anything! In point of fact, we don’t know the extent of what we don’t know.
We obtain knowledge by interpolation and by projection . Interpolation in reasoning is also known as
deductive logic; projection as inductive logic . [For a review of the concept of logic -and errors to avoid -see my
“Much Ado About Logic” in Cloven Hoof #IV-2.] The most general shortcoming of both systems of
knowledge acquisition is that they work only with known data. New theories in complete accord with
known data may in fact be quite [or partially] wrong, but this cannot be discovered until the theory bumps into fresh
data which does not fit the mold.
I go into this for two reasons. The first is that we must never allow the Temple of Set to relax into fixed
concepts. The key to the ultimate success of the Temple is Xeper in its intellectual pursuits as well as in its Initiates.
The second reason is that, in the course of this communiqué, I will be clashing head-on with a gentleman by the
name of Einstein. He himself was forethinking enough to define his discoveries as “theories”, but their dazzling
nature has tended to enshrine them as de facto laws, questioned at dire peril. What they explain, they explain well.
The danger lies in projecting them too far beyond the known phenomena by which they were first interpolated.
Consider this well.
By its very design the Temple confronts two essential problems. The second problem is to identify,
comprehend, and effect Setamorphosis. Solving this problem promises to be exciting, stimulating, and ultimately
very rewarding. The first problem is to survive long enough to solve the second problem. And this task,
unfortunately, may be tedious, depressing, and possibly dangerous.
Consider the following passage from the Book of Coming Forth by Night:
I seek my Elect and none other, for mankind now hastens toward an annihilation which none but the
Elect may hope to avoid. And alone I cannot preserve my Elect, but I would teach them and strengthen their
Will against the coming peril, that they and their blood may endure. To do this I must give further of my
own Essence to my Elect, and, should they fail, the Majesty of Set shall fade and be ended.
When I first read this passage, I was inclined to interpret it as a reference to the general ecological crisis that
the human race as a whole faces in the next 50-100 years per the research of the Club of Rome, Jacques-Yves
Cousteau, and other Temple contacts. Stated in its most basic form, this crisis comprises the outrunning of Earth's
life-support systems by a humanity that is reproducing itself out of control. The Club of Rome assumes [in The
Limits to Growth and Mankind at the Turning-Point] that world order will break down in frantic competition for
available resources, resulting in a great deal of initial carnage (25%+ of the world population) and then a new era of
repressive, primitive feudalism. More pessimistic predictions see the introduction of massive thermonuclear
weaponry during the crisis period, with the resultant extermination of all life on Earth.
There were two things that bothered me about this initial interpretation of the passage. One was that such an
ecological crisis would occur on such a tremendous scope that its sheer inertia would prevail against anything even
an enlarged and strengthened Temple of Set could do to prevent it. The other was that any sort of “escape” by the
Elect seems highly improbable. In spite of the wistfulness with which romantics grope towards a new Exodus to
space [consider the strong emotional appeal of Star Trek and Space: 1999 in this light], a colonial-scale space effort
is all but ruled out by the increasing demand for resources to be diverted to the growing Earth-crisis itself. And even
if some neo-Noah’s ark were planned, selection of the privileged few would be quite impossible. [Most likely the
project would be destroyed by the disappointed majority; shades of Pythagoras and his rejected “deficient
intellectuals”!]
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The passage does not say “escape”, however; it says “avoid”. This raises the possibility of the Temple of Set
surviving during the crisis and aftermath period in spite of the fact that it continues to be located on this planet. In
the event of a nuclear holocaust, of course, nothing of the sort would be possible. But I am inclined to think that the
crisis will attain full force in a more gradual way, resulting in increasing anarchy and then a violent authoritarian
backlash. The final scenario would be one of the world divided into a number of crude police-states, with an
intellectual atmosphere something like that in 1984. There have been countless examples of this political/social
pattern throughout history, the most recent being the current century’s fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, Japan,
South America, and Africa. Indeed the trend towards authoritarian government is increasing right now while we
watch, as democratic/republican systems prove more and more incapable of coping with growing pre-crisis stresses.
This past summer I discussed this situation with the Executive Director at a meeting in San Francisco. I then
brought up the concept that Isaac Asimov had introduced in his famous science-fiction trilogy Foundation/
Foundation and Empire/Second Foundation.
