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OTO and AA Connections

To: alt.magick
From: bheidrick@aol.com (B Heidrick)
Date: 13 Jun 2001 12:14:59 GMT
Subject: Re: OTO and AA Connections (Re: Statement by the Highest Authority of the A.'.A.'.)

93 Nigris,

Without prejudice to either OTO or A.'.A.'., and speaking only for myself as an
individual:

Quoting from your post:

>numerous references to the AA
>as unofficially related to the (c)OTO

Exactly.  Not officially related or formally affiliated but considered friendly
or at least worthy of external friendly relations.

That means neither OTO nor A.'.A.'. tells the other what to do internally.  The
Crowley copyrights do complicate that.

>a clear statement from the head of the O.T.O. that
>"a resigned O.T.O. officer" created "the Temple of Thelema,
>an occult group in Los Angeles" which "purports to act as a
>training group for the A.'.A.'.

And?   If you asked J.E. about that, would he countradict the remark you 
quote?  The occasion was a review of an OTO book that appeared on Amazon.com. 
That review apparently came from ToT and disputed the accuracy of a Crowley
text in that book.  The topic of the text was the robe design of A.'.A.'.
grades.  The defense in the ML was to the accuracy of the published text.  The
dispute from the review based on a tradition held in ToT and attributed to
either Jane Wolfe or the assertion of being in A.'.A.'. by virture of descent
from Jane Wolfe.  The area of contest was literature, not dominion of an
organization.

>many obvious even public dual-memberships
>between O.T.O. and a variety of A.'.A.'. or A.'.A.'.-related
>groups,

Yes.  I have a California Farm Bureau membership, but I'm not a Republican. 
So?

>technically correct that officials of the O.T.O. have
>not specified a FORMAL relationship between the two

Right.

>here has been an INFORMAL relationship between the
>two since Crowley and his cohorts created the A.'.A.'

Wrong.  Crowley set up A.'.A.'. to replace the Golden Dawn.  Crowley's OTO
membership came years later.  Reuss insisted that A.'.A.'. and OTO have no
functional connection of preferment or control.  Even in the 1920's
Constitutions of the Order of Thelemites, short lived as it was, Crowley
distinguished OTO from A.'.A.'. very cleanly.

>this informal relationship has been the cause of internal order
>conflict as loyalists to the previous Caliph (Hymenaeus Alpha,
>aka Grady McMurtry) in CA have been placed in the hotseat
>concerning their A.'.A.'. affiliations

No.  There was a bout of over-reaction in some quarters of A.'.A.'. claim that
induced difficulties.  Owing to that concern, people became alarmed beyond the
core of those who imagined the problem.  Steps were taken to re-assure and the
matter is now largely calmed.  The potential for over-reaction continues, but
it was from A.'.A.'. claiments, not from OTO.  Under H.A., attempts to
cooperate with A.'.A.'. may have gone a little too far toward mutual involvment
of A.'.A.'. and OTO.  Pulling back from that has upset and worried people.  Add
the administration of the Crowley copyrights on OTO's part, which necessitates
some yes or no decisions regarding publication of A.'.A.'. related Crowley
texts, and worry can explode into something excessive.

>the real problems that A.'.A.'. rivalries are
>causing to the integrity and composure of the (c)OTO.

Nothing is that simple, but you've put your finger on the preponderant problem.
  At least composure has had its ruffle.  Integrity in the sense of some
memberships has had a stormy ride, but that too seems to be calming down.

93 93/93
Bill


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