Myths of the Solar Lodge Revisited — Jerry Cornelius
MYTHS OF THE SOLAR LODGE REVISITED
by Jerry Cornelius
(The Scribe, Vol.1 No.7 1997)
[ All mentions of 'OTO' refer to 'OTO Inc' unless noted. ]
Many religious groups have captivated readers in the last thirty
years with their bizarre antics. Yet I have never understood the
fascination which some authors have with the group calling itself the
Solar Lodge, prompting them to dredge its story from near oblivion into
their articles or books. These authors usually begin by discussing
legitimate O.T.O. history, a bit sensationalized but nevertheless true,
then immediately confuse the facts by bringing up the Solar Lodge.
Readers are often left with the assumption that these are one and the
same organization, which is far from true. The mere idea of connecting
legitimate O.T.O. leaders like Wilfred T. Smith or the legendary Jack
Parsons with a group of wanna-be's like the Solar Lodge is ludicrous.
Authors who do so are comparing apples with oranges. Just because a
group of individuals, like the Solar Lodge, 'lifts' the name of a real
organization, like the Ordo Templi Orientis, that organization should
not be held hostage by every sensational journalist who can not
determine the difference.
The most common misconception about the Solar Lodge that authors love
to foster is the connection with Charlie Manson. Contrary to what some
would like readers to believe, this is a misconception. He was not a
member, nor is there any strong evidence that he ever visited the group.
The sole source of these stories is found in Ed Sanders' book The Family
published in 1971. Here Sanders wrote that at "least five separate
individuals have claimed that they were told by a member of Brayton's
rebel O.T.O. Lodge that Manson was involved with the Lodge." (1) These
allegations have never been substantiated and appear to be only second
hand gossip told to a third party who then talked to Sanders, hardly the
type of evidence which would stand up in a Court of Law. The only
tenuous connection to the Manson murders is that the Solar Lodge
problems occurred two months before the Tate-LaBianco murders. The
paranoia of the general public dictated that since, both incidents were
committed by hippie drug cults in the Los Angeles area they must be
connected. Many researchers have spent years in their quest to tie these
two groups together but to no avail. There was no vast hippie
conspiracy. Still, with all the information available on the Solar Lodge
we find authors like Alex Constantine whose article recently appeared in
Paranoia Magazine titled "The False Memory Hoax" (2) along with Peter
Levenda, the author of The Unholy Alliance, (3) promoting the same old,
tired misconceptions, if not creating new outright lies.
Some writers, like myself, strongly believe these authors simply
think it's plausible to attach all the evils of society from drug
trafficking, sexual promiscuity, satanic murders, child abuse and
kidnapping onto the Ordo Tempil Orientis. Unfortunately anyone with half
a brain, or capable of doing the simplest of research, quickly uncovers
that this is not the case. The above mentioned travesties are totally
foreign to the O.T.O.'s thinking and have absolutely nothing to do with
the practices taught within its hallowed halls. However the Great Beast
is the man whom everyone loves to hate and is often called, wronly so,
the father of modern Satanism. To these idiots it is only logical that
if Crowlev was once the world leader of the O.T.O., then of course this
organization would continue practicing his personal proclivities rather
than following its own Rules, Regulations and Bylaws. The facts are
clear; the O.T.O., before Crowley and after Crowley, does not advocate
the Beast's peculiar habits. This is where trash authors often hit a
brick wall. How can they make the quantum leap from fantasy to reality,
from a man who died almost fifty years ago and the modern day practices
of the Ordo Templi Orientis? After all, how can you write about the
evils of an organization if such evils don't exist? The only logical
solution is to get a shovel and dig up a dead horse whose name is the
Solar Lodge. By doing such these authors can bring up Charlie Manson,
drugs and murder while tenuously dropping the name O.T.O.
