A Brief History

The Ordo Templi Orientis" (O.T.O.) is the name applied to an arcane tradition once known as the Stellar Wisdom, which had its roots in Lemuria. After the submergence of Atlantis the tradition was perpetuated in the mysteries of North, Central, and South America and in the Polynesian Sea Cults. But it attained its apotheosis in the pre-monumental period of Egypt's history, and in its decline it was carried over into the Typhonian Dynasties, ending with the XVIIth, although remnants of it are traceable in the XXVIth dynasty. In later ages the Wisdom reappeared in fragmented form in certain Far Eastern traditions.

Coming to more accessible and comparatively recent times, the Current surfaced again when Jacque de Molay (c. 1393) concentrated it into the Order of the Knights Templars in connection with the Mysteries of the Holy Graal. At this stage it assumed a Masonic cast.

In the 18th century the tradition appeared under the leadership of Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830); it was then known as the Order of the Illuminati. In the late 19th century an Austrian Adept named Carl Kellner gave to it a new impetus and the name by which it is now known: Ordo Templi Orientis. Kellner was the first Supreme Grand Master of the Order in its modern guise. In 1905 Kellner died and a German Theosophist, Theodor Reuss, became its head; the masonic element then became dominant. In 1923 the English magician, Aleister Crowley, took the leadership, becoming the third Grand Master until his death in 1947. For the ensuing eight years the Order's affair were conducted by its Treasurer, Karl Germer. In 1955, another English occultist, Kenneth Grant, assumed leadership of the Order, dissolved its masonic structure, although not its masonic affiliations, and realigned it with the Stellar Wisdom Tradition that originally infused it. He also established within the Order a dependent cell, New Isis Lodge, for the purpose of channelling extra-terrestrial transmissions. The Lodge operated between 1955 and 1962, during which period the Stellar Wisdom was fully aligned with the Current of Thelema (93) with which the Order had first been inspired under Crowley's leadership.

One of the Order's immediate concerns (1986) is the formulation of another specialised cell to implement methods of dealing with the massive "nightside" forces now erupting in the Earth's astral ambience. A potent means of encounter and investigation is a form of magical aesthesis, and a growing body of artist-initiates is now, in consequenc, operative within the Order. This inner group is co-ordinated by Jeffrey D. Evans, at present the sole authorised representative of the O.T.O. in America. [meanwhile: expelled]

The Ordo Templi Orientis has at all times upheld the principles of Individual Liberty, Fraternity, and Universal Benedection. Its aims and its doctrines have been expounded in the writings of successive Grand Masters, each of whom have re-defined the programme of the Order in accordance with the development of esoteric and magical techniques.

It is common knowledge that at one perion in its long history the Order was charged with practicing "Satanism" (whatever that may mean). This was in connection with the Knights Templars. Yet no-one at that time, or since, has produced a shred of genuine evidence either to suppoert the accusation or to make its meaning intelligible. The same may be said of any similar charges levelled against it today. Such charges are brought by people ignorant of the true meaning of the symbolism pertaining to the Order and its Mysteries.

A more detailed account of the Order's current activities is given in Kenneth Grant's Typhonian Trilogies: In particular, see chapter 1 of The Magical Revival (London, 1972/1991), and, for an insight into the Inner Group Working mentioned in paragraph 4 above, Nightside of Eden (London, 1977).

Issued under the Seal of the Sovereign Sanctuary, O.T.O., 8th May 1986 e.v.

with permission:

STARFIRE I,1, 1986
BCM Starfire
London WC1N 3XX
England

Starfire magazine cover, volume I number 1, 1986

Tradução portuguesa:
Uma Breve História

Michael Staley dossier

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