The OTO and Occult Open Source Warfare
Posted Jul 07, 2007
In 1917, Theodore Reuss showed up at a commune in Switzerland with a most interesting document: it was the manifesto which would soon establish the Ordo Templi Orientis, or the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light, or as it's known to young occultists, conspiracy theorists and weirdos of all persusasions, the OTO. The statement itself was a barn-burner:
"Let it be known", began this manifesto, "that there exists, unknown to the great crowd, a very ancient Order of sages, whose object is the amelioration and spiritual evolution of mankind by means of conquering error and aiding men and women in their efforts of attaining the power of recognizing the truth. This Order has existed already in the most remote times and it has manifested its activity secretly and openly in the world under different names and in various forms: it has caused social and political revolutions and proved to be the rock of salvation in times of danger and misfortune. It has always upheld the banner of freedom against tyranny in whatever shape this appeared, whether as clerical or political or social despotism or oppression of any kind.
To this "secret order" every wise and spiritually enlightened person belongs by right of his or her nature: because they all, even if they are personally unknown to each other, are one in their purpose and object and they all work under the guidance of the one light of truth. Into this Sacred Society no one can be admitted by another unless he has the power to enter it himself by virtue of his own interior Illumination neither can anyone after he has once entered be expelled unless he should expel himself by becoming unfaithful to his principles and forget again the truths which he has learned by his own experience.
All this is known to every enlightened person.
But it is known only to few that there exists also an external, visible organization of such men and women, who having themselves found the path to real self-knowledge, and who having travelled the burning sands, are willing to give to others, desirous of entering that path, the benefit of their experience, and to act as spiritual guides to those who are willing to be guided.
The open-source revolution is a concept that predates the OTO, of course. The actual claims of Theodore Reuss are almost beside the point, because the concept is so effectively infectious. Here at Skilluminati Research, we find a number of words to be utterly useless -- "God," for instance, or "coincidence" -- and we have long since discarded "terrorism," a wet blanket of a term, for "Open Source Warfare" or OSW. Occult OSW was also advocated in the memorable Appendix Yod of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, known as "Operation Mindfuck":
To this day, neither Ho Chih Zen himself nor any other Discordian apostle knows for sure who is or is not involved in any phase of Operation Mindfuck or what activities they are or are not engaged in as part of that project. Thus, the outsider is immediately trapped in a double-bind: the only safe assumption is that anything a Discordian does is somehow related to OM, but, since this leads directly to paranoia, this is not a "safe" assumption after all, and the "risky" hypothesis that whatever the Discordians are doing is harmless may be "safer" in the long run, perhaps. Every aspect of OM follows, or accentuates, this double-bind.
This may or may not be the source of the Scottish saying, "never give a sword to a man who can't dance."
Spread the Research:
Filed in: Emergent Order
Next entry: Defense Science Board Report on "Strategic Communication"
Previous Entry: Israeli Defense Force and Lateral Thinking
