News

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 -

Douglas Blake speaks on the Kemetic Tarot

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

Join us on October 27, 2023 e.v. at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT/1:30 a.m. UTC as Douglas Blake speaks on the conception, creation, and idiosyncrasies of the An Oracle Of Kemet: Tarot Of The Noutjeru, which uses art rendered after the style of New Kingdom Egyptian Iconography (circa 1549–1069 BCE.)

Doug has had a life-long interest in History, Religion and Spirituality. He began studying and working with Tarot, alongside his studies of Hermetic Qabalah and Magick in the 1980s. His study of Kemetic (Pharaonic Egyptian) history, language, religion and magic began in earnest in 2004. Doug is a Freemeason and Past Master of Queen Anne Lodge #242 (Free & Accepted Masons of Washington). He is Past Study Group Coordinator and Past Pronaos Artisan of a fraternal order dedicated to Tarot and Qabalah studies [B.O.T.A.]. He has also served as a local officer as well as national grand lodge officer for Ordo Templi Orientis, having managed two national governing bodies therein. He is also active clergy with the O.T.O.’s Gnostic Catholic Church (ordained Priest 1997 and consecrated Bishop 2015) and serves as an S.G.I.G.

Doug is a musician, vocalist and artist. He designed, drew and painted this Tarot deck between 2015 and 2021. He is a graphic designer by profession, having worked in the printing industry since 1983. Doug was born and raised in Seattle, WA and currently lives between Seattle and Tacoma.

For a video preview of the Oracle, click here.

Love is the law, love under will.

An Oracle of Kemet
Friday, October 27 · 9:30 – 11:00pm
Time zone: America/Indiana/Indianapolis
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/mam-wbga-bbu
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 678-381-1793‬ PIN: ‪143 629 276‬#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/mam-wbga-bbu?pin=8191308282504

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 Andrew Lent -

New Education Committee Services

Effective immediately, the U.S. Grand Lodge Education Committee will offer its services to proofread, fact-check, and critique any publications or presentations which the membership of U.S. Grand Lodge would like to send us. This is a strictly voluntary service, and all input on the materials would be both a collaborative effort of the Committee and would be offered only as a service, not as required changes. If interested, please contact education@oto-usa.org for more information.

by Jay Lee -

Astrological Tarot with Jaime Paul Lamb

The presentation can now be viewed here:

Brother Lamb discusses the gradual melding of astrology and tarot, which reached its fullest expression as a practical system in the Golden Dawn Tradition. He begins by providing historical context, discussing their synthesis and systemization in the Golden Dawn and, finally, analyzes practical examples of how astrology and tarot may be synthesized in such a way as to mutually elucidate and compliment the findings of each art singularly.

Jaime Paul Lamb is the author of Myth, Magick & Masonry: Occult Perspectives in Freemasonry (The Laudable Pursuit, 2018), Approaching the Middle Chamber: The Seven Liberal Arts in Freemasonry and the Western Esoteric Tradition (The Laudable Pursuit, 2020) and The Archetypal Temple and Other Writings on Masonic Esotericism (Tria Prima Press, 2021). He is a member of Lapis Lazuli Oasis OTO, Phoenix, AZ.

by Jay Lee -

St. Elias Ashmole: the Gentleman Magician, with David Blakeley

 

The presentation can now be viewed here:

St. Elias Ashmole (1617 – 1692) bridged the divide between the Elizabethan Rosicrucianism of John Dee and Robert Fludd and the Masonic Illuminism of the Restoration. Ashmole lived many lives – as an astrologer and an alchemist, as a soldier and a lawyer, and as a Freemason and a scientist at the dawn of the Enlightenment. We will explore all of these facets of this man whose personal collection formed the basis of the famed Ashmolean Library and preserved the Enochian writings of Dee and Kelly. John Aubrey called Ashmore “A mighty good man.”

