|
Correspondence from Karl Germer to Wilfred Smith
K.J. GERMER 133 West 71st Street New York, N. Y. ENDICOTT 2-6799
February 25, 1943
Care Frater 132 [Wilfred T. Smith]
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Your letter: it was a good thing that you read my letter to Jane [Jane Wolfe]. You should consider my remarks as a reply in kind to remarks by you behind my back. Your game is playing one against the other, establishing and maintaining your position by dividing; minimising others instead of lifting them to higher planes; what your letters show is 90% Smith and 10% 132. May-be, and I would be happy, the actual facts are different, but you forced this impression on me by your dealings with me.
Go back over my letters, there are plenty of attempts at reconciliation with the other California groups; to make you see your defects in so far as they hamper the Work. For me nothing counts but that 93 should have apostles in California who represent it truly and efficiently.
Instead of that I had seen very soon in 1941 that there was too much squabbling, gossiping, personal rivalries and jealousies, which are very contrary to the expression of the thelemic freedom of doing one's Will and nothing but that. I have often been reminded of the disgusting atmosphere in Theosophic Societies.
Your job ought to be to help others to become independent and free. Instead of that there are indications that you try to restrict people. The root is plain: you are afraid of your position, which again stems from the subconscious knowledge of your incompleteness which engenders fear. You are afraid of and criticise me for writing to Jack [Jack Parsons] or Jane.
666 formally made me his representative in the USA, with jurisdiction over the Agape Lodge—quite against my wishes and inclinations. It took me endless letters and superhuman patience to extract some—unwillingly given—report from you. I even planned in 1941 to spend cash and time to go to California to see for myself, until A.C. dissuaded me from going, and stopping my Work in N.Y.
Then Jack Parsons came here and there would have been a chance to improve matters. What residue that visit left you know from my frank letter to Jane; except that it confirmed my opinions on the state of affairs more strongly.
What have you given me? Some inadequate contributions to the Work. If you knew how insignificant they were compared with others you would be ashamed. Agape Lodge ought to have seen its pride in financing, let us say, the production of the Tarot [The Book of Thoth]. Outside of a few hundred dollars (and those probably through Jane's personal efforts alone, (and against your wish), and beyond your small monthly contribution, you accomplish nothing. The thousands you left A.C. to worry about. There was a small flicker of greater enthusiasm last Fall, but it died down and was no more. It was as if all of you out there were thinking: Let [Karl] Germer worry his head off and carry the burden for the Order; he is good enough for that; he may do the sacrificing—with some others—we'll play at Grand Master; we'll distribute the books they print, for which others have sweated: We'll go to Pasadena. (This may sound hard and bitter; but I yet have to learn why an organisation of ten or more cannot sacrifice as mush as single people who just have their weekly job.)
I tried to give you instructions in the IX° in 1941, I believe spontaneously, a grade you have incompletely. I don't think I ever got acknowledgement, (probably from fear that you, the Grand Master, could be indebted to plain ordinary Karl Germer) Result: I stopped attempts at initiating you further.
You scorn advice, call it preaching. Part of your soul is so distorted that everything seems so hopeless. Yet we all know that there is a chance for greatness in you if only it could be set free. It is characteristic of you to think you could create a diversion by pointing out a contradiction between such a statement, and the wish to see you as a shining Head of the Lodge, with and severe criticism of you. We want a big 132, but don't want twisted, bloody Smith to interfere with the former. Either you want to misunderstand this deliberately—or you just haven't got the proper initiation.
Your perverted brain, enslaved by reason, which you have not mastered to any extent, and which chases you around like a squirrel in a cage, goes to the Holy Books [Volume I, Volume II, Volume III] and finds excuses for justifying yourself, and discrediting advice: all your letters to me are argumentative. "A curse on Because and his kin".
You complain about good manners, you of all people! These nigh two years have often made me disgusted at not receiving reports, information or even replies from you; at your secretiveness; often enough of your low and vile niggardly jealousy of others, not to speak of undisguised attacks on me and vicious letters. But quite apart from myself, one would at least expect display of good manners from you towards A.C. whom you owe everything. What then is one to say if he complains about your bad manners? You often do not reply to letters of his; a Rex Summus Sanctissmus, sent him AL and Liber II with a curt note on a torn off scrap of paper!—I could disregard all this if there has been spiritual integrity, enthusiastic cooperation and subordination to right authority. What I have received from you had to be obtained by constant fighting and worrying.
You find comfort in the support of your camp, Jack, Helen [Helen Parsons] and Jane, for your actions. They have always appeared to me to be overawed by your much vaunted and advertised IX°, and by your open claim to supreme grades in the A∴A\ How can they judge what is true of this? I was shocked when I heard of the latter claims from various sources. Only those who know what those grades imply can judge whether the claims can be genuine, or to what extent they are ridiculous. Meanwhile they think you are the big "IT"; they are led astray and get the queerest ideas of the O.T.O. and A∴A∴ It doesn't hard the latter really, but it harms them. See Jack's letter to 666 of November 24. You cannot possibly have given him a true realisation of the prime thelemic factors.
Yet you have done so much in all these years for the Work (So have others!) which nobody wants to deny, forget, or disclaim and minimise; that is definitely to your credit. But the situation in the Agape Lodge has for a long time driven towards a climax. It led to 666's decision whose execution has been much bungled so that now the affairs are utterly unsatisfactory as I can see despite the haze around all of you people, as nobody seems to have the gift of sending a clear, concise, cohesive report.
The last I heard was from an outsider, Roy, and he suggested that he invite you to stay at his ranch for a while. I wholly agreed. And should he decide to invite you and you accept, this certainly seems a good solution in many ways. It would also give me time to make up my mind as to how to handle the compromised situation. (This is, of course, a sinister trap of Germer's scheming brain.)
Love is the law, love under will.
Fraternally,
Karl
P.S. Feb. 27, 1943
It could all be so different, viz. that you had been sitting enthroned in California using Smith all the time to tease Germer, keep him on tenterhooks, testing his patience and other magical qualities, while 132 looks on serenely, benevolently and aloof. Then you would have acted as the Master you claim to be. But nothing sustains this view. It seems even that you have no conception of a real Master.
If, however, there should be any misstatement in this letter, or a distortion, or a wrong vision of my part, or if I should show to be misinformed or have misinterpreted certain facts, I shall be pleased to hear from you within a reasonable time.
|