of Outer Head of the Order. Aleister Crowley, claimed the position of Outer Head of the Order in 1923 and was officially voted in as Outer Head in 1925, would eventually reform Ordo Templi Orientis into a Para-Masonic Body in which the rituals were reworked to provide a greater focus on both ceremonial magic and his vision of Thelema. He also changed the three former Symbolic Masonic Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow-Craft (or Companion) and Master Mason into three rituals alluding to an esoteric Templar lineage with the names of Man, Magician and Master Magician. According to Crowley's own writings, this was done because (unlike the Masonic scene in Continental Europe) the overwhelming majority of Freemasons in the United States of America and the British Commonwealth nations were members of "Regular" Freemasonry with alliance to the United Grand Lodge of England, whose tenets, among other things, do not allow women to be initiated to this day. Thus, Ordo Templi Orientis became an order that was completely independent of Freemasonry and its parental Rite, the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis - Misraïm. Prominent members Some of the most prominent figures in European occultism have been associated with the Rite, including the Frenchmen; Gerard Encausse (Papus), Charles Detré (Tedé), Jean Bricaud, Constant Chevillon, Charles-Henry Dupont and Robert Ambelain. As shown, Michael Bertiaux has also been a major, though pragmatically quiet, major figure in the Rite. The National Grand Master in Germany from 1906 to 1914 was Rudolf Steiner and the founder of the Thule Society, Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer (Rudolf von Sebottendorf), became an initiate while living in Turkey. The German founder of the Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua, Arnold Krumm-Heller, was also associated. Aleister Crowley, was at one time affiliated with the rite in its shortened version used by Ordo Templi Orientis. In the United States, Harvey Spencer Lewis, founder of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, AMORC, was also associated with the rite. Universal Grand Hierophants Giuseppe Garibaldi (1881 - 1882) Giambattista Pessina (1882 - 1900) Ferdinando Francesco degli Oddi (1900 - 1902) John Yarker (1902 - 1913) Theodor Reuss (1913 - 1923) Between 1924 and 1930 there was no recognized Universal Grand Hierophant. See also Ancient and Primitive Rite List of Masonic Rites Philadelphes Ordo Templi Orientis References External links International Sovereign Sanctuary Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim Memphis-Misraim in the Netherlands Further reading Boris Nicolaevsky, “Secret Societies and