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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