by Jay Lee -

What’s Gnostic about our Gnostic Catholic Church?

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Dionysius Rogers returns for an examination of ancient Gnosticism and its modern revivals, and the relevance of these movements to the Thelemic congregational rite of Ordo Templi Orientis. 

The video can be viewed here.

Dionysius Rogers is a Charter Member of Academia Ordo Templi Orientis, having presented at Vancouver, Barcelona, and New Orleans. He is also Past Master of Scarlet Woman Lodge, Past Most Wise Sovereign of Ouarda Chapter, and a perennial NOTOCON presenter. He is the author of the books Raise the Spell, Thelema for the People, A Bishop’s Advice, and Fire in the Reed, among others.

Love is the law, love under will.

by Jay Lee -

History and Use of Liber Σταυρος Βατραχου sub Figura LXX (The Cross of the Frog)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Harper Feist reprises her presentation on The Cross of the Frog, which may be viewed here.

Liber LXX, the subject of this presentation, has something to trouble everyone: the capture, mocking, torment, and crucifixion of a frog, followed by the consumption of the legs and the incineration of the remainder of the body. As disturbing as the rite is to modern eyes, it contains several interesting keys to magical operations. The use of frogs and toads in magical operations and as familiars has a long history beginning, at least, in Classical antiquity. Theophagy and transubstantiation give heed to Crowley’s deep relationship to Christianity. It also points at the late Victorian fascination with amateur biological experiments and taxonomy. This presentation traces the evolution of the role of creatures of the Linnaean order anura from Classical Antiquity forward, with diversion into the image of the Sheela-na-gig. The necessity of the frog in the ritual as it applies to Crowley will also be touched upon. How the frog comes to represent Christ during the magical operation is the most disturbing aspect of this bizarre ritual and will be discussed in some length. It ends with a traditional recipe for cuisses de grenouille.

Harper Feist has been interested in the intersection of Magick, medicine and science for most of her life. A member of Ordo Templi Orientis and an ordained priestess of Ecclesia Gnostic Catholica, she is also an active interviewer for “Thelema Now,” the official podcast of O.T.O. U.S. Grand Lodge. She is also the author of ΙΩ ΤΥΦΩΝ (Grayle Press, 2024 e.v.). In her mundane life, Harper is a Ph.D. scientist, mother and a martial artist specializing in koryu Japanese sword work.

Love is the law, love under will.

by Jay Lee -

Kindness to Troglodytes

A discussion of the various ways in which initiates treat non-initiates, and how best to model such interactions. The philosophical quandary is addressed with aid from Plato, St. Rabelais, Ibn Tufayl, Montesquieu, and Heinlein, with explicit reference to the notorious Point 28 of Liber CI. Some attention will also be given to the general difficulties of promulgating the Law.

Dionysius Rogers is an eleven o’clock scholar and a performing liturgist, as well as a Charter Member of Academia Ordo Templi Orientis, Past Master of Scarlet Woman Lodge, Past Most Wise Sovereign of Ouarda Chapter, and a perennial NOTOCON presenter. He is the author of the books Raise the Spell, Thelema for the People, A Bishop’s Advice, and Fire in the Reed, among others.

The video can be viewed here:

 

 

 

by Jay Lee -

Śri Sabhapati Swami, Theosophy, and Thelema, with Dr. Keith Cantú

The presentation can now be viewed here:

This talk focuses on the Tamil yogin Śri Sabhapati Swami (ca. 1828–1923/4) and how some of his techniques of Śivarājayoga, or “The Royal Yoga for Śiva,” were discussed by the “Founders” of the Theosophical Society, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Olcott, and the theosophical author Franz Hartmann, as well as integrated into the Thelemic Magick of Aleister Crowley. Beginning with an overview of Sabhapati Swami’s life and works, many of which are out of print, we will discuss what specific portions would have been of interest to these Theosophists, Crowley, and by extension later Thelemites, and also contextualize Sabhapati’s vernacular Tamil and Hindi works that include many more detailed instructions on ritual and mantra that should be of interest to scholars and practitioners alike.

Dr. Keith Edward Cantú is currently a visiting research fellow at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, in the DFG-funded project “CAS-E, Alternative Rationalities and Esoteric Practices from a Global Perspective” (https://cas-e.de/). His forthcoming book Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami  and Śivarājayoga will be released in June of this year by Oxford University Press. He has been an avid reader of Aleister Crowley since high school, has previously been a member of Horizon Lodge and affiliate member of Star Sapphire Lodge, and currently resides with his wife in Erlangen, Germany.

by Scott Plyler -

Liber Samekh – History and Development

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

This presentation can now be viewed here:

Join us on Monday November 29th at 7pm Central Time as Harper Feist presents her lecture on the history and development of Liber Samekh. This is a public presentation, so please feel free to share this invitation far and wide!

This presentation discusses the evolution of the late Classical exorcism known currently as the Headless Rite to Liber Samekh, a Thelemic ritual to facilitate achievement of Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. The talk will focus on the meaning and translational history of the Headless Rite and the fact that the original ritual is very similar to a neo-Platonic theurgic exercise. This current is especially palpable in Samekh, one of the most important of Crowley’s contributions to the Thelemic canon.

Love is the law, love under will.

by Scott Plyler -

“We Antichrists” by Dionysius Rogers

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

This presentation is viewable on the O.T.O. U.S. Grand Lodge Youtube channel, here!

Order leadership and senior initiates have been at justifiable pains to distinguish Thelema from vulgar Satanism. At the same time, it is undeniable that an antichristian impulse was inherent in the work of our Prophet, who called himself both an atheist and “the truest of all Christians.” This presentation will discuss the development of the concept of antichrist throughout the Old Aeon, and its fulfillment in Thelema. It will include a survey of the Thelemic Saints and heroes who have been recognized as antichrists, as well as a discussion of the sources and expressions of Aleister Crowley’s opposition to Christianity, and it will culminate with an appeal to the “inner antichrist” of each Thelemite.

About the presenter: M. Dionysius Rogers joined OTO in 1992, and has served the organization in local, national and international offices. He is Past Master of Scarlet Woman Lodge and Past Most Wise Sovereign of Ouarda Chapter. He is an active EGC Bishop, and the author of the books Thelema for the People, Fire in the Reed, Raise the Spell, and Mysteries of the Great Beast Aleister Crowley. He is a scholar of religion who has made presentations on esoteric and occult topics at academic conferences in Europe and the USA regularly since 2004, and he is a charter member of Academia Ordo Templi Orientis. He has also been a regular presenter at NOTOCON since its inauguration in 1995.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Love is the law, love under will.