Path: shell.portal.com!svc.portal.com!sdd.hp.com!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!nntp.crl.com!pacbell.com!well!heidrick
From: heidrick@well.sf.ca.us (Bill Heidrick)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: Grant and the OTO
Date: 14 Nov 1995 03:22:56 GMT
Organization: The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 57
Message-ID: <48922g$rv3@nkosi.well.com>
References: <488qnf$9c_001@ramhb.co.nz>
NNTP-Posting-Host: well.com
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #1 (NOV)


zirdo@ramhb.co.nz (Pat Zalewski) writes:

>Bill
> I hope you may be able to clear up some of the blurred history of Grant and 
>the OTO.Firstly what rank did he reach. I heard 3rd degree, but someone told 
>me that he made it to the 9th.

IIIrd is definite, IXth is extremely likely but undocumented -- awkward in
that Grant did serve as A.C.'s secretary for about a year.  Germer did
address Grant as IXth degree in one letter, and there is indirect support
for that degree in Crowley's later diaries.  Grant informed me that he lost
his paper (IXth degree pledge form) and Germer's archives failed to produce
a copy either -- this is not unusual, owing to the poor condition and losses
from the latter, especially when Germer's widow maintained it.  Speaking
personally, I feel that Grant was in fact at IXth degree OTO member until
the date of his expulsion.  OTO has not ruled on the question.

>The next question ,was he part of the 
>Californian OTO under Grady ,or did he start his own group up.

This is a time sequence matter.  Agape Lodge in southern California lasted
until about 1948 ev. -- taking the last minutes of meetings to be the
last official act, although the members of the Lodge continued to meet
informally as late as the 1960's.  Grady was a member of that Lodge, but
not an officer of it.  Grady's official standing was as an officer of
the Grand Lodge, under Crowley -- then, as now, a matter of mainly
administrative authority, not meetings of the general membership.

Grant was chartered by Karl Germer to open a Camp of the O.T.O. in the UK
in the 1950's, that being the only official position aside from member
that Grant ever had in OTO -- since his work with Crowley was as a private
secretary.  Germer withdrew the charter to Grant in the mid 1950's,
expelling Grant as a member in the process.

Germer died in 1962 e.v., having effectively shut down the OTO to dormancy.

Grady learned of this after the passages of a number of years.  He came
to California from Washington D.C. and acted on his papers of authority
from Crowley to call the O.T.O. surviving members together in an effort
to bring the OTO back from dormancy.  That went on for some time, culminating
in the formal opening and chartering of Thelema Lodge in Berkeley, CA USA
at the instant of emergance from full eclipse of the sun on 12th October
1977 e.v.  Grady's leadership of a formal OTO body starts from that date.
Prior to that time he ran OTO less formally, from the stand point of his
rank under Crowley and Germer as an SGIC (Sovereign Grand Inspector General).
Thelema Lodge was the Grand Lodge of the OTO from that time until about
1986 e.v. when Agape Lodge No.III was opened as Grand Lodge
in the manner of Crowley and Germer's administrative operation.  Until
then, Thelema Lodge was both a Grand Lodge and a general membership Lodge.
At present, Thelema Lodge is only a local membership Lodge.

93 93/93
Bill Heidrick (I prepared the charter for Thelema Lodge on animal parchment
and gave Grady the count-down to help him syncronize signing and sealing
with the eclipse on Crowley's birth-day.)