In this novel a psychohistorian (one who calculates the probable course of the future based upon
interpolation and projection of past social patterns and human psychology) predicts the gradual decline and fall
of the galactic empire and a subsequent era of feudal anarchy. In order to preserve the sum of accumulated
knowledge throughout this period, he institutes a Foundation of scientists and technologists on a remote planet at
the edge of the galactic spiral. Through its technological skill and relative isolation from the mainstream of the
revolutions and wars, the Foundation survives the disintegration of the empire and even establishes a certain
hegemony of its own. But, through a freak accident, the Foundation is almost conquered by a mental mutant. It is
saved through psychohistorical manipulation by a Second Foundation, secretly instituted and maintained in the
heart of the old empire by the original psychohistorian. The Second Foundation then feigns its own destruction,
allowing the First Foundation to continue on its way without feeling threatened.
What I call the “Star Trek syndrome” is a desire to emulate the First Foundation by getting the hell off the
planet with a small group of technological elite. For reasons cited earlier, this course of action is not open to the
Temple [or anyone else]. But it may well prove possible for an organization with the unique characteristics of the
Temple to emulate the Second Foundation. Consider:
The Second Foundation survived secretly because its avowed purpose - caretaking of the main library of the
old empire - was thought unimportant and irrelevant to the warring factions. Its actual configuration as a team of
psychohistorians was unknown, even to the First Foundation.
The Temple of Set to the public is a quaint peculiarity - a group of religious nuts who worship some old
Egyptian god. Hence it is not a likely target of authoritarian repression. If anything, association with the Temple
would tend to gain one a public reputation as an antiquarian eccentric, therefore politically harmless. That the
Temple is Coming Into Being as an extraordinarily sophisticated organization does not become apparent until one
has joined and advanced to the III°+ level. Such
is the Election of the Priesthood of Set that it would be impossible
for an unqualified person to attain such recognition. [This is just as well, because I would not envy the fate of a false
Priest of Set.]
The prospect of a secret society existing in the midst of a secular culture is not a novel one. Case studies may
be drawn from the Templars, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Golden Dawn, A.'.A.'., Church of Satan, etc. The approach
has been successful to the extent that it has been either strictly secret or philosophically camouflaged. In modern
times, strict secrecy is no longer possible [even for the high-echelon units of government]. Moreover the sort of
organizational structure necessary to enforce strict secrecy would make the Temple an increasingly threatening
entity in the eyes of authoritarian governments.
Let us look more closely at the notion of “philosophical camouflage”. The idea here is to develop a vocabulary
and philosophical frame of reference which are useful for conveying the most sophisticated information between
Initiates, but which merely seem nonsensical and ridiculous to the non-initiate.
This is not the same thing as a cipher per se, which is a code that anyone given the key can read.
Philosophical camouflage is unbreakable when expertly used, and in its most advanced form it cannot even be
explained to an interrogator. This is because the concepts and relationships which comprise the linguistic system
must all be communicated and understood before the system as a whole makes any sense. And those concepts and
relationships each require a Setian mind for understanding. Thus this entire system possesses its own “failsafe”
device.Should you attend a convention of technologists in some field other than your own, you will quickly discover
that many terms unfamiliar to you are being used casually. Such terms are both professional jargon and precise
technological concepts. One must be an “initiate” (educationally and/or professionally) to understand the
conversation. The Temple is in a position to adapt this phenomenon to our own purposes, which encompass magic,
futurist analysis, and our own brand of Asimov’s psychohistory.
Because of the special position of religion in both society and the human psyche, the Temple can expect
relative tolerance and freedom of internal action during at least the earlier stages of authoritarian social systems.
[By strict definition, authoritarian systems require only behavioral cooperation. Totalitarian systems require
mental and philosophical endorsement as well. Thus it is when things reach the totalitarian stage that churches and
initiatory societies come under fire. Examples: Stalinist Russia & Nazi Germany.]
Because of the absence of strong social dogmas in bringing about or controlling the ecological crisis, I suspect
at this time that repressive measures will not come to the totalitarian extreme. The Temple should therefore be able
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to maintain its own “religious eccentricity” without overt attention or persecution. To the extent that our
philosophical camouflage is successful, we will be able to enjoy internal freedom to pursue the Second Problem.
Externally our Initiates will be able to participate pragmatically in whatever social systems they find themselves
located.
The profile and survival techniques of the Second Foundation within the decaying, authoritarian galactic
empire were not described in any detail. Nor did the Second Foundation possess or feign religious philosophies per
se.
A very interesting blueprint for the manner in which religious philosophical camouflage may be used in an
authoritarian system exists in a book which the Executive Director sent to me a short time after our conference. It is
Robert A. Heinlein’s The Day After Tomorrow. In this novel religious concepts are deliberately used as political and
social weapons against an oppressive government, the concepts themselves being only a sham. In the Temple, by
contrast, our concepts are quite genuine. But the way in which a religious structure may defend itself against social
repression with the aid of its intrinsic concepts is well illustrated here.
