Illuminates of Thanateros

In the late 1970s, Ray Sherwin and Peter Carroll, two young British occultists interested in ritual magic, began to publish a magazine called The New Equinox. Both men were connected with a burgeoning occult scene developing around The Phoenix, a metaphysical bookshop in London's East End. Having grown dissatisfied with the state of the magical arts and the deficiencies they saw in the available occult groups, they published a small announcement in a 1978 issue of their magazine, announcing the creation of the IOT. they described this order as a new kind of magical order, one based on a hierarchy of magical ability rather than invitation and a magical meritocracy. They described the IOT as a "spiritual heir" to the Zos Kia Cultus and a "fusion of Thelemic Magick, Tantra, The Sorceries of Zos and Tao".[2]

Carroll and Sherwin began to issue private monographs detailing their system of magical practice, some of which had been articles in The New Equinox, others intended as instruction to members of their order. The new style of magic they introduced, focusing on practical skills versus metaphysical systems, became known as chaos magic. In the 1980s they began to attract a following in England, Germany, and Austria which included influential occult writers and practitioners.

In 1986 Carroll and Ralph Tegtmeier (Frater U∴D∴) jointly ran a public seminar, some time after which there was made a decision to form a new magical order. The formation of The Pact was announced in August 1987.

In the late 1980s, Sherwin resigned in protest against what he saw as the IOT now beginning to resemble the hierarchical orders at one time anathema to the concept of the group.

In the early 1990s the order experienced a schism as a result of conflicts about the doctrine of 'ice magick',[3] a major proponent of which was Ralph Tegtmeier.[4] A German IoT member named Helmut Barthel created the doctrine of "ice magick", which is related to the myth that Germanic people originated in the icy land of Thule (a name that has historically been applied to multiple places, which have been conflated together). Ice magick is called "Eismagie" in its original German form. According to the doctrine of ice magick, only people of Scandinavian and/or Germanic descent possess the ancient dormant genes that allow a person to use ice magick. Ice magick is based upon qi gong, psionics, and martial arts. It is called "ice magick" because it also involves imagining large amounts of ice, and drawing power from that imagined ice.

Ralph Tegtmeier (Frater U∴D∴) was an enthusiastic supporter of ice magick and Helmut, and the authoritarian policies that Helmut promoted, and Ralph thus made himself Helmut's top lieutenant. Helmut and Ralph promoted that doctrine in Germany, and recruited many members who adhered to it.

Eventually, Peter Carroll learned more about the doctrines that Ralph was teaching, and criticized him for it. That led to an untenable conflict between Peter and Ralph, which culminated in Ralph and all of his followers seceding from the IoT. The vast majority of German and Swiss members left the order, which constituted about 30% of the order's total membership.[5] Ralph Tegtmeier and a few others were subsequently excommunicated.[4]

After publishing Liber Kaos, Carroll retired from active participation in the order, though he remains on good terms with many of the longstanding members.[6]