Jake Stretton-Kent died yesterday after an extended illness and the world will never be quite the same.
Jake was a lot of things to a lot of people, clear from the hundreds of tributes written in Facebook and other social media platforms since the announcement. He was an incredibly influential magician and author, having given us Grimorium Verum, Geosophia, the Testament of Cyprian the Mage, Goetic Liturgy, Thus Spake Magnus Dictus and the Rosicrucifixion, amongst others. He also worked on each issue of Hadean Press’ Conjure Codices.
His laser-focus on relationships with spirits incited an entire generation of practitioners to a more thoughtful approach. He was a serious researcher and adept, a magical experimentalist while retaining both feet in a foundation of history and literature. Amusingly, to discover his sources, we often had to inquire personally about them. The bad part was that we couldn’t just dig through his references, the good part was that when you asked him, he would provide a stunning background and a thorough understanding of anything he’d ever written.
He was one of my favorite authors to interview for Thelema, Now! because he was so damnably funny and ridiculously charming. On a personal note, he was incredibly supportive to me through some very hard moments, and I’ll never forget him for those.
We at Thelema, Now! wish Jake the best of future adventures. May he be granted the accomplishment of his True Will. We also wish peace and relief to Karel and the rest of his family and close colleagues.
Goodbye, Jake. And farewell.
-Harper Feist
