All information out from the book: Alexander Popiol, Raimund Schrader "Gregor A. Gregorius - Mystiker des dunklen Lichtes".
English synopsis for LAShTAL by moyal.
+++ The Old Pansophic Lodge +++
- Befor WWI the Mother of Eugen Grosche worked as matron for the Theosophical Society. She is a widow and lives in a little flat in the house of the society with Eugen (young man).
- Eugen helps book-seller and theosophist Heinrich Tränker at shipment-work in his shop. He gets known though Tränker about theosophic circles.
- In the 1920 Eugen Grosche has own esoteric book shop in Berlin. He is sceptical about Theosophy. He critices especially the belief in the 'existance' of the "The Great White Broderhood". For him 'it' exists 'only' in the sense of 'ancestral-remembrance' [Germ.:'Erberinnerung'], which can only experienced in seldom hours as 'mental vibrations'. He get's introduced by Tränker to his Pansophic Lodge, who is the Grand Master under the name of Fra. Recnartus. But it seems at this time the lodge is very small. Gregorius gethers the first Pansophist in a study-circle and from this nucleus the Orient of the Pansophic Lodge is formed.
- Grosche gets initiated by Tränker in OTO. Tränker has got his X°OTO from Reuß on March 10, 1921. Apart from Grosche the only other pansophists, who get initiated in O.T.O. are: Otto Gebhardi and Fra. Ekkehart. This four people are the only O.T.O. members in Germany in this times. Gregorius gets orders from Recnartus to revivify O.T.O. in Germany. Grosche acquires V° O.T.O.
- as significant personalities for the ideas of Pansopia and 'sign post for humanity' Grosche points to the work/ideas of
* Graf Hermann Kyserling, philosopher, Darmstadt
* Dr. Hans Much, physician, Hamburg
* Walther Rathenau, Berlin
* Rudolf Steiner, anthroposophist, Dornach
* writer Mereschkowski
- themes of Pansophia are: Gnosis, ancient mysteryies of Greece, Egypt, Babylon as well as problems of philosophy, study of religions, metaphysic, depth psychology, cosmology and kaballa, activation of the Od-mantle, pendulum, yoga, medieval mysticism, rosicrucianism, alchemy etc.
- Pansophia adopts following the degree-ystem:
1. Junior
2. Theoreticus
3. Practicus
4. Philosophus
5. Adeptus Minor
6. Adeptus Major
7. Adeptus Exemptus
8. Magister Exemptus
9. Magus
- Pansophia is likewise the Golden Dawn and Tränker is an adept in this English Order. Pansophia attracts many German theosophists even one of the old founder members of the German section of the Theosophical Society Otto Gebhardi. (He was also a early member of O.T.O. before the suspension of that order.) Another member is machine-engineer Karl Germer who acts as an financer, secretary and translater for Tränker under the name of Fra. Saturnus. He enables the publishing of the book series "PANSOPHIA - fountainhead of the inner live. New announced for salvation of the world from a Collegium Pansophicum."
- The main ritual of Pansophia starts with the words of the Master of Chair:
"In the name of the law of the High Intelligenc of the great Demiurg Saturn, under whose law we stand, I open with the power of my office and the potency of my office a ceremonial working-lodge.
In the name of the great white broderhood of the Planet I announce the law of the New Aeon:
Do what you will! This is the whole of the law! There is no law above Do what you will!
The law has a three-fold aspect, due as within it there's hidden the power of the pure Uranian Influx of Aquarius, the iron Law of Saturn and the Law of the Brotherhood.
Therefore I promulgate the holy Word for this:
Horus nemeskar."
1. Overseer: "We are ready to receive. It's the hour of midnight."
Master: "But consider, that you all have to give accountability about your acts.
Therefore I promulgate The Law:
Love is the Law! Love under Will! Pitiless Love!
Aum!
All-Love! All-Holiness! All-Light you central point of all high,low and felicitously regions!
Aum!"
+++ The Preliminary +++
- Tränker is thinking low of the O.T.O. at this times and in correspondence with the US-O.T.O. Grand Master Charles Stansfeld Jones (Fra. Achad) he declares no interest for O.T.O. Grand Master office for himself. He wants to use Pansophia as an superstructure over different groups under the roof of rosicrucianistic doctrine. But Tränker don't wants to resume official leadership, he prefers 'to pull the strings from behind.' For this reason he is searching for some master, appropriate to represent the group outwards. Recnartus has the idea to use the pansophic lodges as preparative schools for Aleister Crowleys "Argentum Astrum". Tränker claims a vision, which identificated Crowley as an leader of a group of masters.
