looking forward to learning from the Temple as well as contributing to it.
With this letter and enclosure I formally seek admittance into the Temple of Set. My personal
philosophy, and that which I have always espoused is now, and shall ever be, in true harmony with
the Setian stream and that of Wotan-Satan. As to my background notes, I have tried to summarize
them in the various enclosures: (1) a regular academic viæ, (2) a chronological run-down of
periods in which studies in occult/magical disciplines were undertaken, and (3) a brief statement
of philosophical positions with regard to Setian philosophy and Wodenism and their synthesis.
This makes clear my reasons for wanting to join the Temple of Set.
As soon as I receive confirmation of my acceptance, I will begin sending along some other
material as a start on my contribution to the information-base of the Temple and the Order of the
Trapezoid. I think that this will be vast enough that it must be approached on a systematic basis
(how Teutonic!). The first step in this process should probably be an annotated bibliography of the
relevant books and other materials in my archives. From this you can cull what you think of use,
and we can work on ways of making this available to you. Also I will of course make available to
you all of my own works (some of them unpublished) ...
With best wishes,
Polaris
On March 26th I responded:
That bibliography you sent is certainly a gold mine! I doubt that San Francisco’s Goethe-
Institut library will include anything so esoteric, but U.C. Berkeley’s library - where I periodically
go book-hunting, having faculty stacks privileges - offers better prospects. [It was there that I
came across Michael Kater’s 1966 CE Heidelberg thesis Das “Ahnenerbe” der SS 1935-1945: ein
Beitrag zur Kulturpolitik des Dritten Reichs (Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1974), which
has been no end of help to me in untangling the rather bewildering history of that organization.]
I expect to be in Washington this June, hence will also be able to hit the Library of Congress.
[As soon as I become really good at teleportation, I intend to move it to San Francisco.]
I am frankly astonished [and pleased, because of the opportunities thereby created] at how
many of the works on your list I haven’t read! Some of this material is crisscrossed, I presume, by
various works on the Temple of Set Reading List, but obviously primary sources are far better to
work with. I agree with your assessment of Satan and Swastika, which accounts for its absence
from the Reading List. There were one or two articles concerning the Externsteine in the
Germanien issues I perused in the L.C. during my last Washington trip, but I didn’t happen to
Xerox them. [I did make copies of other Germanien articles for possible O.Tr. use, together with
quite a few papers and articles from the Ahnenerbe microfilm in the National Archives. But the
microfilm printing machines in the N.A. are in such terrible shape that the Ahnenerbe material,
which is already in less-than-ideal condition, came out only barely readable. As I have a chance to
make some sense of the reams of thermofax (ugh!) which I did produce, it will be surfacing in
Runes.
I found the Phelps article on one of my raids in the U.C.B. library, and agree that it is a gem.
[No thanks to the confusing volume-numbering system of the Journal of Modern History!]
Sebbotendorf’s Bevor Hitler Kam itself was not in the stacks, so I have coasted on Phelps’
summary in that particular area.
Otherwise your list looks so terribly fascinating that I’m not quite certain where to dig first.
Your suggestions as to priorities would be welcome.
I further admired Runa #I-1 and thank you for sending it. You write with a most unusual
mixture of high scholarship and applied-magical motive, which is very refreshing and stimulating
to readers who are both scholars and magicians. But I miss my guess if you didn’t scare off both
non-scholarly magicians and non-magician scholars with this unique approach. In the O.Tr.,
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hopefully, you will find a medium receptive to and appreciative of both qualities. And I’m certain
your own influence in the Order will help it to become even more sophisticated in that sense.
I look forward to the MS of your Primer of Rune-Magic and of course to your Futhark, which
I anticipate will fill a great need in this particular area. From my comments in Runes to date, I
expect you’ve deduced my general disappointment with the existing works on runes. Some are
fairly good, but none really deals with the subject comprehensively, yet in a way which is
intelligible and interesting to the lay reader ...
Just what sophistication Stephen Flowers (who shortly thereafter received his Ph.D. in
Germanic History from the University of Texas) brought to the Order of the Trapezoid’s
Northern-European lore aspect can be glimpsed from Category 24 “Runic Arts & Sciences” of the
Temple of Set Reading List (Appendix #12). He succeeded me as Runes Editor in 1986, then as
Grand Master of the Order of the Trapezoid in 1987. As can be imagined, the focus of the Order
duly sharpened towards Northern esotericism, Runic lore, and a more traditional approach
towards its chivalric dimension. My wide-ranging Runes investigations into the more obscure,
suppressed, and startling areas of technomagic and fringe science were, perhaps thankfully, a
relic of the past.
