Mystics, Mothers and Magicians Symposium
Hello Friends,
Well, it's been years since I posted to Livejournal, and now I'm making up for it with one mammoth post! This is the long version of an article which I hope may be printed in abridged form in the August Agape (I'm going to submit it, at any rate). The article is meant to answer the question, "Why A Symposium on the Divine Feminine?". It is strictly my own opinion and not representative of any other group or person. Thank you in advance for your opinions or comments...
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
This year, I have the honor of organizing the third national O.T.O. symposium on the subject of the divine feminine. This year’s event will be titled, “Mystics, Mothers, and Magicians: Women and Goddesses of O.T.O.”, and will be held in Sacramento in mid-November. A question sometimes asked, if not always aloud, is: “Why should O.T.O. organize a national symposium on the Divine Feminine?” “Is this divisive, in that it focuses only on the feminine?” “Does this constitute an attack on the masculine, or a criticism of O.T.O. as it is?” This essay is designed to answer those questions. (Please note: the opinions expressed herein are my own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone in U.S. Grand Lodge, or the U.S.G.L. Conference Committee.)
I will argue that there is a deep-seated need for exactly this sort of event in our community and in our society. The reasons for this are many: first, the injury inflicted on our collective unconscious by the imbalance of the Abrahamic faiths; second, the qualitative (not quantitative) difference between the male and female genders; third, the requirements of the Great Work, and fourth, the unique and central role that Thelema plays in bringing all these elements together. I will address each of these below.
First, the Abrahamic faiths; being Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I have participated in all three of these faiths and have some love or respect for them all. Nevertheless, I believe that these three religious cousins suffer from a sort of spiritual mutation; an aberration common to the three: they do not recognize a divine feminine. Stop and think for a moment, in historical and worldwide perspective. What other religions, of any sort and on any continent, do not worship some form of the divine feminine along with her counterpart, the divine masculine? None, that I can think of. Every other religion and culture throughout human history has envisioned the Divine in a male and female aspect; as above so below, and vice versa. Even as the material world exists in male and female versions, so does the spiritual. But not for the Abrahamic faiths. Alone, of the world religions, they recognize only a single male divinity (or perhaps a male trinity, as in Christianity). There is no Goddess; only God. The feminine appears only as a material “handmaiden” to the masculine divine. (Yes, there are some minority efforts to express some sort of female divinity, such as the Shekinah, or the Virgin Mary, but these are generally peripheral and do not hold full status as Goddesses.) It is only because we have been raised in a culture imbued with this Abrahamic aberration that we do not immediately recognize the oddity; the absurdity, of this worldview.
According to my experience, in both East and West, the masculine is associated with the spiritual, the intellectual, the active, the light, the yang; while the feminine is associated with the material, the physical, the passive, the dark, the yin. But where the East, and the Western “pagan” (i.e. non-Abrahamic) faiths saw these two in balance with each other, the three Abrahamic faiths chose one; the male, the yang, irrevocably over the female, or yin, and set them, not in balance to each other, but in opposition to each other. Thus the female, material, physical, passive, dark, and yin became separated from God (the yang, in this Abrahamic interpretation), and eventually became associated with the Devil, God’s adversary. As above, so below. In this way (as the Abrahamic faiths became the dominant theology/worldview throughout much of the world) the female, and everything associated with her, was disowned. Half of ourselves was rejected. The Abrahamic faiths have, in essence, inflicted a deep and festering wound on the psyche of all those
raised in a Western-influenced tradition (whatever gender they may be; whichever continent they reside in). It has separated them from their natural connection to female divinity, to the sacred as it is manifest in creation, to the sacred as it is manifest in their own bodies. The only way to heal this wound is to attack it at its root. What does this mean for those of us raised in Western traditions? As I see it, this means that it is not enough to "emigrate"; to become Taoists or Buddhists or Wiccans (yes, of course that's a Western tradition, but not an Abrahamic one), or Hindus, or anything else. Although all of those can be very positive. However, I believe that at some point, in order to truly heal, we need to come home to our dysfunctional family of birth and set things right at home. In spiritual terms, this means to me that we need to bring the lessons of Taoism, Wicca, Hinduism, etcetera, home into the arena of the spiritual tradition we absorbed as we grew up. As Westerners, even if we never consciously became Christians, the assumptions and biases of Christianity (or Judaism, or Islam, depending on background)color our thoughts and perceptions, even though we know it not. If we do not challenge these largely unspoken assumptions, God and the Devil, Christ and Antichrist, run amok through our subconscious, even as our conscious minds revel in the balance of Yin and Yang.