Most tragic is that the reason for the Solar Lodge's longevity in
history will be its ties to Aleister Crowley Crowley, but not in the way
that most authors think. To fully understand the real connection we must
begin with the death of the Beast himself on Monday, December 1st 1947.
That was when Karl Germer became the O.H.O. or Outer Head of the Order
of the Ordo Templi Orientis. Grady Louis McMurtry, a IXth Degree O.T.O.
member at the time, summed up Germer's reign when he wrote that during
"the mid'50's — I came to realize that the Order was dying because
Germer wasn't initiating people. So I brought this up in one of my
periodic visits up to West Point to see him. His reply, which I have in
writing, was that, and I quote, "I consider all that to be lower
magick." Well, lower or not, and human mortality being what it is, you
still have to have a supply of new members if an Order is to survive.
(4) Although Grady and Karl had known each other for many years this
issue strained their friendship and slowly they drifted apart. Grady
left California and took a Job in Washington DC. Still more tragic is
that the Agape Lodge closed its doors, which meant that there was no
official O.T.O. Lodge left in America.
A year after Grady McMurtry moved into seclusion Karl Germer died of
prostate cancer in West Point, California on October of 1962. Few
members in the O.T.O., knew of his death - even Grady was unaware.
According to Germer's Last Will and Testament he left "the whole of my
property and possessions to my beloved wife Sascha Ernestine
Andr‚-Germer as sole heir." (15) He did not, as some historians believe,
leave the O.T.O. property to her. To further quote his will, "As regards
the property of the Order Ordo Templi Orientis, of which I am the Head,
I direct that this is passed to the Heads of the Order, but that, my
wife, Sascha E. Andr‚-Germer, has to be the executor of this part of my
will, together with Frederic Mellinger IXth Degree of the O.T.O." (6)
The executors'basic job was to make sure that the O.T.O. property ended
up in the hands of the 'Heads of the Order.' We know that Mellinger,
then in Germany, was eventually notified to assist Sascha in concluding
the administration of the will. However his earlier treatment by both
Karl and Sascha made him cautious and so he refused to help. Sascha was
left on her own to decide what to do with Crowley's library and his
possessions, something she was incapable of doing due to her
increasingly fragile mental state. She distrusted everyone, especially
the old Agape Lodge members, most of whom were not even contacted
regarding Germer's death. In the end Sascha decided to keep all the
possessions and leave everything basically as it was.
Thanks to Germer's restrictive reign and lack of leadership, the
O.T.O. slipped into near oblivion. After his death only a small handful
of initiates remained active in the entire World. The main tragedy of
Germer's death was that although he dictated where the O.T.O. property
should go, he never officially named a successor. This is contrary to
what some individuals, like Alex Constantine, would have us believe by
claiming that "Germer, on his death bed, had insisted that Matta (sic)
succeed him as the Outer Head of the occult order." (7) Constantine
should have done better homework. If he had he would have realized that
it's Marcelo Motta, not Matta; further he would have discovered that
this false claim of succeeding Germer was fostered by Motto himself, a
man who lived in a paranoid delusional world believing himself a
Napoleon when in fact he was little more than a school teacher baked too
long in the Brazilian sun. Anyway, since most of the O.T.O. initiates
were never notified of Germer's death there was no conclave called of
IXth Degree Members to vote upon a new OHO. This meant, for all
practical purposes, the O.T.O. was dead.
It took almost five years for the news of Germer's death to slowly
trickle down to southern California. Sascha Germer decided not to
contact anyone in Southern California partially based on the advice of
another old O.T.O. Agape Lodge member in 1962. Sascha didn't need much
prodding in this direction as she was always suspicious of anyone from
the old Agape Lodge, just as her husband was when he was alive.
Unfortunately this advice, which was later regretted, was given by Soror
Meral who had joined the Agape Lodge on August 22, 1939. At the time
Soror Meral felt that something was wrong in southern California with
certain Agape Lodge members and she feared that if they discovered the
O.T.O. archives were being guarded by one helpless widow something
dreadful might occur. She was obviously privy to some inside information
but what she felt was wrong she has never explained. Still, time proved
her fears to be right.
