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LEAH AND HEIDRICK ARGUE THE TOSS
Below is reproduced Leah's e-mail correspondence with Bill Heidrick over Leah's resignation from the 'Caliphate' OTO [editorial interpolations in square brackets]. Date: January 2001:
Heidrick: [To resign from the 'Caliphate' OTO] "all they [the members] have to do is ask the same officer that signed their letters of initiation, me."
Leah: "Ah! but not many people know this, and assume it is the Lodge Master who keeps those lists."
Heidrick says that the Lodge should, but he doesn't. "What can I say?" Except for US members, now handled under the separate US OTO, he writes to every member every time they take initiation. "Should be a clue in that."
Leah: "I don't remember getting that letter. I always thought it was a certificate, in fact at one time (Phoenix Lodge way back) I even was told it was a certificate, and when I asked about the Minerval certificate, I was told "Oh, it's in a box with a whole bunch of other papers." Never got anything."
Heidrick admitts that Certificates aren't his department. If you want a replacement, you need to contact the International Initiation Secretary 'Sr. Qadisha'. After all this time, he doubts it's still there, but a new one could be made up. David Poole might not be too willing to assist in that. Therein lays [sic] the problem. Leah wasn't satisfied, but cOTO was. The degree is one of membership, hence cOTO's records determine that. The initiation is an essential part of receiving the degree, but what satisfies the 'Caliphate' in that regard may not satisfy the candidate. Heidrick understands that Leah was offered solemnization, taking the ceremony over without additional fees.
Leah: "It was specified to me, by Mr. Poole, that I would not be permitted to go through the ceremony, but that I could "take the Oath" and nothing more."
Heidrick: "That's not right." He continues saying that taking the Oath is the core, but there should have been no difficulty including Leah's solemnization in the next round of First degrees. He doesn't know what that was about or why that was said.
Leah: "Who knows? But possibly this is because the Oasis/Lodge whatever had just been given to Poole, who did not have a temple at the time, and who certainly did not have a well. later on, as I understood it, he was working out of the Masonic Temple here, and I don't think they really liked the idea of OTO initiating females (and having naked people) in their Temple. That is what I understood anyway, and I note there was a whole long period of time the OTO in Québec had no female initiates at all, just years and years."
Poole commented in March 2002: "Leah doesn't know what she is talking about. We had the well that Phoenix Lodge built at my house reight from the beginning. And she was offered each time that there was I*sts to do to take the ritual over. She backed out each time. There was never any intention to do I* at the Masonic Temple, logistically impossible. We had a couple female members right from the beginning. Two never advanced to I* and one did and another advanced to III*. She is speaking of things that she was never even involved in. We always had women initiates in the Lodge. All I* degrees were done in my basement, where it was easy to manage the intricacies."
Heidrick asks what happened to the letter he sent Leah originally, in congratulation [sic] of Ist degree? He still has a copy in the files here.
Leah: "That I do not know, and I am wondering if you sent it to Starry Wisdom, in which case they did not pass it on to Montréal. In any case, I did not receive it. Starry Wisdom at one time did send me a large printed certificate, telling me I was a member of 'Starry Wisdom' which I returned to them, I was never a member of their Oasis, I simply went there because it was the closest initiating body."
Heidrick, Nope, although he sent a separate letter to Starry Wisdom, listing what had been reported to him and berating Alan for his conduct. The Letter to Leah went to the address on record here at the time, as he cited yesterday in email.
Leah: "I always thought the OTO actually held some kind of inquiry into the thing, considering there were three "sides", Poole's, Hoirch's and Stewart's."
Heidrick admitts, Yes, he heard of his accident. There should be other witnesses.
Leah: "This is what happened: There was a fight, or rather argument, mainly because Alan Stewart was too drunk to read the ritual. Mr. Poole left the Temple immediately, and then left the house, without further words to anyone. Mr. Hoirch went upstairs and passed out cold, so they are not really 'witnesses'. They both left me and Alan Stewart in the Temple. Alan Stewart then went into the house (the 'initiation' was in a backyard,in full view of the neighbours) and finally it was Felicity Stephens who came out and gave me something to wear. Witnesses? No, I was finally left all alone, in the 'Temple'. Naked, too. This was quite humiliating: imagine if the neighbours had come out onto their balconies, overlooking the courtyard, during the argument."
Heidrick says that if Leah got that far, she did go through the main part of the ritual. This is somewhat deja vu for him. In his own 1st, Grady couldn't continue with the ritual and Sharine had to take over, with his blessing and authority given. Something difficult about that one, he supposes.
Jerry Cornelius in March 2000: "Sharon Morton was made a lX°, during Heidrich's I° initiation, (he was standing naked in the well) due to Grady being so drunk, he was falling over. Just before he passed out, Sharon asked him to make her a lX°, so that the ceremony could go on; he did the laying on of hands thing, and passed out cold. I got this story directly from Sharon's mouth, since I know her personally.
