Is the A:.A:. a mundane earthly Order like that of OTO or Golden Dawn, that is, subject to rules and a hierarchy of leadership, or is the A:.A:. a spiritual Order that transcends the ideas of historical lineage, externally enforced rules, and such things as written constitutions and by-laws? Many people argue for one point of view or the other. Few people seem to argue for both. I am one of these few people.
I am of the belief that the Order is both of these things. That is to say, I am of the belief that A:.A:. is a spiritual organisation that transcends any limitations of Order affiliation, lineage, or cultural or spiritual background. I am also of the opinion that this Internal Order has a particular External Order which it founded on the temporal plane so as to initiate aspirants into its mysteries. This temporal, or external order, is also often referred to as A:.A:., but is more accurately called the R.C and the G.D. The authority to found these orders was given to Aleister Crowley by the A:.A:. via the Cairo Revelation. With this authority, Crowley and Jones re-established the R.C and the G.D. sometime around 1906. As will be shown, the order worked (and continues to work) according to the rules and regulations of external occult orders; However, the External Order(s) is ultimately governed by the Internal Order.
| The Order of the S.S | The Order of the R.C | The Order of the G.D |
10°=1° Ipsissimus |
(Babe of the Abyss) 7°=4° Adeptus Exemptus |
(Dominus Liminis) 4°=7° Philosophus |
There are three divisions in the Hierarchy of A:.A:. The S.S, the R.C and the G.D. The G.D. encompasses the grades from 1°=10° though to 4°=7°, the R.C encompasses the grades 5°=6° to 7°=4°, the S.S that of 8°=3° to 10°=1°. The R.C and the G.D are subject to the rules and regulations of external occult orders, this is because that is what they actually are. They are two joined, external orders, founded by the authority of the Internal Order of the S.S.
The S.S is the A:.A:. proper, and is subject to no such organisational limitations.
The Order of the Golden Dawn, which preceded the A:.A:. of Crowley and Jones, was comprised of two external orders. These two orders, being the G:.D:. and the RR et A.C (ie. R.C), were summed up under one title, this was simply "The Order of the Golden Dawn". The three orders of which the A:.A:. is comprised, being the S.S, the R.C and the G:.D:., are summed up under the singular name of A:.A:., commonly, though erroneously, stated to mean Argenteum Astrum, the Silver Star.
Many people seem to have a problem distinguishing between things that were written about the A:.A:. in its sense as the Internal and Eternal Order (S.S), and things that were written about the A:.A:. in its meaning as a general term applied to the external and temporal orders of the R.C and the G.D.. This confusion seems to be at the heart of why so many people either take the side of the A:.A:. being a totally spiritual entity suffering no organisational limitations, or an external occult order governed by rules and regulations, but so few seem to reconcile these two.
One Star in Sight[1] gives a brief summary of the grades of A:.A:. and the structure of the Order. In this document, the following is said about A:.A:. :"The order consists of eleven grades or degrees, and is numbered as follows: these compose three groups, the Orders of the S. S., of the R. C., and of the G. D. respectively." This shows that the A;.A:. is a term that is used for the three related, but distinct orders, collectively.
A reading of One Star in Sight and salient material will show that of the three divisions, the S.S. is the only one mentioned that would seem to fit the description of the A:.A:. as given in An Account of A:.A:.[2] , and The Cloud Upon The Sanctuary, that is, the invisible hidden college of L.V.X existing since time immemorial. It is the knowledge and conversation of this Order that the Probationer through to Adeptus Minor asks to be admitted to (through the medium of the H.G.A) in the oaths that they sign. After a bit of study, it does not take too much imagination to link the name A:.A:. with that of the S.S. Very few people disagree that the S.S is the A:.A:. proper, that is, the secret and hidden Order that the Masters and the Secret Chiefs are a member of. Some people do disagree though, and hence, there was a need for me to have just explained what seems to me to be the obvious.
