Wednesday, December 06, 2006
O.T.O. AT MILL VALLEY MASONIC LODGE IN MARIN COUNTY
According to the Mill Valley website Edward M. King established the Mons Abiegnus Camp of Ordo Templi Orientis in 1996. It became an Oasis shortly thereafter.
Mons Abiegnus Oasis website makes no secret of their interest in Aleister Crowley.
According to this page in their website the OTO is the "first of the Old Aeon orders to accept The Book of the Law, received by Aleister Crowley in 1904 which teaches a "revolution in human thought" and the principle "Do What thou Wilt". Referred to as the "Great Work of Thelema" it is like Freemasonry and the ancient mystery schools in its grade structure. The first three Degrees "follow a pattern based on the symbolism of the Chakras and the rising of the Kundalini."
Would that be the same thing that these sisters are teaching? Or these perhaps? This is the website of the Heartland Center for Spirituality, a Dominican community. Look at the "Private and Directed Retreats" Directors, and notice that Philip St. Romain is among them. His Shalom Place is linked under the retreat "The Dark Night of the Soul" presented by Rev. Loretta F. Ross. Then click the last link on the programs list which is titled "Also visit our Internet Offerings Web Page". It will take you here, to Philip St. Romain's Schlom Place. His list of "Retreats and Workshops" on the right includes one titled "The Chakra System: A Christian Understanding". Click that and you get an explanation which tells you that the retreat is "(based, in part, on his book, Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality.
And we wonder why we have a sexual abuse problem?? What is a holy priest, nun, or single person supposed to do with the kundalini energy once it has been stirred up, given that this energy is sexual? Crowley did practice sex magick, afterall.
Now back to the website of Mons Abiegnus Oasis OTO...Upper Degrees in this oasis instructs in Hermetic Philosophy, Qabalah, Magick and Yoga. It claims to be part of the "genuine" OTO of Aleister Crowley, with operations in 17 countries and approximately 3,000 active members.
At the link for Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica on the left column of the Camp website you can read:
The central activity of the E.G.C. is the celebration of the Gnostic Mass, as set forth in Liber XV, composed by Crowley for O.T.O. and E.G.C. in 1913 e.v. Lay membership in E.G.C. is available through baptism and confirmation. Members of O.T.O. in good standing are eligible for clerical ordination in E.G.C. Members of II° and higher (or even I°, in some situations) are eligible for ordination as Deacon, and those who have reached K.E.W. are eligible for ordination as Priest or Priestess. Many O.T.O. local bodies celebrate the Gnostic Mass on a regular basis. In most locations, no formal affiliation is required to attend the Mass.
At the Law of Thelema link you can learn:
The practice of Thelema is founded on the principle of Scientific Illuminism, which is expressed by the motto, "The Method of Science, the Aim of Religion." Scientific Illuminism is the systematic and scientific study of religious, magical, and mystical practices and techniques, and the objective and subjective evaluation of their results.
Mons Abiegnus uses a Rosicrucian site and also meets (or did) primarily at the Mill Valley Masonic Lodge according to the Lodge website:
Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO)
In approximately 1996, a Marin County psychologist received a charter to institute an OTO camp. The camp was named Mons Abiegnus. The camp grew quickly, and by approximately 1998 had been chartered an Oasis, enabling it to confer the first four degrees of the OTO that comprise the Man of the Earth series of degrees: Minerval (0°), Man of the Earth (1°), Magician (2°), and Master Magician (3°). The Mons Abiegnus Oasis meets primarily at the Mill Valley Masonic Center; it also conducts various outdoor activities on Mount Tamalpais, Ring Mountain, and at various beaches.
Mons Abiegnus Oasis turns up in the website "Hurricane LeFran's Magick Theatre" dedicated to, among other things, to the OTO, the metal (industrial?) band Nine Inch Nails, and a number of chaos magicians. There you can read:
In Marin, is the newest OTO body in our area. Named after a mountain where Rosicrucians performed initiations, Mons Abiegnus Camp is offering initiations and social events in the near future. Contact Ed King, the Camp Master, for schedule and location. Write to him at P.O. Box 65, San Anselmo, CA 94979 or call his voicemail at 415/487-6386.
The website speaks of Crowley's "The Book of the Law" being channeled from Aiwass, Crowley's "holy guardian angel." Mentioned there is another S.F. Lodge, Thelema Lodge located in Oakland. It speaks of Kali Lodge in New Orleans, and the Lodge Master who created the New Orleans Voodoo Tarot Deck. The lodge is no more, but a new New Orleans gathering, "OM-OM-BO Camp is the current New Orleans body."
A Rosslyn Camp in Hayward is linked.
The Lodge Master of Makhashandah Lodge in Germany is a musician and also practices Santeria/Voudou. He fronts for an industrial band, and for another band that bases its rhythms and ideas on Voudou magick.
The Oasis Master of a Camp called "Sirius Oasis", located in Berkeley, is the organizer of "PantheaCon", a pagan gathering.
There is a link for "OECUMENE" that leads to Michael Sanborn's blog where he dubs himself an "enthusiast".
There are also links to prominent chaos magicians on the website and mention of Kallisti, their goddess of chaos. Chaos magick is what Robert Anton Wilson, the Church of the SubGenius, and the Discordians promote. The Starwood Festivals, promoted by A.C.E. out of Cleveland, are their gathering place. Myths of the Discordians revolve around the goddess Eris and the monster Cthulhu that Jimmy Akin enthusiased about in his Catholic blog. Ironically, one of the promoters at A.C.E. also belongs to a Masonic Lodge in Cleveland and happens to be gay.
Interesting thread to follow from the Masonic Lodge to Catholic retreats to paganism and heavy metal music.
The new spirituality is a network, not an organization. It is quite large and growing.