This is similar to how I got my own IX°, btw, which is "irregular" as hell....Jim [Graeb] and I had a few drinks, and we were fairly stewed, when he did the laying on of hands, and made me take an oath, and learn a grip/word thing....Very comical.
I can feel energy running through an electrical wire. That's how sensitive I am, but I didn't feel anything that night, although it could have been the wine, I doubt it." [Ed.: Sharon Morton was McMurtry's girlfriend. McMurtry's wive, Phyllis Seckler, said that "She is his meal ticket", Seckler to K.G.D***, Dec. 8, 1978]
Leah: "All along I have been saying (though I believe at least once I asked to be considered an associate) that the ritual was not done for me, and all that I was ever offered was that 'solemnisation' which was spelled out to me specifically as "No, you may not go through the ritual, you may just take the Oath". So when I was 'reinstated' it was always as a I° (and I was also told I could not resign as a first) not as a Minerval, whereupon I would resign again."
Heidrick explains that a solemnization is a re-do of the initiation itself, to make sure any lapses were ironed out by the full experience. Just doing the Oath would not be that.
Leah: "I note above that someone paid my dues for me in 1991. I always thought that was David Poole, though he says it was Michael Hoirch. I objected no matter who did it, because it was done when both of them knew my position on the subject, and the dues were paid without my knowledge."
Heidrick thinks it came through Poole to here, but when Leah objected and he contacted Poole, Poole said Hoirch had paid it.
Leah: "That is what he seems to be saying. Whatever the case, they both knew how adamant I was being about the I°. Hoirch actually agreed with me on that, as it was in no way my fault that the three of them were too stoned/drunk to do it."
Heidrick admitts that in those days they didn't have much contact via email available. 'Snail Mail' lived up to its sobriquet and tended to leave out details. Nowadays, if you get the email to the proper officer (he can usually forward if you are not sure of who that would be), many problems of this kind can be delt with within 24 hours. They do need postal/snail mail for determining documents most of the time, since PGP and other confirming methods of email are not widely enough in use or universally accepted as legal documents. That's why he wanted a paper resignation from Leah, to avoid any ambiguity in the future. They differ in the opinion, but cOTO has to record by its standards. The Solemnization was offered for Leah's benefit, to enable her to experience the complete ritual.
Leah: "Again, I was _expressly_ and in no uncertain terms told that I would not be permitted to actually go through the ritual, but just "swear an Oath". This was by David Poole, and this is how he described the 'solemnisation' when I asked if this was going through the ritual again."
Heidrick thinks that after all this time, he doesn't know what could be done about the past. All he can say is that contacting Grand Lodge then would have cleared it up.
Leah: "Once again Hoirch, who had broken a promise to me about being stoned/drunk for ritual(s) - and no I did not know what his I° and III° oaths were either at the time - asked me to please not do anything, and give him a chance to get things straightened out. Hence his letter to you or Breeze, I don't recall which. He expected that some kind of investigation would be made into the matter. I do not think in his letter he really absolved all three Temple officers, but I don't recall. I did write that letter - sent to Breeze himself - in 1997, giving my version of the events. That is the first time I ever put it down on paper, except in my journal. I was always quite surprised that no one ever asked me what happened, considering I was the candidate!"
Heidrick recalls that they did go into Stewart's problem, and eventually kicked him out. He was suspended in 1990 e.v., but a year later he had done so much more damage that they had to revisit the matter and expell him. The suspension was partly from a failure to "shape up" after the episode Leah cited, but there was more too. They essentially gave him a couple of years under frequent review to clean up his act.
The Ist degree congratulation letter from Heidrick was dated Dec. 11, 1988 e.v. and sent to: [Leah's address in Sainte Jovite, Québec].
Leah: "It is very possible that this letter was picked up by Michael, who had a half-hours walk to the mailbox to get the mail, and that he never gave it to me, because he was quite aware of my position on the subject. Anyway that is all speculation, as I never did get that letter."
Heidrick says that's beyond anything he could have done differently at the time. If they had internet then, things would have been easier. He had to assume that mail not returned got where it was supposed to go. At the time it was under his name, but Leah appeared to be working with him on a more or less equal basis.
Leah: "Can you tell me how a Minerval and a II degree are equal?"
Heidrick thinks in some matters, not equal. In the eyes of the Order, Leah was a Ist. That would qualify her to co-govern the Camp with the understanding of the Order.
Leah: "Not in Hoirch's eyes, that's for sure, and not how he 'instructed' me. People often confuse 'degree' with 'rank', not greater service. That is unfortunate."
Heidrick thinks that otherwise, degrees in OTO have no significance in regard to who teaches who or other matters outside OTO degree structure.
