Origin

The original Kaaba Kolloquium for O.T.O. Organizers was held as a joint project of five chartered bodies in the Southwest and South Central USA: Bubastis Oasis (Dallas), Ra-Heru-Behutet Camp (Kansas City), Saladin Oasis (San Antonio), Scarlet Woman Lodge (Austin), and Soul of the Desert Camp (Santa Fe). It took place in the O.T.O. Temple in Austin, Texas, in March of 2000e.v.

 Authorization and capitalization for the event came entirely from the five sponsor bodies (i.e., no national or international sanction or mandate was involved). The administrative coordinator of the event was a Sovereign Prince Rose Croix, holding no governing office at that time. Presenters included four sitting masters of local bodies, three officers of U.S. Grand Lodge, and one officer of O.T.O. International. There were about forty attendees from a dozen different local bodies nationwide. 

Presentation Topics

• Mapping the Critical Path: A Strategic Approach to Event Planning

• Diagnostic Models for the Development of O.T.O. Local Bodies

• Local Membership Development: A Strategic Primer for Fraternal Magicians

• Cohesion: How to Keep Members Engaged and Grow a Strong Egregore

• Local Body Publishing: Spreading Thelema and Presenting Ourselves

• The Internet as an Organizing Tool

• Administrative Procedures for Initiations

• US Administrative Interface with International Headquarters

There were also two Gnostic Masses, the ordination of a priest, an evening social, and a choral concert.

As originally conceived, this Colloquium (later known informally as "Kaaba Zero") was a "horizontal" effort to provide a medium through which local officers could get to know each other and exchange information on successful organizing tactics and strategies, and also to bring in national officers to address the challenges and concerns of local bodies. 

The event coordinator hoped that either a) it could serve as a model for future analogous events to be organized in other regions, and/or b) it could prompt USGL to actively promote—and even subsidize—similar events in the future. 

The latter option was then realized first as the Kaaba Subcommittee of the Electoral College and then as the ongoing Kaaba Colloquium Leadership Program.