Your Decoder Ring for the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) Circus
NOTOCON and the Theater of Control
Intro
NOTOCON is this week.
You’ve got your plane ticket.
Your outfits picked out.
Your hotel room’s booked.
When all is said and done, you’ll have spent over a grand to be there.
Maybe you’re looking forward to making new friends—or reconnecting with old ones.
Maybe you’re chasing the magic of previous years.
There are so many unknowns.
You’re probably asking yourself:
- Will I get invited to any cool parties? Maybe.
- Will I get laid? Possibly.
- Will any of the lectures be good? [sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth]
But no matter how the weekend plays out, there’s one thing I can guarantee:
You will witness something completely fucked up.
I don’t know what it’ll be.
Maybe a screaming match.
Maybe someone getting grabbed without consent.
Maybe you’ll just feel the chill of exclusion—or catch a whisper of something vicious behind someone’s back.
Maybe you’ll witness it directly. Maybe you’ll just hear about it. Maybe you’ll just see someone crying in a corner and not know why.
And you won’t quite know what to make of it.
You’ll wonder: Was that just weird… or was that dangerous?
It might rattle around in your head for years.
Maybe you’ll brush it off as drama.
Maybe you’ll leave the Order one day, and then it’ll all click.
Or… maybe you watch this video first.
Hi, I’m James.
I spent 11 years in O.T.O.
I ran national workshops.
I led an O.T.O. local body.
I attended and presented at NOTOCONs and more conferences beyond that.
I’ve seen how the machine works.
I’ve witnessed the harm.
I’ve been in the room with 5th, 6th, and 7th degrees as we discussed what to do about it.
And I’ve seen them push back—both in words and in deeds—against real solutions.
This video is your decoder ring for the esoteric circus of abuse, gaslighting, and cult-like control you’re about to walk into.
You can look back on this weekend seven years from now and wonder what the hell happened.
Or you can watch this video, and understand it in real time—while it’s happening.
If you’re ready… let’s dive in.
What You’ll Witness This Weekend
Now that you’re here, let’s talk about what you’re actually going to see.
I’m not talking about the scheduled classes, the banquet, or the giant Gnostic Mass.
I mean the deeper patterns that hold the whole thing together.
Because once you learn to spot them, you’ll never unsee them.
Pattern 1: Protection of Upper-Degree Predators and Unstable Members
When I say “upper-degree,” I mean 5th degree and above. You’ll probably see someone acting unhinged—yelling, love-bombing, crossing lines—and there will be no consequences. Maybe even no one steps in.
Why? Because they’re either an upper degree themselves, or tightly attached to someone who is.
In OTO, status determines consequences. Try holding someone accountable and you’ll find out real fast how high up they are.
If they wear a thumb ring, they’re 6th degree—and nearly untouchable. If I were a woman, I wouldn’t be alone in a room with a 6th. Not because they’re all predators—most aren’t. But if one is? You have no recourse. None.
I’ve spent years around 6th and 7th degrees. From what I’ve seen, they can do almost anything without consequence—and NOTOCON gives them a playground.
Even the so-called safety team isn’t immune from this pattern of abuse.
Behind the scenes, safety is more performance than protection.
In past years, volunteers weren’t vetted. Known harassers get invited to serve—sometimes as a way to “redeem” themselves through service.
There’s no screening, no oversight, and zero transparency about people’s histories.
It’s not safety. It’s safety theater.
And when something does go wrong, the real priority isn’t healing or justice—it’s damage control.
Pattern 2: Surveillance and Loyalty Testing
You’ll notice people watching—not just who’s talking, but who’s listening.
Who’s reacting. Who’s asking the “wrong” questions.
No, I don’t expect to be the main topic at this year’s NOTOCON. However, if you choose to say something about me, be careful.
Some of you are already in the file system.
The National Grand Master, Sabazius, keeps folders. Screenshots. Comments. Reactions. Not just about me—but about anyone who shares my content or comments on it. He doesn’t even try to hide it.
They’re categorizing people—critics vs. supporters.
You don’t even have to agree with me. Just mention my videos. Ask a question. Express concern. That’s enough to get noticed.
And at NOTOCON, that tracking continues. Maybe someone chats you up later, “just to express concern” or “hurt”
Maybe it comes up when you’re up for 5th. Maybe you’ll never know.