Leah: "He [Hoirch] was (supposedly) my magickal teacher. He let me know in no uncertain terms, many times, that the Camp was his, and if I did not like the way he ran things, I could just leave. Eventually I did late 1989-early 1990."
Heidrick said that when he found out enough about similar conduct, he shut down the Camp.
Leah: "It was my understanding (from what I remember of Breeze's letter to Hoirch) that the camp was shut down because of Breeze's opinion that Stewart and Hoirch were both at fault (no mention of Poole, who also was involved) and were projecting onto each other, and also a 'hint' that Breeze did not like people who involved police. I was never sure what he was referring to there. The police were called on a regular basis to Starry Wisdom, Felicity (Soror Roe) was taken to the hospital at least eight times, and once her back was actually broken and she spent six months in a wheelchair. All this happened when I lived in Ste. Jovite."
Heidrick remembers that Felicity was slow to notify them. He acted, when he learned of the matters.
[Leah later commented to Heidrick: "From what Felicity told me, and I did visit her in Montréal and had some friends that moved into her house to 'protect' her from Alan at various times, she was in phone contact with Richard Gernon. [Ed.: On 18 July 1976, James Gunther, James Wasserman and Richard Gernon had left Motta's O.T.O.: Wasserman and Gernon in order to join McMurtry's 'Caliphate'. Gernon is now active in the A.·.A\ under Breeze] I do not have a clue what he did about it, if anything, but she did confide that she was talking to Richard Gernon about the problem. I had asked her if there wasn't anyone in the Order she knew that she could trust, considering that Alan was making frequent phonecalls to Bill Breeze, and she mentioned Richard Gernon. I can't tell you much more. But it was a pretty heartbreaking situation for Felicity, who of course was an older woman. Eventually her daughters came and got her out of the situation."]
Leah: "In any case, when people are assaulted and battered, it is pretty much normal here anyway for the police to be called, and the victim to be taken to the hospital. Alan did not stop assaulting people after he was expelled, he spent six months in jail for assault of an Inuit woman."
Heidrick didn't hear about that one. Alan was pretty strange, much more so than he understood for years.
Police need to be called in to maintain the peace in serious enough circumstances and to deal with otherwise dangerous or criminal activity. Causing those problems or calling in for no such significant reason would have been Breeze's issue with this.
Heidrick is presently looking at a situation several thousand miles away where police have been called in by two different, non-officer, members against each other. Heidrick's contact with the police indicates that the police themselves feel that this was done mainly to play games, not for real cause. That's grounds for bad report, suspension or even expulsion. If police are called in for real cause, that's commendable, even though unfortunate.
"Sorry all this is upsetting to you." The trouble is that Heidrick has to have rigid standards for record of membership.
Leah: "Thank you for acknowledging it - and yes, it is very upsetting to have to deal with all this. Re my various resignations: well, Mr. Poole seems to consider me still a member (just like he considered me a I° even though he walked out of the ritual and went home), and perhaps you were not advising him that I had resigned?"
Heidrick thinks that Poole is probably basing that on the last time he provided him with a list of local members who were behind in dues. He asked him at that time to advise the members of the amounts owed and especially to advise those members who were at risk of being made inactive for back dues. Heidrick did not know that Leah considered herself resigned at that time, since the last information he had on Leah was her second reinstatement.
Leah: "Ah, but I lived in Ontario and not Québec! I shouldn't have been on Poole's list anyhow."
Heidrick thinks that this is right, and that Poole complained to him that he didn't notify him at that time. No way can Heidrick avoid displeasing somebody some of the time, apparently. He did notify him of Leah's dues standing in January of 2000 e.v., when he provided a report of Québec members owing dues in his records.
Leah: "And just to clarify, in (April or May) 1997 I wrote up my version of the events and sent it to Breeze. Then I contacted a Lodge in Ontario, who agreed to let me take my I° there, if I got things straightened out with OTO. I sent in my dues. I received (first) a book catalog from Falcon Press, which infuriated me so much that I immediately sent in a resignation letter (June 1997)."
Heidrick admitts that he got the dues and he understood that Leah was seeking reactivation at Ist. That went through the Supreme council, but apparently Leah's resignation letter miscarried.
Leah: "Then I received your letter (which I still have) saying that the S[upreme] C[ouncil] would have to decide about my reinstatement. This letter is dated 30 June 1997 e.v. and sent to: [Leah at an address in Ottawa, Ontario]. In it you refer to my letter of May 9, 1997, and the dues. Yes, I was using [Simon's surname]. In Ontario (different province) they insist that women use their 'married' i.e. husband's name; in Québec they insist you use your maiden name or patronym."
Heidrick slowly is getting this figured out. He can't bend the rules for feelings.
Leah: "And I thought 'Love is the Law'!"