There is a book issued by the Order called An Account of A:.A:. that is often cited and used to base an argument for A:.A:. being a purely spiritual order. This little book is a paraphrase of The Clouds Upon The Sanctuary[3] , and gives "an elementary suggestive account of the work of the Order in its relation to the average man."[4] The description given of A:.A:. in this book is that of a hidden spiritual organisation secretly working behind the scenes to aid humanity and "It is from her that all truths penetrate into the world; she is the school of all who search for wisdom, and it is in this community alone that truth and the explanation of Mystery can be found."[5]
The Order is described as havening started at the dawn of time and as being the One True Order behind all true spiritual organisations: "From all time there has been an exterior school based on the interior one, of which it is but the outer expression. From all time, therefore, there has been a hidden assembly, a society of the Elect, of those who sought for and had capacity for the light..."[6] It is universal in the sense that it knows no cultural, religious, or organisational boundaries, as is shown when the book says" We must not, however, imagine that this society resembles any secret society, meeting at certain times, choosing leaders and members, united by special objects. All societies, be what they may, can but come after this interior illuminated circle. This society knows none of the formalities which belong to the outer rings, the work of man. In this Kingdom of power all outward forms cease."[7]
This document gives the impression that the A:.A:. is universal, that all true orders and religions spring from her and that the only way to gain admittance is to prove oneself worthy by undergoing the necessary initiation and ordeals. This is very true, the A:.A:. spoken of is just that, but the A:.A:. of which the account is given is that of the S.S. only, not the order as a whole. It should also be remembered that the document is an A: A:. document in Class C, that is, it is not meant to be taken literally, but only suggestively. It constantly astounds me that people take something that has been distinctly marked as being only suggestive, as absolute inviolable fact and gospel. To take this document to be an authoritative and exact description of the whole Order would be to make a mistake, as it is obvious from the class that was assigned to that it must not be taken that way. It would make much more sense to examine class B and D documents to gain an exact description of the Order as a whole. Such documents as One Star in Sight, Liber Causae[8] (includes the History Lection), Liber Graduum Montis Abiegni[9] and Liber Collegii Sancti[10] might prove useful and shall be examined shortly.
The S.S. is composed of three Grades: The Master of the Temple, The Magus and the Ipsissimus. If the S.S is the universal order known as A:.A:. and described suggestively in An Account of A:.A:., we should be able to back this assertion up by finding people who had been designated one of these Grades but were members of different traditions, religions, or occult orders. This can in fact be done and hence it can be shown beyond all doubt that at least one division of A:.A:. is universal in nature. In Liber Aleph, Crowley names those who have attained the Grade of Magus. These were the likes of Lao Tzu, The Buddah, and Mosheh, amongst others. If Crowley considers these people to have all held the A:.A:. Grade of "Magus", then they must be considered as members of A:.A:.. These people all lived before the creation of Crowley and Jones' A:.A:. in 1906 which gives some reason to think that A:.A:. is indeed as it is described in An Account of A:.A:., especially the section about being the One True movement behind all spiritual movements. In other words, the S.S. must be a universal order, as for one, it had members that lived and died long before the temporal orders of G.D and R.C were created. This seems to me to be the only logical conclusion, especially as it is backed up by another book[11] in which Crowley asserts that Madam Blavastsky was a Master of the Temple of A:.A:., and yet, she had never been formally initiated into the external occult order of that name.
It should however be noted that the only A:.A:. Grades given to people not initiated in an A:.A:. temple of initiation so to speak are those grades that belong to the S.S.. No Grades of the G.D or the R.C have been recognised as belonging to people of other traditions and orders. This omission lends weight to the idea that the S.S. is the only one of the three divisions that is universal in its operations. The G.D and the R.C are temporal orders. It would seem that one cannot claim a grade of one of these two divisions without it having been formally given and conferred by an Officer of an A:.A:.. temple of initiation, but one might be considered a member of A:A:. if one had attained the necessary degree of initiation and underwent the ordeals that distinguished one as being a Master of the Temple, Magus, or Ipsissimus.
To further back up the claim that the S.S is a universal order, it is the only one of the three divisions that has no rules or regulations attached to it other than the general rule applied to all of the divisions that accepting money for teaching is prohibited.