What occurred next would require a rather lengthy book to explain all
the graphic details, but it can certainly be summed up as regrettable. A
group of individuals, believing the O.T.O. was dead, took it upon
themselves to break into certain homes and steal the Crowley libraries
— just as Soror Meral had feared would happen. Their intent was to
preserve what they felt was 'rightfully' theirs and to re-establish the
O.T.O. This sounds like a noble gesture but, regardless what these
individuals thought, they had no right to other people's personal
property. Wanting to jump-start the O.T.O. was one thing, but their
methods of obtaining Crowleyanity was felonious and nothing less than
pure thievery.
The first break-in occurred in the summer of 1965, the second in
1966. Both were at Mildred Burlingame's house, an old Agape Lodge member
whose husband had died shortly before the first incident. The third
break-in occurred shortly afterwards and was at Israel Regardie's house
while he was away. The fourth house which was ransacked was at West
Point, Califomia, the home of Sascha Germer. Soror Meral's fears had
come true. This break-in occurred over the Labor Day weekend of 1967.
Again, contrary to the 'great' research done by Alex Constantine. I must
remind the reader that Germer did not, and I stress did not "settle in
Dublin, California." (8) He lived in West Point.
Unlike the earlier cases, Sascha Gerrner was home during the theft.
It began when someone knocked at her front door. She asked who it was
and a reply was heard that it was a member of the O.T.O. Unfortunately
when she opened the door she was immediately sprayed in the face with a
gas, knocked to the floor and overpowered. A drug was then injected by a
syringe which knocked her out cold. When she came to she found that her
house had been ransacked and that many books in the second floor library
had been stolen. Aleister Crowley's personal robes, many O.T.O.
documents and ritual papers were also missing. Sascha tried to call the
police but found that the phone lines had been cut. When she finally did
notify the local Constable, he took her story, along with a few
photographs, but no fingerprints were taken or any serious investigation
was done. Soror Meral has stated that it was obvious that "they put her
story down to the wanderings of the demented mind of a lady who had been
alone too long." (9) In other words, they didn't believe her. Her house
was dirty, being normally in disarray, and they weren't sure she was
actually burglarized.
A strange twist to the story occurs when Sascha's phone lines were
finally fixed. The first thing she did was to call Western Union and
send Soror Meral's daughter a telegram on September 15th. Sascha claimed
that upon opening the door, just before being gassed, she saw a woman
standing there and although she couldn't really identify the person, she
'knew' it was Soror Meral's daughter. The telegram stated, "I request
that all stolen goods, stolen books papers are returned without delay. I
accuse you of long time conspiracy toward me getting entrance to my
person under false pretension Sept. 3. Attacking me personally harming
me impairing my eye sight enduring. Robbing with help of three other men
the library completely. Destroying willfully all library furniture.
Breaking open wooden strong boxes cleaning out their contents. Being
held against my will but one man under sedatives against my will during
the whole time bound of hand and feet." (10) The telegram was simply
signed, Mrs. Germer. When Soror Meral heard about these accusations she
was totally flabbergasted stating, "You can imagine my extreme shock
when this was read to me over the telephone (by her daughter). When I
recovered, I wired back that she (Mrs. Germer) was mistaken and that no
one person in my family would touch one hair of her head." (11) In
reflecting back Soror Meral has further stated, "Naturally, I was
alarmed that my daughter, an innocent person if there ever was one, and
completely uninterested in Crowley literary remains, would be harmed by
these insane accusations." (12) In truth, the woman whom Sascha saw has
never been identified.
Soror Meral immediately began a personal investigation to discover
the identities of the real thieves and to clear her daughter's name. One
of the people who responded to her letter of inquiry was an Agape Lodge
member named Mildred Burlingame. It was during a visit with Mildred that
Soror Meral learned that her house, like Sascha's, had been burglarized.
