Liber CI, an overview and a stop
I was looking back over my few posts on CI, and wondering if I was correct in my previous statement that going over them all implicitly will actually clear anything up. Will it give me anything I don't already have, and/or cause any change from the leaders? Or will it just devolve into me whining about the leadership, and making no positive change within myself or within the order?
Is what I am doing, what I wish Sabazius and the leadership would do? By pointing to specific changes, or is it merely me throwing a hissy fit? If Sabazius did it, or if someone on the EC did it, it would be indicative that things were going to change. If I do it, what is the goal?
I can't say I believe it would do anything but reenforce what I've seen in myself recently as a trend towards picking on other people instead of focusing on my own work. Still, I want to look at CI a little, so I decided I will put one overview post up, here, and then call it done for a bit, and dedicate my time instead to my own personal work. When I am able to re-attack this in some productive way, I'll give it another shot.
So, in an attempt to make a single productive post, I want to try and tackle the question anew; What is the Order CI represents?
CI is broken into Privileges and Duties. While they are organized by "The twelve houses of heaven" I would like to reorganize them under the classifications which would be more recognizable to a government or business today, and then look at how each category could be accomplished today, and what was proposed.
Privileges
Duties
I have tried to be brief yet at least touch on the above topics. I hope this will be sufficient to help others see these. I began writing it when I had a disagreement with a local high ranking officer on recognizing the orders role in supporting the frontal duty of womankind, but I fear all my words are so much sound and fury to anyone to whom this is not already obvious.
This is an imperfect set of groupings, but still, we can see that the devotion to the order was expected to extend to every aspect of the members lives, and also that the order itself was to extend it's aegis to cover every need, which is the only way people could logically be able to commit to it in full. Their level of commitment could never exceed it's ability to protect the exposure they take on by so committing.
When we look at many of these categories, they are ignored at present. They are offered by other organizations, and so it is to these other organizations that we pay homage. My company pays my bills, provides medical insurance, and sees to my retirement. My government (theoretically) provides protection and arbitrates disputes. Despite the number of IT professionals in the order, while I've heard of an IT guild, I know nothing of it, and it is to my local hacker group I go when I am looking for work, or for skilled workers to work under me.
These are things which the order can do. They are not difficult, but they are far more than study groups and conventions, they are attending to the daily physical needs of it's members.
There are some which have been shot down as completely impractical, but which I see masons do (like giving money back to it's members when they are deemed to be "in distress") and others which are not shot down as impractical, but just not attacked, despite the ease with which other organizations can obtain them, things like health care and legal, as I mentioned earlier.
In short, what I see from CI is a communistic state, excepting that it is based on personal freedom and not on state restriction.
What I see from the order as I understand it now is an occult study group.
I'll leave this set of classifications up, and hopefully return to this series when I can do it more objectively without allowing myself to sink to useless complaining.
One thing I can do is look at what Crowley was talking about, and see clearly that even those parts most easily achieved are not priorities for the order today. So I have to learn to step back from the writings of the Prophet and of Sabazius really look for myself at the local bodies I know, and try to determine what their motivating factors ARE, at present, and what I can get out of the order, and what I can give to it. I'll post when I think I have some idea what that is.
-- James
Is what I am doing, what I wish Sabazius and the leadership would do? By pointing to specific changes, or is it merely me throwing a hissy fit? If Sabazius did it, or if someone on the EC did it, it would be indicative that things were going to change. If I do it, what is the goal?
I can't say I believe it would do anything but reenforce what I've seen in myself recently as a trend towards picking on other people instead of focusing on my own work. Still, I want to look at CI a little, so I decided I will put one overview post up, here, and then call it done for a bit, and dedicate my time instead to my own personal work. When I am able to re-attack this in some productive way, I'll give it another shot.
So, in an attempt to make a single productive post, I want to try and tackle the question anew; What is the Order CI represents?
CI is broken into Privileges and Duties. While they are organized by "The twelve houses of heaven" I would like to reorganize them under the classifications which would be more recognizable to a government or business today, and then look at how each category could be accomplished today, and what was proposed.
Privileges
- Brotherhood and Socialization
This is something the order does provide in some part. They do gatherings, conventions, hold mass etc. At least my local bodies do.
- Libraries and Education
They have libraries, but they do very little to help with either the education of youth, or with the education of their members. The libraries in the local bodies are better than my personal library, but not by much, and my recent attempts at donating to the libraries have been thwarted. I will donate material to the local libraries, but this time buying it and walking it in by hand. There is a College of Thelema, but it is not OTO associated. "Colleges of the Order will presently be established where the children of its members may be trained in all trades, businesses, and professions, and there they may study the liberal arts and humane letters" is no where near happening, despite the fact that many members do have valuable skills they could teach to other members. Given the high level of proles in the order, learning a well paid trade would be a great boon to many members.
- Hospitality and "Retirement"
I separated this from Brotherhood and Socialization because of the resources this draws on. Brotherhood and socialization is primarily something done by brothers and sisters individually. The Con's are put together by the order, and many local events are organized by the lodges, but the concept of being able to provide for magical retirements and offer up the hospitality of the lodge implies in this case actually being able to put a roof over peoples heads. While individuals within the order have gone out of their way to take other members into their homes as needed, the order as a whole seems incapable of having a roof to put over anyones head. The concept of taking care of people as they advance in years is so far out that it's not even funnny, despite the fact that community churches handle this all the time with no backing.
- Child care and rearing
The idea that the community should raise a child is still not a social norm. The idea that someone might discipline a child at all, let alone someone who is not that childs relative will get you jailed in some places. Still, I have seen brothers and sisters step forward to help individually, but once again, as an order, there's nothing.
