Carl Heinz Petersen
Abramelin and O.T.O.

Karl Germer
H.J. Metzger
Eugen Grosche

Carl Heinz Petersen was born on 14 January 1912 in Hamburg and through Karl Germer and Gerald Yorke contacted the many Thelemites in Europe. Germer considered Petersen "a man of the very highest promise!" and hoped for a collaboration between Petersen and Kenneth Grant. In May 1953 Petersen visited Metzger's Abbey of Thelema in Switzerland (which Metzger saw as recognition of his own IX°). Germer gave Petersen the task of translating Crowley's O.T.O.-rituals, the Gnostic Mass, Liber AL, the Hymn to Pan and Yorke's "666, Sex and the O.T.O." which all eventually found their way to the German public. Germer was very bitter when Petersen also translated Crowley material for Eugen Grosche's magazine.

In 1953 when he closed the Agape Lodge in California, Germer took no definite decision as to International Headquarters of the O.T.O. but nourished the idea "of settling up Headquarters in Europe, Germany, or Switzerland." (Why Germer preferred the German speaking area? An unknown informant to the FBI-files on Karl Germer reported that "His conversation is violent Nazi-Propoganda" and that Germer opined "that Hitler is right in believing Germans are the Master Race".)

Regarding Petersen's X° in Germany, Germer remained insecure whether two Grandmasters could operate the O.T.O. at the same time in one country (Traenker still being alive), despite the fact that Crowley also appointed Germer as Grandmaster X° of all the German-speaking people as far back as 1941.

Things went well in Switzerland and Metzger received the permission from Karl Germer to officially give his O.T.O. the by-name "Master Therion's authorised Successor" in 1955. Soon thereafter Petersen started to work on his Abramelin-Exercises. His sexmagical partner, his cousin Frau Pingwill commited suicide in 1956 - he died shortly after in a Hamburg hospital on 4 April 1957. According to his Last Will and Testament, Petersen's heirs were to be Metzger and Lekve.

in 1957, all the leading O.T.O. protagonists in Europe being dead (Hilfiker, Traenker, Lekve, Petersen) Metzger remained the only surviving IX° and X° in Europe and Germer considered him as "the sole aspirant to the Crown". When Germer died. Metzger was elected OHO by his members in January 1963 which was approved by Germer's widow: "Frater Saturnus [Germerl Will and Wish was: that Frater Paragranus [Metzger] takes the Heavy Burden off his Shoulders". Friedrich Mellinger, co-executor of Germer's Will, on the other hand unsuccesfully tried to put a stop to that.

This is an outline from the German "Das OTO-Phaenomen" (1994) and the English "O.T.O. Rituals and Sexmagick" (1999)
Of Booksellers And Other Grand Masters of the O.T.O.: Detailed biographies on Heinrich Tränker, Karl Germer, Henri Birven, Spencer Lewis, and many more details about C.H. Petersen, Eduard Munninger -- and their relation with the O.T.O. under Reuss, Crowley and Metzger -- containing Henri Birven's "Obituary on Karl Germer" with interesting details about Crowley in Berlin in 1930

Karl Germer to C.H. Petersen about Theodor Reuss and succession

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