The Order of the Trapezoid has continued to the time of this writing as one of the most
prolific Orders of the Temple of Set, both through Runes articles and numerous symposia,
presentations, and workshops both separately and together with Temple conclaves. Today, under
its current Grand Master Sir Eric Kauschen, the Order has expanded to an international
presence, with an Internet presence, lodges, and activities in many countries. It has undeniably
set a new standard for the concept of a religion-based order of knighthood in terms of the depth
and intensity of its esoteric and initiatory focus. Nothing like it has been seen since the days of
the original Knights Templar.
As for the Wewelsburg Working, not only did it recreate the Order of the Trapezoid, it also
inspired renewed interest in the Wewelsburg by many other occult organizations as well. In her
article about the Order of the Trapezoid in the definitive 2009 anthology Die SS, Himmler und
die Wewelsburg Daniela Siepe, Historian of the official Kreismuseum Wewelsburg at the castle,
commented:
Since the Temple of Set there have been many other groups interested in the Wewelsburg,
most with teachings of wholly different interpretations. The Church of Satan claims to have had a
“Totenkopf Grotto” focused on the castle 1995-1996. In the Ruhr region there exists a local Circle
of Hagalaz Coming Forth, an informal association without activities at the castle. In Switzerland
there is the Black Order of Luzifer, which views the Wewelsburg as the “schwarzmagische
Gralsburg (Black Magical Grail Castle)”, devoting considerable attention to folkish ideas. Outside
the [now permanently locked] entrance to the Gruft (the Walhalla) was once found the remains of
a ritual - bread, water, a floral bouquet, and a candle - alluding to a seasonal ritual of nature-
worshipping neopagans. Finally, in esoteric guidebo
oks such as Magisch Reisen Deutschland
from the renowned Goldmann-verlag publishers, interested persons can learn about the esoteric
reasons why the National Socialists chose buildings such as the Wewelsburg at special “points of
energy” to draw in magic to the entire area. But it is only possible to know which visitors to the
castle are attracted by this when they provide written records to the Wewelsburg, or appear to be
performing a ritual there.
In 2010 the Kreismuseum contacted the Temple of Set concerning a new exhibition on the
history of the Wewelsburg since 1945, to include the Wewelsburg Working and the Order of the
Trapezoid. This resulted in an even more massive historical catalogue, Endzeitkämpfer Ideologie
und Terror der SS (Berlin: Deutscher KJunstverlag, 2011), an appreciative copy of which was
sent to me by the Kreismuseum. It appears that the castle and the Order have a continuing
friendship into their mysterious and magical future.
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9: The Orders, Pylons, and Elements
The Orders
The Orders of the Temple of Set which came into being along with that of the Trapezoid were
no less remarkable and creative. Indeed it is no exaggeration to say that many of them became as
strong, active, and both magically and philosophically challenging as the entire Temple of Set
had been during its first decade.
The genius behind, inspiration for, and guiding hand over each Order has been, of course, the
Master of the Temple IV° who is its Grand Master. The concept for a specialized initiatory Order
being a characteristic of this degree specifically dates back to Aleister Crowley’s Liber 418: The
Vision and The Voice series of workings, in which the “Cry of the 13th Æthyr” of December 4,
1909 set forth the work of this initiatory state of being. It was this vision with which Anton LaVey
ritually formalized the IV° of the Church of Satan, and which I carried forward thus for the IV° of
the Temple of Set:
And now there cometh a Daimon into the garden, but he hath not any of the attributes of the
former Daimons, for he is like a young man, dressed in robes of blue.
And I said: Pleasant indeed is the garden, and light is the toil of tending it, and great is the
reward.
And he said: Bethink thee that NEMO hath beheld the face of Set.
And I said: Are all gardens like unto this garden?
And he waved his hand, and in the Aire across the valley appeared an island of coral, rosy,
with green palms and fruit-trees, in the midst of the bluest of the seas.
And he waved his hand again, and there appeared a valley shut in by mighty snow mountains,
and in it were pleasant streams of water, rushing through, and broad rivers, and lakes covered
with lilies.
And he waved his hand again, and there was a vision, as it were of an oasis in the desert.
And again he waved his hand, and there was a dim country with grey rocks, and heather, and
gorse, and bracken.
And he waved his hand yet again, and there was a city, and a black house therein, enclosed by
walls. This time the house opens, and I see in it a man in red and black, sitting in a silent and
secret chamber. His eyes are closed, yet he readeth from a great book, constantly. I hear what he is
reading: “The words of the book are as the leaves of the flowers in the garden. Many indeed of
these my songs shall go forth as maidens, but there is one among them, which one I know not, that
shall be a man-child, whose name shall be NEMO, when he hath beheld the face of the Prince of
Darkness and Become as his Eye.”
So we enter the Earth, and there is a veiled figure, in absolute darkness. Yet it is perfectly
possible to see in it, so that the minutest details do not escape us. And upon the root of one flower
he pours acid so that the root writhes as if in torture. And another he cuts, and the shriek is like
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the shriek of a mandrake, torn up by the roots. And another he chars with fire, and yet another he
anoints with oil.
