It's been quite some time since I approached the O.T.O about joining. Reading the Manifesto now, I think I'll just remain a "solitary" for the rest of my days. This sort of thing brings out the curmudgeonly Mister Rogers in me: "Can you say grandiloquent? I can." I used to think the BOTA skirted the borders of pretention, but they were pikers in comparison. I don't doubt that some gratifying work goes on in the Order, but I'd probably hyperventilate were I to attempt reading the Manifesto aloud. It reminds me of my impression of Dickens: he would never use ten words when 100 words would do. I'll just file it in the "gimme a break" folder and go on my way.
Such were the claims of occult post Victorian gentlemen ..... bidding on charters like stock shares
Theodore Reuss used to buy them by the bundle
. The dynamic of the 'Secret Conference' and the defunct rites incorporated by title into the amorphous phoenix that arose from that is represented by those titles above ...... errrrmmmm ... plus some Crowley some added for fun.
How serious is one to take it ? I suppose that depends on how serious one is able to detect real gold from fool's gold ( or a leg pull ) .... remember the thing about 'spiritual pride' being a deadly obstacle , and the best defence against that is a good sense of humour ... especially against your own scared cows. That seems hypocritical to some.
Maybe best summed up by a story. Crowley wrote once that he had acquired so many charters and been appointed head of near defunct occult obscure fraternities that he had a bunch of , not only long winded titles, but regalia, medals chains, rings , crowns ....
one day he tried them all on and couldnt walk
.
This seems reflected in one of his rites . The candidate is awarded the degree for the ceremony he just did ( heck, we all like a medal or a twinkly acknowledgment
), but with this degree goes this title ... and this one... and this one .... and they go on and one might be impressed ... but they go on and on until one must think "This is getting kinda ridiculous " and more and more till one is nearly collapsing just under the words and the titles get longer and longer and more ridiculous and in foreign languages (some are actually insults when translated into English
) .
Eventually some 'get it ' .... okay okay .... I got it. Some dont and afterwards ask "What the hell ? ! Were they serious ! ? "
One guy even went out and hunted out as many of those medals as he could from old masonic stores, 2nd hand shops or other equivalent degrees and pinned them all over his robe. It was hilarious ... he was so proud of it, he didnt seem to notice no one else had done that !
I wont spoil the 'fun ' more as to what comes after that 'lesson' (and that is what it is about; learning a lesson ), but just indicate the title of the next ceremony is 'Annihilation' )
.... big lessons about ego there !
They guy covered in medals and rewards, however , never went on to that stage . "You should really press on .... at least for clarity and continuity of the series ."
"Oh no .... I am just where I want to be. "
In any case , it dont matter a crack of **** whether the OTO holds the defunct charter for the Ancient Indian (English Empire) of the Sat Bai IMO ... it has no effect on the ceremonies that eveentually got sereverly pared back to then reform as mere handful of OTO degrees
The Rites of Memphis and Mizriam used to have 97 degrees - Holy Toledo !
(Or if we add the Rite of Holy Toledo that's 98 degrees
)
Its a maze, there are dead ends .... but really, if one pays attention, one can navigate through. Why the dead ends ?
Because life is like that. A series of 'emulated life stages' enacted in dramatic ritual as initiation ceremonies, should have the similar dynamics. ..... IMO .