THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE U.S. GRAND LODGE OF ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS VOLUME XIII A IN b UMBER B IN a N 1 ANNO IV:XX SPRING, 2012 EV CELEBRATING OUR CENTENNIAL YEAR AGAPÉ VOL. XIII • No. 1 AGAPÉ VOL. XIII • No. 1 FROM THE EDITOR Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Care Fratres et Sorores, One hundred years ago the British Section of Ordo Tem- The Official Organ of the pli Orientis was founded with our Prophet, Frater Baphomet, United States Grand Lodge of as its first Grand Master. It is from this event that the entire Ordo Templi Orientis modern O.T.O. traces its origins and many celebrations are planned around the United States (and indeed the world) this year to mark this milestone. No exception to this, Agapé will run a number of special features throughout the next four is- CONTENTS sues. From the Editor 2 From the Grand Master 3 AGAPÉ WEB PAGES UPDATED From the Electoral College 5 The Agapé web pages have just received a long-overdue Man of Earth Delegates 6 upgrade courtesy of Brothers Joseph Thiebes and Sacha M. Upon Burning the Book 7 The back issue listings at lib.oto-usa.org/agape/index.html The Proceedings of NOTOCON 8 now give the full contents of each and every issue, including As Art Can Devise: Music for the Gnostic Mass 9 all topics covered in From the Grand Master and the titles The Ecstasy of Persephone 12 of all books reviewed. Now if you need to look up a specific Reflections on Massathon 13 article or policy statement, or just want reading suggestions, Visit Agapé on Facebook 14 all you have to do is search using your web browser’s “Find” Publication Announcement 14 command. U.S. Grand Lodge Officers Directory 15 I am also happy to announce that the Agapé Submission Guidelines have been completely revised. Note that we can Executive Editor: Sabazius X° now handle a wider variety of file formats for both text and graphics. I especially direct your attention to the vastly in- Editor: Frater Julianus creased word-count limits (and the possibility of exceeding Assitant Editor: Terry Murdock even these in a good cause.) In practice, these changes have Proofreading: Julia Sonka been in effect some time now, but now they are set down in black and white. You can check out the new guidelines here: Production & Distribution: Sister Marlene www.oto-usa.org/agape.html. If you find anything not cov- Editorial Address: P.O. Box 4123 ered there, please feel free to write me at [email protected]. Pittsburgh, PA 15202 Finally, my ever-eager Assistant Editor, Brother Terry, is [email protected] now overseeing the Agapé Facebook page, which means it will On the Cover: Carl Kellner (1851-1905 EV), be much more active. This is a place for your feedback, sug- Theodor Reuss (1855-1923 EV), gestions, criticisms, and photos of your cat giving the N.O.X. Aleister Crowley (1875-1947 EV) signs. We’ll also be posting teasers from upcoming articles. See Terry’s announcement on page 14 for more details. Agapé is published quarterly by Ordo Templi Orientis, U.S.A., MOVED AND MISSING AN ISSUE? a California not-for-profit religious corporation with business offices at P.O. Box 32, Riverside, CA 92502-0032. • O.T.O. Just a reminder that if your address has changed you need U.S.A. is a duly recognized Grand Lodge of Ordo Templi to notify the Grand Treasurer General (see page 15 for his Orientis, an international religious organization with business offices at JAF Box 7666, New York, NY 10116, and corporate contact information) in order to continue getting your Agapé headquarters at 24881 Alicia Parkway E-529, Laguna Hills, CA in the mail. 92653. • Donations, legacies and bequests made to Ordo Templi Orientis U.S.A. are tax-deductable to the extent permitted Love is the law, love under will. by law. • Agapé is distributed to all O.T.O. members in good standing in the U.S.A., and is available for download in PDF format at the U.S. Grand Lodge website: www.oto-usa.org/ Fraternally, agape.html • Copyright © 2012 EV Ordo Templi Orientis U.S.A. Frater Julianus All rights reserved and assigned to the respective authors. The Editor, Agapé viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the contributing authors. SPRING • 2012 EV 2 SPRING • 2012 EV 3 A IN b • IV:XX A IN b • IV:XX AGAPÉ VOL. XIII • No. 1 AGAPÉ VOL. XIII • No. 1 FROM THE GRAND MASTER Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Electoral College Transitions fellows. Brother Douglas Blake has completed his eleven-year In Agapé Vol IX, No. 1 (May 1, 2007 EV), I coined the