In this episode, Troy the Devil-Man sits down with longtime friend and returning guest Lon Milo DuQuette to discuss his long-awaited new book "Young Aleister Crowley and The Magician's Revolt" published by Weiser Books.

Lon reveals that this project has been nineteen years in the making, born from a 2007 conversation with O.T.O. brother and film writer Jim Bukowski, who believed a fantasy treatment of Crowley's early life had real potential as a feature film. What followed was a remarkable series of transformations: screenplay to book, back to screenplay, then into a twelve-episode television format, and finally into the expanded novel Weiser has now published, the first work of fiction the press has ever taken on.

The conversation explores the specific period Lon chose to focus on, Crowley's entry into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as a young, wide-eyed initiate. Far from the legendary Beast of later years, this Crowley is naive, brilliant, and outrageous in equal measure. Lon explains that Crowley's arrival was the catalyst that fractured the Golden Dawn entirely, giving the story genuine dramatic stakes with real historical roots and room for invention.

Lon walks Troy through the book's narrative structure, a device inspired by The Princess Bride in which the framing story opens at Crowley's 1947 funeral. A young Hollywood screenwriter and O.T.O. initiate interviews the fictional film director Sir Francis Bendick (drawn from one of Crowley's own pen names) in the days before his death. The old man insists the only way to tell this story truthfully is as a fairy tale, because fairy tales and myths outlast objective history. From there, the narrative travels across multiple lifetimes and dimensions, weaving in actual magical rituals from Crowley's own published works.

A pivotal sequence involves the Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage and the story of Abraham the Jew seeking out Abramelin in the Egyptian desert. Lon describes a confrontation with four Djinn that humbles Abraham before they transform into guides, leading him to the mage who tells him the only teacher he hasn't met yet is himself. The conversation explores how this concept of the Holy Guardian Angel, of self-realization as the prerequisite for any genuine magical work, runs as the central thread through the entire book.

Lon connects this theme to the briefcase in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, the MacGuffin whose contents are never shown but whose light illuminates every face that looks inside. The Holy Grail, he says, is always the Holy Grail, regardless of who is searching for it or what they've done to earn the quest.

The episode also touches on the book's multimedia journey. Lon describes the audiobook as closer to an old-fashioned radio play than a standard reading, and mentions early positive reviews from figures including Alan Moore, whose own The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic name-checks Lon's work. He also recalls that during an earlier stage of the project, playwright Snoo Wilson connected him with Alan Rickman, who had always wanted to play Crowley and signed a letter of intent before the project stalled.

Troy and Lon discuss Strange Angel, the television series about Jack Parsons, and the theory that writing L. Ron Hubbard into the show so early made the production legally untouchable for completion. They reflect on what the public appetite for this kind of transgressive, esoteric content in popular formats really signals, and what it means for a project like this one.

Coming up for Lon: a three-day Chicken Kabbalah workshop in Joshua Tree, California, next spring, hosted by Magical Retreats. Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford is expected to make a rare appearance.

Previous Scholomance appearances by Lon Milo DuQuette:

• Constructing Yourself with The Tarot Architect
• Is Freemasonry Esoteric with Bro. Lon Milo DuQuette, EFC 2022 Keynote
• Ask Baba Lon with Lon Milo DuQuette

Find Lon online: londuquette.com

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Season 2, Episode 1: The Astrological Goetia

with Jaime Paul Lamb

Welcome BACK to The Scholomance Project, Season Two! I am your host Troy the Devil-Man. You can email me at founder@scholomance.ca.

Scholomance. Aspire. Explore. Inspire!

About This Episode

Jaime Paul Lamb has been a frequent contributor to my projects, and has appeared several times at Esotericism in Freemasonry Conference in Seattle. He recently released The Astrological Goetia in which he details a new look at a particular aspect of his magical work. Jaime is a well known speaker in Freemasonic and western esoteric circles. Please welcome Jaime Paul Lamb.

Guest Website: jaimepaullamb.com

Previous Appearances by Jaime Paul Lamb

• EFC2023 w/ Jake, Pat and Jaime of Tria Prima
• Part 2 from EFC2021: Jaime Paul Lamb's Freemasonry and...
• Approaching the Middle Chamber with Jaime Paul Lamb

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When you become a Patreon your monthly contribution helps offset our production and streaming costs. The various levels of support include access to many of our extended interviews and invites to our live events, including the next Ask The Occultist Q&A.

Upcoming Events

Esotericism in Freemasonry Conference September 19th, Seattle, Washington

Keynote: Lon Milo DuQuette, author of The Tarot Architect

Also confirmed: Ike Baker of Arcanvm podcast

Tickets available by RSVP to esotericmasonry@gmail.com

Credits

The Scholomance Project is hosted by Troy the Devil-Man. A special thanks to Equinox for our opening and closing music.

Scholomance. Aspire. Explore. Inspire!

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Last July, Jake and Pat of Tria Prima Podcast interviewed me about Esotericism in Freemasonry Conference www.esotericmasonry.com. For this episode, the third regular host of Tria Prima Podcast, Jaime Paul Lamb, joins us to discuss his experience attending and speaking at the conference last October. We then get to have a lengthy and indulgent conversation about the next EFC as well as what is next for Tria Prima.

Not only is Tria Prima the publisher of our upcoming EFC2023 Keynote Speaker P.D. Newman’s “Angels In Vermilion” and Jaime Paul Lamb’s “The Archetypal Temple”, they are expanding their catalog in the coming months. Check out their catalogue, podcast and blog over at www.triaprima.co

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