West vs East approaches to the sacred

In this episode, we meet Lon Milo DuQuette, who shares his lifelong journey in the Western hermetic and magical traditions, including his initiation into the teachings of Aleister Crowley. We also hear from EWP student Cassia Elderkin, who studies under Lon and is exploring magic as a form of liberatory praxis.

The conversation centers around Lon’s new book, The Tarot Architect: How to Become the Master Builder of Your Spiritual Temple, and explores how the tarot can be understood through the mystical teachings of Kabbalah as a cosmic, archetypal structure. Lon explains how these archetypes can be internalized and brought to life in one’s psychic and spiritual practice. He situates tarot divination within a broader framework of magical and transformative practices, emphasizing its capacity to expand consciousness, attune intuition, and illuminate the messages of the unconscious.

The discussion highlights the intersections between Western occult traditions and Eastern spiritual practices, showing how ceremonial magic and meditative yoga converge as complementary paths for self-exploration and transformation. Lon frames these traditions as technologies of self-examination, offering tools for cultivating awareness, creativity, and personal evolution.

Toward the end, the conversation turns to the magical and transformative powers of art and creativity, underscoring the importance of self-observation in creative practice. Lon closes with his reflections on the future of Western esotericism, offering insights into its evolving role in contemporary spiritual and cultural life.

Lon Milo DuQuette, also known as Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford and by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Tau Lamed, is an American writer, lecturer, musician, and occultist, best known as an author who applies humor in the field of Western Hermeticism. In 1972 he began pursuing his interest in mysticism, particularly the work of Aleister Crowley. He is on the faculty of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, New York where he teaches The Western Magical Tradition. Since 1975 DuQuette has been a National and International governing officer of Ordo Templi Orientis, a religious and fraternal organization founded in the early part of the 20th century. Since 1996 he has been O.T.O.'s United States Deputy Grand Master. He is also an Archbishop of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, the ecclesiastical arm of the O.T.O. DuQuette began writing professionally in 1988 and has since published 19 books (translated in 12 languages). Many of his books have been dedicated to analyzing and exploring the works of Aleister Crowley, an English occultist, author, poet and philosopher. He has written a number of successful books on topics in the Western mystical tradition including: Freemasonry, Tarot, Qabalah, ceremonial magick, the Enochian magick of Dr. John Dee, and Goetic spirit evocation. He is perhaps best known as "an author who injects humor into the serious subjects of magick and the occult." His autobiography, My Life with the Spirits, is currently a required text for two classes at DePaul University, Chicago.

Lon’s Website

Book: The Tarot Architect: How to Become the Master Builder of Your Spiritual Temple

The EWP Podcast credits

• Connect with EWP: Website • Youtube • Facebook

• Hosted by Stephen Julich (EWP Core Faculty) and Jonathan Kay (EWP PhD grad)

• Produced by: Stephen Julich and Jonathan Kay

• Edited and Mixed by: Jonathan Kay

• Music: Mosaic, by Monsoon on the album Mandala

• Introduction Voiceover: Roche Wadehra

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