“Do What Thou Wilt – The Search for Meaning in Stein”
24.Nov.2017 – 18.March.2018
Appenzeller Volkskunde Museum, Stein, CH
In the archive of the Swiss Canton Library in Appenzell Ausserrhoden can be found the “Collectio Magica et Occulta”, a collection of 8,500 books and innumerable objects and documents. This massive collection is the former estate of a group which lived and worked in Stein for over fifty years. The group, led by Hermann Metzger and Annemarie Aeschbach, operated a weather station & print shop, kept bees, manufactured homeopathic remedies, created ceremonial objects, and published spiritual texts. Known to Thelemites as the Psychosophische Gesellschaft, in the 1950’s & 60’s Hermann Metzger’s group worked closely with Karl Germer, Kenneth Grant, Gerald Yorke and others to publish translations of Aleister Crowley’s ouvre and promulgate Thelema on a continent still recovering from the catastrophe of the Second World War. With the death of Annemaria Aeschbach in 2008 the group dissolved, turning over its estate to the Swiss Kanton of Appenzeller Ausserrhoden.
Now, for the first time, a selection of 250 objects and photos from the archives can be seen in an exhibition at the Appenzeller Folklore Museum in Stein. Audio and video materials, as well as interviews with former members of the group shine a light on the groups activities and beliefs. Highlights include a reproduction of the Stele of Revealing once owned by german Thelemite Friedrich Lekve, a painting by Aleister Crowley, as well as Karl Germer’s cigarette case and ceremonial dagger.
If you find yourself in Europe in the coming months, this is an exhibition not to be missed!
http://www.appenzeller-museum-stein.ch/up/cmo_tuwasduwillst_112017.pdf
Appenzeller Volkskunde-Museum
Stein Dorf, 9063 Stein AR
T +41 71 368 50 56
Hours:
Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–17:00
Closed Mondays
Thanks to Frater Asotos, Astarte Oasis, Berlin for the write up!
