Is Scott Adams A Member Of The Secret Society ‘Ordo Templi Orientis?’
A few years back, Scott Adams released a book that was quite different than the Dilbert cartoons which made him famous. The book was called God’s Debris, essentially a ‘thought experiment’ that challenged the reader to consider the meaning of life from an illusive mentor who seems to arise from “a wrinkle in time.”
I read it. It’s good. Go read it. Download it free here.
Adam’s wrote a follow up book that portrays a different perspective, called The Religion War. This time, the protagonist is on a mission to stop the world’s two largest religions, Christianity and Islam, from starting a nuclear holocaust.
The subject matter has obvious parallels with the political climate today, with the world seemingly a hair-trigger away from an epic religious conflict. Or is it?
Mike Wooldridge, writing for the BBC, asked “Can religion be blamed for war?” and his conclusion, citing a “War Audit”, is surprising:
Although armed conflicts may take on religious overtones, their genesis invariably lies in factors such as ethnicity, identity, power struggles, resources, inequality and oppression - and one factor is often exacerbated by another.
So why is religion a factor in war at all when all the main faiths have little time for violence and advocate peace? Because, it is suggested, leaders use differences over faith as a way of sowing hatred and mobilising support for political wars.
This mirrors Adam’s book, The Religion War, as the protagonist discovers the leaders in power remain so by claiming they’re both on the side of God. The discerning reader realizes that God cannot be for or against the same thing at the same time.
And so a logical flaw emerges.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Upon finishing Adam’s book, I happened to flip back to the dedication. Though I’d read it before, I’d promptly forgotten about it. Now its mystery intrigued me once again.
The dedication reads:
I scoured my mind for any obvious references to “seven pointers” but couldn’t come up with anything. So I turned to Google.
I typed in: “seven pointers”
Nothing.
I tried: “seven pointed” religion
Now we’re getting somewhere. The first link reveals that “seven pointer” could be a reference to a septogram - a seven pointed star.
The article says:
“The septagram, a continuously drawn figure having seven points, is far less common than the pentagram. It is however important in Western kabbalah, where it symbolizes the sphere of Netzach, the seven planets, the seven alchemical metals, and the seven days of the week. It is a sacred symbol to Wiccans who follow the “Faery” tradition, where it is called the Elven or Fairy star.”
Seven seems to be coming up a lot. Further links reveal its connection to Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, and a book The Secret Teachings Of The Ages.
But the last sentence in the article particularly caught my eye:
The seven pointed star is also an important part of the seal of the A.A., the inner order of Aleister Crowley’s OTO.
I decided to Google “OTO” and see what I could find.
The Plot Thickens
Turns out, OTO means “Ordo Templi Orientis” - and is an international fraternal and religious organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century.
Say’s the Wikipedia entry: “Similar to many secret societies, O.T.O. membership is based on an initiatory system with a series of degree ceremonies that use ritual drama to establish fraternal bonds and impart spiritual and philosophical teachings.”
Their US chapter website says they are “dedicated to the high purpose of securing the Liberty of the Individual and his or her advancement in Light, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, and Power through Beauty, Courage, and Wit, on the Foundation of Universal Brotherhood.”
Their central philosophy, called Thelema, is based on the principle Do what thou wilt.
This Law is not to be interpreted as a license to indulge every passing whim, but rather as the mandate to discover one’s True Will and accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique ways. “Every man and every woman is a star.” The Law of Thelema can ultimately be fulfilled only through the individual efforts of each person.
Back to The Religion War
Armed with my newfound knowledge about the OTO, I now return to Scott Adam’s book The Religion War with an altered perspective.
Here is a book about saving humanity from cataclysmic destruction at the hands of religious fundamentalists (on both sides). What does he believe will stop this madness? Nothing short of complete and utter intellectual freedom.
Most importantly, freedom from the tyranny of religion. After all, God can’t be on both sides.
Spoiler alert: in the book, ultimately the protagonist fails to stop the war. But humanity lives on, only through breaking down the censorship barriers they willingly allowed to be built around them.
This corresponds with the OTO’s stated mission: to cultivate the ideals of individual liberty, self-discipline, self-knowledge.
Verdict: I’d say it’s quite likely Scott Adams is a member of Ordo Templi Orientis.
