British tabloid staple Peaches Geldof recentlly shared her newfound faith with her Twitter followers, embracing Ordo Templi Orientis, better known as OTO.
The religion is based on Aleister Crowley, a man who dubbed himself “The Great Beast 666” and was fond of sadomasochistic sexual practices and the use of hard drugs.
Turns out a very famous American rap star also has a connection to Crowley, one that might be startling to fans of said star’s music and fashion line.
Other celebrities linked to OTO include the rapper Jay-Z, who has repeatedly purloined imagery and quotations from Crowley’s work. Whether wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with ‘Do what thou wilt’ or hiring Rihanna to hold aloft a flaming torch in his music videos (a reference to the Illuminati, an outlawed secret society whose name supposedly derives from Lucifer, or ‘light bringer’), he has given the sect priceless publicity. His clothing line, Rocawear, is shot through with OTO imagery such as the ‘all seeing eye’ in a triangle, the ‘eye of Horus’ (an ancient Egyptian symbol frequently referenced in occult texts) and the head of Baphomet (the horned, androgynous idol of Western occultism).
OTO membership is private, and there’s certainly the chance Jay-Z is tapping its imagery for hipster points without adhering to the religion’s philosophies.
Another famed OTO connection is former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who went so far as to buy Crowley’s old home.
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