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Friedrich Lekve
Born: 26 February 1904 in Wesel, Germany. Died: 26 August 1956.
Friedrich Lekve was a first-generation German whose Norwegian family could trace—its origins as farmers in Hardanger Fjord back to 1200.
Before he encountered Thelema, Lekve claimed that "I was living with the idea that suffering was inevitable. That led to a search on many different mystical paths," accompanied by an "unhealthy tendency to find fault with myself, and a susceptibility to violent mood-swings". Yet when his Thelemic calling followed in 1929, he saw it above all in light of the coincidence of his birth—26 February 1904—with the "revelation of the Law of Thelema in Cairo", which in fact allegedly occurred between 8-10 April in the same year [two times Crowley admitted this to be an April's Fool invented on 1st April]. Another signpost for Lekve was Martin Buber's (1878-1965) rediscovery of Chassidism, again simply because of its date: 1904.
In 1936 he met Martha Küntzel, who subsequently became his mentor; he wrote to Aleister Crowley for the first time on October 8th that year. He informed Crowley of the 'Circle of Thelema' to which he and Frau Küntzel belonged, and about the six crates full of paintings that Crowley had left behind in Berlin after his exhibition in 1931. Crowley then cast Lekve's horoscope, hoping that it would enable him to get hold of the crates quickly. Lekve went on to characterise Eugen Grosche as a "brother of the left-hand path", enumerated a long dream, and signed himself as "66 (Friedrich) + 11 (Lekve)."
On 4 April 1937 he complained to Crowley about the dearth of interest in his 'monthly letters', and spoke of his desire to entice people into Thelema by means of astrology, signing himself as "Seven OZ Seven", even though it was not until 6 November 1941 that Crowley called his own "Rights of Man" "Liber OZ". These "Rights" were incorporated by Crowley into the OTO's II° ritual of initiation, which was only put into written form AFTER 1941 and first performed in 1942.
21 March 1937: Lekve said that he would be able to stay the night at Crowley's even if there was no spare bed; as he had been made London representative of the Wetzel Rubber Works, he had an inflatable mattress.
28 March 1937: Crowley refused to accept Lekve's plans for lodging but proposed to use Hitler's Swastika as a logo on thelemic flags and porcelain on which to base a business. But Lekve thought that it was copyrighted already and would have liked it much better if the swastika had been used as the "Sign of the German Thelema". (Yet at exactly the same time, a factory in Wewelsburg set up by the Nazis in order to put swastikas on its chinaware.)
Nonetheless Lekve now travelled to London, to sit at his Master's feet. In an undated letter, and a subsequent one on 23 September 1937, Lekve begged Crowley not to send him any more letters, as he was living in fear of the Gestapo.
In March 1955 Eugen Grosche first disseminated the tale that Martha Küntzel had disappeared in a concentration-camp, which does not agree with Lekve's story that 'I.W.E.' died on 8 December 1942 in a convalescent home: "Until the last moment of her life I was with her." Küntzel's supposed foreword to "The Book of Thoth", which appeared in 1944, was in fact Crowley's work. Herbert Schmolke—Crowley and Friedrich Mellinger's German contact in the 40s—told Karl Germer on February 2nd 1946: "Soror I.W.E . left Leipzig in June 1937 and went to Bad Blankenburg-Thur. In a home for aged teachers [. . .] she died by senility (aged 85).". No indications about anyone called Martha Küntzel can be discovered in the German federal Archives.
1944 was the high-point of Lekve's spiritual progress: achieving the Major Adept Grade in the A∴A∴, and the synthetic IX° of the OTO—for which the theory alone would of course suffice.
After the war on 11 January 1946, Lekve renewed his correspondence with Crowley (who noted in his diary: "Hurrah! Friedrich Lekve"); he hoped that after the overthrow of Nazism, the Germans would finally accept Thelema. On Martha Küntzel: "from the political point of view there was a great difference between her and myself [of course Küntzel had become a fanatical Hitler-worshipper] [. . .] I was the friend of her except you of course to whom she had the deepest confidence and trust. So she was very anxious that I might take over her succesorship."—this claim was also proved by Fräulein Küntzel's last will and testament.
Then Lekve confessed his misgivings about Orders, wishing not to join the O.T.O., instead suggesting the foundation of a "Societas Thelema" in parallel to the Societas Jesu—the Jesuits. Crowley answered him via Herbert Schmolke, much to Lekve's chagrin.
By 29 April that year, Lekve was disassociating himself from "such men as Germer, Charles Stansfeld Jones, McGregor Mathers and the many," maintaining that even Grosche was a cancer in the blood of spiritual giants—of which Crowley was one. Lekve nominated himself as Crowley's representative, "even if you, my Father, would prefer to reject and push me from your side." Under the Nazis he had still distributed copies of "Liber AL", an extremely risky thing to do.
But Crowley reacted very coolly to Lekve's self-appointment in his letter of 14 June wanting to know why Lekve thought he was devoting himself to the Great Work, yet refused to be in the O.T.O., despite claiming the IX°. Regarding Thelema's desolate state and the publication of his own books, Crowley wanted Lekve to start taking some practical steps. "However, if you are a Major Adept you ought to be able to work miracles and that is exactly what is wanted [. . .] the secret of the Ninth Degree which is exactly what you need most to enable you to perform those miracles."