To sum things up so far, we have established that that A:. A:. is a name used to designate the Order S.S as well as the Order as a whole. We have seen that as people have been given A:.A:. (more accurately S.S) grades whilst never being initiated in an "A:A.:. Temple of Initiation" that at least one division can be seen as being universal in nature. The evidence suggests that the A:.A:. spoken of in An Account of A:.A:. is more than likely directed at the S.S. rather than the Order as a whole. Finally, although I have shown that one of A:.A:.'s divisions is wholly spiritual in nature, I have also suggested it probable that two of the three divisions are not universal, but temporal in nature.
These will now be examined.
If there are divisions of A:.A:. that are temporal in nature then it seems logical that there would be evidence of this in the official writings and rituals of the Order. We should also be able to find evidence of officers in temples of initiation and rules and regulations; In short, those things that are typical of your everyday occult secret society.
The first document that should be examined is the official history lection of the Order, Liber LXI vel Causæ. According to the official history, a number of certain cipher manuscripts were found. The manuscripts referred to are those that were found by Dr. William Wynn Westcott and which were subsequently used to found the Order of the Golden Dawn. The lection then goes on to give the story of how the Golden Dawn was formed and the events leading up to its schism. If we are to believe the history lection, the Golden Dawn was destroyed by Crowley after he tested the Order and its Chief and found that the Order was not in contact with the "true adepts", that the Chief had fallen, and that it failed to initiate.
From the ashes of the Golden Dawn, two of its Adepts, that being Crowley and George Cecil Jones, "resolved to establish a new Order which should be free from the errors and deceits of the former one."[12] In other words, two men decided to found their own occult secret society that would be a reformulation of the Golden Dawn, but a better version. What we have here is nothing but a plain old external and temporal occult order. When Crowley underwent the ordeals that enabled him to take the grade of Master of the Temple it gave the Order its spiritual authority, the external order that was founded by Crowley and Jones (consisting of the G.D and the R.C) then had a link with the S.S, the "Eternal and Invisible Order". Though the Order was governed by the "Eternal and Invisible Order", it did not suddenly stop being a temporal order. Rather, the temporal order became the instrument of the eternal one.
It is not just in the history lection that we find evidence of the Order being temporal, or more accurately, certain divisions of it being temporal. There were forms to sign, diplomas to be issued, secret rituals and words of recognition, rules and regulations, Temple Officers, a particular study curriculum, and grade related regalia. Though few will argue about the regalia, paper work (oaths and diplomas) and the study curriculum, the existence of the others mentioned might be disputed by some; I will therefore give further evidence for these. Before doing so though, it should be mentioned that it seems highly unlikely, at least to me, that an "Eternal and Invisible Order" had its own uniform, a single rigid study curriculum and attended to clerical duties such as issuing diplomas.
In Liber Collegii Sancti sub figura 185, being the tasks of the Grades, and their Oaths, the Dominus Liminis for A:.A:. is told that "He shall accept an office in a Temple of Initiation, and commit to memory a part appointed by the Imperator of the A:.A:."[13] . What we have here is not only evidence of an actual physical hierarchy, but evidence of temples of initiation and officers within those temples.
On the subject of a physical hierarchy, the above comment abut the Imperator, plus an other comment made to the Dominus Liminis that the success of the harmonisation of the "diverse knowledge and Power that he has acquired"[14] will be "judged by the Praemonstrator of A:.A:."[15] , goes to show that there is a central authority of A:.A:. that governs the external Orders and their members. The Central Authority is vested in the officers of the Praemonstrator, the Imperator, and the Cancellarius.
On the matter of temples of initiation and officers within those temples (an issue raised by the above quote), I have more to write. Some people find the idea of an A:A:. Temple of Initiation and appointed officers as a ridiculous concept, yet the above quote seems to suggest that the idea is a part of the A:.A:. system as laid down by Crowley and Jones. When one actually examines the Neophyte Ritual of A:.A:.[16] that was meant to be performed in such a temple, by officers appointed by the central authority of A:.A:., then all doubt in this matter vanishes.
Examination of this document shows the following pertinent points:
- That the reception of a Neophyte into the of A:.A:. was intended be done by dramatic ritual in a temple of initiation.
