---
title: "Exploring the Esoteric: A Thelemic Practitioner’s 15-Year Journey Through Magick and Mysticism"
url: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/exploring-the-esoteric-a-thelemic-practitioners-15-year-journey-through-magick-and-mysticism/
date: 2024-07-30
modified: 2026-07-03
lang: en
author: "Perseus Arcane Academy"
description: "Introduction This interview features a practitioner with nearly 15 years of experience in Thelema, an esoteric spiritual system developed by Aleister Crowley. Arthur Magnus discusses his journey into Thelema, experiences..."
categories:
  - "Interviews"
  - "Thelema"
  - "Western Traditions"
tags:
  - "Aleister Crowley"
  - "Ceremonial Magic"
  - "Evocation"
  - "Magic"
image: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/07f5a736-8dc9-4ed9-b752-bd2c6a15ddc9.jpg
word_count: 4001
---

# Exploring the Esoteric: A Thelemic Practitioner’s 15-Year Journey Through Magick and Mysticism

## Introduction

This interview features a practitioner with nearly 15 years of experience in Thelema, an esoteric spiritual system developed by Aleister Crowley. Arthur Magnus discusses his journey into Thelema, experiences with rituals and meditation, and explorations of related traditions such as Tantra and Advaita Vedanta. He shares insights on integrating spiritual practices into daily life, his work as an artist, and how his understanding of concepts like True Will and non-dual reality has evolved over time. The interview covers a range of topics including personal magical experiences, the balance between individualism and community in Thelemic practice, and Arthur's perspectives on consciousness and reality shaped by their spiritual work.

---

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5009bb46-bc53-4806-912d-edb7994c5fb3-1024x964.jpg)Arthur Magnus

## Interview

## Thelema

**PAA: How did you first discover Thelema, and what initially drew you to this spiritual path?**

I discovered Thelema through an article about Anton LaVey, wherein he travels to Seattle, I believe, and had visited some thelemites there. He found them to be too “white light.” I did not know what a thelemite was and began my research into the matter. What started my interest in the occult world was typical of many shmucks like me. I was rebelling against social norms and rigid religious establishments. Once I grew up I started to appreciate a wider range of religious, spiritual, and philosophical avenues. I am an eclectic in most every part of my being and in my nearly 15 years of work I have assimilated many systems and interests into my ontic sphere.

**PAA: Who were your primary teachers or mentors in Thelema, and how did they influence your practice?**

The best example I can give of an early mentor is my late best friend Aaron. We met as a result of inquires online in my appeal to find thelemites in my local area. We began to hold meetings at his apartment and discuss Thelema and the O.T.O. This was highly fruitful and this is where I truly began to learn both things mystical/magical as well as practical life lessons, as he was older and wiser than I was. He was a Virgo and I am a Pisces so he would always give me the categorized and highly practical instruction on all matters and I was the mystic who regarded all in a deep insight of an emotional and intuitive light. In this regard we had a lot to teach each other and I miss him every day. He was highly spiritist and often eclectic in his own right, maybe not as much as I, but certainly willing to entertain many insights no matter what they were. He was always willing to give you his perspective, which I treasured. We engaged on more than a few magical operations of spiritual evocation, early in our knowing each other and later in our many years of friendship. These operations would be the gateway into much broader and wider aspects of my mystical and magical experience.

**PAA: Can you describe your first significant ritual experience in Thelema? How did it impact your understanding of the tradition?**
**
**Since I adopted the Law of Thelema I would say that every ritual experience has been significant, but if I had to quantify it I would say that the first time I realized a greater significance was when I finally understood what the Book of the Law was giving me, the knowledge of self-responsibility. It is often a common misconception to read that book and to think that it is giving you absolute freedom. It is and it is not. This completely changed the trajectory of my work and my outlook on life at the time and was met with many disastrous results! This immediate effect has softened over time and now I can truly say I have complete control over what we call life.

**PAA: Have you had any experiences with Thelemic evocation? If so, what entities did you work with, and what was the outcome?**

I have evoked and invoked the gambit of the thelemic pantheon. I find them particularly useful in the evocation of what you could call lesser spirits, not to detract from their importance. The act of embodying a particular God/Goddess or spirit is an extremely powerful form of elevating the mundane self into a better position to more significantly achieve certain aims and lead a more meaningful life. One essentially rises above the mundane world and chooses to look through the eyes and work with the aspects of something greater than themselves. The counterbalance to this practice would be shadow work, wherein one investigates the hidden and often maligned aspects of themselves in order to balance these dualistic forces. If one were to focus solely on one and neglect the other, the result would be unbalanced and could lead to a skewed and unhealthy living condition.