- In autum of the year 1924 the English Grand Master O.T.O., Aleister Crowley, is in Paris and gets an telegraphic invitation by Tränker for an visit.
- Tränker is organising an meeting for the year 1925. It is meant as an gathering of the leading occultists of Europe and escpecially of Germany about the acceptance or disaffirmation of the Law of Thelema and a counsel about possible amalgamation of occult factions under the leadership of a new world-teacher - the Great Beast 666, Aleister Crowley. Also there is planned to work exertions from Crowleys libri. Crowley declares his hope for an historic proof of the old rosicrucianistic tradition, which he has searched in the Golden Dawn without achievement. There follows an excange of letters for some time. Crowley sends an German translation of Liber AL to Tränker, which was made by Thelemit Max Schneider (Frater Viator) who lived in California. But it is not what Tränker expected. Symonds tells, "Tränker first criticized Liber AL 'as an work of baneful, demonic possession'. Crowley barely shared this conclusion, but conceded that there where passages in it, he was unable to understand for himself. But fortunately for the Thelemits, Tränker soon had another vision after a couple of days. With this, the obscure and daunting passages of the book where suddently understand by him and lost their horror. He now declared the book as an and said he could abstract the meaning in one word - civilisation.
- At last in June 1925 Crowley is driving to Germany. The Cost are paid by Fra. Saturnus (Germer). The meeting of 13 individuals takes place on the 22th of June 1925 at Tränkers country estate in Thuringia at Hohenleuben.
+++ The Conference +++
- This is the conference which is known to occultists worldwide as "The conference of Weida". At all posibility the name has stuck because the attendees could later only recollect the name of the train-station, which is Weida.
- Together with Crowley arrive: his chancellor Norman Mudd, Leah Hirsig and Dorothy Olsen.
- The German occultists are: Tränker, his wife Frau Helene, Karl Germer with his acquaintance the publisher Oskar Hopfer from Weissendorf, Otto Gebhardi with his concubine Martha Künzel, Albin Gau and of course Eugen Grosche. The Germans can only sparsly speak English except for Germer, who as such acts as an translator.
- There is dispute right from the beginning. Fra. Pacitius (Albin Grau) demands for Germany an advanced form of The Law of Thelema. On the second sentance "Love is the Law, Love under Will" should be attached the addendum "Pitiless Love". Crowley takes up with this. Albin Grau claimed later, that at this time he was a follower of Schopenhauer's "Welt als Wille und Vorstellung" and had interposed in the conversation, that a law as "Do what You Will" has already it's foundation in the depths of cosmos and beyond that is the 'Primary Law of Raison d'etre'[Germ.='Urgesetz des Seinsgrundes']. He also recalled to see "an existing analogy between the abolute objectivism and the relative individual relating to 'Do What You Will'." Furthermore Grau telled that Crowley seemed to not offhandly dismiss his opinion, but that Fra.'.Saturnus was seeing this objection as improperly and saw it as an hypercritical probe of the Master's teaching.
- The discussion of the magicans lasts over the whole day till into the evening. Inbetween there is the famous walk into the forest reported by Grosche, where Crowley is greeting the natural elemental spirits and tree-souls.
- There is agreement to translater the works of Master Therion into German language and to spread them over the whole country through Tränkers contacts to occult book-sellers. Grosches own book-shop "Inveha" in Berlin and the shop "Asokthebu" of the Munich Pansophist Otto Wilhelm Barth are designated as reception centers. Also for this purpose there are plans to found a "Thelema-Verlagsgesellschaft" (publishing company) in Leipzig.
- But the question about Crowleys "World-Mastership" remains controversial. The Berlin people (Grau and Grosche) want to stay independent. Gebhardi is acquiescent, apparently to impress his girl-fiend Martha Küntzel, who is smitten with Crowley. Also Karl Germer is facinated by Master Therion, and so the famous 'Seeker's testimony' is composed. Heinrich and Helene Tränker, Mudd, Hirsig, Küntzel Germer, Olsen and Gebhardi sign it.
- Explicit purpose of the proclamation is the challenge of the theosophic world-teacher, the Indian Jiddu Krishnamurti by the Pansophists.
- Apart from not signing the testimony Grosche is also impressed by Crowley. He is introduced as an brother of O.T.O. to Crowley and they have a longer conversation aside the conference, where Crowley is said to have approved Grosche's grades and offered Gregorius to be his direct student, if he would send him 5000$ and a woman. Also Crowley is showing Grosche a big coffer filled with unpublished manuscripts and other valuable paraphernalia, among them a photo from his Tibetian and Mongolian world tours depicting himself in the dress of the 'Red Hat sect'. Crowley also gives his approbation for secret mission of Recnartus to Grosche about the revivify of O.T.O. in Germany and promises to give his help in this task. Gregorius recognizes Therion as enunciator of The Law but disagrees Crowleys demand of unification of all lodges under his command.
