Originally posted by Bastet77
Dear Frater Ormus,

I am also an OTO member. I was wondering if you can help me out on something I have long wondered: It is regarding David Bowies intitiation into the OTO. I was wondering if you are certain it took place and if so, what year and where please? I suspect in LA when he lived there in '75-'76? Do you happen to know what Lodge?> I have been asking these questions for years to no avail. You may email me the answers if you prefer not to make them public. This information is very important to me. Thank you very much.

Has this been a persistent rumor in the "community," so to speak? I wonder how it started.

Originally posted by Bastet77


Thank you. But wasen't the infamous Solar Lodge around then?

I thought it had disbanded before then, but was possibly still in existence. However, the Solar Lodge was not really an O.T.O. Lodge proper, and was involved in some pretty grim stuff. I doubt that Bowie would have associated with it.

Also, I think Lon Duquette was active in South Cal. then.

I know that he received his Minerval sometime back in the '70's, but whether the group that conferred it could be considered a Lodge, or even Camp or Oasis, is questionable.

I heard through some conspiracy site that Bowie was initiated by Kenneth Anger. I do know they hung out in LA at the time. Do you know for a fact he was not initiated?

I do not. However, at that time, Anger was not a member of the O.T.O., and would have no authority to confer any degrees. In fact, at that time, Anger was involved with Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan.

I have to disagree with you about him not being a proper Thelemite however, much of his work indicates so. In fact, I once heard him declare the LAW whilst doing a performance. He has also used many of our 'signs' at times on stage until this very day.

By "proper Thelemite", I meant one who practiced all the necessary stuff. He certainly was interested in Crowley and Thelema for a while, but I'm not sure he ever considered himself a Thelemite.

L.V.X.

Ok, your correct, ditto with the Anger connection. But I know there were initiations going on in early 70's in Southern California at the College of Thelema (I believe under Phyllis Seckler/McMurty/) in Dublin, Cal. (were Duquette got initiated.) Also McMurty was doing some initiations also at this time.

93

Hi, found this through Googling another topic, but found the discussion quite interesting.

I am also a member of the OTO, but find a lot of the info here a little ... wrong.

Just to clear up, I will accept any emails to baphomet777@live.co.uk if you have any further questions regarding this post.

Firstly, the reason 'Soror Laylah' has hit a brick wall in her Bowie detective work, is probably because we're a secret order, and not all of us want it known that we'repractioners of Magick. She, if she is a member of our order, should know better than to come to a public site like ATS, to dig up information on someone that is a potential Br. in our order, you should probably revisit your minerval initiation and have a think about the word 'Fraternity'.

Eleleth, see above...and why the AA?

Thirdly, The OTO is far more than "nothing more than a Social Order with an Initiatory Process", at least here in the UK. We regularly perform Gnostic Masses, Invocations, pathworkings et al. It saddens me to imagine my lodge being just a social club

As for the OP: this is the reason that Conspiracy Theorists often lose my respect. To so casually proclaim such an accusation, with no evidence whatsoever, is the kind of behaviour that only works against any kind of truth seeking, or illumination that you participate in. I came up against a similar instance when browsing the David Icke forums recently. The OP made a claim that the 'Mc' in McDonalds 'obvioulsy' stood for 'Mind Control' (also see the Fremen interview with Alex Jones; who claims that Crowley practises 'Atlantian' magick haha).

Anyway, ATS rules, I just hope that it weeds out baseless hyperbole, and sticks to good honest truth seeking!

93 93/93

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Firstly I would like to commend the two brothers (fraterormus and Baphomet777) of the O.T.O., for their (IMO) well written commentaries. As another member or the O.T.O. I am honored to find such present.

In my time with the order I have found Christian and Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Pagan and atheist amongst our ranks. Some are magicians, some are mystics, and some share only the philosophy. It is the nature of any true Thelemite to protect any human in the pursuit of their True Will, so long as it does not conflict with that of another. I believe this is where, more than in any other way, we have been tagged as "Neo-Gnostic Templars".

Our beliefs, religious pursuits, and/or relationship with "God" are our own (as individuals), as provided by our own personal experiences... thus Gnostics. And Templars, as we should be inclined to protect any human in their spiritual endeavors and their pursuit of freedom.

As a Thelemite, I am often deeply moved by the beauty of the U.S. Bill of Rights, and the commentaries of our founding fathers. As such, it outrages me that the masses are allowing the destruction of our rights and the steady dismantling of the U.S. Constitution (as it was originally written).

Anyone who has done any study of Thelema should quickly find us more akin to anarchists than any power-hungry, world-controlling nut-jobs. But then, there are a**holes in every group, and we are no exception. It is only by protecting the rights and freedoms of all, that we can hope to retain our own.

As a temporal order, the Ordo Templi Orientis' primary function is to promulgate (to make known by open declaration) the word of the Law. To this end, it also does its best to vouchsafe the documents of the O.T.O. and A. Crowley. To the best of my knowledge, anything done beyond this is done in fraternity more so than anything else.

What I have presented above is my experience and opinion, and should not be considered the opinion of any other Thelemite, nor should it be construed as either accurate or official of the Ordo Templi Orientis.

Love is the law, love under will.