Heidrick says that it is, but 'Love' in Crowley's terms is the action of Will. He thinks that they do the best they can, but spiritual ideals don't always translate clearly into material or even functional records. That's what the Abyss signifies, a gap between the mortal world with its uncertainties and the immortal one with its perfections. He guesses that he's trying to say that all this fell into a 'hole', no matter the best efforts they could bring to it.
Leah: "Now I have your assurance that your records do indeed reflect my resignation(s) - even if Mr. Poole's do not, would you please so advise him. I will give you a written affirmation, not however as a I° but as a Minerval."
Heidrick tells Leah that he has queued an email to go out to him when he sends this. Assuming Poole hasn't changed his email address, he will be informed of Leah's resignation. On the affirmation, why not just phrase it as a resignation from cOTO simply. That covers both points of view. Doesn't really make that much difference, but this situation is confused enough already.
Leah: "My own conscience does not permit me to claim what I never had, and what appears to be, in the long run, contrary to my own True Will."
Heidrick says that she doesn't have to. Just a generic resignation covers it.
Leah: "Sorry I left my answer so long. I am very busy, and wanted a chance to wade through all my old journals and correspondence, since I usually go by memory. Now we heard nothing from the S[upreme] C[ouncil] from your letter of 30 June until the end of August. At the end of August we moved back to Montréal, so my husband could attend school. I think in that whole time, all we got was one copy of the 'Magickal Link'."
Heidrick says Should have had more copies of that.
Leah: "The resignation letter will be sent by certified mail."
Heidrick says Thank you. Don't panic if it takes a while for him to pick up and sign the card. He'll be away from this Friday through Saturday after next. If Leah hasn't sent it yet, she might want to hold off on a certified mailing for about ten days. They may otherwise return it if it arrives about the time he departs, since those are only held about a week or so before returning to sender if unclaimed in that time. For security, Heidrick is the only one who picks up the mail at the Fairfax P.O. Box.
He says Thank you for emailing that amendment to Leah's complaint with the commission.
LEAH'S AMENDMENT TO HER COMPLAINT TO THE HUMAN AND YOUTH RIGHTS COMMISSION
Here is the letter Leah has sent to the OTO, in February 2001:
[AIWAZ-THELHMA]
On Friday, 11 January 2002, Leah published on the Yahoo Aiwaz-Thelhma list, concerning alleged theft of her material by Tim Maroney, a 'Caliphate' member:
NEMO PANDRAGON'S STORY: BREEZE AND THE LIBER AL MANUSCRIPT
February 2001
Nemo Pandragon: "Did you know that Bill Breeze is living in Prague now? He expects to be there until October [2001], when his lease is finished. He was in the hospital in Prague in the Fall season with back problems. I believe he has been working for a ministry of the Czech government regarding computer information systems. My informant speaks with him, periodically, on the telephone.
My purpose in telling you this is to attract your interest. I'm seeking some information and I wonder if you can help me fill in the blanks.
I knew in the 1970's that the original manuscript of the Book of the Law had been lost for many years. Sometime in the 1990's a knowledgeable fellow, who was not an O.T.O. member, was rummaging around an estate sale in the Los Angeles area of California and came across the original handwriting of Liber Al. He recognized it and dutifully delivered it to the local O.T.O. chapter. The person who had died and who's possessions were being sold had no connection to any Thelemic organization and it was a mystery how he had come into possession of the manuscript. Apparently, it had lain forgotten in an attic for decades.
Shortly after the manuscript turned up, my informant passed the information along to me in detail. I foolishly assumed that there would be jubilation at the O.T.O. and that they would be bragging and telling the whole story in their online publications. So I didn't make notes at the time. To my surprise there was silence. My informant has been unable to retrieve the details of this find although the basic story was confirmed by Lon Milo DuQuette this last Fall.
An obvious purpose to keep this story secret is that a clear prophecy was made in 1975: "...the original writing of the Book of the Law shall be rediscovered after years of loss..." The Caliphate rejected the validity of the prophecy. Certainly Bill Breeze knew about this prophecy. He rejected it in 1977 and instead headed out to California to hook up with Grady McMurtry. I discussed it with him again in 1986 when he tried to get me to join his O.T.O. I figured at the time he just wanted to silence me with an oath of secrecy. I told him I already new all the important secrets and there was nothing new for me to learn from joining them. I guess he thinks it would be better to let sleeping dogs lie rather than reveal the discovery of the manuscript. Most people don't know the handwriting was missing in the first place. Certainly the big shots in the Caliphate know the whole story. I wonder how the lackeys will feel about being kept in the dark if the story ever gets out.
