Peace, Tolerance, Truth
Salutation on all points of the Triangle
Respect to the Order.
To all whom it may concern: Greeting and Health
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
It does not include the A.'.A.'., with which august body it is, however, in close alliance.
It does not in any way infringe the just privileges of duly authorized Masonic Bodies.
It embodies the whole of the secret knowledge of all Oriental Orders; and its chiefs are initiates of the highest rank, and recognized as such by all capable of such recognition in every country in the world. In more remote times, the constituent originating assemblies of the O.T.O. included such men as:2
Fohi | Hippolytus |
Laotze | Merlin |
Siddartha | Arthur |
Krishna | Titurel |
Tahuti | Amfortas |
Ankh-f-n-khonsu | Percivale |
Herakles | Mosheh |
Orpheus | Odysseus |
Vergilius | Mohammed |
Catullus | Hermes |
Martialis | Pan |
Apollonius Tyanæus | Dante |
Simon Magus | Carolus Magnus |
Manes | William of Schyren |
Basilides | Frederick of Hohenstaufen |
Valentinus | Roger Bacon |
Bardesanes | Jacobus Burgundus Molensis |
King Wu | Ko Hsuen |
Christian Rosenkreutz | Osiris |
Ulrich von Hutten | Melchizedek |
Paracelsus | Khem |
Michael Maier | Menthu |
Jakob Boehme | Johannes Dee |
Francis Bacon | Sir Edward Kelly |
Andréa | Thos. Vaughan |
Robertus de Fluctibus | Elias Ashmole |
Chau | Comte de Chazal |
Saturnus | Sigismund Bacstrom |
Dionysus | Molinos |
And recently:3
Wolfgang von Goethe | Friedrich Nietzsche |
Sir Richard Payne Knight | Hargrave Jennings |
Sir Richard Francis Burton | Karl Kellner |
Forlong Dux | Eliphas Lévi |
Ludovicus Rex Bavariæ | Franz Hartmann |
Richard Wagner | Cardinal Rampolla |
Ludwig von Fischer | Papus (Dr. Encausse) |
The names of women members are never divulged.
It is not lawful here to disclose the name of any living chief.
It was Karl Kellner who revived the exoteric organization of the O.T.O. and initiated the plan now happily complete of bringing all occult bodies again under one governance.
The letters O.T.O. represent the words Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Temple of the Orient, or Oriental Templars), but they have also a secret meaning for initiates.
It is bosom repose the Great Mysteries; its brain has resolved all the problems of philosophy and of life.
It possess the secret of the Stone of the Wise, of the Elixir of Immortality, and of the Universal Medicine.
Moreover, it possesses a Secret capable of realizing the world-old dream of the Brotherhood of Man.
It also possesses in every important centre of population a hidden Retreat (Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum) where members may conceal themselves in order to pursue the Great Work without hindrance.
There are many other officers, but they do not concern those to whom the present manifesto is addressed.
0° | Minerval. |
I° | M. |
II° | M. . |
III° | M.'. |
IV° | P.'.M.'. Companion of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch. |
Prince of Jerusalem. | |
Knight of the East and of the West. | |
V° | Sovereign Prince of Rose Croix (Knight of the Pelican and Eagle.) |
Member of the Senate of Knight Kermetic Philosophers, Knights of the Red Eagle. | |
VI° | Illustrious Knight (Templar) of the Order of Kadosch, and Companion of the Holy Graal. |
Grand Inquisitor Commander, Member of the Grand Tribunal. | |
Prince of the Royal Secret. | |
VII° | Very Illustrious Sovereign Grand Inspector General. |
Member of the Supreme Grand Council. | |
VIII° | Perfect Pontiff of the Illuminati. |
IX° | Initiate of the Sanctuary of the Gnosis. |
X° | Rex Summus Sanctissimus (Supreme and Most Holy King). |
Beyond this, admission is only granted by invitation from the governing body concerned.
The O.T.O., though an Academia Masonica, is not a Masonic Body so far as the 'secrets' are concerned in the sense in which that expression is usually understood; and therefore in no way conflicts with, or infringes the just privileges of, the United Grand Lodge in England, or any Grand Lodge in America or elsewhere which is recognized by it.6
The First Annual Subscription is payable on taking the Third Degree; if this is taken after June 30 in any year, only half the amount is due. Subscriptions of old members are due on January 1, but the Brother is considered in good standing, and he does not lose his rights, if it is paid by March 1. Should he fail to discharge his obligation by this date, he ceases ipso facto to be a member of the Order, but may be reinstated on paying arrears and Five Dollars extra. If his lapse extend to the next year following, he can only be reinstated under special conditions, and by the express consent in writing of the National Grand Master General ad vitam.
