There is a reason occult knowledge was traditionally taught slowly, selectively and with a great deal of ceremony, and I increasingly suspect that at least part of the reason was simply quality control. Give a psychologically grounded person a grimoire and they may spend six months studying its symbolism, historical context, ritual structure and philosophical assumptions. Give the same grimoire to someone who has slept four hours in three days, drinks absinthe for breakfast a

You have decided to do the Great Work. Excellent. A noble decision. You are going to meditate, cultivate discipline, transcend your habitual identifications and perhaps, with enough perseverance, crawl half an inch closer to illumination. Unfortunately, the dog has chosen this precise moment to bark as though personally appointed by Cerberus. Somewhere outside, a police siren is performing a twelve minute avant garde composition in D minor. Your family is watching television