Reuss met Aleister Crowley and in 1910 admitted him to the three degrees of O.T.O. Only two years later, Crowley was placed in charge of Great Britain and Ireland, and was advanced to the XA°. The appointment included the operation of the Masonic degrees of O.T.O., which were called Mysteria Mystica Maxima. Within the year Crowley had written the Manifesto of the M.'.M.'.M.'. which described the basic ten-degree systema€”which was still principally Masonica€”with Kellnera€™s three degree Academia Masonica forming the VIIA°, VIIIA° and IXA°.
In 1913, Crowley composed the Gnostic Mass while in Moscow, which he described as being the Ordera€™s a€?central ceremony of its public and private celebration.a€? In 1914, soon after World War I broke out, he moved to America. It was around this time that he decided to integrate Thelema into the O.T.O. system, and in 1915 had revised rituals prepared for use in his M.'.M.'.M.'.. He revised them again in 1918, and in so doing removed the rituals' ties to Masonry.
Lawrence Sutin writes in his Aleister Crowley biography that Reuss assigned Crowley to rewrite the rituals of the order, and accepted his Thelemic revisions. P.R. Koenig, who writes on the occult, denies the second part of this. But some Thelemites, including harsh critics of the "Caliphate" O.T.O., hold that Koenig allows bias against said organization to affect his work.
Crowley wrote that Theodor Reuss suffered a stroke in the Spring of 1920. In correspondence with one of his officers, Crowley expressed doubts about Reuss's competence to remain in office. Relations between Reuss and Crowley began to deteriorate. The two exchanged angry letters in November of 1921. Crowley informed Reuss that he was availing himself of Reuss's abdication from office and proclaiming himself the Outer Head of the Order. Reuss died on October 28, 1923. Crowley claimed in later correspondence that Reuss had designated him as his successor. Lawrence Sutin, among others, casts doubt on this claim. However, no other candidate stepped forward to refute Crowley by offering proof of succession. The Grand Master for Germany seemed to accept Crowley's claim at first, and signed an oath recognizing him as Prophet before their break.
During WWII, the European branches of O.T.O. were either destroyed or driven underground. By the end of the war, the only surviving O.T.O. body was AgapA© Lodge in California, although there were various initiates in different countries. Very few initiations were being performed. At this time, Karl Germer, who had been Crowleya€™s representative in Germany, came over to America after being released from Nazi confinement. In 1942, Crowley appointed him as his successor as OHO, the office he filled after the death of Crowley in 1947.
Books You Might Enjoy:
Kenneth Grant - Aleister Crowley And The Hidden God
Thomas Voxfire - What Was Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley - Liber 101 Ordo Templi Orientis An Open Letter