418 the official newsletter of Abrahadabra Oasis of O.T.O.

Anno IV:xiv Sol 0° Capricorn, The Editor’s Quill Luna 17° Capricorn Dies Jovis Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. December 21, 2006 e.v. Volume 1, Number 3 Welcome to the third issue of 418, and the first as Abrahadabra Oasis! We begin, as

IN THIS ISSUE always, with A Word From the Master. Our regular column on the Gnostic Mass is in the The Editor’s Quill 1 form of Haiku this month…eleven of them, Sr. Lilith appropriately enough. In addition, you will find A Word From the Master 1 a report on the history of the Gnostic Mass in Fr. Eparisteros, Master Maine, a book review, and an account of a Enochian Initiation 2 scrying of the fifth Aethyr. Fr. Kalin Don’t forget to check the schedule on the The Gnostic Mass in Maine 3 last page. We hope to see you at future events. Sr. Zephyra Love is the law, love under will. Scrying LIT 4 Fr. Azazel Alephomen Soror Lilith Mass Waggery 5 Abrahadabra Oasis Fr. Hippokleides ~~~

Events Calendar 6 A Word From the Master

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. It is my great pleasure to announce that the Electoral College of Ordo Templi Orientis, Copyright © 2006 USA, has elevated Abrahadabra Encampment to Abrahadabra Oasis. The status of Oasis brings Abrahadabra Oasis, new challenges, new responsibilities, and—best and the individual authors. of all—new opportunities to grow Thelema in The viewpoints and opinions expressed the state of Maine. On behalf of the local body, I herein are the responsibility of the would like to thank the Electoral College for contributing authors. their consideration of our charter and the members of the local body itself for the hard work and dedication that made this possible. Page 2 Winter Solstice, 2006 e.v. 418—Abrahadabra Encampment

Liber AL vel Legis: The Book of the Law Come join our ongoing discussion of The Book of the Law! The next one is on January 4, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, and we’ll continue on February 15. The Book of the Law is the central sacred text of Thelema, received by Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in the year 1904. It contains three chapters, each of which was written down in one hour, beginning at noon, on April 8, April 9, and April 10. The teachings within this book are expressed as the Law of Thelema, usually encapsulated by these two phrases:  “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” (AL I:40) and  “Love is the law, love under will” (AL I:57) Its full title is Liber AL vel Legis, sub figura CCXX, The Book of the Law, as delivered by XCIII=418 to DCLXVI. It is often abbreviated as Liber Legis, Liber AL, or even just AL. An online copy can be found at lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0220.html.

While we have been performing the Gnostic are interested in Thelema, we would love to Mass, the central public and private ritual of the have you involved as well. Until then— O.T.O., for several months now, we are Love is the law, love under will. increasing the number of performances. As of November, we have been performing by popular Fr. Eparisteros demand two masses each month. This is a result Master, Abrahadabra Oasis of exceptional work by the Gnostic Mass team(s) that put in long hours to prepare for ~~~ each celebration. An extra congratulation must Book Review— be given to Sr. Lilith in being recently ordained Enochian Initiation: Deacon of Ecclesia Gnostic Catholica, providing our local body with two ordained A Thelemite’s Journey Into deacons and one ordained priest. Anyone the Ultimate Transcendence interested in attending a Gnostic Mass should contact our Gnostic Mass coordinator. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. In the five years between 1999 and 2004, Equally important in the work we are doing Frater W.I.T. conducted a series of experiments is the capacity to perform initiations for the Man with the Enochian watchtower system, of Earth grades of the Ordo Templi Orientis. attempting to obtain spiritual initiation outside With the elevation to Oasis status, we are now the domain of any magical order. The results of capable of initiations up to the III°. As of this his efforts have been adapted from his journals publication, we will have performed the first in “Enochian Initiation” from Outskirts Press. initiations in Maine in the history of the O.T.O. My initial impression of the book was a bit This faculty allows us to grow the body more mixed. The introduction and first chapter readily and in turn provide more services to the seemed to be struggling for a voice and seemed general membership and surrounding to be written towards an audience with little communities. knowledge of the subject, although the text As you can see, Abrahadabra Oasis covers a rather advanced magical operation. It continues to thrive…as I knew it would. If you also failed in providing enough information to 418—Abrahadabra Encampment Winter Solstice, 2006 e.v. Page 3 bring the new practitioner up to speed. But as I in detail, many simulating psychedelic continued further, I found the real substance and experiences. In these I found many spiritual many gems of insight within. Frater W.I.T. insights that pertain to my own work, as others clearly demonstrates his talents as a remarkable February as well. But the most interesting and magician. valuable passages are those that describe his failures amid his successes. Throughout, there The bulk of the chapters describe the are constant conflicts of ego and fighting to author’s evocations of the Enochian Seniors and overcome it, as well as struggles to incorporate King, the planetary angels of the system as well the energies and lessons learned throughout this as the spirits from the tablet of union. These marathon course of evocation and initiation. experiments, which began as workshops From this, the importance of his earlier training (presumably, local O.T.O. events), were in magick and yoga, which enabled him to completed in two rounds. The first set was in the overcome the ordeals that are presented to him, form of group workings, although we hear becomes clear. In one instance, his struggle mostly of Frater W.I.T. and his scryer. The second round was done as a solitary working to resulted in his becoming acutely physicaly ill due to the rapid influx of energy. correct the defects from the first and complete the initiations. An appendix dealing with the Overall, Enochian Initiation is an excellent rituals used was also included. The rituals were work, despite its editing and stylistic flaws. It thelemic standards, adapted to the work at hand. wonderfully goes beyond the mass of books The most interesting adaptation was changing teaching pentagram rituals and visualization the keyword in the hexagram rituals from techniques—important as they are—and delves I.N.R.I. to H.E.R.U. with a detailed explanation. into some truly substantive magical work. As the book takes us through the Love is the law, love under will. watchtowers, Frater W.I.T. describes his visions Frater Kalin Abrahadabra Oasis

