Carl Kellner | Academia Masonica | Masonic Foundations | O.T.O. under Reuss | O.T.O. under Reuss and Crowley | Crowley's Succession | O.T.O. under Crowley | Agapé Lodge | Karl Germer | Grady McMurtry | O.T.O. under Germer | Interregnum | O.T.O. under McMurtry | Challenge in Court | O.T.O. Today | Acknowledgements | NotesGermer died on October 25, 1962 without having designated a successor. Germer's last will and testament named his wife Sascha and Frederick Mellinger the executors of his estate in the matter of property held for O.T.O. Sascha was an elderly lady of less than sound mind, and cut herself off from the surviving members of O.T.O. in California. Germer's estate was never probated. Some ranking members, including Grady McMurtry, were not notified of Germer's death for several years, causing a long delay before the question of succession to leadership of O.T.O. was properly addressed.
Metzger in Switzerland published a claim to being the Outer Head of the Order, based on a private election represented to have been held in Switzerland on January 6, 1963. Ranking members of O.T.O. outside of Switzerland, including Frederick Mellinger, whom Germer had appointed as Metzger's mentor, were not informed of Metzger's purported election until after the alleged fact. A copy of Metzger's manifesto was sent to Wilfred Smith, who had been dead since 1957. Metzger was not generally accepted as head of the Order outside his own group. Sascha made a half-hearted attempt to send Germer's O.T.O. property material to Metzger, but this was blocked by Mellinger in a letter dated Sept. 25, 1963 which denounced Metzger as a fraud. Metzger later incorporated his system of O.T.O. as part of a new organization of his own formulation, the "Ordo Illuminatorum," which purported to be a revival of the order of the Illuminati. Metzger died in 1990.
Kenneth Grant (b. 1924) also asserted a claim to being Outer Head of the Order; but he had previously been expelled from membership by Germer. Mr. Grant disputes his expulsion, claiming that he never recognized Karl Germer as head of O.T.O. However, Grant's own writings from the 1950's, in particular the manifesto of New Isis Lodge, refer to Frater S (Saturnus, i.e. Karl Germer) as the international head of O.T.O. Grant's organization asserts that O.T.O. had ceased to be a membership organization in its traditional sense of having Lodges and conferring degrees ceremonially. Grant's organization also ignores the Gnostic Mass, which is, according to Crowley, "the central ceremony of [O.T.O.'s] public and private celebration." Top
When McMurtry became aware of the critical condition into which the Order had fallen after Germer's death, he was impelled to invoke his documents of emergency authorization from Crowley, and assume the title "Caliph of O.T.O.," as specified in Crowley's letters to McMurtry from the 1940s. For the two witnesses he believed were necessary for this act, he chose Dr. Israel Regardie (1907-1985) and Gerald Yorke (1901-1983). McMurtry referred to these two as the "Eyes of Horus," as the two most prominent surviving personal students of Crowley. He advised them of his plans to reconstitute the O.T.O. using his letters of charter from Crowley, and requested their support, which was offered. McMurtry completed the activation of his Caliphate by June of 1969, with a letter to Hermann Metzger of Switzerland.
Upon activation of the Caliphate, surviving O.T.O. members from the Germer and Crowley years were invited to join with McMurtry to resume regular operations of O.T.O. At that time there were less than a dozen surviving older O.T.O. members in the United States. Soror Meral, Soror Grimaud, Mildred Burlingame and Gabriel Montenegro indicated willingness to see the O.T.O. accessible to the general public. Ray Burlingame had died some years before, and Dr. Montenegro died on July 14, 1969, before an organizational meeting could be held. Frederick Mellinger had re-established his contacts with the Theosophical Society and had been essentially inactive in O.T.O. since approximately 1956, except to write his letter blocking the probate of Germer's will in favor of Metzger in 1963. Mellinger died on August 29, 1970. In 1969 and 1970, McMurtry, Burlingame and Sorores Meral and Grimaud began to perform initiations. On December 28, 1971, the Ordo Templi Orientis Association was registered with the State of California to form a legal entity for O.T.O..
Sascha Germer died in April of 1975, and in 1976 when her death became known, the O.T.O. Association under McMurtry obtained a court order for delivery of the remnant of the O.T.O. archives that had been in her custodianship. This order was issued, recognizing Grady McMurtry as the authorized representative of O.T.O., by the Superior Court in Calaveras County, California, and filed July 27th, 1976.