But that leaves one more question left unanswered.
Who is the other seven-pointer?
June 5th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
God is for free agency. Extrapolate as you will upon that premise. ——Doug Rosbury
June 6th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Thanks Doug, I shall extrapolate. But that still doesn’t help me figure out who is the other seven-pointer
June 9th, 2008 at 1:07 am
So your evidence is:
1. That Adams referred to himself as a “seven-pointer”, which could possibly refer to a seven-pointed star, one of the many uses of which is to represent a particular secret society.
2. The secret society advocates independence. Adams’ book opposes censorship.
Iron-clad.
June 9th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Well - you’re right. It’s not much to go on. Although I figured if he was part of the society he wouldn’t be entirely overt about it. But admittedly, the connection contains a fair amount of speculation.
June 14th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Since you were smart enough to figure out what scott what referring to, you the reader are obviously the second seven pointer (or soon will be)
June 15th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
It’s true that it’s not a solid argument full of empirical evidence, but life isn’t a science textbook. There aren’t a hell of a lot of secret societies to whom seven-pointed stars are important. “Seven-pointer” could mean something completely unrelated to stars, but if it is, we’ll never figure it out. I think your conclusion is the best one *given the sparse evidence*.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Thanks Dan! I appreciate the vote of confidence.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Scott Adams is literally a seven-pointer.
He was born with a rare genetic disorder that results in him growing antlers, which he has to file off to be able to walk through doors (he’s his own person; he could give a damn if people stare or not, but he has to be able to get around).
The other seven-pointer is probably just someone from his support group.
June 28th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Did anyone think to ask the author?
July 12th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Wow. What a waste of time. *golf-clap* Thank You, Google, for leading this self-proclaimed Renaissance-artist “down the rabbit hole.” HAHAHA. You write, yet have no use for words.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:51 am
oliveoil - for you I share a quote:
“Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.”
~ Lovelle Drachman
July 12th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Yeah. “I scoured my mind for any obvious references to “seven pointers” but couldn’t come up with anything. So I turned to Google.
I typed in: “seven pointers”
Nothing.
I tried: “seven pointed” religion
Now we’re getting somewhere. The first link reveals…”
July 14th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
As a former member of the O.T.O (having obtained the degree of Knight of the East and West; Priest of Thelema in the Inner and the Outer) I can say that I have NEVER heard any member of the O.T.O referred to as a “Seven-Pointer.” The A.A. is NOT the Inner Order of the O.T.O despite what many may wish; Crowley himself made this abundantly clear by striving for the remainder of his life to unite O.T.O with A.A. (The two approaches to Thelema are radically different. It would be like trying to establish every member of a given church as a Christ in his or her own right.)
I doubt very seriously that Scott Adams is a member of the O.T.O. He seems far to rational to belong to that degenerating bunch of perverts.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Victor. I find that comment rather offensive. Group of perverts? Why is this, because Crowley did some things that might have been a little weird? King James wrote the bible, but also had sex with his mother. Are the Christians a bunch of degenerating perverts?
I will agree that more than likely, Scott Adams is not a member of the O.T.O. Our symbol, the Unicursal Hexagram, is 6 pointed, not seven (would think a knight of the east and west would know this and point that out first) and we have a way of greeting each other as brothers and sisters which is well known by any member.
I think our friend Victor may have belonged to some fringe group of wannabe O.T.O. it’s not hard to start a chapter in your area, and anyone can go.
As a member of the O.T.O. I will say, you get your share of different folks, and yes we have practices and rituals that may sound a little funny, but so do the freemasons and every other secret society.
Here’s something you can all go look up now, because I will end this letter with the farewall of an O.T.O. member.
93 93/93
Take care kids, you too Victor
September 8th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Victor was a member of the prominent OTO back in the 90s and then a member of the UR-OTO in the early Oughts. His experiences with the OTO I would say are based on his local experiences, which I don’t think really reflect on the OTO istelf, at least not in my experience, but to the local body. Every body is different in the order, with different emphasis etc. and some are incredibly active while others are barely eking out an existence with a small cadre of dedicated members. THen again, some people are never able to break their programing and while parroting Crowley they tend to still fit in the “Osirian” mold.