This, in my opinion, is the glory and the audacity of Crowley, and the reason that, even now, he is reviled by many as "the wickedest man on earth." Crowley dared to take the lessons of the East, and of the pre-Christian West, home... and apply them to Christian archetypes in order to challenge and heal those wounds. He dared to take the lessons of yin and yang and apply them directly to God and the Devil! Indeed, he intended to "storm the gates of heaven." This is why Thelema, the religion of which he is founder and prophet, has a unique and essential role in Western civilization. Thelema, as far as I know, is the only spiritual tradition that dares to address these issues in this way; that dares to take the cure straight to the root of the division; the separation at the heart of the Western soul. “Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.” (Liber AL; I:22) “For I am divided for love’s sake, for the chance of union.” (Liber AL; I-29) Thelema alone dares to unite the divided and heal the wounds of duality.
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke, 12:48) As Thelema is the only path which possesses this particular tool, it also holds a special responsibility to apply it. O.T.O., as the largest and most recognized Thelemic organization, is the most able to promulgate the Law of Thelema, and this message of balance and inclusiveness. I believe that O.T.O. has a special ability and responsibility to address the longstanding bias of Western culture against the feminine, the physical, and the material. I believe that, as Westerners, we cannot fully realize ourselves as spiritual beings without resolving the conflicts of our own cultural and spiritual heritage. The Dalai Lama and others have been known to comment in similar words; telling Westerners that it is beneficial to learn from the East, but that their ultimate path will lie in purifying and consecrating the Work of their own cultural destiny. The study of Western spirituality may be uncomfortable at times for an aware man or woman, due to the biases implicit therein, but it must be accomplished, and it must (I think) be healed, corrected, and reconciled, so that the path of Western spirituality is brought back to the line of balance, the historical balance of male and female, light and dark, activity and stillness, in which all poles are valued equally, and by Science and Art we may reach the goal of all human endeavor; the Palace of Beauty. Thelema is the best means to this end.
Ironically, we the O.T.O. are not necessarily seen in this light. In the greater pagan and alternative spirituality communities, we are often considered to be “male dominated”, a “penis club”, and not a place for strong and independent minded women to find a home. Those of us who are active in O.T.O. know this is absolutely not the case; I have rarely if ever met so many strong and outstanding women as I have within this Order. But the perception from the outside is another story. In part, this is due to our founder, Aleister Crowley. Despite his groundbreaking and visionary work in challenging spiritual, societal, and sexual assumptions, Crowley was also a man of his time (Victorian England). As any human, while challenging some of the assumptions of his time, he unconsciously succumbed to others. In addition, Crowley was, shall we say, not tactful; in fact it is possible to imagine that he actually reveled in bringing negative attention upon himself. Therefore as Thelemites we have the unenviable task of “explaining away” Crowley’s often insulting remarks about (and actions toward) women. In addition, there are other aspects of our practice that seem questionable to modern men and women outside the Order. First time Mass visitors may wonder: why is the Priestess nude, while the Priest remains clothed? Is this exploitation of the female form? Why is there a long list of male saints in the Collects, but no females are mentioned? Are they not also remembered? Why is Thelema described as a “solar-phallic” cult? Are the moon and the yoni; female symbols, therefore disregarded? Please understand, I am not saying that I believe these things. I am saying that these are aspects of our religion which may be misunderstood by outsiders. Women who have been involved in O.T.O. for decades also have some disturbing tales to tell of how female initiates were sometimes treated in the seventies and eighties. It’s quite likely that versions of those stories are still circulating in the alternative spiritual community, turning off women and men before they ever have a chance to meet us in person.
