Pagan education poked its head above ground in the Seventies, and since then, those of us who venerate the Lord of Wisdom look for more open ways to make contact with one another. Obviously, if mankind survives, there will be new temples to the old gods. Thus, those who practice the Hermopolitan tradition understand that we must ready ourselves to build the societies and sanctuaries that are in their reconception. We can do this by being open minded, self aware, curious about the Lord’s projects, and willing to pursue investigations into the Great Work. This is no easy task, because a modern mystic needs to handle the primal components of intelligence with all the skill of a snake charmer. In the film, The Craft, the anti-heroine ended up in a padded cell, as have many “real life” practitioners of thaumaturgy. Atavistic gnosis is a strong drug.

To catch lightning in a bottle the way we did when “Neopaganism” was young, we will have to return to our experiments, rather than just blathering about them. Occult priestcraft is applied anthropology. Read Peter Carroll’s Liber Null and Psychonaut if you want to taste the challenge of making cosmic order from supernatural chaos. Shamans began professionally as healers. In this era, as in the Egyptian one, a sorcerer usually has to be a scholar, as well. The myths empowered darker forms of psychiatry than those in use today, but they still have value. We are drawn back to the rituals, the shrines, and the sacred literature. Yet, there is a price to be paid. The adepts of eastern schools know how to lay hands on the educational materials they require. In the west, this is a bit trickier. We have to keep our primary sources on hand and in perspective.

As we track the Baboon through the corridors of the alchemical labyrinth, we may find a treasure or two if we grasp some of the lessons he tries to impart to mortals. Don’t expect his religion to dump out a lot of doctrines to be uncritically embraced. It really isn’t organized for that purpose. Our Patron assists the modest and the autodidact. He reinforces the value of spiritual education. Probiotic pioneer Natasha Trenev remarked, “Spirituality means knowing the truth when you hear it.” Mystics have to take care of subtle nutrition. We can accumulate facts anywhere, and we can burn ourselves out trying to work the grimoires alone. But, as Lord Krishna pointed out, digesting “realized knowledge” takes access to others who work with obscure formulas. Maybe we risk looking dreary to the mundane when we sneak off from their carnival of control dramas, but there is benefit in escaping such oppression when a caravan of soothsayers beckons us to study and explore with them.