The last message that Lekve received from his Master was "Liber OZ" (otherwise called "Liber 77"); in 1949 he it was who produced the first German translation of this 'book', and not Hermann Metzger, as the latter claimed six years later in 1955.
The second Californian Agapé Lodge, loyal to Crowley's O.T.O. resolved to send C.A.R.E. parcels to the German Thelemites at the end of 1947, reserving 50% of its funds to this end; Karl Germer provided them with a list of addresses. Jane Wolfe (1875-1958) and Mary Kay sent support to Herbert Schmolke and his wife at Charlottenburg in Berlin—though the couple soon emigrated to California. (Later in a letter of March 24th 1954, Germer warned Wolfe that Schmolke was getting "strange".) Ray and Mildred Burlingame took the Lekve family and Dr. von Oldershausen into their safe keeping; the Burlingames stood as Lekve's sponsors for his now imminent initiation into the O.T.O., to which Germer reacted with ill-humour.
In 1948 Lekve sent out "Thelemic Lections and Exercises" with the sigil of his own Abbey of Thelema, and the heading "Institute for Courses in Individuation on Cosmological Foundations." In 1951, extracts from Crowley's Confessions appeared for the first time together with sections of "Liber AL" with Lekve's commentary in "Meaning of Thelemic Chassidism". "I wish to produce Thelemites; it is not by faith that one becomes a Thelemite, but each must do so based on their own particular experience." The unloved Grosche also received autographed issues.
"Every Thursday and Saturday at midnight in the Abbey an invocation of the Stele takes place. Those of the Thelem Chassidim wishing to harmonise with the vibration have the opportunity to do so at this time." Lekve sent out free copies of this Stele; paper copies glued onto pieces of wood: a real effort in the face of the money and paper shortages in the immediate post-war years. This was an idea which was later adopted by H.J. Metzger: Walter "Englert and I [Paul R. Audehm] helped him with that once. We made—by the sweat of our brows—about thirty Steles. They were sawn out, fixed to a wooden stand, smoothed with sandpaper, then had the two pictures stuck on (the front in colour, the back one in black-and-white)—and were thickly plastered with 'Abramelin Oil'—this latter being a secret recipe of Metzger's. Anne [marie Aeschbach] wanted to stop me getting hold of a stele—Clairvoyantly she saw it how it was: In '74 I pushed my copy into the garbage bin." Likewise, Oscar Schlag owned one of Metzger's Steles.
In No. 3 of Herbert Fritsche's journal "Merlin", there appeared in 1949 Lekve's article 'The Magician Aleister Crowley (Master Therion)' with the message that "The Master is dead. Long live the Thelemic Law, long live the Order of Thelemites," that is, those who were openly interested in Thelema. This 'Order of Thelemites', was not the same from Crowley, which was a hybrid of the O.T.O. and A∴A∴, and had been set up under the leadership of James Thomas Windram "Frater Semper Paratus, Frater Mercurius" the X° for South Africa, who had died in 1939.
On 16 September 1949 Oskar R. Schlag (1907-1991) sent off for copies of Lekve's "Thelemic Lections". On October 17th Lekve reported "Yes, Herr Eugen Grosche's FS has re-opened its doors too, though I never had anything to do with it, since it came out against the Master Therion [. . .] As yet the Order has not been represented in Switzerland." As the Wetzel Rubber Works' representative Lekve was frequently in Zurich, or had the "Lections" distributed in Switzerland by his go-between C.H. Jödicke. Herr Schlag sent gifts of coffee to Lekve in Hildesheim.
"The Abbey of Thelema in Hildesheim is situated in the midst of the bomb-ravaged city-centre, a few rooms in a bombed-out house which has withstood the onslaught. It is on the Goslarschen Strasse, and its number is 7." Thus begins Lekve's "Thelemic Lections and Exercitions A1" of 18 November 1949. It was in these "Lections" that Metzger had first read Crowley's writings (apart from the Thelema-Verlag's small booklet "Magick"), and it was Lekve who gave him Germer's address in New York at the end of 1950; hence Lekve was effectively Metzger's sponsor for the Crowleyan O.T.O. Under his alias of 'Peter Mano' Metzger travelled busily hither and thither, giving lectures and courses on astrology in Zurich, Berne, and St. Gallen, distributed meditations on the Moon, and sought to make himself known to all the esoteric celebrities he knew (and some he didn't) by means of his 'Psychosophical Institute and Press'—which had at least some actual existence in the form of headed notepaper.
Active outside his Order in Hildesheim, Lekve was promoted to the City Council, became a member of the Museums Committee, party representative for the Socialist Democrat Party, a member of the governing body of the city's cultural trust, the first president of and lecturer at the Adult Education Institute; he was promoted to managing director of Wetzel Rubber Products at the same time that he was elected mayor, and even found the time to act as a translator for the occupying forces. It is fair to say that he took a vital part in the post-war reconstruction of Hildesheim. Today there is a street named after him in Hildesheim.