And I said: Heavy is the labor, but great indeed is the reward.
And the young man answered me: He shall not see the reward; he tendeth the garden.
And I said: What shall come unto him?
And he said: This thou canst not know, nor is it revealed by the letters that are the totems of
the stars, but only by the stars. The man of Earth is the adherent. The lover giveth his life unto the
work among men. The hermit goeth solitary, and giveth only of his light unto men.
And I ask him: Why does he tell me that?
And he says: I tell thee not. Thou tellest thyself, for thou hast pondered thereupon for many
days, and hast not found light. And now that thou art called NEMO, the answer to every riddle
that thou hast not found shall spring up in thy mind, unsought. Who can tell upon what day a
flower shall bloom?
And thou shalt give thy wisdom unto the world, and that shall be thy garden. And concerning
time and death, thou hast naught to do with these things. For though a precious stone be hidden
in the sands of the desert, it shall not heed for the wind of the desert, although it be but sand. For
the worker of works hath worked thereupon; and because it is clear, it is invisible; and because it
is hard, it moveth not.
All these words are heard by everyone that is called NEMO. And with that doth he apply
understand the virtue of the Sun and the wind, and of the worm that turneth the earth, and of the
stars that roof in the garden. And he must understand the separate nature and property of every
flower, or how shall he tend his garden?
Initiation to the IV° is characterized by what Crowley termed “entry into the City of the
Pyramids”, an awareness and appreciation of the entire scope of the initiatory environment
(æon). The disposition of the Master becomes one of inherent enhancement of the æon
generally, but also as the interpreter of a unique perspective concerning it: the “tending of a
garden” - which within the Æon of Set became the creation of an Order.
And indeed the post-Set-IV atmosphere of a Setian Order was intended to be garden-like.
Adepts II°+ cultivated them, planted and nourished workings within them, then freely
distributed their fruits throughout the Temple of Set generally. As their extent and sophistication
increased, Orders generated their own Masters, some of whom would eventually become their
successive Grand Masters [or, if coincidentally attaining IV° initiation, alternatively envision
additional Orders].
Collectively all of the Orders of the Temple of Set began to “add flesh to the bones” of the
Æon of Set: to reveal its implications and dimensions through images in many different mirrors.
Yet each Order also developed and refined a unique identity of its own, which it is doubtful that
the Temple of Set generally could have formulated absent that particular Master of the Temple.
Each Order introduced itself to the Temple as a whole with a Statement in the Crystal Tablet
of Set, and those of the twenty-two Orders during my High Priesthood are included here as
Appendices #66-87. Each Order went on not only to hold its own activities, but to publish
periodicals and anthologies often extending to libra
ry-scope. Some of this material would be
reprinted in the Scroll of Set or the Jeweled Tablets, but for the most part it was simply made
available to all Setians with a particular interest in the work of a given Order.
The Pylons
In 1975, as part of the changeover from the Church of Satan, almost all of its local Grottos
transitioned into the Temple of Set. The Satanic term “Grotto” (chosen by Anton LaVey to depict
a part of the “great underground cavern of Hell”, so to speak), was obviously no longer thematic.
After some discussion we settled on the term “Pylon”, after the great trapezoidal-pillared gates to
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ancient Egyptian temples. As our local groups would in effect be “gateways” to the Temple of Set
as a whole, this seemed both appropriate and æsthetic.
The old term “Grotto Leader” also went by the wayside. In keeping with the individualistic
emphasis of the Temple of Set, Setians weren’t to be “led” anywhere by anybody. We decided
upon “Sentinel” to designate the Priest or Adept to whose guardianship each Pylon was formally
entrusted.
Pylons were originally conceived to be geographically localized, and most of them have been.
But as individual membership in the Temple of Set grew worldwide over the years, and
particularly upon the appearance of the Internet, it was soon apparent that some Pylons, based
upon shared interests and/or friendships, were going to extend as well. So there were
“correspondence Pylons”, originally and most famously/enduringly the Gates of Hell Pylon, and
eventually just about any combination-of-factors Pylons imaginable. Their one common feature,
besides II°/III° Sentinelship, was simply the desire of the Setians involved to collaborate over an
extended period of time, either generally or on topics of especial interest.
So numerous and multifaceted have the Pylons been over the years that a detailed description
of each one would double the size of this ebook, so I’ll just mention their names through my
High Priesthood: Ab Anpu, Amon, Antewey, Anubis, Apeti, ArchDaimon Infernus, Asmodeus,
Babalon, Ba-Neb-Tett, Bifrost, Black Diamond, Black Flame, Black Lotus, Black Phœnix, Black
Ring, Black Runa, Black Sun Rising, Blazing Star, Bull of Ombos, Canis Prometheus, Chaldean,