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OTO Dispute

To: heidrick@well.com (Bill Heidrick)
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nigris (333))
Subject: Re: OTO Dispute (Am/UK/Swiss/NZ/LAm)
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 12:29:33 -0700 (PDT)

49960902 AA1 Hail Satan!

E6 (cc'd to Br. Koenig)

Heidrick:
#># Koenig has copies of [the letters of succession].  They were published 
#># in the old OTO Newsletter and from time to time in the ML and TLC.  I 
#># sent copies of them to him years ago as well.

Koenig [excerpts, again, edited]
# There is no letter specifically stating, from Crowley to McMurtry: "you are
# the successor" or "Caliph equals OHO." 

apparently Br. Koenig does not find these statements within those documents.
Br. Heidrick, are you saying that they are to be found but that Br. Koenig has
overlooked them?  if you could, please provide vol/issue/pg #s wherein these
documents were published as mentioned above and I will consult them myself
within my library and offer what text I can to support your assertion, since
you seem reticent to merely quote them and explicate your interpretation.


#># ...the letter from Mellinger to the attorney of the widow of Karl Germer,
#># in which Mellinger denounces Metzger and states that Metzger failed to
#># work with him (Mellinger) as Germer directed (published in the TLC 
#># Feb. 1993 e.v.)

# It doesn't matter whether Mellinger was against Metzger in his later years
# because Sascha Germer was "for" Metzger and she was the widow of her husband
# and lived together with him up to his death.  Metzger had no contacts with
# Germer for a decade.

# There was never any "emergency" in the Order.  Worldwide there were many 
# very active OTO Lodges.  However, as McMurtry did not know of their 
# existence, he thought it a good idea to achieve the Crowley copyrights in
# order to pay for his beer and other drugs.  Mellinger was very active in
# Europe!

Br. Heidrick, what sort of Lodge activity are you aware was going on during
the period after which McMurtry put into effect his "emergency Caliph" office?


#>#Koenig aught to know, since [Metzger OTO] kicked him out of that too.

# I was never a member of Metzger's OTO and therefore can't have been 
# expelled.

# Heidrick wrote me, saying he intended to kick me out of his version of
# the OTO, but since I had already paid money in advance he wanted to know
# what to do with it.  I replied: "do what thou wilt", and Heidrick 
# responded with a funny letter professing astonishment that I wanted to
# get expelled and that I was therefore no longer a member.  I never found
# out what he did with my money.

Heidrick from separate correspondence:
| ...he merely dared us to expell him, and we took him up on the dare, 
| having ample grounds.  

what were these grounds?


Koenig:
# Heidrick learnt that my researches were going to be published and that it
# would not(!) turn out to his favour.  I had a guest for one week at my
# home by the name of Andrea Lacedonia Bacuzzu.  She was sent over to Europe
# to install an independent Grand Lodge.  She saw some of my archive and
# yelled at me: "You have to whitewash your study" to the favour of 
# Heidrick's version of history.  I even have Heidrick's letter where he 
# wanted to prevent a publication of the above event ('whitewashing story').
# Of course I don't whitewash anything, and no one in the world can prevent
# me from publishing what I know.

Br. Heidrick, would you make brief comment on the above, especially who
ALBacuzzu was, why you ostensibly sent her to Europe, if you did, and 
what she claims occurred, etc.?  


#>#> Thus Germer considered Metzger as his sole successor, as he wrote 
#>#> in a letter and as was confirmed by Germer's widow.

#># This letter doesn't exist, as far as I know.  

# I can send you a copy.  I have even published it in my 
# 'Materialien Zum OTO'.

if you'd like a copy of this I'll ask him to send you one.  I'd like one
myself for my files, Br. Koenig, and append my address to the end of this
email (which is cc'd to you).


#># Why didn't Metzger produce it, if it did?   It would have settled the 
#># whole matter -- assuming it existed and hadn't been withdrawn by 
#># subsequent writing.  Too late now, of course.

# Metzger didn't produce it because he had other things to do and only
# Sascha Germer's transcript and her opinion were produced while
# quarrelling with Mellinger after Germer's death.

# It is never too late, Mr. Heidrick.  The copyright decision is only valuable
# for the 9th Circuit.  In every other 'country' one has to rule anew according
# to the laws of that country -- meanwhile there are more documents around 
# than in 1985.

