In his book "Confessions ..." Crowley claimed that he had been initiated as a 33 Degree Mason in the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Masonry (A&AR). He probably did this in Mexico, where he went after the break-up with the Golden Dawn. At this time (around 1900) there was a lot of masonic activity in South America. However, there is some confusion regarding this, as you have to be a Master Mason to be initiated on the Higher Grades, but by this time Crowley hadn't gone through the grades required, so either he made it up or was granted the 33 degree without prerequisites necessary. In his own words he received the initiation after he had helped an individual with another mystical order called LIL. No one knows for sure what the real truth is.
It looks though, as if he at one point or another DID receieve initiation, as a copy of his recognition still exists. It's here re-produced:
T. T. G. O. T. S. A. O. T. U.
DEUS MEUMQUE JUS SPES MEA IN DEO EST
( Great Seal )
SUPREME GRAND COUNCIL
OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE OF THE ROYAL SECRET
POST PUISSANT SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTORS
GENERAL
of the
33rd AND LAST DEGREE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE OF
MASONRY
H.R.D.M. R.M.S.H.
SITTING IN THE VALLEY OF MANCHESTERFrom the East of the SUPREME GRAND COUNCIL of the
SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTORS GENERAL of the 33rd and
last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry in and for
Great Britain and Ireland under G.L. near the D.B. corresponding to 53',
25" N. Latitude 2', 3" West Meridian of Greenwich.
To all Illustrious, Ineffable and Sublime Freemasons of every degree
Around and [unclear] over the surface of the Globe, Greetings:
KNOW YE - That the undersigned Sovereign Grand Inspectors General
do hereby certify and proclaim, our Illustrious Brother ALEISTER
CROWLEY of *London*, to be an Excellent Master Mason, Secret
Master, Royal Master, intimate Secretary, Provost and Judge, Intendant
of the Building, Elect of Nine, Elect of Fifteen, Sublime Knight Elected,
Grand Master Architect, Ancient Master of the Royal Arch, Grand Elect
Perfect and Sublime Mason, Knight of the Temple, Prince of Jerusalem,
Knight of the East and West, Knight Rose Croix of Heredom, Grand
Pontiff, Master ad Vitam, Patriarch Noachite, Prince of Libanus, Chief
of the Tabernacle, Prince of the Tabernacle, Knight of the Brazen
Serpent, Prince of Mercy, Commander of the Temple, Knight of the
Sun, Knight of Saint Andrew, Grand Elect Knight Kadosh, Grand
Inspector Inquisitor Commander, Prince of the Royal Secret, Most
Puissant Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33rd and Last Degree.
WE ALSO COMMAND: All the Knights, Princes and Sublime Masons
under our Jurisdiction and we pray all other MASONS over the Surface
Of The Globe, to Welcome and Honor Him as a SOVEREIGN
GRAND INSPECTOR GENERAL, and to give credit to these
LETTERS PATENT, we have caused to be signed in the margin by our
said Illustrious Bro. ALEISTER CROWLEY, that they admit no other
than himself.
Signed and Delivered by us SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTORS
GENERAL of The 33rd and Last Degree with the Seal of our said
SUPREME COUNCIL affixed in the Valley of Manchester this 29th
day of the 11th month A.M. 5071 corresponding to the 29th November,
A.D. 1910.RATIFIED AND CONFIRMED
{*} John Yarker 33~
M.^.P.^.S.^.Gr.^.of Gt. Britain & Ireland
Though it is beyond doubt that Crowley had connections with Freemasonry, he didn't seem to have a high opinion of their teachings. He used some of their techniques in his own order, OTO, later but most of his own grades in that order was and is quite different from Freemasonry.
The following is taken from his book Confessions once again, page 700 et seq. regarding his motives of using Freemasonic knowledge within his own order:
``What is Freemasonry? I collated the rituals and their secrets, much as I had done the religions of the world, with their magical and mystical bases. As in that case, I decided to neglect what it too often actually was. ...I proposed to define freemasonry as a system of communicating truth - religious, philosophical, magical and mystical; and indicating the proper means of developing human faculty by means of a peculiar language whose alphabet is the symbolism of ritual. Universal brotherhood and the great moral principles, independent of personal, racial, climatic and other prejudices, naturally formed a background which would assure individual security and social stability for each and all.
"The question then arose, 'What truths should be communicated and by what means promulgated?' My first object was to eliminate from the hundreds of rituals at my disposal all exoteric elements. Many degrees contain statements (usually inaccurate) of matters well known to modern schoolboys, through they may have been important when the rituals were written. ... I saw no point in overloading the system with superfluous information.
"Another essential point was to reduce the unwieldly mass of material to a compact and coherent system. I thought that everything worth preserving could and should be presented in not more than a dozen ceremonies, and that it should be brought well within the capacity of any officer to learn by heart his part during the leisure time at his disposal, in a month at most."
Crowley, who had the idea that he stood above everybody else on this planet, chose other ways to accomplish his magical goals. So he took over another secret society, the OTO, and changed its rituals dramatically.
08/02/2003 10:50:49 AM
