Okay . I was visiting the city , my new GF lived there and I was a ( distant ) member of a group there - I live some 600 km away . She is all excited telling me now she has joined a magical order and would I like to come along to one of their 'teaching nights' ? Sure . We drive out to an inner city 'suburb' and pull up in front of this 2 story block shaped shabby house , overgrown trashy front lawn with a weird looking fire escape type stairway up the side wall to an upper door ( turned out the bottom half was unrelated rented out ) . Well, this looks promising !
Up the stairs... she knock on the door 3 - 1 -3 . A coded knock comes back and more coded knocking passes to and from until a voice demands '' Quo Vardis ? '' and she says her first name and the door is opened (
he could have just said '' Who is it ? '' ) . She walks in and I walk in behind her ''I bought a friend .''
So much for door security . Dude had a full ninja outfit on ! Tonfa and sai ( weapons ) stuck in his belt . '' Who's the ninja ? '' I asked her . ''That's the temple guardian . ''
We went in and it was like a small dirty old style school class room , those seats with a small side table attached , and a big black board on the wall with the 'teacher' .... MY GOD ! Its Robert Ledwich ! He would not know who I was but I knew him ( he used to be on the team that put out 'Dark Circle ' Magazine and would often put pictures of himself in it ... with his name - so he doesnt mind publicity - most often the pictures were highlighting how grossly overweight he was and his new skimpy lingerie selections he liked to model . Obviously he was looking for reactions . They hated me as I used to write all these crazy letters to them ( magazine had a letters column ) calling myself Eric Esoteric ... which infuriated them
Tim Hartridge ran the magazine - an infamous Sydney ' magician / witch / warlock ' - who LOVES publicity and his name attached to anything . Tim had a crazy rep ; eg . He sent word out that he was holding ... something ... at a cemetery at night in Sydney and invited all these people to the secret gathering . But he also invited 'Post magazine' a trashy tit and bum silly 'news' trucker magazine .
Right at the appropriate moment the reporters jump out and start snapping pictures , most trying to conceal their identity run off , a few of 'Tim's girls pose semi naked . Tim jumps up on a grave with vampire fangs in and a scarlet lined cloak and poses .
Next week its on the front page of the mag with a header '' Tits out witches bonk naked on gravestones ! ''
In my experience I have met 'Gardinarian Witches ' .... 'Alexandrian Witches' , but I have never met a 'Tits out witch ' - obviously my research has been lacking !
The 'lesson ' was about how there had been complaints from the 'brethren ' they want more to do ! So the Order had been restructured .... now the 'higher degree ' rituals had been lowered down to lower degrees and they now had permission to do them said Robert . Copies were handed out . They were photocopied out of MTP . I asked (aside to GF ) '' Cant you just do any of them out that book, yourself ? '' ''Yes, we do anyway .''
''Do you get any instruction on them ? '' ''No . '' ... ''Why is Robert L . here 'teaching ' ? '' '' He is 2nd in charge of the Order , he has left Dark Circle ''. Any other teaching was just basic kabbalah correspondences . One time I took my seat and then noticed the guy next to me was also in a nija outfit . Me; '' What's with the ninja outfit ? '' ''Ohhh , I had one hanging around at home and I just thought I would wear it tonight . ''
Some weeks later GF rings me up at home , freaking out ; '' Fucking Tim Hartridge ! He came around here with a heavy guy and they trashed our temple and abducted Robert L ! ''
''What ? ... How did they get past your ninja door guardian ? '' '' He just licked the door in and the guardian ran away when he saw them .''
-it gets better .
Tim and mate take Robert ... not to anywhere private , but a public park right next door to the local railway station , tie him to a tree, half strip him and start torturing with slaps, pinches and live cigarette burns ; '' You stole our subscribers list to get our members for your Order ... where is it, we want it back .'' etc .
A police car drives past ; '' Gee , lookit that ! ''
In questioning them they blurt out ; He broke into our office and stole stuff .... They broke into our temple and trashed it ! ''
Police ; '' Break and enter ? Temple ? What temple where ? '' So Robert L tells them ! Police ; '' We better go and look at the crime scene and this 'temple' then .''
Now the police are walking around the Temple and the 'Frater Superior's' adjoining 'office', going through things , handling ritual items, shuffling through paper work and reading it . Some one thinks ' Hey, Maybe we should ring up the Chief and tell him about this ?''
Well .... maybe ? !
I went to a few more 'teaching sessions ' - the Chief had taken over giving them . Robert L . had this thing going where he had these young uns hanging around him that were either gay or wanted a sex change ( this is decades ago, so a different dynamic to nowadays ). He had a supply of prescription hormone drugs that he used to dose them with . He used to like and try to freak me out , like making his boy?friend sit next to me, then he would push him over so he was touching me . Didnt worry me , I actually made friends with him , Robert didnt like
that, he then always made sure he didnt sit him next to me
Yeah , I mucked up , I was a bit cheeky . Word got out that Frater Superior was not happy with me - now you have had it , I was told . I was also told similar warnings by my group ( who I was sharing these shenanigans with ) ; '' We know nasty people that buy guns off him . Get out while you can .'' .... Pfffft !
Eventually one night Barry ( Fr.Superior ) gives everyone an assignment to work on and goes to his office with Robert L . Word had got out that Fr. S was not happy with me and my GF and we were heading for discipline ! Robert L comes out and calls my GF in . Tense silence in the class room . She comes back looking a little freaked out and to me '' Now he wants to see you . '' ... the 'class' is ; Ooooooooo !
So he tries a few 'usual' intimidation tactics on me and I smirk at him across his desk '' Stop trying to jerk me around Barry . '' he smiles .... ''Did you know Crowley was able to get certain nasty things to happen to people that didnt respect his magical power ?''
Me ; '' Yeah, but that was only when he wanted to fuck their girl friends .''
I will give it to the guy ... he knew when the game was up and then was not silly about it .... he laughed . '' You do realize I will have to excommunicate you ? ''
'' Really, even though I have not joined yet ? Great ! I will be the first guy ever to be expelled from 'The Order of the Golden Phoenix' ....
before I even joined it ! ''
He laughed at that too. '' Well thats about it I suppose .''
Me ; '' Not quiet . Grab that big book there and slam it down on your table . ''
''What ?''
'' Go on , do it .'' he did ... WHAM ! and I let out a whimpering yell '' Again ! '' wham ... yelp !
The I limp out into the class room making myself look totally freaked out and injured and everyone is
Thats about it , I didnt go back and GF left and joined my group . Hooray ! We stole your Priestess !
I did see Barry and the remains of his Order a couple of years later , They had a small crappy market stall at a market in Sydney , selling the worst looking home made and badly painted GD 'replica' stuff, some silly pamphlets about themselves and how to join up . Barry looked sick and half dead and decaying , like a dug up Egyptian mummy .
I ran into one of the members a few months later and asked about the group .... didnt you hear ? He asked .
Apparently the police were driving by the temple (it was now on their rounds as a 'keep your eye n this place ' ) and a guy ran out on to the road, waved them down and said ... ''No need to look anymore ! I got them right here .'' and pulled out of his top shirt pocket two severed human big toes ! ''
I dont think it was related to the temple but it freaked out the last two or three left in it to leave .
- If you read the write up about 'OPA' in that 'Occult in Australia' book , it certainly doesnt give this impression !
I think Barry passed on , but who knows ? maybe he is back here , re incarnated and happily living out his ' True Will ' ;