Because Thelema does, in fact, offer so much to a female aspirant (and to the inner female, the anima, within a male aspirant), and has such a unique role to play in bringing the masculine and feminine, heaven and earth, yin and yang, back into balance in our society, we do ourselves, Thelema, and the world a great disservice if we do not actively work to dispel these erroneous perceptions. I believe it is our duty as Thelemites to, so far as it is possible, allow each and every human to learn of Thelema as it really is, so that each of them has the opportunity to engage the Thelemic current if it be their Wills. Furthermore, even we initiates are not entirely free of the prejudices and biases of our society. Although we strive to balance the different parts of our nature, many of us may still, subconsciously, value the masculine over the feminine, the active over the passive, the spiritual over the material.
To this end, I believe the Mystics, Mothers, and Magicians Symposium (and its two earlier manifestations as the O.T.O. Women’s Symposium) is/are a useful means. Actions speak louder than words. Regardless of what is actually presented at this Symposium (and there are some very interesting and exciting speakers and presentations), the very fact that the U.S. Grand Lodge of O.T.O. would go to the trouble and expense of hosting an entire national weekend-long conference on the subject of the divine feminine (not only once, but several times now) will speak volumes. That fact will send, and is already sending, a statement of recognition and respect to the greater pagan and magical community, and to our own newer initiates (male and female). In this way we make the truth of what we have to offer more accessible to those whose True Wills might include membership in O.T.O. And, because actions speak louder than words most especially to the subconscious, the very fact of this Symposium will communicate that same recognition and respect to the yin, or feminine, or material, aspects of our own consciousness, and assist each of us to progress toward spiritual balance and maturity, and the Great Work. That is why this year’s Symposium was not called the “Women’s Symposium”; because this work of reclaiming and recognizing the divine feminine is not only for women, but directly and personally involves each male initiate as well, as he learns to value and strengthen the “yin” aspects of his own self.
That is the greater part of my argument… but I wish to add a few more points. In addition to its unique role in bringing balance back to Western consciousness, Thelema has been described by Crowley as “the method of science; the aim of religion.” Meaning that Thelemites are meant to be “scientists of the spirit,” fearlessly exploring the truth by means of experiment; using practical trial and error instead of pontificating on theory and opinion from our armchairs. There should be no question that we are afraid to explore. This definitely includes the question of gender and sexuality; a field rife with political incorrectness. As a society, we have progressed from rigid Victorian beliefs in the absolutely different abilities and spheres of men and women, through a probably necessary stage in which differences between men and women were entirely denied in order to allow old prejudices to die off. During that time, a lot of anger was directed by men toward women who were challenging the male hegemony of the time, and a lot of anger was directed toward men by women striking out on new paths, without any cultural map or role models. There was a time when this was described as “the war between the sexes.” I believe we have largely passed that stage today. The pain and conflict that always accompanies change has largely passed away. Today it is taken for granted that women may pursue higher education, may have careers outside the home, may sometimes take positions of leadership and power. Overt and absolute barriers have been replaced by more subtle challenges. With at least a certain amount of change taken for granted, we have felt secure again in re-examining the question of gender. In recent decades, research has shown that there are in fact differences between the sexes (aside from the obvious sexual ones). It turns out that female athletes perform better when using equipment designed for the subtle differences between male and female bodies. It seems that young boys learn better under somewhat different classroom conditions than their female peers. Without returning to categorical assumptions, and while respecting the wide range of individual abilities, scientists have found that tailoring approaches to the correct gender improves results. Why should this not be true in the realm of the spirit as well? I find it entirely possible that the most efficient path to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, or other spiritual goals, might be somewhat different for men and for women (note I said, “somewhat different”, not “entirely different”). How will we know this without exploration? The spiritual experiences of women may be subtly different from their male colleagues. How different, and in what way? Only experimentation, careful recording, and the sharing of findings will tell, just as in any other scientific community.
This brings me back again to the Symposium and its uses in our Order. A Symposium of this sort, aside from addressing the question of yin and yang balance as described previously, also includes a larger-than-average concentration of female initiates and speakers. Especially on Sunday (which will focus on living women, while Saturday will focus on the divine feminine and the goddess, as discussed above), we will hear the stories of several different women who have been prominent in the work of our Order. Certainly we will learn useful lessons from their experiences. Perhaps also, we will hear common themes that may begin to outline for us a distinctive female path through the initiatory tradition. Or perhaps not. But as scientists of the spirit, it would be unworthy of us not to listen and try.
I have some other goals in mind for the Sunday half of the Symposium. One is the question of role models. I used to laugh at the idea of role models, since I am someone with an active imagination who doesn’t need to see something to believe in its possibility. But I changed my mind years ago while helping a friend pick out a pattern for an evening gown. As an experienced seamstress, I went to the fabric store with her to page through the pattern catalogs together. I saw several designs that I thought would be perfect, but she said “no.” Every once in awhile, she would point at a picture and ask, “how about that one?” These selected patterns were never the right ones for her frame and build. Suddenly, I realized: my dark-skinned friend was only seeing herself in the designs that featured a dark-skinned model. She was unable to see herself in the pictures of absolutely perfect dresses that were shown on a light-skinned woman. On that day, I became a believer in the power of role models. There are bound to be many female members of our Order who will be inspired and encouraged by hearing female speakers, in a way they never would have been by male speakers, only because they may be able to see themselves in the person speaking. Ideally, perhaps this shouldn’t be necessary, but in practice, it is a fact for many. This leads naturally, to the answer to the question, “why shouldn’t there be a symposium focused on the divine male?” Well, perhaps there should be. I have certainly seen (second-hand, of course), that men can benefit from participating in an all-male group such as the Masons. But the need for U.S. Grand Lodge to sponsor such an event is not as great, because there is not a need to address a neglect of the masculine in our society and in our psyche, because there are plentiful male role models, and because we (O.T.O.) are not wrongly perceived as exploiting men, or being a “yoni club”. In contrast, there is a true need to bring into balance, at last, the equally important role of the feminine.
Yet another purpose of this Symposium will be found by again considering the era of 70’s and 80’s American feminism, as mentioned briefly above. I believe that the American feminist movement, for all its great successes, made a crucial error, though perhaps a natural one for those of our cultural background. Forgive my gross over-simplification here: American feminism made the mistake of fighting for the right of women to fill stereotypically masculine roles, while ignoring the need to win respect for stereotypically feminine roles. This resulted in women being able to become doctors and firefighters (a very good thing!), but had the unintended consequence of actually downgrading the equally important traditional female roles, so that by the early 90’s, a woman might describe herself as, “just a housewife”, or “just a stay-at-home mom”. Ideally (and with the perfection of hindsight) we should have fought for both at the same time, so that men and women would both be able to pursue stereotypically masculine careers outside the home, and would also both be able to pursue stereotypically feminine careers (with respect!) inside the home. Instead, we won some rights for women, but at the cost of rejecting the female, or yin, in ourselves and others. Our Sunday program is designed to address that imbalance, by honoring equally each of the seven classical planets, plus earth. Instead of honoring only those women who have excelled in the stereotypically masculine fields of leadership and intellect (admirable as those are), we will also purposefully recognize work in the fields of love, nurturing, hospitality and healing. By doing so, we will honor that corresponding aspect in ourselves, and in our male and female colleagues. The idea of individual accomplishment is a myth. Every individual who excels is supported by a vast body of their peers who make it all possible. This is the strength of any healthy family or organization, including our own: the love and trust and support that we give each other enables us collectively to achieve what we never could alone. By extending recognition and respect to all points, feminine and masculine, this event is designed to increase our strength and fortify our purpose, hopefully to assist in bringing us to the accomplishment of our true Wills, the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
Love is the law, love under will
Anna Tsu
Onsite Coordinator
Mystics, Mothers, and Magicians Symposium 2008
Visit the MMM Symposium website at: http://mysticsmothersmagicians.com/ for schedule, presentations, registration, and more.
Well, it's been years since I posted to Livejournal, and now I'm making up for it with one mammoth post! This is the long version of an article which I hope may be printed in abridged form in the August Agape (I'm going to submit it, at any rate). The article is meant to answer the question, "Why A Symposium on the Divine Feminine?". It is strictly my own opinion and not representative of any other group or person. Thank you in advance for your opinions or comments...
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
This year, I have the honor of organizing the third national O.T.O. symposium on the subject of the divine feminine. This year’s event will be titled, “Mystics, Mothers, and Magicians: Women and Goddesses of O.T.O.”, and will be held in Sacramento in mid-November. A question sometimes asked, if not always aloud, is: “Why should O.T.O. organize a national symposium on the Divine Feminine?” “Is this divisive, in that it focuses only on the feminine?” “Does this constitute an attack on the masculine, or a criticism of O.T.O. as it is?” This essay is designed to answer those questions. (Please note: the opinions expressed herein are my own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone in U.S. Grand Lodge, or the U.S.G.L. Conference Committee.)
I will argue that there is a deep-seated need for exactly this sort of event in our community and in our society. The reasons for this are many: first, the injury inflicted on our collective unconscious by the imbalance of the Abrahamic faiths; second, the qualitative (not quantitative) difference between the male and female genders; third, the requirements of the Great Work, and fourth, the unique and central role that Thelema plays in bringing all these elements together. I will address each of these below.
First, the Abrahamic faiths; being Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I have participated in all three of these faiths and have some love or respect for them all. Nevertheless, I believe that these three religious cousins suffer from a sort of spiritual mutation; an aberration common to the three: they do not recognize a divine feminine. Stop and think for a moment, in historical and worldwide perspective. What other religions, of any sort and on any continent, do not worship some form of the divine feminine along with her counterpart, the divine masculine? None, that I can think of. Every other religion and culture throughout human history has envisioned the Divine in a male and female aspect; as above so below, and vice versa. Even as the material world exists in male and female versions, so does the spiritual. But not for the Abrahamic faiths. Alone, of the world religions, they recognize only a single male divinity (or perhaps a male trinity, as in Christianity). There is no Goddess; only God. The feminine appears only as a material “handmaiden” to the masculine divine. (Yes, there are some minority efforts to express some sort of female divinity, such as the Shekinah, or the Virgin Mary, but these are generally peripheral and do not hold full status as Goddesses.) It is only because we have been raised in a culture imbued with this Abrahamic aberration that we do not immediately recognize the oddity; the absurdity, of this worldview.
According to my experience, in both East and West, the masculine is associated with the spiritual, the intellectual, the active, the light, the yang; while the feminine is associated with the material, the physical, the passive, the dark, the yin. But where the East, and the Western “pagan” (i.e. non-Abrahamic) faiths saw these two in balance with each other, the three Abrahamic faiths chose one; the male, the yang, irrevocably over the female, or yin, and set them, not in balance to each other, but in opposition to each other. Thus the female, material, physical, passive, dark, and yin became separated from God (the yang, in this Abrahamic interpretation), and eventually became associated with the Devil, God’s adversary. As above, so below. In this way (as the Abrahamic faiths became the dominant theology/worldview throughout much of the world) the female, and everything associated with her, was disowned. Half of ourselves was rejected. The Abrahamic faiths have, in essence, inflicted a deep and festering wound on the psyche of all those
raised in a Western-influenced tradition (whatever gender they may be; whichever continent they reside in). It has separated them from their natural connection to female divinity, to the sacred as it is manifest in creation, to the sacred as it is manifest in their own bodies. The only way to heal this wound is to attack it at its root. What does this mean for those of us raised in Western traditions? As I see it, this means that it is not enough to "emigrate"; to become Taoists or Buddhists or Wiccans (yes, of course that's a Western tradition, but not an Abrahamic one), or Hindus, or anything else. Although all of those can be very positive. However, I believe that at some point, in order to truly heal, we need to come home to our dysfunctional family of birth and set things right at home. In spiritual terms, this means to me that we need to bring the lessons of Taoism, Wicca, Hinduism, etcetera, home into the arena of the spiritual tradition we absorbed as we grew up. As Westerners, even if we never consciously became Christians, the assumptions and biases of Christianity (or Judaism, or Islam, depending on background)color our thoughts and perceptions, even though we know it not. If we do not challenge these largely unspoken assumptions, God and the Devil, Christ and Antichrist, run amok through our subconscious, even as our conscious minds revel in the balance of Yin and Yang.
This, in my opinion, is the glory and the audacity of Crowley, and the reason that, even now, he is reviled by many as "the wickedest man on earth." Crowley dared to take the lessons of the East, and of the pre-Christian West, home... and apply them to Christian archetypes in order to challenge and heal those wounds. He dared to take the lessons of yin and yang and apply them directly to God and the Devil! Indeed, he intended to "storm the gates of heaven." This is why Thelema, the religion of which he is founder and prophet, has a unique and essential role in Western civilization. Thelema, as far as I know, is the only spiritual tradition that dares to address these issues in this way; that dares to take the cure straight to the root of the division; the separation at the heart of the Western soul. “Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.” (Liber AL; I:22) “For I am divided for love’s sake, for the chance of union.” (Liber AL; I-29) Thelema alone dares to unite the divided and heal the wounds of duality.
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke, 12:48) As Thelema is the only path which possesses this particular tool, it also holds a special responsibility to apply it. O.T.O., as the largest and most recognized Thelemic organization, is the most able to promulgate the Law of Thelema, and this message of balance and inclusiveness. I believe that O.T.O. has a special ability and responsibility to address the longstanding bias of Western culture against the feminine, the physical, and the material. I believe that, as Westerners, we cannot fully realize ourselves as spiritual beings without resolving the conflicts of our own cultural and spiritual heritage. The Dalai Lama and others have been known to comment in similar words; telling Westerners that it is beneficial to learn from the East, but that their ultimate path will lie in purifying and consecrating the Work of their own cultural destiny. The study of Western spirituality may be uncomfortable at times for an aware man or woman, due to the biases implicit therein, but it must be accomplished, and it must (I think) be healed, corrected, and reconciled, so that the path of Western spirituality is brought back to the line of balance, the historical balance of male and female, light and dark, activity and stillness, in which all poles are valued equally, and by Science and Art we may reach the goal of all human endeavor; the Palace of Beauty. Thelema is the best means to this end.
Ironically, we the O.T.O. are not necessarily seen in this light. In the greater pagan and alternative spirituality communities, we are often considered to be “male dominated”, a “penis club”, and not a place for strong and independent minded women to find a home. Those of us who are active in O.T.O. know this is absolutely not the case; I have rarely if ever met so many strong and outstanding women as I have within this Order. But the perception from the outside is another story. In part, this is due to our founder, Aleister Crowley. Despite his groundbreaking and visionary work in challenging spiritual, societal, and sexual assumptions, Crowley was also a man of his time (Victorian England). As any human, while challenging some of the assumptions of his time, he unconsciously succumbed to others. In addition, Crowley was, shall we say, not tactful; in fact it is possible to imagine that he actually reveled in bringing negative attention upon himself. Therefore as Thelemites we have the unenviable task of “explaining away” Crowley’s often insulting remarks about (and actions toward) women. In addition, there are other aspects of our practice that seem questionable to modern men and women outside the Order. First time Mass visitors may wonder: why is the Priestess nude, while the Priest remains clothed? Is this exploitation of the female form? Why is there a long list of male saints in the Collects, but no females are mentioned? Are they not also remembered? Why is Thelema described as a “solar-phallic” cult? Are the moon and the yoni; female symbols, therefore disregarded? Please understand, I am not saying that I believe these things. I am saying that these are aspects of our religion which may be misunderstood by outsiders. Women who have been involved in O.T.O. for decades also have some disturbing tales to tell of how female initiates were sometimes treated in the seventies and eighties. It’s quite likely that versions of those stories are still circulating in the alternative spiritual community, turning off women and men before they ever have a chance to meet us in person.
Because Thelema does, in fact, offer so much to a female aspirant (and to the inner female, the anima, within a male aspirant), and has such a unique role to play in bringing the masculine and feminine, heaven and earth, yin and yang, back into balance in our society, we do ourselves, Thelema, and the world a great disservice if we do not actively work to dispel these erroneous perceptions. I believe it is our duty as Thelemites to, so far as it is possible, allow each and every human to learn of Thelema as it really is, so that each of them has the opportunity to engage the Thelemic current if it be their Wills. Furthermore, even we initiates are not entirely free of the prejudices and biases of our society. Although we strive to balance the different parts of our nature, many of us may still, subconsciously, value the masculine over the feminine, the active over the passive, the spiritual over the material.
To this end, I believe the Mystics, Mothers, and Magicians Symposium (and its two earlier manifestations as the O.T.O. Women’s Symposium) is/are a useful means. Actions speak louder than words. Regardless of what is actually presented at this Symposium (and there are some very interesting and exciting speakers and presentations), the very fact that the U.S. Grand Lodge of O.T.O. would go to the trouble and expense of hosting an entire national weekend-long conference on the subject of the divine feminine (not only once, but several times now) will speak volumes. That fact will send, and is already sending, a statement of recognition and respect to the greater pagan and magical community, and to our own newer initiates (male and female). In this way we make the truth of what we have to offer more accessible to those whose True Wills might include membership in O.T.O. And, because actions speak louder than words most especially to the subconscious, the very fact of this Symposium will communicate that same recognition and respect to the yin, or feminine, or material, aspects of our own consciousness, and assist each of us to progress toward spiritual balance and maturity, and the Great Work. That is why this year’s Symposium was not called the “Women’s Symposium”; because this work of reclaiming and recognizing the divine feminine is not only for women, but directly and personally involves each male initiate as well, as he learns to value and strengthen the “yin” aspects of his own self.
That is the greater part of my argument… but I wish to add a few more points. In addition to its unique role in bringing balance back to Western consciousness, Thelema has been described by Crowley as “the method of science; the aim of religion.” Meaning that Thelemites are meant to be “scientists of the spirit,” fearlessly exploring the truth by means of experiment; using practical trial and error instead of pontificating on theory and opinion from our armchairs. There should be no question that we are afraid to explore. This definitely includes the question of gender and sexuality; a field rife with political incorrectness. As a society, we have progressed from rigid Victorian beliefs in the absolutely different abilities and spheres of men and women, through a probably necessary stage in which differences between men and women were entirely denied in order to allow old prejudices to die off. During that time, a lot of anger was directed by men toward women who were challenging the male hegemony of the time, and a lot of anger was directed toward men by women striking out on new paths, without any cultural map or role models. There was a time when this was described as “the war between the sexes.” I believe we have largely passed that stage today. The pain and conflict that always accompanies change has largely passed away. Today it is taken for granted that women may pursue higher education, may have careers outside the home, may sometimes take positions of leadership and power. Overt and absolute barriers have been replaced by more subtle challenges. With at least a certain amount of change taken for granted, we have felt secure again in re-examining the question of gender. In recent decades, research has shown that there are in fact differences between the sexes (aside from the obvious sexual ones). It turns out that female athletes perform better when using equipment designed for the subtle differences between male and female bodies. It seems that young boys learn better under somewhat different classroom conditions than their female peers. Without returning to categorical assumptions, and while respecting the wide range of individual abilities, scientists have found that tailoring approaches to the correct gender improves results. Why should this not be true in the realm of the spirit as well? I find it entirely possible that the most efficient path to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, or other spiritual goals, might be somewhat different for men and for women (note I said, “somewhat different”, not “entirely different”). How will we know this without exploration? The spiritual experiences of women may be subtly different from their male colleagues. How different, and in what way? Only experimentation, careful recording, and the sharing of findings will tell, just as in any other scientific community.
This brings me back again to the Symposium and its uses in our Order. A Symposium of this sort, aside from addressing the question of yin and yang balance as described previously, also includes a larger-than-average concentration of female initiates and speakers. Especially on Sunday (which will focus on living women, while Saturday will focus on the divine feminine and the goddess, as discussed above), we will hear the stories of several different women who have been prominent in the work of our Order. Certainly we will learn useful lessons from their experiences. Perhaps also, we will hear common themes that may begin to outline for us a distinctive female path through the initiatory tradition. Or perhaps not. But as scientists of the spirit, it would be unworthy of us not to listen and try.
I have some other goals in mind for the Sunday half of the Symposium. One is the question of role models. I used to laugh at the idea of role models, since I am someone with an active imagination who doesn’t need to see something to believe in its possibility. But I changed my mind years ago while helping a friend pick out a pattern for an evening gown. As an experienced seamstress, I went to the fabric store with her to page through the pattern catalogs together. I saw several designs that I thought would be perfect, but she said “no.” Every once in awhile, she would point at a picture and ask, “how about that one?” These selected patterns were never the right ones for her frame and build. Suddenly, I realized: my dark-skinned friend was only seeing herself in the designs that featured a dark-skinned model. She was unable to see herself in the pictures of absolutely perfect dresses that were shown on a light-skinned woman. On that day, I became a believer in the power of role models. There are bound to be many female members of our Order who will be inspired and encouraged by hearing female speakers, in a way they never would have been by male speakers, only because they may be able to see themselves in the person speaking. Ideally, perhaps this shouldn’t be necessary, but in practice, it is a fact for many. This leads naturally, to the answer to the question, “why shouldn’t there be a symposium focused on the divine male?” Well, perhaps there should be. I have certainly seen (second-hand, of course), that men can benefit from participating in an all-male group such as the Masons. But the need for U.S. Grand Lodge to sponsor such an event is not as great, because there is not a need to address a neglect of the masculine in our society and in our psyche, because there are plentiful male role models, and because we (O.T.O.) are not wrongly perceived as exploiting men, or being a “yoni club”. In contrast, there is a true need to bring into balance, at last, the equally important role of the feminine.
Yet another purpose of this Symposium will be found by again considering the era of 70’s and 80’s American feminism, as mentioned briefly above. I believe that the American feminist movement, for all its great successes, made a crucial error, though perhaps a natural one for those of our cultural background. Forgive my gross over-simplification here: American feminism made the mistake of fighting for the right of women to fill stereotypically masculine roles, while ignoring the need to win respect for stereotypically feminine roles. This resulted in women being able to become doctors and firefighters (a very good thing!), but had the unintended consequence of actually downgrading the equally important traditional female roles, so that by the early 90’s, a woman might describe herself as, “just a housewife”, or “just a stay-at-home mom”. Ideally (and with the perfection of hindsight) we should have fought for both at the same time, so that men and women would both be able to pursue stereotypically masculine careers outside the home, and would also both be able to pursue stereotypically feminine careers (with respect!) inside the home. Instead, we won some rights for women, but at the cost of rejecting the female, or yin, in ourselves and others. Our Sunday program is designed to address that imbalance, by honoring equally each of the seven classical planets, plus earth. Instead of honoring only those women who have excelled in the stereotypically masculine fields of leadership and intellect (admirable as those are), we will also purposefully recognize work in the fields of love, nurturing, hospitality and healing. By doing so, we will honor that corresponding aspect in ourselves, and in our male and female colleagues. The idea of individual accomplishment is a myth. Every individual who excels is supported by a vast body of their peers who make it all possible. This is the strength of any healthy family or organization, including our own: the love and trust and support that we give each other enables us collectively to achieve what we never could alone. By extending recognition and respect to all points, feminine and masculine, this event is designed to increase our strength and fortify our purpose, hopefully to assist in bringing us to the accomplishment of our true Wills, the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
Love is the law, love under will
Anna Tsu
Onsite Coordinator
Mystics, Mothers, and Magicians Symposium 2008
Visit the MMM Symposium website at: http://mysticsmothersmagicians.com/ for schedule, presentations, registration, and more.