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A magical organization or magical order is an organization or secret society created for the practice of initiation into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups which may use different terminology and similar though diverse practices.
The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (German : Orden des Gold- und Rosenkreutz) was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld. [1] Candidates were expected to be Master Masons in good standing. Alchemy was to be a central study for members. [2]
The Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe (French : Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Élus Coëns de l’Univers) or simply Élus Coëns (Hebrew for "Elect Priests"), was a theurgical organisation founded by Martinez de Pasqually in 1767. It spread in France in the latter part of the 18th century and is the first branch of the Martinist tradition. [3]
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (Rosicrucian Society of England), or SRIA, is a Rosicrucian esoteric Christian order formed by Robert Wentworth Little in 1865. [4] Members are confirmed from the ranks of subscribing Master Masons [4] of a Grand Lodge in amity with United Grand Lodge of England. The structure and grades of this order were derived from the 18th-century Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross. It later became the grade system used in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. [5]
The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor was an initiatic occult organisation that first became public in late 1894, although according to an official document of the order it began its work in 1870. [6] The Order's teachings drew heavily from the magico-sexual theories of Paschal Beverly Randolph, who influenced later groups such as Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), although it is not clear whether or not Randolph himself was actually a member of the Order. [7]
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has been credited with a vast revival of occult literature and practices and was founded in 1887 or 1888 by William Wynn Westcott, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and William Robert Woodman. The teachings of the Order include ceremonial magic, Enochian magic, Christian mysticism, Qabalah, Hermeticism, the paganism of ancient Egypt, theurgy, and alchemy. [lower-alpha 1]
Ordo Aurum Solis, founded in 1897, is a Western mystery tradition group teaching Hermetic Qabalah. Its rituals and system are different from the more popular Golden Dawn, because the group follows the Ogdoadic Tradition instead of Rosicrucianism.[ citation needed ]
Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) was founded by Carl Kellner in 1895, and is said to have been "reorganized and reconstituted" from the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light. [8]
Alpha et Omega was a continuation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Following a rebellion of adepts in London and an ensuing public scandal which brought the name of the Order into disrepute, [9] Mathers renamed the branch of the Golden Dawn remaining loyal to his leadership to "Alpha et Omega" sometime between 1903 and 1913. [10] Another faction, led by Robert Felkin, became the Stella Matutina. [11]
A∴A∴ was created in 1907 by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones. It teaches magick and Thelema, which is a religion shared by several occult organizations. The main text of Thelema is The Book of the Law . [12]
Ordo Templi Orientis was reworked by Aleister Crowley after he took control of the Order in the early 1920s. Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica functions as the ecclesiastical arm of OTO.[ citation needed ]
Builders of the Adytum (or B.O.T.A.) was created in 1922 by Paul Foster Case and was extended by Dr. Ann Davies. It teaches Hermetic Qabalah, astrology and occult tarot.[ citation needed ]
Also in 1922, after a falling-out with Moina Mathers [13] and with Moina's consent, Dion Fortune left the Alpha et Omega to form an offshoot organization. [14] [15] This indirectly brought new members to the Alpha et Omega. [16] In 1924, Fortune's group became known as the Fraternity of the Inner Light.
