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Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; lit. 'Order of the Temple of the East' or 'Order of Oriental Templars') is an occult secret society and hermetic magical organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Theodor Reuss, Heinrich Klein, and Franz Hartmann. In its first incarnation, O.T.O. was intended to be modelled after and associated with European Freemasonry; as such, in its early years, only Freemasons could seek admittance.
Founder and first head of the Order Carl Kellner wanted to create an Academia Masonica wherein various rites of high-degree Freemasonry could be conferred within German-speaking countries. During the course of his esoteric studies across the globe and from many traditions, Kellner believed that he had discovered a key which offered a clear explanation of all the complex symbolism of Freemasonry and of nature itself. Kellner intended that O.T.O. preserve and confer this key.
After the death of Reuss, the English writer and occultist Aleister Crowley assumed control of the Order. Crowley had been inducted into O.T.O. by Reuss in the early 1910s. While maintaining many core elements of Freemasonry and the intentions of both Kellner and Reuss, O.T.O. was drastically changed by Crowley. The guiding philosophy of O.T.O. from this point on became Crowley's self-created occult system, Thelema. With this change O.T.O. ceased its bestowal of Masonic degrees and membership requirements.
After Crowley's death in 1947, four main branches of O.T.O. claimed exclusive descent from the original organization and primacy over the other ones. Courts have ruled that the organization incorporated by Crowley's student Grady McMurtry in 1979 is the legal continuation of the Order and is the exclusive owner of the names, trademarks, copyrights and other assets of Crowley's O.T.O.
The early history of O.T.O. is difficult to trace reliably. It originated in Germany or Austria between 1895 and 1906. Its apparent founder was Carl Kellner (1851–1905) (probably with the German spelling Karl), a wealthy Austrian industrialist, in 1895 (although nothing verifiable is known of the Order until 1904). Kellner wanted to establish an Academia Masonica within which high-grade Freemasonic degrees could be conferred in German-speaking nations.
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, of which the first five were Masonic.
In 1902, Reuss, along with Franz Hartmann and Henry Klein, purchased the right to perform the Rite of Memphis and Mizraim of Freemasonry from the 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. Kellner, Reuss, Hartmann, and Klein acquired authority to operate the rites of the Martinist Order from the French occultist Gérard Encausse and a clandestine form of the Scottish Rite deriving from Joseph Cerneau. From William Wynn Westcott, Reuss acquired a warrant to start a college of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia in Germany.
In 1902, Reuss began publishing a masonic journal, The Oriflamme, as the organ of these collected rites. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; lit. 'Order of the Temple of the East' or 'Order of Oriental Templars') is an occult secret society and hermetic magical organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Theodor Reuss, Heinrich Klein, and Franz Hartmann. In its first incarnation, O.T.O. was intended to be modelled after and associated with European Freemasonry; as such, in its early years, only Freemasons could seek admittance.
Founder and first head of the Order Carl Kellner wanted to create an Academia Masonica wherein various rites of high-degree Freemasonry could be conferred within German-speaking countries. During the course of his esoteric studies across the globe and from many traditions, Kellner believed that he had discovered a key which offered a clear explanation of all the complex symbolism of Freemasonry and of nature itself. Kellner intended that O.T.O. preserve and confer this key.
After the death of Reuss, the English writer and occultist Aleister Crowley assumed control of the Order. Crowley had been inducted into O.T.O. by Reuss in the early 1910s. While maintaining many core elements of Freemasonry and the intentions of both Kellner and Reuss, O.T.O. was drastically changed by Crowley. The guiding philosophy of O.T.O. from this point on became Crowley's self-created occult system, Thelema. With this change O.T.O. ceased its bestowal of Masonic degrees and membership requirements.
After Crowley's death in 1947, four main branches of O.T.O. claimed exclusive descent from the original organization and primacy over the other ones. Courts have ruled that the organization incorporated by Crowley's student Grady McMurtry in 1979 is the legal continuation of the Order and is the exclusive owner of the names, trademarks, copyrights and other assets of Crowley's O.T.O.
The early history of O.T.O. is difficult to trace reliably. It originated in Germany or Austria between 1895 and 1906. Its apparent founder was Carl Kellner (1851–1905) (probably with the German spelling Karl), a wealthy Austrian industrialist, in 1895 (although nothing verifiable is known of the Order until 1904). Kellner wanted to establish an Academia Masonica within which high-grade Freemasonic degrees could be conferred in German-speaking nations.
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, of which the first five were Masonic.
In 1902, Reuss, along with Franz Hartmann and Henry Klein, purchased the right to perform the Rite of Memphis and Mizraim of Freemasonry from the 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. Kellner, Reuss, Hartmann, and Klein acquired authority to operate the rites of the Martinist Order from the French occultist Gérard Encausse and a clandestine form of the Scottish Rite deriving from Joseph Cerneau. From William Wynn Westcott, Reuss acquired a warrant to start a college of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia in Germany.
In 1902, Reuss began publishing a masonic journal, The Oriflamme, as the organ of these collected rites. 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. 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. 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. 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.