OTO Canada Dues and Fees

O.T.O. operates primarily on dues and fees collected from the membership. Initiation fees are used to defer the costs of the initiation itself. Payments are made as follows:

• Corresponding Associate dues are sent to International Headquarters.
• Initiate dues renewals are sent to Grand Lodge (or to International Headquarters, for members outside the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge). This is done through the Initiating Body that the Member has affiliation with.
• All other payments are made at the time of application for initiation to the Local Body that one is or has affiliation with.

The schedule of dues and fees (currently displayed in US dollars which are subject to change) for Corresponding Association and the initial series of Initiate degrees (the Man of Earth Triad) are listed here:

In addition to the above dues and fees, the Provincial / Regional Societies and individual local bodies may charge their own dues or initiation fees, to help cover their own operating costs, which may include the establishment or continued sustaining of a separate Temple space.

Dues are payable upon applying for a new initiation, or after one year, whichever comes first. Dues & fees are payable upon applying for a new initiation. In addition to dues and fees, members (and non-members) are welcome to make contributions from time to time.

The Triads of the Ordo Templi Orientis & Initiation

The structure of O.T.O., like that of Freemasonry and the ancient mystery schools, is based on a staged series of initiations or degrees, most of which are conferred ceremonially. In the Rituals of these degrees, O.T.O. seeks to instruct the individual by allegory and symbol in the profound mysteries of Nature, and thereby to assist each to discover his or her own true Identity.

Initiate membership can be conferred only in a physical ceremony by a properly chartered initiator. Initiate membership is subdivided by degree. There are a total of 21 Initiate degrees in O.T.O., including thirteen numbered degrees and eight un-numbered, intermediate degrees or sub-degrees.

The degrees of O.T.O. are divided into three Grades or "Triads": the Hermit, the Lover, and the Man of Earth, as follows:

The Minerval Degree (0°) is an introductory Initiate degree, designed to allow the aspirant to decide whether or not to become a full member. Members of the Minerval Degree may begin novitiate training for the Diaconate and/or Priesthood in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. The First Degree (I°) bestows full membership upon the initiate. A First Degree initiate may retire from active participation in O.T.O., but the spiritual link forged between the initiate and the Order during the ceremony of the First Degree will remain throughout the initiate's life.

Beyond the degree of P.I., advancement is by invitation only. Initiates of the intermediate degree of Knight of the East and West (K.E.W.) are eligible for formal ordination to the Priesthood in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. Episcopal consecration in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is conferred as part of the Seventh Degree. The Tenth Degree (X°) is held by the National Grand Master General of O.T.O. in a particular country.

The Man of Earth degrees follow a pattern based on the symbolism of the Chakras and the stages of Kundalini Yoga; and represent, in dramatic form, the Individual's Path in Eternity. In the 0°, the Ego, a wandering God, is attracted to the Solar System. In the I°, the Child experiences Birth. In the II°, the Man or Woman experiences Life. The III° represents the Death of the individual, and the IV° represents the world beyond Death, the glorified state of the Initiate. In the P.I. Degree, the Initiate symbolically achieves ultimate Perfection (Completion), and the entire cycle is withdrawn into Annihilation.

Of these Events or Stations upon the Path, all but the II° represent single critical experiences. We, however, are concerned mostly with the varied experiences of Life. All subsequent degrees are therefore elaborations of the II°, a progressive instruction in how to live, since in a single ceremony it is hardly possible to sketch, even in the briefest outline, the Teaching of Initiates with regard to Life.

The V° - IX° rituals and teachings are therefore instructions to the Initiate in the Mastery of Life; there is instruction in Hermetic Philosophy, Qabalah, Magick and Yoga, all aimed at preparing the Initiate for the revelation and application of one Supreme Secret.

Every man and woman of full age (19 or more years old in most provinces in Canada), free, and of good report, has an indefeasible right to the first three degrees of O.T.O. (but not according to any particular time schedule). These "first three degrees" actually include all the degrees in the Man of Earth Triad (the Minerval is considered a prologue to the First Degree, and the Fourth and P.I. Degrees are considered pendants to the Third Degree).

Progress of the O.T.O. initiate toward the Fourth and P.I. Degrees is usually a matter of years. A certain amount of time is usually required to allow full maturation of the effects of the O.T.O. initiations, although under some circumstances the Minerval and First Degrees may be taken on the same occasion.

OTO and Masonry

O.T.O. membership does not, of itself, confer any status in Freemasonry. Nearly one hundred years ago, when O.T.O. was established in Germany, it was closely allied to several rites of European Freemasonry. However, in 1918, Aleister Crowley determined it appropriate for O.T.O. to assert its own unique identity as an independent system. At that time, while retaining the use of certain convenient customs and terminology used in early Freemasonry, Crowley revised the O.T.O. rituals, insignia and modes of recognition to avoid infringing upon the legitimate privileges of the established and recognized authorities of modern Freemasonry, and also to specifically reflect the teachings of Thelema. Crowley's O.T.O. has not claimed to "make Masons" since that time. Further revisions along similar lines have been implemented in more recent years.

Despite some similarities between names and titles used within O.T.O. and the names and titles used in Masonry, various churches, and other organizations, conferral of any degree, rank, office, or status within O.T.O. does not constitute conferral of any degree, rank, office, or status in any other active organization, Masonic, religious, or otherwise; any more than status as the captain of a ship equates to status as the captain of a football team.

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All material © 2005-2007 by Ordo Templi Orientis.
Ordo Templi Orientis, O.T.O., and the O.T.O. Lamen are registered
trademarks of Ordo Templi Orientis International and are used by permission.