Gnostic Mass: A touch of Aleister in the Antipodes

After some false starts over the past three years, I finally had the opportunity to attend a Gnostic Mass. As far as Occult/Esoteric groups go, the Gnostic Mass is one of, if not THE, most accessible occult ritual for an outsider to observe and partake in. To understand why attending a Gnostic mass in New Zealand was on my to-do list, it's pertinent to understand what it is and who it was written for.

The Gnostic Mass is an important rite in the ecclesiastical practice of the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). The OTO itself is an occult secret society which leans more into the society and occult aspects of that label than the secret part necessarily. While currently treated as an esoteric group in its own right, during its early years of development in the late 19th and early 20th century (sometime between 1895 and 1905), it was intended to be an academia masonica, or a way to unify all existing Masonic degrees and systems, including practices from irregular lodges, without being a masonic body or lodge in its own right. OTO's founders, Theodor Reuss, Franz Hartmann, and Carl Kellner, also wanted a means to confer various rites of high-degree masonry in german-speaking countries, and to include women in their membership. It is often speculated that the inclusion of women was related to the practices of sex magick that were part of initiation into the upper levels of the OTO.

Care should be taken not to misconstrue all practices of sex magick as explicit sexual activity (a la Baba Dez, as seen in the documentary Sex Magic) or outright orgies; within this subset of occult practices are rituals that emphasize masculine and/or feminine energies, and are heavy in sexual symbolism (sword = phallus, anyone?), rather than requiring followers to engage in the act of sex itself. Still, even within the history of the OTO in New Zealand, there are stories of bad actors sexually exploiting women.

Elsewhere in Europe, between the years of 1895 and 1910, Aleister Crowley began and then deepened his occult studies. Between 1898 and 1899, Crowley was briefly a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, but he had become unpopular due to feuding with fellow adepts, as well as because of his libertine lifestyle. From 1904 onwards, Crowley developed his own occult philosophy and belief system, Thelema, publishing several books which he claimed were dictated to him by spirits. In 1907, Crowley founded a new occult order known as A∴A∴ which was heavily inspired by the practices of the Golden Dawn, combined with Crowley's writings on Thelema.

In either 1910 or 1912, Crowley and Reuss were introduced, and Crowley was inducted into the OTO. Reuss also made Aleister the head of the British arm of the OTO. Taking on the magical name of Baphomet, along with a couple of other grand titles, Crowley soon went to work on re-writing many OTO rituals and, as he had done with the Golden Dawn rites in the A∴A∴, threw in some of his own thelemite flair.

The best known of these rites is the Gnostic Mass, written in 1913 with the intent of being the OTO's central private and public ceremony. The structure of the mass mainly borrows from the Roman Catholic Tridentine Mass, with its recitation of a creed, acknowledgement of spiritual predecessors, blessings for the dead, and a eucharist of wine and cakes of light. The intent of the mass is to communicate the principles of Thelema, namely that anyone can come into their own direct knowledge of the divine without the need for mediators. Still, there are deeper levels and purposes to the mass (many of which will only make sense if you are well-read in esoteric/occult knowledge), such as:

• An operation of the IX°
• A rite for the invocation of the K&C of the HGA
• A method of obtaining Samadhi
• A simple sigilizing rite
• A form of talismanic magick
• A religious ceremony celebrating the adventures of the qabalistic god
• Religious worship of the Goddess
• Religious worship of the God
• A practical sex magick rite played in symbolic form
• The mating ritual of the opposites
• The creation of the Magickal Child, or Immortal Fetus
• Creation of a homonculus
• The invocation of Ra-Hoor-Kuit
• The mystery play of Thelemic cosmology
• A symbolic revelation of the system of OTO

The mass was officially adopted by OTO between 1917 and 1918, and led to the establishment of an ecclesiastical arm of the OTO called the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (EGC). While the chief role of the EGC is to perform the Gnostic Mass, they have added baptism, marriage, and last rites to their repertoire. The EGC has its own form of laity and priesthood, although the priests and priestesses are free of any obligations to chastity.

