Michael Bertiaux

Michael Paul Bertiaux (born January 18, 1935) is

an American occultist and Old Catholic Bishop, known
for his book Voudon Gnostic Workbook (1988), a 615page compendium of various occult lessons and research papers spanning the sub-elds of Voodoo, NeoPythagoreanism, Thelema and Gnosticism. Long considered by occultists one of the underground classics of 20th
century occultism, the book was out of print for many
years and fetched increasingly high prices in the antiquarian market before it was reprinted in paperback by Red
Wheel/Weiser in 2007. Note that the unique spelling of
voudon is an innovation of Bertiauxs, (though it is similar to the traditional spelling of vodun). Bertiaux also
coined the term vudutronics to refer to his idiosyncratic
interpretation of this religion.

physics. Within the group, the O.T.O.A. works through

the Monastery of the Seven Rays system.[3] Both of these
organizations cooperate with the gnostic church Ecclesia
Gnostica Spiritualis.
La Couleuvre Noire (The Black Snake) is an independent order founded in 1922, closely cooperating with the
O.T.O.A.. It is dedicated to the practice of advanced
techniques of Gnostic Voudon, a powerful system of
Afro-Atlantean magic in its purest and most traditional
form. Today, Courtney Willis (Tau Ogdoade-Orfeo VIII)
is the Hierophant and the Sovereign Grand Master Absolute (SGMA) of the L.C.N. as well as the S.G.M.A. of
the O.T.O.A. Michael Bertiaux (Tau Ogdoade-Orfeo IV)
is the Grand Conservateur of the L.C.N. and the Hierophant of the O.T.O.A.

Bertiaux also heads the Choronzon Club, in his words

his personal magical club, Bertiaux is extremely reti1 Early life
cent concerning this club"'s secretive purpose and nature, which revolves around a core practice of exclusively
Bertiaux was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 18, male homosexual sado-maschism, with anal-sex as the
1935. His father was a captain in the merchant navy and central 11th grade initiation (both Bertiaux and origihis mother was a prominent Theosophist. Bertiaux served nally, Crowley were both heavily inuenced by Crowleys
as an Episcopalian minister in the Seattle area before trav- initial, formative encounter with German thelemic inieling to Haiti in 1964.
tiate Theodore Ruess and his personal homosexual circle
of consensual participants in the controversial practices
in exclusively male homosexual rituals (with anal-sex as
11th grade 'sacrament', just as this act was one the
2 Voudon and other occult activi- the
Knights Templar were also (falsely) accused of by the Inties
quisition.
For a period, Michael Bertiaux was also a secretary of the
Theosophical Society until moving to Chicago in 1966,
where he trained and qualied as a social worker, a job
he remained in for just under forty years. He specialized
in working with the Chicago Haitian community, which
currently has a population of around 5,000-15,000.[4]

In 1964, Bertiaux traveled to Haiti, where he was initiated

into the system of Haitian Vodoun. He settled in Chicago
in 1966, where he formed (among other bodies) the NeoPythagorean Gnostic Church. Bertiauxs interpretation of
Vodoun was strongly inuenced by Martinism, a Francophone occultist society who pretended to inherit from the
teachings of Louis-Claude De Saint Martin, although the
regularity and mere existence of such a linkage was questioned, and which became established in Haiti in the 18th
century.[1]

Bertiauxs life and occult system are examined in Kenneth

Grant's books, Cults of the Shadow (1975),[5] Nightside
of Eden (1977),[6] Outside the Circles of Time (1980),[7]
and Hecates Fountain (1993).[8] Grant devotes two entire
chapters of Cults of the Shadow to a discussion and analBertiaux had long been associated with the Ordo Tem- ysis of Bertiauxs work in La Couleuvre Noir, as well as a
pli Orientis Antiqua, a pseudo-initiatic gnostic-magical portion of the chapter Afro-Tantric Tarot of the Kalas.
order supposedly founded in 1921 in Haiti by the gnosBertiaux was also featured in the 1985 book and docutic patriarch and Voudon high priest Lucien-Francois
mentary by Nevill Drury, The Occult Experience.[9]
[2]
Jean-Maine. The O.T.O.A. tradition comes from the
gnostic voudon, as practiced in secret societies. There, Bertiauxs magical system is complex, including terms
a synthesis was purportedly developed between Euro- unique to himself, such as the meon and Zoythrian
pean gnostic-hermetic currents, being the heritage of energies but also drawing on magical extensions of the
the ancient western initiatic tradition, and Haitian meta- writings of H.P. Lovecraft and the teachings of Aiwass.
1

Following his retirement, Bertiaux has focused on his art

and writing.

Monastery of the Seven Rays

This is a study course to be read before the Voudon Gnostic Workbook practicum. It was originally published as a
mail order study course and is yet to be reprinted in book
form.
Monastery of the Seven Rays, Year 1, Student Degrees
(1967).
Monastery of the Seven Rays, Year 2, Sexual Magic
(1969).
Monastery of the Seven Rays, Year 3, Esoteric Engineering
Monastery of the Seven Rays, Year 4, Esoteric Magic

3.2

Other Books

The Voudon Gnostic Workbook (1988). Reissued by

Weiser 2007.
Cosmic Meditation. Fulgur Limited, 2007.
Vudu Cartography. Fulgur Limited, 2010.

References

[1] Drury, Nevill. Michael P. Bertiaux An Interview with

Michael Bertiaux by Nevill Drury. Fulgur.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
[2] Bertiaux, Michael (1967). Monastery of the Seven Rays:
Year 1, Student Degrees. Michael Bertiaux.
[3] Lewis, James R. (2001). Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore, and Popular Culture. ABCCLIO. p. 179f. ISBN 978-1-57607-292-9.
[4] The
Haitian
Americans
Google
Books.google.com. Retrieved 2011-01-15.

5 Further reading
Drury, Nevill (2011). Stealing Fire from Heaven:
The Rise of Modern Western Magic. Oxford University Press. pp. 245250. ISBN 978-0-19-9750993.

Books

3.1

EXTERNAL LINKS

Books.

[5] Grant, Kenneth (1995) [1975]. Cults of the Shadow.

Skoob Publications. ISBN 978-1-871438-67-3.
[6] Grant, Kenneth (1977). Nightside of Eden. London:
Frederick Muller Limited. ISBN 0-584-10206-2.
[7] Grant, Kenneth (1980). Outside the Circles of Time. Frederick Muller Limited. ISBN 978-0-584-10468-4.
[8] Grant, Kenneth (1993). Hecates Fountain. Skook Publications. ISBN 978-1-871438-96-3.
[9] Drury, Nevill (1985). The Occult Experience. Hale. ISBN
978-0-7090-2961-8.

Harms, Daniel; Gonce, John Wisdom (2003). The

Necronomicon Files: The Truth behind Lovecrafts
Legend. Weiser Books. pp. 113115. ISBN 978-157863-269-5.

6 External links
Fulgur Limited: Biography and Articles
Interview
Arts and the Occult - an interview with Michael
Bertiaux

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