1° | They have not only access to, but
instruction in, the whole
body of hidden knowledge preserved in the Sanctuary from the beginning of its
manifestion. In the lower grades the final secrets are hinted and conveyed in symbol, beneath veil, and through sacrament. In this way the intelligence of the initiate is called into play, so that he who well uses the knowledge of the lower grades may be selected for invitation to the higher, where all things are declared openly. |
2° | They become partakers of the current of Universal Life in Liberty, Beauty, Harmony, and Love which flames within the heart of the O.T.O., and the Light of that august fraternity insensibly illuminates them ever more and more as they approach its central Sun. |
3° | They meet those persons most complemental to their own natures, and find unexpected help and brotherhood in the whole world wherever they may travel. |
4° | They obtain the right to sojourn in the secret houses of the O.T.O., permanently or for a greater or lesser period of the year according to their rank in the Order; or, in the case of those of the Fifth and lower degrees, are candidates for invitation to these houses. |
5° | The Knowledge of the Preparation and Use of the Universal Medicine is restricted to members of the IX°; but it may be administered to members of the VIII° and VII° in special circumstances by favour of the National Grand Masters General, and even in particular emergency to members of lower degrees. |
6° | In the V° all members are pledged to bring immediate and perfect relief to all distress of mind, body, or estate, in which they may find any of their fellows of that degree. In the higher degrees the Bonds of Fraternity are still further strengthened. The Order thus affords a perfect system of insurance against every misfortune or accident of life. |
7° | Members of the IX° become part proprietors of the Estates and Goods of the Order, so that the attainment of this degree implies a return with interest of the fees and subscriptions paid. |
8° | The Order gives practical assistance in life to worthy members of even its lower degrees, so that, even if originally poor, they become well able to afford the comparatively high fees of the VII°, VIII°, and IX°. On exaltation to the IV° each Companion may file an account of his circumstances, and state in what direction he requires help.7 |
The National Grand Master General ad vitam is not approachable as such by any person who has not reached the VI°.
All communications should be addressed to the Grand Secretary General, and all cheques drawn in favour of the Grand Treasurer General.
Issued by Order,
L. Bathurst IX°
Grand Secretrary General.
Notes
This is a slight revision of the 1912 Manifesto of MMM which Crowley issued
when he first began to promote his branch of O.T.O. It was published in 1919 in the
Blue Equinox. Significant changes are noted when they occur.
The 1912 manifesto began with an introductory paragraph reading: “The M.'.M.'.M.'. (Mysteria Mystica Maxima) is the name of the British section of the O.T.O. This includes all countries where English is generally spoken.”
1: The 1912 manifesto also mentioned the Rosicrucian Order and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
2: The names of King Wu and Ko Hsuen were not in the 1912 manifesto.
3: The names of Cardinal Rampolla and Papus were not in the 1912 manifesto.
4: The 1912 manifesto identified these as G.M. Cowie and L. Bathurst (probably Leila Waddell) and gave their addresses (that for L. Bathurst being identical with Crowley’s); but by 1919 Crowley had fallen out with both of them.
5: sic. The 1912 manifesto had an introductory paragraph numbered 1, and the list of bodies was thus in paragraph 2. Evidently when Crowley revised the manifesto he omitted to change the reference accordingly.
6: The 1912 manifesto had “The O.T.O., although an Academia Masonic, is not a Masonic Body so far as the craft degrees are concerned in the sense in which that expression is usually understood in England, and therefore in no way conflicts with, or infringes the just privileges of, the United Grand Lodge of England.”
While some Masonic writers still consider O.T.O. to be irregular and / or clandestine Masonry, the majority—along with most Grand Lodges—believe that it is not any kind of Masonry at all and thus O.T.O. membership does not of itself bar one from becoming a Freemason.
Immediately afterwards there followed a table of fees and subscriptions, and a list of affiliation charges for Craft, Royal Arch or Scottish Rite Masons to join at various degrees (Entered Apprentice at I°, Fellow Craft at II°, Master Mason at III°, Royal Arch at IV°, 18° at V°, 30° at VI°, 31° at G.I.C., 32° at P.R.S. and 33° at VII°). The policy of allowing Masons to affiliate directly at higher degrees was dropped by Crowley by 1919 (that is, it no longer formed general practice; as late as 1947 we find Crowley admitting selected individuals as high as IV° / P.I. on the basis of previous Masonic experience). O.T.O. now differs sufficiently from Freemasonry that even a 33° Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Ancient and Accepted Rite would still have to start at Minerval like anyone else if he joined O.T.O.
In the 1919 publication, the table of fees and dues in U.K. and U.S. money appeared after Liber CXCIV. It is here omitted; for information on the current rates, see the official publications of the Order or the U.S. Grand Lodge website.
7: After this list in the 1912 manifesto was a paragraph reading “Photographs of one of the Profess houses or Colleges of the Holy Ghost belonging to the Order (an ancient and historic manor-house in one of the most romantic valleys of the world) is attached hereto, in order that those intending to apply to the Grand Secretary General for admission to the Order may understand that its purely material advantages are sufficient compensation for the fees demanded, and that the Gift of God is indeed without money and without price.” Several photographs of Boleskine were attached to the manifesto. By 1919 the house had been sold to raise funds to publish the Blue Equinox (the fact that the sale raised less money than Crowley had anticipated, possibly because he hadn’t realised how much of the mortgage was left to pay off, was one of the reasons for his falling out with Cowie; Crowley accused Cowie of embezzling funds from the sale).
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Key entry, notes and HTML coding by Frater T.S. for Sunwheel Oasis, O.T.O.