James Wasserman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 23 June 1948 New Jersey, United States |
| Died | 18 November 2020 (aged 72) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and occultist |
James Wasserman (23 June 1948 – 18 November 2020)[citation needed] was an American writer and occultist. A member of Ordo Templi Orientis since 1976 and a book designer by trade, he wrote extensively on spiritual and political liberty.
Wasserman began working in 1973 at Weiser Books, then the world’s largest bookstore and publishing company to specialize in esoteric literature. While working at Weiser, he met and befriended filmmakers and occultists Harry Smith and Alejandro Jodorowsky.[1] Wasserman worked with Brazilian occultist Marcelo Ramos Motta to publish the Commentaries of AL in 1975, for which he wrote the introduction. Additionally, he supervised the 1976 Weiser publication of The Book of the Law, the first popular edition to append the holograph manuscript to the typeset text.[2][3] In 1977, Wasserman arranged to professionally re-photograph Frieda Harris' Tarot paintings for use in an improved second edition of Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot deck, and also wrote the instruction booklet.[4]
Wasserman left Weiser in 1977 to found Studio 31, where he produced the Simon Necronomicon, a volume purporting to be the mythological Necronomicon made famous by H. P. Lovecraft.[5] In 2008, it was reissued in a high-quality 31st anniversary edition by Ibis Press. In 1994, Wasserman assembled a team of scholars, photographers, and editorial staff to produce a full-color version of The Egyptian Book of the Dead featuring the Papyrus of Ani as discussed in In the Center of the Fire.[6] His edition of the Book of the Dead was described as offering "much of value in presentation, layout and commentary"[7] by John Baines, professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford.
In 2014, the Twentieth Anniversary Edition was completed, revised and expanded, adding: "Thoughts on this Twentieth Anniversary Edition" by James Wasserman; "Coming Forth Into the Day" by J. Daniel Gunther; and "An Annotated Bibliography and Study Guide" by Dr. Ogden Goelet. This new edition includes some corrections and improvements to the color plates, and was completely recreated in electronic format.[citation needed]
A member of O.T.O. since 1976, Wasserman founded one of its oldest lodges, Tahuti Lodge, in New York City in 1979.[8] He played a key role within the Order in publishing the literary corpus of Aleister Crowley. In 1983, he worked with two other members of O.T.O. to produce The Holy Books of Thelema,[4][9][10] a collection of Crowley’s Class A (inspired) writings. In 1986, his essay “An Introduction to the History of the O.T.O.” appeared in The Equinox III, No. 10. In 2009, he and his wife Nancy published To Perfect This Feast,[11] a performance commentary on the Gnostic Mass. Revised for a second edition in 2010, the book is now in its third and final edition, published 2013. Wasserman is described by Dan Burstein as "a founder of the modern Ordo Templi Orientis” in his guide to Dan Brown's novel Angels & Demons.[12] In 2012, Wasserman wrote In the Center of the Fire, an extensive account of his own experiences in the development of the modern O.T.O.[13]
In 2015, he designed and produced a collection of essays for Ordo Templi Orientis published as Success Is Your Proof: One Hundred Years of O.T.O. in North America: A Festschrift in Honor of Hymenaeus Beta, Celebrating Thirty Years of Leadership. He contributed an essay entitled "The New Aeon in the New World: The Law of Liberty in the Wild West." Eleven other ranking members of the Order contributed essays on a wide range of topics such as Thelemic doctrine, magical practices, Order history, and biographical treatments.[citation needed]