She was quick to learn that Mildred had her own suspicions as to who was
responsible for the thefts. She believed that it was a former student of
hers named Georgina 'Jean' Brayton. The first time Mildred's house was
broken into it showed absolutely no signs of forced entry. Since Jean
had keys to her house, she became a suspect. Mildred decided to change
the locks and because of such, the next time her house was burglarized a
back window was jimmied open.
How the student-teacher relationship of Mildred and Jean broke down
cannot be pinned on any one incident. We do know that shortly after
Mildred's husband died Jean Brayton approached her with the idea of
starting up an O.T.O. Lodge in hope of reviving the Order. Mildred
declined the offer claiming, rightfully so, that she had no
authorization to do such. Upon hearing this Jean Brayton was not
deterred. She decided to go ahead with her plans and create a new lodge.
She called it The Solar Lodge of the O.T.O. It was also known as the
Velle Transcendental Research Association Inc., a non-profit California
charted religious organization. It is very important to state at this
point that although Jean Brayton was the student of a real O.T.O.
Initiate, her lodge was never officially chartered by the Ordo Tempil
Orientis. It was definitely unauthorized and time would prove that the
four previous burglaries had been done by members of Brayton's
organization to gain Crowley information needed to begin their
organization.
Once established, the Solar Lodge grew and prospered, from owning two
houses on West Thirtieth Street in Los Angles, to another on South
Menio. Soon it acquired a ranch near Blythe, another in Ensinada Mexico.
It also operated two bookstores, both called The Eye of Horus. One of
the bookstores was near USC campus on West Eighth Street and the other
was in Blythe. Jean Brayton also owned a Richfield gas station No. 1087
and applied for a liquor license to open a magic bar-cafe near a motel
they were running in Vidal. It was no secret that the Solar Lodge was
thriving, but in time trouble was knocking at the front door as if karma
was catching up with them.
The stories are very conflicting depending on who one's listening to.
Either, or, the bottom line was that a single incident led to the
downfall of the Solar Lodge. It all began with the actions of a six year
old boy named Saul Anthony Gibbons on June 10th 1969 at the ranch owned
by the Solar Lodge outside of Blythe. The young boy and his sister,
Kathy, were sent to the ranch by their parents who were recently
separated. A Solar Lodge member later stated that they began having
trouble with the kids right from the start. Being the product of a
broken home it seems the children were always seeking attention and were
extremely difficult to handle, especially without their parents nearby.
On the day in question, June 10th, young Saul decided to burn down his
own quonset hut or bedroom dwelling in the hope that it would force the
adults to allow him and his sister to stay in the main house. A Solar
Lodge member has publicly stated this was because the children "liked to
listen to the adults talking instead of sleeping as they should." (13)
The building which was set on fire was not a "school house" as the
author Mr. Colistantine claims in his article. Regrettably, the fire got
out of hand and within moments explosions occurred. The entire ranch was
soon ablaze and, in the end, it was reduced to rubble and debris.
Solar Lodge members tried in vain to return the children to their
natural parents, both of whom were living in Los Angeles. The parents
simply declined to accept them. The mother claimed she could not take
the children due to financial difficulties. The father thought it best
"for Saul to remain at the retreat center and assist in the rebuilding
project so he could learn from his mistake." (14) It was decided that
Kathy should be separated from her brother. She was moved to the motel
in Vidal which was also owned by the Solar Lodge while Saul remained at
the ranch under the supervision of a member named Steve Quilley. Then
came the final straw. After months of rebuilding, on July 25th, Quilley
was shocked to discover Saul in the main kitchen trying to set another
fire. He immediately called Saul's father and related the incident. This
time the father agreed that Saul had to leave the ranch. Unfortunately
Saul's father couldn't drive to Blythe that evening since it was already
late. He asked if there was some place that Steve could put the child
until he got there the next day, claiming "Do anything you have to do to
keep him and everyone out of danger. Tie him, chain him if you have to."
