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The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O
This volume makes available to the occult student not only the symbolic masonic riches of the initiate on rituals of the O.T.O. but the secret magical instructions of the orders 7th, 8th & 9th degrees. WITH DW, 1973 1ST 240pp
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Francis X. King
32 books22 followersFrancis X. King was an occult writer and editor who wrote about tarot, divination, witchcraft, magic, sex magic, tantra, and holistic medicine. He was a member of the Society of the Inner Light, an offshoot of the Alpha et Omega, which in turn was an offshoot of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 6, 2013
Let the buyer beware...
Some forty years ago, before the public rise of the Caliphate O.T.O. in California, a djinni was let out of a bottle in Great Britain. It's a cryptic djinni, an incomplete djinni, a sometimes inaccurate djinni, one that has caused no end of arguments, deceptions, debates, and misinformed fools. Such are the natures of djinni, as any careful reading of the Tale of a Thousand Nights and a Night will inform.
In 1972, certain manuscripts were borrowed from private collections and copies of others allegedly stolen from the Warburg collection were provided to Mr. Francis X. King, a researcher of no small fame in his native Great Britain, who had, among other things previously published a collection of the "Flying Rolls" of the Golden Dawn under the title of "Astral Projection, Ritual Magic, and Alchemy" and the decidedly more racy "Sexuality, Magic and Perversion." Mr. King's motives were supposedly genuine; he was reportedly trying to provide to modern students of the occult such rare and secret documents as he was able before they were lost, stolen, or locked away in private collections and rarely if ever to see the public light of day again. The end result, "The Secret Rituals Of The O.T.O." was published in a two editions, one in the UK by C.W. Daniel Company Ltd. and one in the U.S. by Samuel Weiser Books (reportedly with a press run of 5,000 copies). There is a variant cover of the C.W. Daniel Company edition, brown rather than the blue printed U.S. cover and of a slightly shorter height. Some copies of the British edition had an attached dark blue marker ribbon as well.
As I said, his motives were genuine: Mr. King used the best sources he had available to him, he used the best of his considerable skills and specialized knowledge of the subject to try and decrypt the odd abbreviations these manuscripts were plagued with, the hand-written notes on some of the scripts he was presented, and he presents the documents in question to the best of his not inconsiderable abilities. But his understanding of the subject in question was not perfect, and his sources were not always complete, reliable, or of the final draft for the ritual in question. So the book in question is not only incomplete, it is rife with mistakes.
Over the years, this book has been sought out by many would-be students of Aleister Crowley, who, for whatever reasons, try to discern the "secrets" of the Ordo Templi Orientis without submitting themselves to its initiatory mysteries. Perhaps it is the case as W.C. Fields noted in his biography, that a "stolen pie always tastes sweeter," and part of the glamour is that of the forbidden fruit. Whatever. This book is a tiresome read. It's like reading a straight script of a play or musical show-- the would-be student will find it's scripts inadequate and woefully short of stage-directions, songs, or dance-steps, the very sort of performance instructions that would give it life.
Any actor will tell you: Reading the script of "Hamlet" is hardly a substitute for seeing the play, let alone for actually acting the role in front of an audience. So too it is for "The Secret Rituals Of The O.T.O." It's no substitute, and will not communicate the secrets of the O.T.O. to the uninitiated, as if that was *ever* Mr. King's intention in the first place. It's an incomplete collection of scripts in varying stages of draft, of limited interest even to most serious occultists who are not O.T.O. initiators and initiates. If you are not in either of those categories, you will probably not find what you are looking for spending in excess of $250.00 for a copy of this book. If you are an initiate, in reading this you may find some of the suprises in future degrees spoiled, you might want to only read the scripts of the degrees you have gone through, and save for yourself not only $250, but the experience of the initiatory ordeal as it was meant to be-- unknown.
Some forty years ago, before the public rise of the Caliphate O.T.O. in California, a djinni was let out of a bottle in Great Britain. It's a cryptic djinni, an incomplete djinni, a sometimes inaccurate djinni, one that has caused no end of arguments, deceptions, debates, and misinformed fools. Such are the natures of djinni, as any careful reading of the Tale of a Thousand Nights and a Night will inform.
