Ordo Templi Orientis

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Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (Order of the Temple of the East, or the Order of Oriental Templars) is a fraternal and religious organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. Originally it was intended to be tied to and modelled on Freemasonry, but under the leadship of Aleister Crowley was reorganized based on the Law of Thelema, and the use of ritual magic, as its central religious and organizational principle. Some adherents believe that this Law—which is expressed as “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”—was established in 1904 with the writing down of The Book of the Law (Liber Al vel Legis) by Crowley. Similar to many secret societies, O.T.O. membership is based on an initiatory system with a series of degree ceremonies that use ritual drama to establish fraternal bonds and impart spiritual and philosophical teachings.