Editing Ordo Templi Orientis (section)

==History==

===Origins===
[[File:Organisation des O.T.O.jpg|thumb|320px|Organisation of O.T.O., the diagram (from 1926) in German shows the organization's original structure.<ref name="WTAKV1">{{Cite book|title=Die Wahrheit über die Theo-Anthroposophie als eine Kultur-Verfallserscheinung|trans-title=The truth about theo-anthroposophy as a phenomenon of cultural decay|chapter=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySiGbwAACAAJ|first1=Max|last1=Kully|publisher=Basler Volksblatt|location=Basel|date=1926|page=269|language=de|isbn=}}</ref>]]
The early history of O.T.O. is difficult to trace reliably. It originated in [[Esotericism in Germany and Austria|Germany or Austria]] between 1895 and 1906.<ref name="GClakre">[[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]], [[The Occult Roots of Nazism]], p. 61. Goodrick-Clarke touches on this topic as he gives some general remarks on the occultism of that time.</ref> Its apparent founder was Carl Kellner (1851–1905) (probably with the German spelling Karl),<ref name="GClakre" /> a wealthy Austrian industrialist, in 1895 (although nothing verifiable is known of the Order until 1904).<ref name="king2">{{harvp|King|1978|pp=78–81}}.</ref> Kellner wanted to establish an ''Academia Masonica'' within which high-grade Freemasonic degrees could be conferred in German-speaking nations.{{sfnp|Kaczynski|2010|page=[https://archive.org/details/dowhatthouwiltli0000suti/page/350 350]}}
	 
Theodor Reuss (1855–1923) collaborated with Kellner in creating O.T.O. and succeeded him as head of O.T.O. after Kellner's death. Under Reuss, charters were given to occult brotherhoods in France, Denmark, Switzerland, the United States, and Austria. There were ten degrees,<ref name="WTAKV1" /> of which the first five were Masonic.<ref name="WTAKV1" /><ref name="king2" /> 
	 
In 1902, Reuss, along with Franz Hartmann and Henry Klein, purchased the right to perform the [[Rite of Memphis-Misraim|Rite of Memphis and Mizraim]] of Freemasonry from English Freemason [[John Yarker]], the authority of which was confirmed in 1904 and again in 1905. Although these rites are considered to be irregular, they, along with the [[Swedenborg Rite]] formed the core of the newly established Order.<ref>[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/swedenborg.html Chaos Out of Order/Decline and revival: the rebirth of the Rite] Footnotes 40–42,</ref> Kellner, Reuss, Hartmann, and Klein acquired authority to operate the rites of the [[Martinist Order]] from French occultist [[Gérard Encausse]] and a clandestine form of the [[Scottish Rite]] deriving from Joseph Cerneau.{{sfnp|Kaczynski|2010|p=351}} From [[William Wynn Westcott]], Reuss acquired a warrant to start a college of the [[Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia]] in Germany.<ref name=gnosis/>

In 1902, Reuss began publishing a masonic journal, ''The Oriflamme'', as the organ of these collected rites.{{sfnp|Kaczynski|2010|p=351}} Reuss's rites aroused some degree of curiosity in the German-speaking Masonic milieu, as high degree Freemasonry had not been very widespread in Germany during the 1800s.<ref name=gnosis/>  O.T.O. had several hundred members and affiliates at its peak, but by 1905 and after Kellner's death, Reuss began to lose his supporters.<ref name=gnosis/> He was attacked in Masonic periodicals for his alleged lack of Masonic regularity and credentials, and for the alleged homosexual elements in Reuss's initiations.<ref name=gnosis/> Reuss left Germany and moved to London in 1906, and lost control of most of the lodges previously belonging to the O.T.O. network.<ref name=gnosis/>

In 1908, Encausse invited to Reuss to an "International Masonic Conference", where he probably met [[Joanny Bricaud]] and was introduced to his [[Gnostic Church of France|Gnostic Catholic Church]] (E.G.C.), an off-shoot of [[Jules Doinel]]'s ''Église Gnostique''.<ref name=gnosis/> Later O.T.O. documents would present the Order being linked to the E.G.C, and subsequently portray the E.G.C. of O.T.O. as being autonomous with respect to [[Joanny Bricaud|Bricaud]]'s organization.<ref name=gnosis/>

The [[sex magic]] of the higher O.T.O. degrees appears to be based on the writings of the American occultist [[Paschal Beverly Randolph]] (1825–1875), which were adopted by the [[Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor]] (or of Light), another group with which Kellner had been in contact and whose teachings he said he had incorporated into O.T.O.{{sfnp|Kaczynski|2010|p=352}} Scholar Marco Pasi notes, however, that there is no evidence in support of this, and suggests that Reuss acquired sexual ideas and techniques from Yarker, who had in his possession certain unpublished writings by Randolph.<ref name=gnosis/>

