Jake Statton-Kent has died

Jake Stratton-Kent the legendary goetic magician and writer, has died of a stroke after a long illness.

Statton-Kent will go down in esoteric history for being a huge influence on ceremonial magicians and standing up against the institutionalisation of magic. For this reason, he did not fit in with many who wanted their magic precisely the way the Golden Dawn or Aleister Crowley performed it, although he had considerable sympathy with the latter’s approach. The Thelemites saw him as one of their own -- even if he appeared obsessed with Old Aeon stuff and didn't fit in with them.

Unlike many magicians who wanted to “attain unity with a transcendent being”, Stratton-Kent followed a much older sub-lunar approach to daemons and demons. Geosophia for example, linked medieval demons found in the Grimoires to their ancient sources. His later work on the True Grimoire demythologised these texts and found their roots, but the notes explained how they worked based on actual experience.

But while his academic approach might have appealed, those of us who knew him also found his practical method more refreshing. We remember going walking with him to a local graveyard with his pocket full of old coins, which were meant as an offering in exchange for grave dirt. If you were lucky enough to see him summon anything, you understood the meaning of the word “intense.”

It is hard to write this because Stratton-Kent was a friend, and we got a lot of help with our work from him. At the same time, if he was correct, then he has not gone anywhere. He is part of the sub-lunar reality he talked about.