Carl Kellner (1 September 1851 – June 7, 1905) was a chemist, inventor, and industrialist. Born in Vienna, Austria, he made significant improvements to the sulfite process and was co-inventor of the Castner-Kellner process. He was a student of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, Rosicrucianism, and Eastern

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

. He was the putative founder of

Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann and T ...

and is sometimes referred to as "Spiritual father of O.T.O.".

Career

Carl Kellner is reputed to have developed the Ritter-Kellner process while working for Baron Hector Von Ritter-Zahony in 1876. In 1889 he established the Kellner-Partington paper pulp Co in association with Edward Partington. The process for making caustic soda and chlorine by electrolysis of brine using a mercury electrode was developed independently by Mr Hamilton Y. Castner and Dr Carl Kellner in 1892. They established the Castner Kellner company jointly to exploit their patents in 1895. It is not known when he obtained his doctorate but he used the title of PhD from 1895.

Freemasonry and esotericism

Kellner had become a Freemason in 1873, being initiated at the Humanitas Lodge on the Austro-Hungarian border, taking the motto of Brother Renatus. In 1885, Kellner met the

Theosophical Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

and

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...

scholar, Dr.

Franz Hartmann Franz Hartmann (22 November 1838, Donauwörth – 7 August 1912, Kempten im Allgäu) was a German medical doctor, theosophist, occultist, geomancer, astrologer, and author. Biography Hartmann was an associate of Helena Blavatsky and was C ...

(1838–1912). He and Hartmann later collaborated on the development of the "ligno-sulphite" inhalation therapy for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, which formed the basis of treatment at Hartmann's sanitarium near Saltzburg. During this period, Kellner became interested in the more esoteric aspects of Freemasonry, joining

John Yarker John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an England, English List of Freemasons, Freemason, author, and occultist. He was born in Swindale, Shap, Westmorland, in the north of England. He moved with his parents to Lancashire and on to ...

Rite of Memphis-Misraim The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is a masonic rite founded in Naples, Italy in September 1881 by the merger of two older rites; the ''Rite of Misraïm'' and the ''Rite of Memphis''. Although founded in 1881, its predecessors h ...

. Hartmann's obituary of Kellner describes that in 1902 Kellner

"...was personally initiated in Manchester by Brother Yarker into the 96°, and made Sovereign Honorary General Grand Master of our Order"

During extensive travels in Europe, America, and Asia Minor, Kellner claimed to have come into contact with three adepts (a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, Soliman ben Aifa, and two

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Tantrics, Bhima Sena Pratapa of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and Sri Mahatma Agamya Paramahamsa), and an organization called the

Hermetic Brotherhood of Light The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light was a Fraternity that descended from the Fratres Lucis in the late 18th century (in turn, derived from the German Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross), and was the seed from which Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) ('O ...

. These adepts are attributed with having initiated Kellner into the use of sexual magick (sometimes referred to as 'the sexual current' by ritual magicians). Kellner was also influenced by French followers of the American occultist

Paschal Beverly Randolph Paschal Beverly Randolph (October 8, 1825 – July 29, 1875) was an American medical doctor, occultist, spiritualist, trance medium, and writer. He is notable as perhaps the first person to introduce the principles of erotic alchemy to North Am ...

. During the course of his esoteric studies, Kellner believed that he had discovered a "key" which offered a clear explanation of all the complex symbolism of

, and, Kellner believed, opened the mysteries of nature. Kellner developed a desire to form an Academia Masonica which would enable Freemasons to become familiar with all existing

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

degrees and systems.

Ordo Templi Orientis

In 1895, Kellner began to discuss his idea for founding this Academia Masonica with his associate

Theodor Reuss Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923) also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was an Anglo-German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo T ...

(aka Frater Merlin or Peregrinus). During these discussions, Kellner decided that the Academia Masonica should be called

(Oriental Templar Order). The occult inner circle of this order (O.T.O. proper) would be organized parallel to the highest degrees of the Rite of Memphis-Misraim and would teach the esoteric Rosicrucian doctrines of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light, and Kellner's "key" to Masonic symbolism. Both men and women would be admitted at all levels to this order, but possession of the various degrees of Craft and high-grade Freemasonry would be a prerequisite for admission to the inner circle of O.T.O. Due to the regulations of the established grand lodges which governed Regular Masonry, women could not be made Masons and would therefore be excluded by default from membership in Ordo Templi Orientis. Reforming the Masonic system to allow the admission of women may have been one of the reasons that Kellner and his associates resolved to obtain control over one of the many rites of Masonry; possibly because of wishing to incorporate the practice of

sex magic Sex magic (sometimes spelled sex magick) is any type of sexual activity used in magical, ritualistic or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits. One practice of sex magic is using sexual arousal or orgasm with visualization of a desired re ...

. They may have believed that sex magic was "...the key to all the secrets of the universe and to all the symbolism ever used by secret societies and religions." The discussions between Reuss and Kellner did not lead to any positive results at the time, because Reuss was very busy with a revival of the

Order of Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

along with his associate

Leopold Engel Leopold Engel was a German writer and occultist. Early life Engel was born in St Petersburg, Russia. His father was Karl Dietrich Engel (1824–1913), a violinist who in 1846 became Konzertmeister (leader) of the orchestra of the Imperial Russi ...

of Dresden. Kellner did not approve of the revived Illuminati Order or of Engel. According to Reuss, upon his final separation with Engel in June 1902, Kellner contacted him and the two agreed to proceed with the establishment of Ordo Templi Orientis by seeking authorizations to work the various rites of high-grade Masonry. Reuss and Kellner together prepared a brief manifesto for their order in 1903, which was published the next year in The

Oriflamme The Oriflamme (from Latin ''aurea flamma'', "golden flame"), a pointed, blood-red banner flown from a gilded lance, was the battle standard of the King of France in the Middle Ages. The oriflamme originated as the sacred banner of the Abbey of St ...

. However whether Kellner ever lived to see O.T.O. becoming more than just these early plans is debatable, since he died in 1905, not long after the first announcements were made.

Illness and death

In 1903 Kellner mysteriously took ill and, after a long hospital stay, went to Cairo's dry climate to recuperate during the winter of 1904–05. He returned to Vienna and work in seemingly good health, but on June 7, 1905, he suffered a fatal heart attack. The coroner cited "chronic poisoning, due to infection of the blood" as the case of death. He left his widow, Maria, and four children, Elga, Nora, Edi and Widi.Richard Kaczynski. "Carl Kellner's Esoteric Roots: Sex and Sex Magick in the Victorian Age." ''Beauty and Strength: Proceedings of the Sixth Biennial National Ordo Templi Orientis Conference (Salem, MA August 10–12, 2007 EV)'' Riverside, CA: United States Grand Lodge, Ordo Templi Orientis, 2009.

Notes

References