Br. Heidrick, you mentioned that you thought Br. Koenig did not understand the
'circuitry' of the court system, or something similar, and I'm unsure myself
that I understand either of your contentions in this regard.  could you
briefly explain your understanding of what courts ruled in relation to 
succession issues and how far what they ruled should carry beyond the US, 
for example?  does it have anything to do with the Geneva Copyrights 
standards which link US and Europe?
 

#># There was never any "forbade his working along OTO-lines" and Agape
#># Lodge simply faded out without final formal closure.

#>do you claim that this is untrue, Br. Koenig?  if so, do you have some
#>sort of documentation which directly contradicts it?

# Agape Lodge officially was closed on 7 September 1953.

Br. Heidrick, do you have any idea what Br. Koenig means by 'officially'
here?  I gather he thinks there was some formal closure.


#> ...it does seem somewhat clear that Crowley was attempting to 
#> establish a 'fall-back' chain, should those immediately in line 
#> not be capable or willing to assume OHO do so in proper timing.  
#> do you dispute this?  

# Germer knew of all the other active OTO Lodges and McMurtry appeared
# on the scene 20(!) years after Crowley's death.  In these 20 years
# there were many OTO Lodges active.

Br. Heidrick, are you aware of the active Lodges of which Br. Koenig speaks?
were these something other than 'Crowleyan' lineages (perhaps something which
the Caliphate disputes?)?


#>Br. Koenig, don't you think that the usage of 'Caliph' as compared to
#>'Calif' indicates that it was more than just a pun, given the Muslim
#>understanding of this term?

# Of course this might have been the case, but even if Crowley intended to
# use the term "Caliph" in its original meaning of "follower of the prophet",
# it has nothing to do with the OTO, which has no prophet, which is a pseudo-
# freemasonic order.  It is Thelema which seems to need a prophet.  'Caliph'
# can only be seen in the context of Thelema, but Thelema must be seen as
# separate from the OTO.  It was only the breakaway group under Crowley that
# adopted Thelema.  Reuss got rid of it all in November 1921 and wanted other
# successors than Crowley.

given that Reuss wanted to dispense with Crowley (what is your position on
this assertion, Br. Heidrick?), and that Br. Koenig's claim that Crowley's
lineage was a 'breakaway group' is accurate, doesn't it seem logical to you 
that this business about 'caliphs' would remain in contention?


#># ...All this is in the official court transcripts.

# These transcripts also show that the lawyers had the opinion that documents
# had been suppressed (Motta vs. Weiser, 535).

Br. Heidrick, are you aware of any data to this effect?  if not, perhaps
Br. Koenig can send me excerpts from the transcripts wherein he finds
this suppression-suspicion.


#>#Standing as a Bishop through OTO is an appendant to the VIIth degree,
#>#however Grady was taken into the IXth by Crowley in proper person from
#>#the Ist.  That included the Bishop consecration by the nature of the
#>#degree. 

# PROOF????!  I want to see the original statute which rules such.

is there such proof of this, Br. Heidrick?  is there something in the
Constitution of the Order or some other text which supports this 
correspondence betwixt gnostic succession and Order initiations?


#># As to the laying on of hands, Grady did what Crowley did to him,
#># so stating.

# Where?  On which part of McMurtry's body did Crowley lay his hand?


#># As to Crowley being a Bishop, this is what he was within OTO. 

# PROOF?!

I'd like to see responses to Br. Koenig's questions above.


#># We only resumed the separate title of Bishop apart from the Degrees
#># in the 1980's.  Until then it was a part of the IXth and could be
#># conferred at the VIIth. 

# Nonsense.  I have Crowley's VII' rituals, and they are void of such.
# Heidrick does not(!) have the VII' Crowley OTO ritual, and therefore
# this is a projected fantasy.  I am looking at the ritual as I write
# this email and I assure you, they are devoid of anything related to
# Gnosticism.

Br. Heidrick, why would Br. Koenig claim to have Crowley-OTO rites
which you, ostensibly a/the lineage of Crowley-OTO, do not have?
I understand that rites between III' and IX' were fairly recently
(re?) constructed by the Caliphate, isn't this true?

where do you draw evidence for the conclusion that the Gnostic succession
was at some point drawn into the initiations of the freemasonic OTO?  did
Crowley write initiations where are not now being used by the Caliphate?
was it Crowley (with Reuss-objection) who joined the Gnostic-OTO lines?


