THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | SOCIETIES | THELEMIC | ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS

Aleister Crowley Freemason

To: alt.freemasonry,alt.politics,alt.conspiracy,alt.magick
From: "Alex Sumner" 
Subject: Re: Aleister Crowley Freemason
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 19:55:21 -0000

alt.magick added to headers (because this is a topic that would interest
them!)

"SnowDog"  wrote in message
news:u1kfobhagfq44c@corp.supernews.com...

[snip]

> > Then in 1910 Crowley was contacted by Theodore Reuss, the head of an
> > organization based in Germany called the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.).
> This
> > group of high-ranking Freemasons claimed to have discovered the supreme
> > secret of practical magick, which was taught in its highest degrees.
> > Apparently Crowley agreed, becoming a member of O.T.O. and eventually
> taking
> > over as head of the order when Reuss suffered a stroke in 1921.

I would here interject and say that this is only one version of events:
Reuss himself claimed that he had expelled Crowley from the OTO four days
before Crowley publicly announced that he had taken over as the new head of
the order. Reuss said he was not keen on Crowley's ideas about "Thelema".
The Thelemite would counter by saying "Ah but Crowley's ideas _work_"

> The paragraph describes the O.T.O. as an organization of high-ranking
> Freemasons, not as some sort of branch of Freemasonry.  Crowley was not a
> Freemason to my knowledge.

Although it is not stated in the original post, Crowley did in fact _claim_
to be a Mason. But he encountered Masons who disputed the validity of his
initiations. See ch.72 of Crowley's autobiography, "Confessions".
http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/confess/chapter72.html

> In any case, what is your point?  That Crowley's membership in the
> Freemasons is an indicator that Freemasonry is good?  That it is an
> indicator that it is bad?  That Crowley was good because he was a
Freemason?
> Or that Crowley was bad because he was a Freemason?
>
> --
> "What a maroon!"
> -Bugs Bunny
>
>

AS
http://www.geocities.com/alex_sumner/

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races