Early In 1976, Ray Sherwin and
Peter Carroll, two young
British occultists interested in
ritual magic, began to publish a magazine called
The New Equinox. Both were connected with a burgeoning occult scene developing around The Phoenix, a metaphysical bookshop in
London's
East End. Dissatisfied with the state of the magical arts and the deficiencies they saw in the available occult groups, they announced the creation of the Illuminates of Thanateros in a 1978 issue of their magazine. They described it as a new kind of magical order and a
meritocracy with strict admission criteria, where membership was based on demonstrable magical ability, rather than on invitation by members. They described the IOT as a "spiritual heir" to the
Zos Kia Cultus and a "fusion of
Thelemic Magick,
Tantra, The Sorceries of Zos and
Tao". Subsequently, the group has sought to legitimize itself less through tradition and more through results-based experimentation. The group's formation was heavily affected by
anarchic and
countercultural ideas and in their descriptions of the practice of
chaos magic, "chaos is depicted not simply as a cosmic force, but as a call to action and destabilization against the establishment and against reality itself." In contrast to established
neopagan,
occultist or
esoteric Christian magical organizations, it took its
experimentalist approach and many of its concepts from science, especially
chaos theory, as many of its early members were scientists. The group says about itself that in its early years, it was "rarely more than a loose correspondence network and a few people meeting for rituals in
East Morton" and that the sustained organization was established only in 1987. By 1989 it had grown to 130 members worldwide. Members included
Timothy Leary and
Robert Anton Wilson, as well as
William Burroughs.
Ourano-Barbarian In early years the IOT developed their own magical language to use in rituals. Ourano-Barbarian is not spoken as an everyday language and its purpose is to distract the conscious mind and free the magician from the linear thought process while creating ritual proclamations and statements of intent. "One theory is that by using nonunderstandable language in ritual situations, this type of language occupies the verbal parts of consciousness, allowing a certain amount of Freedom of Belief to arise in the rest of the brain".
Ice magick schism In the early 1990s the order experienced a
schism as a result of conflicts about the doctrine of 'ice magick', a major proponent of which was
Ralph Tegtmeier. 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. 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. The group claims to have been "constantly evolving" and grown highly diverse, and has grown to include local representations in additional regions such as
Bulgaria,
France,
Greece,
Poland. It maintains various social media channels and regularly offers events that are open to non-members. The order organizes local groups (Temples) and larger meetings where members can take part in magical work in group context. ==References==