As stated previously, OTO isn't big on the secrets (there is only one book of Crowley's which has not been made available), and an OTO lodge in Seattle recorded their performance of the Mass, which can be viewed here.

The layout of the temple space and the text of the mass can be read from the text Liber XV.

So, what is it like attending a Gnostic Mass?

The TL;DR version is that the group was quiet and reserved, and due to a SNAFU in the printing of the programme, we missed out on the actions and signals we were supposed to make. Nevertheless, it was still cool to observe this multi-layered ritual, and I wonder how an initiate's appreciation of the ritual changes as they advance.

Getting to the Mass wasn't hard per se. I was already on the mailing list, and had previously attended a guided meditation session hosted by OTO over a year ago. When the notification went out advertising last week's Mass, I replied ASAP. The deacon leading the ritual did ask newbies to contact him so that he could talk more about what to expect. Although I am a newbie, I'm also an Autistic who hates phone calls and hoped to avoid one by replying that 1. I was being accompanied by two experienced attendees (Mark Honeychurch and Tim Atkin); and 2. I knew about the possible nudity, and the nature of the cakes of light. Despite my distaste for phone calls, it is a big green flag for me that the Wellington OTO performs this duty of care and ensures informed consent. This consent was also solidified on the night, when the deacon reiterated expectations before entering the ritual space, and offered anyone in our group the opportunity to sit out.

While Mark and frequent newsletter/podcast contributor Tim have previously attended Gnostic Masses at a local clubroom, this Mass was thankfully held in a large corrugated iron shed at a private residence. I say thankfully because said clubroom is also the location for another community group I am part of, and I would have died on the spot if anyone from the clubroom committee showed up and saw me in the middle of a ritual. So, being invited and allowed onto someone's property despite being a stranger, for lack of a better word, is tremendously generous. Mark joked about the state of the venue, but having looked into how other OTO groups set up their Gnostic Mass, I've come to appreciate the venue they chose, and their use of lowlight and plants, which made it feel more like a parlor than a shed.

I was clearly focused on seeing the Mass in action, as it wasn't until we reconvened afterwards at a not-so nearby Speight's Ale House that Mark pointed out all the things that didn't happen at the Mass. We mutually agreed that the lack of full nudity was understandable (the priestess wore a loose robe during the nudity part), due to the cold snap, which was barely touched by a wood stove that was struggling to keep the shed temperature above slightly nippy. However, Mark was dismayed at all the hand signals we missed out on; I thought kneeling on the concrete floor with my arms above my head was enough of a struggle, so I was glad that I missed out on other opportunities to draw attention to myself.

Oh wait, there's more! Remember the printing SNAFU I mentioned? This meant that us skeptics were the only ones in the room who had full programmes, so when it came to the call and answer portion of the ritual near the end, guess who had to keep the boat afloat? Mark and Tim at least could recite the male parts together, but I had to mumble my way through more than one sentence on my lonesome. Not every service will be a winner, but Mark and Tim said they felt disappointed for me.

As for the messages within the mass, it sounded quite theistic to my atheist ears, but certainly not monotheistic - as Crowley was by no means a one god or goddess kind of guy… at least, not all of the time. Maybe it's just me, but there is something inspirational about the phrase “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods”. It's like “We're all made of stardust” for people who might keep a scrying mirror or two handy.

What better way to let everyone in the office know that you are not doing Secret Santa this year.

Maybe it was due to the Gnostic Mass being the ritual that would most likely attract outsiders, but there were no hard sells, donation requests, or awkward attempts at getting information out of us. The deacon, who did know us from previous events, was personable and understanding when soon after the service we told him we had to leave.

OTO isn't a cult, it's occult; but for certain sectors in our society, that's essentially the same thing. I do acknowledge that it is far easier for me to read and recite text and not feel like I've let the devil or some lower sublet my body that it might be for someone with a spiritual belief. From what I've read and experienced with the OTO, it is in no way a coercive or high demand group - but that has not made it immune to members with ignoble intentions in the past.