**PAA: How has your interpretation of Aleister Crowley's works evolved since you began your Thelemic journey?**

Well, when I first began this journey I was looking at the works of Aleister Crowley with flawed eyes. I was raised in a generally Baptist household and interpreted his works as something infallible; true for all. This was remedied rather quickly, but it is a constant pitfall that can easily be tripped into at any time if you’re not careful. Crowley’s works are, for lack of a better word, suggestions, especially when it comes to magical pursuits. His magick was based primarily on his work with the Golden Dawn and his work with Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. Crowley was essentially laying an outline for those who knew nothing of ceremonial magick or any form of magick that they could work on themselves to inevitably arrive at the conclusions that he had. This is not to say that his works are unimportant, because they are, it is just so important to not lock yourself into the thought that magick HAS to be done a certain way in order for it to be considered thelemic. I often scoff at the word thelemic. Thelema means Will and all acts are essentially magical acts in some sense. I am a massive proponent of the works of Kenneth Grant and Michael Bertiaux who have expanded the understanding of many realms of magick beyond the purely ceremonial and have elevated all aspects of thelemic thought beyond our solar system and the rigid freemasonic structures to which Crowley was deeply embedded. BUT, one should definitely explore all aspects of work by the sages of the past. Doing so can only benefit the understanding overall. Thelema is a magical continuum that is neither copyrighted or owned or confined to any O.T.O. or AA or other organization that may claim otherwise. This Law is for All. One need only embrace it and whatever you choose to do after that is the Great Work itself.

**PAA: Can you share an experience that convinced you of the reality of magick or the supernatural within the Thelemic framework?**

The reality of magick is intrinsic to all reality. Reality is not subjective or objective. There is only subjectivity. No experiencer, no experienced, just the experiencing. Magick is done, period. As far as the so-called supernatural I have seen unidentified flying objects. I have seen ghosts. I have had spirits materialize before my very eyes. I have spoken with so-called angels and so-called demons. I have walked in cosmic cathedrals with Gods/Goddesses. I have explored inside and outside the galaxy inside the head of an extra-terrestrial. I have evoked characters from books and had them regale me with stories of their universes. The list goes on and on. If all of this sounds unbelievable to you, then it is.

> Don’t allow yourself to believe that you’ve reached the pinnacle of understanding. Always push the envelope and keep exploring!
>
> Arthur Magnus

**PAA: How do you balance the individualistic aspects of Thelema with community involvement or group rituals?**

I mostly work alone and have done so for the majority of my time in the occult world. I am married now and there is a routine that is being built that involves the both of us, but I mostly have my work and she has hers. What you often find in the thelemic community, or at least in my case, is a lot of pressure to fit into individualistic models or perceptions that may directly contradict our own understanding or interpretations. This is a good thing, but is seldom seen that way and some would rather argue than work and I have no time for such things. Whenever I present my theories and speculations these days they are often met with the battle cry of, “Bullshit!” I encourage those with the strong inclination to community and group work to diligently seek out those individuals who are willing to put aside their own BS in order to reach new plateaus of thought. I would also encourage everyone to find that same thing in themselves as well. Don’t allow yourself to believe that you’ve reached the pinnacle of understanding. Always push the envelope and keep exploring!

**PAA: Have you ever experienced direct communication with your Holy Guardian Angel? If so, how did this change your practice?**

I experienced Knowledge and Conversation in 2015. Since then I have every day been in direct communication. This was a significant turning point in my understanding of Self and my work. What this means exactly can never be positively defined. The theories of what the HGA is and what K&C means is pervasive and I am not going to attempt to elucidate them all as the exercise would serve no one. Is it a spirit? Is it an angel? Is it the Self? All I can say for sure is that whatever your experience is when the time comes I cannot say what it will be. I don’t even refer to my HGA as my HGA anymore and in my experience Knowledge and Conversation required neither! I know this sounds confusing and doesn’t really offer any resolutions on the matter, but once it happens for you I’m sure you will understand and you can reach out to me and we can share a hearty laugh about it together.

**PAA: What challenges have you faced in integrating Thelemic principles into your daily life, and how have you overcome them?**

Early on there was a struggle with balancing these forces with a mundane life, but it is quite essential to find this balance. Crowley knew and anticipated this based on his writings, in particular “Liber Librae.” Based on my own experience I wish to impart my well wishes in navigating this perilous road. Many friendships may become distant or irreconcilable. Family may shun you. Some will not understand this new light in which you have found yourself enswathed. I encourage anyone going through this to be resolute and not lose hope for reconciliation in any matter. This is the Law of the strong! God gives us nothing we can’t handle. On the other side be mindful that while you have discovered this new life and are proud of what you’ve become that one still needs to do the dishes! I have every confidence that you will succeed. I recommend a book by David Shoemaker called “Living Thelema” for different avenues for balancing your magical life and your daily life. The struggles we face in the human experience are mostly common to us all and I would encourage you to build as best you can a close network of friends and colleagues that understand what you may be going through. Also, it may be beneficial to seek a therapist who is sympathetic to your particular situation.

