The Illuminates of Thanateros () is an international

magical organization A magical organization or magical order is an organization created for the practice of ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, Wiccan ...

that focuses on practical group work in

chaos magic Chaos magic, also spelled chaos magick, is a modern tradition of magic. It initially emerged in England in the 1970s as part of the wider neo-pagan and magical subculture. Drawing heavily from the occult beliefs of artist Austin Osman Spare, ...

. The idea was first announced in 1978, while the order proper was formed in 1987. This fraternal magical society has been an important influence on some forms of modern

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

. It has been described as "an unprecedented attempt of institutionalising one of the most individualising currents in the history of ‘Western learned magic’." The IOT has been described as "the Order for 'serious' Chaos Magicians in the same way that the OTO exists for 'serious' Thelemites." The IOT is considered to be an occult or neoshamanic organization.

Name

The name "Thanateros" is a combination of the names "

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appe ...

" and "

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

"— the Greek gods of death and sex, respectively. The idea is that sex and death represent the positive and negative methods of attaining "magical consciousness". The word "Illuminates" is used in accordance with the claimed tradition of calling such societies — in which those who have mastered the secrets of magic help bring others to mastership — "the

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 ...

". Its formal name is ''The Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros'', which is usually shortened to "''the Pact''".

History

Early

In the late 1970s, Ray Sherwin and Peter Carroll, two young

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

occultists interested in

ritual magic Ceremonial magic (ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an e ...

, began to publish a magazine called '' The New Equinox''. Both men were connected with a burgeoning occult scene developing around The Phoenix, a metaphysical bookshop in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. Having grown dissatisfied with the state of the magical arts and the deficiencies they saw in the available occult groups, they published a small announcement in a 1978 issue of their magazine, announcing the creation of the Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT). They described this order as a new kind of magical order, one based on a hierarchy of magical ability rather than invitation and a magical

meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achiev ...

. They described the IOT as a "spiritual heir" to the

Zos Kia Cultus Austin Osman Spare (30 December 1886 – 15 May 1956) was an English artist and occultist who worked as both a draughtsman and a painter. Influenced by symbolism and art nouveau his art was known for its clear use of line, and its depiction of ...

and a "fusion of

Thelemic Thelema () is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. The word '' ...

Magick,

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

, The Sorceries of Zos and

Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...

Ice magick controversy

In the early 1990s the order experienced a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

as a result of conflicts about the doctrine of 'ice magick', a major proponent of which was

Ralph Tegtmeier Ralph Tegtmeier (born November 1, 1952), also known as Frater V∴D∴ and Frater U∴D∴, is a German occultist, a longtime member of the Fraternitas Saturni, and co-founder of the Illuminates of Thanateros. Significance Horst E. Miers in his ( ...

. Peter Carroll learned more about the racial doctrines that Tegtmeier was teaching, and criticized him for it. That led to an untenable conflict between Carroll and Tegtmeier, which culminated in Tegtmeier and all of his followers seceding from the IoT. The vast majority of German and Swiss members left the order, which constituted about 30% of the order's total membership. Ralph Tegtmeier and a few others were subsequently

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

. After publishing ''Liber Kaos'', Carroll retired from active participation in the order, though he remains on good terms with many of the longstanding members.

References

Works cited

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Illuminates Of Thanateros Arts organizations established in 1987 Chaos magic Magical organizations