Karl Germer to Carl Heinz Petersen

Hampton N.J. January 6, 1954

Care Frater F.T. [Fines Transcendam]

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

Yours of Dec. 24 received. I'll answer some of your paragraphs at once. The 2 Reuss pamphlets came. Thanks! The Reschke-Washington money: don't worry overmuch. What is likely to make me mad at times is their unbusinesslike way. But that is not your fault.

Magick Without Tears, will, so God will, be ready for mailing in 2 weeks. It'll probably be 2 vols., one is too thick. That means $2.00 per volume, and $4.00 for the book. The binding will be better than cloth, but you'll see for yourself. (I could send you, if you needed them, a parcel of unbound sheets of a stated number of books.)

Translations: — I suggest you keep on working without lust of result. Events may be shaping in invisible spheres wich may demand suddenly the availability of German texts. Martha Küntzel had the same problem. Suddenly a printer was found. Berhard Sporn, Zeulenroda, a friend of mine, and we made that contract. Nobody could know that the Nazi-threat was so near.

At this time it is the Catholic Hierarchy. But beyond that it is the Old Aeon with whom we shall have to, and at this end are waging the most vicious, cruel, relentless war, the elements and methods of which I presume you have so far no notion. A.C. had been exposed to it for many decades. He knew their tricks. He warned me often when I showed ignorance, incredulity, scepticism. Now we know. Since 1942 every one of my telephones is tapped. The house in which we lived in New York was wired. Microphones had been installed in the walls. We left N.Y. but in this house it is the same. (It is, of course, an excellent magical training, in a way.) All activities of mine or my wife's are interfered with, and/or destroyed. Friends, partners, business clients become all sooner or later enemies, or worse, spies or traitors who report to the directing power which pays well, aynthing one has said or is doing. 3 weeks ago I had an appointment by telephone with a man from Europe. The meeting was in a hotel. Microphones had been installed and the conversation recorded. It had lasted 2 hours on matters of the Order. I got the evidence too late, woke up too late. — Morbid imagination? Only until you yourself become a victim of inexplicable happenings. For that reason I don't mind using our experiences as a lesson to others who are in the Work. What I have not yet found out is how the extremely clever agents succeed in persuading even good friends to become informer. Do not refer to this matter in a letter. Enough that I mention it once.

What I try to show by these few hints is the odds against which we are working here, and that only the confidence that the Gods know all about it, and also know the moment when They decide to push the button and give the command "GO!" All this was provoked by your sense of frustration, of futility in your letter. What I exepct from you is that you keep working on translations. Try where you can get this or that published. Some day there may be a big splash, and then publishers may be looking for you. -

No further from Metzger about Liber Legis: no word about financial difficulties. So I won't evoke them. Does he expect you to be responsible for the cash! I'd be very surprised!

Metzgers' translations:- so they were from him! I expct you have meanwhile received the ones he sent me with some corrections. — I agree with you that it is silly to operate the way he does. It should all be concentrated in your hands. I'll write him, as he just sent me a book of 135 pages by airmail, cost 9 Franken, and a small parcel with Abramelin oil, also by air, which is clearly a waste of money, and it does not impress me, except that I respect the sentiment.

The book is

LEBENSKUNST IN YOGA UND MAGIE, by Dr. Henry Birven, Origoverlag, Zürich.

soeben erschienen. Ich weiss nicht, ob Sie informiert über diesen Birven sind. Er hasst A.C. bis aufs Blut, und wir werden noch manches von ihm hören. Ich rate Ihnen es zu lesen oder zu kaufen. Das Kapitel über Träume besteht aus dem Abdruck der betr. Kapitel des Liber Aleph. Das Kapitel "Wie A. Crowley seine magische Berufung begründet" ist lediglich ein Abdruck einiger Stellen aus den "Confessions".

Money transfer: Don't worry about this point either. This would only arise if an Order or Lodge on a solid foundation were flourishing. To answer your positive question: the bigger need is at this phase to get things started and done in Germany. You would have to use any fees or constributions for your part of the Work.

I have obtained the release of a number of sets of the Collected Works (3 vols. paper cover). I suppose you have this, otherwise I could get some to you.

I cannot answer your questions: "why give the title Sacred Magic of A. The Mage" to the last 4 vols. of the Confessions? I suggest this: that operation loomed as the decisive in A.C's mind from the beginning. There is no end to this operation. The higher you rise the more it, the object of the apparent goal, recedes. These Confessions, or records, end in 1923. After that we have nothing except letters, diaries which have then become bery brief and sketchy. Some day somebody will have to search all the material we have (here or in London) and write a sequel to A.C.'s personal work. If I publish these 4 vols. I may well stick to the title "Confessions" and add the present as sub-title.

As to the list of A.C.'s works you sent (I use arabic numbers) 623, 106, were published in "The International"; all we have to do is to get them copied, I have only one copy. 73, The Urn, all we have is what is in the last vols of the Confessions (material which you don't have. We get the complete record of this work, which so far is lost; if we do, it shall be published.) 60, The Lost Continent is lost [*]; I may know one copy which still exists. It is not too important. I had read it when we still had it. I'm surprised Martha K- had no copy? 66 The Beast. Your query: no! It does not survive. 265 ditto 1264 Was never written. 49 I have this, one copy only. I have with it some further Yi King (or, as Wilhelm writes, I Ging, material. I have asked if a sister would be prepared to type it. — Do you know the Yi King? Do you use it?

After you have received all or most of the Lekve material, I suggest you make up a complete list: books, Typescripts, English, German, and translations, and send me. I'll then see what else I can send.

