The Priest is seated before the Altar in meditation. The Priestess is in the throne of the N.E. The Acolyte in in the throne of the S.E.
The Acolyte rises, and knocks 1—3—7, bearing Bell, Book, and Candle to Priest.
The Priestess rises, and plays Abide with Me or Abendlied.
The Priest rises, and performs the Mass of the Phoenix.
The Priestess plays what she will, while the Acolyte binds the Priest to the cross, which he unveils.
The Priest preaches.
The Priestess plays, while the Acolyte draws the veil.
The Acolyte comes forward to the Altar, and knocks 7–3–1 saying “Go: it is finished.”
The Priest is robed in white and gold, his breast bare.
The Priestess wears a green robe.
The Acolyte wears a red robe, and is girt with a sword. He may be masked.
Notes
This ritual was composed by Crowley circa 1913, and was publicly performed in London by the O.T.O. that year. The text survives in a MS in the George Arents Research Library at the University of Syracuse; it was published in a footnote to Liber CDXV in Equinox IV (2).
A picture in one of Crowley’s manuscript notebooks (#41 in the Yorke collection) shows the temple layout for this ritual (the last few pages appear to be missing from the Warburg copy, but the contents list includes “a ritual ordained for public service”). To the right of the cross as we see it is “a blue throne for the Priestess.” To the left is “a yellow throne for the Acolyte” (this however reverses the positions indicated by the script). Before the cross is a cubical altar “on which are a knife, a censer and the cakes of light.” (source: facsimile of MS notebook #41 in How to make your own McOTO.)
[P.S. December 2003: a recent private communication has cast doubt on the above identification and suggested that the illustration described belongs to another ritual entirely, a fact obscured by the generally careless editing of McOTO.]
On my understanding of current O.T.O. rules, the Ritual Ordained for Public Serivce may not be performed publicly by O.T.O. bodies, on the grounds that to do so would bring the Order into disrepute (see the US or International Bodymaster's Handbook).
Text of Crowley material © Ordo Templi Orientis. Key entry and HTML coding by Frater T.S.