- Medical and Health Care
... crickets ...
- Job Security and Financial Care and Planning
... and the wind blowing through branches ...
- Legal Aid
and this just got a straight no from Sabazius memo, which is sad, because some friends of mine got together and arranged this amongst just a few of them. It cost them a few hundred a month to have a legal service on retainer as they have need. To imply that the order is not capable at over three thousand strong of what 2 or 3 (who are not in financialy strong positions right now) can acomplish is insulting, so instead, we must presume that, like property, it's not that they can't, it's that it's not a priority, but perhaps I am wrong. I am curious what "legal referrals to our members who require them." means. It certainly doesn't mean free legal aid, as that is implicitly shot down.
Duties
- Charity to Brothers and to the Order
I'm not a treasurer, so I don't know how many people in the order prioritize their smokes over their local dues. I have seen no end to the compassion shared with other members, but this is common inside and outside the order. As far as real sacrifice for the order, I know some who have. Most people I know are MOE, so I'm not sure how much it would mean, even if I were to say that I had seen none whatsoever.
- Hospitality
In their homes, and in the lodges they have, I have seen charity extended to the nines, yet there doesn't seem to be any focus on establishing facilities which are better suited to extending this hospitality. In the short term, everything which can be done is. In the long term... I am not aware of it.
- Promulgation of the Law and recruiting to the Order
This is one thing which causes me consternation. The promulgation of the Law, and of Thelema as a movement IS NOT sufficient to strengthen the Orders numbers. The promulgation of the Law happens by showing the benefits of liberty. The strengthening of the Order is bringing people who accept the Law into the order, that they might contribute to it, and share in the benefits of membership. These benefits are the key reason to join, and without them, what is the point? If they only exist as compensators, so be it, but if they do not even exist as that, then I have nothing to offer.
- Use of Resources (Financial and Property)
Who could donate all or part of their real property to the Order? The catholic priests who take a vow of poverty are not like the beggars on the streets of Deli. The Roman Catholic Church brings them under their Aegis and provides everything necessary for them to live a life dedicated to the church. If the order chose to own property, and to become a financially stable organization with real financial requirements on their members, and real physical profess houses to keep things moving, this would become a possibility very quickly. For now, it can only be done by those members who have auxiliary property.
- Use of Time and Skills (Profession or Trade)
The USGL website is very nice. Some people do dedicate their time and energy to the order, but as the order right now has a very narrow focus as an occult club and book study, there's not much room for a contractor or banker or tailor to do too much for the order. (ok, a tailor could) The issue is the same though. The order is an occult club, not a means of dealing with the day to day necessities of life. In so much as it's scope is limited, so are the donations it can usefully accept.
- Employee Conduct and Selecting Employees.
mmmm nepotism, or is it? I hire friends all the time. I do it because I know their work ethic and I can trust them to render "willing and intelligent service." Likewise, I expect them to find me work when I have need, because I have dedicated myself to learning my trade, and I do it well. They have experience with me either in my industry, or personally and know that I am of such character that I would not take on a position I could not properly fill. I can not speak to whether or not this happens in the order, but that Sabazius would remove this insinuates to me that he does not trust that from within the order he believes we could find those type of people, or perhaps our non-profit status requires he shoot this down? I don't know.
- Resolution of Disputes. (venue)
For the Order to take on the burden of resolving disputes with non members would be to take on a mantle of authority we are obviously not comfortable with, despite the rising trend towards out-of-court arbitration. If we are only ok with arbitrating member disputes, and even those only sometimes, why are we not willing to stand on our own to at least offer arbitration services with disputes with non-members?
I have tried to be brief yet at least touch on the above topics. I hope this will be sufficient to help others see these. I began writing it when I had a disagreement with a local high ranking officer on recognizing the orders role in supporting the frontal duty of womankind, but I fear all my words are so much sound and fury to anyone to whom this is not already obvious.
This is an imperfect set of groupings, but still, we can see that the devotion to the order was expected to extend to every aspect of the members lives, and also that the order itself was to extend it's aegis to cover every need, which is the only way people could logically be able to commit to it in full. Their level of commitment could never exceed it's ability to protect the exposure they take on by so committing.
When we look at many of these categories, they are ignored at present. They are offered by other organizations, and so it is to these other organizations that we pay homage. My company pays my bills, provides medical insurance, and sees to my retirement. My government (theoretically) provides protection and arbitrates disputes. Despite the number of IT professionals in the order, while I've heard of an IT guild, I know nothing of it, and it is to my local hacker group I go when I am looking for work, or for skilled workers to work under me.
These are things which the order can do. They are not difficult, but they are far more than study groups and conventions, they are attending to the daily physical needs of it's members.
There are some which have been shot down as completely impractical, but which I see masons do (like giving money back to it's members when they are deemed to be "in distress") and others which are not shot down as impractical, but just not attacked, despite the ease with which other organizations can obtain them, things like health care and legal, as I mentioned earlier.
In short, what I see from CI is a communistic state, excepting that it is based on personal freedom and not on state restriction.
What I see from the order as I understand it now is an occult study group.
I'll leave this set of classifications up, and hopefully return to this series when I can do it more objectively without allowing myself to sink to useless complaining.
One thing I can do is look at what Crowley was talking about, and see clearly that even those parts most easily achieved are not priorities for the order today. So I have to learn to step back from the writings of the Prophet and of Sabazius really look for myself at the local bodies I know, and try to determine what their motivating factors ARE, at present, and what I can get out of the order, and what I can give to it. I'll post when I think I have some idea what that is.
-- James