Sent to the Executive Council of United States Grand Lodge O.T.O. on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 2:54 PM (PDT)
Dear Brother Scott,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from Ordo Templi Orientis, effective immediately.
This decision follows eleven years of sincere participation, service, and leadership within the Order—including my recent tenure as Master of Horizon Lodge. I have offered lectures, initiations, writings, and spiritual guidance in alignment with what I believed to be the core values of Thelema: authenticity, accountability, and the freedom of individual will.
However, I have witnessed persistent and damaging patterns within the organizational culture that have led me to conclude the system cannot be reformed from within. These patterns include:
- A tolerance for threats and aggressive behavior when committed by well-connected insiders
- The routine use of emotional manipulation and triangulation in lieu of honest leadership
- Suppression of dissent through selective discipline and whispered backchannels
- Overreach into members’ private expression and intellectual autonomy
- The weaponization of surveillance and procedural ambiguity to stifle truth
- Advancement structures that reward loyalty over clarity or ethics
These are not isolated incidents. They are systemic features—reinforced through institutional passivity and a hierarchy that protects itself first. I no longer see a path forward that allows me to maintain both my membership and my integrity.
I do not make this choice from anger or resentment, but from clarity. I wish the best to those within the Order who continue to seek truth and transformation. But I will no longer contribute to a system that undermines those very aims.
Love is the law, love under will.
Entelecheia
James
See Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.): An Analysis of a High-Control Group for more.