Did you know about this story? Can you add any details, such as names or dates, to it? Can you find out? Because of my informant I knew that Bill Breeze had fled the U.S., in December of 1999, three days after he got to Europe. I can get you his address and phone number in Prague, if you want it. But Bill knows me and that we have my informant in common. Even though "Nemo Pandragon" is a pseudonym, he would make the connection easily if he got wind that I was connected to a leak of information and he would cut off my informant. I think you're clever enough to handle information I may give you with discretion. I knew Bill when he was a student at Harvard before he connected with McMurtry. I can fill in some of his story in Montréal if it would help. But I really want to consolidate the story around the discovery of the handwriting. Ultimately, I don't think Bill is very important in the scheme of things. He was blind when I knew him and I have no reason to believe that he has gained any real initiation since then."
[Editorial: A short outline from P.R. Koenig's Der O.T.O. Phaenomen RELOAD [partly in German]: "Eine mittelschwere Sensation meldet der kalifornische O.T.O.: Das Originalmanuskript des Buchs des Gesetzes [...] ist wie durch ein Wunder aufgetaucht, zusammen mit diversen Dokumenten aus dem Nachlass von Karl Germer [...] Der kalifornische [Buch]Antiquar Tom Whitmore war in eine neue Wohnung in Berkeley, San Francisco, gezogen - und fand das so gut wie unversehrte Material in Pappkartons im Keller! Anscheinend gehörte das Haus samt Keller früher einmal der Witwe Germers." "Unicorn", X;84, 134, Bonn 1984. Am 12.7.84 hat Thomas Withmore ein entsprechendes Rundschreiben verfasst. Der Fund besteht hauptsächlich aus zwei Kisten mit Germer-Material. Hilfe beim Ordnen findet Whitmore in Josh Gordon, zu dem bald William Heidrick stösst. Israel Regardie sichtet das Material durch, während McMurtry noch überhaupt nichts davon weiss: man befürchtet nämlich, er könnte vor Aufregung einer Herzattacke erlegen. Eigenartig ist der Zeitpunkt dieses Fundes, der so nebenbei von Whitmore selber erwähnt wird: "In among the papers we found the letters Crowley sent making Germer his legate in the United States, the original charter of the O.T.O. as given to Crowley in the 1920s [?], and various letters from Gerald Yorke about the manuscript of LIBER AL. One of the copies of AMRITA was annotated in Crowley's hand. There were also a large number of the original copyright forms for Crowley's books. The copyright papers and some of the letters from Crowley are going to be instrumental in a lawsuit the O.T.O. is fighting over who has the copyrights to Crowley's work". Phyllis Seckler, deren Sohn Paul Stuart vor Gericht indirekt beschuldigt wird, diese zwei Kisten in Withmores Keller deponiert zu haben, gibt ihre Version der Hintergründe. Sie beschuldigt den Hauptuntersuchungsrichter Gualdoni, der nach dem Tod Sascha Germers einen Teil des Nachlasses zum Eigennutz verkauft habe, McMurtry vs. Motta, 14.5.85, 267. Ein Rory Root soll 1977 schon Material aus dem Germer-Nachlass an Heidrick verkauft haben, so Heidrick in McMurtry vs. Motta, 16.5.85, 624. Das Originalmanuskript des Liber AL ist 1948 aus dem Besitz Gerald Yorkes an Karl Germer geschickt worden."]
WHY BILL BREEZE WAS THROWN OUT OF CANADA
Nemo Pandragon: "Bill Breeze spent six years at Harvard University in Boston. His education was paid for by his father's G.I. Bill provisions for the children of U.S. servicemen. He stretched the schooling out as long as he could without graduating, which would have ended the financial support.
In 1979 his career in Boston came to an end. He had already made contact with Grady McMurtry and wanted to impress the old man with his ability. He went to Montréal and started an O.T.O. encampment based on McMurtry's Caliphate.
PRK question: "Tell me why Breeze was thrown out of Canada, and when exactly?"
Nemo Pandragon: "My contact does not remember the incident, but will speak with someone who may remember in a week or so. It is probable that it was something simple like overstaying a visitor's visa. If it was serious he would have had trouble re-entering the country, but he was back in 1986."
Note that to travel between the U.S. and Canada, in those days, required no passport or hard copy visa. One would simply give one's name and expected length of stay and be waived through the border. There was no real documentation to record who was where.
Bill had been living in Montréal with a woman named Mimi. He was building the membership in his group. Mimi had a husband, however. The husband was not pleased that Bill was carrying on with his wife. He was angry and verbally threatened Bill. Eventually, the husband went to the immigration authorities to complain that Bill was staying illegally in the country. It was not unusual for Americans to stay in Canada for years without a proper working visa or official 'Landed Immigrant' status. For a foreign national to get a real job, pay taxes and receive social benefits from the provincial or federal levels of government, that person had to be documented through proper procedures. The authorities ignored the many Americans who lived on the underground economy. When Mimi's husband went to the Immigration Department to complain, the authorities acted very reluctantly. They contacted Bill and politely asked him to do the paperwork or leave the country within a specific period of time. There was no big drama. Bill was not charged with any crime or civil infraction of the laws. He had no trouble re-entering the country.
