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Correspondence from Karl Germer to Ray & Mildred Burlingame
Dec. 5, 1947
Dear Ray, dear Mildred,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Words are too weak to express the grief that has been upon me since the fatal news arrived by cable Tuesday morning. It is not so much the sorrow about Aleister's death. On that I feel rather a relief that His suffering, the suffering of his body, and his unfathomable loneliness during these last years has been ended at last. This loneliness has been deeper than possibly any time during the many, many years since he has been awake. (I mean that in the sense of the "Wake World" etc.) This loneliness is over, and as I see it, the very condition for his final attainment which He expressed in His cable to me of Nov. 18th. After that, it seems there was nothing left to keep Him here.
But what grieves me so insufferably is that in retrospect I see how often, how very often during the years—over 22 now—that I have known Aleister, I placed obstacles in his path, I obstructed, and sometimes made his life hell for the man A.C. I thought I could make good during the months I thought I could stay with him from September to early December of this year. But the British who have crucified their greatest son, and who persecuted him with their hatred, have remained true to form to the very last by refusing me a visa, and though A.C. knew that the visit was not to be, and must not be, he felt the cancellation of my journey as a deep blow.
There is no secret about it that our relations had been from the start close and intense, closer than men generally can judge. His Work, that was His Life, must and will continue and be brought gradually to the success and glorification that he should have seen during His earthly life. Seen from that point I am deeply grateful to you both for the fine words in which you express this very idea in yours of December 3rd.
I'll add some further remarks: the last letter I have from 666 is dated Nov. 5; it was typewritten and had a long postscript in his own hand, written as of old in a firm hand and showed him at his best. However, the letter was mailed by someone who saved airmail postage, and it arrived here Nov. 24th! I answered at once because he was worried about the printer, and now I wonder whether the letter reached him in time. I hope it did because I tried to relieve all the worries connected with that, and Liber Aleph.
On Dec. 2nd I received two cables: One from Lady Harris [Frieda Harris] announcing the death, asking me to communicate with her as I am joint executor with her of A.C.'s Will.
The second cable was from a Brother who had contacted Thelema through an eminent Brother in Berlin when he was there on military duty for the British. I do not know when this Brother first went to see A.C.; it may have been a few months ago. However, all I know so far is from his cable which reads:
The word "yesterday" would then mean Nov. 30th. I am extremely glad that at least someone in the Order has been with A.C. in the hour of his parting.
This is all I know so far. I have not had any communication yet. I expect this soon.
It may be of interest that, not having heard from the British on my detailed statement for the need of my visa, and making a new application, I asked them by letter about it on Dec. 1st. The reply came this morning. "We regret to inform you that the authorities in the United Kingdom are unable to accede to your request for a visa".
In an emergency I will ask Frederick [Frederick Mellinger] to go to Hastings and secure all files, MSS., papers, etc. etc., and, bar a clause to the contrary in A.C.'s Will, to ship everything here. That would raise the problem of having an office or storeroom where one could work to catalogue the vast mass of material.
So far I have only seen the event mentioned in The New York Times of Dec. 2nd, very brief. I suppose I will have to give an order to a newspaper clipping bureau to get all notices pertaining to A.C. after his death.
Now a word in reply to your two letters of Nov. 14th and your Treasury Report. Thanks for both! Also for the M.O. [Money Order] for $100.00. I wish I could ease this amount for awhile. But these contributions had already gone to A.C. early in November, because I cabled the Nov. contribution in advance with the Dec. contribution to ease matters. I paid for it from my last balance.
A brother in Germany asked me if a copy of the Equinox of the Gods, especially the facsimile of The Book of the Law section was available. Do you by any chance have a spare copy?
This letter has been rather an effort due to the overwork under present circumstances. What I wanted to do was to send some sort of circular letter to every member in order to give as much information as I have on this tremendous event. As your letter received to-day demanded an immediate answer, my thoughts almost naturally ranged themselves around that intention. I am not in a position to write about the matter to everyone. Would you be so good to ask Gene [Gene Wood] to make some copies of the pertinent passages of general interest, and mail some copies to Agape [Agape Lodge] members? Please include Max [Max Schneider], Georgia [Georgia Schneider], and Grady [Grady McMurtry] among these, whom I have not written yet.
Love is the law, love under will.
Sascha [ Sascha Germer] sends her warmest wishes to all of you with mine.
Fraternally,
Karl
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