Ordo Templi Orientis A.M.O.R.C A Letter from the A.M.O.R.C. about the O.T.O. - Traduction anglaise - Mr Peter-R. König **************** CH **** *** Schweiz (Switzerland) 22/02/1999 Sir, Time has passed while we have not had till now the opportunity to inform you as to the progress of our researches. As we specified it, it seemed useful to us to provide you with a short note tracing what the relationship between H. Spencer Lewis and Theodor Reuss had been, as they can be demonstrated through the correspondence they sent to each other (correspondence running from december 1920 to may 1922.) Finally, we shall publish in a near future, in a french publication, a complete study about this subject. You will receive a copy of this text as soon as it will be available, but, so that you don't lose patience, and wait for it for too long a time, here are below some of the elements that will be developed in this article. In your text, you give as a precision, the fact that the two men knew each other on 1909 during H. Spencer Lewis' trip to France and England without giving anyway any precision allowing to establish the actuality of this meeting. This yours statement proves to be without any basis when put face to face with the correspondence between the two men, which correspondence perfectly well informs of what the origins, the historical background of their relationship and the reasons for their breaking, were. Your remark as to the origin of this relationship are of no value. Why? First, because if there exists indeed a Reuss among the crew of the Amerika (and not the America as you write it), this Reuss is an A. Reuss, first officer after Captain H. Knuth. Furthermore, the list of the members of the crew does not mention any Theodor Reuss among the stewards. We ignore what elements you use as basis to state that Theodor Reuss had as a job on board of the Amerika, that of a steward, on 1909, but as it can be remarked quite obviously, your source must be erroneous. The correspondence between Theodor Reuss and H. Spencer Lewis does not leave any doubt about the origins of their relations. Indeed, the end of the year 1920 is the date when H. Spencer Lewls, endow to A.M.O.R.C. members of Salt Lake City (Utah), for the first time heard of the relations existing between a freemason of that town, McBlain Thomson, and Theodor Reuss. The Imperator, H. Spencer Lewis, learnt they had just re-started the work Papus had enterprised on 1908 with the Congrès Spiritualiste, the aim of which was to unite the initiatic Orders, within a federation, on a worlwide range. To this end, on july 1919, Theodor Reuss had given to McBlain Thomson, an O.T.O. certificate of "33°, 96°, IX°, Souv. Grand Master General and Grand President General... Salt Lake City, Utah". He had then invited him to participate to the Zurich Congress (July 1920) which was considered as being in the continuation of the Congrès Spiritualiste. H. Spencer Lewis was intrigued by the informations communicated to him about all this. He wanted to contact Theodor Reuss to know more about it. Though he did not appreciate much McBlain Thomson, he had to resolve himself to write to him so as to be able to contact Theodor Reuss. Doing so, he was successful with getting Reuss' address. By following this step he afterwards could write to Reuss, on december 28th 1920, by "recommending" himself of McBlain Thomson. But, the moment when the responsible of A.M.O.R.C. writes to Thodor Reuss, this one has just broken any connexion between himself and McBlain Thomson, after and due to the disaster of Zurich Congress (July 17th, 1920). Indeed, because of MacBlain Thomson's attitude during the congress, Reuss had prefered to leave it, somewhat noisyly. Back to America, MacBlain Thomson did not pride himself on the way by which he had diverted the Zurich Congress for the benefit of his American Masonic Federation that became by this operation the International Masonic Federation. Reuss's reaction can be imagined when he received H. Spencer Lewis's letter in which the last one gave MacBlain Thomson's name as a reference ... For six month Theodor Reuss will wait before answering to H. Spencer Lewis. His first letter is dated: june 19th 1921. In this letter, Theodor Reuss corrects H. Spencer Lewis's remarks about MacBlain Thomson's International Masonic Federation of UTAH. As a precision, he states he has no longer any connexion with that man who had betrayed his confidence. As another precision, he writes to to the Imperator of A.M.O.R.C. that O.T.O. is an Order coming in direct descent from the