(15) in other words, the child was considered a threat to everyone,
including himself, because of his fascination with fire. Saul had to be
put somewhere which could guarantee his safety and isolation.
Regrettably there weren't too many buildings left standing from the
previous fire. So, although it might sound like a bizarre solution,
young Saul was placed in a wooden storage shed, measuring 36 square
feet, for his own protection. Tragically, few authors bother to read the
state's star witnesses' testimonies where he described the shed as "a
little A-frame building". (16) Somehow authors feel it sounds better if
sensationally referred to as a 'wooden crate' or as Mr. Constantine
claims that Saul was placed in "confinement in a locked shipping crate
left in the desert." (17) For the record, the entire ranch was in the
middle of the desert and the shed was simply on the property. So, in an
odd way, you can sensationally say that the crate was in the middle of
the desert and you wouldn't be lying, but it's not an accurate portrayal
of the facts. Still, my view is that, whatever the real facts might have
been, placing a young six-year old child in a wooden shed even for one
night could be construed as abusive. There is no need to fabricate the
story to the extent that most authors do.
Anyway, the following morning and I stress morning not "two months"
(18) as Mr. Constantine and others want us to believe, is when
everything seems to have unraveled. All it took was a 21 year old police
informant already "in trouble with the law" and a story being blown way
out of proportion for the police to be called in to rescue an abused
child. A child, whom the informant claimed, had been chained in the box
for a whopping 56 days.
With things getting blown out of proportion the Braytons immediately
fled but within hours many members were arrested and dubbed 'Wicked
monsters', 'animals' and, of course, 'religious maniacs.' This
sensational story of child abuse shocked the country and nineteen people
were quickly indicted by a Riverside Grand Jury, with twenty-three John
Doe warrants being issued in all. Conflicting stories quickly started to
surface in the papers. The police and news media immediately believed
the informant who claimed that contrary to what lodge members were
saying, the boy was 'not' placed in the box for 'his safety'only the
night before, but insisted that members statements were an alibi
fabricated to escape child abuse charges. Everyone believed the lying
snitch. The informant further claimed that cult members wanted to punish
the child by putting him in a box in the middle of the desert to show
him how it felt to 'burn.' Making further allusions to the tragic death
of two goats who were burned alive in the fire Saul started. Other
stories even had youny Saul being forced to bury the remains of the
charred goats as his punishment. Some papers even claimed Jean Brayton
held a fire under the child's hand to show him what it must have felt
like for the poor goats to die such an unfortunate death. The stories go
on and on, whether true or not, at this stage it is very difficult to
ascertain.
The police informant's testimony was a side show. Stones flowed like
water from his lips to save his skin. According to one report the
informant said that one day young Saul was temporarily removed from the
box and taken into the main house and he "seemed very weak and unable to
move around. He was extremely dry in the mouth - having a lot of trouble
speaking. He was dirty, and the pupils of his eyes were extremely
dilated. (he) kept reaching for a glass of water on the table but was
unable to grasp it." (19) These types of comments insight anger and fed
the flames of times but, like everything, there are always two sides to
a story. Court documents plainly show that the doctor who examined young
Saul when he was originally rescued by the police stated the boy was
"quite bright and oriented, alert ... appeared like a healthy kid." (20)
He continued stating there was no "signs of dehydration" ...
"malnutrition's nor "any medical treatment required in any respect" (21)
when he was originally rescued by the police. This is hardly the image
of a child who had been chained inside a "shipping crate" in 110 degree
desert temperature for a whopping 56 days. In all honesty that would
have killed the child as anyone with common sense should have realized.
