Kenneth Grant (1924-2011) was a British occultist and head of the magical order previously known as the Typhonian Ordo Templi Orientis but which is now referred to as the Typhonian Order.
Occult background
Grant's occult experiences began in 1939 during World War II, when he claims to have received the first transmission of the "outerhuman being" S'lba. This was followed in 1943 with the reception of The Chronicles of Kralnia.
He met and began personal tutelage in magick under Aleister Crowley in 1944, at the age of twenty. Crowley was sixty-nine
Apart from Crowley he has been influenced in his occult work by Austin Osman Spare
Ordo Templi Orientis
Grant met Aleister Crowley in 1944 and was initiated into Ordo Templi Orientis. In 1946, he was initiated into the A.'.A.'. and was also confirmed as an IX° in O.T.O. According to occult historian P.R. Koenig, Crowley called Grant "a definite gift from the Gods" and in March 1946 wrote in his diary:
"Value of Grant: if I die or go to U.S.A, there must be a trained man to take care of the English O.T.O."
After Crowley's death, Grant's status as IX° in O.T.O was recognized by Crowley's successor, Karl Germer, in 1948. In 1951, Grant declared, "I am authorized to operate the O.T.O. in England" He went on to develop new methods and rejuvenate the Order within the UK In 1952, he wrote a new manifesto for the O.T.O. and had 5000 copies printed
In 1954, Grant began the work of founding the New Isis Lodge. The lodge became operational in April 1955 when Grant issued a manifesto announcing his discovery of a "Sirius/Set current" upon which the lodge was to be based. Karl Germer was so displeased with this manifesto that on July 20, 1955, he issued a "Note of Expulsion" expelling Grant from O.T.O
Following this, Grant claimed for himself the title O.H.O. (Outer Head of the Order) of Ordo Templi Orientis. The branch under the leadership of Grant was commonly called the "Typhonian" Ordo Templi Orientis, but is now officially named the Typhonian Order. The New Isis Lodge was absorbed into Grant's Order in 1962
Members of Grant's Ordo Templi Orientis in the past have considered him the rightful O.H.O. of O.T.O, as evidenced by this quote from a 1976 edition of Sothis magazine:
Karl J. Germer, having proved himself blind to the implication of ..Crowley..'s letter to him, failed to understand and accept when soon after Crowley's death. Grant submitted his plans for change. It remains to remind those who support the old-aeon concept of the O.T.O. that they have not produced nor can they ever produce; the slightest evidence of a creative current.
Biographer of Austin Osman Spare.
Grant was a great admirer and close friend of Austin Osman Spare. Together they founded the Zos Kia Cultus in 1952. Over the years, Grant did much to bring his friend Spare's name into western occult society, including the publication of Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare and Zos Speaks!, as well as numerous references and mentions in the Typhonian Trilogies.