ancient rosicrucians and therefore, that O.T.O. is not a modern creation by Free Masons. From this first letter, Theodor Reuss presents O.T.O. as the exoteric front or showcase of a rosicrucian Order. It's for this reason that H. Spencer Lewis will judge interesting to establish relationship with Theodor Reuss. This one gives to H. Spencer Lewis some precisions (of his own) about the seat of the Order. In the last lines of his letter, he says to H. Spencer Lewis he will be happy to establish with him in, the future, a brotherly relationship. This letter is the very first step of a correspondence which will have as an aim, in H. Spencer Lewis's mind, to establibsh relationship between A.M.O.R.C. and the rosicrucians of O.T.O. since, in his various letters, Reuss would not rest until he presents himself as such (as a rosicrucian), and thus would not rest until he be considered as such. This first letter, which positively testifies to the beginnings of the connexions that existed for a while between both men can be related to one of the last letters Theodor Reuss sent to the Imperator, viz. the letter dated october 25th, 1921. In this nearly last letter where Reuss is amazed at H. Spencer Lewis's lack of enthusiasm in establishing co-working, he reminds the Imperator that he (viz. H. Spencer Lewis) is who contacted him first (moreover, he reminds him the dates of his first letters), and that, therefore, he does not understand the change in his attitude. These two letters alone permit to show, by and in themselves, how and in what circumstances both men began their relationship, the which lasted from december 1920 to may 1922. With MacBlain Thomson, Theodor Reuss had not made a succes with the renewing of the project started by Papus on 1908. He saw in A.M.O.R.C. an occasion to re-start this idea. Then, he sent a diploma to H. Spencer Lewls. This document is a "gage of amity" (a token of friendship) between O.T.O. and A.M.O.R.C. Let us add that it is a matter of honorary diploma, because the Imperator did not receive any ritual initiation from O.T.O. and never took part in the works of this Order (whatever may say some people as the ones who imagine secret meetings between both men.) The letter accompanying this diploma is vague enough as to the titles it confers. Later on, Theodor Reuss will specify, in his letters, the limits of the "authority" confered to H. Spencer Lewis, mentioning he had given to another american, Charles Stanfeld Jones, an O.T.O. charter for the U.S.A. He will specify that since this one, Stanfeld Jones, is the "spiritual son" of Crowley, he wishes to withdraw every authority he had given to Jones before this withdrawal. Thus, very quickly, both H. Spencer Lewis and Theodor Reuss, who endeavor to give a framework to their respective organization on a world-wide basis, have the project to create an international framework suitable for the establishment of a relationship between the amercian rosicrucians and their european brothers. After some proposals, they decide on september 1921 to name this framework T.A.W.U.C. (The A.M.O.R.C. World Union Council) Somewhat fast H. Spencer Lewis became enthusiastic about this project but he will soon regret it. Indeed, both men who want to put in a concrete form their union, decide to publish in commun a revue. Theodor Reuss then designs a model of it entitled TAWUC and offers the Imperator various texts as well as the articles of the T.A.W.U.C.'s constitution. Then, fast, appears to the Imperator of A.M.O.R.C. that Theodor Reuss's aims are not his own. These divarications don't directly concern O.T.O., for Theodor Reuss, never mentions at any time the teachings, the philosophy, the rituals of that group - and in this scope, it is necessary to emphasize that H. Spencer Lewis received no one of the ritual texts belonging to O.T.O. but only some texts of general presentation which let no opportunity to catch the least glimpse of the very questionable practices of O.T.O. The elements because of which the Imperator of A.M.O.R.C. reversed are the five articles Theodor Reuss submits him before they appear in TAWUC constitution. When Theodor Reuss proposes as the main purpose of the organization "to propagate the ancient secret teachings of the authentic R+C brotherhood", he agrees with this, but when Reuss proceeds and when being more specific about his aim he says this one also is "to propagate the Saint gnostic Religion and establish departments of religious teaching, of publication, of economics, of social economy ...", then the Imperator worries about all this.