This is how control works: not through public punishment, but quiet social sorting.
Pattern 3: Gaslighting Disguised as Wisdom
You’re going to bring up something real—and someone will tell you it’s just “drama.”
Or your shadow. Or you just need to mind your own business or just do your will. Or just some bullshit about “The Work” or “The Ordeals of Initiation”.
This isn’t wisdom. It’s emotional gaslighting dressed in esoteric t-shirts.
I’ve sat in upper-degree meetings. It’s a mutual glazing society—where showing up makes you “awesome” and parroting platitudes makes you “wise.” The second you bring up a problem not on the approved list, they shut down.
And when they run out of vocabulary, they’ll imply you’re not world-wise or mature enough, or that you’re making drama.
Trust me: upper degrees love drama. They are addicted to triangulation, shit-talking, emotional manipulation, and tattling. What they can’t handle is accountability.
Pattern 4: Smearing of Critics and Dissenters
You’ll hear people talk about me this weekend. A lot.
You’ll hear I’m unstable, egotistical, abusive, theatrical. That I “changed”, I “burned bridges,” I “went crazy.” I spent time in a mental hospital. I plotted 9/11. I started the Chicago Fire.
What you will not hear is a single person engage meaningfully with a word I said.
That’s the pattern: the system doesn’t argue—it discredits.
And not just me. Anyone who challenges leadership gets branded with vague moral failure.
“They’re divisive.” “They have weird energy.” “They threw pamphlets on a table in 2012.” “They stirred the pot.”
You’ll hear someone say, “It happens every few years. He’ll go away.”
Why does a group this small generate scandals like the Catholic Church?
They’ll quote some nonsense like “The dogs bark, but the caravan rolls on.”
It’s a caravan to hell.
Pattern 5: Performance Over Substance
You’ll sit through lectures that sound smart but say nothing.
You’ll see rituals that look impressive but feel hollow.
You’ll hear applause for ideas no one understands—because clapping is safer than not.
That’s the point. This isn’t about transformation. It’s about performance.
When you feel confused, alienated, or underwhelmed—trust that feeling. It’s not a lack of understanding. It’s your bullshit detector going off.
Pattern 6: In-Groups and Social Hierarchies
You’ll notice some people always get invited to the “right” room parties. Always in the know. Always off in a corner having a conversation.
Others orbit the edge—one gossip session or screenshot away from making it inside.
The way people in OTO triangulate, spy on each other, and drop veiled threats, you’d think they were trafficking drugs. But they’re not. They’re hoping to play Cards Against Thelema with Sabazius.
This isn’t a spiritual order. It’s high school. They just traded in their band uniforms for capes and thumb rings.
And whether you move up often depends more on flattery and back-channeling than it does on your integrity or anything magical.
Pattern 7: Forced Fraternity and Emotional Performance
You’ll see group hugs. Love bombs. Public praise.
Then gossip. Triangulation. Quiet cruelty behind closed doors.
You’ll be told this is a place of radical love—“Love is the law, love under will.”
But in practice? Love here means obedience, silence, and emotional labor.
Leave OTO tomorrow, and 95% of these people will never speak to you again.
Say something critical, and you’ll be shunned.
This is going to be the hardest thing to hear in this video, but I promise you: These people are not your friends.
Real friendship isn’t conditional on supporting a group—or pretending not to see what’s rotten inside it.
It doesn’t include backbiting, manipulation, mockery, or betrayal.
But in OTO, that’s the norm—and the price of not playing along is exile.
OTO isn’t emotional safety. It’s emotional theater.
And you’ll discover that the moment you stop being agreeable and start being real.
Closing: If You See It, You’re Not Alone
If something this weekend makes your stomach turn—trust it.
If you witness something that feels off, and no one else reacts—you’re not crazy.
You’re just seeing the system clearly.
That’s what cult dynamics do: they train you to doubt your instincts, rewrite your memories, and explain away the harm as part of the path.
But now you’ve seen the map. You’ve got the decoder ring.
They’ll tell you I’m bitter. Or broken. Or mentally ill.
But they won’t address the truth I’m naming—because they can’t.
So as you walk through this weekend, remember this:
You don’t owe loyalty to dysfunction.
You owe yourself clarity, safety, and truth.
If you see it, you’re not alone.
And if you’re ready to talk when the weekend’s over… I’ll still be here.