Lekve: — Yes, let me bury the matter for the time. It is my habit before I do so, to condense the salient facts and points of a case into a statement. Once this is done I have a record, and I can forget the case. -

O.T.O. You must have realised that my heart and soul are not very deeply in this. A.C. knew this. He suggested to me that after his death I may either drop this form or system of working, or devise my own entirely independent method.

The fact is that there are 3 (possibly more) groups in the world who claim some sort of right to run the O.T.O. There is Tränker in Germany who had a charter from Reuss, which A.C. acknowledged.- There [are] several groups in Sweden or Denmark (Grunddahl Sjallung, Copenhagen): in Switzerland (as you know): in France, where at time Jean Bricaud was Grandmaster, now dead); there was a man in Italy, whose name I don't know at the moment; the Self-Realisation Fellowship, of whom you probably have heard from Metzger; and finally Frater Achad who had a Charter from Reuss for North America. Then Spencer Lewis of the A.M.O.R.C. has an O.T.O. Charter from Reuss.

It is true that Tränker and Achade elected and acclaimed 666 as O.H.O. [*], a position which, as you know from the O.T.O. international statues (Verfassung) makes the O.H.O. Sovereign King, who cannot be deposed etc. But friction had developed and Reuss grew in the last years very skeptical about Thelema, which he had accepted for the O.T.O. to some extent, as you know from many translated publications in the Oriflamme. Reuss had some acid correspondence with A.C. around 1921 or 1922 where he denounced the Book of the Law; there was a conference in that year in Palermo where Reuss and A.C. met [*]. We have no record of the result. A.C. maintained that Reuss appointed him as his successor after his death! We do not have any papers, documents, letters, or diaries of A.C.'s on this fact. The only fact that we know is that Reuss died and the above two elected A.C. as O.H.O. [*] A.C. never good at organisation, kept no records, evidently never kept up with the brethren in France, and other countries.

After Reuss' death his widow kept the Golden Book with all the addresses, correspondence, etc. etc., Charters and what not. In 1922 (I think) Tränker went to München, saw Mrs. Reuss and extracted from her all this material. He lived in the house of Barth (Otto Wilhelm Barth Verlag). He stayed one day too long, for Mrs. Reuss got fright, obtained T.'s address, rushed over, and succeeded in forcing T. to return the documents. — In 1930 I was often with Krumm-Heller (father) who also held a charter from Reuss (though only for a limited degree [*]). He knew Mrs. R. and and we went ot her one day to get the documents, but she wanted too much money and A.C. did not consider it worth it. — Now the Self Realisation Fellowship in California claims to have all those documents including the Golden Book. They sent a man to Europe, and the boss came even himself and claim rights as heads of the International O.T.O: Metzger told me they were very active; I obtained documents showing that they contacted all existing groups of the O.T.O., checked their Charters, and, if approved by them, demanded confirmation for a ridiculously high fee in dollars. There are the facts as far as I know them.

We have nothing to compare or compete with them. We do not know to whom Reuss issued charters and for what grade. A.C. said that at the end of his life Reuss got panicky and issued charters right and left to whoever paid, worthy or not. This S.R.F. is a pure swindle, as are all this American occult societies, Orders, and what not. We have checked and evidently nobody has incorporated (registered) the O.T.O., at least not in California. The plan was to Incorporate the O.T.O the [missing part?] And we may yet do this. (It was never done before, as the law requires in such a case annual, very complicated supervision, books, etc., and there is only a very small group at present.)

There are two other angles: Tränker has stated that he had the exclusive jurisdiction in Germany. Achad had his Charter from Reuss "ad vitam". He expected me after A.C.'s death to come pater peccavi and plead with him for transfer of for a new Charter — for a high fee, of course. (He himself had been converted to Romanism in 1931, and was leading in the U.B., thus hostile to O.T.O. and had declared that he was not running the O.T.O.) — It is quite possible that, in order to get his money back that he probably paid Reuss for the Charter, he may have conferred a Charter to the S.R.F., and helped them buy the documents from Mrs. Reuss, or someone did so himself. (The link 666: Achad was completely broken since 1936.

You can see the state of utter confusion that exists in matters of organisation of the O.T.O. We have, of course, the papers, rituals, and the knowledge. But I have never been active in lodge work. For A.C. did not operate a lodge, not even during the period of the 3 years in Cefalù. There was only a lodge in California operating and the leading man was deposed by A.C.

With Metzger I took the stand that he had been in the O.T.O. through his old master Pinkus, so I viewed my authorisation only as a continuation of his previous O.T.O. work, with the exception that he had been working the old Reuss rituals (which did not accept the Law of Thelema), and that he now adopted our rituals.

In your case it would be an entirely new charter. I do not know whether 2 Grandmasters can operate the O.T.O. at the same time in one country (Tränker still being alive), despite the fact that A.C. appointed me Grandmaster X° of all the German-speaking peoples as far back as 1938 [?] or so. And A.C. as O.H.O. had evidently the power to override any claim of Tränker's [*] In 1941 A.C. appointed me as his successor after his death.

This is the situation. I though I owe you an exposé of the facts in order to explain the situation in which find myself. If in the face of this, you feel the will to build up somnething new in Germany, I think there is no hesitation on my part to give you a Charter. Think this over, and then let me know.

I have a hunch that new developments are in the breeding process, even such an idea for me to sell this house, and move either to California with all the material, or — believe it or not — of setting up Headquarters in Europe, Germany, Switzerland, or? All this is speculation for the present. Constant, calm, productive work under the present climate generally and personally, is not easy here.

I will now close this endless letter, and will only add that you will find much on O.T.O. matters when you received Magick Without Tears.

Love is the law, love under will.

Fraternally