Phyllis Seckler
| Phyllis Seckler | |
|---|---|
| Born | Phyllis Evalina Pratt June 18, 1917 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Died | May 31, 2004 (aged 86) Oroville, California, United States[1] |
| Pen name | Soror Meral |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Period | 1979-2004 |
| Genres | Occult studies |
| Subjects | Biography, astrology, magick |
| Spouse(s) | Grady McMurtry |
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Influences
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Phyllis Evalina Seckler (1917–2004), also known as Soror Meral, was a ninth degree (IX°) member of the "Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis" of Ordo Templi Orientis, and a student of Jane Wolfe, herself a student of Aleister Crowley.[2] Sr. Meral was Master of 418 Lodge of O.T.O. from its inception in 1979 until her death.[3] She was also founder of the College of Thelema; and co-founder, with Anna-Kria King and James Eshelman, of the Temple of Thelema, both of which organizations she also led until her death. Prior to her death, she also warranted the founding of the College of Thelema of Northern California as an autonomous continuation of her work, and the Temple of the Silver Star (the initiatory Order within the College of Thelema of Northern California.) She was a writer for and editor of In the Continuum, the journal of the College of Thelema, for nearly 25 years.[1]
For a brief period in the 1970s, she was married to Grady McMurtry. It was as a result of a 1968 letter from Seckler that McMurtry (Fra. Hymenaeus Alpha) invoked his "emergency powers" to reconstitute Ordo Templi Orientis, which had flagged following the death of Aleister Crowley's successor as Outer Head of the Order, Karl Germer. It was under their combined leadership that O.T.O. was incorporated under California law.[4]
[edit] Publications
- Seckler (2003). Jerry Cornelius and Marlene Cornelius. ed. Jane Wolfe: Her Life With Aleister Crowley (Part 1). Red Flame #10. ISBN 0-9712376-2-X.
- Seckler (2003). Jerry Cornelius and Marlene Cornelius. ed. Jane Wolfe: Her Life With Aleister Crowley (Part 2). Red Flame #11. ISBN 0-9712376-3-8.
- Seckler (2010). Rorac Johnson, Gregory Peters, and David Shoemaker. ed. The Thoth Tarot, Astrology & Other Selected Writings. Teitan Press & College of Thelema of Northern California. ISBN 9780933429277.
[edit] References
- ^ a b College of Thelema (4 June 2004). "Religious Leader, Educator Phyllis Seckler Dies at 86". http://sorormeral.org/. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
- ^ Starr, Martin P. (2003). The Unknown God: W. T. Smith and the Thelemites. Bolingbrook, Illinois: Teitan Press. ISBN 0-933429-07-X.
- ^ "Phyllis Seckler". Thelemapedia. 2008. http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Phyllis_Seckler. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
- ^ Crowley, Aleister, et al. (July 1990) [March 1986]. Hymenaeus Beta. ed. The Review of Scientific Illuminism: The Official Organ of the O.T.O. The Equinox #10. III. Soror Meral, Research Ed. (Revised ed.). York Beach, Maine: Weiser Books. ISBN 0-87728-719-8.
[edit] External links
- Red Flame memorial page
- College of Thelema and Temple of Thelema
- Website of 418 Lodge, O.T.O.
- College of Thelema of Northern California and the Temple of the Silver Star
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