After reading the Asimov and Heinlein works, you may find it interesting to review the way in which the
Catholic Church survived [and even prospered] during the medieval era. Special attention should be given to the
methods and achievements of Pope Innocent III [see especially Sidney Packard’s Europe and the Church under
Innocent III (NY: Russell Russell, 1967)]. While Catholic and Setian philosophies hardly coincide, we may learn
some valuable lessons from the experiences of the medieval religious institutions.
What form will the philosophical camouflage of the Temple assume? It is not a question which can be
answered a priori. We will develop it as we go along. My guess is that it will draw strongly from the magical/
religious/philosophical camouflage employed both widely and expertly by Aleister Crowley and John Dee. You are
already familiar with some good source material on the former, so let's take a quick look at the latter.
John Dee lived from 1527 to 1608 CE. During his lifetime he became an expert mathematician, geographer
[studying under Mercator], and astronomer. He was intimately familiar with the work of Pythagoras, Plato, and
Aristotle. He was sufficiently accomplished in chemistry to scorn the illogic of alchemy, and his official position as
astrologer to Elizabeth I was largely a blind for extensive political intelligence work on her behalf. Because of his
thorough familiarity with esoterica, Dee could phrase both his intelligence reports and his own experimental records
& diaries in a fashion almost completely indecipherable by others. An example may be found in one of Dee’s 1585
reports to Elizabeth:
At the time, Dee was in Prague. A fellow occultist told him that a party of Frenchmen financed by the Spanish
crown were being sent to England to sabotage the English shipbuilding program. The only clue available to Dee was
that the party was instructed to arrive “before three yeares were ended and the nine men beginne their
Perambulation”. He sent the following “record of a magical conversation with the spirit Madimi” to Elizabeth:
Ma. "I am a poor little maiden, Madimi, but I rejoyce in the name of Jesus."
D.
“What is it that you can see?”
Ma. “I see the coming of the end of the three yeare circle and the approache of the Nine Guardians of
the Vert.”
D.
“What does that portend?”
Ma. “Here is something that maketh me afraid. I see the Bible and a stick of hollie and the danger of
perjury by someone. It is a test of loyalty.”
D.
Madimi’s gown changed colour from red to green and she shook it as though the skirt was a tree
rustling in the wind. She went up and down with livelie gestures, dancing and pretending she was
a tree bent this way and that in the breeze, as though she performed a charade.
D.
“Whose man are you?”
Ma. “I am the servant of God both by my bounden duty and by his Adoption. For me the truth is
sacred.”
D.
“What more do you see?”
Ma. “I see the risk of fire, great fire.” Her dress changed colour to red again.
D.
“What is the significance of the three yeares and the Nine Men?”
Ma. “The Nine are Guardians of the RF D. They must acte against fire by the creatures of th
e
Scorpion. O.S.V.”
D.
“And the Nine must watch for the chimney of smoke?”
Ma. “I must not guess the truth, but so it would seem. My sister has torn two leaves from the book
which would have tolde me.”
Dee’s familiarity with old Druidic customs had reminded him of one still in progress. The Druids had held the
number 3 and multiples thereof in special regard. The Druidic year was 360 days, and once every three years nine
government foresters made a circuit inspection of the royal forests. Crucial to the current shipbuilding effort was the
Royal Forest of Dean, identified by both "RF D" and the reference to the Bible & stick of holly [used in that forest in
another Druidic custom]. The “Scorpion” was Dee’s code word for Spain, and the Enochian sequence O.S.V. [“I reign
over you”] brought the message to Elizabeth’s attention. The “chimney” refers to the customary right of forest
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squatters to land on which they could build a chimney between sunset and sunrise. Elizabethan agents watched for
and eventually discovered an attempt to bribe such squatters to burn the forest, and successfully thwarted same.
The point here is threefold: (1) Dee’s freedom from suspicion and freedom of action as an “eccentric
astrologer & occultist”, (2) his ability to put both Druidic lore and his own systems to practical use, and (3) the
almost complete indecipherability of a message incorporating philosophical camouflage except by a fellow initiate.
The basic facts concerning Dee’s life are well-documented and fairly easy to find. Not so his magical research
and philosophy. He left massive papers comprising diaries and records of magical workings, but they are heavily
laced with philosophical camouflage per the example just cited.
The papers themselves are scattered between the British Museum, Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, private
Continental collections, and the Soviet Union. The papers acquired by Meric. Casaubon for Dr. John Dee’s Actions
With Spirits are only a sample of Dee’s voluminous “angelic conversations”. Fortunately the Casaubon papers
contain the Enochian Keys, which may possess an entirely self-contained philosophical camouflage system.
The Temple of Set II Page 35