At the 1951 Spring Equinox Lekve conveyed "greetings from the highest spiritual summit" to his students; at the same time the first magical exercises were given in the "Lections". On 20 June that year he sent out a circular letter to the "Lections'" subscribers; due to his triple reponsibilities (the rubber factory, Thelema, and his office as Mayor) he'd been having heart-trouble since April, and would therefore have to temporarily suspend the "Lections" until such time as his political office did not make such heavy demands on him.
In a letter of 30 June to the Swiss Henry Graf, Lekve had some information to impart: "An association in Switzerland which has as its object to live in harmony with the Law of Thelema, does not do so exist. It is less devoted to Thelemic work through any sort of group-effort, than concerned with the personal work of a certain individual." Oddly enough, Lekve was not drawing Herr Graf's attention to Metzger here, but to Oscar Schlag.
Even so, Lekve was not exactly
overflowing with enthusiasm for Metzger when he wrote to
Germer, while Germer wasn't inclined to agree with his
opinion: "I can't accept Lekve's judgment. It is not always
reliable. Besides, Metzger is young." (Germer to Mellinger,
15 September 1951). The animosity was mutual; Grosche and Metzger had
of course included Lekve's organisation in their idea of
framework for bringing all Orders under a single
jurisdiction, and Grosche expressed the hope that Lekve's
"Lections" would turn out to be a "material failure."
Lekve offered his "Lections" to the Rascher Verlag in Zurich for publication in 1951; the publishers turned to Oscar Schlag on August 10th for an expert opinion, who gave his considered view on September 10th, that publication was "not advisable" since the "Lections" had all manner of odd ideas about Aleister Crowley.
Meanwhile Friedrich Mellinger had become active in Europe. Karl Germer wrote to him from New York on September 15th: "I'm glad you met Lekve, and that you were satisfied with the meeting [. . .] Lekve is worthy. He has proved it by his work in hundreds of ways [. . .] As to the IXth itself, maybe he might divine the ultimate secret himself if he were a little prepared for it [...] If you should meet L. again, go as far as you see fit, and there is no limit. [Germer follows with instructions for the IX°, and the reflection that Mellinger needed no confirmation of his position in Charter form.] Ergo: these remarks refer to Metzger too [. . .] One word about Lekve and his girlfriend Ruth. While I'd go all the way in my respect for L., I'd suggest caution with regard to Ruth. You can go to the III in any case, and then leave it to L. to give her further instruction." The relationship between Lekve and Mellinger remains doubtful.
Impatient with Lekve's poor finances, Germer began to get annoyed, especially in view of the subsidies that Lekve had initially received from the Californian Thelemites. In addition, Lekve was rather more inclined to see the O.T.O. run on Reussian lines, and like Reuss "not take the A∴A∴ as the supreme Order with the obligation to accept AL as the basis of the OTO Work," as Mellinger complained on September 25th that year. A great flurry of deliberations followed, in which they discussed how even someone as vastly well-informed like Metzger could be embroiled without looking ridiculous.
Friedrich Lekve entered into a correspondence with Martin Buber, read Gershom Scholem's (1897-1981) works on the Qabalah, and in 1952 the "Lections" appeared with a new emphasis: "The Thelemic Chassid is exclusively a RELIGIOUS PERSON. Thelem Chassidim is the dreamer's rendezvous." He now asked all his correspondents to send him their dream-diaries, and along with this set up an associated affair "for practical use of methodical fantasy: the meditational Dreamland of Thelem [. . .] the City of Nephrit." He'd been apprised of this idea by Crowley—in his astral form of course.
This dreamland was a rendezvous for such personages as 'Nathan Prager' (Herbert Fritsche), Rebbe 'Ssair' (Lekve himself, who was now passing himself off as an Ishmaelite), 'Friedrich Oss', 'Anna Pawlowna', 'Johannes Quest' and wife, 'Bogohild' and wife, Sister 'Benedikta', Sister 'Aniela Petrosi', 'Hans Helios', 'Eleazar ben Abinadab', 'Aladdin', 'Assa' and 'Beatrice'. Lekve sent his latest "Lections" to Wilfred Talbot Smith in the States, but this merely served to put him further beyond the O.T.O. pale. Contacts with the ORA in Munich were soon formed.
On 4 September 1953 Friedrich Lekve let it be known that "the Thelemic Lections have appeared again—committed to a wholly new direction"—though the growth of Thelem Chassidim's tiny congregation stagnated. In a letter to Schlag on 21 October 1953 Lekve still didn't know what Germer's new address was. Afterwards Germer speculated that C.H. Petersen (who had named Lekve and Metzger as heirs in his will) had obtained Lekve's records. As opposed to Germer, Petersen and Mellinger never published Lekve by way of Metzger. Straight after Lekve died, Metzger did print a couple of articles from Lekve's hand, in one of which he gave his opinion that "the Thelemite is the final representative of occidental life, occidental thought." |
The Symbol Lekve Designed for his Abbey of Thelema |