The Gnostic Mass in Maine Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

The Gnostic Mass is the central public ritual of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.) under the auspices of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) as set forth in Liber XV, composed by Crowley in 1913. Maine celebrated its first Gnostic Mass at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Westbrook Maine on October 19, 2003, hosted by The Knights Templar Oasis of Massachusetts. The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Inc. (CUUPS) was responsible for facilitating this effort. CUUPS is an Independent Affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA). At that time an official body of the OTO did not exist in Maine but was the mere brainchild of Frater Eparisteros. Abrahadabra Encampment was recognized and chartered as an official body of the Ordo Templi Orientis in October 2005, and we started celebrating the Gnostic Mass as a regular activity of our Camp. I was appointed Gnostic Mass Coordinator, and we put together a Mass Team and set the goal to perform one Gnostic Mass every other month. Abrahadabra was recognized and chartered as an Oasis of the Ordo Templi Orientis in October 2006. We now perform two Gnostic Masses a month. Page 4 Winter Solstice, 2006 e.v. 418—Abrahadabra Encampment I want to thank the brothers and sisters who Scrying LIT participate in the Gnostic Mass for all the hard work and hours they have put into getting the Aethyr 5 Gnostic Mass up and running here in Maine. It Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. is dedicated individuals such as yourselves who will ensure the longevity and fertility of our 8:30 pm January 11, 2006 e.v. Oasis. Frater Azazel Alephomen KTO Temple, Salem, MA Many O.T.O. local bodies celebrate the Participants: R, A, J, AA Gnostic Mass on a regular basis. In most Banishing 1: R—Enochian Banishing locations, no formal affiliation is required to Banishing 2: AA—LBRP attend the Mass. Lay membership in E.G.C. is available through baptism and confirmation. For Vision: First I see two triangles which meet information about attending a Gnostic Mass, at the point in the middle. (A drawing illustrates participating in the Gnostic Mass, or baptism this) and it forms a sort of cup—next, wings and confirmation, please contact me at appear on both sides and the feathers become [email protected] or check explicit. our website at www.abrahadabra-oto.org/. A Winged Chalice! Love is the law, love under will. Near this, a blue man with cheeks puffed out Soror Zephyra blows into a child’s ear—this is a whisper—and Gnostic Mass Coordinator the child holds forth a chalice. I am offered to Abrahadabra Oasis look inside. I do. In it I see a cartoon sun head ~~~ with a face; it is singing the song, “Mr Sandman.” The song plays into my head “Mr. January 18, 2007 6:30–8:30 pm Sandman, give me a dream, make him the cutest What’s your favorite chapter of The Book of that he’s ever seen…” etc. “Okay, enough” I Lies? Come discuss! say, and then I am transported back to a memory The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley was of an actual event—me on LSD in New first published in 1913. Crowley describes it: Hampshire, climbing the river, hopping from “This book deals with many matters on all rock to rock and finding a crown of snakes at planes of the very highest importance. It is an the bridge and the phrase from then which was a official publication for Babes of the Abyss, but mantra: “RA The Living Rock.” is recommended even to beginners as highly And then I discover a “Meadow Of Dreams” suggestive.” which is a Spring/Summer meadow of flowers The book consists of 93 “chapters,” each and two rows of doors on both sides forming a consisting of one page of text of various kinds, corridor. I understand that these doors lead to including poems, rituals, and obscure allusions dreams and that each door leads to the next and cryptograms. The subject of each chapter is (forever); I decide to not open any of these generally determined by its number and its doors. So I ask a Card to show me where I am, corresponding Qabalistic meaning. About 1921, if in fact I am in LIT. Crowley added a short commentary to each I am shown Temperance Tarot card (from chapter, assisting the reader in the Qabalistic the Waite Deck)…Then a shape like a fish interpretation. shape (Illustrated in mss) facing up. An online copy can be found at The words “Oh Holy Mountain, Oh Holy www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib333.htm. Valley,” and then the phrase “This is LIT, the doom factor in your illusion,” and again “The ~~~ Holy Mountain what weighs a ton is NOT,” 418—Abrahadabra Encampment Winter Solstice, 2006 e.v. Page 5 then “The Feather of the Angel of Lin” (note: Cannot part the veil not Lit, but Lin) then the phrase “Nihilistic With lance—damn thing’s stuck again. absolution” and “The solution is not seed.” Thought we had fixed that. (The alarm goes off) IT continues with dogs The music’s grand, but rushing through a valley into fire “Bulldogs, Does it have to be so loud? millions of them.” Then the shape as before of I SAID, THE MUSIC... the two triangles, descending and ascending Altar seems shaky, meeting in the middle, then a circle squared Candles not stable. Uh-oh, with a dot in the middle of the circle (Sun Priestess on fire. symbol in a box), then a gesture of silence of a figure holding finger over lips in the god form Still on my knees, as of Harpocrates. The Collects go on and on. Both legs are asleep. Fin. 8:45 pm The host pretty much Love is the law, love under will. Just exploded. That’s the way Frater Azazel Alephomen The cookie crumbles. Knights Templar Oasis Maybe bleach will get ~~~ That out. Note to self: next time, Mass Waggery Don’t fill cup to rim. with Frater Hippokleides Regretting my goof, Until Deacon knocks over Eleven Moments from the Gnostic Mass, The fire altar. Recounted in Haiku One of the Children (For those who have been there, and done that, Just got hit by the lance. Oops! and seen it all; and who know that somehow, That will leave a mark. despite all, the Mass never fails of its effect.) Then—sun’s life, earth’s joy! Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. And there’s no part of me that Is not of the gods. Alone in the tomb, I notice that I have to Love is the law, love under will. go to the bathroom. Frater Hippokleides Circumambulate. Abrahadabra Oasis Wait, was that two, or three? Uh, ~~~ I’ll just go one more.