Obviously the child was not abused. The doctor's testimony plainly
contradicted the police informant when he stated. "I don't think his
(Saul's) condition would correspond with one who had been kept in a box
that length of time." (22)
The truth is these ludicrous claims were fabricated to allow child
abuse charges to be filed against everyone at the ranch. Mr.
Constantine, like many authors, falls to point out that the police
informant, whose testimony was integral in prosecuting the defendants,
later recanted his entire story in a television interview. The informant
publicly stated that he was forced to make up most of the graphic
details simply to obtain immunity from prosecution. He feared that if he
didn't prejure himself in court he would go to jail, facing other more
serious charges filed against him. Once he gained immunity from those
charges he publicly recanted everything. He even admitted that yes, "the
boy was only kept in the box one night to prevent him from starting
fires at the ranch." (23) This was exactly like lodge members originally
claimed. Unfortunately, the man whose outrageous and fabricated stories
everyone originally believed now found that no one was taking him
seriously. The damage was already done. The Manson murders had now
occurred and southern California was gripped in the fear of hippie
communes. The Solar Lodge became a victim of the times. This was the
true conspiracy which Mr. Constantine and others failed to uncover.
Instead of reporting the facts these writers decided to use the lies
spewed forth by a police informant while under threats of prosecution as
the single source of their information about the Solar Lodge.
There is much more to the story regarding what really happened at the
ranch in Blythe California which this short article cannot address. The
main idea behind bringing up the story was not to defend the antics of
the Solar Lodge but rather to point out the differences between it and
the legitimate O.T.O. Something most authors have difficulty in
ascertaining. The O.T.O., a worldwide organization, has not been
involved in what Mr. Constantine describes as an "indulgence in
sadomasochism, drug dealing, blood drinking, child molestation and
murder." (24) This remark is simply libelous. Other modern allegations
are equally groundless, as when Mr. Constantine writes that the O.T.O.
is a 'cult' being 'influenced' by the CIA, this too is totally baseless
and deserves a round of hearty laughter. The O.T.O. is neither a cult
nor is it being controlled by anyone other than itself and even then
that's debatable.
To digress for a second, earlier I had mentioned that Soror Meral did
her own investigation of the Solar Lodge. During her quest she contacted
another old Agape Lodge member named Grady Louis McMurtry who was living
in Washington DC. They began a correspondence from December 1968 until
April 1969. Much was discussed and through one of these early letters
Grady learned of Karl Germer's death. At this point Grady Louis McMurtry
left his job in DC and arrived in California on April 29th 1969. He did
not, as some conspiracy theorists believe, come out to California to
investigate the 'Solar Lodge' for either the US Government or the CIA.
The truth is that Grady, being a legitimate IXth Degree Member of the
Sovereign Sanctuary of the O.T.O., came to California to pick up the
pieces of the O.T.O. in hopes to reestablish the Order using the
authorizations which had been given to him by Crowley during the war. He
also wanted to investigate the stolen Crowley library for the O.T.O.'s
sake.
However, I guess there will always be authors like Mr. Constantine,
or Peter Levenda, who will write nothing less than sensational dribble
on this subject in an effort to sell their articles and books. To begin
with, if one researches the Solar Lodge the stories become extremely
conflicting depending on who one is reading, or which tainted source you
choose to quote. Mr. Constantine picks only the best of the tainted
versions coming from none other than the Riverside police department and
a lying government informant. Peter Levenda, also known as Simon the
author of the Necronomicon, uses Ed Sanders chapter on 'The Solar Lodge
of the O.T.O.' which is legendary for utilizing everv unsubstantiated
rumor he could find. Levenda casually points out that if anyone is
interested they should seek out "the first edition of Ed Sander's The
Family for more detail on the so-called Solar Lodge of the O.T.O. and
other ancillary information." (25) By specifically mentioning the first
edition he shows that he is aware that future editions of The Family
omitted this chapter from publications. This was done by Sanders himself
after realizing the gross inaccuracies that the chapter contained, but
does Levenda point this out? The same can be said for Francis King
(1934-1994) who first wrote about the Solar Lodge in his book The
Magical World of Aleister Crowley long before the truth became common
knowledge. At least when he re-released his book in 1987 he too pulled
all the information about this incident not to further the falsities he
had earlier written. Most authors with common sense and intelligence,
unless they're propagating 'sensationalistic dribble', have done
likewise.