#> ...Br. Heidrick claims that the degree/Bishop association has *always* 
#> existed (esp. as regarding the IX').  

# Where in the IX' papers is the Bishop connected to the OTO secrets?

I'm unsure of the significance of the question but would like to hear a 
response.


#>#Talk to David Scriven -- he's been writing the history of the EGC,=20
#>#partly published in _Red Flame #2_.

# I am also preparing a large tome on the Gnostic churches....  I have
# Scriven's booklet and it is completely worthless re: history.  But it
# is a good example of 'sectarian' thinking: bending history into
# critically-immune self-referentiality which narrows its value.

Br. Heidrick, are you aware of anyone's text which is broad enough to
encompass all perspectives on this matter?  Does DScriven's text take
a particular slant?


#>#No.  St. Peter.  It does connect to the pre-Christian system of Rome....

# PROOF?

I wondered about that proof too.  making such grandiose claims we might
presume to ask for it, though I remember you said it was 'on the order
of _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_', or something which implied to me that
there is not very much evidence to be found.  is this like the OTO
claim of connection to the Templars (i.e. thematic/symbolic/unsubstantiated)?


#> ...the Caliphate OTO considers Crowley to have been a Bishop of the church 
#> (EGC) with which he was affiliated by virtue of his degree (OHO, X') in 
#> the Order.  are you saying that this is not historically accurate?

# Crowley was not the OHO of the OTO, only OHO of his own breakaway group.

given this assertion, I'm unsure of the logic involved in the Germer-Metzger-
McMurtry affairs, since it sounds as if Br. Koenig is simultaneously stating
that Reuss broke from Crowley and that McMurtry (who did not wish to break
from Crowley) was not the successor via Germer in default of Mellinger.


#>#>HBeta received (postal?) consecration from Webb to Lully-Bertiaux-Hogg.
#>#
#>#There was such an intangible link in that line, but not in the line
#>#from McMurtry to Beta.
#>
#>are you aware of this alternative lineage, Br. Koenig, that OTO degrees
#>(esp. IX' early on) conferred bishopric lineage?

# Only in their minds, or perhaps new invented statutes.  Nowhere (!) in
# the original statutes [Bylaws?  Constitution?] can one find such 
# somersaults.

Br. Heidrick, was something 'new' constructed at some point which supports
your assertion?


#>#>"satisfied that 'Elevation to the Sovereign Sancturary of
#>#>the Gnosis *ipso facto* makes one a Bishop and leadership of such a body
#>#>*ipso facto* makes one a Patriarch."  is this true?  or was there more
#>#>to it?

#>#That's all it ever was, within OTO.  Receiving the IXth degree includes
#>#that rite, by laying on of hands, since Papus's days.

# PROOF?  Since when does one 'receive' the IXth degree?  Knowledge of the
# 'secrets' was enough in the original days (and paying [fees?] of course).
# Only when Heidrick found out that the 'secrets' are 'common knowledge'
# he linked to the IX'.  To the possession of 'the emblems and mode of use'
# and a paper signed by the 'Caliphate'.  this, seen from the perspective
# of the original OTO, is nonsense.

Reuss, I think, passed on the UK Kingship to Crowley on the basis of 
having printed 'secrets' in his _Book of Lies..._.  why isn't what 
Br. Koenig saying here accurate?


#>#A "Patriarch" is the top Bishop in OTO.

# Papus never (!) made either Reuss or Crowley a Bishop.  The events around
# Papus will be documented in my forthcoming book....  I do have a complete
# set of all(!) the original French-Gnostic and OTO magazines and thousands
# of handwritten manuscripts.

Br. Heidrick, obviously there is a great deal of difference in regards what
OTO initiation conveys.  I would like to know if you are aware when these
initiations began including bishopric consecration, or if they had this
even during the Kellner/Reuss times.

E6/6/6

thank you for your time,

nigris (333)

=======================================================================

My address for Brother Koenig to send copy (highlighted please) of text 
of the Germer will which expressly dictates succession:

nigris (333)
Haus Kaos
871 Ironwood Drive
San Jose, California
		95125  USA


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