Witches Versus Thelemites

It's no big secret that in some parts of the United States practitioners of Wicca and witchcraft don't get along with Thelemites. This isn't true everywhere, and is actually kind of sad because in many cases OTO bodies have been very successful when they have been able to integrate themselves into the local Pagan scene in addition to attracting ceremonial magicians. As this article demonstrates, it's not just here in the States that witchcraft and Thelema find themselves at odds. In the article, with its title seemly ripped from the headlines of 1987, British "white witch" Kevin Carlyon warned people to steer clear of cult groups and wasted no time singling out OTO.

Mr Carlyon said the authorities should monitor some groups, including the controversial O.T.O., because of the alleged sex rituals held during some meetings. “I constantly tell people that nothing in witchcraft involves taking your clothes off,” he said. The European headquarters of O.T.O., which stands for Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Temple of the East), is just a street away from Kevin’s home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.

Now here are some facts. First off, OTO does not in fact hold "sex rituals" during meetings. Second, the article focuses on "youngsters" avoiding cults but completely fails to mention that only adults of "full age" - 18 in the US and UK - can join the Order in the first place. Finally, if what Carlyon's worried about is people taking their clothes off, it's in Wicca where you will find the practice of "skyclad" ritual nudity, not in OTO. Of course, in an apparent effort to smear the Order Carlyon ignores all of that. It's pretty clear from his comments what his "white witches" think of Thelema.


It's not that there aren't cultish groups out there trolling the esoteric scene. Isaac Bonewits put together a series of questions called the "cult danger evaluation frame" that I'm of the opinion ever spiritual seeker should familiarize themselves with in order to hone their critical thinking skills regarding any group they might want to join. However, OTO comes in quite low on the scale. We don't treat our leaders as infallible, exert control over our members lives outside the Order in any way, or demand ridiculous donations from them. If fact, we sometimes joke that the Order would have more resources if it were more traditionally cultish, except that the sovereignty of individual will in Thelema is simply non-negotiable.

Now I did a little more reading up on Kevin Carlyon, and what I found is that while he doesn't live in Salem, Massachusetts, the clown shoes are nonetheless strong in him. Back when the first Harry Potter film came out, Carlyon cursed it because it depicted Harry flying the "wrong way" on his broom. That somehow manages to be even more pathetic than the Salem group that cursed Charlie Sheen because he jokingly called himself a "warlock."

I'll believe Carlyon can truly fly on a broom when I see it, and anyway I have a hard time imagining something more trivial to get all worked up about. As for the film, it started off a series that has been one of the most successful in movie history, so it would seem that this "white witch" can't do magick at all. Maybe he's just jealous that a lot of OTO initiates can.

UPDATE: In the comments, Carlyon claims that he made no attacks on the Order and his remarks were taken out of context. If so, then the culprit is in fact reporter James Murray who wrote the article and not Carlyon. That's some pretty shoddy journalism there, though it's right in line with the press we've been getting in Britain for the last year.

That Harry Potter broom curse, though, is still one of the dumbest things I've ever seen.