Even more ludicrous is Mr. Constantine's highly doubtful claim that
the Solar Lodge was a mind controlled cult originally founded by the
CIA. What better place to make this claim than in a magazine called
Paranoia! To make such a claim as the author does, based simply on the
fact that Jean Brayton was "the daughter of a ranking Air Force officer"
(27) is rdiculous! I wonder how many businesses, religious organizations
or readers have fathers who were ranking service men? Does Mr.
Constantine expect us to believe that we are being 'controlled' by the
CIA simply because we had parents in the military? It is my belief that
some of these conspiracy theorists need serious therapy to over come
their paranoia.
In Peter Levenda's book there is another more twisted blurb to
government connections with the Solar Lodge. He briefly mentions L. Ron
Hubbard's claim of being Naval Intelligence and infiltrating the O.T.O.,
another dead horse being beaten which is definitely not true. However,
Levenda then drops a bombshell from out in left field by asking if the
late Grady Louis McMurtry was on a "similar mission ... this time for
the army or for some secret, frantic faction thereof?" (28) He continues
by wondering if McMurtry, while working for the government, was
"reactivated at the time of the Manson killings to investigate the
possible involvment of the group called itself the "Solar Lodge of the
O.T.O."?"" (29) This is nothing less than pure fabrication and the
delusions spewed forth by someone who needs a reality cheek after
invoking Cthulhu while writing the Necromonicon! For the sake of an
argument let's ask, which version is true? If we acknowledge
Constantine's version as well as Levenda's it implies that the wanna-be
O.T.O. Solar Lodge CIA experiment was being investigated by another
"frantic faction" of the Federal Government using a legitimate O.T.O.
member named Grady Louis McMurtry as a spy. Are you as confused as I am?
It is true that Grady McMurtry was a Major in the Army Reserves while
he was living in Washington. He was pulling special Reserve Duty one
night a month with the Mobilization Designation Detachment No. 26,
Office of Comptroller of the U.S. Army at the Pentagon. Unfortunately,
due to typical Pentagon red tape and paper shuffling, somehow Major
McMurtry failed to complete all the appropriate forms in triplicate or
get all the signatures required by December 12th 1962. This meant he was
forced to take permanent retirement by 'Special Orders 46, 15 Feb. 63,
HQ XXI US Army Corps, Indiantown Gap, Pa, Paragraph 177.' Therefore on
February 15th 1963 Grady found himself a 'real civilian' for the first
time since 1941. Having absolutely no military attachment, Grady left
the Army in 1963 and was never reactivated. This is hardly the image
that conspiracy theorists want us to believe but the facts are all
there. However, creating an illusion that Grady McMurtry was some top
secret spy, infiltrating and working behind the scenes of the O.T.O. for
our government in 1969 sounds much better. To these authors I say,
enough with these fictitious 'US Government-O.T.O.' connections, stick
to the facts. I personally knew Grady, he was no government stooge.
The list of books which create further myths about the Solar Lodge
are numerous. Michael Newton's Raising Hell (39) is another recent
example using scare tactics rather than facts to sell its pulp. He
comments on the O.T.O. by stating that although it "officially denies
any link with criminal activity, various lodges and individual members
have been tied to crimes ranging from child abuse and drug running to
ritual murder." This is slanderous lies with no basis in reality. Newton
himself offers no proof to these outlandish allegations outside of
attempting to link the O.T.O. to "One 'renegade' faction, the so-called
Solar Lodge" (32) and the Manson Family. He makes the connection simply
by throwing around the term 'renegade' thus implying the Solar Lodge had
forsaken its parent organization the O.T.O., and gone its own way.
