Marcelo Ramos Motta Explained

Marcelo Ramos Motta
Other Names:Parzival X°
Parzival XI°
Birth Date:27 June 1931
Birth Place:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Death Place:Teresópolis, Brazil
Occupation:Writer, translator, teacher
Module:
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Genre:Occult
Subjects:Thelema, Aleister Crowley
Notable Works:Calling the Children of the Sun

Marcelo Ramos Motta (June 27, 1931 – August 26, 1987) was a Brazilian writer, Thelemite, and member of the A∴A∴ occult society. Known for his work in the field of Thelema, he was a prominent figure in the Thelemic community and contributed significantly to its literature. Motta was also recognized by his magical names Parzival X° and Parzival XI°. His writings, which include translations of Aleister Crowley's works and original Thelemic texts, have had a lasting impact on the study and practice of Thelema in Brazil and beyond.

Early life

Motta was born at the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Very little is known about his childhood, only that he was born into a family with Swiss-German ancestry and received a very strict education, amplified by his admission at the Military Academy of Rio de Janeiro (Colégio Militar do Rio de Janeiro). His father was a follower of the doctrine of Allan Kardec and his mother was Catholic. At eleven years of age he became interested for the first time in the mysterious "Rosicrucians", after reading Zanoni, the novel by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He also read works by Papus, Blavatsky, Patanjali, Paracelsus and Arnold Krumm-Heller. He "decided to search for them and to become one of those mysterious Adepts". But his first contact with a self-proclaimed Rosicrucian society, the Brazilian branch of AMORC, did not satisfy him and he started his search for an initiatory school of the sort he found in Arnold Krumm-Heller's novel Rose-Croix.[1]

His time at the Military Academy of Rio de Janeiro gave him a sense of duty and discipline, which he applied to his occult research. During that time, he became interested in astrology and tarot, among other esoteric topics. Those interests were not very common among his fellow students, but they gave him some knowledge to argue with his philosophy teacher in a debate that became famous for years.[2]

At the age of 17 he made contact with the Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua, Arnold Krumm-Heller's Rosicrucian order, and took his first initiations in 1948. Local political tension impelled him to move to Europe and then to the United States of America. His mission on this voyage, given by the Brazilian leadership of the FRA, was to meet Parsival Krumm-Heller (son of Arnold Krumm-Heller and then legal leader of FRA) and mediate the contacts between the Brazilian group and the international leadership.

Career

Motta's first contact with Thelema was through John Symonds' book biography of Aleister Crowley, The Great Beast. Motta saw many connections between the Law of Thelema and parts of his initiations at FRA, but he had never previously heard about Thelema or Aleister Crowley. Furthermore, the book gave him some serious doubts about Crowley's initiations. After asking P. Krumm-Heller about the subject, Motta received from him considerable material about Thelema and Crowley, readings that completely changed Motta's opinion about Crowley and his methods and philosophy. Later, in the US, P. Krumm-Heller introduced Motta to Karl Germer, leader of Ordo Templi Orientis at that time.

Society Ordo Templi Orientis

Returning to Brazil in 1962, Motta translated and published Crowley's Liber Aleph and wrote Calling the Children of the Sun, the first Thelemic writing published in Brazil (later this work was suppressed by Motta himself for fear of political repercussions). From this year to 1987, Motta, as a member of A∴A∴ had numerous students under his tutelage. Karl Germer died in 1962, and in 1969, Grady McMurtry assumed control of O.T.O. based on his letters of "emergency authorization" given to him by Crowley.

Motta established his own O.T.O. called Society Ordo Templi Orientis in Brazil and elsewhere. The order never reveals the number of its members but it was significantly smaller than the legally recognized Ordo Templi Orientis. Motta's pupils included the Brazilian celebrity novelist Paulo Coelho.[3]

In 1975, Motta published "The Commentaries of AL", as The Equinox, Volume V, Number 1. This book was published by Samuel Weiser, Inc., and contained commentaries on The Book of The Law written by Aleister Crowley and by Motta himself. He also used this book to announce his claim to be the Outer Head of the Order (O.H.O.) of O.T.O. This claim was rejected by U.S. court in 1978, when Motta unsuccessfully sued for ownership of Crowley's copyrights. The case was finally rejected on appeal in 1985.[4]

Death and successors

Motta died on August 26, 1987, in the city of Teresópolis (Brazil) at the age of 56 of a heart attack.

Daniel Ben Stone advertised S.O.T.O. in the classified section of the Llewellyn New Times and issued a very limited printing of the Oriflamme VI, #6 in hardcover.[5]

In 1991, Ray Eales (Frater 939) established H.O.O.R. (Holy Order of RaHoorKhuit), an outer Thelemic order, and has published various volumes by Motta under the imprint of H.O.O.R. Publications from Tampa, Florida.[6]

Claudia Canuto de Menezes remained relatively silent outside of issuing a statement in 2000 appearing to endorse Ray Eales and H.O.O.R.[7]

Published works

See also: Aleister Crowley bibliography.

In Portuguese

In English

The publications of Thelema Publishing Company and Troll Publishing Company emanated from Nashville, Tennessee.

Pamphlets

The Equinox series

All volumes in this series were issued as hardcovers, however there was an unauthorised paperbound reprint of "The Commentaries of AL" published by Joseph J. Zver of Allentown PA in 1985. The major portion of Volume V, #2 was also printed in a limited edition, signed spiral-bound format with a custom index by Gregory von Seewald (March 1996 e.v., The Headland Press, Old Greenwich).

The Oriflamme series

All volumes in this series were issued as trade paperbacks only.

HOOR Publications & Silver Star Publications

Independent

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Motta . Marcelo . Calling the Children of the Sun . 2019 . Monica D. Rocha . Germany . 978-0-244-23686-1 . 75–103 . 2nd.
  2. Book: Whatley . Lisa . A Window to the Sun . 1999 . Whatley Publishing . Denver, CO . 0-9669868-0-6 . 1st.
  3. Book: Morais, Fernando. Paulo Coelho: A Warrior's Life. 2009. HarperLuxe. 978-0061885884.
  4. Web site: Marcelo Ramos Motta, Etc., et al., Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. Samuel Weiser, Inc., Etc., Defendant, Appellee, 768 F.2d 481 (1st Cir. 1985) . Justia.com . 29 June 2018 . 29 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180629211638/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/768/481/407956/ . live .
  5. Book: Thelemic magick : Unexpurgated, commented : Part 2. 1991. 2021-11-02. 2021-11-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20211102020726/https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9911421833506421. live.
  6. Web site: Holy Order of RaHoorKhuit (H.O.O.R.) Encyclopedia.com. 2021-02-08. 2021-02-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20210208231311/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/holy-order-rahoorkhuit-hoor. live.
  7. Web site: Claudia Canuto - Soror Khali Athena - Marcelo Santos - english translation. 2021-10-28. 2021-10-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028025957/https://www.parareligion.ch/sunrise/s2.htm. live.
  8. Web site: THE CHINESE TEXTS OF MAGICK AND MYSTICISM. members.ozemail.com.au . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050220130811/http://members.ozemail.com.au/~realoto/eqv3c.html . 20 February 2005 . dead.

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