Pax Templi

Recently we started an OTO Camp In Formation (CIF) in San Antonio. All prayers gladly accepted. Unlike my previous group in Fresno, San Antonio has a long OTO and magickal history in this area. This is a double edged sword. It means that we have some amazing long time siblings who have been keeping the torch lit for over a decade. It also means there is history.

Magickal groups have an uncanny way of bringing people together with a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is to shave off the rough edges of each other. Many times this is an alchemical process that is incredibly exothermic. It gives off a ton of heat and light. The OTO is no different. There is going to be tension at some point and that is all part of the big glorious process.

Oh yes Crowley's words in Magick Without Tears are coming back to me:

 "The Great Work is not a tea party."

 

Soon I suspect the term Pax Templi will be bantered about in such a way as to explain and give fair warning on the process. I guess over the years I have had more than my fair share of run ins and testing. My tolerance for bullshit is getting mighty low. I will have to remember that this will be the first time many people have seen this and to stock up on Kleenex.

 

So what exactly is meant when people say Pax Templi? Yeah OK literally Peace in the Temple, but what does that mean? How does that look and what does it feel like in the middle of a big huge to do?

 

It means that once you enter into the confines of the group you leave the petty bullshit at the door. If you cannot do that then it is best for you to withdraw until you can.

 

Since we are facing the prospect of several new minervals and a budding camp, it means that a great deal of our interpersonal relationships will be tested. Initiations can be a very brutal removing of mirages of perfection. They have a way of pointing out where you have been using crutches and removing them, suddenly and without much warning.  Marriages may break up, long standing relationships may crumble, people leave jobs and all sorts of other drastic life changes. Yet still I will expect and enforce Pax Templi.

 

Now Pax Templi does NOT mean that we are all going to be drinking buddies. In fact that sort of familiarity often breads contempt. Just like any family some of us will be closer than others. This is the nature of the process and the beast. It means that if you and your wife/husband are fighting and on the edge of divorce that does not come into the middle of ritual space. It means that we all have to act like adults. This has proven the biggest test for me personally with the Work.

 

The good news is that initiations only make a mess of your life if your life was already a mess. Hopefully the alchemical process will be a slow smolder and not a high end explosive.

 

I suppose that only time will tell.

 

All prayers gladly accepted.