Under McMurtry, as Caliph or acting Head of O.T.O., several attempts were made to attract new members to O.T.O. and to make the Order known to the public. In 1970, O.T.O. published Crowley's Thoth Tarot Cards, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, from the Dublin address. Response was slow, but a few new members were initiated through efforts centered in Dublin, California at The College of Thelema and in San Francisco at the Kaaba Clerk House. The San Francisco activity collapsed, and one new member resigned. Activity continued for two years in Dublin, and then was transferred to Berkeley, California.
In 1977, McMurtry held O.T.O. initiations at his home in Berkeley, California, and began a group there. O.T.O. was incorporated under the laws of the State of California on March 26th, 1979 e.v. Those who had claimed in print to be O.T.O. members or who were known to be former members were notified of the formation of this corporation, and given a period of time to file a claim to continued membership, according to a precedent established earlier by Karl Germer. The corporation attained Federal Tax exemption as a religious entity under IRS Code 501(c)3 in 1982. Top
A substantial effort was made to assume control of O.T.O. by Marcelo Ramos Motta (1931-1987) under the name "Society Ordo Templi Orientis." Mr. Motta had been a personal A\A\ student of Karl Germer for a number of years, but had never formally obtained a charter to Initiate or operate a Lodge. In fact, he had never even been formally initiated into O.T.O.. After Germer's death, Motta asserted a claim to being Germer's successor, and formed an O.T.O. group in his native country of Brazil. Motta at first recognized Kenneth Grant as head of O.T.O., but rescinded this recognition on learning that Grant had been expelled by Germer. Motta ultimately came to the United States to claim the Crowley copyrights. He first sued Samuel Weiser, Inc., a publisher of many of Crowley's works, for copyright and trademark infringement; maintaining that he was the sole representative of Crowley's O.T.O.. This case was decided in Weiser's favor by the U.S. District Court in Maine. The Judge found that Motta's representations regarding O.T.O. did not meet the test of legal existence. O.T.O. under McMurtry was not a party to this case, and did not factor in the judgment.
During the proceedings in Maine, O.T.O. under McMurtry served Motta with a suit to be heard in the 9th Federal District Court in San Francisco. The San Francisco case was concluded in 1985, with Motta again losing. O.T.O. under McMurtry was recognized by the Court to be the continuation of the O.T.O. of Aleister Crowley, and the exclusive owner of the names, trademarks, copyrights and other assets of O.T.O. McMurtry was found to be the legitimate head of O.T.O. within the United States. The 9th District decision also recognized O.T.O. under McMurtry as a legal membership entity. This decision was appealed and upheld. Grady McMurtry died on July 12, 1985, following the original decision of the 9th District Court, but the process of appeal established that O.T.O. continued as a corporation. Top
Rather than designate his own successor, McMurtry desired that his successor be chosen by vote of the Sovereign Sanctuary of O.T.O. after his death. The election was held on September 21, 1985, with the two surviving members of Agapé Lodge participating, and Frater Hymenaeus Beta was elected to succeed Frater Hymenaeus Alpha as Caliph and acting O.H.O. of O.T.O.. Hymenaeus Beta continues in office to this day.
In early 1996, a new corporation was founded to carry on the work of the U.S. Grand Lodge of O.T.O, while the existing corporation reorganized itself as the International Headquarters of O.T.O. On March 30, 1996, Sabazius X° was appointed as National Grand Master General for the U.S. Grand Lodge. Top
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In addition to materials in the O.T.O. archives, the published writings of the following protagonists and historical researchers were consulted in preparing this essay: Calvin C. Burt, W.B. Crow, Isaac Blair Evans, Antoine Faivre, S.E. Flowers, René Le Forestier, Joscelyn Godwin, Dr. J.A. Gottlieb, Ellic Howe, Francis King, Peter-Robert König, Helmut Möller, William G. Peacher, M.D., Martin P. Starr, John Symonds, M. McBlain Thomson, A.E. Waite, James Webb, and John Yarker.
The following individuals provided substantial assistance in the form of historical information and/or criticism: William Breeze, Martin P. Starr, Parsival Krumm-Heller, Soror Meral, Soror Grimaud, Lon Milo DuQuette, James T. Graeb, Bjarne Salling Pedersen, and P.-R. König. Top
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