About the Study Group

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A Magical Bastard is either fatherless – self-created – or has more fathers than they can decently acknowledge.  In this group we will collaborate to interpret magical texts that have been formative for each member, and to integrate theory with experience.  We will respect one another’s experiences, in a world that still claims (with decreasing plausibility) to reject magic itself.  By these means we will attempt to teach one another the unknowable, and maybe score diamond grills and gold hubcaps along the way.

We welcome anyone who loves magic and the art of conversation, regardless of their tradition or experience level.  There will probably be a lot of Thelemites in the group, but these sorts of hardships must be borne.  Please do read the week’s text, if you are coming!  Our plan is to always provide a free online copy.

We convene weekly on Wednesdays (Mercury’s day) from 7:30-9:30 PM at The Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave, in Berkeley. Check below for each week’s texts – and may they bring you joy and power!

If you have questions or would like to be added to the mailing list, please write anika.m.g@gmail.com

The bastard in me honors the bastard in you.

September 17th: The Egg

We invite you to join us in our simultaneous working of a week-long spell from the Greek Magical Papyri: the wonderful Egg of the Daimon. We begin at dawn on Sunday, September 21st.

In preparation, please read:

Sfinga’s artice, Meeting With Your Own Daimon, from the “With Cunning and Command” blog.

Some sections from Stephen Flowers’ Hermetic Magic: “Origins” (pp. 3-17), “Principles of the Hermetic Synthesis” (pp. 37-43), “Daimonology” (pp. 99-100), and “Magical Theories” (pp. 135-141).

Also recommended for context: the Wikipedia article on the PGM.