Greetings Mogg,

Mandrake wrote:

> Dear All
>
> but anyone , perhaps you can say whether this is a feasible hypothesis 
> -
> subject to corroboration from various sets of corres:
>
> Gardner was for a short time involved with the OTO up to time of 
> Crowley's Death -

AC's journal indicates GG visited AC on three occasions in May of 1947, 
one of which was
when AC gave IV* & PI to "GG".  The journal entries do not indicate the 
identity of "GG".  There are
no other journal entries referring to "GG".  However, Gardner did 
produce a Charter to initiate
Minervals, signed by AC.  This original charter is housed at U Texas at 
Austin.

After AC's death, Gardner continued in contact with Karl Germer for 
some years, visiting him on the East
Coast of the US and corresponding with Germer, sending Germer copies of 
Gardner's books.
The ostensible reason for the visit was that Gardner had been led to 
believe, by Frieda Harris*,
that Gardner himself was the Head of OTO in Europe.  Germer wrote that 
he had disabused Gardner of this notion.

*  Frieda Harris wrote to Germer stating that she had speculated 
Gardner was the Head of OTO in Europe.
She also thought Gardner was in touch with Noel Fitzgerald (a IX*) who 
was proctoring Grant.

> (hence the charter he bought for an enormous sum of money from Crowley
> (This I published in Nuit Isis Magazine way back)

There is no documentation to support this speculation.  The only person 
who would
have known the details of the transaction would have been Wilkinson and 
he is long dead.
We're speaking here of 1947, post-war Europe, when few people had money.
What documentation is there to suggest Gardner could afford to pay an 
enormous sum of money?

> Gardner never followed up probably because AC died before providing
> all the paperwork and back up

As I stated previously, the Charter to initiate Minervals exists and 
Gardner did, indeed, followup.

> Kenneth Grant was involved with OTO at about same time

Grant's involvement with OTO overlapped Gardner's; however,
Kenneth Grant was involved some years earlier.
KG joined AC when Crowley left London during the Blitz.
Grant stayed 6 months with Crowley as secretary until the Blitz eased 
up.
Grant had little contact with Crowley after that except some 
correspondence
and perhaps a visit or two of very brief duration.  Grant continued in 
OTO
until Germer expelled him in the mid-1950s.

Gardner's brief contact with Crowley occurred years after Grant's stay 
with Crowley.

> and Crowley put him in touch
> with other active Thelemites -
> primarily those in the purple lodge in California - Alias Smith, Jones 
> (and Parsons)
> I thought he might well have done the same for Gardner.

Crowley would not have put Grant, Gardner or anyone else in touch with 
Wilfred Smith
as AC had already placed Smith in coventry in 1943, forbidding contact
from/with other OTO members.

Crowley would not have put Gardner in touch with Stansfeld Jones, 
either,
for much the same reason.  Crowley had washed his hands of Achad years 
prior.

Parsons was Lodge Master of Agape Lodge, so it is possible that Crowley 
put
Grant in touch with Parsons; however, not Gardner.   Parsons had ceased 
to be
Master of Agape Lodge in 1946.  Parsons resigned OTO not long 
thereafter, before
Crowley met Gardner.

Purple lodge?  That's the name yellow scandal papers applied to Agape 
Lodge.
OTO never referred to Agape Lodge in that manner.

> But W Smith didn't reveal any of the new Thelemic rituals
> only the older (and less interesting)  masonic stuff
> (that's what MS says)

What page in Martin Starr's book?  I don't recall MS having asserted 
that in his book.

Under Fr. Achad, W. Smith would have received initiatiion using the 
early Crowley OTO
initiations which did have more Masonic material than the later 
initiations.  But, at Agape Lodge,
Smith and the others at Agape Lodge II (Pasadena) were already working 
the newer initiations
prior to 1943.

In any case, Gardner was not put in touch with Smith.

> Even so there is a possible point of contact between Gardner and the
> Californian OTO Lodge - perhaps he met some in person.

Doubtful.  Agape Lodge (Pasadena, California) was already in decline by 
the time Gardner
came on the scene (1947).

Crowley instructed Gardner to receive further instruction from Gerald 
Yorke.
There is no documentation to support any mention of Parsons to Gardner 
by Gerald Yorke.
As I am sure you are aware, Yorke saved copies of all correspondence.

> About this time Parsons became dissenchanted with the OTO as it was -
> he also wrote his piece / manifesto on Witchcraft.

As stated above, Parsons had ceased to be Master of Agape Lodge in 1946.
Parsons resigned OTO not long thereafter, about a year before Crowley 
met Gardner.

> Crowley was also disenchanted with the OTO as a vehicle for the nu 
> aeon and
> began to favour some sort of neo-pagan cult - perhap witchcraft - the 
> order of thelemites etc.

Only Kenneth Grant asserts this.  No documentation to support this 
claim.

> So the idea that it was Parsons who suggested to Gardner that he 
> forget all this OTO stuff and
> get into the / his Witchcraft instead as the coming thing.

Speculation.  No documentation to support this theory.

Felicia Swayne-Heidrick