NOTOCON XV Keynote Address: The Crowned and Conquering Child

Address delivered by National Grand Master General Sabazius Xº to the Fifteenth National Conference of the U.S. O.T.O. Grand Lodge, The Crowned and Conquering Child, Saturday evening, July 26, 2025 E.V., Portland, Oregon

Sisters, Brothers, Siblings, Friends,

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Let me begin by thanking Sister V.G., Sister A.P., Sister L.L., the members of Sekhet Maat Lodge, the on-site team, the security volunteers, the Gnostic Mass team, and the Conference Committee for their work putting this conference together for us.  Please stand!  I also owe major gratitude to Sister K.K., my official Aide-de-Camp, for keeping me on task.

I have quite a few more people to thank. We've gotten a lot of important things done these past two years. As I call your names, please stand! 

• The William E. Heidrick Memorial Library (Brother S.B., Brother S.W., Sibling C.E., Brother K.B., Sister C.W., Brother J.S. and Sister M.H.)

• Local Body Handbook and Minerval Guide (Sister M.H., Sister Mackay, Brother J.L., Sister D.M., and the large team of reviewers)

• Annual Reports (Sister M.C.)

• Revived Agape as an annual, hard-copy publication (Brother A.L., Brother T.M., Sister D.M., Brother R.L., and Brother S.K.)

• New England Development Committee (Brother C.C., Brother M.E., Brother K.B., Brother E.F., Brother C.D., and Brother A.DiC.)

• Diversity Modules (Diversity Task Force)

• Comprehensive Intranet Architecture Implementation (Sister C.B., Sister H.Q., Sister C.A.D., and Brother A.L.)

• Man of Earth Delegate Nominating Panel (Brother J.N. and Brother F.)

• And my esteemed colleagues on the Executive (Brother H.H. and Brother S.C.)

We've also nailed down a number of administrative procedures that would be too boring to get into the weeds about here, and for this I have primarily Sister M.H., Brother T.M., and Brother J.L. to thank.

Also, as of Thursday, we have three new S.G.I.G.s and E.G.C. Bishops:

• Brother D.B., Tau Aidoneus

• Sister C.M.A., Tau Dadouchos

• Brother A.L., Tau Spinoza

Furthermore, congratulations to Brother Lon Milo Duquette on the 50th anniversary of his Minerval!

And let's all send out some healing vibes to our Brother C.P.  Wish you were here with us, Brother.

Our theme this year is "The Crowned and Conquering Child," a phrase that first appeared in the Crowley corpus in The Vision and the Voice, First Aethyr:

"FOR I AM HORUS, THE CROWNED AND CONQUERING CHILD, WHOM THOU KNEWEST NOT!

Pass thou on, therefore, O thou Prophet of the Gods, unto the Cubical Altar of the Universe; there shalt thou receive every tribe and kingdom and nation into the mighty Order that reacheth from the frontier fortresses that guard the Uttermost Abyss unto My Throne.”

The Crowned and Conquering Child is identified in this passage as the god Horus, the Lord of the Aeon, a sky god whose sacred animal is the falcon, the herald of the solar god Ra to the world of men.

Use of the "Child" epithet identifies this particular Horus as Horus the Younger, Hor-pa-khered, or Hoor pa Kraat, as distinct from Horus the Elder, or Haroeris. Horus the Younger is the version of Horus who features in the story of Isis and Osiris.  Horus the Younger also appeared in certain other stories syncretized with the solar god Ra as Ra-Harakhty, or, as we know him, Ra Hoor Khuit.

Now, before I go further, I'd like to share a couple of thoughts about the whole "Egyptian Gods" thing in Thelema. 

There are groups that are sincerely working to reconstruct some version of dynastic Egyptian, or Khemetic, religious practice.  We are not such a group.  Crowley, and his predecessors in the Golden Dawn, were more interested in syncretizing elements of ancient Egyptian religion with elements of Qabalah, Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, Renaissance magic, certain “Eastern” systems, etc., than in re-storing the pristine state of all the language, rites, hierarchy, customs, and culture of ancient Egyptian religion.  Instead, I think their goal in including the Egyptian gods in these syncretistic systems was to revivify them, along with the gods of many other mythic systems--and bring them as vital and renewed forces into modern minds within a Qabalistic framework--using new rites, new language, new structures, and new objectives.

Nevertheless, some of the old stories inevitably remain quite relevant and instructive.  The aforementioned story of Isis and Osiris, for example. In most versions of that story, Isis gives birth to Horus after her husband, Osiris, the benevolent ruler of Khem, was betrayed and murdered by his jealous brother.  The child Horus then grows up to avenge the death of his father by battling, and ultimately defeating, his uncle Scar Set, and reclaiming the throne of Khem for the House of Osiris.  