However, you can't quit and become a renegade of something which you
were never a member of in the first place.
Sadly, even the official FBI report, declassified in March of 1979,
(33) reveals the same mis-information spread throughout the media of the
times. It included nothing informative or revealing, it simply portrays
the lack of incentive that many government branches have when
investigating occult groups. In other words, it accepted the public's
hysteria and failed to look for the real truth. Hopefully this article
shows that there were, and still are, many stupid comments being made
about the Solar Lodge. However, the real conspiracy, one which most
authors fall to uncover, has nothing to do with a strange murderous drug
cult. It's the conspiracy fostered by themselves when they stretch the
facts of the Solar Lodge in order to sensationalize their own twisted
theories about Aleister Crowley and the Ordo Templi Orientis. The bottom
line is this, the antics at the Solar Lodge occurred over seventeen
Years ago - let it die in peace, or at least get the facts straight.
Notes:
1. Ed Sanders, The Family, Chapter Ten, The Solar Lodge of the O.T.O.
(NY: E.P.Dutton and Co., Inc.. 1971) pg. 159.
2. Alex Constantine, The False Memory Hoax, Paranoia magazine, Vol, 3,
No.4, Issue 11, Winter 1995/96, pg. 32. In particular the section
titled The Riverside Lodge of the Ordo Templi Orientis, pg. 3 5.
3. Peter Levenda, Unholy Alliance (NY: Avon Books, 1996).
4. Fr. Achad Osher 583 VIIIø OTO, The Warrior-Troubadour, The Life &
Times of Grady Louis McMurtry, an unpublished biography. A 40 page
excerpt was published in RED FLAME, A Thelemic Research Journal No.
1, 1994, although this story was not included.
5.-6. Last Will & Testament of Karl Germer. OTO Archives.
7. Alex Constantine, The OTO & the CIA, Ordis Templis Intelligentis.
(Internet 1996) pg. 1.
8. Ibid. pg. 1.
9. In The Continuum, Volume 11, No.2, 1978, pg. 10
10.-12. Ibid. pg. 10-11
13. Ed Hoffman, The Case of the Boy Chained in the Box, Los Angeles Free
Press, September 17th 197 1, pg. 18.
14.-15. Ed Hoffman.
16. Dorothy Watson, 'Box Boy' Defendant Testifies for State, Daily News,
Indigo Ca., Oct. 23, 1969.
17.-18. Constantine pg. 35.
19. Daily News, Indigo Ca., Oct. 23, 1969
20.-22. Ed Hoffman.
23. 'Boy in Box' Case Arrests, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, September
10, 1971.
24. Constantine pg. 35.
25. Levenda pg. 273.
26. Francis King, The Magical World of Aleister Crowley (NY: Coward,
McCann & Geoghegan. Inc. 1978) The Solar Lodge is mentioned on pages
185-188, but was pulled from the later British edition (Arrow Books
Limited, London 1987).
27. Constantine pg. 35.
28.-29. Levenda pg. 273.
30.-32. Michael Newton, Raising Hell (New York: Avon Books 1993) pgs.
283-284.
33. Misc. lnfo Concerning the Ordo Templi Orientis, United States
Government Memorandum Director FBI, February 10th 1971.
Also by Jerry Cornelius:
An Apology Introduction An Open Epistle Regarding Francis King's Book The Secret Rituals of the OTO
Thoughts on Metzger The Warrior-Troubadour, The Life & Times of Grady Louis McMurtry (Red Flame No.1)
Chronology of events leading up to the lawsuit filed by the Ordo Templi
Orientis on Sept. 12th 1990 against Alameda County & the City of Berkeley.
KALIL and the Thelema93-l Tango An Open Epistle on the Expulsion Liber Al Vel Legis (The Book of the Law) (Red Flame Nr.8)