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Page 6 Winter Solstice, 2006 e.v. 418—Abrahadabra Encampment

EVENTS CALENDAR ABRAHADABRA OASIS January . Thursday, January 4, 6:30 pm Abrahadabra Oasis is a local body of O.T.O. Discussion—The Book of the Law (Ordo Templi Orientis), located in Portland, Gorham, ME Maine. . Tuesday, January 9, 6:00 pm Visit us on the web! To Hadit! Social Hour www.abrahadabra-oto.org Upstairs at Bull Feeney’s, Portland, ME Body Master ...... Frater Eparisteros . Saturday, January 13, 5:00 pm [email protected] Gnostic Mass* Secretary...... Frater Spyral . Thursday, January 18, 6:30 pm [email protected] Discussion—The Book of Lies Treasurer...... Soror Lilith Old Orchard Beach, ME [email protected] Gnostic Mass Cooordinator...... Soror Zephyra . Sunday, January 28, 1:00 pm [email protected] Gnostic Mass* Newsletter Editor ...... Soror Lilith February [email protected]

. Thursday, February 1, 6:30 pm Class—The Gnostic Mass Gorham, ME 418 . Tuesday, February 6, 6:00 pm To Hadit! Social Hour 418 is the official journal of Abrahadabra Upstairs at Bull Feeney’s, Portland, ME Oasis, Ordo Templi Orientis. It is available for downloading in PDF format on the Abrahadabra . Sunday, February 11, 1:00 pm website. Gnostic Mass* Submissions accepted on an ongoing basis. . Thursday, February 15, 6:30 pm All submissions and questions should emailed Discussion—The Book of the Law to: [email protected] Old Orchard Beach, ME Rituals, poetry, essays, black-and-white . Sunday, January 28, 1:00 pm artwork, cartoons—we want it all! Gnostic Mass*

*Gnostic Masses are open to initiates, EGC ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS laity, and invited guests only. If you would like to attend a Gnostic Mass, please contact the The O.T.O. is an Outer Thelemic Order, Gnostic Mass Coordinator. which is dedicated to the high purpose of securing the Liberty of the Individual and his or For schedule changes and updates, please her advancement in Light, Wisdom, refer to our website: www.abrahadabra-oto.org. Understanding, Knowledge, and Power through Beauty, Courage, and Wit, on the Foundation of Universal Brotherhood. On the web at: www.oto-usa.org