This is, of course, one of the stories underlying our model of the precession of the Aeons; but it also informs our conception of Horus the Younger, and his role in modern Thelema. In the story, Horus's acts associate him with righteous war and just vengeance, with conquest, and with kingship: "Crowned and Conquering."  Now, after Alexander conquered Egypt, Hoor pa Kraat was Hellenized as Harpocrates, and transformed from the god of conquest and kingship into the god of silence and secrets.  Biding his time, no doubt.  

So we have this fierce and heroic figure of the god of war, vengeance, kingship, order, silence, and secrets appearing as a crowned child.  The crown on the babe's head is a sign that the child's victorious destiny is part of his very nature since birth, even before that destiny can be realized in linear time.  Thus, at the moment that the child Horus was born, the ultimate defeat of Set became an inevitability. 

According to this conference's official website, the theme of The Crowned and Conquering Child "is an implicit call to contemplate Magick and the Aeon of Horus in relation to the challenges and opportunities of modern life."

This year, modern American life has gifted us with many opportunities along with an overflowing abundance of challenges.  

One of the most interesting, and potentially most intimidating, challenges facing us is that of Simulated Intelligence, referred to by those selling it as "Generative Artificial Intelligence."  One of the reasons this particular challenge is so intimidating is that it brings the potential of many fantastic gifts to us, especially in terms of medical and scientific research, and in convenience in performing routine tasks.

(…By the way, I wrote this speech myself.)

However, in addition to these undeniable gifts, Simulated Intelligence, as you have undoubtedly heard, also brings with it the shadow of massive unemployment.  It also threatens mass delusion--because, in its generative form, it can enable a species of deception that would have been unimaginable a decade ago.  Bad actors can now produce words and images that undermine even our reliance on our own senses to accurately gauge reality.  To counter this effect, we will all really need to keep our critical faculties sharp; and resist the temptation to trust any single source of information.   Doubt will truly become our best ally.  

But while Doubt may make an indispensable ally, it is not very good at being a friend. It can isolate you, and alienate you, and paralyze your search for meaning.  So be a friend, a true friend, to your Brothers, Sisters, and Siblings, and let them be true friends to you. 

I think the greatest gift this Order can give each of you, apart from its principles and teachings, our Mysteries and the Gnostic Mass, is that of genuine community.  Please keep this in mind, always.  Our community, both inside and outside this organization, may be what ultimately saves us from post-truth nihilism.

Of course, this is just one of the many challenges facing us today. In addition, most, if not all, of the sacred human rights enumerated in Liber Oz are now facing heightened threats, as part of a cynical ploy for political and economic power that includes pandering to the religious superstition and intolerance--and yes, racism--of the ignorant.

In particular, trans folks, including our own trans siblings, are in legitimate danger of persecution by hate-filled bigots who now feel that their prejudices have been validated by authority. 

Willful ignorance is now being treated as a virtue, while science and all other forms of academic expertise are viewed with suspicion--especially the ones that have the greatest potential to solve some very real and imminent--but economically inconvenient--problems facing the world.  

Every form of human thought, endeavor, and expression is now being politicized, with only two categories available: "us" and "them."

The scope of state-recognized freedoms is gradually being constricted under the pretense of various contrived "emergencies."  

The high ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion are now being treated as great sins against the American people. But the opposite of diversity is homogeneity.  The opposite of equity is favoritism, and the opposite of inclusion is segregation.  Maybe you think these are good things.  I don't.  Regardless, we have no intention of dropping any of our diversity efforts.

The great world-religion of Christianity, the religion of "love thy neighbor," has withered to the level of a minority religion; while the name of "Christianity" has been claimed by a monstrous outgrowth--a corrupt, media-savvy, multi-level marketing scheme, which is obsessed with purity and demonology, which ignores its own foundational principles, and which aspires to iron-fisted world domination.  

The way things look now, it is difficult to imagine a future that is not characterized by widespread poverty, disease, ignorance, restriction, and subjugation.  But we must get past that difficulty.

The Law of Thelema, Do What Thou Wilt, is an answer to, and a refuge from, the corruption and bigotry that dominate today's chaotic political and religious currents.  I really believe this.

And Horus, our Crowned and Conquering Child, whom we have recognized as Lord of the Aeon, is des-tined, destined to conquer the forces that constrain the human spirit.  If the Light of Horus is well manifested by enough people, and by the right people, victory over darkness is simply inevitable.  

Tonight, I'm wearing a wedjat pin.  The wedjat, the Eye of Horus, can serve us as a potent talismanic symbol of the Crowned and Conquering Child, and of hope during this time of danger and trouble.  I hope you'll consider adopting this symbol yourself for these times, displaying it in your own way with pride and defiance.  Let it represent our steadfast adherence to our declaration of Rights, our commitment to Universal Brotherhood, and solidarity in our Great Principles.  Keep it as a reminder of the work we have before us; and as a harbinger of the ultimate victory of the Law of Thelema. 

Love is the law, love under will.