I didn't get the year in which this happened in my last conversation. I would guess in 1980 or 1981. I can ask again if it is important to you.
Note: around the time Bill Breeze was hooking up with McMurtry, I was spending time with Jim Beck in Portland, Oregon. You can read a review of 'The Book of Perfection' by Fra. Iakasa 93 in the O.T.O. Newsletter from 1977 at: www.jps.net/morise/ tiphareth/ otonl/volume1/ number3.html#3-12. You can download the full text of The Book of Perfection from: www.aiwass.com where it is named Liber440.pdf.
Is Fra. Iakasa 93 Bill Heidrick?"
BREEZE'S WANDERINGS
PRK question: "I also would like to know when exactly Breeze moved to Prague, what his plans are for the future, and where he was before Prague. Is he forced to earn his own living?"
Nemo Pandragon: "Bill was pretty paranoid when he fled Austin. He did not say where he was other than 'Europe'. The first time he mentioned a place was 'Prague' early last Fall. Around the Winter Solstice he gave more details but said nothing about where he had been previously. He boasted about winning in the lawsuit against [John] Symonds whom he called "an old fool." My contact was irritated by that remark, having met Mr. Symonds and appreciating his kindness and generosity. Bill indicated that he wants to return to the U.S. to be near his son, whom he says he misses. Note that the relationship between Bill and my contact is friendly and social. The two are not conducting business. My contact bears no grudge against Bill and is happy to maintain the relationship, such as it is.
Although I have not spoken with him since 1986, I enjoyed his company when we were friends. I like him personally. I just don't like what he is doing regarding copyrights. It amounts, in my mind, to censorship. As far as I'm concerned all of Crowley's works are in the public domain. End of story.
I think Bill is very bright but does not have initiated insight. He does not believe that Liber Al is what A.C. thought it was but rather an interesting work from the psyche of a remarkable man. Therefore, he operates solely on the basis of reason. Americans are noted for bluff and bravado in business and Bill is just acting true to form. He is pretty contemptuous of the Caliphate's membership, suggesting they are just there to pay the bills. This only confirms what you already know. Bill has always been interested in appearing to know "secrets" and speaking with condescension to everyone around him. If you try to pin him down on an issue he simply patronizes you. If you are irritated with that, it clearly proves that you are being childish, but father Breeze understands. Obviously it works for him, given the otherwise intelligent people he has manipulated to his profit."
BREEZE MAKES A MOCKERY OF THELEMA
PRK question: "You said of Breeze in your first email to me that "In 1979 his career in Boston came to an end." What career?"
Nemo Pandragon: "It is simply an expression. Bill spent six years as an undergraduate at Harvard. Being a student is how he made his living at that stage of his life. He made a career out of it."
PRK question: "Of course every country has an underground economy, but it usually includes people who live off illegal activities as well, because of the lack of documentation - for instance, drug dealers etc. So Breeze lived here, and we assume made enough money to pay rent, worked for 93 publishing (right?) but 'undocumented', meaning he did not pay taxes?"
Nemo Pandragon: "It is not necessary to assume that Bill made enough money to pay rent. He was used to living cheaply. He could have found a warm place to stay just by being an amusing house guest. Housing in Montréal was very inexpensive in those days and people were more open to having friends stay as guests than in most cities. Bill would not have had to do much more than contribute to a few meals, and if he was staying with a paramour...
Yes, Peter MacFarlane, who owned 93 Publishing, appreciated Bill's abilities as an editor and archivist and, I'm sure, would have paid Bill for his services. Peter certainly paid taxes himself but was very generous by nature and probably paid Bill in cash. I have no trouble believing that Bill could make the rounds of friends and lovers for a couple of years without having to pay rent or engage in criminal activity to live in Montréal in the late 70's and early 80's.
To my mind the bottom line with Bill Breeze is that he found Crowley attractive because he wrote in an obscure Victorian academic style about esoteric subjects. Most of the people reading Crowley's work did not have the schoolboy Greek and Latin that pepper the writing. Crowley veiled much of what he meant behind the pompous posturing of 'The Demon Crowley' and obscure references to the Qabalah. Bill can pontificate about the literal meanings with ease, and folks without a classical education, or practical magickal experience, think he must have more than a superficial understanding of the material. He is a mocker and, true to form, he has made a mockery of Thelema in general and the O.T.O. in particular.
Bill has built up an organization that collects money for him to act out his foolishness. His participation is not based on sincerity or real initiation. At the end of the day he will be the author of his own destruction. For me, it is like watching a train wreck in progress. 'Begone! ye mockers; even though ye laugh in my honour ye shall laugh not long: then when ye are sad know that I have forsaken you.' (Liber AL, Ch. 2 v. 56)."
