Random photos from last weekend in NYC with @maeviuslynn.bsky.social: the Highline, the Met, the Frick, and Urban Vegan.

I had a delightful and down-to-earth conversation with @amethysta.io and The Purple Pawedcast about my new book, “Mind over Magick: The Psychology of Ritual Magick.” It was a most naturally-flowing interview, perhaps reflecting our common background in science. purpl.pw/richardkaczy...

Finally cracking the spine on this bad boy. @richardkaczynski.bsky.social

Saw this treasure on my visit to NYC: a 1941 holiday card by Frieda Harris, with her art for “The Sun”…appropriate for the return of longer days. 1941 is also when Crowley issued “Liber Oz” on the winter solstice (including Thoth Tarot art). Both appeared while the deck was still a work in progress.

Accidental OTO humor in The Simpsons S32E2. The V° is the “natural stopping place” for most, and its pendant degree, Knight of the Red Eagle, is also called the Senate.

Update of the Beast

What was your favorite occult book of 2025? Here’s a list of nearly 300 (😮) to vote on & you can vote for more than one! Voting ends in a few hours. I’m honored to see my new books Mind Over Magick & Crowley’s The Sword of Song included, but *dang* a lot of other great books came out this year!

Join Maevius Lynn and me TODAY on Sunday, 28 December at 6 pm GMT and 1 pm EST for a fascinating conversation on all things Thelema. ➡️ youtube.com/live/gDIU7wL... #thelema #thelemite #aleistercrowley #thelematok

Interested in a spooky and strange story? Join me as I tell the tale of the time Aleister Crowley tried to reanimate a human skeleton. youtu.be/yjJwTSgg3JA?... #thelema #AleisterCrowley #magick

Capricorn season recalls this pottery goat by @scalesandbark.bsky.social which @maeviuslynn.bsky.social and I picked up at the Durham Pottery Tour because the third eye reminded us of the Thoth Tarot.

Received “L’Oracle d’Aleister Crowley,” a fascinating oracle deck depicting moments and concepts from Crowley’s life and work for divination inspiration. Created by Tristan Mercure and Marie Jésu, the box consists of 44 cards printed on heavy stock with gilt edges, a velour bag, plus /1

Received a random smishing text on Xmas morning, so… [N.B.: no such mishap actually befell me.]

I will be going live with Dr. Angela Puca this Sunday December 28th at 1:00PM EST. I am looking forward to this discussion. #thelema #occult #magick #occultthreads www.youtube.com/live/gDIU7wL...

Positively delighted with the immersive audio of this classic from my youth: Alan Parsons Project’s I Robot. The mix is phenomenal: refreshing after recent “safe” & underwhelming immersive releases from other artists. I Robot springs to life, all speakers firing with beautiful & captivating details.

This appeared in my Facebook feed uninvited. 😂 According to Meta AI, it is what the Gnostic Mass will look like when we colonize Mars. In space, no one can hear you hriliu. 🕊️

a lord of the rings hair metal cover band Éowinger

It amazes me that this oriole—who was a regular visitor to my bird feeder last winter—found his way back not just from Baltimore to Raleigh, but to my back yard in particular, without using a cell phone.

Just received “The Complete Knowledge Lectures and Side Lectures of the Golden Dawn,” the latest in the GD series from Kerubim Press. It’s a thick one!

Spotted on my walk with @maeviuslynn.bsky.social today: double-crested cormorants, wood duck, and seagulls.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲! I spent years researching, writing, and combing through archives and private libraries to put together a gem of a book about the holy days of Thelema. Available for pre-order now at @llewellynbooks.bsky.social #magick #occult

Found at HomeGoods: a vase commemorating Gnostic Saint Sir Richard Francis Burton and his highly sexualized translation of the “Arabian Nights,” whose seventeen volumes he published in the 1880s in a private edition to skirt Victorian obscenity laws.

Whole Foods out here publishing the Great Secret in plain English. The ghost of Theodor Reuss is about to bust in like the Kool-Aid man and swear them to secrecy.

I couldn’t pass up this awesome retro Luciano Vecchio variant cover for Wiccan: Witches Road #1.

To celebrate the American Academy of Religion conference that took place in Boston on November 22-25, Oxford University Press is offering 40% off titles in religion, including its Western Esotericism series such as my book “Friendship in Doubt.” 😉 Use code EXAAR25 by December 9.

The light of my life deploying her scarf for warmth: strategic AND adorable. 🥰 @maeviuslynn.bsky.social

I’m delighted to have received @johneltenney.bsky.social’s ‘zine chronicling Gundella the Green Witch, a Detroit-area (Garden City) celebrity in the 1970s. /1

“but like, high functioning”

I was a guest on @rebelspiritradio.bsky.social and just learned the episode dropped. It’s about my critical edition of Aleister Crowley’s “Sword of Song” plus all things Crowley! 🙏 The interview is available wherever you get your podcasts, and the book is available from your favorite bookseller.

