ask for

"documentation" and "Check out the names of such people by writing to the College of Thelema (C.O.T.) or the Temple of Thelema (T.O.T.)".

Of course.  These are both Caliphate groups, and so if you are not a dues-paying member of that gang you cannot possibly be A.·.A.·..  And what makes the Caliphate version of this Order the only real one?  Well "documentation" of coursel!  And that documentation is?  A Probationer form given to Jane Wolf and signed by Crowley.  However, Crowley was extremely disappointed with Wolfe, both in a personal and a professional sense, and she was badly addicted to spiritualistic nonsense and was completely incapable of responsible self-control and hard work.  She eventually left Crowley at the Abbey of Thelema, much to the relief of all, and many years later she issued to Phyllis Seckler/Wade/McMurtry [Soror Meral] a bogus A.·.A.·. Probationer form that she, even if it had been a genuine form, had no right to issue as she was not at least a Neophyte.  The Probationer form only recognizes the fact that one aspires to that Order.  And it is from this that all other "documentation" and "authority" in the Caliphate gang depends.

Del Campo tells us that

"only a true adept can bestow upon you the power of the ages"

which is childish nonsense for an adept cannot bestow "the power of the ages", whatever he may mean by that - again we see his childish focus on magic tricks - for power, the power of self-control and self-realization being the only ones worth speaking of here, must be achieved by the aspirant him or herself.  The implication is that the only real adepts are to be found in the Caliphate and the only way one can acquire all of those really neat ooky pooky magical powers is by way of a Caliphate adept.  Only the Caliphate adepts are really inepts and themselves lack even the basic powers of a well balanced, mature adult.

And don't forget to advertise and toss out that hook and lure!

"Everything you will ever want to know about the A.·.A.·. functions is available in a brilliantly written book entitled The Mystical & Magical System of the A.·.A.·. by James A. Eshelman.  At the present time, this highly informative text is privately printed by the College of Thelema."

I have not seen the book but if someone would like to donate a copy or photocopy of it to the Newaeon library I will probably have fun reviewing it.  However, since the author is yet another Caliphate toadie and alumni of the College of Thelema, founded and operated by Phyllis Seckler, one must not expect too much of it.

This promoting of Eschelman's book is amusing, especially after one reads del Campo's words in the following section under "ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS (O.T.O.)", to wit:

"It provides camaraderie and fellowship".

Reading this EL alone about the kind of "camaraderie and fellowship" that Caliphate members discovered encourages laughter, but it is funnier than that.  Eshelman was sent a copy of del Campo's book before it was published and this man who "modestly" claims to be an authority on the A.·.A.·. as well as Grand Praemonstrator of the Temple of Thelema, Deputy Executive Director of the College of Thelema, United States Preceptor and former Grand Chief of the Fraternity of the Hidden Light, as well as former Deputy Grand Master General of the [Caliphate pseudo-] O.T.O., nitpicked the MS to death.  When del Campo was then contacted and told what his "fraternal brother" had said about his work, del Campo replied that Eshelman is simply jealous and trying to attract notice for his own book.  "As brothers fight ye!" should be tattooed on the forehead of every member of the Caliphate gang, although this is not quite what that verse from The Book of the Law implies.  One fellow who was in a position to observe how the members of the Caliphate gang constantly speak ill of one another behind their backs and bicker said:

"All of these self-styled 'Thelemite' characters strike me as being distinctly unbalanced.  They are Thelemites in the same sense that Bob Larson is a Christian or Elvis Presley was an actor.  I haven't seen such petty back-biting, fault-finding, gnat-straining, or almost praeternaturally verbose paper wasting* since the last time I delved into an amateur UFO newsletter or science-fiction fanzine from the '50s.  Didn't any of these guys ever mature beyond the age of 12?  One wants to scream at them to 'get a life,' or at least let other people have theirs.  Yea, verily, the Beast revolveth in his grave to realize that this sophomoric tempest represents all that remains of his legacy.  You'd think that, representing the tiny minority they do, these people would try to show some kind of solidarity rather than ripping one another apart like a one-bedroom apartment filled with shrieking queens.  At the very least, you'd think they'd unite long enough to oppose the demon Kelly!

"*Obviously this does not apply to you.  Verbose you may be, but entertainingly so, and what you write is definately not a waste of paper."

After all that I have written in this EL, I am not sure I agree with the footnote, but, yeah, it all has a necessary purpose.

Del Campo goes on to say that

"The Ordo Templi Orientis is the first spiritual organization accepting The Book of the Law as their holy book",

but he neglected to say that when Crowley and Thelema first entered the picture it was not the entire body of the O.T.O. that accepted them with eager, open arms, and there was then a schism that should have warned Crowley of the troubles yet to face.  Del Campo also wrote that

"The Order now exists internationally and is recognized as a religious organization worldwide."

Questions:  recognizd as such by whom?  Caliphate toadies of course, and perhaps one state court.  And remember, we are not talking about the O.T.O, although the Caliphate gang would have you believe otherwise.

"Membership in the Order," del Campo assures his readers, "is confidential; if you become involved, no one will inform anyone."

"The main goal of the Order is to secure the absolute freedom of its members by assisting the individual in whatever way possible to discover his or her True Identity.  Since one cannot know the True Will of another, this process must be accomplished only by the individual; thus the Order can assist but not interfere with this process."

But the Caliphate gang does interfere with this process.  It dictates what a member may or may not do, or say, or who he may communicate with, and if one does not toe the party line look out!  It restricts access to books that have already been published but may now be difficult to find, books that members and others may need to discover their "True Identity" - odd phrase that.  And examples of this kind of behaviour have already been published in previous ELs and issues of The Newaeon Newsletter and can even be found in this particular Encyclical.

Gerald del Campo advertises and promotes the Caliphate's sham versions of both the O.T.O. [the genuine order effectively dead since the passing of Crowley and Germer] and the A.·.A.·., an "Order" it seems that no member of the Caliphate can quite grasp an understanding of; he also advertises the Caliphate Temple of Thelema, and the Caliphate College of Thelema:

"The College also makes available a wealth of information, much of it previously unpublished or nearly impossible to find",

throwing out that baited hook to lure the suckers in, and then he proceeds to advertise Phyllis Seckler's journal, In The Continuum.  [This, by the way, provides one with at least part of the reason the Caliphate gang does its best to restrict the publication and distribution of Crowley's works.  Magically, spiritually, and intellectually bankrupt, it exists as a parasite, feeding off of the works of the Beast for it has no worth of its own.  The other part of the reason for this fascist policy of unthelemic restriction is, of course, money.  Bill Breeze, in particular, has hooked his wagon to Crowley's Silver Star and he is riding it all the way to the bank.]

Next del Campo advertises The Fraternity of the Hidden Light, and here writes:

"I strongly caution the seeker to exercise caution when seeking a group to work with.  Recently, it has become fashionable to conduct groups, and many have been started without proper lineage or authority of any kind.  ... documentation should be requested before committing one's self to any group."

Uh-huh.  And the "documentation" presented to him was absolutely bogus and the group that he has associated himself with and here promotes is exactly the kind of group he cautions the reader to avoid!  He is either a lying charlatan and con artist, or, as I suspect, a damn fool who will one day experience a very rude awakening.

"Thelema," he wrote on page 73, "demands that we think for ourselves."

Right, but the Caliphate gang demands obedience and that one toe that party line, which makes the Caliphate gang very unthelemic indeed.