INTERMEZZO BY LEAH
Leah: "This is what Hoirch told me. After Breeze was told to leave by immigration, he went over to help Breeze "pack" for the move to NYC, there were other helpers but I don't know who.
Apparently Breeze was "packing" up all the 93 publishing typesetting equipment, and all the paper work (so where were the MacFarlanes?).
And at one point, Breeze said to Hoirch, "oh, you are really interested in Crowleyana, huh?" and took Hoirch aside (to another room, I don't know the layout) to where there was, Hoirch said, a "big filing cabinet". Breeze opened a drawer, and showed Hoirch a whole drawer (maybe a whole cabinet) of unpublished Crowley material, and apparently permitted Hoirch to sit there and read some of it.
This story *always* bothered me, but even more so now. My mind kept "connecting" all those papers to the Sascha [Germer] robbery.
All I know is this, you can imagine at first I didn't know which questions to ask, and later knew it would be very dangerous to ask any at all (getting beaten up does that to you)."
BILL BREEZE THE IGNORAMUS
PRK question: "Has Breeze got a Ph.D. or the like?"
Nemo Pandragon: "I spent time with him during his last year at Harvard. He had avoided graduating in order to maintain the funding from the G.I. Bill. I don't know if he finally got a B.A. degree or not. As far as I know, he did not continue any formal education after that."
PRK question: "It is known that Breeze lived with Peter Cohen for a time Do you have further information on this?"
Nemo Pandragon: "No."
PRK question: "It's pretty well known that Richard Gernon and Mimi (Mireille LeGallic) were both junkies; though they supposedly reformed they're both dead. And Alan Stewart was hooked on heroin until he got into cocaine - in fact he lost everything he owned - seven rooms full of stuff and a big temple to his cocaine addiction; he's dead too by the way. So that's three of Bill Breeze's closest associates now dead, two of them drug or alcohol related."
Nemo Pandragon: "I don't know these people. I also lost some friends and acquaintances to heroin. Sad."
PRK question: "Those drugs are not legal in Canada either?"
Nemo Pandragon: "Definitely not legal."
PRK question: "I guess you'd have to be really naive to believe that all Breeze's close associates were heroin addicts, and yet he never touched the stuff?"
Nemo Pandragon: "I can't say whether or not Bill tried heroin. I would assume that he did. I once tried smoking some very pure heroin, and didn't like it at all - it was a good lesson. I also tried sniffing high quality cocaine. The rock gave me a headache. The flake was very nice but the high was not worth the come-down. Bill and I shared an appreciation for psychedelics. I do not think Bill was self-destructive with drugs. In our youth we were both experimenters trying to find what value they might have had for us."
PRK question: "And then there is MacFarlane's disappearance. Wasn't there something about a ton of hash being imported?"
Nemo Pandragon: "Peter MacFarlane is well, and lives in British Columbia, Canada.
In your online 'Introduction to the Ordo Templi Orientis' you say, "McMurtry was succeeded on his death in 1985 by William Breeze (a IV° at the time of his election), a French-Canadian student of Grant and Michael P. Bertiaux."
Certainly Bill Breeze was never a French-Canadian. He was, and is, a garden variety American. He may have studied some of Kenneth Grant's books, however by the time he arrived in Montréal Peter MacFarlane had broken his ties with Grant's O.T.O. So Breeze was not a member of the 'Typhonian' O.T.O. through MacFarlane. The rift between Grant and MacFarlane was, at least partially, due to the publication of 'Liber 440, The Book of Perfection' by 93 Publishing in 1977. Also by this time, Bill had been in contact with the 'Caliphate' and seemed to think it was the 'real thing'."
PRK question: "Why and when did you lose contact with Breeze, exactly?"
Nemo Pandragon: "I lost contact with Bill at the end of 1977 or beginning of 1978. I went to Oregon to spend time with 777 and 181. (They are mentioned in 'Liber 440').
I spent some time with Bill in 1986. It was enjoyable to catch up on old times, but he and I had clearly taken different paths. He did try to get me to join his O.T.O. and introduced me to the local folks. I did not believe that the O.T.O. had anything of value to teach to me that I had not already learned. This is born out by the expostulations on the Will and the meaning of Thelema written by 'high initiates' of various branches of the order. Example: http://hermetic.com/sabazius/will.htm
I am grateful to them for displaying their ignorance for all the world to see. In the above reference Sabazius [aka David Scriven, Breeze's Xth degree for the US] aptly quotes Crowley - then proceeds to prove that he does not understand the issue. Also I was acutely aware that should I join an O.T.O. lodge I would be required to swear not to divulge their 'secrets'. I have no intention of signing a 'shut up' agreement. I don't think they know their secrets.