**PAA: How has your understanding of "True Will" developed over time, and can you share a pivotal moment in this understanding?**

When I first began to explore the nature of True Will it was merely an exercise of knowing what was best for myself and what was not and going about removing those noxious things that were antithetical to it. In my talks with Michael Staley he reminded me of a quote in one of Kenneth Grant’s books where he paraphrased Yeats when he spoke about the fact that every man has a myth and how this could be equated to the True Will. True Will is more than a negation of all that does not empower you, but also a discovery process whereby our explorations of our connections to the universe and our own magical and mystical experience distils a unique gnosis. I scoff at the term “unverified personal gnosis” as all gnosis is personal and unverified. The implication that all gnosis must be verified in some book or by some person with clear and present attributions is pure poppycock. It is also folly to setup some impenetrable ideal within yourself that which can never have new attributions or insights assimilated with it. To quote Crowley, “It is the mark of the mind untrained to take its own processes as valid for all men, and its own judgments for absolute truth.”

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/a1702ef2-389c-4b84-bab7-3d7831f5c823.jpg)

## Artist

**PAA: When did you first recognize the connection between your art and spirituality? What sparked this realization?**

When I began my occult work I more truly recognized that I possessed the powers of creation and destruction, same as God or the universe. Wielding this power is a much overlooked area in occult exploration I feel. Art is the direct expression of the divine through the gross body. It comes from a higher source than the mind. Used effectively it can be a powerful tool used to distil ones mystical and magical experience.

**PAA: Who or what inspired you to pursue the path of an Artist? Were there any particular artists or spiritual figures who influenced you?**

I always had an interest in music and poetry in my youth and to a smaller extent paintings and photographs. These days I have a much greater respect and desire to explore the art of painting and using them to explore higher strata of consciousness. Michael Bertiaux is currently a major influence in this regard, but there have been others who have struck the chord prior to my discovering Michael’s work. I will list some of them below.
Valin Matthias, Adam Burke, Steffi Grant, Kyle Fite, Giselle Bolotin, Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare, Margaret E. Ingalls, Ithell Colquhoun, Rosaleen Norton, Zdzisław Beksiński, and Bernard Hall.

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/f3954d45-848e-44cf-96c6-5c6afd82bc8f-839x1024.jpg)

**PAA: Can you describe a transformative experience you've had while creating art as a spiritual practice?**

Pretty much all things that I make or dedicate to the process of spiritual work I would consider artwork and by creating, consecrating, and dedicating them to a higher service is a transformative process. I have many tools and instruments that I’ve made along the way that all easily fit this idea. They are then used on myself and my work thereby cross consecrating me and my work, they being an extension of the divine. When the artwork is something as simple as a painting it can also be a transformative process. I have a painting I made of LAM accompanied by sigils made in a typical fashion that imbues the room it’s in with certain powers. This painting was a direct transmission from beyond. It was invading my imagination all day and more or less created itself through me. I find the process of making artwork so much easier when I let the art come through me in this fashion and push the process of thought and idealization out of process all together. I find that the results are far more to my liking than attempting to make something I want at the outset. This is a difficult exercise and could be equated to eliminating the thought process from your meditations.

**PAA: How has your artistic medium or style evolved as your spiritual practice has deepened?**

At the outset I was very rigid and overly judgmental of my work and attempting to clearly define my work in equal measure I viewed the work of others. I’ve since learned to trust the process and the instruments themselves to do the work and take my ego out of the equation. The results could be said to be much less clear or less quantifiable, but this is only surface level interpretation. The work of deciphering divinity through art is more advanced than can be easily surmised through simple viewing. It requires highly intuitive and meditative techniques to fully explore this medium.

**PAA: Have you ever experienced altered states of consciousness during your artistic process? If so, how would you describe them?**

Absolutely I have. I equate it with spiritual evocation or peering through cosmic windows to realms beyond everyday awareness. I use the image of LAM as a vehicle from one side to the other. There are many vehicles that can be used for the same purpose. If you were to ask me how many, I would ask you how many can you think of?

**PAA: What specific spiritual techniques or practices do you incorporate into your artistic process?**

Kundalini magick is quite effective in elevating consciousness to those realms in which you want to draw from. I often use an exercise called the ‘Lam-Serpent Sadhana” to activate my body’s power zones and effectively clearing out blockages in my awareness. Other mental and meditative exercises can be applied. Anything to rise above your own mind and thought processes are going to be a most effective method. The intuitive magician will have no trouble in discovering what these are and are most likely already using them elsewhere in their practice.