In 1972, certain manuscripts were borrowed from private collections and copies of others allegedly stolen from the Warburg collection were provided to Mr. Francis X. King, a researcher of no small fame in his native Great Britain, who had, among other things previously published a collection of the "Flying Rolls" of the Golden Dawn under the title of "Astral Projection, Ritual Magic, and Alchemy" and the decidedly more racy "Sexuality, Magic and Perversion." Mr. King's motives were supposedly genuine; he was reportedly trying to provide to modern students of the occult such rare and secret documents as he was able before they were lost, stolen, or locked away in private collections and rarely if ever to see the public light of day again. The end result, "The Secret Rituals Of The O.T.O." was published in a two editions, one in the UK by C.W. Daniel Company Ltd. and one in the U.S. by Samuel Weiser Books (reportedly with a press run of 5,000 copies). There is a variant cover of the C.W. Daniel Company edition, brown rather than the blue printed U.S. cover and of a slightly shorter height. Some copies of the British edition had an attached dark blue marker ribbon as well.
As I said, his motives were genuine: Mr. King used the best sources he had available to him, he used the best of his considerable skills and specialized knowledge of the subject to try and decrypt the odd abbreviations these manuscripts were plagued with, the hand-written notes on some of the scripts he was presented, and he presents the documents in question to the best of his not inconsiderable abilities. But his understanding of the subject in question was not perfect, and his sources were not always complete, reliable, or of the final draft for the ritual in question. So the book in question is not only incomplete, it is rife with mistakes.
Over the years, this book has been sought out by many would-be students of Aleister Crowley, who, for whatever reasons, try to discern the "secrets" of the Ordo Templi Orientis without submitting themselves to its initiatory mysteries. Perhaps it is the case as W.C. Fields noted in his biography, that a "stolen pie always tastes sweeter," and part of the glamour is that of the forbidden fruit. Whatever. This book is a tiresome read. It's like reading a straight script of a play or musical show-- the would-be student will find it's scripts inadequate and woefully short of stage-directions, songs, or dance-steps, the very sort of performance instructions that would give it life.
Any actor will tell you: Reading the script of "Hamlet" is hardly a substitute for seeing the play, let alone for actually acting the role in front of an audience. So too it is for "The Secret Rituals Of The O.T.O." It's no substitute, and will not communicate the secrets of the O.T.O. to the uninitiated, as if that was *ever* Mr. King's intention in the first place. It's an incomplete collection of scripts in varying stages of draft, of limited interest even to most serious occultists who are not O.T.O. initiators and initiates. If you are not in either of those categories, you will probably not find what you are looking for spending in excess of $250.00 for a copy of this book. If you are an initiate, in reading this you may find some of the suprises in future degrees spoiled, you might want to only read the scripts of the degrees you have gone through, and save for yourself not only $250, but the experience of the initiatory ordeal as it was meant to be-- unknown.
October 18, 2017
Reasonably thorough collection of O.T.O. material, much from The Great Beast himself. Much of the spicier stuff in the 7th, 8th and 9th degrees are repeatedly discussed in Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus! trilogy. Like most O.T.O./Golden Dawn stuff it's much too wordy, pay attention to the third degree rite and Build Your Own Praxis from there.
June 8, 2020
The Secret Rituals of the OTO begins with the historical background of the OTO, which is arguably the most interesting part of the book. The book also offers a thorough description of the initiation rituals, along with the knowledge lectures and papers offered to the higher degrees (7+). Or rather, a description of how those existed at the time of the book's publication based on OTO documents. However, apart from the history of the order, the book is mostly a reprint of those documents. It offers little in the way of commentary or additional explanation.
I would have liked to have seen commentary expanding on the symbolism of the initiations, and the use and purpose of the various techniques found in the knowledge lectures. The fact that there is no such expansion suggests to me that King did not know any more or was using the book as an attempt to garner money and/or fame. Other explanations for the book's structure might be concerns about ethical considerations or his own vows of secrecy.
Overall, a useful reference, particular with regards to history, but of little other use in my opinion.
I would have liked to have seen commentary expanding on the symbolism of the initiations, and the use and purpose of the various techniques found in the knowledge lectures. The fact that there is no such expansion suggests to me that King did not know any more or was using the book as an attempt to garner money and/or fame. Other explanations for the book's structure might be concerns about ethical considerations or his own vows of secrecy.
Overall, a useful reference, particular with regards to history, but of little other use in my opinion.
December 12, 2017
The hullabaloo surrounding this book is ultimately more entertaining than the book itself. I wrote a more detailed review of this controversial text on my blog if you're interested in this kind of thing.
April 30, 2013
Not as thorough as O.T.O. Rituals and Sex Magick but a potentially life changing book. I highly recommend The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O.
November 11, 2014
All you need to know is ON, JA, Thelema, BO, Agape, MABN, JAHBULON and you've got the start for the MOE triad.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews