WHAT FREE ILLUMINISM WAS AND IS Updated February 4 2022
and the Book of Enoch.
It is my own conviction that verifiable spiritual powers are demonstrably attributable to various lineages of spiritual succession, be this the so-called "Succession of the Apostles" (which descends from the ancient Roman State Religion through Roman Christianity), various non-apostolic but similar lines of succession (Latter Day Saints, Doinel Gnostic, New Aeon, et al), or blood lineages as in the hereditary Hindu Brahmins or Hebrew Kohenim, from which I descend. I profess only two fundamental convictions in these endeavors: I advocate Scientific Illuminism, or the method of science employed in pursuit of the aims of religion, and I hold firmly to the conviction that the world as-it-is insufficiently unsatisfactory that exploration of almost any ethical "out-of-the-box" alternative, however unconventional, is worth the effort. We consider this Tikkun Olam, the attempt to improve the world as envisioned in our native great Hebraic tradition. I hold also with Tau Michael Bertiaux that "Apostolic Succession" is of value as a continuation of the most ancient priesthoods of Egypt and Rome through the Christian communion, and that special mystical powers "objectively" are transferred by empowerment in these lineages. My particular assertion is that this can be objectively verified through scientific experimentation, similar to that performed in parapsychology with spiritual healers. The legend of Ormus, the Egyptian Priest converted in apostolic times to Christianity, and transforming Egyptian Rites into a mode suitable to the Aeon of Osiris is, at least allegorically, a fair hint of the orderly continuity between ancient Near Eastern religions and the Christian Succession in the Eastern Churches, making it a suitable vehicle for continuity in our times. In the Western Churches, the Apostolic Succession existed in the many currents of the long-enduring state religion of Rome, which can be traced to the early Roman ruler Numa Pompilius, founder of the College of Pontiffs and the office of Pontifex Maximus, hundreds of years before Pauline Christianity; passing through the Roman Imperial State as one with the Emperor as Pontifex Maximus from the time of Julius Caesar until the Christian Emperor Gratian renounced the title in 379 E.V., apparently in favor of the Prelate of Rome, Pope Damasus I. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "The title pontifex was used of Roman Catholic prelates and pontifex maximus of the pope by the end of the 4th century." The continuity from the most ancient spiritual sources should be obvious here, and its historical value in continuity for the New Aeon equally valid, all other considerations and theories aside.
Eliphas Lévi, in Le Grand Arcane ("The Great Mystery", 1868) identifies "egregors" with the tradition concerning the fathers of the nephilim, describing them as "terrible beings" that "crush us without pity because they are unaware of our existence."
The concept of the egregore as a group thought form was developed in works of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians and has been referenced by writers such as Valentin Tomberg.
Gaetan Delaforge, in Gnosis magazine in 1987, defines an egregore as a kind of group mind which is created when people consciously come together for a common purpose."
The concept has enjoyed renewed popularity among practitioners of Chaos Magic, following the Corporate Metabolism series of articles by Paco Xander Nathan, which were published in 2001.
The result of a synergy of thought could be the most concise description of this state of mind.
The notion of "egregor" also appears in Andreev's Roza Mira, where it represents the shining cloud-like spirit associated with the Church. It is a common belief in Russia that the word "egregor" originated from this spiritual book.
The Russian occult movement DEIR, led by Dmitry Verischchagin, also employs this concept.
The book "The Art of Memetics" provides a detailed and multi-faceted explication of what an egregore is, including instructions for how to cultivate them.
Egregore Rather Than Faith-Profession
I was consecrated by Tau Silenus, William Gary Keith Breeze in Brooklyn NY on November 19, 1988. I cross consecrated with Tau Apiryon, David Forrest Scriven in Atlanta GA December 10, 1993. I was reconsecrated by Scriven, Lynn Scriven (Soror Helena) assisting at the Scriven home in Riverside, California May 25, 1997.I was earlier Elected to the Episcopate by the Holy Synod of the Neopythagorean Gnostic Church August 21, 1986, and was consecrated by Patriarch Bertiaux in Chicago IL USA December 4 1993. I have since cross-consecrated with a variety of other streams of this egregore, as well as received other lines of egregoric succession - esoteric and 'apostolic' independent of both Tau Michael Bertiaux and the corporate templars.
FREE ILLUMINISM - WE ARE VERY DIFFERENT
1. Spiritual growth is incompatible with authoritarian structure.
2. Scientific Illuminism requires a non-dogmatic, experimental approach.
3. A free society linked in free communion should be actualized.
4. We facilitate, we do not lead. We do the Work; we do not extract oaths or dues, or require dogmatic beliefs. You can make these resolutions a reality. Join us!
OCASSIONALLY UPDATED LIST OF LODGES, TEMPLES, NODES - https://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/375581.html
[Books and papers recommended by me on free Scientific Illuminism - Revised]
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd Edition [Paperback] Thomas S. Kuhn - http://www.amazon.com/The-Structure-Scientific-Revolutions-Edition/dp/0226458083
The Voudon Gnostic Workbook: Expanded Edition Paperback
By Michael Bertiaux (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Voudon-Gnostic-Workbook-Expanded/dp/1578633397/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394947831&sr=1-1&keywords=voudon+gnostic+workbook
Sizing: Reflections on the Monastery of the Seven Rays Paperback
by Tau Palmas (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Syzygy-Reflections-Monastery-Seven-Rays/dp/1907881395/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1V1BH72HTX6XDN3E5A68
Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century [Paperback]
Edward Kelly (Author), Emily Williams Kelly (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Irreducible-Mind-Toward-Psychology-Century/dp/1442202068/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394944835&sr=1-1&keywords=irreducible+mind
The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago Paperback
by Robert Temple - http://www.amazon.com/Sirius-Mystery-Scientific-Evidence-Contact/dp/089281750X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394944907&sr=1-1&keywords=sirius+mystery+robert+temple
Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age Paperback
by Charles H. Hapgood - http://www.amazon.com/Maps-Ancient-Sea-Kings-Civilization/dp/0932813429/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394944971&sr=1-1&keywords=maps+of+the+ancient+sea+kings+evidence+of+advanced+civilization+in+the+ice+age
The Roots of Modern Magick 1700-2000 Revised Edition
by Allen Greenfield - http://www.scribd.com/doc/12992392/Green-Field-Allen-The-Roots-of-Modern-Magick-1700-Thru-2000
Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe Paperback
by Robert Lanza - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935251740/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Return To Life - Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives
by Him B. Tucker, M.D. http://www.amazon.com/Return-Life-Extraordinary-Children-Remember/dp/1250005841
Christ and the Master Therion Paperback
by T Allen Greenfield (Author) , Charles Stansfeld Jones (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1478292725/ref=oh_details_o03_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Liber Thirty-One Paperback - April 1, 1998
by C. S. Jones (Editor) (authorized edition) - http://www.amazon.com/Liber-Thirty-One-C-S-Jones/dp/1891948008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394945371&sr=1-1&keywords=Liber+Thirty+One
The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor: Initiatic and Historical Documents of an Order of Practical Occultism Paperback
by Joscelyn Godwin (Author) , Christian Chanel (Contributor) & 1 more http://www.amazon.com/The-Hermetic-Brotherhood-Luxor-Historical/dp/0877288380
The Story Of The Hermetic Brotherhood Of Light Paperback - January 1, 1997
by T. Allen Greenfield (Author) , T Allen Greenfield (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Story-Hermetic-Brotherhood-Light/dp/9188708039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394945622&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Story+of+the+Hermetic+Brotherhood+of+Light
Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience Paperback
by Pim van Lommel (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Beyond-Life-Near-Death-Experience/dp/0061777269/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394945866&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=Pim+Van+Lomel
Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century [Paperback]
by Edward Kelly, Emily Williams Kelly
http://www.amazon.com/Irreducible-Mind-Toward-Psychology-Century/dp/1442202068
Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century, With CD containing F. W. H. Myers's hard-to-find classic 2-volume Human Personality (1903) and selected contemporary reviews
by Edward F. Kelly, Adam Crabtree
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/890745.Irreducible_Mind
Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness Paperback - August 1, 2011
by Bruce Rosenblum (Author), Fred Kuttner (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Enigma-Physics-Encounters-Consciousness/dp/0199753814
Wisdom of Near Death Experiences: How Understanding NDEs Can Help Us Live More Fully Hardcover
by Penny Sartori (Author) , Dr. Pim van Lommel (Foreword) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1780285655/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of The 1960s / The Man in the High Castle / The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch / Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? / Ubik (Library of America No. 173) Hardcover
by Philip K. Dick (Author) , Jonathan Lethem (Editor) - http://www.amazon.com/Philip-K-Dick-Stigmata-Eldritch/dp/1598530097/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y
Philip K. Dick: VALIS and Later Novels: A Maze of Death / VALIS / The Divine Invasion / The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (Library of America No. 193) Hardcover
by Philip K. Dick (Author) , Jonathan Lethem (Editor) - http://www.amazon.com/Philip-K-Dick-Invasion-Transmigration/dp/1598530445/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z
The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick Hardcover - November 7, 2011
by Philip K. Dick (Author) , Pamela Jackson (Editor) , Jonathan Lethem (Editor) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547549253/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Glimpses of Eternity Hardcover
by Raymond Moody (Author) , Paul Perry (Collaborator) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0824948130/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged Paperback - October 1, 1980
by Ian Stevenson (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Cases-Suggestive-Reincarnation-Enlarged/dp/0813908728/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394946279&sr=1-1&keywords=20+cases+suggestive+of+reincarnation
Old Souls: Compelling Evidence from Children Who Remember Past Lives Paperback
by Tom Shroder (Author) -http://www.amazon.com/Old-Souls-Compelling-Evidence-Children/dp/0684851938/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z
Hands of Light: A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field Paperback
by Barbara Brennan (Author) , Jos. A. Smith (Illustrator) - http://www.amazon.com/Hands-Light-Healing-Through-Energy/dp/0553345397/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394946398&sr=1-3&keywords=Energy+healing+books
Energy Medicine: Balancing Your Body's Energies for Optimal Health, Joy, and Vitality Paperback
by Donna Eden (Author) , David Feinstein (Author) , Caroline Myss (Foreword) - http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Medicine-Balancing-Energies-Vitality/dp/1585426504/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394946398&sr=1-4&keywords=Energy+healing+books
When Prophecy Fails Paperback - February 25, 2011
by Leon Festinger (Author) , Henry W. Riecken (Author) & 1 more - http://www.amazon.com/When-Prophecy-Fails-Leon-Festinger/dp/1617202800/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394946509&sr=1-1&keywords=When+Prophecy+Fails
Flying Saucers : A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies Paperback
by C. G. Jung (Author) , R. F.C. Hull (Translator) - http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Saucers-Modern-Things-Skies/dp/0691018227/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394946568&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Modern+Myth+Carl+Jung
Apparitions: An Archetypal Approach to Death, Dreams and Ghosts (Jungian Classics) Paperback - January 1, 1983
by Aniela Jaffe (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Apparitions-Archetypal-Approach-Jungian-Classics/dp/0882145002/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394946673&sr=1-2&keywords=Apparitions+Jaffe
The Varieties Of Religious Experience: A Study In Human Nature Paperback
by William James (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/The-Varieties-Of-Religious-Experience/dp/1439297274
Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds Paperback
by Jacques Vallee (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Magonia-Folklore-Parallel-Worlds/dp/0809237962/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395007868&sr=1-1&keywords=passport+to+magonia
The Mothman Prophecies Paperback
by John A. Keel (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Mothman-Prophecies-John-Keel/dp/0765334984/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395007932&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mothman+prophecies
The Silver Bridge: The Classic Mothman Tale Paperback
by Gray Barker (Author) , Allen Greenfield (Foreword) , Andrew Colvin (Foreword) & 1 more - http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Bridge-Classic-Mothman-Tale/dp/1439204276/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395007993&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Silver+Bridge
After Death Communication: Final Farewells Paperback
by Louis LaGrand (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/After-Death-Communication-Final-Farewells/dp/1567184057/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395008078&sr=1-1&keywords=Farewells+%28after+Death%29
Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind Paperback - August 20, 2010
by Richard Maurice Bucke (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Consciousness-Study-Evolution-Human/dp/1578989620/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395008139&sr=1-1&keywords=Cosmic+Consciousness+Bucke
The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe Paperback
by Lynne McTaggart (Author) - http://www.amazon.com/The-Field-Quest-Secret-Universe/dp/006143518X
VOUDON GNOSIS Hardcover - Special Limited Edition
by David Beth (Author) , Michael Bertiaux (Foreword) - http://www.amazon.com/VOUDON-GNOSIS-David-Beth/dp/B007393YRM/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395099298&sr=1-11&keywords=David+Beth
The Function of the Orgasm: Sex-Economic Problems of Biological Energy (The Discovery of the Orgone, Vol. 1) Paperback
by Wilhelm Reich (Author), Vincent R. Carfagno (Translator)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Function-Orgasm-Sex-Economic-Biological/dp/0374502048
The Cancer Biopathy (The Discovery of Orgone, Vol. 2) Paperback
by Wilhelm Reich (Author), Andrew White (Translator), Mary Higgins (Translator), & 1 more
http://www.amazon.com/Cancer-Biopathy-Discovery-Orgone-Vol/dp/0374510148/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398246251&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Cancer+Biopathy
The Odic Force: Letters on Od and Magnetism Paperback - January 1, 2000
by Karl Von Reichenbach (Author), F. D. O'Byrne (Translator), Paul Tice (Foreword)
http://www.amazon.com/Odic-Force-Letters-Od-Magnetism/dp/1585090018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398246341&sr=1-1&keywords=the%20odic%20force
Free Illuminism papers -
Tau Naamah
Points Chauds 101
draft version 1.5.07 - http://taunaamah.wordpress.com/points-chauds-101/
360/90 Points Chauds System for Scrying the Universe - http://www.mindspring.com/~hellfire/prelate/points1.htm
Podcast 57 - Free Illuminism and Points Chauds - ("In this episode, we are joined by our friend T Allen Greenfield and two more gnostic prelates, +Dositheos and T Naamah.") http://occultofpersonality.net/podcast-57-Free-illuminism-and-points-chauds/
Free Illuminism - http://occultofpersonality.net/Free-illuminism/
"A Brief Introduction to Free Illuminism
By Tau Dositheos" - http://www.lightofthegnosis.org/intro_to_ci.htm
HOW TO FORM A FREE ILLUMINIST BODY - http://www.causes.com/causes/152090-Free-illuminism
About FREE ILLUMINISM
Join to promote non-authoritarian, decentralized metaphysical and occult bodies, in free communion. We are a movement worldwide; locals may be organized, but we are neither hierarchical nor corporate.
Free Illuminist bodies exist and are springing up, in free communion one with the other, all over the world. Our aim is to facilitate this non-authoritarian approach and process. We also are a growing presence in cyber space.
OTHER MEMBERS, AND MAKE A STATEMENT FOR ILLUMINATION IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF FREEDOM AND MUTUAL RESPECT! Profound thanks for those of you who have passed this along to your own friend list. It helps by illustrating that it is quite possible to seriously Work with others on Illumination without authoritarian structures. If you haven't already, please invite your own Friend list! THOUSANS OF MEMBERS - ILLUMINATION IN A FREE ENVIRONMENT! We do the Work, we do not extract oaths or dues, or require dogmatic beliefs. You can make these resolutions a reality. Join us!
1. Spiritual growth is incompatible with authoritarian structure.
2. Scientific Illuminism requires a non-dogmatic, experimentalapproach.
3. A free society linked in free communion should be actualized.
4. We facilitate, we do not lead. We do the Work, we do not extract oaths or dues, or require dogmatic beliefs.You can make these resolutions a reality. Join us! NEWS FOR 2010-2018 - MUCH ACCOMPLISHED, MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH!
https://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/375581.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/tag/free%20illuminism
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/375581.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/215368.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/363176.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/170135.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/153651.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/146849.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/140999.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/140730.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/140407.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/139324.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/138668.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/135762.html
http://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/136624.html
FREQUENTLY UPDATED LIST OF LODGES, TEMPLES, NODES -
https://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/375581.html
By the end of 2013 we had reach 3000 +. Then we stopped counting - proliferation had exceeded our decentralized capacity. Founded as our primary movement internet presence nearly fourteen years ago, on November 16, 2008 with zero members, we have greatly expanded both as a site on FACEBOOK (Worldwide Free Illuminist page)and as a movement for a free, open-ended, non-authoritarian approach to illumination. Take our pledge, spread the word. No oaths or fees involved!
About free ILLUMINISM
Join to promote non-authoritarian, decentralized metaphysical and occult bodies, in free communion.
Free Illuminist bodies exist and are springing up, in free communion one with the other, all over the world. Our aim is to facilitate this non-authoritarian approach and process. We also are a growing presence in cyber space.
OTHER MEMBERS, AND MAKE A STATEMENT FOR ILLUMINATION IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF FREEDOM AND MUTUAL RESPECT! Profound thanks for those of you who have passed this along to your own friend list. It helps by illustrating that it is quite possible to seriously Work with others on Illumination without authoritarian structures. If you haven't already, please invite your own Friend list! 3000+ MEMBERS - ILLUMINATION IN A FREE ENVIRONMENT!
FREQUENTLY UPDATED LIST OF LODGES, TEMPLES, NODES https://tausirhasirim.livejournal.com/375581.html
ILLUMINIST GNOSTIC PATH ASSEMBLY - https://egnu93.wordpress.com/
THE COMPLEAT RITE OF MEMPHIS REVISED EDITION
http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Rite-Memphis-Allen-Greenfield/dp/1502371863
A Brief Introduction to Congregational Illuminism
By Tau Dositheos
What does it mean to work in free communion? First, one should realize we are here talking about certain underlying principles rather than hard and fast rules. Congregational Illuminism is an open system based upon these principles. Being an open system it is fluid and adaptable rather than rigid and constrained. Free Communion is a verb (i.e. these principles put into practice), or as some may prefer, a particular approach that is adopted to engage in the Work.
Congregational Illuminism is non-hierarchical and non-authoritarian. This means there is no rank or stratification and there is no central authority or “inner circle”. Congregational Illuminism is based on a bottom-up rather than a top-down model. We feel that all too often has it been shown that strict hierarchies within magical organizations have led to petty politics and useless power struggles. We say, do away with all this, level the playing field and focus on the Work. We have no Grand Poobahs. What we do have is an ever-growing number of sincere and dedicated Illuminists who have voluntarily come together in free association with each other to work in unity, openness and peace.
Our goal is Illumination. Our approach is both experimental and experiential. We are not an Order, or a singular organization. Many independent groups have formed. Many individuals contribute in their own ways as well. We view this diversity as a great benefit. We share our gnosis across borders. We peer review our successes and our failures. We feel this approach aids us all in attaining a closer approximation to what is true and to what works. We hold no superstitions sacred. We take a scientific and functional approach to the Work. There is nothing to hide. There are no secrets. There are only our own efforts and struggles towards enlightenment. This is enough.
A list of local bodies and nodes in free communion is given below. You can join our Internet presence at:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/152090?m=6d54c0aa&recruiter_id=14256853AN INTRODUCTION TO FREE ILLUMINISM
This is an important movement, because it fills a need - quite comprehensively - of what free illuminism or Free Illuminism is and is not.
"The New Thought movement was a perfect marriage of the twin tendencies of anti-ritualism and individualism. It came out of the lodges or was born in many of them, and emphasized that magick needed no real ritual. New Thought started a trajectory in the esoteric which has merged with a fragmenting of communities to give us preachers of The Secret on Oprah, wherein one can gain initiation simply by watching a screen, or simply by believing in one's wish. The result was a fast-food fraternalism: a type of no-frills modern magick faith, created to fit anything.
"Such prosperity consciousness made Lodge meetings unnecessary. Through the teachings of Wayne Dyer or Tony Robbins one could download enlightenment like an app."
"....Professor Putnam's book (Bowling Alone, written in the 1990s, missed newer trends, the dominance of Internet culture and electronic devises, such as IPods and Smartphones, which appear to have increased the public's sense of isolation (in spite of the incidental hype of flash mobs and Facebook's influence on riots and disorder in the Middle East). The acceleration of technology plugged people into a variety of virtual rather than physical communities. Rather than working on the Sanctuary of the Gnosis in the OTO, one could simply join a Facebook group.
"And yet the communities continue, whether the Congregational Illuminism of former OTO luminary Allen Greenfield, who had it with the OTO and is running a different structure outside of those Lodges--or simply gathering at a sports bar, which can be seen as the modern-day Lodge, or a Lady Gaga concert. Americans aren't free of rituals; they're simply varied, and their targets fail to note the impact upon their psyches. The vulnerability to unconscious group processing remains, perhaps the most obviously manifested in the ritual stage show of a presidential election." - Craig Heimbichner, Ritual America, pp. 312-313
I have often been erroneously credited with being the "founder" of Free Illuminism, but - while I struggled and came up with the term, it was my own long quest for spiritual truth - particularly operative truth - that led me into the authoritarian supposed "templar Order of Antiquity which taught me that not only is secrecy incomparable with Truth, but that hierarchy and concomitant dogma are incompatible with dogma. The machinery that allowed me to see this was heavily influenced by my contact with Michael Bertiaux and working with the Points Chauds concept, well covered in this volume. I did not. however, become so much a follower of the Bertiaux-headed organizations as by his philosophy as put forward in our personal exchanges and his master works, the Voudon Gnostic Workbook and the closely related Monastery of the Seven Rays course of study. I did acquire the Episcopate and a high degree charter in the Ancient Egyptian Rite of Memphis and Misraim. As I began to progress in this and slowly sour on authority per se, relying more on the egregore* of transmission, thanks to the late facilitators W.W. Webb and especially Tim Coutu, I came into close association with the Order QBLH, founded in 1960 by Robert Dunlop and Bill Webb and his wife. By the time I had become involved, it was focused on mystical art, and a system of Qabala I termed New Aeon English Qabala. In practice, QBLH and the Lodge Babalon in Atlanta I became more and more involved with (living in the Lodge for a year-and-a-half while still active in the corporate templars), was very nearly what is now called Free Illuminism ; mutually supportive, but without either dogma and officers who acted more as facilitators than corporate bosses or gurus.
Skip down to the turn of the 21st Century of the Common Era, and others were beginning to fins the illuminist path without "bosses" ore "gurus" was a better route to illumination than dogmatic organizations with set programs and ad vitam leaders. One manifestation was the Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis founded largely by Tau Aleph as a non-dogmatic version of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica within the corporate initiatory structure of the Oriental Templar corporation. Another was Mort Shapiro’s independent "Free Thelema". As I moved away from corporate authority and dogma, I thought the term "Thelema" not sufficiently inclusive of those who may wish to follow the path discussed in this volume, so, as I began to shed corporate offices and speak out against a corporate approach to illumination, I though broader terms that could be inclusive of people of many persuasions seeking the Light Without Boundaries and linked in voluntary free communion, and began using the term "Free Illuminism (explained in this volume) along with "free illuminism".
Drawing on the egregore I had received from a variety of sources beginning with Bertiaux, including being a Conservator of the Rite, I began to charter free illuminist bodies, built on their own terms and not answerable to any but their own reason, conscience and intuition.
I don't by any means disagree with the usage of the egregore of the apostolic lineages (and others) for the various purposes described here, and I especially agree that those who wish empowerment should be well-read on both the history of energy Work, so-called “Apostolic Succession”, Gnostic Succession, Gnostic history ancient and modern, and the concept of egregore, both before and after empowerment. It also seems that if one accepts empowerment in a free illuminist context, one should learn what Free Illuminism is and is not. The same would apply to a Moot, Temple or Lodge of Memphis-Misraim in the free illuminist mode.
I tend to regard the egregore of these empowerments and charters as manifestation of that one, underlying, self-aware energy described variously as Orgone, Odic Force, Chi, Prana, Dark Energy, et al, modified by the "vibrations" of each person it has passed through and, as taught by Michael Bertiaux, modified by time. Interestingly, Bertiaux did not ask me about my spiritual convictions in consecrating me, and I have reason to believe he has always assume, rightly, that I am Jewish by birth and conviction. (He refers to it in passing in letters and in the very name of the bodies he chartered through my facilitation. I tend to regard the energy passed as a magical ignition, applicable in a wide variety of contexts, and not carrying with it any exclusivist dogma. When I started consecrating more frequently (about 7 years ago) I had up until then only consecrated two people in almost 20 years, not counting cross empowerment and assisting at corporate OTO VII* empowerments/initiations. My primary reason was that the empowerment, whatever else it did, strengthened the recipient's body of light, which I found necessary for Working with the points chauds. I take the attitude that whether to consecrate or not, whether to charter or not, is my decision, but, once done, it is sovereign unto itself and not something for me to have more than an opinion on how it is used or not used. I have few regrets, but I do have a few. I now see it more broadly, not just as extending the egregore for the body of light, but also as empowering fellow Free Illuminists to do their own Work which, as a clearinghouse for free illuminism, I consider my specific "Work" in the Assembly of the Knowledge & Wisdom of Solomon and the Lodge of the Sons & Daughters of Aaron, both of which have evolved into related clearinghouse bodies of manifestation.
*The word "egregore" derives from the Greek word, egrgoroi, meaning "watchers" (also transliterated "grigori"). The word appears in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Lamentations, as well as the Book of Jubilees