Went to an estate sale over the weekend and came home with this beautiful antique brass candle snuffer for $18. I’m a sucker for implements 😄 While checking out… @maeviuslynn.bsky.social: I wonder if it was used in ritual? Me (doing my best Yoda impression): It will be. It … will … be.

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon Encountered this psychedelic/mystical sculpture at the entrance to North Carolina Botanical Garden’s 37th Sculpture in the Garden show. The installations are impressive, from small to towering 🪑: “Unfathomable Trust Throne” by Theresa Arico 📷: @maeviuslynn.bsky.social

Congratulations to Blue Equinox Oasis on 30 years of representing OTO in the Valley of Detroit. The celebration last weekend drew friends old & new—and members past & present—from across MI, OH & IN for a heartwarming evening of connection. Bonus: beautifully etched commemorative wine glasses. /1

Gratefully received a gift of this ca 1952 printing of Aleister Crowley’s “Hymn to Pan” by Alexander Watt of Ontario, Canada.

@maeviuslynn.bsky.social and I recently had the opportunity to frolic amongst some very-late-season sunflowers.

Éliphas Lévi’s “Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum,” translated and edited by William Wynn Westcott in 1896, has just been beautifully reprinted by Troy Books (London) in a foil-stamped hardcover with rubricated text and color images…all at a great price.

“The Battle of Blythe Road” is single #3 from The Telephone Numbers’ new release, Scarecrow II. Its title comes from one of the biggest fish stories in occulture, but the lyrics don’t explicitly reference Aleister Crowley & SL Mathers’ skirmish with WB Yeats & EA Hunter over the Isis-Urania Temple.🧵

Surreal airport moment: “Lick It Up” by KISS blasting throughout the main terminal.

So many people asked about wearing gloves while handling rare books like the ones I posted pictures of yesterday that I thought it worth sharing that archivists recommend against gloves, which reduce tactile sensitivity and can lead to unintentional damage. Clean and dry hands are preferred.

Mind-blowingly rare first editions of esoteric books that I got to hold yesterday (courtesy of Justin Sledge), #5 of 5: Agrippa’s “Three Books of Occult Philosophy” (Cologne, 1533), the granddaddy of occultism and ritual magic.

Mind-blowingly rare first editions of esoteric books that I got to hold yesterday (courtesy of Justin Sledge), #4 of 5: A gorgeous handwritten grimoire including the Key of Solomon, Arbatel, etc. (1686).

Mind-blowingly rare first editions of esoteric books that I got to hold yesterday (courtesy of Justin Sledge), #3 of 5: Johann Reuchlin’s “De Arte Cabalistica” (1517), the famous early and influential text of Christian Kabbalah.

Mind-blowingly rare first editions of esoteric books that I got to hold yesterday (courtesy of Justin Sledge), #2 of 5: First Hebrew printing of Sefer Yetzirah (Mantua, Italy, 1562), the early Kabbalistic account of how G-d created the universe through the 22 letters of the alefbet & the 10 sefirot

Mind-blowingly rare first editions of esoteric books that I got to hold yesterday (courtesy of Justin Sledge), #1 of 5: Meric Casaubon’s “A True and Faithful Relation” (London, 1659), the legendary OG account of the Enochian magic of John Dee and Edward Kelly.

We’ve lived in the same city and taught at the same university, just at different times …so it was inevitable that Justin Sledge and I would meet in real life. I’m delighted that today was finally that day. What a great time talking about both old and new things in esoterica!

@maeviuslynn.bsky.social and I did the Durham Pottery Tour November 8-9 and wound up adopting an adorable pair of devils by Garet Bullard (Dogboy Ceramics).

A new pickup from the Occult Press: Max Theon’s psychic novella “The Occultist” in a lovely limited sailcloth binding. Max Theon is a Polish occultist who inspired the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor in 1884. The 2026 imprint will make this as legendary as Crowley’s “Book of Lies” 😁

The normalcy of Paranormal Experiences. Watch the full episode with Dr Richard Kaczynski @richardkaczynski.bsky.social ➡️ youtube.com/live/1JX5una... #thelema #psychologyofmagick #magick

I had a fun time chatting with @drangelapuca.bsky.social, diving into research in psychology and its relationship to some tough questions about the practice and meaning of ritual magick.

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When the Secret Conclave of Spooky Magicians®️ met for a p̶l̶o̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ er, *planning* meeting, we were so excited that Fiction Kitchen’s Halloween Tarot cocktail was still available that we all ordered one…

What in the Mandela effect is this??? (Part of @maeviuslynn.bsky.social’s Little Free Library donation this morning. I am increasingly convinced that she magically manifested me from a near-identical parallel universe that didn’t have things like worms on a string 😅).