**PAA: Have you ever created art that seemed to predict future events or reveal hidden truths? What was this experience like?**

One of my first magical artworks I made was a painting of Nuit, who represents the universe. If one were to interpret it thus I, in fact, created the whole universe. So, I have in fact predicted all future events! I know this is not the answer that was sought with this question per se, but I felt the need to demonstrate the art of looking beyond the common notions with which we navigate the everyday awareness. I do not view time and space in a typical fashion and I do not consider time linear. The now encapsulates all events and happenings. The vast reaches of interstellar space are right here and now!

## Tantra/Advaita

**PAA: What led you to explore Tantra or Advaita? Was there a specific event or realization that initiated your journey?**

The works of Kenneth Grant really got the ball rolling in this regard, but even before I knew who he was I was studying the works of Nisargadatta Maharaj. Kenneth Grant’s background in Eastern Mysticism is pervasive and interpreting the work of Aleister Crowley and Thelema through this lens one garners a more profound understanding. Advaita I can consider my primary spiritual understanding of life and is how I interpret my surroundings as I navigate life. I couple this understanding with the Law of Thelema.

**PAA: Who have been your most influential teachers in these traditions, and how did you come to study with them?**

I came to know many of these names primarily through my studies of the works of Kenneth Grant. I will list some of them below.

Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Mike Magee, Arthur Avalon/Sir John Woodroffe, Wei Wu Wei, Jan Fries, and Atmananda Krishna Menon.

**PAA: Can you describe your first Kundalini awakening experience? How did it change your perception of reality?**

My first kundalini experience came through the work with the Lam-Serpent Sadhana. The experience was surprisingly physical and caused some maladies such as stiffness, odd breathing, ringing in the ears, dry mouth. It felt as if there were maladies already present and the Kundalini fire was scorching them all away and clearing blockages in the chakras. This alleviated body-awareness and cleared the path towards cosmic-consciousness. At the pinnacle of the work the entirety of the universe was revealed and stood before my eyes in all its immense glory. It felt as if my body was left behind and on returning and following the chakras back down to the base it felt as if it was in some new body. This feeling of separateness of body is a result of the understanding that there is in fact no body at all. It proceeds from consciousness as all things do. Understanding this it is entirely possible in returning into something so alien that it could be hard to believe that any travel or return ever took place!

**PAA: What has been your most powerful experience with deity evocation or invocation in your practice?**

The one that immediately comes to mind is a several month long ritual that I studied online as result of my interest in the Greek Magical Papyri. The culmination of this ritual saw me blinded with a special black cloth called “The Black of Isis”, crowned with a wreath of ivy, and shrouded completely in a white sheet. I lay down before the sun was set to rise above the crest of the Earth. I spoke a set line of Greek vowels until delirium took over and the recitation became nonsense. I was then transported via a hawk to a grand hall where many Gods and Goddesses stood on either side, facing me. I was led to the God Set where he welcomed me and dedicated me a priest of Set, an arbiter of the outsider, and a cherished friend of the Gods. I stayed encapsulated in his dry black flames for a time until I was aroused by the sight of the sun over the horizon and arose like the twice born Dionysus.

**PAA: How has your understanding of the relationship between Shiva and Shakti evolved through your practice?**

Their separation is one of pure convenience and in the understanding of active and passive dynamics within such things a sex magick. In fact, one cannot venerate one without venerating the other as they are one. This understanding in itself is pretty standard in my work thus far, although I equate them with Nuit and Hadit in the thelemic pantheon and that leads to some interesting results when worked with in this regard. I highly recommend to everyone with an interest in these apparent opposites to venture into working with Ardhanarishvara.

**PAA: Can you share an experience where you felt a direct connection with the Divine Mother or cosmic consciousness?**

Every experience is a direct connection with the Divine Mother. She is power and nothing can exist without her.

**PAA: How has your practice affected your perception of time, space, and causality in daily life?**

I now navigate through life and see that I am not in the universe or the world, they are in me. This is a profound change of perception that can be quite intimidating at first, but also very empowering. It requires constant attention as well as the mind will try its utmost to define itself and the body as the truth and it is not. Consciousness precedes everything. Keeping this in check is the exercise taught by Ramana known as Jnana Yoga wherein the yogi continually asks the question, “Who am I?” Continue to pursue this self-inquiry to its source and one will inevitably arrive at the truth.

**PAA: What interesting answers, thank you very much for sharing with us.**

---

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/meta.png)

## Meta Magick Tarot

*Forest of Life *Venus calendar

The Meta Magick Tarot is a unique, 3-part course which can be pursued on your own time, or synchronized with the 32 week calendar of Venus, the Forest of Life. The entire Tarot is covered in 32 lessons with PDFs, Video Support, and guided meditation for each class. The meta-magick philosophy is future oriented, and understands magickal thinking in a way similar to an engineer's perspective. How can we build a uniquely powerful philosophy of creative tarot practice that we can live INSIDE? The content and materials will range from the basic to the advanced, and there are insights and innovations that you will find nowhere else. 

Learn More