+++ The Aftermath +++
- But the meeting is ending in hassle. Crowley feels himself mistreated by Tränker. He accuses Tränker to have hiden food from him, but a friend of Tränker later told that this was emanating from Tränker's wife Helene, who was wary against the foreigners. She was locking off the larder constantly. Crowley tells also that Tränker made modifications to his published texts in PANSOPHIA and defamed Germer's wife as insane and addicted to morphine.
- In return Tränker accuses Crowley to badly treat his wife and of lewdly attemps to seduce her. He was 'literaly jumping' on her and was trying to be alone with her for instance to 'help her in the kitchen'. Tränker was telling this to his students Waltharius and also his fiend Walter Englert.
Waltharius was writing: "There must have played many, many private things into this during this visit. Therion liked woman, and it was all about woman. This was the reason Fra.'. Recnartus no longer wanted Therion as an guest in his house." There is no knowing if the divorce of tränker from his wife in the same year has something to do with it. To Gustav Meyrink Tränker told of Crowley as 'Astral-Polyp' and dangerous conman. He also told of his later revision of opinion about the Book of the Law in December 1925. "As he could not give himself an explanation of the most crass parts to me, I have dumped him down as a scourge to all those who truefully are striving for a spiritual life, whereupon he was falling to the opposite and now is trying to ruin me in public and elsewhere.
- In the night of August 31 to September 1 Tränker celebrates a holy magical operation to get direct advice from the Secret Chiefs in the astral-realm. He gets his relevation the next morning at 11 o'clock. The order is that Tränker and Crowley help each other and both have to keep a silence for one year, aside from issues about Argentum Astrum and Pansophia. Tränke accepts to comply to this order till September 1st 1926. As witness for this order are regarded Martha Küntzel and Otto Gephardi.
- Crowley was exchanging from Tränker's house to the house of Karl Germer in Weida. They both are in good understanding and Crowley is initiating Germer into his Argentum Astrum and the O.T.O. Later Germer is sueing his old Grand Master Recnartus for the money he had put in the 'Pansophia' series.
- Crowley is staying till November 1925 at Germer in Weida. Recnartus executes a magical evocation against Therion to dispose him. He also tries to get an expulsion order from the police and notifys the public prosecution department. He also orders all masonic lodges to whistle-blow Crowley, if he tries to enter Germany again.
- That in turn disgusts Albin Grau. He demands from Tränker to lay down the office of Grand Master of the Pansophic Lodge and the R+C-movement, or the rosicrucians would dissolve the Pansonic Loidge. Tränker refuses and the consequence of this is the brake between Tränker and the Berlin pansophists and also the seed of Fraternitas Saturni. But Grau also later dismisses the Liber Al, "...a book stigmatized with the threefold KEOU. I got...a true insight in the planned reconstruction of Argentum Astrum, a primitiv world-order which reminds on the most black days of Atlantis. If this ideas where known to me in the right time, Sir Crowley could be shure I would not have took the yoke for Argentum Astrum as easily...". But Grau is not only disappointed of Crowley, he answers with the infamous Liber I, which later should take a place for Fraternitas Saturni alike Liber AL has for O.T.O.
- At the same time Therion and Recnartus fall out with each other, also the Thelemits Leah Hirsig and Normann Mudd abandon the Great Beast. They later will also recall their signing of the testimony. They go to Gebhardi and Küntzel at Leipzig. But as Mudd claims the role of World-teacher for his own and tries to display Crowley as an false prophet, he makes Soror I.W.E. (Martha Küntzel) shirty. Mudd and Hirsig are put on the street by her.
- Also Martha will later get at odds with Crowley, who she as admired so much in the beginning. Reason is her rapture for another heart-throb of her, which she also sees as an initiator of the Age of Aquarius. His name is Adolf Hitler and she sees in him a incanation of the demonic will of the German people. But the Beast shares this view not at all, and in the end of the quarrel between Crowley and Küntzel, he tauntingly writes to her in a letter: "Germans are far below Jews, generally speaking, as monkeys below men; but I have always been fond of monkeys and don't want to offend them by comparing any German to one." Poor Martha seems to have no luck with either of her Messiahses, the Hitler-follower Küntzel will die years later in a concentration camp.
