Dear Mr. Koenig, Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. My ceremony in 1992 e.v. was performed by one of the two founding members, and I was told (again by way of a telephone conversation) that the order evolved from a "contact" that the two founders were said to have had in the "astral" with R.H.K. himself! However, in 1994 e.v. that order released their public manifesto ["Preliminary Thoughts on H.O.O.R."] in which they say (with no reference, anywhere, to said "contact") "The Holy Order Of RaHoorKhuit was conceived in mid August 1978ev. H.O.O.R. was officially founded as the new outer Order of Thelema in 1992ev." (page 1) The two founders are the men Ray Eales [Frater 939.'.] and J** [Frater Aster Argos (Eleutherios IV' K.E.W., Caliphate)]. Frater 939.'. was a pupil of Marcello Ramos Motta until the latter's death; Frater Aster Argos was a pupil of Frater 939.'. Generally, I am curious if Mr. Motta had a hand in the conceptualization of the order in 1978 e.v., as Brother Lower would have been 21 at the time, and not then a Thelemite by his own admission. Also, 1978 e.v. would have been a time wherein Mr. Motta might have been thinking of such things; as you say in your [on-line] paper "Song of the Whitewash":
Are you member of any of the many OTO-groups (besides that phone-initiation into HOOR) or are you a FM, as well?
No. I was to have been initiated in 1992 e.v. into the Caliphate, until I began research in directions displeasing to my III' sponsor and Brother Heidrick. I had been baptized into the Caliphate EGC by a IV' Knight of the East and West, and he (Frater Eleutherios) suggested the alternative route of H.O.O.R. Also, I am a member of the A.·. A.·. line descended from Eales, though I have been inactive in that line since it began to focus all its energy on H.O.O.R. I am not a Freemason, as the local lodges do not allow the V.S.L. to be anything other than the "bible". As a practicing Thelemite, I will not take such oaths to the "bible". Basically, I am an isolated initiate working (occasionally) with other Fraters and Sorors in the surrounding area. I take every opportunity to study the rites and ceremonies of these orders, however--as I said in an earlier letter: I am always interested in truth, wheresoever it may be found. The basic rites in King's book are easily found, as are the rites of the Scottish rite up to the VII' Royal Arch; these I have studied in detail.
When I underwent (what part I underwent in person) the H.O.O.R. ritual, it was hardly more than an impromptu ceremony by one of the founders based on their outline of what the I' should be. [There were said to be less than 20 members worldwide at the time; & many of those were Caliphate!] That was the only actual "ceremony" of H.O.O.R. I was ever able to see [& parts of it, at that time, seemed to be lifted from the A.·. A.·. initiation Liber 671]. Q.B.L.H. is said to have no "initiation" rituals, and I had not heard of the Choronzon club until I saw your URL. I have also been unable to find texts relating to the rites of Memphis & Mitzraim.
--You tell me that HOOR consists of many "Caliphate" members.
When it was first founded, yes; I really don't know what the percentages are now. Of the four present at my "initiation" [excluding myself], all were Caliphate as well as H.O.O.R.; of the three names on my certificate, all but Eales were Caliphate. Over half of the early members of H.O.O.R. were Caliphate, if I am not mistaken. Most of those, I believe, eventually left the Caliphate; some even left H.O.O.R. as well [including one of the founders, J**].
As far as I know: the "Caliphate" sees no bar in a dual membership, while the HOOR authorities are somewhat against such. Regarding SOTO and "Caliphate": there seem to be huge problems, still.
A member of H.O.O.R. once remarked that if I were interested in being a member of both H.O.O.R. and O.T.O [Caliphate] I should keep my membership in H.O.O.R. secret, as they [the Caliphate] looked down on such affiliations. In fact, both Brother Lower and Soror Gaidosh had their Camp/Lodge of the Caliphate shut down after it was discovered that they were both founding officers in H.O.O.R. [according to them; the camp/lodge was closed, but the Caliphate never gave any reasons that I am aware of].
