Sunday, May 31, is the Greater Feast of Soror Meral (Phyllis Seckler). A ninth degree (IX°) member of the “Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis” of Ordo Templi Orientis and a 5°=6□ A∴A∴, Soror Meral was a student of Jane Wolfe. She served as Master of 418 Lodge from 1979 until her death in 2004. She founded the College of Thelema and co-founded the Temple of Thelema, both of which she also led until her death. For a brief period in the 1970s, she was married to Grady McMurtry (Hymenaeus Alpha).
Brother David Shoemaker, one of her students, remembers sitting on the back porch of Soror Meral’s home enjoying buttered toast and wine. In honor of this tradition, we suggest the following bread recipe, paired with a Rioja.
Pa Amb Tomàquet (Catalan Tomato Bread)
- 1 (8-inch) sourdough round or a 20-inch-long sourdough baguette
- 2 large garlic cloves, halved crosswise
- 3 to 4 ripe small tomatoes, halved crosswise
- 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt to taste