Fraternitas Saturni ('Brotherhood of Saturn') is a German magical order, founded in 1926 by Eugen Grosche (also known as Gregor A. Gregorius) and four others. It is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. [17] The lodge is, as Gregorius states, "concerned with the study of esotericism, mysticism, and magic in the cosmic sense". [18]
In 1954, Kenneth Grant began the work of founding the New Isis Lodge, which became operational in 1955. This became the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis (TOTO), which was eventually renamed to Typhonian Order. [19]
The Church of Satan, a religious organization dedicated to Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible , was established in 1966, by Anton LaVey, who was the Church's High Priest until his death in 1997. [20] Church members may also participate in a system of magic which LaVey defined as greater and lesser magic.[ citation needed ] In 1975, Michael Aquino broke off from the Church of Satan and founded the Temple of Set. [21]
The satanic and neo-nazi Order of Nine Angles (O9A or ONA) was founded in the United Kingdom during the 1970s. [22] Hope not Hate have lobbied to have O9A designated a terrorist organization. [23]
In 1973 John Gibbs-Bailey and John Yeowell founded the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite or Odinist Committee in England. [24] Yeowell had been a member of the British Union of Fascists in his youth and bodyguard to leader Oswald Mosley. [25] In 1980 the organisation changed its name to Odinic Rite. It is a white supremicist organization. [26]
In 1976, James Lees founded the magical order O∴A∴A∴ in order to assist others in the pursuit of their own spiritual paths. The work of this order is based in English Qaballa. [27]
In 1977, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc. was founded by Chic Cicero in Columbus, Georgia. This Order is notable for having the only working Golden Dawn temple in the United States at the end of the 1970s, making it the oldest continuously operating Golden Dawn offshoot in the U.S. [28]
The Sangreal Sodality is a spiritual brotherhood founded by British writer William G. Gray and Jacobus G. Swart in 1980. [29]
During the last two decades of the 20th century, several organizations practicing chaos magic were founded. These include Illuminates of Thanateros, and Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth. These groups rely on the use of sigils. Their main texts include Liber Null (1978) and Psychonaut (1982), now published as a single book. [30]
On the Vernal Equinox of 1990, Christopher Hyatt and David Cherubim founded the Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn in Los Angeles. [31] [32]
The Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (OSOGD) was an esoteric community of magical practitioners, many of whom came from pagan backgrounds, founded by Sam Webster in 2002 and based on the principles of the open-source software movement. [33] It was an initiatory teaching Order that drew upon the knowledge, experience, practices and spirit of the system of magical training and attainment developed by the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The OSOGD ceased operating in September 2019. [34]
The Grey School of Wizardry is an online school with a focus on secular esoteric education. Founded in 2004 by former headmaster Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, it operates primarily online and as a non-profit educational institution in California. [35]
Arcanorium College is an online school of magic founded by chaos magician Peter J. Carroll. [36]
Thelema is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy, as well as a new religious movement that was founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. Central to Thelema is the idea of discovering and following one's True Will, a unique purpose and calling that goes beyond ordinary desires. Crowley's system begins with The Book of the Law, a text he said was dictated to him by an entity named Aiwass. This foundational work lays out key principles, including the central axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law". This principle emphasizes personal freedom and the pursuit of one's true path, while being guided by love and finding one's authentic purpose.
Ordo Templi Orientis is an occult secret society and hermetic magical organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Theodor Reuss, Heinrich Klein, and Franz Hartmann. In its first incarnation, O.T.O. was intended to be modelled after and associated with European Freemasonry and as such in its early years only Freemasons could seek admittance.
Ceremonial magic encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to spirituality:
Fraternitas Saturni is a German magical order, founded in 1926 by Eugen Grosche a.k.a. Gregor A. Gregorius and four others. It is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. The lodge is, as Gregorius states, "concerned with the study of esotericism, mysticism, and magic in the cosmic sense". The FS adopts a system of degrees, ending with the 33rd as highest degree to reach this goal. The lodge claims further no political or economical objectives. It propagates ideals of freedom, tolerance and fraternity.
The Typhonian Order, previously known as Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis (T.O.T.O.), is a self-initiatory magical organization based in the United Kingdom that focuses on magical and Typhonian concepts. It was originally led by British occultist Kenneth Grant (1924–2011) and his wife Steffi Grant, and is now led by their deputy Michael Staley.
Sex magic is any type of sexual activity used in magical, ritualistic or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits. One practice of sex magic is using sexual arousal or orgasm with visualization of a desired result. A premise posited by sex magicians is the concept that sexual energy is a potent force that can be harnessed to transcend one's normally perceived reality.