To my mind initiation is real. It is a real shift of perspective. It is both the cause of and the result of real life ordeals. The notion that one person can impart initiation to another by virtue of lineage, or laying on of hands, or passing "grade papers", is a venal lie. That is: an untruth whose purpose is to gain wealth for the deceiver. See Liber440.pdf - 718, 1: 10. I think Liber 440 is a magick mirror. As the reader changes so does the reflection. I think most people, who claim to love Liber AL, simply put it on a pedestal and revere it from afar. They regard it as an icon rather than a dynamic agent of initiation."
PRK question: "Do you have the email address of Peter McFarlane?"
Nemo Pandragon: "As far as I know, he does not wish to be found. I'll send him your e-mail address, but don't hold your breath waiting for a transmission."
WITCHCRAFT, VIOLENCE, AND THE O.T.O.
April 2001
Leah: "I thought you might like to see this letter I sent to Dale Dalessio, Vice-President of PFPC, Inc., 'The Pagan Federation Paienne (of) Canada'.
Currently its President, a woman named Gina Ellis, has been 'hanging out' on the http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/PSYCHOPOMP group.
I know some of these women: they started off as 'fluffy bunny' feminists, and I think they are pretty clueless about the COTO wolves in their midst.
[In May 2001, Leah also sent a similar letter to the moderator of the Concordia University Pagan Society's ('CUPS') online discussion group:]
'Also, here is a copy of the piece I have written thus far on Violence to Women in the Occult (Pagan Community), in May 2001:
[Shanna replied:]
Leah: "The list of the Concordia University Pagan Society where Hoirch, his son-in-law and daughter-in-law "teach" what they call "Magick 101" or Witchcraft.
And this is my second warning from the 'CUPagans' list, though my posts had absolutely nothing at all to do with OTO (recent posts) or him, but with many other things.
I do not take that warning lightly. I quit, and the e-mail is one I sent to the "owner" of the group who warned me. My next step will probably be to bring it to the attention of the University administration. I do not feel I have to live in fear any longer from this person, Michael Hoirch, which is exactly how I lived for many many years."
THE 'CALIPHATE' HAS NO SEVENTH, EIGHTH, OR NINTH DEGREE
[In May 2001, on the 'Psychompomp' mailing list 'Rikki' wrote: "O.T.O. Degree Initiations I°, II°, & III° (Original, circa the 1920s). Wiccan Degree Initiations I°, II°, & III° (Original 1949). Initiates compare if possible."]
[Ed.: Some Theodor Reuss O.T.O. rituals can be found here]
Leah replied: "I have duly compared the rituals, and being an initiate of both systems, will say: COTO does not have the VII°, VIII° and IX° rituals, because The Craft of Wicca has them. - the _Initiated Craft_, which works "behind the veil". The VII° of O.T.O. is the "first degree" red cord Craft priestess. She is also the "priestess specially consecrated to our Order for the EGC Mass" (but with the OTO in its present state I wouldn't put a red cord priestess anywhere near cOTO - to explain this statement see my footnote).
The VIII° of O.T.O. is the "second degree" (so called) High Priestess and Witch Queen.
The IX° of O.T.O., of course, with its Great Rite, or "third degree" (so-called): The High Priestess of a Coven, first among equals and head of the Council within her league _and_ The High Priest of a Coven.
The three degrees of Wicca are behind the veil, it's Initiates are the Soverign Sanctuary of the Gnosis.
For more information, I highly recommend O.T.O. Rituals and Sex Magick by Theodor Reuss and Aleister Crowley, published by IHO Books, A.R. Naylor (c) 1999 Naylor (Reuss material owned by A.R.W. and P.R. Koenig).
Please note that only the Reuss VII°, VIII° and IX° O.T.O. Rituals appear in this book. Craft Initiates should compare these with the three Wicca degrees, and they will see what I am getting at here. No one can prove that AC wrote those three (Wicca) degrees, but I would say he did, and that they are the "missing" three cOTO degrees.
Anyone who has any doubts as to the integrity of the leadership of the current cOTO, should take a look at the recent posts to be found on https://groups.yahoo.com/ group/Aiwaz_Thelema. These things are from the Caliphate's own archives.
This is NOT to say that all COTO members are bad; some of them are dupes, however. Violence to women and misogyny are not "isolated cases" but Order Wide, and it has been covered up. This is not tolerated by those of the Craft of Wiccan and Wiccen, nor will it ever be."
NO MORE O.T.O. CORPORATION IN QUÉBEC?...
February 2001
Simon: "We were checking the Government of Québec online records to see if the COTO 'corporation' had dissolved yet, and discovered these little tidbits. This one may interest you:"
"...YES!"
Poole: (18 May 2001) "The O.T.O. corp[oration] in Québec is dissolved as of May 4, 2001. Cheers, David Albert Poole"
ENVOI
Leah: "After I got done with all this, I admit it feels good to tell it. Though it was hell to live through. Real hell."
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