- That the initiation ritual is performed by two Officers who have been appointed by the Central Authority of the Order.
- That A:.A:. intended for temples of initiation to be built.
- That there were rules and regulations for the appointment of Officers and the layout of the temple.
This ritual also supplies us with evidence that A:.A:. had secret rituals, secret words of recognition, and documents that it wanted to keep from non-members. It also shows us that A:.A:. actually went to the trouble of protecting these secrets . This is interesting, as many claim that A:.A:. has no secrets and that its policy is to publish all of its documents openly.
The A:.A:. does have secret rituals, as the Neophyte Ritual is living proof of. Few people even know of its existence, let alone its contents. This was an intentional act by Crowley. On the front of the manuscript of this ritual is to be found the words "Not For publication" in large letters. It was also never mentioned in the Syllabus of A:.A:. Instructions issued in the Equinox Volume 1 Number 10. Clearly, it was intended for A:.A:. appointed initiation officer's eyes only. It is worth noting that it seems it was also his plan for the Probationer Ritual not to be published, even though he did make its existence publicly known.
As to A:.A:. having other documents that it wanted to keep from the public, I think it should be obvious that this is the case considering how few people have heard of Ritual [Greek Tau], Ritual [Greek Alpha], and Ritual [Greek Gamma].
In the Neophyte Ritual, a word is given to the Neophyte. This word was not to be written down, but uttered from mouth to ear. Crowley did not write the word down in any of the various versions of the initiation ritual, thereby trying to insure that the word would be known only to those who had it communicated to them in the Temple of A:.A:. He even went to the trouble of encrypting the word in some instances.
As to words of recognition, there is a password issued by the Praemonstrator and Chancellor of the Order twice a year, once on each Equinox. This password is not only used as a symbol of the work to be done during that six month period, it is also a password used to distinguish members from non-members. In a letter[20] from Soror Alostrael 8°=3° in her role as the Scarlet Woman, is indicated the method of using the password as a form of official recognition. She then states that if someone fails the test outlined, it "is to be taken as conclusive evidence"[21] that the person "is not in good standing and his claim to membership in the Order consequently unfounded; and an indication that he should be in nowise trusted."[22] She also states that "Anyone not in possession of the current password is not to be considered a member of the Order, whatever his standing may have been, or whatever claims he may put forward."[23]
I think that when all of the above has been taken into consideration, there seems to be overwhelming evidence to suggest that the Grades corresponding to G.D were governed by a single central authority made up of individuals of the R.C, these being its three principle officers; also, that these two orders existed and operated according to the normal mundane rules and of your normal occult secret society. They had Officers and a hierarchy centred around a single governing body, rules of membership, rituals of initiation, methods of recognition of members and non-members, issued certificates and diplomas, supervised grade examinations, wore uniforms and regalia, and had customs and practices developed exclusively by the Order. In short, the R.C and G.D are of the same type of organisation as the O.T.O or the Golden Dawn and are subject to similar things, such as rules, a central hierarchy of leadership, and historical succession of temporal authority.
As has now been adequately shown, the order consists of two temporal divisions and one spiritual division. Each of the lower two divisions are ruled by officers who are members of the division that is above it. To state that more simply, the G.D is ruled by three members of the R.C, and the R.C is ruled by three members of the S.S.
It can be shown that the first order, that of the G.D, can only exist because of the authority of the three officers of the R.C (Praemonstrator, Imperator and Cancerllarius). Some of the lower grades are only conferred by the authority of these officers; for example, it is the Praemonstrator who decides whether the Dominus Liminis has successfully completed his tasks in order to advance to the Grade of Adeptus Minor. The Offices of Praemonstrator, Imperator and Cancellarius are filled by members of the Grades of 7°=4°, 6°=5°, and 5°=6° respectively; these grades being a part of the R.C division of A:.A:.