William Breeze, also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Tau Silenus, is an American writer and publisher on magick and philosophy. He is the Sovereign Patriarch, or supreme governing cleric, of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), the liturgical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), of which he is the current Outer Head of the Order (OHO), also known as Frater Superior, as well as caliph, the order's international leader. In this capacity he is a leading editor of the occult works of Aleister Crowley, the founder of the philosophy and religion of Thelema, who is regarded as its prophet.
Carl Kellner was a chemist, inventor, and industrialist. Born in Vienna, Austria, he made significant improvements to the sulfite process and was co-inventor of the Castner-Kellner process.
Albert Karl Theodor Reuss also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was a German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo Templi Orientis.
A lamen is a magical pendant or breastplate worn around the neck so that it hangs upon the breast over the heart. Its uses vary but, most commonly, the term refers to a symbol of authority and a focus of magical energies. Aleister Crowley described the lamen as "a sort of coat of arms. It expresses the character and powers of the wearer." Crowley and DuQuette have proposed that the magical lamen might be a modern adaptation of the priestly breastplate of the ancient Hebrews.
Christopher Hyatt, born Alan Ronald Miller, was an American psychologist, occultist, and writer. He was founder and president of New Falcon Publications, an independent publisher specializing in of psychedelic and occult literature; Hyatt's press published work by several well-known champions of consciousness expansion, including Israel Regardie, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, and Antero Alli.
Leah Hirsig was an American schoolteacher and occultist, notable for her magical record diary, The Magical Record of the Scarlet Woman, which describes her experiences and visions as an associate, friend, and victim of occult writer Aleister Crowley. She was the most famous of Crowley's "Scarlet Women".
Marcelo Ramos Motta was a Brazilian writer, Thelemite, and member of the A∴A∴ occult society. Known for his work in the field of Thelema, he was a prominent figure in the Thelemic community and contributed significantly to its literature. Motta was also recognized by his magical names Parzival X° and Parzival XI°. His writings, which include translations of Aleister Crowley's works and original Thelemic texts, have had a lasting impact on the study and practice of Thelema in Brazil and beyond.
In ceremonial magic, a magical formula or a word of power is a word that is believed to have specific supernatural effects. They are words whose meaning illustrates principles and degrees of understanding that are often difficult to relay using other forms of speech or writing. It is a concise means to communicate very abstract information through the medium of a word or phrase.
The Stella Matutina was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known as Mystic Rose or Order of the M.R. in the Outer. When occult writer Israel Regardie released documents of the Golden Dawn to the public it was the teachings of the Stella Matutina that he revealed, not those of the original order. The Stella Matutina was one of several daughter organisations into which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fragmented, including the Alpha et Omega led by John William Brodie-Innes and Macgregor Mathers, the Isis-Urania Temple led by A.E. Waite, and others.
Richard Kaczynski is an American writer and lecturer in the fields of social psychology, metaphysical beliefs and new religious movements. He is known for his biography of the occultist Aleister Crowley, Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, described by The Times Literary Supplement as "the major biography to date", and by Didrik Søderlind in the Norwegian daily Aftenposten as the best biography of Crowley.
James Wasserman was an American writer and occultist. A member of Ordo Templi Orientis since 1976 and a book designer by trade, he wrote extensively on spiritual and political liberty.
Helen Parsons Smith was an American occultist, entrepreneur, book editor, and publisher. She served as Priestess of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica at Agape Lodge of Ordo Templi Orientis in Pasadena, California, during the 1940s, and the independent Church of Thelema in Malibu, which she co-founded with her second husband Wilfred Talbot Smith, during the 1950s.
Under the style and title: ANCIENT ORDER OF ORIENTAL TEMPLARS, an organization, formerly known as: "The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light", has been reorganized and reconstituted. This reconstituted association is an international organization, and is hereinafter referred to as the O.T.O.