term on the U.S. Electoral College, many years of which were term “Man of Earth Delegates” (M.o.E. Delegates) to refer to spent in the role of President of the E.C. Congratulations and the four persons mentioned above. I also discussed their duties kudos to Brother Doug on successfully completing his term, and privileges in the context of current conditions—anyone and many thanks for his exceptional—and continuing—ser- considering volunteering for this role should review that ar- vice and devotion to our Order. I’d like to welcome Brother ticle. Scott Wilde, also of the Seattle area, to the Electoral College Note: In order to help the Man of Earth Delegates better and thank him for accepting these new duties and responsi- accomplish their responsibilities of representing the feelings bilities. Brother Scott has taken Brother Doug’s seat on the of the general body of the Man of Earth Triad, I will, hence- Electoral College, and I wish him the best of luck. forth, be offering each Delegate at least one face-to-face meet- ing with me—in person, if convenient; if not, then via Skype First Aid/CPR Certification or Google+ Hangout. for Initiators Heretofore, these Man of Earth Delegates have volun- Currently, proof of certification in first aid and C.P.R. teered directly to the U.S. Grand Lodge Volunteer Coordi- must be attached to all applications for a charter to initiate nator, who would then pass their information on to me for in the United States. There have been a number of questions consideration. However, according to Liber CXCIV, the Men regarding whether chartered initiators must maintain their first of Earth are to “choose” these Delegates. Note also that the aid/C.P.R. certification, and whether the requirement for cer- closing paragraph of Liber CXCIV states that the system of tification applies additionally to Sovereign Grand Inspectors Ordo Templi Orientis “combines monarchy with democracy.” General (S.G.I.G.s) and initiators who were chartered prior to There is no other component of the O.T.O. governmental this requirement. structure for Grand Lodges that involves democratic elec- The answer is a qualified “yes.” I’m not willing to set up a tion; therefore, the choosing of the M.o.E. Delegates by the bureaucratic mechanism to monitor whether initiators (of any members of the Man of Earth Triad would appear to be the degree) are keeping their certifications current, or to penalize sole constitutional opportunity to include an element of “de- them if they renew their certifications late. However, I think mocracy” in our system. that keeping our S.G.I.G.s and initiators certified in first aid To date, it has appeared impractical to implement any and C.P.R. is of significant benefit to the Order, and this is my kind of direct election of these Delegates by the members intent. of the Man of Earth Triad, especially given the criteria that For the time being, I’m willing to keep this matter of first their terms are for one year only, there must be four of them, aid/C.P.R. certification of S.G.I.G.s and existing initiators, and two must be male and two female. If the Delegates were and the renewal of initiator first aid/C.P.R. certifications, on each to be chosen by open vote of the entire Man of Earth the honor system. Triad, these criteria would put Grand Lodge in a painful state of perpetual election that would pose essentially insurmount- New Method of Selecting able logistical obstacles. Over the past year, however, we Man of Earth Delegates have developed a system that overcomes these obstacles, and fully implements a system permitting the Man of Earth Triad Paragraph 5 of Liber CXCIV: An Intimation with Refer- to choose its own Delegates according to Liber CXCIV; the ence to the Constitution of the Order states the following: Executive has just formally adopted this system. In order that the feelings of the general body The essence of the system involves the creation of an may be represented, the Men of Earth choose four intermediate Nomination Panel—composed exclusively of persons, two men and two women, from among members of the Man of Earth Triad—to evaluate and nomi- themselves, to stand continually before the face of nate volunteer candidates to the National Grand Master Gen- the Supreme and Holy King, serving him day and eral for appointment as Man of Earth Delegates, according to night. These persons must not be of higher rank than the following extracts from the proposal just adopted: the Second Degree; they must volunteer for this ser- vice at the conclusion of that ceremony; and there- 1.