The existence of the R.C does not depend on the authority of the division above it, the S.S., but it does derive any authority it may have from three officers of that supreme division. I say that the R.C does not need the authority of the S.S. to exist, as there does not seem to be any documentation or evidence to show that any of the grades, tasks, or offices of that division are necessarily conferred by the S.S.. Indeed, if we look at the original Order of the Golden Dawn, all of the grades were conferred by the highest chiefs of the R.C itself. This being said, if the lower orders wish to make the claim that they are a spiritual, rather than just a mundane temporal order, they must have authority conferred on them by the S.S.. This authority comes from three officers holding the S.S. Grades of 10°=1°, 9°=2°, and 8°=3°. In all official publications of A:.A:. that have mentioned these three officers, the position held by the 10°=1° officer has been filled by a disincarnate entity known as Aiwass, the being that is said to have dictated the Book of the Law to Crowley in 1904.
The Order was, always has been and always will be One[24] . One Star in Sight clearly states that the Order consists of all three of the orders of the S.S, the R.C and the G.D; therefore, for the A:.A:. to truly exist it must have the proper temporal authority conferred upon it by the Central Authority of the R.C and G.D, as well as the spiritual authority of the Chiefs of the S.S.. If any of this authority is lacking, it cannot truly be said to be the A:.A:., only a fragment of A:.A:.
As the Order can only be One, with an unbroken chain of temporal and spiritual authority, the ideas of independent "lineages" is of course absurd. There are those who are truly A:.A:. Adepts, that is, those who work by both temporal and spiritual authority, and then there are those who might have received some kind of instruction from an A:.A:. member, but who work without the required temporal and/or spiritual authority.
There are alive today those who can demonstrate that they have received instruction from someone who in turn had received instruction from an A:.A:. Adept. These people make up what is commonly and erroneously known as the "Germer", "Jones", "Wolfe", or "Motta" etc... "Lineages". Amongst these "lineages" there must still be those who can demonstrate that they have received proper temporal authority.
It is not my intention to try and expound which of these groups may have received this temporal authority, that is for each aspirant to discover for themselves; however, I shall detail a few things that I think should be looked for as being characteristics that the Order must have.
The A:.A:. is an order whose function is to examine aspirants as they labour towards the accomplishment of the Great Work. The group should have been examined, and be competent to examine, in all areas that are outlined in the A:.A:. curriculum and tasks.
The Order has certain rules and practices, it follows that the group should be adhering to these rules and practices. Such published rules and practices are outlined in documents like One Star in Sight, Liber Graduum Montis Abiegni, and Collegii Sancti , and include such rules as not receiving any money for A:.A:. services, and practices such as undergoing initiation rituals (if physically possible) and specific Grade tasks and examinations.
Rules and practices of the Order as laid out in unpublished A:.A:. documents should also be adhered to by the group. Documents that may contain these rules and regulations are those that make up the likes of Liber Collegii Interni, Ritual [Greek Tau], Ritual [Greek Alpha], Ritual [Greek Beta] and Ritual [Greek Gamma].
In short, if a group can be found that is competent to examine and is following all of the publicly known and internally known practices of A:.A:., it affords further investigation..
If such a group exists and it can claim to have gained its temporal authority in accordance with the regulations outlined in A:.A:. publications, then it may be that we have found the real A:.A:., with its unbroken chain of temporal (R.C & G.D) and spiritual (S.S.) authority.
Non-A:A:. documents that might offer some evidence of how temporal authority is passed on are The Constitution of the Order of the Thelemites and diary entries or private correspondence by original or undisputed A:.A: Officers (eg Crowley or G.C Jones).
Spiritual authority is not something as easily recognised. That is something that each must internally recognise for themselves. The known work of the groups adepts may help furnish us with some vague ideas, though this alone does not define proof. Ultimately, or so it is said, those who are truly ready for admittance will intuitively recognise the presence of this authority.
Is there a group that fulfils all of the requirements needed to make the claim of being the One Order, unbroken in its chain of spiritual and temporal succession?
Is there a group calling itself A:A. whose bodies of the R.C and G.D have regular temporal authority granted to them as well as spiritual authority granted by the Chiefs of the S.S., those who gave humanity the Holy Books?
I am certain that there is.
© Copyright 2000 Scott Crane.
Last updated on the 21.September.00