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Correspondence from Karl Germer to Ray Burlingame
K.J. GERMER 260 West 72nd Street New York, N. Y.
December 13, 1948
Mr. Ray Burlingame 4422 1/3 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, 27, Cal.
Care Frater,
Dear Ray,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Ever since that bad bubble broke concerning Lekve [Friedrich Lekve] and yours and Mildred's [Mildred Burlingame] actions in this matter, I wanted to write you. I must tell you that this affair has deeply distressed me much more than I can make clear to you in writing. You and Mildred have acted wrongly, mush more son, however, Lekve. You two brought your usual fine and pure intentions into this, so that I acknowledge this gladly; yet you were rash, and without thinking your step over properly.
In the case of Lekve is it bad manners, and, worse dishonest thinking, and scheming. In fact, I have become convinced that he is temporarily somewhat insane in the strict sense as applied to such delicate magical and spiritual matters by the Master Therion. Lekve is in a sever magical crisis, and in a definite ordeal. There is no Thelemic literature about such cases in English. We have a very important and significant document in German which I have not yet taken steps to translate. Otherwise you would get an idea of what it is all about. Enough to say only that is such crises of a candidate certain steps are usually taken by the Order, and I may yet have to resort to them.
Soror Mildred in her last letter adds that 'it is not for me to understand'. True! How could she? Outside of Jane [Jane Wolfe]—and after the death of Max [Max Schneider]—and possibly Fra∴ E.Q.V. [Roy Leffingwell], there is nobody in Agape Lodge who could. Nor can you. It has taken me a full year to wake up to the true situation from the magical point of view.
Here are a few plain facts:—
1. I am X° O.T.O. with a special Charter for all the Free German speaking countries.
2. I contacted Lekve immediately I heard his address from Ishrah [Herbert Schmolke] almost 2 years ago.
3. I asked him immediately his standing in the A∴A∴ and O.T.O. He said he wanted to have nothing to do with the O.T.O. I came back to the matter in almost every letter during these two years. I went very far in all that I said; in fact I wanted to advance him quickly; I urged him a year ago to visit Frederic Mellinger in Bremen (only a distance of 80 miles from Hildesheim); I had prepared matters for Frederic to give him wisdom quickly if he found him right-minded; he refused and did not do anything. I despaired; the more so as he had all the Thelemic material, while Ishrah has not so much; yet Ishrah was fully acknowledged by the Master Therion in the Order, while he wrote about Lekve that he had only appointed L[ekve]. as 'his personal representative' which did not signify anything in matters of the Order, and thus was not curtailing Ishrah's position, or mine, or that of others in the Order. I kept on urging Lekve, and finally told him plainly that the O.T.O. was not a plaything like other Orders, but had genuine knowledge and that he was only depriving himself of a vital part of the thelemic work. My last statement to him about this was mailed October 18, 1948.
4. He received this Oct. 22 or 23. Instantly he writes you by Airmail his long letter of Oct. 24, acknowledging to you in a distorted —to him flattering—way a phrase of mine. He says that it had been you (or Mildred) who had opened his eyes!!! in a recent letter—when I have done nothing else in the last 18 months! This is plain dishonesty, in order to camouflage his application to you.
5. I received no reply and so wrote to you both on Nov. 13th. At last I received a letter from him dated Nov. 5th, sent Ordinary Mail which came Dec. 10.
6. His action is all the more despicable as he had known for all this time that I was the Grand Master for Germany.
7. During my correspondence with him I tried to put at his disposal vital thelemic material which he did not have; I sent him copies; I promised him a set of the "Letters"[1] on condition that he make them available to Ishrah—which you sent in part. (He has so far not sent Ishrah either the Blue Equinox which I need badly, nor any of the "Letters". Ishrah complained to me about L.'s prevarication.) I tried to be, and was, as liberal and generous as possible and gave him all possible physical and spiritual help.
8. The fact is that he has the Achad [Charles Stansfeld Jones]—Smith [Wilfred Talbot Smith]—Mudd [Norman Mudd] craze. He not only considers himself way beyond the Abyss, but also the coming great Establisher of Thelema, and the "child that is to be mightier than all the Kings of the Earth." It is tragic. And my flattery that I expect him to play a great role in Germany for Thelema fell—quite unconscious to me—on a ground that had been fertile for years for crazy illusions. He is jealous of me and shows it in many ways—which I unfortunately detected too late. He thinks he is the Big It, therefore his refusal to see a Brother of whom I had written to him that he was in the special high confidence of Therion, and one of the highest in the Order, which is the truth. Frederic with his deep and penetrating mind would have seen through the sham at once and called his bluff. Lekve is all right for the little girls and men with whom he has surrounded himself. He with his brass sword would have been bowled over instantly by the Steel blade of Frederic's. He felt and feared this instinctively.
Now, having town down, let me build up.
Every candidate who aspires to a certain grade arrives—if it be his Will—at a certain critical point where he was to make up his mind to make the last sacrifice. This is described in several thelemic books. This decision is so terrific that there is none who does not falter, and if he persists and plunges on, has needs to become the prey of all the insane-making forces of the Universe. Only his part Karma, and the purity of his aspiration steeled by his clean living, and the strength of his Will can get him through. There is no possible appeal for help to his H.G.A. [Holy Guardian Ange] or to any entity whatever.
The candidate has to be left alone. In such cases Therion has always forbidden all contact with the candidate on penalty of expulsion from the Order. He himself gave the signal for the resumption of relations should the candidate have passed successfully; if not—well, good-bye!
If my theory is correct. And it has grown to conviction, all of Lekve's work will have to be destroyed; to be resurrected again after his passing, in a purified form fortified by the light—the True Light—obtained in the process. During my long exchange of letters I've seen many false conceptions of Thelema in Lekve's presentation; I corrected them; he argued; and, of course, resented my criticism, ascribed it to petty thoughts, and would rather keep in touch with you, drew you out, get the names of all other members of the Lodge, etc., etc.—all because he has this delusion that it is HE who will have to establish Thelema all over the world! But all this will fall by the wayside once a new Brother is born.
I am writing this via Jane who will understand better, and who will have to be informed, and pass the letter on to you personally. The letter is primarily addressed to you in your position in the O.T.O. I leave it to you to convey the matter to Mildred in the form you deem best, after careful consideration of all points. Mildred is peculiarly woman; she is attached to this German connection, obtained through me; she is alleviating suffering and hardships; always the fine prerogative of her sex. Its defect, however, among other things is that she is incapable of seeing or understanding the greater, Solar, point of view. I want to help Lekve. A woman wants to do so too. But a woman is incapable of knowing when her path would lead to disaster.
For the time being, continue by all means with food parcels but in a restricted way, as I suggested before. And in letters confine yourself to personal matters; you can explain to L. that this affair had led me to issue strict injunctions.
Love is the law, love under will.
Fraternally yours,
Karl X° O.T.O.
Through Soror ESTAI [Jane Wolfe]
1—This refers to the collection of correspondence which would later be published as Magick Without Tears.
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