===Under Reuss' leadership===
{{anchor|M∴M∴M∴|MMM|M.M.M.|Mysteria_Mystica_Maxima}}
Reuss met Aleister Crowley and in 1910 admitted him to the first three degrees of O.T.O. Two years later, Crowley was placed in charge of Great Britain and Ireland, and was advanced to the X° (tenth degree). The appointment included the opening of the British section of O.T.O., which was called the ''Mysteria Mystica Maxima'' or the M∴M∴M∴.<ref name="king2" /> Crowley then went to Berlin to obtain instructional manuscripts and the title of ''Supreme and Holy King of Ireland, [[Iona]] and all the Britains within the Sanctuary of the Gnosis''.<ref name="king2" /> Within the year, Crowley had written the Manifesto of the M∴M∴M∴ which described its basic ten-degree system with Kellner's three degree ''Academia Masonica'' forming the seventh, eighth and ninth degrees.

In 1913, Crowley composed the Gnostic Mass while in Moscow, which he described as being the Order's "central ceremony of its public and private celebration".{{sfnp|Crowley|1979|loc=ch. 73}} In 1914, soon after World War I broke out, he moved to the United States. It was around this time that Crowley decided to integrate Thelema into the O.T.O. system, and in 1915 prepared revised rituals for use in the M∴M∴M∴.

In 1917, Reuss wrote a ''Synopsis of Degrees'' of O.T.O. in which the third degree was listed as "Craft of Masonry" and listed the initiations involved as "[[Freemasonry#Degrees|Entered Apprentice]], [[Freemasonry#Degrees|Fellow Craft]], Master Mason" and elaborated on this with "Full instruction in Craft Masonry, including the Catechism of the first three degrees, and an explanation of all the various Masonic systems". The same document shows that the fourth degree of O.T.O. is also known as the [[York Rite#Holy Royal Arch|Holy Royal Arch]] of Enoch. It was summarized by Reuss as the Degree of "Scotch Masonry", equivalent to "Scotch Mason, Knight of St. Andrew, Royal Arch", and he described it as "Full instruction in the Scottish degrees of Ancient and Accepted Masonry".<ref name="king" />

In 1919, Crowley attempted to work this Masonic-based O.T.O. in Detroit, Michigan. The result was that he was rebuffed by the Council of the Scottish Rite on the basis that O.T.O. rituals were too similar to orthodox Masonry.<ref>Kaczynski, Richard. ''Panic in Detroit: The Magician and the Motor City'' (2006)</ref> He described this in a 1930 letter to [[Arnold Krumm-Heller]]:

{{blockquote|However, when it came to the considerations of the practical details of the rituals to be worked, the general Council of the Scottish Rite could not see its way to tolerate them, on the ground that the symbolism in some places touched too nearly that of the orthodox Masonry of the Lodges.<ref>Starr, Martin. ''[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/crowley.html Aleister Crowley: Freemason!]''. Retrieved June 17, 2006.</ref>}}

Crowley subsequently rewrote the initiation rituals of the first three degrees, and in doing so removed most of those rituals' ties to Masonry. He did not, however, rewrite the fourth degree ritual, which remains in its form and structure related to the various Royal Arch rituals of Masonry.

=== Under Crowley's leadership ===
Crowley wrote that Theodore Reuss suffered a stroke in the spring of 1920. In correspondence with one of Reuss' officers, Crowley expressed doubts about Reuss' competence to remain in office. Relations between Reuss and Crowley began to deteriorate, and the two exchanged angry letters in November 1921. Crowley informed Reuss that he was availing himself of Reuss' abdication from office and proclaiming himself Outer Head of the Order. Reuss died on October 28, 1923, without designating a successor, though Crowley wrote in later correspondence that Reuss had designated him. Crowley's biographer Lawrence Sutin, among others, casts doubt on this, though there is no evidence for or against it, and no other candidate stepped forward to refute Crowley by offering proof of succession. In 1925, during a tumultuous Conference of Grand Masters, Crowley was officially elected as Outer Head of the Order (or O.H.O.) by the remaining administrative heads of O.T.O.{{sfnp|Kaczynski|2002|p=332}}

During this period, O.T.O. members outside of the USA rarely came into contact with one another.: {{Cquote|quote=I am arranging to send you the official papers connected to the O.T.O. but the idea that you should meet other members first is quite impossible. Even after affiliation, you would not meet anyone unless it were necessary for you to work in cooperation with them. I am afraid you have still got the idea that the Great Work is a tea party. Contact with other students only means that you criticize their hats, and then their morals; and I am not going to encourage this. Your work is not anybody else’s, and undirected chatter is the worst poisonous element in a humane society.|author=Aleister Crowley in ''[[Magick Without Tears]]''}} Since the total membership of O.T.O. at that time was counted in the dozens rather than in hundreds or thousands, this may simply have been Crowley's attempt at disguising the low numbers.