Presenter David Blakeley currently serves in the O.T.O. as Most Wise Sovereign of Baphomet Chapter, R+C in Austin, TX and on the editorial board of The Pelican. He is a Past Master of Bubastis Oasis in Dallas, TX, an ordained Priest of the E.G.C. since 2000, and a chartered Initiator since 2005. He practices health care law and lives in Dallas with his wife, Stacie and their cats, Chattels and Belvedere.

 

by Scott Plyler -

Strange Angel in a Strange Land, by Dionysius Rogers

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

This presentation can now be viewed here:

Description: In 1960 Robert A. Heinlein wrote the novel Stranger in a Strange Land. This science fiction tale full of miracles and sex deeply inspired the counter-culture of the following decades who came to “grok” its criticisms of conventional society. Most readers have little suspected the extent to which the book was informed by the philosophy of Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, as communicated by rocket scientist Jack Parsons. This talk will treat the secret history behind Heinlein’s novel and the effects that it had on later rebels and magicians.

Presenter: Dionysius Rogers is a Thelemite and an independent scholar of religion based in the Denver area. One of his particular interests is the intersection between fantasy fiction and real-world occultism. He was in Egypt for the centennial of the Cairo Working and in England for the centennial of the founding of Mysteria Mystica Maxima. He gave the original, shorter form of this presentation at a conference in Barcelona, Spain on Magick, Mysticism, and Art.

Love is the law, love under will.

by Scott Plyler -

The Sigillum Dei Aemeth with Colin Campbell

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

This presentation can now be viewed here:

The Sigillum Dei, by Colin Campbell
One of the most intriguing figures in all of Western magical practice, the Sigillum Dei as detailed in the diaries of John Dee is an exceptionally intricate wheel of unintelligible names – or so it would seem. This presentation breaks down this fascinating symbol into its core components, all of which will be very familiar to the student of the occult. Deciphering its many strata of angels, archangels, and divine names, we will collectively unfold hidden within the Sigillum Dei a complete system of planetary magic in its own right!

This presentation is based on research used in The Magic Seal of Dr. John Dee: The Sigillum Dei Aemeth by Colin Campbell, published by Teitan Press.

Colin has been a member of OTO since early 2001, founder and past master of Abrahadabra Oasis after serving for ten years. He has written several books on topics that span his interests from the early Renaissance grimoire period through to modernity, including The Offices of Spirits, Of the Arte Goetia, The Sigillum Dei: Aemeth, The Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema, and Thelema: The Life, Work, and Philosophy of Aleister Crowley. He has studied Western esotericism for over thirty years, is a collector of Crowley’s works, and frequently presents at NOTOCON, the bi-annual USGL conference.

Love is the law, love under will.

by Scott Plyler -

Orishas on the Tree of Life, with Christeos Pir

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

This presentation can now be viewed here:

Join us as Christeos Pir presents his lecture “Orishas on the Tree of Life”. African-inspired religions have found expression in a startling number of ways in the Americas. From the slave trade-driven Diaspora of the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, the migration of African peoples and culture during and since that period, and the revolutionizing of communication in the contemporary era, African forms of spirituality have intermingled with, and sometimes co-opted, Anglo-European and Native American religions in those areas of creolization where these disparate cultures met, struggled, and fused. Elements of African Diasporic religion are found in such varied expressions as Candomblé, Umbanda, Palo Mayombe, Obeah, Santería/Lucumí, Vodou, “Hoodoo,” and more. In the U. S., for example, a local derivation of Haitian Vodou known as New Orleans Voodoo has been dated to the late eighteenth century or earlier. And in Brazil, some half dozen or so partially-overlapping forms of Afro-Brazilian religion have evolved. Drawing upon primary and secondary sources in anthropology, popular culture, and religious studies, this workshop explores some of the new and eclectic practices on the fringes of Afro-Diasporic religious expression. Two case studies will be examined: the synthesis of tarot and Umbanda Orixá or spirits, and the blending of tarot and qabalah with New Orleans Voodoo.

Love is the law, love under will.