During World War II, the European branches of O.T.O. were either destroyed or driven underground. By the end of the war, the only surviving O.T.O. body was [[Agapé Lodge]] in California, although there were various initiates in different countries. Very few initiations were being performed. At this time, [[Karl Germer]], who had been Crowley's representative in Germany, migrated to the United States after being released from Nazi confinement. On March 14, 1942, Crowley appointed him as his successor as Outer Head of the Order,<ref name="koenig1">[http://www.parareligion.ch/k_grant.htm Kenneth Grant and the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis], by P.R. Koenig</ref> and Germer filled the office after the death of Crowley in 1947.

===After Crowley's death===
After Crowley's death, Germer attempted to keep O.T.O. running, with questionable success. Crowley had granted a charter to run an O.T.O. Camp in England to [[Gerald Gardner]], and Germer acknowledged Gardner as O.T.O.'s main representative in Europe. The two men met in 1948 in New York to discuss plans, but Gardner's continuing ill health led to Germer replacing him with Frederic Mellinger in 1951. Also in 1951, Germer granted a charter to run an O.T.O. Camp in England to [[Kenneth Grant (occultist)|Kenneth Grant]], who had briefly served as Crowley's secretary during the 1940s. Grant was to be expelled and his charter revoked in 1955 however, and from that time onwards O.T.O.'s representative in the UK was a IX° member, Noel Fitzgerald.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Orpheus |first=Rodney |year=2009 |title=Gerald Gardner & Ordo Templi Orientis |pages=14–18 |work=Pentacle Magazine |issue=30 |issn=1753-898X}}</ref>

Germer died in 1962 without naming a successor. It was not until 1969 that [[Grady McMurtry]] invoked his letter of emergency authorization from Crowley and became the Frater Superior of O.T.O. McMurtry did not claim the title of Outer Head of the Order, stating in 1974 that "There is at present no Outer Head of the Order for Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis. The Outer Head of the Order is an international office (see p. 201, The Blue Equinox) and Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis is not at this time established organizationally to fulfill the requirements of its Constitution in this respect."<ref>{{cite web |last=Koenig |first=Peter |url=http://www.parareligion.ch/minutes/minutes.htm |title=All we want is a 'Caliph' |website=The Ordo Templi Orientis Phenomenon |access-date=February 13, 2008}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}} He began performing initiations in 1970. O.T.O. was incorporated under the laws of the State of California on March 26, 1979. The corporation attained federal tax exemption as a religious entity under IRS Code 501(c)3 in 1982. Grady McMurtry died in 1985.

McMurtry requested that members of the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis (i.e. the members of the Ninth Degree) elect the next Caliph, which they did in 1985. [[William Breeze]] was elected,<ref name="transcript">{{cite web |last=Koenig |first=Peter |url=http://www.parareligion.ch/minutes/trans.htm |title=Minutes of the Special Ninth Degree Caliphate Election |website=The Ordo Templi Orientis Phenomenon |access-date=February 13, 2008}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}} taking the name ''Hymenaeus Beta''. In the Fall 1995 issue of ''The Magical Link'', he is designated "Hymenaeus Beta X°"; in the Fall 1997 issue of ''The Magical Link'', he is designated "Hymenaeus Beta XI°"; by May 2005, he is designated "O.H.O. Hymenaeus Beta XII°" on the O.T.O. website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oto-usa.org/news.html |website=US Grand Lodge, OTO |title=OTO News |date=May 2, 2005 |access-date=February 13, 2008}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}}

In 1996, Sabazius X° was appointed as National Grand Master General (G.M.G.) for the U.S. Grand Lodge. In 2005, Frater Hyperion X° was appointed the National G.M.G. of the newly formed UK Grand Lodge. Frater Shiva X° was appointed the G.M.G. of the Australia Grand Lodge in 2006. In 2014, Frater Abrasax X° was appointed the National G.M.G. of the newly formed  Grand Lodge of Croatia, and Frater Phanes X° was appointed the National G.M.G. of the newly formed Grand Lodge of Italy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oto.org/news0514.html |website=International Headquarters, OTO |title=IHQ News |date=May 17, 2014 |access-date=August 8, 2017}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}} On October 14, 2014, these five National Grand Masters elected Hymenaeus Beta as "de jure" Outer Head of the Order.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-10 |title=Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) News |url=http://oto.org/news1014.html |access-date=2017-11-09 |website=Ordo Templi Orientis International Headquarters}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}}